Mar 20th - Fri - Bowie
It takes a long time to catch up on 45 years but we continued trying to do so this morning while I did a couple more loads of laundry. Then Theresa took Terry & I to town to see her store (Heartland). It is wonderful with a great mix of candles, purses & wallets, house wares, greeting cards, decorative home items, soaps & lotions, etc. We went to a small Italian restaurant for a good lunch, picked up one grocery item and headed home. Leftovers for dinner so Theresa didn’t have to work so hard!!
Theresa’s brother Bob (and Terry’s cousin of course!) drove today with his daughter Renee from Denver, Colorado. They stopped in Wichita Falls TX to pick up Theresa & Bob’s mother Millie who is Ella Mae’s (Terry’s Mom) sister-in-law. Got that??
They didn’t arrive until after 8 and then there was another round of reminiscing.
Theresa & Tom have 2 cow dogs that do not like small animals such as cats and Dolly so I have to be really careful when I take her outside. I tell the dogs to go back to the house and Dolly really gives them heck.
Mar 21st - Sat - Bowie
I baked quick Danish biscuits for breakfast today and we chatted the morning away. After lunch, we got out the Skip Bo cards so Theresa could teach Terry, me and Renee how to play. It is a fun game that we will be adding to our game cabinet.
Even though we were all full from a good spaghetti dinner, I made Blackberry Dumplings for dessert which everyone enjoyed.
The wind continued today. I could not live where there is so much wind.
Mar 22nd - Sun - Bowie
The “girls” (me, Theresa, Millie & Renee) went shopping today. First we stopped by Theresa’s shop and each bought a few items. Then we went to WalMart to get some spring blouses for Millie. Of course, Renee & I found a couple of items also. Bob was having a problem with his car so Terry drove him to town for a water pump and Tom was working up some ground to plant more sprigs.
Spent the rest of the afternoon sitting at the side of the house out of the wind and enjoying the sun. Dinner, TV, pictures on the computer and watching a cow starting to have a calf filled the remainder of the evening.
Mar 23rd - Mon - to Big Spring TX
The wind was very strong & gusty all last night, rocking the 5th wheel and causing Terry & I to get very little sleep. We packed & hooked up and went for a last cup of coffee with the relatives. After hugs all around, we were on the road just before 9.
Our route took us south & west. The wind was mainly from the south so we bucked a head wind but that feels better than getting rocked by a broadside wind. We originally planned to stop in Abilene but Terry wanted to get a bit further west to get out of the front which was moving east and causing the wind.
We are at the Texas RV Park in a HUGE drive-thru site - must be 90 feet long. There are 4 foot solid wood fences between the drive-thru sites so they buffer the decreasing wind. In fact, I would call it a breeze now.
We angled SW to Hwy I20 when we left Bowie so we would miss Ft Worth traffic. Good roads. We passed quite a few large horse ranches with lovely (expensive!) fences and impressive entry gates. Also many herds of goats. Cheese? Meat? Lawn mowers? From Sweetwater to here are lots of wind turbines.
Mar 24th - Tues - Big Spring
Spent quite a bit of time on the computer last night trying to get connected to the internet until we finally realized that we must be in an area without broadband service which means phones but no internet.
Took our time getting going this morning and then went looking for a liquor store and a library. The county where Theresa lives is dry so we shared our alcohol store with everyone and needed to replenish. Reasonable prices at the liquor store and then on to the library where we found that the wifi connection is though the same company as here at the park for $9.95 for 24 hours - we passed on that offer. WalMart for some groceries, topped up on diesel ($2.11) and headed back to the park.
After lunch our neighbor came over to share some information about Big Bend National Park which is where we are going next. Spent a nice, lazy afternoon with a little exploring, cleaning up the truck and just relaxing.
Mar 25th - Wed - Big Bend National Park
Just a quick entry, will do the rest later. We have sit on the office porch to get wifi so will just post my blog and complete & post this later. Also do not have cell phone service so don't be worried if you try to call us in the next few days.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Mar 17th to 19th - Lake Whitney to Bowie TX
Mar 17th - Tues - Lake Whitney
A couple that parked next to us in San Antonio had told us about a bakery in West with “the best” cinnamon rolls. We had actually gone through West on the way to Whitney. So we had to take a drive to get breakfast at the bakery. They have many varieties of rolls - I stuck with cinnamon/raisin and Terry had raspberry/cream cheese. We should have just split one roll! They were large and DELICIOUS! Well worth the drive. Also had to try the kulachi (another type of dough with sweet or meat filling) so we got a ground sausage and a pecan/cream cheese to go.
Stopped at a car wash and got diesel before taking a different route on the way back to go around Lake Whitney - nice lake and scenery. At the service station, the guy filling up beside us was from Spokane. He said he was also staying at Lake Whitney and Terry assumed at the same park as us. He wasn’t there so we drove to the state park to see if we could find him. We could not get in to look for him without paying the $3 each entry fee. Since we weren’t even sure if he was there, we didn’t go in.
We checked to see if anyone was catching anything in the indoor fishing area - very slow. We were sitting outside and Terry decided that the 5th wheel needed some cleaning. So we took a bucket and some cloths and cleaned it as far up as we could reach which was fine as the top was not dirty.
Barbequed dinner and had a quiet evening.
Mar 18th - Wed - to Bowie TX
We tried not to leave too early this morning as we didn’t want to hit rush hour traffic going through Ft. Worth on our way to Bowie which is north west of Ft. Worth. (The pecan kulachi was great for my breakfast!) Terry has a cousin (Theresa & husband Tom) who lives there and whom he had not seen since they were kids. We have been exchanging infrequent emails for about a year and trying to figure out if a visit would work into our route - and here we are.
We arrived about 1:00 and immediately started catching up on the last 45 years with Theresa. Theresa & Tom live on a cattle ranch, have another ranch in Oklahoma, Tom works as a pipe fitter and Theresa has a gift & antique store in Bowie. We took a break from chatting to set up our 5th wheel on their front lawn.
Theresa had told us that she would be making us dinner so I could just kick back.
Before we knew it, it was 10 o’clock and time to let them get to bed as Tom heads to work at 5:30.
Mar 19th - Thurs - Bowie
We finally wandered over to Theresa’s house about 10 and took along some laundry to take advantage of her offer to use the laundry facilities. We drank coffee, chatted, did laundry, watched the “hours old” calf in a field right by the house and had lunch before Theresa took us on a tour of the ranch on her 4 wheeler. They grow Bermuda grass for pasture and hay. They recently bought equipment to harvest & plant “sprigs”. The “sprig digger” is pulled over an established Bermuda grass field, digs up grass roots and throws them into a wagon. The ‘sprigger” then plants the roots in a bare or partially bare field. With a little rain (much needed in a lot of Texas), the newly planted field can be used for pasture within a few months.
Terry & I made a quick trip into Bowie to WalMart for a few items and then spent a couple of hours on the computer showing Theresa photos and jokes. She uses dial up for the internet so I put some jokes & pictures on a CD and loaded them on her computer. When Tom got home from work and then got back from clearing some land, we had him in tears laughing at some of the jokes.
Theresa cooked a great dinner for us again and we “thanked“ her by showing Alaska pictures until their eyes crossed!
A couple that parked next to us in San Antonio had told us about a bakery in West with “the best” cinnamon rolls. We had actually gone through West on the way to Whitney. So we had to take a drive to get breakfast at the bakery. They have many varieties of rolls - I stuck with cinnamon/raisin and Terry had raspberry/cream cheese. We should have just split one roll! They were large and DELICIOUS! Well worth the drive. Also had to try the kulachi (another type of dough with sweet or meat filling) so we got a ground sausage and a pecan/cream cheese to go.
Stopped at a car wash and got diesel before taking a different route on the way back to go around Lake Whitney - nice lake and scenery. At the service station, the guy filling up beside us was from Spokane. He said he was also staying at Lake Whitney and Terry assumed at the same park as us. He wasn’t there so we drove to the state park to see if we could find him. We could not get in to look for him without paying the $3 each entry fee. Since we weren’t even sure if he was there, we didn’t go in.
We checked to see if anyone was catching anything in the indoor fishing area - very slow. We were sitting outside and Terry decided that the 5th wheel needed some cleaning. So we took a bucket and some cloths and cleaned it as far up as we could reach which was fine as the top was not dirty.
Barbequed dinner and had a quiet evening.
Mar 18th - Wed - to Bowie TX
We tried not to leave too early this morning as we didn’t want to hit rush hour traffic going through Ft. Worth on our way to Bowie which is north west of Ft. Worth. (The pecan kulachi was great for my breakfast!) Terry has a cousin (Theresa & husband Tom) who lives there and whom he had not seen since they were kids. We have been exchanging infrequent emails for about a year and trying to figure out if a visit would work into our route - and here we are.
We arrived about 1:00 and immediately started catching up on the last 45 years with Theresa. Theresa & Tom live on a cattle ranch, have another ranch in Oklahoma, Tom works as a pipe fitter and Theresa has a gift & antique store in Bowie. We took a break from chatting to set up our 5th wheel on their front lawn.
Theresa had told us that she would be making us dinner so I could just kick back.
Before we knew it, it was 10 o’clock and time to let them get to bed as Tom heads to work at 5:30.
Mar 19th - Thurs - Bowie
We finally wandered over to Theresa’s house about 10 and took along some laundry to take advantage of her offer to use the laundry facilities. We drank coffee, chatted, did laundry, watched the “hours old” calf in a field right by the house and had lunch before Theresa took us on a tour of the ranch on her 4 wheeler. They grow Bermuda grass for pasture and hay. They recently bought equipment to harvest & plant “sprigs”. The “sprig digger” is pulled over an established Bermuda grass field, digs up grass roots and throws them into a wagon. The ‘sprigger” then plants the roots in a bare or partially bare field. With a little rain (much needed in a lot of Texas), the newly planted field can be used for pasture within a few months.
Terry & I made a quick trip into Bowie to WalMart for a few items and then spent a couple of hours on the computer showing Theresa photos and jokes. She uses dial up for the internet so I put some jokes & pictures on a CD and loaded them on her computer. When Tom got home from work and then got back from clearing some land, we had him in tears laughing at some of the jokes.
Theresa cooked a great dinner for us again and we “thanked“ her by showing Alaska pictures until their eyes crossed!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Mar 14th to 16th - San Antonio to Whitney TX
Mar 14th - Sat - San Antonio
Still cool & drizzly but we figured we better go downtown anyhow. We found a parking garage and walked to the Buckhorn Restaurant and Museum which I had seen in a brochure. There is also a Texas Ranger Museum so we got a combo ticket and spent about 1 ½ hours going through them & the gift store. The Texas Ranger museum is a little dry with a lot of reading necessary. It included Bonnie & Clyde’s car with all the bullet holes from their final showdown with police & rangers. The Buckhorn museum is an amazing collection of all sorts of things - stuffed animals (American, African & others), stuffed bird & fish displays, saddles & other tack, spurs, chairs made from horns & hides, historical dioramas, bronze busts, “old West” rooms (jail, bar, etc), oddities (2 headed calf, antler anomalies) and other bits & pieces to numerous to mention.
We went next to the RiverWalk which is very nice. The city has built bulkheads along the river with pathways on both sides. A man-made canal was added to extend a sharp turn in the river into a complete loop. You go down steps from the street level to the RiverWalk and there are multiple foot bridges over the river as well as car bridges which are also accessible by stairs. We took a half hour boat tour for an overview and some history. It was drizzling a bit when we started but not enough to ruin the tour.
Headed back early as Louise had invited us and another couple over for dinner. We met Ron & Gail when we were in Sarasota for New Years.
Had a great dinner and then went to “Casino Night” in the park. They gave everyone a dish of 50 chips and 5 tickets which you could deposit in bags for your choice of 5 gifts in a drawing. You then gambled (21, poker, horse racing) and bought more tickets with your winnings. You could also buy these tickets and tickets for a $250 credit card. The first ticket drawn was for an MP3 player and Terry won it!! Guess who gets to figure out how to load music on it?!
Mar 15th - Sun - San Antonio
We went back to downtown San Antonio this morning. I tried to talk Terry into taking the bus that stops right in front of the park but when it was at least 15 minutes late we both said “to heck with it” and took the truck again. We parked near the Alamo historic site, saw a line again and went to the RiverWalk via a large shopping mall. We found a restaurant serving a buffet brunch and had a lovely meal sitting outside on the second floor balcony of the restaurant. Handy since the buffet was served on the second floor!
We were wandering along the RiverWalk when a small parade of boats/barges went by in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. There was a band, a bagpipe group, 2 groups of young girls dancing Irish dances and a couple of rag-tag groups which were both dragging bags of green dye in the river. On the way back to the truck, we finally got into the Alamo grounds. I am not a huge history buff and was not impressed with this attraction. Might have been more interesting if we had waited in the line to enter a building that we never did know what was in there - possibly a film?We went for a bike ride on a biking/walking trail that follows the river for several miles. It goes to a mission not far from the park but we did not find it before we were ready to turn around and check the trail out the other way from the park. There were quite a few “ups & downs” that wore both of us out.
Mar 16th - Mon - to Lake Whitney TX
We said farewell to Doug & Louise this morning. Our just over 4 hour trip turned into 4 ½ hours as an accident on the freeway caused us to sit for ½ hour waiting for it to clear and then for the traffic to get moving. We listened to the CB and truckers were saying the back up was 7 miles long.
We are at the Lake Whitney Marina & RV Park - PA park northeast of Waco. Nice quiet park but Terry is out right now (8:15 pm) trying to figure out why we have no water. The only faucet that we found was on the side of a mobile home beside us and we did have water earlier. He just came back and we have water from another tap that he found somewhere.
The marina has an indoor fishing area where you can fish for free when you stay in the RV park. We walked down to watch for a while and chatted with a couple from a nearby town who leave a trailer here for weekend use. Only a couple of keeper perch were caught - we may try it out tomorrow.
We went for a walk around the rest of the park which is spread out over a large area. Lovely weather! Sunny and warm.
Still cool & drizzly but we figured we better go downtown anyhow. We found a parking garage and walked to the Buckhorn Restaurant and Museum which I had seen in a brochure. There is also a Texas Ranger Museum so we got a combo ticket and spent about 1 ½ hours going through them & the gift store. The Texas Ranger museum is a little dry with a lot of reading necessary. It included Bonnie & Clyde’s car with all the bullet holes from their final showdown with police & rangers. The Buckhorn museum is an amazing collection of all sorts of things - stuffed animals (American, African & others), stuffed bird & fish displays, saddles & other tack, spurs, chairs made from horns & hides, historical dioramas, bronze busts, “old West” rooms (jail, bar, etc), oddities (2 headed calf, antler anomalies) and other bits & pieces to numerous to mention.
We went next to the RiverWalk which is very nice. The city has built bulkheads along the river with pathways on both sides. A man-made canal was added to extend a sharp turn in the river into a complete loop. You go down steps from the street level to the RiverWalk and there are multiple foot bridges over the river as well as car bridges which are also accessible by stairs. We took a half hour boat tour for an overview and some history. It was drizzling a bit when we started but not enough to ruin the tour.
Headed back early as Louise had invited us and another couple over for dinner. We met Ron & Gail when we were in Sarasota for New Years.
Had a great dinner and then went to “Casino Night” in the park. They gave everyone a dish of 50 chips and 5 tickets which you could deposit in bags for your choice of 5 gifts in a drawing. You then gambled (21, poker, horse racing) and bought more tickets with your winnings. You could also buy these tickets and tickets for a $250 credit card. The first ticket drawn was for an MP3 player and Terry won it!! Guess who gets to figure out how to load music on it?!
Mar 15th - Sun - San Antonio
We went back to downtown San Antonio this morning. I tried to talk Terry into taking the bus that stops right in front of the park but when it was at least 15 minutes late we both said “to heck with it” and took the truck again. We parked near the Alamo historic site, saw a line again and went to the RiverWalk via a large shopping mall. We found a restaurant serving a buffet brunch and had a lovely meal sitting outside on the second floor balcony of the restaurant. Handy since the buffet was served on the second floor!
We were wandering along the RiverWalk when a small parade of boats/barges went by in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. There was a band, a bagpipe group, 2 groups of young girls dancing Irish dances and a couple of rag-tag groups which were both dragging bags of green dye in the river. On the way back to the truck, we finally got into the Alamo grounds. I am not a huge history buff and was not impressed with this attraction. Might have been more interesting if we had waited in the line to enter a building that we never did know what was in there - possibly a film?We went for a bike ride on a biking/walking trail that follows the river for several miles. It goes to a mission not far from the park but we did not find it before we were ready to turn around and check the trail out the other way from the park. There were quite a few “ups & downs” that wore both of us out.
Mar 16th - Mon - to Lake Whitney TX
We said farewell to Doug & Louise this morning. Our just over 4 hour trip turned into 4 ½ hours as an accident on the freeway caused us to sit for ½ hour waiting for it to clear and then for the traffic to get moving. We listened to the CB and truckers were saying the back up was 7 miles long.
We are at the Lake Whitney Marina & RV Park - PA park northeast of Waco. Nice quiet park but Terry is out right now (8:15 pm) trying to figure out why we have no water. The only faucet that we found was on the side of a mobile home beside us and we did have water earlier. He just came back and we have water from another tap that he found somewhere.
The marina has an indoor fishing area where you can fish for free when you stay in the RV park. We walked down to watch for a while and chatted with a couple from a nearby town who leave a trailer here for weekend use. Only a couple of keeper perch were caught - we may try it out tomorrow.
We went for a walk around the rest of the park which is spread out over a large area. Lovely weather! Sunny and warm.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Mar 10th to 13th - San Benito to San Antonio
Mar 10th - Tues - San Benito
We went for a drive south and east today - through Brownsville to South Padre Island. We were warned that there might be lots of traffic because of kids on spring break but things were pretty quiet. We walked out to the beach - not many people there but it was very windy and not a great beach day.
We had lunch and headed back. We chatted with Glen & Bonnie while I was putting some bread pudding in the oven and I invited them over later for dessert. I also made a vanilla sauce (recipes from the internet) and I think it turned out great.
Mar 11th - Wed - San Benito
Glen & Bonnie headed for home (Louisiana) this morning - the park is really emptying out. I did a couple of loads of laundry while Terry washed the truck & the 5th wheel. I made breakfast for lunch and then we went to the pool for a while. The wind let up a bit today but there was enough to make you feel cool when you got out of the pool even though it was probably in the low 80’s.
Mar 12th - Thurs - to San Antonio TX
Lots of empty highway - empty of traffic and anything interesting to look at - on the 4 ½ hour trip to San Antonio today. We took a highway (281) that paralleled the one (77) that we took down. We found out from Glen when we in San Benito that the 60 mile stretch on Hwy 77 without a service station was one side of the famed King Ranch.
After setting up and having a late lunch, I dealt with too many emails and then we went out for diesel and groceries - story of our life! The people that we met in Sarasota for New Years (Doug & Louise) are in this park and went to the office before we arrived to arrange for us to have a spot near them. They were busy today so we will see them during the remaining 3 days that we are staying here.
A cold front came through and the temperature dropped a lot last night and stayed cool, rainy and breezy today. The River Walk is a huge “must see” in San Antonio so I hope the weather improves so we can enjoy it.
Mar 13th - Fri - San Antonio
Doug & Louise came over for coffee and banana bread that I baked yesterday. Since the weather was cold and rainy, they were doing laundry & cleaning so we headed for a flea market. It was a disappointment since more than half of the stalls are only open on Sat & Sun. Since we were north of town, we continued on to find a Costco, grazed our way through the food demos, had a hot dog and came back. Terry fixed the cord on our plug-in cooler while I worked on the computer.
We joined Doug & Louise for happy hour and “suddenly” it was 8 and we hadn’t had dinner. So we all walked across the road to a Mexican restaurant where we had fajitas for a very reasonable price. Back to Doug & Louise’s MH for a nightcap.
We went for a drive south and east today - through Brownsville to South Padre Island. We were warned that there might be lots of traffic because of kids on spring break but things were pretty quiet. We walked out to the beach - not many people there but it was very windy and not a great beach day.
We had lunch and headed back. We chatted with Glen & Bonnie while I was putting some bread pudding in the oven and I invited them over later for dessert. I also made a vanilla sauce (recipes from the internet) and I think it turned out great.
