11-30-14
I didn't have much to write yesterday. A blister the size of a quarter grew on my big toe the night after my many mile march at Daytona. I administered fluid evacuation surgery without anesthesia. Painful but successful. However I needed a day to recover so I nixed another trip to Daytona. Hope the show car judges managed without my input.
Today was a moving day. Just a shot trip to Lazydays CG in Tampa. It was a uneventful trip until I was 500 feet away and took the wrong turn. I re
12-1-14
Today was going to be a do nothing day. Right!
First we brought in the new zero gravity chair then a bit of clean up. Then off to Lazydays to get our daily free lunch. Today was meatball sandwich and pasta. Next we checked out the laundry facility and the pool (very nice, heated and covered). They also have a jacuzzi.
During lunch we decided to take care of storage for Gracie and the Burb while we go home for the Holiday's. After a bit of webulating we took a road trip to check out so
12-5-14
Last night ended with being trapped in our new recliner. No matter what I did I could not get the foot rest to go down. So I finally climbed out. Not a great move for a bad back. So, my plan was to drive back to CW (camping world) early this AM.
When I stepped out of Gracie this morning our CG neighbors for the past week were packing up. Skip and his DW Karen are long time campers but as I am, rookie owners of a DP (diesel pusher). In fact they just bought it this week. Anyway we che
12-8-14
We were up at 8 and getting Gracie ready for a 5 week sleep as we return to NH for the holidays. All went on schedule and we were waving goodbye to Gracie by 11 AM.
Another oranges for sale sign caused us to stop in before we left FL. Ruthie found a bonus while waiting to be checked out. Pecan Pralines!!! They are a weekness of mine and she bought both plain and chocolate. Oh happy day. Only fresh pecans can satisfy my craving. Trust me, fresh makes all the difference.
After Ruthie ha
After many days of travel with difficulty logging into FMAC all is well. I continued to write as we traveled, so I suggest reading in date order.
Another journey began yesterday. The first 500 miles took us to Elizabethtown PA. We left NH at 9:30 (nearly on schedule).
We stopped for lunch at Alexis Diner in Newburgh NY. They have a grand menu with breakfast at any time of day. Over the years I have stopped here many times and was never disappointed. This time I decided on fajitas. Ruth select
1-13-15
Actually got a great nights sleep. Up at 8 and ready to go by 9. We hit the Waffle House on our way back to the highway. Just as I started up the Burb, I realized I didn't try the Waffles! Oh well my eggs and hash browns were just fine.
Drizzly rain and more fog today. Slow going, but we hope to make Jacksonville.
Nothing exciting on the road today. Made Jacksonville about 7 PM and we were beat. However it was eat a good supper night. We found a stake house and I had a wonderful file
F1-17-15
Yesterday was a banner day. Nothing to do but a trip to HD. We slept in until 9:30. The grill was already out so it was a good time to try out the grill mat I purchased at the RV show. It's primary use is cooking vegetables, but it's intended to stay on the grill all the time. So I decided to cook some bacon. It worked like magic. The bacon browned nicely and all the grease stayed on the mat. Clean up later was a cinch. Wipe the worst with paper towels, then heat it up and wipe the res
1-19-15
Nothing specific planned for today, so I had a few things to fix on Gracie. Tie up the TV wires was first, then I leveled the wall mount. I was really tired of looking at a tilted picture. An easy adjustment that was waiting for a level parking spot. Next I moved on to airing up the tires. Not so good here. The air fitting hadn't been used for who knows how long and needed replacement. 20 miles to hardware store ^*%#{". Get parts and save that job for another day. Instead I spray lubed
2-23-15
Today we took off in search of Billy's swamp tours. That didn't work out so well. Garmin could not find him and after 120 miles and 3 stops for directions I gave up. Perhaps I'll try again when we head for alligator alley next week.
We did manage to see quite a bit of the country side. At one point we even stopped to watch sugar cane being harvested. Interesting machine for that task. As we left the fields we spotted the processing plant in the distance.
Lake Okeechobee is easy to fin
1-26-15
Yesterday was a down day. Saturday afternoon we walked to the function hall and enjoyed an hour of Gospel singing quartet. What else when the State is half southern Baptist. That was followed by a very tasty meatloaf dinner at a mere $6 a plate.
Before going to bed last night I had "Black tank" duty. That went fine, I'm getting use to it. However, I left the door to Gracie open. As the last light went out we realized Oscar was nowhere to be found. As I hurried to get dressed and comen
FL 1-27-15
Today Oscar went to Doggy Day Care for the first time. Since Ruth and I wished to see some sites that were not dog friendly, we webulated for dog care. One popped up between us and the place we wanted to go so we decided to try it.
Turns out it was quite the place. The Pet Corral Resort, located in Cape Coral, had two large outdoor fenced exercise areas (one for large and one for small dogs). It also had grooming and veterinarian services!
With Oscar settled in Pamperville, we too
FL 1-30-15
Today was a beach day. Well at least afternoon. Although it was only 75 here, it felt plenty warm for us. This time we decided to check out Sanibel Island, specifically Shell Harbor.
It took us just about an hour to get there. No direct routes when you are island hopping. First make note: this and all beaches we could find on Sanibel have only paid parking lots. Three dollars per hour. That can add up quickly. The good news is they were all dog friendly. As we got to the end of the
FL 1-31-15
Today was fairly simple. I spent some time replacing the connector for the Burb lights when towing. I crunched it the last time I folded up the hitch for storage.
