I’m glad to say I’m back to my true roots, unable to sleep past 5 am in the morning.   That aside what a beautiful morning it was.  Moderate temperatures, fair skies and the promise of a day to kick back and relax.  Believe me I’ll take it knowing what is coming tomorrow.

Guys please don’t shoot me, my wife is the cause for this.  She has me hooked on Hallmark!   OK, not all of the movies.  But enough to worry me.  Last night we started watching a show but couldn’t keep awake long enough to get to the end.  We recorded it.  Guess what we watched during breakfast?

Speaking of breakfast, oh wow!  A two egg omelet with spicy cheese and fried spam on a very large onion roll.  I have to start taking pictures of these creations.  On the side there was a glass of juice and a couple of cups of coffee.  What a fantastic way to kick off the day.

Breakfast finished time to help Barbara get the clothes over to the Wishy Washy room in the maintenance building.  Nah, I don’t really mind.  Short walk over, raise the lid, detergent, dump the clothes in and let it rip.  I get some exercise this way.  Clean clothes are just another added bonus.

Then the fun began.  Trying to find the right piece of piano hinge with a spring that broke on our bathroom door.  The spring used to help open the door and then hold it open.  Now I can fix this situation real easy.  Just buy a simple swing down door kicker.  Of course it won’t do anything to help open the door, but the door is so light that’s ok.  The door kicker would just be a way to hold the door open.  Forgive me, though, I’m somewhat of a purist and would really like to put it back the right way.  Time will tell what direction I go in.

We went to see Steve and Patti at their rig.  Steve had gone yesterday to help his brother-in-law with his motor home.  The batteries were not charging using the alternator.  On shore power there was no issue.  The alternator had already been replaced, taken off, tested, found good and so put back on.  So I asked him What did you find?  He found that the multi wire plug that plugs into the alternator was filled with dirt and all kinds of gunk.  He cleaned it out, plugged it back in and now all is well again.

Grocery shopping was also on the list.  We figured we’re not going to have much time to ourselves the next two days so it was now or never – or at least not for the next several days.

Coming back to the park, wow, what a site.  Tents, all kinds of tents, all sizes of tents, exhibition stalls, military vehicles and everything else WW II.  I did find out the real answer as to why there would be no mock battle.  Yes, the Florida government was trying for some time to ban them.  Dade Battlefield was the one that convinced them to go ahead.  Seems last year some re-enactor foolish fired a machine gun – yes, loaded with blanks – over the crowd gathered in the grandstand.  It had to be reported.  The rest as they say is history.  So I guess you could say the Park so to speak shot themselves in the foot.

That was our day on The Road of Retirement.  Need to get some sleep now since Barbara has to be out the door by 6:30 am and I will follow at 7:30 am.  She will be in the kitchen both days.  I’ll be running around changing liners in garbage cans, making sure the bathrooms stay reasonably clean, and what ever else needs to get done.  Call me the glorified gopher!

Thanks for traveling with us.  We always appreciate your company.  Till 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

I could not believe it – when I awoke this morning the clock said it was 8 am.  I have never in a zillion years ever slept that late.  Imagine that.  And what a fine day it was.  The first time in a long time I didn’t wake up feeling like I was freezing.  The first time in a long time I didn’t feel like all the energy had been drained from me. I honestly believe I am finally back.  It’s hard to imagine a small outpatient surgical procedure could wipe one out for over a week.  Could I be getting older?

Still in all we did manage to get a few things done during this time period.  For instance, we did get Marti to the groomer for a little bit of detailing.  We were lucky enough to find

a groomer that is highly recommended in this area.

We visited the local thrift shop to drop off the walker I used when I first came home after my knee surgery.

Of course, what would a day be without a stop for a gourmet meal.  Yup, Arby’s is as

upscale as we could swing that day.  After all, why waste the money when I was still not eating more than a few bread crumbs a day.

The big trip was a visit to another Florida State Park, Wekiwa Springs State Park   This

park is just north of Orlando and once again it’s another super park.   Within the campground the roads are wide and paved.  The sites are hard packed dirt, reasonably level, and out of the 60 sites 30 of them are FHU.  This is definitely one on our we’re going to stay here when we are back in Florida.

Just yesterday as I started to feel a bit better, we got together with Steve and Patti two other workcampers here at Dade Battlefield.  Together we went for an early supper at

Beef O’Bradys.  I should have known better.  The time together was great but once again I couldn’t even finish my meal.  Steve and Patti live in Wisconsin and to escape the winter weather there they come here every year as volunteers.

Projects were completed along the way.  We now have a new water filtration system in place.  It starts with a water filter then goes to a water softener and finally to Graybeard.

Overkill?  Maybe, maybe not.  If it limits the buildup of scale and lime and other nasty things in the water lines, I’ll count it a winner.