Mar 11th - Wed - San Benito
Glen & Bonnie headed for home (Louisiana) this morning - the park is really emptying out. I did a couple of loads of laundry while Terry washed the truck & the 5th wheel. I made breakfast for lunch and then we went to the pool for a while. The wind let up a bit today but there was enough to make you feel cool when you got out of the pool even though it was probably in the low 80’s.
Mar 12th - Thurs - to San Antonio TX
Lots of empty highway - empty of traffic and anything interesting to look at - on the 4 ½ hour trip to San Antonio today. We took a highway (281) that paralleled the one (77) that we took down. We found out from Glen when we in San Benito that the 60 mile stretch on Hwy 77 without a service station was one side of the famed King Ranch.
After setting up and having a late lunch, I dealt with too many emails and then we went out for diesel and groceries - story of our life! The people that we met in Sarasota for New Years (Doug & Louise) are in this park and went to the office before we arrived to arrange for us to have a spot near them. They were busy today so we will see them during the remaining 3 days that we are staying here.
A cold front came through and the temperature dropped a lot last night and stayed cool, rainy and breezy today. The River Walk is a huge “must see” in San Antonio so I hope the weather improves so we can enjoy it.
Mar 13th - Fri - San Antonio
Doug & Louise came over for coffee and banana bread that I baked yesterday. Since the weather was cold and rainy, they were doing laundry & cleaning so we headed for a flea market. It was a disappointment since more than half of the stalls are only open on Sat & Sun. Since we were north of town, we continued on to find a Costco, grazed our way through the food demos, had a hot dog and came back. Terry fixed the cord on our plug-in cooler while I worked on the computer.
We joined Doug & Louise for happy hour and “suddenly” it was 8 and we hadn’t had dinner. So we all walked across the road to a Mexican restaurant where we had fajitas for a very reasonable price. Back to Doug & Louise’s MH for a nightcap.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Mar 7th to 9th - San Benito TX
Mar 7th - Sat - San Benito
We headed out this morning to Mission to go to a lunch & comedy/music show. It actually didn’t start until 12:30 but we wanted to try to find Bob & Karen from Chewelah who had camped across from us in Foley. Karen had emailed us with the name of the park in Alamo where they were going to stay but we weren’t sure when they were arriving. When we drove into the park, a sign on the office said they were closed on the weekend so we just started driving up and down the roads and finally found them. We had a nice chat with them and carried on.
Our destination, The Chicken House Opry, was 6 miles off Hwy 83 and Terry was sure we were not on the right road as it got pretty trashy with graffiti on any paintable surface. But we found it and were parked behind a large, metal building. In front was another building with a semi-enclosed area serving lunch - BBQ beef sandwich, beans, pickles & a drink - for $5 for both of us. Tickets for the show were $20 per couple and included a CD (which we have not played) for the first 100 couples.
There were comfortable theater seats in the building, a rustic stage and a curtain made out of mismatched blankets. The show was very enjoyable. Apparently the “cast” was rehearsing and moves to Branson MO in April to start doing a show there. There were corny jokes, better jokes, skits, a comedian and many good singers. The drive was just over 40 miles each way but it was definitely worth it.
We stopped at a grocery store on the way home and by the time I put away groceries and meat, we had a late dinner.
Getting to places beside the freeway can be very frustrating. When you see a store and take the next exit, you are generally past the store and on a one-way frontage road which does not allow you to get back to the store. You have to go to the next exit, turn under the freeway, drive along the one-way frontage road on the other side until you are one exit past where you exited, turn under the freeway again and access the store from the frontage road. You basically have to know & take the exit before you see the store.
Mar 8th - Sun - San Benito
I looked after email and we chatted with our neighbors before leaving to check out a flea market. It was OK but smaller than we were used to in Ft Lauderdale & Naples. I wanted one food item so we tried without luck to find a smaller grocery store. Finally I said “forget it” and we came home for a late lunch.
We figured it was time to refill our buddy burners so I cut one of our large candles and started melting wax. Terry started to cut the remaining piece and I said “if you break my knife I’ll have to kill you and if you cut off a finger I’ll have to kill you”. The words were not all out of my mouth when the knife went right through the candle and, of course, he cut his finger. Actually, 2 fingers! One badly but didn’t require stitches. He kept pressure on until the bleeding finally stopped and a couple of tight bandaids fixed him up.
Glen & Bonnie came out so we had to tell them all about buddy burners - Bonnie figures she needs to make one. By the time we had all the burners filled, it was time to fix dinner and shut down for the evening.
Mar 9th - Mon - San Benito
Did some chores this morning and then joined Glen & Bonnie to go to Mexico. There are safety concerns in the border Mexican towns right now but Progreso is considered safe so that is where we went. There are lots of armed police right at the border crossing and in the streets.
We parked in a large lot and walked across. It costs 25 cents in a turnstile to get into Mexico and 30 cents to get out. We wandered along quite a long street of stores and sidewalk vendors, entering a few stores and heading for a restaurant & bar frequented by Glen’s cousin and her husband and friends who joined us. We enjoyed a few margaritas and snacks and then all headed back. Bought a few items on the way back so we didn’t have to carry them the whole time. There was a short line through customs, another line to pay duty on liquor and then we all stopped for an ice cream cone on the US side.
Still windy and hot so we watched TV and snoozed before making dinner. Glen & Bonnie came over and we had no problem visiting until 10. I have a hard time with the daylight savings time change and am not ready to sleep at night - will be happy when my body gets adjusted
We headed out this morning to Mission to go to a lunch & comedy/music show. It actually didn’t start until 12:30 but we wanted to try to find Bob & Karen from Chewelah who had camped across from us in Foley. Karen had emailed us with the name of the park in Alamo where they were going to stay but we weren’t sure when they were arriving. When we drove into the park, a sign on the office said they were closed on the weekend so we just started driving up and down the roads and finally found them. We had a nice chat with them and carried on.
Our destination, The Chicken House Opry, was 6 miles off Hwy 83 and Terry was sure we were not on the right road as it got pretty trashy with graffiti on any paintable surface. But we found it and were parked behind a large, metal building. In front was another building with a semi-enclosed area serving lunch - BBQ beef sandwich, beans, pickles & a drink - for $5 for both of us. Tickets for the show were $20 per couple and included a CD (which we have not played) for the first 100 couples.
There were comfortable theater seats in the building, a rustic stage and a curtain made out of mismatched blankets. The show was very enjoyable. Apparently the “cast” was rehearsing and moves to Branson MO in April to start doing a show there. There were corny jokes, better jokes, skits, a comedian and many good singers. The drive was just over 40 miles each way but it was definitely worth it.
We stopped at a grocery store on the way home and by the time I put away groceries and meat, we had a late dinner.
Getting to places beside the freeway can be very frustrating. When you see a store and take the next exit, you are generally past the store and on a one-way frontage road which does not allow you to get back to the store. You have to go to the next exit, turn under the freeway, drive along the one-way frontage road on the other side until you are one exit past where you exited, turn under the freeway again and access the store from the frontage road. You basically have to know & take the exit before you see the store.
Mar 8th - Sun - San Benito
I looked after email and we chatted with our neighbors before leaving to check out a flea market. It was OK but smaller than we were used to in Ft Lauderdale & Naples. I wanted one food item so we tried without luck to find a smaller grocery store. Finally I said “forget it” and we came home for a late lunch.
We figured it was time to refill our buddy burners so I cut one of our large candles and started melting wax. Terry started to cut the remaining piece and I said “if you break my knife I’ll have to kill you and if you cut off a finger I’ll have to kill you”. The words were not all out of my mouth when the knife went right through the candle and, of course, he cut his finger. Actually, 2 fingers! One badly but didn’t require stitches. He kept pressure on until the bleeding finally stopped and a couple of tight bandaids fixed him up.
Glen & Bonnie came out so we had to tell them all about buddy burners - Bonnie figures she needs to make one. By the time we had all the burners filled, it was time to fix dinner and shut down for the evening.
Mar 9th - Mon - San Benito
Did some chores this morning and then joined Glen & Bonnie to go to Mexico. There are safety concerns in the border Mexican towns right now but Progreso is considered safe so that is where we went. There are lots of armed police right at the border crossing and in the streets.
We parked in a large lot and walked across. It costs 25 cents in a turnstile to get into Mexico and 30 cents to get out. We wandered along quite a long street of stores and sidewalk vendors, entering a few stores and heading for a restaurant & bar frequented by Glen’s cousin and her husband and friends who joined us. We enjoyed a few margaritas and snacks and then all headed back. Bought a few items on the way back so we didn’t have to carry them the whole time. There was a short line through customs, another line to pay duty on liquor and then we all stopped for an ice cream cone on the US side.
Still windy and hot so we watched TV and snoozed before making dinner. Glen & Bonnie came over and we had no problem visiting until 10. I have a hard time with the daylight savings time change and am not ready to sleep at night - will be happy when my body gets adjusted
Friday, March 06, 2009
Mar 3rd to 6th - Rockport & San Benito TX
Mar 3rd - Tues - to Rockport TX
The RV park in Beaumont had a continental breakfast for campers so we joined Billy & Lauri before we all headed out. There were make-it-yourself waffles in the shape of Texas, bagels & cream cheese, cereal, fruit, orange juice & coffee. Nice way to start the day.
We didn’t have a definite destination in mind so I browsed through books and finally made a reservation for a couple of nights at a PA park (Circle W) in Rockport. It is not a great park with mostly long term residents but it will do for 2 nights. We unloaded the bikes and rode around the park before sitting and enjoying the sun for a while. It was windy and cooled down the minute the sun went behind trees so we moved inside, had dinner and relaxed with TV and a book for me.
The highway goes right through Houston which is a very large city. There were as many as 7 lanes of traffic so we were again very happy to have Wanda doing an excellent job of navigation. We later drove past many huge, flat, planted fields that we finally figured out were cotton.
Mar 4th - Wed - Rockport TX
Terry got in a cleaning and organizing mood this morning and attacked the storage box in his truck. He ended up with some space so he moved his heavy fishing tackle box from the front storage of the 5th wheel into the truck. Then we decided that we could move a few items and also move the heavy generator from the same storage compartment into the truck. Since fishing poles were going under the bed, I finally persuaded Terry to toss some slacks that we have been packing around the whole time and have never been worn. Now we have to find a Goodwill to get rid of the clothes.
I made a nice big breakfast (for lunch!) and then we took a drive. We made a loop down to Corpus Christi, drove past some lovely big homes on the water, went across to Padre Island, drove north on Mustang Island, drove on the beach, took a free 5 minute or less ferry ride back to Aransas Pass and then north back to the park.
We had seen a sign advertising T-bone steak for $3.99/lb so had to stop and get some for dinner. It was pretty windy to barbeque but Terry moved the barbeque around and cooked a nice dinner.
Mar 5th - Thurs - to San Benito TX
Another “just over 3 hour” drive today to the southern tip of Texas. There is one section with no service stations for 60 miles that is very “nothing”. Also lots more cotton fields, quite a few cattle and very flat.
The lady in the RV park office had just left for lunch when we arrived so I made a sandwich for us while we waited for her to return and check us in. Sunny & hot but lots of wind. We requested a parking spot that Terry thought might shelter the door side from the wind - helps only a bit. After setting up and visiting with the next door neighbors (Glen & Bonnie), we went for a drive in nearby Harlingen which is quite a large city. Happened upon a Big Lots store where Terry finally found a kettle to melt wax for our buddy burners. I have used my double boiler in the past but I am tired of cleaning it afterwards.
After dinner we went to the clubhouse to play Card Bingo which we had first played in Mexico Beach. Terry & I each started with 10 quarters (use 1 each game) and then he pulled out a dollar to buy more quarters. He was going to change more than a dollar but I suggested he wait since one of us was going to win and sure enough, after using the 4 quarters, Terry won a game and then won another one so we ended up with 2 more dollars than we started with. Good thing since the laundry is piling up!
Mar 6th - Fri - San Benito
Had to wait for washers to free up but got the laundry done this morning after visiting with Glen & Bonnie again. Very warm but still windy so we went driving again. Stopped at an info center to get a local map and other brochures, found a St Vincent de Paul to drop off the clothes and it turned out to be closed and drove a short way down the freeway to San Benito which was an uninspiring small town. We turned at a road to turn around to get back to the freeway and there just happened to be a clothing donation box on the corner of a service station. Got diesel at $1.94 and then discovered we could have paid $1.89.
We sat and chatted with Glen & Bonnie again. I was going to make hamburgers for an early dinner until I discovered that I didn’t have any hamburger in the freezer. Glen & Bonnie were going out for dinner so we joined them to go to a barbeque place.
Then they were very brave and accepted an invitation for coffee and pictures. They left about a half hour ago after their eyes crossed from all the pictures!! They are from northern Louisiana and have the lovely drawl to prove it.
The RV park in Beaumont had a continental breakfast for campers so we joined Billy & Lauri before we all headed out. There were make-it-yourself waffles in the shape of Texas, bagels & cream cheese, cereal, fruit, orange juice & coffee. Nice way to start the day.
We didn’t have a definite destination in mind so I browsed through books and finally made a reservation for a couple of nights at a PA park (Circle W) in Rockport. It is not a great park with mostly long term residents but it will do for 2 nights. We unloaded the bikes and rode around the park before sitting and enjoying the sun for a while. It was windy and cooled down the minute the sun went behind trees so we moved inside, had dinner and relaxed with TV and a book for me.
The highway goes right through Houston which is a very large city. There were as many as 7 lanes of traffic so we were again very happy to have Wanda doing an excellent job of navigation. We later drove past many huge, flat, planted fields that we finally figured out were cotton.
Mar 4th - Wed - Rockport TX
Terry got in a cleaning and organizing mood this morning and attacked the storage box in his truck. He ended up with some space so he moved his heavy fishing tackle box from the front storage of the 5th wheel into the truck. Then we decided that we could move a few items and also move the heavy generator from the same storage compartment into the truck. Since fishing poles were going under the bed, I finally persuaded Terry to toss some slacks that we have been packing around the whole time and have never been worn. Now we have to find a Goodwill to get rid of the clothes.
I made a nice big breakfast (for lunch!) and then we took a drive. We made a loop down to Corpus Christi, drove past some lovely big homes on the water, went across to Padre Island, drove north on Mustang Island, drove on the beach, took a free 5 minute or less ferry ride back to Aransas Pass and then north back to the park.
We had seen a sign advertising T-bone steak for $3.99/lb so had to stop and get some for dinner. It was pretty windy to barbeque but Terry moved the barbeque around and cooked a nice dinner.
Mar 5th - Thurs - to San Benito TX
Another “just over 3 hour” drive today to the southern tip of Texas. There is one section with no service stations for 60 miles that is very “nothing”. Also lots more cotton fields, quite a few cattle and very flat.
The lady in the RV park office had just left for lunch when we arrived so I made a sandwich for us while we waited for her to return and check us in. Sunny & hot but lots of wind. We requested a parking spot that Terry thought might shelter the door side from the wind - helps only a bit. After setting up and visiting with the next door neighbors (Glen & Bonnie), we went for a drive in nearby Harlingen which is quite a large city. Happened upon a Big Lots store where Terry finally found a kettle to melt wax for our buddy burners. I have used my double boiler in the past but I am tired of cleaning it afterwards.
After dinner we went to the clubhouse to play Card Bingo which we had first played in Mexico Beach. Terry & I each started with 10 quarters (use 1 each game) and then he pulled out a dollar to buy more quarters. He was going to change more than a dollar but I suggested he wait since one of us was going to win and sure enough, after using the 4 quarters, Terry won a game and then won another one so we ended up with 2 more dollars than we started with. Good thing since the laundry is piling up!
Mar 6th - Fri - San Benito
Had to wait for washers to free up but got the laundry done this morning after visiting with Glen & Bonnie again. Very warm but still windy so we went driving again. Stopped at an info center to get a local map and other brochures, found a St Vincent de Paul to drop off the clothes and it turned out to be closed and drove a short way down the freeway to San Benito which was an uninspiring small town. We turned at a road to turn around to get back to the freeway and there just happened to be a clothing donation box on the corner of a service station. Got diesel at $1.94 and then discovered we could have paid $1.89.
We sat and chatted with Glen & Bonnie again. I was going to make hamburgers for an early dinner until I discovered that I didn’t have any hamburger in the freezer. Glen & Bonnie were going out for dinner so we joined them to go to a barbeque place.
Then they were very brave and accepted an invitation for coffee and pictures. They left about a half hour ago after their eyes crossed from all the pictures!! They are from northern Louisiana and have the lovely drawl to prove it.
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Feb 28th to Mar 2nd - MS, LA, TX
Feb 28th - Sat - Picayune
Some chores this morning including putting dinner in the crock pot and then Terry & I went back to the Hollywood casino in Bay St Louis (Terry was bored!). Not much change in our (bad) luck but Terry did get back $20 when we had to leave so he didn’t have a chance to lose it.
The reason that we had to leave was that we had invited the others to dinner since we are going separate ways tomorrow. I made a chicken/black bean/corn/salsa main dish, Carie brought hummus and rice and Lauri made salad with shrimp so we had a great dinner.
Mar 1st - Sun - to Kinder LA
We left this morning without a definite destination - we just had to stay in Louisiana for one night to get the last state on our map. While we were driving, I found an RV park beside a casino (Coushatta) just north of Kinder that advertised “pay for one night, get one night free”. Can’t turn down free so we got off I10 and stopped for diesel before getting to the park. Terry noticed that the tires on the right side of the 5th wheel were almost touching each other. When he had a look, he could see a bent bracket holding the rocker arm that holds the springs.
We checked into the very nice RV park and got a phone number from them for a welder in Kinder. Of course we didn’t expect to contact anyone since it was Sunday so we left a message and went to the large casino. I think our negative mental state because of the 5th wheel acted on the slot machines as we didn’t do well at all! Back in the rig we had a choice of 3 terrible programs on TV so I finally got my pictures sorted out, labeled and ready for the internet.
Across the lower part of Louisiana on I10 are many miles of elevated highways (“bridges”) over swampy areas. As we traveled west, more green in grass and trees started showing up along with lots of yellow flowers.
Mar 2nd - Mon - to Beaumont TX
It got very cold last night (heavy frost on the hood of the truck) and we ran out of propane in one tank so Terry had to go out and switch tanks so we could warm up the rig enough to get out of our nice warm bed. The welder called back just after 8 and said to come in at 10. I had time to finish posting pictures to the internet. It was about 10 miles away and even with careful driving we were there early but he was ready for us.
They had to remove the tires to work on the part and the lug nuts were difficult to remove - glad we didn’t have a flat on the road somewhere. I sat in the truck and read while the work was being done and kept seeing dollar signs as each half hour passed. They finished just after noon and Terry got a very pleasant surprise when he asked how much he owed - $80!!!! Terry gave him $100 and said thank you very much!
We decided not to go back to the casino for our free night and headed for Texas. Billy & Lauri were going to stay for 2 nights in Beaumont so we called the Gulf Coast RV park and joined them.
The weather is still cool and breezy. The forecasters keep promising that it is going to warm up - I guess it will sometime!
Some chores this morning including putting dinner in the crock pot and then Terry & I went back to the Hollywood casino in Bay St Louis (Terry was bored!). Not much change in our (bad) luck but Terry did get back $20 when we had to leave so he didn’t have a chance to lose it.
The reason that we had to leave was that we had invited the others to dinner since we are going separate ways tomorrow. I made a chicken/black bean/corn/salsa main dish, Carie brought hummus and rice and Lauri made salad with shrimp so we had a great dinner.
Mar 1st - Sun - to Kinder LA
We left this morning without a definite destination - we just had to stay in Louisiana for one night to get the last state on our map. While we were driving, I found an RV park beside a casino (Coushatta) just north of Kinder that advertised “pay for one night, get one night free”. Can’t turn down free so we got off I10 and stopped for diesel before getting to the park. Terry noticed that the tires on the right side of the 5th wheel were almost touching each other. When he had a look, he could see a bent bracket holding the rocker arm that holds the springs.
We checked into the very nice RV park and got a phone number from them for a welder in Kinder. Of course we didn’t expect to contact anyone since it was Sunday so we left a message and went to the large casino. I think our negative mental state because of the 5th wheel acted on the slot machines as we didn’t do well at all! Back in the rig we had a choice of 3 terrible programs on TV so I finally got my pictures sorted out, labeled and ready for the internet.
