Our 2008 winter in FL
We had a great time this year in Sunny FL. The weather was fairly warm all the time; the rains mostly came at night!
Kay chaired the bird watching group, she joined the rug-hooking group and is now actively hooking a rug as well as neighboring through out the park. Frank had his hernia operation and recuperated. He worked at the Snack Shack for the last two weeks of the season, went to the camera club and computer club meetings and hung out with Boots.
We visited Frank’s sister, MaryJo at her home in Lake Wales and took a boat ride on Lake Pierce, FL looking for alligators which could not be found but we enjoyed the ride taking pictures of the lake.
We spent Easter with Frank’s niece Mary Frances and had Easter dinner with Frank’s Florida family, i.e.: his son Larry, granddaughter Larrisa, and sister MaryJo plus others.
MaryJo and Ellie visited us at Travelers Rest so we show them kumquats on the tree. They have orange and grapefruit trees but no kumquats. Now they want two kumquat trees and we are not able to find any.
Kay, MaryJo & Ellie and a Kumquat Tree!
After the season was over we met with son-in-law Dave Blaeser in Orlando and took him to the Orlando wetlands to see the birds and alligators. All the alligators were in the water, but they were still alligators and some were large.
The Bird watchers Dave & Kay!
MaryJo and her friend Ellie visited us while we were still at Traveler’s Rest. We took them around the park to show them Kumquat Trees, MaryJo grows Orange and Grapefruit Trees but had not seen Kumquat Trees. Now she wants two Kumquat Trees but they have become hard to get.
We went to Tarpon Springs, FL (the sponge capitol of the world) with Carl and Margaret Morris. We had an excellent Greek lunch and took a boat tour to see how the sponges were harvested in the days of yesteryear using the old time deep-sea diving suit. We also went through most of the local shops before coming home happy and tired.
Tarpon Springs Diver Statue!
A Sign about the next picture!
An old Sponge boat!
The diver posing for pictures!
The Diver getting into the water!
The diver surfacing with a sponge in hand!
Now it is time to come home facing the high price of diesel and working to arrive home when the sun has returned to heat up the day. Our plans are:
- We leave the park on 4/10/08 and go to Wickman Park in Melbourne, 129 miles.
- We leave Wickman Park on 4/14/08 and go to King George's Resort in GA, 209 miles.
- We leave King George’s Resort on 4/16/08 and go to The Oaks in SC, 139 miles.
- We leave The Oaks on 4/18/08 and go to Camp Pedro, 167 miles.
- We leave Camp Pedro on 4/19/08 and go to Lake Gaston Lakeview Resort, 154 miles.
- We leave Lake Gaston on 4/21/08 and go to the Tunnel/Bridge Rest stop, 140 miles.
- We leave the Rest Stop on 4/22/08 and arrive home that same day, 124 miles.
- Total days to get home 13 - we will not be rushing! A total of 1101 miles and a lot of diesel.
April 10, 2008 our first day on the road!
We left at 10:00 AM and had a pleasant drive through the center of FL in order to get to the East Coast where we camped in Wickham County Park a very pleasant campground. When we arrived at the park, Frank discovered that the front of the trailer did not have electricity. Frank was able to find and fix the problem by unloading all his tools to find that one which he needed. Then it was the normal hook-up chores including the connecting of the Direct TV antenna. The latter took longer than usual as Frank had forgotten the procedure so he was searching for the wrong Satellite. Once he re-learned the process everything moved along smoothly.
After setting up we went to the office where we sat outside and used the WiFi to get our mail. Once that was done we went out to dinner at a Thai restaurant for an excellent dinner. After dinner we explored the shopping center before heading home for the evening.
April 11, 2008, our second day on the road!
We are still in Melbourne, FL Park at Wickham County Park. We visited KJ and Jane Baker in the morning. KJ had a massive stroke earlier this year but has quickly responded to therapy, to the point that his speech is clear and he is able to walk with a walker. He is getting better day by day and his spirits are high.
We then went home for lunch before heading to the Post Office to get forever stamps. From the Post Office we went to the beach and walked along the edge of the water seeing many birds and beach scenes. We got our feet wet and enjoyed the sea air and felt connected to the Delaware Beaches.
A beach scene!
Pelicans over the beach!
