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travelingtheusa · 5 months

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FLORIDA

2024 March 16 (Sat) – We went out for lunch to Cracker Barrel. Otherwise, we stayed around the campground most of the day. Got ready to tomorrow’s move.

2024 March 15 (Fri) – We went to El Patron for a Mexican lunch. It was very good. Afterward, we went to the National Naval Aviation Museum. What a fantastic museum! They have changed it from 10 years ago. You used to walk into the foyer with 5 full-size Navy Blue Angels jets overhead in formation. The going joke was always, Why are they so far apart? When they are just inches from each other. That entrance is different now. The entrance is still jaw dropping but not focused on the Blue Angels any more. We walked around the building filled with all kinds of planes, gliders, and hot air balloons. They also cover the space program with capsules the astronauts returned home in.

A ferocious thunderstorm passed through tonight. One particular boom was so loud that the RV shook and the night sky lit up lit a bomb had gone off. Scared the heck out of Sheba and me.

2024 March 14 (Thu) – We went back to SMART HQ this morning. More talk. More review of files. Discussion of issues and upcoming caravans. We left at noon and stopped at The Fishing Hole for lunch. The name kind of gives an image of a small shack on the bayou but it turned out to be a very nice restaurant with a New Orleans flair. Paul enjoyed a jambalaya and I had shrimp and bacon on cheese grits (the house specialty). It actually turned out to taste pretty good.

2024 March 13 (Wed) - We packed up today and Eglin AFB after 28 days in place. It took a bit to get all the preparations in place as we are still getting used to the new rig. We left at 11:00 and drove to a nearby parking lot where Paul guided me while I tried backing the RV up. I did fine driving straight and turning but that backing up is hard! Paul makes it look so easy. Guess a career of driving heavy machinery has paid off for him.

We arrived at Pensacola RV Park at 1:30 pm. This is a very nice campground. The sites are roomy with lots of grass and just the right amount of trees in place. Our site is gravel and there are full hookups along with WiFi and cable TV.

Once we were set up, we drove 16 miles to SMART HQ. There is a small building on the lot of Melissa’s home. Melissa is the Executive Manager for SMART. She and her assistant, Phyllis, live together in the house. The SMART HQ used to be Melissa’s photo studio. Paul and I went through files and talked with the staff about SMART issues.

Stopped at the Bonefish Grill on the way back home and ordered the Bang Bang Shrimp. That is so good. We also indulged in margaritas and bread. Obviously, we wound up taking half our meal home. We were stuffed!

2024 March 12 (Tue) – We spent the day working on our caravan plans. Got the basic route done with a list of activities to check out. At lunch time, we drove to the base dining facility for lunch. They advertised Yankee pot roast for today’s lunch and I wanted some of it. Unfortunately, by the time we got to the dining facility, it was all gone. A black bean burger did not taste good after hungering for the pot roast. We went back and continued working on the caravan plans. I made reservations to fly back to New York on the 20th. I spent $1,000 to go back and get my free hearing aids from the VA. How crazy is that? My sister, Susan, will pick me up, take me to the Northport Medical Center, and drop me off at the airport so I will have no car rental. I will also stay with her and her husband so there will be no hotel costs. Too bad I couldn't pick up one of those cheap flights Southwest is always advertising.

2024 March 11 (Mon) – We went to the base dining facility today. I had a turkey, bacon and avocado wrap with sweet potato fries and Paul had smoked turkey with a baked potato with a mushroom vegetable sauce. We shared a potato soup and both had a drink. The entire meal came to less than $19. How come we didn’t find this place sooner?

We then drove to the commissary and did some shopping. Also stopped at the package store to pick up some bourbon. We returned the key to our mailbox in the UPS store. It was smart to get that box. We saved a lot of money with all the packages we had delivered.

2024 March 10 (Sun) – We stayed in all day working on our next caravan. It is a lot of work to put these things together.

2024 March 9 (Sat) – We drove to Fort Walton Beach and Destin this afternoon after spending the morning working on our next caravan – Planes, Trains, Automobiles & Ships. There is so much to see in Michigan that we are having a hard time shaving down the choices. We’ll get there.

The National Seashore of Fort Walton Beach and Destin reminded us very much of Fire Island back home. Lots of water and sand. The ocean on one side and the bay on the other. We stopped at a café called Crackings for lunch. Everything was excellent. The day was overcast. It rained hard most of the night.

2024 March 8 (Fri) – Well, I am back from New York. It was a longer trip as I had several doctors to see. I had left extra time hoping to get new hearing aids from the V.A. but they scheduled me for March 15. I have been trying to change it to March 20. I plan to fly back on the 19th, go to the VA on the 20th, and fly back to Florida on the 21st.

The trip home was very productive. I saw the oncologist, cardiologist, dentist, ophthalmologist, and chiropractor. All tests came back green across the board. I am fine. Almost. The ophthalmologist said my lower lid is pulling away and my upper lid needs a lift again. He referred me to an eye surgeon for evaluation. I will go back in June and get it done.

While I was away, Paul did wonders with the RV. He built a beautiful desk that looks like it came with the trailer. He also found places to store everything. It will take a while to determine where everything is and a little longer to get used to new set up. I keep going to the wrong cabinet for the trash.

We drove to Pensacola yesterday to participate in a muster with the SMART White Sands Panhandlers Chapter. We knew more people than I thought we would and enjoyed meeting new folks.

BREAK – BREAK

2024 Feb 15 (Thu) – We worked around the camper today. Paul ordered several things online to work on while I am gone. He will be making a desk for this new camper. At noon, we ran out to get some things done. First stop was at the UPS store on base. We stopped there yesterday and opened a mail box for the month we will be here. Today, we went back to get some paperwork notarized. Then we shopped in the PX and the commissary. Next, we went off base to the post office to mail off the paperwork for our new plates and registration. Of course, there was a stop for lunch. We ate at Sonny’s BBQ. “If it isn’t smoking out back, it’s not Sonny’s upfront.” Everything was delicious. We even took leftovers home for dinner.

I spent the night packing for my trip back to New York tomorrow. I will be gone for 2-1/2 weeks. I had to buy another suitcase because I am bringing winter clothes with me. It snowed yesterday and more snow is predicted in 2 days. I hope it won’t be too miserable while I am there. Kenny is sick and Miranda asked me to stay with my sister. Susan lives in the Hamptons and that would add an extra hour’s drive to wherever I want to go. I decided to stay in a motel for the duration. Ugh. The cost!

2024 Feb 14 (Wed – Valentine’s Day) – We took off from Eastpoint at 10 a.m. and headed out to Eglin Air Force Base (AFB) in Valparaiso. We went through a time change from EST to CST. We stopped at a gas station for lunch. It was quite nice. I never saw so much fishing equipment for sale in a gas station before. There must be some really popular fishing spots around there. We tried to drag our feet because check in time wasn’t until 3 p.m. but we arrived a little after 2 p.m. Since I had already spoken with the office and gotten our site number, we went straight there. It was open so we pulled in and set up. The campground is little dated with lots of trees around the area. We are parked under pine trees and some kind of tree with small nuts. Hope they don’t fall on our rig.

