Dec. 29 - Raining cats and dogs again. But we lucked out today, as the skies were blue for the morning, and then cloudy/sunny until late afternoon. We also had rain yesterday, but again managed to get out for some hiking/biking for a part of the day. The park is one of the best, with great facilities, bike trails, hiking trails, and a wonderful beach when the Red Tide subsides. Today, it was not nearly as severe as it was our first day here, so we were able to walk the beach in both directions for a km or so. Great beach, with white crisp sand, and lots of wave action. Gail loved venturing out a bit, and ended up pretty wet as we walked along the shore.
After the beach, we did a great hike today, biking to a trail head, then plunging off along one of the two small lakes that are tucked in behind the beach. We walked for a couple of hours, over to a second lake, and around, so did a good 5 kms or so. Shortly after we got back, the rains began, just as I had taken over laundry duties, so after foreboding weather forecasts, we lucked out with a pretty good day.

We have been reminded of home at this site, because of the sand dunes that front the main Gulf beach, and the two interior lakes reminiscent of our East and West lakes behind the Sand Banks Park. Here, the dunes are protected, as no-one is allowed to walk in them. At home, go for it! Climb all over them! A little different concept with respect to local resource management. Perhaps a lesson to be learned for we Canadians.

We've booked a site at Bay St. Louis in Mississippi for tomorrow and New Years Eve. When we talked to the owner, he told us a party of sorts is planned for New Years Eve...campfire, bring your own drinks, and bring an appetizer. Sounds like fun. He suggested most folks don't last past 10, so that may be a bit early for us, but it'll be fine. Next day, they have a southern dinner for New Years. So we may change our plans a bit, stay for that, and delay our stay in New Orleans for a day, as we've booked into a place in the city suburbs for Jan first to the fourth. Found a new park in New Orleans that will let us take the bus downtown, rather than having to drive in from a more distant location. Confession! We're not going to NO for New Years Eve. Too crazy. Too many drunks. Too dangerous. We are definitely getting old.

Dec. 27 - We have moved again, a couple of hours to the west of St. Joseph's Peninsula. We are now at Topsail Hill Preserve State Park, a pretty fancy place compared to some of the other parks. Here we have cable t.v., (watched bits of my Packers getting clobbered by the Cardinals), and wifi in our r.v. How good is that?
There is also a tram that will take people to the beach, which is less that a km away. We rode our bikes down after getting set up, and decided to do a long walk on the beach. So we headed into the easterly, and after less than a km., our eyes were smarting and running, my sinuses were going berserk, and my head was filling up. So we turned around, feeling very uncomfortable. I could hardly see to make my way down the beach, but managed to stay out of the large waves, thus avoiding being sucked in by the undertow.
Turns out there has been sporadic infestations along the coast of Red Tide. We didn't have any idea it could affect us so much, but when we got back and did a little research, that was it. Not fun, so avoid it if you're near water suffering from its intrusion.

We have been watching the weather west of here: tornados, snow storms, 22 deaths in 4 of the nearby states. So we're not leaving for awhile. The weather here is setting record, as it was 80 today, and will remain warm until the end of the week. We'll monitor the weather, and if it looks bad for the next while, we'll stay here or go back to Florida, Central and South. The west might have to wait for another time.

Aside from that, we are fine, enjoying the easy life. Cycling (we've done close to 250 kms.), walking the beach, hiking the trails. That's about it, and seems to be enough to keep us happy. We think of friends and family a lot, especially this week, but have had good conversations on the phone, which helps immensely.

Dec. 25 - Merry Christmas to all from St. Joseph's Peninsula State Park in the Florida Panhandle. We have a lovely day, and are about to head for the beach. Not normally my thing, but it's such a great beach, even I can't resist. It goes on for miles, and hardly anyone is around, so it's almost like it's ours.
It's hard to be away from family and friends at this time, but we have had good phone chats, and that almost fills the need to be with them. It's strange to be away, but we have a little Christmas tree in the r.v., and lights outside, so we're doing our best to feel the spirit of the season.

We leave here on Sunday, heading into Alabama. At least, that's the plan for now. The weather doesn't look very inviting, however, so we may have to make some changes, eithter to stay in Florida awhile longer, decide to put up with rain and cool temps west of here, or thirdly, boogy right through to Arizona. We'll post in a few days to let you know.

Meantime, we wish everyone a Happy Christmas season, and all the best in 2016.













Dec. 19 - First of all, sorry for the long delay in posting. We haven't had wifi for some time, so are only now back on line. Secondly, we are sending a great big "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" to our grand-daughter, Clare, who is now 18. We hope you have a great day, Clare, and wish you luck on your last exam on Sunday.
We   have very much enjoyed both Fort Clinch, just north of Jacksonville, and now Fort Desoto, which is out in the Gulf near St, Pete's. Here, we have miles of biking trails and beaches, so we've been getting lots of exercise, culminating in a 10 k hike yesterday. Weather has been generally very good, although we had heavy rain night before last, leading to a cold front, that dropped the temps considerably. But still quite pleasant.
Our next booking is at St. Joseph's Peninsula State Park, a little west of Panama City. We'll be there for Christmas and Boxing Day, which will be very different from any previous Christmas we've had. Although we'll greatly miss being home with family and friends, the road adventure will continue, We still plan to head for the west, so will be monitoring weather carefully as we make plans.
We're enjoying chasing birds, but have a few that we need help identifying. \maybe we'll have to send some images go our friend Joel Ellis, who knows birds better than anyone we know.

