Guten Morgan!

Greetings from Helen, Georgia, a Bavarian village in the mountains of north Georgia. We have wanted to come here for a long time, but were worried about driving up here with the big rig. Turns out that is not a problem. We are staying actually just south of Cleveland, Georgia, in a nice park with big sites about 11 miles from Helen. We decided to stay for a week. It started out fairly warm here, but is going to cool off for the next few days or so.

Yesterday we drove up to Helen and did some shopping in the many shops. We stopped and ate at a little German bakery. The food was very good, but we had to bring half of it home. The portions were so big. Helen did not start out as a German community. It was the brainchild of the city fathers back in the late 60's who came up with a plan to revitalize their community. So, it basically was a marketing ploy to draw in visitors' dollars. No matter. It is a quaint little place up in the mountains and a neat town to visit. There were several people of German descent in the shops.

While we were eating, our friends, Ward and Patty, called and invited us to their house for dinner. They live in Suches, Georgia, which is about 16 miles away AS THE CROW FLIES--more like 35 miles on the mountain roads and about an hour to get there. Wow. Talk about curvy roads. One section of the road has over 300 curves and this is NOT the "Tail of the Dragon." We drove FOREVER (well it SEEMED like that) to their house. It is a beautiful place on the hillside and a long front yard. It is easy to see why they love living up here in the mountains. We had an enjoyable dinner with them and a high school friend of Ward's along with his wife. We visited until late in the evening when we then had to negotiate the mountain roads in the dark. I drove back and it took a while because we didn't know the roads, but we made it back home.

Today we again met Ward and Patty in Dahlonega and Ward drove us up the montain to the Amicalola Falls State Park. It is the home of the Amicalola falls. These falls drop 729 feet, the tallest falls east of the Mississippi River. It was quite spectacular with what seemed to be a lot of water pouring down. We hiked up about a third of the way on the trail and took pictures. Later when we went to the top of the falls, it was quite a small creek that supplied the water, but it certainly made a big splash.

From there we drove to the Visitor's Center in the park and out behind the office there is the start of several trails. One of the trails is an approach trail to the start of the Appalachian Trail. We had to have our picture taken there. It was interesting to learn a little about the trail.

We left there and went into Dahlonega and had lunch at a wonderful restaurant called Pueblo's. They serve Mexican food there, but the owners are actually from South America. It was very good. After lunch, we said goodbye to our friends, but plan to catch up with them again before we leave the area. We have had so much fun with them.

Not sure what is on the docket for today, but we will find some place to explore.

Till next time. . .

Dale

FDR's Little White House

We came to Warm Springs, Georgia, to visit FDR's "Little White House." It is nestled in the hills near this little town and there are a number of "warm springs" which supply water at 80+ degrees. That is why they are called warm springs instead of hot springs that are found elsewhere. FDR came here to swim in the springs in an effort to revitalize his leg muscles which were affected by polio. He actually purchased the ground and all the buildings that were in the immediate area and founded a rehabilitation center for anyone afflicted by this terrible disease. There is a museum at the pools which shows a movie with FDR playing in the pools with other people, mostly children who were seeking theraputic relief from their disabilities.

Also on the grounds is the Little White House which was a very small, modest home FDR had built for him while he was visiting Warm Springs. It was up on the hill above the pools, not visible from there, but close to the rehabilitation center. It has been preserved with the same furnishings much like it was when FDR lived there. This was also the place where he died from a stroke while sitting for an official portrait. The unfinished portrait is housed in a special display along with a "finished portrait" the artist painted from memory after FDR's death.

We also drove up into the Franklin Roosevelt State Park. It is a curvy road up through there, but there is a campground. We would have trouble getting Phaeton Place in and around the campground due to low hanging trees, etc., but it is a nice camp. The visitor's center was built by the CCC, the Civilian Conservation Corp. There were great views from many places in the park.

It was quite cold in the evenings while we were here. It got down to 28 one night. Brrrrr. Fortunately we were able to stay warm.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Anchors Aweigh!

