Cold front moved in....

Our Location: Bluegrass Rv Park, Foley, Alabama

 

All pics taken with my phone yesterday. 

A cold front moved in overnight bringing our warm temps down to the cold mark. We didn't break 60 F/15C today and a cold wind made it feel downright uncomfortable unless you managed to block the wind. With cloud cover all day the air  never did feel warm. Tonight the low is going to be 40F/4.4 C...can you say Brrrrrrr? ~laugh~ 

Sign seen on a Kitchen/Bath advertisement

 

Today we hung around the Igloo until it warmed up to the high mark of 58F/14C around 11 am, then we headed out to walk once again on the Back Country Trail down in Orange Beach. We walked to the end of the trail where we found another parking lot, so if the weather is at all nice tomorrow we will drive to that parking lot and take the 'off shoot' paths for our walks. 

Think a car could actually ride up on that?

Interesting culvert ends, don't you think?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We headed out to Fort Morgan today after our walk, we weren't far away anyway. Figuring it would be too cold to walk around the fort but still nice to get out and see something different for both of us. We stopped at the Fort Morgan Ferry Dock which is a flat bottomed and blunt nosed/tail barge that carries folks across the bottom of Mobile Bay. The bay was once guarded by two forts, Morgan, located on the east side and Gaines, which is located on the west side of the bay. It's not a far trip across, I've made the trip before many years ago. The cost of taking a vehicle over 25' long such as a 5'er or motor home is $36.00 in summer and $35.00 now. Pretty inexpensive but you have to ensure that high tide is in or you can't get your rig on the barge as it sits too low in the water.The ferry is the Dauphine Island Ferry and travels between the two forts numerous times a day.

Knobby looking tree trunk...

 

Dotting the water of Mobile Bay are  numerous oil rigs some easily seen from the shore, and others merely dots on the horizon. Pelicans are always near by hoping and searching for some scrap to eat. I don't have the particulars of the ferry as it was too cold to stand around and read anything. ~laugh~ We hopped back in the Dogsled and headed down to the fort but once again the winds kept us inside and we opted to come back another time when the weather is warmer. Due to it's location on the outer edges of the long spit of land the wind is just whipping around there and since there are few or no trees to block it the rawness of it leaves you shivering on a day like today. 

 

Corner of S.Pecan Street and Michigan Ave, straight across from the veggie guy.

In the Dogsled and back home by around 2 pm, we spent the rest of the day just hanging out and staying warm. I made a visit to the clubhouse to return a book that we exchanged, we'd already read it before. I managed a quick chat with Linda, Charlotte, Pat and Norma before I came home.

 

Say that quickly and it comes to a whole different meaning...clever sign.

 

Dinner tonight was cooked inside as it's too cold outside to BBQ. We had some leftovers from last night, Garlic Onion Potatoes and chicken stuffing (warmed up ) and a Chicken Breast with friend Roger's wonderful BBQ sauce, done in the oven. For dessert we had some wonderful sliced peaches from a can. 

 

Everything is camouflage down here..

Clean up inside, no walk to the dumpster tonight, we didn't have much trash. Then off to do our own thing. 

Thanks for stopping by, hope you had a great day. Until next time...be safe, take care....

Almost busy kind of day....

Our Location: Bluegrass Rv Park, Foley, Alabama

Pics taken with my phone

Overnight was very warm, should have kept the windows open but only had the vent open. It was very humid today as well, the fog this morning making the air seem very misty and damp. Warm today but overcast, not nice for sitting outside but nice enough to have the big door open until after dinner tonight. 

After breakfast we immediately loaded up the 'rental' with our dirty laundry, filling the entire rear hatch. It's either a very small hatch or we have a lot of laundry. I'll let you decide which it might be. ~laugh~ From that chore we headed out to S. Pecan Street dead end section to do our daily walk. It was misty and humid but we managed to get our two trips accomplished in just over an hour. 

