Wednesday, January 24 - Sitting on the deck of the park store, as it's the only place to access wifi. We've been without at our sites for 5 days, so we're a little behind in our postings. Since Port Richie, we have moved three times, as we wend our way towards New Orleans. Sister Marilyn is flying in on Sunday, so we have a park booked for 5 nights, starting on Saturday.

Weather continues very much on the cool side. We've had one nice day since leaving Port Richie, but this weather doesn't want to move out. It's cloudy, a little breezy, and manages to climb into the 50s, so it's okay for walking but cool on the bikes. We moved to Cedar Key for one night, and it wasn't bad there. Our main reason for going there was Tony's Restaurant. They make the best chowder ever, so we had lunch there, and took away a case of canned chowder to take home. The town was dead, even though it was a Friday, so the weather appears to be having an  impact on tourism.

From there we went to two State Parks that we've stayed in before, St. Joseph's Peninsula, near Port St. Joe, right on the Gulf, and then on to Topsail, which is about 50 miles east of Pensacola. The weather at St. Joseph's was pretty good the first day, so we biked 10 kms to a store we knew of, and on the way back, stopped at a roadside spot called Skully's. The owner has a big flag displaying a skull and crossed swords, which his neighbour apparently doesn't appreciate. We asked the young guy if he sold beer. "Nope," he said. "Can't afford the license fees." He saw our sad faces, so said "But I can give you beer, right from the cooler here." So we took a Busch, which he wouldn't let us give him a donation for and sat and had a great chat with him. He's got three kids, moved here from Alabama where he'd been part of his father's restaurant for many years. He felt running a sizable restaurant had too many head-aches, so he came here, bought property; put up this little building with outdoor seating and take-out (two dishes only, gumbo and a shrimp dish), and thinks he's found temporary heaven. He has no debts, gets to spend lots of time with his kids, so seemed very content.

He had a guitar by his side, and with next to no coaxing, gave us a sample. He's very skillful, and revealed having done the road touring bit with various bands. He had at one time an agent in Nashville, which often led to his getting assigned to doing a tour with players he didn't know. He hated it, as often the band were doing major drugs, and lots of other stuff. So he gave it up. Paul is an interesting young guy, who seems to have found a fair measure of peace.

I also had a great chat in the park with a fellow from Alaska. He and his wife have made the great trek all the way to Florida, and will be heading back next week. I had seen him come in with his trailer, so wandered about until I found them, as I was curious about the roads down from the north. He said they are now really quite good, all paved, with numerous service stations along the way. We're thinking of such an expedition next year, as we have the Lahr Reunion in Vancouver, so might make a trip of it.

He was also an interesting guy, a retired Earth Scientist. His insights about climate change as they see it in Alaska were quite disturbing, particularly when the general attitude of the politicians is denial, the result of a lack of faith in science. He found that to be of major concern, with both of us agreeing to a lot of trepidation about what will be left for our grand-children. The melting of the ice caps, the extension of the Gulf stream further and further north, and other issues that can't be denied are ignored by the financial people, who see drilling for oil in the north as the way to go. We agreed that our main hope has to be that the younger generation will be able to rise to the challenges before it's too late.

Here at Topsail you will find one of the most beautiful beaches anywhere. Crisp sugary white sand that stretches along the coast for miles. This morning when we stepped on the beach, we were the only ones to be seen in either direction. No doubt the cold had something to do with it; although this is low season in the Panhandle, despite it being Florida. Our friend Paul of the little restaurant said he pretty much shuts down at the end of November, and gets busy again in the spring.

So it ain't snowing. We aren't complaining. We're well enough dressed, fitting in with the other folks around the park wearing their toques and jackets. We just hope the weather will be decent while we're in New Orleans, so we can show Marilyn a good time there. Time will tell, although the forecasts look like it's more of the same for another 10 days.

That's it for now. Fingers are getting stiff from the chill. Stay tuned. More later.

