Thursday, December 31, 2015

Yappy Howlidays!

Yappy Howlidays 

from Harley's home to yours!

May the new year pawsitively bring you many joyous days of laughter and fun!


Harley celebrates his 6th birthday with a romp with his toys sent to him by a Super Secret Santa!

His day was made special with a massaging bath in the kitchen sink, followed by coconut conditioning,  a new harness, organic dog treats, roast turkey, a bicycle ride, cheese (instead of cake) a game of ball and a game of Frisbee.

In this picture Harley is bringing back his new soft festive Frisbee for another throw. That yellow thing behind him is his big sissy dog pacifier he loves to toss up in the air, catch it, shake it and make it squeak.

Harley belongs in the circus!

Oh wait... my life is a circus.





Home Depot Management Bored?

Unbelievable...

I recently rode with a 68 year old friend to Home Depot who wanted to buy a few cans of spray paint and some other things. I love to snoop around Home Depot drooling over ideas for my wheel estate decor. I looked for rocking chairs, there were none. I looked at house plants that produce oxygen, they were too big. I looked for waterproof storage containers and couldn't find them. I looked at cabinet handles and shocked myself by checking prices.

Finally I see my friend standing in line at the long cashier line. I go join him.

I mean this guy is nice looking, he could pass for 50-ish, but he's not THAT youthful to push it any further.

I ask you SERIOUSLY have you ever seen a 68 year old that looked under 18?

Ever?

Well apparently the cashier HAS. She demanded picture ID of my friend in order to buy spray paint. She "claimed" that because "kids" were buying spray paint to sniff, that she had to prove he was over 18.

I guess you have to be over 18 to sniff paint?

How old do you have to be if you actually want to buy paint and PAINT with it?

Does Home Depot have a serious problem with little children coming in to buy spray paint to sniff?

Will this solve the problem by having the cashier hold up the line while a senior citizen digs around looking for picture ID to buy PAINT?

Is management at Home Depot bored and just sitting around thinking up ways to slow down the cashier line?

This world is too complicated for me.

When I was a kid my mom sent me to the store all by myself to buy a can of spray paint and other items on her short list. She was in the middle of a project and the can had run out. I don't recall anyone thinking it unusual for a kid to be shopping with mom's list including a can of spray paint. I made it home without showing ID and mom finished her project.

It never occurred to us to "sniff" the spray paint. Granted when you use the stuff it typically sets up a stink that can't be avoided and we wrinkle our nose and run from it as quick as the painting is done.

In this crazy world of having our every move tracked and traced, it seems insanity that now spray paint requires picture ID. At least it does at this Home Depot in north Melbourne, Florida. 

Do I think we did a thing to prevent a child from sniffing spray paint?  No, I don't think we did.

When we came out of the store, I warned my friend "BEWARE! We might get MUGGED by little kids wanting to sniff your paint!"

We walked super fast to the car and left as rapidly as possible.




Tuesday, December 29, 2015

New Year's Resolution and SNowballing

All is well. Woke up alive, Christmas passed and the New Year is almost here!

Last year I completed my New Years resolutions. Of course I only had one. Wake up alive! TO be honest, I still have 3 more days to say "I DID IT!"

So now what to propse for this year's resolutions?  Should I go out on a limb and suggest two this year? I could keep the "Wake up alive" because that is oh so important and in my care a sheer miracle!


Harley dog recently celebrated his 6th birthday. He wanted to drive the RV so I let him take a spin around the park to see the Christmas Lightfest at Wickham Park in Melbourne, Florida.

Life is goof!

More goofy stuff...

I received this very unique email from an overseas company I write reviews for. Perhaps something is lost in the translation. It certainly left a smile on my face!

Dear friend:

Happy Christmas and new year!!!
Many thanks for your contiguous supports in the past years, we wish both business snowballing in the coming years.

May your New Year be filled with special moment, warmth, peace and happiness, the joy of covered ones near, and wishing you all the joys of Christmas and a year of happiness.
Have a nice day!
Your sincerely,

(NAME REMOVED to protect the innocent)

*** Read it twice! Funnier the second time around!





Saturday, December 26, 2015

Another Fiery Sunrise

My friend and I have been RV shopping at used rigs for fun. There are times I daydream about replacing my rig, but so far none of the ones I look at seem like home sweet home.

