January 2009 Archives

Awake: 7:13am Temp 62 sleep 5+46 clouds & wind overnight @ Punta Gorda, FL.

Our forwarded mail arrived today from Alaska; I spend some time digesting some of the paperwork relating to the 2008 tax yr & other stuff while Kathy goes grocery shopping @ the nearby Publix & Wal-Mart. Her time away also serves as "time for herself" just strolling thru the stores @ her own pace without her dear husband; (3) hrs later, she returns.

Dinner & dish washing while watching ABC news, Jeopardy & O'Reilly: chicken cacciatore, spinach salad with fresh strawberries & pecans.

No movie tonight; we are expecting (2) VIP's early morning so we both try to clean up our act in our individual corners.
Lights out: 11:36pm

Awake: 6:47am Temp 57 sleep 7+09 mostly sunny overnight @ Punta Gorda, FL.
K & I continue washing & cleaning the rest of our Motorcoach; starting @ 7:30am & finally finishing @ 11:00; our home on wheels looks a lot better now.

I call Mike D in Everglade City, FL for confirmation of a visiting time.

After breakfast, Kathy does (2) laundry loads while I return Judy & Jerry's call from Boca Reton, FL.

Next, K & I motor south about (30) miles & tour the Thomas Edison & Henry Ford winter estates in Fort Myers, FL. For many yrs, Ford visited Fort Myers @ the invitation of his friend Edison & stayed in Edison's Guest House. Finally, Ford purchased the estate next to Edison enabling them to enjoy winter vacations together with even more friends.

When touring both estates, we had a choice of using a handheld wireless recorder (which we did) or a human tour guide; the tour either way was a little pricy but very interesting & extremely historical. Many different trees, plants & flowers from around the world are represented throughout the (2) estates, including the 2nd largest Banyan tree (rubber tree) in the world. The (4) foot tree was planted in 1925 & grew to over (1) acre in diameter.

Edison had a Botanic Research Laboratory built on his property in 1928 to find a source of natural rubber from a plant that could grow in the U.S. Edison tried several thousand plants & found (40) that he could cultivate on a large scale; they finally deduced that the weed, Goldenrod (Solidago Leavenworthii) was the best producer of latex. Much work would be conducted for months on this plant after this conclusion came about. From distillation of chemicals, to the vulcanization of the wet residues produced, anything and everything was attempted by Edison and his workers. Despite Edison's desires, the research was not able to produce rubber from a plant on a large enough scale to deem it economically feasible or commercially successful.

From here, we continue south thru the city of Fort Myers & visit Kathy's Aunt Robin & Uncle Harvey, both in their early 80's. It's been (5) yrs since we've seen them so we gab for an hr updating each other on our respective lives, children & grandchildren. Then Robin serves us a dinner of: mixed salad, Basa fish, baked potato, & sautéed broccoli & cauliflower; coffee cake for dessert. After dinner, we continue our gab session until their daughter Jodi calls from Madison, WI & we both take turns talking with her. We thank them very much & hope not so much time elapses before we see them again. En route north to our campground, John B calls: he now has an e-mail address & wants me to check it out.

Back in our motorhome, I sent a short test message to John & casually wait for a reply...which comes later in the evening. John is now a high-tech computer man.

Late movie: "The Women" with Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, Rosalind Russell, Mary Boland, Joan Fontaine, etc. All-star (and all female) cast shines in this hilarious adaptation of Clare Boothe play about divorce, cattiness & competition in circle of "friends." Crawford has one of her best roles as bitchy home wrecker. Fashion show sequence is in color. 1939. Kathy didn't enjoy this movie because of what it portrayed; however, I enjoyed the slyness & troublemaking schemes for generating unhappiness.
Lights out: 1:21am

Awake: 7:03am Temp 52 sleep 6+55 sunny overnight @ Punta Gorda, FL.

We motor to Port Charlotte & pay Diana & Max another visit, arriving promptly @ 11:00am. M & D invited us to visit Max’s daughter, Kathy, & her friend, Barbara, who live in Englewood, FL.; about a (45 min) drive.

Kathy & Barbara’s house is a sleeper, we found out. 1st of all the yard is loaded with fresh fruit trees; oranges, mangos, bananas, grapefruit, etc. And behind their house is an inlet that leads to the Gulf within a mile. Their motor boat is winched up & ready to go @ a moments notice. Different plants & flowers adorn the side yards & back yard.

In the lanai, we sit & get educated about one of Kathy’s hobbies: repairing religious statues. She not only explains the process but also reveals some of the before & after repair jobs. Painting the statue after the repair is also one of her unique talents. During this relaxing class time, Kathy brings out dishes of ice cream to further cool our palates. Kathy’s paying job is an ER nurse; she does the statue repair free of charge (although, she will accept donations) as one of her works through the Legion of Mary.

Their house is small but very well decorated & organized. Before we leave, my Kathy & Max’s Kathy fetch a bag of grapefruit & oranges from her trees for our personal enjoyment in our motorhome.

After we say our goodbyes to Kathy & Barbara, Max & Diana tour us over to the nearby Blind Pass Park & beach to look out over the Gulf waters. Another beautiful spot; definitely more private & cozy than the white sandy beach of the Siesta Beach of Sarasota.
Driving along the beach front, we couldn’t help but notice how many deluxe homes & mansions have “for sale” signs @ the end of their short driveways; economic downturn symptoms perhaps?

Then we stop @ Applebee’s for dinner; “My gosh Max, you guys don’t have to do this!” I say. He explains that good friends gave them a gift card & they were waiting for the right couple to come along to share it with & we are the lucky ones. So it’s dinner @ Applebee’s where Kathy I each have our own separate meal of: sirloin steak with portabella mushrooms & veggies. Again, we thank them for their hospitality & generosity. Like yesterday, today’s adventure was filled with awe & oh-wows at seeing so much beauty in nature combined with comfortable weather, and, of course, our visit with Kathy & Barb. We know about the comfortable weather Florida has @ this time of the year & it’s great….but like all good things, this too, comes & goes. We plan on seeing Max & Diana in Nicktown during the summer.

We scratch the movie: “Tom Jones.” I saw it yrs ago & it’s not worth continuing. Tonight’s movie: “The Strange Love of Martha Ivers” with Barbara Stanwyck, Kirk Douglas, Lizabeth Scott, Van Heflin, Judith Anderson, etc. Gripping melodrama, with Stanwyck bound to her husband by crime she committed long ago. Douglas’ film debut. 1946. Gripping describes it best; our eyes were glued to the screen.
Lights out: 11:38pm

Awake: 7:00am Temp 48 sleep 6+35 sunny overnight @ Punta Gorda, FL.

I Send my buddy Ray “Happy Birthday” wishes on the occasion of his occasion.

Mid morning we motor to Saratoga (50 min+) & visit ole friends who live in Ohio & spend (6) months each winter @ their home in Florida. Their gated community has over (600 homes); all 93 acres are owned by the residents & share the expenses of operation.

1st of all, Helen & Walt give us a tour of their winter home which they purchased (14) yrs ago; then we go on a tour of the community amenities: large outdoor swimming pool with indoor Jacuzzi, covered & screened bocce ball court, large clubhouse, workout room, pool table, kitchen, etc. The (4) of us played one game of Bocci Ball, guys against girls, of course; the guys got lucky & won

Back @ their home, Helen prepares a lunch of: beef stroganoff & noodles, freshly made bread with vinaigrette oil for dipping & a spinach salad with fresh strawberries & candied pecans; very tasty.

Next, with Walt driving, we motor west toward the Siesta Beach in Sarasota, FL., where the sand is so white & smooth; it is literally cool to walk on & walk we did, about (2-2.5) miles; such a beautiful day & a fantastic white sandy beach to enjoy. Not many bathers were in the water but many were content to have their beach umbrellas shading their bodies.

