Gainesville Kananpaha Botanical Gardens, March 21 and 22, 2009

Since Jodie was in town through the weekend, she decided to go with me to Gainesville on Friday afternoon to help setup and then work the show on Saturday. The plan wasn't decided yet, but, she would either stay through Sunday and come home with me--or--drive back with Mom and Dad when they drove up on Saturday for the day.

Kahapaha Botanical Gardens are gorgeous and there are a ton of plant and garden type vendors--so many that you could literally landscape and decorate your whole yard. I was in my usual spot at the far end of the show when we pulled in to setup Friday. Jodie was a huge help getting unloaded, putting up the tent and then getting things set out on the tables. We finished pretty quick!

We took off for the hotel, got checked in and then I toured her around the campus of the University of Florida. Gainesville really is a pretty town. We were looking for somewhere to eat and decided on Lombardo's. We had a couple great slices of pizza and luckily there is a "new" wine bar next door that you can get a nice glass of red to go with the pizza. The rolls are not as good as they used to be, but somehow we put down a basket full before we were done!

Saturday morning it was colder than we thought...especially after spending the day at the beach with temps in the 80's. To see a high in the 70's was a little disappointing. BUT, the good news is that the customers were lined up and ready to buy early in the morning. We did a brisk business early on and then settled into a steady pace as the afternoon wore on.

Mom and Dad fought some traffic to get up there. Apparently there were antique car races somewhere south on I-75 and they got slowed down. But, they showed up around noon. This show also has a silent auction, so, we put some bids on some items just in case we got lucky--before I lead them back to the booth.

While they were watching the booth, Jodie and I took off in search of the 7 foot wide lily pads!! We met up with a gal in the know, but, were disappointed to find out those lily pads don't bloom until August...and then only for a day or two! Bummer. But, we did spend a little time on the pathways the volunteers have been improving. Very pretty and nice!

Jodie decided to leave with them, and they took off about 5 p.m. for Orlando. Rod was grilling up a ton of burgers on the grill, but, ended up freezing them for later as the Illinois clan didn't make it back without stopping for dinner first.

Sunday at the show was a bit slower, but, I still did well. I was packed up and on the road shortly after 6 p.m. When I arrived in Orlando, I had four helpers to get unpacked...so we made short work of that.

We all went to bed early as Jodie's flight was scheduled to leave at 8 a.m--and Rod was back to work on Sunday so he definitely was up and out EARLY. Jodie and I got up at 5 a.m. and Mom and Dad rolled out a bit later. We were on the road a bit before 6 a.m. but the weather was pretty rainy, so it was slowing going up to Sanford. The airport there is pretty nice. It reminds me of Milwaukee...small, easy to navigate and we saw Jodie checked through security before we left. We told her we would stay in the area until after her flight was scheduled to leave--just in case. She made it home and was looking forward to a few days on her own since her guys were on a golf outing for Trav's school.