New Years Eve

Hi! I am not sure I will see the New Year 2011 enter. But may hear as they will be having fire crackers, etc., in the area.
Going back - - - Wednesday we braved the fog and cool weather and went to the Plant City Flea Market. Saw that they were still spraying the strawberry fields with water to provide an icey blanket to save the berried. At the entrance to the vender's field was a pan of silver ware. the man wanted $15. too much, and we went on. Stopped to buy a bag of kettle corn and had to go back to the car to get my purse out of the trunk. when I came back a lady wanted to sample the kettle corn from the vendor and said she wanted it to see if it was as good as the kettle corn in Indiana. Of course I could not let that go with out asking where she was from.
(Fire works going off and it is only 9 pm.) Elkhart. We conversed for a few minutes and found out that they have a restored GMC motor home, they have been to GLASS and that a couple in our club have gotten them to join Hoosier Cruisers. So we will see each other again next summer or at GLASS.
Bought tomatoes, onions, bananas and two salad forks in a pattern my mother had had at one time. Then as we were leaving, there was that metal bowl with the silver. We got it for $5. Had 4 or 5 good pieces and a lot of the Queen Bess
pattern in good condition. 10 cents per piece. Just needed polishing. So Ernie polished this afternoon while I did some laundry, put away the Christmas decorations and made some deviled eggs.

I make deviled eggs the usual way, except I only use one or two egg yolks and then some baked potato. same consistency and with the seasonings you do not notice that it is not all egg yolk. have to get those seasonings just right. But I have made them twice since coming down here and Ernie has liked them.

Thursday, friends from Indiana stopped by. We gave them a choice of going to Bob Evans or a free snack, and then a trip to Parksdale for strawberries.
so we went to Lazy days and got the free lunch. Found out that we will have to get a new ticket for 2011. Might have to look at some RV's with a salesman.
Anyway- - - (We had a hot dog and a small bag of chips, with a soda pop.)
Stopped by our place and then went on to Parksdale. Ernie and I split the strawberry sundae. Larry and Linda had the shortcake. We had a good visit. Larry decided he liked our quiet park.

Had a call this evening, Beth and Bruce will be coming into our park on Sunday. They are friends from Indiana. They have been down near Kissiame with family. They left Indiana Christmas day. Stopped early in Kentucky due to black ice on the road. But did not have any problems. Will be good to see them and catch up on the latest Anderson news.
We have heard that Indiana had an earthquake this week. Greentown was the epicenter for the quake. Our son and family felt the rumble. Their son was a little concerned as he had never felt a quake before. But all is ok.

Linda and Austin have been busy this week- - - their daughter is a school teacher and she has been on vacation for two weeks. They have been busy with her and other friends. They said Busch Gardens was really crowded on Thursday. We will wait until next week before we go back to the Gardens.

Not much else going on. have Happy New Year. jkc

Chrsitmas Day Dinner

A quiet day. About 3 we picked up Brian and headed for Clearwater Beach.
Jack and Nikki had made reservations for the 5 of us at the Shephard's Restaurant. On the beach. My goodness, what a crowd. We decided not to eat outside as there was a wind. We were glad we did as it did get quiet cool that evening. People dressed in the Christmas finery, some in their jeans and some just dressed in neat casual clothing. (us) a buffet-------The best item was the lobster bisque soup. Delicious. then there was duck, lamb, turkey, chicken, prime rib, veal, salmon, seafood gumbo, a sushi bar and ??. Salad bar had 3 kinds of lettuce salads, plus deviled eggs, potatoe salad, etc. And the dessert bar. Oh,my. What kind of cheese cake or chocolate cake would you like? Plus pumpkin pie. Oh, peel and eat shrimp. the fun part? when our waiter came to take our drink order we had trouble understanding him. We could not figure out his accent. He was attentive and friendly. When he took our bill (with credit cards) he said. Who is from Indiana? He was born in Rochester and lived in So. Bend for some time. the accent had disappeared. Interesting.

The last couple of days have been quiet. Either stayed home or went shopping.
Grocery store, or Wall Mart. But today (Tuesday) we went to Bells or Bealls.
those of you that have been to Florida know that it is Bells, but on their signs they have a bell where the a is and many of us call it Beals. Anyway, after trying on upteen pairs of capris I left with out any capri pants. Ernie was
surprised I did not have a shopping bag, as everyone else that came out did have at least one bag.

Went dumpster diving last night. I took out the trash to get rid of fish oil and there in the bottom of the dumpster were 3 solar night lights. The kind you put around the walk. One was even working. Only difference, they had red tops with holly leaves on it to look like a hat. A face painted on with a strip of plastic shaped like a white beard coming down over the light. they did look pretty neat when we saw them. so we took my grab stick and dug them out. They all work and seem to be new. Honest, they were in the dumpster!!!! We may take the beard and holly off and put them out later. Our neighbors had gotten new dishes for Christmas and took some of the old mis matched pieces and put them in a bag outside the dumpster. They lasted about an hour or so before someone picked them up. No, Not us!!!! We may not have social activities at this park, but dumpster diving is alive and well here at Charlies. \
we are to start bingo as soon as it warms up a little. It was 26 degrees this am.
Not much else new. Till next time. jkc

P.S.

