Saturday, December 30 -

These shots were taken at the pool the Wards enjoy as one of the facilities which is part of their community. 

 We had a very nice time with the Wards, and thank them once again for their kind hospitality over Christmas. We were sad to be away from our family in Belleville, so it was very nice to have the time with Kathy, Steve and Casey. 

Our last day with the Wards was most enjoyable. Casey did Cinnamon buns for breakfast, while Steve prepared bacon and eggs for a very nice Boxing Day start. We eventually walked over to the swimming pool pictured above, next to which is a bochi court. None of us had ever played before, so it was fun figuring out how the game worked, how hard to throw the balls, what the best strategy was. The courts are great, with artificial surface, so it was a good way to get started on our bochi careers. 

It was warm, so after the game a swim felt great. 

That evening we went to Disney Spring, the area in the Disney empire that you can go to for restaurants and shops. We wandered about to take in the sights, listen to some street entertainment, and have huge burgers at one of the food places. Quite an empire that the Disney Corp has built, and no shortage of patrons. The place was packed when we left.

Next morning, Steve delivered us back to our r.v., and on we went to Homosassa. We had to do a huge grocery shopping, as we were down to basics. Then on to our Homosassa River R.V. Park, an old familiar place, as it's the fourth time we've stayed here. We like the area, because it's definitely Old Florida, rural, not hectic like the big centers, with a couple of pubs we enjoy.

The weather has definitely turned cool, so yesterday it was a good reason to go to the nearby State Park to see our favorite birds and animals. It's a truly wonderful place to visit, as it's full of birds, manatees, local fauna, and even old Lu, the 57 year old hippo who's been here for years. The neat thing about Lu was that he was quite frisky, so we got a good look at him in the pool as he was being fed. Also neat were the numerous manatees that we saw. Jeff and Sharon have the idea that manatees are a myth, sort of like unicorns, so I'll try to download a couple of pics to prove otherwise. Here goes.

Couldn't resist throwing in the Bald Eagle in front of his flag. Uncle Donald would be proud of me, 'cause we all know how much he loves his country.

Today was cool again, but sunny, so we did a lot of biking, and even sat by the pool reading until the clouds moved in. Back on the bikes to explore familiar back roads, ending up at The Freezer for chowder and shrimp, then on to the Shed for french fries. Both had to have a beer on the side. And back to the r.v. in the cool damp air, just as dark was descending.

Tomorrow night is NY Eve, so we'll probably stay here, as there's a dance planned in the rec hall. We've also decided to extend our stay here until next Saturday, as the weather is not warming up until then, and in fact will be below freezing in the Panhandle at night next week. So we'll wait it out and find ways to amuse ourselves around here. Sister Marilyn is still planning to meet us in New Orleans, so we're working on that.

Meantime, Gail and I wish all who may have the patience to work through this stuff that I post a Happy New Years Eve, and all the best in 2018. Good health to everyone.

Boxing Day - We trust everyone had a wonderful Christmas, that you are full of good spirit(s) and good food, and went to your rest last night happy with the events of the day. Gail and I can certainly check positive on all counts, as we had a fine time with Steve and Kathy and Casey yesterday. They have a terrific condo in a very exclusive golf community, and we were able to get a full sense of everything the place has to offer yesterday. We breakfasted at the golf club restaurant, wandered around the big resort hotel, the Omni (which is central to the entire complex), did some lounging around the pool that is part of this facility, and finished off with some games and a great turkey dinner. Quite a contrast to our usual nomadic experience, as it certainly beats what might have been our situation had we not been here.

All three of our hosts are looking fit and healthy. Their home away from home is everything they could ask for...great golf, gym facilities, the pool, and a very friendly club atmosphere. The grounds are beautifully maintained in this gated community, and their condo is spacious and has a lovely balcony overlooking a little lake. They are very happy here, which is great, as both have worked hard all of their lives, and deserve the fruits of their labors. Casey is here for two weeks, and is doing great as well, enjoying her life in Toronto, as well as the chance to escape the cold for awhile. She's even got a pretty good game of cribbage going, as she's up on me to this point. Today is my last hope for evening it up.

Some of you won't believe it, but we went to evening Mass at the church Kathy goes to on a regular basis. The church seats several hundred souls, and for Christmas Eve, was packed with locals and visitors. And I mean packed. This was the fourth service of the day, with one more to come, and another at midnight, and three more on Christmas Day. They have a 10 piece band, and several excellent soloists, as well as all of the trimmings of a Catholic service. The priest in charge of the service was very good, down to earth, deliverer of a good message (seize your opportunities to do good things for others, and it'll help you get through the gates of heaven). The good father looks like he's been around, as he apparently is barred from local casinos because he has a gambling problem. But he delivers a good service.

