Our first show this year was the coconut Grove art show next to the beautiful Marina in Miami. We had a lot of exciting new work and we were certainly looking forward to seeing all our friends in the area after missing two years. Unfortunately, the hotel we were staying at lost our confirmed VRBO reservations. It was a terrible weekend to have no reservations since both the International Miami boat show and the art show were both that weekend. Although contacting VRBO was a 90 minute ordeal each day, they managed to find us a room at the local Hampton inn the first night, and seemingly at the last minute ,each night thereafter. Although it was very stressful not knowing for sure if we had a room each night, seeing all our old friends at the show more than made up for it. And I can't tell you how many invitations to stay with friends we got over the three-day show. The weather was beautiful and we got to see many old friends and have dinner with a few of them as well. One of the high points was having dinner with Ron Magil and his wife Rita, two of our oldest and dearest friends. Ron is head of communications for the Miami zoo and an incredible conservationist,photographer and storyteller. There's nothing like hearing about photographing Jaguars in Patagonia over a good grilled fish!
After the stress of navigating traffic in Miami and concerns over accommodation, we rendezvoused in Key West with our old friends Bubba and Lee Lewis in a beautiful old home they rented in the heart of Key West. Four days with a heated pool, great restaurants, and enjoying the blue ,clear waters of the Atlantic were really relaxing. On the way home we stopped and visited our very old and dear friends Pete and Pat Debogory in Destin ,Florida for more sunshine, Clear water, and shared dinners. It was great to get home, but two days after returning I started having headaches and a rash began just above my eyes. Little did I know what the next episode of my life would bring......
