Home for the Summer

HE SAID:  
What a great way to start the summer with an annual Canada Day Parade in Raymond with 6 of our 9 Grandkids.   As said in our last post, we took all the Visser grandkids from Winnipeg to stay a few weeks with us in Lethbridge.  The trip across the prairies was great. The kids loved being able to move around the RV including getting into the fridge for a cold beverage and dropping some eggs on the floor at the same time.  Jillian loved the RV so much that once we set up camp in Lethbridge and told her we where going to Halls for supper she ran to the bedroom in the RV and said she was ready to go...she forgot about the car that we were towing in the back.
We booked a site at Elbas Farms just outside Lethbridge. A nice little RV park attached to a fully working farm. The kids liked seeing the animals on a daily basis. The cousins loved spending time together. It was times like these that we miss having our own home again where they all could be together. The RV is just too small for a visit, and unfortuanately, even though the weather was great, the mosquitoes were terrible, making staying outside impossible.
We decided to treat the Visser kids to their first Calgary Stampede including the Stampede Parade.

 We had a great time at both and made sure we stayed overnight so we could get to a Stampede Breakfast. I have lived in Alberta most of my life and this was my first time too. It was a lot of fun and the food was actually pretty good.

It was sad to see the Visser kids go, and we look forward to the next time we get to watch them without mom and dad next year. 

We decided to spend the rest of the summer with the Hall kids and Hayden once a week with a sleep over and an excursion. 

Our first outing was to Fort Mcleod and the RCMP Fort. Again since moving back to Alberta in 1992, we have never spent the time going to this fort and museum. It was really fun. Little Callie even got to be the Honorary Inspection Guard.

One of Drew's many rides.

Our next trip was to Heritage Park in Calgary. Thanks to the Jensen's van we were all able to go together in one vehicle.  I haven't been to this Park in years. There are some new attractions and a lot more rides. Poor Drew wanted to go on all the rides, but Ben and Hayden had other plans. That didn't stop him one bit. I don't think he missed a ride and some he went on more then once.  I really love all the old buildings especially the sweet shop!

Callie in the one room School!

Hayden just robbed a bank!!!

On the Paddle Wheel Boat

Another one of our favourite places to visit in the area is the Birds of Prey centre in Coaldale. For this trip we were joined by Stan and Carolyn and two of their grandkids Josh and Jordan.  We were late meeting them because Drew forgot to wear shoes and we had to get something for his feet. This happened a lot this summer with Callie and Clark also forgetting their shoes on outings. Oh to be a kid again and not having to worry about what is on your feet. Anyway the kids had a great time. 

In August we moved our RV to Russ and Amanda Jensen's driveway as they were going to be gone most of the month and we offered to house sit.  This summer we also house sat for Heather and Jay Dee and Sandy Burbank. We became quite proficient in bouncing from house to house, but in late August we decided to abandon our storage locker and move all of our belongings to Heather and Jay Dee's house. We also took over their basement, and will continue to use their place until we have done all of our travelling. 

We  also took the opportunity this summer to visit our dad's gravesite. It had been a long time for me to have seen my dad's spot and it is always nice to take the grandkids to Ken's spot in Lethbridge. We owe the Visser kids a trip there next time they come to visit us here. 

Stan Tanner and I made some fun trips to Saskatchewan and BC to pick up old trucks for Stan to fix up. Needless to say the trips didn't go off without a hitch of some sort. But I still had fun having guy time with Stan. And of course it was great going to movies all summer with the Tanners. We miss this treat when we are on the road. They are great movie buffs like us.

Well the summer quickly came to a close (but the mosquitoes kept bitting right till the end). We did lots of repairs on the RV and trailer while we where here. The biggest thing was getting our generator working (took two full weeks of getting it right). We were planning on being gone by the end of September, but last minute trailer repairs didn't have us moving west to Nanaimo to the first week of October. We had a great summer but we were excited to be on the road again.

SHE SAID: 

What he said!!! LOL

Missy loved joining us on all the Scottie walks.

A nice break in Winnipeg

HE SAID:
We haven't forgot about our blog, but being back in Canada has been relaxing and yet very busy.  We had a great time in Winnipeg staying in Beth and Patrick's driveway. We would do everything but sleep  in Beth's house though. It was nice to still sleep in our own bed at night.

Following advise from Paul, I embraced a passion for my retirement years and that is cooking. I gave Beth the month off and I got to try many new recipes, some of them were amazing. I loved having a real stove and a big kitchen. I am still collecting new ideas for when I go back there next year!!!

