Moon over Melbourne!

We drove over to the east coast of Florida from Bushnell yesterday and arrived at Enchanted Lakes Estates and RV Park around 3:30. It's a nice park and we have full hookups. We normally stay at Wickham Park when we are in Melbourne, but the park only has water and electric and only 50 amp service. It is getting warm here and we thought we wanted the full service so the dogs can stay nice and cool if we go somewhere. This park is actually in Malabar just under 5 miles from where Brandon lives, while Wickham Park is about 12 miles from his place. So it is a little more convenient.

Brandon came over last night when he got off work and we went out to dinner together. Afterwards we went over to his apartment to get our mail and to see his new furniture. Today he came over again and we cooked burgers on the grill. Had a great visit.






Today I was sitting outside with the dogs and I saw something we don't usually see. I ran inside to get my camera and to get Terry. There were about 15 peacocks that came strolling down behind the rigs on the other side of the road. What a sight. I walked over and stood behind a motorhome and waited for them to come to where I was. I stood perfectly still and just snapped pictures. They weren't afraid of me, but I didn't want to scare them and risk the wrath of a peacock.





This park has some of the most beautiful bottle brush trees I have ever seen. The blooms are red and quite large. There are 3 of these trees at the entrance and they make for a beautiful welcome.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Houston we have a problem. . . .

More specifically, we have a LEAK in the air bed! Not good. Last night Terry inflated his bed which is something we never have to do, but he thought it felt a little flat. During the night, I told him to add more air because I thought he had perhaps hit the deflate button instead of the inflate button and I felt like I was on the edge of a crater, continually sliding down to the bottom. When we got up this morning, his side was completely flat! We were getting ready to travel, so I aired it up again and we drove on. Upon arriving in Bushnell at the Escapees park, everything we stow on the bed during "flight" had just about slid off. So I eventually got it stripped and we found the leak. Unfortunately, it was on a seam and fixing it would not be reliable, so we boxed it back up and took it back to Linen n Things. They were willing to exchange it, but we couldn't find another Aero Bed with dual controls, so we opted for the gift card for $213. Then we started looking around the store and found the dual control beds in another part of the store. So we selected another queen size and took it back up to the checkout. The clerk subtracted it off my gift card. It rang up as $139, then she gave me a $50 rebate coupon as well. I would say I came out pretty good on that one. Hah!

We are here in Bushnell for a few days. We are going to go to the flea market in Webster to look for some sunshade fabric on Monday. We were told there is a vendor there selling it and I want to make some shade curtains for the front of the motorhome.

After that. . . it's on to Melbourne and Brandon. Yay!

Till next time. . .

Dale

First Class Entertainment

We went to the show last night to see the Oak Ridge Boys. They were very good. Put on a great show and the music was great. They sang for an hour and a half. Afterwards we came back to the motorhome and visited a bit with Ward and Patty while we exercised our dogs.

Today we broke camp and left the fairgrounds at 10:30 am and took the "red roads" down to Lake City, Florida. We are in a very nice Passport America camp with full hookups. We ran out and got a few supplies tonight before we head out tomorrow. We are going to try and get into the Escapees park at Bushnell tomorrow. We want to be in place when the race starts Sunday and then Monday we plan on hitting Webster for the flea market. After that, we are on our way to Melbourne.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Fun in Perry, GA!

It's been fun. The Rally is almost history. We leave in the morning. We are resting right now getting ready to go out to eat with Ward and Patty and then going to see the Oak Ridge Boys tonight. Should be fun.

I took some pictures from the roof of Phaeton Place. The first is a picture of Ward walking his dogs, Newton and Junior.

We have been visiting the displays and going to seminars, most of which have been excellent. Terry got our towbar rebuilt and Demco says we get the prize for the most new parts on a towbar. The manufacturers do this for most makes of towbars and it is all free. Also, most service calls they make to coaches for a variety of things is free to the attendee. Super great of these manufacturers to do this.

