Sikos on the Road

Peace River after the rains

2010-04-03T12:20:00.000-05:00

These were taken two days after the rains had stopped. Didn't have my camera with me when we went down the day after...duh. Anyway, the manager moved everyone up to the top for fear of flooding the sites. The water was about a foot away from the bench where we fossil. No way anyone is going into that water any time soon.

Annabelle and Teri

2010-03-27T22:22:00.000-05:00

It's been great knowing these two. I know sassy will miss ya too.... as she watches out for you when you walk the 'girls'. We'll miss you not being here next year.

Getting ready to say goodbye

2010-03-27T22:12:00.000-05:00

Some of our friends that we are saying good-bye to. We leave here on the 31st for Orlando... Just noticed the dates on the pictures... guess I'd better fix that. They were taken just a few days ago... March 24, 2010

Friends

2010-03-27T21:50:00.001-05:00

Steve and Lynn are heading out for home.... hope to see them back here at Peace River in November or December.

Solomon's Castle

2010-03-27T20:53:00.002-05:00

Back to blogging... Dave and Kathy came down for a week and this is one of the places that we took them to. Had an exciting time at the Boat in the Mote where we ate..... or at least some of us ate... we had a man come into the restuarant yelling for someone to help.. a man was down. When I got there, he was falling again... for the third time... I caught him before he hit. 911 was called. Got some O Juice down him. It took the ambulance an hour the get there. I don't understand why Zolfo Springs wasn't called instead of Arcadia. Long story short, by the time the ambulance did get there he was doing a whole lot better. The restuarant had kept my dinner warm... and wouldn't charge me for it... they really didn't have to do that. I still wonder how he made out. Anyway, I think Dave and Kathy enjoyed themselves here. It's really a unique place... wouldn't you say

Friends

2010-02-09T07:55:00.000-05:00

We love these guys !!! Bob and Laverne were coming back from a birthday party and I'll bet you can't guess who was the entertainment....

Christmas Caroling at TT Peace River

2009-12-16T19:00:00.000-05:00

Tonight we had the pleasure of Christmas carols being sung by the staff at Peace River... can you pick them out?

Merry Christmas 2009

2009-12-13T22:19:00.000-05:00

Butch had injured himself on the pickle ball court last Tues., and we were suposed to leave the next day.... not good. Anyway, the management here extended us out a week for him to heal so we didn't have to move and because of that, I got to decorate sooner !! It looks really nice at night!!

Happy 70th Birthday Butch

2009-12-13T22:08:00.000-05:00

Since Butch was laid up with a badly sprained ankle from trying to kill the ball playing pickle ball, we couldn't celebrate the way we planned.... sooooooooooo, I got a cake and some ice cream and figured out a way to get him up to the meeting hall the night they play bingo. Dawn picked him up in her golf cart and Ranger Rich had loaned him his wife's walker. Not everyone stayed for ice cream and cake, but it was a "total" surprise for Butch. Then next night, I surprised him again with a dinner of lobster tail and Fillet Mignon. Happy 70th !!

Peace River after the rains

2009-12-13T21:57:00.000-05:00

This is what the river looked like after 4 days of down pouring rains. Most of the campers along the river were asked to come up to the top for fear of a repeat of what happened a few years ago when it overflowed it's banks and a lot of the campers got flooded out and some even overturned.

war wounds on the pickle ball court

2009-12-13T21:47:00.000-05:00

Last Tuesday we spent a good part of the day at the Wauchula ER after someone, and I won't mention names, tried to kill the pickleball.. This was the result of the "second" fall on the court !! He's doing better and I think in another week he should be walking...maybe.

Florida Road Kill

2009-11-30T22:10:00.000-05:00

Need I say more? Up home we have rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, woodchucks and deer... here it seems we have pigs.

Thanksgiving dinner at the Peace River Campground

2009-11-30T22:00:00.000-05:00

I see Jerri and the preacher's wife... can you pick out anyone else that you know? Plenty to eat and what a variety !!! We'll repeat this for Christmas too. Hope ya all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Dinner before we left Orlando in November

2009-11-30T21:50:00.001-05:00

This place is the "best" !! I actually ate a whole one pound T-Bone steak that absolutely melted in my mouth. It's the best steak I have ever eaten. And to think it is so close to the Orlando TT Preserve. I know where we're going when we get back up there....

Problem Solving

2009-11-08T11:29:00.000-05:00

Big leak following under the bottom stair and onto the kitchen floor. It took awhile to find where it was coming from, but it was found and fixed..hopefully. There was a lot of water pressure here, probably because there aren't that many campers yet, so we got a regulator and that should do the trick... along with the new part on the pipe.

The "Challenger" has arrived

2009-11-07T17:22:00.000-05:00

We got into TT Orlando on Monday the second of November. With water coming in under the step and running onto the kitchen floor... "Huston I think we have a problem" Had to unload everything under camper and take down all the walls to get to a T that was leaking quite a bit. Think it was the high water pressure coming into the house. Fixed the problem and got a regulator.. other than that...we are fat and happy.. going up to the entertainment tonight. Catch ya all later...bye

More Construcktion

2009-11-07T17:12:00.000-05:00

For all those coming behind us... if you travel I-95 this is what you will be running into... for miles.

Lake Gaston, VA

2009-11-07T17:07:00.000-05:00

On the road again. Spent the first night at a Flying J just inside of VA. Construction that day had delayed us by 3 hours so we never made our tenitive stop over. Second day on the road took us to an ROD park called "The Club" at Lake Gaston. This is a 20,000 acre lake and we will be back !!

We got in here late afternoon/early evening and of course it ws Halloween, so we watched as all the little tricker treaters came rolling by. We had planned on staying one more night there, but the rain was so bad that I wouldn't have been able to take pictures or explore so we left the following day.

