Maci Goes Swimming in the Gulf

February 28th - Saturday - Sunny - 85 degrees

Yesterday when we took Maci for a walk, we decided to take her along the Gulf to see if the guys were catching any  fish, it was pretty hot outside, and I took her down along the water to let her get her feet wet, well, she thought she would just got for a swim.  It really surprised me, as Estee didn't really like the water and we always had to coax her into the water, not this little gal, she just took off and swam out into the water,  We were really pleased that she liked the water, as we usually spend a lot of time around the water.

It has really been a chore to post to my blog here, as my computer won't stay connected to the server and I lose what I have typed, I had this post completed and lost the whole thing twice. So I will try for the third time.

Yesterday Lou and I spent the morning doing laundry, we went to  Sigsbee, which is the other campsite to do it, as there are only two working washers here and I had four loads to do.   It only cost $l.00 per load to do laundry.  I am amazed at the laundries, as the ones where you have to pay are always dirty and the ones that are free are clean.....  After, we got all of our laundry put away, we decided we would go to our favorite Cuban Restaurant for dinner.  El Siboney, this is located on Catherine in Key West.  They have wonderful food, and last night I ordered breaded grouper with yellow rice and black beans and Lou ordered shrimp in a tomato sauce that was seasoned perfectly with the yellow rice and black beans, all of this comes with very tasty Cuban bread that is buttered and hot.

As we were leaving the restaurant a young man came out and stopped us and asked us where we were from.  He thought he recognized Lou, he was a medical professional from New York State and didn't want to be remiss and not speak to him, if indeed he did know him.   We chatted with him for a few minutes before we continued on our way home.

I talked to Scott this afternoon and we have made plans to spend mid March with he and his family.   We always look forward to this time and the time goes very quickly.  I made reservations with the camp ground that we usually stay at that is close to Scott and that is all arranged.  It will be great to have electricity and running water!!

Destination Reached - Key West, FL

February 22nd - Sunday 78 degrees - Sunny - Beautiful

We arrived here on the 20th of February and it was cold for Key West, 60 degrees with a very cold wind.  We needed our wool socks and blue jeans that we still had on f rom our trip north.  We had driven 11 hours the day before, as their were no openings at any of the RV camps that we called, so we kept on driving.  Lou finally remembered one of our SMART members telling us about  the Casino on route 41 so we drove there and dry camped.  It was a secure place to stay the night and there were many RV parked there for company.  I quickly warmed up some meatloaf and baked each of us a potato, made a salad and enjoyed a large glass of wine and prepared for a chilly night.  It got down to 48  degrees.  Maci was glad for an extra blanket on her  bed also.

We talked to another couple the next morning that was on their way to Key West and they were not able to find a place to stay in Key West but were going to come on anyhow.  Lou and I were a bit concerned ourselves.  The lady told us they had checked on motels and found that they cheapest one was $469.00 per night and they were all booked and some were available for $l,000.

We pulled into the Navy Base and the host told us they just had someone leave and we could have his spot, it is a grand site, on a cement pad with a great view of the gulf.  No electric or sewer. So it is dry camping, but we can manage, I wanted to get a portable generator to bring with us, as that is what most of the folks do, but Lou didn’t want the extra weight. So….

The view from our front window.

Yesterday, it was rainy and cold in the morning, then it cleared off and warmed up.  Lou and I went for a ride to see what had changed, but not much was different from when we were here five years ago.  Still lots of chickens in the streets and roosters crowing all times of the day.  I picked up post cards to send to the grandkids and we ate lunch at the Five Guys.  Kris and I ate at one in Tennessee eight years ago and fell in love with it, but Lou had never eaten there, and he was sold immediately.  We checked out our church that we attended last time we were here and went there this morning.

We were delighted to find the same pastor was at the Key West United Methodist Church; Rev. Ruben Velasco.  We were so inspired by all of his sermons before and this year is no different.  He spoke on Why we celebrate Lent today, taking his scripture from Joel 2:12-13.  We were delighted with the music and the choir, the church has grown in numbers and they now have three services each Sunday.  Praise God

After church we went to Camille’s Restaurant on Simonton Street.  We had eaten there before and just had to go back.  We always have so much fun with the owners and today was no exception.  Lou had a delightful omelet with brie cheese and six different herbs and Cuban bread.  I had a cup of creamy tomato and spinach soup and a half of a chicken salad sandwich.  The coffee there is wonderful.