Hudson’s birthday is tomorrow. We sent him a pair of basketball shoes for his birthday. He had a play-off game tonight and wore them there. He said the game would be devoted to us. They won.

2024 Feb 13 (Tue) – We left Williston at 9:45 a.m. We never got to see my niece. I called her yesterday and she said we would get together later that evening. Unfortunately, a rainstorm blew in and she got busy taking care of the animals on her farm. She never called back.

We arrived at Coastline RV Resort in Eastpoint at 1 p.m. We ran out to get fuel and grab lunch at the Red Pirate. We are only here for one night. It is a beautiful campground. The sites are roomy with a large, lovely brick patio. There is a pool right behind our campsite with one person braving the cold.

2024 Feb 12 (Mon) – We packed up, then ran to the post office to send off Valentine’s cards to our grandsons. When we got back, we said good-bye to Margaret & Rich, hooked up, and took off. It was about 50 minutes to the Williston Crossings RV Resort. It is a very nice, gated resort. They have a pool and hot tub, laundry, games, activity room, and camp store. Our campsite is full hookup on a concrete pad. The staff were very nice and one of them was even named Melody.

Once we were set up, we went into town to get some spring bars for the refrigerator. For some reason, we did not have any in the fridge and when I opened the door, I got plastered with saucy chicken. We are still learning and adjusting to our new space.

2024 Feb 11 (Sun) – There were the last minute runs out to WalMart and Lowe’s. Paul was going to make steps for me to get up into the bed. Our new 10” mattress arrived and once on the base, now comes up past my waist. I need help getting into the bed. He discovered a plastic step ladder with two steps. We bought that and returned the wood he bought. Then he spent the day working under the RV, plugging holes and spraying a bed liner. I worked on trying to get the taxes done before my trip to New York. Margaret made hamburgers for dinner then we watched the first half of the Super Bowl with them before returning home.

2024 Feb 10 (Sat) – I went to the hairdresser today. I wanted to touch up the lowlights and get my hair cut. The hairdresser put too much color in and the cut is funky. She called it a pixie cut but it looks like anything but a pixie cut. As usual, I will wait for it to grow out and hope to find another hairdresser who can do my hair the way I want. *sigh*

Rich grilled the steaks tonight. I made baked potatoes and Margaret cooked up some corn.

2024 Feb 9 (Fri) – We continued work around the RV today. At noon, we ran out to Winn Dixie to pick up some steaks for dinner tomorrow. And, as always, a stop at Lowe’s was in order. We have been there almost every day as we pick up and return items. Margaret & Rich took us out to dinner at Olive Garden tonight.

2024 Feb 8 (Thu) – We stayed in all day, working around the RV. Paul is really doing so much.

2024 Feb 7 (Wed) – There’s been a pretty steady stream of Amazon packages arriving. We are expecting our new mattress on Thursday. We will be taking the king size bed out and replacing it with a queen size mattress. We spent the day working around the RV. Paul got the safe installed behind the fireplace. I am still trying to get our RV registered in South Dakota. The guy that I worked with has left the company and a new person is on board. I made an appointment to meet Tuesday by phone. I also have to find a notary public. Our mail forwarding service at Escapees sent a note asking for us to verify that SMART is not a business. Paul also has to sign his revised will. I will meet with the lawyer when I go back to New York later this month to sign my will. Margaret made stuffed chicken and rice for dinner tonight.

2024 Feb 6 (Tue) – We went to WalMart early so we could get an oil change for the truck. While that went on, we had breakfast at Dunkin Donuts then roamed the aisles for a bit before the truck was done. Then we drove to Home Depot but didn’t find anything so we left bare handed (wow!). Margaret mentioned another store where she buys things cheap so we drove there. Ollies didn’t have much of what we wanted but they do have nice area rugs. When we need another rug (our new one arrived in the mail yesterday), we’ll have to shop there.

Margaret made dinner again. We enjoyed left-overs.

2024 Feb 5 (Mon) – The modifications continue. We ran out to WalMart – returned items that didn’t work out and bought new stuff. At 5:00 p.m. Margaret & Rich had a birthday dinner for friends (one couple and a single guy). The two men were celebrating birthdays. Margaret made a seafood meal – shrimp, crab cakes and fish. As usual, all the food was good and plentiful.

2024 Feb 4 (Sun) – Paul ran out to Lowe’s to get paint. He is adding two shelves to the pantry and wanted to paint them the same color as what is in there. I worked on SMART National Muster items, including a comprehensive schedule that lists all times, topics and presenters. We took Margaret & Rich out for dinner to Los Magueyes (a Mexican restaurant). The food and margaritas were good.

2024 Feb 3 (Sat) – We went shopping again at both WalMart and Lowe’s. In addition, we got on the computers and ordered some stuff online. It’s cost us over $1,000 to date to equip and adjust this new RV. Margaret made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. She seems to be enjoying our company and fussing over us at dinnertime.

2024 Feb 2 (Fri) – We worked tirelessly all day long, getting things rearranged and built. Matt & Melissa came over to Margaret & Rich’s tonight for dinner. Paul and Margaret used to work with Matt back in NY Traffic Signal days. Margaret made Marry Me Chicken. It was very tasty.

2024 Feb 1 (Thu) – We woke, made a list of things to get, and went shopping at Lowe’s and WalMart. Half way through Lowe’s, I lost the list somewhere so we didn’t get to buy everything we needed. But we came home and got a good deal done, although very little unpacking. Paul discovered that the cardboard file boxes fit nicely in the closet. We will be going through and packing up anything we don’t use on a regular basis.

Margaret made hamburgers for dinner. Then we watched TV while our clothes were in the washer and dryer.

2024 Jan 31 (Wed) – We got up and tried to get some semblance of order, enough to be able to close the slides and drive off. We left the RV dealer parking lot at 11 a.m. and arrived at our friend’s home, Margaret & Rich (Paul and Margaret worked together at Traffic). They had a nice covered area for their RV which they were kind enough to move out and let us use.

We visited for a bit, then went out to tackle the problem of finding a place for everything. We moved from a 40’ rig into a 38’ rig. We also lost a lost lot of cabinet space. By the afternoon, we were walking around taking measurements. Tomorrow, we will go to Lowe’s and pick up wire racks and storage boxes to add room.

Margaret cooked meatloaf and mashed potatoes for dinner. It was good! Afterward, we watched TV for awhile, then came back and crashed.