The Civil War Naval Museum is in Port Columbus, Georgia. It's along the river, so I guess that's why they call it "Port" although it is Columbus, Georgia, right by the Civic Center. I would guess it is one of a kind and it is truly a gem. It is not very big, but that is an advantage. We love museums, but after a couple hours, one tends to get tired. This one is just right. We have wanted to visit here since we learned about it while visiting the "Cairo" which is on display at the Vicksburg (Mississippi) national cemetery. The Cairo is a Civil War ironclad that was recovered from the Yazoo River nearby. It is housed in a speciality built display outside with a canopy overhead and an attached museum. It is the most complete we have seen, with engines recovered and returned to the ship as well as the propellers, paddle wheels and canon. We were told by a docent there that Port Columbus had a much larger display with the greatest numbers of ironclads on display. That is not true, the Cairo is a better and far more restored display, but that didn't take away from the splendor of the museum.

The focal point in the museum is the CSS Jackson, a Civil War ironclad, which was built not far away on the river. The hull is on display and there is skeletal framework around it which does a good job of depicting the outline of the ship as it once appeared. The size was accurately portrayed and a complete history of the ship was easy to read. There were a lot of photographs, paintings, artwork, etc., depicting the role the ironclads played in the Civil War and the various battles which were fought on water. The ironclads were mostly confined to the rivers and inside waterways as they weren't designed to withstand the stresses of the ocean. There were several that, once built, could not even be floated down the river because they drafted way too much, and they were destroyed or captured where they sat.

Obviously the most famous of the ironclads were the Monitor and the Merrimac. They were completely different in their design. The Monitor was a Union ship as was the Merrimac. The South salvaged the sunken Merrimac and refloated her as the Virginia. She was much larger than the Monitor, but in the the famous battle, it basically ended as a draw. The Monitor has been discovered and a few pieces have been salvaged. It is an ongoing operation, but the fragility of the wreck makes recovery difficult.

Also displayed is another hull, this one of a gunboat, the CSS Chattahoochee. Its mission was to protect the river and potentially help break the Union blockade of Apalachicola. An accidential boiler explosion that killed 19 of its crew resulted in the ship being brought to Columbus for repairs for most of the duration of the war.

Also displayed is a recreated portion of Admiral Farragut's flagship, the USS Hartford, to show the daily life aboard a Civil War ship. In addition, there was recreation of the USS Monitor's rotating gun turret and an ironclad simlulator.

There was a large mural displayed showing many of the ships as they would appear in the water and their size and structure in comparison to other ships. Also in the mural are displayed the many submarines which also played a part during the war.

There is much to see here and a lot to learn. The admission price is $6.50 and it is well worth leraning about this piece of our nation's history. They have done a great job and if you are in the area, it is well worth a visit.

Till next time. . .

Dale

History and a Past President

When we left the Rally, we headed over to Andersonville, the site of the notorious Confederate military prison established during the Civil War. It was built in early 1864 and operated for 14 months. During those 14 months, 45,000 Union soldiers were confined in the open area originally designed to hold 10,000; and almost 13,000 died from disease, poor sanitation, malnutrition, overcrowding or exposure. Prisoners were left to their own devices when water became scarce and the only shelter they had was from lean-to's or tents designed from blankets they brought with them. It was a very somber, depressing sort of visit as one imagines the horror and the plight of the soldiers housed here. They were dying so fast, they couldn't dig enough graves; so they dug trenches and laid the bodies in shoulder to shoulder. Surprisingly, all but about 400 of the victims were identified, thanks in part to a worker in the hospital who duplicated the rolls. Later, Clara Barton came and helped to catalog the dead by matching the numbers on the roster with the numbers on the wooden grave markers and thereby identified the interred. Their final resting place is a national cemetery on the property.

The prison site itself is preserved with markers outlining where the stockade stood and the "dead line" which was another interior line which prisoners were not to cross into under penalty of death. The commandant, Captain Henry Wirz, was executed for war crimes due to the conditions under which the prisoners were held; but there are conflicting arguments about whether he was just a scapegoat and others should have been held accountable as well. There were other prison camps during the Civil War in both the north and south and at least one northern prison had a record that nearly matched that of Andersonville. However, Andersonville was the one which was most publicized and got the most attention. A real history lesson here.

Also on the grounds of the National Historic Site is a prisoner of war museum which is dedicated to all prisoners of war during every war or conflict in which the U.S. has been involved. It is also a very somber museum and one unlike any I have seen before.

Today we drove 22 miles over to Plains, Georgia. Time to do something upbeat and we decided to visit the hometown of former President Jimmy Carter. What a neat little town. They have truly capitalized on their most famous favorite son and he has reciprocated by making his residence here and participating in the community like he did before he entered into politics.

