Monday, January 29, 2018

We were off this morning to town for Breakfast at the Country Café and to check out some campgrounds while we were there.  The restaurant wasn’t too too busy by the time we got there.  We managed to find a table immediately upon entering the place.  It has been a while since we managed to find ourselves out for Breakfast and we enjoyed it thoroughly.

After Breakfast we made a trip back home and then headed off for the campground inspection tour.  We wanted to peruse the campgrounds here in case we ever decided to come back for a period of time.  Big Tree almost right next to Toby’s was our only drive-thru.  The rest of the resorts were a bit out of the way and enough distance from Toby’s to eliminate consideration.

We stopped at Publix on the way home so Sharon could pick up a couple bottles of wine for Dinner tonight.  Who knows I may even help her drink it.

We sat around outside this afternoon.  It was really the first time we felt good enough and the weather was co-operating.  Besides this site makes the perfect place to park with the coach making shade all along the passenger side.  You hardly have a reason for the awning except for the rain.  It hasn’t rained that often but our chairs got wet each time.

Sharon cooked Rigatoni and Sausage, Salad and Garlic Bread for Supper tonight.  Rigatoni is one of my favorite pastas to eat.  I had a drink tonight but when Dinner rolled around I didn’t feel like drinking wine.  I’m a sad individual to have a party with.  Supper was fabulous and I look forward to the leftovers.

TV was quite poor tonight but we watched shows from the cable channels.  We can always fall back on that when the networks stink up the works with repeats or nothing good to watch.  This was one of those nights.

We gave it up and went to bed early tonight.  We’ve got one more day here before we go back on normal time.  Central Standard.

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

The weather did not seem to be co-operating when we got up this morning. It was overcast and windy and did not seem like it was going to be nice today.  It actually got better and better as the day wore on.

We were off this morning with a plan to drive to Ona, Florida, about a half hour’s drive, and visit Solomon’s Castle.

Solomon’s Castle is an aluminum clad structure loaded with original artwork created by Howard Solomon, since deceased.  As soon as we hit the front door they announced that they wouldn’t allow any photography in the building.  Needless to say I don’t pay $25 to get a tour and then not take pictures.  I was ready to walk back out when Sharon convinced me to stay.  We took our pictures anyway, as did a couple of other people on the tour.  The tour guide was very informative and the artwork was very unique.  We had never seen a collection of items so different and strange.  The tour lasted about 40 minutes culminating in the Boat in th Moat Restaurant. After the tour was over we sat and had a very nice lunch in the Boat in the Moat.  The Boat in the Moat resembles Noah’s Ark in appearance.  And it sits in a little swamp pond that fills up when it rains.

On the way home we stopped at Dunkin Donuts (first time) to pick up a few goodies for our trip tomorrow.  We picked up a dozen donuts and then headed for home.

Sharon got our laundry together and took off for the Laundromat in the park as soon as she could.  She reported that there were a bunch of people over there doing laundry today.

By the time she got home it was right around Suppertime, but neither of us was hungry for a meal since we had eaten a late lunch today.  Besides we each had a couple of donuts when we first got home.

We settled in front of the TV for the night since the State of the Union was going to be on tonight.  We sat and watched the Democrats sit on their hands all night.  It would have been embarrassing if I was still a Democrat, but I learned a long time ago that they didn’t stand for my principles.

We didn’t stay up for the response to the SOTU but we recorded it so that we could listen tomorrow.  But we’ll be on the road until later on this afternoon.

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

It was going to be a full travel day today.  We waited until this morning to store all our outside stuff and disconnect.  We don’t usually do that but for some reason we did it today.

We were on the road by 10:30 and only stopped today for gas and food.  When we stopped for food at lunchtime I tried to find a T-shirt at the Florida Citrus Center to no avail.  If I wanted Mickey Mouse I would have been in luck, but unfortunately I wasn’t interested in the rat shirt.

We got back on the road and when we ran low on gas in the panhandle we stopped for petrol.  And needless to say the station that we stopped at was 15 cents more per gallon than one 10 miles up the road.  Sometimes your just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

We drove on and reached our destination, Marianna, Florida just before dusk.  We pulled into the same Wal-Mart store that we had been to a month ago when we came down.  It had already been turned into a campground by the time we got here, and so we just pulled in with the rest of the campers.

It was relatively quiet for the rest of the night.  We watched our usual entertainment for the night except everything came on an hour earlier.  We were now in Central Standard Time.

Thursday, February 1, 2018

We were on the road early this morning because I forgot to set my clock back to Central Standard Time.  We were headed West from Marianna at 9AM and expected to get to our campground, Doc’s RV Resort, in Gulf Shores, by early afternoon.

