Monday and Tuesday! Weather is Getting Very Nice!

Yesterday, Monday, it was only 38 degrees when we got up!  What is that about???  We both did some devotions and after breakfast, we listened to a sermon by Rick Warren regarding the book, The Purpose Driven Life!  Our church at home is doing the 40 day study of that book and Ken and I will be leading our small group for a more in depth study of the book.  We will meet here in Florida since all of the couples in our small group are spending at least 2 months of the winter in this area.  We will be close enough to get together, probably about 1X a week.

After lunch, the 4 of us went in their truck to RV World near Venice, because Ken and I needed to get a new holder for our shower head.  Ernie and Noela wanted to check-out a few items also.  Then we took a walk around the park near Sharkey's in Venice.

Beautiful trail around the lake!

A nice view of the Gulf!

The pier at Sharkey's Pub!

Hardly looks real!!!

A Great Blue Heron enjoying the sunshine!

After our walk we headed to The Rookery to check out what birds might be nesting there.  We enjoyed seeing the blue heron and their babies.

The baby blue heron is fairly large!

Actually, there were 3 babies!  What fur balls!

Time for dinner!

Great White Egrets

Don't you just love their plumage!  It almost looks like that
of a peacock, without the colors!

These look like ducks except for their skinny legs.  Would ducks
line up on a fence!

The Rookery is a very nice area and we hope to return
near sunset!

After a stop at Wal-Mart (we should soon have everything we need!), we were back to Wilbur by 5:15.  Ken grilled a delicious steak for me while I made some quinoa and black beans.  After dinner, Ken went to Edgewater Church for his Celebrate Recovery meeting.  I give him so much credit, as it is hard to go to a meeting where you might only know 1 person.  That will change during the winter, but it is hard at the beginning.

I was so disappointed that we couldn't get the Alabama/Clemson game!  It must have been a nail biter and so exciting!  I spent time making earrings.  We were in bed by 10:15.

Today, Tuesday, it was still rather chilly when we got up, but by 11, it was in the upper 50's and eventually was 73 with lots of sunshine!  Yeah Florida!!!!  After breakfast and a great phone conversation with Lanie, Ken and I went to visit Ernie and Noela and we discussed all of our plans for the next 3 days.  Both of us had some errands to run, so we said we will meet for games this evening.

Ken and I left the CG and after Ken dropped me off at Hobby Lobby he went to wash the CRV and get gas.  I needed some jewelry making supplies as well as heavy poster boards and frames for making my seaglass pictures.  I also went to Dollar Tree for some greeting cards and checked out the Goodwill Store for frames.

We ate lunch outside and then worked together to cut the poster board to fit into the picture frames.  Ken went to yoga at Edgewater and I worked on this blog and thought I would work on seaglass pictures, but that never happened.

Ernie stopped by and asked if I wanted to join them and their friends from other years here at Harbor Lakes for Happy Hour.  So, I walked down to Bill and Carol's campsite, about 6 from Ken and I and had a fun time fellowshipping with their friends.  Ken and I had met them last year, but a "refresher course" was needed.  Ken joined us when he returned from his much appreciated yoga class.

We came back to Wilbur around 5:45 to start making dinner.  Ken grilled chicken and I made salads.  Ernie and Noela came over to play games.  It was a fun evening with the men winning Skip-Bo and the women Racko.

We are still trying to figure out a reasonable schedule during our time here in Florida.  It is so different to be staying at the same CG the entire 90 days, plus I still think we are recuperating from all the driving, the stress at Lazydays, the rain and colder weather during our 1st several days here in Florida, etc.  I also want to start playing pickleball at 8 in the morning, but I am not sure how that fits into each morning!  I am certain we will figure it out soon!

A Rainy Saturday and Cold, Windy Sunday!

It starting raining late Friday night and continued off and on Saturday morning. It was a great time to relax and do some needed catching up.  Ken had a long conversation with Dane, our son-in-law while I had a good conversation with my sister, Cindy.  John and Cindy had left PA around 6 AM heading towards Kings Bay Naval Base in Georgia.  They had some bad weather on I-95, snow, ice, and cold.  Fortunately even though the drive was rather slow at times, they did make it to Florence, SC when I checked in with her around 6 PM.  

Ken did some work on the computer and I had time to make some jewelry.  We picked up Ernie and Noela at noon and drove about 45 minutes to Sweet Tomato near Sarasota.  We did make a quick stop at RV World at Venice where Ken and I were able to buy a water filter for under the kitchen sink for $39.90. Everywhere else we checked was much more expensive, including Lazydays that wanted $65.00.  Really?????

Of course we had a meal at Sweet Tomato, one of our favorite places to eat here in Florida.  Their salad bar is huge and so fresh, all 7 of their soups are made from scratch, as well as their delicious dessert bar and muffins. Unfortunately we always eat too much!  From there we drove about 7 miles to do some shopping at Costco.  What a day - Sweet Tomato and Costco. It is hard to beat that combination!!