Entry sign at the Naval Base in Pensacola Florida

It was 9:50 am when we finished up our walk and making a left hand turn onto Michigan Ave we headed about a half mile or so to the laundromat. Once we had our stuff all loaded into the washers I stopped to chat with Carol of Neil and Carol, friends of Ed & Sue, our neighbours. They are all leaving on Saturday to head to Texas to visit with Sue's brother and sister for a month. Neil & Carol, Ed & Sue are real life neighbours in their home state of Missouri, living literally next door to each other. 

It was noon before we finished the laundry and started to load it in the vehicle. A quick trip home to hang up and put away the clean laundry netted us a finish time of 12:30 pm. It was back into the car to head to the train museum as today was the day we were sure we'd manage to get there in time to see everything. Hm.....sign on the door....sorry but we're closed today from 12:30 to 1:30 pm for a meeting. ~laugh~ Can you believe that? Rick Ferroni, Murphy is still here. ~laugh~ 

Portico over the entry way to the Base

We left the Train Museum heading south to the Wally World as we needed a few groceries. We wandered around the store for a bit, picking up a few things, and then a few more, then a few more and before we knew it the cart was half full. Ever happen to you? ~laugh~ You know it does, you just don't want to admit it. 

Home to put away the groceries and settle in for the rest of the day. It was already 1:45 pm. Lunch was eaten inside today as the sun never did make an appearance. Reading, I finished my book and started a new one. Oh no, I've read this one, started another new one, oh no, deja vu, read this one too. ~laugh~ Time to head to the clubhouse to see if I can find some new ones to read, as Riley is using my Kobo. Trip to the dumpster to rid the Igloo of the chicken carcass Riley cleaned for lunch. You know she loves those rotisserie chickens from Walmart.  Stop at the clubhouse to trade some books, managed to sit down and chat with Miss Charlotte and Miss Charlotte for a bit, had a quick hello with Bill and Eileen as well. Yes, there are two Miss Charlotte's here.

Her Royal Highness stretched out after dinner

Left the clubhouse, came home and did a few emails that needed my attention.  I even got out the iron and some starch to make some shirts look like they should instead of all those curled up hems. A couple of pants legs as well needed some attention. After that I read some more, looked up and it was time to start prepping dinner. Within 10 minutes of finishing the prep work it was time to start cooking. An hour later, we're enjoying our meal. 

Tonight we had Santa Fe Rice, Basil-Thyme Veggies, Smokey Bourbon Chicken Breasts. I can tell you from personal knowledge it was excellent. No left overs, so you will have to take my word for it. ~laugh~ 

Dinner was yummy.....

Quick clean up inside and outside, trip to the dumpster, home to read a bit more, and finally head off in our own  direction. 

 

A belated Happy Birthday to my friend Roger. His birthday was yesterday but it slipped my mind until late last night. Roger is a southern gentleman and an extremely nice guy. Happy Birthday Roger!!!

A nice day, nothing major or exciting but still nice. Hope you enjoyed your day as much as we enjoyed our day.

Until next time..be safe, take care.....

Animals, birds, sun, warmth....a full day...

Our Location: Bluegrass Rv Park, Foley, Alabama

A cool night again last night but today was fantastic, sunny, warm and the skies were so blue, with nary a cloud to be seen anywhere. Once the sun came up and started to heat up the air, it just kept getting nicer and nicer. A truly wonderful day. 

Casey the Goffin Cockatoo spoke a few words. 

Monday of course is cleaning day, today being Monday, can you guess what we did first thing? ~laugh~ I'm betting you can! After a pretty thorough cleaning we managed to have ourselves some breakfast, much later than usual today, it's was 9 am by the time we were eating. Riley slept late today, until 8 am, but I had my bedroom and the main bath already cleaned by then, and was working on the kitchen, living room, as well as feeding the cat by the time she woke up.

Ugly duckling has a whole new meaning now, huh? ~laugh~ Muscovy Duck.

