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NOTE: i'VE ELIMINATED THE BUTTONS AT THE BOOTOM OF THE PAGE CAUSE i CAN'T GET THEM TO WORK ANYMORE. YOU'LL NEED TO READ AROUND THEM AGAIN BECAUSE THEY WON'T DELETE. WHEN YOU GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE YOU'LL SEE THE NEW OBJECT TO READ AROUND. ANYONE WHO USES HOMESTEAD FOR THEIR BLOG IS EXPERIENCING THE SAME BULL SHIT.

Monday, March 17, 2014

We were greeted this morning with a tremendous rainfall that would continue all day, letting up only for brief periods during the day. We were back in the rain, what a surprise.

We were off to Linda’s Place for the last time this morning. We invited Charlie and Sandie to go with us but she wasn’t feeling good this morning so they didn’t go. Breakfast, of course, was good and reasonably priced.

By the time we got back, Sharon had already decided that she was doing the laundry today. The only thing that was holding her back was the amount of water falling out of the sky. Our road was actually flooded this morning cause the catch basins couldn’t handle the amount of water. It hadn’t rained this hard and long since we’ve been down south this winter. Eventually it let up just enough for Sharon to head out to the Laundromat. She didn’t have to wait for anyone today because only idiots and determined people were out on a day like this.

After she came back with the clothes she wanted to go to the grocery store also today. While the rain didn’t let up she left for the store anyway. I guess she figured she could dodge the raindrops. That didn’t work well because by the time she got back her jacket was soaked. She picked up a deli chicken that we were going to have for Supper tonight. A cold salad and almost mashed potatoes were also on the menu for tonight. She threw the chicken and potatoes in the oven as soon as she got home. It would probably be another hour before we sat down to eat.

When we did finally sit down to eat, the Chicken was very good and the “mashed potatoes” were excellent. I think they had melted cheese in them and they were slightly chunky. The cold salad was mostly corn with onions, green pepper and cherry tomatoes. It also was very tasty indeed.

After Supper we stopped over to Charlie and Sandie’s so we could say our good-byes. We didn’t know if she would be feeling better by tomorrow so we thought we would take care of that tonight. We stayed for about an hour before we up and left. We came home and settled in front of the TV for the rest of the night. We were both up until 11 until the regular shows were over.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

We were off this morning to the Central Florida Fairgrounds for a State Rally for Winnebago. It was going to be a chance to see my Brother and Sister whom I hadn’t seen since last summer.

It took us about 2 hours to get from Holiday to the west side of Orlando. The traffic was mildly busy once we started approaching our destination. I don’t know how far we are from Orlando, but we found the fairgrounds without much trouble and arrived around noon and got settled in right away. My Brother Tom, one of the volunteers, directed us into a parking area at the entrance. After a quick check-in at registration we were off to our final parking spot.

My Sister Cookie was waiting at the area where we were going to park. It was nice that we didn’t have to look for anybody. We had arrived 2 days before the actual Rally was intended to begin, however. We sat around talking for about an hour or so with Cookie and Bill before we left for the Texas Roadhouse to eat tonight. There were four couples and we knew two of them. I had a half rack of ribs and Sharon had a steak for Supper tonight.

My ribs were absolutely fabulous and as good as the ones I make. Maybe that’s why I thought they were so good. Sharon was also completely satisfied with her steak.

When we got back home, my Brother Tom and Nancy were waiting for us. And there were several couples sitting out by a portable campfire that we joined. Tom and Nancy also joined us for the campfire. We sat by the campfire for a couple of hours until the wind started turning the night air a little brisk.

We returned to the motorhome and settled in to watch a little TV for the rest of the night. We had a couple of shows on tape that we caught up on tonight. We gave ourselves a break by going to bed early tonight.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

This is our second day here at the fairgrounds but the Rally hasn’t started yet. The cost for the site is quite a bit cheaper than the site at Holiday Travel Park, however. We’re parked in Handicap so we’ll be closer to all the activities for the next few days.