Thursday, January 18 - Look at that date! January is more than half-over, which is good to consider, although the time seems to march along at too great a rate. It feels like January here, as we are in another cold stretch. Temp this morning was 31, and will go to at least that tonight. Like one guy I met while on the way to the garbage bins said, "Which way to Florida?"

Snow in Alabama and Georgia today, and there was an accident on one of the near-by highways because of icy roads. This explains why we're still in the Port Richie area. We had planned to go to the Panhandle earlier this week, but when we saw that the temp would be in the low 20s in Tallahassee for a couple of nights, we decided to stay here until tomorrow.

We have had some good days, however, so we aren't complaining. I gave Gail a couple of days off while I went biking, doing 50 kilometers both days, enjoying the Sun Coast Trail after biking through the Starkey Park mentioned in a previous posting. Then we went to Tarpon Springs on Tuesday, and found the staring point of the Pinellas Trail, which goes all the way to the other side of Tampa. We did 20 kms out, then back for a very enjoyable ride. Weather was pretty good all three days.

Then it got cold, so yesterday and today were shopping and walking days, although after shopping today we went back to the park and did the 13 mile return trip in the cold. Once we got rolling it was quite all right, and felt good to get some exercise. All in all, this old guy did about 220 kms during the past week. Keep in mind that this is all flat country, so it's not nearly as difficult as it would be at home. Gail calls herself a Florida cyclist, as she likes the flatness, and zips along very well. I can hardly keep up with her when she gets going.

Tomorrow we are heading to Cedar Key for one night, then on to St. Joseph's State Park, located on a sandy spit near Port St. Joe's in the Panhandle. Sister Marilyn has now confirmed she will meet us in New Orleans on the 27th, so we have a week to poke along until we meet her. Looking forward to showing her around the Crescent City.

That's about it for now. We've enjoyed our stay at Orchid Lake, but it's time to move on. We think of all of you who are dealing with the ups and downs of this crazy winter. You know it's crazy when our favorite dog, Dodger MacKay, is forced to wear booties when he goes outside. Who'd have believed it?

More later. Stay tuned.

Sunday, January 14 - Here we are, still in the Port Richey area. We liked the park well enough to extend for a week, so are here until Tuesday. The weather!! Now that's a factor in all that we do, being flexible and able to follow the sun...if we can find it. We had a couple of nice days, and then the cold struck again. And it's still cold. There's a freezing warning on tonight, so it's keeping our furnace tuned up. Because this latest cold spell will last until at least Thursday, we aren't inclined to head to the Panhandle yet, as it's going down into the 20s on Wednesday night, and only low 40s for a high on Thursday. After that it gets somewhat better, so we'll head north on Friday. Not sure where we'll be from Tuesday until Friday. We'll figure something out. May stay here or go to Cedar Key.

We did a bike ride on our first day here, and lucked out. We found a park named after a person named Jay Starkey, a large wilderness park that is partly managed by the State Water Management organization and part by the County. And guess what? It has a great 6.5 mile bike path that connects to the 40 mile Suncoast trail. So some time has been spent there, pedalling out little buns off. Gail and I did 38 kms on Thursday, and I did 50 today (gave the poor girl the day off, which she enjoyed greatly, treasuring some time to herself). Along the way, we found the creatures pictured above. Ten points for anyone who can name them.

Yesterday was cold and windy, so we drove over to Tarpon Springs, and found an Arts and Crafts fair going on along the river. In case you aren't aware of it. this community has one of the largest Greek populations outside of the mother country. Everything has a Greek flavor, and although the stretch of street we were on is a little like a small Niagara Falls, it has its charms. We strolled along the various crafts displays, trying to stay warm. We bought a couple of sponges, since this is the Sponge Capital of The World. In the early 1900s, sponges were found growing in profusion off the coast. An enterprising Greek guy got the industry going and it took off like crazy. At one time thousands were employed in harvesting and processing and marketing the creatures. Interestingly, they are not destroyed when harvested, as the tops are cut off, releasing a jillion spores, so that the mother plant and all the spores result in an increase of sponges. How can you beat that!? There are stores full of sponges, all makes and models, and videos explaining the workings of the industry. Interesting stuff! Something we knew nothing about. Still learning after all these years.

