Ahhh,The Beach

Oh,the weather and the sun shining with the large puffy clouds rolling by. This would be a great beach day.

So with that in mind off to the beach we went. We went down to Tarpon Springs to the Fred Howard Park. First we walked 3 miles under the shade trees then drove over the causway to beachside. Needless to say there were a lot of people with the same idea. As crowded as it was we still found a place to put our beach loungers down. The spring breakers were there as well as us old timers. The small children were chasing the sea gulls.
The gulf water was pleasent and there were quite a few people in the water swimming. The gulf water has a temp of 72 degrees now. When you first go in the water is cool but,as your body get use to it,it seems to warm up. Of course as for the children the water is never to cool to go in. It was a very nice day and we did get some sun on us to help our tan.

After the washing of the clothes yesterday I stopped in at Ci Ci's Pizza and got one to go. Nancy likes this and we usually get a pizza after she does the laundry. The I started back on the frig project. I think I have narrowed it down to a bad breaker. I looked at it a little while and can't figure how to get into it to change the breaker. Its not like a home breaker box. Oh no,nothing can be made simple to work on in a motorhome. The work is bad enough being stuck somewhere in a confind area. The least they could do is make it easy to take apart. This one might take a little time and some thinking out,with some bloody knuckles. Oh the simple life of a fulltime rv'er. Well one thing for sure after things like this is that when you are finished you feel as though you have accomplished something.

Frig Problem

This day started different. I noticed the check light was on the frig so I turned it off and back on after about 30 seconds it kicked back off. Knowing that this is a Dometic that has a recall on the cooling unit I went outside to see if I could see any ammonia leak. Everything looked good. Next was to take the cover off the circuit board and check fuses,good here also. I had a spare circuit board that I had gotten off of a discarded frig,so next was to put that on and try. Still did not kick on. Check the ac circuit next. I didn't have any voltage coming out of the circuit. So I hooked up an extension cord. This did the trick. I'm still thinking the board was bad because the frig wouldn't work on gas. So I will leave the board on that I found in the junk pile. Next problem is why I have no voltage to the plug in behind the frig. I've checked the breakers and they are ok. More trouble shooting for the day.
But first we have to do the laundry again. I will just have to take my time to find out what is wrong however long it takes.

Yesterday was like any other day. We did our walking down at the Chestnut Park. This park has the board walks over the swampy area and the railings on the sides. The one thing is that the people that do their walking here feed the squirrels and birds. As you walk along the squirrels expect you to have someting for them and they run along the rails right beside you. We saw some people holding out bird seeds in their hands trying to get the birds to come and land on their hand to eat the seeds. You have to be careful when you put the food for the squirrels because they come so close that they almost snatch it from you. I sure don't want a squirrel to bite me. It was 86 degrees yesterday and there was no breeze out at the lake so it was quite a hot day.
Today as usuall we have no set plans so I don't know what we will be doing beside our daily walking.

Off the Intersate

We are back home after our visit with the family. It was a very nice visit to say the least.
Coming back yesterday I was off the interstate again and what a pleasure it is to get away from the traffic with everyone in a hurry. You always have the ones were they think they need to be in front of everyone else. They will zig zag in and around everybody.

We took RT. 41 south through the nice country and little towns that were once a progressing community. They are still nice and charming to go through and see what once was. With their nice large houses with the porches and swings and nice yards.