Well, as I read down the blog and into the past blogs, we have almost the same scenes from the Busch ice show. So you now know that we did enjoy it.
Have a good day. (there are 3 new blogs, so keep reading or scrolling down until you catch up to where you have read before. jkc

Christmas at Busch

I need to find out this elephants name. for some reason I enjoy watching these big animals. Today she was playing with these two pieces of wood. Moving them and picking them up. Will have to go sometime when the keepers are there and learn their names. It is interesting to listen to the keepers. They tell about their habits and how they are taken care of each day.



We stopped to see the Christmas Ice show again. This couple does this trick of her on his head-----no hands. Amazing.

The last scene of the ice show. Do you see the small girl in front. She was a very good skater. The gentleman singing and being emcee for this show was a different guy. Both good singers and interesting to watch a different style.

Santa and two of his elves. You had to take the second look to see that these were actually grown men on a board with wheels. The feet were not their own.
I am still trying to decide if the feet were their hands or how they had it rigged.

At the end of this show, the children were allowed to come on stage to talk to Santa.

And here we are in the Busch Garden sleigh with a zebra pulling us!!!!

We wanted the whole scene, so did not do a close up picture.

It is now Christmas day. We are getting ready to go out for a Christmas dinner.

Our neighbor here, ask us to join him and his girl friend, along with another gentleman (84 years in age) for a special meal. So we are going to drive to Clearwater to the Shephard's Restaurant, with a table by the window looking out onto the Gulf. I think it will be extra special.



Last night we went to the Thonotosassa Methodist Church for the Christmas Eve service with a Methodist service and then a Christian Native American service. We enjoyed this last year and it was a natural choice to attend again this year. Where ever we are, I want to attend a Christmas Eve service. We have had some interesting services.


MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OF YOU READING OUR BLOG AND YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS.

A trip to Siesta Key

See my narcissus? I like to buy the bulbs they sell at Christmas time. This is the first time I have had the narcissus. I like to have a flower around any time.


They are about gone as I write this, but I have enjoyed them for the last two weeks. My aloe plant is beside it. I will put it outdoors when it is warmer. Not sure what I will do with the spent bulbs. Warmer, meaning it will not frost at night.
Tuesday the 21st, we drove to Siesta Key to visit friends, Larry and Linda. Ernie and Larry worked together at Delco Remy. A beautiful day, sunshiny, a little cool with a breeze, but still got to walk on the beach and collect a few shells. A young guy ask if I wanted a certain shell, yes, I said. Only thing they were still occupied. How do you get the occupants out of shells? While walking the beach we saw the para-sailing boat take off with people on board. They really were high in the air. Then when he turned to go back to start he slowed down and let them dip their feet in water before taking them back up a bit to go back to where they started. We decided that we would not try this adventure. A lovely day, with lunch at the "Turtle" restaurant and bar. I had grilled shrimp with stir fry zucchini and yellow squash. Good.

Did you see the Lunar Eclipse? We had not planned on seeing it, but I woke up and had to go out to see where it was.


My getting in and out of the coach woke Ernie and so then he got up to take pictures. We need more practice taking night pictures. But we saw this wonderful event. Very neat. Glad I woke up in time to see an eclipse.

Christmas on Ice

We made our first trip to Busch Gardens today, for this season. First stop was the Ice Show. In this picture the lady is

on the mans head. NO hands. and he is spinning around. A good show, and the weather was better so we did not freeze while watching.
this was the finale. That is a small girl between the two men. She skates very well and sang a childs song for Christmas. We enjoyed walking around and seeing the differences since we were there last March. A new roller coaster is going up and so the air ride is not running. Darn. And today the train was not running. So we walked. And by the time we left we had made the circuit around the park.

Christmas in Florida

The building to the left of our RV is the club??? house at Charlie's RV Park. The Laundromat and showers are also there. There is bingo once a month. No one uses the showers as we all have our

own facilities. Last year the pipes froze and so there is only cold water to the washing machines. Bingo once a week, last year. But we like the peace and quiet.
The figure in the windshield is a bear holding a sign that says welcome snow friends. The majority of this park has trailers or park model homes. One section for motor homes, fifth wheels and whatever is left over. It is kept neat, but Charlie is in his 70's like most of us here and could use some help in making this better. But we won't complain as the price is right and we are near what we enjoy doing. Besides good friends.

This next picture is at the entrance of Busch Gardens. the tree is huge, beautiful and fake. Even has music coming out of the middle. The girls were pm stilts and would make all kind of poses for the cameras. As always the decorations are spectacular. With lots of flowers and greenery all around.







One of the scenes from the ice show. all the animals and characters you see at Christmas. We will go back at least one more time during the Christmas season. Ernie forgot to put in the chip on his camera that will let him take more than six pictures for the computer.

We did get a look at the elephants. They were getting their treats from the keepers. The keepers get the big animals to dance?, nod their heads and wave their trunks. Big and gentle, I enjoy watching them each time we are there.

