On the Move

After spending last month in Ft. Walton Beach, FL, we have moved a little farther west to the Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, AL. Same weather as in the Panhandle so still tolerable w/highs this week in the upper 50s and lows in the upper 30s. We're hoping next week and the rest of the month will be a tad bit warmer so we can ride our bicycles around the cg like we did when we stayed here last year. While in FL, we had a really grand time w/Val, Scott, Sophia and baby Naomi. Actually, we spent lots of time w/Sophia at various playgrounds (some indoors and some outdoors) . She loves to go outside, even when we'd put her in her wagon and just walk around the big block (a nice 20 minute walk).

We were all blessed w/a nice, low-key Thanksgiving. It was the smallest gathering we've had in a really long time. Usually filled w/family and friends, this year w/Naomi coming early and Val certainly not ready for a full house, and Chase arriving the 1st part of Nov. so no long travel time for him yet, it was just us 4 adults and the 2 little ones. Valerie, Tom and I (and now Kimmie when we're all together) usually head out around 9:00 a.m. on Black FR. This year, Val and I headed to Destin (east of FWB) at 9:00 TH evening as some of the stores at the outlet mall were opening at 9, 10 and midnight. Got some good bargains then went to the Destin Target and got some good bargains there too. Tom is usually our "spotter" and patiently waits in line for us while we run to gather up some clothes for the kids and any other bargains we come across. I'm sure he would NOT have liked the line at Kohl's, our last stop of the night/early morning. Not thinking about such a long line, Val and I grabbed a few more clothes for the 4 grands, went and stood in line for about 25 minutes, moved only 15 feet and left. With Val in control, we went back upstairs to Customer Service and she politely advised the mgr that he could either check us out or put the clothes back. He granted her request. Yeaaa! Now the countdown begins to go see our new grandson...in 2 more weeks!!! Can't wait to get some snuggle time w/him and, of course, our cuddley Kenley. In the meantime, I'm sure we'll enjoy our stay here in AL.

3 Darlins and a Dude!

I know it's been over a month since the last blog, when SVC went to Myrtle Beach, but October was a crazy month and here we are into the middle of November already. Time sure flies when you're having fun...or are staying very busy. The first part of October was spent in doctors and dentists offices for annual check-ups before we head south for the winter. We also had a meeting w/our financial advisor and feel comforted that, so far, we don't have to get parttime jobs. Yeaaa!

The rest of October was mainly "baby alert". Baby Brockman's due date was Nov. 7. Clay & Kim asked us to spend as much time w/them as possible, especially at night, in case BB decided to pop out in the wee hours of the morning. That way, they wouldn't have to wake Kenley up and juggle her around. So, we spent several days/nights in Bloomington but BB decided to wait and just hang around and chill out for a few more days. All the while, poor mommy was really hurting as it seems baby decided to rest on a nerve near her hip. I felt sorry for Kim as you could tell by the slooow move that she was dealing w/some excruciating pain.

On Oct. 21, Valerie called and was quite concerned as she had already started dilating and Little Lokker's due date wasn't until Dec. 1. Long story short, since we were to head down to FL on Oct. 27th, her inlaws were able to fly down to help her out in case LL came early and the Red Cross was sending Scott back so he could, hopefully, be here in time for the arrival of their second child.

Well...happy days are here again! Scott got home on Oct. 24th and Naomi Marie Lokker arrived on Oct. 28th checking in at 4 lbs, 11 oz. Naomi is a healthy little thing and doing well.

Then...when Kim went to her doctor appt, the doc suggested inducement since BB was considered full term and Kim was in so much pain. So, on Nov. 3rd, Chase Thomas Brockman was welcomed by all weighing in at 8 lbs, 14 oz. He sure is a handsome little guy and we can't wait to hold him when we go back to IL mid-December.

Tom and I feel so blessed w/our 3 little darlins (Sophia, Kenley and Naomi) and our little dude (Chase). This grandparenting stuff is TERRIFIC and we feel very fortunate that we were able to retire last year and "be there" for our children and grandchildren this year.

We've been at the Emerald Beach RV Park in Navarre, FL (about 10 miles from Scott & Val) this month. We will move a little west in December and stay at the Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, AL until the end of the year. After that, we'll be staying at the Winter Ranch RV Resort in Alamo, TX the rest of the winter. Life is good!

Myrtle Beach or Bust!

It's been a year in the planning but the Sangamon Valley Campers Club spent a week in sunny (for the most part) Myrtle Beach, SC. After the yummy annual fish fry hosted by Russ & Barb on SA (9-10), Tom and I started our trip to the Atlantic and spent our first night out at a Wal-Mart in Paducah, KY. Cheap rates and a nice thing for this mega-store to offer weary late-night travelers and truck drivers.

We met up w/Pat & Jane on the other side of Nashville, TN around noon on SU and caravanned to Candler, NC. This is the small 6-site campground Tom and I found on our way to the SOITC Rally this past June. Pretty setting w/the campers backed up along the base of the Blue Ridge Parkway Mountains.

The 4 of us arrived at the Ocean Lakes RV Resort MO afternoon and quickly got set up. Tom got all of us great campsites as we were only 6 campers away from sand and surf so we all headed to the beach for a nice stroll to unwind from a couple long days of traveling.

TU morning (9-13), the 4 of us set up our chairs and umbrella and had fun playing in the warm Atlantic Ocean. The tide was a bit rowdy so Tom and Pat got out farther than Jane or I, but it was still nice and refreshing. The rest of our club (Russ & Barb, Edith and Aunt Inky and Bruce & Audie)arrived that afternoon.
That evening all 10 of us had dinner at Pier 14 w/a nice dining view of the ocean along the "strip" downtown. After placing our order, several of us walked out to the end of the pier and saw a guy haul in a small spinner shark.
It was cool watching him and a couple buddies get the hook out of the shark's mouth and let him thrash around on the deck. Don't know if the guy kept it or sent him on his way back out in the ocean.

