Saturday, May 28, 2011

Happy Memorial Weekend to ya'll!

We are hanging out here at a huge RV Resort a few miles outside of Titusville Florida. It is an absolutely georgous place, with every activity and ammenity possible....except Verizon Internet Service! It stinks! So once again, no pictures right now. We will be here until Tuesday morning and then head over to Tampa and the Lazy Days RV Park at the Lazy Days Dealership. We had several Thunderstorms yesterday and some wind, but nothing bad. DH played golf and I went shopping today. We have driven around some and toured a wildlife preserve. Thursday morning we took an airboat ride and saw lots of alligators. Yesterday I had a dentist appointment and today I cooked and we layed out at the pool. Will keep this short for now and be watching as I do have lots of pics and things to say! Now it'll take 10 minutes to post this...so I'll go back to my word search puzzle. By the way, I made home made cherry cobbler with canned Montana Flathead Cherries that I've been carrying around. It is "TO DIE FOR" I miss Montana!OH yeah, and most important, I hope ya'all take time out from the picnics and celebrations to shake the hand of a soldier, say thanks to a Veteran and say prayers for those soldiers deployed and their families. Acknowlege those in our cemetaries that helped and fought to keep us free! We have not forgotten them! Party on!

Monday, May 23, 2011

Storms and Prayers

Good early Monday Morning. Can't sleep and while I'm sitting here thinking of what all we have to get done to be ready to leave here on Tuesday, I skimmed over to Fox News after seeing a post about storms on Facebook. My sincere thoughts and prayers go out to all involved in Sunday's horrific tornadoes in Joplin MO, and Minneapolis MN. Both places we've been to in other years. We will head for Florida for a while, until we just can't bear the heat anymore,
or the space shuttle lands and we get to see that. It's scheduled to come down June 1st and we will be staying at Titusville, which is not very far from Merrit Island and the Kennedy Space Center. I feel very fortunate that all we are dealing with now is very warm temps. We got busy and gave Betsy a much needed bath Friday before it really started heating up. The thermometer got up to 101 today. The condensation from the a/c just runs! It will be refreshing to be in a cooler climate and I am considering that move next. I think I need some mountains! KayCee is ready for cooler weather too! All she wants to do is eat and lay on the couch!
Which is what we all did today! I will attempt to catch another 40 or so winks now and get errands done early as it will be another scorcher (no, boiler!) today.

Friday, May 13, 2011

Georgia Hospitality



One of the great things about our journeys is the ability to meet up with old friends and make new ones!

Last weekend was Graduation at Georgia Southern University. Almost all of the folks staying in this park over the weekend were taking home kids from college. By Monday most everyone had gone home and it is very quiet here. We will be here through this weekend and depart on Tuesday, headed south into Florida. I made reservations at a fancy golf resort called The Great Outdoors that is a suprise for Danny, who is out playing golf as we speak! He has met up with some guys here in Statesboro and according to him, is playing pretty good.
Last Saturday we went to a park in Savannah and attended a Military Reunion picnic for Christy's husband's Special Forces Airborne Unit.
It was a fun day even though it sprinkled and rained! Her dad cooked hamburgers and hotdogs and she said it was as if the guys hadn't been apart, that they picked up where they left off 19 years ago and really enjoyed each other's company. I think it was a great thing that she organized it.
Tuesday night for Christy's last night here, we spent back at Jeff and Bettina Double's at their Country Estate for another fantastic meal and patio conversation.
I feel blessed to have been introduced to such special people and I hope we get to spend time with them again.

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Trees in the South

We left Robertsdale Alabama and made out way on across the panhandle of Florida to the end of I 10 and headed north into Georgia last Friday. We stopped for the first night at Quincy Florida and then arrived at the KOA in Kingsland Georgia off of Exit 1 Saturday morning. At first I thought it was the smog from Jacksonville that was obscuring the views, and then was to learn there is a huge troublesome forest fire in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.

They have closed that park, and I feel bad for those who live there. Lots of trees everywhere and of every variety around here. We spent the weekend in Heavy smoke, and it rained ash all over everything! We spent lots of time at the Fernandino Beach and Amelia Island back across the Florida border, so it was a good weekend.

KayCee had a ball on the beach...and got braver and braver going into the water. Monday morning we headed up the Interstate 108 miles to Savannah GA and the Savannah Oaks Resort.

Spending one night down in a total tree obscured campground and our Satellite wouldn't work so we moved on Tuesday to Statesboro Ga, and a very nice RV Park by a motel. Everything works and it is very quiet.

We met my girlfriend from California yesterday when she got off the plane for a great southern seafood meal at her favorite place - Carey Hilliard's Restaurant. We met her mother for the first time and then she took us to some friends house that live in the country but are from England. We had the best evening! In fact are going back tonight for some more visiting on the patio! It is so relaxing here. Unfortunately we still can smell and see smoke from that same fire, but not as strong. We have an extremely busy weekend.