We ate at the club house this night... prime rib 1 1/2 inches thick... the biggest baked potato I've ever seen and a huge salad...all for $10.00. The club house was three stories high with winding knotty pine staircases 6 feet wide going up and coming down. The lower level was designed like something from Bass Pro shop with the falling water and trees. They had white cast iron tables around for sitting and enjoying the sounds of the water.
Their resturant was full service...menu and all... Nice place !! Like I said... we will be back...

Early snow

2009-11-07T16:47:00.000-05:00

This definitely got us motivated to pack up and head south!! We only had about 3 inches, but just enough to say "it's time"

Brandon has arrived

2009-11-07T16:41:00.000-05:00

We were blessed on Aug. 24th with a new grandbaby... Brandon Lee Brown. I look at him and can almost see those eyes laughing and smiling. He's going to be a "big" boy we think. Mom called today and said that he weighed in at 13.2 lbs.
Big sister Lauren takes very good care of her sibling brother... oh, so much to do... feeding, fetching diapers, watching and tending to him... so much so that it just tuckers her right out.

Mr. Bob Cat

2009-11-07T16:26:00.000-05:00

Mr. Bob Cat has decided to take us residence somewhere near our home. I've seen him come as close as 20' from me while tending to my bees and using our yard as a travel path. Many nights coming home from work.. anywhere between 12 and 4 in the morning I have caught him hiking up through the yard. This was taken in broad daylight. You have Mr. Bob Cat... about 45 lbs of him, doing the "take down"... see how close he is to the deck rail... The very next day we had a bear knock down one of my bee hives... so we put up an electric fence laced with raw bacon strips to give it to him in the teeth. Anyway, this is life on the ranch.... Scary isn't it.. since we live only a couple of miles from town.

Taking care of Beezness

2009-08-04T20:17:00.000-05:00

Don't generally suit up for the bees, but this one was a swarm that decided to take up residence in one of the empty hives I had. I don't think they would have bothered me. We've got a top feeder on them now and as of the end of July, have put them over into a 10 frame hive. A bear knocked it over on July 23rd. Spent the next day fencing in the bee yard. Lucky for us all the bear did was just knock it over...no damage... just a bunch of really twisted bees !!! They are all doing fine.

Luzerne Trap Out

2009-08-04T19:55:00.000-05:00

This hive was in the cinder block wall of an Auto Zone. It's taken a couple of months to trap the bees out of the wall. It works like an animal trap in reverse. See the little red cones...the bees can come out, but can't go back in. That's why we nailed the nuke body to the wall and placed a queen in the box so the bees coming out would go into the hive with a new queen. John is putting a second story on so they have room to accomodate every one. They should be ready to come home by the beginning of August.

Truck Stuck

2009-08-04T19:18:00.000-05:00

Last week we had over 5 inches of rain and the yard must have gotten over saturated. We always pull the truck and camper up into the side yard to back it into the drive way. Well, this time it wasn't going anywhere ! For all the digging and chewing Butch did and all the attempts to put wood under the tires, nothing worked including putting gravel under the tires for traction. We even tried unhooking the camper from the truck, but the way it was cocked, the 5th wheel wouldn't budge. Then came little ole me and suggested we throw some old towels and rags under the tires. At this point why not try. Low and behold, the truck walked right out of the rutts. Amazing. I love inspiration.

The Swarm

2009-06-14T00:03:00.000-05:00

Hello darlins... wow, this is a first ! Yesterday we had a swarm take up residence in the nuke that I had stored a couple of drawn frames into. And they just happened to be on the top with nothing in the bottom.... sooooooo ... I had to move things around a little. Took the top hive body off where they were and moved it to the bottom and put the bottom on the top. Then filled the top with some empty frames for them to work on. That's a top feeder I'm putting on filled with sugar water that will give them a good start and maybe they will decide to stay. They're lookin good ! Lots of activity !

My new garden

2009-06-13T23:50:00.000-05:00

From the dump truck that was filled with wonderful soil that filled my 20' X 20' raised bed to all the hard work of getting it all raked and shoveled down to getting it planted (today)..partly anyway, took 4 days. It would have been sooner, but it rained for two of those days. I still have beans, acorn squash, and cukes to go in yet. Have to get a fence up to keep the pesky little critters out of it. Maybe they won't notice for a day or two :) Updates as it grows !

Not the Pickle Ball Court

2009-06-08T16:45:00.000-05:00

No, this is not the beginning of a Pickle Ball Court.... but it is the start to a 20X20 garden area that I've been wanting for a couple of years now.... Guess Butch thought that this was the better deal of the two... We live on a rock ledge, so needed to put in a raised bed... the dirt comes tomorrow... we're just trying to kill the grass underneath with the black plastic.

Moving Day for Kim and Steve

2009-06-03T12:55:00.000-05:00

In between the bull work, we sat around and shot the "bull". Dan, Steve and Kim's mom Marilyn. Dan, Kim Steve and Butch.

Moving day for Kim and Steve

2009-06-03T12:47:00.000-05:00

Yes, we have a caravan !
Kim and Steve's new digs... Very quiet here, on a dead end road. Glad we had a couple of strong young (?) guys to help. Steve got one of the guys he works with to help.
Glad we didn't have the stairs here like we had at the apartment ! They were killers !
So, after we got everything loaded up on the U-haul and into every available car and truck, we headed for the new place.

Butch hooked up the washer and dryer while all the bull work was being done. Di and I helped Kim set up her kitchen... while all the bull work was being done..

Kim's mom had made a great lunch for everyone... so we stopped the bull work for a while and just enjoyed some "bull".

Glad it was a steller kinda day !

One of the last flower beds to be done

2009-05-20T17:27:00.001-05:00

Sassy is really not helping here ! This is the last of the flower beds that needed attention. Looks like I have to move a few things around. The Black Eyed Susans are started to over run my Stargazer Lillies and Daffadils. We have a resident ???? skunk or chuck living in the rock. What ever it is, it's making a path and knocking down some of my flowers ! The only other ones we have to do are around the lamp posts coming up the drive way.... saved for another day... we're done for this day.