Following the service, we did a tour of some of the streets of Celebration, where the church is located. This is a model city, and some of the residents go all out with their house decorations. One street in particular has an amazing array of lights, lasers, movies projected onto house walls, Christmas figures projected in doors and windows, a profusion of flashing lights coordinated with music and loads of blow-up figures all along the block. People flock to the street to take it all in. Where else but in the land that Disney built!? It is really something to behold....for lo, a child was born....American style.

Going back a few days, as I am once again well behind in creating these missives, we enjoyed our last two days with Joyce, and left feeling that she has got things going well. She still has things to do to get her house sorted out, and once she feels she's reached that goal, she can then reach out to some activities in the area...yoga, the community center, and so on. There are still hard days to come, but she is a strong person, resourceful, organized, capable, so we are pleased she is doing so well. Better here than home in Wellington, where the snow is in abundance and the temps are sinking like a stone.

Our buddy Dave has been sending pictures of our cars submerged under piles of the white stuff in the driveway, so although we were missing our family and friends at home, we can't say we are missing the winter experience. We were happy to talk to family yesterday, and are glad that they had good Christmas celebrations. Maybe they missed us just a little, as we did them a lot.

I should also mention that we spent two days before coming here at a park along the coast, near Sebastian, just off the A1A, on the long narrow barrier land that separates the Atlantic from the Inland Waterway. The highway is lined with a lot of big uniquely designed homes facing the ocean, and is not too built up until you get to Melbourne Beach. So it's sort of another of the types of places we like to find in Florida...off the track and not too urbanized. We had a site at the Brevard County Long Point R.V. park right on the water, the park being located on a point of land that stretches out into the inland waterway.

Just after we'd set up, we spied some splashings right behind our unit, and found some manatees grunging around. They moved along the shore about 100 meters and settled into a little inlet, 4 or 5 of them, so we had a close up view. One of the campers said they sometimes poke right out of the water to eat the grass along the shore. Jeff and Sharon don't believe these creatures exist, as they weren't lucky enough to see them when in Florida. But we've seen them in several places, so can state without question that they do indeed exist. We also saw dolphins leaping right behind our place just as we were packing up to leave.

There was only one drawback with our park. Gail and 'noseeums' do not cohabitate well. These little brutes come out at dusk, and are almost invisible to the eye. But they do damage to those who react to their bites, as Gail proved to the extreme. I can feel the odd 'nip', and once in awhile squish a little black dot on my skin. But I don't react, so they aren't really a problem. Not so for my poor partner, as she has large red welts that itch like crazy. Trying to sleep is really tough, and the problem is still there, although we did get to a drugstore and got some cream that is helping quite a lot. But Gail had a couple of pretty bothersome days because of the little pests.

The other incident was a little more dramatic. There's a good bike path that stretches along the coast, so we did about 15 kilometers the first evening, and 40 the next day. It parallels the highway, so afforded lots of views of the big homes, access to the ocean, as well as an interesting Turtle Center, facing onto the beach where more turtles (greens, leatherbacks) nest than anywhere else in the world. On our way back, Gail spotted a gopher tortoise right on the edge of the path. I was trailing her, so she turned to tell me she'd spied this tortoise, moving to her left as she did so, and I ran into her. Both of us went down, me yelling at her "I told you not to stop so fast when I'm behind you...blah blah", until I looked down and saw blood all over the place. All over her foot, the sidewalk, her ankle. Changed my tune in a hurry, let me tell you.

No first aid kit, so kleenex pressed against the spot where the blood was gushing. Then off came one of my socks, which I wrapped tightly around the area, and we got the bleeding stopped. There were also a few chain marks up the back of her lower calf, but only surface scrapes. A couple in a jeep stopped to see if we were all right, and had the bikes been damaged, would have driven us back to our camp. But the bikes were okay, and Gail was bravely saying she was good to ride, once we got the bleeding stopped. We were still 15 kilometers from home base, but we soldiered on, the wounded one even insisting on stopping at a beach entrance to go down to the water to wash some of the blood away. All of this because of a gopher tortoise. Needless to say, our bike riding pattern will change, as I'll be giving Gail a lot more room is I'm trailing.

