Championship Ring and a trip further south!

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Before I forget, I have to catch up on what we did in May and then I'll head back to the end of our June Colorado trip.... Phew!

Remember the Firefighter Challenge?

Well, I forgot to mention that Scott was part of the firefighter challenge with the firefighters from the United States Air Force Academy at the tail end of his career.  Together with his fellow firefighters they competed in an over 40 Relay in 2020 and WON!  

Scott wants to make sure it's clear that his legendary teammates did all the work and that he was simply riding their coattails with the honor of running the baton through the delineator section.
The cool part was that Scott was talking to one of the organizers from the Firefighter Challenge event this year and she realized that he had never received his personalized World Champion ring!  After almost 4 years, she was finally able to give Scott his ring.  She'd been carrying it around in her RV for so long!  How cool is that story.  It was a sweet surprise!
After the challenge we went south to visit Grandpa Tito and Grandma Roberta!  The first thing they had planned was a little bit of golf with Eli!  
Eli was so focused and was given the chance to putt throughout the course!
The idea of golf is fun and simple and Eli really likes it.  The best part is that Eli knows it takes patience and persistence and he is all in!
After golf we rested poolside at our hotel.  I love it when the pools are outside and way above ground.  This pool was 5 stories high.  Being so far up allowed for the summer breeze to cool us all down!
Later on during our visit we walked around the beautiful city of Coral Gables, also known as "The City Beautiful."  The city is in the middle of Miami but so lush and full of history. 
We walked all over and enjoyed dropping in on some local eateries to try some amazing food.  
There was also some event going on, I think car racing?  The statues were interesting.  ha ha
Eli thought the static display of fancy fast cars was the coolest!
It was getting hot again so we decided to go back up to our pool deck.  What a view!  All the green lush areas is Coral Gables, with downtown Miami dominating the skyline in the background. 
My goodness, you can only imagine how my heart sings when I see these two playing together.  Eli is so good to Enzo.  Enzo trusts Eli.  Eli was able to convince Enzo to put a swim mask on.  He actually kept it on a bit.  What a moment to treasure!
It's fun to catch up with family!  Life is so short and spending time with family is a great way to chill and relax (and with a view)!

We went back out to eat and enjoy an evening stroll through Coral Gables. 
Yes, Eli still did some homeschooling.  The freedom to be able to school anywhere has been one of the biggest blessings ever!  No matter where we are we can learn either from books, computer or our surroundings, learning history and geography!
Since we were so close to the keys we couldn't resist taking a trip to at least the upper keys.  
There once was a time Scott ran the entire stretch of the Florida Keys from Mile 100 to Mile Marker 0!  But not today!  
Instead of running 100 miles, Scott stopped at Denny's Latin Café and got one of the best coladas around!  If you're ever around Key Largo look on the west side of the Overseas Hwy near mile marker 100 or so, and get yourself one!  Even Eli liked it!  
We went to "Made 2 Order" in Tavernier and met up with Chris.  Scott and Chris were roommates almost 3 decades ago and still keep in touch!  I heard such great spearfishing stories and wish we could have stayed to hear more.  
It was great to be in South Florida visiting family and friends.
We seriously have so much fun road tripping!  Next stop - New Smyrna Beach to visit friends!


It was a short trip where we got to hang with one of Scott's closest friends from the Marine Corps.  A friend he has known since the 1980's!  That's some serious friendship and we are so blessed to know Rog, Amy and the whole family.  

I didn't get any pics of their family - we were so busy talking and time flew by!  
Florida is such a long state.  It is beautiful, peaceful and so fun!  It's a great place to hang out with friends old and new!  

Never been to Florida?  Contact us and let's get together soon!







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