Across the lower part of Louisiana on I10 are many miles of elevated highways (“bridges”) over swampy areas. As we traveled west, more green in grass and trees started showing up along with lots of yellow flowers.
Mar 2nd - Mon - to Beaumont TX
It got very cold last night (heavy frost on the hood of the truck) and we ran out of propane in one tank so Terry had to go out and switch tanks so we could warm up the rig enough to get out of our nice warm bed. The welder called back just after 8 and said to come in at 10. I had time to finish posting pictures to the internet. It was about 10 miles away and even with careful driving we were there early but he was ready for us.
They had to remove the tires to work on the part and the lug nuts were difficult to remove - glad we didn’t have a flat on the road somewhere. I sat in the truck and read while the work was being done and kept seeing dollar signs as each half hour passed. They finished just after noon and Terry got a very pleasant surprise when he asked how much he owed - $80!!!! Terry gave him $100 and said thank you very much!
We decided not to go back to the casino for our free night and headed for Texas. Billy & Lauri were going to stay for 2 nights in Beaumont so we called the Gulf Coast RV park and joined them.
The weather is still cool and breezy. The forecasters keep promising that it is going to warm up - I guess it will sometime!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Feb 25th to 27th - Picayune MS
Feb 25th - Wed - Picayune
After I caught up our blog, we went casino hopping today. First to the Silver Slipper in Bay St Louis. You have to wind around to the coast to find this casino - it is very isolated but lots of people were there. We received a coupon for a half price buffet so we immediately had a very good lunch. We got $10 on our player cards - it took a while for me to lose mine and an additional $5 and Terry to lose his and an additional $10 - pretty cheap entertainment.
Then we headed back towards Biloxi and hit the Treasure Bay Casino where we got nothing on our card and weren’t really impressed with the casino so we did not stay. Next was the Island View with $10 each on the card - I lost mine and Terry added $10 and still came out with nothing! In Biloxi we went to the very large Beau Rivage Casino. It belongs to the MGM chain where we already had a players card so we did not get a promos on the card. We each spent a few more $ and decided we were burned out. We hit I10 to come back.
There are miles of beaches along Hwy 90 which is the road we took along the coast. There is a lot of road rebuilding still going on to repair hurricane damage and there are lots of foundations that have not been used for new buildings. Near Biloxi, some of the remaining tree trunks have been cleverly used by chainsaw carvers.
Gary & Carie took their 5th wheel into town for new tires today so we stopped by for a short happy hour to find out how it all went.
Feb 26th - Thurs - Picayune
Waited for the laundry room to empty out and got the wash done this morning. Went with Gary & Carie to Dirt Cheap and Treasure Hunt stores as I had seen an alarm clock that I thought would suit their needs. Then we all went to Bay St. Louis to the Hollywood Casino where Gary & Carie signed up for player cards and got their $25 credit for slot play. Carie put $5 into a machine, hit a bonus and cashed out $26 so she was a happy camper - or should I say “happy gambler”? Terry & I started playing a couple of machines that we hadn’t played before and we actually came out $10 ahead which is unusual for us lately. I will mention that my winnings covered Terry’s losses! Carie took her winnings up to $41 and Gary made a whopping 14 cents.
All 6 of us got together for happy hour which again was inside due to the weather cooling off so quickly when the sun goes down.
Feb 27th - Fri - Picayune
Pretty quiet day. Computer stuff including giving Lauri a quick Word lesson, shortened a couple of pairs of jeans, sewed some hanging tabs on towels for Carie, Terry cleaned the truck and Billy kept us updated on tornado warnings in some counties to the north of us. We took a short drive to Louisiana to buy lottery tickets, got some lunch and picked up a few groceries. Back in time to join everyone in Billy & Lauri’s rig for happy hour. The weather was warmer and we could have sat out but it seems like the warm weather also brought out bugs, especially no seeums.
After I caught up our blog, we went casino hopping today. First to the Silver Slipper in Bay St Louis. You have to wind around to the coast to find this casino - it is very isolated but lots of people were there. We received a coupon for a half price buffet so we immediately had a very good lunch. We got $10 on our player cards - it took a while for me to lose mine and an additional $5 and Terry to lose his and an additional $10 - pretty cheap entertainment.
Then we headed back towards Biloxi and hit the Treasure Bay Casino where we got nothing on our card and weren’t really impressed with the casino so we did not stay. Next was the Island View with $10 each on the card - I lost mine and Terry added $10 and still came out with nothing! In Biloxi we went to the very large Beau Rivage Casino. It belongs to the MGM chain where we already had a players card so we did not get a promos on the card. We each spent a few more $ and decided we were burned out. We hit I10 to come back.
There are miles of beaches along Hwy 90 which is the road we took along the coast. There is a lot of road rebuilding still going on to repair hurricane damage and there are lots of foundations that have not been used for new buildings. Near Biloxi, some of the remaining tree trunks have been cleverly used by chainsaw carvers.
Gary & Carie took their 5th wheel into town for new tires today so we stopped by for a short happy hour to find out how it all went.
Feb 26th - Thurs - Picayune
Waited for the laundry room to empty out and got the wash done this morning. Went with Gary & Carie to Dirt Cheap and Treasure Hunt stores as I had seen an alarm clock that I thought would suit their needs. Then we all went to Bay St. Louis to the Hollywood Casino where Gary & Carie signed up for player cards and got their $25 credit for slot play. Carie put $5 into a machine, hit a bonus and cashed out $26 so she was a happy camper - or should I say “happy gambler”? Terry & I started playing a couple of machines that we hadn’t played before and we actually came out $10 ahead which is unusual for us lately. I will mention that my winnings covered Terry’s losses! Carie took her winnings up to $41 and Gary made a whopping 14 cents.
All 6 of us got together for happy hour which again was inside due to the weather cooling off so quickly when the sun goes down.
Feb 27th - Fri - Picayune
Pretty quiet day. Computer stuff including giving Lauri a quick Word lesson, shortened a couple of pairs of jeans, sewed some hanging tabs on towels for Carie, Terry cleaned the truck and Billy kept us updated on tornado warnings in some counties to the north of us. We took a short drive to Louisiana to buy lottery tickets, got some lunch and picked up a few groceries. Back in time to join everyone in Billy & Lauri’s rig for happy hour. The weather was warmer and we could have sat out but it seems like the warm weather also brought out bugs, especially no seeums.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Feb 22nd to 24th - Picayune MS
Feb 22nd - Sun - Picayune MS
We were finishing a few chores when Billy & Lauri arrived at 11:30. The park had messed up the sites and were parking them on the original site on the entrance road. Terry helped get that all straightened out. After Billy & Lauri set up and had lunch, we all went to the nearby Super WalMart for a few groceries. Shortly after we returned, Carie & Gary showed up.
We had an early dinner and then Carie & Gary came over to watch the Academy Awards which we normally don’t watch. Lauri was the one who definitely wanted to watch them and we have the satellite set up so knew we would get them. But Lauri wasn’t feeling up to par and they could pick up the show with their antenna so they ended up staying home.
Feb 23rd - Mon - Picayune
We all went to New Orleans today to check out the city and the Mardi Gras celebrations. We stopped at a visitor center and got some good advice for parking and a recommendation to stay for a couple of parades this evening rather than attending parades tomorrow. Today is actually “Lundi Gras” (Fat Monday) and tomorrow is Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) so tomorrow will be much more crowded.
We found the parking lot with no problem and choked up a bit at the $20 cost for all day. Carie & Gary were riding with us so we got a break and split the cost. It was a short walk to the French Quarter and we headed for Bourbon Street. The French Quarter is very old and mostly not refurbished. Many buildings on the side streets appear to be uninhabited. Bourbon Street was very interesting with people on balconies throwing beads to people on the street. The street was closed to all but delivery trucks and you can walk around anywhere in New Orleans with booze in plastic cups.
We stopped at a little place eatery with courtyard seating. I tried jambalaya and Terry had gumbo. For the $7.99 price each we would not order it again! After lunch we continued walking and ended up at the river (Mississippi of course) where a lot of the buildings appear to be rebuilt. We enjoyed a beer at a microbrewery and then walked and shopped some more. One parade started at 5:15 and the second at 6:00 from a spot outside downtown so we decided to have dinner before the parade. We were on Canal Street just out of the French Quarter and ended up at a Chinese restaurant where only Billy had a meal that was really enjoyable.
We ended up waiting until 7:30 before the first parade finally started coming down Canal Street. Of course we were standing and all our feet were getting tired. Again, floats were very nice and “throws” (beads and stuff) were plentiful. There were not huge crowds and we felt very safe with a large police presence. There was about a 20 minute wait before the second parade which was Krewe Orpheus and one of the larger parades with celebrities. 3 of the very large, tall floats included Josh Groban, Joan Rivers and Jim Bellushi. The signature float of Krewe Orpheus is a multi car train - very impressive. Quite a few of the floats had small trailers behind with 4 rotating spotlights. I should get pictures posted soon.
We had positioned ourselves for a short walk to the vehicles and headed there after the second parade. On the way we saw parking advertised for $30 and $40 so felt better about our rate. Wanda directed us quickly to the freeway and an easy 40 minute drive back.
Feb 24th - Tues - Picayune
A relaxing day today to give our feet a break. Lazy morning, a breakfast sandwich and then we headed out to go somewhere. I wanted to explore Picayune so we drove in the direction that we thought the town would be and we were surprised at how large it is. We HAD to stop at a store called Hudson’s Treasure Hunt. It turned out to be a large, clearance store where you had to go down each aisle as things were not strictly segregated and organized (this is an understatement!). One whole end was devoted to fabric & crafts, the other end to clothes and in between a bit of everything else. Kind of a flea market in one store - we felt right at home. After wandering around for quite a while, we ended up with some powerful little magnets for our board and some automotive light bulbs! Then we had to stop into the “sister” store across the street (Dirt Cheap) which turned out to be basically more of the same.
Filled up with diesel at $2.09 a gallon, we could get used to that price. Terry wanted to take advantage of the sunny day to barbeque so we stopped at WalMart for some pork chops and also picked up a bulb to repair a brake light on the truck. We were just finishing our early dinner when Carie stopped in to invite us over for a drink. Billy stopped in for a few minutes to report on their return trip to New Orleans. He said there were lots of people and they decided early that they would leave before dark.
We were finishing a few chores when Billy & Lauri arrived at 11:30. The park had messed up the sites and were parking them on the original site on the entrance road. Terry helped get that all straightened out. After Billy & Lauri set up and had lunch, we all went to the nearby Super WalMart for a few groceries. Shortly after we returned, Carie & Gary showed up.
We had an early dinner and then Carie & Gary came over to watch the Academy Awards which we normally don’t watch. Lauri was the one who definitely wanted to watch them and we have the satellite set up so knew we would get them. But Lauri wasn’t feeling up to par and they could pick up the show with their antenna so they ended up staying home.
Feb 23rd - Mon - Picayune
We all went to New Orleans today to check out the city and the Mardi Gras celebrations. We stopped at a visitor center and got some good advice for parking and a recommendation to stay for a couple of parades this evening rather than attending parades tomorrow. Today is actually “Lundi Gras” (Fat Monday) and tomorrow is Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) so tomorrow will be much more crowded.
We found the parking lot with no problem and choked up a bit at the $20 cost for all day. Carie & Gary were riding with us so we got a break and split the cost. It was a short walk to the French Quarter and we headed for Bourbon Street. The French Quarter is very old and mostly not refurbished. Many buildings on the side streets appear to be uninhabited. Bourbon Street was very interesting with people on balconies throwing beads to people on the street. The street was closed to all but delivery trucks and you can walk around anywhere in New Orleans with booze in plastic cups.
We stopped at a little place eatery with courtyard seating. I tried jambalaya and Terry had gumbo. For the $7.99 price each we would not order it again! After lunch we continued walking and ended up at the river (Mississippi of course) where a lot of the buildings appear to be rebuilt. We enjoyed a beer at a microbrewery and then walked and shopped some more. One parade started at 5:15 and the second at 6:00 from a spot outside downtown so we decided to have dinner before the parade. We were on Canal Street just out of the French Quarter and ended up at a Chinese restaurant where only Billy had a meal that was really enjoyable.
We ended up waiting until 7:30 before the first parade finally started coming down Canal Street. Of course we were standing and all our feet were getting tired. Again, floats were very nice and “throws” (beads and stuff) were plentiful. There were not huge crowds and we felt very safe with a large police presence. There was about a 20 minute wait before the second parade which was Krewe Orpheus and one of the larger parades with celebrities. 3 of the very large, tall floats included Josh Groban, Joan Rivers and Jim Bellushi. The signature float of Krewe Orpheus is a multi car train - very impressive. Quite a few of the floats had small trailers behind with 4 rotating spotlights. I should get pictures posted soon.
We had positioned ourselves for a short walk to the vehicles and headed there after the second parade. On the way we saw parking advertised for $30 and $40 so felt better about our rate. Wanda directed us quickly to the freeway and an easy 40 minute drive back.
Feb 24th - Tues - Picayune
A relaxing day today to give our feet a break. Lazy morning, a breakfast sandwich and then we headed out to go somewhere. I wanted to explore Picayune so we drove in the direction that we thought the town would be and we were surprised at how large it is. We HAD to stop at a store called Hudson’s Treasure Hunt. It turned out to be a large, clearance store where you had to go down each aisle as things were not strictly segregated and organized (this is an understatement!). One whole end was devoted to fabric & crafts, the other end to clothes and in between a bit of everything else. Kind of a flea market in one store - we felt right at home. After wandering around for quite a while, we ended up with some powerful little magnets for our board and some automotive light bulbs! Then we had to stop into the “sister” store across the street (Dirt Cheap) which turned out to be basically more of the same.
Filled up with diesel at $2.09 a gallon, we could get used to that price. Terry wanted to take advantage of the sunny day to barbeque so we stopped at WalMart for some pork chops and also picked up a bulb to repair a brake light on the truck. We were just finishing our early dinner when Carie stopped in to invite us over for a drink. Billy stopped in for a few minutes to report on their return trip to New Orleans. He said there were lots of people and they decided early that they would leave before dark.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Feb 18th to 21st - Foley to Picayune MS
Feb 18th - Wed - Foley
Another flea treatment for Dolly and I did some online research for tips on how to get rid of the darn critters. One suggestion was DAILY vacuuming so I figured I could handle that. Got it done just as Billy & Lauri came to pick us up for the day’s outing. We started a loop through Pensacola and went to the Gulf Islands National Seashore to walk and pick up sea shells. The sand is so fine that it squeaks when you scuff your feet in it. Back along the coast to Gulf Shores and then continued along the coast until we ran out of road and backtracked to Gulf Shores and headed north. Stopped for a cool beer since our dinner destination does not serve beer. Then we stopped at a store called “Old Time Pottery”. We had driven past it several times and wondered why there were so many cars in the parking lot. I saw in a brochure that it was a home furnishings store so we stopped to check it out. It is huge! Silk flowers, baskets, outdoor furniture, rows of chair pads, seasonal decorative items, dishes & kitchen ware, bath towels, bedding, knick-knacks and even some fishing items - to keep men interested I guess.
We introduced Billy & Lauri to Lamberts (throwed rolls) for dinner and all brought enough food home for another meal.
Feb 19th - Thurs - Foley
We determined that I messed up when we checked in here and paid for one less night than our friends will be here. Our spot is already taken and we don’t want to move for one night. If we hook up we will move rather than take another spot in this park. I called our next spot in Mississippi and there was no problem getting there a day early.
Carie & Gary arrived when we were sitting out enjoying the sun that finally was warm enough - and the rig provided a wind break. We all sat and chatted for a while, then we and Lauri & Billy fixed leftovers for a late lunch/early dinner as we are all going to another Mardi Gras parade tonight.
At 5 we all crowded into Gary’s truck and followed a neighbor to Daphne where they knew a good place to park for parade viewing. It was pretty cool and the parade didn’t start until 6:45 so we just visited with new friends and tried to stay warm. The parade was shorter than the previous one but there were fewer spectators right where we were standing so we all got lots of beads, stuffed toys and moon pies.
We drove through downtown Fairhope on the way back to show the others the wonderful lighted trees. Everyone was suitably impressed!
Feb 20th - Fri - Foley
Terry & I organized and packed up some things for our move tomorrow and then went for diesel and a few groceries. Then we dug out a couple of old clubs for Gary and we went golfing with him. We did 20 holes as there was a backup on the first hole when we went around the second time so we played 8 & 9 while the others got out of our way. The weather was perfect - warm and breezy.
Next we all went over to Billy & Lauri’s for happy hour. Lauri made dinner for all of us and then we were going to go to another parade. We decided to skip the parade as it was too cold so we went inside for dessert and concerts on CDs.
Feb 21st - Sat - to Picayune MS
Left at 9 for a 3 hour drive to Picayune, Mississippi. We bypassed Mobile AL and Biloxi MS on Hwy 10. We may drive back to Biloxi next week. The CampClubUSA sites here are right on the road into the park and we would have been separated so we decided to pay a bit extra with a weekly rate and get sites in the interior of the park and all together. Of course had to make phone calls to check with the others and finally got set up about 1:30.
Checked email, fed the dog and set out for a casino in Bay St Louis about 30 miles from here on the coast. We had a really good Rueben sandwich at a coffee shop there and played the slots for quite a while on the $25 that they put on our new players’ club cards. Back home to relax (and blog).
Good fuel prices here - unleaded in Picayune is $1.59 and one station in Bay St Louis had diesel at $1.95.
Another flea treatment for Dolly and I did some online research for tips on how to get rid of the darn critters. One suggestion was DAILY vacuuming so I figured I could handle that. Got it done just as Billy & Lauri came to pick us up for the day’s outing. We started a loop through Pensacola and went to the Gulf Islands National Seashore to walk and pick up sea shells. The sand is so fine that it squeaks when you scuff your feet in it. Back along the coast to Gulf Shores and then continued along the coast until we ran out of road and backtracked to Gulf Shores and headed north. Stopped for a cool beer since our dinner destination does not serve beer. Then we stopped at a store called “Old Time Pottery”. We had driven past it several times and wondered why there were so many cars in the parking lot. I saw in a brochure that it was a home furnishings store so we stopped to check it out. It is huge! Silk flowers, baskets, outdoor furniture, rows of chair pads, seasonal decorative items, dishes & kitchen ware, bath towels, bedding, knick-knacks and even some fishing items - to keep men interested I guess.
We introduced Billy & Lauri to Lamberts (throwed rolls) for dinner and all brought enough food home for another meal.
Feb 19th - Thurs - Foley
We determined that I messed up when we checked in here and paid for one less night than our friends will be here. Our spot is already taken and we don’t want to move for one night. If we hook up we will move rather than take another spot in this park. I called our next spot in Mississippi and there was no problem getting there a day early.
Carie & Gary arrived when we were sitting out enjoying the sun that finally was warm enough - and the rig provided a wind break. We all sat and chatted for a while, then we and Lauri & Billy fixed leftovers for a late lunch/early dinner as we are all going to another Mardi Gras parade tonight.
At 5 we all crowded into Gary’s truck and followed a neighbor to Daphne where they knew a good place to park for parade viewing. It was pretty cool and the parade didn’t start until 6:45 so we just visited with new friends and tried to stay warm. The parade was shorter than the previous one but there were fewer spectators right where we were standing so we all got lots of beads, stuffed toys and moon pies.
We drove through downtown Fairhope on the way back to show the others the wonderful lighted trees. Everyone was suitably impressed!
Feb 20th - Fri - Foley
Terry & I organized and packed up some things for our move tomorrow and then went for diesel and a few groceries. Then we dug out a couple of old clubs for Gary and we went golfing with him. We did 20 holes as there was a backup on the first hole when we went around the second time so we played 8 & 9 while the others got out of our way. The weather was perfect - warm and breezy.
Next we all went over to Billy & Lauri’s for happy hour. Lauri made dinner for all of us and then we were going to go to another parade. We decided to skip the parade as it was too cold so we went inside for dessert and concerts on CDs.
Feb 21st - Sat - to Picayune MS
Left at 9 for a 3 hour drive to Picayune, Mississippi. We bypassed Mobile AL and Biloxi MS on Hwy 10. We may drive back to Biloxi next week. The CampClubUSA sites here are right on the road into the park and we would have been separated so we decided to pay a bit extra with a weekly rate and get sites in the interior of the park and all together. Of course had to make phone calls to check with the others and finally got set up about 1:30.
