A Rather Relaxing Day!

I only fell asleep around 1 AM this morning, so I was not in a hurry to get up. Only crawled out of bed around 8.  We got dressed and by 8:40 the 4 of us were walking around the CG to get a good start on our 10,000 steps.  We did stop to check out the owl nest, and now we definitely know she is sitting up there.  Talked to some folks and they told us the owlets have not hatched yet.  Last year by this time they were several weeks old.  Not sure what what is going on.  She and her mate must have gotten a late start!!!!!

No question that the owl is in her nest waiting for the
babies to hatch!

This is Waldo's space for the next week! 

After our walk, Ken and I decided to cook our breakfast outside, as it was warming up rather quickly.  It was 47 degrees when we got up but went to 72 degrees today - it was gorgeous with lots of sun.  We even ate outside.  Then Ken and I made a trip to Wal-Mart for some groceries, stopping at a bike shop in Eustis to inquire about biking trails.  We also stopped at an orchard to get some oranges and grapefruit.

We were back to Waldo by 12:45.  Chuck and Melissa had gone to a local farmers market while we were gone.  After lunch, we went to hear Zeb's Bluegrass Pickin' Party, a group of musicians here at the CG the play bluegrass music every afternoon from 2 to 4 at Zeb's site here at the CG.  We went to hear them and found it rather entertaining!

These guys and gals get together every afternoon just to "pick"!

From there we headed to the shuffleboard court where the men played against the women.  I think it must have been the longest shuffleboard game in history!  It just went on and on and on!  The women had a strong lead, but somehow the men won by 4 points!  Not sure what happened, but it wasn't good!!

This CG has 8 great shuffleboard courts!

And the winners are .......  who are they?????  Looks like
the ballerinas are doing their thing!

I think they may have had too much to drink.  They are
so far off balance!

The winners are --  oh my, that is Ken and Chuck!

Back to Waldo by 5:45 to have dinner.  All the meat was cooked on our grill, but we always eat in our own RV's, clean-up, and then get together to play games.  Before the games began, Melissa wanted to try the stretching exercises Ken and I do each morning so we got down on the floor and tried them.   The guys didn't see us when they returned from taking out the trash, and then discovered us on the floor when they entered Waldo!  They thought it was rather comical.  Tonight we played Pinochle.  We taught the game to Chuck and Melissa at Pine Island and they wanted a "refresher course".  They are playing very well, but again the men were victorious.  Hopefully their "luck" will change as the week progresses!

Let the stretching begin!!!

Halfway thru the game, I started sneezing a lot and got very congested.  So, Melissa went to get the Vick'ed Puffs - new Kleenex with Vicks in them.  I think the guys got rather "addicted".  They kept them "handy" at all times!!! We "broke up camp" at 10:30 after another fun-filled day!  We love spending time with Chuck and Melissa!

What is wrong with these guys????  

Back with Chuck and Melissa at Encore's Southern Palms in Eustis FL

So good to be with Chuck and Melissa again.  Can hardly believe a month has gone by since we both departed from Pine Island.

Ken and I left the Bradenton area around 9:15 after disconnecting Waldo and hooking up the CRV.  We are getting so much quicker at the moving process. It was about 59 degrees and very windy when we got on Route 75 to head NORTH!  What is that about????  It was Ken's 1st test for driving Waldo in strong winds, but it went well.  It was about a 3 hour drive to the CG in Eustis.  We had stayed at this CG for 2 weeks last year and enjoyed it, so decided to try it again.

Chuck and Melissa had arrived about 20 minutes before us - they had alittle less than an hour drive to get here.  We are right across from each other in the CG and immediately got together.  We ate lunch and then sat outside just "catching up" on our separate adventures for the last month.  It was now very sunny and close to 70.  We parted at 6:00 to have dinner in our RV's and then got back together at 7 to take a walk around the CG.  All of us want to work at getting our 10000 steps each day while we are here.  We went to the back of the park to check out the owl's nest that was here last year and found it. We are fairly certain the owl was up there.  We will keep checking and hopefully get a better picture that can confirm the owl's presence!

This is the owl's nest and if you look very closely, you
can see it's ears or maybe horns!  Honestly, we saw it's
head move when Ken did his "bird sounds"!

Also saw these woodstorks - they really are rather ugly!

A pretty evening.  Nice that it is lighter longer in the evenings!

A nice campground for walking!

We are so happy to be sharing our last week in Florida
with Chuck and Melissa!

