Jan 28-30 San Antonio

We spent 2 wonderful days with Carl & Elaine Hallada, friends whom we met on our New Zealand trip last spring. They have a lovely country home on 2 acres which could accommodate our coach. We shared a lot of travel stories and they toured us up to Fredricksburg, an old German town, where we enjoyed a German lunch of smoked porkchops, beets, saurkraut, etc. While there we shopped at an Amish furniture/gifts shop and the Wildflower Seed shop, which has so many great gift items for home and garden. A great time was had by all.

Jan 26-28 - San Antonio, TX

Drove through the rice growing district. Huge rice drying /storage silos along with the large fields. Lots of "Gator" farms, cafes, bars, etc.
We hit really heavy traffic through Houston, with its population of 5 million !! Lots of smog and exhaust fumes here. It is a real oil city with major truck traffic, oil pumpers,oil refineries & tank farms, & cement plants.
Checked into Braunig Lake RV Park in San Antonio (SE) and made reservations for a bus tour in the AM. Their great hot tub released some of the anxieties of the hectic day.
Dave, our Alamo Tour driver, picked us up at the park at 8:05 AM. First on so we got the prized front seats for picture taking !! We toured the Alamo; took a riverboat ride (2.5 miles) along the Riverwalk with its many boutique shops, hotels & interesting eateries; Mission Concepcion, where Friars Christianized the Indians; it is the oldest unrestored church in the nation; Mission San Jose, the finest example of a completely restored mission in the US -exquisite stone carvings & the famous rose window; the Japanese Sunken Gardens in an old stone quarry -most of the greenery had been killed off by the prolonged cold temps and the tea house was closed for extensive renovations; Buckhorn Saloon & Museum (1881), housing over 500 species of wildlife & sealife from all over the world; Mexican Mercado & Bakery & several restaurants. We had a delicious buffet at the famous old German Menger Hotel's Colonial Room. The hotel celebrated its 150th anniversary last year; is filled with exquisite large antique furniture and fixings. Bussed back to the park at 6:15 basically dragging our tails behind us. A great day !!!

Jan 25 - Beaumont, TX

Lunch break at Lafayette, LA. We drove most of the day for mile after mile on bridges and raised cement roads on pilings. Real bayou/swamp land. Sat behind a truck accident for over an hour. Checked into Gulf Coast RV in Beaumont

Jan 23-25 New Orleans

Swung down to Hwy 90 along the coastline which took us through Ocean Springs, Biloxi and Gulfport.Incredible amounts of total devistation from Hurricane Katrina, still untouched since 2005. Biloxi is a hustling city full of Casinos and tourist attractions. Several waterfront hotels and casinos were totally destroyed in the storm. There are areas several blocks deep that were totally stripped of buildings, with only the footprint, driveways, chimneys, etc left. The trees that were destroyed along the waterfront roadway have now been chainsaw carved into very attractive pieces of art. From here we carried on to New Orleans where we checked into the Mardi Gras RV Park, an area that was under 3' of water during the storm.

We took a city bus tour 0f New Orleans-picked up at the park at 9:20 AM. We toured through Ward 9, the hardest hit part of the city; went through an above ground cemetery (because of being below sea level and a really high water table); the French Quarter; the Red Light district (home to 200 red lights and shut down by the Navy as it was too much of a distraction); the new city (Brad Pitt project- 40 new "green" efficency houses already with 60 more to come); and Basin Street Station. John, our driver, kindly drove us to the Mardi Gras Museum where we took another tour. This is where all the big floats are made and stored. We got to see the actual process using styrofoam,and paper mache. The characters can be altered over and over to fit the theme of the parades from year to year. An average float will cost $50,000 and on up to $800,000 and there is no corporate funding so teams have to do lots of fund raisers.There will be several parades going at one time but you must have a minimum of 14 floats to make a parade.
From here we shuttled to the foot of Canal Street and walked up to Bourbon Street for a bowl of gumbo at a street side cafe. There were throngs of people everywhere waiting for the final football game for the Superbowl to begin between their team, the Saints and the Minnisota Vikings. Fortunately, the Saints won it in overtime. We walked down to the French market but caught it at closing time -lots of masks, beads, T-shirts, etc. so stopped at the Rivers Edge Restaurant on Decatur for a Southern sampler dinner (gumbo, shrimp creole, red beans, jambalaya, bread pudding with rum sauce). We caught a taxi and headed home after a long and very informative day.

Jan 22 - Mobile, AL

We left Tallahassee under clear skies and sunshine. Went back out to the coast all the way across the Gulf to Foley, AL. We travelled across lots of keys connected by a multitude of really long bridges. Checked into McCoy's RV in Mobile, AL. Gained an hour today with time change.

