Getting ready...last days in Tampa

Looking back at the last month, we have certainly enjoyed our stay in Tampa and look forward to coming back in February, but now it's almost time to move on.  

We made many new friends from the Tampa PH club, attending one of their "flockings" as well as a backyard concert. We had a great time last Saturday at Tropical Point in Weeki Wachee (which has to be the best place name I've ever heard!) where Brian Neale  played. The "when in Rome" lesson learned - I never did a conga line to Finz before, but that's how they do it 'round here - and it was fun and different. We met lots of great people there, many of them BVI devotees so we felt right at home. The following day Brian played at the American Legion in Dunedin, and we were invited to that as well. It was nice to walk in and see lots of familiar faces from the night before. We are looking forward to seeing all of them again in February at Music on the Bay.

This last week we kind of kicked back and mostly just relaxed here at the park. As I mentioned, we acquired bicycles and did a couple of long rides including almost 20 miles riding from Clearwater to Tarpon Springs with a group from the park. This is a weekly event that they organize every Friday to a different destination and it was a great time although I admit my tushy was screaming the last couple of miles! The bike trail system in the Tampa area is amazing and we were happy to be able to participate. We've gotten to know several of our neighbors here who are from all over the country. We participated in a couple of traditional retirement activities - we played in a shuffleboard tournament and then attended a bingo night. The verdict - shuffleboard was a lot of fun, bingo was a bit boring for my taste - it would have better with some good tunes playing, but then I probably would not have been able to sit and watch my card. Well, you gotta try everything once, right? 

The weather had been perfect up until a cool front that came in yesterday. I've spent hours at the pool most days, especially after finding a group of like-minded girls to float and chat with. Regardless of what each of us are doing in the morning we all meet up at the pool most afternoons. It has gotten cooler in the last day or so and while we expect 80s again by tomorrow it should be short lived as another cool front is on its way later in the week. I'm assured this happens off and on and it won't last long. 

Today and tomorrow we are gearing up to head to Orlando - a short jaunt of less than two hours on the road. We're heading to Tropical Palms RV Resort and looking so forward to having our good friends Kristin and Billy fly down to join us for a few days. Our holiday plans include the Harry Potter experience at Universal, a day at Epcot and Thanksgiving dinner here at the moho - a little tight but we will happily manage. We are missing everyone back home and it will be great to have them with us for while. 

For all those that won't be with us, a very happy Thanksgiving to all!

Keeping time in Tampa - Tampa, FL

Well, we're still here in Tampa and will be until just before Thanksgiving. We've settled in and met a lot of people, both in the park and outside. We were welcomed as guests at the Tampa PH club meeting a couple of weeks ago and in the course of talking to folks there were invited to a house concert next week. I confess that I don't remember who is playing since it was someone I'm not not familiar with but who cares? It'll be fun anyway. Tonight we have another backyard concert and this one will feature Brian Neale, our friend from Toronto who we know from his gigs down in Cane Garden Bay, Tortola. Brian plays at Myett's every February so we know him well and are big fans. We're looking forward to seeing Brian again and meeting a lot of fun folks.

We've been back to St Pete Beach a couple more times. One day last week we popped over there intending to have a quick drink at Jimmy B's Beach Bar, but then we met Paul and Deanna from Detroit and we ended up sharing laughs and hanging out for the next few hours.

I love meeting new people everywhere we go - you just have to bring your own party and you always have fun. We had another great day last Monday when we decided to go out in a speed boat (http://tampaspeedboatadventures.com/) that you can drive yourself.

There is a guide in another boat and the tour is narrated and directed via a speaker on the boat's console so you aren't left to your own devices. I would highly recommend this for anyone wanting to go out on the water here in Tampa. We had a blast.

We've also been to a couple of beaches in Clearwater, which is just about 20 minutes away. The beaches are beautiful there also, but I have to say St Pete is my favorite so far, just because of the great vibe and the funky beach bars as well as the white sand and palm trees.

As to the day to day here at Bay Bayou, we've settled into a comfortable routine. We walk most mornings and I like to hit the pool and swim laps in the afternoon - for anyone keeping score, 20 yesterday! I can hear the real swimmers out there laughing at me...haha, but I'm making slow and steady progress. The park has a lot of activities going on and we've jumped into a few of them. We have barbecues by the pool on Wednesdays, there was a welcome party with live music last Friday night and I'm doing a girls line dancing class on Wednesday nights. I also acquired a bike and Bill is getting one on Monday so bike riding is another thing we can start doing. We are enjoying this extended stay, although we do look forward to hitting the road again in a couple of weeks and especially to having good friends join us for a few days over Thanksgiving.