Then we met in Waldo to play 5 Crowns and Skip-Bo.  Unfortunately the men won both games, but we are certain that will change as the week progresses! Called it a night around 10 with plans to walk and ride bike tomorrow. Looking forward to a great week spending time together!

Last Day at Winter Quarters Manatee!

Ken and I only got out of bed around 8 and did our exercises.  We both showered and then had a light breakfast.  Talked to our daughter, Lanie, and things are going well for them, except for her head cold!  Ken is fighting the same thing.

Then it was time to get to the "work" of the day - laundry.  This is the 1st time we have done it since arriving here 2 weeks ago - it was time and we had PLENTY!  But this CG has a very nice laundry and in 1 1/2 hours I was done.  We did take a walk around the park while it was washing and then I read while it dried.  Ken went back to Waldo to empty the tanks and disconnect the sewer for our departure tomorrow.

This is the CG office where the laundry is located!

We will be heading to Eustis in the morning to spend another week with Chuck and Melissa.  We are so excited to have the opportunity to spend time with them.  We always have a blast!!!!

Today is rather windy, but warm.  They mentioned the possibility of showers, but we saw sun off and on!  We did have some showers, one time rather heavy, but mostly it was a sunny day!

After lunch, I started to work on some jewelry while Ken did some necessary bill checking on his I-Pad.  Then we continue to do some walking around the CG to get our 10,000 steps.  (We had several days where we didn't do so well with our steps.)  We stopped to play some shuffleboard, but the game ended when Ken tried a power shot and the disc spinning like a wheel off the court and into the lake.  We were able to get a rake from an Encore worker, but we were not successful in finding the disc.  The Encore gentleman said they may find it when the water clears.  So, I won the game by default!

Can't believe the disc went in the water from this side of the court!

Ken insisted on doing dishes and making us large salads for dinner while I continued making earrings.  After dinner he walked over to the clubhouse to get some photos of the sunset.  When he got back he was so excited.  Not only was it a great sunset, but he saw his roseate spoonbill again.  They are so hard to locate and he has seen them 2 nights right here at the CG.  He is in all his glory!!!!!

What a beautiful evening!

You have to love the palm trees with the sun!

What is it about the roseate spoonbill that is so
captivating??  Is it the color or that crazy flat bill???

This Ken is getting to be quite the photographer!!
I love this photo!

That is the large clubhouse in the distance!

Here comes the moon!

We watched American Idol and then I enjoyed Nashville.  Tomorrow we are on our way to our last stop here in Florida - Eustis.  How can these 9 weeks here in Florida be coming to an end??  We have had way tooooo much fun!

Such a Special Day with Special Friends!

Ken and I only got up around 8 and we did some work on our computers after doing our exercises.  We ate a light breakfast and then Ken did some clean-up outside while I dusted and vacuumed inside.  

Ernie and Noela arrived at 11:00 and we sat outside visiting.  They took a tour of Waldo and then we got on our bikes to ride around the CG and go next door to the Bennett County Park for more riding.  It is a lovely park that covers a large area.  Back to Waldo around 12:45 and we decided to drive towards Bradenton Beach to eat at the Starfish Seafood Company on Cortez Road.

A ride around our CG - Winter Quarters Manatee!

A ride through the neighboring County Park.

Wow!  Ken the photographer did an incredible job getting
both of us between the trees and the blue heron!  

When we got to their dock, the line to order was so long and we could only imagine how long it would take to get our food.  Plus, they have very limited seating, so there was a good chance we would have to stand to eat.  We know it is a great place to eat but decided the wait was just too long.  So, we went to the Swordfish Grill which is just next door.  We have eaten there before and knew the food was good and you get to eat on the dock.  It was a very good lunch and a nice setting.

Sitting on the dock at the Swordfish Grill!

This is the view from the dock!  Those are all pelicans!

From there we drove to downtown Bradenton to do the 1 mile Riverwalk that was built about 2 years ago.  You walk right along the Manatee River and go under the bridge.  They did such a good job with this area including sand volleyball courts, a skateboard ramp area, interactive waterpark and playground, kayak launch, and interesting cement chairs.  It ends at a large marina with incredibly large yachts.  The weather was just perfect for this walk.

What a view!

The skateboard park area!  So many cement ramps!

Don't you just love this cement chaise loungers!  Noela
and I discovered they are "way down there"!!

Ken's favorite flower was along the Riverwalk - the Bird of Paradise!

The Happy Campers!

Usually you see dolphin statues.  These Manatee one
is rather unusual!

