Quarantine!

We are counting down to Monday when we drive to the Tampa airport to pick up a rental car. We will come back home and pack it with all the gear we are taking north. Then later Monday or more likely Tuesday, we will leave Polk City and head to Indiana. It is time to break out of quarantine and go back to Indiana and pick up a trailer load of stuff and bring it back here.

We bought this place in December and made a trip to Texas to pick up some stuff there we wanted to have here. We will eventually get the Texas palace cleaned out of stuff we want and then we will put it up for sale. But until then we will keep it and probably spend a few weeks there every winter. . . or not. . . whatever strikes our fancy.

This first load we are bringing back includes MinnieMee, the little motorhome, and the enclosed cargo trailer. The trailer is currently stuffed full and in a storage unit in Nappanee, Indiana. It is there with the rest of the household stuff that is all boxed and waiting on a ride to Florida. Also in there is the Miata, my sweet little ride. We first have to get the Miata running and get some new tires on it. The ones on it are original and nine years old. Then we will return the rental car to the South Bend airport.

Then we head to the storage warehouse where MinnieMee is stored. We will get her running and take her to the Elkhart Campground near there. We will camp in her there, but we will first have to empty it into the storage locker in Nappanee. We put all our electronics in MinnieMee so they could be in climate controlled storage, but we need the stuff out so we can live in it. We also have to empty the cargo trailer because we are going to get my organ which is in a different climate controlled storage in Elkhart. We are going to go pick it up and then we will load the trailer with anything else we can fit in around the organ.

We will visit mom while we are there, observing social distancing, but it will be good to see her and Nita. We plan to spend some time sorting through the household stuff in storage and visit with some friends in the camp. We have to get new tires on the Miata, so may do that at that time.

Eventually we will start the trek back to Florida with MinnieMee and the trailer in tow. We plan on going to Mississippi to the family reunion on the way back, if they are going to have it. Haven't heard from anyone if they plan on going. We have lost three more members of the family since last year. Only one still came regularly, but he was there last year and we knew he had some health challenges then. So it will be bittersweet if we are able to connect with the rest of the family.

We have been trying to get things ready for the trip. Getting packed and cleaned out the refrigerator/freezers in the motorhome. We have been raiding it regularly, but we didn't want to leave it running while we were gone, so we got it cleaned out today. It is thawing overnight, and I will get it cleaned up tomorrow.

We have found some people who want our furniture. We bought the house furnished, but didn't want the furniture. We have changed all the beds with new mattresses and foundations, but kept that furniture as it was suitable. They are bringing a truck this weekend some time and taking the rest of what they want. We have new furniture being delivered mid-June when we return back to Florida. That will be the living room furniture. Then the only thing left is the dining room furniture and some bookcases, etc. We intend to get that all from IKEA, but they are currently closed and aren't saying when they will reopen. We hope they will be open by the time we get back and then we can finish up the furniture in the house.

We have been staying home mostly during this quarantine time. Trying to follow instructions to keep us safe. We did our doctor visits by telehealth and will follow up in the fall. We have our masks and our antibacterial wipes to take with us to try and keep things clean, so I'm hoping all will go smoothly and we will stay safe on our trip.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Closing a chapter. . .

When we first started fulltiming, we were owners/managers of 10 apartments, five duplexes to be accurate. One we didn't rent, but stored some stuff there and let the kids hangout there when they were in the area visiting family.

Over the last few years, we have sold four of the duplexes, but held on to the last one which is where Terry's parents lived for the last years of their lives. Today we signed a contract on that last home and we have been in the process of getting it emptied out since we have been here. Actually I started the process last summer, while Terry was sick, and got lots of stuff boxed up. We have had a few garage sales and more to come, but Terry's health has again changed somewhat and he hasn't been able to help much of late. That's okay, because I had 50 years of records/taxes/papers of his parents to shred and 40 years of ours. Why did we keep this stuff so long?

I had been shredding regularly and burned up my large shredder, so I bought Walmart's heaviest duty one. It did not last a day. I returned it and bought a Bonsai Shredder off Amazon and it was delivered the next day. It performed flawlessly and with a 60-minute run time, it never shut down on me. I actually have another much smaller shredder which is about 15 years old and it continues to run, so I could alternate between the two. All told, I took about 33 bags of shredded paper of 33-50 gallons each. I know I could have taken the boxes of papers to a commercial shredder, but I found Terry's parent's marriage license and Terry's original birth certificate, so I wanted to go through it all. Proud to say I finished the other day and we took all those bags to recycling, so now I can concentrate on other things.