I did talk to my mother (they are doing very well) and to Lanie.  She has not had any headaches since the Thursday before Christmas and we are so thankful. Poor Samantha has been having trouble with very itchy hives but did get some special steroid cream from the Dr. that appears to be helping.  

We were back to the CG by 5 and decided we would get together at Wilbur around 7:00.  Ken and I did enjoy watching some of the football game.  We had a fun evening playing Skip-Bo and Racko, with the women winning both games! Since arriving at the CG, the men have not won any games - WOW! Noela and I are hoping to continue our winning streak!

We woke this morning to lots of wind and cold - 37 degrees!  I thought this was Florida!!  Well, it is a lot better than the weather and temperatures in PA! The strong winds continued all day, but it did get to the mid to upper 50's.  Ken and I went to Edgewater UM Church, one we have attended numerous times when in this area.  This church has about 700 members and 4 services each weekend. They have such a phenomenal outreach for the community and Ken really enjoys their Celebrate Recovery.  He is planning to get involved with this church while we are here this winter!

After church, Ken and I went to Winn Dixie for some groceries and to Wal-Mart to find some yoga pants for Ken.  He is planning to take some Christian yoga classes at the church.  We spent the afternoon inside Wilbur watching the Steelers win their game while I made jewelry and Ken did some reading and watching!  Ken also made us salads for today and tomorrow - what a guy! After the game we took a walk around part of the CG and then Ken grilled while I cleaned up my "jewelry mess".  We also watched the Packers/Giants game.

At 7 we went over to Ernie and Noela's and played Uno.  That is a game the 4 of us had not played together.  It had been quite awhile since Ken and I played it, so I had to read the directions and review that rules.  We had a fun time.  

Tomorrow will be another cooler day with gusty winds, so we have no plans in the morning and will talk after lunch.

I did talk to Joyce today.  Rick and Joyce are in our small church group at home and in October bought a home here in Venice, only about 35 minutes from our CG.  We plan to get with them on Wednesday to see their new home and spend some time together.

Friday - Cloudy, Foggy Morning, But Beautiful Afternoon!

Ken and I had a relaxing morning of doing devotions, making an omelette breakfast, and then he worked on the computer and I made some jewelry.  I stopped by Ernie and Noela's on the way to the office to check for mail.

After lunch we spent time visiting with some friends of Ernie and Noela's here in the park and then the 4 of us left at 2:15 for a bike ride on the Cape Haze Trail about 5 miles from the CG.  It was a great day for riding - not overly hot and just a light breeze.  We rode about 11 1/2 miles.

Trails don't get much straighter or more level!

It is good to be back together!

Along the way we saw the eagles with their eaglets -

Time to eat!

Here you go!

Look over there.  Daddy just took off!

Momma waiting for daddy to return with the grub!

a beautiful bird (don't know what kind?) -

a gopher tortoise -

cormorants - 

I think these 2 are in love!

and white pelicans -

It was a fun ride!  Back to the CG and Ken checked his e-mails and I downloaded photos and worked on this blog.  After dinner we went to Ernie and Noela's and played Skip-Bo.  The women won again!  Yes!!!!!

Tomorrow includes a trip to Costco and lunch at Sweet Tomatoes.  Now that will be a good day!!!!!

A Beautiful Day in Port Charlotte!

Ken was up by 6:30 but I only got up around 8.  I am still recovering from all the hours on the road and some of the trying times on Tuesday, but today was a great recovery day!

After breakfast, Ernie came to borrow Ken's ladder so he could go on the roof of his 5th wheel to see if he could find a reason for the leaking.  The ladder was "buried" in the basement of Waldo, so it took some time to retrieve it!  I did some work on the computer, talked to Lanie and my sister, and then Ken and I worked together to put out my 100 feet of rope lighting!  We decided to just put it around the cement pad and then decorate the tree on our campsite - looks good!

We packed a light lunch and by noon we were on our way to Manasota Beach. It was a beautiful, sunny day with a high temperature in the mid to upper 70's. So good to be on the beach again.  We found a few shark's teeth but they were rather small.  We also enjoyed having time to relax and read.

Our 1st view of the beach!

Not overly crowded!

Ready for reading and relaxing!

Ernie and Noela came to the beach for about 1 hour but only brought towels. They spent almost the entire time walking, but right before we left Noela took a dip in the ocean (water temp. was 70, not warm enough for this gal!)

Ernie and Noela looking for shark's teeth and just strolling!

Saw this sign on a pick-up truck when driving back from
the beach!  What is that about?????

