Christmas in Florida - December 22 - 28

Derek arrived safely in Florida on Wednesday, December 23. It was snowing lightly when he left the farm but roads were slippery. He had a short spin out but landed softly against a snow bank. After driving to Uncle Arnold's home, they took him on to Detroit airport through more heavy snowfall. Thankfully, the plane took off on time and landed in sunny Florida without incident. He was happy to be in a warm and sunny place. Though our Canadian dollar is not too strong against the US dollar, the pre-Christmas bargains were good and much of our shopping was done here in Florida. Christmas eve candlelight service at Calvary Baptist Church was a wonderful experience. Very good interpreters helped Derek to be part of the service. On Christmas day, we were all together with the McEvoy family for a traditional turkey dinner preceeded by a swim in the pool! On Boxing day, Jack, Derek and I drove 90 min to Disney in Orlando. Derek had been to many of the venues before so he chose Hollywood for the day. They had a captioning device for his use but it did not work too well - most often he got a book with a manuscript of what was being said and he could follow along. This also involved priority seating - up front and close to the stunt show including fire and water splashes as well as shows with dancing and music. We saw most of the park by nightfall - then the grand finale -"Fantasmic" a show of laser and lights and music and fire most done on a backdrop of curtains of water - impressive as only Disney can do. There was a rear window caption device for Derek so he was a real part of the action.
Derek had shaved his head on December 31, 2007 and had not cut his hair since then. He wanted to see how long it would grow in a year's time. I rather liked the long curls in his neck but the time had come - the day before he was to fly home, he went to the barber and got a good looking haircut - mission accomplished!
On December 28, Derek flew back to Detroit - amidst yet another winter storm with high winds and downed power lines. Uncle Arnold's house was without power and Derek had to sleep under sleeping bags to keep warm. Greg and Tara returned to Oakville the following day - Tara had to squeeze her suitcase shut because it ws so full of all the bargain clothes she had bought in Florida.