So…I lost my husband. Yep. He took up scuba diving 3 years ago, but the Atlantic Ocean is just too cold…particularly in NH. And even going further south to the Carolinas, still too cold. So he decided to make a run to the Florida Keys to check things out.

That’s when I lost him. He left our mountain top ridge, beautiful in its own right. Built by him from the ground up.

And decided the Keys is his happy place. I’ve never been a huge fan of Florida. I lived there for a while when I was a kid. I’m not a fan of extreme heat or humidity. I’m a New England girl, right down to my bones. But he loved it. And of course, don’t get me wrong. Tropical climate, beautiful palm trees swaying in the breeze–it’s a beautiful get away from the cold, harsh New Hampshire winter.

So off I went for a visit. And it was great. We had so much fun, driving through the different islands–he had found a great little place to stay on Big Pine Key, about 2/3 of the way down the island chain, The Old Wooden Bridge Marina and Cottages. Nice housekeeping cottages, with all the creature comforts for extended stays.

And so began our next chapter. A year later, we purchased a home on Big Pine and he drives down, stays for a month or two at a time in the fall, longer in the winter, and I fly down for a week or so to hang out and pretend I’m retired, too!