All in the Family

This entry is all about family. Not travel stops and roadside adventure, but family. My family. Ya I know what you're thinking... so I'll save you the trouble. Just hit the Google search engine and find something more tantalizing like 'aardvark mating rituals' or '75 uses for navel lint'. I'll understand. But if you insist, and really do want to know more.... read on.

We settled in at our camp and as camps go, this was one of the best. Part of the Outdoor Resorts of America properties, Hilton Head Island Motorcoach Resort caters only to A and C class rigs. Pool, tennis, walking paths and even has a classical pianist entertaining at the Saturday morning breakfast. Snobberish you might say but not really. We met a number of great folks who purchased their lots years ago (at bargain rates) and now enjoy the fruits of their good investment. Many owners opt to rent out their sites when they are not using it thus defraying the cost of ownership; we took advantage of this as had a number of other snowbirds. Lots of space and privacy and very quite, the camp is located about mid-island. This Hilton Head resort was well situated near lots of shopping and great restaurants. It's also sort of Nirvana for golf addicts too. But remember to bring lots of golf balls and a credit card with a mega limit.

Peter, Austin, Laura, Bob, Petra, Leigh, Chris, Ben, Allison, Judy, Scott and Mark. Wheeeew...
What a crowd. All over to our camp for a little afternoon picnic. In case you don't know..nephew, grandson,niece, brother-in-law, great niece, daughter, nephew, great nephew, granddaughter, sister, son-in-law and another nephew. It's our second sort of family reunion here on the island and we again found many things to reminisce and laugh about. The youngsters in the crowd may have heard things about some of us oldsters that were a little more revealing than usual but what better a venue...among family.

My nephew Mark and his family flew over from Germany and stayed at the Waterside house and were joined by our daughter Leigh and her family who drove in from Michigan. My nephew Peter flew in from New York and my nephew Chris flew in from Vermont. Our family generates lots of frequent flyer miles.

The weather was superb and the pool at our place was heated so Sharon and I invited everyone over for a cookout. Hoping that the weather remained good, as a dozen people in the coach is a bit close even for relatives, I think we lured them over with a menu of steak and roasted corn-on-the-cob but surprised them with hot dogs and sloppy Joe's. When you're old and retired you'll stoop to any means to get people to visit. Anyway they stayed and we had a smashing time. Too bad you can't bottle laughter as we'd of made a case of it. Three generations mixing up a stew of old stories and times gone by.

We spent most of our time at Judy and Bob's spacious home on the river in Beaufort. Overlooking a long bend on the slow moving waterway, and within full view of the city marina and bridge to Lady's Island, the spacious house is a great gathering spot. As usual, Judy and Bob opened their home for all to use and enjoy with plenty of great food and drink.

It was good to see the cousins get together and share experiences from each others country. My daughter Leigh's daughter Allison and my nephew Mark's daughter Laura are about the same age and are typical young teenagers. Giddy and silly at times but learned beyond their years at others. Such precious young women. Ben, soon to be eighteen, is an engaging and quick to laugh young man. He's about to graduate and move on to study engineering in Germany. His cell phone is his constant companion while here in the states. It seems beside soccer and school, his main interest, Vanessa, have kept regular company via AT&T. ..Oh to be young again... My grandson Austin, whose vocabulary belies someone of more advanced years, found Emma (an energetic spaniel who likes everyone)and Millie (a long haired cat who likes the dog more than people) a pair that could entertain for hours on end. His natural affinity for animals is reciprocal and Emma found someone who could keep up with her boundless energy. I've always felt that anyone who could get along with animals would certainly be more successful when dealing with humans than those who couldn't. He'll do well.

Our daughter Leigh and husband Scott (with kids Austin and Allison) made the long weekend drive south. We were so happy to see them again as we've been away from home for over 22 weeks.
They're a couple that seems so natural together and fun to be around.

