Easter and the week following

Easter or Resurrection Sunday was a week ago today and we had a great day. It began with a sunrise service then a nice family meal with Mike & Cayce and also Bern's Mom.



We had a great meal and Everything was very good.


On Thursday I had some business to handle in Daytona so Bernice came with me and we spent the night on the beach. THe views, wind and waves were quite relaxing. Early Friday morning we got up and rode the Tandem along the Halifax river doing the LOOP there twice once in each direction for a 48 mile trip. The weather was excellent and the scenery was too. We had some parts of the ride thru upscale neighborhoods, some along the river, some along canals, some under heavy canopied trees --- very diverse scenery. After the ride we showered, checked out and had a lovely lunch at High Tides on the Beach in Flagler. Then we drove home.







On Saturday we went on a 45 mile ride with our friend Don and looped through some of the Ocala National Forest--- once again great weather and a nice ride.

Today was Church in the AM --- then a Putt Putt Golf event for Dereks school we had fun with Bern, Myself, Mike & Cayce , Derek and Emily(his girlfriend)

Nice week

Fishing and Riding

This week other than working I was able to go fishing in the Gulf of Mexico and several nice rides. The fishing was fun and productive --catching Red Fish, Trout, Snook and even a flounder and a Jack.

The bike rides were nice one was 48 miles and one was 45 miles both on the Tandem.

Tomorrow is Ressurection Sunday (Easter) and I am so thankful and humbled that Christ died on the cross my sins and the sins of all who believe in Him. I am also thankful that He rose from the dead showing He has POWER over death.

A good week .....

Sebring Tandem Weekend

This weekend Bern and I went to Sebring Florida for a couple days of riding and sharing meals with some folks. We knew one of the couples from riding with them in Palm Coast and one from the tandem forum and Facebook. Then there were 3-5 other couples we got to meet while there. We did two rides one was 54 miles and one 34 miles. We had two great meals and a nice lunch as well.

Hats off to Jill and Mark who planned and organized the event. Also thanks to the Kenilworth Lodge who was originally hosting the event but there was not enough interest to pull it off. They still stepped up and gave us vouchers for lunch and paid our admission to Highlands Hammock State park. They also posted the sign shown below.

Over all an excellent weekend with great people, weather, food and riding

Time to Remember

Some people have noticed it has been a while since I posted an entry on my blog. Partially because Facebook is easier, I was not getting many if any comments here and third one of my faithful readers died in February--- My Sister Nancy.

On February 17th her life ended on this earth and she went to be with her Saviour. For us that are left behind it was sad but for her... it was Awesome. I talked to her the morning she died and that afternoon she talked with God. How cool is that!!!

She and I were always close and shared many good times together. We played together when I was young and sang to old 45 records with hair brush microphones. She was the one chosen to tell my in 1972 that my Mom had died.... yes good times and tough times she was there. In 1976 she was the one who got me to go to church and impacted my life by introducing me to her Saviour--- Jesus.

Her faith was real and it is a testament as to how she faced death when her time came. She knew full well where she was going --- not in a proud way but having faith in what God said in the Bible ---- "These things I write unto you that you may KNOW that you have eternal life"

I wanted to dedicate this weeks entry to Nancy.... and her friendship, love and testimony that will never be forgotten.

If you are reading this and want to know for sure where you will go when your time on earth is over .....call me -- email me and I can share with you like she did for me.

Here are some random shots of her taken in the last couple years.

I wanted to tell you guys who I work with on a day to day basis.  Michael is an Associate Financial Advisor,   Hannah is a meeting preparation specialist and handles correspondence. Derek is interning at the office several days a week and handles technology  solutions.  Bernice is the client relationship specialist and Susan handles primarily planning inputs and home office issues.

Last week I went back again to NY ...yes only 9 days after the last time. Primarily to see my sister Nancy who is battling cancer but I was also able to sneak in a little skiing. As you can see Winter still has a firm grip on New York State. The first day I was there it did not get above 5 degrees for the high. Even fast flowing rivers were nearly frozen solid.  

Luckily I have the right gear to be able to enjoy the snow even in the frigid temps.

Back in Florida I am still fighting a cold and apparent sinus infection but Bernice and I were able to get out for 2 nice rides on the tandem. (45 and 43 miles) 

I add these last to for the benefit of my nieces husband Chris and my sisters significant other Brian.  Both of whom have how shall we say sick senses of humor.  So when we stopped for lunch on Friday and I saw these outside of the BBQ place I thought of them and snapped away.  Enjoy!!

Ididaride 15 Jan 31st 2009

On January 31st Michael and I spent the day in White Springs, FL following these green arrows through the woods on our bicycles (mountain bikes). Well to give the full story we only followed the green ones for half the ride --- in the afternoon we followed orange ones to lead us back to where we started.  In all we covered nearly 50 miles of riding.....through the woods --- over logs and through streams.   This was the 8th  time I have done it and Michael's 4th.

The ride starts near the Steven C Foster State park.  Actually the first 6 miles are on trails surrounding the park. This is the bell tower in the park.  As you know this park is named after the writer of "Suwanee River" and our ride was near that very river for most of the day.

It was a cold weekend with a hard frost both evenings.  This shows the starting temperature for the ride. This was NOT the low for the night.

Since we were camping at O Leno State park we we glad to have a campfire going the better part of the weekend.  Bernice and Cayce got their Campfire Badges as they built a great fire to help us warm  up after the Bike ride.

It was nice to have Mike ride with me and both Mike and Cayce to camp with us for the weekend

This was the 15th annual Ididaride. Sponsored by the Suwanee Bicycle club. They did an excellent job this year.  The weather though cold at the start was pretty nice in that it was sunny and warmed into the high 50's ----that beat last year when it was raining heavy and in the 40's

While camping I went looking for some deer to photograph. I saw and took pics of several but this one was the cutest.  It thought I could not see it as it was well hidden but I could and got this nice shot.

When we got to New York we went to my niece's basketball game.  She played well and scored several points in their victory. It was fun to see her play. That is her at the free throw line.

We were able to spend time with family which was nice.  Pictured here are three generations of Mike Millers. Dad is doing well at 84 years old. It was fun each morning to watch he and his friends joke around in McDonald's. They carry on like teenagers picking and pranking each other. 

The scenery driving back and forth to the mountain to ski was very nice. seeing every thing  from ice formations to wildlife.







The skiing was great.... three days on the slopes. Snow was excellent and temps were moderate te first two days and a bit nippy on the third. Micael & I had some good time together—conversations went all over the board from sports to deeper more important issues of life. I feel truly blessed to have two great sons. You might ask why I would say that--- well—let me tell you. First they both love and care about God. Second they care about family. Neither one of those two are casual to them – Rather deep commitments. I appreciate the manners and helpful spirits they demonstrate as they interact with people. Yep I am truly blessed with a great family.






The highlight of the trip was not the skiing though ..... one of my relatives and I were talking about life and the amazing way my sister Nancy is handling the fact she was placed on hospice care as she battles cancer. The reason she is facing death with such peace is her faith. She knows she will be with God in heaven when she dies. My relative was asking me many questions about that and as a result we prayed together and she recieved Jesus into her heart as her Saviour. I was very excited and thankful for this.
The week end included a nice evening with some friends from High School as well. What fun to tell old stories and reflect on events over the years. There were about 14 of us there and the funny thing is we found each other again thru the internet and an application called Facebook.