We got back to Waldo around 5:45 and enjoyed some peanuts, wine, and Ken's famous Sex on the Beach drink for Noela and me.  They left around 7 to go back to their CG about 1 hour away.  We have enjoyed our time with them so much and were sad to say our good-byes.  We hope to see them next fall or maybe have to wait until next winter here in Florida.  

After they left, Ken began packing up outside since it is supposed to rain tonight and we wanted to get in the table covers, rugs, grill, and chairs before they get wet.  We will be leaving for Eustis on Thursday morning, so this was a good time to start preparing for the move.  I talked with my mom and then put some things away inside for our departure.  Then it was time to watch The Voice, download today's photos, and post on our blog.  What a great day!

Our Last Beach Day in Florida for This Winter!

Got up, exercised, had a good cooked breakfast, packed our lunches, and were on our way to Manasota Beach by 9:00.  Ken had done most of the prepping for breakfast last evening - I need to give credit where credit is due!!!

We stopped at Royal Coachman CG to visit with Ray and Barb, since Ray just got home from the hospital on Thursday.  We were with them last Monday and he wasn't feeling 100%.  By Thursday he was in the hospital with a severe gall bladder attack.  He had stones removed that were blocking his duct and then the following day had his gall bladder removed.  He had a few complications, but now he is doing very well.  He does have a pump in his arm where intravenous antibiotics are pumped in 3 times a day, but that will end next Monday.  Barb has 1 more chemo treatment and then she will be finished and on the road to total recovery.  It was so good to visit with them again and to see both of them doing so well.

We left there around 10:30 and headed to Manasota Beach for more shell and shark tooth hunting - another very successful day.  The sun was out most of the time so it was a nice beach day.  This is our 1st year for going to Manasota Beach and it was a great find!  It has become one of our favorites!

Another fun day on Manasota Beach, even though it
was cloudy some of the time!

We left the beach at 3:15 and got back to Waldo around 4 for showers and to change to go out to dinner with Pam and Ron Louder.  They did live in the Ephrata area (PA) and moved to Palmetto FL about 3 years ago.  She used to work in the Haunstein Agency with Ken and Kevin.  We met them at 6 on 12th St. W in Bradenton at O'Bricks Pub.  We ate at an outdoor table along the street.  We had such a nice evening and the food was excellent.  I loved my raspberry pork loin and Ken had his favorite - a grouper sandwich.

We really enjoyed our evening with Ron and Pam Louder!

A nice setting along 12th St. W in Bradenton!  Lots of
Pubs and Eateries along this area and an especially fun
place for St. Patrick's Day!

A very nice section of Bradenton.  Hard to tell but
there are lights in all the trees.  Pam says this street
is beautiful at Christmas time.

We were back to Waldo around 8:15 and watched The Voice.  I really enjoy that show and the judges!

A Gorgeous Day in Florida!

When we woke at 7:30 (new time) and Ken started searching the internet to find a contemporary, casual church in our area.  We quickly got ready and headed to Church of the Cross in Bradenton.  They had great music and a good message concerning our emotions and how to control them.  Sometimes it can be easy to skip Church when traveling, but we were glad we made the effort to go.  

After church we headed to the Red Barn to get fruit and produce.  It is a huge outdoor and indoor market with plenty of good looking produce to choose from.  Then to Wal-Mart for some additional groceries, arriving back at the CG around 12:45.  We had a light lunch and I decided to go to the CG pool.  It was such a beautiful day with lots of sunshine and temperatures in the mid to upper 70''s.  It would have been a good beach day, but both of us decided we needed to have a slow down day.  Ken stayed back to read and take a nap. At 4:45 he met me at the shuffleboard courts and we played 2 games - we each won one!  The courts are on the CG lake, and while we were there Ken got so excited.  A roseate spoonbill landed on the water right where we were playing. The photographer swung into motion.  Certainly made Ken's day - he considered it a special gift!

Lots of produce and flowers to choose from at the Red Barn!

Reading while waiting for Ken to arrive at the shuffleboard courts!

Quite a nice setting for playing shuffleboard!

Ken was in all his glory when the roseate spoonbill arrived!
They really are such beautiful and unusual birds!

Back to Waldo by 5:30 to do some blogging and get dinner started.  Ken grilled while I made salads.  Then he rode bike to the pool area to get some pictures of the sunset.  He always get such great sunset photos there every year.  Then a bonus - 2 roseate spoonbills!  Talk about a lucky day!

Beautiful sunset photos taken in the CG

And of course, the famous roseate spoonbills!

They are so colorful and their beaks so unique!