Checked email, fed the dog and set out for a casino in Bay St Louis about 30 miles from here on the coast. We had a really good Rueben sandwich at a coffee shop there and played the slots for quite a while on the $25 that they put on our new players’ club cards. Back home to relax (and blog).
Good fuel prices here - unleaded in Picayune is $1.59 and one station in Bay St Louis had diesel at $1.95.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Feb 15th to 17th - Foley AL
Feb 15th - Sun - Foley
It rained last night but cleared mid morning. Terry cleaned some nasty black streaks off the front of the 5th wheel and cleaned the truck while I did some stuff on the computer and a little cleaning. I found a branch in the bushes, fastened it to our front stabilizer and hung our Mardi Gras beads. Not sure what else to do with them!
We made a quick grocery run and our Chewelah neighbors (Bob & Karen) were sitting out when we got back so we went and chatted with them for a while. We split for dinner and I asked them to come over afterwards. We ended up talking nonstop until nearly 11. It turns out that Karen worked in a hospital with the wife (Diane) of the guy (Marv) who took us fishing in Alaska. Not only is this another amazing “small world” coincidence but the fact that the conversation happened to lead us to this discovery is incredible.
Feb 16th - Mon - Foley
There is a little laundry room here with 2 washers & 3 dryers. To use them, you reserve a 2 hour slot and pay $7 to use the machines for as many loads as you can do in that time. So I did laundry today from 11 to 1. I was able to start a bit early and my last dryer load overlapped with the next person so did 5 loads.
Then we loaded an empty propane tank and found the Ace Hardware recommended by a neighbor. Drove through a huge outlet mall but didn’t find anything that we had to look at. A little more sightseeing and then we stopped at Lambert’s for an early dinner.
Lambert’s is “the home of the throwed rolls”. A server walks around with a tray of freshly baked, warm, large dinner rolls and throws them to whoever wants one. Just put your hand up and he will accurately throw a roll from near or across the room. Items on the menu are served with 2 vegetable sides (a wide selection to choose from) and then there are “pass arounds”. Servers constantly go around with fried potatoes & onions, deep fried okra, black eyed peas, macaroni & tomatoes and apple butter & molasses for the rolls. You can munch on deep fried okra and rolls while you decide what to order and the other pass arounds are placed on your plate - as much as you can eat. Take home boxes are automatically provided. Terry had a hamburger steak that I swear was close to a pound of meat so a good portion of it is in the fridge for lunch.
Shortly after we got back, a neighbor delivered some fresh shrimp that I had ordered - 4 pounds for $20. So I had to clean them and freeze some.
I have been moving pictures on the computer to make them easier to find and figured I was past due to back them up. I spent too long trying to get it to work and finally found on an internet Picasa forum that there was a problem with the program. I had to uninstall Picasa, remove a file and reinstall Picasa from the internet. Then I finally got my backup done.
Feb 17th - Tues - Foley
A hair stylist comes to the park on Tuesdays so I took advantage of it to get an overdue haircut. While I was getting my hair cut, Terry decided it was nice enough to play golf so he went and got our clubs. Then I had to send him back to exchange my Crocs for shoes more suitable for golf. So as soon as my cut was done, we hit the golf course. It was pretty busy but we didn’t have to wait too long on any hole. We were a couple of holes into our 3rd round and Terry hit a bad shot just as Billy & Lauri drove in so we decided to quit.
Lauri also needed a haircut so I went up with her and worked on a jigsaw puzzle while she was getting her ears lowered. I had asked Billy & Lauri for dinner and none of us had had lunch so we decided to have an early dinner. Didn’t take me long to make shrimp & mushroom fettuccine, cabbage & apple slaw and garlic toast.
After dishes were done, we all got in our truck so we could show them around the area a bit - Foley, Corelle store at the outlet mall and Gulf Shores. We all figured it was long enough since lunch/dinner that we would enjoy ice cream so we drove miles before finally finding a place and having dessert.
It rained last night but cleared mid morning. Terry cleaned some nasty black streaks off the front of the 5th wheel and cleaned the truck while I did some stuff on the computer and a little cleaning. I found a branch in the bushes, fastened it to our front stabilizer and hung our Mardi Gras beads. Not sure what else to do with them!
We made a quick grocery run and our Chewelah neighbors (Bob & Karen) were sitting out when we got back so we went and chatted with them for a while. We split for dinner and I asked them to come over afterwards. We ended up talking nonstop until nearly 11. It turns out that Karen worked in a hospital with the wife (Diane) of the guy (Marv) who took us fishing in Alaska. Not only is this another amazing “small world” coincidence but the fact that the conversation happened to lead us to this discovery is incredible.
Feb 16th - Mon - Foley
There is a little laundry room here with 2 washers & 3 dryers. To use them, you reserve a 2 hour slot and pay $7 to use the machines for as many loads as you can do in that time. So I did laundry today from 11 to 1. I was able to start a bit early and my last dryer load overlapped with the next person so did 5 loads.
Then we loaded an empty propane tank and found the Ace Hardware recommended by a neighbor. Drove through a huge outlet mall but didn’t find anything that we had to look at. A little more sightseeing and then we stopped at Lambert’s for an early dinner.
Lambert’s is “the home of the throwed rolls”. A server walks around with a tray of freshly baked, warm, large dinner rolls and throws them to whoever wants one. Just put your hand up and he will accurately throw a roll from near or across the room. Items on the menu are served with 2 vegetable sides (a wide selection to choose from) and then there are “pass arounds”. Servers constantly go around with fried potatoes & onions, deep fried okra, black eyed peas, macaroni & tomatoes and apple butter & molasses for the rolls. You can munch on deep fried okra and rolls while you decide what to order and the other pass arounds are placed on your plate - as much as you can eat. Take home boxes are automatically provided. Terry had a hamburger steak that I swear was close to a pound of meat so a good portion of it is in the fridge for lunch.
Shortly after we got back, a neighbor delivered some fresh shrimp that I had ordered - 4 pounds for $20. So I had to clean them and freeze some.
I have been moving pictures on the computer to make them easier to find and figured I was past due to back them up. I spent too long trying to get it to work and finally found on an internet Picasa forum that there was a problem with the program. I had to uninstall Picasa, remove a file and reinstall Picasa from the internet. Then I finally got my backup done.
Feb 17th - Tues - Foley
A hair stylist comes to the park on Tuesdays so I took advantage of it to get an overdue haircut. While I was getting my hair cut, Terry decided it was nice enough to play golf so he went and got our clubs. Then I had to send him back to exchange my Crocs for shoes more suitable for golf. So as soon as my cut was done, we hit the golf course. It was pretty busy but we didn’t have to wait too long on any hole. We were a couple of holes into our 3rd round and Terry hit a bad shot just as Billy & Lauri drove in so we decided to quit.
Lauri also needed a haircut so I went up with her and worked on a jigsaw puzzle while she was getting her ears lowered. I had asked Billy & Lauri for dinner and none of us had had lunch so we decided to have an early dinner. Didn’t take me long to make shrimp & mushroom fettuccine, cabbage & apple slaw and garlic toast.
After dishes were done, we all got in our truck so we could show them around the area a bit - Foley, Corelle store at the outlet mall and Gulf Shores. We all figured it was long enough since lunch/dinner that we would enjoy ice cream so we drove miles before finally finding a place and having dessert.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Feb 13th & 14th - Foley AL
Feb 13th - Fri - Foley
We needed an oil change on the truck this morning so we stopped at an Express Lube. The staff was the most professional, polite and knowledgeable that we have encountered. We also have sometimes had a clunk in the rear of the truck so we continued on to the Chevrolet dealer just down the road. After a transmission specialist took it for a drive, he diagnosed it as slip splines that needed cleaning and lubricating. They could get us in right away so we walked across the road for some lunch and the truck was completed shortly after we got back. No more clunks!
We drove into Gulf Shores and stopped at Souvenir City just to say we had been there. It is the biggest touristy store that I have seen with the front entrance through a shark’s mouth and the rear entrance through a pirate ship. Then we continued to drive along the beaches and to Gulf State Park which has a long row of little cabins along the water for rent as well as an RV park. As we were returning to the park, it started to sprinkle.
Our lunch was early and we were supposed to go to a Mardi Gras parade with some neighbors so we planned an early dinner. The sprinkles turned to rain and Terry ended up shielding the barbeque with a large umbrella to get the ribs cooked. No parade as the rain continued all evening.
About 4:30 a rig pulled in across the street with a Washington license plate. We spoke just long enough to the occupants to find out that they were from Chewelah (just north of Spokane) before the rain sent them inside.
Feb 14th - Sat - Foley
We planned to take part in a golf tournament today but it rained all night (with lightning & thunder) which created new water hazards on the golf course and expanded the existing ponds. It was still raining at 9 when the tournament was scheduled to start so it was a no-go. We made a trip to Pensacola instead. Wanda found us a bank for some cash and then we continued on to Gulf Islands National Park. Not exactly a beach day but nice to see. More sightseeing and a stop for a late lunch before heading back. We followed the coast for a different route back.
The rain had stopped when we returned so we took a walk and visited with some people. We got directions to go to a Mardi Gras parade in nearby Fairhope so set off shortly after 5. Missed a turn, got hung up in mega traffic going to the parade and lucked out finding a parking spot fairly close to the parade route. Turned out the parade made a loop so we saw the tops of floats over people’s heads a block away and then it came in front of us.
There were huge floats in the parade with occupants throwing candy, beads, stuffed animals, Frisbees, plastic cups and Moon Pies to the crowd. When a horse back rider or float went by, everyone would start yelling and waving their arms to have goodies thrown their way. What fun!! We ended up with 50 strands of beads, 2 cups and 2 Frisbees - and I had the camera in my right hand which means Terry made some good catches.
As soon as the parade ended, we hurried to our truck and got out before traffic got bad. We stopped for a quick hamburger and were home just before 9.
We needed an oil change on the truck this morning so we stopped at an Express Lube. The staff was the most professional, polite and knowledgeable that we have encountered. We also have sometimes had a clunk in the rear of the truck so we continued on to the Chevrolet dealer just down the road. After a transmission specialist took it for a drive, he diagnosed it as slip splines that needed cleaning and lubricating. They could get us in right away so we walked across the road for some lunch and the truck was completed shortly after we got back. No more clunks!
We drove into Gulf Shores and stopped at Souvenir City just to say we had been there. It is the biggest touristy store that I have seen with the front entrance through a shark’s mouth and the rear entrance through a pirate ship. Then we continued to drive along the beaches and to Gulf State Park which has a long row of little cabins along the water for rent as well as an RV park. As we were returning to the park, it started to sprinkle.
Our lunch was early and we were supposed to go to a Mardi Gras parade with some neighbors so we planned an early dinner. The sprinkles turned to rain and Terry ended up shielding the barbeque with a large umbrella to get the ribs cooked. No parade as the rain continued all evening.
About 4:30 a rig pulled in across the street with a Washington license plate. We spoke just long enough to the occupants to find out that they were from Chewelah (just north of Spokane) before the rain sent them inside.
Feb 14th - Sat - Foley
We planned to take part in a golf tournament today but it rained all night (with lightning & thunder) which created new water hazards on the golf course and expanded the existing ponds. It was still raining at 9 when the tournament was scheduled to start so it was a no-go. We made a trip to Pensacola instead. Wanda found us a bank for some cash and then we continued on to Gulf Islands National Park. Not exactly a beach day but nice to see. More sightseeing and a stop for a late lunch before heading back. We followed the coast for a different route back.
The rain had stopped when we returned so we took a walk and visited with some people. We got directions to go to a Mardi Gras parade in nearby Fairhope so set off shortly after 5. Missed a turn, got hung up in mega traffic going to the parade and lucked out finding a parking spot fairly close to the parade route. Turned out the parade made a loop so we saw the tops of floats over people’s heads a block away and then it came in front of us.
There were huge floats in the parade with occupants throwing candy, beads, stuffed animals, Frisbees, plastic cups and Moon Pies to the crowd. When a horse back rider or float went by, everyone would start yelling and waving their arms to have goodies thrown their way. What fun!! We ended up with 50 strands of beads, 2 cups and 2 Frisbees - and I had the camera in my right hand which means Terry made some good catches.
As soon as the parade ended, we hurried to our truck and got out before traffic got bad. We stopped for a quick hamburger and were home just before 9.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Feb 10th to 12th - Foley AL
Feb 10th - Tues - to Foley AL
The 4+ hour trip today took us along the gulf shore on Hwy 98 through Pensacola FL to Alabama. There are miles of incredible white sand beaches and a surprising stretch of sand dunes. Since there is pretty much solid development along Hwy 98, there are traffic lights all the way and it seemed a large number of them were red but it was a nice drive. The route winds a bit through Pensacola but Wanda looked after us just fine.
We are staying at Magnolia Springs Hideaway RV park and golf course. It is small (61 sites) but clean and quiet as the RV park sits behind the golf course. It is a 9 hole, par 3 course that RV residents can play all day for $7. We are staying here for 11 days and I am really looking forward to working on my short game.
We set up the satellite dish and could not get one satellite (119) to come in. Terry just had to roughly place the dish to get the 110 satellite so was really frustrated with 119. We finally decided to call it quits and work on it another day - we do have the 110 channels.
Feb 11th - Wed - Foley
It was very windy this morning with rain forecast for this afternoon so we decided to go check out the Wind Creek casino near Atmore - about 75 miles north of here. On the way, the rain started and was coming down so hard you could barely see the road. It let up a bit before we made a mad dash from the parking lot.
This is a brand new casino with just slots - no table games. Most of the slots are 1 cent which suits us just fine. We played for a long time before I lost my allowance and Terry lost part of his. We were given coupons for a buffet dinner so we ate about 4 and then headed back. Stopped for diesel on the way at $2.15 a gallon.
Feb 12th - Thurs - Foley
We hit the golf course this morning. We walked through the park and started play on the 4th hole. After the 9th hole, we stopped to pay at the clubhouse and continued on with the first hole where we had to wait in line. When we got to the 4th hole, a couple of guys from the RV park joined us and we played through 9 again. There were even more people waiting to tee off on one so we quit and walked back to the RV park.
This is a very small course - the longest hole is 140 yards, most are 80 to 95 and one is 55 yards. The grass and greens are mostly brown and hard packed but it is fun.
We had lunch when we got back and I started to make potato salad for potluck tonight when I found out that I did not have enough potatoes. So off to the grocery store. With the salad partly done, we headed to the golf course again. This time we played 4 & 5 before it clogged up on 6. So over to 8 & 9, then 1 thru 9 and 1 thru 3 which put us back to the edge of the RV park and time to quit.
Dinner tonight was a fish fry & potluck. A guy just down from us caught all the fish (Spotted Trout), filleted & breaded it and had some help frying it for everyone. There was a full house for dinner and we ended up sitting at an extra table with 2 other couples who are also full timers (Steve & Barb and Ron & Barbara) - good food and good company.
The 4+ hour trip today took us along the gulf shore on Hwy 98 through Pensacola FL to Alabama. There are miles of incredible white sand beaches and a surprising stretch of sand dunes. Since there is pretty much solid development along Hwy 98, there are traffic lights all the way and it seemed a large number of them were red but it was a nice drive. The route winds a bit through Pensacola but Wanda looked after us just fine.
We are staying at Magnolia Springs Hideaway RV park and golf course. It is small (61 sites) but clean and quiet as the RV park sits behind the golf course. It is a 9 hole, par 3 course that RV residents can play all day for $7. We are staying here for 11 days and I am really looking forward to working on my short game.
We set up the satellite dish and could not get one satellite (119) to come in. Terry just had to roughly place the dish to get the 110 satellite so was really frustrated with 119. We finally decided to call it quits and work on it another day - we do have the 110 channels.
Feb 11th - Wed - Foley
It was very windy this morning with rain forecast for this afternoon so we decided to go check out the Wind Creek casino near Atmore - about 75 miles north of here. On the way, the rain started and was coming down so hard you could barely see the road. It let up a bit before we made a mad dash from the parking lot.
This is a brand new casino with just slots - no table games. Most of the slots are 1 cent which suits us just fine. We played for a long time before I lost my allowance and Terry lost part of his. We were given coupons for a buffet dinner so we ate about 4 and then headed back. Stopped for diesel on the way at $2.15 a gallon.
Feb 12th - Thurs - Foley
We hit the golf course this morning. We walked through the park and started play on the 4th hole. After the 9th hole, we stopped to pay at the clubhouse and continued on with the first hole where we had to wait in line. When we got to the 4th hole, a couple of guys from the RV park joined us and we played through 9 again. There were even more people waiting to tee off on one so we quit and walked back to the RV park.
This is a very small course - the longest hole is 140 yards, most are 80 to 95 and one is 55 yards. The grass and greens are mostly brown and hard packed but it is fun.
We had lunch when we got back and I started to make potato salad for potluck tonight when I found out that I did not have enough potatoes. So off to the grocery store. With the salad partly done, we headed to the golf course again. This time we played 4 & 5 before it clogged up on 6. So over to 8 & 9, then 1 thru 9 and 1 thru 3 which put us back to the edge of the RV park and time to quit.
Dinner tonight was a fish fry & potluck. A guy just down from us caught all the fish (Spotted Trout), filleted & breaded it and had some help frying it for everyone. There was a full house for dinner and we ended up sitting at an extra table with 2 other couples who are also full timers (Steve & Barb and Ron & Barbara) - good food and good company.
Monday, February 09, 2009
Feb 7th to 9th - Mexico Beach FL
Feb 7th - Sat - Mexico Beach
Haircut and bath for Dolly this morning - still fighting fleas. Then we joined Billy & Lauri for lunch at a restaurant here in Mexico Beach. The recommended Reuben sandwich was nothing exceptional but the waitress apologized for the slow kitchen with a free pitcher of beer and we were sitting outside in the sun so how bad could it be? We wandered along a stretch of little shops and an Ace Hardware where I got some flea spray for carpets and furniture.
When we returned, we put Dolly in the truck and I sprayed the carpets. We sat outside and played Sequence with Billy & Lauri while the sprayed areas dried.
After dinner we went to play card bingo but it turned out that Lauri was misinformed and nothing was going on. So back into our place where we taught B & L a dice game.
Feb 8th - Sun - Mexico Beach
There is a small laundry room here and only 2 washers & dryers are working. I washed 2 loads, threw them in the dryers and put in two more loads of wash before I discovered that one of the dryers was not heating. I spoke to the manager, got my money back and since the load was mostly shirts, hung them on hangers on a line. Then we took the other 2 loads of washed clothes into a laundromat in town to dry. When the laundry was done, we joine Billy & Lauri at the beach.
There is a very long, curved stretch of sandy beach in Mexico Beach. The sand is very fine and soft, lovely to walk on. It was not hot but pleasant to sit, walk and watch water & birds. We drove through town and walked out on a pier where there were several fishermen catching lots of fish.
It seems that it is much less humid here than other parts of Florida but the shirts hanging on the line were not dry when we got back so I put up the rod in the shower to finish drying them.
Feb 9th - Mon - Mexico Beach
Billy & Lauri asked us to join them on a grocery shopping trip to Panama City so we left about 10:30. After shopping, we looked for a place for lunch and decided to check out a place called “Po Folks” (Poor Folks). You could get fried green tomatoes, fried greens, hush puppies, catfish and other “southern” foods. We all went for a lunch special with fried chicken, chicken fried steak, biscuit, gravy & 2 vegetable sides. Way too much food and an overload of grease but good. All this for $5.99.
We drove through historic downtown Panama City - not impressive unless you are into antiques - and then headed back. We put away groceries, packed up some stuff in preparation for leaving tomorrow and went for a bike ride all around the park. Then, since no one was making dinner, Billy & Lauri came over to play some more Sequence. We are all getting better at playing and some games go on for a long time.
Haircut and bath for Dolly this morning - still fighting fleas. Then we joined Billy & Lauri for lunch at a restaurant here in Mexico Beach. The recommended Reuben sandwich was nothing exceptional but the waitress apologized for the slow kitchen with a free pitcher of beer and we were sitting outside in the sun so how bad could it be? We wandered along a stretch of little shops and an Ace Hardware where I got some flea spray for carpets and furniture.
When we returned, we put Dolly in the truck and I sprayed the carpets. We sat outside and played Sequence with Billy & Lauri while the sprayed areas dried.