Her mother has an art studio and teaches painting classes in this quaint barn in a country setting. She also has a garden and dug us some fresh new potatoes, can't wait to fix them! Christy's husband was killed in Germany in a military accident several years ago. He was an Airborne Ranger in the Special Forces and their Reunion is this weekend. Saturday we are invited to their picnic in Savannah. I have found a wonderful pet sitting service to use while I'm here and I really enjoy that. Tiffany Gates trains military bomb and drug dogs, and owns one fantastic Shephard. It makes my life even more stress free! It is very fun catching up with old friends and making new ones! Have a great weekend.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Rainy Day in Foley Alabama

We have been on the move and stopped for one night in Louisiana, one night in Mississippi, and then arrived in Robertsdale for several days while we receive our mail from the past month.

It has been really hot and steamy here along the Gulf Coast, until today, when a front went through and dropped the temps about 15 degrees to tolerable. A light breeze this morning and the sun was shining but by 1 p.m it was all overcast and the Thunder heads were gathering. I discovered several things we were out of and went to look for a grocery store. Lo and behold I found a Winn-Dixie. Then on down the highway further was the Original Lambert's Cafe...home of the "Throwed" Rolls.
We went to the other one south of Springfield MO. a couple years ago..and the atmosphere was a complete Hoot! They literally Throw piping hot out of the oven dinner rolls across the room at ya...

You order an entree and sides off the menu..but servers are serving up hot fried okra, buckets of fried potatoes, macaroni and tomatoes, and all the extras that you could ever want to your table all the time.

All you can eat...and you walk out of there stuffed. I was trying to be good, and I brought a lot of food home!

We have small Magnolia trees here in front of the coach and at the entrance to the park there's mature trees that have lots of blossoms.

They really welcomed this rain...we have received about 1/4" today. One thing I don't like is stinky wet dog...so foofy dog got to wear her raincoat and so did her master! We drove through Mobile Alabama yesterday.

Noticed increased presence of Border Patrol Vehicles. Lots of ships, even a Cruise Ship in port. We got to go through a tunnel under the bay, and across on the beltway, a highway on cement pillars in the water.

Back on dry land we drove about 30 more miles ot our destination. Some people that used to run a restaurant in our hometown live in Mobile. She has a catering business and they had us over for a fantastic fish dinner last night. Tomorrow we are getting together and I am praying for sun as we are going to Gulf Shores and a place called Flori/bama. Should be a good day and I want to walk on the beach for a while.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

A Month in Texas

Well, it’s been a month to the day since we’ve left our winter home in Arizona. I need to apologize for taking such a long break!
We have spent the entire month in Texas and have seen many more cities, towns and countryside than we expected!
We stopped in San Antonio for about a week touring the city, the Alamo and the Hill Countryside trips to Corpus Christi then traveled to the middle of the state and stopped in Schulenburg off of I 10 because a friend from our hometown had his business there and we wanted to visit with him for a few days.
He owns his own business and operates roadside Tool Sales with a semi and travels in an RV. He has a Truck Driver for the Semi and shares the RV with him and two adorable black and white Shih Tsu dogs, Sammy and Sadie.
KayCee had fun playing on the beach with them. We planned on heading on east into Louisiana a couple of weeks ago, stopping for a day or two and driving some side trips down to the Gulf Coast and beaches but it turned into much more than that!
We all had moved to the eastern part of the state, when he became very ill and ended up in the hospital with a collapsed lung!
It continued on, and he spent 9 days in the La Grange hospital, then he was transferred to another hospital in Austin by Ambulance and a heart and lung specialist finally released him and said he was on the mend.
It has been a very busy, wild time and I’m glad he’s going to be alright. It is one thing to be out on the road and traveling to other states to work and play without knowing anyone, but being in the hospital and having serious issues, I would hope I had someone around to count on.
I wouldn’t have thought to go on down the road until we knew that he was going to be alright, or other family was here. His wife Connie and Daughter Missy drove down from Nebraska when he was transferred and they said he was going to have surgery! Anyway, while being based in Beaumont Texas, we traveled back and forth through Houston quite a few times and are comfortable with doing that.
Met up with a friend of DH’s that hunts Pheasants in Ne. He took us to a great Seafood place called Captain Tom’s, and we did some shopping at a new Bass Pro Shop off of I 10 in Katy, TX.

We visited Port Arthur, south of Beaumont along the coast, witnessed damage still visible from Hurricaine Ike.

We got to drive down along the beach at Crystal Beach and witnessed all the rebuilding from the hurricanes. All of the houses are up in the air on grand stilts…there was even a mobile home with an elaborate ramp system up the side instead of flights of stairs! We got up this morning and broke camp, heading east on I 10. We crossed into Louisiana and passed Lake Charles and Lafayette. We stopped in Breaux Bridge for the night at Pouche’s Fish n Camp. I was able to find a Louisiana state pin at the truck stop where we stopped for some liquid gold (diesel fuel) and we will continue on East tomorrow morning. I have no phone or Internet service here, so glad it’s only one night.

Phew! Got through that and tonight at this writing, we are in Biloxi Mississippi. We arrived this afternoon, unhooked the car and went driving down on the coast. Had seafood at Snapper's Restaurant on the beach before coming back for a snooze! We will only have a short day of about 90 miles tomorrow so won't be in a hurry. Maybe I can sleep in...