Had a terrific day at the beach WE (9-14) and lots of fun watching everyone play (some fully emerged and some standing in ankle to knee-deep water). This was the first time Russ has gotten to actually get in and splash around in the warm ocean water and he really seemed to like it. Of course, my water baby has enjoyed being in it the last 2 days and even bought himself a body board.


WE evening, Russ & Barb fixed BBQ pork chops for all of us. Afterwards, everyone but Edith and Aunt Inky who, bless her heart, came down w/a cold, played a round of miniature golf at Mt. Atlanticus. Lots of fun and a pretty view of the Sky Wheel w/its many colored lights over by the ocean.


TH (9-15) began w/a sunrise party attended by Russ, Barb, Pat, Jane, Audie, Tom and me. We got there way too early but when the sun peeked over the ocean and started rising over the horizon, it was truly worth the wait. Beautiful!
More beach time minus Pat & Jane, who wanted to check out the campground pool. I heard the same comment by different club members that day who said "This is the life!" Yes, it is and I'm so thankful that all of us were able to make the trip.

For dinner TH night, we went to Villa Romana, an Italian restaurant w/some terrific food. It was the best chicken parmagiana I've had in a really long time but, as usual any more, the portions were too large. Several of us had to take doggie bags home. Most of our group wanted to go chill out at the cg but Pat, Jane, Tom and I went to the Jungle Lagoon and played another round of miniature golf.

Overcast and windy early FR (9-16) w/the coastline being eroded pretty badly by the crashing waves throughout the night. So, some of us went souvenir shopping and others of us went to the Barefoot Landing, which is an outdoor shopping/restaurant mecca. That evening, Tom fixed brats and hotdogs on the grill. It was nice sitting around the campfire, which was a hole dug in the sand and the firewood placed inside the hole. We topped the evening off w/Audie's favorite thing to do...making smores! Yum, yum!



Still overcast SA (9-17) but not windy, which we were glad of since 6 of our group headed back to IL that morning. That afternoon, Pat, Jane, Tom and I went to lunch at Drunken Jack's in Murrell's Inlet and did a little more shopping that afternoon. That evening, the 4 of us played pegs and jokers. We had actually played that game on SU and MO as well. Sad to say the girls are still in a slump and have not been able to break our losing streak. All I can say is watch out guys because one of these days we'll get our groove on and you'll be the ones hanging your heads!

SU (9-18) was our last full day in SC. After I got back from church, the 4 of us headed downtown to stroll along the strip. Our 1st stop, however, was a nice smooth ride on the Sky Wheel. Beautiful ocean views when on top of this giant ferris wheel.

Around 4:00 p.m., we went to Gauchao's, which is a Brazilian steakhouse. Not as fancy as Chima's in Ft. Lauderdale and not as much to offer on their salad bar but there were lots of meat choices brought around on the skewers. None of us left hungry, that's for sure! It's quite an experience and quite pricey so a luxury we only take advantage of very, very sporadically.

On MO (9-19), we left a little before Pat & Jane to start our trek home and they started their travels up to VT. Tom and I spent the night at the Sweetwater, TN KOA and got to visit w/our friends, Dave & Gloria, for a few hours that evening. She made some wonderful Italian sausage and it was great seeing them and playing catch-up since we last saw them back in March.

Got back to the NSPOA cg around 8:00 p.m. TU night and here's where the "bust" comes in. Smooth travels from start to finish but ended up w/a broken glass bookshelf that we guess happened either on I24 or I57 due to lots of construction. Bummer but at least it was a minor fix and nothing even close to broken shock brackets like we had upon our return from the SOITC Rally back in June.

Beach Time in FL

After a fun July week in MI w/our friends Tim and Trish,we spent 2 weeks in Ft. Walton Beach w/Valerie and Sophia then journeyed farther south to Ft. Lauderdale to spend a week in August down there.

One day while in FWB, we got to take Sophia over to the Santa Rosa Sound Side beach across the street from the base and another day we took her to Beasley Park Beach on the Gulf going towards Destin. The girl has no fear and kept Grandpa and Grandma busy holding onto her hands or carrying her on out into the splashing waves, which she enjoyed. She is such a cute little beach baby running around playing in the sand and romping about in the water.


Valerie has found a few "splash" parks where the kids run around a big flat surface waiting for water to spray them from various objects or shooting up right out of the ground. Sophia's favorite is what I call the "mushroom" as the water looks like a mushroom cap waterfall. We went to a couple of those while we were there and Momma even joined us on those 2 occasions.





Valerie finished her very 1st quilt following 4 weeks of quilting class and it looks really nice in the babies' room. She did a terrific job on it and I like her personal touch w/the butterflies. She also made us a nice table runner for our coffee table. It's 2-sided w/one of palm trees for summer and a flowery one for spring. Thanks, Val!

While at FWB, the 4 of us got to celebrate my birthday and Tom's and my 43rd wedding anniversary. Except for Sophia having a sour stomach, which caused a big ol' mess in Val's car (poor baby), on the evening we were all going out to Carrabas for our anniversary, we had a really nice 2 weeks in the Florida Panhandle. Oh yeah, we had a wonderful time the following evening at Carrabas and, on the way back from Destin, Grandpa pulled into a parking lot so we could watch the fireworks that were being shot off out on the Gulf. Sophia was mesmerized and kept saying "boom"! She loved it.

On SA, 8-6-11, we dropped Val and Sophia off at their dear friends (Matt, Brooke & Seth) home near Tampa then Tom and I proceeded down to Kira-Mar in Ft. Lauderdale. Not sure how the ocean was going to be since Tropical Storm Danielle had moved on through a couple days before that, we were greatly surprised to see the clear water and mild wave action. We spent LOTS of beach time while there and even went to Miami South Beach to check it out. What a bust! After finally finding a parking spot, walking 3 blocks to the beach to check it out then hauling our chairs and umbrella back down there, it stormed. Tom didn't even get a chance to set the umbrella up let alone get in the water. After hauling everything back to the van, since it was just sprinkling, we walked around several blocks looking at the upscale shops then headed back to Ft. L. Thankfully, the weather cleared up early evening so we did get some Ft. L beach time. In my opinion, the ONLY draw to Miami Beach is the slight chance you might see a movie star. So, I don't care if we ever go back there.