That's enough for now. We have one more day with the Wards, and then we move on to the Gulf side to one of our old favorite spots, Homosassa, where we'll stay over New Year's. Then we'll start to head west, if the weather looks reasonable. Hopefully we'll have wifi in our next place, so we'll be in touch before the end of the year to wish you all the best in 2018.

That's all for now. Happy Boxing Day to all. More later. Stay tuned.

Tuesday, December 19 - Above you will find two of our pets, cozily inhabiting the area right behind our r.v. in Lake Worth. These guys were very relaxed within our site, occupying the shrubs and trees at water's edge without a worry. The neat thing we didn't know in previous encounters with these guys is that they have great ability to go up and down trees. When they climb, it can be slowly or quickly, depending on their mood or circumstance. When they come down, quite often it's with a leap and a crash. They are perfectly harmless, being herbiverous and rather mild of disposition. So it was fun to have them around, along with our pair of Muscovy ducks, Ike and Tina.

We continued to do our two rides a day, finally accumulating 205 kms by the end of the sixth day. It's a great ride around Lake Osborne, as every time out we saw something different...roseate spoonbill, baby opossum, and always a lot of birds of all shore varieties. We also got slightly familiar with some of the homeless guys who hang around the park, to the point that they would wave or murmur a  greeting as we rode past.

One of the neat things we discovered about the park is the Petanque club that is located there. Better known by the Italians as bochi, there is an area containing a dozen or so courts, with a club of more than 100 members. We happened by one day when they had a tournament going on, with considerable prize money at stake. One of the organizers came over to us and explained the fundamentals of the game, which was kind of him. Talk about taking competition seriously!! They were right into it. The participants were made up of quite a few Quebeckers, and the rest Americans. Lots of French to be heard, as was the case around our r.v. park, where there are many from La Belle Province.staying for the winter. The game is very popular in Quebec, which is recognized in our r.v. park, where there are also petanque/ bochi courts. Have to look into it as a game to learn, as I have a fine set of bochi equipment that Gail gave me years ago, which I've never used. We have it with us, so will have to try it out one day along the way.

We are now visiting Joyce Brant in her lovely home here in Palm City. We drove north yesterday, poking along route 1 and 1A1 through West Palm Beach. We got sidetracked at one point in WPB, trying to find a beach access, and winding up on the peninsula on the other side of the inland waterway, from which there is no northern exit. So we found ourselves in narrow little streets, lined with the most magnificent hedges imaginable, hedges that are constantly being trimmed to provide privacy, reaching as high as 20 feet with quite imaginative shaping in many case. Behind lurk massive homes, mansions, villas, the top 1% the inhabitants, no doubt. Everywhere there were teams of landscape people working on the properties, a major industry for the area. Getting out of the area, jammed into very narrow passages, reminded us of similar experiences in our campervan in Europe. But we managed without taking down any palm trees or hedges.

Joyce is doing very well, we are pleased to report. She's comfortable being back in her lovely home, and in surroundings that were part of her life for many years. The fine weather doesn't hurt either, as it does raise one's spirits to see sunshine and feel warm air. Joyce put me to work today, changing light bulbs, getting her bike tires up to scratch, and powerwashing the stone walkway along the side of the house, as well as part of the driveway. We were both a mess when we got finished, but it made a big differences to the cement work around the house.

We'll spend another couple of days here, as Gail wants to get a massage on her aching neck, so is scheduled for Thursday morning, thanks to Joyce. Then it's on towards Orlando for a couple of days before we check in with Steve and Kathy and Casey for Christmas.

Should it happen we run out of wifi later this week, Gail and I hope all faithful readers have a great holiday season...Merry Christmas to all. We also send big birthday greetings to our wonderful grand-daughter Clare in New Zealand, who has now escaped the teen years as she reaches her 20th.

That's it for now. More later. Stay tuned.

Wednesday, December 13 - Checking in from Lake Worth, just south of West Palm Beach. As the weather gets cool or rainy, we head south, which we did on Monday. This is one of our favorite parks, as it has a great bike trail of 10 miles, around Lake Osborne. There are all sorts of birds, so it's fun to ride along and see what the feathered guys are up to. Even some unusuals, like a flock of bright yellow Monk Parakeets yesterday, and a pair of Egyptian Geese.

Should mention that we spent a nice day at Cocoa Beach on Sunday, as we wanted to get a sense of where our County friends spend their winters. There's a good beachfront, which we enjoyed, doing a long walk to the pier, where we had a nice lunch. It's a built-up area, but not feeling jammed or overcrowded, so it's a good place to get away from winter.