My nephew Mark, my sister's oldest, shares many of my interests (cars and gadgets) so we always have much to talk about. Petra, Mark's wife of some 22 years, is a real family treasure. Her gentle nature and quick smile adds to any gathering. In many ways they personify the old adage 'absence makes the heart grow fonder'. We don't get to see them as much as we'd like to.

Peter, my sister's youngest, remains the family spark plug. Ready to ignite any stuffiness in the room with his infectious laughter, he's held on to the 'kid' in him that most of us have lost.

My 'middle' nephew Chris continues to broaden his horizons. His travels to seek out people that need help through education has taken him to places most of use would quickly avoid. Be it remote India or New Orleans in aftermath of hurricane Katrina, he's been there to provide help. A rare counterpoint to a generation of 'me first' contemporaries.

New relationships begin to unfold as we all get better acquainted. As so many families get scattered around the country, getting together becomes more and more a logistical challenge. And before long, months become years before we see each other. Bob and Judy's wisdom of orchestrating these reunions has begun to bring our far-flung families closer together. A worthy legacy I'd say. Now if we could only get my son Steve and his lovely wife Jenny to get the time off to join us next time.

This last image is one of those line em' up against the tree and shoot em' kind of shot. Not too creative but getting this group to stand still in one place is quite an achievement. Judy, Bob, Peter, Chris, Mark, Petra, Laura, Ben and of course...Emma.

So there you have it. A slight deviation from my normal travelogue. We have since left Hilton Head and moved on to a little town north of Atlanta, Georgia. Careful planning on my part figuring that no one would be on the road when we were going through Atlanta on Sunday afternoon. Wouldn't most be in church or watching the b-ball game, I told myself. Au contra re. Wall-to-all cars, trucks, and motorhomes. I suspect snowbirds heading north clogged every inch of the eight northbound lanes. Talk about white knuckles. Keeping the rig between the white lines was more than a challenge... it was a necessity. Anyway we made it to Adairsville for a couple of days with the mission of seeing our 'other' daughter. More about that next time.

Treasure Island...

Well not exactly... but I think I might need a little more 'treasure' while staying at our new location on Hilton Head. Not exactly the WalMart of tourist stops, it is however a nice place to vacation. We've had the opportunity to visit the island several times before but this was the first time we've had our coach here.

We'd planned on arriving here in mid-afternoon after a 300 mile ride north from Titusville but as things tend to go, we did have a little hiccup along the way. I'd noticed on the trip from Alabama to northern Florida, a couple of weeks ago, that I didn't seem to have quite as much power in the coach as I thought I should have. It was a little sluggish as I started to find the terrain a little more hilly than previous legs of our trip. I suspected something was up so I called Cummins engine people to talk over the situation. Several causes were offered up. Having had work done on the engine before, I knew that nothing is free (except their advice) and I had better brace for the worse so as anything less would seem good. I made an appointment at the Jacksonville Coach Care shop and pulled in around 10:00am. After a tense moment watching the technician wedge the coach into an extremely small bay, we settled in to find out what was wrong. I'm here now to formally ask my readership for donations. Anything will do as this whole ordeal turned instantly ugly as the technician reviewed the quote with us. What I had fixed about two years ago has once again failed. My charged air cooler (sorta like a radiator for the turbo charger) had again split a seam and I was loosing half my turbo output. So instead of 400 horsepower I had probably 150 less. Probably doesn't sound like a big deal to non-diesel motor home users but let me tell you this is a doosey. So I called Monaco and they said the part was no longer in stock (ugh) and to expect a 10-12 week wait until they could get the supplier to make one and ship it. The price plus installation was sort of like making a down payment on a house. The good news is I can still drive it and get home so it doesn't mess up our travel plans. Anyway it's something that is fixable and things like this happen regardless whether its a motor home or a summer house that needs a new roof or new furnace or.... You don't wish these things to happen but they do, so get over it.