2024 Jan 30 (Tue) – We drove to Optimum RV for our 9 a.m. inspection and walk through of the new rig (after stopping for breakfast at the Hometown Restaurant). We waited almost an hour and a half before the tech came to get us. We walked around the RV, letting him show us the different functions and instructing him when he didn’t know something or had it wrong. The water pump didn’t work and a slide on the bureau was loose. Other than that, all seemed to be in order. When we were done inspecting the rig, the tech brought us back to the office to see someone in finance. That was another hour wait. At noon, I asked the receptionist if we should go to lunch, seeing as how it was lunch time and the finance officer was probably going to lunch, too. She told us he would be right out. Half an hour later, a young man came out and told us he needed the title to the Vilano and a copy of my driver’s license. I gave him my license but we had to walk back to the rig to get the title.

In the meantime, our RV was parked out front where we checked in. Another tech had asked to take a quick look inside so we dropped the trailer and popped the slides. He walked through, admiring the RV and telling us it was a nice rig. We agreed. We had to search a bit among all the packed up bags and boxes but we finally found the title and brought it back in. We then waited another 20 minutes before a second finance guy came out to complete the paperwork. We signed over the title, signed a bunch of papers, and were congratulated. It was now after 2 p.m.

We went back to the rig and made a quick lunch. Then we commenced to moving everything from the Vilano to the Ahara. At 6 p.m., we took a run down the road to get dinner at Wendy’s. There was another couple who was also transferring stuff from their travel trailer to a new fifth wheel. We picked up dinner for them. Seeing as how it was dark and we had a mess inside, we decided to spend the night in the parking lot. The place is a disaster and the cat is freaking out. I’m getting too old for this!

2024 Jan 29 (Mon) – We got up early and went into the Magic Kingdom to have breakfast at the Crystal Palace. It was a character breakfast and we got our picture taken with Winnie the Pooh. Afterward, we walked over to Tomorrowland to go on the Circle of Progress but it was closed. We walked through the stores looking for a bumper sticker and a Mickey Mouse sticker to put on the camper but they don’t make them any more. Bummer.

We packed up and left Fort Wilderness at 11 a.m. It was almost two hours to the Wild Frontier RV Resort in Ocala. We spent the night packing up as much as we could. I was exhausted by the time we finally went to bed. Tomorrow is going to be a very busy day. We stayed here close to the RV dealer so we could arrive and get the day started early. Hope all goes well.

2024 Jan 28 (Sun) – We visited the last of the 4 parks today – the Animal Kingdom. This is the least visited park of them all. We started out with breakfast at the Rainforest Café. The meal was good but as with all Disney restaurants, the meal was more than twice the cost of a meal outside the park. We walked around a lot. Got to take a river ride in the Avatar setting, saw the It’s Tough to be a Bug show, and watched a show with birds. It was very warm this morning and early afternoon, then a cool breeze blew in. Paul says a cold front is coming in. We rode to the Wilderness Lodge for lunch and ate at the Roaring Fork. It was good. Then we caught the boat to the campground, took the bus back to the parking lot, then got in the truck and drove back to the campground. It was a long day.

On a good note, Paul seems to be over his virus and I never caught it. Whew!

2024 Jan 27 (Sat) – Today was a trip to Hollywood Studios. This was the most crowded park yet. The new Star Wars attraction is the big, new attraction. There were people everywhere! We had breakfast at Hollywood & Vine to the tune of $130 (ouch!) and got to go on one ride after a 70 minute wait. We got annoyed and left.

2024 Jan 26 (Fri) – We went to EPCOT today. We left a little later since we wanted to stay for the fireworks. We got there about 4 p.m. and strolled along the walkway. We waited over an hour for Soaring Over California. Also walked through a few areas before getting to the World Showcase. We had dinner at the Biergarten Restaurant. It was a buffet with German fare. Everything was good and there was a show with 4 performers. They played various instruments included the bells, the French horn and those long Swiss horns. The fireworks show was fantastic.

2024 Jan 25 (Thu) – Paul popped up at 11 a.m. and said, “Let’s go to the park.” I immediately agreed and we caught the boat to the Magic Kingdom. The park was crowded but we managed to get on a few rides – Runaway Train (45 minute wait), Haunted Mansion (55 minute wait), Pirates of the Caribbean (35 minute wait), and the Hall of Presidents. We came back home to feed Sheba and have dinner, then returned to the park to watch the 8 p.m. fireworks show.

2024 Jan 24 (Wed) – We stayed in again today. Paul seems worse but he says he’s a little better. Hope he gets better soon so we can take advantage of at least some of the park. My throat does not hurt any more. Guess it cured itself.

2024 Jan 23 (Tue) – We stayed in all day. Paul in blowing his nose and running a low grade fever. I have him taking Ivermectin, Vitamin C, Vitamin D3, Quercetin, and Zinc. It only lasted him 2 days and with very mild symptoms last time he had it. Hopefully, it won’t be any worse this time.

At 4:30 p.m. we drove into town to pick up a few groceries. Then we went to Pioneer Hall in the campground and had a light dinner. I started getting a scratchy throat.

2024 Jan 22 (Mon) – We packed up and left Brandon at 10:30 a.m. We drove an hour and a half to Lake Buena Vista to stay for a week in Fort Wilderness in Disney World. No other place looks like Fort Wilderness. It is unique and inviting. I love it.

Paul started with a scratchy throat yesterday and is congested today. This evening, I was on Facebook with the Vilano group. One of the members there posted that she tested positive COVID. We did a test on Paul and, sure enough, he is positive for COVID. What bad timing!

2024 Jan 21 (Sun) – We packed up and left Tampa at 11:30 a.m. We only had 9 miles to go back to the Elks Lodge for the night. We got the same spot we had last week.

2024 Jan 20 (Sat) – We went to look at our RV again then walked around the show. The crowds were very large. Lots of people turned out to look over the displays. Another couple in our group bought an RV. We had a happy hour tonight and shared stories of our purchases.

2024 Jan 19 (Fri) – We stopped at our RV to look it over. Unfortunately, the RV we bought was a show model and because this is a manufacturer’s show, they will continue to show the model for the entire show. All we can hope for is that it doesn’t get abused during the show.

We walked around the show. Paul bought snap pads for the new rig. There was a bingo game tonight. We didn’t win anything.

2024 Jan 18 (Thu) – We walked around the show again today. When we returned last night, we sent inquiries out over the internet to get some quotes on two different RV models we liked. This morning, as we were getting ready to leave for the show, we got an email offering a quote on one of the models. We took that quote to the RV dealer, showed the quote, and asked the salesperson to match it. After a little bit of angst and some discussion among the staff, she agreed to match the offer. That was quite a coup! The MSRP was listed as $118,000. The “special show price” was listed as $89,995. The quote we got from the internet was $78,213. That was almost what we paid for our Vilano back in 2017. They gave us $30,000 for a trade-in. We feel we got an excellent deal and signed the papers. We purchased a 2024 East West Ahara.