We have a nice site here right on the lake, and are set up with no plan to move the rig for the week we'll be here. That lets us get everything out, including our propane fire pit, which we've enjoyed both nights to date. So it'll be a little routine of bike ride, 10 miles, rest and read for awhile in the sun, then out for another 10 mile circuit, followed by happy hour. No t.v., so we listen to music, play a game or two, do a crossword, more reading, and so another day ends. Wifi is not bad here, so we even do some internet stuff.

So how's that for a boring little version of what we're up to? There's a golf complex in the park, so we may wander over there, as there's a driving range and a putting chipping area which we can use. We stay tuned in to the news through NPR, which told us this morning that Roy Moore went down yesterday. Good to hear that, as he's a creep. And it lets the Dems pick up another seat in the Senate, which could be significant.

That's about it. Sorry we're so boring, but things will pick up next week when we visit our dear friend Joyce Brant in Palm City. We continue to send strong support vibes to Sandy Taylor, and hope she makes good progress soon.

All for now. Stay tuned. More later.

Sunday December 10 - A bright sunny day, temperature 46F, after a very big change in the weather since we last posted. We went to bed on Friday night almost needing the aircon, and last night had the furnace on. Rain came in Friday night, for most of the night and yesterday morning, but it cleared out and now we're heading back to normal temps as we look ahead to the coming week. We're not complaining, especially given the weather in other parts of the south, and especially in view of what's been happening in California with their terrible fires.

We're still in the Titusville area. Friday saw us exploring the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, which is adjacent to the Kennedy Space Center. We'd never been over to the island before, and found it full of shore birds. There's a board walk, and several walking trails, but the main difference from many other such areas is that you can drive a lot of it, which we did. There are two main tracks, unpaved, fairly rough, that took us out into the marshes, dotted with hummocks and little islands, and full of birds. I think we saw nearly every species we're familiar with, including roseate spoonbills and even a lone wood stork. Our old favorite, the great blue heron, was also fairly common here.

So for we who pursue the feathered fellows, it was a fine day. Then the rains came, so we opted to spend the day at the Kennedy Space Center, which we had never done. If you haven't done it, ,,,do it. It's extremely well organized, full of excellent displays, to the extent that one could spend two full days there in order to take everything in. A bus tour takes you out to the launch sites, where the moon flights and the space station flights were launched, and where SpaceX now has facilities to provide flights to the space station with needed supplies. Elon Musk is right in the middle of it with his SpaceX dream, and will no doubt play a part in NASA's goal to be on Mars by 2035.

After the bus tour, you go back to the Visitor Center, where there are several buildings, including an IMAX Theatre (two excellent films), buildings housing an original Apollo rocket and antlantis ship as well. There are all sorts of interactive sites, a great place for kids. There's also a building that highlights the types of careers that young people can aspire to if they want to get involved in the space industry.

In short, we had a great day at the Space Center, and highly recommend it. Today, we'll probably just catch up on housekeeping. We're in a County RV park that was damaged by Hurricane Irma, so we can't go out to the beach, which is 100 meters from where we're set up. It's cordoned off as there is restoration work being done there, as well as to about 25 sites that were damaged by the hurricane. We talked to the woman at the reception office, who said it was 12 hours of howling non-stop roaring, with stuff flying everywhere. Her son is a firefighter, so was on duty. His wife is a nurse, so also had to stay at the hospital. And she, as a County employee, had to be at a local shelter for the duration. Good ol' Grandpa had to look after the Grandchildren. All came out okay, with no damage to their homes.

That's it for now. Stay tuned. More later.

Friday, December 8 - It's been nearly a week since my last posting, simply because we haven't had wifi for the last few days. Some of the parks are slow to get the service up and running, so we enjoy a break from the vagaries of social media, slow connections, clogged email inboxes and so on. However we are now in a place with a wifi hotspot, so here I am.

Since last Saturday, we have enjoyed time in Milledgeville, where we toured the old Governor's Mansion, wandered about through the Georgian College campus (this is another town full of young people), watched some young folks all dressed up heading for a frat/sorority shindig (a big part of campus life here) and did a walk along the river. Good day. Milledgeville was the capital of Georgia, by the way, until Sherman marched in and took over the Governor's premises. The Governor of the day beat him to the punch, however, by taking all of the Georgia funds and fleeing to Paris, with the promise that he would return the treasury once the war was settled. He invested the cash, made a pile, and eventually fullfilled his promise by returning to Georgia and repaying all that he had 'stolen'.

