January 5, 2014. We have left Stone Mountain after a two week visit and are now staying at one of the Ocean Canyon properties in Greensboro, Georgia - North Shore Resort, about 80 miles southeast of Atlanta. I guess we could have stayed in Stone Mountain another week but I wanted to check out this resort since we did buy into the Ocean Canyon RV resorts and can stay here without paying a nightly fee. I walked the dogs around the park while Jim set up the septic and then came back and finished setting up inside. This is a pretty big resort and is still being developed. Unfortunately, they do not have an indoor swimming pool or Jacuzzi like the one at Styx River. There is a lot of places to walk but I have not seen any activities that will be taking place this week. Only problem is that there is no cable and we only get 2 stations and the WiFi code they gave us is only good for one device. I will mention that to them when I check in at the office.
We are getting some rain tonight and the low is supposed to get down to around 27 tonight with possible snow. Tomorrow's high will be 27 and the low is supposed to be 7. It won't get warmer until Friday, the day we will be leaving; and I see rain from Friday through Tuesday. Now that's quite a rain front coming through - yuck. Maybe we won't be getting that rain in Crystal River where we will be starting January 12 through the 18th.
January 7, 2014. Last night's temperature got down to about 9 degrees so Jim hooked the Y valve to the outside of the trailer to let the water drip so it would not freeze. I put a bucket underneath it to catch the water and when I got up this morning the whole bucket was frozen with a huge chunk of ice frozen to the top of it as the water dripped. It was hilarious. Temperature today did not get above 26 and tonight will be about 16. Wish we were in warmer weather already! We have decided to stay here one more day to let things thaw since Wednesday's temp will be in the 40's. If we leave on Thursday we will be in Crystal River on Friday where it is expected to be about 77 - what a delight.
Walking the dogs here has been a challenge. It takes me about 5 minutes just to get all the clothes on - Cabelas rain pants to help cut the cold on my legs; shoes & socks; sweatshirt; scarf; heavy jacket; hat and gloves. This place is very hilly and I had to buy a heavier ankle brace to cushion my sprained ankle. Still hurts walking though and I have to take it easy. After 3 weeks it is getting better but is still swollen and sore.
I have found a couple of places to let the dogs loose to run and get some exercise. There are not many people here. We met another couple next to us who are staying for 7 days and one worker, but nobody else. There are cars in front of some of the places and I have seen people driving here and there but no one walks around like I do so we have not met anyone except our neighbors. I will be posting pictures of the resort in the photo gallery.
My cold is hanging on as well. I thought it would start going away but when we got here I started sneezing again and my nose is running like crazy. It is getting raw from blowing it so much.
Tomorrow afternoon I will walk the campground and take more pictures so we can remember what this place looks like.
January 14, 2014. We left North Shore on Thursday, January 9 and drove to Andersonville to visit Jim's Dad's grave. We had not been there in quite a few years and since we were so close, we decided to take the extra time and visit. Mom was really happy that we were able to stop there. I even found a lone flower on the grounds and put it by Dad's grave stone.
We arrived at Crystal Isle RV Resort on Friday, January 10 late afternoon and got settled in. Saturday was cleaning and laundry day, before Bill & Julie's arrival. Went out to dinner Saturday night and Sunday took a bike ride down W. Fort Island Trail to the end of the road. The end was a pier and beach where a lot of people went to swim and relax. Tons of birds there as well. Took some pictures of the area, which are posted in the Photo Gallery.
Tuesday went to the grocery store after breakfast to stock up and get dinner food. Bill cooked an early dinner of salmon, sweet potatoes and green beans. It was all quite delicious.
January 16, 2014. Wednesday night we went to a show staring Denny Yeary and Sheila Renee, the Sweethearts of Branson. They put on quite a good show and we really enjoyed it. Bought some of their CD's as well. They sing a lot of oldie songs, mostly country.