At the beginning of this adventure, Helen told us she had a surprise to show us @ the end of our tour today. “Is it picture worthy?” I ask. “Oh yes!” she tells me with a nice smile.

“Unconditional Surrender” they call it! The other version I’ve heard was: Victory Kiss or The BIG KISS: VJ day 1945. Times Square, a happy sailor grabbed a winsome nurse & planted a never-to-be-forgotten kiss. The big statue we looked @ is (25) ft tall painted aluminum. Just looking @ it was marvelous. Helen took our picture @ the base of the statue trying to emulate that big kiss; then Helen & Walt showed us how it should be done.

Back @ their place, Helen served us some homemade lemon cream pie & we continued our gabbing. All too soon it was time to take leave; we thanked them for their hospitality & the terrific touring adventures. We hope to see them again, if not in Florida, then Ohio perhaps this summer.
Back in our motorcoach, we Skype Nick in Seattle; we talk & watch each other for about an hour. Jerry called us by name but mostly was busy playing with cars & trains; Eriko busy preparing dinner.

Evening movie: “Tom Jones.” We watch ½.

Lights out: 12:02am

Awake: 7:15am Temp 47 sleep 6+22 sunny overnight @ Punta Gorda, Florida.

After breakfast & en route to visit my 1st Cousin, Max, living in Port Charlotte, we drove by the Victorian mansions along Retta Esplanade, evidence of Punta Gorda’s former shipping heyday; they line the opposite side of the Peace River. We also took the time to restock our wine & liquor cabinet @ the ABC store along the way…. & made a quick stop @ a hobby store across the street.

My brother Don calls from PA as we are about to park @ the hobby store; he reports that Sue Kirsch, wife of the late Clyde Kirsch, passed away; age, late 80’s. He also mentioned that his computer disc died & cannot be resurrected; & I was planning on a Skype session next week.

Max just happens to be standing outside their garage as we pull into their driveway & his wife Diana, appears shortly thereafter. Since we learned that today is Diana’s special day, we wish her a “Happy Birthday” first thing.

Max is walking quite well after his double knee replacement of last October. Both Max & Diana give us a good tour of their winter home & then we gab for hrs in their living room before attending 4:00pm Mass @ the huge Saint Charles Borromeo Parish Community Church, a mere (2) miles away.

Back @ their home, both Max & Diana serve us “Maxi Burgers” (Max’s specialty) with onions, tomatoes, fried potatoes, & green bean casserole.

Then Diana entertains us with some delightful organ music from her 3-tier organ; she has been an organist for many years & continues to play to the delight of Max’s ears.
We return to our Motorcoach around 9-ish pm.

Late movie: “Without Love” with Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Lucille Ball, Keenan Wynn, Carl Esmond, etc. Tracy & Hepburn have never been livelier, but script from Philip Barry’s play lets them down in story of inventor & widow who marry for convenience & later fall in love. 1945. Not too shabby; never-the-less, entertaining.

Lights out: 12:27am

Awake: 6:47am Temp 57 sleep 7+09 mostly sunny overnight @ Punta Gorda, FL.
K & I continue washing & cleaning the rest of our Motorcoach; starting @ 7:30am & finally finishing @ 11:00; our home on wheels looks a lot better now.

I call Mike D in Everglade City, FL for confirmation of a visiting time.

After breakfast, Kathy does (2) laundry loads while I return Judy & Jerry's call from Boca Reton, FL.

Next, K & I motor south about (30) miles & tour the Thomas Edison & Henry Ford winter estates in Fort Myers, FL. For many yrs, Ford visited Fort Myers @ the invitation of his friend Edison & stayed in Edison's Guest House. Finally, Ford purchased the estate next to Edison enabling them to enjoy winter vacations together with even more friends.

When touring both estates, we had a choice of using a handheld wireless recorder (which we did) or a human tour guide; the tour either way was a little pricy but very interesting & extremely historical. Many different trees, plants & flowers from around the world are represented throughout the (2) estates, including the 2nd largest Banyan tree (rubber tree) in the world. The (4) foot tree was planted in 1925 & grew to over (1) acre in diameter.

Edison had a Botanic Research Laboratory built on his property in 1928 to find a source of natural rubber from a plant that could grow in the U.S. Edison tried several thousand plants & found (40) that he could cultivate on a large scale; they finally deduced that the weed, Goldenrod (Solidago Leavenworthii) was the best producer of latex.
Much work would be conducted for months on this plant after this conclusion came about. From distillation of chemicals, to the vulcanization of the wet residues produced, anything and everything was attempted by Edison and his workers. Despite Edison's desires, the research was not able to produce rubber from a plant on a large enough scale to deem it economically feasible or commercially successful.

From here, we continue south thru the city of Fort Myers & visit Kathy's Aunt Robin & Uncle Harvey, both in their early 80's. It's been (5) yrs since we've seen them so we gab for an hr updating each other on our respective lives, children & grandchildren.

Then Robin serves us a dinner of: mixed salad, Basa fish, baked potato, & sautéed broccoli & cauliflower; coffee cake for dessert. After dinner, we continue our gab session until their daughter Jodi calls from Madison, WI & we both take turns talking with her. We thank them very much & hope not so much time elapses before we see them again. En route north to our campground, John B calls: he now has an e-mail address & wants me to check it out.

Back in our motorhome, I sent a short test message to John & casually wait for a reply...which comes later in the evening. John is now a high-tech computer user; "Congratulations" John.

Late movie: "The Women" with Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, Rosalind Russell, Mary Boland, Joan Fontaine, etc. All-star (and all female) cast shines in this hilarious adaptation of Clare Boothe play about divorce, cattiness & competition in circle of "friends." Crawford has one of her best roles as bitchy home wrecker. Fashion show sequence is in color. 1939. Kathy didn't enjoy this movie because of what it portrayed; however, I enjoyed the slyness & troublemaking schemes for generating unhappiness.

Lights out: 1:21am

Awake: 7:57am Temp 42 sleep 7+36 sunny overnight @ Punta Gorda, Florida.

About 12:20pm, I began cleaning the roof of our motorhome; then with Kathy’s help, we washed & dried the passenger side & rear end cap of the coach + wheels, only took (4 ½) hrs.

I also spent some time taking covers off another batch of butter nuts & cleaning up the mess I made on the cement patio.

Dinner: crab cakes, brown rice & a mixed salad.

Helen calls from Sarasota, FL; we plan a visit for Sunday @ their winter manufactured home.

Mid evening: Katrina calls from Denver while driving to meet a friend. She updates us on her recent activities: teaching & an attempted different lesson plan; the continuing saga of Karina & her discordant, unhappy life; snowboarding; & chats with Zack. She also had a car question: seems she put Windex in her window washer reservoir instead of solvent & wanted to know how to rectify that.

After Katrina’s call, I call my cousin, Diana, in Port Charlotte, FL & make plans for a rendezvous tomorrow early afternoon.

Late movie: “30 Seconds Over Tokyo” with Van Johnson, Robert Walker, Spencer Tracy, Phyllis Thaxter, Scott McKay, Robert Mitchum, etc. Exciting WWII actioner of 1st American attack on Japan with sturdy cast, guest appearance by Tracy as General Doolittle; 1944. Solid details & a great flick for aviation buffs or war mongers; don’t miss it!

Lights out: 12:53am

Awake: 6:07am Temp 32 sleep 6+02 frost…sunny overnight @ Frostproof, FL.

After the frost thaws out, we retract our slides, say our goodbyes to Jean in the office & Mike’s son, Rick, & leave the Lakemont Ridge Home & RV Park in Frostproof, @ 11:34am ….following U.S.-98 west to U.S.-17 south, we arrive @ the Gulf View RV Resort in Punta Gorda, FL @ 1:18pm.