We went to look at new motorhomes but didn’t find anything we were even remotely interested in. It seems that Winnebago is invested in putting leather chairs and couches in their units. Not something I would ever want. I’ve got a leather chair now and it’s too cold to sit in until you start sweating in it. I’ve got a sheet of Sheepskin that covers my chair to avoid this condition. Besides everything they’ve got here is well over $100,000.00. Not a mortgage that I’m really interested in.

We went to Checkers for lunch today with my sister and her friend Betsy. They’re husbands were off golfing for the day. It had been a few years since we had been at a Checkers, but the sandwiches and Fries were really good. We don’t find Checkers out west even though it may be there.

I needed to stop at Best Buy to pick up a couple of memory cards for the camcorder. 16 GB cards don’t last very long in the camera. They’re good for about an hour and a half of recording. They were $17 apiece, so that was another $34 for this year.

Sharon left Checkers with Cookie and Betsy and they were heading to the thrift store and pottery barn. She was also intending to stop at Wal-Mart to pick up some Coke. By the time she got back I was informed that we may be going out for pizza tonight.

Cookie was supposed to call if we were going out tonight, but by 5 o’clock we hadn’t heard anything so Sharon put our leftover Chicken in the oven. She called shortly afterward but we were almost ready to eat by the time she did. Our Chicken and potatoes and noodle salad turned out just as good as it was the other day. And it was already paid for anyway. My Brother Tom also went out for pizza which we didn’t know or we would have gone with them.

After they got back we stopped over to Cookie and Bill’s to sit out for awhile until it got too chilly. That usually occurs about 8:30 and in time to still watch a couple of programs on the Telly. They’re usually on the DVR by that time. Sharon caved early again but I stayed up until just before 11.

Thursday, March 20, 2014

This was the actual opening day of the Rally and we attended opening ceremonies this morning at 11. It was long and drawn out like most of the opening ceremonies that we’ve been to in the past. Everybody was dressed in their cowboy and indian gear to reflect the theme of the Rally........The Wild, Wild West.

They fed us lunch, a Sub sandwich, potato chips and cookies right after the opening ceremony. We left and came back home after lunch until 4:30 when they put on some kind of a snack offering by all of the local chapters. They put out food in all corners of the building and people just walked around and picked up whatever they wanted. The food, however, was gone in about 20 minutes. We sat around and drank soda and beer for about an hour anyway.

Tonight was going to be Bingo night and Sharon, Nancy and Cookie went there seeking their fortune. Unfortunately none of them hit the big time. I decided it would be a good time for me to stop over to my brother’s and catch up on some past history since last summer.

There was absolutely nothing on TV tonight since March Madness took over the airwaves. I won’t be missing a thing over the next few days. We did have Fox News playing in the background but we mostly talked about them coming to Iron Mountain this summer. They still haven’t decided whether they will or not.

Sharon called me at nine cause she was back home again. I stayed for a few more minutes until after Nancy got home and then I zipped back home on my scooter.

There was still enough time left to watch a show or two from the DVR. I finally called it a night about 10:30.

Friday, March 21, 2014

We were off early this morning to a Continental Breakfast in the Main Hall. It consisted of a Bagel, A Croissant, A Muffin and a half cup of canned fruit. All the bread products were dry since the guy who was supposed to bring the condiments forgot them. We adapted, however, and it turned out just fine even though the complaints didn’t stop rolling in.

We checked out the vendors after Breakfast and I was amazed at the lack of participants. I really didn’t care but I expected to see more merchandise for sale at this Rally. After all this is the Florida State Rally and all the snowbirds are still here. Being a “manufacturer’s rally” may explain the lack of participation. Good Sam or Family Motor Coach would produce twice as many vendors.