Thursday Bill took us to Weekee Wachee to see the mermaids putting on a show in the springs. They were actually in the spring water and the guests sat on the other side of a clear wall that is underwater. They put on the Ariel show. It was quite enjoyable. Then we saw a reptile show where the hostess showed us some snakes, turtles and an alligator. Then we took a boat ride on the spring water and saw some manatee who came to get away from the colder water.
January 18, 2014. Last night I was lying in bed and Jim was on the couch when all of a sudden we heard a sploosh and water shooting everywhere. Jim jumped up and ran out and turned off the water and I started taking stuff out from under the bench where I sit. After looking in that area and mopping up the water, Jim quickly turned the water on then off so I could see where the water was coming from. I saw a crack in the fitting that holds the tube in the inward part of the water pump. The campground had been working on the water and it appears that the water pressure slowly crept upwards - that's the only thing we could figure out that would cause the fitting to split. Luckily we had an old section of the water pump and replaced the fitting. If we did not have that, we would not have been able to use the water.
It is a good thing this happened at night when we were home - can you imagine what would have happened to the RV if it happened while we were out shopping for the day? The water would have run throughout the trailer all day, ruining it completely. So Jim went to Home Depot and bought an elaborate pipe/fitting connection with a gauge and shut off valve. From now on we will be turning off the water when we leave the trailer.
Arrived at Sunset Isle in Cedar Key early afternoon. It was only an hour drive from Crystal River. This place is a lot more crowded and smaller than I remember it from when the TCT had a rally here. We are right on the water and there is a dock right behind our trailer that is open to all of the people here so we have people walking through our site to get to the dock. The yard is fairly large but the other sites are so small and packed in. I would not be able to stay here for very long; I felt claustrophobic with all the trailers so close together.
Took the dogs on a long walk this afternoon down Hwy 24 then through a neighborhood. At the other end was a nature trail that we walking along and I found a geocache at the end of it.
January 21, 2014. Hard to leave Sunset Isle and all the friends we made, even in the short two days we were there. Sunset Isle is a community oriented park and the folks there are very friendly and looking to make friends. Also to our surprise Forrest and Jeri Bone showed up on Monday after being at a TCT Rally. Such a small world; there were about 3-4 other TCT members at the park as well.
Monday took us to Pine Lake RV Resort in Fountain, Florida, about a 4 hour drive from Cedar Key. This is a big park with lots of space and good size yards. There was even an area in the back where it appears they are looking to expand but have not yet done so. There is also a small lake. I was able to let the girls loose so they could run and get some much needed exercise. They were so happy to be able to run and play again.
Tuesday we look the long route to Styx River - along US 98 instead of I-10. We had thought of going to Gulf Breeze National seashore and signing up for their America Pass as one has to be 62 to sign up for it, but the time got away from us and we decided to postpone that for another day. Arrived here at Styx River around 4:00 and picked out a site fairly near the clubhouse with a slab. The area they were working on last year when we left is still in the same condition as last year so I was able to let the dogs loose to run again. There is also a lake down there before the path to the river and they were real happy to run there - even found some long grass to rummage through looking for "critters."
We will be here for a week before moving onto Biloxi, MS to visit with Terry & Evelyn before heading to Abita Springs for a week; then to Texas.
January 27, 2014. On the 23rd we went to Perdido Vineyards for a wine tasting. Had a good time there as the girl giving the testing did not limit the amount of wine we could taste and we could even re-taste ones if we wanted to; she was also generous with the amount she put in our glasses. There was no place to sit down though and we all just stood around the wines where she was pouring. Afterwards Jim got to talking with the owner, Jim Eddins, and ended up in the back warehouse where he had some stills going, and they talked for over an hour about who knows what. Glad it was a nice sunny day so the dogs and I were able to walk around and then sit in the sun.
On January 24 we met up with Lavon Greathouse and went to the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola. That was a great museum highlighting airplanes and helicopters from WWI to the present war. Very interesting place. Also had a ceremony for the changing of the guard while we were there. Hanger Bay One is the newest exhibit displaying aircraft and exhibits of the post WWI era including a Lunar Excursion Module, Marine One Presidential Helicopter, Prisoner of War exhibits, Coast Guard aircraft, and a Blue Angel experience.