We started out at the old Plains High School which anywhere else would have been torn down and replaced by something more modern. That would have been a real shame. The schoolhouse has been lovingly restored and it reminded me of my old grade school back in Indiana. The auditorium even had the old wooden seats that were beautifully finished and highly polished where we first sat to view a short movie about Jimmy Carter. The museum was well done with information about President Carter's early life in Plains, his family, his early political aspirations, and his eventual run for the presidency. The entire community rallied around him and helped with his campaign. It is an interesting story and one in which the entire town takes pride.

We drove by Billy Carter's old gas station. It looks better now than it did in the pictures we saw. They have been working on it and it will become a museum as well. We then drove out to Carter's boyhood home and toured the house and grounds. Terry found the well amusing as he watched some people trying to figure out how the bottom fill galvanized well bucket worked. Having used one like it on his grandparents' farm, he stepped up and showed other visitors how it worked.

Most visitors to Plains hope that they might catch a glimpse of the former president and first lady and I was no exception, but that didn't happen. He and wife Rosalynn are seen out and about from time to time, but today wasn't the day. Their house is easy to find but not easy to get to. He has secret service protection, of course, and the compound is locked up tight.

It was a great visit topped off by something truly special. Peanut Butter ice cream. A store owner here invented the soft serve recipe and serves it up himself. What a wonderful treat. I'm not a big ice cream fan and I had expected it to be hard ice cream, but it was super good. I may go back for more before we leave!

Till next time. . .

Dale

The Big Rally!

Good Sam's Big Rally is about to wind up. There was one last entertainment event scheduled for tonight, but we weren't interested in going. We have enjoyed the entertainment, though. The Vogues sang the first night. Only one of the group was original to the group, but they sang well. Frankie Vallie was to perform the next night and we heard he was in the hospital. He was replaced with Bobby Vinton. Wow! I was disappointed at first because I wanted to see Frankie, but Bobby Vinton put on one heck of a show. His daughter, Hannah, sang backup, as well as one of his sons, who also played guitar and directed the orchestra.

We have been busy attending seminars. There have been many we have sat through and we have learned a few things. We looked at a lot of coaches, but I am still content with Phaeton Place. Even more expensive coaches didn't appeal to me. We have a good setup and are happy with it the way it is.

We did a lot of walking, but last night and today we rode our bikes. That worked really well. There are a lot of fences to secure the bikes and it worked for us. Our good friends Ward and Patty left yesterday as they had to take in some Red Cross training. We enjoyed having them with us. We attended a lot of the same seminars and managed to hook up a couple times a day to visit.

I'm not sure how may rigs were here. I never did hear a count. A lot, though! The fairgrounds here have been great. This is our second rally here during this same time in March. The setup is well organized and the buildings here at the Georgia Fairgrounds and Agricenter are fairly new and very well maintained. That's what makes it a winner for groups like ours. We boondocked and I was worried about exhaust from generators, but everyone around us had muffler stacks on their generator exhaust.

We had great weather. . . mostly sunny skies. Friday storms rolled through Atlanta and there was speculation we would have some inclement weather here, but all we had was occasional mist. We didn't even need an umbrella and we still had some sun despite the usual gloomy sky. Then Saturday we actually had tornado warnings for most of the day. Again, we had gloomy skies, but also had some sun. Every day was warm enough for a light jacket if it was even needed. Then Saturday night around 9:30 the skies really let loose and we had a terrific deluge. The good part was that it didn't last long and that was it. We really felt like we dodged the bullet this time.

So tomorrow we are leaving in the morning and heading toward Andersonville, Georgia. That is the location of the federal POW camp during the Civil War. I have always wanted to visit that prison and study the history. There is also a pioneer village there.

Speaking of pioneer villages, we were camped prior to the Rally at the Agrirama at Tifton, Georgia. It is a pioneer village with a farm museum. It is a great place to come visit and bring your family. They have about 40 full hookup RV sites in the parking lot. It is quite comfortable and several rigs were there staging for the Big Rally.

While we were there, we also drove out in the country to pick up mail at a small post office and came upon the Nether's Pork Skins plant. We met the owners, Johnny and Dianne, and bought some of their "skins." They are very good and we had a good visit with them. It is a small family owned business and one of the neat stops most people probably never make. But it was interesting.

