In January, we drove to Galveston and I cruised for the first time which included a shore excursion on Jamaica and ziplining the Chukka Jungle canopy...
Then on to Florida where we hiked and biked...
No, that's not snow, but rather the white sand of Gulf Islands National Seashore.
In February, we toured Disney World behind-the-scenes with an Elderhostel group, including a visit by Mickey our final day...
We also had a wonderful visit with cousin Trudy and Ed...
A sea kayak program out of Cedar Key with my good friend, Greg, of "Adventures in Florida" was another highlight of the month...
...and included swimming with the manatees out of Crystal Springs...
Another fun week was the canoeing Elderhostel program in the Ocala National Forest...
Of course, we can't be in Florida without biking several times on our favorite mountain bike trails which wend their way for dozens of miles through the gorgeous Ocala National Forest...
In March, on our way home from Florida, we visited a friend in Asheville and toured the Biltmore estate...
...and after returning to Fayetteville, we spent much time hiking and biking, astounded at the damage wrought by the fierce ice storm that ravaged the area while we were in Florida...
In April, we returned to Cedar Key, Florida to rehab the condo, stopping to bike in the Apalachicola National Forest on the way there...
In May, I returned home after my four month escape from winter weather, just in time to attend the Spring concert by my community chorus, followed by a farewell party for our retiring director and founder...
June included twice-weekly biking with good friends, always culminating with lunch near whatever trail we had biked...
...and also family time, as on Father's Day in Wheaton...
July brought us to in Michigan. First we backpacked on North Manitou Island in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore with Len and Marlene, and then we made the loop through the Upper Peninsula, touring Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, and back home through Wisconsin, biking in Green Bay and touring Kohler Plumbing's plant and biking and touring Horicon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge...
August found us canoeing, rafting, kayaking, and body surfing rapids in the Delaware National Water Gap on an Elderhostel program. Then on to NJ and NY for a wedding and some fishing...
September in New England featured a variety of conveyances, including sailing the Angelique for a week...
...riding up Mt. Washington on the the cog railway...
...biking 8 different trails in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont...
...hiking in Robert Frost's favorite forest in Middlebury, Vermont...
...and re-building a trail in Acadia National Park...
October back home was very soggy but colorful...
November was spent visiting Mom after her hip surgery...
...and December featured singing in two concerts each by my church choir and community chorus...
...and of course family -- our extended family annual Christmas Eve party, this year at my place...
Summarizing numerically, we were in three foreign countries, visited 23 states, biked over 2300 miles, paddled 100+ miles, hiked 400+ miles, and in spare time, read 38 books. Maybe in 2010 I'll slow down a bit. (But don't bet on it!)
Jumpin' Jiminey...I get tired just thinking about it
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