Saturday afternoon we went skeet shooting at the shooting range just down the street from the resort. Enjoyed that but sure do need more practice, only we need to buy our own shells since it is so expensive to buy them from the range.
January 30, 2014. I had planned on us leaving on Tuesday but the cold vortex came south to the gulf and turned the weather bad with freezing rain and cold, cold weather. Roads were shut down and people were stranded in Atlanta, Birmingham and other southern cities. So we decided to sit tight and were looking to leave on Thursday. However, the temperature was 19 last night and by 11:00 it is just hitting 40. The roads are thawing out very slowly, and even some of the bridges are still closed so Jim wants to stay here another night just to be on the safe side.
From here we are going to Gulf Islands National Seashore for a day or two and then head to Abita Springs in Louisiana, another Ocean Canyon resort. Plan on being in Texas by next Friday.
February 4, 2014. Got to Abita Springs on Sunday, February 2. The sites are fairly good sizes, and the one they originally put us in had standing water and just did not work out, so we took another site next to the lake - a much bigger and nicer site. Seemed unusual to me that the lady at the counter did not even offer us the site we took - she was going to put us in the site next to this one, which was a much smaller site with no yard area. The sites are all stones; with hardly any grass around them. There is a little bit around the lake behind us. There is a nature trail around the lake and another one that juts off into the woods where I take the dogs. It comes out in a field where I let them loose so they can run. Only problem with this trail is the standing water - especially in the field going back toward the park.
We went to this utterly fascinating place called Abita Mystery House at the UCM Museum which was made up of mostly junk, and just about anything old and out of sorts. The place is hard to explain; it has lots of old memorabilia and just pure junk.
Tuesday we went out to lunch so Jim could get his fish and tomorrow we will visit the Abita Brewery for a tour and beer tasting. Also would like to visit the Abita Trailhead for a short walk around the preserve.
February 28, 2014. It's been a while since I posted anything here. Let me try to recall what we have been doing this past month. Let's see -- from Abita Springs we got to Houston on February 7 to spend a couple of weeks near Josh & Karen so we could see our grandchildren before going to work. It was wonderful getting to know Jason, who is such a pleasant, happy baby. He seldom cries and is always looking around, eating his fingers, and generally just happy. He smiles at us, even though he does not know who we are yet, but he is happy to see us. Ellie was always overjoyed to see us come over every night. She exclaimed one night, "You came back!" She is just a joy as well and Josh & Karen are doing a great job of raising her. She stretches her limits but will go into "time out" with no problem - no arguing about it either.
She is learning to ride a two wheel bike (with training wheels) but Karen wants to take them off soon. I got to give her a bath most every night, then read her a story. Night time is quite a routine - Josh gets home around 6:30 and Jason gets fed around that time as well, so we have dinner right after that. After dinner Josh does the dishes, Karen takes care of Jason, and I bathe Ellie and get her ready for bed. All that is done around 8:30/9:00 and then it's time for us to head back to our trailer.
We left Houston on February 24 to get set up here in Waller before starting work. We met the other workamper couples we will be working with in activities and are learning all the difficulties that this park is experiencing. Work for us starts tomorrow, and I will be posting what we are doing here and in my blog.
We have experienced what a small world we live in. When we were in Houston we were talking with our neighbors one day; the man - Jeff Viggers - offered Jim a beer, and we were sharing stories. We told them about Josh and his house/job and why he is here in Houston and mentioned the company he is working with. The man said, I work for Worley Parsons, been with the about 13 years. What's Josh's last name? Told him and he said, yeh, I know Josh. I've worked with him. He's a good engineer. Can you beat that?
