Flagler Beach, Florida: Races, family and more

On Monday, February 20th, we said our goodbyes to Montie and Ann and left for Gamble Rogers Recreation Area at Flagler Beach.  We had site #20 this year.  Donald and Anna, Chuck’s uncle and aunt, were already here.  Of course, for our first night here we had to go to Aunt Catfish’s in Port Orange.  And we were not disappointed.  The food is still great and the cinnamon rolls are just as good as we remembered.

And we even had dinner with NASCAR announcer Mike Joy…

OK… we didn’t really have dinner with Mike Joy but he apparently enjoys it as much as we do because he was seated right behind Donald and Anna.

On Tuesday, we walked the beach and ended up having dinner this night at Giuseppe’s, an Italian restaurant in Flagler Beach.  Anna had to wear her crocs because she left her sandals at home and she hates to wear her crocs out in public.  But I captured a picture of her feet with them on anyways.  This picture is for Brent.

On Wednesday, we walked the scenic trail at Gamble Rogers with Donald and Anna.  We saw some interesting trees and plants...

 as well as some interesting people in the trees and plants....

 

And at the end of the trail, we found where they kept the alligators. 

Later that day, guess where we went back to eat?  You guessed it…Aunt Catfish’s!  Since it started raining, the guys didn’t get to go to the races tonight either so we went to Volusia County Mall.  Tony Stewart and Danica Patrick were at a promo at the mall, but Tony and Danica didn't get to see us because of the all the crowds.  :)

I couldn’t see Danica because of all the people, but Chuck said she was tiny.  My favorite part of the promotion was the free Oreos they were giving away.

On Thursday, Anna fixed us breakfast.  Yummy!!  Her homemade strawberry preserves are awesome.  Later that day, Chuck and I rode bikes to the pier at Flagler Beach. 

What a great place to ride bikes.  Wide sidewalk runs parallel to road.  While there, we saw several people surfing. 

It was a beautiful day for biking.  Later that evening, we went to Sonny’s Barbecue for dinner and the guys went to Volusia County Speedway to see the World of Outlaws racing. 

On Friday, we rode bikes toward Ormond Beach and later that afternoon, we played cornhole with Donald and Anna.  Weather was windy but very nice – mid 80’s.

For the record, Donald and I won 2 games out of 3.  Chuck and Anna were demanding to make it the best 3 out of 5 but we just so happened to run out of time.  :)

I fixed spaghetti for dinner.  While the boys watched truck races on TV, Anna and I played Monopoly Deal.  Then we had some of Anna's strawberry shortcake with whip cream....lots of whip cream.  In fact, we just finished the whip cream can off....

On Saturday, the weather turned off cooler.  We went to the Flagler Fish Co. for dinner.  The fresh fish was good but very pricy for what you got.  One serving was small portion of fish and two little potatos.  The guys went to races at New Smyrna.  Anna and I worked on our laptops for much of the evening, although it looks like we’re playing Battleship. 

Later we played Scrabble; and Anna beat me, of course.

On Sunday, we went to Church of Christ of Flagler County.  It was a small congregation but very, very friendly.  Lot of folks from Tennessee there.  After the service, one of the brethren stood up to thank the congregation for all they had done for he and his wife during the time she had been sick recently.  In commenting how much had been done for them he said:  “If you’ve never been sick at this congregation, you don’t know what you’re missing!”  :)  After church, went to The Chicken Pantry for lunch.  The Daytona 500 got rained out so we took a nap in the afternoon and played cards at Donald & Anna’s that night.

We went to Aunt Catfish’s for the 3^rd time for dinner and it was just as good as the 1^st and 2^nd time.  Got back in time for the start of the race which had been delayed since yesterday and did not start until 7 pm.  We should have known it was going to be a long night.  There was a wreck on lap 2.  And then with less than 50 laps to go in the race, Montoya ran into the back of a jet blower on a caution lap causing the jet blower truck to catch on fire.  They spent the next 2 hours fixing the track.  Needless to say, I went to bed.  The race that seemed like it would never start and then never end finally finished after midnight with Matt Kenseth taking the checkered flag. 

Week of visiting friends

Other than Chuck’s tooth hurting, our trip to Davenport, Florida, was fairly quick and uneventful.  We had decided to stay at Themeworld RV Resort in Davenport, Florida.  While this is not our favorite campground, we had stayed here a couple of times previously and it was close to our friends, Montie and Ann and it was a Passport America park so we got a 50% discount for the week.  We were given Site #205, which for future reference, needs leveling blocks on the front and driver side because our jacks would not extend out far enough.  The park is ok and the pool is nice but Wi-Fi is poor and even our cell signal for our Mi-Fi only worked well before 9:00 am in the morning.  The worse part is the wastewater treatment plant behind the park.  When the temperature and wind is just right – shooeeee!

We visited with Montie and Ann the first night and she fed us chili and chicken tortellini soup and cheese and crackers and cookies.  We just visited and visited and ate and ate all her good cooking.

