Home Is Where We Park It:  Suwannee River State Park

Date:  April 26, 2019

Into Every Life Some Rain Will Fall

Well I sure did it this time.   This time I wasn’t paying attention to where my fingers were when taking in the patio awning and let’s just say the awning won this round!  I broke the tip of my ring finger and just about cut it clean off – but not all the way.  There was enough hanging on so that the doc in ER was able to sew it back on.  Now how about that!  They say in a month this will just be a distant memory.

However, for a day or two I’m going to cry Uncle in terms of the blog.  Just too hard to type right now.  I’ll be back real soon so check back no later than Monday.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

See you on down the road

Home Is Where We Park It:  Suwannee River State Park

Date:  April 24, 2019

Settling In and Re-stocking

A New Era Has Dawned On The Road of Retirement

Today was a day to settle in and restock the cabinets and fridge.  There’s a Wally World and an Aldi and several other major stores in this area that we like to shop at.  Torreya State Park where we’re headed next is literally in the middle of nowhere.  Now, therefore is the time to make sure we have everything we need.  Especially paper goods since the park only offers electric and water.  Without a sewer hookup it’s paper plates first and foremost.  Up and at it and away we went this morning.  Several hours later and a few miles on the odometer and by the time we returned home I can say that our mission was a complete success.  If we don’t have it now we’ll just have to get by without it.

Now for the dramatic announcement, a new era has dawned on The Road of Retirement.  I saw it coming, I tried to put it off for as long as I could but then there was this past Sunday.  Easter Sunday.  Barbara, oh my, had to go to church with – perish the thought – wrinkled sleeves on her blouse.  My shirt was also a bit wrinkled around the collar.  That, as they say, was the straw that broke the camel’s back.  Barbara put her foot down and said no more!  Can you guess what came home with us today?

I just know that somewhere, someone is probably laughing uncontrollably right now. I know when it’s time to cry Uncle and so I have.  This one is here to stay, it is not going to travel on without us.

Well, I wanted to go back to St Augustine tonight and share with you a potpourri of pictures from our trolley tour.  However, the internet has gone flaky again and pictures can no longer be uploaded.  Therefore, until I can find a location that has a more stable signal I’ll just keep collecting pictures and sooner or later we’ll get caught up.

That was our day on The Road of Retirement. We accomplished what we had to do.  We spent time together.  We even made time for a nap.  I’d say it was a perfect day all the way around.

Thanks again for joining us on our journey.  Have a good night and see you tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

See you on down the road

 

 

 

 

 

Home Is Where We Park It:  Suwannee River State Park

Date:  April 23, 2019

Travel Day

Time to pack up and move west.  This is the day we’ve been looking forward to for so long.  We finally feel like we are really on the move and going places.  Yet, we were in no rush this morning since our trip was an easy one of only about three hours.   We finished packing up what we hadn’t put away the night before.  We have a good division of labor that we’ve perfected with more than one move.  Barbara works on the inside and I assist when necessary.  On the other hand I have the primary responsibility for seeing that things are put away outside.  When we were finished this time we took the time to go over our check off list to make sure nothing was left to do and nothing would be left behind.  Houston we have a go for jacks up and wheels a’rolling.

We chose to take the scenic route and avoid 95 and Jacksonville all together.  We took Route 16, Route 301, Route 10 and then Route 90 to the park.  All the roads were in good shape, traffic was light the whole way, and the day itself was picture perfect.  This route was, indeed, the right choice.

Soon enough we saw the sign that told us we had arrived at our new home.

This park was among the first parks to become part of the Florida State Park system. An original 300 acres was purchased in 1936. The park now has more than 1800 acres in three counties: Suwannee, Madison, and Hamilton.  Further research revealed that we had missed a good deal of the history of this park on our first visit.  We don’t intend to make that mistake again this time.

After checking in at the ranger station we made our way to our site.  The roads are paved, but narrow so slow is the operative word.

Twisting and turning this way and that we slowly made our way to our new home.  Here we are, site #20

The site is hard packed sand, and by moving back and forth, left and right I was finally able to find a spot where we were perfectly level.   I usually look for – when I can – the tracks of the rig before me to get a rough idea of where most people park on a site.  Once again this tactic worked like a charm.  Utilities are right where they should be, 50 amp, FHU, and again the price is right at only $11 a night.  Can’t beat that!

We did note one problem, trees everywhere, full shade 360 degrees.  Great for keeping down the temperature within Graybeard on a hot summer day.  So what’s the problem with that?  Would Gertrude be able to find a satellite?  Would we be able to watch our two favorite shows – Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune?  I know, what a colossal problem!

I crossed my fingers, looked for holes in the canopy, checked with the satellite finder app on my phone, discovered what I thought was a promising spot, and when I found a hole I set up Gertrude on her table and crossed my fingers.

Again and again it failed to find a signal, then just like that we had TV!  I don’t know how it found a satellite and I really don’t care I’m just happy it’s working.  At least tonight it is.

