New Year, New Start, Past is the Past

The "Past is the Past" unless you live in Hurricane Country.  The boat above was nearly capsizing a good month after the last Hurricane hit our area in October.  Luckily for this boat owner, the tide came in, the boat leveled out, and some kind soul moved it out into the channel and it has been fine ever since.  Perhaps it was the owner who did this...that, I just don't know.
 

But this other boat ended more like an episode from Gilligan's Island.  It beached itself up along the shore, and has remained that way for the past three months.  (It is the furthest boat in the picture).  Two years ago there was a boat that had capsized...all you could see was the hull since the mast was under water, turned on its side.  It took 8 months for it to be cleared from the channel.  My guess is, when we leave in a few months, this boat will still be where it is.  Perhaps they are waiting for the next hurricane hoping it will move itself back into the channel.  Some times the past can't remain in the past, not here in hurricane country.  FEMA moved many folks out of the housing they were providing up until last week...these folks can't get out of the past...their every day living is just HELL!  "FEMA, we are here to help until your three months run out", seems to be their motto.

When I last left you, we were planning to spend Christmas Day at Marcia's brother Mike's house.  Well, a UTI took that plan away...one of the many issues you face when you have MS.  So, I went to Jallo Wine and Spirits, a fairly new store that opened up about 4 miles from us.  It has a lot larger offering than the local liquor stores have.  Easily found a bottle of Ouzo, a bottle of Johnny Walker Black, and these two gems pictured above.  Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout (for Marcia) and Cutwater White Russian foe me.  My sister Sandy turned me on to Cutwater last summer...especially their Espresso.  They did not have Espresso, but they did have the White Russian...which is a flavor I was interested in trying.  

So our Christmas Day was filled with cooking a Bone-in Ribeye Roast, a Christmas toast with a shot of Ouzo, and a Oatmeal Stout for Marcia with dinner, while I enjoyed my White Russian.  A box came with four each, and we enjoyed one each day for the next three days after Christmas too, along with one enjoyable evening with Johnny Walker over Ice in coffee cups, because we did not have any glasses...well, Amazon has fixed that, so we now can (and have) enjoyed Johnny Walker, over Ice each week, in an appropriate glass.  I would show you that the bottle is still 2/3rds full, but you all would probably think I just went and bought another bottle...so I will skip that, and you will just have trust me.

We did make it over to DeLand to see Marcia's other brother and his wife Caryl for New Year's Eve.  Hoping that the Booms and the Bangs would be less in their area than ours, but it wasn't.  However, I gave Indy a couple of Thunder Wonders, and that worked just fine.  We 'camped' in their driveway for the night, and had no problem with traffic getting there on Tuesday, and getting home on Wednesday.  (We actually left Monday, stayed in a Cracker Barrel for the night, and arrived Tuesday around 10 am.)   We had a very enjoyable time there.

I celebrate the New Year with my final IRS payment of our quarterly taxes.  I ALWAYS take a picture of the envelope before I mail it, and as I mail it...just a good idea, in my opinion.  Yes, I could get a PIN and send it electronically, but I try to keep the good ole Post Office in business each year, so I put on my "Forever Stamp" (bought four or five years ago) four times a year, and send it out.  The 5th stamp I use each year is to send our yearly tax statement out...so you can see, I am single-handedly keeping the USPS in business.

Finally, there is yesterday...  Above is Indy having her Inaugural Hot Dog while watching the Inauguration.  Need I say more...  The past is the past, this is a new year...let's hope it is better for everyone.
 

Quick Visit With Dean and Caryl

No pictures, but we enjoyed our 7 hour visit with Marcia's brother Dean and wife Caryl.  Amazing to us both, Indy did a little happy whine and dance when we went up to the door and entered their home.  She even gave them both a quick kiss...but with her nothing lasts long as she growled at Dean about 30 minutes later be he 'dared' to lay his hands on my shoulder as he past behind me! 

They cooked us a nice scrambled egg & sausage breakfast, and later wonderful beef, shrimp, veggie Kabobs with some Cauliflower Rice that they get at Publix in the produce section...just microwave it in its bag...way better tasting than the frozen ones.

Tomorrow we hope to get to the Panhandle and stay at another Cracker Barrel.  Leaving mid-week means that Spring Breakers have not affected us at all...but when we get to Mobile area and across Mississippi's Gulf Coast it will be a different story.