It was fun being in the "peg" while the kids where in school. I loved watching them getting ready to leave for school and their arrival at home at the end of the day.  We were able to attend a few assemblies and activities along with Beth and Jilly.  At one event, I really got into the dancing and really embarrassed Clark.  I like the fact Clark and Claire are in French Immersion so I could brush up on my own French.  Actually Claire has a better vocabulary then I do now.




We took the opportunity while in Winnipeg to do some more renovations inside the motor home. With the help of Patrick and a neighbour across the street, we replaced the counter in the kitchen and bathroom as well got a new dinette table.  Pat and Beth did the back splash and the motor home looks awesome now.

One of the events Beth and Patrick wanted help with was to look after the grandkids while they did a triathlon in St. Malo Manitoba. I had never been to one of these races and it was a lot of fun.  Both Beth and Patrick did awesome.  So proud of both of them.

I really loved when everybody went into the lake.  Patrick called it the washing machine affect.

I almost got inspired to want to do a triathlon myself......that inspiration only lasted till the end of the day...lol.






Like all the other places we have been to since we started traveling we wanted to make sure we saw areas of Winnipeg that were new.  We took a tour of historic downtown Winnipeg (after a great snack of Poutine...see Pic).

It was very interesting. Didn't realize how important Winnipeg was in getting the west going.







Of course we went to our regular "go to place".  Skinners hot dogs in Lockport -just north of Winnipeg. My mom used to go here when she was a young girl with her boyfriends.  (back in the '40s)

A couple of more highlights of our time in Winnipeg was to catch a Winnipeg Blue Bombers game in the new stadium and going to a Michael Buble concert in the MTS Centre.   

The time we spent  here went very quickly.  A day after the kids finished school we brought them with us and left for Lethbridge for the summer.  It was so nice to spend time with the Vissers without having to rush back home to go to work. The joys of retirement. 

SHE SAID:

John has been a bit naggy about me getting my comments in...I could say..."What he said", but I will add a few comments of my own.

Winnipeg was a great time, being able to spend it with the Visser Family, getting to know the grandkids better and spending some good quality time with Beth and Patrick.  As Patrick is a great handyman, and can McGuiver almost anything, it seemed a good time to do some renovations on the motor home.  I started out with new sinks, as the park in Lethbridge stained ours last fall.  Well, that  turned into countertops, tabletop and tile veneer in the bathroom and kitchen.  I also added some wall decals in the sleeping area.  Beth's neighbour is a cabinet maker, so did all of the laminate work.  We were able to use laminate she had in her shed.  A great deal and the place looks awesome.  I must say, with vision in only one eye putting up the wall finishings was a challenge, but after watching for a bit, Beth broke down and helped...ALOT!!  After we were finished, I realized the kitchen area looks erily like the kitchen renovation I did in our house.  I guess I know what I like :)

We also got together with Carol Ladd, Aaron Ladd and his family and the Drozdowskis.  It was great to see them all!  Aaron is one of Paul's teenage friends, who spent a lot of time with us when we lived in Winnipeg.  It was a fun to catch up with him and reconnect.  Time with Carol, Nancy and Wayne was great - it's funny how easy it is to visit with old friends after a long time not seeing them.  This is one of my weaknesses - not keeping up with amazing people whom have been a part of my life.  

When it was time to leave at the end of June, we gathered up three extra people, and brought them with us.  It was loads of fun to travel with Claire, Clark and Jillian.  They were so well behaved on the trip, but will get into that in our next post.

On the Road Again.......and Again and .....Again.

HE SAID:  As Pat said in our last blog, once we got back from our cruise we drove "Willie" from Miami to Toronto. I had never seen this part of the USA before so it was an interesting ride. We left Tuesday May 20 and headed north.  The first day we had lots to do to get to the point where we could actually hit the road, which included getting the motor home, attaching the car, getting gas water and food for the trip. We didn't get very far the first day, just getting to Jacksonville Florida. It was cool enough that we decided to stay in a Walmart that night. It was a brand new store and in a good location of town.

The next day we drove as far as Charlotte North Carolina. (This was Wednesday - Paul's Birthday). We decided that we would get an RV campsite as it was way too hot to stay without the AC running full blast. Poor Pat spend a good part of the afternoon trying to find a place that was decent and not too expensive. She finally found a place that was attached to an Amusement Park (see below). It was a nice place with few RV'ers. We weren't impressed though that the Laundry and pool were closed just as we pulled in. 