There was entertainment tonight. A band played. They were excellent. When they called numbers for door prizes, we won two surge protectors – one for 30 amp and one for 50 amp. We will donate the 30-amp protector to SMART at national. It is worth about $250.

2024 Jan 17 (Wed) – The Tampa RV show opened today. We walked all around the show. My back was killing me by the end of the day. Whew! We stopped at a couple of designated dealer sites and got quotes on two rigs. We returned to the RV and made a couple of calls to dealers, trying to find a better deal. We will work it for the week we are here. The electric was hooked up when we got back.

Our group had a potluck tonight. It was cold and we sat around the circle with 5 propane fires burning. The food was good. The weather got cold today. It’s projected to be cold again tomorrow. Brrrr. One of the ladies brought her little chihuahua to the potluck. She was warning everyone not to touch it as it bites. Not for nothing, but if your dog bites, you shouldn’t bring it to a group function.

2024 Jan 16 (Tue) – We woke at 5:30 a.m. to pack up and leave. Taking down the RV in the dark is an adventure! I used both a flashlight and the light from my cell phone. After hooking up the trailer, Paul drove to the dump station where we dumped the black tank and filled the fresh water tank. Then we hit the road and drove 9 miles to the Tampa Fairgrounds where the Super RV Show is taking place this week. Hope we can find the kind of rig we want at a decent price. They are SO expensive today!

We are camped with the Vanleigh group on the grass along the back fence. We have no water or sewer hookup. We should get electric but are running the generator for now. Some of the folks here remember us from the first group campout here back in 2020. Paul and I set up the large tent. Another one of the guys here put up his smaller, 10x10, tent. The sky opened up this afternoon and it poured. Everyone fit under the tent very nicely.

At 5:30 p.m. we met Brenda & Rick at Ulele Beer Garden. We first met them on the Utah caravan and have become fast friends. We try to visit with them whenever we are down this way.

2024 Jan 15 (Mon – MLK Day) – We went to Bradenton this morning to visit with my cousins, Fred & Margie. Their daughter and her husband, Carolyn & Bobby, were also there. Two hours flew by. Fred is not doing well (he will be 89 this year), but he is very alert and competent. He said his sister, Pat, fell down and was in the hospital. Although she did not break anything, she is bruised and sore. Pat will be 92 this year.

After we got back to Brandon (almost an hour drive), we stopped at Tres Amigos for lunch. The sky opened up just as we pulled up and the rain poured down. We spent an hour inside enjoying our meal. By the time we came out, the rain had stopped. The weather is cooling off. There is a cold front coming across the country. Rain and ice is pelting the northern states. Even the southern states have falling temps.

When done with lunch, we went food shopping at Publix. Groceries stocked, we are ready for tomorrow’s move to the fairgrounds.

2024 Jan 14 (Sun) – We didn’t do much today. Stayed in. The weather was lousy. We worked on caravan stuff.

2024 Jan 13 (Sat) – We walked down the street to a small grocery store down the road. It was a lot like a Restaurant Depot. We picked up a few frozen meats but couldn’t find the rest of what we wanted. It was just as well, anyway, because we had to carry the groceries back down the road – about half a mile.

We drove out to lunch at Tibby’s, which was a cajun style restaurant. I had rice and beans and Paul had jambalaya. We have both tasted better but it was all good. We then stopped at Total Wines after lunch to pick up a bottle to put in the prize drawing pile.

2024 Jan 12 (Fri) – We did our laundry this morning. Drove down the road to a laundromat. It seemed like it had pretty new machines. We put the clothes in the washer and then went to the post office to mail off some insignias for SMART chapter members. After we returned and put the clothes in the dryers, we walked to Office Depot to pick up a few items.

There was a dinner at the Elks Lodge tonight. They had pierogies, kielbasa, a stuffed cabbage, salad, fruit, and the most delicious rye bread. Everything was very good.

2024 Jan 11 (Thu) – We went into Tampa to look for jeans for me. The first store we stopped at did not have any short sizes. The second store didn’t either, but Paul suggested I buy crops. That worked. I bought I pair of jeans at Macy’s and another at Lane Bryant. Mission accomplished, we stopped at Bonefish Grill for bang bang shrimp and soup.

2024 Jan 10 (Wed) – We packed up and left Moore Haven ACOE at 9:45 a.m. We stopped at the dump station then took off for our 3-hour drive to Brandon. We are staying at the Elks Lodge. The camp host suggested a site that was kind of sandwiched between 2 and would have required a very long hose to the water spout. We decided to take another site adjacent to the lodge building. We have 50-amp electric and water hookup; no sewer. We stayed here back in 2017. The lodge was a very busy place back then but not so much today. We went into the lodge at 4:30 p.m. to pay for our site. There was one other couple in there. It’s still a beautiful bar but attendance is not good. The bartender confirmed that membership has dropped off, just as it has everywhere else in the U.S.

After paying for our site and enjoying a drink, we drove into town to get dinner and shop. Dinner was at Tasty Venues, a Real Italian Restaurant. I had lasagna and Paul had spaghetti pie with 3 different types of meatball. The lasagna was exquisite! I have never tasted anything as good as that. It was a large serving and I took most of it home. Paul was unimpressed with his meal.

We left the restaurant and went to Publix to pick up a few groceries.

2024 Jan 9 (Tue) – We met Allen & Carol, Buddy & Deborah, and Buddy’s daughter, Lynn, at LaBelle Brewing Company for dinner. I ordered meatloaf and got a dish overflowing with food. I think they wanted to get rid of the meatloaf because I got 2 very large slices along with green beans piled high on a plate too small for the meal. The green beans were soft and mushy. Yuck. The mashed potatoes were delicious and the meatloaf was OK. I took most of it home.

The weather was pretty ratty all day. A brisk wind blew most of the day and a rainstorm blew in tonight. There was heat lightning in the clouds. That always looks pretty cool. The weather was pretty severe south of us and we were getting warning notices about the possibility of tornados. Our son and daughter-in-law contacted us to make sure we were OK.

2024 Jan 8 (Mon) – We drove to Fort Meyers today. I need a new pair of jeans but when I started trying on clothes, I was dismayed to find I was a larger size. I got depressed and stopped shopping for any clothing. We stopped at Books-A-Million where I picked up a couple of cook books. Then we went to Chicken Salad Chick and had chicken salad sandwiches. We stopped at Publix on the way back to the campground.

2024 Jan 7 (Sun) – We stayed in today and worked on the next caravan we are planning for 2025: Planes, Trains, Automobiles & Ships. There is so much to see and do in Michigan. We are having a hard time paring the choices down. I guess that’s the hardest part of planning a caravan – choosing the right amount of activities yet leaving time to explore on their own.