Anyway we cruised on up to the island, got parked just before dark and then discovered they put us in the wrong site. Not a big deal but it did require us to relocate this morning. The park is tucked into heavily wooded parcels of land near the round-about (for those who know the island).
The gnarly live-oaks are draped with Spanish moss, the many azaleas are in full bloom, the flowering plum are vivid pink and tall palms are everywhere. The place is easily at the same level of luxury as the last place we were at but within elbow-reach of the all the neat places on the island. I'd like to take credit for picking this place but I actually had picked a KOA about 20 miles from here. Thinking a little cheaper I suppose, and a little closer to my sister's place in Beaufort. Sharon, on the other hand, did a little more research on the web and began to develop a bad feeling about the place and began to look elsewhere. You know... women's intuition or ... there are no malls nearby so it must be a bad feeling. Being so persuasive, I lost my control and gave in. Sorry you guys out there. But you know how it goes.

We both knew the island had RV parks but considering that it was near Easter weekend and spring break, I would never have thought that we could find a spot to camp. As luck would have it, she did find an opening (actually there were a few) so we took it. Along with all the pretty scenery and proximity to shopping there is the pool, tennis, golf (of course), and more than a few nice restaurants. As it turned out, the place was the same price as the other place (so there went my lame argument) so maybe fuel costs really have put a damper on travel. So we're here, Sharon made a great decision and we're looking forward to re-assume relaxing.

I've been hearing from a few of you lately and really appreciate the feedback. If you notice the small world map, with the red dots, beside my column you will see that we have readership from many places around the world. This has been quite a surprise to me and find it very interesting. I would really be interested to learn more of who is reading this blog: how they learned of the blog and what cities and countries they are located in. If you could return a short one-liner with this information it would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Gotta leave...too bad

We're packing up today...heading out early in the morning. We've been here only one week but a very relaxing one. Well maybe watching the space shuttle launch and another rocket launch last Friday was not all that relaxing, but we made up for it by just goofing off. No real plans but sleeping in and doing whatever. This camp (whoops..definitely not a camp but closer to a real resort) http://www.tgoresort.com/ has all the amenities one could want. Plus it is real easy on the eyes. Like a pretty woman, this place is pretty too. Lush landscaping, immaculate buildings, more concrete and brick paving than your local mall, and management and owners who intend to keep it that way. Normally I'm a little critical of the claims many RV resorts advertise but this place is right on the mark. I know you're beginning to think I'm on the payroll or a site owner, but I'm not.

Not that I wouldn't love to buy a site here but just a little out of our reach. One of the neat things about this place is that once you buy a site for your RV you can do just about what you want with it. As an example my neighbor Dave from Massachusetts, owns a company that specializes in water ponds, waterfalls and the like. Like many snowbirds, he found he had a little spare time on his hands so he decided to create several small ponds connected by a babbling brook. It runs along his driveway and between where I was parked and his RV. Surrounded by lush, carefully selected vegetation, the little stream was so realistic. Frogs and hundreds of small fish inhabited the waters and took care of any bugs that may hatch there. I never gave much thought as to what it took to create one of these small water projects but this takes not only some physical ability, but mostly creative talent and a solid understanding of what plant materials work together. Dave has certainly created something special and I appreciated that he spent the time with me explaining his craft. I also owe him a big thanks for letting us borrow his WIFI signal. The service at the camp was a little weak at our location so Dave let us share his signal.

On many of the sites the owners have added RV ports to parks their rigs under or have fully enclosed garages. Some have small add-on rooms for visiting guests while some have $500k full size homes next to their $million+ coaches. A little something for everyone.

One of the attraction nearby was the Warbird Museum. A museum dedicated to preserving old fighter planes from the past. There was a scheduled air show this past weekend and rather than attend and fight the crowds, I pulled up a lawn chair on the driveway, got out my long telephoto lens and shot a few images. As usual there was one shot I missed and it was pretty neat. A very tight three fighter plane formation flew over: a current F18, a Vietnam era F4, and a WWII P51. Quite a sight. The image I did get was a stack formation of four Avenger (I think) WWII fighters/bombers. Anyway, the roar of old radial engines and scream of the jets made for very cool overhead sightseeing.