After dinner we went to play card bingo but it turned out that Lauri was misinformed and nothing was going on. So back into our place where we taught B & L a dice game.
Feb 8th - Sun - Mexico Beach
There is a small laundry room here and only 2 washers & dryers are working. I washed 2 loads, threw them in the dryers and put in two more loads of wash before I discovered that one of the dryers was not heating. I spoke to the manager, got my money back and since the load was mostly shirts, hung them on hangers on a line. Then we took the other 2 loads of washed clothes into a laundromat in town to dry. When the laundry was done, we joine Billy & Lauri at the beach.
There is a very long, curved stretch of sandy beach in Mexico Beach. The sand is very fine and soft, lovely to walk on. It was not hot but pleasant to sit, walk and watch water & birds. We drove through town and walked out on a pier where there were several fishermen catching lots of fish.
It seems that it is much less humid here than other parts of Florida but the shirts hanging on the line were not dry when we got back so I put up the rod in the shower to finish drying them.
Feb 9th - Mon - Mexico Beach
Billy & Lauri asked us to join them on a grocery shopping trip to Panama City so we left about 10:30. After shopping, we looked for a place for lunch and decided to check out a place called “Po Folks” (Poor Folks). You could get fried green tomatoes, fried greens, hush puppies, catfish and other “southern” foods. We all went for a lunch special with fried chicken, chicken fried steak, biscuit, gravy & 2 vegetable sides. Way too much food and an overload of grease but good. All this for $5.99.
We drove through historic downtown Panama City - not impressive unless you are into antiques - and then headed back. We put away groceries, packed up some stuff in preparation for leaving tomorrow and went for a bike ride all around the park. Then, since no one was making dinner, Billy & Lauri came over to play some more Sequence. We are all getting better at playing and some games go on for a long time.
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Feb 3rd to 6th - Mexico Beach
Feb 3rd - Tues - to Mexico Beach
Another 3 ½ hour drive today to Rustic Sands CG in Mexico Beach which is less than 20 miles from Panama City on the Florida panhandle. Billy & Lauri got an early start so they were already all set up when we arrived after stopping at a grocery store on the way in Port St Joe. We set up, had a late lunch and went to register since the office was closed when we drove in. It was pretty cool but we went for a bike ride around the park. It is not very big and not full. The pool is not open as the weather has been too cold - costs too much to heat it and not enough people want to use it in these temperatures.
We went next door for happy hour and then had a light, early dinner so we could go to play bingo. There was no one else there when we arrived just before 6:30 - we had crossed a time zone and didn’t realize it so it was only 5:30 here! Billy & Terry played pool and Lauri & I read magazines while we waited for others to arrive. We played card bingo. 4 people sit at each table and deal out a deck of cards which you sort in suits face up on the table. You put in 25 cents for each game. Then one person takes another deck of cards, turns them up one at a time and calls each card. Each person with that card puts it in the center and the first person with no cards wins the round and the money and gets to call the cards for the next round. If there are not the right number of people for 4 at a table, the cards are dealt to a dummy hand and played “for fun”. Terry & Billy each won 4 games, I won one and Lauri won one but had to split the pot with 2 other winners. There were only 10 people playing so it’s not like you won a lot but it was fun.
Feb 4th - Wed - Mexico Beach
Very cool this morning. I took Dolly out and went back to bed!
About 10:30 we joined Billy & Lauri for an outing to Panama City since it was too cold & breezy to enjoy the outdoors. We searched for and finally found a Michael’s craft store - looking for candle wax for our buddy burners. The bulk wax was pretty expensive but we bought a couple of large pillars. Stopped at a Big Lots to get a new computer mouse for Lauri and continued on to Panama City beach. The beaches are beautiful here - very white sand and turquoise water. The access to the beaches near Panama City is limited because of condos, apartment and hotels but there are several public accesses and we didn’t see parking meters that were present in Naples and Tampa areas. We stopped at a Hooters right on the beach for lunch and got a table where we could look out at the gulf - very nice.
On the way back we stopped and bought some Plant City (near Thonotosassa) strawberries. I sliced the berries, made some biscuits, Lauri & Billy came over at 6:30 and we all had strawberry shortcake for dinner since we had a late lunch.
Feb 5th - Thurs - Mexico Beach
Another excursion today - this time back the way we came to Apalachicola. This time we took the scenic loop closer to the coast and saw a lot of houses on stilts near the water. In Apalachicola, we wandered through several touristy shops with very fun stuff. Decided that we didn’t see anywhere that looked good for lunch so continued on to St. George’s Island where we had lunch at Harry A’s - just OK. I finally had a soft shell crab sandwich. They bread and deep fry the entire crab and lay it on the bun with legs and all. Just tasted like a fish sandwich.
We drove the island to St George State Park and decided we did not want to pay the $5 entrance fee just to have a look. As we drove back across the long bridge, I talked the others into stopping on the far side and walking back on an old bridge to check out boats fishing near the bridge. Turned out they were harvesting oysters. The water is very shallow and they use two long poles with rakes on the ends in a pinching fashion to scrape oysters off the bottom and lift them into the boat. Then they pound the clumps apart and put the oysters in bags.
We made a quick stop at a grocery store in Port St. Joe on the way back and found a Salvation Army to get rid of some clothes that Lauri & I sorted out. I had put port roast in the crock pot and had Billy & Lauri over for dinner. Then the other 3 went to play a card game called “Pass the Trash” while I worked on email and posted pictures to the internet in folder 2008 #13.
Feb 6th - Fri - Mexico Beach
Billy & Lauri went to do laundry this morning. I posted pictures to 2 new folders so check out 2008 #14 and #15.
The weather warmed up quite a bit so we rode our bikes about ½ a mile to the beach. Terry thought the sand was hard enough to ride by the water but instead discovered how cold the water was when he took a little spill! Gathered a few shells and just sat and watched the beautifully clear water lap the shore. Still had on long pants and sweatshirts but nice compared to previous days. After dinner, Billy & Lauri came over for more Sequence. Lauri brought guacamole and chips - just what we all don’t need but YUM!
Another 3 ½ hour drive today to Rustic Sands CG in Mexico Beach which is less than 20 miles from Panama City on the Florida panhandle. Billy & Lauri got an early start so they were already all set up when we arrived after stopping at a grocery store on the way in Port St Joe. We set up, had a late lunch and went to register since the office was closed when we drove in. It was pretty cool but we went for a bike ride around the park. It is not very big and not full. The pool is not open as the weather has been too cold - costs too much to heat it and not enough people want to use it in these temperatures.
We went next door for happy hour and then had a light, early dinner so we could go to play bingo. There was no one else there when we arrived just before 6:30 - we had crossed a time zone and didn’t realize it so it was only 5:30 here! Billy & Terry played pool and Lauri & I read magazines while we waited for others to arrive. We played card bingo. 4 people sit at each table and deal out a deck of cards which you sort in suits face up on the table. You put in 25 cents for each game. Then one person takes another deck of cards, turns them up one at a time and calls each card. Each person with that card puts it in the center and the first person with no cards wins the round and the money and gets to call the cards for the next round. If there are not the right number of people for 4 at a table, the cards are dealt to a dummy hand and played “for fun”. Terry & Billy each won 4 games, I won one and Lauri won one but had to split the pot with 2 other winners. There were only 10 people playing so it’s not like you won a lot but it was fun.
Feb 4th - Wed - Mexico Beach
Very cool this morning. I took Dolly out and went back to bed!
About 10:30 we joined Billy & Lauri for an outing to Panama City since it was too cold & breezy to enjoy the outdoors. We searched for and finally found a Michael’s craft store - looking for candle wax for our buddy burners. The bulk wax was pretty expensive but we bought a couple of large pillars. Stopped at a Big Lots to get a new computer mouse for Lauri and continued on to Panama City beach. The beaches are beautiful here - very white sand and turquoise water. The access to the beaches near Panama City is limited because of condos, apartment and hotels but there are several public accesses and we didn’t see parking meters that were present in Naples and Tampa areas. We stopped at a Hooters right on the beach for lunch and got a table where we could look out at the gulf - very nice.
On the way back we stopped and bought some Plant City (near Thonotosassa) strawberries. I sliced the berries, made some biscuits, Lauri & Billy came over at 6:30 and we all had strawberry shortcake for dinner since we had a late lunch.
Feb 5th - Thurs - Mexico Beach
Another excursion today - this time back the way we came to Apalachicola. This time we took the scenic loop closer to the coast and saw a lot of houses on stilts near the water. In Apalachicola, we wandered through several touristy shops with very fun stuff. Decided that we didn’t see anywhere that looked good for lunch so continued on to St. George’s Island where we had lunch at Harry A’s - just OK. I finally had a soft shell crab sandwich. They bread and deep fry the entire crab and lay it on the bun with legs and all. Just tasted like a fish sandwich.
We drove the island to St George State Park and decided we did not want to pay the $5 entrance fee just to have a look. As we drove back across the long bridge, I talked the others into stopping on the far side and walking back on an old bridge to check out boats fishing near the bridge. Turned out they were harvesting oysters. The water is very shallow and they use two long poles with rakes on the ends in a pinching fashion to scrape oysters off the bottom and lift them into the boat. Then they pound the clumps apart and put the oysters in bags.
We made a quick stop at a grocery store in Port St. Joe on the way back and found a Salvation Army to get rid of some clothes that Lauri & I sorted out. I had put port roast in the crock pot and had Billy & Lauri over for dinner. Then the other 3 went to play a card game called “Pass the Trash” while I worked on email and posted pictures to the internet in folder 2008 #13.
Feb 6th - Fri - Mexico Beach
Billy & Lauri went to do laundry this morning. I posted pictures to 2 new folders so check out 2008 #14 and #15.
The weather warmed up quite a bit so we rode our bikes about ½ a mile to the beach. Terry thought the sand was hard enough to ride by the water but instead discovered how cold the water was when he took a little spill! Gathered a few shells and just sat and watched the beautifully clear water lap the shore. Still had on long pants and sweatshirts but nice compared to previous days. After dinner, Billy & Lauri came over for more Sequence. Lauri brought guacamole and chips - just what we all don’t need but YUM!
Monday, February 02, 2009
Jan 29th to Feb 2nd - Florida
Jan 29th - Thurs - Thonotosassa
Cool but warm enough for water exercises. Then we all (Billy & Lauri, Carie & Gary) loaded our bikes to check out a trail about 15 minutes away in the Flatwood recreation area. There are several trails but we picked the paved, 8.4 mile loop. It was cloudy and breezy but a lovely ride. We had packed lunches so stopped midway to eat. There were people roller-blading, walking and running as well as other bicyclists. The only wildlife we saw was a hawk resting on a branch quite close to the trail.
When we got back, Terry took the garbage to the dumpster and continued to ride around the park. It was getting dark so he headed back and arrived just as it started to pour rain. He had to dash out to put a plastic bag on his bicycle seat and then out again to unlatch and close the door as the rain was blowing in onto the mat.
I had strawberries left from Tuesday so I cleaned them and invited Billy & Lauri and Gary & Carie over for strawberries and dip - YUM!! “Life is uncertain - eat dessert first”!
Everyone headed home to make dinner and then we all went to play bingo. Terry won one of the larger payouts for a blackout - $21. Considering it cost us $9.25 to play all evening, that is pretty good.
Jan 30th - Fri - Thonotosassa
Lots of rain last night - greatly needed here. When I heard the rain let up a bit this morning I quickly took Dolly out so we didn’t have to go out in a downpour. I figured it was too cold for water exercise class but when we took the laundry over about 10:30, the diehards were in the pool.
About noon, Billy & Laurie and we went to check out a little restaurant for lunch and had the recommended grouper sandwich. Deep fried fillets on a huge hoagie bun with all the trimmings and a large side of fries. I’m glad I tried it but it was a little too greasy to order again.
Next door was a Price Cutter grocery store that someone mentioned for good meat prices. Wish we had found it sooner - $5.99 for boneless ribeye & New York strip steaks, $2.99 for boneless center cut pork chops, $2.13 for boneless/skinless chicken breasts and .99 for chicken thighs to cook for Dolly.
Stopped at a Bealls for Lauri to check out a sale and then home.
I immediately started boiling the thighs for Dolly as I did not have room in fridge, cooler or freezer to store them whole. Putting away groceries and other puttering and it was time to relax. After such a large lunch, we had soup for dinner. Then we headed to a Western dance here at the park.
There was a self-described “one man band” for the music and he was great. He played a mix of music and the only reason that I didn’t dance every dance was that Terry was dancing with Lauri & Carie. He also had one dance with a lady that approached us and asked if I minded if my husband taught her how to two-step. He tried but she was not a very good student. A guy stopped by and told Terry that he hadn’t seen a man dance with so many women. We even danced multiple polkas nearly to the end!
Jan 31st - Sat - Thonotosassa
Just puttered around getting things ready to leave tomorrow - cleaning, pick up a few groceries, a quick visit to the nearby flea market for shammies that work so well for washing dishes and visiting with a couple of neighbors. Happy hour inside our place since the weather was pretty cool.
Feb 1st - Sun - to Keaton Beach FL
Didn’t take long to unplug and hook up this morning and head north. A 3 ½ hour drive took us inland near Ocala and then back to the Gulf of Mexico to Old Pavilion RV park in Keaton Beach. Billy & Lauri pulled in before we were even done setting up. They left at the crack of 8 am while we were still in bed but they had to stop for propane and gas in their motor home. Billy drove his motor home in next to us so our doors are together and so they can enjoy the waterfront view through their windshield that we see from our back window.
After our lunches, Billy offered to drive on an area exploration trip. Not much here!! Most of the residences are up on HIGH “stilts” of some type - concrete columns, poles, concrete blocks and timbers are all used. A lot are manufactured homes and many put an elevated deck under part of the house. We went back to Steinhatchee which we drove through on the way here - stopped at a grocery store but did not find an appealing bar for a beer.
Lauri asked us to join them for hamburgers for dinner - nice not to cook! And we all watched the Super Bowl which turned out to be a good game.
Feb 2nd - Mon - Keaton Beach
Woke up to light rain so Terry made a quick trip outside to put away the patio chairs and tuck Billy’s chairs under his rig. Enjoyed our coffee & a bowl of fruit looking at our waterfront view. Had a late breakfast and then invited Billy & Lauri over for cards. We ended up playing Sequence which we all enjoyed. The rain had quit and there was no wind so we wandered around outside for a while and then played more Sequence until it was time to split and prepare dinner. Caught up & posted my blog.
Cool but warm enough for water exercises. Then we all (Billy & Lauri, Carie & Gary) loaded our bikes to check out a trail about 15 minutes away in the Flatwood recreation area. There are several trails but we picked the paved, 8.4 mile loop. It was cloudy and breezy but a lovely ride. We had packed lunches so stopped midway to eat. There were people roller-blading, walking and running as well as other bicyclists. The only wildlife we saw was a hawk resting on a branch quite close to the trail.
When we got back, Terry took the garbage to the dumpster and continued to ride around the park. It was getting dark so he headed back and arrived just as it started to pour rain. He had to dash out to put a plastic bag on his bicycle seat and then out again to unlatch and close the door as the rain was blowing in onto the mat.
I had strawberries left from Tuesday so I cleaned them and invited Billy & Lauri and Gary & Carie over for strawberries and dip - YUM!! “Life is uncertain - eat dessert first”!
Everyone headed home to make dinner and then we all went to play bingo. Terry won one of the larger payouts for a blackout - $21. Considering it cost us $9.25 to play all evening, that is pretty good.
Jan 30th - Fri - Thonotosassa
Lots of rain last night - greatly needed here. When I heard the rain let up a bit this morning I quickly took Dolly out so we didn’t have to go out in a downpour. I figured it was too cold for water exercise class but when we took the laundry over about 10:30, the diehards were in the pool.
About noon, Billy & Laurie and we went to check out a little restaurant for lunch and had the recommended grouper sandwich. Deep fried fillets on a huge hoagie bun with all the trimmings and a large side of fries. I’m glad I tried it but it was a little too greasy to order again.
Next door was a Price Cutter grocery store that someone mentioned for good meat prices. Wish we had found it sooner - $5.99 for boneless ribeye & New York strip steaks, $2.99 for boneless center cut pork chops, $2.13 for boneless/skinless chicken breasts and .99 for chicken thighs to cook for Dolly.
Stopped at a Bealls for Lauri to check out a sale and then home.
I immediately started boiling the thighs for Dolly as I did not have room in fridge, cooler or freezer to store them whole. Putting away groceries and other puttering and it was time to relax. After such a large lunch, we had soup for dinner. Then we headed to a Western dance here at the park.
There was a self-described “one man band” for the music and he was great. He played a mix of music and the only reason that I didn’t dance every dance was that Terry was dancing with Lauri & Carie. He also had one dance with a lady that approached us and asked if I minded if my husband taught her how to two-step. He tried but she was not a very good student. A guy stopped by and told Terry that he hadn’t seen a man dance with so many women. We even danced multiple polkas nearly to the end!
Jan 31st - Sat - Thonotosassa
Just puttered around getting things ready to leave tomorrow - cleaning, pick up a few groceries, a quick visit to the nearby flea market for shammies that work so well for washing dishes and visiting with a couple of neighbors. Happy hour inside our place since the weather was pretty cool.
Feb 1st - Sun - to Keaton Beach FL
Didn’t take long to unplug and hook up this morning and head north. A 3 ½ hour drive took us inland near Ocala and then back to the Gulf of Mexico to Old Pavilion RV park in Keaton Beach. Billy & Lauri pulled in before we were even done setting up. They left at the crack of 8 am while we were still in bed but they had to stop for propane and gas in their motor home. Billy drove his motor home in next to us so our doors are together and so they can enjoy the waterfront view through their windshield that we see from our back window.
After our lunches, Billy offered to drive on an area exploration trip. Not much here!! Most of the residences are up on HIGH “stilts” of some type - concrete columns, poles, concrete blocks and timbers are all used. A lot are manufactured homes and many put an elevated deck under part of the house. We went back to Steinhatchee which we drove through on the way here - stopped at a grocery store but did not find an appealing bar for a beer.
Lauri asked us to join them for hamburgers for dinner - nice not to cook! And we all watched the Super Bowl which turned out to be a good game.
Feb 2nd - Mon - Keaton Beach
Woke up to light rain so Terry made a quick trip outside to put away the patio chairs and tuck Billy’s chairs under his rig. Enjoyed our coffee & a bowl of fruit looking at our waterfront view. Had a late breakfast and then invited Billy & Lauri over for cards. We ended up playing Sequence which we all enjoyed. The rain had quit and there was no wind so we wandered around outside for a while and then played more Sequence until it was time to split and prepare dinner. Caught up & posted my blog.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Jan 25th to 28th - Thonotosassa
Jan 25th - Sun - Thonotosassa
With the return of warmer weather, we moved a couple of chairs into the sun this morning to enjoy a cup of coffee. After breakfast/lunch, we joined Carie & Gary for a bike ride around the park and then we all decided to join Billy & Lauri at the pool. But before we went, we cleaned, masked and touched up the rust on the bike rack with spray paint. I guess it’s a combination of 27 months of traveling, humidity and some salt spray in the Florida keys that is resulting in rust.
At happy hour at our place, we all decided that it was time to go for pizza at Ci Ci’s - the pizza buffet place. Gary & Carie have a fold down console in their pickup so they emptied the back seat and we all squeezed in for the ride to Zephyrhills. No one ate too much (yeah, right!!) and we all enjoyed our dinner.
Jan 26th - Mon - Thonotosassa
It warmed up enough (at least 60 by 10 o’clock) for water exercise class this morning. There had been a problem with the pool and it was very warm - 91 degrees!
We had talked about the group going on a canoe trip but we all decided that nearly $50 for a 2 hour paddle was a little pricey so we packed lunches, loaded our bikes in trucks and went for a bicycle ride. We discovered a 6.7 mile trail between John Sergeant county park and Hillsborough River state park so we unloaded the bikes and then took one truck back to the county park so we would ride only one way. The trail was unpaved and had several sections of loose sand so it was a real workout. Luckily, the last 2.2 miles were paved to give us old folks a break. We saw 2 armadillos - one was quite curious and stood up on it’s hind legs to try to see us.
When we got back we all headed for the pool and the hot tub. Then a short happy hour at Gary & Carie’s before parting for dinner.