I will close out with a birthday shout out today to our Bethany - happy birthday baby, and see you next month!

Sweet home - Tampa?

Yes, we're back at Bay Bayou in Tampa after our little sojourn in Key West. I can't believe how right it felt to get back "home" after a week away. Which got me thinking about the whole concept of home.

Before we set out, one of my concerns was whether I would miss that feeling of "damn, it's good to be home" while we're on the road. It's the feeling you get upon returning home after a long trip, or even a long day/night out. No matter how great a time you had on vacation, or at whatever event you've been to, there is still something so comforting about getting back home to your own familiar place, especially when you're really tired and in need of some down time. Well, we left our home behind here at Bay Bayou last week while we scooted off to Key West for a week. Of course we had a great time in Key West as we always do. In fact, this year it was especially great being back with all our hometown friends that we miss, even though it's only been a few weeks since we left Chicago. But after 6 days - and anyone who's been to Meeting of the Minds knows that means 6 days of non-stop - I was ready to get home. It was about a 7 hour drive from KW back to Tampa (we make a lot of stops) and when we finally pulled up, yes, there it was - that "so good to be home" feeling. So the answer is that the scenery changes, but we're always home in our little place.

We got back on Sunday evening. Monday was unpacking, laundry and vegging. Yesterday we did some beach time at Indian Rocks Beach near Clearwater - and I have to insert my mandatory beach pic here:

Later, we drove south to St. Pete's Beach. We had drinks at Rumrunners and learned that Lightning Jack (from Trop Rock Junkies) is playing there on Saturday, so we'll probably go back. St. Pete's is our kind of beach - white sand, palm trees and a few funky little beach bars scattered alongside. I have to thank Kristin for the heads up about this great place.

We spent some time at the pool today - I'm up to 12 laps, thank you kindly for the applause. Hey, I'm working on my endurance. Tonight we're going up to Whisky Joe's for a gathering with the Tampa PHC. We met some of them in KW, including Patty from the south side of Chicago (!) who actually went to Fenger High School, as Bill did. It was awesome to talk to someone who remembered the same old neighborhood haunts that we did. So we're looking forward to meeting up again tonight.

Tampa, Florida - Bay Bayou RV Resort

Last Thursday we set off early-ish (early no longer means the same thing to us that it did a couple of months ago!) from Savannah southbound toward Tampa. It was a great day of driving- no traffic issues at all. We arrived here at Bay Bayou around mid-afternoon and spent the rest of the day just settling in and getting the lay of the land since we'll be here for a while. The campground is beautiful - we're on a spacious, grassy site along the creek, with a patio pad.

On Friday we drove out across the causeway to Honeymoon Beach:

On the way back we stopped for a first of the day at Whisky Joe's, right on the causeway, which incidentally is where Music on the Bay will be in February - we'll be right there and look forward to meeting up with lots of old friends!

The weather has been fabulous since we got here - sunny and around 80 every day. There is a little garden path that leads from our site to the pool and we walked down for some poolside time yesterday. I swam 10 laps...don't make fun, that's a lot for me! Then I had a cocktail, which probably undid all the good the swimming did for me.

Other than that, we've been meeting some of our neighbors and getting to know the neighborhood since this is the longest we'll be in one place for a while. Tomorrow morning we are heading off to Key West for Meeting of the Minds and we'll be gone 6 days, but the moho stays here in Tampa. Looking forward to meeting up with all our homey PH peeps from Chicago, as well as the "extended family" from New Hampshire, Seattle and the rest of the country!

Savannah, GA

Early morning here in Savannah and I'm having coffee. We arrived here yesterday, after finishing up our Charleston stay with a tour of Boone Plantation. The old Plantation house of course did not survive the Civil War and the current one was built in 1935. But the slave cabins date back to the 1600s and were fascinating. My favorite part was the "avenue of oaks", dozens of 200+ year old live oaks that line the drive all the way up from the road to the estate. The pictures didn't turn out great from my phone camera but this is the view from the house:

We learned that the name "live oak" refers to the fact that these trees are evergreen. They actually do shed their leaves but the new ones are coming in continuously so the tree is always green. And the Spanish moss that hangs from the branches is not a parasite and does not harm the trees. I'm happy to hear that because it's so beautiful.

