Good Bye Florida - Hello Alabama

While we were in Alabama we stopped and had dinner at Monnette and Paul's house (my cousin's). My Aunt Ree moved to Alabama last year from Calif. where she had lived at "Grandmother's house", since her husband passed, many, many, many years ago.. Ree moved to Alabama to live with Monnette and her family after realizing it was time, she is close to 88, and needed some companionship and assistance that living alone with her younger sister, Nellie (my Dad's twin) could not provide. Plus it was time to fix up "Grandmothers house" and sell it before it was to far gone! Monnette and her brother Rick, have been like the children Ree never had. The lived in the same house with Monnette and Ricks' Mom, my Aunt Lorene, all their lives. "Grandmother's house" at 295 Farley St, Mt. View, CA has been sold. It now belongs to a Asian family that can start their own traditions. ~sigh~ I miss going to Grandmothers house, or is it the age I miss? Probably BOTH! After some 50+ years my "Grandmother's house" has been sold! How sad that these things must change. BUT......... "THE ONLY THING CERTAIN IN LIFE IS CHANGE"
We had a great time visiting with our Alabama family. Even if their dog, Milly kept barking at me! hahaha Getting to know Monnette's son, Scott and his family was great. Scott and his brother Jeff were a lot younger than me. When we were kids we were not around each other very much or at least I don't remember being. I was in my own little world when they lived in Ca and never really got to know them. It is nice to get to know them now! It is so awesome to be able to be around family that you rarely see but still feel so comfortable being around! I love my family!!


L to R - Lisa,Aunt Ree,Paul,Monnette,Courtney,Scott


Milly

When we left Hoover, AL our next stop like always when we get to Alabama was in Red Bay. Stopping in Red Bay seems to be a staple in our stops since buying our Phaeton in '08. But, you know, we like it there. We have gotten to know a lot of the tech's and ALWAYS meet new owners! This time was not exception. Our time in the bays is always fun. We get to know the techs we have and go around talking to the tech's we have had in the past. One in particular Roger. We spent weeks in his bay when we went in or our 1 yr, fix everything you can think of, visit. We both enjoy seeing him every time we go. We met Buz and Judy from Ft. Worth, TX. They own a newer Allegro Bus. Unfortunately they are having so many issues with it they are considering selling it. We really enjoyed our visits with them and their cats. They have 4. I hope we can keep in touch with them and possibly see them again in Red Bay or on the road. This scenario repeats itself every time we are there... How could anyone not like going there... It's like a reunion every time we go!

From Alabama we headed to Columbus, Ohio! NOW that will take a post all it's own sooooooo Until next time! May the sun always shine on your face!


Just a preview of our time in O H I O........(Chip wasn't mad, he just missed the "cheeeeeese" cue!

The Florida Everglades

When we were in Florida in 2006 we went to the Florida Everglades and loved it. So we decided to do it again. Of course as it goes the first time for everything is so special that the second time doesn’t usually compare but it was very close. We had a great time! We did what we have come to enjoy doing and that is bird watching but we also took our our sea eagle paddle ski (inflatable kayak) and paddled through the mangroves. We were hoping to catch a glimpse of a Mangrove Cuckoo but we only saw the tail feathers of birds as they flew away before we could get close. And none of them were Mangrove Cuckoo’s because they don't fly or at least not far. We did see quite a few mosquitoes up close and personal though. I HATE MOSQUITOES!!! The area we went to was called the Noble Hammock. Why the name we are not sure but the paddle was not what I thought it was going to be. The water had a rotting vegetation smell and was very shallow in some areas to the point where we had to use the mangrove roots to pull ourselves through. Thankfully our inflatable is tough! THAT is when the mosquitoes feasted on our rich red blood. We always forget to ask the right questions when inquiring at the ranger stations about things to do. The last time we did that was in Utah and we were sent on a “mountain biking” trail that was way over our heads. A trail that should have taken 1 ½ hours took us 4 because we had to walk more than we could ride. But that is for another time! This time we didn’t ask, how long the watery trail was or what it was like. We did however ask if the trial was clearly marked because you could really get turned around in those mangroves. Our first indication should have been where we put the boat in the water. It was very narrow and we had to do a 10 point turn to get pointed the right direction. We thought we would be on the water an hour but after 1 ½ hours and not knowing where we were in conjunction to where we had to go we had no idea how long it would be. The markers were made of 3” pvc pipe anchored to the bottom somehow and were numbered. We started guessing what the final number would be but after passing all our guesses we had no idea and with all the twists and turns we could not even tell where we came from. So we stopped and ate our lunch, wondering as we ate our ½ sandwiches, “should we conserve it in case we did get lost”, hahahahaha. We honestly never thought we would get lost! But we did think it would be a prettier paddle. If you have never seen the Florida waters in the swamps, it is brown like tea and doesn’t smell all that great. I wonder if the natives from Florida go home after an extended stay away and smell the air and think “ah home”! By the time we ended our little adventure we were at 153 on the markers and were not in the same spot where we put in. As we walked to the road to see where our car was we saw it about 1/10th of a mile to the right. After 3+ hours on our inflatable kayak I was ready to move around so I sprinted to get the car while Chip started deflating our inflatable. It was not an easy paddle but it was exclusive to the Everglades and that made it special. AND I use the term “special” in a somewhat sarcastic way.  A dozen or more mosquito bites between the two of us later and we were on our way back to camp and the serenity of bird watching.