Today’s travel: 83 miles 2+18 time 14 gal used 6.0 mpg 36 avg speed.

When Kathy called this campground & dealt with Diane for a parking space, I think they didn’t fully realize the 45 ft size of our motorhome. We sat in the office for a good (20) min while (2) of their workers hunted for a suitable campsite that we could squeeze into; than another (20) min maneuvering into that campsite. The park is very nice but definitely not big rig friendly.

After getting setup & comfortable, we walk the campground for exercise & curiosity for (40) min. Then visit the nearby Wal-Mart for more veggies & milk.

Then it’s ABC news time, Jeopardy & O’Reilly Factor with dinner: Spicy crab & vermicelli & a salad.

Tonight’s movie: “San Francisco” with Clark Gable, Jeanette MacDonald, Spencer Tracy, Jack Holt, Jessie Ralph, Ted Healy, etc. Top-grade entertainment with extremely lavish production; Jeanette overdoes it a bit as the belle of San Francisco but the music, Tracy’s performance & earthquake climax are still fine. 1936. Earthquake scenes were unbelievably real for the time period; we watched that part twice; definitely a keeper.

Lights out: 12:21am

Awake: 7:08am Temp 37 sleep 6+50 sunny & cold overnight @ Frostproof, FL.

I spent some time this morning talking with Mike, owner of this RV Park. He has a very good reputation & is well liked for helping the people who can’t help themselves in this over (55) gated community. I let him know that we will be leaving tomorrow & heading further south; he tells me that our parking space will be made available anytime we want to spend some more time in his community & I thank him for that opportunity.

Last Friday when we were @ the post office in Frostproof, I noticed that they are setup to renew & process Passports; my passport will expire in April of 2009 so I obtained the forms I need to fill out from Sherry. On Tuesday I called & made an appointment to finish the process. She took my mug shots, checked my paperwork & provided the necessary mailing envelope with postage. Back in our motorhome, I wrote a check to the Department of State & mailed the envelope off.

During my post office time, Kathy dusted our home, cleaned the bathroom, washed the inside windows, vacuumed the carpets & tile, etc.

Before dinner, I took pictures of some of the old trailers in this campground that have been converted to larger & cute looking homes without wheels.

Dinner: almond crusted Tilapia fish with brown rice & a mixed salad.

John B. called from Nicktown: we talk football as in Steelers; weather in Florida vs. Nicktown; computers & various other subjects. I enjoy talking with John.

We watch: ABC news, Jeopardy & the O’Reilly Factor….before, during & after dinner.

Evening movie: “Sylvia Scarlet” with Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Brian Aherne, Edmund Gwenn, Natalie Paley, Dennie Moore, etc. Offbeat, charming comedy-drama; Hepburn & ne’er-do-well father Gwenn take to the road when he gets in trouble. She disguises as a boy as they travel with cockney Grant in touring show. Most unusual film made interesting by performances of Hepburn & Grant in their 1st film together. 1935. ‘Twas a little goofy @ times but never-the-less, quite entertaining.

Lights out: 11:55pm

Awake: 6:32am Temp 54 sleep 6+27 mostly sunny overnight @ Frostproof, FL.

Around 3:00am this morning, a fast moving front gave us a heavy downpour for about (15) min; we’ve noticed that these fast moving fronts are somewhat the norm in Florida.

Most of our day today was dedicated to watching the Inauguration of our 44th president, Barack Hussein Obama, & the many activities surrounding it starting mid morning & lasting throughout the evening.

Dinner: spicy crab & vermicelli. Very tasty!

Late evening movie: “Morning Glory” with Katharine Hepburn, Adolphe Menjou, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., C. Aubrey Smith, Mary Duncan. Dated but lovely film from Zoe Akins’ play about stage struck young girl called Eva Lovelace who tries to succeed in N.Y.C. Hepburn won her 1st Oscar for her work on this movie. 1933.

During this movie, we took intermissions & watched some of the Neighborhood Ball, the Biden Home State Ball, the Midwest Ball, & the Marine Ball. Oh-oh what a day!

Lights out: 12:18am

Awake: 7:42am Temp 60 sleep 7+45 sunny, breezy overnight @ Frostproof, FL.

Gary C. calls us on his cell phone & I am honored to be taking this call; we had planned on a visit with him & Rosemary @ their new found campground in Wauchula @ 2:00pm today. Gary’s call was to change the time to be there @ 1:00pm & I approved of this request.

After Gary’s call, we both dedicate ourselves to more campground hunting this morning. Late morning after a good hr of this, our options are finally beginning to lead us into making a decision: Kathy’s call to reserve a campground site in Punta Gorda will hopefully give us a reasonable campsite for a reasonable price near the area where we can easily access the people we want to visit & the things we would like to see.

G & R have found a sensible & logical campground in Wauchula where they will hang out until Feb 1st & use their truck to visit areas of interest before moving on to Ocala for another month. G & R gave us a nice tour of the clubhouse to start with; then we walk the campground seeing the outdoor shuffle board, swimming pool & horseshoe playing court. A very clean, organized & laid out campground it is; we can easily see why they like this area, especially being near a town which has so many services.

The cool winds picked up making our sun bathing outside a little uncomfortable, so we moved inside their RV for more gab time with wine, a cheese assortment, sausage, & crackers. Around 5:15, we say our goodbyes again & wish each other safe travels & fun times here & in our respective travels.
En Route to our Frostproof campground, we make a stop @ the Sweetbay Supermarket for some libation to help celebrate Obama’s Inauguration tomorrow night; plus a stop for a new set of wiper blades for our Suzuki & a stop to top off the Suzuki’s fuel tank @ Wal-Mart with (13.8) gal @ $1.81 per gallon.

Dinner: Power burger with onions, asparagus, noodles & some crudités.

Tonight’s movie: “Emma” with Marie Dressler, Richard Cromwell, Jean Hersholt, Myrna Loy, Johmn Miljan, etc. Dressler is @ her best, as down-to-earth woman who works as housemaid-nanny for family & eventually marries widowed father (Hersholt). Sentimental movie never cloys, thanks to wonderful Marie. 1932. No young handsome guys or Hitchcock mystery murders to keep Kathy alert so other methods were adapted.

Lights out: 12:05am

Awake: 7:13am Temp 46 sleep 6+19 sunny overnight @ Frostproof, FL.

Kathy makes a breakfast of sourdough pancakes, bacon, eggs over easy with maple syrup. While I clean the dishes, she continues our campground search for a suitable site @ a reasonable rate & relatively close to people we want to visit & places we want to see.

My 1st cousin, Florentz, calls from cold Pennsylvania; he reports that his geo-thermal heating & cooling unit is keeping their house warm @ 72 degrees. When the outside temp is @ (zero), the unit runs 80% of the time; when the outside temp is -11 degrees, the unit runs 88 % of the time. He is quite comfortable about this as his geo-thermal unit uses a low rate of amps.

We drive to Lake Wales (13) miles & visit the Historic Bok Sanctuary & Gardens. A little history: In 1922, Edward Bok decided to create a sanctuary for birds & people in Florida because he was so awed by the beauty of Iron Mountain in Lake Wales. He acquired a large tract of sandy soil covered with pines & palmettos & hired the famous landscape architect, Fredrick Olmsted, Jr., to transform the area into a sanctuary that would “touch the soul with its beauty & quiet."

The first year was spent digging trenches and laying pipes for irrigation, after which soil was brought to the site by thousands of truck loads and plantings began. The Olmsted plan included the planting of 1,000 large live oaks, 10,000 azaleas, 100 sabal palms, 300 magnolias, and 500 gardenias, as well as hundreds of fruit shrubs including blueberry and holly.

