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

My Day-----March 27th

Nothing like blowing your own horn. It was an extra special day. Nothing fancy, just easy and a good day. Late getting up. After breakfast, it was off to the Big Top flea market. Bought a jar of pickled asparagus and one pretty silver plated fork. And then went to the antique wing of the market. This gentleman, I think I have written about him before, is an interesting man to talk with about many things. He lived in Indiana in his youth. He is now about 85. Has had a business at the Big Top for many years. I find things I like now and then. He knows all about them and asks a fair price. Altho we always try to get it for less. He says he never goes below 20% of the price on the item. I found an old glass pitcher. Holds about a pint or pint and a half. Had a symbol on the bottom of H with an A under the H. Hazel-Atlas. He told me that the Company made canning jars and other glass items. ( I have some jars that have the name ATLAS on them.) I researched it on the internet. They also made those milk glass disks that are in the lids of the old canning lids. And many other items. Some depression glass and advertising items. He told me much of this also. He is not sure if he will be back next year. He would like to sell out. But of course no one wants all of his inventory.





we came home and had lunch. We had gotten two lobster tails the other day. Publix grocery had a special on them. Had fresh steamed broccoli and then a salad plate of fresh veggies. Just enough. Lazy afternoon. did do some rearranging of the bins. Trying to fit in some of the red chairs we have fixed. Plus a few other things we have accumulated since December.


Came in and played some games on the computer.





Then I got out the advertisement I had cut out of the paper this week for


'Chancy's Catfish Shack" Over by Plant City. That is where I want to eat, I told Ernie.


so we went. Oh, it was good! Fresh!!! Ernie had 10 shrimp, 10 scallops, 1 piece of fish, garden salad and egg plant. I had frog legs and catfish. Slaw and applesauce.


We arrived about 6, had to wait for about 20 minutes and of course talked to another couple while waiting. We said to them, Well, come on in and sit with us. When he introduced us, he said they were celebrating his wife's birthday. How about that. I said''Good, it is mine also" but neither one of us told and they were too busy to mess with a song, etc.


This place was one of those little shacks with excellent food and a waiting line to eat. Our new friend stepped out the back door for a minute and when he came back in he said the original owner was sitting out there. An older gentleman, lived just up the road. The couple we ate with had driven over from Lakeland Fl. He told us of several FRESH Fish places to eat. I needed a pen and paper to write down a few.


My brothers have helped out there. John used to take us to a fish shack near Jacksonville for great fish. And Jim and Sara have taken us to the fish shop that has fish right off the boat. so good when it is fresh. Just like any food.





Strawberries. On the news today, some farmers are having a one day you pick day. One farmer is having you donate a dollar to a charity for the needy. Parksdale farms were having their workers cut off the berry plants to make way for pickles. The freeze caused a shortage of berries and then the berries all ripened at once. Delicious and sweet. But not a money making venture any more. A glut of berries on the market. sorry if I repeat===just like the news on TV.


Rita called, she has a birthday today too. Good friend.


We are now back at the RV. Ernie is reading and I am here at the computer. Found a new way to play a game, so am enjoying trying that out. I feel fortunate to be able to be here and to enjoy life as we are now. Hope all of you have a good day. jkc



P.S. I was looking at some past blogs. Noted that on one of them I made the comment that I had not seen an older person on any of the roller coasters. Last week when we saw "The Fifth Dimension" this lady came thru our row, said she was sorry, but she just had to take a ride on the Shieka. and she had grey hair like mine. And Shieka is the largest coaster at Busch with a 200 foot drop in one place. The lady next to us said "More power to her, but not me" I agreed. jkc

Another Wednesday.

Our favorite stop on Wednesday is of course, Parksdale, for strawberry sundaes. this is Caitlin from Pendleton. She is with her Grandparents for spring break. She is a sweet young lady, and amazed at all the grey haired persons in the area. Oh, yeah, that is Florida.




and this is her Grandmother. We had already been to the Cookie factory. They will meet with the rest of the family this week end in Orlando. They bought two bags of cookies. 4 Grandchildren and 6 adults. The cookies will not last long, if they got there.

and here she is with her Grandparents, Clayton and Rita. Rita and I have known each other for many years and share the same birthday. Altho, I have to admit, she is a few years younger than me. We have good times and they are a part of our card club. That was the first short cake I had had. I still prefer my strawberries with out any kind of cake.

And then there are these to "lovelly' people. This is DUKE and his woman. When I ask him his name he said "it is Duke and ?, my friends call me Duke" So I call him Duke, as we want to stay on his good side. He and his woman are the "traffic persons" at the flea market. Stay on the left side, Can't you see these cars trying to get thru.? Walk on the left side, I tell you! And only once or twice did I see him with shoes on his feet. And that was a very cold and wet day. but by the time we left he was shoeless again. She tells you where to park and how to get out of the park. She wears shoes and, well, she is usually well covered. You have to see her to understand, the two do go together. I wonder what else he does and if they pay them to be there. Friendly, if you talk to them. Characters in our picture of Florida and the Flea market at Plant City. I did find a nice, collectible fork there this week.

the January, Tampa RV Super show, at a booth, they had a petition to sign that these half buried RV's, (air stream) was an art project, not junk!