After lunch/breakfast, we came home and changed our clothes and go Maci and took a nice long walk.  We stopped along our walk and let her cool off in the Gulf, she eventually laid down in the water.  We went a bit far for her and I ended up carrying her back.  We watched a sea plane take off while we were walking and we saw different birds and I always have to  take a picture of a pelican for Susie.

Maci's Bath

February 19th - Thursday

Maci has really taken to this RV traveling.  I gave her a bath yesterday afternoon and she is so good with her bathing and her grooming.  She stands perfectly still and lets me comb her hair.  The only part she doesn't like, is when I need to trim the hair around her face.  I can do anything else and she doesn't complain  a bit.  We couldn't have asked for a better little dog.

She just doesn't like to have me leave her behind.  She will stay with Lou, but would prefer to be with women.  We did find out that she likes to lay on the floor and look out the screen door.  That will be nice for her when we finally reach some warmer climate!!

All dry, clean and combed.

Dinner at St. Mary's Seafood and More

February 18th Wednesday - Sunny - Beautiful day - 52 degrees

We are currently at The Naval Submarine Base in Kings Bay, GA, we arrived yesterday afternoon around 5:00 pm.  We should have been here earlier; however, there was a bad accident on I-95 and we were held up there for over an hour.  It was raining when we arrived so we didn't unhook the car until today after the sunshine came out.

As soon as I got around this morning, I set out for the laundry with our sheets and the little bit of laundry that we had collected.  This is a great place to do laundry, as it is free!!  After I finished the laundry, we decided to go to our favorite restaurant for a great meal.  It is located on Osborne Road and has absolutely great seafood.  We were greeted by Taylor and she seated us and brought us our menus and a hot cup of coffee, that I desperately needed, as I don't like the taste of the water at the campsite and I didn't enjoy my coffee this morning.  I ordered a loaded baked potato, with shrimp and a stuffed crab cake and green beans.

My dinner.

It came piping hot with everything with it anyone could possible want to eat with it.  The hush puppies that were served with it were delicious also.  The shrimp was coated very lightly.  I usually order my seafood broiled, but decided would try this and it was wonderful.  Taylor kept our coffee cups full and hot.  It was a great evening of dining.  They give military a discount which is always helpful.

Note the seashells in the vase with the roses.

On the way back I snapped a couple pictures of the area.

Entrance 

Entrance showing a Submarine

Tomorrow morning we have an appointment with the Ford garage to see if they can find the problem with the lights on the car.  We have everything packed up tonight and the car hooked up, so we can leave early to keep our appointment at 9:00 am.  I don't know where we will be tomorrow night, we had hoped to be at Cape Canaveral, however, they are full....

Last Day at Charleston Air Force Base

It's even cold here!

February 16th - Monday - Cloudy 45 degrees

Today is our last day here at the Air Force base, and we have had some cool days and evenings.  We have disconnected our hoses each evening, but has never gotten down to the freezing mark.

Maci thinks that the floors are cold and I have to agree with her, they are cold, even these newer RV's are not insulated like our homes are.  I was glad that I had an older quilt with me and I put that down on the floor for her to lay on and then she still enjoys being covered up.

Today I have made some extra food to enjoy while we are on the road.  I made some homemade chicken noodle soup along with some ham salad for sandwiches.  I have the refrigerator cleaned out, have the laundry caught up and things pretty well taken care of ready to travel.  We have reservations at the sub base in St. Mary's for tomorrow night, that is five miles prior to crossing the Florida line, we will stay there two nights, then be on our way to Key West.  It was only 66 degrees there yesterday.

I am going to miss the open field behind us, as Maci and I have enjoyed a long walk every morning and evening.  In fact, yesterday, I lost one of my brown gloves while we were out and today, I found it.  I thought that was rather lucky.

When I talked to Krista at home today, she told me that it was 17 degrees below zero and they had some frozen water.  She called her landlord and reported it and he was concerned about our water and said he would stop and check on our house on his way to their house.  You talk about good friends.....  Poor little Matthew has the flu, he has been to the ER once and today went back to the doctor.  Today his doctor told Krista his chest was tight and he put him on Prednisone and an antibiotic so hopefully he will improve a little quicker.  Lou and I can sympathize with him, as we both had it after Christmas and it took forever to recover completely.

We are due for rain tomorrow, thankfully, it won't be freezing to travel.

Charleston, SC Air Force Base

February 12th - Thursday - Beautiful, Sunny - 63 degrees

We are at Charleston, South Carolina on the Air Force Base.  We have a lovely campsite, with a huge open field behind us, and the laundry and bath house beside us.  We have been here twice before and always enjoy our stays here.  Maci loves to run in the field behind us; in fact, we are amazed at how well she has adjusted to the RV and traveling.