Their churches that were build in the 1800's and early 1900's. They just hold a certain charm. These church's had people that always attended them and was the town meeting place for a get together. The only way you can see them now is to get off the interstate and get on the road that at one time was the only roads going through the towns. This was before people were in such a hurry. The house and the church are in Jasper,Florida.
Still a little farther south we came to the town of White Springs,Florida whose fame is The Stephen Foster State Park and Memorial. Here is the old Adams General Store built in 1885. This was long before you had the big box stores of nowadays. This store you could go into and buy what you needed for a month. For a month? Yes that is what I said. This is the way people did it back then. They didn't go to the store everyday or twice a day like we do now. They had to much to do working their farms and tending to live stock. Buying their 100 pounds of beans and flour or their 25 pound buckets of lard. Life was simple back then but very hard and the people still had time for more things then we do now. Go figue that out.
The Adams Family must have did pretty good with their general store because this is the old house that they lived in. A very large 2 story house with porches upstairs and down stairs in front and back. This house with the big yard really had to cost a lot back then. The house is now a Bed and Breakfast.
White Springs also had The Thetford Hotel in the 1800's so they must have had some travelers going through town. This was before motels and before motor lodges. These buildings are always built with the finest of materials. The roof over the front outside sitting area is long gone but it still looks nice. The hotel like the Adams house is a Bed and Breakfast. People traveling the interstate just have no idea of what they are missing. You just have to take the time and enjoy some of lifes little pleasures. There's more to life than the microwave and the computer.

Looks like Spring Time

Here in Valdosta,Georgia it looks like spring time. The trees and bushes are full of blossoms. We saw dogwood and other blooms all over. It sure looks grand.
We will be heading back home tomorrow. I think I may just take the good old back roads again since I enjoy it so much.

What a Day

That was yesterday. We started out and when we got to I-75 there was a wreck and 4 police cars that had the on ramp blocked so no one could get on at this spot. I drove out to Dade City then up to San Antonio and on out back to I-75. We headed north and in a short distance the traffic started slowing down. 15 mph for about 20 miles. Then we saw what this slow down was about. A couple of guys were sweeping up the highway. Someone had lost their trailer looked to be at least a 29 footer. This thing was demolished. They had the chassis part on a flat bed a the rest of it was just dust and splinters. After we got up to speed there was so much traffic and everyone was in a hurry that it became to hectic for me. I got off and proceeded up US 41. I always enjoy these back roads that were once the main roads. Sometimes we are in such a hurry that we forget how life was back in simpler times. We pasted through some same towns with the beautiful old houses and trees hanging over the roads. Past the old motels that use to a lot of bussiness when the roads were heavily travel. Some are out of business and run down now,but some are turned into apartments. Going this way only added anothe 1 or 1 1/2 hour to our journey but worth it.
We did finally make it to Sherry's and enjoyed the visit with her and the family.
We will be staying until Monday and then go back home.

Road Trip

We will be leaving shortly for a trip up to Valdosta,Ga. We will be visiting our daughter,her husband our grandson and great grandchildren. So this should be an exciting fun filled week-end. Hope to get a few pictures to post.

New Trail

The babershop was open yesterday and I did get a haircut. After I came back we went back to the Anerson Park,where we discovered yet another trail we hadn't been on before. This one had a boardwalk around the edge of the lake.

As we got on the boardwalk we saw this alligator in the edge of the water. Here Nancy is watching the alligator. Or is the alligator watching Nancy? Here is is on a section of the boardwalk. The walkway had a place every once in awhile that led off of the main walkway to a place you could fish or have a pinic. It had a table and trash container and was very private so no one would bother you. This was another nice trail.
This redhead woodpecker was very busy looking for insects. We were close enough that we could see how fast and hard its head was drilling the hole. These trails in the woods are just great for seeing different animals and flowers.

What Today!

What are we going to do today is the question. For one thing I'm going to see if the barbershop is open? If it is I will get a haircut. The barbershops used to be closed on Wednesdays I don't know if they are now. I was wondering why they were closed on Wednesdays and asked a barber. He said everyone else gets 2 days a week so they decided they needed 2 days also. I asked why Wenesdays? He said,they wouldn't take off on Saturday because everyone else is off Saturday and that it is their busy day. So they thought in the middle of the week would be a better day.
The haircut is the only thing on the list to do today. Of course we don't schedule our walking that is a natural thing for us every day. From there we just wing it until one of us comes up and says I think we------------then we will go for it. Oh what a hard life we live. Maybe all those years I worked were worth it.