We picked the girls up in Tampa on SA, 8-13, spent the night w/them in FWB and got back home on MO, 8-15. It's nice to be back in IL for a while even though we pent this past weekend w/our camping club at Ray Behren's cg on Mark Twain Lake near Hannibal, MO.

Oh I wish I was an Oscar Mayer wiener!

After a HOT, but good weekend at Sangchris Lake w/the Sangamon Valley Campers Club made even more enjoyable w/the Kendall's joining us SA, and after 3 out of 4 of us having to move to a different spot AGAIN, we headed up to our friend's, Tim & Trish, to spend a week at their beautiful home in MI.

We left MO morning and thought we might drive into a bit cooler weather. Nope. It followed us so was hot there too. Nonetheless, we had a great time while there. TU night they took us to the Pix Theater (an old movie house showing local movies made by some talented Michigan folk). Afterwards, we had some terrific ice cream. On WE, while the guys played 18 holes of golf (the weather was overcast so it wasn't too stifling for them), Trish and I went to Frankenmuth. What a quaint little area w/lots of unique shops and a H U G E Christmas store where I was able to buy a Michigan ornament for our 4' Christmas "travels" tree. Only ornaments on it are from places we've traveled to around the country. Unlike our state map that SOME people won't let me put Hawaii on because we didn't actually camp there, this tree is for our overall travels with or without the camper.

We spent all day TH (7-21) at the Henry Ford Museum. Saw some neat cars including the limo President & Mrs. John F. Kennedy was riding in when he was fatally shot, a big train that they had to remove the wall for in order to bring it into the building, and quite a few other displays of agriculture, the Civil War, aviation and, yes, an ORIGINAL Wiener Mobile. I remember having a wiener whistle but never had the wiener harmonica or wiener ring. And, of course, "Oh I Wish I Was an Oscar Mayer Wiener" song played in my mind the rest of the day. It was a neat museum and, with the renovations going on, I hope we'll get to go back to see some new stuff sometime.

We left MI last FR (7-22) and got to Valerie & Scott's on SA, July 23rd, just in time to celebrate my birthday w/dinner at Fisherman's Wharf. It's a great seafood restaurant and was actually breezy enough that we were able to sit outside to eat and watch the boats and birds. Sophia got to hear her 1st live entertainment as a guy and his guitar serenaded us while eating and visiting. She loved it and danced a little bit but enjoyed clapping after every song.

This past TU-TH were gloomy, rainy and damped our plans quite a bit. To break up the monotony, us 3 adults went to see Harry Potter 2 on WE. I should have had a "refresher" from Part 1 in order for the beginning of this movie to flow better. But, it was just as good as all the others. However, today (FR, 7-29) has made up for it w/lots of sunshine and hot temps. Grandpa and I even took Sophia to the beach on the Santa Rosa Sound side. She is getting such a cute little tan and would make a beautiful little Coppertone baby! Hope to make another splash on the beach sometime over the weekend.

Hot, hot, hot!

After a great time in TN, including a trip up the Great Smokey Mtns and Cades Cove, we headed back out a week after returning home. The Sangamon Valley Campers Club went to a new spot we'd never been to called Argyle Lake State Park near Macomb, IL. Several members of Audie's family joined us on SA and it seemed like old times w/a big potluck in, well, a long time.

Luckily, we survived several days of thunderstorms and flooding all across central IL mid-June. And now we're hitting 3-digit heat index days of summer w/high temps in the mid- to upper-90s and high humidity. Sure glad Tom is letting me run BOTH air-conditioners, which seem to be doing a really nice job of keeping us cool...until we step outside the door!

Sure glad we moved Clay, Kim and Kenley into their beautiful new home 2 weeks ago as it would've been miserable to move them the last 2 weekends. Downside to that weekend was that we took our camper to Trailer Masters to put new shock brackets on while we were up in Bloomington. Unfortunately, when we picked it up that SU afternoon, the camper battery was dead. After taking it over to Wal-Mart and getting a new one, we came home and had to toss all of the food from the refrigerator and freezer. Ughhh. Groceries are SOOO expensive when you have to start all over again w/everything.

July 4th weekend was fun as Don & Phyllis, one of the couples we chummed with while in FL last winter, brought their motor home to the campground and stayed FR-MO. Except for us gals losing most games of pegs and jokers, it was a great weekend and they were impressed w/the fireworks display that NSPOA puts on every year. Clay, Kim and Kenley joined us that SA and the 5 of us had fun jumping in the pool to cool off. Tom then grilled some burgers and dogs but, instead of getting to eat outdoors since it was too hot, hot, hot, all of us plus Don & Phyllis ate inside the cool confines of our home.

On SU (July 3), Tom and I went to Chatham to help celebrate my brother, Chic's, 60th birthday that my sister-in-law, Kim, pulled off. It was great seeing the smile on Chic's face and everyone had a nice time.

Yesterday (July 10), we went back up to Bloomington for Clay's inauguration of the new grill he got from Kim & Kenley for Father's Day. I was hoping we could eat our yummy steaks and grilled veggies outdoors in the shade but, once again, it was too hot, hot, hot.

I don't think we're going to get much of a break from the heat over the new few weeks when we head up to Michigan next week then down to Florida for 3 weeks after that. But, I'm sure we'll find some fun and interesting things to do to help us stay cool.