In talking to a nice guy in one of the smaller shops, he said the big problem is getting young people to become involved in the industry. Most of the workers are middle aged, and before too long there won't be anyone left to take over...unless, perish the thought, offshore workers are taken on. What did he thing of Trump, given his policies? This gentleman doesn't vote any more, as he has totally lost any faith in politicians. Sound familiar? Trump and all the rest of them are cut from the same cloth, so far as he is concerned.

We had a nice Greek lunch at 'Mama's', which we recommend if you should ever land in Tarpon Springs.

Around the park, I attended a music jam on Wednesday, which consisted of 4 people playing guitar and singing old country stuff, except for a Canadian guy, who did more bluesy stuff, and clearly outshone the other three. Next night there was a larger group, all residents, who put on a 90 minute show, again, Country, and were quite good. Country to the core, but good instrumentalists and not bad vocalists. The same folks do their thing every week, and get a good turn-out.

Last night there was a big campfire, which we went to despite the cold, and met a few of the regulars. They were very welcoming and friendly, and spoke fondly of the sense of community they enjoy here. If someone needs help because of wind, fire or other emergency, people pitch in and help them. There were some interesting stories about the hurricane experience, as Irma blew through here, but not as badly as had been predicted. Not much damage done here, but lots of anxiety as the storm approached.

One day I was sitting in the sun, and along came a lady named Carol. She stopped by and talked my ear off for an hour. Gail came along halfway through, and Carol just kept on. So we got a part of her life story, which was quite interesting. Her family escaped East Germany in 1947, leaving in the dark of night, and somehow managed to get to Yugoslavia. It seems her father was a tech expert, and was welcomed by Marshall Tito. They were there for a couple of years, and after going to three or four other countries, finally ended up in Cincinnati. She described the bitter negativity she experienced as a non-English speaking kid from the old enemy country. Nothing like it in any of the other countries they'd lived in before emigrating here. Sound familiar? Did we do that to immigrant kids who came from Germany and Italy in the 50s? Hope not!

Anyway, that's about it for now. Every day is  full of excitement. More later. Stay tuned.

Wednesday January 10 - We've left Homosassa, somewhat sadly, but time for a change. Weather tends to dictate where we go, so after much research, we decided to go a little south for awhile...not far, but just enough to enjoy generally good temps for a few days. So here we are outside of New Port Richey, which is north of the Tampa urban sprawl.

Before leaving, we had a nice day on Monday doing a final ride around the backroads after a bowl of chowder at The Freezer (almost as good as the chowder at Tony's in Cedar Key, but not quite). We rambled around for about 20 kms, up and down the network of roads that are labelled 'no exit', 'dead end' and 'no outlet'. We never did figure out the difference, as all roads thus signed meant that when you got to the end, you had to turn around. Because there's a series of canals and irregular coastline in this area, the roads ramble, as they track along the waterways. Nice for the homeowners, as most can put a dock on the back of their property. Peaceful too, as there's only local traffic on these roads. Needless to say, we finished up with our last beer at The Shed, watching the pelicans wheel about.

Yesterday we packed up and stopped at the Print Museum/Cafe to say goodbye to Jim Anderson. He was busy touring a group through the museum, so we had Cuban toast, prepared by the woman who works there for Jim. We had a long chat with her, as we were the only ones there. Long story short, her daughter has terminal cancer, and is not far from the end. She has 5 kids, aged 2 to 11. Her husband is nowhere in the picture, as he tried to kill them all some time ago. So when daughter passes away, her mother will have to take the kids on.

Her husband was in the cafe, and seemed like a decent guy, very much affected as the story unwound. They will take this huge load on, and because she has a very deep faith, she can somehow put all of this in a positive light. There were tears, several times during the telling, but somehow she feels she was blessed for the time she has had with her daughter, and will somehow manage. She and her husband have had some hard times financially, but she has faith that they'll find a way to get by.