Getting out again early we then drove all day again till we found a place just north of Pittsburgh.

I really loved this RV park. The camp hosts were really friendly and there were many trees for  shade. The main office is located in an old converted church (picture above).  On these days of long driving, my energy level was just enough to plug in the services and get TV reception on the bat wings. I want to come back to PA. It is beautiful state.

 Friday May 23 we were on our last stretch to reach Toronto. It was a nice drive along Lake Erie to Buffalo where we stopped at a Sam's club to buy Paul and Ronnie some cheese and meat for us.  The worst part of this last day was all the toll roads and delays getting across the bridges and eventually the border (the latter going very smoothly). We were anxious to get to Toronto and get set up so we could see Paul and Ronnie. The last leg of the trip is always the hardest and it didn't help that we:   1) ...couldn't find the RV park in Toronto and 2) we went the wrong way to Paul's place and it took us an extra hour of driving to get there.

On top of the CN tower- notice the Scotiabank building in the view...

We had a great visit in Toronto keeping very busy.

- took the Dogs to Wooffest - like a Woodstock for dogs

- Visited with Pat's aunt and Uncle in Orangeville

- Had a barbecue at our RV with Paul and Ronnie and Sandy Burbank

- went to see the X-Men movie in a really cool theatre in Toronto

- Visited with Pat's cousins Kathrine and Grant

- Had a great visit in Kitchner with Kim Barnes and hubby Craig (who is, by the way, an excellent cook)

-Lunch with Rose and Patsy in Brantford at Moxies

- Went to Second City comedy club after eating at Wayne Gretskys restaurant. 

-we helped Paul and Ronnie clean out their old apartment as they also had a move to a new place while we where there. 

- went and had dinner at O. Noir - where you eat in total darkness. You are led to your table by a blind  person who brings your three course meal. It was a real adventure.

O'Noir Toronto Restaurant lobby

- and above all we did lots of driving on the crazy Don Valley Parkway and the famous 401. We couldn't believe how much it cost to fill our little XB car compared to the states so that was a real push for us to drive to Winnipeg via the states.

We left for Winnipeg early Sunday morning June 1'st. Taking the 401 again, this time crossing over at    Sarnia/Michigan.  Again had no issues at the border (now that I have memorized my RV license plate...it goes faster). We got as far as a KOA near Benton Harbour called the Covert South Haven KOA which happened to be the blueberry capital of the USA. 

This was our first time in a KOA on this trip and the accommodations were great, although we were only there one night.

Monday June 2nd, we drove for a good 12 hours. It was exhausting. It didn't help that the roads in Michigan, and Illinois were terrible, but we also had quite the wind making driving the RV a challenge. We set a goal of getting to Minneapolis so we could hit a Costco before going back into Canada. Similar for Paul and Ronnie, we also stocked up on Cheese and meat for the Vissers. Finding the Costco was a breeze (and it was nice getting cheaper gas again). However finding our next KOA was more of a challenge. The GPS really let us to the wrong part of the city and we drove a good extra hour just finding the park. 

Minneapolois NW KOA

We didn't pull in to almost 9 PM and the camp host gave us the worst site  ( like parking in a pond). Our overnight neighbour said as we got set up "welcome to the Swamp".  I guess the state had lots of rain and the drainage in this RV park really sucked. Oh well only one night. 

We arrived at Visser home around 5pm on June 3. It was a much better drive our last day. The roads in North Dakota were awesome. And once again no issues at the border. 

It is good being back in Winnipeg and staying with Beth, Patrick and the grandkids. We are sleeping in our RV so we did set up in their driveway. I was impressed at how we got everything set up so we aren't on the street. 

We will be here till the end of June then back to Alberta. 

She Said:  

What a long few days of driving!  After leaving Miami, heading to Toronto I became an expert at crawling out of my seat, grabbing the seats and table to the back for my restroom breaks.  John has very different patterns than me, so because of the facilities, we certainly didn't have to stop as often as we do when driving in the car.  Many of the roads we drove on we horrible, and a few times I wondered if I was going to be flung around, landing on my backside, on the floor of the RV.  I was able to save dignity the entire trip, so all is well in that department!