So I clean and organize my wheel estate then give it a great big hug!

cooking in an RV
Years back a few milk crates were given to me. I am still using them in a multitude of ways. On a warm day, dinner can be cooked outside in a crockpot sitting on the milk crates.

Below, Harley celebrates his birthday and Christmas fighting with his new toys on his old rug. Hard to believe the little trouble maker is 6 years old now. Still has those long spindly skinny legs trying to hold up his diminutive body which he heavily abuses.

RV pets, RV dog, RV cat
Recently Harley was outside on his short leash hooked up to a long tether. I am blessed to have a roomy RV lot this winter, all grassy, no pavement or concrete.  Because my wheel estate is so small, I can park far from the campground park road.

Well, Harley fancies himself a 200 pound guard dog. A new RVer was out walking his great big doggy. His dog probably weighed at least 120 pounds or more. Harley was at the end of his tether straining and barking at the stranger and his canine. Before I could shut him up, Harley broke the metal part of his leash, the swivel and hook.

Because the little monkey was lunging at the end of his leach which broke, it shot him across the property and next thing he knew he was face to face with the jumbo sized dog at the edge of the paved park road.

Harley shut up and suddenly wagged his tail furiously fast in an attempt to befriend the giant dog before he became merely an appetizer. Well it worked, turns out the big doggy likes little crazy canines, so Harley made a new friend.

Honest to goodness... ANOTHER broken leash? This guy is rough on his equipment. Luckily I keep spare leashes around. I did get several years out of that leash and it was only a $1 special deal from Dollar Tree. Also it has been "dragged" up and down beaches and out in nature. Places where I secretly let Harley have some freedom.

wickham park, melbourne, florida
The view out my window on the driver's side of the wheel estate reveals a fiery sunrise.

Any day the sun comes up, it's another miracle of life! Enjoy! Rejoice! Go forth. Be happy. Do something awesome.

Life is goof!

wickham park, melbourne, florida

Friday, December 25, 2015

Christmas Pest and Present

Ho Ho Ho!



Happy Holidaze!



Merry Christmas from my wheel estate!



And now a word from the Christmas Pest who is 6 years old today!



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Thursday, December 24, 2015

Weird Old Tire News

These pictures were supposed to be with yesterday's posts but the campground wifi saw differently. It conked out and well somehow the thing got published pictureless.

This is my untreaded tire. It made a horrific noise and slapped my RV upside the wheel well busting out a chunk. However, I did not notice this until going to buy new tires, but I knew something was wrong with the cabinetry beneath the refrigerator next to the wheel well. Duh...
 The untreaded tire never blew, just lost it's tread!

 My rig looks naked without rubber, but the recently painted gas fill looks awesome. Actually the lower part of the rig was painted. The shower door that is white needs some paint. Oops! I love having an outdoor shower faucet. I used a pop-up shower stall last summer and a jumbo towel. I would wrap up in my towel, run outside to the inside of the shower stall, shower in about twice the room as my indoor shower, then wrap back up in the towel and race for the front door again.

At the time I was parked in a secluded area, so my neighbors couldn't really see what I was up to. Mostly I use the outside faucet for washing my hands when doing grody projects. It has hot and cold water plus there is enough room on the shelf for a small bottle of dish soap, which pretty much cleans hands and anything else dirty that gets in the way.

When we arrived for new tires, they were loading up a truck with old tires to be sent off to old tire land. No idea where that is but here is pic of some of the tires.

A few years ago, an illegal 50 acre tire dump was discovered in Calhoun County in South Carolina from satellite pictures taken for Google earth. A news report said George Fontella Brown was fined $475 for  littering with the 250,000 tire dump. (Seems like they could have multiplied that fine for multiple littering.) Eventually he was sentenced to 7 months in prison. He claims he was selling the tires to China but the deal fell through at some point and he continued to haul tires away from businesses and hide them on the property.