Today started out yet different. I've been waiting for a month for the 20th of march to roll around. No it wasn't because this is the first day of spring. Its because the new Harbor Freight Store opened today. They were giving away a set of screw drivers to the first 1000 customers. I didn't care for this part as I have all kinds of screw drivers so I wasn't there at 8:00am when the doors opened. I was there about 2 1/2 hours later. Anyway they said the screw drivers were gone at 9:30am and I wasn't surprised. That was one crowded store. They had a few come on in deals,but not that many. They do have a lot of tools and other stuff. I got a few things that I thought I needed but probably could have done without.
After I got back we went out so Nancy could get her hair cut,from there we went up to the mall to do some walking and then to WalMart to pick up our medicine.
Another one of those days that goes by so fast.

Another sunny day coming up the temp is going to be 75 so that will be nice. Of course this morning it was 46 degrees.
Today is another wash day. We will go out to the laundromat and do the clothes.
Doesn't sound to exciting does it. Sometimes the fulltime lifestyle is just like living in a house on a foundation. You can't get out and have fun all the time can you? I think some people get the wrong idea of this lifestyle,they seem to think you are like you're on a vacation all the time. Not so,when you are on a vacation you can wait until you're home to do the washing. We are in different places but,we are still home so therefore we have things that have to be done. You do house cleaning,inside and outside. If you don't do these things then it will pile up on you and it will take forever to do them.
After 7 years of being a fulltimer it would be hard to settle down in a regular house. Something just gets in the blood and you yearn to be on the road. If you are feeling blue at least you can pick the place you want to be to feel blue. I must say though most of the time we feel pretty good.
There are no ballgames so after the wast I have no idea what we will get into.

I talked to Earl and he said they made it into Tennessee and are trying to settle in. I guess it will take a while for them to get used to the weather up there. They will be working again at Dollywood this summer.
The weather here is warming up and shold be in the 80's for the week.
Nothing but the ballgames again today.

Rain did stop

Yes it did quit raining in the early afternoon and turned out to be a nice evening. The rain brought in some cool air and temps for the day. It is now 57 at 11:19am.
The warmer weather is on the way. Tuesday the 20th is the first day of spring and that is exciting. Also that is the day a new Harbor Freight Store is opening up in New Port Richey.
I like to go to these stores because I find tools and things at a good price. I bought our first sattelite antenna there. It was the old c band with a 6 foot dish. This served us 16 years and going strong when we sold our house and went fulltime in a motorhome.
So chances are I will not come out of the store empty handed when I go there.
Today will be another basketball game day. I won't get a break once it starts so no walking today.

Rain

Rain,rain,thats what its been doing all morning. It started late last night. So we won't be doing much today. Not that I had planned anything,after all the basketball tournament is going strong.
You have to expect some days like this. They can't always be nice sunshine days.
One thing about being in the motorhome when it rains is something like being in a barn with a metal roof on it. The pitter patter of the rain on top of the motorhome has a soothing sound that makes you sleepy. That is ok as long as we don't have strong winds then the rocking of the motorhome starts. Of course that doesn't happen very often.
People asked us if we feel cooped up when we have to stay in the motorhome. I have to say it doesn't feel crowded for me. Nancy will usually be in the front watching her programs and I will be in the bedroom in back watching the television.

3 Parks

Three Parks? yes we did go to 3 parks today. First we went to the Werner Boyce Park and did some walking on the trail. The trail is short,even though we walked it twice it still wasn't enough walking for us. We then drove to the Port Richey River Park. This is also a short walk park. The walk out to the pier is nice though. It overlooks a large bay where a cool breeze was blowing and the fish were jumping out of the water.

More and more flower blooms are blooming in the parks. This is why we like to go back to the same parks because there is something that we miss that we hadn't seen before.
For instance as we were driving into the J B Starkey Park I noticed the sign about an old homestead. I parked the car and we took the short walk out to the old homestead. Not a lot remains there. We saw where the old brick lined well was,the old logs from the 10 foot by 20 foot cabin was. The fenced in place where they kept the live stock and the family cementary.
This place was the old farm of the McNeil family. We noticed that they had the cabin under the trees where it was shady and a cool breeze was blowing, so they did keep quite cool in the summertime.
Today will not be much walking. It is NCAA Tournament time. College basketballs big dance where 65 teams play to see Who is best. Whoa all the excitement.