It was great to visit with so many people in Toronto.  I sometimes forget how many great family and friends we have there!  We were very busy during our 9 days there.  John listed everyone, and pretty much everything we did.  O.Noir was a very interesting stop.  Sitting in pitch darkness, only relying on other senses was quite and experience.  I totally lost track of time, and was somewhat surprised that we were there for over two hours.  It makes me grateful for the vision I do have...my right eye doesn't see much, but full vision in my left eye, so I can enjoy the blessings of light.  (my depth perception does suck, though)

Comments on a couple of the parks we stayed at:  the one with the Amusement Park was extremely frustrating as the only reason we decided not to Walmart parking lot the night was because we needed to do laundry.  I had spoken with the manager on the phone, said he'd wait in the office until we got there.  He did, but as soon as he gave us our site number, he was gone...in the process, we discovered that the laundry was attached to the main building and therefore locked up...as well as the pool being locked up.  It was very frustrating, as we were in need of some clean clothes!  

The other site that left me somewhat on the edge was the KOA in NW Minneapolis...it was rated highly on every site I checked on.  We wanted a stop time for the day, and as we knew we were going to shop, we decided to get a hookup site.  First, John has understated his response to our inability to find the park, after we shopped and filled up with gas.  I had input the address on the GPS...it told me that the number I needed didn't exist, so I input the closest number it would allow...how far could 999 and 11336 be apart????  Our discovery was...a long way - after realizing we were being taken to a residential neighbourhood, I recalled the number difference...oooppps!  If you want an answer in this case, it's about 30 minutes of driving.  As we were now into about hour 15 of the day, mostly driving, John was not a happy camper.  In effort to find our way quickly, I called the campsite.  A very friendly woman, for whom english is a second language, tried to help me out...she also didn't have a clue as to where we were, not fully understanding the landmarks I was giving her.  I had an aha moment, remembering the 'Points of Interest' feature, input Camping, found the place, and we were back on our way.  If you know us, you will know there was some discussion and muttering happening all the way to set up.  The fact that we ended up parked in a marshy spot with a huge puddle in the corner was not a great addition to the day!  We did survive, however!

It was a great relief to arrive in Winnipeg.  We got here around 4:30, so the grandchildren were home from school.  How wonderful to get hugs from them all!  I was visiting children as the RV was being set up.  I was amazing to see how innovative Patrick is, with the tires on 4 blocks of wood.  It looked like a ship coming out of the waves...the front being about 4 feet higher.  I was assured that it was very safe and steady.  I will expand on this in the next post.  It will be a while before was have such long distances to drive, and I'm grateful for that.  It took about 3 days to recover the last run.  I will say though, I'm still having lots of fun!!

A three hour tour ....rather ....three weeks.

HE SAID: This was our home for three weeks while we toured from Miami to Vancouver on a three week cruise. I have always wanted to go through the Panama Canal and it was a dream come true this year. Pat and I got an inside cabin and were concerned,  but it was really spacious and we spent lots of time in the open decks and observation lounges. This cruise had lots of sea days but also had lots of ports. Our first port of call was Cartagena Colombia. Our first time in South America. We took a cruise excursion for the hop on hop off bus. We only got off the bus once, to tour the down town area. It was so hot and we did a lot of walking. All I remember was how thirsty I was and something about Sir Frances Drakes home. 

Colombia local

The next day we went through the Panama Canal.  It started really early in the morning and went all day going through all the different locks. It was nice that our cruise line had a local narrator that described the whole event. It was really spectular. Just wish it wasn't so cloudy. 

Panama Temple

After another sea day we arrived in Puntarenas Costa Rica.  I have always wanted to visit this country. Again we took a cruise excursion. This was a trip by Bus, Train and boat. The country side was stunning. Awesome to see howler monkeys in the trees while on the train. 

 We got to see lots of wild life on the boat part of the journey (lots of great looking birds and of crocodiles all of who were very active coming very close to the boat).

We then docked in our first of four Mexican ports. The first two were new to Pat and I - Port Chiappas we took an excursion to the Mayan tree of Life and Chocolate making (Pat really was looking forward to the chocolate). It was great . Picture below was how they treated the Catholic priests who tried to convert the natives - a good old knife to the head. Saw how chocolate was really made. Kind of disgusting, but a great finished product.  I also did some dancing with the locals. For those who missed it ...see below. 

 

 

This is a statue of a Priest who tried to convert the Black Mexicans to Christianity...that is a knife in his head...evidently they weren't interested.