2024 Jan 6 (Sat) – We went over to Allen’s tonight for a barbecue. He smoked up some ribs. They were delicious! We stopped over Buddy & Deborah’s house to look it over. They bought it in February just before taking off for an extended RV trip this summer. They only just got back at Thanksgiving. The layout of the house is odd and they have their work cut out for them. But they seem to be happy next to Allen (Allen and Deborah are siblings). Buddy showed Paul where to hook up the RV if we ever come visit and stay at their place.

2023 Jan 5 (Fri) – We drove into LaBelle to shop at WalMart. Then we tried to find a place to buy firewood. Ace Hardware, WalMart, Tractor Supply, and 7-11 were all out of wood. Allen & Carol and his sister and husband, Deborah & Buddy, came over at 4 p.m. We had hamburgers and hot dogs. I made potato salad and chickpea salad. Allen brought over some wood from his shop and we had a campfire. It was an enjoyable evening.

2023 Jan 4 (Thu) – We packed up and left LaBelle at 11:30 a.m. We only had an 11-mile drive to ACOE Ortona South Campground in Moore Haven. We were here some years ago. It is a very pleasant campground right on the Caloosahatchee River. Our site has electric and water hookup. We are on a concrete pad with a gravel patio with a covered picnic table. There is a lock right next to the campground. After set up, we walked over the lock to the other side and watched a boat come through the lock.

We sent a note to Allen, telling him we arrived and were set up. We agreed to have them come over for a BBQ tomorrow.

2023 Jan 3 (Wed) – We went to Clewiston today to tour the Seminole Reservation Museum, Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki. It was an hour’s drive from LaBelle. When we arrived, we drove first to the Swamp Water Café for lunch. The café was set in a visitors area with cages for animals. Almost all the cages were empty. There was a very nice arena with grass and a moat filled with clear, clean water surrounding it. In front were 3 stands for an audience to watch an alligator wrestling show. The waitress told Paul the café had just opened for 7 days a week on Monday. The place had closed for the pandemic and has not reopened. The petting zoo was also closed.

The entire village is very well kempt and you can see they put money back into the reservation from the casino. There was a new development under construction. A very nice campground was also on the reservation. We went to the museum. The walkway from the parking lot to the building was a decorative block. Inside the museum, we found the Seminole Indians to be very different from the Indians out west. There clothing was very colorful and the men wore turbans! The natives were driven into the everglades during the Seminole Wars (three of them) and they are very proud that they never surrendered or signed any peace treaties. In the back of the museum was a boardwalk that wound through the swamp for a mile. There were many storyboards along the way that described the wildlife, reptiles, insects, flora and fauna of the area. There was also a replica fishing camp and a replica village.

When we got back to LaBelle, we drove to Allen & Carol’s home, visited a while, then drove to Amigos & Beer for dinner. I had tortillas and Paul had a combo meal. We had margaritas but they were not good. Mine smelled like perfume and the taste was off. We drank them any way.

2023 Jan 2 (Tue) – We drove to Fort Meyers this afternoon. We spent the morning researching RVs online and decided to go to dealers to look at rigs. The first stop was at Camping World. When the girl demanded to make a copy of Paul’s license, he refused and we left. What kind of weird requirement is that? She claimed it was for insurance purposes.

Next stop was at La Mesa. They did not have any towables on their lot. We seem to remember stopping at La Mesa a year or so ago and they said they are only selling motor homes.

Then we stopped at Blue Compass RV. The salesman was very upbeat and eager to sell us an RV. We looked at a rig we really liked but once we started comparing it to our current RV, we realized it was missing a lot of storage space. There were not nearly enough cabinets to hold all our stuff. The salesman asked us to contact him when we find a rig we want and he will try to get it for us. We told him we are going to the Tampa RV Show and (to be expected) he told us the better deal is at the dealership. We will see.

We went for lunch at Skip One Seafoods, a cute local restaurant that had really good food. Allen asked if we wanted to go to dinner tonight but since we were an hour away and still looking at RVs, we made a date for tomorrow instead.

After we got back to the campground, we did the laundry.

2023 Jan 1 (Mon) – We packed up and left Naples at 11:15 a.m. It was only 74 miles to LaBelle so we took it slow. The drive was nice. We are staying at Whisper Creek RV Resort. We had such a hard time finding a campground in the area so we wound up making reservations at this resort. It is costing us $125 a night. Ouch! At any rate, we wanted to visit with our friends, Allen and Carol.

We drove over Allen’s house at 4:00 p.m. He lives in a double gated community on a hill right on the river. It is a very lovely home with a main waterway going past the back of his house. We visited for an hour then went to dinner. Allen’s son, Allen Jr., is visiting and joined us as well. We were going to go to a Mexican restaurant for margaritas but they were closed so we wound up at the LaBelle Brewing Co. I had a cobb salad and Paul had jambalaya. The food and company were very good.

After dinner, we drove back to their house. Visited for a half hour, then left.

2023 Dec 31 (Sun – New Year’s Eve) – We drove into the historic district of Naples today. Everything is built in Italian architectural style. I guess their sister city is Naples, Italy. It has a very European feel to the town. There were so many expensive cars. A Bentley convertible, many Bentleys, BMWs, Porches, Audis, etc. We are in the land of the rich people. We found a parking spot and walked down to the Naples Pier. The sand was so soft and beautiful; finer than sugar. There were people and cars clogging the streets and sidewalks. We left and drove to the Texas Roadhouse for lunch. We got fuel and returned to the campground.

New Year’s Eve came and went while we slept away. We went to bed at 10:30 p.m. There were fireworks going off all night. We were wakened at midnight when there was an influx of joyous noise.

2023 Dec 30 (Sat) – We went to breakfast at Hoots this morning. It was a small café but bustling with business. I had corned beef hash with eggs and Paul had some kind of Mexican dish. Everything was very good.

After breakfast, we went to WalMart for groceries. The exterior was not like the average store. Paul joked that because we are in a rich neighborhood, they didn’t want it to look like a WalMart so they made it quite fancy. Inside was pretty much the same except that there were 37 self check-out lanes and only 2 cashier lanes, both of which were closed. I found someone to come check us out.

2023 Dec 29 (Fri) – We packed up, stopped at the dump outside the gate, then proceeded on our way to Naples where we are staying at Marco Naples RV Resort. This is another of the gargantuan commercial company RV parks. We are here for 3 nights. Naples is a very high end city with lots of manicured lawns and residential communities. Our campsite is on a concrete pad fit between two mobile homes. We have full hook-ups. The resort has bocci ball, a pool, horseshoes, and 2 dog parks. The mobile homes are tightly fit in with open spaces here and there for RVs that come and go (like us).