Orange City Florida Visiting Family

 

On Tuesday we got away from the Condo right at 10 am.  We had only been home for 3 months and 11 days, but it felt like way more with the major kitchen upgrade, all of our Doctor's appointments, and oh ya, did I mention our Kitchen Upgrade???  

By 2:00 pm we arrived in Orange City, about 150 mile trip which indeed took 4 hours.  Traffic and Construction slowed us way down...not that we go real fast anyway.  By 3 we were over at Marcia's brother's house visiting with Dean and Caryl.  Indy was a bit feisty at first, settled down eventually.  

Today (Wednesday) we got back over there at 10, and Indy did real good until their oldest son Eric came by and boy did she blow her stack!  We were all going to meet over at Texas Roadhouse, so I got her and Marcia out of there and got to Roadhouse just before 6 pm.  A 5-10 minute wait and we all sat down and enjoyed a good meal.  Except for Indy who was dropped off at the motorhome.

Only issue we are having is that the A/C compressor fan does not work.  I am confident it only needs a new capacitor put in, but I need to find a nice, dry cool place to get up there and get the part numbers.  Then it is a mater of getting the parts.  After tomorrow we should not face hot humid weather like today (it is 8:30 pm, 84 degrees and 60% humidity) until we get to the desert of California where it is more than likely going to be hot, but not humid.  I am hoping we might get the parts in Albuquerque, but first, I need the part numbers (might as well replace the two or three capacitors while we are at it).

Can you hear her???  "HEY DAD, I AM RIGHT HERE!  DO YOU SEE ME????"  Today she climbed up on Aunt Caryl's lap, and even went to sleep with her head on Uncle Dean's leg twice as she sat between us.  Other than her little attitude toward Eric, she was nearly a perfect angel today...an angel that growled a bit too much, however.

Tomorrow we hope to get to Alabama, where temps are going to be a high of 73, low around 50.  That is doable without an A/C (of course the A/C works from the engine while driving...with gas prices where they are, we are not going to use that A/C to cool us, would rather sweat!

Note:  We are headed into Tornado Territory and we will pace our trip with the weather.  So far, fingers crossed, it looks like we can get through Oklahoma ahead of the next outbreak there.  The storm that went along I-10 area in Alabama and Florida will be along the coast of the Carolina's tomorrow. 

Good Family Time, Indy Was a HIT, New Toilet

This post won't have many pictures, but just a short recap of our four days/nights at Orange City Florida.

Marcia's brother Dean and his wife Caryl live in Deland, and the Orange City Rv Resort is a short, easy 5 miles away.  We had breakfast at their house on Wednesday, then went out to eat at Texas Roadhouse that night (and the restaurant was BUSY...a good thing!).  Thursday we had breakfast at their house where I made pancakes with Carbquik (topped with Hungry Jack Sugar Free Syrup with some berries too), eggs and bacon...still a bit 'beat' from the past week so we stayed in Thursday night.  Friday we had dinner with Caryl and Dean making Shrimp Fajitas, not very spicy since Marcia can't have spicy food for another few weeks due to her Dental Procedures a week ago.  Indy was with us each time we visited the house, and we took her Chew Stick to keep her entertained...and she had a good time.  After breakfast Thursday we watched an old movie, Bringing Up Baby, with Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn.  Dean watched Indy watching the movie more than watching the movie itself (but I think he has watched it so many times he has it all memorized!).  Anyway, in the movie there is a Dog and a couple of Leopards, and when the 'nice' Leopard played with the Dog, Indy went NUTS!  Dean got a kick out it all, and commented that he had never seen a dog (Indy) so entranced with watching TV.

Just before we left Holiday, our toilet broke...you push down the floor pedal and nothing happens.  Take a stick and you can move the ball, flushing it, but this is something we HAD to fix.  Put in an order on Sunday having it shipped to Dean and Caryl's house.  It came today and I took it back (leaving Marcia and Indy at their house) and got it installed in under an hour. This new Dometic Low Profile ReVolution 321 looks like a better toilet, keeping the goo away from moving parts yet still has the easy-to-clean toilet seal.  Time will only tell...

Saturday we are driving up into Georgia, about 300 miles.