And tonight on the news there was an article about a lady that takes in orphaned elephants in Kenya. Have a good day. It did get warmer today. jkc

Strawberry Day

Hi! Watching Survivor. Today was bill pay day, catch up on e-mail and go for a parfait. The strawberry fields have pretty much survived the freezing weather. Most vegatables are gone. And tropical fish. A man has many ponds of tropical fish and cold is not good for them.

Our first stop was Lazy Days. RV store. ???? for lunch. Mushroom soup and salad. Good, too!! then off to Parksdale for that strawberry parfait. And it was as good as I remembered. Only one more week for parfaits and then they go to their winter menu. No parfaits. Just sundaes, shortcake, milkshakes, etc.

Stopped at Publix grocery for milk and then another stop to look at an old Saturn for sale.

Heard from our friends from Alabama. They are coming to the Brooksville rally in February. Great. Good times with them.

One more night of below freezing. so glad we have an electric blanket. the coach can cool off a bit, but I am nice and cozy. Ernie thinks I am roasting.



Jane was just voted off Survivor. Too Bad. I think it would be great if Dan would make it to the final 3. And Fabio. But I doubt it.



Have a good day. jkc

Settling In our Southern Home

Monday morning and the chores are getting lined up to be done. Ernie is out checking the water lines. We need to put water in our tanks as it may freeze tonight and we will turn off the outdoor waterlines. We use "city or well" water when we are parked for extended stays. Other wise we use water that is in our tank. And we did not put water in when we left home because of 6 degree water. We do not want any pipes to be frozen.
I am also going to try out the washing machine today. Last spring the washer quit and over the summer Ernie called Splendide, they talked him thru finding the trouble, sent him a part and "Hoo-ray" it is fixed. Will use the campground dryer for a quicker dry as it is too cold to hang out, and windy. May rain some more also.
I have gotten Christmas decorations up for this year. I think I need to take my tote box in this summer and change some of the decorations I carry with us.
The window decorations look pretty from the inside, but are difficult to see outside. I hang our stockings and have a very small tree that is in the front window. Some garland over the slide out and that is about it. Just enough.
My 3 plants are inside until it warms up. I think the narcissus is about ready to bloom. This is the first year for a narcissus plant, I usually get the amarylis
bulb for winter.
We stopped at the flea market again yesterday, found the clips we needed and visited with a few vender's we remember from last year.
Did go to church. The choir sang their Christmas Cantata. I enjoyed it. This small Methodist church has a much larger congregation in the winter, thanks to snowbirds and the choir does a nice job. thanks to a good director.
Ernie is back in, so I will get busy with other things.

A LONG TIME AGO

A long time ago, like last May, was the last time I had written on our blog.
somehow time just flew by, and besides who wants details about the hip replacement I had June 29.

the RV? We went to several rallies. all good ones, the places we saw and visited were really a great time. Interesting too. Did you know that Indiana has a cigar factory? Almost gone now, as taxes are so high on cigars. More than cigarettes. Boy, I had to check that spelling? Ciggies anyone??

Ernie had a bought of pneumonia, shingles, and a bakers cyst.

We were ready to leave for Florida on the 15th of Nov. when Ernie had chest and abdominal pains. And a B/P of 204 over 104. so I took him to the ER.
Everything checked out ok, sent him home with a Rx for nexium, gastritis was causing the pain and the elevated B/P. And then on the way home the Hospital called and said the radiologist did not like his chest x-ray. See your Dr. Mon. So we did, and then it was a c-scan, a small worrisome node on the right lung. Then a P.E.T. scan. Well, a 3.6 rate for malignancy. less than 3 is no rate, 3 to 8 possible, and above 8. Yep, its bad. Even tho it was on the low end of the scale, to be on the safe side it was decided to do a biopsy. The PET scan did not show any other hot spots in his body. Mon. the 6th of Dec. they tried to do a biopsy. Since the node was at the lower right portion of his lung, every time He would breath the node would move. And hide behind a rib. The lower part of your lung will move upon breathing. The radiologist said, "I'm not going in there only to miss the node just as you breath. So he talked with the lung specialist, then told Ernie to get dressed. You are going to Florida after you talk with the Doctor. We did. The Dr. gave us a prescription for a c-scan to be done in Florida. That node may be gone in 6 weeks. But he and our family Doctor did not think it was a cancer. Go to Florida and enjoy your selves. Send me the results of the c-scan and we will go from there. SOOOOOOOOooooo
Tuesday we put all the items to go in the coach in the garage, then Ernie handed them to me and I put them where ever there was room in the coach.
It was in the teens outside. We drained the water from the water heater and did all the necessary things to winterize the house. Took off Wednesday morning, after breakfast with friends, at 10 am. It was 6 degrees outside. Got to a park just north of Nashville, TN. and while eating at O'Charleys discovered that TN is on CST.
We might have made it thru Nashville. We did not try as we thought it was rush hour time. (It was in Indiana) Thursday and Friday were long days of driving. I drove 2 hours at a time and this helped Ernie and gave me much needed practice driving the big rv. Using the exhaust brake and even driving after dark. We usually take 6 or 7 days to drive to Florida, stopping at different places to shop or enjoy the scenery. Like at Altoona Lakes Campgrounds.
We arrived at our "winter home" 3:30 Friday afternoon. It was 72 degrees here.
Our friend helped Ernie back in our spot, we got everything set up, made sure there was water in the coach and hot water heater and then took a good hot shower. Since it was so cold we had not put water in the coach. Just a few jugs of water for sink baths.