When we returned to the CG at 5:15, Ken and I decided it was time to christen Waldo.  For the last 24 hours or so, it appears that everything inside and out is working properly.  I say that knocking on wood!  I won't begin to list all of the issues we have had with Waldo since we purchased him, it would be way tooooo long!  We bought him new so we wouldn't have any major problems, but that didn't work out very well!  So, we decided that in 2017, we would retire Waldo, christen it, and give him a new life with a new name.  Since we live in Lititz where Wilbur Chocolate is made, we decided that would be his new name and new beginning.  We broke a Wilbur Bar over him and now we will refer to our Winnebago Motorhome as Wilbur.  Hopefully he will be much "healthier"!

This is our campsite that backs up to the canal.  There is a sign
at the back that warns us to watch our for the alligators!

Note the lights on the tree!

It is a deep and wide campsite.  Hey, that would make a
great song!!!

Christening Wilbur with a Wilbur Chocolate Bar!

After a delicious grilled dinner, Ernie and Noela came over and we played Racko with the women being victorious.  

It is so good to be back in sunny Florida with special friends!

Looking Good!!!

Our First Full Day at Harbor Lakes!

Ken was up by 6:30 but I never rolled out of bed till about 7:45 - so tired.  Both of the main slides were closed and I told Ken I could not live in Waldo another 90 days if we didn't have the slides working.  I can't believe how confined we are when one of the isn't operational!

We went to the office at 9, got our paperwork, and asked if the tree could be trimmed.  They said they would have that taken care of!  So we took a little walk around the CG and who should we see, but Bill and Donna who we see every year when we are in Florida because both of us moved every couple weeks.  They are here at Harbor Lakes for 3 months too!  We sat and talked with them for about an hour and had such a nice visit.  They are from PA also!

When we got back to Waldo they tree had been nicely trimmed and we were able to put out the slides and the awning!  I spent 3 hours organizing and cleaning up the inside while Ken unloaded the remaining items in the car and found a place in the basement of Waldo for everything.  When finished I realized how excited I am that we will not be packing up to move every 2 weeks - we are here for the next 3 months and everything has a place and will stay there!

After lunch, Ken took a nap while I worked on the computer. Then it was time to do a little more clean-up and organization.  Things are looking good!

Ernie and Noela arrived at their site, 2 from us, around 5 after driving 7 hours today.  They have traveled 1,800 miles since early Monday morning.  That is a lot of miles and hours!  Because it was near sunset, we gave them about an hour to get set-up before walking down to welcome them.  It was so good to see them again.  Of course they are tired and and a bit frustrated.  They had the roof of their 5th wheel repaired before they came out west because they had a leaking issue.  When they picked it up today after having it in storage in Brunswick, GA there were signs that it had leaked again.  Nothing major, but still a problem.  

After chatting for a little, we came back to Waldo and enjoyed the salads I had made earlier today and the leftover pizza we had saved from dinner at Exit 10 at Lazydays last evening.  We relaxed watching some TV.

Ernie and Noela came to visit for about an hour and we had a great time "catching up" on what happened the last month while we were at our homes. They left around 9:45 and we went to bed.   

Monday and Tuesday - The Good , Bad, and the Ugly!

Ken and I left Walterboro, SC by 6:45 and were on our way to Lazydays in Tampa, about 425 miles away.  Again traffic was rather light and the drive went well.  We stopped at one of my favorites for lunch, Sonny's Barbeque within 10 miles of Lazydays, because we had told Samantha, our service rep, that we wouldn't arrive till between 2 and 3.  After a delicious lunch, we went to Parksdale Farm Market to buy some fruits and veggies.  It is strawberry time in that area and the lines for their famous strawberry sundaes and shortcake were soooo long.  We were really good and didn't get any of those special treats. (Actually we were full from Sonny's!)

People waiting in line to buy their strawberry sundaes and
shortcake!

These strawberries are so good and sweet!

Can't beat the prices at Parkesdale!

Part of the large strawberry fields!

We arrived at Lazydays around 2:45 and went right to see Samantha.  They had parked Waldo in the front lot and we had electric for the night, but no water or sewer - not a problem!  She had suggested we stay for 1 night to make sure everything was working properly.  When we put out the repaired slide, we could not believe how much quicker and smoother it worked and all the room we had in the hallway!  We felt like we were living in a mansion.  3 months without the slide operating can make you feel that way!

At 5 we went over to the large lounge in the huge Lazydays building to watch the Rose Bowl.  They close most of the area down at 5, but the housekeeping crew was there till 9:30 so we could stay to watch the game.  We were the only ones watching on the 70" screen and we moved the most comfy chairs to the TV.  At halftime I went to Waldo and brought back a tray of peanuts, cheese and crackers, etc.  We had our own private party and what a game it was.  So much excitement and unbelievable plays.  Such a shame that either team had to lose!

After the game we went to a nearby Wal-Mart for some groceries (by now the refrigerator was cold).  By the time we went to bed at 11:30, we were exhausted.