Amazingly, it's not the largest tire dump found in South Carolina. In the 90's another pile was found of a half million tires over 15 feet tall. Tires and the water they trap make for an excellent breeding ground for mosquitoes and cozy homes for rats and mice. Different reports show different figures for the number of tires piled up anywhere from a quarter million to a full million for both lots.


This year...
Buying tires and getting an oil change the day before Christmas eve made sense. We called ahead and were told no appointment was necessary, just pull right on in. I chose a shady spot under a very tall cover. The supervisor was anxious to have more work for his men, so they jumped into service right away. At one point 4 men were actively working on changing tires and oil, I only caught this picture with 2 busy working.


I tire out easily, so I just curled up for a nap while they started work. Later I got up to find out about the date codes on the tires. What a shock that was to find out I have been riding around on very old tires.

I guess my sedate driving has been to my safety. Super fast speeds tend to heat up tires. I typically drive around 55-60 on Interstates and much slower on scenic routes. Also, I often stop every hour or more so my joints don't lock up making it hard to walk.

Anyhow, I guess Secret Super Santa came early with new tires and fresh lube!

HAPPY HOLIDAZE!

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Wednesday, December 23, 2015

My Tire Was Made 22 Years Ago

Baby got new rubber.

Yepper, I have been buying tires on the installment method.

One tire at a time... installed.

Whenever I have extra in the emergency contingency fund, I've been buying one tire. I had managed to work my way up to 3 out of 7 tires in 6 years. *Sigh* I never could seem to amass enough for 7 tires all at once. Of course I did buy a new bicycle recently, like I needed 2 more tires to keep up with, but it does provide me critical alternative solutions for health and occasionally even shopping.

There's been a lot of other emergencies and sudden repairs in 6 years including *ahem* my river accident the last of last July resulting in emergency surgery and all that fun mayhem. Then there was the transmission fiasco (same week as river accident) resulting in a bigger torque converter installation. And then there was two different tire incidents already... well, if you've been reading the blog, you already know most of (but no way near ALL the chaos of my life)!

But since the right rear inner dually tire untreaded a week and a half ago, angels, dear sweet angels sent an early Christmas gift so instead of throwing it into the emergency contingency fund (or buying a mountain of dark chocolate) I bypassed all that and drove to the tire store. Even got an oil change while I was there. Woohoo! The way I see it... a gas engine can never have too many oil changes. Baby likes her lube.

New oil, new tires and my baby is happy again. I was so excited I hit the curb while making a turn. Grrrrrrrrrr... but I was going so slow, it wasn't much of an issue but more of a severe embarrassment. Well, if we are going to discuss embarrassment... I also got lost finding the place and I only had 2 streets to follow from here to there. Good grief.

Riding with me is an adventure!

My friend and I left at 9am, an unseasonably early departure for us, arriving at Glenn's Tire and Auto in Melbourne Florida. Despite their name, they do a ton of work on RV's and trucks. Matter of fact in 2014 they sold me 2 tires, a front end alignment and new whatchamacallicks, bushings or something that was crumbling on the front end. All I know is after that, baby drove like a Cadillac Hearse delivering the beloved in supreme comfort.

While at the tire store I learned my spare tire was manufactured in 1993. Amazing...

If you are slow on math, that is 22 years old! Holy dog poop!

Even stranger, my remaining old tires had date codes of 2002 and 2003. RV enthusiasts suggest that 7 years are older and you're risking life and limb. RV tires tend to dry rot long before the tread falls off.

I guess it's genuine proof that guardian angels have been riding with me all these years.

At some point years back when someone was working on the RV I said "Hey, can you take that compressed air and shoot some in the spare tire... in case I ever need it." And they did, and I did and all was chi. More or less.

Small world my 22 year old spare was showing signs of being dry rotted. But it's held air all these years under cover. Even the past 11 days since it was put on the RV on I-94 during massive traffic, it has held air.

Sadly, we discovered a big hole in the wheel well that goes under the refrigerator. Yikes! Finding THAT explains some of the horrific noise I heard. When the tread came off, it slapped my baby and knocked a hole in her belly!

I had not seen the hole inside, because underneath my refrigerator is a builtin drawer, so it was hiding the damages.

Good grief.

Getting that fixed next... never a dull moment around here!