Flagpole Up

2009-05-20T17:20:00.000-05:00

This was one of the other project for today... A little late for Armed Forces Day, but it's up for Memorial Day.

Getting things done

2009-05-20T17:14:00.000-05:00

Wednesday, May 20th.. what a gorgeous day out !! Reminds us of Florida... almost.
We had taken the cover to the porch gazebo off for the winter so it wouldn't get weighted down with snow. The metal framing stayed up.. kinda bolted to the deck... after a wind episode last year took the whole thing off and flying, landing upside down on the ground many feet away from the deck. Anyway, this was the first project for the day. It's nice to have it back up.

Steam engine

2009-05-15T20:14:00.000-05:00

Just happened to be in the right place at the right time I guess. We were coming back from the cemetery this afternoon when we happened to catch her. This is a weekly excursion from Tunkhannock to Elmhurst every Friday. It might be nice to take her up there sometime. Man is she loud when she lets the steam go.

The LindeeB Apiary

2009-05-15T20:04:00.000-05:00

As you can see, we have lots of hives to fill ! The second week of June we will be getting 4 Russian packages.. that's about 3 lbs of bees in each package (45,000 each) plus the queen. Bet the post office will be in a buzzz over that !! Yep, they are coming express through the USPS. I expect a phone call about 5 am :) I've got three set up so far out by the woods, just need to put the second story on them. Keep tuned in for their arrival !

Yard work

2009-05-15T19:42:00.000-05:00

The other part of our day consisted of flower beds. Butch is in the front and I'm actually by the tree to the left. Didn't get the barrel up and filled with water or put the old fashioned pump on it yet...tomorrow's another day. Butch got most of the back of the house done while I worked at my "other" job. The only bed we have to do now is the one down by the road... sorta. Now we have to get the mulch on everything we cleaned up. Wonder how many truck loads that's gonna take ?????

Cemetery

2009-05-15T19:25:00.000-05:00

Today we spent part of the day at the cemetery getting Brian's (my son) grave weeded and re mulched. I was glad that everything came back up after the nasty winter we had. As always, we left a space in front ... don't know who puts things there, but we always seem to find a planter of sorts when we check on it after Memorial Day.

We also did Butch's mom who isn't too far from where Brian is. Took a couple of Rhododendron over to plant on each side of her stone. The Azalea we had planted in the back didn't make it over the winter. Guess we should get some dirt around her stone as it seemed to have eroded some.

The Club House at Big Water, Santee, SC

2009-04-25T23:15:00.000-05:00

Front entrance to the club house. Cousin Kay is standing in the TV room. Behind her is the doorway to the game room. It is huge !! There are sliding glass doors all the way around it so it is very bright and cheerful. Beyond the game room is a huge deck where you can go down to the pier or just lounge around at some of the tables out there. Inside there is also a private game room ( 4-6 players... looks like a poker room actually) and a large kitchen. Very nice club house !

Big Water Campground, Santee, SC

2009-04-25T23:00:00.000-05:00

Now tell me that this doesn't look like a lot of fun. To be a kid again !! Buckets of water falling on you .. if not dumped on ya, those funky looking mushroom things with water spilling over on you and the pipes spraying you with water... nice. I asked the kids that were playing here if the water was cold and they replied that it was colder than the pool... and the pool was pretty darn cold. I think they said that just to keep us out :) Around the outside of the area was a lazy river ride on tubes, only it wasn't in operation when we were here. Oh, well.

Lake Marion, Santee, S. Carolina

2009-04-25T22:27:00.000-05:00

There's I-95 in the distance. I'm standing about half way up the pier when I took this shot. We got down here about 7:00 pm to do a little fishing. The sunset was fabulous... just a bit left of this picture. Got a few bites, but that was all.... tomorrow is another day.

Big Water, Santee, South Carolina

2009-04-25T22:15:00.000-05:00

The pool area... notice the fish shaped pool. I liked the idea that the front pool has an 18 inch pool area for the "little ones". To the left of the pool area you can see a sandy beach area. This is a private beach area just for the cabins that are just beyond the pool area.

One of the biggest reasons for coming back to this campground was the fishing dock. It goes well beyond to the right of the picture. Just couldn't get it all in.

A closer look at cabins and the private beach area. By the way, the water was like swimming in very cold air conditioning !! Not like what we left in Florida for sure.

Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park

2009-04-23T22:47:00.000-05:00

A canopy of trees along a path at the park and some (can't think of their name) "fish" hanging out by the underwater observatory.

Manatee

2009-04-23T22:08:00.001-05:00

This is the reason we came here... to see the Manatee. They are huge !! Had a great day !

Beside the Manatee, there are loads of birds here, a Hippo, Alligators of course, Black Bears, Cougars, Bobcats, Deer, Fox, Red Wolves, Otters, and an underwater observatory.

Must tell you what Butch did ... bad boy !! We saw a squirrel go into a trash can, you know, the kind that has the swinging door type lid with the trash container that you can pull out to empty... well, this unsuspecting woman comes by and Butch tells her that there is a large creature inside... "wanna see ?" She is a little apprehensive as he opens the door to pull out the trash can inside when this squirrel leaps out and scares her to death !! She's actually running in place and screaming. Bad boy !! Kay was even startled and the rest of us were giggling our sides off.... again .. what a bad boy !!

Crazy Bird Pictures from Homasassa Springs

2009-04-23T21:43:00.000-05:00

Love these shots. Some of the birds here at the Homasassa Springs Wildlife Park.

TT Orlando

2009-04-23T21:07:00.000-05:00

This is the last place we stayed before heading home.... site D 31 Orlando TT. We left on Wednesday the 22nd of April to meander home. Later that day, we arrived at Turtle Bay Campground at Homasassa Springs, Florida. Nice park and just down the road from the Homasassa Springs Wildlife Park. We went there today (23rd) and I'll be posting some pictures later on. Spent the rest of the day checking out the local cuisine from information that we got from the folks here at the park. The winner: Marguritaville. The fried oysters were out of this world ! Tomorrow we head out for Santee, South Carolina.