Decision made

Dec. 13 - We have decided that we will head to the Panhandle after out three days in Largo. To confirm that momentous conclusion, we are now booked in for 8 days at St. Joseph's Peninsula State Park, near St. Joe's, on the upper Gulf. So it is done, and we know where we will be for Christmas. Had to make a move, as r.v. parks are full in many cases over Christmas, so at least we know we will have a place until Boxing Day. Then probably on towards Louisiana.
Yesterday and today were spent biking around the area, and having a beer at our favorite bar, The Shed. Loaded with senior bikers today, with a good blues band doing there thing. Lots of pelicans to watch, which I enjoy greatly. Gail worked in a two hour kayak trip, up the river, and was able to play with the manatees. Several were around her little craft, so she had a great time, Lovely day today, in the 80s, with rain possible tomorrow.

Homosassa Springs

Today we went back to our favorite Florida Park, Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, to revisit many of our favorite birds and animals. Loads of birds, plus several animals, including manatees, a Florida panther and a fine old hippo named Lu. The camera was clicking all day long. When I figure out how to post pictures, some will appear. It's a great park, so any time you're on this side of Florida, make a point of coming for a visit.
We have booked our next stay, three days in Largo, in the Clearwater area. Then we think we'll head back north for the Panhandle, as one of our neighbours across from us recommended a park in the Destin area. That will commit us to move in a westerly direction. Won't be as warm in the long run, but will take us to new places. That's what this was supposed to be about. We're sleeping on the idea, and will decide tomorrow.

Back on the blog, we hope

With a lot of assistance from son Jeff, we may be back on line with this troublesome blog. We have problems partly because not everywhere we stay has internet, and partly because of a decided lack of knowledge re the ins and outs of computerdom. We'll see if this works.
For those of you wondering where we are, we have just settled into a park we liked a lot last winter, in the Homosassa area, which is about an hour north of Tampa. We came here from Amelia Island, just north of Jacksonville. From here, who knows? We'll fill you in when we decide.
Enough for now, as this is a trial run to see if we're back in business.
Hope everyone is well.

Alive and Well in Florida - More Communication Coming Soon!

This post is coming at you from son Jeff as the folks are having technical difficulties. They are in Amelia Island in the northeast of Florida but are heading to the gulf coast tomorrow. They have had to have the computer repaired and have not been able to access the blog, but will be doing an amazing update in the next few days complete with lots of pictures of the 40+ species of birds they have seen thus far. So stay tuned...

Nov. 22 - Another long day behind the wheel. Gail, bless her little sleepy head, was up in timely fashion this morning, so we were on the road by 8 a.m. Down through the lower part of Pennsylvania, through Maryland, a little corner, and another little corner of West Virginia, and then the long drive down, across and down through Virginia. Around Richmond, and on to our second night stop, just outside of Fayetteville, S. Carolina. Most of our eastern friends are well familiar with this trek, so nothing new to report. Cool weather, no snow, driving easy, and the r.v. doing her job just beautifully.
Gas prices. Topped up in southern Pennsylvania at $2.19, thinking that was okay. Crossed the border into Virginia, and found gas was selling at $1.89. Quite a difference. Twelve bucks on 40 gallons! Later, just before we crossed into S. Carolina, we filled up for $1.89. Crossed the border, to find the price at $1.99. Big guessing game when crossing state borders. No matter, the prices are much better than at home, even allowing for exchange rates.
For two days, to stay alert, I've been calling out state or province license plates that can be spotted as vehicles go whizzing by. G records them on a list. So far we have 31 states and 5 provinces, plus Dist of Columbia. Nineteen states to go. Thought I'd done better than that, but that's the result.
On to Skidamore Island tomorrow, just outside of Savannah. Will be nice to have at least three days there, to relax and enjoy the temps as they gradually get better.

Nov. 21 - Off we go, our first day on the road. Gail is happy despite having to get up at 6 a.m. We managed to catch the 7 o'clock ferry, and after a full day of driving, arrived at Harrisburg PA by 4:30 p.m. A good day to drive, as it was partly cloudy, there was reasonable traffic, and no snow. Usually it's white knuckles driving through the Pennsylvania mountains, but very nice this year. Pays to get away before the snow flies. Cool, though, which is why we're hurrying south a little more quickly that we'd planned. We're looking for warm days, and hope to find them in Georgia on Monday.

As we drove between Syracuse and Binghampton, we remembered our mishap of three years ago, and said a little thank you to the Driver God for not having been hurt. Sobering memory.

Just got the word today from the doctor that all is well. The ct scan showed no problems other than a little aging-itis. Hard to stop the years from flying by. Now we can start to pack the r.v., and get on our way. Good to know that all of the medical this stuff this year has had good results. Away we go!

Getting our ideas together. More later.

Nov. 15 - Just putting together a note to send to friends and relatives to tell them we will be away for about 5 months. Should anyone be starving for something to do, they might consider tapping into this blog from time to time, just to see where we are. Come along for the ride!!

Nov. 16 - Had my final follow-up session with the doctor, and got the all clear to head out. No problems revealed in the ct scan, other that signs of aging. So we can now start to pack the r.v., and get ready to hit the road. Good feeling, and although I knew I was in good shape, good to get confirmation.