Tomorrow is November 1, and the camping season is over here. The Cougar has been winterized and all the 'lost wheel' damage repaired. Soon we will begin putting things in for our winter in Texas. We will head south sometime after the 1st of January (2010 can you believe).
Made one last trip the week of the 18th (October that is) to Salt Fork SP. It was primitive hunting season so there were lots of hunters in the park. Every day we saw deer in the campground - where hunting is not allowed.
Met the Rush's there for our usual game playing-sightseeing-laughing-find different places to eat trek. Made the long drive to Newell, WV one day to tour the Homer Laughlin factory. They make, among other things, Fiesta ware pottery. Had a good tour and did pick up a few items from the 'seconds' room.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
To the Beach
September saw us heading to Myrtle Beach for 10 days of fun and sun. Enjoyed the time and pot-luck dinners. Mark, Kyra and the boys drove down for a day and left Niko with us. We had him four days and he enjoyed being buried in the sand and the ice cream cones.
Trip home was uneventful until we were 14 miles from our exit. Front wheel on the curb side came off some time and we were stuck with three wheels on the ground. Appeared that one or more of the lug bolts snapped and we lost the tire, rim and lugs. Jon and Dale came to the rescue and we made it home using a brake drum and lugs from Jon's trailer. Got it all replaced but still working on the broken plastic fender.
Trip home was uneventful until we were 14 miles from our exit. Front wheel on the curb side came off some time and we were stuck with three wheels on the ground. Appeared that one or more of the lug bolts snapped and we lost the tire, rim and lugs. Jon and Dale came to the rescue and we made it home using a brake drum and lugs from Jon's trailer. Got it all replaced but still working on the broken plastic fender.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
No Major Summer Travels (May- August)
We've stayed pretty close to home this summer. Did get out with the Rainmakers for Memorial Day and then the weekend after the 4th of July (group tried something different). In mid July we met with the Rush's at one of our favorite locations - Delaware State Park.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
TRAVELS OVER
We spent a week getting back home. Three nights in Georgia and four near Davidson. Enjoyed the time with the boys and Judy got to visit two old friends in Georgia.
It was good to get back home though. We had rain much of the trip from Davidson but we did manage to get most of the trailer unloaded on Monday. Tuesday we awoke to nearly 2 inches of snow - welcome to Ohio!!!
Anyway that is about it for this trip. Not sure when the next one will be. We calculated that of the past 15 months, we have been on the road seven so maybe it's time to spend some time on Tricaso Drive.
It was good to get back home though. We had rain much of the trip from Davidson but we did manage to get most of the trailer unloaded on Monday. Tuesday we awoke to nearly 2 inches of snow - welcome to Ohio!!!
Anyway that is about it for this trip. Not sure when the next one will be. We calculated that of the past 15 months, we have been on the road seven so maybe it's time to spend some time on Tricaso Drive.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
LTI Page 8
Woke up Monday morning to overcast skies, a chance of rain and close to 100% humidity, but we decided to try to get some painting in before the sky opened. Well, the sky never opened and finally after lunch we finished up the back of the bait shop. We had thought about waiting until Tuesday, but we were already paint spotted and had so little to do that we ate lunch and wrapped the task up. We were returning the paint tools and paint to the shop when we ran into Aaron.
When we told him we were done he showed some surprise and wondered if we felt we had time to work on another task. The equipment shed at the Park Manager’s residence will be done on Tuesday so we will paint it beginning Wednesday.
He again told us that we did a fantastic job on the trail and that he has never in his years at the park seen it look so good. It will now be up to the park folks to keep it cleaned up!
Tuesday we were at the Reed house doing laundry when one of the rangers told us that a large turtle had washed up on the beach. He said the shell measured 3 feet by 4 feet and was dead. So, after we had lunch and had done some errands we stopped by the ranger station to find out where it was located. We went home and rode our bikes to the beach and had to walk about ¼ mile down the beach where we saw Kathleen, and three other employees with their trucks. As we approached Kathleen shouted out that it was not a turtle, but a fish! When we got close we could see that it was not really a fish – just part of one. It was at least three feet high and what was left of the length was a little better than four feet. You can see by the size of the nearby truck and shovel the size of this thing.
They were trying to drag it up further on the beach and then bury it deep. No matter how they tried they could not move it. They had tarps under it but the ropes just pulled through the grommets. They finally gave up and were hoping the high tide – which was coming in – would wash it out. We will go try to check it out in the morning.
Kathleen, in the middle is flanked by ranger Michelle and Judy.
This is the small shed we are now working on. We were painting on the sides and back even before the other volunteers had completed the doors. The sides are made of ‘hardy’ or ‘cement’ board so they do not soak up paint and will not rot in the sun and moisture. We completed the base coat and now have only the trim to paint. We really don’t want to complete too soon as this will be our last project.