After setting out today we drove until we arrived at Gulf Shores, and as expected, by early afternoon.

Almost as soon as we were settled and hooked up Sharon found Les and Diane Raboin, school friends that Sharon had graduated with from High School.  They stopped over and we sat outside and talked for about an hour or so.  I had first met them at Sharon’s class reunion a few years ago.  We had a nice conversation and made a date to eat Mexican tomorrow night.

Having lunch shortly after we got here we opted out of Supper for the time being.  We decided to fend for ourselves later on.  I had a bowl of leftover Rigatoni and I don’t know if Sharon ever did eat.

We camped out in front of the TV for the night and watched a few of our favorite shows.  With the Olympics starting next week we’ll be watching re-runs probably for the next month or so.

We went to bed at a “reasonable” hour for the last two nights.  Of course by going to bed earlier we are also up in the morning earlier.

Friday, February 2, 2018

We weren’t up any earlier than we have been getting up, so I guess going to bed earlier really doesn’t make much difference.

We mostly spent the day today familiarizing ourselves with the campground and figuring out what’s going on for the next week.  The temp was a little cool this morning with a brisk wind blowing which lasted all day.  The Sun was out but it was not a nice day.

We pretty much sat around and watched TV for the morning watching a couple of shows we had on the DVR.  We record them at night and then watch them the next morning.  Today we had 2 hours of Life Below Zero to catch up on.  It’s usually a couple-le of episodes of “The Curse of Oak Island” that we need to watch the next day.  That show is on a goofy schedule that conflicts with our regular programming so we need to record it the second time it comes on later on the same night.

By late afternoon we got ourselves ready to go out to eat with Diane and Les to Tequila’s just down the road apiece.  We think we remembered having gone there with Corky and Deb Zimmermann 4 years ago.  The food was excellent and we had some nice conversation to catch up.  I really don’t know them that well so I got an education tonight.

After we left the restaurant we went over to their unit for about an hour or so.  It was a very nice 5th wheel that they’ve only had for a couple of years.  The brand name on the side was a Montana.

After coming back home we sat and watched TV until it was time for bed tonight.  We stayed up until about 10:30 before we finally gave up.

Saturday, February 3, 2018

We had nothing to do and nowhere to go today when we got up.  But Sharon’s time would be quickly filled when she tidied up the shanty.  After she got done she announced that she wanted to go to the Flea Market up in Foley.  I had indicated that I was going to pass on the Flea Market.

I hadn’t started the Newsletter yet as of today so I got busy on that.  I always have difficulty finding interesting things to write about and this month was especially tough with us being sick for a solid 3 weeks.  I had it about 3/4 done by the time she came back and rolled into the yard.

While she was gone she called me and told me about the Flea Market.  I guess the whole thing was just pricey rummage items.  She said she couldn’t find a thing she couldn’t live without.

On the way home she stopped at the grocery store and also picked up some tourist books for us to look through.  In the tourist information was a couple of maps that we can certainly use over the next month.

Sharon had started Country Ribs in the crockpot before she left for the Flea Market this morning and they cooked all day.  When she got back she fried up some potatoes and steamed some Broccoli.  The whole meal was good but the Ribs were a little dry, and consequently a little tough also.  But the meat will make good Pork Sandwiches.

Being Saturday and a lousy TV night we surfed the channels for something to watch tonight.  We managed to find enough on the cable channels to carry us through the night.  We went to bed about 10, however, when the TV ran out.

Sunday, February 4, 2018

Today is Super Bowl Sunday and the Eagles and Patriots will square off this afternoon.  We don’t have a dog in that fight so we probably won’t watch the game at all.

Sharon took off on her walk this morning and figured it was going to be a full 4 miles.  I think she measured it with the car on her way back from church last night.

We were watching TV for most of the afternoon after I cooked my Breakfast and washed up the few dishes that were in the sink.  The clean dishes were still in the sink when Sharon got home, so she wiped them and put them away.

We settled into our TV watching positions until Sharon flipped the channel and found that the game had already started. We decided that we’d watch the game after all.  The pundits claimed that this was one of the most exciting Super Bowls ever played.  We’d have to agree with them since the game was still winnable on the last play of the game.  It was a Hail Mary thrown by Tom Brady.  Philadelphia was definitely excited as they attempted to destroy the city after the game.  I don’t understand the mentality of people who celebrate by destroying property.

We didn’t wait for the presentation of the Lombardi Trophy and turned the channel to something more interesting.

We stayed up tonight until we ran out of things to watch and also because we were going out for Breakfast with Les and Diane.