Off to a Good Start, Orange City Florida

 

This is the start of our tenth straight year of traveling for 6-9 months each year.  Normally by now we would be in either California or along the coast of south-western Oregon.  But this year includes a wedding in Cleveland in late July.  Took a week to load up the motorhome, clean up the condo, get a tooth pulled for Marcia, and get up-to-date shots for Indy.  As for me, well I did all the work while those two had all the fun!  (OUCH!  Marcia just hit me in the arm...forgot just how close she is to my computer inside this here motorhome....LOL)

We got up by 7:30, and we were on the road by 9:00 and by 2:00 we were setup and tired as all could be.  Having slept in the motorhome since Saturday, it gave us a few days to be sure we had everything (and we found a couple things we forgot, and a couple things that went back).  For the first time, the condo is super clean...complete scrub down of the fridge, all of the floors clean and mopped, toilets scrubbed, shower scrubbed and bleached...it will be super nice to come home to a clean house, assuming no hurricanes take it out.

The pictures above and below are of the Orange City RV Resort, 5 miles from Marcia's brother Dean and wife Caryl's house.  Originally we were going to stay for two nights, but there is one more delivery we just have to have...and we hope it will be in by Friday.  Lucky for me I did not realize this was a Passport America park when I made the reservation on-line...so extending to four nights did not cost a thing.  

 

Like many of these Florida 'resorts', this park is made up of many mobile homes, many 5th wheels and trailers, some which stand empty until winter when the snowbirds come down, and this time of year, many empty spaces.  The park is located between Orlando and Daytona Beach, and with the Passport America price, it comes out to roughly $22 per night.  Not bad at all.  But to call it a 'resort' just because it has a nice pool, rec-center, exercise room ... well, it is a park with many amenities, including these older looking bathrooms / laundry areas.

But the worse thing is this dog park...as they call it on the map.  At first it looks ok, white fence around it...until you realize the white fence is protecting an irrigation pond, and the park is that bit of grass you see in front of the fence.

Around 4:30 the skies opened up, lightening and thunder all around, and we got a good Florida summer drenching...dropping the temps down from 90+ to a cool lower 70's.  It was the first time we have been able to turn off the A/C, open up windows, and enjoy some fresh air.  Looks like we might have this 'summer weather' for the next few days.

So far I like our new GUTA Tire Pressure Monitoring System.  It was easy to program, all of the sensors registered without needing the extender antenna, and it caught the mistake that the oil changing center made when they were suppose to top off each of the tires...but one they let out 10+ pounds.  Thank goodness I found a self fill tire filler less than a mile down the road...but it could only increase it to 70 pounds and not the 78 that I want it to be.

Secondly, we love our new bed topper, it is absolutely wonderful.  Might have to get one for our California King bed at the condo.

Finally, we will have to save Indy a space behind the driver's seat and the wall of the slide-out.  Typically we carry a few gallons of spring water and some sparkling waters.  Her little bed can fit back there if we move the sparkling waters...so that's what we will do.

Trip to Orlando Area - Loving My New Phone

 

Since we were only going to be gone for two nights, it did not take long to gather what we needed, a little food for Wednesday night and Friday morning, and off we went.  Tuesday I went over to the motorhome and turned on the fridge, and did a quick vacuum job and a few other quick things.  Wednesday Marcia had her second Doctor's appointment of the year at 10 am, which went faster than usual.  Sometimes with this doctor we have had to wait for an hour...Wednesday we got there at 9:40, did the required paperwork, and they called her at 10:05...by 10:30 we were out of there.  Took Marcia home, and I went to get the motorhome filling up the car with most of what we were taking.  By the time I got back it was 1:30, and we were on the road before 2.  First thing, a motorhome bath at Blue Beacon Truck Wash about 35 miles to our northeast.  As usual, we were not the only RVs getting cleaned...