2023 Dec 28 (Thu) – We took down our Christmas tree and all the decorations, packed them away, and restored the rig to pre-holiday status. It looks kind of empty now. At 4 p.m. we drove to Marathon. Traffic was heavy and we got there at 5:15 p.m. We were planning to have dinner with Tim at the Cracked Conch. However, Tim was worried we wouldn’t get our food in time to make Show Me The Money at the American Legion at 6 p.m. so we picked him up at the restaurant and drove on to the legion. We all had hot dogs. Carrie met us there. We played cards for 2 hours. Carrie was very lucky and won several games. Paul saw Tim and Carrie share an intimate kiss. Guess they are more than just friends. Good for him!

At 8:30 p.m. we said our good-byes and headed back to get ready for tomorrow’s move.

2023 Dec 27 (Wed) – We drove to Key Largo to mail off a package we were returning. I ordered (what I thought was) a heating pad, but when it arrived it was a huge sauna blanket. Too big for RV living so I returned it. Next door was Ferdinand The Bull Cuban restaurant. We both had Cuban sandwiches. I didn’t care for the bread but it was tasty.

We met Carl & Shirley (SMART friends) and Tim at the Old Tavernier Restaurant for dinner. We sat out on the patio. The menu was interesting and everything was quite expensive. I felt bad for Tim who wound up ordering the cheapest thing on the menu (lasagna) and still forked over a large share of the bill ($40). We then all drove to the Elks Lodge where we played the Queen of Hearts.

2023 Dec 26 (Tue) – We did the laundry this morning. Drove to a laundromat down the road that had bags and bags of laundry all over the place. My impression is that they are the only laundry for miles around. And they take in laundry for all the resorts and hotels in the area. It was expensive, too. The small washer cost $3.50 and the dryer was $0.25 for 5 minutes. It was over $14 by the time we were done.

A thick fog rolled in this afternoon. Everyone claims it’s weird. They never get fog. It stayed all afternoon and into the night. We drove to Marathon, got on Tim’s tiki boat, and rode to the Dockside Bar & Grill where we met Carrie. After some food and drink, we drove to the American Legion where we played bar poker.

2023 Dec 25 (Mon – Christmas Day) – We picked a turkey breast up at Winn Dixie yesterday. I cooked it this morning, then we brought the turkey and cranberry sauce to Tim’s. Tim cooked a ham. It rained and we sat around his boat for an hour. During a lull in the rain, Paul and Tim went down to the store to pick up soda. One of Tim’s neighbors came over and invited us to sit on his boat because he had a cover over the deck. So we traipsed over there. There were 9 of us in total and we enjoyed a Christmas meal with the food everyone brought. It was a very pleasant day.

2023 Dec 24 (Sun) – Paul and I met Tim and Carrie for Christmas morning service at the Marathon Community Church. They used to be part of the Methodist Church but they broke away. Much of the service was very much like that of the Methodist Church.

After church, the four of us went to the Cracked Conch for brunch. Three of us ordered corned beef hash, eggs and potatoes. Paul ordered creamed chipped beef. The waitress brought four orders of creamed chipped beef. We sent 3 back; they left one because they were only going to throw them out any way. Everything came on a separate dish – the eggs, the potatoes, the toast, the hash. There were way too many dishes on the table.

When we finished, we got on Tim’s tiki boat and rode to the Dockside Bar. We sat on the patio and had cocktails. At 3, we left and returned to the campground for a potluck meal at the Elks lodge. At 5:30 p.m. we went into the lodge and enjoyed the assortment of foods people brought. Again, there were way too many cheese and cracker dishes. As we were leaving at 6:30, we ran into Carl & Shirley. They were on previous caravans with us. We plan to have dinner with them on Wednesday. We said a quick hello then hurried out to attend the 7 p.m. candlelight service at the United Methodist Church down the road.

2023 Dec 23 (Sat) – Paul and I went to Doc’s Diner for breakfast this morning. Tim recommended it and it was quite good. I had corned beef hash with eggs and grits; Paul had sausage and gravy. We drove to Marathon and met Tim at the American Legion for a gingerbread house making contest. Paul and Tim concentrated very hard on their project. I made a gingerbread man. The guys won the contest! I think it was the campfire (complete with flames made out of licorice) and the chimney with fire that did the trick. I was the only person to make a gingerbread man so I won it all.

Afterward, there was a potluck dinner. There were way too many cheese and cracker dishes but we were able to fill up.

2023 Dec 22 (Fri) – Everyone took off today. Chris drove Susan to Miami for her flight back to New York, then returned to his new digs in Jacksonville. Dennis & Denise decided to leave and head back to their condo in Myrtle Beach, S.C. And Greg & Potsy left to go back home to Sarasota. It’s just us and Tim again until we leave.

We took the day to just kick back and relax. Paul is reworking our route since our planned caravan has been cancelled. I worked on various projects to include my new book. At 5:30 p.m. we went into the lodge for dinner.

2023 Dec 21 (Thu) – The weather was overcast and drizzly today. The group had talked about bicycling over the bridge to Pigeon Key but cancelled out. Paul and I did some shopping at Winn Dixie. Chris and Susan walked across the 2 miles to Pigeon Key. Dennis and Denise went shopping for sandals and tee-shirts. At noon, Susan, Chris, Tim, Paul and I went to the American Legion for lunch. Then we met Dennis and Denise at the Pigeon Key Train Depot. Greg and Potsy arrived to meet us there as well and we all took the little trolley across the old railroad bridge turned walkway to Pigeon Key. There we took a tour of the island where 400 workers used to live on the island while the rail line was being built.

When we got back, some of us met at the Dockside Inn for drinks. Then, they all ran back to their respective hotels to get their gifts. We met at the Florida Keys Steak & Lobster House for a Christmas dinner. We had a Santa swap (each person put a gift in and took one gift out). It was fun. We had a great time. The last time all six of us were together was eleven years ago in May of 2012.

2023 Dec 20 (Wed) – Chris and Susan moved out of Skip Jacks this morning and went to the Hampton Inn. Apparently, the place they gave them to stay is a condo that is being lived in. When Chris pulled out the bed on the couch, there was sand and dirt, a screw driver, a half eaten dog bone, etc. They were so grossed out! Whoever lives there just threw their stuff in a closet and vacated.

We drove to Key West with Chris and Susan. Parked in back of the Navy base for free and walked the town. We saw the Butterfly Museum and had lunch at the Moon Dog Café. Then we took Chris to see the USCGC Ingham. It brought back memories for him (he’s retired from the Coast Guard).

When we got back at the foot of the 7-Mile bridge, we met Tim for dinner at the Sunset Grill. Dennis & Denise had arrived and also met us at the restaurant for dinner.

2023 Dec 19 (Tue) – Susan and Chris flew in today. We met them at their hotel, Skip Jacks, and went to dinner at the Cracked Conch. When done, they returned to their hotel and Tim and I went to the American Legion for their membership meeting. I was somewhat surprised by the lack of officers. The commander filled all roles – adjutant, vice commanders, treasurer – and ran the entire meeting by himself. It took about a half hour. When done, we filed out into the bar and played bar poker. Paul had dropped Sue & Chris off at their hotel and came back to the post. He won one game.