Jan 27th - Tues - Thonotosassa
After water exercises and breakfast, we and Billy & Lauri headed for Costco. Costco has a liquor store right beside the regular store and the prices are very good (½ gallon Scotch $17, ½ gallon Vodka $12) so we decided to stock up a bit as we don’t know what the prices will be down the road. A quick stop at WalMart and then at a produce stand for some strawberries. Gary’s birthday is today and “the group” will have dinner together at Gary & Carie’s. I made strawberry shortcake so I baked the biscuits and sliced & sweetened the berries when we got home. Also cut up a pork loin that Lauri & I split and washed up romaine lettuce. And it was already time for happy hour!
The weather cooperated so we could sit and have dinner outside. Gary & Carie made a buddy burner so we enjoyed that as well. Very nice dinner and evening.
Jan 28th - Wed - Thonotosassa
Before exercise class, I gave Dolly another bath and flea dip treatment and vacuumed. Only a few fleas left so have to keep at them. I sent Terry to the store so after exercises I could mix up marshmallow & cream cheese dip for the rest of the strawberries. Then the 6 of us set off for Clearwater Beach in Gary & Carie’s truck. It is quite a long drive (an hour). The sand is very white and fine, the weather was warm but windy. We left at 3 and drove to Cody’s Roadhouse restaurant in Brandon to take advantage of the 2 for 1 fajitas again. It was just as good as the first time, most of us ate too much and groaned all the way back to the park.
Terry & I went for a bike ride around all the park roads to settle our dinner a little.
With the return of warmer weather, we moved a couple of chairs into the sun this morning to enjoy a cup of coffee. After breakfast/lunch, we joined Carie & Gary for a bike ride around the park and then we all decided to join Billy & Lauri at the pool. But before we went, we cleaned, masked and touched up the rust on the bike rack with spray paint. I guess it’s a combination of 27 months of traveling, humidity and some salt spray in the Florida keys that is resulting in rust.
At happy hour at our place, we all decided that it was time to go for pizza at Ci Ci’s - the pizza buffet place. Gary & Carie have a fold down console in their pickup so they emptied the back seat and we all squeezed in for the ride to Zephyrhills. No one ate too much (yeah, right!!) and we all enjoyed our dinner.
Jan 26th - Mon - Thonotosassa
It warmed up enough (at least 60 by 10 o’clock) for water exercise class this morning. There had been a problem with the pool and it was very warm - 91 degrees!
We had talked about the group going on a canoe trip but we all decided that nearly $50 for a 2 hour paddle was a little pricey so we packed lunches, loaded our bikes in trucks and went for a bicycle ride. We discovered a 6.7 mile trail between John Sergeant county park and Hillsborough River state park so we unloaded the bikes and then took one truck back to the county park so we would ride only one way. The trail was unpaved and had several sections of loose sand so it was a real workout. Luckily, the last 2.2 miles were paved to give us old folks a break. We saw 2 armadillos - one was quite curious and stood up on it’s hind legs to try to see us.
When we got back we all headed for the pool and the hot tub. Then a short happy hour at Gary & Carie’s before parting for dinner.
Jan 27th - Tues - Thonotosassa
After water exercises and breakfast, we and Billy & Lauri headed for Costco. Costco has a liquor store right beside the regular store and the prices are very good (½ gallon Scotch $17, ½ gallon Vodka $12) so we decided to stock up a bit as we don’t know what the prices will be down the road. A quick stop at WalMart and then at a produce stand for some strawberries. Gary’s birthday is today and “the group” will have dinner together at Gary & Carie’s. I made strawberry shortcake so I baked the biscuits and sliced & sweetened the berries when we got home. Also cut up a pork loin that Lauri & I split and washed up romaine lettuce. And it was already time for happy hour!
The weather cooperated so we could sit and have dinner outside. Gary & Carie made a buddy burner so we enjoyed that as well. Very nice dinner and evening.
Jan 28th - Wed - Thonotosassa
Before exercise class, I gave Dolly another bath and flea dip treatment and vacuumed. Only a few fleas left so have to keep at them. I sent Terry to the store so after exercises I could mix up marshmallow & cream cheese dip for the rest of the strawberries. Then the 6 of us set off for Clearwater Beach in Gary & Carie’s truck. It is quite a long drive (an hour). The sand is very white and fine, the weather was warm but windy. We left at 3 and drove to Cody’s Roadhouse restaurant in Brandon to take advantage of the 2 for 1 fajitas again. It was just as good as the first time, most of us ate too much and groaned all the way back to the park.
Terry & I went for a bike ride around all the park roads to settle our dinner a little.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Jan 21st to 24th - Thonotosassa FL
Jan 21st - Wed - Thonotosassa
It was very cold last night (near freezing) and windy this morning. The cold front is supposed to be leaving in a couple of days which will be great.
Billy & Lauri and we went to a Manatee viewing area that Paul & Vicki had told us about yesterday. When the water is cold, the manatees move to a protected inlet where a power plant discharges warm water. There are viewing platforms, a long boardwalk/pier, an interpretive center with an informational film and a gift shop. Retired power plant employees are hosts and docents. And for a nice change it is free.
We had dug out our warmest jackets and I should have tried to find ear muffs as well since the wind made it pretty cold. There were lots of manatees mostly submerged in the water. They would slowly raise their heads to breathe and slowly roll and go down a bit. We saw a sting ray and schools of large fish (tarpon, we think) off the pier.
Billy had heard about a restaurant (Cody’s Roadhouse) in Brandon that had 2 for 1 fajitas on Wednesday so we had to check it out on the way back. It is a “peanut shells on the floor” and “disposable paper on the table” type of place - very relaxed and fun. We were there at happy hour so drinks were 2 for 1 as well. The fajitas were great and Billy was very happy with his 2 glasses of beer so it was a good dinner choice.
Carie wore a mask to dinner last night as she was sneezing like crazy and did not want anyone else to catch whatever she might have be coming down with. She had a full blown cold today so they were taking it easy.
Jan 22nd - Thurs - Thonotosassa
Cold again this morning so we hibernated until about 10:30 when we joined Billy & Lauri for a drive to Ybor City which is between here and Tampa. It is a National Historic District which still has several hand-rolled cigar companies that were the reason for the growth of the city in the late 1800’s. It is well known for it’s nightlife from Wed to Sat. We visited the visitor information center and wandered down the streets before stopping for lunch. I wanted to sample a Cuban sandwich and figured this would be a good place to do so. The sandwich has ham, pork, salami, cheese, tomato, lettuce, pickles, mayo & mustard on Cuban bread which is like a French bread. Then it is pressed and toasted. Good but too much ham and not enough pork & salami which would have made it more distinctive.
We wandered back to the car - still cool but the sun was warm - then stopped at Camping World and a little roadside produce stand on the way back to the park.
After dinner, we and Billy & Lauri went to Bingo. No one at our table won a thing!! Gary now has Carie’s cold so they didn’t join us.
Jan 23rd - Fri - Thonotosassa
Relaxing day today. Did laundry and then took advantage of warming weather to go to the pool.
We have been getting wonderful, huge avocados here and both Lauri & I had the idea to use them for guacamole before they went bad. So we had to force down a couple bowls of guacamole at happy hour!
Tomorrow is an auction and bake sale at the park so I baked a few dozen shortbread cookies to contribute.
Jan 24th - Sat - Thonotosassa
I made a dozen quick danish this morning - 6 for us and 6 for the bake sale. Terry & I delivered the baking just after 9 and took a quick look at the auction items. This is a Chinese Auction - donated items are grouped on sheets of paper on tables with a red plastic cup for each group. You buy tickets (10 for $1) and drop a ticket into any cup where you want the items on the paper. Then a ticket is drawn from each cup to determine the winner of that lot. Any item that we wanted had other junk grouped with it so we didn’t buy any tickets.
At noon, a regular auction started with larger donated items. We attended for a while, took a break for lunch and then went back for a few minutes just in time for a 30 amp cord go for more money than Terry wanted to spend. Went to pick up a few groceries and had happy hour at our place - first with Billy, then joined by new acquaintances Larry & Judy (we met Judy at bingo) and then Gary & Carie joined us for a while.
It was very cold last night (near freezing) and windy this morning. The cold front is supposed to be leaving in a couple of days which will be great.
Billy & Lauri and we went to a Manatee viewing area that Paul & Vicki had told us about yesterday. When the water is cold, the manatees move to a protected inlet where a power plant discharges warm water. There are viewing platforms, a long boardwalk/pier, an interpretive center with an informational film and a gift shop. Retired power plant employees are hosts and docents. And for a nice change it is free.
We had dug out our warmest jackets and I should have tried to find ear muffs as well since the wind made it pretty cold. There were lots of manatees mostly submerged in the water. They would slowly raise their heads to breathe and slowly roll and go down a bit. We saw a sting ray and schools of large fish (tarpon, we think) off the pier.
Billy had heard about a restaurant (Cody’s Roadhouse) in Brandon that had 2 for 1 fajitas on Wednesday so we had to check it out on the way back. It is a “peanut shells on the floor” and “disposable paper on the table” type of place - very relaxed and fun. We were there at happy hour so drinks were 2 for 1 as well. The fajitas were great and Billy was very happy with his 2 glasses of beer so it was a good dinner choice.
Carie wore a mask to dinner last night as she was sneezing like crazy and did not want anyone else to catch whatever she might have be coming down with. She had a full blown cold today so they were taking it easy.
Jan 22nd - Thurs - Thonotosassa
Cold again this morning so we hibernated until about 10:30 when we joined Billy & Lauri for a drive to Ybor City which is between here and Tampa. It is a National Historic District which still has several hand-rolled cigar companies that were the reason for the growth of the city in the late 1800’s. It is well known for it’s nightlife from Wed to Sat. We visited the visitor information center and wandered down the streets before stopping for lunch. I wanted to sample a Cuban sandwich and figured this would be a good place to do so. The sandwich has ham, pork, salami, cheese, tomato, lettuce, pickles, mayo & mustard on Cuban bread which is like a French bread. Then it is pressed and toasted. Good but too much ham and not enough pork & salami which would have made it more distinctive.
We wandered back to the car - still cool but the sun was warm - then stopped at Camping World and a little roadside produce stand on the way back to the park.
After dinner, we and Billy & Lauri went to Bingo. No one at our table won a thing!! Gary now has Carie’s cold so they didn’t join us.
Jan 23rd - Fri - Thonotosassa
Relaxing day today. Did laundry and then took advantage of warming weather to go to the pool.
We have been getting wonderful, huge avocados here and both Lauri & I had the idea to use them for guacamole before they went bad. So we had to force down a couple bowls of guacamole at happy hour!
Tomorrow is an auction and bake sale at the park so I baked a few dozen shortbread cookies to contribute.
Jan 24th - Sat - Thonotosassa
I made a dozen quick danish this morning - 6 for us and 6 for the bake sale. Terry & I delivered the baking just after 9 and took a quick look at the auction items. This is a Chinese Auction - donated items are grouped on sheets of paper on tables with a red plastic cup for each group. You buy tickets (10 for $1) and drop a ticket into any cup where you want the items on the paper. Then a ticket is drawn from each cup to determine the winner of that lot. Any item that we wanted had other junk grouped with it so we didn’t buy any tickets.
At noon, a regular auction started with larger donated items. We attended for a while, took a break for lunch and then went back for a few minutes just in time for a 30 amp cord go for more money than Terry wanted to spend. Went to pick up a few groceries and had happy hour at our place - first with Billy, then joined by new acquaintances Larry & Judy (we met Judy at bingo) and then Gary & Carie joined us for a while.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Jan 18th to 20th - Thonotosassa FL
Jan 18th - Sun - Thonotosassa
Chores this morning. Terry scraped, sanded and spray painted the 5th wheel hitch as there was quite a bit of rust on it. I helped with masking tape and advice! After a sandwich for lunch, we headed to the Super WalMart to buy a couple of digital conversion boxes for our TVs. We received our forwarded mail yesterday and got our $40 coupons from government so figured we better get them sooner than later. On the way back we drove by to see Paul & Vicki but they weren’t home. Just then Carie called to see where we were and if we wanted to show them the strawberry shortcake place. She twisted our arms so we returned to the park, dropped off our purchases and went for shortcake which was just as good as the last time(s).
About 8, we finally were hungry enough to want something for dinner so had bacon & eggs.
Jan 19th - Mon - Thonotosassa
Not sure what happened but Marg told me last night that my blog was not up to date. I checked this morning and sure enough, the 13th through 15th was finished in my word document but not posted. I even had 2 more days in the word document so I posted them all before we left at 8 for the big Monday-only flea market in Webster. Today is Martin Luther King day, a federal holiday, and the Webster market has way more vendors than usual so we had to check it out. Started out cool but we carried our jackets most of the day.
We bought a couple of small things and took some pictures for Dad. All of us met up for lunch and finally left about 1:45 - the wind was really kicking up dust and we were all tired of walking. It took us ½ hour to reach the turnoff to Hwy 301, maybe 4 miles - bumper to bumper cars leaving the flea market. About 4 we put on jackets for an outside happy hour.
Jan 20th - Tues - Thonotosassa
We were having Billy & Lauri, Gary & Carie and Paul & Vicki over for a baby back rib dinner for Terry’s birthday today so we had to go to Costco this morning for the ribs. Billy & Lauri came with us and we also made a stop at Super WalMart. Had some lunch and figured out how to seat 8 for dinner as it is just too cold to be outside. It poured rain last night and was very windy. Today is cold and windy.
Everything worked out great for dinner - everyone contributed to the food and we all had a good time. We brought in our new rectangular folding table and sat 2 on one side on the couch and 2 on the footstool ends of the coffee table on the other side - perfect.
We had dinner early as we had expected to eat outside and wanted to eat while the sun was out. So everyone was gone by 7:30 and Terry climbed into our nice electric-mattress-pad-warmed bed shortly after!
Chores this morning. Terry scraped, sanded and spray painted the 5th wheel hitch as there was quite a bit of rust on it. I helped with masking tape and advice! After a sandwich for lunch, we headed to the Super WalMart to buy a couple of digital conversion boxes for our TVs. We received our forwarded mail yesterday and got our $40 coupons from government so figured we better get them sooner than later. On the way back we drove by to see Paul & Vicki but they weren’t home. Just then Carie called to see where we were and if we wanted to show them the strawberry shortcake place. She twisted our arms so we returned to the park, dropped off our purchases and went for shortcake which was just as good as the last time(s).
About 8, we finally were hungry enough to want something for dinner so had bacon & eggs.
Jan 19th - Mon - Thonotosassa
Not sure what happened but Marg told me last night that my blog was not up to date. I checked this morning and sure enough, the 13th through 15th was finished in my word document but not posted. I even had 2 more days in the word document so I posted them all before we left at 8 for the big Monday-only flea market in Webster. Today is Martin Luther King day, a federal holiday, and the Webster market has way more vendors than usual so we had to check it out. Started out cool but we carried our jackets most of the day.
We bought a couple of small things and took some pictures for Dad. All of us met up for lunch and finally left about 1:45 - the wind was really kicking up dust and we were all tired of walking. It took us ½ hour to reach the turnoff to Hwy 301, maybe 4 miles - bumper to bumper cars leaving the flea market. About 4 we put on jackets for an outside happy hour.
Jan 20th - Tues - Thonotosassa
We were having Billy & Lauri, Gary & Carie and Paul & Vicki over for a baby back rib dinner for Terry’s birthday today so we had to go to Costco this morning for the ribs. Billy & Lauri came with us and we also made a stop at Super WalMart. Had some lunch and figured out how to seat 8 for dinner as it is just too cold to be outside. It poured rain last night and was very windy. Today is cold and windy.
Everything worked out great for dinner - everyone contributed to the food and we all had a good time. We brought in our new rectangular folding table and sat 2 on one side on the couch and 2 on the footstool ends of the coffee table on the other side - perfect.
We had dinner early as we had expected to eat outside and wanted to eat while the sun was out. So everyone was gone by 7:30 and Terry climbed into our nice electric-mattress-pad-warmed bed shortly after!
Monday, January 19, 2009
Jan 13th to 17th - Thonotosassa
Jan 13th - Tues - Thonotosassa
Gary & Carie joined Billy, Lauri and me for water exercise class this morning. After lunch, Terry & I went to Plant City just south of here looking for a hardware store and a place that we have been told about that makes good strawberry shortcake. We found the hardware store but not the strawberry shortcake. We also stopped at Big Lots to get a new lamp for between our recliners.
I decided I had to pull out all the stops to try to get rid of Dolly’s fleas so I bathed her in flea shampoo, used a leave-on flea dip and then we set off a “bug bomb” in the rig to kill fleas in the carpet and furniture. While we were unable to go back into the rig, we did laundry and Carie invited us to their place between washing & drying. Then she invited us to join them for dinner - how nice! After Terry opened windows and door to air the rig out, I took the laundry and Dolly in from the truck and cleaned the floor & countertops. Then we went with Gary & Carie to soak in the hot tub and have a swim.
Jan 14th - Wed - Thonotosassa
The huge Tampa RV show started today at the fairgrounds. Terry has been like a kid before Christmas waiting to go so we made plans to meet Frank & Marion (from Newfoundland, met in Davenport) at 9 at the front entrance. They arrived just before Carie & Gary called to see where we were and they joined us as well. We knew we would not be able to stay together so we made plans to meet for lunch and went our separate ways. It is indeed a very large show - the ads said 350 vendor booths and 1200 2009 RVs. So we were amazed that we saw Paul & Vicki (now in Zephyrhills) and Doug & Louise (spent New Years with them) twice while we were wandering around. There was an interesting motor home where the side folded out to make a deck accessible from the inside. A row of windows folded out as well and then up to form the deck railing.
We finally left about 4:30 and did not see everything. We think we looked at most of the 5th wheels but there may be more hiding in the buildings. I did not see one 5th wheel that I prefer to ours so we better take really good care of ours as we may have it quite a while longer. When you purchase a ticket, you receive another one for a future day so we will be going back tomorrow to finish checking everything out.
We sat out for a quick drink with Gary & Carie and Billy & Lauri. It started out quite cool this morning and cooled down quickly after the sun went down so we all headed inside. Terry went to the hot tub with Carie & Gary but I was tired & lazy so didn‘t go.
Jan 15th - Thurs - Thonotosassa
It was 41 degrees when we left for the RV show just before 9. Yesterday was senior day and there were way more people there early than there were today. Repeat of yesterday except that we finally saw a 5th wheel that caught our eyes - a Montana. Very similar layout to ours but with a peninsula kitchen, a large fridge, flat screen TV and a nice closet by the door that is plumbed for a washer/dryer but set up as a broom/coat closet - all features that we would love. If the recession hadn’t decimated some of our savings we would be negotiating with the salesman!
There was a great sand sculpture at the show. It was a map of the US, made on a slant for viewing, with items on it that were representative of some states or areas - for example, the Space Needle in Seattle, Liberty Bell, Capital Building, St Louis arch, hula dancer in Hawaii, an ear of corn and a sign pointing to Tampa for the 2009 RV show. Very clever and well done.
We left the show earlier today and went to Plant City to return an item to Big Lots (not the lamp) and to find the place selling strawberry shortcake. And wonderful shortcake it turned out to be!!
About 5 Carie invited us all over for happy hour (inside as it was too cool to sit out) that turned into 2 ½ happy hours with lots of laughs. Both Terry & I declined to go out in the cold to join Carie in the hot tub.
Jan 16th - Fri - Thonotosassa
Posted the blog and worked on emails before joining Billy & Lauri on a drive to Plant City & Lakeland. There is going to be a Hawaiian theme dance tomorrow at the park so Billy & Lauri needed some shirts, much to conservative Billy’s disapproval. They found something for each of them at Bealls Outlet and then we had to introduce them to the great strawberry shortcakes. Lauri and I opted for the Strawberry Boat which is strawberries over ice cream with whipped topping - YUM!! Also picked up huge avocados for 80 cents each and a bag of fresh picked navel oranges for $1.39. The oranges are very sweet.
We continued on to check out Lakeland and find the location for a gun show that Billy will be going to tomorrow. Terry & I walked over to exchange some books before joining the rest of the group at Billy & Lauri’s for happy hour.
Cool again all day today - 51 inside this morning and 42 outside.
Jan 17th - Sat - Thonotosassa
I caught up on some computer stuff and other chores this morning while it was still too cool to enjoy outdoors. We made a quick trip to the nearby Big Top flea market with Gary & Carie trying to find a bicycle for Carie and made a grocery stop on the way back.