Today was making a trip to the grocery and putting away stuff. Well, it is out of site, we need to do some cleaning and put up Christmas decorations. and then find where I put things. It has been foggy, gray and in the 50's today. Not having used the RV since October it needs a good cleaning. Well, I did have it in good shape in Nov. We had it all ready to go and the house winterized, slept in the coach ready to take off after seeing the Doctor about the c-scan. Came home from the Dr., took anything that would freeze out of the coach and a few clothes and turned the water back on in the house. So we were more than happy to be on our way, cleaning can be done in the south.

Now you have been brought up to date on our lives. We can start a new chapter on the blog. Maybe I will write about some of the things we saw at our rallies this past summer. Right now I am ready to go get a strawberry parfait.
but at 9 pm they are not open. Maybe, Sunday. We did stop at the local flea market on our way to the grocery. Talked with our friend that has lots of old stuff. and got a bag of kettle corn. Talk to you later. jkc

Greenville, Ohio

It is June 17th, 2010. We are in Greenville, Ohio, at their county Fairgrounds. It is a National Great Lakers Rally and the Hoosier Cruisers were invited to attend. So we are wearing both badges. (name tags with club name also)



But-----last week we were at Play-mor Campground between Nappanee and Bremen, Indiana, for a Hoosier Cruiser rally. Ernie has figured that when we get home on the 20th, we will have spent 38 days in our brick home. Yeah, motor home!



While at the H. C. rally we toured 5 neat places. First was to Precision Pain, INc. They paint motory homes and also refurbish the insides. Update almost anything you want done. For $$$$. Then off to Newmar RV factory for a tour of how motor homes are put together. No, no one decided to buy a new coach. Pretty---but no takers.



Friday evening we went into Nappanee to a community building where the Chamber of Commerce meets and other city venues take place. They had antiques and were haveing a quilt show at that time. We have several quilters in our group and so that was of special interest. I found out after the fact that a classmate of my sisters had several quilts there. After a delicious catered meal, the Pres. of the C. of C. gave us a talk, with slides show, about Nappanee and the surrouinding area. Talking about the Amish and Mennoites in the area also. Then Lana our rally masters daughter talked about her experiences with her Amish neighbors. We appreciated all the work Lana did with the evening dinner and entertainment. And then found out that she had helped a lot with the whole rally program.



Saturday we spent time at Martin's Buggy Shop. Where he makes Amish buggies, sleighs and restores old buggies and hearse. There was a small white hearse for children and a big black one for adults. He has some beautiful wood working on some of the buggies, some with pin stripes and small designs. They were in his show room. We also got a tour of his shop. The gentleman is inventive and has made some of his own molding pieces. His 7 year old son can weld and is already wanting to do some work in the shop. ( Dad says "fun things") We also got a tour of the grounds and heard from his wife and daughters. they have a large pond for swimming and fishing. What ever fish a friend catches they also have to catch a cat fish or two before they can take any fish home. And there were plenty of cat fish in the pond. One edge of the pond he had fixed for swimming. And an interesting story about the home, how it was moved back further from the road and how they found out after they had purchased the property that his wife's mother had been born there.



We then drove to a "general store" where we were treated to a buggy or wagon ride to a small park and back. Then ice cream with fresh strawberries. Dessert first, lunch was on our own.



the afternoon we drove out to Mint City Millwork to the shop of a man that makes beautiful Grandfather Clocks.

BACK HOME

Today is Memorial Day. While I was cutting off the poor old blossoms on the peony's I also remembered the parades of my days in Syracuse. There was always a parade, to the cemetery, reading of the names of those killed in wars and just looking over the cemetery. I used to go with my mother the day before, or early that morning to put flowers on family graves. And it seemed there were always peonies. And iris, now and then a poppy or two.




I marched in the parade as a Brownie Scout, Girl Scout and then as a member of the Syacuse High School Marching Band. Well, the only band the high school had, and Jr. High students were also a part of it.


I remember waiting for the parade to start and someone would have some kind of radio to hear how the race was going. Big time!!!! Special memories.



We got home from our two week adventure (two rallies) Sunday evening about 7:45. We usually unload the coach before taking it out to the barn. (Laundry, refrig, stuff that needs to be in the house.) I said lets get the milk, RX, computer, c-pak and not much else. No argument from Ernie. So today I got out the wheel barrow. The one I didn't think Ernie should buy, at the garage sale, I said we have enough stuff, but he got it anyway. We have the lightest. nicest, easy moving barrow. I put the laundry and other packages in it and just wheeled that baby right up to the back door. Right next to the washing machine. Two weeks of laundry is a lot. Well, I did do laundry before going to Michigan from Elkhart, but it was hot and we did change clothes often.