The capital moved to Macon for two years, then eventually to Atlanta. We went to Macon the next day, and found a town that in the core has perhaps seen better days. It was rather quiet, it being a Sunday, but the police were out blocking off streets so that they could have their Christmas Parade. We avoided that, and instead went to the Allman Brothers Museum. I can't say we knew much about the band, although we saw Greg Allman in Hawaii once, where he sat in with Willie Nelson at a Cancer Fundraising event.

It was chock full of memorabilia, this Big House, as they call it. We learned that, tragically,Duane Allman was killed in Macon in a motor cycle accident when he was just 25. He was rated as next to only Jimi Hendrix as a guitar player, so it was a considerable loss to the music world. And sadly, his bass player and best friend died in a similar motorcycle accident two blocks from where Duane was killed. So the band was badly affected. But Greg kept the original members together, and the band performed all over the US and then the world. They were even a big part of Jimmy Carter's march to the Presidency. It was a good visit, and we learned to appreciate their music, kinda rock/blues/southern good stuff.

The day at the reception desk recommended that if we wanted some Georgia cookin', we should go to a little place called H and H Restaurant. When the Allman Band members were starting out, they had no money, so would go there, order two dinners, and share it amongst the four or five guys that were there. The two black women who ran the place found out they were too poor to buy dinner for each person, so offered to give each a dinner, with the idea they would keep track, and the band could pay her when they were able. Which they did! The place is full of Allmon Brothers posters, and the fried chicken and biscuites was great. The main lady who started the place wasn't there, but apparently occasionally shows up to oversee the operation. A simple little restaurant with quite a story.

Next day we did the big drive across to Savannah, and set up in one of our favorite State Parks, Skidaway. We almost feel like we're home when we go there, as we've spent a fair bit of time wandering the trails and biking the roads of the adjacent community, The Landing. The latter is a large area of very fine homes with trails for golf carts and bikes, so it's a lot of fun to ride through. So we did just that, hiked and biked. Until Wednesday, when the weather moved in, and after we got in our morning 3 mile walk, we had no option but to hunker down. The rain started, the temp dropped, and it continued all night. We went from pleasant weather to very cool and not so nice, so packed up our wet stuff and headed south.

That's kinda how we operate. If the weather gets bad, we head out. No destination in mind, just go until the conditions improve. So here we are in the Cape Canaveral area, not far from where all of the County folks spend their winters, at Cocoa Beach. We haven't explored this area before, so plan to spend a few days looking around, going to the shore, maybe to the Space Center, and check out the beaches. From there, we'll probably head down to Lake Worth, if we can get a spot, then go back to Palm City to see our dear friend Joyce Brant, who arrives in a few days.

So that's it for now. Snow in Hattiesburg, Mississippi today, if you can believe it. Nice and warm here, although cloudy and possibly showery.

That's it for now. More later. Stay tuned.

Saturday, Dec. 2 - No wifi for three days, hence no blog. Nice break for those who choose to follow my drivel. But I'm going to make up for it, so hang on!!

You may recall that we are 'doing' the Antebellum Trail, in central Georgia. Highly recommend it, and we aren't even finished yet. What started out as a two day trip here along the trail has turned into several days. Guess it's a luxury that our mode of travel affords, as we stop where we like a place, or whiz on through if the weather is no good. So here's a little recap of the past few days.

After we did our wander-about in Athens, we spent the next day in the small city of Madison. If you should pass this way, it's a must-stop. Their brochure says it all. An 1845 Guide to Georgia called Madison "the most cultured and aristocratic town on the stagecoach route from Charleston to New Orleans". That pre-Civil War description still holds true in terms of the southern atmosphere that prevails as one wanders about the town. We did the walking tour, and saw many fine early 18th C homes, some fine restored buildings, a beautifully restored Town Park, and many fine churches, shops and restaurants. The town is also blessed in that General Sherman spared it when he was leading the great Advance to the Sea, which left a trail of destruction in his wake. Madison remained pretty much intact, except for a few commercial buildings.

We chatted with a woman in a beautifully restored building that she has turned into a special functions tea room. She had this building rebuilt brick by brick, and has two other buildings in town that she's planning to renovate. It's a hobby for her, as she moved here with her husband from Charleston, and needed something to do. Hubby must have deep pockets.