I put up a new combination smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector in the

bedroom.  Reading the little manual that came with the original it stated that it was only good for up to 7 years.  At this point in time the old one was 10 years old.  Better safe than sorry.

Here at Dade this weekend is the WW II Commemorative Weekend.  There will be Re-enactors, examples of Allied and Axis camps and various demonstrations and numerous

vendors.  Unfortunately, the highlight of past events has been outlawed by the Florida Government.  In the past there was a short armed skirmish between Allied and Axis forces.  Seems it is no longer legal to hold mock battles using anything deemed to be modern day weapons. We still have school shootings and this is what they call progress.  I can’t figure it out.

Little known fact, during World War II, Dade Memorial Park served as a United States Army installation. The United States Army Air Corps unit trained personnel in Morse code and radio communications from January 1944 to June 1944.  On May 29, 1944, members of the 622nd Signal Aircraft Warning Company were transferred to a base in Ocoee, Florida.

The park also served as base housing for soldiers operating at the Bushnell Army Airfield. Tents and a supply room lined the area in front of the breastworks while a mess hall, an office, the motor pool, and a shower room flanked the living quarters. Other buildings were also built in other areas of the park.

Bottom line, Saturday and Sunday will be all hands-on deck for everyone.  Oh, this is going to be fun.  Glad we have the following Monday and Tuesday off.

Time to go now.  The past week it has been a bit of a bumpy ride on The Road of Retirement.  I will say right now without any hesitation had it not been for my wonderful wife I don’t know how I would have made it.  Time and again she drove me to doctors and hospitals.  Each day she patiently put up with my grumpy, frustrated self.  I will admit it I am not the best patient in the world.  Hats off to you my love!

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The day started off on a great note.  We both had a great night’s sleep and awoke refreshed and feeling great.  Since we had no plans, we just sort of slid into the day at a leisurely pace.

Breakfast was the first order of the day and it was terrific.  On my side of the table there was my favorite which was cheese potatoes.  Added to that was a side of bacon, juice, and a couple of cups of coffee.  A perfect way to get the day started.

Today was another day of odds and ends.  I spent some time cleaning up my Bookmarks and rearranging them in a more logical order.  It was getting so that I could not find what I had previously saved without a lot of work.  No more.  Now everything is easier and quicker to find.

I also installed the new water filter today.  That was as quick as 1-2-3 and all done.  The

water softener came today and it will be installed tomorrow. Surprise, surprise it is a wee bit bigger than I thought it would be, no make that a whole lot bigger than I imagined!  Now all I have to do is find a place to store it when we are on the road.  All in time.

Later in the day we put our heads together, went over our budget, and paid some bills.  It’s always a good feeling to get things paid off.  We’ll be in great shape by the time we get on the road in April.

It was now time for the races from Atlanta.  Nothing exciting today, indeed, nothing like

the 500 last week.  It did get a bit interesting at the end with the possibility of a tire going down but all ended well.

As great as the day started it, however, ended on a sad note.  Barbara received a message that her longtime girlfriend Kathy from her high school days had finally lost her battle with lung cancer.  Twice before she had beat it back but this time, she was simply too weak to defeat it again.  Rest in peace Kathy you will be missed.

That was our day On The of Retirement.  The day had its highs and its lows.  Tomorrow it will be back to the doctor which hopefully will be the last time I need to see him this year.   If you’re getting the feeling that I’ve had it with doctors and such you are correct.

Thanks again for joining us today.  If you have any questions or suggestions or ideas for us feel free to leave us a comment or send us an email.  Till tomorrow then.

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

I would like to say that this morning was a fine one, but we missed this morning all together.  Why?  After leaving the ER at 3 am neither of us felt a real urge to be up at the crack of dawn. I believe, though, it was a grand one.

What were we doing at the ER?  Suffice to say a few complications set in with my post-operative surgery.  And why not, after all what would life be without a few challenges to keep things interesting.

Of course on top of it all Little Graybeard decided to throw a hissy fit leaving the ER.  It performed it’s dead on the road act once again.  Thankfully, the usual trick to get it going again still works.  Here’s hoping it continues to work in the future since no one even has a clue as to what could possibly be going on.  Onward and upward.

The rest of the day was a good one.  Yes, naps were definitely in order throughout the day.  Along with a very laid-back pace the day went well.

We puttered around Graybeard doing necessary chores.  Floors to be vacuumed and mopped.  The bathroom needed to cleaned.  Time to dust the blinds.  There were a few dishes that had to be washed.  Marty had to be picked up from the kennel.  Of course, there were also some items that needed to be bought from Wally World.  Just another typical day in paradise.

That, in a nutshell, was our day on The Road of Retirement.  We once again did it our way, traveling along, hand in hand, singing our song.  Nothing that exciting but then again there are days like that.

Thanks for checking in again with us.  We always enjoy your company.  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