Some of the furniture was promised for pickup after the kids all left and the families came and picked up all their stuff. I still have several pieces of furniture to go and I'm hoping to get it outside at my next sale. I have several offers of help to do that so I don't think it will be a problem.

We will be having to put a small amount of stuff in storage and we planned to get a unit big enough for Li'l Red as well. MinnieMee is already safely tucked into storage. If we buy a house elsewhere (and Florida is sounding pretty good), it will have to have space for all the "stuff." Are we buying a house? Not yet. We have decided if we do, it will be in Florida because that is where son Brandon is and they have some good heart hospitals there. Since Terry cannot breathe in cold air, we couldn't choose Virginia, where our daughter lives; but we will be able to visit and they can always come to Florida to visit us! Indianapolis is just not some place we want to be in the winter even though Terry's doctors are there. He needs warm air year around. We have some decisions to make. But. . .one step at a time.

We are doing well. Terry tried that new heart drug Entresto and they won't be calling him to give a glowing review. One of those "rarely mentioned" side effects laid him up pretty good and he had to quit it. So now he is trying to get back to his "normal" and that is taking some time. He is sleeping better than he has in two years and once he is rid of the side effects, we are hoping for his "normal" to return.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Searching, searching for a campsite!

When we left Gary and Jo's, little did we know we would have such a hard time finding a campsite, but since the weather has been so bad throughout the midwest and further up north, the snowbirds are still mostly hunkered down in Florida trying to keep warm. Can't say that I blame them, but we did want to find a place to camp.  We ended up driving longer and farther than we normally do, but we did finally end up at Alliance Hill RV Resort in Marianna, Florida, for the night.

This is really a nice little camp of just 14 spaces on a guy's farm, but it is obvious that they are planning on expanding it. The camp host who greeted us was a Brit, now a legal U.S. citizen and proud of it! He was really enjoyable to talk with and hard to get away from! You all know someone like that. I told Terry I would love to sit around a fire with him and listen to all his stories. He was a very interesting individual. It was late when we got in, however, and it was turning cold, so we got in and turned on the heat.

The area where this camp is located is south of I-10 and it is smack dab in the middle of where Hurricane Michael came through last year. Now I thought the devastation was so horrific on I-10, but even that paled to the country we drove through on the way to the camp. It was just like the landscape was wiped cleaned. Thousands of trees broken off. They are still cleaning up and rebuilding houses, roofs, etc., trying to get back to normal. Jack, the camp host said they lost 300 trees on the farm and are still working every day to get things cleaned up.

The campground has a small, but nice, rec hall, with a kitchenette, TV room, restrooms and showers. There is a pool out back. It sits high on a ridge, so if you are in the pool, you have quite the view in all directions. It was a really nice camp and we will have to visit again.

The  next evening we drove on to Ocala, Florida for a few days. Terry promised me a special treat, so I'm holding him to it.

Till next time. . .

Dale

FLORIDA!

Once done with our spring appointments, we hit the road for Florida. Megan and Brandon had a trip to Cancun the first week in May and we agreed to stay with Brynlee during that time. This was an incentive trip Brandon earned for reaching some really high sales goals set by the company. He is doing very well with his company, loves his job, and they reward him accordingly.

We traveled long days to get there, more than the usual 250 miles we normally do, but Brandon had an event on Saturday he wanted Terry to go with him to, so I got him there just before noon on Saturday. Brandon had tickets to EggFest, an event sponsored by the Big Green Egg and Wassi's, a meat market in Melbourne. They were cooking on 200 Green Eggs, demonstrating how they work, etc. The Eggs they demo are then sold at a highly reduced price. You have to sign up beforehand and Brandon had two free tickets, so he took Terry.

They enjoyed their time, got to eat all day and at the end of the day, had his Egg loaded in the car and brought home. It was a chore getting it out of the car and through the house to the lanai, as it weighs 200 some pounds. But a neighbor came and helped and all went smoothly.

The kids left the next day for their flight to Cancun after dropping Brynlee off at school. I picked her up later that day and the fun began. We had a great week. I was the chief chauffer, driving her from one event to another. LOL But we had great fun and enjoyed our time together. I stayed at the house with her. Terry was there during the day and we even brought Duchess, who got along well with Jax. Terry would go back to the motorhome at night. Brynlee had school, gymnastics, dance, Gymboree, and T-ball during the week. We were busy!