10:46 PM April 9, 2009 Boys got this one

2009-04-19T12:50:00.003-05:00

It was Thursday night and Phil and Cat were over to our place playing cards. We taught them how to play Horse and Pepper and they taught us how to play "Ploomp" or in other words, "screw the dealer". Had a great time playing cards with them this week ... lots of fun and loads of laughter. So....... just for posterity, I thought I would publish the infamous score of that evening when "the boys" won the game of Horse and Pepper... 5 to minus 2, 5 to 4, 9 to 6, 11 to 10, 13 to 14, 17 to 11, 22 to 12, 23 to 17, new game at 29 to 29, then the boys took it 30 to 34.. yeah. We won't mention the 32 to minus 41... oops, did I say that???? Hey you two, have a safe journey we're going to miss you.

Lauren's Dance Class

2009-04-17T00:31:00.004-05:00

This is our 4 year old grand daughter's dance class. Lauren is middle right in the light blue outfit. She has a dance recital coming up in June that I will definitely be at. I can't believe how fast they tend to grow up !! She's my sweetheart !!!

Friends

2009-04-15T23:40:00.002-05:00

These two pictures were suppose to go with the other ones I just posted.. oops. That's Bob and Laverne having fun with the balloons at the Mongolian Grill where we ate last night.

Mongolian Grill

2009-04-15T23:31:00.000-05:00

Our last hurrah with friends we met while in Florida this year. We all got together to eat at the Mongolian Grill in Orlando. Bob and Mark kept us in stitches all night. As you can see, Bob and Laverne were making balloons which caused quite a stir at the restaurant and several children there benefited from their fun. It was a great night, one we won't forget..... probably won't get to see them again, but we can stay in touch via blogs, email and cells. Happy Trails guys !

Let's see, we have Kay and Ken on the front end, Jim and Shirley next to them, Butch and I in the middle, Bob and Lavern next to us then Mark and Sharon on the other end.

There baaack... 3 AM

2009-04-11T09:55:00.000-05:00

Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep last night... and no, I wasn't about to go out at night to take the feeder down! First picture: This guy has already climbed the ladder on the back of the camper and is trying to come back down from the roof. He finally got down to where he wanted to be and then fell through the clothes line. Had another picture of him hanging off the corner but that didn't turn out very good. Once he got to the bird feeder, he flipped the top off and was scooping seeds. His buddies returned shortly after. I took the feeder down this morning !!!!!

What was all that racket !!??

2009-04-11T00:09:00.000-05:00

Ok Philip and Catherine, you heard it and so did we... that bump at the back of the camper .... Think they were actually climbing the ladder !! Well, this fella was caught in the act of trying to get to the bird feeder that was hanging on my clothes line outside on the ladder. Would you believe this guy was up on the roof of the camper and the other two in the process of climbing the ladder !! This one was trying to get down when I snapped the shot. He ended up tipping the clothes line sideways trying to get to the bird feeder and once on the end leaped over to it. He was hanging upside down eating out of it. Couldn't get a shot of that one :( It's about 1 AM and I'm hoping that they have gone somewhere else... Sassy has been going absolutely crazy since you left at 11PM. So, now we know what all the noise was about !!

TT PB/Card Players

2009-04-08T10:28:00.000-05:00

Just goofing off and being silly while playing Sequence with friends we have met here this year. Bob had drawn funny faces on the back side of the chips to mark who got the sequence.

Opps, I think Butch lost a chip.

Phil, chip on side, me, Butch, Laverne and Bob. Catherine is taking the picture.

She is with Bob .. the clown... no really, he is a clown... just without the suit.

Everyone is pulling out in the next week or two heading either back home or on to new adventures. It's really going to be sad to see everyone part... we've enjoyed their company sooooooooo much.

Pickle ball with friends

2009-04-07T09:54:00.000-05:00

I think I'll have Butch make a Pickle Ball court in our back yard when we get home ! Great way to meet friends besides getting in some much needed exercise. Here are just a few friends we've met.

Spring is here

2009-04-07T09:31:00.000-05:00

We have had a new arrival here at TT Orlando. Isn't he cute !!

Evening Activities

2009-04-07T09:29:00.000-05:00

What a fun group of friends we have !! This is the after dinner club.... what we do in the evenings. As you can see, Phil is a card in himself !! Love these guys. Butch, Laverne, Bob, Cat behind Phil's cards, and of course Phil. We are playing a game called Sticks, made simply out of tongue depressors. Pick a stick and do what it tells you to do... whether it's 3 hearts and 3 spades or a run of alternating 9. Who ever gets 7 sticks done first wins the game. We also play Phase 10 and Canadian Salad.

Animal Kingdom Lodge with Cat and Phil

2009-04-07T09:12:00.000-05:00

After a long day of little flea markets and the Mall in Orlando, we took Phil and Cat to see Animal Kingdom Lodge.

What a fascinating place !! If you look to the background, you can see the lodge as it surrounds the wild life. Must be quite the view to look out over what resembles and African plain with Water Buffalo, Giraffes, Gazelles, birds, etc.

It also must have been too much excitement for them as well !!

Lunch in Kissimmee, Florida

2009-04-07T08:41:00.000-05:00

A day out at various little flea markets... looking for a particular little boy shirt for Kay's new grandbaby. Famished, we stopped at a Chinese restaurant across from Old Town. Wonderful day out with Food, Friends and Family... btw, Kay never did find that shirt ...
Kay, Ken, Butch, Cat and Phil.

Day out at Webster

2009-04-07T08:22:00.000-05:00

A day out at Webster flea market with friends Catherine and Phillip from California that we met this year in Florida., Later went to Olive Garden where Phillip got a little bit of red sauce on his very nice Disney shirt... ouch. Gave him a Tide stick.. was a little apprehensive about it working but da da ... it did !!