Till next time. . .

Dale

If that's Old Faithful, we must be in Yellowstone!

Hmmmmm. I thought we were in Georgia, but that sure looks like Old Faithful. Quick, gotta' wake Terry up from his nap. . . .

Having been the sole campers here at the Agrirama for a couple days was nice, but we eventually got some neighbors, two sites over. I was outside with the boyz while Terry was taking his afternoon nap. I watched Ed (we introduced ourselves later) hookup the hose to the water spigot in the utility pit and unroll the hose. As he kneeled next to his HR Endeavor motorhome, he called to his wife to turn the hose on to clean out the hose. After a moment he told her to turn it off. She tried. He called to her again and she replied, "It won't turn off." So he thinks for a moment and drops the hose and walks back to the pit. At this point, the hose is twisting a bit at the side of the motorhome, getting the side wet as the water pressure continues to push through the hose. As Ed tries to turn off the spigot, he turns the water on higher and the hose goes wild. Yep, it was like a scene from the Robin Williams' movie, RV. The hose stretches up like a cobra and starts vascillating wildly and I feared for the side of the coach. At this point, however, I was afraid of getting wet, so I moved my chair to avoid the flailing water hose. By this time, Ed had turn the water back and the hose died down and slid under the motorhome. Ed then turned it again and the ugly snake reared its head once more flailing back and forth under the motorhome. Ed (not thinking too clearly) then disconnected his hose from the spigot and now the water just shot straight up out of the pit. This is when I'm thinking. . . would Terry want to see this? or should I let him sleep? I couldn't help myself, the show was just too good, so I ran inside to get him. "Terry! We have a GUSHER!" He strolls out. Course, he knows exactly what has happened (defective washer caught in valve) and we all stand there introducing ourselves while Old Faithful does its thing. Beverly, his wife, had taken off for the office to report the problem. Within minutes the onsite manager came over with his cell phone to his ear and told us help was on the way. Ed determines then that he should have left his hose on it, kinked the hose and put on a hose nozzle which he had. Duh. Yeh, Ed, but to fix it now would require someone getting really wet. Soon the maintenance guy came and asked them to move. . . no, let's just shut the water off. Terry had already pulled out a plastic hose shutoff (he keeps a couple just for occasions like this). The maintenance man did shut the water off, Terry put on the shutoff and all was well. You just can't make this stuff up. It was quite entertaining.

We are parked in front of the RV Security shack here at the Agrirama and we noticed that after the museum hours last night there were about a dozen cars that came and parked near the shack. The security gal comes over every evening to chat a bit, so we asked her if they were having a party. Oh no, she said, "Those are our resident GhostBusters!" They come periodically with their ghostbusting equipment and attempt to commune with the spirits which they say are present in the 1870's farm village. Hmmmmm. Interesting. She said that the head Ghostbuster claims one spirit likes her and follows her around. Reportedly, they have pictures of "orbs" and "fogs" and other "evidence" of lurking spirits. . . . Okay. As long as they stay on that side of the fence and leave the campers alone. I'm cool with that.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Boy, I don't know how much more excitement I can stand. That was enough for one day, anyway.

Agrirama!

We see lots of interesting sights in our travels and yesterday was such a time. There were several antique cars traveling together. This is the best shot I got. We left Rainbow Country Campground yesterday morning intending to spend the night in a campground in Quitman, Georgia. When we got close to the road that turns off to the campground, we realized too late we had passed right by it. So much for "look for the sign" according to our campground book. There was no sign from either direction. We were on a red road and a very good one, but limited places to turn a big rig around. So I called the campground to see if they had spaces available and got no answer. Not a good sign as we have found a few campgrounds have disappeared even though they are in the current campground books. So we decided to continue on our way and look for something else. Our criteria includes being fairly close to Perry, Georgia, within the next few days in order to stage our departure for the Big Rally starting next week. We also want a place where our friends, Pat and Ward, can come camp with us and caravan to the rally. We ended up stopping at the Agrirama at Tifton, Georgia. It is right on I-75 about 60 miles south of Perry. It is a farm museum and a "period" village and in the parking lot are 40 full hookup sites with 50 amp service. Wow! All for $20 a night and with that, you get free admission to the museum and village.