Oh and I bought a used 2 year old tire for my new/used spare. With six new tires installed in the last year and a half, well hopefully I won't need that spare for another 12 years...

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Holidaze

Happy Holidaze to all!

merry christmas from dear miss mermaid
This whimsical scene welcomes campers at
A Big Wheel RV Park in St Marys Georgia


I feel so USEFUL. Two days in a row I managed to ride to two different grocery stores on my bicycle!

Traffic still terrifies me but I am learning to cross the street pretty quickly while saying prayers and imagining a protective angelic shield around me that might prevent distracted drivers from mowing me down. So far it works!

In both cases, I rode way out of my way to find easier less congested intersections to cross at. Might as well make it easier on those unsung heroes, the unseen angels.

I have also used my bicycle to pick up the mail. Luckily I wasn't going far when I picked up this load.

The cool thing about my rear baskets, is that they just hook on the rear bracket. At the grocery store, I removed one basket to take inside the store. When I purchased my food, I packed it in the basket, carried it outside to my bicycle then hooked it back on again. How cool is that?



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Sunday, December 20, 2015

Bicycling At Any Age and Any Weight


If I could take up a (another!) cause it would be MORE bike lanes, more bike and hike paths and eliminate helmet laws.

What?

Did you read that right?

It's a proven fact that in communities without helmet laws, folks are more likely to get out on their bicycle and exercise for fun.

Nothing wrong with helmets and I am sure  a few folks will tell my I am nuts. But helmets should be an option, not a law. Ask any doctor. Most of their bike injuries are broken bones, not heads. Sure you can hit your head and there are car driver bent on killing a bicyclist or anybody in their way, but some things are just like that. Mysteries.

Exercise is a dirty word. Shhh...

But let's face facts. Bicycling out in beautiful nature is loads of fun. You can do it solo or with friends. You can go fast. You can go slow. You can pick your pace. It's easy to stop and rest most anytime.

Thanks to modern technology and (pricey) lithium batteries one can have electric assistance on a bicycle to insure one can keep up the pace or merely have the confidence to get where they're going and find home again. An electric assist can insure you get up that hill that keeps you from riding in the first place.

Bicycling is for all ages. If today's children spent as much time on bicycles as they do on cell phones, electronic games and computers, child obesity would be wiped out. So would a lot of allergies and diabetes, if water is substituted for sugary drinks. Bicycling requires water, so spend the money to figure out how to carry water with you. Even when you return from riding, drink another glass of pure water to make sure you are properly rehydrated.

Bicycling pumps oxygen throughout the entire body. Our bodies crave oxygen! Even a smoker can get out and feel the benefits of bike riding (and leave those cigarettes at home.)

If more folks used bicycles for neighborhood errands, traffic congestion and pollution would be cut dramatically. As a child, my mother wrote up lists and often sent me to the store to fetch things for our household on my bicycle. I thought she bought that cute basket for my bicycle so I could ride around with the cat.

Indeed the cat tolerated exactly one bike ride in that basket. I think he rolled his eyes at me too.

Did you know much of our bad weather is directly related to our record high use of polluting automobiles?

Bicycling is the most efficient mode of human locomotion. Go green. Go on a bicycle.

Bicycling is goof for your heart, lungs, life span longevity, waistline, muscles, coordination, mental health and immune system.

You can improve your brain power, health and happiness.

Cure insomnia. Sedentary insomniacs discovered that when they took up bike riding, they began falling asleep at night rather than laying awake in frustration. They also slept an extra hour on average.

“Exercising outside exposes you to daylight,” explains Professor Jim Horne from Loughborough University’s Sleep Research Center. “This helps get your circadian rhythm back in sync, and also rids your body of cortisol, the stress hormone that can prevent deep, regenerative sleep.”

Scientists at Stanford University have found that cycling regularly can protect your skin against the harmful effects of UV radiation and reduce the signs of ageing. Harley Street dermatologist Dr Christopher Rowland Payne explains: “Increased circulation through exercise delivers oxygen and nutrients to skin cells more effectively, while flushing harmful toxins out. Exercise also creates an ideal environment within the body to optimize collagen production, helping reduce the appearance of wrinkles and speed up the healing process.”

WOW, look younger. Ride a bicycle!

