Merry Christmas To All

It has been so very busy here at the homestead. The kids are very excited and hyped up waiting for Christmas.  We  have been busy spending time with them. There has been the usual shopping, wrapping, decorating  and baking. I even had time for a girls night out at a friends home for dinner and lunch with another friend.  Kevin and I are also trying to get things sorted and packed up for travel on Monday. We will then start our trek towards Yuma, Az…

I leave you with Very Merry Wishes for a Wonderful Christmas.

These are a few things we have enjoyed about 2010……

And several friends we have shared it with….

Boy have we had fun….LIG

Texas for the Holidays

We got an early start heading out of Florida two days before Thanksgiving. Our plan was to stop for the night somewhere along the route and be back home in Texas on Wednesday. Well, the day went like this..we drove to Bay St Louis, Ms for a little stop at the Hollywood Casino. We deposited some money rather quickly and then had some lunch. Back on the road, we heard from Donna and Nolan and they were travelling and were stopping the night just over the Texas line. We gave it some thought but Kevin was feeling good and wanted to drive the extra 200 miles to get home to the grandkids. They were so excited for us to be coming back. The day was very long (12 hours) but we made it back safe and sound. We were greeted outside by the three boys, so it was worth it .

Snapped this driving through La…

 

We are parked in our daughters back yard. We put in a 30amp outlet and purchased a macerator pump for the sewer. So we are very comfortable.

Our view at their house  from the RV..

We had a nice quiet Thanksgiving. Everyone has coughs and colds here, and our daughter wasn’t feeling very well but we did manage to enjoy our feast.

I have put up the Christmas decorations, done my Christmas shopping on the internet (almost finished),and  cleared out alot of clothes that we haven’t worn. Our closet rod broke from all the weight of the clothes that were travelling with us. Our son in law fixed that, and now I will be more careful of what I hang in there.

Last Saturday night we had dinner several miles down the road, with Sandy and John, rving friends that were in the area for a week. We were with them in Tn in October and it was so great to see them again.

Kevin has golfed three times this week. He may be ready to give up the game! You know what that means, lol.. He has lost his game….

We will be getting our dr appointments taken care of in the next few weeks. I had a mammogram today. One thing out of the way. Hopefully we will both check out okay, so we can be back on the road right after Christmas.

Yesterday we celebrated Kevin’s 62nd birthday..

Our granddaughter in Illinois was also celebrating her 5th birthday. Happy Birthday Kailyn!! Sorry we can’t be with you..

The kids have taken turns sleeping over. Tonight we will build a campfire, hook up a movie outside and toast s’mores..

Guess that about sums it up for now…..

LIG

Our Last Week In Florida

Wow, this week has flown by. We didn’t do an awful lot except enjoy it here.  I did some Christmas shopping, a little at least. Thursday we headed over to Pensacola to do some shopping at the NAS commissary. Oh my gosh, it was packed… I had a list but didn’t get everything on it because if you missed it while going down your isle, there was no going back.  Don’t think I’ve ever been in a grocery store this crowded.  Anyway I think I got what I needed for Thanksgiving. 

After shopping we made our way to Pensacola Beach. We drove down to Ft Pickens Campground. They have really done alot of work since we were here in May, but they are still working at bringing it back to where they were before they got hit with a hurricane several years ago.

We stopped for a last walk on the beautiful beaches.

We just had to head to Crabs on the beach..We sat outside here looking over the beach and listening to some good music.

I finally got to have my She Crab Soup. They have happy hour wings and shrimp for .35….Yummy!!  Oh and wine was 2 for 1!!

They are still working on the beach, overturning the sand and scooping any remnants of oil.

Too cloudy for a sunset..

We finally took our 1.5 hr drive back to Santa Rosa Beach….with full tummy’s…

Yesterday we were back on duty at the store. The park is not very full and we are not busy at all. Luckily it is just a 6 hour shift.

Kevin can usually be found in the back room…

Today we were a bit busier. It was an absolutely beautiful day and people were out and about. Sold lots of ice cream…

So tomorrow will be our last day working. I think Kevin will stay back and start packing up, checking air pressure and so on.. We will leave early Tuesday morning for our trip back to Texas. It will be hard leaving here but we are sure looking forward to seeing 3 of our grandsons….