About 2 PM we took off for Yoders restaurant in Sarasota. We called some more Bradford friends, Jarna any Gary Perkins and Joyce and Perry Tiel, to meet us there. We thought we we meeting half way for both of us. But as it turned out they stay in Venice and it was out of the way for all.
Who cares? The food was plentiful
FL 2-2-15
Today was moving day. 224 mile north to Alliance RV in Wildwood. We have service scheduled tomorrow. New Koni shocks. That should improve our ride a bit. The place is Huge and Mega busy. Glad I scheduled 10 days ahead. They have their own CG with about 50 slots and let you stay for free while service work is being done. Nice spacious sites, water and elec only. I'm sure they have a dump station somewhere on property.
As we were in leaving Pine Island this morning and George, the GPS,
FL 2-4-15
The only thing I have to report is yesterday's news. When we went out for breakfast yesterday we went to IHOP. They have several items on their menu for Seniors over 55. Ruth picked one of those and when our table servicer took the order, she asked Ruth for ID. They didn't ask for mine. Maybe they thought I was her father. When Ruth was old enough to drink they carded her and now that she's old enough for SSI she still gets carded. Made her day!
Tomorrow is a travel day so I probably
FL 2-5-15
We woke up to a rainy day. After raining hard most of the night it stopped by 9 ans we began getting ready for our move to Tallahassee. The site was muddy and by the time I completed the outside work so was I. We were parked in a difficult site with trees everywhere and a narrow street in front of us. But with Ruth's guidance I was able to pull out in one attempt and didn't hit anything. In a few minutes we had the Burb hooked up and were on our way.
I-75 is an easy drive and the new
FL 2-7-15
Today it was a mere 67 degrees with lovely blue skies. The morning was spent doing a few errands. Once it warmed up we headed for the beach in Navarre. It only took about 40 minutes.
Here's a travel tip. If you want to visit the greater Pensacola area, Milton is a great place for home base.
Now back to the beach. Navarre is another white sand beach on the Gulf. This one goes on for about 30 miles. When we arrived today we were told we had missed the Mardi Gras parade. We would have
2-8-15
Today we decided to drive to Dustin FL. It's about 50 miles from our CG in Milton. This city is also on the "Emerald Coast" highway. Compared to Navarre it is much more developed. Many McMansions and hotels/condos the size of Las Vegas casinos. Public Beaches are either private or smaller and hard to find with even harder to find parking.
If you need things to keep the kids happy, or like bar life then this may be a good choice.
We were interested when we saw many party boats for rent
2-10-2015
Today was a great day for Melvin. He finally got his leather flight jacket and goggles. In celebration we took several photos at the National Naval Aviation Museum. While there we reviewed a wonderful display of vintage aircraft dating back to 1909. Not only is this a must see if you are in the Pensacola area, it's FREE!
We spent about 5 hours there, but could have stayed for a couple days if we wanted to study every display in detail and take the guided tour. They also have an IMAX
2-11-15
OK it's time for the rest of you to laugh. It's getting down to 30 here in Pensacola tonight. It still beats minus something and waste deep snow, but Ruth and I did come down here for the warm weather.
Tonight we gave a highly recommended restaurant "Peg Leg Pete's" located on Pensacola Beach a try. Many people told us they are the best in the area for crab. That's of little importance to me since I can't eat shellfish but Ruth wanted to try it since she has never eaten fresh crab legs
2-13-15
Today was a travel day and it was a good one, even though it was Friday the 13th. We were up and on the road by 9:30 with blue sky ahead of us. The traffic was light most of the way and the roads were good.
Our day began in Florida, but 20 miles later we entered Alabama (Roll Tide). In no time at all we spotted the sign for Mississippi. A few miles later we pulled into a rest area for a break. Have I mentioned how lovely they are in the south? Large buildings with sparkling rest rooms,
2-14-15
We decided to celebrate Valentine's Day by going to the Mardi Gras parade in Baton Rouge LA. Following good advice we got going early and left for downtown by 9AM for the 12PM start time. Our directions were good, taking us right by the LSU Tigers stadium, then straight to the action. Dumb luck landed us in a parking lot adjacent to the parade route.
As we pulled in we passed many spots already in party mode. Tailgates were down, tents were raised and drinks were flowing! After parkin
2-15-15
We woke up to a dreary day today. On and off drizzle and gray skies. It was a good day to sleep in a bit and have a mid morning breakfast.
Cabin fever set in about 1 PM so we decided to take a drive south. We followed the levy for more than 30 miles and never saw the river. We did spot a couple places one could scale the levy on a bike and rid the top. We finally walked up one of those only to find out we were still quite a distance from the river. Our view was blocked be trees and den
2-18-15
Our day began in Baton Rouge and ended in my daughters birth state, Texas.
We crossed the bridge over the Mississippi at 10 AM. For all the stories we had heard about accidents and traffic jams, our crossing took less than 10 minutes.
As we continued west on I 10, we soon were on another bridge. This one was much different though. It was level, about 30 feet above the bayou, and was every bit of 20 miles long. Another observation was the amount of trucks using this road. I estimate 4
FL 2-19-15
Our March to Corpus Christi continued today. We both slept in and we're ready to leave Beaumont by 10 AM.
I punched in the address of Galveston State park and at the second turn I knew we were not heading towards I-10. However, I felt adventurous so I let George (the GPS) have his way. Well, in no time we were cruising down a state road at 60 MPH with very little traffic. About 50 miles into our 125 mile trip we spotted a digital sign stating "Ferry traffic on schedule". With no wat
