Monday, December 30, 2013

It was quiet in this truck stop last night and after the problems were solved we slept very well.

We had Egg McMuffins for Breakfast this morning before we got back on the road.  We also did up the dishes that we had left over from yesterday and this morning’s Breakfast.  Our next stop would be Gulf Shores, Alabama and our campground Gulf Breeze Resort.

We pulled into the campground about 10:30 and Corky and Deb Zimmermann were waiting for us at the office to show us around.  We all got into their truck and drove the campground looking for empty sites.  The one that we liked was located immediately behind their site.  There were concrete pads on all the sites for motorhome and patio and the rest of the site was grass.  We’ve even got a small Magnolia Tree in our side yard.

After we got parked and set up we stopped over to Corky and Deb’s and they were more than happy to explain to us the lay of the land so to speak.  We covered eating places, attractions, activities and almost everything else we could talk about.  We even got the skinny about Corky’s newest acquired skill.  Woodcarving.  .  Something that I might also try.  My brother Tom has been carving caricatures for a couple of years now.  And Deb’s new activity, QuiltingWe got invited to Corky and Deb’s for Dinner tonight which was going to be chili.  Deb had it cooking all afternoon and it turned out very good.

After we came back home we camped in front of the TV for the night.  We played our usual game of Jeopardy before we settled in for the schedule for the night.  It wasn’t much and mostly reruns, but it kept us busy til 10.

Tuesday, December 31, 2013NEW YEAR’S EVE

We got up this morning and the weather did not look conducive to shorts or short sleeves since people were walking by with heavy coats and ear muffs on.  Even the dogs didn’t look happy about being outside on their walks.

We were up with nothing to do today until Corky stopped over and asked if we wanted to go out to the Chinese restaurant today.  We, of course were all for it.  And besides we needed to learn the good places to eat for further reference.  We wouldn’t be going til about 1 o’clock which is a perfect time for us, since we then can eliminate any planning for Supper tonight.

We offered to drive this afternoon so we picked up Corky and Deb right at 1 o’clock and headed up toward Foley which is only a couple of miles away.  I think we’ll save a bunch of money on car gas this year as everything is right outside the campground or just a couple of miles either direction from there.

The food was really good at the restaurant and quite hot for a buffet.  We prefer the buffets for the selection of foods that are available and because we don’t have a clue what to order off the menu in Chinese places.  We did see a couple of things that we had never seen before such as Salt and Pepper Shrimp which was very tasty.  As usual, none of us had enough room to taste everything and we all walked away happy as clams.

On the way home we drove around and took in most of the entire area.  We wanted to check out the campgrounds for when we come back in April after the Florida Winnebago Rally.  We drove through about 5 or 6 campgrounds in the immediate area, and they pointed out places of interest along the way.  So by the time we got back home we had a general knowledge of the area.

After I got back, the Chinese food I had eaten went right to my eyes and I took a little snooze for myself.  I convinced myself that I was resting up for the party tonight at the clubhouse.  Sharon started making her snack for tonight.  It was a new recipe called “Crack Rolls.”  It turned out quite good as we tasted one of them before we left for the party.

We left at about 6:45 for the clubhouse and sat with a bunch of people that Corky and Deb knew and we were soon introduced to.  We met quite a few people tonight and most seemed to be from Michigan and Wisconsin. Which is a logical assumption since we are almost directly south from both of them.  We stayed at the party until it closed up after they celebrated the East Coast New Year at 11.  We met a lot of friendly people tonight and we had a very good time.

By the time we got back home we were more than ready for the sleep chamber.  We called it quits about 11:30.

Wednesday, January 1, 2014HAPPY NEW YEAR

We awoke bright eyed and bushy-tailed this morning since only one of us was drinking last night, and it rarely affects her the next morning.  I was up a little earlier but we had nothing planned today.

We sat around until noon and then I suggested we take a drive down to the beach and scout out the new territory.  Sharon had lunch and we left shortly afterward.

While we were gone, I started getting the pain from a kidney stone that I had suspected yesterday.  It never got really painful, but it was definitely there and uncomfortable.

We drove down Highway 59 which leads directly to the beaches, the condos and hotels.  We went to the dead end toward Mobile and then reversed our track and went back as far as Florida.  This is definitely a tourist area but the traffic was amazingly sparse.  It didn’t start to pick up until we got close to Florida.  This is an area that one could easily fall in love with.  And it’s a lot closer than Southern California.  Unfortunately the weather is an issue here.  It’s been raining most of the days we’ve been in Alabama.  As we turned up Highway 59 toward home we stopped at McD’s for Ice Cream.  By the time we finished our snack we were at Wal-Mart and I wanted to pick up a cover for my scooter.  We figured a grill cover would work very nicely.  We found one that looked good and we left for home.

By the time we got back my stone was letting me know that it was there, and that I should do something about it.  I took a Torydol tablet and settled into my recliner and slept the rest of the afternoon.  I woke up in time for supper but I wasn’t particularly hungry.  Sharon was happy cause that meant she wouldn’t have to cook tonight.  I managed to snack a little later on while we were settled in front of the tube for the night.  As usual for this time of the year, the TV schedule wasn’t much so we just surfed to have enough to keep us up til 11.

Thursday, January 2, 2014

It must have rained out last night cause the ground had puddles this morning.  We did have some wind to contend with today, but nothing catastrophic.  Our first contact with the world was when Corky stopped over and checked to see if we were going to the American Legion for fish tonight.