Our next port was Hutulco Mexico. Pat and I took a two bay snorkelling excursion. The water was bathtub warm and we did some great snorkelling.

 On next to Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas.  Both Ports Pat and I had been too before. We did some shopping in Puerto Vallarta, but decided to take a chance and take a private tour of Cabo on our own. We got a great tour of this port, stopping by a glass factory first

  We watched them making these glass drinking turtles (had to buy one!!!)...then on to seeing some great beaches and a tour of the town near Cabo. 

 One more day at sea and then we finished our first leg of our cruise. All but 500 passengers got off in Los Angeles, but were quickly replaced with new passengers. While waiting for the newbies to arrive we took a bus tour of the city. Pat and I have been there lots but hadn't seen much of the "historic sites". It actually was a great tour, even if it included seeing Hollywood again. 

 

The unfortunate part of the next leg of this cruise, was that they had to start over with all new passengers which meant a repeat of all the same shows we saw the first two weeks, plus the chef specials and menus we the same (I know white whine). I was excited about our next port of San Francisco. The told us to be up early to see us go under the Golden Gate Bridge and we were.

We took a private tour of the city, 

accompanied by our two Aussie Trivia friends. I really loved this city and I want to definitely go back again.  After another day at sea, we arrived in Astoria Oregon. Not a really exciting city except having a great place to get some free Wi-Fi.

  Our last port of call was Victoria BC. A place Pat and I have both have lived and toured many times. It was a great time to be there though with all the spring flowers in full bloom. We also got to visit with Pat's sister Dusty, our nieces Peggy, Kimberly Stephanie and Catherine and her family and Peggy's daughter Megan. It was a beautiful day. We also said goodbye to Dorothy who got off to stay with her son. 

 Finally arrived in Vancouver where we got on a plane to fly back to Miami to get our Motorhome and the Dogs so we could head back to Canada. It seemed weird being in Canada for such a short time before heading back to the USA. It was all part of our adventure. Anyway, this was a great cruise. Lots to see and do and of course eat.  But as the sun sets on the day, it was time for us to move on!!!

SHE SAID:

 I think that John put up a sunset picture prior to my part, to keep me short worded.  He gave a good synopsis of our trip.  I agree that it was an amazing trip, seeing lots, learning lots and meeting some great people.  On the ship we played trivia daily.  We teamed up with Mom, Aunt Dorothy, Bev and Julie (from Sidney, Australia).  It was great fun and we did well as a group, as we were different ages and interests.  Bev and Julie were good sports and patient with all of us...even through our family dynamics :) - just imagine the conversation when John, Aunt Dorothy and I disagreed on an answer and then double it, after the second week.  It worked well, however, so no complaints here.  

On our day at the Panama Canal, I was sitting in the observation lounge enjoying the process while John was somewhere taking pictures, or sleeping and struck up a conversation with the lady sitting by me.  We did the usual cruise conversation - "where are you from?" Canada - "me, too, where?"  Alberta - "me, too, where?" Lethbridge - well could have blown me over - then...the woman on the other side of here "I'm from Lethbridge, too!"  Of course it shows what a small world we live in!  The woman on the other side of the original woman was Cindy Sallenbach, who's in-laws live in the same building as Mom - she was travelling with her husband Dean (of course) and her sister and brother in law.  (They are also related to friends in Lethbridge and Vicotria)  I must say it was very bizarre to have the three of us randomly sitting in a row...or...was it random????

I did love the cruise, but after the 3rd week, I was ready for a change...we have been in a mad dash since walking off the ship, having travelled from Vancouver, to Miami and now in Toronto.   We have  a few days here, then heading West again.

They call him Flipper (or Mitzi)

HE SAID: 
I  can't believe it has been a week since we picked up Pat's mom from the airport. We have been very busy running around Miami. The highlight of the week though was visiting the Dolphin Research Station in Marathon on the Florida Keys.

Where Flipper AKA Mitzi is buried

I wanted to tour this place when we where in the keys, but I was too sick. This place is totally dedicated to the dolphin. You can swim with the dolphins, have an encounter, and watch a show. I was excited that this is where all the Flippers where trained for the show in the 60's. I loved that show and was a huge fan of Flipper....(a lassie of the sea)

We also took a bus/boat tour of Miami. They really gave us a great trip of the city, pointing out a lot of the history of the city. It was a two story open air bus, that was great in the morning, but by 4 in the afternoon, we were all melting in the sun. It didn't help that I forgot my hat, so even though I been south since December, I still got a bad burn on my head. It was fun getting a tour of the all the "rich and famous" homes. For example the home below belonged to Elizabeth Taylor. The rabbit statute in the yard was given to her by Michael Jackson.