I did do something I seldom do, but thought it would be fun. The camp has a nature center and a standing group of regulars who manage the service and provide information to anyone interested and the flora and fauna in camp. This past Saturday they were holding a photo exhibition and I submitted three images for review. They had about 120 visitors to the showing and served wine and cheese and it was sort of neat. They had all the visitors vote on their favorite image and apparently the winner will be announced next month. There were some interesting work represented and it will be fun to find out what won. Sharon, of course is rooting for me. The grand prize is somebodies undying gratitude that a bunch of us brought our photos over so that the organizers could get together and drink wine and eat cheese, I think.

Speaking of flora and fauna...did I mention alligators, diamond back rattlesnakes, armadillos, raccoons, deer and who knows what else lives around and in the camp! I saw pictures of some mighty big rattlers but apparently not seen too often right in camp. What is pretty common are the alligators around the big ponds at the golf course and the nightly foraging of the armadillos. I saw neither but most regulars have.

No doubt about it but we could have stayed here longer. The great camp and the great weather is what we're getting used to in ...livin' the dream.

Space travellers...

Okay so call me a kid...or.. Just haven't quite grown up yet?...or.. What a waste of time...or.. At 2:28:12 in the morning...are you kidding! ...or ...it doesn't even make page 6 news. I don't care. My childhood memories of camping out in the backyard of our Meachem street apartment with my friend Larry. Laying there on our backs on an old blanket looking skyward. Waiting for that moment when the first Sputnik flew overhead hundreds of miles above. Or... at the school auditorium when everyone was gathered around a couple of black and white tv's waiting to see that first step on the moon. The excitement is still real and this will be my first live, standing right there, feeling, hearing , and seeing a Space Shuttle blast off into space. I've got the viewing site all picked out, plenty of warm clothes, cameras, tripods, and faithful wife in tow. We're getting there about 4 hours early; not knowing what to expect concerning parking or the size of the crowd. Maybe the public has been dulled by about 50 years of space launches and strained necks looking into the heavens for a tiny moving thingamajig and no one will be there...we'll soon see. For sure I will be there.

As it turned out, 4 hours early was none too soon. Parking was tough to come by but we found a spot and set up our position near water's edge 12.1 miles from the launch pad 39a. We could easily see the giant flood lights illuminating the pad as they produced a strange skyward fan of light that was beginning to bounce off the incoming cloud deck. To the right of the pad is the huge vehicle assembly building where they attach the shuttle to the fuel tanks.

I took two cameras. One on a tripod to capture a long exposure of the entire launch sequence and the other to grab sequential images during the lift-off. As I had plenty of time to get setup, there was lots of time to check out the other folks wandering in to see the fireworks. One guy stopped by and was a little over-awed at the equipment I had and wanted to ask a bunch of questions. No problem as it's always fun to talk of one of my passions. I also had a ham radio with me that was re-transmitting the play-by-play of the count-down activity on the launch pad. He said "you must be pretty well connected to have such access to the pad". I told him, with a smile, " if I was so well connected how come I was 12 miles away like everyone else?" We both had a little laugh but I'm not so sure he thought the comment that funny.

After a bit, two young men in their mid-twenties came by and made camp right next to me. One, a throw-back of the 70's' was sort of a hippie type; long hair, full beard, army fatigue jacket and a beret. With a small digital camera and tripod he went through quite an elaborate setup. He was trying to figure out how to hold a large pair of binoculars in front of his tiny digital camera so as to get a magnified image of the upcoming blast. It was fun to watch him as his desire to get a picture was high but his equipment just wasn't up to the task. His friend was on his way to getting drunk rather than take a picture. With a screw top bottle of wine hidden in a plastic bag he decided that I was the person he wanted to spend the next several hours talking at. These young men had driven down from upstate New York over the past 16 hours and apparently someone told them a rocket was going off so somehow they found me to share the moment. My luck was changing from bad to worse.