We had a late lunch in the Chop House Grill, which had been recommended to us, and headed on. The second largest state park in Georgia is called Hard Labor Creek SP. The name itself is intriguing enough to draw one for a look. Conjures up images of convicts workin' on the chain gang. But not so. It goes back to the time when the land was used for cotton farming, in the 18th and early 19th C, land that was so hard to work it took huge effort to gain any success.  Hence the name Hard Labor Creek. The end result was that the farms were abandoned and taken over by the Feds to turn it into a park as a make-work project in the Depression years. After the war, it was turned over to the State.

And a fine park it is, with very good facilities, hiking trails, large sites, and down the road, offroad bike trails (15 miles of them), and one of the most scenic golf courses in Georgia. We had planned to stay for two nights, but booked an extra so that we could play The Creek course. Proved to be a challenge, but very enjoyable, beautifully laid out in hilly terrain, and very scenic. Greens like table tops.  Gail played the front 9 with rented clubs, and rode the back nine when her hands got sore. Definitely worth a return visit, and the best part was we had the course to ourselves. Hardly anybody was out that day.

Yesterday we went on to Eatonton, another antebellum town of note. Similar big houses, but a lot of them are post War of the States. When Sherman marched through Putman County, he spared a lot of the houses, but burned down anything of productive value, like mills, the tannery, the grain-filled barns, the shoe factory, and other outbuildings. Times were tough after the war, but a farmer brought in 15 dairy cows, and started the county off to becoming the dairy capital of the state. New prosperity resulted in many more fine Victorian era homes being added to the town.

Two highlights for us: The Plaza Arts Center, and the Uncle Remus Museum. The former is housed in what used to be the local school. The building was abandoned when a new school was built, but citizens got together and transformed it into a history center, complete with a vintage drug store, an early 1900s elementary school classroom and a history gallery. The tour guide in the museum talked about her life in the 50s, how she and her friends would save up their money for the week, a dime,  go to the drug store to buy a package of crackers and a coke, and spend time hanging out at the soda fountain. The vintage drug store we were in well depicted that image, bringing back memories for any of us who experienced such stores in our early days. As did the classroom, with early primers on all of the little desks, the cloak room in behind, the old globe on the teacher's desk.

The highlight of the day, however, was the Uncle Remus Museum. Joel Chandler Harris was born and raised in Eatonton, so is well remembered with little statues of some of his story creatures...Brer Rabbit in particular...in evidence around town. The museum is contained in three old cabins that have been merged to form an excellent tribute to the man. For me, having read so many of his stories as a child, it was a real treat, especially as we had a most wonderful lady on hand to tell us many stories about Harris and life in the town. A black woman of 78 years, Miss Georgia kept us spellbound with descriptions of Harris, his life and development as a writer, and about life in the town where she has lived all her life. Colorful, exuberant, plain spoken, a wonderful story teller herself, Miss Georgia is something else.

When she was a child, black and white kids played together all the time, even though they had to go to separate schools. One day she and one of her best friends, Mary,  went to the drug store previously mentioned, where a lot of the kids were hanging out. Georgia had no money, but Mary treated her to a coke, and rather than staying inside, suggested they go sit out front and watch the cars go by. That they did, as there weren't many cars then, and it was something to do.

Some years later, Georgia thought about Mary's kindness, and it struck her that Mary had made the suggestion to go outside because black kids weren't allowed to sit in the booths in the drug store. Mary had spared Georgia the embarrassment of having to stand while the white kids sat. By the time of this insight, Mary had moved to California with her family, and Georgia regretted never having had the chance to let Mary know how much she appreciated her gesture. Recently Georgia was in a local nursing home, doing a story telling for the residents, when she saw a tall woman who she recognized as her childhood friend, Mary. She went to her, excited to see her, and told Mary who she was. Mary's response was "My name is Mary ...". "Don't you remember me?" asked Georgia. "My name is Mary...", was the reply, Mary looking off into the distance.

Georgia sat down close to her, tears in her eyes, and looked into Mary'a eyes. Clearly, Mary suffers from severe dementia. But for just a moment, there was recognition in Mary's eyes, as though she knew Georgia to be her old friend. Mary's caregivers had witnessed this, and were amazed that Mary had emerged from her fog, even if only for a second or two. Needless to say, Georgia was thrilled, as that brief moment of recogniton made up for the things she had wanted to say to Mary.

She also talked about how the black and white kids of the town generally got along well, so that when integration happened in the 60s, it was without incident. Black kids started going to the white kids school and it went smoothly. Clearly, she feels Eatonton is a pretty special place. She is part of the reason. She goes to the high school once a week to tell Uncle Remus stories, and to the elementary school once a week as well. Along with her stories, there are also gems of wisdom passed on, no doubt, to the kids. An unforgettable lady, pictured below with Gail.

