RVThereYet

Monday, June 28, 2010

Almost Over

Well, our time here at Topsail is almost over. We worked our last day today and it was a quiet one. We are both getting itchy to move again. Maybe if it wasn’t so hot and maybe if the oil wasn’t a factor, we would feel differently. We will return in November when the weather will be so much cooler.

We travelled back to Biloxi last Thursday for Kevin to see the dermatologist again. It was a 170 mile drive one way for them to say it looks really good and yes it is a squamish cell. They are referring him to a Mohs surgeon.  They have no idea how long it will take to get an appointment.  Our plans will be in jello until this gets done. When they call we will have to fly back.  We are really hoping it will be in the next 15 days.  We don’t have to be anywhere until July 13th. After that, we do have plans..

I mentioned in another post how we liked the site we were in last month but not happy with the one we had this month. This may look nice, but it is in direct sunlight and very hot.  Here are a few pictures:

June campsite at Topsail 005 June campsite at Topsail 007

Out the back window

June campsite at Topsail 001

 

Today was cloudy with some rain. If tomorrow is nice, we hope to get to the beach one more time, maybe..  Kevin is having the oil changed in the truck first thing in the morning but then hopefully the sun will shine and we can head out.  Wednesday will most likely be a day of packing up.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Meeting All Kinds

We have just finished our three day stint of work here. It was such a busy and hot weekend. We had many many sites to clean in between our tram runs to the beach. We should be done for the month but because we had to switch days with another couple for our trip to the VA Hospital in Biloxi two weeks ago, we now have one more day to work. That will be next Monday.

Sunday Kevin got to chatting with a guy that was riding the tram to the beach. He told Kevin they were going to have a feed that night and asked what site we were in, so he could bring us some chow. By the end of the day, we were so hot and exhausted that we kind of forgot about it. We got back to the RV around 5:30, I made us some steak and cheese sandwiches and Kevin was out cold in front of the tv by 7:30.. I was on the computer, trying to keep my eyes open. Around 8p I went to take a shower. I heard someone knocking on the door, but couldn’t get to it. Well, it had been the guy Kevin had talked with, he left us dinner on our steps. It was red snapper, seafood fettucini and garlic/cheese bread!! Wow. We put it in the frig for lunch the next day. Isn’t that nice.. (It was wonderful and a first for us to eat red snapper, Yum)

Monday, thankfully was a quiet day for us with sites. We only had 28 to do… That is great after having in the 70’s both Saturday and Sunday. While doing our noontime run, we got a call on the radio from the ranger saying he would meet us back at the tram stop. When we arrived he told us to go to a certain site, that a woman had just called the office in a frantic state and said something about pizza crumbs on her patio. We all just shook our heads and didn’t know what this was all about. We hurried on over. We figured perhaps she had just arrived and there was a mess on her site…..NO…… she had been there for quite some time. We found the toppings of a pizza on her patio near her table. Obviously, she had dropped it, and I guess it must be below her to clean up her own mess!!! Kevin was down on his knees picking up the tomatoes, mushrooms, cheese and whatever else.. She was nowhere to be seen….. She must have been hiding in her very stylish motor home, parked in front of her Hummer!!!!! We just shook our heads and wonder how some people have the gall..!

It got a bit cloudy and looked like rain late afternoon. When we arrived at the beach around 4p we had a very large crowd. Not only do we carry the people and their kids, but all their beach stuff. You just wouldn’t believe what people bring to the beach. They have cart loads of stuff and bikes… We were very full, and there was still a family left that couldn’t quite fit comfortably, so we told them not to worry we would come back for them. We did just that and they were very thankful to us. Last night after finishing up work and back home to relax. Another knock on the door. It was Todd, the guy that had brought us dinner the night before. He was holding plates full of dinner again! Turns out that the people we went back to pick up at the beach, where his relatives. We didn’t realize that. They were very appreciative..

As it turns out, we have met so many wonderful people these past few months. That is one of the reasons we love this job. The days do get long, busy and hot, but in the end it is so worth meeting up with so many great people. And as for the lady with the pizza mess. Who knows why, but we did the job and we got quite a few laughs out of it. As one of my friends said “it takes all different kinds to make the world go round” How true!!

Friday, June 18, 2010

Could Be The End of Beach Days Here For Us

 

This morning we headed to Destin to try our luck at the Eglin AFB private beach.  We were told at the gate that there was oil on the beach.. Oh no!  We had to see for ourselves..

2010 Beach 004 2010 Beach 006

We couldn’t really see it in the water but it must be there since it had washed up on the beach.  Here it just looks like black bits of charcoal but I stepped on a piece and it was very sticky brownish/red in color. Hard to get off.

These folks were recording their findings…

2010 Beach 008

We didn’t last long at this beach. We were hot and afraid to go into the water for fear of getting some of these balls stuck on us.  So we decided to head to the small beach under the bridge.  It is a bit protected and we just wanted to dip in the water to cool off. Notice there are news crews set up here too. They are everywhere...