We also checked out the crafts which were quite interesting. My brother had an old sea captain carving that he entered but didn’t win. I liked it, but I wasn’t the judge.

In the afternoon we attended the Ice Cream social which consisted of a Dixie cup of ice cream. They had lots left over so quite a few people went back for seconds. Sharon went back after a while and by this time the ice cream was nice and soft. The second one was a lot better than the “Rock Hard” first.

We were invited to a Happy Hour put on by my brother’s chapter just before Dinner tonight. We were over there for about an hour before we went for the catered Supper at the Main Hall. We were having Spaghetti and Meatballs, salad, Roll and a dessert. The meal was fine but the Cherry Cobbler I had for dessert was fabulous.

After Dinner we had a DJ playing music for the night. We waited sitting on hard chairs to win a door prize of which we didn’t. They didn’t start calling numbers until 9PM and our wasn’t to be one of them. They actually gave away a ton of prizes tonight before we called it a night and went home.

We were still in time to watch a little tube before we went to bed. The only thing to watch, however, was what we had on tape and that wasn’t much anymore. I think we were both in bed by 10:30.

Saturday, March 22, 2014

We were up early this morning for the catered Breakfast which consisted of Eggs, Sausage, Biscuit and Gravy and Fruit and Coffee. It was quite good since now we had no dishes to do back at the rig.

The three of us sat together this morning at Breakfast and then sat around and talked for awhile before we broke up. We were all headed in different directions.

I was headed back to the motorhome to work on the Newsletter and Sharon and Cookie were going to a bracelet making class. They intended to make bracelets for Grandchildren. There were no seminars that caught my eye so I wasn’t missing much. By the time I got done I headed back to where they were playing games and caught Cookie and Sharon just finishing up. I didn’t know that they were playing individual games or I would have participated. As it was they were just about to close everything down as I arrived.

We were on our own for lunch today so we came back to the coach and made our own lunch. It didn’t take long to throw some food in the nuker and then eat it. We had Cheddarwurst which only takes about 40 seconds.

In the afternoon we attended a Wine and Cheese Party which took us almost up to Dinner tonight. We had enough time to go back to the coach and sit in the air conditioning for awhile.

At Dinner tonight we were able to all sit together for a change. We had Chicken,, Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, carrots and pie for dessert. It was quite good but only marginally warm. But we did get a chance to sit together which set us up for the entertainment tonight.

The entertainment was a tribute singer for Neil Diamond. He was quite good and I lasted about an hour before my back was starting to bother me in the chairs. I came back to the motorhome and Sharon finished out her night about an hour later. We watched a little tube before she took off for the bed with her puzzle book. I followed her after about an hour and we called it a night about 11.

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Sharon was off to church this morning while I was getting the motorhome ready for traveling. She left with Tom and Cookie and was back before I was actually ready to leave.

We said our good-byes, gave hugs and kisses and were on the road without fanfare about 9:30.

Our intent was to drive over to the Gulf Coast and then take Highway 98 up the Coast. We were told it was a very nice drive with good road and we found that to be the case. We didn’t actually see the Gulf until mid-afternoon when the road actually meandered over to the water. It was eerily similar to driving west along US-2 near Manistique in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and skirting the northern end of Lake Michigan.

The complaint I have about the drive is the price of campgrounds as we got up into the panhandle. We found parks with prices anywhere from $33 to $82 a night. We drove past most of them until we got to Mexico Beach and settled on one that was $41, called El Governor. We had actually considered a Wal-Mart parking lot until we found that there were no Wal-Marts in the area. Needless to say we really hadn’t planned for the night ahead of time. It serves us right not being able to find a reasonably priced place.

We settled into our sight quite nicely and I got about dumping our holding tanks from the Rally. After that I got about sitting in my recliner and watching TV until our pizza was ready for supper and I dragged myself to the table and ate. After that I dragged myself back to my recliner and stayed there until bedtime. We both caved about 10:30 CST tonight.