As the time ticked by before launch, Sharon began thinking out loud why she had agreed to accompany me. It kind of reminded me of my kids when travelling years ago...'are we there yet Dad?'. About every 5 minutes she reminded me that only 5 minutes had gone by and it was still 3 hours until launch. To make matter worse, I told her the rocket may not go on time and the night was young. My error. Luckily, I overheard someone nearby talking about Battle Creek ,(our old home town) so I not so politely, hollered over to them asking if they were from there. The one guy said yes and we quickly asked about what high school he attended (Lakeview 1961) and other goofy stuff. Before too long, the guy wandered over and he a Sharon began talking. I continued my intense, almost Zen-like, preparation for the launch and turned to ask her something, but she was gone. A short distance away, she was now chatting it up with the home town contingent: in her element again and not counting the minutes till we leave.

Keep in mind there are now several thousand people packed into this little 4 acre park so there are folks of all types. Just after midnight someone in the back pulled out a trumpet and played a course of "America the Beautiful". One of those impromptu patriotic moments that drew a nice round of applause. It would have been nice if the astronauts could have heard it.

As launch timed neared, I mentally went through all the stuff I wanted to do with my cameras. I then tried to control the now drunk guy next to me and the 6 foot 6 inch giant who thought the best spot to view the launch was in front of my cameras. All I could think was 50 years of waiting to see a big space ship blast off now ruined by Attilla the Hun and the new town drunk. Attilla was the easy one as I just asked him to stand still and not move during the launch (he agreed), drunk guy was urged to get closer to the water to get a better photo with his digital camera (he stumbled off and out of view just in time). All was clear and the time had arrived. Listening to the countdown, the crowd hearing my radio transmission and several others in the crowd, began the cadence ...9..8..7..6..5..4..3..2..1...ignition.

Holy Toledo...this fiery beast was magnificent. Rising slowing into the Eastern sky, it quickly accelerates and arcs into the lowering cloud cover. Not until it reaches the clouds does the sound reach our location 12 miles away. The low rumble builds to continuous roar as it moves out. While the cloud cover masked about 8 minutes of the flight, the first two minutes made up for the loss. The launch was all it's cracked up to be. If you're in the area, find your way to see it.

STS-123 Endeavour made the journey tonight to link with the International Space Station. All five astronauts are safe and well into their mission. It was an honor for me to have witnessed their launch and will remain a life-long memory.

Sun Coast Adventures


New Port Richey


We had planned on visiting this area of Florida for several reasons. Mostly to visit friends and family but also to experience the climate and see some of the sites. Near mid-state, Wesley Chapel was not exactly a tourist destination but more of a stop-over to some place else. About 25 miles from the coast, the farming area was much like mid-Michigan.

Our first call was to our friends Ron and Jan. They stopped over to our camp after a family reunion and we made plans for the next day's activities. The following day we made our way to their condo. A second floor beauty overlooking a boat lined channel. I could imagine relaxing in their glassed in Florida room, glass of Merlot in hand and watching the day go by. Not so sure they ever find time to do that, as they lead a very active life, but for my lazy life style it looked about right. They wanted to show us the area so we hopped in their car and took a spin through the nearby area. We didn't venture too far as they had arranged for us to take a boat ride and departure time was near. The day was overcast and threatening rain but we're not ones to pass up a boat ride so we were anxious to go. We arrived at the dock and boarded the over sized, covered pontoon boat the "Miss Daisey II".
About twenty other folks got on board and we headed off on our journey. The captain and owner was a retired railroad engineer who, along with his wife, have owned the boat for four years. Well versed in the history of the area, the captain ventured slowly out the Pithlachascotee (Cotee) river into the Gulf. Low tide with a slight chop on the water made the trip smooth. As we made our way out, we passed house after house (better would be mansion after mansion) at water's edge. The captain knew of who lived in many of them and what real estate prices were. Not for the faint hearted, these fantastic mega homes were spectacular. A few were for sale; probably victims of recalculated ARM's or some sub-prime deal gone south, but for sure way out of our price range. Not that we were looking, but we're all a little curious what people pay for these huge homes. Anyway, we headed further out into the Gulf to a point where there were fishing shanties (complete with SAT tv) on stilts. Weird place to own or rent a place, but it saves a long boat ride from shore to get to the fishing grounds. And I guess you don't have to worry about peddlers ringing your doorbell... only cormorants and seagulls.

