April 12 to April 18, 2010

Monday – April 12, 2010
Our plan to leave this morning was delayed a little bit. Charlie discovered that the Honda Mini-Van and my Avalon had tag stickers that expired in July 2009! We have both been driving for nearly a year on expired tags. Two trips to Maryland in the van, and all the rest and we never knew! Oh well, we actually bought the 2010 tags, they just somehow didn't make it onto the vehicles. So this morning I took a little trip to the tag store and got our 2011 stickers. No one will ever know...except everyone who reads this of course. Becky was at the house this morning and we are so glad that she and Rick are there for us. We don't have to worry about the house at all. We got started at 1pm and headed straight over to Lecanto to visit Floyd and Jo, arriving at about 4:30. They have a nice place and plenty of room for all the stuff they are into. They are very busy but they took time out for us and showed us a wonderful time. In the past they owned a large motor home so they even had an RV pad with hookups that we could use. When we arrived we realized that Charlie would need to back in to the parking spot. Not his forte. So he struggled back and forth and side to side and finally got that trailer straight down the driveway. That is when we noticed that Floyd and Jo's mailbox and paperbox were ripped out of the ground and laying on their lawn. So the first thing we had to do was apologize. Fortunately the poles were not broken or even bent, just pushed over. So Floyd got his post hole digger out and stuck them back in the ground. They were very gracious about it. We had a nice dinner and Joey was as good as he could be. We are a little worried about his not being totally housebroken, so he wore a doggie diaper while he was in their house, though I gave him a break a couple of times and held him in my lap instead. We spent our first night ever in our A-liner camper and it was very comfortable. We are having a little trouble figuring out where to put things and then finding them again. We had this problem at first on our other RV trips, Each rig is different so we have to figure it out all over again. It usually takes a few days. We slept good and Joey seemed right at home since he has his own bed. For a week before we left home his bed was in our bed so he could get used to that. There is no room on the floor for his bed in the RV.

Tuesday – April 13, 2010
We were up early and Jo served us homemade coffee cake and fruit and cereal. Then we took a ride (Joey included) over to Rainbow State Park. Well behaved dogs are allowed. They have springs, waterfalls, a beach, and swimming. Also, lots of azaleas and some very tall trees. Floyd especially liked the variety of trees. I got my first magnets of the trip, and we all had a good time just walking around enjoying the very pretty day. We went back to the house, had lunch, and then headed out again in Floyd's big truck. They have a Lot on Crystal River that they will be building on soon. They already keep their Carolina Skiff on a lift there. So we went out onto the river and collected crabs from their crab pots. Did you know that when you are 65 or older in Florida that you can put out as many crab pots as you want for free? We didn't know that. We got lots of crabs and an up close look at three manatees. Joey was nervous when we were moving fast but he was better by the time we got back. Floyd cooked up the crabs as soon as we got back. He has a neat cooker on his porch. The pot is huge and he made it from an old pool filter, and it sits on a burner on top of a wood frame that he also made. Inside the frame is the propane tank. All very efficient. Delicious crabs cooked right, Maryland style! Jo made some crab cakes, also Maryland style, and we just ate and ate. We relaxed in the evening and watched some videos of their vacation and of their grandchildren. It was a good visit and we really had a good time.

Wednesday – April 14, 2010
We left Jo and Floyd's around 9am and drove to Cedar Key. We stopped at the Sunset RV Park as soon as we got here. They let us check in and set up even though it was way before checkin time. The park is on the river and there are a number of docks that are available for use by all the guests. Nice place with nice facilities. We went into Cedar Key and had lunch at Frog's Landing. I had a soft shell crab sandwich and Charlie had grouper. Yum yum! Then we shopped around a little bit and went to the Cedar Key Museum Park. It is closed today but we could still walk around the grounds and we took a path out to the water. After that we went to the park at the beach and people watched for awhile. Then we found the fishing pier and so Charlie and Joey hung out there while I peeked into some more shops. I went into a little place and tried to order a couple of smoothies to take back to the pier. But the young man only knew how to make two kinds, cause he was new. They were not the kinds I wanted. Then, oops he only had ingredients for one of the kinds. So I ordered one smoothie since I was really thirsty, and don't really mind strawberry banana. Then, oops he only managed to get it three quarters full, so he gave it to me half price. Oh well, it was good. I did buy a magnet that Charlie picked out earlier, but I didn't find anything else to buy today. We got back to the campground early and ate sweet potatoes and a few other things we had. Not a real meal and Charlie was not satisfied. Need to get some food tomorrow. Charlie went to bed when the sun went down. The wifi wasn't working. When I finish my notes I will go to bed too. On our other RV trips we often rose and went to bed with the sun. Getting back to our old routine....