We headed out to find the zoo this morning and a place to walk. We managed to find the zoo after a bit of zig zagging around in Gulf Shores. It's down a little back street with NO signage to tell you it's a zoo. It doesn't look like a zoo either. However we managed to find it, and for $11 each we wandered around for a while. Lots of big cats, with several sets of Bengal Tigers, Serval Cats, Lions, parrots, cockatoo's, toucans, and Monkeys of many kinds. Tortoises, swans, ducks, geese, even a Canada Goose with one good leg, one peg leg of sorts with the end of the leg ending in NO FOOT of any kind. It still managed to get around although it stumbled a bit. Capuchin monkeys' seemed to be numerous in the zoo, with a few different cages of them. A few alligators including Chuckie the rescue 'gator. He was bothering people in the state park and instead of putting him down, they shipped him to the zoo. At least 3 sets of Bengal Tigers, including two white ones. A couple of camels, an ostrich, and a few domestic things like goats, sheep, and donkeys. The donkeys didn't like it if they weren't fed and would bray loudly. ~laugh~ Some Fallow Deer as well were running to the fences looking for food. A small aviary with a LOT of parrots, parakeets, cockatoo's and Macaws was interesting but very loud. A couple of different cages with Cockatoo's in them, the birds spoke, it was very cute. Hello, Hey Guys, Hello, Hello, Hey Guys. ~laugh~ They didn't whistle though. ~laugh~ A few kinds of Lemurs rounded out what I can remember seeing today.

Peg Leg Pete the Canada Goose with only ONE foot.

From the Zoo we headed back to the walking path we used the other day. Finding a better parking place we were able to walk further along the trail today. It's a great place to walk, a bit far away but still a great place to stretch our legs and get some exercise.We walked for 30 minutes before turning around to head back to the Dogsled. Felt good to get a couple of walks in the past few days.

This Bengal Tiger paced a lot in a small area. The size of his feet would shock you!!Easily fill a bread plate.

From our walk we headed back toward the Igloo. We were pushing the clock toward 1 pm and were hungry. A quick stop netted us a box of Granola Bars we will leave in the Dogsled, and a rotisserie chicken. Riley enjoyed the chicken while I was happy with a garden salad when we made it home for lunch.

This White-throat Capuchin Monkey was full of energy, up and down the wire on the cage.

From there is was outside for some sunshine while reading, and in my case eating too. Riley didn't stay out long, she thought it was cold with the wind but I thought it was nice. Miss Charlotte (V & C) stopped by for a quick visit and chat. After that we just kind of relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon.

Grey Crowned Crane.

Prepped dinner, made note that it was 5:30 pm and still daylight outside. The days are getting longer!!!Soon they'll be long enough to sit outside until it's time to BBQ dinner. Can't wait!!!

African Spurred Tortoise, was pretty big, wouldn't fit in the top of a 5 gallon bucket.

Shortly after 6 pm I headed out to BBQ dinner. Not as cold as it has been but the wind was a bit chilly tonight. Dinner was Mild Italian Sausages with Italian Garlic Veggies, and Dill Potatoes with onions. It was very good. The sausages a bit spicy but still good. 

It was pretty good, but the sausages were a bit spicy.

A quick clean up inside and out, a walk to the dumpster, home to work on the pics we took and then write this blog. We took 224 pics, which I've whittled down to 171, some of them are in tonight's post and I'll keep the others for a slow picture day in the future. So all in all an excellent day. No complaints. 

Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed the visit. Feel free to leave a comment. Until next time...be safe, take care....

Blustery wind this morning....

Our Location: Bluegrass Rv Park, Foley, Alabama

A cool night outside last night but nice in the Igloo, we leave the heater on and it keeps it from getting too frosty inside. Blue skies today but a cold blustery wind kept the temps down. As the day progressed the wind died down and this evening it's a pretty nice night out there. 

A baby cone compared to those we've been seeing in our travels.

After breakfast we truly didn't have any plans but decided we should find somewhere to actually get a good walk in. We headed out to Gulf Shores to find the Gulf Oak Ridge Trail, which we eventually found after a good deal of looking. Nice trail, hardtop all the way similar to what we had when we walked the Riverwalk in Albany, Ga. The cold wind was in our faces as we returned and I was wishing I'd have brought my gloves, my hands were aching by the time we got back to the Dogsled. 

This thing is longer than Riley's hand!

