Marking time. . .

The guys who did our new mask on the front didn't want us driving off into the sunset just yet. Especially with the monsoon style rain we've been experiencing. So we signed up for another three days here at Tampa East RV Resort and will be leaving on Saturday morning.

While we were in Tampa we had almost torrential rains the entire time. We really didn't get out and do much because we didn't want to run in and out of the rain. We did go to Ikea one day and shopped. Bought a couple things, but not much. We did have lunch there. I had the salmon lunch and it was very good. When we left, we took a drive through Ybor City, the old cigar district. I guess that's what you call it. We had been through there years ago, but we may have missed the shoppes area because I didn't remember it. A lot of little restaurants and bistros now. All the kind of places we can't go because of diet restrictions.



Saturday we left Tampa East and drove 50 some miles up to Bushnell. We had reservations at Blueberry Hill for three nights. It's a very nice camp. They have a lot of activities for campers, but their season is over, so not much is going on. It would be a great camp if you weren't packed in so tight. It is a fairly new camp, but the spaces are just a bit short for us and not much space between campers. They have a "moat" that surrounds the camp and warning signs telling of alligators. They weren't telling lies, either, because we took pictures of two. One was a baby, the other was about 4-5 feet long and capable of taking small pets. Good advice to stay away!

We went to the Webster flea market on Monday while we were there. Big disappointment. Course, the season is over. But the real reason it was so dead was no doubt the amount of rain they've had.

We enjoyed our time in Florida. We got to see the kids and granddaughter and had some work done on the motorhome. But it's time to roll. We hit the road tomorrow.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Time to roll . . .

Our time with the kids came to an end, but not before we spent a glorious day Saturday with the kids. We started out by planning on an air boat tour, but the weather did not cooperate and we eventually scrapped the idea. We wanted a 30 minute ride, not knowing how Brynlee would handle it, but no one was doing those on Saturday.

So after driving to the various venues and threatening skies, we decided to head to the restaurant, Grills Riverside, where we enjoyed a dinner inside, but at the window, so we could see the Indian River. We actually spotted a dolphin swimming close to shore.

After dinner, we returned to the camp to let Duchess out and feed her, then we headed back over to the kids' again and spent the evening with them. It was a great time and we hated to go. I always hate to leave kids and grandkids, but we have other places to go. Terry had made an appointment to get the front mask removed from the motorhome and a new one applied.

We left Sunday morning to go to Tampa, actually Dover, just east of Tampa. We arrived in the afternoon and it was clear the entire way, but soon started to rain. It really poured the rest of the day and all night. They had told us they wouldn't be able to do the mask if it rained. As it turned out, their other appointment didn't show and they were able to put us inside the building and do it. So Monday morning we were over at Florida Applied Films, just about 2 miles from the camp and they took about 2 hours to remove the paint protection film that was on it. The problem with these films is that rocks pierce them and then mold forms underneath. I actually thought we would have to repaint the entire front cap, but as it turned out the paint underneath was good and not damaged. So after it was removed, we returned to camp. We needed some touch up paint and we were told to go to Lazy Days and get it mixed for us. We went on over and it didn't take long to get our order in. We removed the refrigerator hatch door which contained the three colors we needed and the paint shop was able to mix up some paint for us. They called when it was ready a few hours later and we picked it up.

The new mask was ordered and we made another appointment for Wednesday (today) morning to have it applied. It had continued to rain and pour every day we have been here, but today was sunny with a few clouds here and there. We took the coach back into the building at the shop and they started work immediately. By the time the mask was delivered, they were ready for it and got it installed. It looks great. There was a Phaeton logo on the the front which had to be removed in the process and we weren't going to put any back on. But the logo has been there for over 12 years and there was a shadow where the logo had been. So the guy offered to do a decal, which we approved. It is the same style looks very nice. We are very pleased, especially since we didn't have to repaint the front end.

While we were waiting on things, we drove up to Zephyrhills and looked around at some RV sites. But we didn't find anything Terry wanted to go back to see, so no news there. We did have breakfast Tuesday with some great friends, Bill and Helen. We met them when we started fulltiming. They live in the Villages now and we rarely see them anymore, so this was a special time.


My friend, Josie, is still in the park in Texas and took even more pictures of our cactus. They continue to bloom more and more and are really beautiful.



We are here for a few more days because the mask needs to "cure" before driving off, especially if we have a lot of rain. So I see a casino in my future as well an IKEA! Whoo hoo!





Till next time. . .

Dale