I was up early and never did a darn thing all day today.  I must have been on vacation for the day, although I did finish up the Newsletter while I was sitting and relaxing.  I mostly had the TV going in the background so I at least had something to interest me.

Sharon decided to go for a walk around 11 and made it back in time for some wifely duties.  We had lunchtime looming and I suggested we have Scrambled Egg Sandwiches.  That was my contribution to the entire morning.  We always seem to enjoy those sandwiches so it seems I did my duty.

Later in the afternoon we headed out to the American Legion, just down the road, for their fish dinner night.  It was unusual to go out for fish on a Thursday instead of on Friday.  However, most of the people down here are Baptist and not Catholic.  We had quite the group that made it to the meal.  There must have been at least twenty of us at the 5 tables we pushed together.

The meal was very good.  I had shrimp and Sharon had a fried fillet.  They both came with Red Potatoes, half ear of corn and Cole Slaw.  The table got very quiet after everybody got their food so it confirms that we all had a good time.  The group was quite a few of the people we met at the New Year’s party the other night.

The wind was affecting the TV a little after we got back home again.   Jeopardy was hit and miss with the skips during the show.  The wind died down later on and didn’t have much effect on the programs.  We stayed up until almost 11 before we shut it all down.  We actually turned on the furnace tonight since the heater wasn’t keeping up.

Friday, January 3, 2014

It was a little nippy this morning when we finally got going.  There was also a touch of wind to go along with the cold temperatures.  It’s still better than the weather at home which is bouncing around the low teens.

We were off this morning to Breakfast hoping to find a little “hole in the wall” with good food and reasonable prices.  We tried out Kitty’s Kafe which is basically across the street from our campground in the Target Mall.  The food was good but the portions were not up to the price.  I got a Southwest omelette with Hash Browns.  The amount of Hash Browns was literally about 3 Tablespoons.  Sharon ordered Eggs Benedict that was very good but our bill came to over $24.  Bye, Bye Kitty’s it was nice knowing ya.

We decided that since we had nothing going on today we’d take a ride up the  road to see if we could spot a place that had potential.  We found what looked like a perfect place right in the town of Foley.  It was called the Foley Coffee Shop. It sounds like our kind of place.  We’ll probably make another venture on Monday to see if it pans out or not.  We also found a couple more back-ups in case the Foley Coffee Shop doesn’t work out.

We came back home and spent the rest of the day inside reading and watching TV.  The weather is just not that nice to do anything outside, even just to sit out there and relax.

After our Patty Melts and deep fried Tator Tots we had for Supper we had planned to go to Karaoke at the clubhouse tonight.  We picked up Corky and Deb on the way and arrived at the clubhouse about  7.  We were quite surprised at the number of people that finally showed up.  There must have been around 30 or so.  At Catalina we’d maybe get 10-12.  There were also quite a few singers in the group that were quite good.  I got to croon a couple of tunes before we called it quits for the night.  We thought it only ran til 9 but when we got back we found out it was 9:30.

We sat and watched a little tube tonight before we finally gave up the ghost around 11.

Saturday, January 4, 2014

We woke up this morning and the Sun was shining and it was expected to get warmer today.

Sharon started out on a tear today and was cleaning up our patio and sweeping things down.  She finally got to the point where she needed help with the picnic table to finish the job.  I went out and helped her move an extremely heavy table.

As long as I was already out there, we decided to take my scooter out of the car and cover it up with the new cover from Wal-Mart.  It didn’t fit exactly, but with a tuck here and there, and a couple of clamps, it would suffice.  We also took the grill out and put it on our table.  Maybe if we just act like it should be warmer, something will happen.

We were out for awhile when Corky and Deb stopped over and we sat out and talked for about an hour or so.  It was actually very nice sitting out in the sun today.  The temp must have been hovering in the high 50's.

When the sun went permanently behind the overcast it finally got cooler and the party broke up.  We came back in the coach and settled in front of the TV.

Sharon whipped up some Chicken Strips and Fried Potatoes for Supper tonight.  We also had a serving of corn to go along with it.  It was quite good indeed.

Tonight would be the champion of lousy nights for TV but I recorded “Impractical Jokers” on TruTV tonight and I’ll watch a couple of hours of that.  We lasted until 11 tonight before we finally turned out the lights on everything.

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Sharon was off to church this morning and I was off to watch my Sunday morning news shows.  Her trip to church this morning would be much shorter than the trip she had to make over the last 3 weeks.

By the time she got back I was done with my shows and the previews for the two playoff games were on the air.  We didn’t have much interest in the first game but the Packers were going to be playing the late game.

By the time the late game started the temperature in Green Bay was around 5 degrees and quite crispy.  Unfortunately it looked like San Francisco was on their home field and Green Bay was suffering in the cold.  The Packers battled their way back but lost on a last second Field Goal.  I wasn’t very disappointed because of the number of injuries that had taken starting players out of the game.  It seems as though injuries were the Hallmark of the whole season.

We had a DiGiorno’s Pizza for Supper tonight.  In the last couple of years we’ve found that we like the DiGiorno’s the best for frozen pizzas.  We always manage to leave at least one piece that neither of us can eat.  Some day we’ll eat the whole thing at once.

The game ended well into our TV schedule tonight but we still found enough to watch to take us to bedtime.  The Packer loss will weigh heavy on us til next year.