We made the turn at the fishing shacks to return to the river system. The captain began to tell of us the famous celebrities that once lived along the river and where they lived. Shirley Temple, golfer Gene Sarazen, Babe Ruth, Gloria Swanson, Charlie Chaplin plus a host of others once lived on the river. Far more history in this area than we had ever thought. By now the wind had freshened and we were engulfed in another downpour. Thankfully the boat was covered but we quickly wished we had brought along warmer, more waterproof clothes. Arriving back at the dock it was now a torrential downpour and we all got soaked getting back to the car. None-the-less it was a great trip and we thank our hosts Ron and Jan.

Having worked up an appetite while traversing the mighty oceans, we headed to downtown New Port Richey to the quaint little bistro called The Grand Cafe. After a scrumptious lunch we returned to their condo to continue our chat. The heavy rain continued on our return to camp but did not dampen our appreciation of the great day that Ron and Jan provided.

The downpour continued and we managed to receive over 5 inches of rain within a 24 hour period. This is getting to be a habit with us whenever we visit friends it seems. Accompanied with tornado warnings, the weather that follows us along these past few stops is getting us to wonder a bit.

Hudson

Our next trip was to make a visit the the Tullamore Dew gang in Hudson the following day. Mary and Barc had invited us to pay them a visit while in the area so we gave them a call and set a time. My trusty GPS got the 30 or so miles to their place only to deposit us at the back gate of this enclave of new homes. After getting Barc on the phone we stumbled through the process of getting the gate open. Unsuccessful, I pulled aside to let an impatient party balloon delivery man get through and quickly tailgated him in by the swinging iron gate. Recent memories of my episode with the motor coach put a little extra zest into my accelerator. Barc greeted us as we drove up to their beautiful new home. A stylish modern home with an inviting front entrance. Mary was waiting at the door as we stepped inside.

The house looked as if the 'Extreme Makeover' people or Bob Vila had just left. Mary's touch was professional with bold color schemes and personal touches that projected their many interests. Barc stirred up a couple of mean vodka tonics and we settled in for an afternoon of reminiscing about places we've travelled around the world and of course, just a little ISD chatter. As the afternoon wore on I began thinking about what to do for dinner but Mary had a surprise. Some of their thoughtful friends had brought some Kogel Vienna hot dogs and chili sauce from Flint and they wanted to share them with us. Hot dogs you say! Hot dog for out-of-town guests who have travelled thousands of miles and you're serving them hot dogs? Oh my. Well friends... let me tell you something. We've been away from home since November 1st and I can almost count the days since I last had a Kogel. Only Flint people will understand what I'm talking about so I won't go on about it. But it is an institution in Flint and for many of us it is almost a weekly treat. Hats off to Mary and Barc for bringing a little 'back home' into our life. And to top it off, Mary had whipped up a home made lemon merguine pie that was 'blue ribbon' quality. It was good to see them and see how happy they are in their new home and surroundings.