Jan 20-22 Tallahassee,FL

Away from Yellowjacket in sunshine and 61F. Passed through areas of large timber farms (pine) as well as saw mills. We had planned to follow the coast around the Gulf but changed plans quickly and checked into the Tallahassee RV Park early as there were warnings of severe thunderstorms coming through the region. Had torrential downpours through most of the night continuing on throughout the day. Alerts for tornados and flash floods streamed across the TV until 4:00 PM. Fortunately for us the storm passed us by and headed for Jacksonville. (tornado touched down before it reached there).

Jan 20-22 Tallahassee,FL

Jan 19 Old Town, FL

Started our trek northward. Checked into Yellowjacket RV Resort at Old Town situated along the banks of the Suwannee River and adjacent to a big wildlife preserve. We were so tall that the owner came out and cut away branches so we could get parked. They have 3 man-made fishing ponds, which are home to some alligators, including "Castro" a three-legged specimen. The river is spring fed so the manatees come by (in warmer weather, of course) but is really brown from the tanic acid coming out of the cypress roots so is difficult to see anything in it. Apparently, there are colossal sturgeon here. They had a pool (unheated) and a very welcome hot tub under the clear star-filled sky, as well as cable TV - rare bonuses in this state.

Jan 16-19 Torrey Oaks in Wauchula

Drove back down to Wauchula to again try to get the sat dish fixed with new dish. I guess by now it won't surprise you that the dish now is working but we now need a new LNB and they are on backorder from MotoSat. We tried to order direct from Starchoice but they can't ship into the US so we are making alternate plans. Enough about this misadventure. Torrey Oaks RV is a lovely first class park -we are staying free coutesy of a coupon from the RV show. On arrival, we were invited to join the managers to a Stuffed Shells potluck dinner so got to meet some of the residents. This was followed by an evening of kareoke. We had a disappointing variety of weather from rain to wind to cold, however we did manage to squeeze in a game of golf on their course. The prolonged cold snap has really destroyed the foliage in this area -particularly the banana trees.

Jan 8 -15 Tarpon Springs, FL

We drove a couple hours north to Tarpon Springs,known as the sponge capital of the world, a historic small city with an unusual mix of Greek culture and Victorian & Floridian architecture. It was incorporated in 1887 and grew around the sponge diving industry in the Gulf of Mexico. The internationally reknowned Sponge Docks are located here -still harvesting sponges and a great little museum/interpretive center along with dozens of little gift shops,boutiques and wonderful restaurants and bakeries. We decided early on that we would sample as many of the eateries as we could while we were here, Greek being our number one favorite food. One problem, the meals are soooo large that we could only do every second night as we had mega-leftovers to use up the alternate nights !! Tarpon Springs has been an arts destination since the early 1900s, when Geo Inness, the father of American landscape painting, made his home here. It is perhaps most famous for its 100-year old cross-diving ceremony, held annually on Epiphany, Jan.6 We checked into the Bayshore Cove Mobile Home & RV Park, backing in 4 feet off the river wall, with dolphins, manatees, mullets traversing from the power plant with its' warm water outflow through to the bayous in town. Life couldn't be any better !! It has been a really cold week -requiring our Alaska parkas and mitts at times. It has been so cold for so long that fish are dieing in the rivers and ponds and birds are ending up with frostbite to their feet. The farmers have been using so much water to save their fruit crops (spray them to creat ice over the outside and save them from freezing) that they have lowered the water table and are creating huge sink holes in the area (I-4 was closed down in one direction for 2 days to try to get rebuilt). We went into the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa to attend the largest RV show in the US. It was a sunny day, 72F, so was fun to finally be warm. Had dinner with friend, Denis Gingras and his friend Darryl Moore, both from Alberta but wintering here, at Ozona Blue in Dunedin. Toured the historic part of Dunedin in the afternoon. Will need to add photos later as I can't figure out how to attach with this new computer.

Jan 6 - Wauchula -brrrrrrr

Another cold day -woke up to 26F. We waited until it was 48F before playing 9 holes at Torrey Oaks. It was very pleasant when the wind wasn't blowing. I NEVER thought we would be wearing our Alaskan wear (fuzzy sweater, touque, mitts) hear in sunny Florida !! We enjoyed a Large Supreme loaded pizza at Pizza Hut for $10 :)

Jan4 -Still stuck in Wauchula

Here we sit rather impatiently waiting for our MotoSat dish to be fixed. Through a series of ongoing misadventures (wrong parts shipped, parts forgotten to be shipped, and the holiday hours for UPS) we are no further ahead than we were on Dec 23 !!! It has turned really cold here, once again WE experience the new record breaking temps. Has been down in the 20sF overnights and highs of only 48-58F, but at least the skies are clear, blue and sunny.

We ended up taking our new computer back to Tampa, after all the running around we did getting it set up, because neither of us could get the mousepad to work. Thought better now than later !! Will now look for another replacement before this one totally gives up on us.

