Hither and Yon

After having a great summer back home and various other places, spending time w/family and friends, we've started a new adventure heading south for the winter.  After Chase brought me to tears w/his patting my leg  as if to say "It's OK, Grandma" while we were saying good-bye and then going to our last Sangamon Valley Campers weekend mid-October, we spent a few days in Memphis, TN and doing all things Elvis.  For our RVing friends, Graceland has a very nice campground within walking distance of Elvis' home and other exhibits.

From there, we ventured on to Tunica, MS and stayed at the Sam's Town Casino cg.

 

 

  Of course, we ate at their buffet and then I attempted to win our dinner money back on the slots.  Nope.  Left a bit of a deposit.  Maybe next time.

Spent one night in Hattiesburg, MS and then arrived at Gulf Shores, AL on FR (Oct. 25).  Planned to spend a month at Gulf State Park but, since their winter rates didn't start until Nov. 1, it would've been too expensive so we found a nice spot here at the Luxury RV Resort about 4 blocks off the beach.  It was recommended by a couple of our Suite friends and we're glad it had a spot for us.

On MO, Oct. 28th, we went to Ft. Walton Beach to celebrate Naomi's 2nd birthday and enjoy a combined birthday party for her and Sophia.
 

It was nice to also get to spend a few hours w/Scott's parents, who flew in for some vacation time w/the young Lokker's.  Naomi seemed a bit intimidated by all the people at the party but soon got over it when she started tearing into her birthday presents.


Back to FWB on TH, Oct. 31st, to celebrate Sophia's 4th birthday.  What a fun day.  She chose her "favorite" place for lunch (Stewbies) and devoured her popcorn shrimp.
 











Afterwards, she wanted to play mini-golf w/Mama, Papa, and both sets of grandparents.  Naomi got to stay home w/her babysitter.

After dinner, Mama and Papa took turns taking their little ones Trick or Treating around their neighborhood while the grandparents sat out on the driveway handing out treats to all of the little ghosts and goblins and other unique costumed children.




Yesterday afternoon (Nov. 1) we went to see "Last Vegas".  If you want a good laugh, this movie should tickle your fancy, especially if you're in the 55+ group.  Plan to go sit on the Gulf Shores beach this afternoon before the cold front comes through tomorrow.  But, even when we can't do the "beach thing", we can always hop on our bicycles for a spin or take a nice hike through the various nature trails in the area.

On the Go!

Bet you thought we were home for the summer.  Well, even though we'll be in Petersburg off and on until the latter part of October, we've been here and there and will continue to be on the go these next two months. 

After leaving Punta Gorda, FL the end of March, we spent several days in Ft. Walton Beach with Valerie, Scott, Sophia and Naomi.  It was fun seeing how big the girls are getting and the different things they say and do.  Definitely some "sibling rivalry" already and it's usually little sister, Naomi, who's trying to take over!  Grandpa and I really enjoyed watching them for a few days while their parents took a short vacation.

Then we moved on up to Bloomington, IL and spent several days with Clay, Kim, Kenley and Chase.  Kenley amazed us with her swimming abilities at swim class and Chase is all boy with the most infectious smile ever.

We were actually "home" for about 3 weeks and accomplished a lot.  Got to have lunch/dinner with several friends, got the back fender of the truck repaired (and it looks great!), had several annual doctor/dentist appointments and had a chance to visit with some of our neighbors at the campground.

But, alas, we're off and running!  After camping with our Sangamon Valley Camper Club this past weekend (May 10-12), we spent a couple days in Cornersville, TN.  Finally went on the Jack Daniels Distillery tour in Lynchburg and it was a really good tour.  Didn't cost us anything since we chose to not do the "tasting tour".  Tom prefers Jim Beam so when we, hopefully, do the Bourbon Trail next summer, I'm sure he'll be doing the taste test.

We are now in Gulf Shores, AL until SA at which time we'll head back to Ft. Walton Beach for, what seems to be, the annual "Brockman/Lokker Mini Reunion".  Can't wait to see how the 4 grandchildren interact, especially since they basically only see each other once a year.  This ol' Grandma sure enjoys having the family together as often as possible.

After the reunion, we'll be back home for about 1 1/2 weeks then we're off to Indiana for the Annual Suite Owners rally.  So, like I said, we're kinda' home for the summer...off and on.  If we haven't had a chance to get together with you yet, we hope to do that soon.  Looking forward to it!

Ah, the Good Life!