We had seen them last year and so we signed the petition. Something neat to see. Just past these is an Air Stream dealer. Enough votes were garnered that the County commissioners said they could stay.





Another interesting item in the paper today. From the strawberry growers. They plant the berries over a

period of time so that they will have

berries all spring. The freeze was a problem, and then they all blossomed and produced berries at the same time. Now the market is flooded with berries and they cannot sell them at a profitable price.They do not want to put but a few acres in "you pick" berries as they have already planted cucumber plants and they could be hurt by people walking thru. Plus liability issues. But they are definitely sweet and good. And California berries are starting to hit the market.

Both neighbors are gone for a few days. Jack to his girl friends in Clearwater, and Austin and Linda to see their son graduate form Seaman School.

Oh, yes. We now have 5 red lawn chairs. There was another one in the dumpster last evening.

Should we get it? Sure, why not, we have plenty of bright red webbing. We are now being teased by our neighbors about being dumpster divers. We just check our the parks dumpster when we go put our trash in. You never know what bargains you may find. We have left a TV, chest of drawers and other stuff. Oh, also on Tuesday, Ernie came in and said there is a little
Dirt Devil vacuum beside the dumpster. Oh, No. Not another one. But I looked at it and we brought it home. Took out the very full bag, cleaned it up and bought some more bags at the flea market. Works great. Has a collapsible handle too. Better than the little hand vac we use. You never know.

About time for lunch. Then we may have to go to Busch Gardens. See you. jkc

OOps, Ernie is outside. He just said, there goes another chair. Oh, My!
No, it was a step stool and does not fold up. so we left it there for some other dumpster diver.

A rainy day

It is 10 pm and the vote on the health bill has not yet been taken. the tv is on, but I really do not want to hear about it anymore.

I did get to church. And when I got there I realized my purse was still at home. We are less than a mile from the church, so I got into my "spare" coin purse in the glove compartment and had a dollar bill for the collection plate. Will have to replace that dollar. Also keep $1 worth of coins. 10 cents will not make a phone call anymore, but sometimes that $2.00 comes in handy.

It was a rainy day, and we did not go to Busch Gardens as planned. Did take a walk around the park, late afternoon, when the rain had stopped. Second time around we were stopped. One of the women here is quite a crocheter. Has a beautiful bedspread she had made. Her husband kept telling me I should see it. So I did! She had also made some table runners. Pretty.

We did make it to the cookie factory. Came home with some shortbread and a box of ginger snaps. Soft choc. chip and lemon for the neighbor. I think the choc chip, lemon and coconut are the best. did not think much of the gingersnaps and shortbread cookies. Then, after watching Dr. Oz about dieting, Ernie decided we had better get serious again about our diet. And proper eating. So most of the cookies are in the freezer. And we have two more Wednesdays before we leave Charlies, so what shall we do about our strawberry sundaes? Decisions Decisions!

We plan on leaving here the 1st of April. We will go to Ft. Myer for 1 week. See my brother and sister-in-law and finish up our taxes. Our tax lady that we have had for 30 years decided not to come home from Florida in time to do taxes. But she would be working in Florida.

Our daughter said she would have to write Debbie and tell her that her staying in Florida makes it late when her parents come home. We have been home in time that I spend a day with her during her spring break.

After Fr.Myer we will head North. Stopping in Leesburg, Fl., to visit some friends. Be home mid April. News is about over. Have a good day tomorrow. It may rain more here.

jkc

Late Night

These are Civil War utensils.

It is late night for me. After 11 pm. Could not sleep and so decided to get up and use the computer. Today, Monday, March 15th, we drove about 50 miles to Webster, Fl. to THE flea market. This place is something else. A large field, several buildings and then another field of vendors. Some of the buildings have stuff from other countries. A few buildings and most of the outdoor vendors are good old flea stuff. And that is what I heard one of the vendors say---I got my stuff here at ? when did you bring your stuff in. So----

I found two pieces of silver that were E's. S is seldom collected, C is collectible, H is highly collectible, E is extremely collectible and M is most collectible. We find very few M's. And I found an H and a C. We also found a couple of weird looking forks. Two were sterling. (Did I tell you a few weeks ago we found a sardine fork?) The two sterling were alike. Small fork with 3 tines. Dainty, The two outside tines were curved outward. And there was a bar across the tines. An Olive fork? we do not know. the other looks like a miniature fork from a Carving set. Can't resist the odd looking or pieces that we know not many were made or kept for long.