Our annual GLASS rally was a good one. We park in the handi - cap section and are near the grand stand and other venues. We went in on Tuesday. Sat and talked most of the afternoon with friends from Kendleville, IN. they used to be Hoosier Cruisers and we now see them at Glass. We followed the shade around their coach. Moving our chairs as soon as the sun started to hit us. Saw many friends that we see only at GLASS or other rallies. fun. Hi Siteseer , we need to make time to have a good visit next time we see you.









While talking with Beth, her husband called and said "would you and possibly Jane carry flags for the Frustrated Maestros?" What? But we did. It was for the National flags, U.S. and Canada and the 5 service flags. I carried the Marine Flag. Tried to remember how I marched in Band those many years ago. Kind of a rag tag group, but we did our stuff and the audience was just proud to see ALL of those beautiful flags. Who cared how we marched.









We left early. Usually not until Monday morning. This time we left Sunday to go to Wabash to an open house for a great-nephew. so good to see family. My sisters were there, a brother in law and of course Ethans full family. While there we happened to find a couple that knew Ernie's sister and brother-in-law. Plays golf with John and both families have been involved with Rotary exchange students. We had fun sending a picture to Ernie's sister and husband with a caption. "do you know these people?"









the yard is mowed, and grass picked up, thanks Brian. If Ernie goes fast enough the lawn sweeper works great. Peonies look bare, but neater and 16 tee shirts dried on the line and are ready to go again. And we are tired.



so, took an early shower and are now watching- listening to the race program where they give out the money.




Hope you all had a good holiday. We enjoyed our trip and will be ready to go again on the 10th of June. Take care. jkc

Elkhart, Indiana

some of the National Great Lakers at the Elkhart Campground. there is a fire in the fire pit. We are relaxing after eating at the Essenhouse.

Sign at entrance of campground.

the inside of the West Baden Hotel---the atrium. many architects said a round room without columns to hold up the roof could not be done. But one man said yes, and got a bridge designer to figure it out. And it worked.

The grounds at the West Baden Hotel, you can see the towers of the hotel above the trees.

And this picture is inside Dr. Ted's musical marvels museum. You can see the size of this Calliope. It had many bells, whistles, drums and cymbals.

We are at the Elkhart Campground. Nice park, they keep making it better and adding more sites.

but earlier this month the Hoosier Cruiser Club traveled to West Boggs Park just north of Loogootee, IN. Finding a level parking place was a challenge for many of us, but we were all finally in our places and ready to have a good time. and what better way to start the week end and catch up with how everyone survived the winter was with a campfire. And Marshmallows!!!!

Friday found us traveling to Jasper to tour the Jasper Engine plant. Even the ladies enjoyed this tour. We had Janice and Dick with us and we drove on to Huntingburg and had lunch at the
Fat and Sassy Cafe. good food. And found out that Dr. Ted's wife was there getting a carry out lunch. Dr. Ted's musical Marvels was our next stop. Dr. Ted has a degree in engineering and then decided to go back to school to become a M.D. Along the way he became interested in musical marvels. The old metal plate phono-graphs, Calliope's, player pianos and other musical instruments. Two ladies were our guides and we had an interesting time.

Saturday we traveled to West Baden and French Lick, Indiana. WE had a wonderful tour of the West Baden Hotel. As we approached the hotel we noticed two tour buses loading with people. Many of the ladies had beautiful hats on. ???? Oh, Yeah, it was Kentucky Derby Day.

Our docent was a retired school teacher, and with only 11 in our group we had an excellent tour and history lesson of the hotel, hot springs and progress of the hotel from start to today.

After lunch at Denny's we went on to Petersburg to see Ernie's cousin Lou. some of our group took a train ride on old restored cars. We had a good visit with Lou and were home in plenty of time for the Chili supper. A good rally.

And now back to Elkhart. The National Great Lakers RV. club meet here each year before the
GLASS rally in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Do a lot of talking and eating. Trying to watch that we do not eat too much fat food. Tonight we are going to Essenhaus for supper. Sunday evening we will have "stone soup" with leftovers from last nights supper, (meat & potatoes) plus what ever else we toss in the pot.

My mind has gone blank with what I wanted to say. So will write again another day. JKC

Syracuse, Indiana

Hi! Just a quick note. We went to Syracuse this week end. To see my brothers and sisters. We have kept the family home and so 4 of us have a place to stay when we get together. Two live in Syracuse. so good to see them and catch up on the latest with our families.

We got a tour of our nephews new home on the lake. It will be beautiful when it is done.



On the way we stopped in Columbia City, Crooked Lake, to visit with Ernie's sister Aileen and husband John.

We are blessed with our families and being able to enjoy visiting with them.



It was raining so much and we were early getting home that we did not stop at our son's home, near Alexandria. We hope to get out there soon. see you all jkc

And the rest of the trip home

Well, we did not stay more than the one night at Altoona Lake. It is quiet and peaceful, so we had a good nights rest and took off about 8:30. We turned off I-75 and headed for Chattanooga, TN. Ernie drove thru the city and then stopped and said "here you go, drive over the mountain" So, I did. Almost to the top and someone stopped in front of me. Wow! We stopped, and then got going again. Ernie coached me, so it went smoothly and we made it to the top a-ok. And then we came down. I learned how to let the engine and "jake brake" do the work and we got down the mountain just fine. At least Ernie told me I did ok. And then I drove to Nashville, and around that by-pass and into Kentucky. After stopping for a rest, Ernie drove to Shepherdsville, Ky., just south of Louisville. We found a nice park, "Grandpa's" Just off the interstate, had pull thru spots and paved pads. Nice for an overnight stop. And longer if you are in the area for awhile.