One of our favourite activities was driving down "Ocean Drive" in the evening. This is in South Beach and it is where the movie "Bird Cage" took place. There are a lot of restaurants along this strip and of course lots of beach bunnies.  Parking is hard to find. We thought we would be smart and park in a  parking building one night and had to pay a flat fee of $30.00....ouch!!

Pat was really good at finding us some great restaurants in the city and we loved eating outside if it wasn't too hot out. 

SHE SAID:

We have had a lot of fun in Miami.  I am surprised John didn't review the hotel we stayed at for a week - Design Suites at Castle Beach!  He went as far as registering a complaint to the Hotel and to RCI who put us up there on a certificate that we had.  If you know us well, usually I am the one that will move from hotel room to hotel room, at times leaving a hotel if I can't get it right.  I was in more of a Hakuna Matata mode, this week and left the fussing to him.  It didn't start out strongly to start - we lined up in a valet parking line (the ONLY way to park here) for about half an hour.  John decided to get out and get the check in process started.  He went to what looked like the desk and was told the check in was in the basement - yep, the basement of the hotel.  He joined a long line, which was being help up by a lady who was having a major problem and all three of the desk personnel were talking to her, with the line up growing by the minute. (the maids also shared the office space as we watched them bring their carts out while in the line up) Meanwhile I was inching up the parking line, and finally was able to tell them I was checking in, so I had to put the car to the side until check in was done.  I finally made my way to the nether regions of the building, and joined the waiting line.  We finally finished, and were given our key to the room - a real key - which I haven't seen in years.  I will digress to the origin of the building as the original Playboy Hotel in Miami - it has seen better days, but you can get a glimpse of the opulence that once was there.  Lots of oak panelling, marble floors, arched ceilings and chandeliers.  It is now condos and about 5 hotels sharing the building, with no one really taking ownership.  We made our way in the elevator, which was scary (kind words) with broken walls and no ceiling panel to our room.  The room was OK, until the bathroom - no toilet paper roll, and the tap didn't move to turn the water on - it spun...back to the basement to discuss this.

Our issue was put on 'the list for the maintenance guy' to be taken care of the next day, as he had just gone home.  Oh...also...THERE WAS NOT WIFI!!!  If you read our earlier posts you will know what state of mind John goes into over this situation.  The quest for connectivity comes on - perhaps this is why he became hyper sensitive to the place.

I won't go on much more on the state of the room - parts were great - the marble floor - parts were abysmal - the bathroom, but it kept on everyday for five days, as every time we made our way to the dungeon to report that the maintenance man had not visited our room, only to discover that 'he had just gone home'.  On day 3 quest for WIFI was solved and on day 5 the water in the bathroom was fixed - by the way, I had my own temporary fix by taking off the spinning tap and we turned the shower on by twisting the metal on the pipe.  

The best part of this hotel was the pool - warm, big, not overcrowded and the proximity to the ocean - it was on the ocean - the beach was beautiful white sand, with warm water.  I guess you can't have everything.  We will let you know the result of Johns complaints as we find out.

John has covered much of the week with Mom, great weather, keeping busy and smart dolphins - it's been wonderful!  We picked up my Aunt Dorothy yesterday (Saturday) and tomorrow we board the Norwegian Sun for our 3 week cruise through the Panama Canal to Vancouver.  We then hop a plane back to Miami to get the dogs and the Motor home.  I am sure there will be some adventures coming!  We even get to stop at the magical cruise port of Victoria - family, hope to see you - I have Noni with me :)

Can't keep still in Florida

HE SAID: Since we left Ruskin we have been on the go so much, we kept putting off our Blog update. Had a great time in Titusville after Ruskin. It was a beautiful RV park, but it really lacked trees and was hot and muggy. The view of the beaches, Cape Canveral, Cocoa Beach and the manatee will be well remembered. We have trying to see manatee in the wild for years, but have only got glimpses of their backs, or noses. We came across a great national park that had a perfect viewing spot of them. They are truly ugly. We are finally glad to have seen them, especially in the wild and not a zoo.