Jan 5

We woke up to 28F this AM with a very heavy frost everywhere. This is really damaging to the fruit crops around here, not to mention all the landscaping materials. The thousands of acres of strawberries have been watered to form an ice cover around them to avoid freezing completely. Some fields have close to 100 pickers working into nightfall trying to get the crops off. The citrus haulers are one behind the other past our park here heading for the processing facilities. This area has huge open pit mines producing phosphates for agricultural fertilizer. They supply 75% of fertilizers in the USA.

Jan1/2010 -HAPPY NEW YEAR to all from FL

We ushered in the new year with a torential rainfall which lasted on and off all day. Was a good day to just kick back & read & do needlework.

Jan2/10

We drove out to Bradenton to have our new computer scanned and info transferred from the old one. Enjoyed lunch at the China King Buffet, really fresh and a huge variety including lots of seafood. We then drove down to Sarasota, a city first inhabited by the Tocobaga Indians from around 900 ad to 1500 ad when the Spanish arrived and wiped them out by disease and violence. As the 1800s arrived, so did the early pionerrs who began homesteading the areas along the rivers and coast. Farming & ranching eventually spread across the state shaping it into what it is today. Sarasota specifically was an area that attracted the wealthy from the north and brought with them the culture for which they are known. Most noteable was John Ringling, who moved here in the 1920s bringing with him his now famous art collection and his circus empire that used Sarasota as its winter home. We crossed the Ringling Causeway to Longboat Key and up the key over draw bridges to Anna Maria Key before heading back to Wauchula.

Jan3/10

We drove back out to Bradenton to have Verizon do an update to our new computer so we could use our air card. Had a very nice Mexican lunch at a local eatery. Good -but not as good as La Casita Dos in Blythe !! Today we took the toll road north to St Petersburg where I spent some time at the Salvador Dali Museum and Gallery. He has always been intruiging to me since university days. It is a lovely facility with not only paintings but also his gold, silver & bronze jewellery, glasswork and sculpture. Could really have spent a lot of time there reading but knew Norm was patiently waiting in the car. We then went out to St Pete Beach, Treasure Island and several other small beach communities that all seem to run together, ending at the north end of the key at Clearwater. We checked out a park in Dunedin where a friend winters however he was not around. From there up to Tarpon Springs, a historic small city with an unusual mix of Greek culture and Victorian & Floridian architecture. It is full of parks,bayous, brick streets, antique shops, boutiques, galleries & museums. It is also home to the internationally reknowned Sponge Docks. There are sooo many neat restaurants. We will definitely be going back for at least a couple of days.

Dec 31 - New Years Eve in Wauchula

We woke up to our 33rd Anniversary. After exchanging gifts we went to Nicholas' for a shrimp/scallop lunch then off for 18 holes of golf ($18 with cart) at Torrey Oakes. It is a really nice course, challenging with lots of water & sand. I played my best game ever coming in 7 strokes behind Norm :)

We spent our evening at home with a fantastic meal of shrimp cocktail, filet mignon & lobster, wild rice, garlic green beans, caesar salad and ending with tiramisu & fancy coffee. We even managed to see midnight with a blue moon, and the roar of fireworks in the background.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL.

Dec 27 - Jan 5 Wauchula, FL

Went back to Best Buy and found a nice Toshiba laptop for $399 -sometimes it pays to wait !! We packed up and headed south to Wauchula, a small citrus community, to try to get our new MotoSat Starchoice fixed. Has been a fiasco for days between waiting for parts from Utah and getting the wrong parts, not once but twice, plus dealing with holiday closures. We are staying at the 1000 Trails park here, which is very comfortable and has lots of amenities. Will be here until Jan 5, unless something else goes sideways.

Dec 26 - Boxing Day at Tampa East

We went shopping for a new computer as this one is getting lazier and more tempermental by the day. Best Buy starts their sales on Sundays so decided to wait and see what the specials would be then. Had a nice seafood lunch at the Red Lobster.
We hosted a "leftover dinner " party at our place with the same 6 of us. Somehow the leftovers seem better the next day (possibly the lack of stress putting things together !!) Had a really fun evening swapping travel stories before we head off tomorrow.

Dec 25 Christmas Day in Tampa East

We woke up to RAIN. We opened our gifts and had a delicious sausage & eggs breakfast. We contributed a 14 pound turkey (that Norm had picked up a couple months back for $5.60 and was taking up big space in our freezer) towards our communal dinner so spent the afternoon stuffing and roasting it. We enjoyed happy hour and a very bountiful Christmas dinner at Gerry & Wendy's gorgeous, spacious Citation 5th wheel, complete with big screen TV, fireplace and kitchen island.

Dec 24 Christmas Eve in Tampa East

We shared our Christmas Eve with new friends that we met at the park. Tony & Maureen are from Cranbrook and Gerry & Wendy are from Leduc, AB however they have both started full-timing this year. We played bocce ball in the afternoon then grazed our way through appies until well after dark.