We left with pretty heavy hearts after big hugs were exchanged. We did manage to speak to Jim as well, and will keep in touch with him, as he said he'd be willing to do some printing of photos for me, if I ever get around to doing a selection from my vast collection. Going down the road, we were pretty quiet, thinking about this poor woman, wondering how she'll be able to cope. Wish we could do something for her.

Anyway, it brings our little day-to-day concerns into perspective. Our biggest problem at the moment is deciding when to go to New Orleans.

The park we are in now is very nice, on a lake with lots of birds, including two friendly sandhill cranes. The people in the park are also very friendly, stopping to chat, telling us how much they enjoy being here. The largest groups are from Ontario and Michigan, here for the winter. There is a large range of activities for them, so they are able to keep themselves amused and busy. We'll stay a few days before heading to the Panhandle. Cloudy but warm, and brightening, with tomorrow promising sunshine. We'll probably go over to Tarpon Springs, maybe do some biking on the Pinella Trail, which starts there.

That's it for now. Sorry for the sad story. More happier stuff later. Stay tuned.

Sunday, January 7 - Here we are, already at the end of our first week of the New Year. And still the cool (here) cold (at home) weather persists. But we are seeing light at the end of the tunnel, as it's 37F this morning, up 10 degrees from yesterday, and promising to hit 70 tomorrow. We have to decide where to go next, so a survey of various places will bring us to a decision.

Meantime, a few little bits about what we're up to. The first two pictures above help to explain why we like it here so much. Birds, like the osprey finding its nest, and the river, the Homosassa. This is truly rural old Florida, away from freeways and congestion. We can find urbanization by going out to route 19, not too far away, but here it's much quieter and easy-going.

The third picture is Boe Anderson, the gentleman I described in my last posting. As Sandy Taylor has written after that posting, this is what makes travel worthwhile, meeting interesting people along the way. He is certainly one such person.

The fourth picture. How to explain a tree that seems to be suspended in the air? Can't have grown that way. But hanging in the air it is!! We've spent some time this week watching a tree removal outfit do their thing, and it's been really fascinating. A lot of trees in our park have been identified as having aged too long and have developed dry rot. The park management is having them cleared so that they don't tumble over on properties during windstorms and hurricanes. One method is to hoist a worker, suspended in a harness on the end of a cable that can reach a hundred feet in the air which is controlled by on operator of a huge crane. The worker scrambles onto the uppermost part of a 60 or 70 foot tree, and attaches a big sling around the trunk. Then he shinnies down about 40 feet, using a rope system, and cuts the trunk with a chain saw. The crane operator maintains tension on the cable and sling, so that as the final cut takes place, the tree is lifted high into the air, swung across the sky, and deposited safely on the street below.

The skill of workers and crane operator make for great entertainment. Nothing better than watching skilled people do their jobs. Often these trees are are only a foot or two away from the homes, so the precision of the operators is quite remarkable. Once on the ground, the trees are cut up by the crew, lifter by a front-end loader into dump trucks, and hauled off. Quite an operation!

The fifth picture...Since our activities are somewhat restricted by the cold, we decided to drop in to the other local watering holes, which we have tended not to do, enjoying The Shed and The Freezer as we do. So we went to the Manatee Pub, then a day or two later, to The Old Mill Tavern, which was packed with people, and last evening to the pub down the road, which was less busy and just fine as well. Each has it's own character and cast of both locals and snowbirds, so good for people watching. We have a beer, at 2 bucks each generally, and back we go to our little house, as these pubs are within walking distance.

 Last night, we sat beside a couple from Pennsylvania and had a good chat. Both are 'packing', he on his hip (not visible), she in her purse, and are staunch NRA members. Wouldn't think of going anywhere without being armed. Never had to use the weapons in 40 years, but they're prepared if anyone tries anything. The man, who goes to Newfoundland to hunt moose regularly, agreed that we live in two different free countries, and simply think differently. No point arguing! Their ideas are entrenched in the Second Amendment, and they're not going to change.