Our next stop was Orlando where we dropped of our RV for much needed repairs while we enjoyed a week in one of our time shares. (The dogs went to a kennel). The resort was beautiful. Pat loved having a real bath (even a jacuzzi) again and I loved the free internet and cable tv (my small comforts). 

We have already posted our pictures of Disney. Thanks to someone we met on our last cruise we got in free. It made the day less stressful and we had a lot of fun. Pat and I always say this is our "happy place".

Unfortunately we had to wait for an RV part which delayed us leaving for south Florida a day. At least we were able to get a free hotel room thanks to our points.

Next stop - Miami Florida Everglades RV park.   Located near Homestead (a suburb of Miami)...a former KOA campsite. I loved the park, but again, it was so hot and muggy here when walking the dogs after dark, it was like having a outdoor shower.

Didn't have time for much sight seeing , as we had to prep to RV for getting new furniture, which meant removing the old stuff. I am happy to report that I got it all out without breaking anything. Pat and I had to sit on the patio furniture for a few days which really freaked out the dogs.

Back to Pompano beach where after three hours, our motor home was refurnished with a new couch, a lazy boy chair and a new captains and co-pilots chair. The RV looks so much better now.!!! 

Pat had no where to sit to get back to Pompano beach so she had to follow me in the car. This meant though she had to follow me to our next RV park to save time.  This time we stayed for three nights on the Florida Keys (Marathon).  Both of us had never been there before and on our drive to the RV park we both got the same idea that we just had to have sea-food the first night. We found a perfect place with Snow Crab legs for the dinner special and the place even had live music. It was  a fantastic evening............

....until I woke up a two in the morning with major pain while trying to go to the bathroom. The next day was spent in urgent care where I was treated for a bladder/prostate infection. Didn't enjoy the fever that went with it.  Was hoping to see more of the Keys (I highly recommend it) but i spent the whole time there in bed....I felt bad for Pat. .....

We have now parked the RV, trailer and Dogs as we spend a week in Miami Beach, then our three week Panama Cruise.

She SAID:

It has been some time since writing.  We really have been on the go, and life has become a bit of a blur.  Lots of driving around Florida, and checking out different spots.  As John said, Orlando was a highlight, enjoying our day at the Magic Kingdom.  We took it easy, taking in more of the events and parades, and going on a few less rides - not as hectic, other than the millions of people around us!  Spring Break time = lots of children and very tired parents.  Use of Express Pass got us on the rides we chose and out of over 70 minute waits in line!  We left the dogs with a private dog sitter found through Rover.com.  I think that they has at least as much fun as we did, perhaps even more.  We received numerous pictures of their activities while in the Orlando area.  

We did find wild Manatee, near Titusville.  I also spotted a wild dolphin playing along the shore there.  It was so beautiful.  We had the dogs with us, they didn't bark, but were attracted by the movement in the water.  Thank goodness for leashes!

The Keys were gorgeous - I've never been there before, and will deserve a return trip, if that can be arranged.  John getting sick certainly put a crimp into what we had planned.  The first evening was like being in Paradise, with great food and music at dinner, perfect weather, but that changed.  Poor John was very sick with a fever over 40.  He got chills in the waiting room, and I felt bad for others that were waiting - I am sure they thought he  was extremely toxic, no way to let them know they were highly unlikely to catch what he had. I realized he was very sick when he got extremely chatty with the nurse, cracking jokes, offering his opinion - he had her in stitches - this is not John on an ordinary day.  While he was relegated to sleep and recuperation, I stuck pretty close by as it was very hot, and the dogs needed to be walked.  This kept me pretty occupied - I did find a beautiful dog friendly beach - Coco Plum Beach and the girls and I explored there.  They found more burs, and I think Kiri got a tick, and rolled in a lot of sand and seaweed.  Cleaning them up kept me busy for the rest of the day.  Thank goodness for modern drugs as John was out for only a couple of days.  I wasn't sure how I would get two vehicles to storage before our Miami/cruise time, without two drivers.  

We got the motor home and tow trailer stowed away, the dogs to their temporary home, and made it to Miami.  The hotel - Design Suites at Castle Beach is another blog...trust me...

While I am appreciating not experiencing the Canadian winter this year, as we get later into the year, I am finding the 40 degree weather (with humidex) quite warm!  There, I really did complain!

It is beautiful here, with flowers, green grass, leaves on the trees, birds, blue green ocean, the list goes on.  How blessed we are to be able to experience this!

The picture below is southern most point in USA...grabbed the shot as we drove by after the Dr. appointment.