Then the other day we were at the activities center here at Yogi Bear park talking with our fellow workampers and I noticed this woman walking her dogs, and I thought to myself that the dogs looked familiar and the woman looked familiar as well. They were quite a ways away so I asked the workampers if they knew her; they said her name was Linda and she just sold her truck and was looking for another vehicle. I thought - it's got to be her so I yelled to her "Linda - it's Gayle from Amazon." And it was the Linda that we knew at Indian Ridge and then again when she was at the State Park this past season. Could not believe we saw her here. The guy she was traveling with thought this was a good place to come and in the meantime, he left and she stayed.
Back to Daily Journal 2014
We are getting some rain tonight and the low is supposed to get down to around 27 tonight with possible snow. Tomorrow's high will be 27 and the low is supposed to be 7. It won't get warmer until Friday, the day we will be leaving; and I see rain from Friday through Tuesday. Now that's quite a rain front coming through - yuck. Maybe we won't be getting that rain in Crystal River where we will be starting January 12 through the 18th.
January 7, 2014. Last night's temperature got down to about 9 degrees so Jim hooked the Y valve to the outside of the trailer to let the water drip so it would not freeze. I put a bucket underneath it to catch the water and when I got up this morning the whole bucket was frozen with a huge chunk of ice frozen to the top of it as the water dripped. It was hilarious. Temperature today did not get above 26 and tonight will be about 16. Wish we were in warmer weather already! We have decided to stay here one more day to let things thaw since Wednesday's temp will be in the 40's. If we leave on Thursday we will be in Crystal River on Friday where it is expected to be about 77 - what a delight.
Walking the dogs here has been a challenge. It takes me about 5 minutes just to get all the clothes on - Cabelas rain pants to help cut the cold on my legs; shoes & socks; sweatshirt; scarf; heavy jacket; hat and gloves. This place is very hilly and I had to buy a heavier ankle brace to cushion my sprained ankle. Still hurts walking though and I have to take it easy. After 3 weeks it is getting better but is still swollen and sore.
I have found a couple of places to let the dogs loose to run and get some exercise. There are not many people here. We met another couple next to us who are staying for 7 days and one worker, but nobody else. There are cars in front of some of the places and I have seen people driving here and there but no one walks around like I do so we have not met anyone except our neighbors. I will be posting pictures of the resort in the photo gallery.
My cold is hanging on as well. I thought it would start going away but when we got here I started sneezing again and my nose is running like crazy. It is getting raw from blowing it so much.
Tomorrow afternoon I will walk the campground and take more pictures so we can remember what this place looks like.
January 14, 2014. We left North Shore on Thursday, January 9 and drove to Andersonville to visit Jim's Dad's grave. We had not been there in quite a few years and since we were so close, we decided to take the extra time and visit. Mom was really happy that we were able to stop there. I even found a lone flower on the grounds and put it by Dad's grave stone.
We arrived at Crystal Isle RV Resort on Friday, January 10 late afternoon and got settled in. Saturday was cleaning and laundry day, before Bill & Julie's arrival. Went out to dinner Saturday night and Sunday took a bike ride down W. Fort Island Trail to the end of the road. The end was a pier and beach where a lot of people went to swim and relax. Tons of birds there as well. Took some pictures of the area, which are posted in the Photo Gallery.
Tuesday went to the grocery store after breakfast to stock up and get dinner food. Bill cooked an early dinner of salmon, sweet potatoes and green beans. It was all quite delicious.
January 16, 2014. Wednesday night we went to a show staring Denny Yeary and Sheila Renee, the Sweethearts of Branson. They put on quite a good show and we really enjoyed it. Bought some of their CD's as well. They sing a lot of oldie songs, mostly country.
Thursday Bill took us to Weekee Wachee to see the mermaids putting on a show in the springs. They were actually in the spring water and the guests sat on the other side of a clear wall that is underwater. They put on the Ariel show. It was quite enjoyable. Then we saw a reptile show where the hostess showed us some snakes, turtles and an alligator. Then we took a boat ride on the spring water and saw some manatee who came to get away from the colder water.