Nov 27 - We are now in Georgia, in a very nice r.v. park south of Athens GA. Funny, when you look at the map, or do a mileage calculation, it seems like driving across S. Carolina and into Georgia should be a nice day's drive. Turned out to be 8 hours on the road, meaning we pulled in to our site in the pitch black. Not the best way to set up, but with a little blasphemy shared with the surrounding woods, we were soon in business, settled in for the evening.

Probably if we'd taken interstate highways all the way, it might have been a couple of hours shorter, although more miles. We ended up on route 378 most of the way, which was great, in good condition, and we were able to do our usual speed most of the time. But once we hit Columbia, we lost a lot of time. Didn't realize that city is so damned big, and choked with post-Thanksgiving Day folks getting home or preparing to get back to the grind.

Anyway, we are in a very nice spot, Pinelake Campground, complete with two smallish lakes and a nice trail. After an exploratory walk, we drove into Athens, stopping off at the State Botanical Gardens on the way in. Closed! Monday! But there were a lot of trails, so we did about 4 miles through the woods, which was great, as the sun was shining, and the temp was around 60. Perfect hiking weather.

After that we went into the city, and did a walk around the center of town. It is quite nice, with the University of Georgia central to the core of the city. They have a beautiful campus, probably close to 50,000 students, and are in the hunt for the SEC Football Championship. They have to beat Auburn to earn a bowl spot. Football is so huge here in the south, like horse racing in Hong Kong. The campus is the kind of ideal design you visualize for a university. Almost made me wish I were starting over, with a little different attitude than in my time at U. of Alberta. Oh well. Can't go back!!

 I was surprised when we were in the Visitors Center, when I mentioned we had a great Grey Cup game in Canada yesterday. The young lady I was chatting with said, "Yes, I saw it. Really rough!" Who'd have guessed they'd show the game down here. We didn't , but thanks to Dave MacKay, we had minute to minute updates for the last part of the game. Quite a show!
Bill Boultbee will still be crowing!!

We dedicate this blog to our good friend, Sandy Taylor, who is dealing with a serious medical condition. Knowing her fighting spirit, we are confident she will come out on top. Our hearts are there with you, Sandy.

All for now. Stay tuned. More later.

Gail facing off with the Georgia Bulldog. She wins!!

Saturday, Nov. 25 - Hate to tell you, but it's only one more month until Christmas Day. Yesterday was the big shopping day for our American friends, which actually started at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day. Commercialism has crept into the major holiday, as it used to be the stores didn't open until mid-night for Black Friday. Donnie and I played golf yesterday, so dropped Gail and Pat off at the Tanger Outlet Mall. We had a fine time whacking the ball (no score kept) while they enjoyed their shopping excursion. When we came back to the Mall to pick them up, we became ensnarled in a major traffic jam, and sat for some time before we found the girls and made our escape. The number of people was amazing, crammed into that market area. Bargains galore, I guess. Gail did get a pair of good hiking boots at half price, so it was worth it.

Donnie and I played with two Americans, Randy and Eric. Both were ex-military, and had pretty strong views from the right side, Randy in particular. He's a Data Manager for a Health facility in Virginia, so had some very pointed negative views about Obama Care. He's also a strong member of the NRA (since he was 8 years old), so we heard the usual arguments about the lack of need for gun control. Protect yourself is the key. He admitted, somewhat sheepishly, that he voted for Trump, and the only thing he could point out as an accomplishment by the esteemed leader is his promotion of a right wing justice to the Supreme Court. The Republican Party bears the blame for all other failures to make change, he feels.

Eric was less vociferous, and perhaps more of a centrist. His main beef is with South Carolina politics, which he claims is totally corrupt. He owns a business (Segway rentals, tours, sales), and finds the various charges his business and he personally face through taxes to be way out of line. He also thought it a sign of corruption that the head of the local Chamber of Commerce makes nearly a half million a year while the mayor only make 70K. There's a new female mayor just elected here, and he hopes she'll be able to bring some changes to the city, despite her gender.

Aside from the politics, two very nice guys to play with. That sort of says it all...nice people, but screwed up politics here in the U.S. Last night I needed to by a hat, as I'd forgotten mine. When I paid, I made a comment about the fact we no longer use pennies in Canada. The cashier, a very pleasant minority guy, told me when I asked that he didn't like Trump...at all. He'd like to have someone like our young guy leading the country. He thinks Trudeau is just fine.