Our trip to the 2011 SOITC rally

Well we took off in our new 2011 Ram 3500 with the new TomTom gps we bought last Feb to add some states to our camping map while on the way to the SOITC rally.
I had called Jims RV park in Milton WV and was assured that though he didnt take reservations there would be no problem getting a spot for Sat nite. I called Hominy RV park in Candler NC and made reservations for Sunday nite. We planned on stopping at the Camping World in Indy to return a couple things we bought on 1 of our trips back from FL at the Nashville store. Yes, we could have gone that way but we decided to see some country we hadnt seen yet(be careful what you wish for).
The day before we left I called Camping world to make sure they had a part we needed, they did not. Ok cancel that stop. I put the destination of Jims RV park in the TomTom and surprisingly it still routed us through Indy, hmmmm. Looking at the full route it didnt look like I expected but hey, we were going to see new country.
Things went pretty well until we neared Cincinatti OH and the gps took us off the interstate and put us on state route 9. We had planned to just stop at a campground somewhere before WV for the first night. Well, state route nine does not have a lot of campgrounds or towns for that matter. The first recognizable town we came to was Maysville KY. We passed a sign that said 'blue licks battlefield state resort park campground .20 miles'. So we proceeded a ways and didnt see anything else. I pulled off the road and searced the gps for nearby campgrounds. One popped up 3.4 miles away. I called them and asked how far away they were. 20 miles he said, on the other side of the river. Do you have any spots I asked. No, we are still recovering from the flood! Not one to give up easily I headed back towards the Blue Lick sign but saw another sign directing us to turn for it. Went a little ways and saw another .20 sign telling us to turn onto a rather small road. This road was not built for A 50 foot 8 foot wide truck & trailer. Fortunately we only had to drive for about a half hour to find a side road big and straight enough to back onto and head back to civilization.
I gave up and headed on down state route 9 and eventually ended up at Grayson KY at about 8pm and found a small campground AND diesel fuel and a Chinese restaurant.

Up and at'em the next day. Since we were only about 40 miles from Jims RV Park we decided to head furthur into WV befor stopping for the night. We settled on Beckley WV and Lake Stephens Campground judging from the Trailer Life Directory. Here is the review that I later pulled up online.

"If you can find your way, the campground was clean but the sites are very narrow. With an antenna, we were able to receive three channels. The vast majority of trailers (we saw one other motor home) appeared to be long term residents with lots of young children. The narrow road coming in is 9 miles of twists and turns including a 5% downgrade. (Hot brakes and bad nerves) DO NOT follow your GPS because you may never be seen again. If you go here, you are on your own. Never again."

Add to that, there was a "free concert" that day that had the road lined with cars & trucks and sometimes they were parked on the road. At the CG the spots were all pull throughs, imagine a loop with pull throughs on both sides and an 'exit' road inside and outside the loop. You parked your tow vehicle in the street behind your rig and our RV fit in the spot but our awning hung into the 'exit' road.

We went to a coal mine museum and small tour of a coal mine that was very interesting.

On Sunday we headed for our reserved spot at the Hominy Valley RV park. This was a Passport America park for $17 a night you got full hookups and 50 amp service but no office, showers or host. We found it with no problem at all and pulled into the park. Did I mention that this was a 6 site park that backed up to the Blue Ridge Mountains with nothing but the the hookups and a picnic table. There was a large mailbox with self addressed stamped envelopes to mail your check to the owner and the rules of the park. At the exit was a sign pointing to which way to town, fuel and the Blue Ridge Parkway.

So of course after setting up we headed to the parkway. This road was by far the steepest, smallest, curviest one we had been on yet. Most of the time I was looking out the side window to see where we were going. Finally got to the Mt Pisgah store and asked where can we see some neat stuff. She asked where we came from and got a good laugh when we told her the curvy steep road but directed us to 'sliding rock' and 'looking glass falls'. Found our way to both by not following the GPS directions and they were interesting. Wondering how to get back we pulled off a little past Looking Glass and studied the GPS. Took off, rounded the next curve and there was the stoplight and road that led us back to the campground.
Took of the next morning for the rally at Sevierville and of course the GPS led us down the narrow 2 lane road to the campground instead of the 6 lane hiway.

Hills and Hollers

We sure are breaking the new truck in while trekking around the hills and hollers of the Pisgah National Forest and the Great Smokey Mountains. Thank God that Tom has nerves of steel while winding around the narrow roads w/sharp curves. I love to drive but these mountains are a bit too treacherous for me, especially when towing our home around w/us.

Heading out last FR we stayed in KY that night, SA we were in WV and SU we stayed in NC. This week we're having a good time w/about 190 other Suite Owners in Sevierville, TN. It's great fun seeing everyone from around the country and Canada on an annual basis, swapping "snowbird" stories about our winter hide-outs and experiencing new things here in the mountains. I thought it would be cooler due to the higher elevation but we're in the mid-90s. Just like back home. What's up w/that?

As part of our rally fee, we all went to the Dixie Stampede last night. Dolly didn't show up, AGAIN, but I just love watching the buffalo charge out in a misty haze and roam around for a few minutes. Breathtaking!

Once we get to Myrtle Beach, SC in Sept. w/our Sangamon Valley Camper friends, we'll have the whole southeastern quadrant of our US map filled in. Then we'll have to concentrate on the northeastern states and the west coast. Of course, I still think we should get to put Hawaii on the map but everyone else has poo-pooed that notion since we didn't take our camper over there. :(

Double Your Pleasure...Double Your Fun!

Yep! Our daughters have done it again...they're both expecting and they're both due towards the end of the year. That means Grandpa and I will have 4 grandbabies w/birthdays in October through December. I'm thinking the last quarter of every year is going to be rather costly...but well worth it!

This time around, Clay & Kim are first. Their due date is November 7th. Scott & Valerie's due date is December 1st. If neither one goes early this time (like they both did the 1st time), we'll have 5 year-end birthdays as Scott's is in November too. Grandma and Grandpa might have to go find parttime jobs, huh?!

Anyway, we are SO blessed and looking forward to our new additions. It's fun watching our family grow, especially now that Sophia and Kenley are coming up w/all kinds of new words in their vocabularies, discovering all kinds of neat things OUTside (as Sophia enunciates it) ie sticks, bugs, frogs and, of course, BUBBLES!

Mr. B and I are having a ball as retired grandparents and being able to pack up and head down to FL or up to Bloomington when we need a grandbaby fix.

