New Year

Welcome 2013!  We've moved up the Gulf Coast a bit more and are now near Clearwater.  Just being beach bums and exploring the area.  Having the motorcycle has been awesome!  Jump on the bike (40 mpg) and just cruise.  There are alot of "touristy" type things, but we've been trying to find the stuff off the path and different.  So we've walked the beaches, bicycled the streets, Tampa aquarium, Museum of Science & Industry, walked Tarpon Springs, and been in search of flea markets.

 Love the weather we've been having 70-80's.  It's been real difficult to figure out our "routine".  Staying up until midnight sorting through cupboards and trying to reorganize.  Today we removed everything from the bays (under the coach storage areas) and re-organize.  Randy's always saying "I know I brought XYZ, but I don't know where it is".  so today we organized, catagorized, and re-stored everything.  Now we have a list and location of everything hidden in the basement.  I've started crocheting again and plan to do some Rosemaling again.  Crafting things I haven't had time to do but love to do.  It's still difficult, because I've always had a routine to life (sleep, wake, work, cook, clean, etc) Now I've got some time in that "work" segment and want to make every moment count, but what to do??  Great time for reading my Bible more and making better priorities, touring, and spending time together.  Buddy loves hanging out with us too.  It's weird how I thought we would both go through work withdrawls, NOT.  I loved having Christmas AND New Years off without having to beg and plead for someone to work for me or not getting it off at all.  The last time I had them both off was in 1988, maternity leaving having Sarah and before that 1978 before I had regular employment. Decorated the motorhome for our Beaver Ambassador Rally.  It's a Beaver Reindeer.  Beaver is the model of our RV.

Randy's biggest issues with Florida are that fact that nobody seems to put their grocery carts away, they leave them next to their car - for the next guy to hit.  OR all of the traffic lights and inability to make left hand turns without always making U-turns and coming back.  They do like their car horns down here too.  I'm ready to get out of the south and start heading north.  Maybe we've been too close to bigger cities??  Anyway, it's going well and we are getting organized and figuring things out......slowly.

This is St Petersburg view from The Pier.  A upside down pyramid looking building at the end of this pier.  Stores, aquarium, restaurants, and a great upper deck to look out over St Petersburg and Tampa Bay.

Never seen one of these signs in Wisconsin. 

Got asked to go for a Sunday afternoon motorcycle ride with a few of the folks here at the campground.  Ended up 100 miles away and at some biker bar in the middle of who knows where for supper.  Great fried chicken, baked beans, and rice for $6.00 but we've never been were there were 100+ motorcycles and everyone in leather.  There happen to be an airboat dock right next to the grounds.  Kinda cool to see airboats come in.  There was live music, and it wasn't too bad.  The mean age was 60.  So even retired bikers go to Florida in the winter.  Here's a picture of my favorite biker.  

Merry Christmas!

Hope you and yours had a very Merry Christmas!  Decorated the RV but missing the snow made it feel weird.  Missing the family made it even weirder!  We did go for a long ride on the motorcycle, never did that in Wisconsin.  We cooked on the grill a wonderful dinner and watched White Christmas with Bing Crosby.  Great movie.  Sunsets are so beautiful and I can never get sick of those.  This is sunset on Christmas day.  Beautiful.

Went to an RV rally the week before Christmas and had a great time with all the Beavers.  Our motorhome is a Beaver Contessa, kinda like a Pontiac GrandAM.  So we belong to a group of RVers that all own Beaver's.  We toured a orange grove, wonderful lunch, dolphin ocean tour in the Gulf, and pirates came to our campgrnd.This is one of the million dollar homes on our dolphin tour.  I love my small RV that I can drive away from bad neighbors and change my backyard daily or weekly.  Our theme for the week was "Dolphins, Pirates, and Manatee, Oh My"  The goal was to see all 3 this week.  We only saw 2 but we have seen many Manatee in Florida before.  Going to Apollo Power Plant next week.  The heated water that the power plant uses makes the outlet bay area really warm so hundreds of manatee hang out there for the winter.  Can't wait.  We are going to try the driving range and see how we can improve our golf game this winter.  Trying to figure out what activities to do and when to just do stuff around the RV.  It's still such a different way of life for both of us that we haven't gotten into a routine or long term plan.  Happy New Year and a Blessed 2013 !!