January 18, 2014. Last night I was lying in bed and Jim was on the couch when all of a sudden we heard a sploosh and water shooting everywhere. Jim jumped up and ran out and turned off the water and I started taking stuff out from under the bench where I sit. After looking in that area and mopping up the water, Jim quickly turned the water on then off so I could see where the water was coming from. I saw a crack in the fitting that holds the tube in the inward part of the water pump. The campground had been working on the water and it appears that the water pressure slowly crept upwards - that's the only thing we could figure out that would cause the fitting to split. Luckily we had an old section of the water pump and replaced the fitting. If we did not have that, we would not have been able to use the water.
It is a good thing this happened at night when we were home - can you imagine what would have happened to the RV if it happened while we were out shopping for the day? The water would have run throughout the trailer all day, ruining it completely. So Jim went to Home Depot and bought an elaborate pipe/fitting connection with a gauge and shut off valve. From now on we will be turning off the water when we leave the trailer.
Arrived at Sunset Isle in Cedar Key early afternoon. It was only an hour drive from Crystal River. This place is a lot more crowded and smaller than I remember it from when the TCT had a rally here. We are right on the water and there is a dock right behind our trailer that is open to all of the people here so we have people walking through our site to get to the dock. The yard is fairly large but the other sites are so small and packed in. I would not be able to stay here for very long; I felt claustrophobic with all the trailers so close together.
Took the dogs on a long walk this afternoon down Hwy 24 then through a neighborhood. At the other end was a nature trail that we walking along and I found a geocache at the end of it.
January 21, 2014. Hard to leave Sunset Isle and all the friends we made, even in the short two days we were there. Sunset Isle is a community oriented park and the folks there are very friendly and looking to make friends. Also to our surprise Forrest and Jeri Bone showed up on Monday after being at a TCT Rally. Such a small world; there were about 3-4 other TCT members at the park as well.
Monday took us to Pine Lake RV Resort in Fountain, Florida, about a 4 hour drive from Cedar Key. This is a big park with lots of space and good size yards. There was even an area in the back where it appears they are looking to expand but have not yet done so. There is also a small lake. I was able to let the girls loose so they could run and get some much needed exercise. They were so happy to be able to run and play again.
Tuesday we look the long route to Styx River - along US 98 instead of I-10. We had thought of going to Gulf Breeze National seashore and signing up for their America Pass as one has to be 62 to sign up for it, but the time got away from us and we decided to postpone that for another day. Arrived here at Styx River around 4:00 and picked out a site fairly near the clubhouse with a slab. The area they were working on last year when we left is still in the same condition as last year so I was able to let the dogs loose to run again. There is also a lake down there before the path to the river and they were real happy to run there - even found some long grass to rummage through looking for "critters."
We will be here for a week before moving onto Biloxi, MS to visit with Terry & Evelyn before heading to Abita Springs for a week; then to Texas.
January 27, 2014. On the 23rd we went to Perdido Vineyards for a wine tasting. Had a good time there as the girl giving the testing did not limit the amount of wine we could taste and we could even re-taste ones if we wanted to; she was also generous with the amount she put in our glasses. There was no place to sit down though and we all just stood around the wines where she was pouring. Afterwards Jim got to talking with the owner, Jim Eddins, and ended up in the back warehouse where he had some stills going, and they talked for over an hour about who knows what. Glad it was a nice sunny day so the dogs and I were able to walk around and then sit in the sun.
On January 24 we met up with Lavon Greathouse and went to the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola. That was a great museum highlighting airplanes and helicopters from WWI to the present war. Very interesting place. Also had a ceremony for the changing of the guard while we were there. Hanger Bay One is the newest exhibit displaying aircraft and exhibits of the post WWI era including a Lunar Excursion Module, Marine One Presidential Helicopter, Prisoner of War exhibits, Coast Guard aircraft, and a Blue Angel experience.
Saturday afternoon we went skeet shooting at the shooting range just down the street from the resort. Enjoyed that but sure do need more practice, only we need to buy our own shells since it is so expensive to buy them from the range.