I was just finishing up setting up everything outside when this pulled in across from us.

The three wheeled vehicle in front is called a Slingshot.  It’s powered by a Chevy four cylinder DOHC engine putting out 173 HP.  How I would like to take a ride in this beast.  The trailer in the back is an Escapade Trailpass trailer – google it you’ll be amazed at what it offers.  So Jim is retired, is wife is not, thus he roams the country with other friends who have similar setups passing the time away.  He did share with me that once his wife retires, this will definitely give way to a class A.

That was our day on The Road of Retirement.  We enjoyed the trip and with it the promise of new things waiting to be discovered.  We still have more to share with you regarding our trip to St. Augustine which we we will do in a day or two.

Thanks again for coming along with us.  We always enjoy your company.  Till tomorrow, have a good night’s sleep.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

See you on down the road

 

 

Home Is Where We Park It:  Stagecoach RV Park

Date:  April 22, 2019

Saint Augustine Part Six

Believe It or Not!

What a beautiful day to wake up to!  Cool, but not cold.  A beautiful blue sky with not a cloud to be seen.  No dire weather reports for the next several days.  What more could one ask for.   It’s the kind of day that just makes you want to shout out loud THANK YOU LORD FOR THE DAY AND LIFE ITSELF!

Believe it or not much on the radar today.  We were going to travel up to Green Cove Springs to get our mail.  Barbara was going to do some wash at the Wishy Washy.  Other than that I would be puttering around getting things in order since tomorrow was our travel day.  We will finally be beginning our push west.

Let’s go back now to St. Augustine and to another fantastic attraction we got to see.

Robert Ripley was the consummate world traveler who collected many different weird and bizarre objects that are displayed in this museum.

But before there was a museum this building there was a hotel known as Castle Warden.  It was built in 1887 for William Grey Warden and his family of 14 children.  The same firm that constructed Henry Flagler’s Ponce de Leon and Alcazar hotels also designed and constructed this hotel.

Yup, that’s Barbara making her way to the front door.

 

After Robert Ripley’s death his heirs purchased the hotel and in 1950 opened the first Ripley’s Believe It or Not ! Museum in the world.

There’s lot to see inside but before we get there, take a look at this.

Yes, it’s got four rooms.  A kitchen, a bedroom, a study, a bathroom.  It’s even high enough to walk through without bending over.

Time now to go inside and discover some of the wonderful things that Ripley discovered and that are now on display.  Again, I’m only going to be able to show but a small portion of all that is here.  Hope you enjoy and that you decide for yourself some day to visit this marvelous museum.

Let’s start with Wasp and Hornet’s Nest Art.  This six-foot totem pole was made from paper wasp’s nests and hornet honey combs and water and paste.

Remember Captain Jack Sparrow?  Here he stands 8 feet tall, weighs several hundred pounds and is made of recycled car parts.

A clothespin clock made of over 3,000 ordinary clothespins.

A painting that is not a painting.  It’s not paint, nor charcoal, nor pencil, or ink.  Look closely it is drawn entirely from smoke.  The artist held the canvas over a smoke fire than manipulated it to create the image below.

The chainsaw alphabet pencil.  Each letter on the pencil was inscribed on it with a chainsaw.

A gentleman who had hands that were 12 inches long in which he could hold a dozen eggs.

This is my hand over the top of a cast of his.  Wow, what a hand this guy had.

Anyone need a bite to eat?  Not your usual fare to say the least.

A lunar space capsule made from an erector set.

A model of the international space station made from 276,000 match sticks which took over a year to construct.

Another model of the international space station.  This model is also made of match sticks and took the artist over 15 months to construct.

 

Bad to the Bone Motorcycle.  A lifestyle motorcycle made with animal skulls and bones.

Moving on.

The world’s tallest man, Robert Perishing Wadlow.  He stood 8 feet 11 inches tall.

Then we have the Skeleton Dude who grew to 5 feet 7 inches but only weighed 48 pounds.

We have the half man who grew up to be an artist, musician, composer, bandleader, actor, swimmer, juggler and tight rope walker!

How about a junk art fish made from common kitchen utensils, plumbing supplies, auto parts, toys and rubbish.

The Fantasy Castle made up of 2.000 semi precious stones.

We have a bottle cap portrait.

 A replica of the statue of David which when the people of St. Augustine first saw it, they rushed out to buy tarps to cover it!

Today it is hidden behind a hedge.

And we’ll end with this.

There you have it, just a really small sample of what is in this fascinating museum.  Take the time, plan a visit, you’ll not regret it.

Our time in this part of the country has now come to a close.  There will be more blogs, though, about what we discovered here.  Tomorrow we are on the move.  Again,

Once again our day on The Road of Retirement was a great one.  We traveled along, hand in hand, side by side, singing our song.  Time now to begin putting things in order since we’ll be on the road tomorrow.

Thanks again for coming along with us today.  Have a good night and we’ll see you again tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

See you on down the road