LIG

Lunch with Friends

Kathy & Chuck pulled out Sunday morning. Kevin & I spent our usual lazy Sunday, watching football. 

Monday got some laundry done and then I felt like exploring some stores. So after lunch, I headed out on my own. I had some fun, but with so little space, there is little I can buy..

Tuesday, I got an early start to getting  paper work done. It was a beautiful day so after some lunch, I headed to the beach with my book in hand.  I loved it. Even took a nice walk. There were at least 30 workers patrolling the beach looking for oil. I have heard they are finding oil on the beautiful beaches in Pensacola. Very sad..

Wednesday, we got an early start. We headed in the direction of Pensacola. We were meeting Donna and Nolan for lunch.. On our way we stopped at the small Camping World.  We really didn’t need anything inparticular but we always HAVE to stop..  We also made a stop at a Walmart. 

When we arrived at our chosen meeting spot Crabs, they were closed. They don’t open until 4pm. I had made a call ahead of time, to check on this. The recording was long and said they are open for lunch and dinner….WELL……..they weren’t!!!!! I was disappointed because I love the she crab soup and always make a point of eating here when in the area.  I immediately texted Donna and told her to meet us across the street at Flounders.

Kevin and Nolan

Donna and I

It was so good to see both of them again.

We enjoyed our lunch, and the time flew by much to quickly.  Seemed like we talked travel the whole time!  Funny how these friends, we meet in this lifestyle, seem like we have known them forever.  We sure hope to meet up again soon.

Our drive back home through Destin…

 

Thursday was Veterans Day and back to work for us.  It was much busier this week. Alot more campers had arrived.  I rented several bikes, sold ice and firewood.  When we got through work, we headed to Applebees for dinner. It was crowded but we got seated right away.  Veterans get complimentary dinners. They let them choose from 7 entrees.  By the time we left, the line was out the door.  There are alot of military in this area.  Such a nice gesture for them to do. So many Veterans never got the thanks they should have, including Kevin when he got back from Viet Nam. It makes him feel good when things like this happen.

Friday and Saturday more work days. We kept fairly busy.  Now we are off for 6 days.  I’m not minding this store gig, but Kevin is very itchy and would rather be doing other things. 

Not sure what’s in store for the next week but I’m sure we will find something to do with ourselves. Just hope this fantastic weather continues.

LIG

Back to Work and Fun with Friends

Well, we arrived at the store for our work assignment Tuesday morning at 10am. We have never done this job before so we had one of the rangers go over a few things  before we were left on our own.  Little did we know we would be on our own for most of the day. I think we sold $6. worth of stuff. I looked forward to the mail being delivered so that I would have something to do, when it did, it took me all of five minutes to sort it..  Wednesday and Thursday were just as slow. Guess we could say this is a cushy job!  We do have a television, full kitchen and I always bring a book and my computer. Its a tough job but somebody has to do it! Kevin is missing the tram, but they too are very slow. The weather has really cooled down here.

Friday morning Kathy and Chuck were arriving. Kevin got busy putting up signs in their site, advertising Jerry Brown for Governor. You see, Kathy doesn’t have much use for Jerry Brown…

Not sure she appreciated it, but she knows Kevin’s humor..

Once they got settled we all piled into our truck and started the tour of the area. They have never been in this part of the state and we have  raved about it so much. We headed to Destin harbor for lunch at the Dewey Destin. It is a fish shack on the harbor, where you put your order in and find a picnic table, all outside, however they had heavy plastic covering the sides and heaters overhead. We always come here and have never been disappointed in the food. Very fresh and delicious!

Kathy & Chuck, on the outside deck…

Kevin and I… You can see we are all squinting, with the sun in our eyes..

Once finished with lunch, the tour director drove us past the beaches of Destin.. We just had to show them the vibrant color of the water. This area is called the Emerald Coast. It sure was showing its colors today.