It's hard to believe we're into March already and have moved to the Sun 'n Shade RV Resort in Punta Gorda for the month.  This cg doesn't have as big of sites as The Good Life Resort in Bartow, but it'll be fine since we're real close to several beaches in Ft. Myers, Estero etc.

Except for the wind ripping our gazebo out of the ground last month and bouncing it off Tom's truck, we enjoyed the Bartow area.  It's basically in central FL which afforded us several opportunities to catch up w/family and friends.  Had a super nice visit over lunch w/cousins, Dan & Diane Miller.  They hail from MI but have called FL home for several years now.  It was great having them come to the campground after eating at Mike's to see our home and finish catching up on each others families and reminiscing.

We also had an opportunity to go to The Villages and spend a couple days w/Rick & Ellen at their new home.  The Villages offer a variety of shops, restaurants, movies, evening entertainment, etc. and it was fun going on a tour of the different areas within the village and doing some shopping.  I didn't know the public is welcome to shop and eat there as I always thought it was like a private country club.  Rick & Ellen have a lovely home and they are very gracious hosts.

On Feb. 20th, we enjoyed lunch w/about 36 SOITC snowbirds at Troyer's Amish restaurant in Sarasota and then headed to Siesta Key to spend a few hours w/Gary & Linda plus her sister and BIL.  After walking the beach and checking out their condo, we went across the street to "Captain Curt's" and had the best ever New England Clam Chowder...LOTS of clams and potatoes.  Yum!!!

It was great getting together several times last month w/Don & Phyllis.  We played lots of rounds of Pegs & Jokers but also learned how to play "Rummikub".  If you like playing Rummy, you'd like this game.  We bought one so we can teach our kids and friends back home how to play.

On Feb. 28th, Good Life had a wonderful potluck to acknowledge all of the Veterans at the park who served in the past and to recognize our children and grandchildren who are currently serving in the present.  Out of the roughly 150 people who were at the potluck, 62 men and women were honored and thanked for their service.

Not as many activities here at Sun 'n Shade but we're close enough to Moore Haven that we've already had fun over dinner and playing "Catch Phrase" w/Dave & Gloria and Ken & Claudia, whom we met at MRV 2 years ago.  Last TU, we spent the day at a beach in Estero w/Bill & Mary and Doug & Pat. Last Sat we went to Gasparilla State Park beach for most of the day, it was 19 miles from the CG but 43 miles by car. And, since it rained pretty much all day yesterday (TU), we went to see "Oz". 

Hello! Is anybody out there?

Well, if you are...HI! We're back to blogging as a means of keeping those of you who don't read Facebook, and are interested, apprised of our whereabouts. As a matter of fact, the Women's Fellowship group at my church back home is playing a game called "Where's Cheryl?" instead of "Where's Waldo?".

So, this is what's happening in our neck of the woods. We arrived at the Whispering Pines RV Resort in Sebring, FL on Jan. 1st and have met some very nice people from a variety of states who are wintering here. I think there are only a small handful of us who will not be returning next winter since most of these folks have been coming to WP for a number of years.

Some of the activities we're enjoying are playing Euchre plus a new card game we learned called "31"; water aerobics for me and regular aerobics for Tom; line dancing; spending time in the pool, walking and riding our bicycles plus trying new "local" restaurants. So far, we've tried 4 new places but only 2 have the potential of a return visit by us.

On the 8th, we had a nice "Grandparent's Day" w/Sophia and Naomi as Scott & Val invited us to join them for a day at Walt Disney World. It was so much fun watching the girls interact w/the princesses, Tinkerbell, Tigger and other characters, ride on several rides like "Alladin's Magic Carpet" and then splash and squeal in the pool at the "All Star Movies" Disney hotel that evening.

Some friends (Dave & Gloria) from MRV (the cg we stayed at 2 years ago) came up on the 10th and then we met up w/another couple (Don & Phyllis, our full-time, world-traveling friends) at their place in Bartow, FL on the 15th. As a matter of fact, we like the cg they're staying at "The Good Life RV Resort" so much that we're moving about 45 miles north of Sebring for the month of February.

Plans for March are to move to a cg in Punta Gorda, FL. That'll put us real close to the beach in Ft. Myers so we can, at least, dip our toes in the water. It should be warm enough by then, don't ya' think? Sure hope so!

Well, as you can see, we're having a great time here in central Florida. We miss hanging out w/our good buddies from MI who we like to travel with but will be patient and, hopefully, make our trek to AZ, CA & NV w/them during the winter of 2014. And, hopefully, the weather out west will be much warmer next winter than what family and friends are experiencing this winter.