On Tuesday, Chuck was able to get in to see Montie and Ann’s dentist.  Fortunately, he did not have an abscess.  The dentist said it could have been just some sort of infection or the tooth was dying.  He gave Chuck some antibiotics and pain medicine.  Later, we went to Montie and Ann’s and played Skip-Bo.  Of course Ann and I were the champions.

On Wednesday, we spent the day cleaning the motorhome and doing laundry.  We are still learning how to operate our Splendide washer/dryer so some of the clothes came out wrinkled.  We grilled hamburgers for dinner.  We talked with our neighbor across street who had been to all 50 states and every province of Canada except Newfoundland.  Melissa looked up where Newfoundland was and it is way up there.

On Thursday, we drove to Wesley Chapel, Florida and spent the day with RVing friends from Tennessee:  Jackie and Linda, Billy and Margaret, and Ed and Shirley.  They were staying at Quail Run RV resort – a very nice RV park with concrete pads and a little more space between.  Jackie and Linda were in site #276 which was a pull-through corner lot.  Had fun laughing and catching up on everything and everyone’s families.  Jackie and Linda took us to Amici’s Restaurant in Wesley Chapel, a very good Italian restaurant whose garlic knots I think Anna (Chuck’s aunt) would give an A+.

On Friday, we spent the day with Montie and Ann who took us to Ling’s Buffet, a Chinese restaurant in Lakeland.  Yummy.  Very good food.  As always at buffets, we ate too much but Ann and I had to go back for just a little more ice cream.  Montie drove us around Auburndale, a quaint and interesting little town, and Winter Haven.  In Winter Haven, we stopped at a fruit stand so Ann and I could get some fresh vegetables.  He showed us an airplane museum that he said was very interesting and Legoland, which was formerly Cypress Gardens.  We drove through Mt Olive Shores  and Mt Olive Shores North which were very nice Class A resort communities.  Mt Olive Shores North was the newer of the two with beautiful lots on a lake, beautifully landscaped pads with palm trees, and many lots with nice houses.  Somewhere along the way, Chuck saw a sign for a milkshake so before we returned back to Montie and Ann’s we found a Dairy Queen and got milkshakes.  You know how it is – Chinese food never stays with you very long. 

When we got back, Montie showed us pictures of their trip to Colorado last year where they workkamped at Sweitzer Park.  The pictures were gorgegous and makes Chuck and I want to travel there, this summer???  Who knows?  We still have to decide that.

We spent the rest of the weekend visiting with Montie and Ann some more and they came over Monday to tell us good-bye.

Silver Springs, the 1st time

Left Eagle’s Roost at 11 am (our new check out time??) and headed south on I-75 for Florida.  Stopped at exit 358 to get diesel at Pilot / Flying J’s.  Since they didn’t have an RV lane we had to pull through where the tractor trailer trucks fuel which Chuck likes anyways because the pumps pump a lot faster.  Chuck has read that the truckers and the stores sometimes don't like for RVers to go through the truck lanes, but we have not experienced any problems so far.  And by going through the truck lanes, we were able to scan our Flying J’s card and start pumping immediately rather than my having to go in, wait in line and pre-pay.  Flying J’s card with quick start pumping and a discount on diesel fuel. 

Continued traveling south to exit 352 and headed to Silver Springs where we had decided to stay at the Wilderness RV resort.  With our Passport America discount, we got 3 nites for $22 per night plus tax.  Awesome!!  I love Passport America.  Our site #91 was a pull-in site with no one parked on the patio side.  Very nice site. 

We met our neighbors, Darrell and Sherry, who were on their “maiden voyage” of their motorhome they had recently purchased.  They lived locally but were just trying out their new RV for the weekend.  Nice couple.

We were going to grill hamburgers but it started raining so I had to cook them inside.  I tried using our stove-top device that I had bought at The Rally a few years ago but it would just cook the hamburgers on the outside and not the inside.  Plus I continually worried about the grease dripping of the flame.  So this “as seen on TV” stove-top grill ended up in the trash.  Not worth the risk of burning the RV down.  After the hamburgers were finally done, they were tasty along with the baked potatos and salad. 

Unfortunately, Chuck’s toothache that he has been having trouble with for a couple of months became very painful on Saturday.  I Googled “emergency dental services in Silver Springs Florida” and found Fenton Family Dentistry in Silver Springs.  I made an appointment for 1:30 and we were relieved that Chuck might be able to see a dentist today.  Unfortunately, when I Googled the directions, I found out that Fenton Family Dentistry is in Silver Springs, Maryland, not Florida.  Needless to say, I had to call back and cancel that appointment.  We’re hoping to get him in to see our friend, Montie and Ann’s dentist in Davenport on Monday. 

Lake Park, Georgia

Left Stone Mountain around 11 am.  No rush no hurry.  Love it!  Stopped to get diesel in Jackson, GA.  Got my Flying J’s card registered about 30 seconds before we pulled in which gives a discount of the cash price plus 3 cents off per gallon. 

