Friend, SeaWorld and Blue Man

We had some friends from Fort Atkinson, Wi. fly down and visit with us for the week while we were in Orlando. We took in some of the local wildlife while kayaking on the Crystal River. We saw alot of Manatee, Osprey, and other wildlife. The big Gator below we saw sitting on the bank.

While in the area we also saw the Blue Man Group at Universal Studios. A very popular show we have seen advertised many times but never took in till now.   We also spent some time just hiking and sitting by the pool.  Another day we went to Sea World. We took in the shows including the Shamu show and others shows. Sea World cares for and treats many animals that are injured. The ones that can be released back into the wild are released. The others are cared for and kept on display for visitors to see.  It was a good week for visiting and spending time with friends.                                   

Titusville Wildlife

We have been staying the last 4 days at an RV resort called Seasons in the Sun, in the Titusville and Mims area. You can see a few of the fellow residents here at the resort. These animals are wild and can leave the campground when they want.  And didn't have to pay per night!

We have some good friends flying in from Wi. to spend the week with us in the warm Florida sun. We will be traveling from here to Orlando to take in the sights of the area there.  70's and cloudy.  Ate at a awesome family restaurant, Dixie Crossroads.  The best shrimp and lobster for very reasonable price.  Never sat down at a restaurant and had them give you free sweet corn fritters before you ordered.  Went with our "neighbors" and had a great time.  Neat fish pond outside the restaurant, and they even gave you fish food to feed them.  No beautiful Koi but very hungry fish. (They must not get the gratuity corn fritters)

Other sites in Ormond Beach area

So while traveling around Ormond Beach area, we toured the John D. Rockefeller home that he spent his last years and died in.  The home sits between the ocean and intercoastal waters.  It's now a renovated, refurnished replica of his time.  They were getting ready for their lavish Christmas Gala, like John D. used to do.

We stopped for lunch at this interesting diner.  Themed from the 50-60's.  Food was very good, service slow but speed is not our moto lately.  70's and sunny all day.

 New Smyrna Beach Dunes Park has a 1 1/2 mile boardwalk thru the dunes and state park.  Saw many turtles nesting, pelicans in a flock like geese, vulcures (won't tell you what they were tearing apart), and schools/pods? of dolphins.  They were playing and flippin' their tales at each other having a great time.

When we were in Savannah GA we saw the exact spot where the "bench scene" in Forest Gump was filmed.  In Ormond Beach we got to see the actual bench!  Today we are taking a 30+mile tour of "The Loop", a scenic, curvy loop that every motorcycle down here rates a "must see".  It ends up on the beach, where you ride up the beach on the sand for a few miles.  Another pretty day 77 and sunny.

Ormond Beach and area

So here we are for 1 week in Ormond Beach area.  We weren't sure when planning the first winter away if we should book campgrounds for a few days, a week, or longer.  Day 3 of 7 and it's been great not feeling rushed and able to "relax".  That word hasn't always been in our vocabulary but I like it.  We've been cruisin' on the motorcycle and seeing the coastal area of Ormond Beach, Daytona Beach, and Ponce de Leon.  Walked the beach.  Bought some local fish and cooked it on the grill.  Yummy.  They have Farmer's Markets on Thursdays and Saturdays so I'm excited to check out the local stuff.  I have even gotten out my recipe box and made a few things I haven't cooked in awhile.  Homemade flaky biscuits from scratch are now Randy's favorite.  More fruit in the diet is a goal too, so can't wait until the Farmer's Market !!

Good Sam Rally, Daytona Speedway



Good Sam



Racing on the track (in my dreams)



Daytona Speedway & Victory Lane



Good Sam Rally, Daytona International Speedway.  So this was the start of our original plan to get on the road Fulltime.  Back in June 2012 we attended the Good Sam Rally in Kentucky and if you signed up for Daytona it was only 1/4 the price.  I looked at Randy and said "we're going".  This will be our carrot dangling in front of us and by faith we headed that direction.  Good Sam is a camping organization that promote "good samaritan" activities, volunteering, and friendship amongst campers. Good Sam and Camping World stores are affiliated. 
So being Nascar fans this was an awesome adventure.  3540 camping vehicles and over 7200 people.  A tram took us from our campsite inside the speedway to the seminars, entertainment, and display areas.  Often we would ride our bikes.  The exciting part was going in the tunnel to get to the inside track and taking Pit Row to get to the entertainment.  Every morning you could walk or bike the entire track, on the bottom lane, as you would need to get to 70mph to get up the 31% grade corners.  We attended seminars on RVing in Alaska, fulltiming, cooking in a small space, and mechanical stuff.  Kenny Rogers and Reba McEntire were the headline entertainment.  Over 300 venders and hundreds of RV's were on display for the looking or buying.  You could even test drive one and take it around the track, again only on the bottom lane and must keep it 55mph or less.  Bummer. 

House Keeping Day





Butch Buddy





Fuzzy Buddy

Moved 98 miles south towards Florida and found a great campground for $10 a night..

Did 3 loads of laundry, cleaned the motorhome, gave Randy a haircut, and Buddy a haircut.  Dishes and cooking.  Now we are ready to move on to the Good Sam RV Rally at the Daytona Internation Speedway tomorrow for 4 days.  Hope we get to park near turn 1.  Met a great couple that have been Fulltiming (living in your RV all or a majority of the year), which is what we are officially called now.  Actually, we have been living in our RV since April 1, 2012 but at the one location in Elkhorn Wis.  Anyway, they have been Fulltiming for 9 years so we picked their brain for awhile and gained lots of info.  So glad we made this stop and will sleep well tonight.