Happy hour at our place before dinner and then we all attended a dance from 8:00 to 11:00 at the RV park. Music was provided by a couple with a wide range of styles including Hawaiian to match the theme of the dance. $10 for tickets, BYOB and snacks for an inexpensive evening. Terry & I danced a lot - including most of a polka and the twist.
Gary & Carie joined Billy, Lauri and me for water exercise class this morning. After lunch, Terry & I went to Plant City just south of here looking for a hardware store and a place that we have been told about that makes good strawberry shortcake. We found the hardware store but not the strawberry shortcake. We also stopped at Big Lots to get a new lamp for between our recliners.
I decided I had to pull out all the stops to try to get rid of Dolly’s fleas so I bathed her in flea shampoo, used a leave-on flea dip and then we set off a “bug bomb” in the rig to kill fleas in the carpet and furniture. While we were unable to go back into the rig, we did laundry and Carie invited us to their place between washing & drying. Then she invited us to join them for dinner - how nice! After Terry opened windows and door to air the rig out, I took the laundry and Dolly in from the truck and cleaned the floor & countertops. Then we went with Gary & Carie to soak in the hot tub and have a swim.
Jan 14th - Wed - Thonotosassa
The huge Tampa RV show started today at the fairgrounds. Terry has been like a kid before Christmas waiting to go so we made plans to meet Frank & Marion (from Newfoundland, met in Davenport) at 9 at the front entrance. They arrived just before Carie & Gary called to see where we were and they joined us as well. We knew we would not be able to stay together so we made plans to meet for lunch and went our separate ways. It is indeed a very large show - the ads said 350 vendor booths and 1200 2009 RVs. So we were amazed that we saw Paul & Vicki (now in Zephyrhills) and Doug & Louise (spent New Years with them) twice while we were wandering around. There was an interesting motor home where the side folded out to make a deck accessible from the inside. A row of windows folded out as well and then up to form the deck railing.
We finally left about 4:30 and did not see everything. We think we looked at most of the 5th wheels but there may be more hiding in the buildings. I did not see one 5th wheel that I prefer to ours so we better take really good care of ours as we may have it quite a while longer. When you purchase a ticket, you receive another one for a future day so we will be going back tomorrow to finish checking everything out.
We sat out for a quick drink with Gary & Carie and Billy & Lauri. It started out quite cool this morning and cooled down quickly after the sun went down so we all headed inside. Terry went to the hot tub with Carie & Gary but I was tired & lazy so didn‘t go.
Jan 15th - Thurs - Thonotosassa
It was 41 degrees when we left for the RV show just before 9. Yesterday was senior day and there were way more people there early than there were today. Repeat of yesterday except that we finally saw a 5th wheel that caught our eyes - a Montana. Very similar layout to ours but with a peninsula kitchen, a large fridge, flat screen TV and a nice closet by the door that is plumbed for a washer/dryer but set up as a broom/coat closet - all features that we would love. If the recession hadn’t decimated some of our savings we would be negotiating with the salesman!
There was a great sand sculpture at the show. It was a map of the US, made on a slant for viewing, with items on it that were representative of some states or areas - for example, the Space Needle in Seattle, Liberty Bell, Capital Building, St Louis arch, hula dancer in Hawaii, an ear of corn and a sign pointing to Tampa for the 2009 RV show. Very clever and well done.
We left the show earlier today and went to Plant City to return an item to Big Lots (not the lamp) and to find the place selling strawberry shortcake. And wonderful shortcake it turned out to be!!
About 5 Carie invited us all over for happy hour (inside as it was too cool to sit out) that turned into 2 ½ happy hours with lots of laughs. Both Terry & I declined to go out in the cold to join Carie in the hot tub.
Jan 16th - Fri - Thonotosassa
Posted the blog and worked on emails before joining Billy & Lauri on a drive to Plant City & Lakeland. There is going to be a Hawaiian theme dance tomorrow at the park so Billy & Lauri needed some shirts, much to conservative Billy’s disapproval. They found something for each of them at Bealls Outlet and then we had to introduce them to the great strawberry shortcakes. Lauri and I opted for the Strawberry Boat which is strawberries over ice cream with whipped topping - YUM!! Also picked up huge avocados for 80 cents each and a bag of fresh picked navel oranges for $1.39. The oranges are very sweet.
We continued on to check out Lakeland and find the location for a gun show that Billy will be going to tomorrow. Terry & I walked over to exchange some books before joining the rest of the group at Billy & Lauri’s for happy hour.
Cool again all day today - 51 inside this morning and 42 outside.
Jan 17th - Sat - Thonotosassa
I caught up on some computer stuff and other chores this morning while it was still too cool to enjoy outdoors. We made a quick trip to the nearby Big Top flea market with Gary & Carie trying to find a bicycle for Carie and made a grocery stop on the way back.
Happy hour at our place before dinner and then we all attended a dance from 8:00 to 11:00 at the RV park. Music was provided by a couple with a wide range of styles including Hawaiian to match the theme of the dance. $10 for tickets, BYOB and snacks for an inexpensive evening. Terry & I danced a lot - including most of a polka and the twist.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Jan 9th to 12th - Thonotosassa FL
Jan 9th - Fri - Thonotosassa
After water exercises and lunch, we all went to Zephyrhills in search of a bathing suit for me. I haven’t wanted to swim in the afternoon or evening as my suit will still be wet which is no fun to put on in the morning. Checked out a few stores and finally found one at Bealls Outlet at a reasonable price.
When we got back, it was time for a drink and some more cards before dinner.
Jan 10th - Sat - Thonotosassa
The weather is forecast to get cooler next week so Billy & lauri thought it would be a good day to check out the beaches. We packed lunches and took off about 10. It is quite a long drive (an hour?) to the coast and then you can drive along a coastal highway with access to multiple beaches. We checked out St. Pete’s beach which was lovely with very fine sand. It was early so we decided to continue driving north. We stopped at Sand Key beach, fed the parking meter for 2 hours and discovered that the beach was not as pretty and clean as St. Pete’s beach. We had lunch, gathered a few shells, caught some rays, headed back to the car and continued driving north to Clearwater Beach. Good thing we did not go there initially as the parking lots were full as were the meters on the streets. So we turned back east and took a slightly different route back to the RV park.
A few games of 31 again before dinner.
Jan 11th - Sun - Thonotosassa
We got tired watching Billy washing the black streaks off his rig so we headed to Zephyrhills looking for a couple of flea markets that we had found on the internet. It appears as it the internet information is not updated regularly as neither one is still in operation. Vicki called just before 12 while we were still in Zephyrhills so we went to see them at their RV park. It was a lovely day so after chatting a bit we went to watch skydivers a few miles away at one of the most popular skydiving locations in the US. We watched from 21 to 29 people load into a plane, waited while it gained altitude and then watched them come down and land. It was a fun thing to do on a sunny day.
From there Paul & Vicki went with us to a Super WalMart for some groceries. We dropped them off and headed home. Gary& Carie were due in today but weren’t here when we returned so we took a bike ride around the park to see if they were in a different site. Nope - they showed up as we were riding so we confused the heck out of Gary trying to help him squeeze between the concrete pad and the sewer connection and still get far enough back to reach the electric connection. While they were setting up we cooked dinner (a wonderful steak!) early as we hadn’t had lunch. Gary & Carie joined us for a drink and when they went to fix dinner we went to discuss tomorrow’s plans with Billy& Lauri.
Later, we and Gary & Carie enjoyed the hot tub and the pool.
Jan 12th - Mon - Thonotosassa
We all skipped exercise class today so we could leave at 9 to go to a flea market in Webster, about an hour north of here. Billy & Lauri rode with us and Gary & Carie followed. No one can fit 6 people.
I have to revise a previous comment in this blog - this is probably the largest market that we have attended. One side is mostly used/antique/collectible items and the other is a lot of new items with most of the stalls under cover. We were there for 4 hours with a short lunch break and were not able to see the whole thing even though we did not linger long at any one spot.
On the way back, we stopped at a state park to check out a spot to launch kayaks in the Hillsborough River.
Terry & I went for a bike ride around the park while the others were starting dinner. Then we all got together for a drink and more 31 before going our separate ways for dinner. Another visit by us and Gary& Carie to the hot tub & pool to end a very nice day.
After water exercises and lunch, we all went to Zephyrhills in search of a bathing suit for me. I haven’t wanted to swim in the afternoon or evening as my suit will still be wet which is no fun to put on in the morning. Checked out a few stores and finally found one at Bealls Outlet at a reasonable price.
When we got back, it was time for a drink and some more cards before dinner.
Jan 10th - Sat - Thonotosassa
The weather is forecast to get cooler next week so Billy & lauri thought it would be a good day to check out the beaches. We packed lunches and took off about 10. It is quite a long drive (an hour?) to the coast and then you can drive along a coastal highway with access to multiple beaches. We checked out St. Pete’s beach which was lovely with very fine sand. It was early so we decided to continue driving north. We stopped at Sand Key beach, fed the parking meter for 2 hours and discovered that the beach was not as pretty and clean as St. Pete’s beach. We had lunch, gathered a few shells, caught some rays, headed back to the car and continued driving north to Clearwater Beach. Good thing we did not go there initially as the parking lots were full as were the meters on the streets. So we turned back east and took a slightly different route back to the RV park.
A few games of 31 again before dinner.
Jan 11th - Sun - Thonotosassa
We got tired watching Billy washing the black streaks off his rig so we headed to Zephyrhills looking for a couple of flea markets that we had found on the internet. It appears as it the internet information is not updated regularly as neither one is still in operation. Vicki called just before 12 while we were still in Zephyrhills so we went to see them at their RV park. It was a lovely day so after chatting a bit we went to watch skydivers a few miles away at one of the most popular skydiving locations in the US. We watched from 21 to 29 people load into a plane, waited while it gained altitude and then watched them come down and land. It was a fun thing to do on a sunny day.
From there Paul & Vicki went with us to a Super WalMart for some groceries. We dropped them off and headed home. Gary& Carie were due in today but weren’t here when we returned so we took a bike ride around the park to see if they were in a different site. Nope - they showed up as we were riding so we confused the heck out of Gary trying to help him squeeze between the concrete pad and the sewer connection and still get far enough back to reach the electric connection. While they were setting up we cooked dinner (a wonderful steak!) early as we hadn’t had lunch. Gary & Carie joined us for a drink and when they went to fix dinner we went to discuss tomorrow’s plans with Billy& Lauri.
Later, we and Gary & Carie enjoyed the hot tub and the pool.
Jan 12th - Mon - Thonotosassa
We all skipped exercise class today so we could leave at 9 to go to a flea market in Webster, about an hour north of here. Billy & Lauri rode with us and Gary & Carie followed. No one can fit 6 people.
I have to revise a previous comment in this blog - this is probably the largest market that we have attended. One side is mostly used/antique/collectible items and the other is a lot of new items with most of the stalls under cover. We were there for 4 hours with a short lunch break and were not able to see the whole thing even though we did not linger long at any one spot.
On the way back, we stopped at a state park to check out a spot to launch kayaks in the Hillsborough River.
Terry & I went for a bike ride around the park while the others were starting dinner. Then we all got together for a drink and more 31 before going our separate ways for dinner. Another visit by us and Gary& Carie to the hot tub & pool to end a very nice day.
Friday, January 09, 2009
Jan 6th to 8th - Thonotosassa
Jan 6th - Tues - Thonotosassa
Terry went for a walk and a bike ride around the park while I was in the water exercise class. Then lunch and a bike ride around a park across the road and down the road a ways to see what was there - nothing much!
Our down comforter badly needed washing so we went to a laundromat next to WalMart for a large washer and dryer. Picked up a couple of items at WalMart while we waited and then a quick stop at the nearby Publix (grocery store) for some shish kabob ingredients for the barbeque.
I also had to wash sheets but didn’t take them to the laundromat as I thought it would be more expensive than the park laundry which is $1.00 per load. I was wrong (same price) and we still had to go to the park laundry when we got back. Terry fell in the pool while I passed the time with a book.
Billy & Lauri were outside playing cards when we passed by and invited us to join them. So we learned how to play 31 (often played in RV parks) which was fun. After dinner, Terry talked to Don (step-Dad) to see how they were coping with all the snow. Spokane has had 77 inches of snow this season but it was raining today so some was disappearing.
Jan 7th - Wed - Thonotosassa
The water exercise class completed just before a rain storm hit today. Florida needs rain desperately so it was a good thing. It didn’t last very long which meant I didn’t get through organizing and putting captions on my pictures - but I did get a start on it!
Later in the afternoon Billy & Lauri went with us to find Costco and a Super WalMart in Brandon which is just south of here. Easy access off a freeway which is great for these two important stores.
After we all put purchases away, we played 31 again and swapped quarters around to end up with each couple back to even. Into the rig for dinner and to close up all windows against the cooler weather.
Jan 8th - Thurs - Thonotosassa
Still cool enough to keep some people from the pool exercises - but not us hardy north-westerners. We finally got out the ladder to clean windows today. Outside is easy with Terry moving the ladder and me washing the windows. I bought some cloths for window washing at a flea market. You use only water and they work great. They are also absolutely wonderful to clean my black stove top with no streaks. Cleaning the windows inside is another story as screens have to be removed and cleaned and the tracks have to be washed. Good thing no one else was around as I would have been embarrassed by how dirty some tracks were.
Billy & Lauri and we went to play bingo this evening. They play with hard cards & markers rather than flimsies & daubers. It is a whole new experience - in fact I missed a bingo on the first early game as I couldn’t keep up with 9 cards! So Terry & I both went down to 6 cards and I won the third early game. Bingo is much less expensive here than at the last park but we are not loving playing with markers. Luckily the early games paid more than the regular games so we actually came out a few dollars ahead.
Terry went for a walk and a bike ride around the park while I was in the water exercise class. Then lunch and a bike ride around a park across the road and down the road a ways to see what was there - nothing much!
Our down comforter badly needed washing so we went to a laundromat next to WalMart for a large washer and dryer. Picked up a couple of items at WalMart while we waited and then a quick stop at the nearby Publix (grocery store) for some shish kabob ingredients for the barbeque.
I also had to wash sheets but didn’t take them to the laundromat as I thought it would be more expensive than the park laundry which is $1.00 per load. I was wrong (same price) and we still had to go to the park laundry when we got back. Terry fell in the pool while I passed the time with a book.
Billy & Lauri were outside playing cards when we passed by and invited us to join them. So we learned how to play 31 (often played in RV parks) which was fun. After dinner, Terry talked to Don (step-Dad) to see how they were coping with all the snow. Spokane has had 77 inches of snow this season but it was raining today so some was disappearing.
Jan 7th - Wed - Thonotosassa
The water exercise class completed just before a rain storm hit today. Florida needs rain desperately so it was a good thing. It didn’t last very long which meant I didn’t get through organizing and putting captions on my pictures - but I did get a start on it!
Later in the afternoon Billy & Lauri went with us to find Costco and a Super WalMart in Brandon which is just south of here. Easy access off a freeway which is great for these two important stores.
After we all put purchases away, we played 31 again and swapped quarters around to end up with each couple back to even. Into the rig for dinner and to close up all windows against the cooler weather.
Jan 8th - Thurs - Thonotosassa
Still cool enough to keep some people from the pool exercises - but not us hardy north-westerners. We finally got out the ladder to clean windows today. Outside is easy with Terry moving the ladder and me washing the windows. I bought some cloths for window washing at a flea market. You use only water and they work great. They are also absolutely wonderful to clean my black stove top with no streaks. Cleaning the windows inside is another story as screens have to be removed and cleaned and the tracks have to be washed. Good thing no one else was around as I would have been embarrassed by how dirty some tracks were.
Billy & Lauri and we went to play bingo this evening. They play with hard cards & markers rather than flimsies & daubers. It is a whole new experience - in fact I missed a bingo on the first early game as I couldn’t keep up with 9 cards! So Terry & I both went down to 6 cards and I won the third early game. Bingo is much less expensive here than at the last park but we are not loving playing with markers. Luckily the early games paid more than the regular games so we actually came out a few dollars ahead.
Monday, January 05, 2009
Jan 2nd to 5th - Thonotosassa FL
Jan 2nd - Fri - Thonotosassa
I joined the aquatic exercise class this morning and really enjoyed it. It is held weekday mornings at 10 (weather permitting) and I hope to participate each morning that we do not have any other plans. Billy & Lauri also go but when I suggested that Terry come along to keep Billy company, he thought maybe he could walk over and sit in the hot tub.
About noon we joined Billy & Lauri for some more exploring. We went to Tampa, found a parking spot on the street and went to a mall right on the water. Unfortunately, it was a secured area so we had to look out through a fence. The mall was quite interesting with mostly bars & restaurants and a large, multi-screen theater. We were fascinated by a bar that had a row of about 20 rotating drums with “slushy” iced drinks. This was a bar so they were alcoholic slushies. We were taking pictures when the bartender asked if we wanted a sample. She put banana something and strawberry something side by side in a little tasting cup for me - very cold and very good. Lauri had a couple samples with coffee something and chocolate something mixed in one. Prices were $7, $8 and $9 for about 6 oz and up and you could drink while wandering around the area. We passed since it was a little early for happy hour.
Lauri’s back was bothering her with the walking so we headed for the Hard Rock Casino. Billy & Lauri received $20 credit each when they got a players’ club card but were not able to turn it into take home cash. I managed to break even with one lucky machine and Terry spent his allowance. We had a late lunch/early dinner in the small food court in the casino and headed home. On the way we checked out a large flea market near the RV park - only open Sat & Sun - we will be back.
Fairly cool with the sun down so we went our own way for the evening rather than sitting out. Our rig is aligned east/west with the door facing north so our “sitting out” side is in shade all the time. We also have trees on the south side. Great when it is hot. Billy & Lauri are beside us on the north and the sites are large so we can move chairs out close to them in the afternoon.
Jan 3rd - Sat - Thonotosassa
We drove today for a trip to the large Oldsmar flea market which is about a ½ hour drive away. It has an aisle down the center and 10 or 11 covered aisles branching off both sides. All of the flea markets here include lots of fresh produce at good prices. We spent quite a bit of time looking at some smaller chairs to replace our recliners that are not comfortable for Terry. Stopped at a shopping center on the way back to pick up a prescription for Billy and grab a couple of grocery items.
Carie & Gary were here when we returned. They are just staying one night. We were sitting out with a buddy burner when a helicopter started flying repeatedly over our area. We found out from the office that there was an escaped convict and they were looking for him. Then a park employee came by in his golf cart and stopped to check out our “fire”. Someone in the sheriff’s helicopter had contacted them to say there was an illegal open fire in the park! Once he looked at it, he did not make us put it out. We did lock the doors when we went to bed.
After dinner, Gary & Carie joined us for a swim. The hot tub was not hot and the water was cloudy so the pool was more appealing.
Jan 4th - Sun - Thonotosassa
Gary & Carie did not unhook since they were leaving today so at 9 we took them with us to a nearby flea market. Again, it is a large market. Not all stalls were open and some were empty but there was plenty to see. We returned about 11:30, made lunches and ate together and then Gary & Carie left.
I phoned Marg (sister) to wish her a Happy Birthday and had a nice long chat. We didn’t have time to go through the whole flea market in the morning so Terry & I returned for a short time. Didn’t have as much to finish as we thought. Next a stop at Camping World to try to find a cover for the TV input on the outside of the 5th wheel - no luck.
Back to the rig to putter & relax. Billy & Lauri were gone all day so we chatted with them briefly when they returned and then it was time for dinner.
Jan 5th - Mon - Thonotosassa
Water exercise class started a little late today due to a park resident meeting so I got to chat with another camper for a bit. Someone turned the pool temperature up last night so it was way too warm, especially for exercising. While I was gone, Terry cleaned the truck. I made a nice breakfast/lunch and we went for a bicycle ride around all the roads in the park. Then we gathered up dirty clothes and headed to the laundry which is right beside the pool. Very sunny & warm so it was nice to swim and take in some sun while waiting for the washing. After we returned and I put away the clothes and got out of my swim suit, Terry asked if I wanted to go for a bike ride! I said I really just wanted to sit and read - I had done enough for the day. So we lazed around until it was time to barbeque hamburgers for dinner.