Beach Day

With the temperature at 83 yesterday and the sun shining so nice we thought it would be a good day to spend on the beach.

The beach was great with the sun and a nice cool breeze blowing. It was a good day to work on getting a little tan. We haven't been out to get sun that much. Of course we walk but that doesn't help to much on the body tan.
Just lying there listening to the waves come up and lapping at the shore line made for a nice sound. Some how that sound is so soothing and peaceful.

Then with the sound of the water you have the sea gulls and their chatter that you get so sleepy. About the time you think you are going to fall asleep here come the small kids running and playing then, you are afraid that you will get the sand thrown on you. But they didn't. You know kids will be kids so you can't blame them for being so alive. Beside it is fun to watch them play in the sand and water. The water is never to cold for children. After a while of being on the beach lounger we took a walk up and down the beach. We were in the water knee deep,it was cool when we first got in then after we got used to it,it felt good.

Just another day in the life of a fulltime rv'er.

Different Grounds

We walked on different grounds yesterday. We were at the Brooker Creek Preserve, this is the first time here. We always like to find places we haven't walked before so we might have a change of scenery.
Although sometimes they seem to look alike there is still something different about it. We saw a large turtle in the creek but no other animals. Maybe the weather was just a little too warm for them to be out and about. We walked close to 3 miles on the trails before we left this Park.
After leaving the Preserve at Brooker Creek we went down to Chestnut Park where we always enjoy our walk. We spotted this 6 foot gator out sunning itself.

He was out at the sign that says "danger do not feed or molest". I did not feed the alligator and I don't know how you would molest one. Nancy says very carefully. Anyway it looks like the alligator can read,so he was at this sign to make sure people would see it and not bother him. After we got through walking on the trail we had a picnic dinner that I had bought earlier from KFC. It was a nice full day by the time we got through with 7+ miles for the day.

Cleaning and polishing the motorhome today. I'm way behind on doing this and you can really tell it. In the picture you can see where I have been working on the side,I've gone half way up. The sun does damage the finish and hopefully I can bring back the shine on all of it. I've got the rubber roof fairly cleaned so thats one big job I will not have to worry about. I just do a little of it at a time because it take a lot of hard rubbing.
Its going to be another beautiful day,with the temps again near 80 degrees.

We had another nice day yesterday. It was quite warm but,by evening time it cooled down. It felt good to sleep with the window open.
We're not doing to much of anything. Nancy has a corn on her toe so she doesn't feel to good.
I'm still into my basketball games on the television and will be for the next couple of weeks.
When we are sitting still like this it doesn't feel very much like fulltime rving. I can't complain much though. The time will pass and I will be going down the road with a smile on my face.
At least this way the fuel cost is down for me.

Well at least today has started out different. I got up early and washed the car. After that I came in and did the vaccumning for Nancy,then I pt out some ant and bug killer around the outside of the motorhome,flushed the black tank out good. It is still early in the day so who knows whats next? Of course theres still basketball games to watch.Our neighbors Marty and his friend Vance with their wifes took off to do some kayaking.Looks like a nice day with the temp 78 degrees at 11:09am but,we may get a little shower afternoon.

I have been eating fresh home grown tomatoes off of my 2 tomatoes plants that I put out in buckets. They've been getting ripe for about a week. I don't know what happened but, it looks like after I pick off the ones that are on the plants there will be no more. For some reason no more blooms are coming on the plants.

Well it sure is a place with nothing happening the last few days. Unless you call going to WalMart exciting. I did get to check out more quickly than usuall,that is one to remember.
Saw one nice diesel motorhome parking there for the night and another one just up the street at the place a new restaurant going in. I've overnighted in a lot of places but,not at any construction sites. I will have to try that out one of these days. When we start our travels this summer we will have to look for some of the free places to stay the night.
We have proven that we can survive for a week without hook-ups so why not take advantage it. We have water and sewage tanks onboard with the generator for electric we really have no need of full hook-ups. With the price of fuel going up we will have to look for other ways to cut costs. The family is nice that they offer us a place to stay in their drive ways and we always enjoy the time visiting with them.