Back to Peace River

2009-03-29T23:55:00.000-05:00

Our back yard. Stayed on the river for three weeks once we came back from Pine Island. Guess I should have posted those pictures first... oh, well. As you can see, it is peaceful down here and I think we were high enough up where the Alligators didn't want to bother us.

I think Sammy the cat and Sassy the Corgi are enjoying it too.

Sanibel

2009-03-29T23:40:00.000-05:00

Getting there was fun... where we were at Pine Island, it would have only been 5 miles via a boat... It takes about 35 miles and over an hour by car. Oh, and the toll bridge... $6.00.
That's Sanibel in the distance overlooking a very nice beach. Too bad we didn't have more time to hang out on the beach... it looked so nice. When you park you car, you have to buy a ticket... $2.00 for 15 minutes... yes, you heard right. And it generally takes that long just to walk out to the beach.... If the beach police don't see the ticket on your windshield, you could be fined $50.00. Would I go back... sure.

The Island Cow

2009-03-29T23:31:00.000-05:00

This is the place we ate lunch the day we spent on Sanibel. Great food .... long wait.

Sanibel Island

2009-03-29T23:23:00.000-05:00

We finally made it here the end of January. A word to the wise... plan on more than one day to see what's here. We didn't get to see as much as we thought we would, but then again there's always next year !

Pine Island

2009-01-23T15:37:00.000-05:00

We arrived here on Wed the 21st of Jan. These are two of three Club Houses. The first is where you register and has a gift shop, bike rental ($5.00 for the "whole" day), mail room and laundry room. The second is the guest relations office to sign up for trips, etc. This is the one that has the weight room, a game room, computer room, etc. The third I forgot to take a picture of..duh. That is where the pot lucks are, bingo, etc. It's also where the swimming pool, hot tub, swings, shuffle boards are.

There were reveiws written about this park that weren't so good.. I think it's pretty good myself !!

We went over to Fort Myers yesterday to an Urgent Care Facility. There just wasn't anything any closer that our insurance co would pay for..... Got tired of hubby and the "cousins" telling me that I should have my finger looked at. Injured it bowling on the 12 of this month. Anyway, I went... I am now trying to eat, type, write, pick things up, etc without the use of one of my fingers, since it is now in a splint for a while. Not broken, but was told I would probably be better off if it had been since this kind of injury takes a lot longer to heal. Just what I wanted to hear :( The plus side to this ... Butch has to do the dishes. hahaha

Good News !

2009-01-05T00:14:00.001-05:00

Got a call from my Daughter in Law tonight and we are going to be grandparents one ore time !!

Monster Lemon

2009-01-05T00:08:00.000-05:00

There is no trick photography here.. this is the real deal !! A member of our church brought some in today for anyone who wanted one. I wonder how much lemonade this baby will make !!

Christmas at Lori's

2009-01-04T23:29:00.000-05:00

We spent Christmas afternoon and evening over to Lori and Johns in Z-Hills. There were just "too many" people here to blog everyone!! Like about 30! Sandy and Jami are in the first picture. The you have Lori, Jess, Bobby. John and Lori. It was good to have family here and took the "sting" away of not being "home" for Christmas... first year.

Christmas 2008

2009-01-04T23:15:00.000-05:00

This mess is from the puppy child ! Butch and I were not going to exchange this year since he bought me a computer monitor and I bought him the gate for his truck... birthdays etc. But since we have started playing Pickle Ball, I couldn't resist getting us the paddles from "Santa". You see what they look like in the first photo. Yes, Sassy child made quite a mess! Since she has a habit of destroying her sqeaker toys by pulling all the stuffing out to get to the sqeakers, we found these... the one is an allegator that has egg babies inside... so she can literally open up the allegator and pull out the eggs without destroying anything. She loves to toss the little eggs and jump to play with them... The other one is designed like a tree trunk with baby squirels in it that she has to pull out... same principal and she isn't pulling the stuffing out of anything. Good job Care-a-lot Pets.

Pickle Ball

2009-01-04T22:51:00.000-05:00

Well, for some reason these didn't post so it's a do over and if by chance they appear twice, lucky you !

As I had mentioned in the original, I got brave this year and ventured up to the Pickle Ball court in Orlando TT. Too chicken last year :) Made Butch go with me this year. We have met some wonderfully patient folks there who taught us how to play. Both of us are really enjoying playing, even though we aren't very good ! Still wondering if I have everything down.... like am I a one or a two and when did it change????

Catherine explained it well in their blog... it's like playing on the size of a badmitten court, using a tennis net, playing with ping pong paddles and a woofle ball. You win on 11 unless it's really close and then you have to win by two.

Pickle Ball

2009-01-04T22:37:00.000-05:00

I know I haven't entered much since we've been here so I need to get on the ball !! Pickle Ball that is....

Last year I said we were going to learn how to play this game, but never got around to it... This year, I got brave and drug Butch with me to the Pickle Ball court. So very glad that we did cause we have met and made friends with a lot of really great people and hope to stay in touch with them.

I still have trouble deciding if I'm a one or a two and when did it change????? Think I have it now.

These folks are so patient !! And wonderful teachers. Hope to see them soon.

Butch's Birthday

2008-12-12T18:55:00.002-05:00

No picture, but I took Butch out for dinner today to Red Lobster where we feasted on lobster, shrimp and scallops. We were pleasantly surprised to see both Red Lobster and an Olive Garden just up the road from where we are camped. Can't believe all the changes here since last year.