After we left Boone Plantation we went on to downtown Charleston and walked through the Market. Later we stumbled across a welcome sight in front of Mac's Place bar:

So of course we had to stop in for a drink to see if this was really a Chicago bar. We spotted a guy in a Bears cap and joined him and his wife at the bar. They were Dave and Kathy who were from Palatine but had moved to Charlotte 13 years earlier. We spent a great afternoon with them - meeting new people everywhere is one of my favorite parts of this adventure.

On Tuesday we left Charleston and drove just about 100 miles down to Savannah, staying at Savannah Oaks RV Park just off I-95. Our next door neighbors here are from British Colombia, and like us they are on an extended road trip so it was interesting exchanging war stories. They've had more time than us to accumulate those, but we know they're out there! On another note, I have to give a shout out here to the power of Facebook - and the Parrot Head network - in keeping us in contact with everyone and enabling new connections. I had asked my friend Kelly back home for recommendations of "can't miss" stuff in Savannah since she and Bob travel here often. She put me in contact with her friends Wendy and Sean who are local. Wendy and I exchanged FB messages yesterday morning and agreed to meet up for dinner. I told her we were planning to drive out to Tybee Island and she told me to stop in Stingrays and ask Shannon the bartender there for one of her special margaritas. So while driving through Tybee we happened upon the very place, met Shannon and followed Wendy's advice. Margaritas were awesome and Shannon was great and lots of fun to hang out with. While out Tybee-way we also toured Ft. Pulaski, which factored significantly in the civil war. Lots of history in Savannah.

Later on, we went into town and we did meet up with Wendy and Sean at the Cotton Exchange restaurant on old River Street. We had a great evening and made great new friends. Thanks Kelly!

Wednesday evening, same day:

Today we went back into downtown Savannah and did the trolley tour. Yes, I know it's touristy but we wanted an overview of the entire city and that's exactly what we got. This is an amazing city - there are 200 and 300 year old building everywhere. My favorite place was the river walk - just getting there was an adventure. The only access is by ramps from the main drag down to River Street. The ramps are very steep and constructed of rough cobblestones, which don't even seem like a road we should be driving on. But once you get to the bottom you're at the river and the road straightens out, although it's still cobblestones. There are shops and restaurants and bars lining the river walk - such a fun place. No Wal-Marts or McDonalds anywhere!

After the trolley tour we headed back out to Tybee Island and visited the lighthouse.

Yup, we climbed it.  The view from the top:

There is a museum that surrounds the lighthouse. Fascinating pictures and stories of the families that lived there over the last couple of hundred years. There were gale force winds up at the top so we didn't stay long. It was a little scary but so cool.

After that we headed to the beach - hello, there was a beach - where else would we go?

There is a beach bar and you can bring your drinks down to the beach with you in a go-cup. Perfect!

Tomorrow we head for Tampa, where we'll be for a while - except for a minor detour to a place called Key West! The moho will stay in Tampa since we'll be staying in town with friends. More on Tampa when we get there.

Charleston, SC

Wow, lots to catch up on!

Last Thursday we arrived at Lake Aire RV Park in Hollywood, SC just outside of Charleston, after overnight stops in Connecticut and Virginia. We spent Thursday getting settled in, doing laundry and grocery shopping since we would be here for a few days. It's nice to stay put for a few days after several days of being on the road.

Friday morning we did a harbor tour of Charleston Harbor - we saw the Yorktown, Fort Sumter and various other historical sites located in that area. After lunch we spent some time at the Isle of Palms County Park beach - holy cow, what a great beach.

The ocean was like bath water, the beach was clean and beautiful and they had changing rooms, rinse off showers and parking, all at no charge. Later on, we met up with our hometown friends Teresa and Cheryl at their hotel, where they had just checked in. We all went to Windjammers on the island for dinner and drinks but didn't hang around for the live music since it was getting late and us girls were going to have a big day on Saturday.

Saturday, I left Bill to hold down the fort (this means drink beer and play video games - no big hardship for him!) while I spent the day with the girls at the Southern Ground Music Festival. We attended the Zamily (Zac Brown Band fan club) gathering in the morning and met some fun people from all over the country. We had pit tickets for the show so we staked out a little piece of real estate right in front of the stage and hoped for the best. We saw several different bands and artists from the ZBB label throughout the day and finally the headliner came on at 8:30. At that point it was getting a little rough to defend our spot but we weren't giving in after having spent the whole day there! It got really crowded but we had befriended the security guy that was stationed right next to us and he looked after us when it got really crowded. All worth it to have Zac playing just a few feet away from us.



The show was awesome and no one moved an inch until the last encore was played out. By the time we got back to the hotel it was very late and since I had brought an overnight bag I stayed with the girls and came home in the morning. It was a great day and I loved sharing it with my home girls - but missed the rest of our ZBB posse: Sharon, Kristin, Claudia, Terrie...we wish you'd all been "knee deep in the water" with us!