 

This baby here must be owned by a racing enthusiast.   In no time at all we were in the wash, and out.  Next, we got gas at the Flying J...just our luck, the pump I pulled up to did not work, but the other RV pump opened right up and I slipped in over there.  Full tanks, we are clean, it now close to 5 pm.  As was our plan, we drove ten miles south on I-75 and pulled into the rest area for the night.  The ADA site is nice and wide, I pulled as far to the left I could, up against some grass, so that it would leave plenty of room away from any other RVs which might pull in.  I like this rest area because trucks have their own area...but you know how that goes...some truckers come over to the RV area, especially if the truck area is full.  Although it was a bit warm at first, we did get to sleep around 10 pm.  Around 4 am I look out our kitchen window and what do I see?  There is a motorhome right next to us...and when I say right next to us, I mean it was in our parking slot!  I could open the door, but that was about it.  Had Marcia needed to get out into her GoGo, that would have been very difficult.  On top of that, this motorhome did not have ADA plates or placard.  We pulled out around 7:30, and left that motorhome there...I can only hope a Florida State Police came by, they deserved a ticket big time!  And that is a $250 ticket!!!

We made it over to Orlando at 10:15, I picked Marcia's friend up at 10:45, and by 11 we were in LongHorn Steakhouse.  (Yes, the "H" in LongHorn is capitalized).  The ladies had Salmon and I had a Ribeye thinking I would save a little for Bubba...but it was so good, cooked perfectly medium-rare, that I just couldn't save Bubba any.  About 1:15 we left the restaurant, I took her friend back to where she is staying, and off to Sanford we went.  Marcia's brother Dean and his wife Caryl arrived at the Cracker Barrel about 20 minutes after we did.  We all sat and talked in the motorhome until 4, went in to eat, and by 5:30 we were hunkered down for the night and they drove the 20 minutes to their house.  And what a night it was!  Above you can see the storm system that moved through Central Florida last night, hitting Sanford around 12:30 am.  It was way worse over in Tampa where they had a probable small tornado and considerable damage in a few areas, including a construction crane falling across I-275, but thankfully not hitting anyone.  An oak tree landed right on top of a lady's 5th wheel in a mobile home park, but thankfully she was only pinned under the rubble and not seriously hurt.  For us, it was windy for about 10 minutes, and it rained, a bit hard for a little while.  However, there went our nice clean motorhome because the wind picked up dirt and dust and we have massive water spots all over the driver's side of the motorhome.

Bubba did real good on the trip, despite the fact that I forgot his treats!  I think he was hoping that we were headed out to California so that he could see his Uncle Arny and Aunt Sandy...but sorry buddy, that is way off still.  

So I have had my phone for about 10 days now, and I really like it.  Compared to my other Flip Phones, this one is rugged, and it can do things the other Flips could not do.  Here is a list of the goods...

1. As spammers call me, I can quickly and easily add those phone numbers to a "rejection list", so I won't be bothered by that number again.  I 'wish' that I could export and import to that list, but it won't allow that.  I can physically input numbers, but that just isn't worth it.  So far I have 16 numbers in there.                                                                 
2. The phone does have a much better reception, both to and from the phone.  I have talked to mom a number of times and she could hear me fine.  It is even better over the GPS-Stereo-Phone in the motorhome.                                                                              
3. I love the notepad feature on all of Flips, but this one allows me to enter some info and then move down to the next line and enter more info.  This is REAL NICE when making lists, such as shopping lists, or a list of things to take to the motorhome on a trip.  All my other Flips would make me put in numerous spacebar hits until it moved to the next line.  Past Flips had small limits to how much info could be in the notepad, but I have not come close to finding the limit on this one.                                                        
4.  This phone weighs in at 6 ounces...that's twice as much as other Flips I have owned.  But it is real, real rugged....I will have a hard time breaking this one.   The buttons are also bigger than most, and the screen is bigger too.                                                          
5.  This camera is a bit better than my other Flips, and it is the only one which has a flash.  I forgot my camera for the trip, so the pictures at the truck wash and of Bubba were taken with this phone.  Better than my other Flips, but not much better.  If you look at the picture of Bubba, you can see streaks running up and down the picture.  But there was no lights on, this was at 6:30 in the morning, and with my other Flips I could not have gotten any picture...it would be all black.

And there are a few bad things... I am having a hard time getting use to the new phone rings, notifications for texts, missed calls, etc.  There are more choices, but the sounds I was use to just are not on this.  The text messages come into a thread for each phone number that sends you a text.  If you use Facebook Messenger, it is much like that.  I have not gotten use to this yet, and I typically delete threads pretty quick.  The biggest drawback is that I need to charge it nearly every day...it is a energy hog.  Overall, I am very pleased with this phone.

