Teddy and Trey

We spent our first day in Tarpon Springs and it was a beauty! Mid-70's and sun. My brother, Rich, and Robin stopped by to visit with my new cat, Teddy.  I guess you could say they hit it off! The funny thing is that until a month ago, Teddy was totally wild.  He has spent the past year prowling my property and hunting everything from squirrels to birds.  Who knew what a sweet little guy he would be as an "indoor cat".  Life was hard.  Now it is easy!

We also spent time with my nephew, Richie, and my grand nephew Trey.  Trey is a cutie!

We had a terrific lunch at Johnny Grits, then fun at the playground! More fun tomorrow!!!!

Water water everywhere!

But none in the faucet! We just arrived in Florida last night on the motorhome and settled in. I am getting too old for 10 hour stints at the wheel but we wanted to arrive last night. No water though as "somebody" improperly winterized the water system and the water purifying cartridge cracked. Plenty of water in the storage compartment but none in the pipes! That same "somebody" will drive over to Camping World this morning and try to get a replacement.  Hope they have one! Otherwise, no shower for Joanna and me.  After 4 days on the road, bathing is needed all around. 

We spent 3 nights at truck stops. Just a big parking lot with lots of noisy diesels pumping out fumes.  But heck, it’s free!  We call it anchoring out in honor of our boating days. Now we are at a real RV park in preparation to visit with Rich and my nephew here in Tarpon Springs!! Should be a good weekend once I sort out the water problem!

Day 1- 12/27/16
We shoved off from home base in Upstate NY on December 27th. We managed to get 250 miles done before stopping in central PA at Pine Grove.

Day #2 - 12/28/16
Pine Grove to Mt. Airy, NC. 430 miles in one day. I am getting too old to do such a long day! 2nd night at a truck stop with a dinner buffet and a hot shower!

Day#3 - 12/29/16
312 miles today under bright sunshine.  We are near Atlanta and hoping to enter the "human drain" tomorrow. (That is retiree talk for Florida) We have managed this trip without driving a mile on I-95!
I-81 to I-77 to I-20. I-75 tomorrow. A pleasant journey overall. Today we drove on the Carl Sanders Highway. I never knew the Colonel's first name was Carl!!!:-)

There's no place like home!

We arrived home on Tuesday amid news that I am now a great grandfather! Sophia Catherine Young made her debut on Monday evening, March 21st.  A real spring gift to us all! We have spent the week trying to get caught up on things here at the house, what with dealing with the big flood.  Much work ahead and sadly our wonderings are over for a little while.  We had a great time and we are looking forward to more fun as we travel next winter!!! 

Creeping North during March Madness.

I haven't had time to write as my free time is being sucked up by NCAA basketball. We are in Summerton SC at Palmetto Shores RV park located on Lake Marion.  I had to ditch my shorts today for the first time in 2 months as I now am wearing long pants and a flannel shirt.  Cooling down! :-(
Going to break hard for home tomorrow but still 800 miles to go!
Catchup pictures:

 Mets game

 My cuzzint Judy and husband Walt on Daytona Beach!

Let's Go Mets!

Saturday was Mets day as we had tickets for the game at Tradition Field with the Cardinals. The last time I attended a spring training game, 2 years ago, tickets were easy to come by.  Now that the Metsies have had some success, I was barely able to get tickets at all. We had a very warm day for the game as the temp. went all the way up to 90. We were in the sun and I am sorry to say I only last 6 innings. Enjoyed the whole experience and got to see some of my favorites.  Missed the young arms as old man Colon pitched.  Mets had a lead but got blown out in the later innings. The big thing of the day was my Mets t-shirt..."We don't suck any more!"  Had many positive comments.

Jupiter Light

We had breakfast on Friday morning with a couple of "locals",  Kathy Kull Bossinger and her husband, Skip.  They are part of the reason we enjoy coming to Stuart.