Christmas Away From Home 2008

2008-12-12T18:50:00.000-05:00

Trying to get into the "spirit" of Christmas as this is the first year we are not going to be at our stationary home. We brought our little Christmas tree with us and the little sign that says "A warm winter welcome".... redundant since it's been 80 degrees here. But then, these are just "things" which has nothing to do with the "spirit" of Christmas. There are lots of Palm trees here so I tend to focus on them... since they remind me of Jerusalem and Bethlehem... places where Christ was. And of course, we forgot our Christmas music CD's and had to buy a couple of them. One of them came with a video of a crackling fireplace... funny to watch since it's so warm outside :)
The campground is having Christmas dinner on the 20th (2PM) and a "decorate your golf cart" parade at 6 PM. All in all I think it will be a fun time.
We have Butch in his favorite spot and found a spot for our little tree along with our talking and singing Santa's. The shelf above the TV provides a place for my fiber optic Snowman and Reindeer along with Santa . All in all, it's getting to look a little more like Christmas... without the snow and cold....

2008-11-29T13:14:00.002-05:00

Opps.. Not sure that Cheyenne is her name.. think Jeromy's girl is named Cheyenne.. Just too many little ones to keep track of names... sorry. I know that Christopher's girlfriend has three children and then they have the little girl with Sassy. Brian, Jami's boyfriend, had his three children there too... can't remember their names either. I'll try to get it right at Christmas time when we are back over to Lori's...

2008-11-29T12:18:00.000-05:00

Brian, Jami, Kay, Lisa, Ori, and Chistopher's girlfriend.

Chyenne and Sassy at Lori's on Thanksiving

2008-11-29T12:07:00.000-05:00

I think Sassy is as tall as Christopher's little girl.

"The Kids"

2008-11-29T12:02:00.000-05:00

Here are some of the "kids" ... are we getting old or what !! Lyle...has to be way over 6 feet tall ! Brandi, Christopher... his little girl is in the forground. Then there is Orie and Christopher's girlfriend is in the yard. I can't remember her name, but she's really nice.
The "boys"... Orie, Josh, Lyle and Christopher. I can remember when they were still in diapers!! Oh, how time does fly.

They Grow Up Way To Fast

2008-11-29T11:55:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that Jessie is in college this year. Brandi is getting so grown up too. And in the middle is Jeromy's little girl ... she's 5 already. Had a great time at Lori's for Thanksgiving. It was good to see everyone... all 30 of us !! That of course includes all the kids too.

just getting settled in

2008-11-09T07:59:00.002-05:00

Well, we've been on the road since Tuesday... election day. The new truck seems to run really well, getting about 11-12 miles to the gallon which isn't too bad considering the old one only got 7 and we are pulling a pretty loaded 5th wheel thanks to me :) Haven't taken any pictures of where we have been... camera got put in a place that I couldn't get to very easily. But there is one place we stayed at that I will go back to and maybe have some friends or family go with us. It is in Santee, SC and the name of the park is Big Water.. right on Lake Marion! Man, and I forgot my fishing pole!! They have a pier that goes quite a way into the lake and I hear that the catfish in this "pond" can go 60". Man would I like to get my hands on one of those babies !! This place is huge and has every amentity you could emagine. It even has a fish swimming pool. The cabins are all over and lots of them too. I would want one right on the sand beach where I could see the sunset every night and what a beautiful sunset that evening and no camera ! But, I'll be back ... with my fishing pole.

We made it the next day to Three Flags in Wildwood, Florida. Suzie from TT Peace River is here working as an activity director. Didn't find her the night we pulled in, but caught up with her the next day.. just about the time we were getting ready to pull out. Gabbed with her for a bit before leaving.

Got into TT Orlando on Friday and was really surprised to see so many rigs here, but not that many that we were assigned a spot. So, we headed for our favorite section and found a really nice spot. We'll be here until the 19th when we head down to TT Peace River for a few weeks. Hope to get over to see the "cousins" over in Z-hills before leaving.

Woke up this morning to the sounds of hot air balloons... actually we didn't hear them until the dog started barking and carrying on. I did get pictures of them. I'll have to go shoot some pics of our site and get them posted. The weather's been really nice.. in the high 70's to low 80's, however, the nights have been pretty cool, enough so that we have to run the furnace in the morning to take the chill off.

Going to start working on some genealogy today...outside. Hope to get Del and Ann's "book" done for them and sent up. Have to find Gram's brother and sister(s) who came over and ended up in Montana and California.. wow. Also an Uncle who was out in Western PA. So I have some investigating to do while doing some R&R here in Florida.

Well, best be going... hope all is well with e1. I'll post more later.

Thanksgiving at Lori's 2008

2008-03-31T19:44:00.000-05:00

Lori and Sandy... Lori and John... Lori, John and Butch... Butch, Sandy, Lisa and Lisa's grandchildren... Ori should be in here too...

We drove over to Z-hills for Thanksgiving with Butch's cousins. Her and John had just moved in about two weeks before. I'm not sure I'd be up to the task of such a huge dinner as this with just getting settled.

As always, Lori, the food was out of this world and so much of it !!! We had a fantastic time getting together again with everyone.

Sonny's Rib Place

2008-03-31T19:33:00.000-05:00

Kim and Dei flew down to take my car back home so we treated them out to dinner the night before they left for home. It was all you could eat ribs this night and I do believe we ate our fill. Neither one of the girls had ever been to a Sonny's before and they loved every bite !!

Can't imagine why they just wanted to hang at the pool and collect the rays.. oh, yeah, it's freezing up North !! Hope ya had a great week with us.

Family Get-Together at TT Orlando

2008-03-31T19:22:00.000-05:00

The "cousin's" motor home is next to our camper so we put all the tables in the middle and had a great time reuniting once again. The other cousins -in-laws were across the road from us.

I had 6 pictures ... don't know where the other three went... must go look for them or re-blog them.

I tried to get everyone in somewhere in the pictures. I think there were about 25 of us
here this day. The kids were either up swimming or at the club house.

It was a beautiful day with plenty of sunshine and plenty of food !! How much better can it get! Good company, good food, good time....