Tuesday morning we were up by 6:30 because Samantha had scheduled Waldo to be washed around 8:30.  When Ken disconnected the electric, he checked to see if the inverter was working.  We had told them it needed repaired because it was "throwing a code", but they claimed there wasn't a problem - Wrong!!!! Within 20 seconds it threw the same code.  We saw Samantha walking across the parking lot and told her we had a problem.  She sent a service technician to us immediately and after some testing determined we definitely needed a new one.  Now what???  Long story short, Samantha contacted our warranty company but it can take days or weeks to get approval for some repairs.  She was hopeful that they would respond within hours. 

So, Ken and I went to Costco where another frustration began.  Somehow my purse was not with us when we got to the car and I knew I had brought it.   I checked back in the store but none was found.  Of course, it was not in Waldo when we got back, so no license, credit cards, phone etc.  I was upset.  I waited about 45 minutes and then called Costco and after a 2 minute hold, she said they had it.  Hallelujah!  So back to Costco and everything was in my purse!  I was so thankful.  

We met with Sam at 1:30 and she asked if we would wait until 2:30 to give the warranty company a little more time.  So we waited!  Then at 2:30 she asked us to please give her till 4 and she was hopeful the problem would be resolved.  We had hoped to be at Harbor Lakes CG by 2 or even earlier so we could get all set-up and have some time to relax.  Not going to happen.  Went back to Samantha at 4 and she had gotten an inverter and a technician was ready to install it.  She never heard from the Warranty Company but said it wasn't our problem that it wasn't fixed while we were gone in December and she did not want us to have to come back for the repair.  She assured us that it was not our expense - it would be taken care of by someone!  Samantha is amazing because so many things are out of her control and she looks out for our best interest.  We so appreciate her!

We were on our way to Harbor Lakes by 6:15 and by now it was dark, traffic was really heavy around Tampa, and we were exhausted physically, mentally, and emotionally.  But, we left with everything working - another Hallelujah!!

We got to Harbor Lakes at 8 and found our campsite.  Unfortunately there was a tree with some low hanging branches, but by using our phones to communicate (it was very dark) we were able to maneuver our way into the site after several tries.  The tree would need to be trimmed if we wanted to put out our slide and awning.  We only hooked up water and electric and put out the bed slide until we talk to them tomorrow morning about trimming the tree.  We were in bed by 9:15 and both of us were too tired to even think!

PS:  Here are the real positives from today - The technician who came to check the inverter was the gentleman we replaced the system on our slide.  He definitely knew what he was doing (actually trained by Winnebago to repair these slides) and gave us some very helpful tips and insights on how the slides work as well as the jacks.  He gave us some invaluable information.  Also, we had trouble with our Memory System on our bed, neither of the controls would give us a read out to know how firm it was.  We had talked to the company and they said it was under warranty and we could remove the box and controller easily (just hard to get to) and take it to their office in Clearwater and they would give us a new one.  When Ken open the area under the bed he discovered that the strap that held the box in place was unsnapped and the 2 controllers were not plugged in securely.  Bingo, an easy fix and we didn't have to make a trip to Clearwater!  Also, on the way home on our western trip, we had a emissions light come one on our dash saying it may need service.  When we got to Lazydays, the light no longer came on and Samantha mentioned that they had changed a dirty oil filter - it solved the problem.  So, we had many things to be thankful for!

Florida Here We Come!

Ken woke at 4:45 and had trouble going back to sleep.   He acted like someone snoring made it impossible for him to snooze any longer!  Wonder who that was????  So he woke me a 5:15 and we got ready to leave for Florida.  We packed up a few last minute items and were on our way by 6:15.    It was 38 degrees.

Our 1st stop was about 45 minutes from home where we stopped for hot chocolate and a soda for Ken.  For some reason, both of us needed the rest stops more today than usual, maybe all the water, soda and hot tea we drank at our New Years Eve Party had something to do with it.

We stopped at our favorite Denny's just south of Richmond, VA around 9:45 and shared the make your own Slam!  As usual, it was delicious.

It started to rain when we got to South Carolina and after getting to Exit 53 and 625 miles from home, it was 5:30 and we decided it was time to stop.  We are spending the night at a Best Western in Walterboro, SC and enjoyed walking to the nearby Ruby Tuesday for a delicious dinner.  Their salad bar was exceptional.

We spent the evening relaxing and watching TV.  It is supposed to be about 56 degrees at 7 AM and that is about the time we hope to be back on the road.  If all goes well, we plan to be sleeping in Waldo tomorrow night at Lazydays in Tampa, FL. where it is predicted to be in the low 80's - YES!

I did have a wonderful time talking to many friends, family members, and fellow campers while we traveled today and "catching up" on where they are and what is going on in their lives. 

Sorry, no photos today!