With full tummies we bid the Bossingers farewell, as they were heading out of town.  We climbed into our car headed for Jupiter...Florida that is! Tourists for the day, we stopped at Jonathan Dickinson State Park on the way to check it out, then moved on to Jupiter to visit the lighthouse. I have seen it from the water on my boat, but now as a landlubber I wanted to visit it up close.
Quite a structure which dates back to the 1850's. There is a museum and park, but the prize is climbing 139 steps to the top for the splendid view.  Here are some pics:

The shot of the drawbridge brings back memories of our 2006 boat trip down the ICW.  It was here that we almost met with disaster when a bridge tender encouraged us to keep coming and he would have it open when we got there. Ha! At the last minute I had to turn Crossroads around against a four knot current. We made the turn, but it was a very close call! We have done over 100 drawbridges over 27 years and this was one of only 2 times that a tender jerked us around. The overwhelming number of tenders are wonderful and do a great job! The other smart alec tender is in Stuart.

Top Ten...

Top ten reasons why Phipps Park has turned out to be our favorite so far:
1. Peace and Quiet
2. Uncrowded
3. Convenient
4. Campsite overlooks the water
5. It's in our favorite east coast town, Stuart
6. Great YMCA
7. Friends nearby
8. Plenty of places for us old people to eat at.
9. Close to Publix
10. Bargain price

We have already booked for next year!

Valet Parking at La Forschetta!

 I tried to hand this sandhill crane my keys but no deal!

Leisurely Afternoons in Paradise!

Yesterday we headed for the Stuart waterfront for lunch with Nancy and Charlie Hinman. We look forward to getting together with friends from back home, and we enjoyed a pleasurable afternoon at a top local restaurant, King Neptune. Great place to eat! I enjoyed a wahoo salad and a fantastic seafood bisque. Later we took a stroll down by the waterfront and did some shopping (Mostly looking).  Thank you Hinmans for a great afternoon.

Today it was back to the YMCA for a workout.  I was a little sluggish on the machines but this was my third day in a row! I don't look like Rocky Balboa yet, but I am trying!  Good thing I worked out because this evening we went to La Forschetta, a top restaurant in town, as we are leaving Sunday and we wanted to get there at least once. Wow!!! Fantastic!  Joanna had the Risotto and I had the ravioli. I love Stuart!!!

Here are some pictures:
We snuck up on Charlie and Nancy at Neptune

 The waterfront

 Out for a stroll

Flooded!

I have been unable to post the past week because I have been just too darn busy.  Got the call from home last Friday that a heating pipe burst upstairs at the house.  Joanna put me on a plane and I spent the past week in damage control.  A good sized mess but it is all under control thanks to Joanna's technology that tells us when we have a heating problem. (She can control our home heat from just about anywhere. Anyway, had to have a ceiling ripped out in the front living room and some furniture was damaged and will need to be restored. Woodlawn will be even better when we are done! Now I'm back in Florida in Stuart for a fun week which includes Mets tickets this Saturday!!!

By the way, I forgot that we had lunch yesterday with Gail Pennock and Pat McDougal in Ft. Pierce.  What fun!  Sorry but I forgot to snap a picture!!! Pat, send me one if you have one!

My rag doll body!

     I've been going to the gym quite a bit of late.  The main reason being that I feel much better when I exercise. So lately there is a local YMCA that I go to each day to work out.  I vary my routine and it usually lasts about an hour...until yesterday.  It seems this Y has a gym, and there are basketballs lying around for youngsters like me to play with. So now I have added a little roundball workout to my program.

     Today I found myself actually looking forward to grabbing a basketball. But alas, any skills I once had have long since made an exit. To prove this point, today I decided to play a quick game of "Around the World". This involves shooting from different points around the basketball key.  Years ago it would have taken me all of about 5 minutes.  I didn't actually time it, but it felt more like a half an hour today!  At one point I began to feel like the 7 year old kid I was long ago shooting in the neighbor's driveway.  Pretty much just heaving it up there and desperately hoping the shot might go in. Ahh, the good old circle of life!