Maci

Today, we decided that we would go to the Commissary so we could spend the afternoon while it was warm , getting outside and enjoying the warmer weather, as we are also forecasted to get very cold weather the rest of the week, so cold that we have to disconnect our water and be watchful of our pipes.

We took Maci and went for a nice walk, she loves to walk and smell the new territory.  We walked down to the entrance to the base to take a good look at the airplanes.  Matthew, the airplane at the top of the blog is a plane like Grandpa used to fly.  This is a C-124 ( Ole Shakey) to see it up close you can really see how huge it really is.

This gives you an idea just how large the tires are.

There were several other planes on display.  The one that Lou wanted me to see was the C-141 that his best friend Alois flew.

C-141

We were pleased to see how well these planes have been taken care of.  They are in excellent shape, which says a lot for the base here.  One reason I love to come to this base, it the fact that we can see and hear the planes here, as the airman do practice runs.

I snapped this the other evening when I had Maci out.

We also hear the fighter fly over, but haven't been quick enough to get their picture.

We have high wind warnings for tonight, for that matter it is pretty windy right now, we just had a branch blow down on the RV.  I  plan on staying in tomorrow and cleaning out the cupboards tomorrow and doing some cleaning.  We made reservations for next week at the sub base in Kings Bay for next Tuesday and Wednesday and then we will start for Key West, FL.

 

Travel Day Number 2

February 10th - Tuesday - Rainy

This picture was taken as we traveled along route 81 in Wyeth County, VA.  This is the Blue Ridge Plateau.  I always marvel at the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  I talked Lou into  going route 81, as I am familiar with this route, as I drove it yearly to take my deceased husband back to Tennessee to visit with his family and I always enjoyed those trips.

On this trip I was able to spot Cripple Creek and I remember Al talking about a song that his dad played on the banjo about Cripple Creek, I was so excited to see it on the map.  In fact, I think I remember Grandpa Jones singing the same song.

I was thinking about Steve on the stretch of highway also, as there were many motorcycles out, as it was Sunday when we traveled along 81 and I know Steve is so anxious to be able to get his back on the road.

This morning when I opened t he curtain I found that the yard was full of robins and I was able to catch a quick photo of one.

I will send them north!

I was anxious to get the quilt set up that  Susie made Lou for Christmas, and I did just that on the first night out and had to take a picture of it with my teddy bear and pillows, we just love it.  She did a beautiful job on it and then the table runner and hot pads to go with it.  They are perfect.

Isn't that perfect?

Matthew was having a problem with us leaving this year, so Krista came up with the idea of making a map for him.  She cut out a picture of our RV and put a stick pin in it and hung all of this on his bedroom door, and each night, either we call him, or he calls us to find out where we are and he moves the RV to where we are and that along with the post cards that we will send him will help him be more connected to us.  We thought that was a great idea for the little guy.

Leaving the Snow Behing

February 9th - Monday  67 degrees - Lexington, South Carolina

We finally found a window of opportunity to get our RV out of the barn on Friday morning.  Lou was able to back in into our driveway on the first attempt without getting into any of the drifts.  We quickly packed it ready for the trip south.  Janet and Brion arrived early Saturday morning to help us put the last few items in and Brion helped Lou connect the car to the RV and they noted we had a problem with the lights on the car and that delayed our departure by several hours; however, they stayed with us until we were ready to depart.  It was nearly noon when we got onto Route 15 heading south.

Janet brought us a beautiful Cyclamen plant to brighten our table for Valentine's Day and Brion  picked up a delicious loaf of cinnamon  bread.

The plant is sitting on a table runner that Susie made us to go with the quilt she made Lou for Christmas.

When we arrived in Virginia it was 52 degrees.  The Welcome Center was truly a welcome sight.  That had been our goal to made Virginia the first day, but with the late start we were afraid that me might not be able to make it.

Welcome Center - Virginia

Do you notice, there is no snow in Virginia?  We noted that gasoline was $2.09 a gallon.

We stayed the first night in Winchester, VA at a campground that we had stayed at before, Candy Hill.  It turned out to be an excellent choice, as we were able to flush out all of our winter antifreeze and get fresh water through our system and fill our tanks with fresh water, get hooked up and all of this was accomplished before it got dark and cold.

We had a dinner of potato salad and pulled pork barbecue, which really tasted good, with the very mild temperatures.   We opened up the screen door and let in the fresh air and looked outside at the absence of snow!!  This ended day one on the road.  The first picture shows daffodils that are coming 

up.