2023 Dec 18 (Mon) – We drove to Marathon to meet Tim. It was an almost hour drive! I don’t remember it being so far away. We met Tim at the American Legion but they had run out of lunch food. So we hopped in our vehicles and drove to the Cracked Conch for lunch. It was a cute little beachy place. Paul had fried scallops, Tim and I had cheeseburgers.

After lunch, Tim took us out on his Tiki boat. It was a very pleasant ride with a fairly strong wind blowing. There was a touch of coolness in the wind but not bad. I am always so amazed at all the people who live in their boats out on the water. The city has 250 mooring points where a person can anchor to and live for just $350 a month. There is a pump out service from the city and a facility where people can shower and do laundry. It’s certainly a different way of life. Tim keeps his boat tied to the dock because he wants to have electric service. He says the state also has mooring points for hook ups as well. There were certainly a load of boats out on the water with very few open points.

When we got back, we drove back to the American Legion where we played bar bingo (it’s bingo at the bar instead of tables). It is a very nice post. The bingo caller was clearer a man trying to be female with shorts, a blouse with open shoulders, longish hair and painted nails. S/he is called Victoria and has a slew of tattoos left over from his days in the military. They played 12 games, each on a sheet of paper with 6 cards printed on it. There were different games to play which kept things interesting. All of us won a game and when all was said and done, Paul and I basically broke even.

2023 Dec 17 (Sun) – It rained this morning, then cleared up. We were able to pack up without rain pouring down on us. Thank goodness! We left Key West at 9:15 a.m. and drove up-Island for 2 hours until we arrived at the Elks Lodge in Tavernier a little after 11 a.m. The gate was closed and I called the camp host to admit us. We were shown to our spot - #5. Paul pulled in, swung around, and backed the RV in like the pro he is. We are along the fenceline with close access to the side entrance where the bathrooms are. Since we have no sewer hookup, we need to be careful to limit our water usage. We can usually last 10 days with no sewer. We have to kick it up a little to make the 12 days we will be here.

I called my brother, Tim, to say we were here. He said Sundays are his “busy” days (as if you could be busy retired and living in the Keys) so we agreed to meet him tomorrow.

The sky is blue and nearly cloudless. There is evidence the storm passed through today. In fact, everyone says this was a really unusual storm because it lasted so long and intensified as the week went on. There are puddles and pooling everywhere. At one point during our drive, we could see where the water came up and covered the roadway. There are parts along the drive from Key West where the islands are very thin with the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the Gulf of Mexico on the other side.

2023 Dec 16 (Sat) – The weather was miserable today. It poured hard on and off between light rains. The wind blew in very strong gusts, even knocking the Starlink satellite over. We didn’t want to go out, but we needed fuel for tomorrow’s move. So, we got gas on base for $1 less than the station right outside the gate. While out, we stopped at Kennedy Café for lunch. It was a Greek restaurant and we both had gyros. There was a 5 or 6 year old girl following the waitress around. She brought my water when the waitress brought Paul’s tea, then gave me a menu. Cute until she gets hurt. She was hopping and bopping around the place with her little tutu and sparkly shoes.

There was a quick stop at the NEX to look for pirate booty (which we did not find), then back to the RV. Travis called this morning. Noah was also on the phone and asked us to get some pirate booty for them. We will continue to look for it. Wish we’d known the past week we’ve been here. We walked past sooooo many gift shops. We’ll still be in the Keys on Islamorada and we can search there.

2023 Dec 15 (Fri) – We went to the aquarium this morning. It was a little misty with spotty rain. The aquarium was something of a disappointment. It was small and the outside tank was overcrowded with large fish. There were 7 nurse sharks, groupers, tarpon, red drums, etc. all swimming around (the nurse sharks actually just lay around). A staff member gave a demonstration and fed some of the different kinds of fish, including the sharks.

After the aquarium, we walked into town and had lunch at Irish Kevin’s. We thought it was an Irish restaurant but it turned out to be more of a bar that sold some food. No shepherd’s pie. We indulged and each had a margarita (since we started dieting about 2 weeks ago, we have given up alcohol). I had a cheeseburger and Paul had some kind of fish.

When we were back at the trailer, I got a call from the camp host at the Elks Lodge, where we are headed on Sunday. She wanted to know when we were arriving today. I told her we wouldn’t be in for 2 days. There was some confusion about when we were scheduled to arrive. I looked at the registration form I filled out on line and discovered I had signed off on an arrival date of December 15, not 17. Oops! I agreed to pay the 2 days since they held the space for us rather than renting it to someone else. It’s incidents like this that make me worry about my mental capacity. It doesn’t happen often but when it does, I ponder my brain. It would be awful to contract Alzheimer’s or dementia. We see a lot of folks in our travel group that suffer the disease. It’s unsettling to know that you are in the age group that is susceptible to that.

2023 Dec 14 (Thu) – We drove into town this morning and mailed off 163 Christmas cards. Whew! Then we drove to the Little White House. President Truman took his vacations here during his presidency and even after he left office. He claimed he got more work done when he was down in the Keys as opposed to being in Washington, D.C. The house was lovely. Many presidents and dignitaries visited and/or stayed in the house.

We then walked downtown to have lunch at Fogartys. We sat out on the patio and watch chickens and pigeons flock around the area. There are loads of chickens all around the area. Reminds me of Hawaii. We then drove to Fort Zachary Taylor. It was an old fort built in 1845. It was intended to protect the Straits of Florida, Key West Harbor, and the Gulf of Mexico. The fort was used in the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, WWI, WWII, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. It was the longest serving U.S. coastal fortification, serving from 1861-1947.

When we drove out of the park, we noticed the USCGC Ingham. It was the largest Coast Guard ship I have ever seen. We had to explore it. We bought tickets and went onboard. They offer cocktails by sunset on Fridays. The history of the 76-year-old ship was very interesting.

By the time we finished our tour, it was raining pretty good. We came back to the campground and did the laundry.

2023 Dec 13 (Wed) – The bicycle company dropped off the bikes this morning. The bike fits although it feels like my knees come up a little high. We put them under the overhang and will take them out when the weather clears up. We told him to pick them up on Saturday.

Then we drove into town and had lunch at the Cuban Coffee Queen. It was a small café in an indoor mall. We got our meal and sat in the aisle outside. We toured the Audubon House. My cousin, Denise, has worked there for many years and when I mentioned her name, we were ushered right in. The house went through several owners. Finally, it was renovated and renamed the Audubon House in honor of John Audubon who stayed in the house for a while.