We've have had great visits with Don and Pat, out for dinner twice, and again this evening, before we head off to Georgia tomorrow. Don's brother arrives tomorrow, so there will be much more golf played before they all go back home next week-end. Gail and I have enjoyed being on the beach, so did another long walk today, up to the State Park pier. There's a big campground in the Park, so if we come this way again, it might be a place to consider, although we have no complaints at all about Pirateland.

That's it for now. Stay tuned. More later.

Wednesday, Nov. 22 - Aaarg, Matey!! Ahoy from Pirateland, Myrtle Beach. Can you believe it? Sounds hokey, but it's a pretty impressive layout we find ourselves in. But more about that later.

The main news is that we got here last night at 8 p.m., after close to 10 hours on Monday, and another 12 yesterday. Chugging along in an r.v. at 100 clicks isn't the same as whizzing along in an Audi at 120. We get there, but it just takes longer. We had only one little ripple of difficulty, between Watertown and Syracuse, as you might expect. Snow squall, hail, sleet, and slippery track for about 30 kilometers, with a couple of cars in the ditch. But once we got within shouting distance of Syracuse, the snow eased, and by Binghamton, no problem.

We stayed our first night south of Harrisburg, in Carlisle, in a motel. Next morning at breakfast, we listened in as three large gentlemen, one black, two white, had a most interesting discussion about race and justice and politics. It was orderly and respectful, so I couldn't help commenting to them as we left that they would be better to listen to than the biased stuff we get on morning talk shows. "We're just truck drivers..." they said. Maybe so, but I heard more insight from particularly the black gentleman than I've heard for some time. All were veterans, so had their own points of view, but seemed to agree on one thing. There are actually three parties in the States: The Dems, the Republicans, and the large number of people who didn't vote. It's the latter group, they agreed, that led to Trump being elected.

Yesterday was a long haul, but the traffic was generally busy yet not overly so, with only one back-up, where we lost a half-hour crawling into two lanes from three because of bridge repairs. We got off the 95 in the dark, and did the cross country thing along a narrow two laner until finally reaching the freeway into MB. Set up in the dark, had Joyce Brant's wonderful seafood stew for dinner, and soon hit the sack. Today we organized, walked the beach, which is very close to our site, and did a bike ride around this huge park, getting lost a couple of times. There are close to 1000 sites here, with a large range of trailer homes, rental cottages, and rv sites. There are good facilities, including a large swimming pool, a lazy river, mini golf, the whole nine yards. Today the folks are pouring in for Thanksgiving, so it'll be busy for the next few days.

This evening, friends Don and Pat will soon be here for drinks, followed by an excursion out for dinner. And so this long adventure into who knows where has begun. Don't forget to keep in touch if you're reading this.

Monday, Sept. 18 2017 - Maybe you got enough of puffins in the last post a few days ago. But there are a couple of more to be shared, along with a few bergs, coastal scenes, and a couple of shots of a crab boat escaping the ice pack enclosing the harbour at Bonavista. We did a nice hike on the Skerwink Trail near Port Reston, a rather tough go, but we were rewarded with great views, some of which were wrapped in heavy fog. Let's see if I can find some good images.
You'll note from the last picture that we managed to find a local brewery to finish the day.

September 14 2017 - Here we are again, finding time to post a few more pictures of our trip to Newfoundland. The idea behind doing so is that it forces me to go through my large number of images to try to select some that I like. It also adds a little to the notes made during the trip, which were posted on site during our explorations of Newfoundland. Finally, it completes the journal, for our future enjoyment (if we ever take the time to go over it again...perhaps in our dotage).
The photos that follow are of our favorite Newfoundland bird, the puffin. We love these little guys for their energy, their amazing flying ability, and their durability. This group of puffins were found at Elliston, and although the numbers were much smaller than when we were here before, they were still fascinating to watch.
The last two pictures are of Gail looking out from a root cellar entrance, Elliston being the Root Cellar Capital of the world, and of a lovely bay just down from our r.v. park near Elliston.

September 3 2017 - Slowly but surely I will work through some of my Newfoundland photos, and share them. All it will take is a quick look-through, for you, but for me, it's a way to force myself to do some selecting of pics from the many hundreds taken on this trip.
The focus with this set is on the area around Bonavists...icebergs, ice flows, the  town itself, the famous lighthouse, and the Cabot statue. Will some reason be found to tear down the statue because of the ill Cabot brought by initiating the colonization of North America? Who knows?