    Well, I finally finished! And I will be back again tomorrow.  Who knows? Maybe soon, with a little practice,  I will be ready to take on a 4th grader!  In the meantime, I feel my rag doll body getting stronger each day!
PS:  I still have my "Buster Crabbe Corporation" up front!

From Lake Worth to Stuart and a new Biz Nonna!

     We made a move yesterday and now we are in Stuart.  Lake Worth was fun and John Prince Park was nice, but we really like Stuart the best on the east coast. Stayed here for a month 2 years ago on the boat and now we are back. We are in Phipps Park which is very spacious and right on the Okeechobee Waterway.  I can fish from my campsite if I want.

     On the headlines front, we just learned that Mary is pregnant and gonna have a little girl. Ouch!  It was a big surprise and obviously we were not expecting it...can I say expecting? Anyway, we are going with it and expect she will be a single mom as the dad is a deadbeat.  It won't be easy!

     It may change our travel plans as she is due at the end of March. This will make me a great grandpa a lot sooner than planned, and will make Joanna a Biz Nonna!!  Sam will become Uncle Sam!!!! Here are some pictures:
Scamper lounging like a queen!

 Joanna and I at John Prince Park

 Lots of Banyon trees

 Our new site at Phipps Park! Nice! Okeechobee is over the bank behind the Bungalette!

You had better be handy!

     One thing we learned from owning boats for 27 years was that there are always projects to do: Maintenance, upgrades, replacements, etc. The idea though is to try to do them yourself. If you can't, you are looking at $125.00 per hour for the nice repairman to do it for you.  Years ago I hired out the installation of a bilge pump on my boat to a local mechanic.  I must say he did a fine job.  The trouble was the size of the bill he handed me when he was done.  That day the letters B-o-a-t stood for "break out another thousand". I learned my lesson well!

     With that idea in mind, we ordered a nice new color back-up camera and monitor to replace our old fuzzy black and white monitor here on Bungalette. It arrived yesterday so we spent today here in paradise ripping out the old dash monitor and installing the nice fresh new one.  it took all day which is pretty much standard procedure on these projects.  But lo and behold, by sundown we were watching things pass by our site through a new monitor!!! ;-). it works!! 

     Part 2 will be installing the new color camera on the back of the coach. That will have to wait until I get a ladder to work with. it will be a project as old camera screws are cheap and rusted. 

     On the social end of things, had lunch with fellow Falcon Ken Deecken yesterday.  It was fun! Stormy morning but beautiful afternoon and the rest of the week looks great! Here is the new monitor:

     

A Busy Spell!

     Joanna and I have been busy the past few days, mainly socializing with old friends. Geri Kelly from high school 2 days ago, and Harvey Hochberg yesterday. Two fun afternoons with gorgeous weather both days.  Today it was the Palm Beach RV show to see how our motorhome stacks up against the big boys. We passed that test easily as the new motorhomes are loaded with technology but cheaply made.  A deadly combo if you ask me! I'll take my 2005 model any day.  Some of the "coaches" we saw today go for almost a half million!!! Are you kidding me?
  Joanna and Geri on the beach:  

 Lunch:

 Afternoon witn the H man!

 Something at the RV show we can afford.  #1 son take note: Can be towed by a motorcycle!!!

Lake Worth

We have at last arrived on the east coast of Florida where we plan to spend the next 2 months. We are currently at John Prince Park where we arrived yesterday afternoon. Since we were late getting into the RV game, we didn't exactly get the pick of the crop for campsites.  A little small, but we managed to squeeze in and we have a very nice view!

Watched the Super Bowl last night and was pleased to see the sheriff's team win with suffocating defense!