In the afternoon we rode our bikes on the blacktopped bike trail to the ‘south end’ and made our way through the sand to the beach. We rode on the beach back to the first boardwalk…a very pleasant ride as the tide was coming in. We found the fish, it moved up the beach – north – by the tides. According to Michelle it is/was a Sun Fish - not like we would think of at home!
Another task completed! We finished up the shed a little before noon. We are sure that we could be assigned another painting task, but the chance of rain this afternoon is 70% and runs the same through Friday morning so no need to tackle anything else.
Here’s a painter’s trick we leaned. See the blue tape on the one brush? This keeps paint from going all the way to the heel of the brush, which makes cleaning easier. It also keeps the bristles all together.
Friday at the shop when putting the painting tools and ladder away, Kathleen asked if we might want to go to the Home Depot in Jacksonville to pickup some material. So we took off in the old Ford dump truck (standard transmission) and drove into the north end Home Depot to pickup thirty 12 foot composite boards which they will use for bench seats. They are slowly moving from wood to composite as it lasts in this salt/sand climate. That will be our last job for this park as tonight we have a pot-luck with volunteers and staff.
Friday late afternoon we had a rain move through and it certainly cut down on the pollen! Between the cedar, the live oak and the flat wood pines it was getting pretty bad. Later that evening we had a potluck with most of the volunteers and a large number of the staff. Lots of good food and socializing and nice to see the staff out of uniform and to get to know them a bit more.
Michelle verified that the fish found on the beach is commonly referred to as a salt water ‘sun fish’ - really a Mola Mola - and it can weigh up to a ton! Here’s a link with more information about this strange fish: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_sunfish
Saturday we did some packing and made a final trip to WalMart. It was not too sunny so we made one final ride on the beach. The winds were pretty strong out of the south so it was a hard ride to the south end of the island. The sand was really blowing on the beach, but we did not have to pedal much on the way north. It stormed hard nearly all night so things are wet and soggy. Some of the stuff we pack away will have to be opened to dry.
Sunday afternoon there are three speakers at the Rebault Club talking about Florida history so we will go there to help fill in the day. We plan to be on the road by 8:30 for the two plus hour drive to Valdosta.
So this ends Florida portion of our travels.
When we told him we were done he showed some surprise and wondered if we felt we had time to work on another task. The equipment shed at the Park Manager’s residence will be done on Tuesday so we will paint it beginning Wednesday.
He again told us that we did a fantastic job on the trail and that he has never in his years at the park seen it look so good. It will now be up to the park folks to keep it cleaned up!
Tuesday we were at the Reed house doing laundry when one of the rangers told us that a large turtle had washed up on the beach. He said the shell measured 3 feet by 4 feet and was dead. So, after we had lunch and had done some errands we stopped by the ranger station to find out where it was located. We went home and rode our bikes to the beach and had to walk about ¼ mile down the beach where we saw Kathleen, and three other employees with their trucks. As we approached Kathleen shouted out that it was not a turtle, but a fish! When we got close we could see that it was not really a fish – just part of one. It was at least three feet high and what was left of the length was a little better than four feet. You can see by the size of the nearby truck and shovel the size of this thing.
They were trying to drag it up further on the beach and then bury it deep. No matter how they tried they could not move it. They had tarps under it but the ropes just pulled through the grommets. They finally gave up and were hoping the high tide – which was coming in – would wash it out. We will go try to check it out in the morning.Kathleen, in the middle is flanked by ranger Michelle and Judy.
This is the small shed we are now working on. We were painting on the sides and back even before the other volunteers had completed the doors. The sides are made of ‘hardy’ or ‘cement’ board so they do not soak up paint and will not rot in the sun and moisture. We completed the base coat and now have only the trim to paint. We really don’t want to complete too soon as this will be our last project.
In the afternoon we rode our bikes on the blacktopped bike trail to the ‘south end’ and made our way through the sand to the beach. We rode on the beach back to the first boardwalk…a very pleasant ride as the tide was coming in. We found the fish, it moved up the beach – north – by the tides. According to Michelle it is/was a Sun Fish - not like we would think of at home!
Another task completed! We finished up the shed a little before noon. We are sure that we could be assigned another painting task, but the chance of rain this afternoon is 70% and runs the same through Friday morning so no need to tackle anything else.
Here’s a painter’s trick we leaned. See the blue tape on the one brush? This keeps paint from going all the way to the heel of the brush, which makes cleaning easier. It also keeps the bristles all together.
Friday at the shop when putting the painting tools and ladder away, Kathleen asked if we might want to go to the Home Depot in Jacksonville to pickup some material. So we took off in the old Ford dump truck (standard transmission) and drove into the north end Home Depot to pickup thirty 12 foot composite boards which they will use for bench seats. They are slowly moving from wood to composite as it lasts in this salt/sand climate. That will be our last job for this park as tonight we have a pot-luck with volunteers and staff.
