Family Holiday


We headed down to a warmer climate for Christmas. We visited my foster grandparents, Betty and Curly Bartley, at their home in The Villages, Florida. The Villages is a retirement community in central Florida. I had a wonderful time there, and I got to meet lots of new friends!

Here I am with one of my new friends, a golfing bear! He was a Christmas gift to my foster Grandpa. He and I got to hang out on the couch on Christmas day. I got some great pointers on how to improve my golf game from him.
Tom and his new buddy, the golfing bear

The next friend I got to meet was this wonderful sock monkey named Minky. We hit it off fabulously! Irene, a friend of my foster grandparents, heard I was coming to town, so she crafted Minky so I would have someone to hang out with during my visit. Minky even brought me a fantastic Christmas gift - a homemade blanket and pillow that I can use on my plane trips! Thanks, Minky!
Tom and Minky the sock monkey

The preferred method of transportation in The Villages is via golf cart, so I hopped in the back of my foster grandparents' cart one afternoon for a tour of the area.
Tom in the golf cart

Here I am on the front of the cart. Yippee! What a ride!
Tom poses on the golf cart

I tried driving the cart myself, but my legs aren't long enough to reach the gas pedal, so I left the driving to the big people.
Tom tries to drive the golf cart

We drove over to the big welcome sign at The Villages. You can see me tucked in the golf clubs at the back of the cart!
Tom at the Villages sign

That's me at the big welcome sign. Can you find me? I'm the small dot to the left of the actual sign!
Tom posing by the sign

Our next stop was the Arnold Palmer Golf Academy, where Bethany and her dad each had a golf lesson. It was Bethany's first lesson, and she had a great time. Tiger Woods, look out!
Bethany and Tom

From there we headed to one of the two "town squares" at The Villages, in Lake Sumter Landing. There is a big gazebo in the center of the square, and they have live music there 7 nights a week.

Tom in the gazebo

Tom in the gazebo

There is also a massive Christmas tree in the town square. There I am with Bethany in front of the tree!
Tom and Bethany by a huge Christmas tree

Near the end of our visit, we were invited to Zed and Irene's house for dinner. I was excited to go, because I knew that Minky would be there, too! He was in a musical mood that night, so we grabbed our instruments and had a jam session. He plays a mean saxophone, and I'm pretty good on the accordion! We entertained the crowd all night long.

I can't wait for my next adventure. I think we may be going back to Costa Rica again soon. I'll keep you updated.