Thursday – April 15, 2010
We left Cedar Key and went to Manatee Springs State Park where we camped. We didn't see any manatee but saw quite a few deer. No dogs are allowed on the boardwalk out to the river, so I got out the stroller for Joey. It was a nice long walk through bald cypress and spanish moss. Charlie went out on the floating pier at the end but Joey and I stayed on the dock. There is a large spring for swimming and it was tempting, but we didn't do it. We had dinner at the camp. We went to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things and I decided to try taking Joey into the store in the stroller. I figured the worst that could happen is they would kick us out. Instead we got very little attention from anyone and the checker even asked about him as if it is perfectly normal to bring a dog into the store in a stroller. Maybe it is...I just never knew that.

Friday – April 16, 2010
We arrived at Ann, David, and Becky's home a couple of hours earlier than expected. Charlie went to the store with David, while Ann and I visited on their back porch. Joey was as friendly as ever. Such a good dog, as long as he is wearing his diaper. This weekend, like our last visit, is the Tallahassee Orchid Show and Becky was working hard at the show including preparing for the judging on Saturday. We had a nice dinner and met Raphael again, a friend of Becky's, he is a grower from Sarasota. Becky almost has her greenhouse completed and they have done a lot of landscaping since we were here last year. They put in a large fish pond with flowers, and quite a few new trees.

Saturday – April 17, 2010
Raphael and Becky left early for the show, and we got an early start too. David took us to the Tallahassee Auto Museum. There were a lot of cool cars including batmobiles and antiques. There were mustangs and cameros and thunderbirds and everything else you can think of, all beautifully restored. There was a giant yellow baby duck too, though we are not sure why. I pushed Joey in the stroller all around the museum, and he never made a peep till we got back to the front door. He barked just once at a man coming in. The lady at the admissions desk was surprised, but she did not object. We went to lunch at a seafood place, and we plopped Joey in the stroller and took him in there too. I really am so glad, but I can't get over it either. We parked him next to the table and that was it. From there we went to the orchid show, including Joey. Raphael had the best display, I think. We really enjoyed his company this weekend. After we looked around awhile Becky was ready to go, so we headed home and rested up til we went out to dinner. Raphael went with us, but this time we left Joey in the camper. We had a great dinner at a restaurant we went to last year and so Charlie wanted to go back. Spent the evening visiting and we were all tired out at the end of the day. It was so nice to visit with them all again. I can hardly believe a whole year has gone by since the last time we were here. They showed us a wonderful time and I hope they will come visit us soon. Hint hint!

Sunday – April 18, 2010
We got on the road fairly early and headed to St George Island. Very white sandy beaches but the campground in the state park was full. Also not dog friendly! So, we went to a Passport America RV park in Mexico Beach. As soon as we parked we were greeted by a couple from Michigan who were happy to see another pop up trailer in the park. We had to tell them that ours is not a pop up but an A-liner. So they watched us, mostly Charlie, set up and invited us to visit them. We went over later and they showed us their popup. Boy! They have more than twice as much room. They have places to put stuff! They have 2 refrigerators and both are bigger than our one fridge. Still it is a lot of work to set up one of those. When they set up they like to stay at least 3 nights. That really is not what we want. Still, Charlie is always looking, even now. We might come home with something different than we started with! We went out to dinner, it is just not as convenient cooking in this rig as it was in the motor homes we had before. We ate at Mango Marley's, and both had a good dinner while Joey watched us from his stroller. Now we are settled in for the night and enjoying finally having wifi. We had access to wifi while we were visiting, but wanted to mostly visit instead. Joey is sleeping already. He is not used to being awake all day like he has been for the last week. We watched the sunset over the gulf this evening but had to do it from the car because dogs are not allowed on the beach, and I did not want to leave him. I am getting used to keeping him with us all the time now! More later....