Two weeks with Mom and Dad went by in a flash. Yesterday we said goodbye at the airport as they flew off to a cold, wet and foggy Hamburg, Germany. Yes, Florida with a temperature of 79F was a nice vacation for them. They got to experience a trip with Diesel Duck on the ICW from Ft. Lauderdale to Miami with all these irksome opening bridges to manage. On the return trip we motor sailed on the Atlantic in perfect, sunny, no wave weather with a fantastic view of the famous Miami beach which they had visited a couple of days before when the wind was up. Of course they went shopping at Collins Avenue and Lincoln Road in Miami, where they marveled at the hundreds of antique sewing machines that were on display at the "All Saints "store. My dad was working in a US Army POW camp as a sewing machine mechanic after WWII, had repaired many of these Singer machines for them back then. He always says he got more and better food to eat in the US Army POW camp, than as a soldier in the Wehrmacht. We all went on dinghy excursions and Benno and Dad sometimes on their own to explore the many canals, while Mom relaxed with a book. A day trip to the Everglades and along Alligator Alley gave my parents an opportunity to look at the wild Alligators and an understanding of the vast area of the swamplands. This was a nice visit with our family that ended too quickly.