Once we got set up we settled in for the night as there was rain forecast and lots of it. Flood warnings abounded, but no severe weather. Before the rain started, we took the dogs for a walk, Neal in his stroller, and let them browse on the grass at the end of the parking lot. By that time the museum had closed and we had the place all to ourselves. No other campers in here. The security guard stopped by at one point to visit and to see the dogs and she said we would be very safe. They lock the gate on the road back here, but there is a cell number to call if one needs out.

The rain started sometime during the night and continued until about 9:30 a.m. They weren't kidding about getting a lot of rain. Fortunately, the parking lot is well drained, although we had a lot of water running in sheets toward us and on by to the drains. But at least there is no mud to contend with.

Ward and Patty are planning on joining us on Monday, so we have decided to wait till they get here to go through the museum. It will be more fun to tour that with friends. It has been so long since we have been with friends, other than to eat out, and I am looking forward to seeing them. We last saw Ward and Patty in Chattanooga in the fall.

Terry is off to the mall at the moment to walk. I stayed back to sit out with the dogs for a bit and to start some laundry. I have a few mending projects as well. The sitting out didn't last long as it started to mist, so I had to bring the boyz back inside.

Till next time. . .

Dale

It's a Small World afterall!

We are camped at Rainbow Country RV Park near Cedar Key. We had visited the Key last week when we had the dogs out for a drive and decided to explore this little island a bit more. On our way over, we took a picture of an osprey nest out in the water. I had seen it before and hoped I could get a picture. I'm afraid it isn't much of a closeup, but it was neat to see the osprey on the nest.

Our first stop on the key was a little museum. We find the small museums run by the local historical societies to be very good, very interesting and usually small enough to take in when your time is limited. We spent a good deal of time talking with the volunteer. He and his wife live in a condo on the Key, but are from Indiana. I, of course, was born and raised in Indiana and lived there all my life. Terry, while a native of Mississippi, had lived in Indiana since the age of two. The volunteer graduated from Goshen High School ten years before I did! He lived in Dunlap, where Terry and his parents lived and before we left, we found out he not only knew Terry's Dad, but had owned one of the duplexes Henry built in the subdivision where our duplexes are located. Wow! It is indeed a small world. We moved on through the museum learning a bit of the history regarding Cedar Key. It was known for producing the cedar slats for making pencils and also used the bark of the sable palm to make whisk brooms.

After visiting the museum, we strolled through the town and visited the shops. We walked on out to Dock Street and went into the shops there as well as "Coconuts," a restaurant/bar which is frequented by the locals. It was quite busy while we were there and we enjoyed a sample platter of appetizers.

Cedar Key is not large, but it is quite quaint. We enjoyed the laid-back atmosphere and the slow pace. On our way back, we stopped at the railroad trestle site. During the Key's heyday, there was a railroad that went from the mainland out to a key beyond Cedar Key. The railroad is gone, but part of the trestle remains and the path you walk on to get to it is the actual railbed. It is about a half-mile walk, but is easy and various plants and trees are identified for the nature lovers.

Tomorrow we will be moving on, getting closer to Perry, Georgia, where we will be attending the Good Sam Big Rally.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Oh my gosh!

I can't believe how long it has been since I last posted. My apologies to all my readers. I have no excuse.

After the fiasco with the tire, we got to our camp at Forest Village RV Park in Cocoa, Florida. We wanted to spend some more time with son Brandon before we left Florida. Our plans are to be in Perry, Georgia, the second week in March for the Good Sam Big Rally. So we hoped to have some time to help him look for houses again. Unfortunately Brandon was sick most of the week and he didn't want us to catch anything. So we didn't see much of him until toward the end of our stay. But he is much better now and we did enjoy a couple meals with him as well as have him out for his favorite lasagne dinner our last night here.

The park we were staying in was a very nice park. . . with the exception of the office manager. She seemed nice enough on the phone. My suspicions were raised when she asked me if the reason we left our last park was due to problems with our dogs. Huh? That is what I got when I asked her about their pet rules. I AWAYS ask about the pet rules because some parks have become a little overbearing. We also use a pet ex-pen because of Neal, our handicapped Scottie. He can no longer walk and it is useless to have him on a leash. He knows when he is in the pen he needs to find a place to do his business. Some parks do not allow them, so I always ask. During the course of registration she informed us her husband and his partners had dragged her out of retirement in Michigan to come manage this park. I really kind of doubt she would ever let anyone walk all over her. She became known as Jabba the Hut, because she was enormous and seemed to have the same personality. Hee hee

While in Cocoa, we made it over to Ron Jon's Surf Shop, always fun. We stepped out onto the beaches here and there. At Cocoa Beach we went out onto the pier. It was a beautiful day and we watched some of the surfers as well as this one pelican. He was apparently a pet of one of the deck hands and was hand fed. He didn't want anyone to get too close to his friend. We had dinner at the pier restaurant and it was very good.

