HOLIDAY HIGHLIGHTS

Almost every day, I wake and do some kind of writing. 

Eight days during the holidays, I did not.

It was WONDERFUL!

Friday, December 21st, I closed my computer mid-day and boarded a Southwest plane with my family.  (Love Southwest.  Love my family.)

We landed in Philadelphia and it took me 2.3 minutes to buy a soft pretzel and slather it with mustard.  Yum!

We stayed at Kimpton's Monaco Hotel.  LOVED THIS BOUTIQUE HOTEL!!!

Our view was . . .

Independence Hall

 And . . .

The Liberty Bell

That night, we had dinner with my Aunt Iris (Mom's sister) and my sister, Ellen, at The Dining Car -- a local landmark, where we used to live.

 The BIG SURPRISE happened Saturday.  We showed up at my husband's family holiday party.  Hubby hadn't seen his family in over two years.  No one knew we were coming.

"SURPRISE!"

It was wonderful.  Got to spend time with brothers-in-law, sisters-in-laws, nieces and nephews and their babies.

And, of course, Rose . . .

Sunday, hubby and I hiked across the city of brotherly love to meet our niece, Nicole, for brunch at Sabrina's Cafe.  Holy moly, the food was spectacular.  But the company was even better . . .

Then I finally got a tour of my cousin's bagel shop/restaurant -- BAGEL BOARD at 31 Bellevue Avenue in Penndel.  If you live in or around Philadelphia, you've got to grab breakfast or brunch there.  So yummy!  And check out their YouTube video and see Buddy, the Dancing Bagel.  Seriously.  A  dancing bagel . . .

Had a great time visiting my Aunt Marcia and Uncle Jordan and seeing my cousins Joel, Sharon and Brian and Brian's beautiful daughters, who I haven't seen in years. 

Here I am with my cousin, Joel, who owns Bagel Board . . .

And here's my Uncle Jordan in front of the shop . . .

The visit was over in a blink.  It was sooooo good to spend time with family and friends.

On Christmas, 2/3 of our California family visited.  Wonderful to see my sister Sherry and nephew, Ethan. 

We took Dad to Green Cay Nature Center to watch the sun go down over the edge of the Everglades. 

Dad, Hubby and Ethan

Green Cay

The next day, Hubby and I enjoyed an 11-mile bike ride at Jonathan Dickinson State Park.  We also climbed their lookout tower -- the highest point above sea level for miles -- at a whopping 86 feet. 

In addition to seeing family and amazing sunsets and the interior of many parks and bookstores, I read, napped and watched lots of movies in theaters and on Netflix (Silver Lining Playbook, Argo, 50/50, World's Greatest Dad, etc.)

IT WAS GREAT! 

Now, I have renewed energy to continue writing DEATH BY TOILET PAPER -- such fun to create!

Hope your holidays were happy and that you're feeling hope-filled and peace-filled for a remarkable 2013!