Still settling in on our site and we just took our first walk around this morning. This is a nice park and there are some really pretty sites. Unfortunately, they are all taken as most parks we have been to so far in Florida are full. Hey, they say Florida's population grows by a million in the winter.  They gotta stay somewhere! There seems to be an awful lot of Canadians here as we heard a lot of French being spoken. In our experience, wherever there is a bargain place to stay in Florida, the Canadians are all over it.

We are new at the game but learning fast.  From what we have seen so far of John Prince Park, it will be on our return list. Here is the sunrise from my front window:

 2nd photo is of Lake Osborne which we are overlooking.

 The third photo is us sandwiched into our site

Cool weather has drifted down from the north but 60's and sun are just right for us!!!

I Love Owls

Spent the afternoon on Thursday with the Pierces, Andy and Elaine.  We went to lunch and then Elaine took us to see the owl's nest near their condo.  What a treat!! Just love owls!  Who cooks for you? By the way, Elaine is heading for the Holy Land soon!  Pretty cool! If you look closely at the crotch of the tree, you will see mommy's head peering at us.

Watching the Super Bowl and hoping the old guy can get the win!

American Crocs

The only place in the states you can see alligators AND crocs is Flamingo.  Here are a few to discourage swimming. I met Bob and Kathy, two retired teachers from Poughkeepsie.  Always nice to see retired educators doing well!

Beejay getting better!

Beejay was down for a few days but is all better now!!!:-)

Getting caught up

Here are some pictures from the past few weeks. Plenty of wildlife!

All rigged up

And on the road!

Guess I can't walk over there!

This is a female croc, about 11 feet long. Her mate is even bigger!

Flamingo #4 - The Bungalette!

     We have been busy the past few days!  Spent the day on Florida Bay Monday doing some fishing.  nothing for the table but it was fun! many shore birds on the mud flats to observe as they socialize and hunt for food.  I never tire of watching the Pelicans crash dive on their pray! 

Yesterday we attended a wildlife lecture lecture and took a long walk. I also took a bike ride. Each evening after dinner we run the generator and usually watch a show on the DVD. if I tell you some of the stuff we have watched, you promise not to laugh?  (I think you are laughing now!)

Fred Astaire in "Royal Wedding", Jimmy Stewart in "Pot o Gold", an "The Long, Long, Trailer" with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez. Mary got us the Lucy-Desi movie for Christmas.  Thanks to her we now have a new name for the motorhome: Bungalette!!!! :-)

     Today we had to pack up Beejay and haul her all the way in to Homestead to see a vet as she is not feeling well. If you are down this way and need pet care, I highly recommend he Homestead Animal Hospital on N. Flagler Ave. Dr Art Greene was terrific and they were very reasonably priced.  "The Beej" is now on antibiotics. While we were there, we picked up some supplies and sent some emails. Now we are safely back at the Bungalette to enjoy the next few days of solitude!!! I apologize for the lack of photos but will try to make up next week!   

Flamingo #3 (1/24/16)

The weather is improving with sunshine and temps back in the 60's. Tomorrow even better.  Got chilly  last night and we woke up to 55* F inside Bounder this morning. Brrrr! I cranked up the generator and soon we were toasty and enjoying a nice breakfast. after bacon and eggs, the Admiral and I took a long walk down by the bay where we found a seaside bench. Here we watched the birds and the fisherman and enjoyed the beautiful view at low tide. Many seabirds, including an Osprey family, mother and to youngins, getting in some flying practice.  We also spotted a number of Hawks.  Interesting birds everywhere!

This afternnon I biked over to the visitor's center for a ranger talk on Pythons.  They have become a huge problem here in Everglades park, with no solution to their growing numbers. Since I have no internet I will load some pictures when I can!

Overall a routine and peaceful day! 

Flamingo #2

I've always prided myself on being a lifelong learner.  I have enjoyed my first two days here and knowledge has been gained.  I now know that Manatees live up to sixty years.  Vultures poop and pee on themselves to protect against foreign bacteria in carrion. Sawfish have a chainsaw like appendage used to dig out and chop up food found under the bottom sand. Mosquitos can detect me at great distances before moving in for the kill (Only the female bites). Nature is diverse and fascinating!