Today we went to the noon entertainment, a bluegrass band, The Claude Hicks Vocal Band. They were very good and I highly recommend them if you ever have a chance to see them.

We really haven't had a spare minute. We have entertainment every evening, and while we haven't always gone, we otherwise find ourselves at a campfire or just sitting and chatting with neighbors. There are no strangers at rallies.

The boyz are doing well. Neal continues to heal from his surgery and made it through an extremely long round of seizures, but now that he once again has his serum levels built up, I anticipate no more marathons like we just had.

The Georgia Festival Grounds are impressive. The buildings are all fairly new and services very nice. Lots of space, we are not parked on top of one another, and there are trams running to take us where we need to be. The weather has been exceptional. It is in the mid 70's to almost 80 during the day and 50's at night. No need for air conditioners because there is a breeze all the time.

Coaches are beginning to leave. We are not in a hurry as we want to see the concert tonight. Tomorrow we will just take it slow. We are headed to Florida to see Brandon. Yay!

Till next time. . .

Dale

FMCA, 77th International Rally, Perry, Georgia

WE HAVE ARRIVED!!!!!!!!!!!!

We broke camp this morning and traveled with Ward and Pat New to Perry. We drove right into the fairgrounds and got parked quickly. We were here by 11 a.m. Rallies are the greatest. If any of you RV'ers out there have not made it to a rally yet, you need to. Doesn't have to be a big one. . . this is our first gargantuan rally. Everybody starts out being friendly and you are greeted every time you pass anyone.

We are in the generator section, lot J-2, 3rd street. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 3200 coaches expected.

There are no scheduled activities for tonight, but starting tomorrow, we will be attending seminars. There is something every day we want to go to, so we will be busy. The weather promises to be great. . . mid to upper 70's during the day, high 40's-low 50's at night. Just about perfect for the generator section. We don't want it to be too hot for the dogs during the day and warm enough at night we don't burn a lot of propane.

I will be updating periodically.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Onward to FMCA!

We broke camp around noon today after taking a tour around the lake. The lake is quite nice and the campground was very adequate. Water and electric hookups, but just look at these spacious sites. On our tour, we managed to participate in some wildlife relocation. Let it be known that our efforts resulted in two large turtles being relocated. One was in the middle of the road and surely would have been vulture fodder. As Terry was relocating that one, another climbed up onto the road at about the same spot the other would had to have started across the road. So Terry got that one and relocated it to the same area as the other. Hopefully they appreciated our efforts at saving their lives and will go on to produce numerous offspring.

On our way to Cordele, Georgia, we traveled state highways as there was no interstate route available. We went through numerous little towns which were quite interesting. We arrived here at our campground around 4:00 and got set up. Some neighbors stopped by to see our dogs and Neal made friends with Torgenay, the Amazon Grey. Neal is doing well and enjoying his time outside. We watch him like a hawk, though, so there will be no repeat performance of his rock-eating ways. Ho ho.

We may go to Andersonville tomorrow, the Civil War prison. It is not far from here, but we may get some rain so will have to wait and see. We are meeting Ward and Patty New here and we will go together to the FMCA rally in Perry, Georgia, on Sunday.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Lulu's and Lamberts

We met up with Al and Maggie and had dinner at Lulu's at Marineport. The restaurant is owned by Lulu Buffet, Jimmy Buffet's sister. He has been known to drop in occasionally, but not that night. We had to wait about 45 minutes to get in, but the time went fast as we sipped on Margarita's and watched the crowd. The spring breakers are starting to arrive and it was a big night at Lulu's. When we did get seated, we were able to see barges coming down the intercoastal waterway which was kind of neat.

Afterward, we drove down to the shore and cut across to the toll bridge. A lot of rebuilding has already occurred, but it was really dark out toward the ocean and you couldn't see much. It was great to see the Tanners again and hopefully we will be able to hook up with them again when they make their way south another year. But Terry and I are talking about going to Canada this summer sometime and seeing them.