We took off about 7 am. Ernie driving. about 70 mph right along with the truckers, on thru Louisville and across the bridge into Indiana. Our friends, Gene and Phyllis, from Seymour, were to be interviewed that morning, so we kept on going. Stopped at Hope, Indiana, for breakfast. We were home by 11 am. A good winter in Florida, might have been cold, but as we all said down there, "we aren't shoveling the snow." And after seeing the sticks in the yard and the tall grass and weeds in the asparagus. it was HELP.



Saturday, we got the living room emptied of stuff we had brought in from the RV. Have caught up with most of the laundry and today I picked up the spare bedroom of stuff. But it still has stuff that must be moved out. Papers, go thru and throw out, stuff.



The 29th we head for West Baden, IN., for the first Hoosier Cruiser rally of this season. Who knows when I will write again. Have a good spring and summer. JKC

Last days in Florida

Judy and Frank, friends from Anderson. We collect silver plate, Frank collects Civil War forks and knives. And Judy found a piece of crystal she liked.

This is Frank and Judy's home in Florida. near Leesburg.

Don and Sue, friends from Florida. Don is a great photographer and sent us pictures on a CD when we got back from Alaska in 2004. Sue loves tennis and enjoys all sports. We cannot keep up with her, but like hearing about what she is working on when we see them.

One of the bridges in the background. This beach was not the best, but I picked up some heavy shells and stones for the garden.

Dear Charlie. Owner - operator of Charlies RV park in Thonotassa.

We stayed at this park most of the time this year. Charlie is an interesting man to talk with and he keeps the park in good shape.

And Jack, his 5h wheel is next to us, and Linda and Austin. He does a lot of computer work. Likes chocolate chip cookies. We brought him a big bag from the cookie factory.

And you will have to go to the next blog to read more about our trip home. jkc

Leesburg, Florida

We arrived in Leesburg on Thursday, and after getting parked we just rested!! Friday morning we took the civil war forks and knives to Frank. Had a good visit and then went to lunch. Good sandwich. Judy and I caught up about our children and other home news we had learned while we are gone.







That evening Don and Sue came over and we went to the Oakwood Smokehouse. We ordered ribs. Sooo good. We had met Don and Sue on our way to Alaska. They had their RV repainted last summer. Looks great. In Bremen, Indiana. Close to my home town.







Saturday, We met with Frank and Judy again and went to Mount Dora, Fl. to the Renninger Flea market. They have a section of antique furniture, costs 5 or 6 dollars to go in those buildings. We were more interested in the outdoor vendors. Found some silver and bought some green onions and bananas. Looked at the strawberries, but didn't buy. After paying 50 cents a quart I am not inclined to buy unless they are just perfect. Frank drove us around the area. Thru Mt. Dora. they were having a sailing regatta and we saw some antique cars. So the town was full and we did not get out to go into any of the antique stores. And also drive by the lake. We were trying to figure which house we should buy and how much lake frontage there would be. Idle talk. Enjoyed the day. It is a good day when you can be around friends and just take time to do whatever. Even just sitting and talking. We enjoy.







Today, we were on our way North by 8 am. Missed the first Flying J at exit 2 in Georgia. We were talking and did not realize we had crossed the Florida line. Can't be a Flying J in Florida?? oops there was the turn. so we kept on going. Stopped at a rest park for lunch and finally got to a Flying J further up the rode in Georgia. Decided to keep on going and get thru Atlanta on a Sunday. Not during the week.







We arrived at Altoona Lake Campground and were parked by 6 pm. A long day of driving. I only drove about 45 miles. Will drive more on the next leg. maybe. We had not planned on such a long day. But we do like this campground. And we wanted to get thru Atlanta. I have talked about this campground before. We like the lake and quiet surroundings. Sat at the picnic table and polished some of the silver we got yesterday. Early to bed. Will see how we feel in the morning as to whether we move on or just enjoy a relaxing day here. We really feel lazy and do not want to un-hook the car from the motor home.







Have a good day. jkc

Ft. Myers, Florida

Jim and Jane. my brother.

we are in Ft. Myers at my brothers condo.

Debbie and Jane at Debbie's trailer home in Ft. Myers. Debbie does our taxes. We had mailed them to her and then met her to finish going over them. She biked over to our place and then we went over to hers. Nice park.

Jim and Sara at our park. We had them come over to see our silver and check out the RV. And just visit.
They have a home in Syracuse, IN.

Syracuse is the family home for us. 4 of the 6 children have kept the family home. We have a place to stay when we go to the lake. We usually just enjoy visiting and catching up on what is going on around town.

I started writing this blog on the way to Leesburg, Fl. and then Ernie put in some pictures. So further down you can read about this RV. It really is NOW used for an RV. Carries all her flea market stuff in the side bins.