The Singing Tower is the centerpiece of the gardens. The tower was built at the highest elevation of the site, south of a reflection pool that allows the water to reflect its full image. A 60-bell carillon set within the 205-foot (62 m) tall, late Gothic Revival tower that was designed by architect Milton B. Medary. Construction on the tower began in 1927 and was completed for the dedication of the gardens. The tower is 51 feet (16 m) square at its base, changing form at 150 feet (46 m) high to an octagon with 37 feet (11 m) sides that include sculptures designed by Lee Lawrie. The tower is surrounded by a 15-foot (4.6 m) moat that serves as a Koi pond.

Although the tower's interior is not open to the public, it contains the Anton Brees Carillon Library, said to be the largest carillon library in the world.

Inside the bell chamber is a playing room that houses a clavier, or keyboard, that is used for playing the carillon bells. Recitals are given daily from the 60-bell carillon set.

Under construction for over five years, Bok Tower Gardens was dedicated by President Calvin Coolidge on February 1, 1929. Edward Bok died in 1930, and was interred at the base of the tower.
We enjoyed @ (4) hrs at the Bok Sanctuary. We explored the visitor’s center & its many exhibits and listened to & watched on closed circuit TV as the carillonneur, William De Turk, played several selections. After his performance, he met with those interested & answered our questions about himself & the carillon. De Turk is a native of Philadelphia, has a Master of Music degree, has performed throughout the USA, Canada & Europe, has done much research on the Carillon & published many articles. He became the third Carillonneur & Director of Carillon services in 2004.

We strolled some of the many paths admiring the various plants, flowers, trees, etc. We also visited the Pinewood Estate which features a twenty-room Mediterranean Revival mansion. This mansion was built in the early 1930s by C. Austin Buck, an early twentieth-century steel industrialist. The sanctuary features several events at this mansion during the year.
It was a lovely afternoon & well worth our time.

Dinner: leftover filled pepper with a Waldorf salad.
Tonight’s movie: “Fanny” with Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier, Charles Boyer, Horst Buchholz, Baccaloni, Lionel Jeffries. Gorgeously photographed & beautifully scored dramatic version of Marcel Pagnol’s trilogy involving young girl left with child by adventure-seeking sailor. 1961. Another movie that Kathy really enjoyed & had NOoo problem staying awake for; she had seen this movie as a teenager & thought Horst Buchholz was awfully cute.

Lights out: 11:57pm

Awake: 6:20am Temp 42 sleep 6+15 mostly sunny overnight @ Frostproof, FL.

This morning we both spend some time on the campground hunt; making phone calls, leaving messages, etc. We have several options @ this point but in our spare time, more casual hunting we will do.

Mid afternoon, I take some time & replace the electrical plug on our (37) yr old toaster.

K & I attend 4:00pm Mass @ Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Avon Park, FL.
Where did all these Catholics come from? Good thing we were early as the church was large & well attended. We purposely left early to scout out this town, population (8542), to see what interesting & exciting things might await us. Aside from the downtown old classic buildings with quite a few empty store fronts, a museum, & an old, small airport, our (30) min tour was a little disappointing.

En route to our campground, we visited the nearby Wal-Mart, which opened just last August & did a little grocery shopping.

Dinner: Tilapia fish, brown rice, asparagus & a mixed salad.

Evening movie: “Marnie” with Tippi Hedren, Diane Baker, Martin Gavel etc. This story of a habitual thief (Hedren) whose employer (Connery) is determined to understand her illness was considered a misfire in 1964…..but there’s more than meets the eye, especially for Hitchcock buffs. Kathy being one of them, she had NOooo problem staying awake.

Lights out: 12:57am

Awake: 6:43am Temp 51 sleep 6+43 mostly sunny overnight @ Frostproof, FL.

A casual morning; Kathy watches her favorite TV shows & continues reading her novel while I nonchalantly go on with the campground availability search.

Around noon time, we take a drive to downtown Frostproof, FL, approx (10) miles from our campground, population approx (2,500). We visit the post office & mail a few letters & we check out a church to possibly attend tomorrow…oops, it turned out to be, not Catholic. After scrutinizing the Futral Foodway grocery store & buying nothing, we return to our motorhome & change clothes suitable for our next adventure.

Larry, Jo Ann, & Christie Noelle (a Shih Tzu dog) all greet us @ the door promptly @
4:00 pm. We haven’t seen this couple since 2003 @ a Newell rally in Key West, FL. What we didn’t realize is that J & L have lived in Lake Ashton, FL (an adult gated community with a large area of houses that have attached motorhome garages) ever since 2004. That same yr, K & I, with friends, explored Lake Ashton out of curiosity to check out the construction of these attached motorhome garage houses. Today these 750 acres are loaded with so many homes; we barely recognized the area @ all.

1st things first; Jo Ann gives us a tour of their beautiful home: a very nice & spacious guest room, then another bedroom converted to a studio for Jo Ann’s jewelry making, an then the masterly master bedroom with a huge closet to die for. The living room was aesthetically warm with a lanai that is nearly as large as the living room with glass pocket doors that open fully. The kitchen was modern, open, & convenient but Kathy couldn’t find any new ideas after examining it closely. Then comes the moment I’ve been waiting for; the motorhome garage.

Wow! Only a door away & we see all of the (2) car garage + a fraction of their Newell motorhome around the corner. Larry tells us: “the motorcoach garage is about (60) ft long & (16) ft wide; ceiling height also (16) ft.” He has (2—50 amp) electrical receptacles near the large garage door opening & a sewer receptacle further inside. @ the other end of his coach garage is a workshop & a smaller garage door. A separate air conditioner is assigned to cool the M H space. Everything I could see is well organized & squeaky clean. They also gave us a tour of their new 2008 Newell. That concluded the inside tour & next we are honored to have an outside tour of the Lake Ashton amenities.

With Larry driving the car, our 1st stop was the fitness center where Jo Ann exercises several days a week; then a short drive to the club house with a fairly large library, a billiard room, computer lab with (5) computers, oversize heated pool, 4-lane bowling center, grand ballroom, arts & craft room, basketball court, theatre, & racket ball court. (2) 18-hole championship golf courses & the new updated pro shop rounded out our tour. I may have missed a few amenities, but Jo Ann, assured us that there is no lack of activities for one to do.

From here, with Larry behind the wheel, we head over to the town of Winter Haven & the Longhorn Steakhouse. L & J are meeting (4) other couples & the (12) of us will be sitting down for dinner together. K & I share a filet steak with baked potato & a salad. Most of the people Larry & Jo Ann hang out with have RV’s & attend rallies together. Some of the people we met tonight: Bill & Harriet, Nancy &? Sandy & Bill, & Sally & Hershel were all very friendly.

After our meals are paid for, we say our goodbyes to the new gang & talk about the possibility of seeing them @ the Perry, Georgia rally in March. Then Larry puts the peddle to the metal & zooms us back to their driveway where our car is parked; we thank them for the home tour, motorhome tour & Lake Ashton tour + the opportunity to join them for dinner with some of their friends.

Jo Ann worked daily & diligently to get us tickets for the special performance @ their club house tonight….only to find out: the plan flopped. She was so disappointed & apologized many times. We didn’t want them to be late for the show so it was a quick goodbye for now as they sped off for the club house & we casually puttered down the road to return to our campground around 8:45pm. We sort of felt bad that they felt bad but, that’s the way the cookie crumbles.

Finished watching: “You Can’t Take It With You” with Jean Arthur, Lionel Barrymore, James Stewart, Edward Arnold, Mischa Auer, Ann Miller, etc. George S. Kaufman-Moss Hart play about eccentric but blissfully happy household becomes prime Capricorn. 1938. Oscar winner for Best Picture & Director; a great story with a super good message.

Lights out: 12:05am

Awake: 7:04am Temp 45 sleep 7+16 high clouds overnight @ Frostproof, FL.