Next, we went to the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum. Mel was born in Indiana and moved to California. He became in the new sport, scuba diving. He opened a dive shop and did snorkel and scuba until discovering shipwrecks. He went on to wrecking (diving on shipwrecks) and moved his family to Florida. He searched for 16 years until he discovered a Spanish galleon with a cargo valued at over half a billion dollars in 1985. The ship had sunk in a storm off the Florida Keys. It turns out there were many ships that sank during storms sailing from Cuba to Spain. Mel made quite a living diving on the wrecks.

After we got back to the campground, we finished up the Christmas cards for mailing.

2023 Dec 12 (Tue) – We drove over to the ITT office and got military tickets to a few attractions. Paul also arranged to rent 2 bikes. Unfortunately, they are NOT electric. I hope I can manage it. We’ll see when they deliver them tomorrow.

We drove into town and had lunch at the Stoned Crab. The waitress seemed to forget us. I kept staring down the aisle looking for her. Finally, the hostess noticed and went to get our waitress. The meal was OK but nothing to write home about.

We drove over to Office Max to get ink for the printer. We also stopped at CVS to pick up a statin the doctor prescribed for me. I put it aside while I mull over taking it. Maybe I’ll put it in the drawer with the high pressure medicine. When we came out of CVS, we noticed a hair cutting salon. Paul needed a haircut badly. It’s been too windy for me to do it outside, so we went in. While in there, I had a hairdresser also trim my hair. I asked her if she could fix a bad cut. She looked at my hair and went, “Oy Vay!” It looks much better now. And the black lowlights have begun to fade and blend in better. I like the way it looks now.

When we got back to the campground, there was a note on our door from the camp host. There is a weather report calling for high winds and local flooding caused by rain. Wish we had known before we rented the bikes.

2023 Dec 11 (Mon) – We stayed in all day. I began working on writing our Christmas and getting cards ready to assemble. The weather was kind of crappy anyway. At 5 p.m., we walked over to the Sunset Grill for dinner. We had wine with it and wanted to watch the sun set but it was too cloudy. Oh, well. Another day.

2023 Dec 10 (Sun) – We drove around town to check out the sites. We stopped at Winn Dixie for a few items and Paul picked himself up a bagel at a small shop near the grocery store. I picked up a prescription at CVS. It is a statin the doctor wants to start taking for cholesterol. I am reluctant to do this and the bottle sits on the shelf for now.

2023 Dec 9 (Sat) – We packed up and left Sunrise at 9 a.m. It was a 4-hour drive to Key West. We are camped at the Sigsbee Naval Air Station (NAS) campground. The campsites are very tight and the campground is full. We have been trying to get into this campground for a couple of years. We wanted to stay here because so many folks talk about camping here. Now that we have done it, I hope that’s the end of coming here. We are mountain people, not beach people.

There is a lounge right in the campground. We walked over and sat on the deck with a glass of wine and watched the sun set. The campground is right on the Gulf of Mexico and the front row of campsites faces the water.

2023 Dec 8 (Fri) – We packed up and drove to the dump site where we emptied our tanks. Then we had to stop at the store to return a remote control they gave us in case we were out late and needed to open the gate upon our return. We had to put $40 down in deposit and when I gave it back, they refunded the $40. The clerk was different than the one from yesterday, so I told her I lost my membership card. She said there was supposed to be a charge to get a new card but she just gave it to me. We then drove to George’s body shop where I presented him with the card. I filled it in with me as the member and George as my husband. Hopefully, it will work for him.

The drive was pleasant until we got into the Palm Beach/Miami/Ft Lauderdale area. Then the traffic ground down and we crawled to our destination. We are camped at Markham County Park in Sunrise, Florida. We stayed here two years ago on the way down to the memorial for Tim’s son, Joey. It is a huge park with loads of activities – shooting range, skeet range, BMX track, archery range, several dog parks, volley ball, etc. Our campsite is in section B in a wagon wheel formation. It is very nice, on grass, with full hookups.

After set up, we drove to town (about a half mile away) to do a little shopping and get fuel. We came back and drove around the park. It is very impressive.

2023 Dec 7 (Thu) – We drove over to meet George at his place of work this morning – AutoHaus Body Shop. He showed us around and introduced us to his new dog, a rottweiler. Beautiful animal but he calls it dumb. We went to lunch in George’s new Audi electric car. Our meal was at Muddies, a small but very nice café. Next door was a Rope Store. We had to go in and check it out. They really sell ropes and all kinds of lines.

After lunch, we went back to the shop. Paul mentioned that there are spots on our truck that he can’t get out. He asked George about it. When he looked at the truck, he said the spots were caused by battery acid. The only place that could have happened was when Paul had the truck in the shop back in Greenville, SC, while I was in NY. The garage said the batteries were bad and sold us two new ones. It looks like someone dropped a battery in front of the truck and acid splashed across the right front panel of the truck. George took pictures and made up an estimate of cost to repair the damage.

When we got home, Paul called the Ford dealer and told them about the damage. The manager told Paul to send pictures. I emailed the estimate and pictures. We’ll see what happens.

At 5:30, we drove to Dolphin’s Waterfront Grill & Bar where we met George (Linda was at a Christmas party with her bible study group), Denise & Matthew. Denise is George’s sister and Melody’s cousin. Matthew is her new boyfriend. They have been dating for six months and seemed very happy together. We enjoyed a delightful meal while we reminisced about our growing years.

2023 Dec 6 (Wed) – We left Kings Bay, GA, at 10 a.m. It was a long drive with two stops – one at the visitor center at the border and the second at one of the largest Buc-ee’s we have ever seen. It had 120 gas pumps and 240 fill stations. Inside was like a combination department store, country store, and gas station. The place was so busy with traffic jams outside by cars looking for parking. We wound up parking on the curb because there was no parking. The “station” was packed with lots of energy going on. There was a smoked meats sandwich counter and a fudge/candy station. We shopped for a gift for family.

We arrived at KARS (NASA’s recreation park and campground) on Merritt Island at 3 p.m. This is the 4th time we have camped here. We came because they give a second membership card to use the facility for a family member. Because NASA has been revitalized and demand is back up, they stopped giving the additional membership card. We gave those cards to George & Linda. He will be disappointed to hear this. We were assigned a sign right on the water front of the Banana River. They have improved the campground a lot since we were last here. They put in new electric stanchions and a second dump station. The American Legion post is active with meetings 3 times a month. We have never seen this post do anything in the past.

At 5 p.m., we drove to George & Linda’s home. We visited for a while then they drove us to a restaurant names in honor of Ernest Hemingway. It was a unique place and the food was good. We all celebrated with “traditional” margaritas. We returned to their home then drove back to the campground at 9:30 p.m.

I was so tired, I went to bed. Paul stayed up to watch a lift off from Kennedy Space Center. The complex is directly across the river and offers spectacular views of rocket launches. Although I had fallen asleep, I was awakened at 12:08 p.m. when the RV shook with the force of the list-off.

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