My appreciation has been sharpened by several ranger talks. This morning we spent an hour observing over fifteen kinds of shore birds diving and swooping and just resting on the mud flats at low tide.  Osprey and vultures circle and dive in their aerial duels. In addition to this I get to breathe fresh air blowing off the sparkling waters of Florida Bay and feel a soothing warm breeze on my face.  Ahhhhh!

That was this morning.  Now there is a cold front blowing through and it is raining and blowing outside. We are hunkered down for the afternoon here on Bounder reading and relaxing.  This is the view from my front window:

The good news it is seventy and raining and not cold and snowing like the northeast. I'll take It!

Flamingo!

Here we are at the southern tip of the Florida peninsula!  To get here we had to drive 38 miles into the heart of the Evergklades on a scenic two lane highway with little or no traffic!  We got settled into our campsite which is basically a patch of grass and a picnic table.  It is a very nice location, but amenities like water and sewer hookup are out of the question.  We are OK with that as Bounder has everything we need. We carry our own water and bathroom, and we can make our own electricity to power our fridge and appliances. The fridge also runs on propane and we have that, also. All the comforts of home,or at least most of them.

So why are we here? It's all about the scenery, nature, and education! Today I have already seen 2 Hawks, 3 osprey, 1 alligator, and a number of vultures.  The beautiful Gulf of Mexico and some great fishing are right here, also.  We attended our first park ranger lecture this afternnon and tomorrow morning we have a ranger led nature hike.  :-) 

I have taken sone pictures but it will be a while before you see any of this as we have no phone and no internet!!  Joanna is coping very well so far! 

Now I know what RV means!

This has been our location for the past week here at Lazy J RV Park. I had a little trouble getting the RV across the blue bridge, but I eventually squeezed us over. (That is Bounder behind the palm tree.) Lazy J is a folksy place and our hosts, Ted and Barb, are just down home good people.  We have enjoyed being here and are planning to come back. Today we were supposed to leave to head south for Flamingo.  Got up this morning keyed up and ready to go.  

unfortunately, the admiral advised me that she had discovered a leak in the bathroom. Further investigation indicated that she was correct. Our first challenge! I consulted Ted who recommended we go to Chuck at "RV Tech" and are we glad we did!!! Chuck quickly diagnosed the problem, a faulty toilet seal, and quickly made it go away.  Well done!! By the time we got back to our site, it was too late to head south, so we postponed our departure until the morning. Had a nice dinner at Miller"s Ft. Myers Ale House nearby,  and I highly recommend their Tuesday special, Ossa Buco! Got home feeling full so we took a pleasant walk in the bright sunshine. Still cool and in the 60's, but overall a very nice day. By the way, while we were at RV Tech, employee Gary politely informed us what the letters "RV" really stand for: Ruined vacation!  LOL!  Fortunately for us it was a minor blip! Now to relax and get ready for tomorrow's adventure!!!  

Dropping off the face of the earth!

We are heading south into the Everglades on Tuesday for 2 weeks in Flamingo.  Where is that you ask?  Right at the tip of the Florida peninsula deep in the Everglades National Park. There is a strong probability we will have no "signal" during our time there.  I love it but the Admiral may struggle when she sits at the control panel with nothing to control!! Not much there, but that is great because I wanna see wildlife and stars at night.  I do not want to see crocs or pythons!!! One mighty sage I know recommends not stepping outdoors at night without first shining a light on the ground.  Good advice!!

Tomorrow Little Damiana, my grand niece gets baptized :-) and Monday will be spent provisioning and getting ready to ship out. We have been busy, busy , busy so far on this vacation.  I am looking forward to some quiet time. (And lots of fishing!)

Photobombed

Ashley got me in front of Edison statue. He is larger than life!