When we left Cocoa we drove over toward Tampa, but we were unsuccessful in trying to find a place over there to stay. Terry had wanted to go to Lazy Days to get some wiper blades for Phaeton Place, but we ended up in Bushnell at the Escapees Park. We aren't really disappointed with that. This is one of our favorite parks, although it is kind of a no frills place. The people are friendly and it is a good place to stop for a few days.

Friday we put the dogs in the car and drove over to Cedar Key. This is a fishing village basically and not yet spoiled by lots of tourists. They are building some new shops and condos, however, so I'm sure it will become a hot spot in the future. There is a new city park which is where the RV park used to be. There are not many good choices to stay close by, but if we decide to go back, we have a place we can probaby get into. We had a nice drive and we had a picnic lunch with the dogs in the park.

Yesterday we drove over to Lazy Days and bought our wiper blades at Camping World. Of course, we bought some other stuff, too, but we didn't look at new coaches. They certainly do have a large selection to choose from though. We did the Lazy Days thing before we bought Phaeton Place and didn't get anywhere with it and did not buy there.

Today was about the most gorgeous day we have had in the last 2 weeks. It was about 80 with a cool breeze. I bathed the dogs this morning and in the afternoon I sat out with them in my reclining lawn chair and read and napped. Such a life. The sun was just right. . . it just doesn't get any better than this. We are here until I get some meds at the pharmacy. They had to order one. The bursitis in my hip has become almost unbearable and I am trying to get a shot. I am going to have a long talk with my doctor this spring and figure out how I can resolve the problem of not being able to get treatment on the road.

Until next time. . .

Dale

Flat tire, Coach Net, and Pressure Pro

Wow, where to begin.

Yesterday we were just moving from Ocala to Cocoa and in the little Florida town of Astor (or just a few miles out), the Pressure Pro tire monitoring system started going off. Said tire was down to 98 pounds from about 112. We started looking for a place to pull over. . . none. The monitor quit (it does that. . . like it's just RESTING UP for the big beep) and when it started again, said tire was at 86 pounds. We were into the town now, so found a restaurant parking lot and pulled in. Restaurant was closed. . . lucky us. So we called Coach Net. That was at 2:30. No one showed up till 8:30. When we first called they said they would be able to patch it. Then they called back, said they couldn't patch the tire (it had a nail in it) and since our tires were obsolete and not made anymore, they would have to bring a new non-matching tire. Terry said no, find me a used one. Talk about mad! When he got off the phone, we called the Michelin Man. . . hmmmmm, seems the tires are not obsolete and are still made. And there is a Michelin truck tire center just 22 miles away from us in Deland, with 15 in stock. They even have a road service, but not 24 hour. . . and since it was 5, we were out of luck there. So we waited for the guy to bring and mount our really crummy used tire for which we paid waaaaay too much (but less than a new one which wouldn't match). We then drove the 22 miles to the tire dealer, and parked in his huge parking lot overnight. This morning at 7:30, they examined the tire, applied a patch, and we were on our way. CN did as advertised. . . found someone to help us get back on the road. But the long wait and the deceptive practices of the service caused much more stress than we needed. Plus, we are out $175 for a damaged tire. . . not just used, but damaged and not really usable even as a spare. Our tire was repairable. There was no need for us to buy a used or new tire. If I have another problem with a tire, instead of calling CN first, I will call my tire manufacturer and see if they have someone who can help.

But, the Pressure Pro saved Phaeton Place. Once the tire lost all air, it would have heated up (already getting hot) and would have started flailing, taking out fender skirting, etc. . .just like the coaches we see at Red Bay getting repaired. It's why we bought the system and thank goodness it did what it was supposed to.

Prior to the move yesterday/today, we spent some time in Ocala. We had gone there after the FMCA Southeast Rally. Terry had to have some blood work and needed some meds, so we got that done pronto.