Dodging Hurricanes, Visiting Family

Home in Holiday / Tarpon Springs area, FL

As of October 7th, this is the forecast of the late season hurricane that is going to hit Florida.    Impact was forecasted at Destin Florida…

As of this morning…the impact has moved 60 miles to the east, closer to Panama City Beach.

As of 3 pm, they are talking about a ‘major hurricane’, but still hitting the Panama City Beach area.  Good for us…bad for them….a major hurricane has winds over 110 MPH, and gust at 120-130…tropical storm winds in the Tamp area…not good.

 

Above is what a Category 5 storm will do…from a 1 through a 5.  This storm looks to be a Cat 2, perhaps a cat 3.  “IF” a Cat 3, our roof may cut loose…but as long as it keeps heading north, we have nothing to worry about.

Don’t know if we will need to, but we are prepared to bring the motorhome over to the Winn-Dixie near our condo ‘just in case’ we lose power.  With MS, Marcia needs to have an air conditioned environment…and frankly, without MS, I do too. 

For the past week we have been visiting with family, and just settling in.  Above is a picture of Marcia’s youngest brother Skeveos (father’s side) and his wife Linda. They came by on Saturday to visit…it was a short 4 hour visit.  They live in Brooksville, about an hour north of us, and we did not see them at all last time we were home, so that was very nice.  The night before we went to Mama Maria’s in Tarpon Spring with her brother Mike and wife Sandy and grandchild Logun.  Logun brought McD’s with him…his favorite place to eat at, along with his Nintendo Switch.  Logun is autistic, about 10 years old…when his Nintendo froze up, he brought it over to me, I restarted it for him, and he was so happy that it wasn’t broken. 

On Tuesday of last week we met Marcia’s brother Dean (mother’s side) and wife Caryl at the Lakeland Cracker Barrel for an early lunch.  After a couple hours there, we headed back.  We took the motorhome because it is so much easier on Marcia on a long trip like that…and we parked fairly close to the door…which was nice (see red line above).  On the way there and back the traffic was fairly light…however once back to the condo, after dropping Marcia and Skruffy off, I heard that there was a major wreck off Interstate 75…

A news report told it this way:  “

The multi-vehicle crash occurred after 4 p.m. Tuesday. Florida Highway Patrol troopers said a 40-year-old female driver was entering the northbound entrance ramp of I-75 when she lost control of her 2004 Toyota Sequoia. Investigators said the SUV rotated across the northbound lanes of I-75, and into the path of a tractor-trailer.

Both collided, sending the SUV into a barrier wall along the overpass and the truck over a wall, and down onto Fowler Avenue. Troopers said the tractor landed on another vehicle, killing the driver inside. The wreckage ignited a fire which burned for more than 20 minutes.

WOW!  This was about 45 minutes after we had passed this intersection!  That sure makes one think about things, that’s for sure….

As of 5:30 pm this is the latest on Hurricane Michael.  Yes, we are in the ‘red’ (bottom right of the red), but outside of the path.  This storm is a fast moving one…so even if it does hit us, the rain will come and go pretty fast.  Tomorrow I will take a few things over to the motorhome…today I turned on the fridge just in case we lose power.  By Wednesday night, on the way to church, I am sure all I will have to do is shut everything down.  However, we are prepared to bring it over to the grocery store near us if needed…it just does not look like that will be needed.  Always better to be prepared….

Orange City–DeLand Florida

Oh, you all don’t know how pretty this looks to us.  After coming off the road in mid-October of last year, in mid-April of this year we are back on the road for what we hope to be 8 1/2 months.  Here we sit at the Luna Sands Resort (ha-ha) in Orange City Florida, about 5 miles from where Marcia’s brother Dean and sister-in-law Caryl live in their brand new home in the Cresswind at Victoria Gardens 55+ community.  But first, the “Resort”…(ha-ha)

  

So guys, what do you think about this RV Resort we are in?  Not too enthused either, are you.  Or is it that you are dreading the long trip out west via just about every state one can think of between here and there???