Gulf Coast of Florida

So as we adventure through Alligator Alley and up the Gulf Coast, Christmas decorations are sure alot different than in Wisconsin.  Randy got to see his 100's of Alligators along the roadway, near the waterways. 
We've done some coastal kayaking, finding wonderful beaches (Venice Beach is beautiful).  They have alot of Flea Markets and wonderful Farmer's Markets every weekend so we're trying to eat our fruits and veggies more.  We have our 3 stockings hung above the TV and if we really want to, we can pop in the "roaring fire" DVD and they look like they are above the fireplace.  Our 3foot tree is lit every night, on our steering wheel table, and of course our Nativity set is lit and in the big front window.  We're finding how many more people are celebrating the true meaning of Christmas in the south.  Nativity's, saying "Merry Christmas", church concerts, and plays in public places.  It's great! 
We toured Thomas Edison's "winter home" in Fort Myers.  I never realized all of the things he invented.  63 years of patents with at least 1 patent every year.  Researching rubber trees to develop tires for his good friend Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone.  They "wintered" together.  The furniture and layout of both Mr Ford and Mr Edison's homes, on the property, brought back so many memories of my grandparents home.  It was really a wonderful tour, even got to see his laboratory.  They had a "touch table" of some of his inventions.  Sad to say I picked up a carbon recording tube and accidentally dropped it.  Carbon chunks flew.  How many people do you know that broke Thomas Edison's invention.  Oops.  I'm bad!!

Have a Very Merry Christmas and remember Jesus is the Reason!!   

Florida Keys

 We took the inland road from Kissimmee down to the Keys. #1 to see a different part of Florida and #2 to avoid the Toll Roads.  $1.00 for a car toll turns into $5.00 for the RV towing a car with 5 axles.  Brother Jim keeps us on the right roads with his suggestions for truck routes and our truck maps.  We spent a night near Lake
Okeechobee but couldn't see much as there is a berm around it.  Oh well, the map said it was there?!?!  The next night we did something out of the ordinary and spent the night in a Indian Casino parking lot.  Alot of RVers do it that gamble but it was on our way.  We went in to let them know and signed up for a "players card" because they gave us $20 free gambling money and a 2 for 1 buffet.  So the Indians paid US to stay there, basically, and fed us.  NICE !!  Side trip from there was at the Coral Castle in Homestead.  In short, 1 man hauled and carved tons and tons of rock/coral to make a living quarters castle.  Chairs, beds, sun dial, cook stove, water wheel, fountains, etc.  And they were comfortable.  It was on our "unusual" list of things to see.  Like the "Twistee Top" ice cream stops that are in the shape of a huge ice cream cone. 

Onto the Keys.  We set up at the Grassy Key RV Resort outside Marathon and boy did it have a view!!  Went to Key West (too crazy for me) but most of the time our adventures led us to walking, biking, snorkeling, and just checking out nature.  Saw 2 "key deer" on Deer Key.  Endangered speci of deer that are very small.  I think our granddog Duke is bigger (German Shepard).  They don't leave the island because they would have to cross a bridge to get anywhere, or maybe swim??  Jaws may be waiting! 

Took a 3 hours tour (sounds familiar?) well, this tour was calm and a gorgeous 80 degree day.  So we didn't see Gilligan or the Professor.  Group of 16 people on a boat to snorkel at Sombero Lighthouse. (9 were from Wisconsin, go figure) Interestingly, the other 7 were from Italy and New Jersey.  I thought the Sombero Lighthouse (looking from shore) was a replica of the Effel Tower.  But it is a iron framed lighthouse in the middle of the ocean with what looks like 2 semi trailer boxes connected to make a large enclosed shell, 2 stories up from the ocean.  That's were the lighthouse keeper lived.  The last one for 24 years, only leaving the lighthouse once a year. (1940-1964).

Geocaching, iguana searching (saw dozens, one 4ft), bird identifying, people watching, fishing eating were all on our agenda.  We walked the old Seven Mile Bridge (right side) twice for exercise and to find a geocache.  Saw Rays jumping, iguanas, and lots of regular fish jumping.  Getting lots of sun and exercise but must be eating too well because our clothes still fit.

Did I tell you about "the RV swarm"???   It seems that RVing is a man sport.  Once you pull into your campsite and get things hooked up on the outside, the woman goes inside to get things set up.  The man stays outside to finish up and then "the RV swarm" starts.  Men from all over the campground suddenly swarm around your RV to discuss your RV (they love the motorcycle lift) and have man talk.  It's quite the thing to watch.  AND it seems to occur at every campground so it's not a region event.  And they say us women like to talk!