Tuesday we met up with some other friends from our "Graduating Class of 2005." Bill and Helen met us at Lambert's and we had lunch at the House of Throwed Rolls. They had never been there before, so it was an experience for them. We had a really good lunch and caught up with them on what we all had been doing in the past year. Helen and Bill have bought an RV lot in Florida and we asked about that. We also talked about their trip to Alaska. We would like to go, but I don't know if we are going to drive it. It is great to meet up with people we know and it is amazing how many times a year we see friends we have made on the road.

After visiting with Bill and Helen, we went our separate ways only to meet up again at the factory shops. Hah. Great minds think alike.

We left Summerdale Wednesday and drove to Eufaula, Alabama to the White Oak Creek Corps of Engineers park on Walter F. George Lake. It is a very large lake, about 45,000 acres and they have a very nice campground. When driving back to our campsite, we observed the damage to the trees and the one section of campground from the tornadoes that passed by here a few weeks ago. The tornadoes that did damage here were the ones a few days before the Enterprise tornado which hit the school and killed several people. The campground section through which the tornado passed was closed for the winter. There were campers in the other sections and those people had a front row seat for that tornado, but no one was hurt. I certainly would not have wanted to be in the campground at that time. I would have been terrified.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Good Friends. . . Good times in Alabama

Today we started out by walking first thing this morning. Beautiful weather here. It was in the 60's when we got up and we didn't need the light jackets we took with us. It warmed up quickly with the sunshine.

We met up with Al and Maggie Tanner this afternoon. They were clients of Terry's in London, Ontario, when Terry was working. They are really special people and have stayed in touch over the years that Terry no longer worked. They wintered in south Texas this year and it just happened that our paths crossed this week as they are headed east to see some friends and we were here on our way toward FMCA. We made plans to have dinner tomorrow night at Lulu's down on the intercoastal waterway. It will be great fun!

Tuesday we are going to meet up with Bill and Helen, classmates of the Class of 2005. They are here for a few days and we are joining them at Lambert's for lunch. It will be good to see them.

Neal continues to progress. He slept well the first night, but last night woke us up at 3:30. We thought he had to go out, but he had knocked his cushion out from under him and it was covering the "doorway" to his cloth sided crate. I guess he felt trapped like a rat and didn't like it. I pulled the cushion out and he was happy. He is not bothering his incision at all, so I am pleased with that, especially since we traveled away from the vet who did the surgery. We did get an opportunity to clean him up a bit yesterday, so he is not nearly as offensive as he was. Hah.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Welcome Home Neal!

We picked Neal up this morning and he seems to be doing really well. He is not bothering his incision, but I would like a chance to clean him up a little. He is one stinky dog. They didn't bathe him before his surgery because he was constantly vomiting and was very unstable. And they said he cannot be bathed now until his stitches are out. So when we got him home, I got a pan of warm water and tried my best to get some areas cleaned. I also used doggie wipes and I have some waterless shampoo. He just didn't want me to bother him today so I eventually quit. I will try again tomorrow.

I got to keep the rocks they took out of his stomach and intestine. They are about the same size. Terry wants me to make jewelry out of them, earrings he thinks. As he said, they are the most expensive rocks we have.

I'm just so glad he is home and doing well.

Tomorrow we are headed for Plantation, Summerdale, Alabama.

Till next time. . .

Dale

NEAL IS COMING HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Guess they got tired of him biting. Hah. Poor little guy. We are going to get him this morning. They are giving him a bland canned food diet for a few days for his tummy and some antibiotics. But he can travel and the vet said we could take out his stitches. She just doesn't want him up jumping around. . . like that would be a problem for Neal. We did buy him a soft sided crate for travel and to keep them separated. Bailey sometimes gets annoyed if Neal falls on him.

So plans are now that we will be leaving here tomorrow, although Camp Harp is a great place to stay!