According to experts from Bristol University, the benefits of cycling extend deep into your core. “Physical activity helps decrease the time it takes food to move through the large intestine, limiting the amount of water absorbed back into your body and leaving you with softer stools, which are easier to pass,” explains Harley Street gastroenterologist Dr Ana Raimundo.

This is a great article about a delicate subject:
How to Ride a Bike: A Guide for Fat Cyclists
Dr Charlotte Cooper
Psychotherapist, Cultural Worker, Para-academic

Off to ride my Day 6 bicycle and see the world!

Thursday, December 17, 2015

A New RV


I've been seriously daydreaming about getting a new/used RV. Anything unique catches my eye, but there is the price of eccentricity to consider.

As the cost of camping keeps going up, I  look for creative solutions to keep merrily rolling along.

Perhaps I need to downsize and look for something more economical to operate and maintain, yet still gives me that sweet home sweet home feeling.

BINGO BANGA BOOM!

I think I've finally found the perfect combination between economy  and home sweet home livability.

Now if I can pare down my possessions and talk Harley out of not hauling his 42 dog toys everywhere we go, then this might just work out fine.



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Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Summertime temps in the mid 80's in Melbourne. What fun!

I arrived here wearing fur boots cause it was cold when I left Tomoka State Park. When my tire untreaded, it made a horrific noise. I had just traversed some messy construction mess on I-95 south in Florida.

It's been my custon to always listen to every little noise. I hear about others who ignored noises and did a ton of damages. I hope to avoid such things.

Now the FUN part about waiting for roadside assistance is that it was getting kind of hot. Opening the windows meant the traffic noise was even worse. So we fired up the generator, turned on the AC and enjoyed the comfort.

Next we made spaghetti and meatballs for lunch. Too funny! Sitting by the side of the interstate, savoring a delicious meal.

Actually I had made the meatballs the night before. But what the heck, why eat cereal when we already had the generator running.

My friend rejoined me on my trip in Georgia, but he was following in his car. So I was super lucky in that not only did I have my doggy for company, I had my friend pull over and share the misery too!

The sad thing was no where to walk doggy. My boots were covered in awful sand spurs and those little green things in nature that stick to everything. Nature made velcro!

All the going in and out and we forgot to move the fluffy entry rug. Well guess what... spent an hour getting sandspurs out of that!

Life is goof.

Below are scenes from Tomoka State Park in Florida. Enjoy!







And the awesome angel that came to change my untreaded tire!


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Sunday, December 13, 2015

Untreaded Not Blown

It's true, I fell asleep on my keyboard which explained that garbled goo goo ga ga at the end of my last message.

It seems I need a lot more rest these days while my body heals.

Turns out my tired did not blow, but rather lost it's tread! It was still fully inflated when it was changed out.

Well, all is well now.








The outer tire is only a few months old. The inner one lost it's tread. How strange!

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Friday, December 11, 2015

Blewout Our Blowout Anniversary Celebration

Made it to Melbourne ALIVE!

Took over three hours of phone calls to finally get 20 minutes worth of roadside service south of Daytona on I-95.

My "Roadside Servivce Provider" is even worse than Obamas ridicuous insurance scam, oops I mean scheme.

I pay Progressive for roadside assistance for my motorhome. This is the first time I have ever used it in 6 years. Back in 2010 I had to be towed in an emergency, but that was AAA. They left me by the side of the road from early afternoon until way past dark thirty, so I didn't bother to renew them when I found out Progressice had tacked on this roadside service to my policy without ever asking me if I even wanted it.

The inside rear tire on the on the passenger side of the motorhome blew out in a maze of road construction. The noise from the blow was horrific. The motorhome jumped up and down like a stallion looking to fight.

I was able to maintain control of the wheel estate to pull over but the shoulder was tiny with tall weedy grass, fire ants and sandspurs plus heavily littered with broken and busted contruction debris like the amber lights.

I am dead tired ready to sleep. It was nerve wracking to be on side of raod wit bi trucks and suersisse
doig hsdmbhuwnkv iwhd. nit  tird. more alter

Broke Down Blow Out

12:46pm

I have Progressive Insurance that came with Roadside assistance for motorhomes.