What a WEEK! We arrived at Siesta Bay RV Park last Thursday. April Fools Day!

And did not stop until we left this morning. Well, we haven't stopped. We are on the road to Leesburg, Fl., for 3 nights.

We arrived in Ft. Myers, called my brother and delivered 7 quarts of strawberries that I had picked the day before. Sara and I delivered some to her sister and Jim and Ernie delivered some to some other friends of theirs. Beautiful berries. Ripe all the way through. Sweet.

Friday we took off to go to the Flea master Flea Market. Only bought 3 pieces of silver. but talked with 3 different vender's. One, a lady, had just gotten a "new RV" A bright red used

EMT vehicle. She said all the side bins carried her flea market things and she had more room inside for her personal stuff than a Trek RV. thought it would be a good deal. she has a regular trailer in a park, but uses this to go north in the summer. Said she made enough money at the flea markets that she did not touch her pensions. Also she was tired of the locals complaining about the snow birds. She says the snow birds are the ones that have brought the money in so that they can enjoy many advantages. Like the bridge to the islands. another vender was telling us about his special silver piece that he had tried to sell for more than a year at $70. Took it to an auction on the East coast and got $2400. for it. The people there knew what it was.

Saturday we took off for the Flamingo Island flea market. near Bonita Springs. spent a little there. Does anyone need a set of 61 pieces of the Daffodil pattern by Rogers? We now have one, and in very good shape. the man deals mostly in coins, gold and silver. Then we spent time with a lady that had a little antique shop in the flea market.
we got one of our books and went back to her stall and talked with her. She had some nice pieces. One teaspoon she said was named grapefruit. We said no it is Orange. We were right.

she laughed. had another spoon called American Beauty rose. Would not come down on the price. Said now that she knew the name she could really sell it to someone.

Saturday afternoon we invited my brother and his wife over. To see the coach, visit and check out our silver. Sara likes the different patterns and can't believe how we find these things at garage sales and flea markets. And that Ernie barters.

Sunday, it was off to one more flea market. We did not buy a thing and realized we were two of very few people that spoke English. Needless to say, we made a quick round of the market and left. Friends from the National Great Lakers called in the afternoon. Came over and then took us to their park to see where they have become residents. Officially now Floridians. they had a home in Ohio. Very nice park.

Better stop for a while. Getting near Tampa and traffic.

Later that night. As I said, Ernie added some pictures.

Monday was tax day for us. Debbie has done our taxes for us for about 30 years. she sold her H. & R. business in Middletown, and now works part time in Florida. So we sent her our info and then since we had a week at Siesta Bay RV park (special reduced rate, that we won at the Tampa RV super show. in January) We saw her here and finished our taxes. Debbie does a lot of biking and so biked over to our place after work. And then we went over to see her park. We liked it. Then went out for pizza. found out that my brother said that is where they go for pizza. And it was good. Before Debbie came over we drove out toward FT. Myers Beach to go to the Beach Fish shop. two hours to go two miles. Someone was not a happy driver. But we bought some fish, shrimp and scallops. All fresh! Most is in the freezer. We have been going out to eat with family and friends.

Tuesday was beach day. Jim came to pick us up at 8 am and he drove us to Sanibel. We walked the beach for about two hours and then he drove us around the island and over to Captiva. Later that evening we went out for ribs with Jim and Sara.

Wednesday was one last trip to a Flea Market. The North Ft. Myers, outdoor theater flea market. Found a few pieces and enjoyed this market. All out door with a variety of vendors.

To Jim and Sara's to pick up two boxes to take to Indiana. They will fly home. We also went to a beach about two miles from our park. Not the best beach, but I found some stones and old shells to put in the flower garden and under the outdoor faucet.

On the way home we stopped at this ice cream store. um um coconut, almond, & fudge in vanilla ice cream. soooo good!!

And then came today. time to pack up and head North. Stop in Leesburg at Ridgecrest RV park. We finally got parked in a level spot and had a quiet evening. Made plans for Friday.

Gotta go to bed. See you later. jkc

Just re read this. had the spell check on. they also need a grammar check. I am tired and I can tell I am rambling on. Good night.

Strawberries

You have read several times about our going to Parksdale at Plant City for strawberry sundaes. Linda and Austin kept telling us to "just wait, the u-pick farm will open up and then you can have all the berries you want for a small price." They usually open up about the 3rd week in March. They opened yesterday. Linda and Austin left today, by car, for Indiana.
but we do not leave until Thursday and we are going to Ft. Myer. so Tuesday I picked 6 quarts.
"Now Ma'am, you take this quart basket and fill it rounded and put those in your bucket. Then do it again, keeping track of how many quarts you put in your bucket. Round up your bucket also. So I picked 6 quarts. I had a 5 quart bucket.
Since we were going to see my brother and his wife, I called them and ask them if they wanted some strawberries. Well, yes, we could take two quart. How much are they? 50 cents a quarts. oh Oh bring us 6 and I will give them to some friends for Easter. So today I picked 10 quarts. It was easy. Like a child in a candy store. Oh, I want this one, look there is one even redder, oh, here is a great big, red berry. And I got 2 Florida onions. These are huge onions, like vidalias, but the man said. "No, these are Florida Sweet Onions" So there. And they are sweet. And they grow on the edge of the strawberry fields.