The kids arrived back on time Friday evening and we all met at Sonny's BBQ where we had dinner together. Sunday Brandon cooked out on his Green Egg and we had steak, shrimp, salmon, burgers, asparagus, corn on the cob, salad, cake and watermelon. It was a grand feast and we lots of leftovers.

In other news, Mom returned to her home last weekend and is doing well. She gets visits from home health and the physical therapist, but is able to get around on her own and even shower. So she is recovering very nicely. Nita even took her to church yesterday and dinner out and she enjoyed herself immensely. Prayers have been answered.

Today we are going to look at some RV lots in the area. Would like to find something, but pickins' are slim. Tonight we are going to Diane's, Megan's Mom's, for dinner. We are looking forward to that.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Florida Family Time!

We are enjoying our time here in Florida visiting with Brandon, Megan, Brynlee and granddog Jax. The weather has been miserable, though. It's been hot with a super high humidity, so it's been uncomfortable if you are out and about. And then it rains about every day. There is a lot of flooding here which we thought was leftover from Hurricane Irma, but Brandon said they have just had so much more rain than usual and it's not from the hurricane. Many of the sites here at the campground in Wickham Park have now flooded or at least have substantial water on them. We have to walk through soggy grass from the car to the coach even if we park close to the rig. Poor Duchess gets her feet wet whenever we take her out.

Last night, however, a "cold" front came through. And cooler temperatures are to prevail for awhile. It was 64* when I got up and hasn't warmed up yet. I took Duchess for her walk and it wasn't all that cold, but there is a lot of wind and that makes it feel much colder than it really is.

I went with Megan the other day to pick Brynlee up from "school." She goes three times a week for five hours and that gives Megan some time to do some things on her own. That has worked out well because Brynlee really likes her school. She learns new things every day. Yesterday we went to gymnastics class. They do about the same things that Aenea does in her class. . . some tumbling and exercises and balance beam stuff. Both the granddaughters enjoy that.

Last evening we went to dinner with Brandon and Brynlee while Megan did yoga on the beach. It had rained a lot here, but not sure what happened out at the beach. They were able to have their class though.

Today I am going out with Megan and Brynlee to visit her Mom and then out to lunch. That will be fun.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Elvis has left the building!

At Milton, Florida, we stayed at a park called Avalon. It was very nice and the staff was very accommodating. We took the last site available and it was a back-in, but no problem for us. It had rained a great deal on our trip across Mississippi and Alabama and north Florida, but the rain was done by the time we got into Avalon. It did, however, start to storm later and we ended up with two dogs sleeping on the bed with us! They usually jump down sometime during the night after all the stormy weather has passed.

We drove from there to St. Augustine for the night and stayed at a park called Stagecoach. We have been there before and it's decent for an overnight.

We continued our push on toward Melbourne, but it was becoming difficult to find any campsites available. At one point, I tried to add a few days to our reservations at Wickham Park, but they showed they were full every day, so there was no point in trying to arrive a couple days early. Eventually we called the International RV Park down the road from Daytona International Speedway and the Daytona Flea Market. It has been years since we have been to that flea market and we love to browse. Gets us out and moving and it's fun to look at all the "junk" that's for sale.

We checked in on Saturday around noon and the owner invited us to a "Fabulous Fifties" party that evening. It was put on by the park and was completely free. That's right, FREE, including booze if you want it. He gave us free tickets so that evening after we fed the girls, we walked over to the hall. They started with appetizers which were very good and a salad bar. While everybody was chowing down on that, they started calling tables. We were called fairly early so we got our food quickly. They served beef tri tips over rice, green beans and a roll. . . along with the salad and appetizers we had eaten earlier. It was very good. I had a couple cups of beer and thoroughly enjoyed it. Kudos to the owners who treated everyone to such a great evening. Dancing followed and even Elvis put in an appearance. The park residents say the owners do a free dinner for everyone once a month. Wow!