We went to the local flea market yesterday, a huge place full of everything you can think of. Quite a few tables had displays of guns and knives, the guns ranging from .38 glocks up to AK -47s. I asked one vendor what I had to do to buy a gun. "All you need is a Florida Drivers license if you want to buy a handgun." But what if I want a rifle, or that 12 gauge beauty? " No problem, you can buy it if you want." Even though I live outside the country? "Yep, here in Florida, no problem." I don't think they would have sold the AK-47 to me, but any other long barrels seemed okay, including an automatic .22 rifle that uses 50 shot clips. Mass shootings made easy!!

Not much else to report. We managed to get out on our bikes on a nice 16 km trail yesterday. And I got bitten by a dog a couple of days ago. You know, one of those little "cute" things that so many of the folks in the parks have? A couple were walking by with one such cutie, so I bent down to say 'hello', and the little bastard bit me. Right on the wrist. Drew considerable blood, but on the upper wrist, so really only skin, not flesh, was torn. They were most apologetic. "I don't know what happened, he never does that...blah, blah". Hope he doesn't have rabies!! Now I dislike those little so-called 'dogs' even more than before.

That's enough for a Sunday morning. We keep hoping the cold will break up north, as we think of everyone of you wishing it were otherwise. Hang in there!!

No idea where we'll be heading when we leave here on Tuesday. More later. Stay tuned.

Thursday, Jan. 4 - We'll try again. Just got about halfway through today's post, and lost it. The joys of computers.

Still cool here, but sunny and breezy. The temp went down to the upper 20s last night, causing some concern about the water system. But with the r.v. well heated overnight, there was no problem. Hopefully that will also be the case tonight, when the temp is going even lower. That should put an end to the sub-freezing readings. It poured all morning yesterday (cleaned the awning nicely), and then the sun came out.

So we decided to go to Crystal River to do a little shopping. Turned the key. Nothing. Deader than Henry the 8th. What the heck!! There'd be no sign of any difficulty, and nothing unusual so far as electrical usage. But nothing!! Fortunately, my neighbour next door, a good Kentuckian, had a booster, so we got the unit started, and headed off to an AutoZone store not far away. Diagnosis. Not the battery, but the...you guessed it? The alternator. They had a replacement in stock which I could purchase. But where to get it installed?

The Autpzone staff was great! They phoned three different shops in the immediate area...all busy! However, they knew of a small shop across the highway, but they had no phone number for it. So over I go to this rather cluttered and disorganised garage, where I found a mechanic, slight, moustache, wiry, taciturn, who took a look and said "Yeah, I can do it." "When?", I asked hopefully and pitiably. "Right now", was the reply. Sigh of relief from me.

 So back to the AutoZone store, get the new alternator, and two hours later, it's installed. We're good to go again. Given that it's just after the holidays, and all the shops are busy, we were really lucky to find this guy. Cash only...no receipt. Good for him and good for us. We had a huge pizza to celebrate. We were also able to turn in the old alternator for a $35. credit. Icing on the cake. Something to keep in mind. Next time your alternator goes, buy one from your nearest auto supply rather than having the repair shop order it for you. No add on for the part by the garage, and you get the rebate.

On Tuesday we walked into the village. On the way, we stopped at a place that houses a nice little cafe/printing museum, across from the Yulee Sugar Mill Historic Site. This museum contains all manner of printing equipment, as the owner has been in the business for 50 years, and has become a major collector of old printing machines. He has everything in there, from the old system of print setting which was done letter by letter, to the Linotype machine which revolutionised the industry, up to the more modern equipment that makes the trade so much more efficient. There are all sorts of artifacts in this museum, which is run by James 'Boe' Anderson, including an original newspaper from the 1860s that had reprinted Lincoln's Gettysburg address. It was printed on paper made from old rags, which was the source of newsprint in those days. Hence the term "rag" describing newspapers. Little bits like that were numerous from our new friend Boe.