Ernie also found some Civil War forks and knives. We have a friend that collects these and he is not doing the big flea markets much this year. So Ernie called him and Frank said to buy them.

so we also came home with several Civil War forks and knives. They have wood handles. Similar to the wood "granny forks" that you can buy now. Only these have fancy metal decoration on the handle.

Got home and our friends were gone. And they were late getting home. We were a little worried as He had not felt the greatest. So when they came home Austin came over to tell us about their day. They went to a clinic and found out that he has shingles. One spot on his lower right leg. After he checked out the Civil War forks, another knock on the door and in comes his wife. So we discussed our day and had a good visit. We do have good times.

I guess it is midnight. Tues will be laundry day and polish silver day. Wed. is another flea market day, strawberry sunday day and we may also go find the cookie factory.

Talk to you later. jkc

WINDOWS

Hudson, Florida, Hurricane Hank's Pub. Has the best shrimp we have had in a long time. Sat outside, the sun was shinning when we went in, but it got cool by 5:30. We looked for a seafood restaurant on the GPS and up came Mike's Dock. And when we got to the Hudson Marina here was Hurricane Hank's. The waiter said Mike owns the land around there. O.K. Good time there was a man singing when we got there, Had a Cockateel with him. But they closed down shortly after we got there. We asked about the bird, He was putting him in the van first as she was getting cold. One of two birds, but the only one that goes with him on gigs. And no, I am not talking about computer Windows in the title. We needed some repair done on our RV windows and so we came to Suncoast Designers Inc. in Hudson, Florida. You will see why in later pictures. a recommendation from Our FMCA magazine.

These 3 young fellows took out our windows and then replaced them. They also cleaned the glass so they all looked spotless. 19 and 20 year old guys. They made a joke about how long it would take and that is all it took. You know Ernie would not let that remark go and by the time we left on Tues. the whole crew was talking, joking and conversing with us.

We went in on Sunday afternoon. the road to this place was a typical factory road. junky We were not sure what we were getting into as we were told they would have 50 amp and water hook ups for us plus a dump station. But we had a black top drive and good level gravel to park on. Fenced in all around and the buildings were new and well kept. A positive feeling that all would be ok.

this next picture taken Sun. evening shows the factory and parking area.

You can see that it is neat and clean. The boys would have to go around (while they were waiting for windows to be done and ready to be put back in) and pick up around the area. They would strip off caulking and sometimes paper, but it would have to be picked up sometime before too long. There was at least 8 Rv's Sunday night and 13 Monday night.

At 6:25 am a worker knocked on the door. Have you signed in? No. Go do that and we will count your windows, mark them and take them out. 6 windows and they were out by 8 am.

They had plastic covered pieces of cardboard that they taped over the windows. Made it a little dim inside, but we were protected from the weather. They had said we might get done by Tuesday morning. We got the last window at 4:45 pm Tues. They take the windows out, separate the two pieces of glass (these are thermopane windows) Clean off all the seal that had squeezed inside, put them back together as they should be and put them back on the coach.

See the black scallop on the lower part of the windows? We have before and after pictures. It is said that the cause of the seal coming in like that is when going over the mountains, or a change in the altitude pressure, this can cause the seal to squeeze in on some windows. Doesn't matter the brand of RV, it can happen to all sizes and makes, sometimes. this company gives a 5 year guarantee. Full coverage the first year and then pro rated 20% down each year for the next 4.

these 4 pictures were taken at our campground in Thonotosassa. That is Jack's 5th wheel next to us. and on the other side of him are Linda and Austin from Muncie. We have our own little group. but we talk to all of them here. In fact, yesterday as we were leaving the flea market we saw one of our members and she said. "Are you going to the cookie factory now?" What?

there is a cookie factory on the East side of Plant City.! You can go to the factory and buy seconds. For $2. you get this big bag. What ever is available. she got us some coconut bars. I filled 3 qt zip lock bags and one more that is now gone. We gave some to the neighbors also. We all decided that we just might have to make a trip over there to see what other flavors they may have for sale.

I did buy some strawberries. They were so pretty. Big, bright red. too big for me as I do not think the large berries are as good and sweet as the smaller ones we grow in our own garden. But they do taste good with the soft serve we get at Parksdale.

And it would not be right to have a writing on the blog without something from Busch Gardens. Today it was Davey Jones from the Monkees Band and group of the 60's. Enjoyed

the band. One of the guitar players jumped and down, but the others were quiet compared to some of the bands we have seen with the various singers. But they were in tune with Davey Jones. I think he was about the only one that did not introduce his band. I like to watch the band and see how much they sing along and how they perform. Today they had a woman on a second keyboard and she also played a tenor sax and another smaller saxophone.

Today was a rainy day. We wore our ponchos and took our umbrella. Really did not get that much rain while we were out, but it did pour after we were back home. And some areas have had some flooding. Tomorrow is to be wet also. Have a good day. jkc