Today, the Bears flag is out and we'll be hanging around to watch football. The plan for tomorrow is to spend the day in Charleston, including a plantation tour and following up on some other suggestions we've gotten from people who are familiar with the area. Tuesday we'll be moving on to Savannah.

Great times in New Hampsire - followed by Our Very Bad Day!

Sorry, I've been out of touch for a while so this one will be a bit long.

We arrived at the lovely lake home of our friends Greg and Linda in Laconia NH on Lake Winnepasukee last Wednesday evening. We were able to back into their side driveway and tuck the moho right up alongside their house. On Thursday night we watched the Bears and of course our local friends helped us cheer. The next few days flew by in a flurry of good times with great friends. On Friday Greg took us to Boston and we got the tour of the town - we stopped at Fenway, the Old North Church (one if by land, two if by sea...), Beacon Hill, and the Prudential tower. Then we popped into Cheers, where everybody knows your name. So get this - true story - we walk into Cheers and Bill said to the host at the door, "I'm testing an urban myth - what's my name?" Without batting an eye, the guy replied "Bill". No, he wasn't prompted - Greg was parking the car and Linda was with us. So I asked him, "How about my name?" His first guess was "Kathy" and the next was "Linda". So ok, he didn't get "Dee" until we prompted him for the 4th letter of the alphabet but still, pretty good. And we did have a Linda. I should have gone for "Daniela" - we'd probably still be standing there!  Anyway, the weather was perfect and we had a great day in that beautiful city.

On Saturday we went to a pumpkin festival with the New Hampshire Parrot Head club - we worked a booth helping kids make their own scarecrows. It was very popular and lots of fun to be involved. After the festival we were warmly welcomed to a bonfire at the home of Heather and Shawn, along with several other members of the club. As always, when you're among parrot heads, you're among family. It's nice to feel at home!

Sunday was spent watching the Patriots with old and new friends - of course we returned the favor by cheering for the home town team and it must have done the trick because they won. (There may have been some eviserating...) All in all, what a great weekend. It was sad to say goodbye but we'll see Greg and Linda soon in Key West. Thanks to them both for awesome hospitality and a huge shout out to the New Hamphire Parrot Heads.

But that brings us to Monday morning and...

Bill & Dee's Very Bad Day:

Holy cow, what a Monday we had. First problem - the moho wouldn't start in the morning. We called our roadside assistance and they sent out a tech who found a bad battery. No problem - battery replaced.  Oh, if only that had been all. But after the battery was replaced we found we had no 12V, which in non techie terms means that we're fine while we're running and we're fine when we're plugged into power. But in between, we have no power. So if we stop for lunch on the road, we have to keep the moho running in order to be able to use anything that requires power, like lights or the water pump. Not a huge deal but annoying. A troubleshooting phone call to Tiffin tech support yielded no results other than we need to get it serviced somewhere. Ok, we can live with this slight inconvenience until we are somewhere for more than a day. And we do have an extended warranty.  So we got on the road by noon or so and right off the bat we ran into traffic...and then more traffic...and still more traffic. So it was a long stressful day of driving. Then at one point I found my credit card to be missing. A frantic search yielded no results so I called the credit card company to put a 48 hour hold on it. No sooner did I do that when Bill asked if I was wearing the same clothes as when it went missing and I remembered that I had taken off a hoodie - so I went to check it and lo and behold, there was my credit card in the pocket. Yay. So I called the company back and got the hold removed. At least one problem solved. Traffic issues continued, along with horrible roads, construction and at least a couple of accident delays. We stopped for the night somewhere in Connecticut but I'm damned if I remember where. It was a whole day ago.

Today we had a better day - no major traffic issues and we're in a nice KOA in Jonestown PA. We did find that Pennsylvania has the worst imaginable roads in the history of roads - I-84 to I-81 was pretty much washboard off and on most of the way.  Lots of things in the moho hit the floor but luckily nothing was broken. We're enroute to Charleston SC but taking a bit of a wide swath around in order to -  avoid New York City and Washington DC - this route added about 150 miles to our trip but totally worth it to avoid any major cities. We hope to be in Charleston by Thursday evening. I'm meeting up with Teresa and Cheryl there to see the Zac Brown Band on Saturday - yippee! Bill was invited to join us but he said he preferred to have a nice day of computer gaming to spending hours on his feet and going "Woohoo!" with the girls. Fair enough!