Boe is a great guy, friendly, outgoing, still enthusiastic about his trade after 50 years in the business. This muscular smiling black man gave us a great tour, explaining a lot of the equipment that he has collected over the years. He is well known by others in the trade, who often find old pieces of equipment and bring them to his museum. Who'd have guessed there would be such an interesting array of items in this little business of his. Boe also plays bass, and is part of a band, The Cool Corporate Cats. He gave us two of his cds, one of which I paid for by putting a few bucks in his donation box. The other he slipped to Gail as we were leaving, as a surprise for me when we got home.  I think he appreciated our enthusiasm for his enthusiasms. He's a really neat guy, and we thoroughly enjoyed our time with him. Never know where you'll meet such interesting people.

The weather has us trying to decide when to make our next move. It's supposed to get better next week, so we may stay in the area for another few days to see how things shape up in the Panhandle. We advised sister Marilyn to put her flight to New Orleans on hold for now, until we get a better outlook for the city, as the projections for the next couple of weeks there are for quite cool weather. Better to enjoy the Crescent City when it's warm outside.

We hope things are better at home these days, as we see the temps moderating somewhat. But more cold air coming in, it seems. And a blizzard in the north-east which will probably hit the Maritimes as well. Crazy winter so far, considering it was supposed to be above-average temperatures for the season. Anyway, no complaints.

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

I

Tuesday, January 2 -

This is our pal Lu at the Homosassa River State Park, wishing all a Hippo New Year. Gail and I also wish everyone a Happy New Year.

We had a couple of nice days leading up to NY Eve, as the weather on the week-end was pretty nice, sunny and in the 60s. We rode around the area on Saturday, stopped for shrimp, chowder and a beer at The Freezer (hugely popular spot...always packed), then fries and a beer at the Shed, our favorite watering hole. We sit at the rail overlooking the river and watch about 30 pelicans do their aeronauticals. My favorite bird, so it's always fun.

Sunday we drove over to Inverness, about 20 miles from here, to do some riding on the Whatlacoochie Trail, a 40 mile route that's a Rail to Trail track. Nice ride, although Gail finds it a little boring. However, on our way back, we came upon a group clustered around a man who was bleeding rather profusely, mainly from his head. We stopped to see what was up, and since we were only a kilometer from our r.v., I hustled off and picked up some first aid supplies, then hustled back.  We cleaned the 78 year old man up as best we could, but he had some damage just above his left eye, so one of the group called an ambulance. The responders were there lickety split, so on my way I went. Seems the group were just standing along the trail by their low-boy bikes (loads of them along this trail) and a guy just plowed into the older fellow, knocking him flying. Hard to figure that out!! Guess the culprit was looking at his bike computer, and sailed right into them. No excuse for that, but it proves no matter where you are on a bike, you have to watch what you're doing.

That night was NY Eve, so we took a little libation kit, and went to our rec hall, where a dance was on to celebrate the New Year in. We were welcomed by a couple from New Brunswick and another couple from Chicago, and had a nice time. They had a d.j., who played some good stuff, some not so good, but we danced quite a lot (wouldn't say it was a storm we danced up but not bad for old folks). We faded away around 11:30 so we could go back to our rig to watch the ball drop in Times Square. We managed to last until about 12:30, and then had our first sleep of 2018. Can't believe it's already that year...2018. Remember the Millenial Scare? Seems like only a year or two ago.

The new year has not started well so far as weather is concerned. Cold, cloudy, windy best describes it. We hunkered down inside most of yesterday, and will now go for a walk to the village, as the sun is actually trying to shine. But it was only plus 6 yesterday, and about the same today, with a sleet warning announced for tomorrow. We'll just make the best of it, remembering that it's nothing like it is back home, so no complaining from this quarter. We're here until Saturday, hoping for a warm spell as we head to the Panhandle.

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