We walked a bit on the beach…

When the tour ended, we headed back to the campground and got a fire started.. (We were missing Tony’s fires)

We sat out chatting for some time, but boy the temperatures we dropping. We did get to enjoy some s’mores before the cold drove us into our homes…

Saturday morning.. Kevin and Chuck headed up the street to the Donut Hole for coffee and donuts. They let us girls sleep in just a little, and brought our donuts home to us.  About 10:30  we loaded up into Kevins tour truck, for day number 2.  Today we headed the other direction on 30A. First stop was a beach that we often frequent.

It was empty and beautiful….  

Kathy just had to make a sand angel…

The sand is like powder..

The next stop was in the town of Watercolor..

A quaint little town with a small festival going on. We had to stop..

We then drove past a wine festival that hadn’t quite started yet…

Lots of boxes of wine..

And then some pretty houses across from the ocean…

But this one really caught our eye…

Kathy and I had to walk down to get a closer look. It was protected by this fence and was still under construction. The whole area seemed deserted, so we wonder did someone run out of money… Lots of glass and very interesting architecture, right on the beach….  Hmmm. maybe if we win the lottery!

Then we were onto the “white town”…

Everything was white……rows and streets of white houses…. even the town center was white….

Our tour ended back at our side by side sites at Topsail……

What a neat outing it was.  A nice day for exploring the area with friends…..

Back to Where We Love It

We left Panama City this morning for our short trip to Topsail in Santa Rosa Beach. It was an easy drive. When we arrived and checked in, we got our schedule for the month. I didn’t even look at it until we were in our site and all set up. Then to my surprise, I noticed that we were not scheduled to work the tram this month. Darn, we love the tram and getting to meet and talk to everyone.  Our boss is now gone and I guess things have changed a bit.  We start work tomorrow in the small store. The good part is that we only have to work 10-4. When we drive the tram we work a 10 hour day. The schedule is the same with 3 days on and 6 days off. So in the long run, I guess we may be better. Time will tell. I am afraid of being bored.  So since we start tomorrow and it didn’t look like they had anyone scheduled to train us, I went on up to the store and asked lots of questions of the couple working today. They were very helpful but I doubt I will remember it all.  The first year we volunteered here I worked in the office/store but always with a paid employee by my side, so I am a little familiar with it.  Things have changed since and the office is now located elsewhere on the grounds. 

I will give an update after working our three days…so stay tuned!

Another Week With Friends

 

Monday

Chuck and Kevin had a tee time for 9:05 for the golf course here on base.,  Kathy and I decided to hit the mall. I was in need of a pedicure so that was on the list and I found one at the mall. Kathy had some good luck with clothing.  On our drive back to the campground we stopped for lunch at Po Folks. We both had chicken n dumplings and it was really good and a very reasonable price.    We had a quiet evening. Kevin watching football and I was chatting.

Tuesday

Finally, we had the appointment for Kevin to have the Mohs Surgery on his ear. He was diagnosed in June with squamous cell cancer on his earlobe. After a long series of events we finally managed to get an appointment to have it taken care of.   Once there, it didn’t sound like they were going to actually do the surgery but after I stepped in and assured them that I was promised that all referrals were sufficient and told it would be taken care of, they checked and yes, they would do it.  So three hours later we were leaving the office and Kevin was clear of the cancer. They have stitched it up and he will return next week to have them removed.  They also gave him a prescription for an antibiotic and told us to drop it off at Publix and we wouldn’t have to pay. Wow, how easy that was. Can’t believe they actually give meds away for nothing, but we are happy.

Tonight there is a potluck at the clubhouse. Kathy and I had talked about attending. She stopped by this afternoon and said Chuck wasn’t feeling all that well and I figured Kevin would be sore and wouldn’t want to go, so we decided to skip it.  Its a good thing because I pulled something in my neck and I am really sore and uncomfortable.