Fun Times / Bad Times

Fun time - After leaving FWB earlier this month, we went up to Comlara Co. Park cg to spend a few days w/Clay, Kim and Kenley. Had lots of fun going on walks, playing at the nearby park and checking out the progress on the kid's new home construction. It's coming along nicely and everyone is getting excited.

Bad time - Heading towards the highway to head to the State Fair cg for a couple days, we discovered we had no brakes on the truck. Sure glad we had the camper attached as it helped stop us safely. This is the 2nd time since last June that we've had to call Good Sam for roadside assistance. Sure glad we have that service. The tow truck hauled truck and camper to a truck service plaza and 9 (yes, you read it right) hours later and twice the cost that it should've been for a brake line, we were on the road arriving in Spfld. at 11 p.m.

Fun time - Got together w/Pat & Jane TH evening to play pegs and jokers before we all headed to Site M on FR for our 1st official campout of the season w/our camping friends.

Bad time - Valerie had a medical situation that required us to go back to Ft. Walton Beach for a couple weeks.

Fun time - We've really enjoyed helping her and Sophia out while Scott is gone. Lots of walks, playground time, playing at the beach and in Sophia's new swimming pool.

Bad time - We'll be heading back home tomorrow (FR) and sure hope we don't run into any dangerous storms/tornadoes that have been plaguing the southern states lately.

Fun time - Going back for cook-outs, campouts and lunch dates w/family and friends,

Last week and 1/2 at M RV

Well, winter hibernation is winding down and I must tell you that Mr. B and I are REALLY glad we didn't have to endure the long, cold, miserable weather back home in IL. Did not miss it one bit but feel bad for our family and friends who weren't as fortunate as we were w/our Great Escape.

The night the guys went to the stock car races, us gals went to see "Lincoln Lawyer". Good movie! The next afternoon (SU 3-20), my gal pals and I participated in karaoke at the clubhouse. We had fun "singing" "Splish Splash" and Carrie Underwood's new song called something like "Before He Cheats". Then, we coerced Dave into joining us for a rousing rendition of "Locomotion". Mr. B took a camera video of us and it's obvious this gal can't stand still once the tunes come on! We all had a fun (and funny) time.

On MO (3-21), Dave & Gloria joined Tom and me at the Ft. Myers beach. Very nice soft white sand and TONS of spring breakers and families. We're very surprised at the small amount of beach area there as we're used to about a blocks worth of sand down to the Atlantic at the beach in Ft. Lauderdale. Regardless, we had a really great day w/the Sanborn's.

On TU (3-22), Dave was taken to the VA hospital in West Palm Beach and on TH (3-24) he was moved to a hospital in Miami where he successfully underwent surgery to receive 4 stents. We were all grateful that he didn't need to have open heart surgery and I'm happy to report that, when Gloria got him back to the cg on FR, he looked terrific and said he was feeling pretty good.

TU night (3-29), all 8 of us headed to "El Tarasco" for a final good Mexican dinner and SMALL Margaritas (no more Med. drinks for this gal) to celebrate new friendships and set up some dates to see each other this coming summer.

On WE (3-30) Tom and I (the 1st ones in our group to leave) bid our friends farewell before we started heading up to Ft. Walton Beach. Teary morning followed by a truck tire losing pressure and a young mechanic in Gainesville putting the spare on in heavy rain (even though Mr. B tried to keep him somewhat dry w/our large golfer's umbrella), driving through some nasty thunderstorms (tornado warnings all around but we didn't spot any, thank God) and we used our Passport America to stop at the Florida Springs cg in Bonifay, FL for the night.

We're now enjoying a brief stay w/Scott, Valerie and Sophia before heading back to IL next WE. Temps in Moore Haven were mid- to upper 80's and temps here in FWB are low to mid-70's. Not looking forward to the 20 degree difference in IL that I've been watching on the Weather Channel but hopefully the worst is behind us. We needed to get the low tire checked and see why our A/C works very intermittently. The fan clutch was bad & the A/C needed freon, the tire needed a valve stem. Another $350 bill for the truck.

March 19

On Saturday 3/11 we were thinking about going to some stockcar races a guy had told us that he used to go to but since there had been no signs of life or advertisements for it we determined that they didnt do that anymore.

On Sunday we had a potluck with our other three couples and the guys won a round of ladder jacks.
Then we sat abound our little propane campfire and visited until the wee hours (10:30pm). Trish & Gloria told us that when they went in to church that there was a stockcar up on a pole with a banner that said 'Racing Tonight'. Cheryl went by there about an hour after them and said she didn't see it. So there was a lot of joking about the 'stockcar on a stick' Trish said that she had written down a phone number from the banner but didnt produce it.

Monday the 2 of us headed for Fort Lauderdale for a beach day. We got there around 10 o'clock and had no problem getting a parking place at our favorite spot. The weather was perfect and the beach started filling up with spring break kids. Around 12:30 we walked dow to beach place planning to hit LULUs Bait Shack for lunch but decided to try Da Big Kahuna instead. I had a 1/2 lb bacon cheeseburger and Cheryl has a grilled chicken with a gold pinapple ring, both were very good. We then went back to the beach and lounged around until about 3:30. We walked the beach a couple time and got our feet wet but didnt get in the water. We left the beach and went to Lauderdale by the Sea for a little shopping to kill some time before supper. All we bought was a palm tree for the wall.
Then we hit Catfish Deweys for supper. We forgot that they have 'early bird' specials before 6pm and got there about 5:45. We each had 1/2 pound of fried shrimp w/2 sides & drink for $11.25 ea and forgot that dessert was included. We passed on the dessert because we were too full. That night I realised that I had not done a good job of applying my sunscreen as my neck was really sore and my chest was red & white.