On the way to find this walking path we toured a few back roads and stopped to take a few pics along the way. Some interesting sights if you keep your eyes open. Some monster type trucks down here and a few of them are pretty big with tires bigger than me. ~laugh~ 

I think the little car underneath might not be worth fixing. ~laugh~

We have been looking for a specific store called the House of Jerky and today we found it, it was closed. ~laugh~ No hours posted so we have no idea when it's open but perhaps we'll try again some times this week, if we happen back this way to walk again. 

Part of the Gulf Oak Ridge Trail.

We stopped at Books A Million to see about an Ereader, but they don't have any, they suggested Target. Now honestly how could a book store suggest we go somewhere else to get a 'book'? We've tried a number of places here and none seem to be available. We'll be heading back into Pensacola this week, we'll hit the Best Buy there. A quick stop at the Dollar Tree, and another at Target, but as you've surmised from the above line, they didn't have any either. The Dollar Store wasn't for an Ereader. ~laugh~ It was to get some window wipes as I'm all out of them and they are great for mirrors, windows and chrome. From there we headed home and managed to be back just before 1 pm. 

The Canal that runs between Foley and Gulf Shores.

Too cold to eat lunch outside today but we had the big door for a bit, until the wind started picking up again, then time to shut it. Riley laid down about 2:30 pm and had herself an hour's nap, and I conked out around 3 for a half hour nap. I awoke to a knocking on the door, Miss Charlotte of Vern and Charlotte along with Miss Norma was here to tell us they would be at CiCi's pizza place at 4:30 pm this afternoon for dinner if we would like to join them. I thanked them but declined. It's too early for us for dinner and too late for lunch. ~laugh~ 

One of the tug boats we seen today on the Canal, just sitting on it's day of rest.

Read for a bit, then around 4:30 we started prepping dinner. Read some more until about 6:15 pm, time to start cooking dinner outside on the BBQ. Dill Potatoes with Onions, Sweet Basil-Thyme Garlic Veggies, and Turkey burgers. I had an English muffin with mine, Riley had regular burger buns. It was pretty good, not as cold outside cooking as I thought, it's seems to be warming up now that the wind died down. 

Palm trees line the driveway leaving The Wharf.

As I was outside cooking dinner, Sue next door stopped by to thank me for telling them about the outdoor speakers being on. I assured her I wasn't complaining but thought for certain they didn't know which she of course explained was due to some grandkids playing music at some point before and they hadn't realized they were still on. ~laugh~ 

Turkey burgers tonight....

Clean up after dinner, and a walk up to the dumpster, then a stop at the clubhouse to thank Vern & Charlotte again for the dinner invitation. Home by 8:15 pm and off to do our own thing after that. 

A Happy Birthday goes out to two of my cousins, Bob Kay and his sister Ruth Kay who both celebrate a birthday today. Happy Birthday to both of them!!!

All in all, a good day, no complaints. Hope tomorrow is nicer temperature wise and we can get another walk in. We've been missing those. Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed your visit. Until next time..be safe...take care....

A totally lazy day here....

Our Location: Bluegrass Rv Park, Foley, Alabama

A very cool over night with a cold blustery day today. The wind, along with a lack of sunshine kept the temps in the mid 50F/12.7 C range all day. A few more days of this kind of weather before we hit a spell of nice warm days. Can't wait. ~laugh~ A few hardy souls braved the temps with short sleeves but they were few and far between. Out of the wind of course it wasn't too bad but still needed a heavier sweater. 

 

Not many pics tonight as we didn't do much of anything. 

Road between Row A (on the left) and Row B (on the right) heading toward the front of the park. The yellow truck is at the trailer that is getting the new roof.

We debated about a few things today but in the end just decided to stay home and do things around here, and perhaps I could scratch a couple of things off my to do list. A leisurely breakfast and a bit of reading started my morning off. I had to give breakfast a second try as the first one was aborted with milk that tasted just a bit off. ~laugh~ You know we shopped yesterday right? I didn't get milk. ~laugh~ 

 

I decided I needed to defrost the fridge and freezer as the ice build up in the fridge was starting to spread to most of the fins, instead of just one or two. Two pots of boiling water on the stove, then into the compartments meant the defrost went pretty fast. In about 45 minutes I was finished both top and bottom. We decided on turkey burgers for dinner, so took those out while I was at it.