Sarasota

My family tree is a little sparse compared to many but I do have a cousin who lives in Sarasota who I haven't seen is many years. My Aunt Irene's daughter, Janet, has lived in Florida for almost 10 years, leaving the unpredictable weather of Virgina and settling here, her husband Rick's home state. We called and set up a time and as usual plugged in their address into my trusty Garmin GPS and headed out from our camp on our two hour journey south. As luck would have it the little gadget took us right to their front door. And what a door it was. Rick came out to greet us and he looked as fit as ever. Their spacious home, as he puts it, is a work in progress. A point that certainly fooled us. Janet greeted once inside and made us right at home. Though we have not spent much time together over the past 50 years, it was just like old times, reliving some of the experiences we had as youngsters. I felt a little ashamed that I had not been a better family member by keeping in touch over the years. Time has a way of robbing you of things that really matter. We met a number of the other members of the household: Big Dog, Victoria, Sugar Dee, Doodles and several more. Mostly rescued critters that needed a home. And there home was quite a place. Rick says work in progress but it is a beautiful waterfront home. A large lanai enclosed a beautiful tile pool and fountain. A dream kitchen with panoramic views of the pool and outdoors and gorgeous custom cabinets and granite counter tops. As it turns out Rick was the architect and builder of most everything in the kitchen. A former small arms salesman, turned tile layer, turned cabinet maker; he's an accomplished artist in cabinetry. Janet, as is turns out, played a vital role in the construction of the house working daily on the job site with the various trades to keep the house on schedule and to make sure they followed the plans. And here I thought I was one of the smart members of the family. They insisted on taking us out to dinner so we dined at a local family owned Italian restaurant. The food was outstanding as was the conversation. Anyway our time was way too short for this visit and we vowed not to let another decade or two pass before getting together again.

Friends and Family are what have made this trip a success. There would be no 'Livin' the dream' without them.

In Pursuit of Trivia

Every now and again we stumble across some interesting trivia that's of little use but I'm duty bound to fill this blog with something, so I share it with you. Being from southeast Michigan there is a highway that runs near our home that most everyone refers to as the "The Dixie".

Using this generally north-south running road is sort of like taking a ride through any town in the midwest. A good deal of mom and pop commerce and a smattering of urban decay and used-to-be farmland. I never gave the name much thought assuming it had something to do with the route locals use to take south (duh) before I-75 was built. Possibly nicknamed as the path many displaced autoworkers used to return to their former homes in the south. After arriving in central Florida I began looking at the maps a little closer and discovered the "Old Dixie Highway" that runs along some of the western coastline.

Wondering if there was any connection, I did a little 'Googling' and soon discovered that these two road are linked in what was initially part of the 'National Auto Trail'. Developed in 1914 and an offshoot of a plan to connect Montreal and Miami with a series of paved roads, the old asphalt/concrete relic probably doesn't get the respect it once had. The 'Dixie' probably didn't get the notarity as Route 66 did but I suppose if roads could talk this old road would have a story or two to tell. As we have found out, a number of the coastal towns (New Port Richey, Tarpon Springs, etc.) were meccas for some of the entertainment world's greats. Charlie Chaplin, Shirley Temple, Gene Sarazen (golfer), Gloria Swanson, Ester William and Babe Ruth were all frequent visitors and property owners who found this area appealing. Anyway the old 'Dixie' is still working at bringing in vacationers to enjoy this areas beautiful beaches and great weather.

Kicking back ...

The dust is almost settled. Insurance adjusters, body shop estimators, and what to do next is almost over. I've decided this whole ordeal with the damage to the coach has got to stop. Gee whiz ... we're on vacation and who needs this stress. So back burner it goes. We'll worry about fixing the coach when we get back. Anyway... we've grilled out some excellent steaks, drank some very nice wine and have got to know our neighbors a little better. The weather has been great so all is good and wonderful these past two days. Today we even had a visit from our old friends Ron and Jan from Fenton. We'll continue our visit when we call on them at their condo in New Port Richey tomorrow.

