Running out of Juice...

Yes, I only have a few minutes of battery power left on my laptop, but I've got the internet!

A summary:

Left for Jacksonville on the 2nd to stay with Erin Whitford, a friend from college. It rained so I got lots of things knocked off the To-Do list other than tennis.
Left for Dade City to pick up an eBay purchase, a roof rack, then straight to the tournament site from there to make the 4-6pm sign in.
Met a player that let us stay at his place for the night in at U. of South Florida.
Missed playing in the tourney by 1 spot. I was drawn as the 2nd alternate, and the first made it in. There were quite a few alternates drawn, so being the 2nd was pretty good. Oh well, we camped out in the van in Clearwater for the next two nights, then headed further south on 75 on Sunday. We stopped in Bradenton to see the world famous Bollettieri Tennis Academy, then practiced on my ball machine at a public court. Andy kept me going by picking up balls as I hit and worked the stopwatch for the sprints.

Next stop, Sanibel Island to visit my Grandparents. We got in last night. This is where we are now. It has been 10 years since I visited here last, and the same was true for a surprise cousin that was there. David, my Dad's brother's son, who is 2 years older than me, is here. We played tennis this morning... he's still hitting the ball pretty well, especially for not hitting in so long. We went to the famous Mucky Duck for lunch. It'll be back out to the courts shortly...

Signing off...

- Nate