Georgia and Florida

 We are on the final stretch of the Reverse Boca Bash.  Our next stop was near Atlanta to meet with Mat and Sheri.  What wonderful people they are. I left the hotel early int eh morning thinking we would get to their place around 3.  That wasn't to happen. First, there was an accident that caused a 45 minute delay.  Fine.  We had lunch.  But then, we hit Atlanta traffic. George says that is a trial for hell.  He is right.  We were again delayed by an hour.  By the time we got out of traffic, It was pushing a 5 pm arrival.  Not to worry.  They were home and greeted us with open arms. 

We had a lovely evening together and just a bit too much talk late into the first night.  The next morning Mat had to work for a bit, but when that was over, we went into town to a lego store near their home.  They had been there for 7 years and never went inside.  It was amazing!  I controlled myself and only left with one box of new things to put together.

We then returned to the house and George crawled under the CNC machine to sign the base of it.  Mat wants to keep the order of ownership on the frame.  He did a great job of painting the wooden stand.  I can't wait to get the first of the puzzles he is making on it.  Coming soon folks, you heard it here first! 

A little while later people started showing up for another puzzle party!  This is the best part of the whole trip. Seeing our friends.  Forget the puzzles.  Well, maybe not, but friends are the best.  

This is exciting.  Quite a few puzzlers from the Atlanta region showed up and great fun was had by all.  Tye brought along a box full of puzzles that I had pre-ordered including the zodiac set that Dan Fast sent quickly to him.  They gave George a beautiful board burr set as a gift and I was given the beehive puzzle.  

At the end of the party Mat also gifted us with a burr set he "ebonized". Everyone there signed it for us.  

The guys brought along a number of puzzles to try and I must say, I failed so miserably at the open lock so I assembled a lego ring to make myself feel better.  I did enjoy the packing puzzles that were brought though.  It's funny how my preference in puzzles has changed over the years. I can say though, I still do not like burrs!

The party was held in Mat's workshop and I have to show a video of it.  Yes, it really is this clean!  

After a few hours Mat and the guys all went upstairs to bbq some meats and Sheri had a great spread on the table.  I discovered a wonderful spreadable cheese just as we are leaving the country (par for the course) and some very nice gluten free crackers.  After a wonderful dinner and much more great conversation everyone started to head out.  

Mat and Sheri stayed up with us to chat a bit longer, but it wasn't a super late night as we had to get up early in the morning for our next stop.  At 8 we said our goodbyes and hit the road. It was wonderful to see them again.

Our next stop was in Central Florida to see Art.  I've purchased a puzzle or two from him in the past and he was on the way home so we decided to stop by.  Now Art doesn't have a large collection, but what he has is very good.  I know there will be a bit of puzzle envy over some of his stuff.    

We didn't get to play much, but we did have a good look and a nice chat.  Later we were joined by his wife for a nice dinner in a  local Thai place.  

Once again it was a visit that was too short. We had to leave so I could get us to a hotel before it got too dark.

The next morning we had a bit of a sleep and then drove on to Jupiter to have lunch with Scarlet and Bill.  Boy have they got a great collection.  Beautifully displayed if I might add (we gave them some book cases and they made good use of them).

Scarlet showed off her 3D printer and showed us a bit of what she was working on.  Bill also showed us his.  They have been great friends and we shall miss them.  Our visit with was short but sweet!  We went to a seafood place and had an amazing lunch.  One of the best on the trip.

Around 3 we left for home.  

One hour later....we arrived back in Boca and unpacked the van.  We managed to do it all in less than 2 hours and got the van back to the rental center before the deadline for additional charges.  

When we looked at the tires, they had wire sticking out all over.  

We got our moneys worth out of this van.  We met 57 puzzlers, picked up over 6500 puzzles (I didn't count, but am just estimating based on the average box count), stayed in 24 hotels, had one credit card compromised, and drove 6268 miles (not nearly as much as I thought.)  It was a great trip that I would do again in a heartbeat.  In fact, we plan to.  Both in Europe in the coming years and in the States when we return for IPP.  this time however, we will do it in the comfort of a Tesla, not a Ford cargo van.