Not that I needed any more distractions this week but I could not get the %#@* satellite dish pointed to the correct satellites in the sky. It's usually an easy exercise but for whatever reason I couldn't get the job done. We're parked in a oak orchard (new term I invented) with all the branches covered with spooky Spanish moss. At night this would be a great setting for a Stephen King novel especially with all the oldsters who can't sleep roaming around the place. Anyway, I'd fooled around with this for two days with little success when a neighbor across the street came over. He said he'd been watching me for those same two days and couldn't stand it any longer and decided to help out. Setting aside my ego for a few minutes, I succumbed to his offer as I had already missed three days of the Imus show and enough is enough. Like most things in life, there is usually a simple answer even to the most complex problem and this was no exception. For whatever reason I had set aside a crucial alignment step, apparently thinking too trivial, and unless the satellite was sitting atop the rv next to me, I would have never linked up. Prest-o-change-o and he had it aligned and we were in business. Whew. I swallowed a little pride while he swallowed one of my beers. Not an even trade but I can always buy more beer.
Another day...another lesson...just livin' the dream.

What a Day

What could possible wrong with a day like this. A bright sun greeted us this morning as we prepared for our next leg of the trip. We pulled out of camp onto I-10 headed east to I-75 then south. Traffic a little more dense than days past as this was Bike Week in Daytona and lots of folks were either dragging or driving their bikes there. But the roads were in good shape and we managed to find our destination on the north side of Tampa by mid afternoon. Located near a new mall was a plus for Sharon so things were looking up. We pulled into the staging area at the camp to get our site assignment. The park owner was summoned to show us in as it was a gated park and he had to let us in. I started up the coach and begin to follow him through the wide metal gate. I was about 20 feet behind his golf cart and he continued to motion me forward. Also in his waving hand was the gate electronic controller. The gate opening is about 20 feet wide and hinged on one side, plenty wide to get my 9 foot coach through. So I get center in the opening and he motions me forward. About 10 feet of coach made it through when I heard something hit the coach. Looking forward I could see he is still waving me forward and coach is still moving. I quickly glanced to my right and saw nothing unusual but another look to the left discovered something ugly was going on. The large white metal gate had slammed against the coach and continued to heavily press on the side for the next 25 feet. Some gouging and scraping all the way through to the base fiberglass and generally screwing up the paint almost the entire length below the belt line. I got it stopped and the owner turned around to survey the damage. He said he had the button on the remote controller on all the time but the unit somehow decided to close. I didn't get out to look until I got parked but I could tell on Sharon's face (who was following in the tow car) it wasn't good. And not good it was. The owner said to get it fix and send him the bill. I said fine but I'm guessing he may not know what it takes to paint these behemoths. So it looks like I have something more on my plate to take care of. Good thing is no one was hurt and it is fixable. Another day livin' the dream.

Tallahassee Overnighter...

Keeping with my 250 miles/day (or less) driving regimen, we settled in for the remainder of the day. A very comfortable park just off I-10 east of Tallahassee (www.tallahasseervpark.com).
Owned, or at least managed by a New Zelander (love that accent), he escorted us to our large pull thru lot. All parks should do this, I might add. We plugged in, Sharon mixed up a couple of big vodka tonics, I got out the lawn chairs and before long we were enjoying the warm late afternoon sun with neighbors on each side of us. Next came the snacks, more drinks and if it hadn't started to get a little dark and chilly, we'd all still be outside into the night. One couple was headed for Bike Week in Daytona, and the other were full-timers headed who knows where; maybe Destin after Sharon finished with her Destin Chamber of Commerce speech. They were well travelled including four trips to Alaska. Say what you wish about rv-ers but I can't think of a better way to have a continuous stream of interesting people and places at your doorstep. On to Quail Run rv resort in Wesley Chapel tomorrow morning.

ps... for those keeping track of prices: gas is around $3.19 and diesel $3.73 (ouch!). Thankfully I don't need any for another 500 miles or so.