Tuesday, The mobile RV guy showed up about 1:15 to give me an estimate for the awning replacement and to find out why the water heater wasnt working. The awning is going to be really expensive. But the water heater was just a loose wire but it took him about a 1/2 hour and several jolts of electricity to find it. Now I'm waiting to see how much of the awning the insurance will pay. The awning was supposed to be shipped on the 18th and hopefully installed next week.
Then Tim, Dave & I headed for the golf course We dont do very well but we do have fun. After golf the 4 wives and Ken met up with us at the Tiki Bar for supper. I had a taco salad(poor choice) but everybody elses food was good. During the meal Gloria declared that there was a Winn-Dixie in the town. Nobody believed her so when we left the bar we had her lead us to it. We were unsuccessful. When we got back to the CG we told everybody that the W-D was right by the 'Stockcar on a Stick'

Wednesday, We all went to Ft Myers Longhorn Steakhouse to celebrate my 62 birthday.
I had 2 Banana Daquiris and a filet. Both were very good and every one said theirs was too. I got a Marguerita in a bag and a golf ball with a lifejacket from my friends. Oh and the crew came out and sang something but I couldnt understand them and we all shared my somewhat melted hot fudge sundae. Oh and Kenny made off with 2 spoons! Tim finally got the phone number for the race track and it was still in operation.

Thursday, Since the swelling on Tims bite had gone down, 3 of us couples headed out to visit Solomons Castle in Ona(google it) It was fun & interesting, the artist looked like an old Pat O'Neal and had his sense of humor. We had lunch at their 'boat on the moat' and it was very good. We bought a 2 piece magnet bird that 1/2 goes on the outside of a window and the other 1/2 goes inside.

Then we went to see Hermanns Lippizan Stallions.
They perform all over but when they are here the put on practice shows on Thu & Fri at 3pm and Sat at 10. Dave & Gloria were supposed to meet us there at 3 and they didnt miss much of the show by the time they got there. It was ok, not as exciting as a rodeo, but entertaining.

Friday, Tim, Dave, Berman & I played golf this morning and performed as usual but I only fed 1 ball to the alligators this time. Then we got back to the CG just in time for our ususl Texas Holdem game. Didnt take me long to lose my $9 this time.

Sat, went in to Clewiston to look at a new Dodge 3500. I thought it was a quad cab but it was a crew cab. It was pretty sharp but the $47,000 price tag kept me out of a test drive. On the way back to the CG we saw the 'Stockcar on a stick', it was actually on 4 posts on a trailer, and us guys are going to the races tonight & the women have already left for a movie in Ft Myers.

Toto, I don't think we're in KS anymore!

That's how I felt this past TH morning (Mar.10) when a big thunderstorm snuck up on us. I had just looked out the dining room window and told Tom there was a dark nasty-looking cloud moving this way and BAM! Very strong winds and lots of rain hit so quickly that we didn't have time to roll the awning up. Sure enough, the wind ripped it off the hinges and pulled it down to the ground along w/the sunscreen.


I went and sat on the steps going up to the bedroom (I know...no real safe place in a camper but at least I had 2 walls on either side of me) and Mr. B continued to watch the storm through our bay window. While he was doing that, the dining room slide actually moved in at least 3 times and deposited some leaves there. Scared me a bit so I started saying lots of prayers. Anyway, by the time the winds moved on, we lost our big awning and the small over-the-slide awning on the same side. Our flag pole went flying over to the empty lot next to us, the bucket flew across the street and ended up near the back fence, the bicycles and rocking chairs were blown over, a piece of plexigas that Tom had under the rear of the camper apparently slammed up against something underneath and split in 2 and our garbage can caught up again something underneath so it didn't land anywhere.

We're OK and a mobile RV repair guy is supposed to come out next TU to give us an estimate on the 2 awnings.

Our friend, Trish, saw her little hot-air balloon outdoor decoration start to fly away so she ran outside to retrieve it. As she turned around to go back in hers and Tim's camper, 1 of their lawn chairs flew at her. Luckily she put her arm up in front of her head but you should see the big ol' bruise and couple cuts she received.

So, all that being said, I sure hope we never experience anything like that again anywhere we're camped out. It is comforting to know that our home survived and stayed, for the most part, in one piece.

Now then, where did we leave off on our adventure?

Oh yeah, as is tradition, I was able to convince the other 3 gal pals here at the cg that we needed a "Girls Day Out", which just so happened to be on President's Day...yep, we went shopping! All 4 guys stayed here at the cg and did their own thing...tinkering around their campers.

On the 23rd Tom and I met up w/5 other Suite Owners in Lake Placid. Bob & Cherri Strohofer had us all meet at their cg and, after a few glasses of wine, we piled into our vehicles and went to the Henscratch Winery. Lots of fun w/many free-range chickens meandering around. Some of our group did some wine tasting while the rest of us had fun listening to a band that was played outdoors. Groups down here say they aren't "hill" billies because there aren't any hills in FL. Therefore, they call themselves "swamp" billies!

That evening back here at our cg, we enjoyed some more swampbillies called "The Sweeney Family Band". They were really good and quite funny. Reminded me of an act you'd see in Branson. The "goofy one" in the group, "Skeeter", sang "Hey Good Lookin'" to me after he came over and sat on my lap and found out my nickname (a long time ago) was Skeeter (given to me by my maternal grandfather).

Headed to Ft. Lauderdale on Feb. 25 but too many things on our agenda while there. By the time we headed to the beach, we came to a creeping, crawling pace along A1A dodging other cars and LOTS of people. Discovered that was the beginning of the Spring Break crowd. Once we got to the pkg lot we usually go to, it was completely full and, by the time we got down to the larger, more expensive lot the street to get to it was closed, Mr. B said it was too late to get any beach time so we came back to Moore Haven. We tried to go back last TH but Ft. L had wind and rip current advisories so we postponed it until tomorrow. However, we just saw the weather and there's a big possibility of thunderstorms all day tomorrow down there...so I guess we'll try 1 day next week.

On Feb. 28, 3 of us couples went to El Tarasco for a good Mexican dinner. Everyone had a drink except our DD. He had a Coke while the rest of us had Margaritas. Not sure if it was the strawberries in mine 1 drink or the limes in Gloria's 1 drink but the 2 of us got the giggles and kept everyone entertained. Carol and Brent...sorry you have to see this...but that drink really was a good one.