My rear inside tire blew out while traversing road construction on I-95 at about 11am.

I pulled over and looked at the mess thinking I could make it to the next exit, but turns out that was 10 miles away and the tire refused to go.

I called Progressive roadside assistance at 11:15 am.

Progressive Roadside service is clueless about motorhome assistance yet they included this on my policy. I had to go over and over with their live agent explaining my coverage and my motorhome.

The first folks they called for assistance, refused to come because *duh* they don't handle motorhomes. Progressive had told them it was a trailer. *duh*

So much for talking to a live agent!

Many phone calls later they escalated my call to a supervisor who wasted a lot of my time, suggesting I should work out my own roadside assistance and then file for a claim.

I tried to limp my wheel estate to the next exit, but she just won't go.

So here I sit by the side of the road getting blown all over creation, waiting for a miracle.

Life is goof.

Progressive shouldn't sell roadside assistance to motorhomes if they aren't going to service them.

More later.

CELERATE 6 Year Itch and Anniversary With Me

Today makes 6 years of owning and living in my little old wheel estate.

At the time I bought it, I was terribly ill and just wanted to sit in it daydreaming about better daze. I never thought I would get to go anywhere, but the daydreams kept me alive and gave me hope.

The first four months I drove about 50 miles total.

Six years later, all I can say is it's a MIRACLE I am alive and I have so many angels to thank for graciously helping me in so many ways that made my dream possible.

I can't believe I woke up alive today, I want to keep pinching myself to say it's true! You made it SIX YEARS!

Looking aft towards my bed and bathroom (shower on left, broom closet with toilet on right).
Hidden to the right of the bed is a compact portable washing machine.  The washing machine is my favorite toy, with the bicycle as a close runner up. 

 On a busy day last winter... All my chairs are set up, my bicycle, a friend's bicycle and the curtain hung up was to block super sunshine at certain times of the day. Due to winds, the umbrella is closed up and under cover.

My faithful copilot has done all but the first 500 miles with me. Those first 500 miles were very lonely indeed.

 Standing in the kitchen is a view looking forward of my wheel estate. Above the cockpit is the guest loft (there is a hidden ladder that can be relocated for easy access). The table on the right folds away to allow more dancing room. I love having all these cheerful windows.

 Another view from the galley looking forward.

 Even the bathroom door does double duty with builtin towel racks.

 Looking aft towards kitchen and bedroom from the cockpit.

My kitchen is always busy. Over the years I have decorated the wall with useful accouterments as a creative way of adding more storage. The owl art above the coffee pot was bought for my home in 1979 and regifted in 1987. Ironically it found it's way back to me in 2015. How very strange.

In six years, I have driven just over 25,000 miles total in my little old wheel estate and that includes shopping and errands. I don't own a car, but I now own a bicycle.

Life is goof.

I am blessed in so many ways.

Thank you to all my readers, fans, angels, friends, and framily! Without you, I would have never ever made it alive this long, this far. 

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Thursday, December 10, 2015

Scream of Terror



The picnic area was devoid of activity except for Sasquatch.

Over the years, I've discovered that if a picnic area doesn't offer free Wifi, then chances are it will be completely deserted. Enjoy!

If you crave some relaxing time with nature, pack a picnic and head out to your nearest non-Wifi picnic area.

Last summer on a super hot day (99F degrees with 99% humidity)  my beloved motorhome was at the mercy of a transmission specialist, I found myself with doggy, a shattered wrist, and a helper friend in search of dog-friendly activities.

The waiting room at the transmission clinic was dark and dismal, containing hard metal folding chairs and nothing else. Not even a window. Clearly they preferred customers wait somewhere else. Besides this was an all-day repair I had scheduled in advance because they were so backed up.

We rented a car for the day because we had to be "somewhere" while the rig was being repaired. First we went shopping for used RV's. We've discovered that RV salesman absolutely love puppy dogs and allow one to shop with same. But after touring about a half dozen, we were covered in sweat. Time to find a new venture.

