Our friends, Sue and Rob Linehan, introduced us to Friendship Force (FF) about a year ago. The Southwest Florida Group is made up of ~100 members who are predominately located in Fort Myers, a 30-minute drive from our town of Punta Gorda. FF formed in the mid 1970's by US President Jimmy Carter who wanted to promote world peace and understanding. Today approximately 60 world countries on 6 different continents are involved with the group. The group promotes world understanding by welcoming FF members into their home to experience firsthand how they live. This is called a "home exchange (AKA home stay)." In our case, we joined a group from Charlotte, N.C. who were going to Australia. Our first home stay location is Casterton in the Aust state of Victoria followed by a homestay in the Tweed Valley on the Gold Coast for the second week.
After our rousing welcome, we were guests of honor at a dinner at their local hospital. We were touched when they presented us with an Australian flag and other gifts.
Our home hosts, Janet and Bruce Cross, are prominent in their community. Bruce is the Mayor of the Shire of Glenelg and has many responsibilities for the roads and community service organizations. They renovated a property close to town into a Bed & Breakfast, where we are staying.
The past few days have been a whirlwind of activities. Some of the highlights have been visiting the Carmichael Sheep Farm where we were guests at a tea, touring the local vineyards that are famous for their red wines, visiting the town of Penola (home of Australia's first saint), and having dinner at the Pub in the Shrub!
Richard will be posting pictures soon. Some Pictures from trip to Penola in state of South Ausltralia. More to come.
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