The "put in" spot!


Picnic area, Lunch is served!

No he did not loose the second 1/2 of his paddle, the area was too tight we had to just use on half each!

Not your usual Thanksgiving (2010)

After we left Lake City we headed to St. Augustine. Our nation’s oldest city! It was discovered in 1513 by Ponce De Leon and founded in 1656 by Pedro Menendez. St. Augustine is a beach front community of quaint shops, restaurants, horse drawn carriages and even some street performers (I use that term lightly). The first Catholic Parish in the Nation was established in St. Augustine and we were there. Awesome! We had been in St Augustine once before in ’06 but it was really rainy and cold so we didn’t go into town. The weekend we were there they were having their Christmas lights lighting ceremony, yes it was not yet Thanksgiving. Don’t you hate THAT! I think everyone that lives in or around St. Augustine was there. I was amazed at the number of people.



Our next stop was one of our favorites. We stayed at a state park in Flagler Beach, Gamble Rogers State Recreation Area. This may have been our favorite because the park was right on the beach. We could see the ocean from our windshield and smell the salt air. The high light was we were there for a full moon and WOW……….. We got some awesome shots. It was like something out of a movie. The drive from the pier to the campground reminded Chip of Carlsbad when he was growing up. It had that small beach town feel. We would have liked to stay there a lot longer but the only space that was open we had and it was only open for 3 days. One of the down sides to not making reservations!


Ever wonder what makes all those little holes on the beach? Here it is!


There is that "Man in the Moon"





When we left there and headed to Daytona Beach. We were there for Thanksgiving and the big HUGE car show that is held every Thanksgiving, the Daytona Turkey Run. You cannot imagine the number of old cars that are in town for this long weekend event. Chip was so excited to find a 65 GTO just like the one he drove in HS (or at least close enough to count). It was amazing how many cars we went by that he said, “Michael had a car just like that” or “Cantarini had a car just like”.. It was fun (for a while) but Chip loved it! I can only imagine what memories it brought back for him. ~sigh~


Chip and his car!


If I am going to dream this is MY dream car!!


This is just a small part of what was here!


Thanksgiving last year was not your usual Thanksgiving, we didn’t have turkey and dressing, we didn’t have sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows or pumpkin pie. Most of all we didn’t have FAMILY around. For that reason it didn’t feel at all like Thanksgiving. So we chose to do something most people don’t do on Thanksgiving (or not on the west coast anyway) and that was to sit on the beach and soak up the sun. We had a great day enjoying the warm weather. Being able to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving on the phone was “almost” like being there, ALMOST! The beaches in this part of Florida are pretty with white sand, very little rocks or shells (at least on the east coast, the gulf coast is a totally different story) and when you walk on the dry sand it sometimes squeaks. A really cool thing is you can drive on the beaches. I don’t know if you can all of them but in Daytona Beach you can. On this day we did not take the Jeep out on the sand. We spent 4 days in Daytona and did take our Jeep out once. If for nothing else but to say we did it! Plus it was actually a little breezy that day so the Jeep came in handy to block the wind. We had a great time! But we are not finished with Florida yet!!! Until next time…..


Enjoying the sunshine in November!


Our Thanksgiving day guest! (Snowy Egret)


A fashion conscience bird, yellow feet to go with it's yellow beak