 

The Luna Sands Resort is a “old” KOA…the building behind these two RVs is a classic KOA “A-Frame” building that one could see in the 60’s-80’s.  For 28+ years this park was owned by the Clark Family, and for many of those years it was called the Clark Family Campground…until August of last year when Travel Resorts of America purchased the park and is slowly converting it into a Resort.  During January through March, one cannot get into  the park because the snow birds flock to it…it is a nice, cozy, quaint RV park.  So far the only changes that I know of are the future plans of turning it into a Resort.  Price for our Electric-Water site is $37 after 10% off for Good Sam (even though they are not a Good Sam park).  Clark Family Campground rates were $35-40, so the rates are pretty much the same right now.  But in the future, 3-5 years down the road, the lady at check-in said that it will be harder and harder to get a site because “members” of the Travel Resorts of America, kind of like a timeshare, will have priority.  Well, I am sure for December through April that will be a fact…but who flocks to Florida during the summer unless they want to wear “Mouse Ears”???  (not far from Disneyland)

   

   

Above is our view from where we are parked.  It is quiet, very few RVs near us, and you can see the gravel roads, and gravel-sand sites.  I am sure the grass is much better, but Florida is on fire right now…I mean, in a drought.  Of course, the first Tropical storm will take care of that later this summer.  The picture in the bottom right is the “goat enclosure”.  The one above it is the “Snow Bird Storage” area.  I think there is a lot of potential for this park…but it is going to cost some dollars, that’s for sure.  Since they have owned it since August, and a member of the Clark Family is working for the new owners, and yet the Clark Family Campground website is still up and running…call the phone number and you get a disconnected message.  There is NO MENTION of the campground being sold, how to contact the new “resort”, nothing.  When I mentioned that to the lady at check-in, she said, “Ya, they are working on that…”  Let’s see…August through April is eight months…I think someone needs to work on that a little faster. Now you can see why I say "Ha Ha"

    

As far as I can tell there are two goats.  Yesterday when I took Bubba and Skruffy for a walk, the gate was open and the goats were wandering around the RV Storage area…but when they saw Bubba and Skruffy, they wandered back inside the pen.  Bubba saw them and in good ole Bubba fashion, he just stares at them.  Skruffy…well, her diabetic eyes just don’t see as well as they use to.  I have noticed that she  can not see out in the distance very well at all.  Finally, she did see “something” out there, but she did not bark.  Gone are the days of her just barking at anything she sees out there.  However, at a rest area she did see some movement of a guy in a pumpkin orange shirt (Tennessee license plate) walking about 100 yards away, in the sunlight…so she can see some stuff.  I just think back to those days in Pine Bluff when she would run after every squirrel in the park, or the horse-drawn carriage carrying a wedding party…it is just not good getting old.  She is nine, and although her diabetes is seemingly under control, her youthful days are definitely behind her.  😭

We are headed back to Dean and Caryl's here in an hour...will take the camera and get some pictures for our next posting.

New Years in Orlando Area

On Friday we headed over to Marcia’s brother’s house to spend New Year’s Eve with Dean and Caryl.  This is a picture of their house, and yes, that is a for sale sign in their front yard.  They have a new house being built in DeLand, about 40 miles north of Orlando, and 20 miles from this home in Lake Mary.  Due to the selling, and possible viewing by potential buyers, we have not gone over to visit them since we have been home (although we met for lunch at Cracker Barrel nearly two weeks ago)…but on Wednesday we got the good news that the house is under contract, and they did not expect to show it again, especially over the New Year Holiday…so we went over.  It took two days to get there because we could not leave Tarpon Springs area until after 3 pm Friday, so we only drove half way and stayed at a Cracker Barrel where we had dinner, and also breakfast the next day.

We are going to miss backing into this long driveway…but there is no need to have such a large house with just the two of them living there now.  The place they are moving to is a 55+ community where they have a zero-lot-line.  (A zero-lot-line house is a piece of residential real estate in which the structure comes up to or very near to the edge of the property line.)  A bit like our Condo, except we have a common outside roof with four units…they have no common walls or roof with other structures.  Like our condo, there is no yard work, and in their case, the HOA dues include cable TV, Internet and water. From now on when we go to visit we will stay in a nearby RV park.

I have talked about Hattie before, the rescue dog that Dean and Caryl have had for a few years now, but I think this is my first picture of her.  She is very territorial, and we are always cautious with Skruffy and Bubba…so much so that we decided to leave Bubba with his Uncle Mike where he lives during the winter to keep the excitement down to only one other dog.  However, there were no problems with just Skruffy with us, and Dean was very happy that Hattie behaved so well.