Next we connected with Bill and Helen, friends from the Class of 2005. How great to catch up with those friends all over the country. Seems like there is always someone close by. It is such a great group of people and we are planning on getting together again this fall just prior to the Fall Gypsy Gathering in Celina, Ohio. What a great time we will have! It was pouring down rain when we saw Bill and Helen, but that didn't dampen our spirits. We met at Sonny's BBQ and had dinner. Afterwards we went back to their place. They have a lot in the Wilderness Estates in Ocala and have taken a lot of time and care in landscaping it.

Also while in Ocala, we got to see colleagues of mine with whom I worked for 27 years. Jim and Joy live in Indiana part of the year, but have bought a house in Summerfield, near the Villages. We met at their place and had a great time visiting with them and rescued kitty Jujube. What a nice place they have! Then we went out to eat at Sam St. Johns, a seafood restaurant which is really very good and then they took us on a tour of the Villages. It was so great just seeing them. I haven't seen them since we retired. We retired together and they are really special people.

We spent a week in Ocala at the Ocala RV Camp Resort, a former KOA. It was a very nice camp and the people are friendly and accommodating. We managed to drive to Clermont one day and have lunch with Brandon. My sister and her husband stopped by on their way to Daytona for the 500. They had gotten tickets and drove their motorhome down. The second night out, they were headed south on I-75 and the Ocala camp fit into their itinerary just fine. My sister, Nita, and I got a great visit in that night and the next morning. I took her to Wally World for a few supplies she needed and when we got back, they broke camp. We took them to a restaurant and we talked and ate till it was time for them to leave.

Now we are camped at Cocoa, Florida, at the Forest Village RV Resort. We are 12.5 miles from the Space Center and they say you can see the launches from here, but none are scheduled now. We missed the shuttle returning today. They said the sonics booms were heard here. We are here for a week. Tomorrow we are going back down to Melbourne to see Brandon and view another house he is considering making an offer on. Hopefully this will be the one.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Come on everybody. . . Let's do the swim!

SWIMMING FISH!

I couldn't resist buying these critters. They are on fiberglass poles and "go with the wind." When the wind changes directions, they do too! It looks like a school of aquarium fishies. This day the park was having yard sales and we ended up taking them down and putting them away. We had so many people come around asking to buy them!

Great news! My sister and her husband just arrived! They are headed for the Daytona 500. They left northern Indiana yesterday at 4:30 p.m. and arrived in Ocala at our park about 9 p.m. We had scouted out the park and had a decent site picked out for them just 2 rows over from us. They can actually see our coach from their site. Nita and Jim both came over and talked for awhile. It was good to see them. They will be leaving tomorrow for their campsite close to the race, but we plan to hook up with them again before they leave the state.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Hope no airplane wants to land!

We are parked on the east runway at the Hernando County Airport outside of Brooksville, Florida, for the Southeast Area FMCA rally. We arrived on Wednesday and it seems like we are parked five miles out, but I guess it's just really about 1 1/4 miles. We have been riding our bikes into the events and that is working well. We are in the generator section and that is not going so well. It should be a requirement at these events that everyone in the generator section must use a chimney on their generator exhaust. We do and our exhaust is directed out over the top of our coach. It is a little stinky here with all the fumes. We have to stay in at night and run the air. We are facing a field and we can step out into the field and the air is clear.

The seminars have not been very good. The presenters have been unprepared or even absent. These have been a big disappointment. We are going to the microwave/convection cooking one tomorrow morning because the presenter is very good. I have seen her seminars before and she always does a good job.

Last evening we saw the Rivoli RV Review. http://www.rivolirevue.com/ We have seen these performers before and they do an excellent show. We laughed and laughed at the funny songs they sang. Many of them are their original creations, but most are familiar tunes with lyrics adapted to fit the RV lifestyle. Very enjoyable.

We went back tonight for the next show. We were to hear a men's group singing and we were looking forward to it. While we were sitting in the tent waiting for the show to begin, the announcer asked us all to leave. It seems the power panel was sweating and the power was about to go out. It was a huge tent with probably a thousand people, so it was better to leave while we still had light. We caught the shuttle bus back to the rig and here I sit.

Tomorrow we will try some more seminars. If they don't get any better we may leave Saturday instead of Sunday. We shall see.

Till next time. . .

Dale