Friday late afternoon we had a rain move through and it certainly cut down on the pollen! Between the cedar, the live oak and the flat wood pines it was getting pretty bad. Later that evening we had a potluck with most of the volunteers and a large number of the staff. Lots of good food and socializing and nice to see the staff out of uniform and to get to know them a bit more.
Michelle verified that the fish found on the beach is commonly referred to as a salt water ‘sun fish’ - really a Mola Mola - and it can weigh up to a ton! Here’s a link with more information about this strange fish: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_sunfish
Saturday we did some packing and made a final trip to WalMart. It was not too sunny so we made one final ride on the beach. The winds were pretty strong out of the south so it was a hard ride to the south end of the island. The sand was really blowing on the beach, but we did not have to pedal much on the way north. It stormed hard nearly all night so things are wet and soggy. Some of the stuff we pack away will have to be opened to dry.
Sunday afternoon there are three speakers at the Rebault Club talking about Florida history so we will go there to help fill in the day. We plan to be on the road by 8:30 for the two plus hour drive to Valdosta.
So this ends Florida portion of our travels.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
LTI Page 7
Thursday morning we had just started working when Kathleen and Aaron, the two Assistant Mangers drove up. They were surprised at how far we had gotten and how good the building now looked. We finished the north end and as a reward made what may be our last trip to Singletons. With the ferry now running it is really only minutes away. We rode the ferry across the St Johns River and after a great lunch did some shopping and came back ‘home’ for the rest of the day.
It is surprising how friendly the fishermen – and women are. Would guess that 80% are black with a few Orientals and the rest white. The fishing must be good as there are always people using the old bridge. The ‘bait shop’ also houses the restroom facilities so we get to see a lot of folks. Friday morning a group of Orientals stopped just as we were getting our gear together. In somewhat broken English they inquired about bait. We gave them directions on where to buy and they were quite pleased.
We finished the weeks work before noon – only the back or west side to paint now. So we came home and did some chores and split some wood and we will have a fire. We cooked kielbasa over the fire and heated the beans too….very satisfying meal.
They don’t have us scheduled to paint the trim, just the wall sides. Don’t know what they will put on next as we will only have a few days left here. We should finish the back side early Tuesday so that will leave us time to do another small project for them
It is surprising how friendly the fishermen – and women are. Would guess that 80% are black with a few Orientals and the rest white. The fishing must be good as there are always people using the old bridge. The ‘bait shop’ also houses the restroom facilities so we get to see a lot of folks. Friday morning a group of Orientals stopped just as we were getting our gear together. In somewhat broken English they inquired about bait. We gave them directions on where to buy and they were quite pleased.
We finished the weeks work before noon – only the back or west side to paint now. So we came home and did some chores and split some wood and we will have a fire. We cooked kielbasa over the fire and heated the beans too….very satisfying meal.
They don’t have us scheduled to paint the trim, just the wall sides. Don’t know what they will put on next as we will only have a few days left here. We should finish the back side early Tuesday so that will leave us time to do another small project for them
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
LTI Page Six
In keeping with out ‘bucket list’ of things to do, after church we stopped in town at a little café called “Jack and Diane’s” in the historic district for a late breakfast. It was a neat little place and we had nice meals. After our usual grocery shopping we headed to Pumpkin Hill Creek SP, about 25 miles from LTI. It is one of seven parks/park locations serviced out of Little Talbot Island. It is considered an “upland park” that protects the headwaters of the St Johns River, a source of Jacksonville’s drinking water. It is 4000 acres of scrub, pines and palmetto that has a number of “trails” and pathways for hikers and horses. Many of the pathways are just ‘plow lines’ to separate burn zones to control fires. The soil is mainly pure white sand.
Early Monday morning met with Kathleen about our next task. The small shed will not be ready until probably the middle or end of next week, so that is off our “to do list.” But, she had another more involved project for us and we spent the morning checking it out and gathering our equipment and paint supplies. It’s a building that they are remodeling for us as a bait shop. The contract for a concessionaire is out for bids and they are working at getting it all prepared. It is at the north end of an old bridge that is now used solely as a “fishing” bridge with no vehicle traffic. We will get started on it Tuesday – if it does not rain. We had thought about riding our bikes, but it is nearly 6 miles along highway A1A, which is busy.
This is the bait shop we are working on now. We have painted the front side where the ladder is leaning.
There are lots of people out fishing on this old bridge which was built in 1948. On the weekends it is nearly full. Several places in this area they have left the old bridges standing for use by fishermen.
Monday afternoon excitement! A couple walking the nature trail next to our camper came up to tell us that there was a diamond back rattler on the trail. By the time we got to the spot in the trail, the snake had moved about 5 yards off the trail (out of the bright sun shine) in amongst some live oak saplings. Here he/she is…really hard to spot in the dead oak leaves and sun beams. 
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