Which Harley dog fell in LOVE with an RV and we had a heck of a time extricating him from his chosen new used home. Naturally he picked the biggest rig on the lot, a 45 foot band bus that had 12 bunks with 4 of them floor level next to thick luxurious dog friendly carpeting. He even crawled into his favorite bunk, curling up on the mattress to test it on for size. It also had a aisle that ran the length of the rig which he raced up and down quite gleefully.

Once we dragged him out of the bus and back to the cramped rental car, I suggested Paris Mountain State Park. It was about an hour away, but the car had AC, so it wasn't too bad a ride.

We ended up buying a picnic and supplies, driving to  Paris Mountain. That morning when leaving the RV we had snatched up my little cooler. As we climbed up the hairpin turns, trying to gain some elevation and shade, we noticed the picnic areas in the park were empty. We had hundreds of choices in picnic areas including many large shady picnic shelters that were available.

No wifi, no crowds. Nobody picnicking on a beautiful summer day in the mountains of South Carolina.

Recently this scene was duplicated in Florida. It was a gorgeous day in the low 70's with gentle winds and no humidity to speak of.

At Gold Head Branch state park (Kestone Heights, Florida) we rode our bicycles all over the park. It's probably the only place in Florida with HILLS. The park had numerous gorgeous picnic areas but nary a soul around.

No wifi, no crowds.

More nature for us!

Life is goof.


A pet lizard lives inside the display case at the picnic area.

I am SO amused at the rule "Pets must be well-behaved at all times."

I wish the parks had that rule for children and adults.

At one park I camped at, there were some people traveling with a child that screamed at the top of her lungs numerous times like her arm had been chopped off. I think the parents might have been child deaf. The first time I heard this sheer scream of terror, I tried to speed walk as fast as I could to go see if I could help. Was an alligator tearing the child apart? Had she fallen on an axe and split her head open? Could I remember CPR if the need arose?

But, um no, the child had stuck a toe in the lake and that deserved an ear piercing scream. Just about anything that child did over the next few days required a heart stopping scream of terror.

Go figure.





Monday, December 07, 2015

Mike Roess Gold Head Branch State Park

Camping with crockpots.

Home sweet home.


To the right of the green entry step is 2 milk crates turned into a table with a leveling board on top. Sitting on the camp table is a small and a large crockpot.

The large one is baking sweet potatoes and the small one holds a boneless turkey roast.

Cooking outside frees up kitchen space inside.

Now that the crocks are cooking... I am off to go ride my Day 6 bicycle. 



Later...
Dinner with friends...
Turkey roast, mushroom gravy, mashed sweet potatoes, black-eyed peas (cooked in the crockpot yesterday) and Waldorf Salad.
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Sunday, December 06, 2015

This Is How We Roll

It's a doggone life...

Harley finds his chores as co-pilot a bit daunting at times.

I like to keep him busy so he doesn't keep asking "Are we there yet?"

"Harley, fetch a banana for me."

"Harley, turn on the GPS and while it warms up, check the map and find out where we turn next"





"You better turn right here cause if you don't we are going to drive right off the page. "

It took us all day and a Christmas Parade detour but by golly, we found Florida! Bye bye to Georgia and the wonderful time we had at the weekly potlucks at A Big Wheel RV Park. 

This rolling hospice is shuffling along.

Now we rest up for a few days then try it again. Meanwhile we've hung up our boots at Mike Rosess Gold Head Branch State Park in Keystone Heights, Florida.

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Saturday, December 05, 2015

Alligators Too

Speaking of Crocs..

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I was riding my bicycle in Crooked River State Park in St Marys, Georgia with friends when I saw a crocodile at the edge of the road looking like he was about to leap across. Yikes! I sped up to get away from him. I like leather shoes, but not live ones nipping off my feet.

Then I decided to go back and try to snap a photo, but silly me, along came some volunteers in a golf cart, so I said "Be careful, there is an alligator in the road up there."

To my surprise, they sped up the road. One of the volunteers jumped out with a big broom and pushed it at the crock yelling at him. He dove down a storm drain and vanished. As we road up the volunteer pointed to the storm drain that ran under the road and tree line to a small lake. I rode over to check out the lake.

That faint bit of writing reads "Do not feed the gator". By the time one gets close enough to read the sign, the gator is staring at your tootsies.

Life is goof.

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