 

2010 Beach 014

2010 Beach 013 

We took our dip and then headed back home. It is so sad to see this happening around us.  Kevin spoke to the ranger here at our park this morning and he said they are finding it at our beach here now too. He is not sure what the state will do about keeping it open.

We love the ocean and particularly the beaches here in the panhandle. We are so happy we had the last 6 weeks here to enjoy it.  We can only hope that they will come up with something to stop all this…

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Exploring Our Area

Today we decided to head down the road to Destin and check out the harbor area.

2010 Destin Harbor Area 016

We found this little area of beach under the bridge that is perfect for little ones, nice shallow water..

2010 Destin Harbor Area 018 

This area is a great place for boats to pull up to, I snapped this going over the bridge...

2010 Destin Harbor Area 022

These are the harbor shops and restaurants that boats pull right up to also..

2010 Destin Harbor Area 025

What a great sand bar, it is always busy with boaters…

2010 Destin Harbor Area 005

2010 Destin Harbor Area 003

 

We found this beach owned by Eglin AFB and you must have an ID to get in…We may head back here for some beach time tomorrow…

2010 Destin Harbor Area 008

2010 Destin Harbor Area 012

2010 Destin Harbor Area 013

This beach doesn’t seem to be suffering from the June grass that we now have at our beach at Topsail.  So far, we haven’t seen any evidence of oil but we hear it is close.  Constant aircraft flying over, and several big rigs visible out in the ocean perhaps sucking up some of the stuff. Also many yellow booms around.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Hot Just Doesn’t Describe It

This weather is terrible. We hit 100 the other day.. Today I felt like I was back in time, to last summer.  I realized that I complained about the heat all last summer and said I would never spend another one in this heat.  Well then,  what are we doing!! Only difference is, we are in Florida not Texas.  I think the plan was to be in Colorado, hmmm.  Well, several rally’s popped up and a call to fill in here in Florida.  So, we will make the most of it for just this one year!  Next years plans are already in motion.

Not a heck of a lot going on here. We worked Friday and Saturday and were fairly busy. Sunday we headed to the beach early and only lasted one hour. Besides being too hot, with no breeze, the water was nasty. The June grass has arrived on our beach and it is yucky.  Lots of sea weed and algae.  Hope it goes away fast…

Monday, we decided to take a drive to Pensacola.  I had a few things to get at the base and I am always up for another bowl of She Crab Soup at my favorite restaurant there.  Lots going on at Pensacola Beach. Lots and lots of media set up. They are monitoring the oil. (I forgot my camera)  The beach looked great with lots of bathers on it and in the water.  They come out early morning and clean up the tar balls.  We saw signs saying the road leading to the beach would be closed Tuesday. Come to find out President Obama arrived there today. We missed him by one day.. Good thing cause we wouldn’t have got near the place.

Today I got alot accomplished.  I started cleaning out cabinets. When we moved in here from our tt, I just thru things in anywhere.  So, its time to get organized.  I then headed out shopping to get some containers to fit into the cabinets. I also bought a new comforter. I have been looking and finally found one I wanted. I needed to lighten up the bedroom. Now I need to do some window treatments. Bought some curtains for fabric and want to make cornice boards.. Now, I am not crafty but I am willing to give it a try…

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Busy Week and a trip to Biloxi

Last Friday our daughter and 3 grandsons arrived for a visit. They stayed with us the first  night and checked into a nearby hotel on Saturday. We  kept one of  the boys with us each night.  Of course we were off to the beach each day. They had so much fun…

 

2010 Topsail 015

 

2010 Topsail 029

2010 Topsail Beach 001

2010 Topsail Beach 041

2010 Topsail Beach 038

It was great spending time with them.

We got a call last Friday that Kevin was scheduled at the Biloxi, Ms VA Hospital for an appointment with a specialist to have the growth on his ear checked. Ok, but Biloxi is  3.5 hrs away and it’s an 8:30am appointment!  The decision was made to head out Wednesday and stay the night in a hotel.  As is turned out, our daughter was going to head back to Houston and figured why not travel together and they would spend the night also. We booked two rooms at  The Grand Hotel and Casino. They have a nice big pool, so after checking in, Kim and I took the kids for pool time, while Kevin ventured into the casino to gamble.  Kim and I had our turn in the casino, she won, I didn’t, then all headed to the buffet for a nice dinner. 

This morning, we were  up early. We bid the kids goodbye and we headed for the VA.  The dr immediately said, oh that’s a cancer.. Of course he had to take a biopsy to be sure and we will have to return in two weeks for that news.  The options were discussed and we may have to be in this area for a while.  Right now our plans are to leave June 30th and head to Tn but now it’s all in jello….time will tell!!

Back to work tomorrow…