Strawberry Festival

2008-03-07T13:56:00.000-05:00

Wednesday, March 5th... Here we are at the Strawberry Festival in Plant City, Florida. These are friends of ours.. Dave and Louise... also from Pennsylvania. Had a great day... low humidity and mild temps in the low to mid 70's. And what would the festival be without Strawberry Shortcake !! Lots of craft booths too. I bought a door mat that has a picture of a corgi that looks just like Sassy. Also got a 3 piece set of my Heraldry ... (Coat of Arms) English/Melody line. I didn't get them framed which I am kicking myself for not doing... thought I would save some space in the camper by not doing so. Oh, well.... I did pick up a 2008 Strawberry Festival shirt. This way I will know that we were there that year... :)

Our next adventure is this weekend.. we'll be going to the Celtic Festival !! Never been to one, so it should be interesting. Tonight it's Homer's Seafood Buffet over in Seebring.

We leave Wauchula on Monday to head for Orlando Thousand Trails for a couple of weeks and then we will be back to Peace River. Kim and Dei will be flying in on Tuesday for a few days... maybe a week. Then they are taking my car back home.

Everyone is concerned about the change in management here since Deb is leaving soon. Just hope nothing changes. I think we get to meet him tomorrow at the manager's meeting.... something I'm not going to miss !

Well, I'll let you know how the Celtic Festival was when I post again. Love to all ... see you in a couple of months.

Seafood dinner and Las Vegas style show

2008-03-07T13:26:00.000-05:00

What a grand time we had last Saturday! Everyone brought something to share for our seafood buffet and what a spread it was! We made a hot crab dip with crackers and a crab quiche. Someone brought New England Clam chowder which was out of this world and a Manhatten Clam Chowder which Butch is still saying was the best he's ever eaten. Afterwards, we enjoyed our resident camper "Bob" doing his entertainment "Vegas" Style. Actually, he has a 17 piece band that travels with him to various performances when he is working and not snowbirding. He entertains on cruise lines and in Las Vegas. Glad to have him here in our park.
As you can tell... the "show girls" put on a pretty good act too. The manager here is Deb and she is on the right. Too bad she is leaving us the end of this month. Hopefully the next manager will be as fun loving as she has been. She will be extremely missed.

The new digs part 2

2008-02-24T15:35:00.000-05:00

You'll have to look at the next post to get the other story.... Now about the truck. Would you believe that when we went to buy this 5th wheel the sales person told us he wouldn't sell it to us !! That's because the truck we have at home wasn't geared to pull the weight. Now what... Well, Butch kiddingly said " I suppose you sell trucks here too" ha ha. As a matter of fact said he... we do. And, said he, we have a truck here on the lot that is the same make and year as yours at home only this is a diesel. Unbelievable !!! I thought Butch was like a kid in a candy store when he saw it. It has a few more bells and whistles then the truck at home but still basically the same in every other way. Same Centurian package, same color... oh, and it has a TV in the back... something ours didn't have. Well, after doing a bit of dickering, we got both for combined deal.

See the inside of the camper on the next blog.

The New Digs

2008-02-24T15:18:00.000-05:00

As many of you know, we moved. That is we moved from the motor home to the 5th wheel. It's called downsizing. We loved the motor home, and because we did, felt that it wasn't right to have it sit around more months that it was used. So maybe we can find it a good home with people who travel a lot more than we do. And I do think that the Challenger has more "living" space than that of the Mountainair.
Anyway.... in the first picture, you'll notice the nice "big" TV for the man of the house and below it is a little stereo system that pumps music all over the house. The next picture is of the kitchen.. I just love the little island in teh middle. In the background you can see the few stairs that go up to the bedroom and bathroom.

I love how the back windows just open up and let lots of sunlight in. You're looking down the middle and when we get ready to roll, both sides come in. So you can see how much more living room it is with 2 slides. Of course, Butch has laid claim to the recliner ! And we have a couch that pulls out into a queen size bed for company. It's actually very comfortable.

The last picture ... my own little space ! Yep, have a desk that I have put my printer and laptop. Plenty of space in the cabinets to put all my genealogy and "stuff". Anyway, we are pretty much settled in and have found the missing ... or at least most of the missing. Going outside now to enjoy the warmth and sunshine.
Oh, where did the pictures of the outside of the camper go and the new truck we bought... better go find them and send them along too.

P&G Retirees Get together in Plant City, Florida

2008-02-24T14:53:00.000-05:00

Every year the people that retired from Proctor and Gamble get together here in Florida. Some now live here year round as their retirement. I don't know everyone's name so I won't try to name them.... but in the middle somewhere in a blue and white stipe shirt is Butch... can you pick him out? Lunch was wonderful !! It's really nice to get together with everyone even if it's only once a year. Hope to see you all back again next year, same time, same place.

Fair Food.. it's what it's all about

2008-02-24T14:41:00.000-05:00

Here is our friend Dave... looking a little surprised and asking "what happened??" Guess the cap wasn't on too tight and Dave got a little more bar-b-q sauce on his plate then he intended to ! Gotta tell ya, the pulled pork was as good as any "Sonny's" Rib place.

The "boys" of the Ranch-hand Rodeo

2008-02-24T14:32:00.000-05:00

Again, not a very good picture... This one is one of the "Mutton Busters". I couldn't resist taking his picture or for that matter all of the kids there. They seem so grown up with their chaps, hats, boots and belts.

The look is intense as the middle one is looking on at the bull riders....
Hey, he did pretty good, don't ya think.... that's going to be me in a couple of years !!

I just love these kids !

Mutton Bustin at the Hardee County Fair

2008-02-24T14:27:00.000-05:00

I know these pictures are a bit blurry, but the action is pretty fast ! The idea is for these kids...2 to 6, is to grab hold tight into the sheep's wool and hang on for dear life !! There she goes outta the shoot hanging on for all she's worth, but doesn't get too far before she's dumped off. There were 20 such kids in this event.. even some 2 yr olds. I have a video of the "champion" mutton rider. This is actually his last time at this event because he will be 6 next year.... a very confident little man that says he'll be back next year in the bull riding event.