Here I think she found where Skruffy might have been earlier in the morning.

Look at those eyes…she is just begging to come out and play…but I had pictures to take before we left on the 1st to head home.  We only stayed at their house for the one night, leaving at 2 pm on Sunday.  Thinking traffic might be high, we anticipated only driving part of the way Sunday…but the drive back was the easiest traffic we ever had.  Friday’s drive was just the opposite, and we barely made Cracker Barrel before sunset.

Wednesday, between Christmas and the New Year, we had our kitchen sink drain clog up on us again…happened almost two years ago.  We called out the Drain Team again, and the same Father Son team came out and cleared the drain.  The culprit was grease and onion peelings, much like the last time...just not as big of a clog.  The victim was my pocketbook again…and it has me wondering if I should invest in a 30’ drain snake. But so many of them are just garbage...and I am afraid to use the drain blowers because just my luck, the drain pipe in the concrete would burst open.

Today Marcia had her fourth of five doctor’s appointments … this time it was her Neurologist, Dr. Z.  She saw Dr. Z for the first time in a long time this past February.  Before that she was seeing a Neurologist who decided to retire.  However, she use to see Dr. Z many years ago, but then he had to stop practice while he was being treated for Cancer…which seems to be all clear now.  With Dr. Z it is much more a visit than a check-up per say.  He runs a few basic test to be sure she is still functioning, and they he asks and talks about various subjects…since she follows along just fine, it is more like two people visiting.  He then writes out a prescription she takes that helps calm down the effects of her MS, and then it is a “See you next year” goodbye.  One more doctor to see in February and technically we would be free to travel again…but it looks like we are staying through Easter before we head north.

Took the Motorhome for a Spin to …

Yesterday we took the motorhome for a little drive.  No, we did not go to the location above…that view is from Crystal Beach, a small, somewhat secluded area in Palm Harbor near Tarpon Springs.  The “beach” is not that type of beach one would want to sunbath on, and sometimes there are some swimmers and waders, but most people just go there to walk their dog, enjoy the view, or sit in the park.

      

Crystal Beach is a place where you can view a variety of birds.   The large bird on the lawn is a Great Egret, from what I can tell.  Egrets and Heron’s can be difficult to distinguish for us novice bird watcher when they are pure white like this.  Below in the water are American White Ibis.  We have gone to Crystal Beach many times and have posted pictures before…many times at sunset.  We have seen Pelicans, Seagulls, and other varieties of Egrets, Ibis and even Heron there.

Where we did go was to Cracker Barrel in Lakeland, Florida.  That is a 60 mile drive from where the RV is parked for the winter, but really 70 miles since we choose to not go through Tampa.  Why Lakeland?  Well, it is half way between where we live, and where Marcia’s brother Dean and wife Caryl live.  We planned to meet there at 11 am.  We pulled in at 10:35, called them and they were about five minutes away.  So I walked Skruffy while Marcia went inside to secure us some seats.  By the time I was done with Skruffy, they had pulled in and the three of us walked in together.  Around 1:00 we got up from the table and sat out front…nice of them to have benches and rockers along their porch.  Of course, I got Skruffy out of the motorhome for visit outside, which lasted another 90 minutes.  Only thing bad all day, outside of Christmas traffic, it was landscaping day at Cracker Barrel…so we had to put up with gas grass blowers, gas sheers, and the noise of a lawn mower for about 45 minutes.  But by 1:00 the restaurant was very busy…so it was definitely time to vacate the premises in there to the outside.  It was nice taking the motorhome out for a spin.  It is good for the motorhome too...sitting all the time is not good, and a 140 mile trip is a good workout compared to the 10 mile trips I take it on once a month to keep the seals from drying out.

After I dropped Marcia and Skruffy off at the Condo, I took the motorhome back to her winter storage.  Stopped by the Post Office to check on the PO Box because my sister told me via email she had sent a package to the PO Box for the doggies Christmas Presents.  Sure enough, in my box is a key to BOX 90.  I go over to Box 90, open the door…and there is NOTHING in there.  The key is automatically stuck in the door when you open it, so I have nothing to even show that key 90 was in my box.  And, of course, the Post Office is closed.  So that is where I am off to this morning…let’s hope that the package is found and is not “definitely lost”.