Last FR and SA 3/4&5, we went to the Chalo Nitka (Seminole words meaning "Big Bass") Rodeo and Festival. The FR night rodeo was great fun so we went back for the finals on SA. But first we went to the carnival area for supper. We went to a little stand and got an italian sausage sandwich from a young couple that had a restaurant here in FL and while we ate we visited with them. Turns out she was from Pana, small world. When we got to the rodeo sadly, the very 1st event caused a cowboy to get kicked in the head by a bull and he had to be escorted off the field. Then, a relay later in the evening turned very sad as 2 horses slammed into each other. It was sickening to watch. The 2 riders, we were told, were OK but one of the horses never got back up off the ground and the other one was limping very badly into the trailer that came to get both horses off the field. We heard SU that the 1 horse had to be put down.

This past MO 3/7 three of us couples went to the Edison-Ford Winter Estates in Ft. Myers.
Thomas and Henry were friends and neighbors and their homes were lovely w/beautiful yards and gardens. There was also an Edison museum and workshop where he conducted experiments. We didnt know that originally Ford worked for Edison and Edison actually became a mentor for him.

Yesterday 3/8, Mr. B and I went to Lake Placid "The Town of Murals" and checked out all 44 murals scattered throughout the town. Very interesting, especially the ones where you were to try and find certain things (ie snakes, hunters, angels, stethoscopes, etc.) in them. Some were obvious and some were very hard or impossible for us to see. They also built their trashcans as works of art.
Some of the murals & trashcans had sound also.

Got a little behind!

on the 16th we got to Sarasota for the luncheon with 38 other Suite owners.

It was fun. We went there early to make sure we knew where it was and Cheryl went in to see where we would be and of course used the restroom. Then we ran a couple of errands and when we got back she led us in the side door where the restrooms were. We went to the desk and they took us to our large table. Seems we were the first ones there. As it got after the 1pm time to meet we started wondering where everyone else was. I decided to go out to the main lobby to see if anybody was out there. Just then my phone rang and it was Randy wanting to know where we were. I said 'I am in the lobby of the restaurant' and he said 'theres 36 of us on the front porch', pretty funny. The food was good but not as good as the Amish in Indiana. It was billed as Amish/Mennonite cooking. It was funny seeing all the OLD women on bicycles & tricycles riding around the area. They seemed to be concentrated in a few block area of the restaurant.


After the luncheon we met up with Cheryls cousin Dan formerly from Michigan but now living in Sarasota. He & Diane took us to sit out on their favorite beach at Siesta Key and we visited for a while then they gave us a tour of the area. It was great getting together with them again. It is a white sugar sand beach like the ones in the panhandle which is rare down here. We finally got back to the campground that night.

On the 17th we headed to the Seminole Museum & the Billie Swamp Safari with our MI friends.
They were driving so I figured they knew where they were going. I was wrong. After we drove 40 miles southeast on RT 27 we stopped at a gas station for some refreshments and I got on the gps and found the route we needed about 12 miles or so back up RT 27. Turns out the place we were going was where we had checked out a Seminole campground a few years ago but from Tim & Kens directions I didnt think it was the same place. Anyhow as we drove to the place we saw MANY large gators sunning themselves along a waterway along the side of the road. The museum was very interesting and we learned a lot about the Seminoles. Then we grabbed a bite at a little snack shack called 'the sweet tooth' and headed to the swamp safari. By the time we got there it was getting late. We got our tickets and they said that we would have to tell the airboat operator that we had to hurry to make the last swamp buggy ride. So, we took a very quick ride in the airboat, saw a few gators, a racoon and a water buffalo soaking in the water. We then proceeded to the swamp buggy for a very informative and entertaining tour.


On the 19th we went to Ft Myers to meet up with the Murgatroyd's at the Harbourside Grill for lunch.
We had a good visit and some good food.

On the 20th we went to the Tiki bar in Clewiston with our MI friends. It is part of the Roland Martin Marina and they were having a bass tournament on Lake Okeechobee that weekend so we watched the weigh some of the big fish that had been caught. That evening we went to the county fair in Clewiston. Security was pretty tight, there were police at the entrance and a sign that said 'No alcohol, No weapons, No colors' It was a pretty nice fair, kind of like our Sangamon county fair. We had some good food AND a Glazed funnel cake. The guy knew the Krispy Kreme owner and had their glaze to put on the cake. It was VERY GOOD and not messy like powdered sugar.

Thats it for now, we will try to catch up with the rest of the goings on soon.

On the road again!

Saturday the 5th we went to the cane grinding festival at Ortona. $8 to get in and included pork or chicken dinner. Only ran from 10 to 3 but had some craft sales, cloggers & bands. We saw a demo of grinding the cane and boiling it down to syrup. They were selling stalks of can for $3 and this one guy gave us each a piece of can to chew. It was not very good! After we left there we went to the lock & dam and watched some boats go through that was pretty neat. There was a very nice COE (Corp of Engineers)campground on the other side of the river.
On Sunday we went to the Super Bowl party at the clubhouse with 3 other couples we have made friends with. The CG had a pizza special, $5 for all you could eat. Since there was about 100 people there and they could only cook 1 at a time it took a while to get 'all you could eat'.
Monday we went up to Okochobee with Tim & Trish to see a couple we had met at Mrv. They were in one of those high dollar CG that want to sell you lots. It was very nice but none of us were buying. Once again the girls won at P&J
We headed up to WDW on Tuesday and stopped on the way to visit with Connie & Johnnie at Frostproof. They are in a nice CG and we had a good visit.
We spent 2 days at Disney World. Did Epcot on Wednesday from 9 to 9 CB rode the GM test track twice and the mission to space once. We also rode Soaring at the land pavilion, it was an Imax but your seats were suspended so it seemed like you were following the action. We saw all the countries in the world showcase then ate supper and headed to the Imagination pavilion but it had closed at 7. Finished up the day at the Illumination display in the lake. Lots of fire, lasers, and fireworks. After we got back to the hotel we decided to go to Downtown Disney. Went in the Christmas store and the Lego store then decided we had had enough and went back to the hotel about midnight.
Went to MGM now called Hollywood Studios today. Started out at 65 degrees then rain & dropping temps. Went on Tower of Terror and guy next to me screamed like a little girl. Then went to Indiana Jones and part way through someone in the audience had a 'medical problem', presume heart attack , cancelled the show medics arrived as we were filing out. Then went to the auto stunt show cold sitting in the stands. During the first chase scene the good guy ran into one of the bad guys (not supposed to happen) so...delay or cancel? Just about a 20 minute delay then the show completed without any more problems. We went to a couple other shows and decided we were too cold, so we went back to the hotel and planned to go eat at Downtown Disney. Got to the room and it was cold, called the front desk and they sent a guy up to turn on the heat?!? Decided we didn't want to go out in the cold again so we ate at the hotel.
We are now at Sophia's house to visit her and her mama & papa. We are having fun.
We will be leaving Tuesday to get to Sarasota for the SOITC luncheon on Wednesday, then back to Mrv.