Hardee County Fair

2008-02-24T14:16:00.000-05:00

As you can see by the date, it's Saturday night in the town of Wauchula and we're goin' to the fair. The main attraction tonight is the "Ranch-hand rodeo". Just what these folks do in their every day to day routine..... sorta. The tike on his horse here is probably 6 or 7 and all throughout the show, was with the men pushing cows around and doing everything they were doing. I keep forgeting that I had my grandson on a horse before he was a year and a half. Gorgeous night out and what a beautiful sunset.
The other thing I keep forgeting is that I need to blog from the last to the first so this is going to be a bit backwards.. sorry.

To continue on previous pictures.

2008-02-03T17:17:00.000-05:00

No pictures today... sorry. We left early yesterday for a flea market that was what "I" thought to be just passed Haines City. Well, as it tuned out it was more like 40 miles down instead of 25.

If you want to go antiquing this is the place. Not exactly what we thought it would be so we didn't stay very long.

Called cousin Kay to see what they were up to since they were still at Peace River with the other cousins. I had forgotten about the Wauchula "Grillin and Chillin" days there so we headed out for Wauchula which was another 40 miles down from where we were... what the heck ... we were half way there already !!! Well let me tell ya... If you like ribs, I mean the best, tender, juicy, mouth watering kind then this is the place to be. Its a two day event and their ribs are judged ... trophies and all !!! I guess it's a pretty fierce competition which is taken "very" seriously !!
We decided to sample some from the one that had the most trophies, some of which came from places like Colorodo and New Mexico. I never knew it was a national cometition !!! I will definately mark this down on my calander for next year for sure and plan accordingly. Hope to have some pictures next time I post. Have a great day all....

2008-01-30T15:34:00.000-05:00

Home away from home.

2008-01-30T15:30:00.000-05:00

Here we are at the entrance to the park as I was taking pictures this day. Don't forget, it is winter here so there are few leaves on any of the trees. I took the picture of the Peace River from the bridge along Rt 17 that runs by the campground. Stumpy, the resident alligator is usually sunning herself on the right side of the river. It was a little cool this day so she wasn't out sunning. As we walked up to the store, I couldn't resist taking a shot of the sign... like who in their right mind would "feed" an allligator !!!! It may turn out that you would be their dinner !!!
I think I have a better shot of the trading post/store/game room/activity center....
Okay, where is the picture of the enterance.... and the store !!! They just disappeared !! What did I do??? Have to post them again I guess.

2008-01-30T15:17:00.000-05:00

Peace River Campground

2008-01-30T15:14:00.000-05:00

Can you pick us out??? Didn't think so !! This is really a very nice campground. So peaceful and laid back. I wanted to take some pictures this day to use on our blog so we... the "cousins" all took a walk up to the store on hwy 17. Afterwards, we got together and played shuffleboard.... cousin Bob and I against the hubby and cousin Karen.... Try as much, hubby and Karen just couldn't compete with the best :)

The next day we went out for "lupper"... mid afternoon meal to Homer's in Sebring ( a huge food buffet bar) before splitting up with the cousins the following day. What a feast ! Everyone ate way too much and were much too full to fix dinner that evening..... the idea behind going in mid afternoon.

I will be trying to catch up on the things we have been doing in the next few posts.

Doing what I love to do...Genealogy

2008-01-30T14:53:00.000-05:00

Notice it was a perfect day to work on some genealogy.. I'm in a sweat shirt ! Just a little cool this day. Actually I started and never got off the computer until the wee hours of the morning. The three inch binder next to me is just Gramma Ruth's and her family. You know how it goes when you get on a roll with something!
Kim, Steve... Look in the background to see that we have put your Christmas gift to good use. We have pictures going all the time and have downloaded bunches from the computer's picture albums.

I think this day that I took all of the clippings that I had from newspapers (which were many !!!) and entered them all in to their respective places in the family history program that I work with.

2008-01-10T19:49:00.000-05:00

I'll get it right the next time... the pictures should have been reversed. It looses something in the translation this way.

We all got together for dinner with the "cousins" today. Good food, good conversation.

We moved up to the amenity section yesterday and got set up by late afternoon. By that time it was hot, humid and we were too tired to much of anything else. Butch tried to get the satellite TV working... to no avail, so he is stuck for the time being just watching "regular" TV.

Took Sassy for a walk this morning down to see if Kay wanted to go for a walk with Misha. Walked for nearly an hour. Stopped on my way back home to visit with "Papa Bear". Must have been there an hour or better. He left today for the weekend but will be back on Monday.

Did wash when I got back and cleaned up the motor home some. Visited in the afternoon with our friend Louise and then went swimming until 4 pm... Had to be down to Kay's by 5 for dinner and just made it in time.

Have no clue what tomorrow will bring. Saturday is craft day here at the park and I will be taking my jewelry up to display.

Hope all is well with everyone... until my next post... it's just another ho hum day in paradise.

Dinner at Kays

2008-01-10T19:40:00.000-05:00

mmmm... not bad.. want some??

Dinner at Kay's

2008-01-10T19:38:00.000-05:00

What is this ???? Don't know... You try it first.

Peace River at Wauchula

2008-01-08T17:55:00.000-05:00

This is where we are temporarily set up until a spot opens up on the sewer and 50 amp sites. It's not bad here, actually very pleasant. It would be nice to have the amenities here as they have up on top. As you can see, Butch is relaxing and Sassy has her chew bone and is quite content. I'll write more in the next few days once we have settled in.

Man at work

2008-01-08T17:50:00.000-05:00

Now on the other hand, we are suppose to be relaxing not working!! Here is the other cousin
with Cell phone, calculator and paper work... Guess there is no rest for the wicked weary.

The Cousins

2008-01-08T17:44:00.000-05:00

This was taken just a few minutes ago. Here is Butch and cousin Kay enjoying the evening, conversation and the quiet relaxation of watching the river. Now, don't they look relaxed !