Kathy does (6) loads of laundry…including the bed sheets; a new record for # of laundry loads the same day.

Late morning, Larry S calls from Lake Wales, FL. He invites us over to their place tomorrow to be there @ 4:00pm & then go out for dinner with them & some of their friends; we gladly accept.

Meanwhile, besides attending to the laundry business, Kathy is updating her picture collage of our children & grandchildren while I casually check our campground books, peruse Google on the computer, & make phone calls in an attempt to find our next campground further south. We like this campground we are in now a lot, but the roundtrip distance from here to see what we want to see & visit the people we want to visit, is just too far. We’ll casually continue our campground search for vacancy further south.

K & I walk more of this campground for (35) min of exercise.

During our dinner of: stuffed pepper & a mixed salad, we watch the Nat’l news, Jeopardy & the O’Reilly Factor.

Late movie: we watch ½ of: “You Can’t Take It With You.”

Lights out: midnight

Awake: 7:02am Temp 39 sleep 7+38 early rain…then sunny overnight @ Bushnell, FL.

After Kathy awakens, I climb the telescoping ladder & find thin melting ice on the roof & slides. Using my telescoping brush, I scoop that cool disgusting debris off promptly.

After a small breakfast & an engine warm up with the circulating hot coolant, we say our goodbyes to Rosemary & Gary, La Donna & Butch & others & wish them all safe & happy travels.

We leave the Sumter Oaks RV Park @ 12:11pm, following Saint Catherine road (CR-673) east to US-301, then south to US-98, southeast to US-27 to CR-360 & arrive @ the Lakemont Ridge Home & RV Park in Frostproof, Florida @ 2:22pm.

Today’s travel: 2.4 hrs 90 miles 16.6 gal used 5.4 mpg 33 mph avg speed.

As we meander our motorhome into this clean & well organized campground, we wonder where in the dickens that (1) camping site that they talked about for us might be? In the office, the clerk talks with Mr. Mike about our rig being too big & heavy to have us park where they originally thought; then she asks us if we would consider parking adjacent to the office with a full hookup on level asphalt. Hot diggity! “@ the same price” I ask her. “Yes of course” and no tax. This corner is like the nucleus of activity; people always milling about.
Maneuvering & backing into our parking site was not one of my best & many eyes were watching; the 2nd attempt was good but due mostly to the efforts of Mr. Mike & Kathy. I will admit, it was tricky…but that’s no excuse. Now that we are parked & settled in, we love our corner space & Mr. Mike tells us: “Stay as long as you like!”

Next, we walk (30) min around part of the campground; this is new to us with some big territory to cover so we’ll take our time & do another section tomorrow.

Dinner: Ahi Tuna with balsamic glaze, brown rice pilaf, stewed tomatoes & mixed salad.

We finish the movie: “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” with Carole Lombard, Robert Montgomery, Gene Raymond, Jack Carson, etc. Madcap comedy of Lombard & Montgomery discovering their marriage wasn’t legal. One of Hitchcock’s least typical films, but bouncy nonetheless. 1941. For us, the comedy just wasn’t that funny & the madcap scenes were perhaps too nutty, wacky, silly, etc. But hey, don’t let us talk you out of seeing what could be: a lost Oscar winner.

Lights out:11:48pm

Awake: 6:26am Temp 57 sleep 5+31 light rain overnight @ Bushnell, FL.

K & I walk the campground for (35) min of exercise…. & return Rosemary’s umbrella, now that the rain has stopped.

I make numerous phone calls to locate a suitable campground so we can continue further south in Florida. The message I had left late afternoon yesterday for a campground in Frostproof, Florida was not returned…so I call again. The lady tells me they have only (1) site available for a motorhome of our size. After a few more questions & answers, I tell her: “I’ll take it & we’ll be there early tomorrow afternoon.”

Meanwhile, Kathy drives the Suzuki to the town of Bushnell for grocery shopping & to pick up updated picture prints of our children & grandchildren. During her shopping time, I try to fix the leaking water line for our ice cubes….to no avail. This is the 3rd time it’s failed; the splicing effort is not working.

Dinner: pork chops, brown rice, broccoli & a mixed salad. After dinner, we meet Gary & Rosemary @ the clubhouse & play our new game of “Sequence” for (9) rounds; guys against the gals. Again, Gary & I are nice & let the gals win by a 5 to 4 margin. Though this game is fun & challenging to play, by 9:15pm we have had enough & return to our respective homes-on-wheels.

Tonight’s movie: “Mr. & Mrs. Smith.” We watch 1/2….someone quit paying attention.

Lights out: 11:24pm

Awake: 7:27am Temp 59 sleep 5+52 overcast overnight @ Bushnell, FL.

K & I walk the campground for (30) min of exercise. After breakfast, Rosemary & Gary ride with us in the Suzuki to scrutinize the huge Flea Market in Webster, FL; about a (15) min drive.
Lucky for us, we wore jackets; a cool wind with a minute amount of sunshine kept us on the move for a good (4) hrs. For me this was the most extensive flea market I’ve ever attended, so I couldn’t help but look carefully @ things I’ve never seen before; as a result… it was down right fascinating. We all bought something: Kathy & I, a Jumbo Sequence game & a small sledge hammer for cracking those butternuts + some veggies. We also shared an Italian sausage sandwich around 2:00pm. We return to our campground around 2:30pm.

Next, Gary & I play (8) games of 8-ball in the clubhouse; a tournament to behold! @ times, our audience numbered as many as (2), not counting ourselves.

Dinner: leftover chili. Then we visit Rosemary & Gary in their RV for a few games of “Diminishing Bridge.” I like this game mainly for its unpredictability. During our visiting time, rain, heavy @ times, fell on the campground & I didn’t realize soon enough that I left my shoes outside before entering their RV. I felt like a duck trekking back to our motorhome with sloshing shoes but, thanks to the use of Rosemary’s umbrella, we were dry from there up.

Late movie: “Tomorrow” with Robert Duvall, Olga Bellin, Sudie Bond, Richard McConnell, Peter Masterson, etc. Overlooked Faulkner story about a handyman who cares for & eventually falls in love with an abandoned pregnant woman. Bellin is excellent; Duvall astonishingly good in best-ever screen presentation of the author’s work. 1972. Very slow & methodical; but a great character study story. There was not enough action for the James Bond girl (Kathy) so she gave it...thumbs down.

Lights out: 12:55am

Awake: 7:11am Temp 50 sleep 6+38 fog, then sunny overnight @ Bushnell, FL.

K & I walk the campground (30) min for exercise. Then Kathy makes a quick breakfast of eggs over easy with bacon & whole grain toast.

Mid morning, we begin making phone calls to some of our cousins & friends who are living in Florida & we would like to visit.

About 12:30pm, we drove to Lady Lake (40) miles & enjoyed another visit with Jeri & Gene, Ben & Jackie & Jackie’s mother, Geneva, & her sister, Aunt Marie. They were playing “Mexican Train” when we arrived but quickly ended that hand & decided to all go out for lunch @ the Perkins Restaurant. Even though K & I had eaten just a few hrs before, we joined in with the gang & ate a good healthy Tilapia fish lunch. En route back to Gene & Jeri’s home, Gene tours us past the Village’s almost finished…care Center complex; quite impressive from the outside. In lieu of playing Mexican Train back @ Jeri & Gene’s place; they introduce us to the game of “31” which we played for about an hr while Jackie took her mom & aunt shopping @Wal-Mart. Again, it’s time to say our goodbyes to Gene & Jeri for now. We took Ben back to his house, about (2) blocks away, where Jackie, Marie, & Geneva were relaxing. Marie lives in Littleton & gave us her address, suggesting the next time we visit Katrina we look her up. After a quick tour of their home & a short visit, we had to be on our way.