We arrived at Eagles Roost RV Park in Lake Park, Georgia.  Very nice campground.  Got a premium site for a regular price less the Good Sam’s discount due to the misfortune of a 5^th wheeler whose brakes locked up and blocked the road.  A savings of $8.  The site was beautiful.  Spanish moss hanging on all the trees. 

Rod iron patio table and chairs and a grill.  And the temperature was  in the 60s.  Very nice.

We decided to split a barbecue sandwich at Sonny’s Barbecue and then went to Winn Dixie to get some groceries.  We got a Winn Dixie card to take advantage of their store savings.  Chuck had read how full-timers will just get a key chain for all the grocery cards all over the country so they can be sure and take advantage of all grocery store discounts.  Now we have Krogers, Winn Dixie and Harris Teeter. 

I had heard on the radio within the last two weeks that 50 people died nationwide last year due to “distracted” walking, that is walking while talking or texting on the phone or listening to their I-phones or playing with their smartphones.  Chuck and I are convinced that most of those 50 people live in Lake Park, Georgia and go to Winn Dixie grocery store on Thursday nights. 

We were seemingly followed (not really, just seemed that way) by a girl who was talking, yelling, cussing, crying, and I think sometimes praying on her cell phone while she was talking to (we’re guessing) a boyfriend or husband.  Everyone in the store could hear her and she seemed to be on every aisle we went to.  Just when we thought she was saying good-bye, she would cuss him out, and start yelling again all while putting groceries in her cart and taking care of her child in the buggy.  Wow, talk about multi-tasking!  But really, I felt sorry for her.  Then when we were in the checkout, the guy in front of us was talking on his phone while trying to check out and was putting his card in incorrectly or something because the cashier was having to run it through several times while he was talking.  And then, after we check out, we were almost run over by a girl walking across the parking lot talking on her phone.  Phew! 

Chuck and I have decided we won’t have to argue for many years now because the girl in the store argued enough on her phone to last us many, many years.

Visiting with the kids!

Part of the reason for our stopping for a week at Stone Mountain was to visit Crystal and Grant, our daughter and son-in-law who live in Decatur, Georgia.  And for double the fun, Tafanie, Cory and Isabella, our other daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter, who live in Virginia were there for the week also because Cory had to be in Atlanta on business.

Of course, we drove over to see them just as soon as we had set up.  We had not seen them since Christmas and it was amazing how much Isabella had grown during that time.

Isn't she just precious!

Friday morning, we woke up to Isabella messaging us on the I-Pad telling us she wanted Pa to take her to Pa’s favorite store, which Isabella (or Isabella’s mother, Tafanie) thinks is Wal-Mart.  We visited Wal-mart several times while we were in Decatur.

On Friday night, the kids took us to dinner at The Feast to celebrate our retiring and fulltiming.

We were totally entertained by Isabella.  And while we were there, Isabella went from an army crawl to a knee crawl.  She was climbing over everything including Tafanie’s face to get to Pa.  Pa even got her to start standing at the coffee table.

After Crystal, Grant, and Cory would get home from work, we played Nerts (card game), Dr. Mario, Tetris, or Jeopardy on the Wi.

After going to church on Sunday, the kids came over to our place and spent the afternoon with us at the campground. 

Isabella wanted to drive the RV...

but we went for a walk instead.

The guys helped Chuck install the new MagneShade we had bought for the front windshield (which by the way works great).

We went back to Crystal and Grant’s house to watch the Super Bowl.  Giants won! 

During the week, we celebrated Crystal’s birthday early by going to dinner at Yeah Burger and then for dessert at Yogli Mogli.  It was a quick week but a fun week and was great getting to spend so much time with our kids.

Finally feels real

To start our full-timing journey off right, we had made up our minds not to get in a hurry.  To take our time.  So we got everything ready to go, check the tire pressure, get everything put up and locked down in the RV, retract the jacks, and let in the slides.  I wanted to get our picture taken with Yogi Bear before we left.  After all, we had stayed at his park for a month.

Well, we were very careful and took our time about everything including hooking up the “tote”, our Honda CRV.  I made sure to run through all the gears on the Honda while Chuck finished hooking up to the motorhome.  We stopped at the office to get our picture with Yogi and then we were off.

We said good-bye to Murfreesboro for one last time as we passed by our old exit.

It seemed like no time at all before we arrived at Stone Mountain Campground right outside Decatur, Georgia.  While I went into the office to check in, Chuck began disconnecting the tote.  Funny thing, though, Chuck found that the engine on the Honda was running.  At first he thought I had gone back there and started the car.  But then he realized I had left the motor running the whole way from Nashville, in neutral of course.  So much for being careful and taking our time to not make any mistakes!  Fortunately, the car was fine, just a little lower on gas.

We were given site #91 which was a great site.  It was level, full hookups, and had a beautiful view of the lake.