Wed…

I changed the dressing on Kevin’s ear and it looks good. Dr did a good job stitching it up. It isn’t bothering him either.  Talked to Kathy and we made a plan to go to a 1pm movie. We decided on Secretariat. However, when we got to the mall and went into the theatre, it wasn’t open. Oops, we had the wrong theatre. It was too late to find the other one in time,  but figured we would still head there and see Red,  which was starting at 1:40. We arrived and found a Sams Club next door. We even had time to go for a hot dog and soda before movie time. That saved us some bucks because we all know how much they charge at the movie theatre for a snack.. We enjoyed the movie but still want to see Secretariat. Guess that will be the plan for another day.

Thurs…

Kathy called and said lets go see Secretariat.. So once again we headed to the theatre for the 1pm show.  We all loved it and I think Kathy & I shed a few tears.  We stopped for dinner before heading back home.  The temps are suppose to drop tonight. We will be glad to see the humidity go away.

Fri…

Kevin and I headed out to do a few errands. I put a crockpot chocolate cake together to take to Kathy and Chuck’s for dinner tonight. They invited us to join them and two old friends that drove 7 hours to visit with them.  Dick and Jane were friends from Ca but now live near Daytona, Fl and Maine.  After dinner we taught them to play hand & foot. The guys won, but as Kathy would say, we let them win!!!  Had a great evening…

Sat…

We all met at the clubhouse for the Saturday morning $2. breakfast. Then the guys went off to play golf and we girls headed in the direction of Panama City Beach to Pier Park.  This place has lots of stores,  small shops and restaurants. It was a beautiful day with temps in the 70’s and so nice to be out. We strolled around, popped into a few shops but we didn’t buy too much.  We had lunch at Five Guys and then headed back home. Once again a very nice day. Said goodbye to Dick & Jane and we hope to catch up in Maine one of these summers.

Tomorrow will be football Sunday. It will also be our last day here in Panama City.  We head to Topsail at Santa Rosa Beach on Monday……

Back To Florida

We left Tn Wednesday morning with heavy hearts after such a great time. It was hard leaving friends, but we are sure this will take place again.

We drove as far as Montgomery, Al and stopped for the night at a COE park.  We were up early Thursday morning and on the road. It always feels good to us to enter Florida. We both love it here.  Kevin has an appointment on Tuesday in Panama City with a surgeon to finally have the surgery on his ear for the cancer. So we decided to stay at the Tyndall AFB Famcamp in Panama City until Nov 1st ,when we head about 50 miles down the road to our work camp assignment at Topsail Hill for the month.  Kathy & Chuck both arrived here on Friday. They have decided to see some of the area .  They came over for some dinner and we made plans for breakfast at the clubhouse, for the morning. At breakfast, a plan was made. We decided on a trip to Mexico Beach about 20 miles from here. Kathy and I had to put our feet in the water.

It was deserted and such a pretty day. We then headed a bit further to Port St Joe,  there really wasn’t much to see. Alot of the town is closed up.  Then on to Apalachicola, a small fishing town.

We strolled a bit and shopped in the fish market before heading back to the campground.

Kathy cooked up the rock shrimp that was purchased and we had dinner at their place. We called it a night and plan to just chill out tomorrow watching football.

We Hate To See It End

I can’t even begin to tell you how much we have enjoyed our time at Defeated Creek. The weather has been a 10 (except for one night) the scenery also a 10 and definatley the campground a 10. But the main factor is the friends we have spent our time with.   Some we have known and others that we got to meet for the first time. Everyone blended well…. It has been a nice relaxing time spent chatting, laughing, playing cards, eating, and campfires.  We had a  few field trips, one an all girls day out, one for a scenic tour and lunch at a chinese restaurant, and one to the Cracker Barrel in Lebanon, where the first one opened.

When Kevin & I left Ma in 2000, we knew that fall in New England would be hard to give up.  That is our favorite time of year. Well we got a glimpse of what we have been missing while in Tn.

 

Looking out our back window…

 

Fog over the lake early morning….

Kevin even got to fish for the first time.. (picture borrowed from John and Sandy)   Tony had a friend take them out…

Guess he liked it..

Doesn’t everyone look serious when food arrives….

Our hosts… Lisa and Tony and their family

We can’t thank Lisa and Tony enough for all they did to make this all come together. We sure hope this will be an annual event.

And as always a beautiful end to another perfect day..

Next stop Florida………..