When we arrived at this camp, we had some difficulty with our leveling jacks. We have replaced three of the four, plus a control panel. One of the four already replaced is ratcheting and grinding. We are smart enough now to know the "signs" of failure and know that if it breaks in the down position we are pretty much screwed. It would take awhile to get going because when the jacks go down it dumps the air. When a jack is broken in the down position it continues to dump the air anytime you try to go because that is a built in safety feature that you cannot move with a jack down. In that case we have to pull fuses, try to disconnect or remove the jack and then manually pump the airbags up. It is quite the process which we have done before, but Terry didn't really want to mess with it. Fortunately, I was able to raise it and it locked back in, so that is where the jacks are staying until it is fixed. It means we cannot use the jacks to level, so we have to do some jockeying to get as level as we can before we deploy the slides. But at least we are able to run now, so all is good.

We left there Sunday around 11 a.m. and drove on in to Wickham Park at Melbourne, just about five minutes from the kids. Brandon came out to see us after we got setup and then we joined them all for dinner a little later. He had made pulled pork in the crockpot and potatoes, etc. Wonderful meal and wonderful company. Brynlee is just as cute as ever and is learning to say "Grandma" better. She says "thank you" anytime you do something for her and it's adorable. We got to babysit for her today while Megan had a business meeting. Brandon essentially works from home now, but he is in his office most of the day, so we were glad to help out with Brynlee.

We finally made it. We are glad and we will have a great week! There is a launch tonight at 11:05 p.m. of an Atlas 5 rocket. Skies are clear right now and expected to stay that way. We are hoping nothing happens to postpone it. Brandon says we will be able to see it clearly from the park. I mean, it will pretty much look like a fireball, but we should get a good view of the flash from here. Terry's making popcorn.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Enjoying Florida!

It has been really hot and humid and muggy since we've been here. So the other day before we went over to the kids' we went out to the coast and took a walk along the beach. It was beautiful there and much more comfortable.

Later in the evening, we all went out to eat at Grills. We've eaten there before and the food is very good. I got peel and eat shrimp and they were delicious. The baby went with us, of course. Megan fed her before we left and she slept most of the way there and slept in her carseat/stroller all the way through dinner. What a good baby! On the way home, however, she seemed to object to Grandma taking so many pictures. LOL

Today is our last day in Florida. It will be hard to leave the kids tonight, but we will be back later in the fall. Brynlee will likely be much different then as she grows and begins to interact more. I can't wait to see her again! I can't wait to see Ronan and Aenea as well. I understand they are growing and changing too.

Our flight tomorrow leaves about 1:30 from Sanford, Florida. It is a much smaller airport than Orlando and a lot easier to negotiate than the bigger airport. It's a bit further away, but very easy to get to.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Melbourne, Florida

Yesterday we met Mom, Dad, Jim and Nita in Warsaw and had lunch at a restaurant there. We were on our way to the Ft. Wayne airport to fly to Florida and wanted to visit with everyone before we left.

We made it to the airport in good time and waited on our flight. It arrived on time, but it took them over 45 minutes to unload the plane. People would just trickle off. They had quite a few people in wheelchairs but I still don't understand why it took so long. We finally got to board and we left about 20 minutes late. It was a good flight. . . a little bumpy in spots. When we arrived it was raining, but we got our luggage and made it to our rental car.

We had about a 1 1/2 hour drive to Melbourne. Our plane flew into Sanford instead of Orlando, but by flying from Ft. Wayne to Sanford, we could fly non-stop which is far preferable than the normal Atlanta leg.

We called the kids and they said we could come on over for a brief visit and I'm glad we did. I got to feed the baby, Brynlee. She is just precious. We are smitten. . . as we have been with the other two grandkids before her. But we bid our farewells as we were tired and had not eaten any supper. We stopped for a bite to eat and then drove on to our hotel.

This time we are staying in a new Holiday Inn Express and it is very nice. It is closer to Brandon's than our normal Hampton Inn up at Viera and it is just as nice. I probably like the breakfast better at the Hampton, but I can't complain.

Today we went back late morning and I certainly got in some baby time today. I want her to remember me so I have to spend as much time with her as I can. She is certainly a cutie. . . what can I say? Our grandchildren are all cute. The kids are overjoyed at being parents and don't seem to mind the sacrifices (like sleep) they have to make.

I didn't ignore Jax, the dog. I took him a toy today and he played with it all day. I took him outside a couple times so he could chase lizards--his favorite pasttime. I sat on the edge of the pool and the water was like bath water. . . almost too warm to be refreshing, except that it was wet, so that makes a difference. I will get in the pool yet. It is hot and muggy here in Florida.

I did get some great shots of son Brandon holding his baby.

Tomorrow Brandon is having a cookout and Megan's parents will be there. It will be good to see them again.

Till next time . . .

Dale