And you ask if we're bored!

NO! Oh my goodness, it really is true that you wonder how on earth you ever got anything done or got to do anything while working, taking care of your home, etc. I was concerned that my Sweet Baboo would get bored since he doesn't have any hobbies (other than his "techy" stuff), but we're constantly on the go here at the cg and occasional trips to "civilization".

A week ago TU we had a horrible storm blow through while in our friends, Tim & Trish's, camper. Tim had to run out to grab their patio carpet before it blew to Never Never Land but, because the wind was coming from the west, he didn't get wet, which was pretty amazing.

Then, on WE, we went to Ft. Lauderdale to go to dinner w/some IL friends and look forward to going back and spend a few days between now and the end of March on the beach.

Tom has learned how to play Texas Holdem and held his own last FR and then on SA we went with the 3 other couples we are hanging out with (Tim & Trish, Ken & Claudia and Dave & Gloria) to a HUGE fleamarket in Ft. Myers. It amazes me how BIG these events we go to are and we aren't even in Texas (which, by the way, is where we plan to winter next year).

Yesterday afternoon the 8 of us went back to Ft. Myers to go see the movie "True Grit" w/Jeff Bridges playing Rooster Cogburn. A few of us saw the original 1 w/The Duke (aka John Wayne for you youngins) but we can't remember how it ended. We're sure it did not end the way this movie did so if any of you can remember that far back...please let me know how the original ended and I'll pass the info along to the others.

Looking forward to Feb. 8-16 as WE'RE GOING TO DISNEYWORLD, plus spending a few days w/the young Lokker's (if they can get out of the frozen tundra [WI] on time) and then going to Sarasota on the 16th to have lunch w/several "Suite" friends. Maybe I'll have Mr. B show me how to drop some pix in when we do a post after that trip.

The LITTLE RV Show

Last Sunday after church we decided to go find Lake Okeechobee. I know, we are right by it but, when we go to the top of the berm that surrounds it all we see is a little waterway and lots of ground.
We traveled 58 miles and finally found WATER.
It was on the east side of the lake and this was the area that some people we met at the Emerald Beach CG said that we didnt want to go there. The town was Pahokee and we saw a bus, about 6 police cars and several boarded up buildings as we made our way to the KOA CG that is over the berm and right on the lake. As we left town we also saw the 'projects' where all the ex workers lived. The recession really hit the sugar cane in this area hard and all the towns have unemployed and boarded up businesses.

One of the neat/odd things we have seen is the small black birds feeding in the ponds, there are hundreds of then skimming just above the water and dipping something out of the water. Dont know if its fish or bugs they're getting but I'm waiting for the gator to pop up and get a few birds.
One day this week CB decided to get some sun so I broke out the hammock for her. She seemed to enjoy it.
Every Sunday evening they have ice cream in the clubhouse for $1. The first Sunday it was anyone that had a birthday in 4 certain months got to go first and theirs was free. One of the months was July so you know who was first in line. After ice cream they play 'card bingo'. We decided to try it the second Sunday and CB won a round and last Sunday I won a round. You take a deck of cards and deal them to 4 people then the caller has a deck and he starts calling cards from it. The first one to get rid of all their cards wins. We play 10 rounds for a dime a round per player and the finale is a quarter.

This past TH, Mr. B and I went to the Ft. Myers RV Show. Much smaller than the 1 in Tampa but still bigger than Peoria and Springfield. As a matter of fact, we found out SA that we missed an entire building of nothing but vendors. Most of the rigs were outside so, since it wasn't raining yet, we decided to check half of them out first. After that (and still not finding anything we want to replace our Suite with), we went into the expo building that had more rigs plus vendors along all 4 walls. From there, we went back out to check the other half then left and finding out yesterday that we missed the other bldg w/more goodies/products to buy. Oh well, we'll remember that the next time we go to this show.

That's it for the camper shows that we're aware of here in FL. Back home between Jan. and March, we usually go to the Chicago (Rosement), Peoria and Spfld. shows so it seems strange to think that we're done "window shopping" already.

We went to the show w/some Suite friends who bought a spot at a beautiful RV Resort in Ft. Myers last year. We were comparing stories about IL and IN weather while walking around in shorts and short sleeves but, like Tom said, when we get back home and go to our 1st campout in April, we'll probably stay inside w/the furnace on while all of you guys are saying how nice out it is

They took us to a FANTASTIC seafood restaurant (Harbourside Grill) and I had the best shrimp I've had in a long time. It was great sitting out on the deck overlooking the waterway and I know we'll go back there again, even though Ft. Myers is about an hour south from Moore Haven. That really is about the only thing I wish was different at this cg...it truly is in the middle of nowhere. But, for what we're saving on monthly rent, we're able to go to Ft. Myers and Sebring (about 1 hour north of here) about once a week or every other week.