Lauri had a sore neck and jaw today which she thought was possibly due to an infected tooth. So after Billy went to the water exercise class he took her to a dentist. All OK with her teeth so they went to a doctor. They spent from 11:30 to 6 waiting for the dentist, doctor and getting a prescription to treat the inflammation in a gland in her neck.
I joined the aquatic exercise class this morning and really enjoyed it. It is held weekday mornings at 10 (weather permitting) and I hope to participate each morning that we do not have any other plans. Billy & Lauri also go but when I suggested that Terry come along to keep Billy company, he thought maybe he could walk over and sit in the hot tub.
About noon we joined Billy & Lauri for some more exploring. We went to Tampa, found a parking spot on the street and went to a mall right on the water. Unfortunately, it was a secured area so we had to look out through a fence. The mall was quite interesting with mostly bars & restaurants and a large, multi-screen theater. We were fascinated by a bar that had a row of about 20 rotating drums with “slushy” iced drinks. This was a bar so they were alcoholic slushies. We were taking pictures when the bartender asked if we wanted a sample. She put banana something and strawberry something side by side in a little tasting cup for me - very cold and very good. Lauri had a couple samples with coffee something and chocolate something mixed in one. Prices were $7, $8 and $9 for about 6 oz and up and you could drink while wandering around the area. We passed since it was a little early for happy hour.
Lauri’s back was bothering her with the walking so we headed for the Hard Rock Casino. Billy & Lauri received $20 credit each when they got a players’ club card but were not able to turn it into take home cash. I managed to break even with one lucky machine and Terry spent his allowance. We had a late lunch/early dinner in the small food court in the casino and headed home. On the way we checked out a large flea market near the RV park - only open Sat & Sun - we will be back.
Fairly cool with the sun down so we went our own way for the evening rather than sitting out. Our rig is aligned east/west with the door facing north so our “sitting out” side is in shade all the time. We also have trees on the south side. Great when it is hot. Billy & Lauri are beside us on the north and the sites are large so we can move chairs out close to them in the afternoon.
Jan 3rd - Sat - Thonotosassa
We drove today for a trip to the large Oldsmar flea market which is about a ½ hour drive away. It has an aisle down the center and 10 or 11 covered aisles branching off both sides. All of the flea markets here include lots of fresh produce at good prices. We spent quite a bit of time looking at some smaller chairs to replace our recliners that are not comfortable for Terry. Stopped at a shopping center on the way back to pick up a prescription for Billy and grab a couple of grocery items.
Carie & Gary were here when we returned. They are just staying one night. We were sitting out with a buddy burner when a helicopter started flying repeatedly over our area. We found out from the office that there was an escaped convict and they were looking for him. Then a park employee came by in his golf cart and stopped to check out our “fire”. Someone in the sheriff’s helicopter had contacted them to say there was an illegal open fire in the park! Once he looked at it, he did not make us put it out. We did lock the doors when we went to bed.
After dinner, Gary & Carie joined us for a swim. The hot tub was not hot and the water was cloudy so the pool was more appealing.
Jan 4th - Sun - Thonotosassa
Gary & Carie did not unhook since they were leaving today so at 9 we took them with us to a nearby flea market. Again, it is a large market. Not all stalls were open and some were empty but there was plenty to see. We returned about 11:30, made lunches and ate together and then Gary & Carie left.
I phoned Marg (sister) to wish her a Happy Birthday and had a nice long chat. We didn’t have time to go through the whole flea market in the morning so Terry & I returned for a short time. Didn’t have as much to finish as we thought. Next a stop at Camping World to try to find a cover for the TV input on the outside of the 5th wheel - no luck.
Back to the rig to putter & relax. Billy & Lauri were gone all day so we chatted with them briefly when they returned and then it was time for dinner.
Jan 5th - Mon - Thonotosassa
Water exercise class started a little late today due to a park resident meeting so I got to chat with another camper for a bit. Someone turned the pool temperature up last night so it was way too warm, especially for exercising. While I was gone, Terry cleaned the truck. I made a nice breakfast/lunch and we went for a bicycle ride around all the roads in the park. Then we gathered up dirty clothes and headed to the laundry which is right beside the pool. Very sunny & warm so it was nice to swim and take in some sun while waiting for the washing. After we returned and I put away the clothes and got out of my swim suit, Terry asked if I wanted to go for a bike ride! I said I really just wanted to sit and read - I had done enough for the day. So we lazed around until it was time to barbeque hamburgers for dinner.
Lauri had a sore neck and jaw today which she thought was possibly due to an infected tooth. So after Billy went to the water exercise class he took her to a dentist. All OK with her teeth so they went to a doctor. They spent from 11:30 to 6 waiting for the dentist, doctor and getting a prescription to treat the inflammation in a gland in her neck.
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Dec 25th to Jan 1st - Florida
Dec 25th - Thurs - MERRY CHRISTMAS
Another sunny, hot day - not Christmas at all!
In between phone calls this morning, I updated the blog and put a sweet potato casserole together for later.
We attended the Christmas dinner at the park at 3:00. The park provided turkey, mashed potatoes, dressing and gravy. The hostess of each 16 person table organized everyone to bring all the rest - appetizers, salad, baked corn, sweet potatoes, the mandatory green bean casserole and desserts. They also beautifully and differently decorated their table and provided a small gift for each person. At out table, we each received a small glass ornament - quite delicate so not sure what we will do with ours. We did not know anyone at our table but sat across from a friendly couple from Pennsylvania so had someone to chat with during dinner.
Our neighbors Paul & Lorraine (and Lorraine’s sister Bev) were sitting out when we returned. I gave them the leftover sweet potatoes for their dinner and we joined them for a drink while they ate. We pulled out a buddy burner and ended up visiting until nearly 9.
Dec 26th - Fri - Naples
Terry decided to wash the truck today and discovered that the new ends that he put on our 50 foot hose were not very good - they just blew off when he attached the nozzle. So out on a shopping expedition. When Terry & I both got shoes a few days ago, we received a $10 certificate to be used on 12/26 thru 12/28 so I had to stop in at Bealls for a pair of sandals as a couple of pairs of OLD, CHEAP slips ons bit the dust. When we returned, Terry washed the truck with our new hose.
We went for a bike ride in the late afternoon and stopped to see the couple (George & Vicki) that we met at the Christmas dinner. They had an incredible amount of shells that they collected on nearby beaches during the 2 months that they have been here - including sand dollars, starfish, sea urchins and a sea horse. We were not impressed with the shells that we saw on the beaches but found out that you have to go early in the morning (6:30 - 7!!!) before the shells are picked over. Vicki makes “crafty” items with the shells but was looking for more ideas to use the amount of shells that they had picked up this time.
Dec 27th - Sat - Naples
We picked up Gary & Carie for a trip to Costco today - they don’t have a Costco card so we said we would take them with us. We had to stock up on the thin buns that we have not been able to find in the US and that Billy & Lori found for us in Costco. Of course we had to have a hot dog there for lunch. We dropped off perishable items at Gary & Carie’s rig and went on to a large shopping center where Carie & I looked for some shoes for her while the guys enjoyed a beer. Then we had to stop for ice cream as Gary & Carie said it was really good - and it was.
When we went to pick up Gary & Carie, we saw a familiar motor home in their park. Paul & Vicki that we stayed with in Ft. Lauderdale had returned from the keys and had just arrived in Ft Meyers. They weren’t home so I left a note on their door. While we were still out the Gary & Carie, Vicki called to say that they were near our RV park and wanted to come see us. They had not returned to their rig yet to see my note so where amazed when I told them about it. After returning Gary & Carie to their place, we stopped for a chat with Paul & Vicki. It is so incredible how we keep meeting up with people.
We had to hustle home and grab a bite to eat as George & Vicki were going to drop by to see our rig and discuss truck tow ratings. Ray (next door) had consumed a large amount of wine with some friends and joined us to provide a lot of laughs with his witty, honest comments.
Dec 28th - Sun - Naples
We met Billy & Lori at 10 this morning to go on a canoe trip. We rented 2 person canoes and put them into the Estero River right from a dock at the rental place. The river is tidal and had very little current while we were on it but there was a slight breeze behind us as we headed out so we kept that in mind when deciding how far to go. You can go about 4 miles to the Gulf of Mexico but we turned around after about 1 ½ hours and found a place to beach the canoes and have lunch. A steady paddle back and we made it in our allotted 3 hour time frame. There was not a lot of wildlife but it was very pretty with trees hanging over the water.
We decided to make laundry more enjoyable by using the laundry room right by the pool and swimming while the machines were running. Works quite well.
Dec 29th - Mon - Naples
Busy day today. We are allowed to wash vehicles in this park so planned to clean up the 5th wheel today. Scrubbed both sides of the awning, the roof section that wraps down the side, wheels and of course the entire body. Also wiped it down to prevent water spots. It was sunny and hot so the occasional over spray of water felt great. We were just about done at about 11:30 when Carie called to see if we wanted to join them at Bonita Beach. A swim sounded wonderful so we said we would finish up, pick up a sandwich for lunch and call them when we got to the beach so we could find them. Before we could even get our suits on and leave, Carie called back to say that there were no parking spots available so, Plan B, they were going to Barefoot Beach. Just as we were parking at Subway, she called again to say the parking & distance to the beach was even worse so, Plan C, how about meeting us back at our park and driving together to Delnor-Wiggins State Park and only paying one entrance fee. By the short time later that we were both at the park, we had each decided the Plan D sounded better - eat our lunch and then go to the park pool! There were few people in the pool when we got there, the water temperature was perfect, the sun was hot when you got out and we had a great couple of hours.
Paul & Vicki had invited us for dinner so Terry & I had quick showers and were walking out the door when Colin & Linda from down the street showed up. Linda had been reading an entry in our blog about our barbeque light and they wondered what it was and where we got it. Terry showed it to them and told them if they wanted one we could pick one up as the store is just past the park where Paul & Vicki are staying. It is about 16 miles away and they are leaving on Wed so we figured they probably wouldn’t want to drive there just for the light. So, a quick stop to buy the light before collapsing on Paul & Vicki’s patio.
Nice dinner and nice company. We left quite early as we were both fading fast.
Dec 30th - Tues - to Sarasota FL
Finished packing up this morning, went to deliver the light to Colin & Linda and chatted with them a bit before saying goodbye to Ray & Claire and heading north. Just a short 2 hour drive to Sun N Fun RV park just east of Sarasota where we are staying for 2 nights. Set up, had lunch and hopped on the bikes to find Doug & Louise who we met in Shediac, New Brunswick. We hoped to meet up somewhere and have been keeping in touch by email. Finally worked out to get together if only for a short time.
We sat and chatted with them over a few cocktails and were joined by their friends Ed & Diane. Louise started bringing out snacks and then made tacos for all of us for dinner. How nice!!
This park has a restaurant and is having 2 sittings for New Years Eve dinner which Doug & Louise are attending. They tried to get us tickets for dinner and a dance to follow but their table was filled up, Doug & Louise went to Canada for Christmas and Diane didn’t know if we wanted to go so didn’t get tickets for us. Oh well, it was great visiting with them even if Terry rode right in front of me on his bike and caused me to run into him!
Dec 31st - Wed - Sarasota
Relaxed a bit this morning and then took a bike ride around the park. Put on 5 miles and didn’t even ride half of the roads. Then we went for a drive to see the area a bit - west to Sarasota, north along Hwy 41 near the coast and ending up at the Red Barn flea market. Shopped, had lunch and bought a couple of little items. On the drive back we stopped for diesel at $2.29. We needed propane to cook ribs tonight so Terry went in search of it since the park propane service closed at noon.
We joined Doug & Louise and 3 other couples for a drink before they went to the New Years’ dinner here at the park. We came back for our rib dinner and then went to the dance which was sold out but our new friends were given 2 extra wrist bands which got us in.
Had a great time dancing to a good band until 1 and then Doug & Louise and Ed & Diane came to our place for a nightcap that no one really needed. Can’t remember the last time that we went to bed at 2 am!
Jan 1st - Thurs - to Thonotosassa (Tampa) FL
I cannot believe that I let the blog get so far behind! I swore the last time that it happened that it would not happen again - who knew how busy we would be.
We left shortly after 10 for the hour drive to the Southern Aire RV park. Got all set up and were just finishing lunch when Billy & Lori showed up. We are both staying here for the month of January since the weather further north looks too cold. It is cooler and breezy today.
Terry & I went for a bike ride around the park which has about 400 spots with quite a few vacancies. Then I worked on the blog and Terry took a nap - all that dancing wore him out. Billy asked us to join them on a ride so we went exploring. Stopped at a grocery store and checked out a Bealls outlet next door where I found a pair of shorts. Back to the rig for dinner, blog & more napping.
Another sunny, hot day - not Christmas at all!
In between phone calls this morning, I updated the blog and put a sweet potato casserole together for later.
We attended the Christmas dinner at the park at 3:00. The park provided turkey, mashed potatoes, dressing and gravy. The hostess of each 16 person table organized everyone to bring all the rest - appetizers, salad, baked corn, sweet potatoes, the mandatory green bean casserole and desserts. They also beautifully and differently decorated their table and provided a small gift for each person. At out table, we each received a small glass ornament - quite delicate so not sure what we will do with ours. We did not know anyone at our table but sat across from a friendly couple from Pennsylvania so had someone to chat with during dinner.
Our neighbors Paul & Lorraine (and Lorraine’s sister Bev) were sitting out when we returned. I gave them the leftover sweet potatoes for their dinner and we joined them for a drink while they ate. We pulled out a buddy burner and ended up visiting until nearly 9.
Dec 26th - Fri - Naples
Terry decided to wash the truck today and discovered that the new ends that he put on our 50 foot hose were not very good - they just blew off when he attached the nozzle. So out on a shopping expedition. When Terry & I both got shoes a few days ago, we received a $10 certificate to be used on 12/26 thru 12/28 so I had to stop in at Bealls for a pair of sandals as a couple of pairs of OLD, CHEAP slips ons bit the dust. When we returned, Terry washed the truck with our new hose.
We went for a bike ride in the late afternoon and stopped to see the couple (George & Vicki) that we met at the Christmas dinner. They had an incredible amount of shells that they collected on nearby beaches during the 2 months that they have been here - including sand dollars, starfish, sea urchins and a sea horse. We were not impressed with the shells that we saw on the beaches but found out that you have to go early in the morning (6:30 - 7!!!) before the shells are picked over. Vicki makes “crafty” items with the shells but was looking for more ideas to use the amount of shells that they had picked up this time.
Dec 27th - Sat - Naples
We picked up Gary & Carie for a trip to Costco today - they don’t have a Costco card so we said we would take them with us. We had to stock up on the thin buns that we have not been able to find in the US and that Billy & Lori found for us in Costco. Of course we had to have a hot dog there for lunch. We dropped off perishable items at Gary & Carie’s rig and went on to a large shopping center where Carie & I looked for some shoes for her while the guys enjoyed a beer. Then we had to stop for ice cream as Gary & Carie said it was really good - and it was.
When we went to pick up Gary & Carie, we saw a familiar motor home in their park. Paul & Vicki that we stayed with in Ft. Lauderdale had returned from the keys and had just arrived in Ft Meyers. They weren’t home so I left a note on their door. While we were still out the Gary & Carie, Vicki called to say that they were near our RV park and wanted to come see us. They had not returned to their rig yet to see my note so where amazed when I told them about it. After returning Gary & Carie to their place, we stopped for a chat with Paul & Vicki. It is so incredible how we keep meeting up with people.
We had to hustle home and grab a bite to eat as George & Vicki were going to drop by to see our rig and discuss truck tow ratings. Ray (next door) had consumed a large amount of wine with some friends and joined us to provide a lot of laughs with his witty, honest comments.
Dec 28th - Sun - Naples
We met Billy & Lori at 10 this morning to go on a canoe trip. We rented 2 person canoes and put them into the Estero River right from a dock at the rental place. The river is tidal and had very little current while we were on it but there was a slight breeze behind us as we headed out so we kept that in mind when deciding how far to go. You can go about 4 miles to the Gulf of Mexico but we turned around after about 1 ½ hours and found a place to beach the canoes and have lunch. A steady paddle back and we made it in our allotted 3 hour time frame. There was not a lot of wildlife but it was very pretty with trees hanging over the water.
We decided to make laundry more enjoyable by using the laundry room right by the pool and swimming while the machines were running. Works quite well.
Dec 29th - Mon - Naples
Busy day today. We are allowed to wash vehicles in this park so planned to clean up the 5th wheel today. Scrubbed both sides of the awning, the roof section that wraps down the side, wheels and of course the entire body. Also wiped it down to prevent water spots. It was sunny and hot so the occasional over spray of water felt great. We were just about done at about 11:30 when Carie called to see if we wanted to join them at Bonita Beach. A swim sounded wonderful so we said we would finish up, pick up a sandwich for lunch and call them when we got to the beach so we could find them. Before we could even get our suits on and leave, Carie called back to say that there were no parking spots available so, Plan B, they were going to Barefoot Beach. Just as we were parking at Subway, she called again to say the parking & distance to the beach was even worse so, Plan C, how about meeting us back at our park and driving together to Delnor-Wiggins State Park and only paying one entrance fee. By the short time later that we were both at the park, we had each decided the Plan D sounded better - eat our lunch and then go to the park pool! There were few people in the pool when we got there, the water temperature was perfect, the sun was hot when you got out and we had a great couple of hours.
Paul & Vicki had invited us for dinner so Terry & I had quick showers and were walking out the door when Colin & Linda from down the street showed up. Linda had been reading an entry in our blog about our barbeque light and they wondered what it was and where we got it. Terry showed it to them and told them if they wanted one we could pick one up as the store is just past the park where Paul & Vicki are staying. It is about 16 miles away and they are leaving on Wed so we figured they probably wouldn’t want to drive there just for the light. So, a quick stop to buy the light before collapsing on Paul & Vicki’s patio.
Nice dinner and nice company. We left quite early as we were both fading fast.
Dec 30th - Tues - to Sarasota FL
Finished packing up this morning, went to deliver the light to Colin & Linda and chatted with them a bit before saying goodbye to Ray & Claire and heading north. Just a short 2 hour drive to Sun N Fun RV park just east of Sarasota where we are staying for 2 nights. Set up, had lunch and hopped on the bikes to find Doug & Louise who we met in Shediac, New Brunswick. We hoped to meet up somewhere and have been keeping in touch by email. Finally worked out to get together if only for a short time.
We sat and chatted with them over a few cocktails and were joined by their friends Ed & Diane. Louise started bringing out snacks and then made tacos for all of us for dinner. How nice!!
This park has a restaurant and is having 2 sittings for New Years Eve dinner which Doug & Louise are attending. They tried to get us tickets for dinner and a dance to follow but their table was filled up, Doug & Louise went to Canada for Christmas and Diane didn’t know if we wanted to go so didn’t get tickets for us. Oh well, it was great visiting with them even if Terry rode right in front of me on his bike and caused me to run into him!
Dec 31st - Wed - Sarasota
Relaxed a bit this morning and then took a bike ride around the park. Put on 5 miles and didn’t even ride half of the roads. Then we went for a drive to see the area a bit - west to Sarasota, north along Hwy 41 near the coast and ending up at the Red Barn flea market. Shopped, had lunch and bought a couple of little items. On the drive back we stopped for diesel at $2.29. We needed propane to cook ribs tonight so Terry went in search of it since the park propane service closed at noon.
We joined Doug & Louise and 3 other couples for a drink before they went to the New Years’ dinner here at the park. We came back for our rib dinner and then went to the dance which was sold out but our new friends were given 2 extra wrist bands which got us in.
Had a great time dancing to a good band until 1 and then Doug & Louise and Ed & Diane came to our place for a nightcap that no one really needed. Can’t remember the last time that we went to bed at 2 am!
Jan 1st - Thurs - to Thonotosassa (Tampa) FL
I cannot believe that I let the blog get so far behind! I swore the last time that it happened that it would not happen again - who knew how busy we would be.
We left shortly after 10 for the hour drive to the Southern Aire RV park. Got all set up and were just finishing lunch when Billy & Lori showed up. We are both staying here for the month of January since the weather further north looks too cold. It is cooler and breezy today.
Terry & I went for a bike ride around the park which has about 400 spots with quite a few vacancies. Then I worked on the blog and Terry took a nap - all that dancing wore him out. Billy asked us to join them on a ride so we went exploring. Stopped at a grocery store and checked out a Bealls outlet next door where I found a pair of shorts. Back to the rig for dinner, blog & more napping.
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