Well here I sit again just as though my motorhome has no wheels! Sometimes you have to do that as a fulltimer,you have doctors appointments and other things to get out of the way. We do have doctors appointments but the main reason we are sitting still now is we don't like cold weather. Being down here in Florida we tend to forget it is still winter time with some parts of the country having snow with the temps down in the teens.
Another day of watching basketball games. I guess you could call me a basketball nut. I love to watch the college games.
After all the sectional tournaments then its time for the "big dance". I don't think Florida will repeat as champs this year. There is really no strong team this year.
Oh man,2 more months to go until I'm on the road. Nancy keeps telling me it will pass fast.

We got out to walk a little earlier today because,we had to pay the site rent and electric bill. We dide this because I have 4 college basketball games today. They are showing the Big East Tournament on ESPN. So this is going to make my day. Its going to be rather warm today,up to 77 and close to the 80's all week.

New Roof

We woke up thiws morning with the sound of someone working. Our neighbors are getting a new roof on their park model. I guess with the recent heavy rain they had a leak.
It looks like a good day for the roofing job. The sun is shining nice and bright and the temp 63 degrees at 10:09am. Once again nothing planned just another let it happen day.

It is cool once again. The temps keep going up and down. We we woke up this morning it was 44 and is only suppose to get up to 66. Hopefully it will soon get to and stay at a comfortable temperture.
We meet Lena and Earl at the flea market and walked around with them as Lena bought several things. As for ourselves we didn't buy anything. We later went to the Big Lots store and bought a few things. I received a 20% off coupon in my email so that was a deal we couldn't pass up. The only thing neither one of us could find much of anything to buy.
The sun is now shining nice and bright.
Today we will go out and do the washing again.

I didn't get to grill the burgers outside yesterday. It was a nasty rain all day long. Nancy fixed them on her griddle and they tasted pretty good. Another cold front is coming in for us and it is suppose to get down to 44 tonight.
We are going to meet with Earl and Lena today. They are coming over and we will meet them up at the USA Flea Market to walk around and look at all the stuff again. Nancy said she needs something.

10:38am
Well,I guess today is another dull day. We have nothing planned. Just sitting around and waiting for my basketball games to come on tv. We didn't do anything special yesterday. We got 6 miles of walking in. This is important for us to get our walking in. We have made it part of our day. If we don't do it we are just being lazy.
I have got some burger meat that I will grill out today if it doesn't rain on me. Theres nothing like the taste of a burger prepared on the grill.

Doctor Report

11:51am
I went to the doctor yesterday and he check me out. He says I should have an EKG in June. I told him we were leaving the 7th of May,so he says he would do it now. When the tape started rolling out he had a smile on his face. I asked him how it looked he said good,better than the last one. Then he says someone did a good job on fixing me up. I told him he did a great job. He didn't even give me an appointment he says see him when I get back in town.
After seeing the doctor we went to a new Super Target to check it out and get some walking in at the same time. This is a huge store with groceries and a little bit of everything. Nancy and I enjoyed looking at the different types of food items that we had not seen in other stores.
After that we drove down the road a little ways,stopped in at the Village Inn Restaurant to eat a bite. Or should I say more the a bite. We always enjoy a breakfast meal no matter what time of day and that is what we had. 2 eggs, bacon for Nancy,sausage links for me, hash brown,3 pancakes and good tasting coffee. One again we pigged out.
The rain is going to come in today but the weather man says nothing to worry about.

The visit with Earl and Lena was good. After chatting for awhile we went to the Golden Carrol to eat lunch. As usual I over ate. I really shouldn't go to a buffet because everytime I eat to much. When we got back to the campground Earl showed us around. This campground is in three sections. One part is for campers and the other is for the people that live fulltime here. Also they have part of it for the people that have dogs,which makes it nice for both. It was another good time with our friends.

Today I have an appointment with my cardioligist. Nothing else is planned for the day.