January 30, 2014. I had planned on us leaving on Tuesday but the cold vortex came south to the gulf and turned the weather bad with freezing rain and cold, cold weather. Roads were shut down and people were stranded in Atlanta, Birmingham and other southern cities. So we decided to sit tight and were looking to leave on Thursday. However, the temperature was 19 last night and by 11:00 it is just hitting 40. The roads are thawing out very slowly, and even some of the bridges are still closed so Jim wants to stay here another night just to be on the safe side.
From here we are going to Gulf Islands National Seashore for a day or two and then head to Abita Springs in Louisiana, another Ocean Canyon resort. Plan on being in Texas by next Friday.
February 4, 2014. Got to Abita Springs on Sunday, February 2. The sites are fairly good sizes, and the one they originally put us in had standing water and just did not work out, so we took another site next to the lake - a much bigger and nicer site. Seemed unusual to me that the lady at the counter did not even offer us the site we took - she was going to put us in the site next to this one, which was a much smaller site with no yard area. The sites are all stones; with hardly any grass around them. There is a little bit around the lake behind us. There is a nature trail around the lake and another one that juts off into the woods where I take the dogs. It comes out in a field where I let them loose so they can run. Only problem with this trail is the standing water - especially in the field going back toward the park.
We went to this utterly fascinating place called Abita Mystery House at the UCM Museum which was made up of mostly junk, and just about anything old and out of sorts. The place is hard to explain; it has lots of old memorabilia and just pure junk.
Tuesday we went out to lunch so Jim could get his fish and tomorrow we will visit the Abita Brewery for a tour and beer tasting. Also would like to visit the Abita Trailhead for a short walk around the preserve.
February 28, 2014. It's been a while since I posted anything here. Let me try to recall what we have been doing this past month. Let's see -- from Abita Springs we got to Houston on February 7 to spend a couple of weeks near Josh & Karen so we could see our grandchildren before going to work. It was wonderful getting to know Jason, who is such a pleasant, happy baby. He seldom cries and is always looking around, eating his fingers, and generally just happy. He smiles at us, even though he does not know who we are yet, but he is happy to see us. Ellie was always overjoyed to see us come over every night. She exclaimed one night, "You came back!" She is just a joy as well and Josh & Karen are doing a great job of raising her. She stretches her limits but will go into "time out" with no problem - no arguing about it either.
She is learning to ride a two wheel bike (with training wheels) but Karen wants to take them off soon. I got to give her a bath most every night, then read her a story. Night time is quite a routine - Josh gets home around 6:30 and Jason gets fed around that time as well, so we have dinner right after that. After dinner Josh does the dishes, Karen takes care of Jason, and I bathe Ellie and get her ready for bed. All that is done around 8:30/9:00 and then it's time for us to head back to our trailer.
We left Houston on February 24 to get set up here in Waller before starting work. We met the other workamper couples we will be working with in activities and are learning all the difficulties that this park is experiencing. Work for us starts tomorrow, and I will be posting what we are doing here and in my blog.
We have experienced what a small world we live in. When we were in Houston we were talking with our neighbors one day; the man - Jeff Viggers - offered Jim a beer, and we were sharing stories. We told them about Josh and his house/job and why he is here in Houston and mentioned the company he is working with. The man said, I work for Worley Parsons, been with the about 13 years. What's Josh's last name? Told him and he said, yeh, I know Josh. I've worked with him. He's a good engineer. Can you beat that?
Then the other day we were at the activities center here at Yogi Bear park talking with our fellow workampers and I noticed this woman walking her dogs, and I thought to myself that the dogs looked familiar and the woman looked familiar as well. They were quite a ways away so I asked the workampers if they knew her; they said her name was Linda and she just sold her truck and was looking for another vehicle. I thought - it's got to be her so I yelled to her "Linda - it's Gayle from Amazon." And it was the Linda that we knew at Indian Ridge and then again when she was at the State Park this past season. Could not believe we saw her here. The guy she was traveling with thought this was a good place to come and in the meantime, he left and she stayed.
Back to Daily Journal 2014