We drove over to visit Karen & Steve @ their home in the Villages, arriving a little after 6:00 pm. Steve & Karen were hungry & suggested going to the Shake & Steak restaurant. Here Kathy & I have “only” a bowl of soup. Then we return to their home & spend the next (2) hrs playing the game of “Sequence” which the girls won over us guys: (5---3). We found this game fun, quick, & somewhat challenging so K & I will be on the lookout to add it to our inventory as well.

We returned to our bus @ 11:30pm & finished watching the movie: “Tale of Two Cities” with Ronald Colman, Elizabeth Allan, Edna May Oliver, Reginald Owen, Basil Rathbone, Blanche Yurka, etc. Dickens’ panorama of the 1780’s French Revolution becomes an MGM blockbuster, with Colman as carefree lawyer awakened to responsibility, aiding victims of the Reign of Terror. 1935. This was a truly lavish production in its day & most fascinating to watch.
Lights out: 1:35am

Awake: 6:47am Temp 39 sleep 6+23 overnight @ Bushnell, Florida.

K & I walk the campground a little later this morning due to cold weather but we still get a brisk (35) min of exercising. Also this morning, some campers had like mini yard sales @ their campsites & Kathy spent some time checking them out; nothing she couldn’t live without. While she was doing that, I started sorting thru our forwarded Alaska mail.

Later, Gary C & I play (3) games of 8-ball while Kathy is prepping dinner for tonight.
Then Gary invites us to ride with them & attend the 4:00pm Mass @ Saint Lawrence Catholic Church, which we do.

After we return, Rosemary & Gary join us @ our home-on-wheels for a dinner of: Kathy’s special chili. Next, we play the game " Phase Ten"…until Rosemary wins. It was a fun evening. G & R return to their RV & we watch ½ of the movie: “Tale of Two Cities.”

Lights out: 12:33am

Awake: 7:19 am Temp 41 sleep 6+57 sunny overnight @ Bushnell, FL.

K & I walk the campground for (35) min of exercise. After breakfast Kathy goes to the post office to get our mail sent from AK & to do grocery shopping in the town of Bushnell; a (15) min drive. Meanwhile, I visit Gary C @ his campsite; among other subjects, we discuss the snowbird phenomenon of Florida. Each & every winter, there are thousands of RVers & other vehicles that flock to the warmer states including FL to avoid the cold up north; it’s been happening for decades & now we are also caught up in the race to be warm & comfortable.

In the RV world, some people have purchased their own campground site where they can either stay parked for the winter or lease it out for others to rent. Most RVers however, settle in a friendly RV Park where they have made reservations the yr before & continue to do this yr after yr. Others like Gary & I, still like to roam the states & visit people we know + tour what’s interesting & noteworthy. As we chat about this current winter, we are realizing that Florida is becoming a very popular Snowbird destination & getting into other campgrounds is more & more challenging. Kathy returns from shopping around 3:30pm from grocery shopping, etc.

We are invited to Rosemary & Gary’s RV for dinner of: wine & healthy snacks, then spaghetti with meat sauce & a salad. Afterward, G & R teach us a game called: Diminishing Bridge; I liked this game….mainly because they taught us how to play & then they let us win. All these exciting things are followed by: more good talk & a bowl of yummy ice cream.

Back @ our home-on-wheels, K & I watch the movie: “It Happens Every Spring” with Ray Milland, Jean Peters, Paul Douglas, Ed Begley, Ted de Corsia, Ray Collins, etc. Clever little comedy of chemistry professor (Milland) accidentally discovering a chemical mixture which causes baseballs to avoid all wooden surfaces, namely baseball bats. He takes leave from academia & embarks on meteoric pitching career; a most enjoyable, unpretentious picture. 1949. A little far fetched but, nevertheless, entertaining.

Lights out: 12:25am

Awake: 6:52am Temp 40 sleep 6+17 sunny overnight @ Bushnell, FL.

K & I walk the campground for (35) min of exercise.

After breakfast, I call Gary J on his cell phone to find out if he is in Florida yet; “no” he says; “now that I’ve sold my business I don’t know if we will be visiting FL this winter.”

Late morning, using my Fluke Multimeter, Gary C & I check his deep cycle marine battery on his RV. We really couldn’t find anything wrong with the battery; it may just be the 1% discharge rate per day that the marine batteries are reputed to have. In comparison, an AGM battery has a discharge rate of 1-2 % per month.

When I return to our motorhome, I crack & eat (10) of my yummy butter nuts.

Mid afternoon, Gary & Rosemary invite us to a game of Pinochle in the campground club house, guys against the gals; we guys were nice, we let them win. After Pinochle, G & I shoot (3) games of 8-ball & discover we are both competitive. Next we invite R & G to join us for wine time with healthy snacks. After another good gab session, they return to their RV, a mere (5) min walk.

Before dinner, my sister, Mary Jo, called from Lodi, CA; we update each other on our respective holiday activities, etc. She reports a good family rendezvous with lots of game playing & TV watching on their flat screen.

Dinner: tuna steak, brown rice pilaf, homegrown corn from my 1st cousin, & stewed tomatoes.

Late movie: “It happened @ the World’s Fair” with Elvis Presley, Joan O’Brien, Gary Lockwood, Yvonne Craig. Entertaining Presley vehicle set @ Seattle world’s Fair, with Elvis & O’Brien brought together by little Ginny Tiu. Elvis sings (10) songs. 1963. I rarely watch an Elvis movie…most are not highly rated; however this one was rated fair but we should have passed on it.

Lights out: 12:22am

Awake: 7:22am Temp 67 sleep 7+07 overcast overnight @ Bushnell, Florida.

Rain is forecasted this morning so after Kathy wakes up, I transfer our suitcases & bags of things from the Suzuki to the steps of our motorhome where Kathy relocates them inside to organize sometime later. @ the moment, I encourage Kathy to join me in walking the campground to stretch our legs before precipitation falls. We had one lap in when we sight this big Ford truck heading straight for us…. it’s Gary & Rosemary from Pennsylvania. They just arrived yesterday so we do a quick update on each other & save the rest for when we gather later today. We continue our walk until the wind picks up & the heavy downpour chases us back to our motorhome full speed ahead.

Later, I write out a few checks: for services rendered on dental & estimated taxes to Uncle Sam.

Late afternoon, we invite Rosemary & Gary to have a few snacks with wine @ our motorhome.
After a good gab session & G & R return to their campsite, we watch Jeopardy & the O’Reilly Factor…before, during & after our dinner of: Tilapia fish, home grown corn from my cousin in PA, rice & a four bean salad.

Late movie tonight: “Music Man” with Robert Preston, Shirley Jones, Buddy Hackett, Hermione Gingold, Paul Ford, Pert Kelton, etc. Peerless Preston reprises his Broadway performance as super salesman/con man Prof. Harold Hill, who mesmerizes Iowa town with visions of uniformed marching band. 1962. Only a handful of musicals have I watched & enjoyed….this one was entertaining but didn’t make the cut. Kathy however, enjoyed it!

Lights out: 12:38am

Awake: 6+32am Temp 42 constant rain overnight @ Wytheville, Virginia.

After a good complimentary breakfast incl. cereal, hard boiled eggs, & make your own waffles + a comfortable night’s rest, we find out via e-mail that Nick & family arrived in Seattle last night around 10:00pm. Now, how they did that or what airport they departed from in PA, we do not know yet, but we are certainly glad to know that somehow, somebody made it happen.

We leave the Best Western Hotel @ 8:34am with drizzle & more off & on fog…& later, consistent rain + dense fog, so thick that vehicles used their emergency flashers to help keep track of distance between each other thru the higher elevations.