Till next time. . .

Dale

Update on Neal

This morning, Wednesday, Neal was not getting better, so the vet xrayed and he has what look like 2 rocks—one in his stomach and one in the intestine. He is having emergency surgery probably as we speak. We are at cousin Gary’s and his niece who lives across the road is a vet at this clinic. But she is not the one doing the surgery, but I do feel confident that the vet is very competent. He has been in ICU since Monday.

The vet just called, and he is out of surgery. It went very well. He had 2 rocks which she removed and said he is starting to wake up. She said the vomiting should stop now and tomorrow he may get to eat some regular food. He will love that. He is totally food driven!

Till next time. . .

Dale

Fun in Louisiana!

Last week we arrived in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and camped just north of the city at the Sam Houston Jones State Park. It is a nice park and as we had been told, accepts the Golden Access/Age Pass, so we paid $8 for water and electric. They had a sewer site available but it was quite short for us and did not have a clear shot of the sky for the Datastorm, so we elected to take the W/E site since we were just there for 2 nights. Well, the satellite TV and the Datastorm didn't work on our site because the tall trees blocked the signal, but no matter. We eventually stayed an additional two nights because had we left when we planned, we would have followed those nasty storms with the tornadoes as we traveled east. We got several inches of rain in a short time so after that you could say we had a "lake-front" site. It was difficult with the dogs because there was very little space they could be on without getting wet. Not a problem for Bailey, but Neal can't really walk anymore, so we had to be extra diligent to keep him out of the water. This was a great park to walk in. Paved park roads that went through the park were especially nice. Much of the park is a wildlife preserve. It was interesting to note that there were no "No Swimming" signs anywhere. The only signs we saw read, "Do not feed the alligators." So I guess that works better than "no swimming" signs. Also interesting were the ducks and geese. Not too many around. . . hmmmmmm. . . I wonder why. We didn't see any gators, however.

We are now in Zachary, Louisiana, at cousin Gary and Jo's. Our favorite all time campsite. We were scheduled to leave today except for one little problem. We had to hospitalize our wheaten Scottie, Neal. He immediately started eating grass when we got here. Neal is bad about that and we don't let him, but we were busy meeting and greeting the clan while Neal was chowing down. Later that night he started throwing up and by Monday morning he was not doing well. I had some prescription stuff for that, but I couldn't get him to take it. When Neal won't eat peanut butter, there is a problem. When Neal won't eat ANYTHING, it's a problem. Fortunately Gary's niece who lives across the street is a vet. So I packed him up and took him to the clinic where she works. He threw up in the car, but fortunately, we have the area where they ride covered. He, however, was a mess. I stopped and cleaned up most of it and then we went on. When I got him out of the car, he couldn't hold his head up and I think when they saw him, they thought I was bringing in a dead dog. I actually did check, though, and I knew he was breathing. Just really sick. He kept throwing up in the exam room, so they did some blood work and discovered he was really dehydrated, but nothing else showed up. Like I had suspected, this dog just cannot eat salad. . . period. He didn't seem to fuss about being poked for a blood test and didn't care who held him. The vet said he needed to stay for a couple days and be on IV fluids and something for his tummy. I took in all his seizure meds and last night Casey (Gary's veterinarian niece) called to give me a good report. Said he was responding really well and he might be able to come home even tonight. In the meantime. . . last night I got a good night's sleep. I had been up all night before with Neal, so I thoroughly enjoyed it!

So, Gary and Jo are stuck with us until we get Neal back. They say they don't mind and I believe them. Last night Jo and I went with her daughter Kristin and fiancee Jerrick Pace (how cool is that?. . . no relation that we know of yet, but could be way back). We visit the "Glynns" where the wedding and reception will be held and went to the home of the cake baker and helped them pick out the wedding cake and the "groom's" cake. It was fun, but I was really tired when we got back having been up all night with Neal, so I pretty much came home and went to bed.

Till next time. . .

Dale