I ask the gentleman, why. To keep out the buffalo. No, joke! He showed me a picture of the neighbor's buffalo in his strawberry field. Planted onions and they will not cross into the Field.
Go figure. I suppose it might also keep out other varmits as well. Makes a good story, don't ask me how true it is. But I did see the picture of the buffalo in the strawberries.

The man said that this morning they had about 50 young school children. Fun, he said, to watch them. I ask if they ate many. No, he thought that they had been instructed not to eat the berries. I suppose they would take them back to school to be washed and fixed some way or another. There were 3 men manning the station. Southern drawl, interesting to talk to both time I went to pick berries.

We were going to go to Busch Gardens today. One last time. to see the new section open up. Sesame Street theme. You could not get near the entrance. Spring break. and the park was full. We went on up the road. Stopped at Wally world , McDonald's for 49 cent burgers and then home. and now it is time to fix supper. Strawberries anyone? jkc
tomorrow we will be at Siesta Bay RV resort in Fr. Myer.

Big Top Busch

Dawn--of C & D Delights.
Southern Specialties with SASS
Big Top section L

She sells pickled asparagus, beans, beets, okra and jams and some with jalapeno flavor. She lived in Indiana at one time. We would talk with her each time we went to the Big Top Flea Market not far from our park. Just interesting to talk to different people. Dawn was the one that told us the asparagus price went out of sight when the strawberries got frozen and in short supply. Now there is a glut of berries. She received 57 FLATS of berries last week. A supplier had an overflow. Hey, Do you want these? and was to get more today. Dawn will have berries to work with for some time.


Our next friend is Gene of "This and That" He has one end of one of the spokes. (Big Top is like a wheel with buildings going out from the center like spokes on a bike tire.) This gentleman is 85. Has had this booth for years. He has been trying to sell it for the last 3 or 4 years. And he is slowly cleaning and clearing. When we first went here a few years ago it was so very full and dusty. Stuff everywhere and piled on top of each other. Now there is much less stuff and cleaner. Each time we go, every week, he has moved things around and made things neater. We enjoy talking with him and hearing some of his stories. And he knows what he has and the value of each item.

He wears the colored wig when his head is cold or for people to notice.

we hope he will be around next year, but if he can find a buyer we wish him the best. He was even telling me to go to Sam's for good fish and how he fixed salmon.

At Busch. this is at the Moroccan Palace Theater. KaTonga

Journey to the heart of Africa in this live musical celebration of animal folklore. The four persons standing above the dancers have all told a story about living animals. The dancers and gymnasts are in colorful costumes, some are skin tight to make them look like a part of the scenery. It is a 40 minute show.

Here, you can see he is talking about the turtle. the turtle is on a board with wheels so he can move around. Just ingenious as to how they had various animals portrayed.

Look closely and you can see the tails on the monkeys. They also did Ariel stunts. The scenery moves in and out. It is amazing how the stage and costumes change to make a colorful and meaningful story.

Flowers! I hope my spring flowers are still blooming when we get home.

Alligators will eat turtles in the wild. But they are fed meat and other food and so they do not bother the turtles here. There were over a dozen turtles that had come up out of the water to sun themselves. Most had a nice mossy covering on their shells.

These next animals are part of a 30 minute show called Critter Castaways. They have taken animals from various shelters across the country and taught them tricks. The show is about a couple that had gotten lost from their ship and they arrive at this "ship wreck" The people living there show them how the animals help them each day. It is fun and we watch the children. They are very intent on what is going on. It is fast moving and you have to keep watching or you may miss an animal doing a trick. Thus pig and a smaller one were the garbage disposal system.

Not sure what the skunk does. But he walked thru the set.

Here are 3 of the cast members. With a dog, bird and llama. The guy on the gang plank has a cat I think.

And "Joey" ran thru the set.

Porcupine waddles thru.

And this guy came flying in. got something out of the water and then came over to the man. For more treats. The people all had treats in their pockets to give each animal as they performed there tricks.

This is the set for Critter Castaways. The animals do various things to items that roll up and S O S sign. for passing boats to see. We see this show several times a year. sometimes they change the story a little or have a new animal that has been trained. After the show they all come out with an animal for you to pet and learn about the animal and the show.

The park had been closing at 6. Now with day light saving time they are staying open until 7. In the summer they are open until 9.

Butterfly

The birds. these birds are at this tree each time we go. They are not tied to the tree. They will squawk at you but have not heard them talk.

Two pairs. See the yellow tents in the back ground. The 4 Sundays in March it is Viva La Musical! Latino music on the main stage. Open air.

In February it was the bands, barbecue and? that was when we saw Huey Lewis and the New and Pat Benitar. The tents are for food and souvenirs. Last month they were red.

Time is growing short. Linda and Austin are packing their car. Had planned to leave Wednesday. We think they will be gone Tues. We leave Thursday for Ft. Myer.

Talk to you later. jkc