We stop for lunch, a repeat of yesterday, & then Kathy takes her turn driving now that the fog has lifted & better visibility returned. We make a fuel & nature stop, then she squeezes in (4.5 hrs) of non-stop driving; as daylight darkens to night, it’s my turn again.

As we are covering the miles thru South Carolina on I-26 & then Georgia on I-95, Kathy brings up the fact that: “we are almost back to our home-on-wheels, so we might as well skip a hotel/motel night & go all the way” and so we did, arriving @ 9:48pm with a total mileage from Indiana, PA to Bushnell, FL of (1094). We take only our overnight kits & the cooler into the motorhome for the night; watch the “O’Reilly Factor & have a nightcap to celebrate our uneventful return trip & a most decent family rendezvous in Indiana, PA.

Lights out: 12:15am

Awake: 5:00am Temp ? sleep 5+35 overcast overnight @ Indiana, PA.

Melissa calls @ 5:00am: the flight out of Latrobe for Nick & family has been cancelled due to fog @ Detroit Metro the evening before (ie, the plane never made it to Latrobe). Nick has an important meeting to attend tomorrow & desperately needs to be there. When I talk with Nick, he reports that both Jerry & Andrew had a bad night, thus Nick & Eriko + Melissa didn’t get much sleep. Nick sort of hints that maybe we would like to join them in staying around for another day; “sure, and watch you guys take naps all afternoon!” I reply. Nick is hoping that Melissa can find them another airport to fly out of & maybe get back to Seattle later today.
Anyway, we wish them good luck, safe travels, bon voyage, etcetera & to keep in touch.

After breakfast, we take our final bags to the car, check out @ the front desk & start driving @ 7:40am. 1st stop…Nicktown, to pick up our mail; 2nd stop in Ebensburg to make a deposit @ the bank; then Kathy takes the wheel & drives (160) miles. As we are pulling into a rest stop for lunch, my bro calls from PA & lets us know that we got out of town @ the right time, “the weather is miserable” he reports. Lunch by Kathy: tuna salad, Triscuits & ½ of a banana.

Then it’s my turn behind the wheel. With a fuel stop in Daniels, W.V. (14) gal @ $1.80 per gal; we continue & add another (413) miles from the rest stop…thru lots of rain with fog @ the higher elevations…for a total mileage today of (573).

Kathy scanned the West Virginia tourist manual & found a coupon with a discount of $30.00 off the Best Western Hotel in Wytheville, Virginia. This Hotel had recently been renovated & was like new & our room was like…wow, compared to some of those other hotels/motels we have been staying in lately.

Just down the road from the Best Western, we have dinner @ the Cracker Barrel where we share a catfish dinner with, pinto beans, country style green beans, & corn muffins .

Back in our hotel, I respond to Zack’s e-mail with a phone call regarding his Camry & checking radiator coolant + other subjects of interest.

Lights out: 10:46 pm

Awake: 7:16am Temp 38 sleep 7+12 overcast overnight @ Indiana, PA.

K & I join the Foote Family @ St. Thomas More Church & attend the 10:00am Mass. After Mass, all are invited to the basement for the 3rd annual Parish Epiphany Party & Brunch which the Footes attend, but we elect to return to our motel & finish our packing plus loading up the Suzuki for travel.

It took longer than I had thought so we didn’t get over to the Castle until close to 1:00pm. In fact, the Footes arrived home nearly the same time we arrived.

Dinner: more leftovers; K & I had Sloppy Joes, green beans & fresh salad.

Again today, K & I take turns @ shooting for good pics of our grandchildren; we did a little better today so this will have to do.

After the Foote boys are all in bed & Jerry winds down from the excitement of the day & falls asleep in Nick’s lap, we adults sit around in the living room & have a nice casual gab session. We reviewed some of the things we enjoyed during our family rendezvous days @ the Foote Castle & some things that were not so enjoyable. Melissa & Kevin provided us with lots of yummy & healthy homemade food & plenty of not-so-healthy snacks to take care of our sweet tooth (teeth). They went out of their way to make us feel comfortable, buying special foods to suit specialty needs, giving us free use of their clothes washer & dryer as often as any of us wanted.
However, we all felt that maybe…just maybe, we had stayed a tad too long (Nick & family & we were here (19) days); other family members came & went after varying length of stays. It was tough on Melissa (in first trimester of pregnancy) & Kevin, esp. the disruption to their daily schedule; tough keeping their boys quiet for 5 hours (they wake @ 5:00am or earlier), waiting for guests to awaken; plus spending (3) hrs daily in the kitchen, cooking for between (10) & (14) people. Much of the dish washing & cleaning up of the kitchen & dining area was taken over by others.

But there were many fun times of playing with the kids (of course, there were those many not so fun times of just managing them and/or mediating their battles); enjoyable conversations & kidding with each other; & fascinating observations of just how smart our grandsons are.

Bowling, roller & ice skating, & swimming were BIG undertakings that got mostly high marks for fun & overall favorable ratings but were not without their share of stress. All in all, though, during this Christmas season a good time was had, much love was shared, & patience practiced. Hopefully, we’ll keep rendezvousing to pursue perfection!

We return to our motel @ 9:40pm.

Lights out: 11:25pm

Awake: 6:52am Temp: mid 20’s sleep 6+40 mostly sunny overnight @ Indiana.

Early morning, Kathy does her daily grocery shopping to keep the Foote cupboards stocked, but this time, she also bought some supplies for us to take on our travels.

I call the campground in Bushnell, Florida & pay our electric bill for the month of December; then sign up for another week of camping.

We visit the Foote Castle just before noontime; here is the scoop as we walk inside: Nick was spending time with Jerry; Eriko was on the 3rd floor playing with Matthew on the Mega train track; Nathan was roaming freely & most likely getting into things that he shouldn’t be; Kevin was well into dinner preparation, Sloppy Joes simmering, potato wedges seasoned & ready to go into the oven; & Andrew was down for his late morning nap with Melissa alongside.

By the time dinner was ready, everyone was up & at em except Jerry, who had fallen fast asleep & was taking his mid day nap.

Today’s early dinner: Kevin’s rendition of Sloppy Joes & oven baked potato wedges & a big mixed salad by Kathy.

The remainder of the day was deja vu: playing with the boys & playing with the boys. Nick, by the way, has been our most outstanding fellow for entertaining & amusing the young guys & us adults for that matter. He is clever, quick witted, tells some fantastic stories that you couldn’t possibly duplicate, etc, etcetera. He is, without a doubt, the most sought after performer!

We return to our motel around 10:15pm & do some light organizing in prep for travel.

Lights out: 12:04am

Awake: 7:02am Temp 29 sleep 7+33 light snow overnight @ Indiana, PA.

This morning, the tough lady Kathy volunteered to de-snow the Suzuki & buy us a carton of Quaker Oats that we have been having with our breakfast each morning. The motel supply ran out & another shipment won’t be soon enough.

Today’s challenge @ the Foote Castle: take more pictures of grandkids. Kathy has not been happy with my meager selection of: “suitable for framing” grandkid photos. I explained several times that they are too active most of the time to do justice; but 1st, dinner: partial leftovers from (5) meals & a fresh mixed salad. A happy sight: space in the refrigerator is increasing as the amount of leftovers is decreasing.

After dinner, Kathy turns photographer; later I check her progress & it is “yuk” which she knew. We’ll keep trying!

Nap time for me mid afternoon; my 2nd nap since I can’t remember when.

After the boys are all snuggled in their beds, save for Jerry who is still on Seattle time, I set up our laptop computer to absorb some more tutoring from Nick on organizing our photos. Windows XP for Dummies is good but the copyright is 2004; a lot of upgrades have been downloaded since then. Kathy & Eriko tried several game ideas to keep Jerry occupied & away from the computer; success!

Then it’s more photo attempts with little satisfaction.

We leave around 10:25pm for our motel.

Lights out: 12:12am

Awake: 7:47am Temp 34 sleep 7+39 mostly sunny overnight @ Indiana, PA.

K & I attend 9:30am Mass @ St. Bernard’s Catholic Church across town. Before Mass begins, we look for the Foote Family as they planned to meet us here. During Mass, we could hear little voices from the back of the church but due to the large church & a good attendance, we couldn’t see them. Kathy was certain it was the boys but when I heard those little voices making motor noises in representing cars, trucks, etc, I knew for sure….it wasn’t the Foote children….their motor noises are different. We found out later, the Footes attended the 7:00 am Mass.

Back @ our motel, we change clothes & Kathy goes grocery shopping while I stay in our room & answer some e-mail.

When Kathy returns, we motor to the Foote Castle just in time for a dinner of: spiral cut ham, green beans, homemade whole wheat rolls & a Waldorf salad.

Katrina & Karina are leaving shortly after dinner & there is a sudden rush to do the final packing & locating everything they had brought with them; plus another rush to stash up on some healthy food to take with & sweet goodies to munch on along the way. We say our goodbyes for now & wish them an uneventful bon voyage. Later Kevin reports that they had less than (10) min left to check in @ the airport.

Evening time…my voice was back to a whisper. I did however, join in with Eriko, Jerry & Nick in playing a game of: “Trouble;” Nick was the trouble maker who won the game!

Lights out: 11:29pm

Awake: 5:37am Temp 29 sleep 5+05 snow…wind overnight @ Indiana, PA.

I awoke minutes before a streak of lighting flashed into our room, followed by a bolt of thunder; as I gazed out our window & saw what appeared to be a light blizzard, I thought to myself: “well I’ll be darned!” I think we just experienced what they call: “Thunder Snow.” I thought it was a little early to wake Kathy up, but she was awakened by the thunder. We have things to do & places to go today, so she moved along swiftly.

After coffee & our small breakfast, we motor to Nicktown; Nicktown being about (600) ft higher in elevation, was truly having blizzard like conditions. We aim our Suzuki toward the community center, tramp thru the small but growing snow drifts & prepare to enter the social room & join the KK meeting. But….wait a minute; the lights are out & the door is locked. What’s going on? Most of the cars outside represent the people we know who should be inside. Kathy knocks on the door but no response.

Ah ha, these guys tried to trick us into thinking: nobody’s home. They saw us coming, turned out the lights & locked the door. No late Christmas gifts for them! Although my voice was reduced to a scratchy whisper, we enjoyed more good talk & much laughter for the next (1.5) hrs. Then we had to scoot to the doctor’s office in Carrollton, not taking the time to pick up our mail.

Kathy talked to Michelle & asked to have the doctor take a look @ my condition to see if an antibiotic might help; Kathy’s thyroid medicine didn’t need any changing & the doc wrote an Amoxicillin prescription for me to treat what is diagnosed as a “sinus infection.”

From here, we motor to the care center in Hastings; visiting both 1st cousins Richard & Bernie. Richard, who looks great, talks wonderfully, has that wry sense of humor, etc, still has those fragile bones that keep him in a wheelchair.

Bernie, on the other hand, has made a miraculous recovery, graduated to a powered wheelchair, & talks much better, but still does not have control of his lower body. We say our goodbyes for now & hope they are both in better condition when we return in April.

Another stop in Nicktown to pick up our mail; bad timing, the P.O. is closed for lunch.

Back to our hotel, change clothes & then get our prescriptions filled. While the pharmacy is doing that, we make some prints from the memory stick of the latest grandkids & family pictures.

Dinner @ the Foote Castle; leftovers. K & I select turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, cranberries & salad.

And now, tra-lah: we celebrate Andrew's 3rd birthday with a snowman ice cream cookie cake, made by Melissa & decorated by her & Karina. The usual birthday song was sung & Andrew blew out his candles, saying:" I am (3) now" as he held up (3) fingers. He opened several presents, including more Brio train tracks + an orange engine, a 180 piece "Geomegs" magnetic building set & pajamas.

After Andrew's birthday celebration, Nick & I got into a broad discussion, comparing each of our lives & how & when we did what. When did we start saving for the kids college; how did we invest; how much to save for retirement, etc, etc. I don’t remember how long this intense conversation lasted but I do remember Nick getting closer & closer due to my whisper. It was amazingly interesting to do these comparisons & I am thankful that he brought up the idea.

Just as we were getting things organized to leave for our motel, the adults & Jerry were setting up to watch the movie: “Cars” on Katrina’s computer.

Back to our motel @ 10:40pm; Kathy was asleep by 11:05pm.

Lights out: 12:08am

Awake: 7:41am temp high 20’s sleep 7+29 overcast overnight @ Indiana, PA.

K & I travel to Barnesboro mid morning to have my tooth repaired & a missing filling replaced @ the dentist’s office. (35) min later, the job was finished & I was most impressed by Dr. Peter & his able assistant. I couldn’t tell the difference from the one injured tooth to another.

En Route to the Foote Castle, we make a quick stop to visit Lou Ann & Herk in Kirschtown; as we were about to leave, Lou Ann’s older sister, Rita, & her son-in-law arrived from Johnstown, so we had to spend a little time talking with them. Rita is (90) yrs of age & will be staying with Lou Ann & Herk for a couple of days; in Feb, she will travel to Texas to stay with her daughter, Judy, for a few months. Also, Lou Ann gave me another large bag of “butter nuts.”

We return to the Castle in time for dinner: Kevin’s special hamburgers (melted cheese inside) & all the condiments + salad. We especially liked this meal.

Mid afternoon, Nick, Jerry & I go to the 3rd floor where Nick continues his super Brio track layout. I was honored to be selected amongst the many others for this private invitation. Nick & Jerry work well together; Jerry happily pushes his train around, up & over the bridges, down thru the tunnels, across the plains, etc while Nick continues using the newest & latest box of more Brio track & accessories, striving to keep this mega train layout from stagnation & falling into ruination. My job: backup Jerry as a test engineer by using another train & rolling down & over the other tracks….watching closely for any flaws or flimsy construction that might lead to a derailment.

We were having great fun until I excused myself to go downstairs to get some medicine that my nurse suggested I take @ a certain hr. Jerry told be to be careful going down the steps & I thanked him. I wasn’t on the 1st floor very long but when I returned, Jerry was absent from the Mega Train Layout area. “Where is Jerry” I ask Nick? “He went looking for you” Nick replies. Turns out, Jerry got distracted in the dining room & was heavily engaged in the consumption of cookies. Could this be a start of the downfall of the Mega Brio Track system? Only time will tell!

About 3:30 the whole group departed for some fun in the pool at the Comfort Inn; I chose not to go in the water due to my cold & even escaped to our motel for a short while. But, I did stay to see the troops get wet, the girls slowly creeping their way in, while the guys showed off their canon ball approach; the room was very warm & steamy, but the pool water was cold. Melissa elected to sit on the pool steps, only feet & lower legs in the water, the whole time while supporting Nathan’s walking back & forth on the step in the water. Jerry & Andrew were in & out of the water several times as they would get cold & warm up, but they had a laughing, great time. Kathy reports that all had a fun time; Nick, Katrina, & Kevin had a wild game of monkey in the middle while taking turns holding Andrew & Matthew. Karina, who bragged about her swimming ability & talked often about her desire to go swimming, actually swam very little, instead spending most of her time standing in the water talking with Melissa. Katrina said Karina is a swimmer, but there were too many people in the pool. Back to the Foote castle @ 5:30.

Evening time for us adults was reduced to a gab session which I had little to contribute as my voice was again, down to a whisper. We return to our motel by 11:20pm.

Lights out: 12:22am