 

This is the driveway across the street from Bluegrass in a mobile trailer park. We walked it's one road today to get out of the wind but still found it cold.

 

After about an hour I was looking for something to do, I started testing out the new shelf blockers we bought to use in our pantry now that we have sliding shelves. This will stop them from sliding out while we travel. Of course as I tested them I noticed a few things that could stand a tidying up, one shelf lead to another to another. You get the idea. I tidied up the whole pantry. ~laugh~ After that I decided I needed to take a look at the silverware drawer as it wasn't closing properly. Tightened up some screws, added an extra one, voila, it's fixed. Next I had to go outside and get my drill to work on the pan drawer again. Miss Charlotte of Vern and Charlotte was walking by, stopped to chat and ended up coming in for a bit to chatter with both of us. I felt awful about the state of the Igloo, pans all over the countertop, drawer out on the floor, screwdrivers everywhere. ~laugh~ Isn't that always the way, someone stops by when the house is at it's worst. ~laugh~ She filled us in on the local pizza place, and Lambert's the home of the throwed rolls. Yes, throwed and rolls. They throw rolls at you, dinner rolls, if you don't catch 'em it's okay, they'll keep throwing until you do. ~laugh~ 

Working on the pan drawer after Miss Charlotte left I think I may have found the problem, we shall see if my fix continues to hold or if it was just a wishful momentary fix. ~laugh~ I think the slide it's self wasn't straight, that whoever put it in didn't ensure it was level. It is also a bit too small, didn't fit as well as it should, so I added cardboard shim for now to see if that works, but only to the front, when I added one to the back also it seemed to make the drawer bind when moving. If you recall I used a thin piece of wood last time but it was too thick, so I thought the cardboard would at least let me know if it will fix the actual sliding problem. If the cardboard shim continues to work I'll head to the lumber store to get a proper shim, but I don't want to do so until I know it'll work. 

My new sploggers, shiny aren't they?

After that it was time for lunch while we watched a movie called Deep Impact with Morgan Freeman and Robert Duvall, it was pretty good. Oh and the guy that played Frodo Baggins in Lord of the Rings was also in it. Much younger than he was in LOTR. We both enjoyed the movie but it wasn't one of Morgan Freeman's better ones. 

 

Time to take a quick walk around the park, but it was too cold for us to go far. I know it's not really cold but it is when yesterday was 25 degrees warmer. ~laugh~ We only made about 3 rounds, it was enough. We chatted with Linda, Charlotte, (not Miss Charlotte of Vern and Charlotte), and Brian for a bit then headed inside to get warm. 

 

Riley's new half rubbers. Funky huh?

 

Reading some more, had to lay down for a bit as my hip seems to be having fits today for some reason. Seems better now but earlier it was throbbing like crazy. I'm still trying to get the results of my blood work or at least have them sent to my doctor. Do you recall it was late December I had the blood work done in Albany, Ga. It shouldn't be this difficult to get my own results. Had they told me it would be this much trouble I would have just had them faxed to the dr, but now I'm not sure if they've even done that. I'm trying to find that out.  Anyway, I'm off topic again. My train of thought just wanders around like a drunk in a bad wind storm. ~laugh~ 

 

 

"Sgetti and meatballs with tomatoes and green chilies. Bit spicy but good.

About the time I was thinking I should be doing something about prepping dinner, I realized I just couldn't be outside to BBQ tonight, since my hip was feeling better there was no way I was going outside to stand in the cold while cooking. So we changed our dinner plans and had spaghetti, meatballs and tomatoes with chilies. It was pretty good. We'll do the burgers when it warms up. 

We played one game of Yahtzee, no I didn't win, I lost by 6 points. ~laugh~  We BOTH rolled Yahtzees. ~laugh~ I still think she cheats. 

We've been hearing someones tv for a few hours now, it seems really loud and we've never heard it this loud before. We mostly just ignored it, as it wasn't too bad while we were up and moving about but once things quieted down and we started off in our own directions it seemed to get louder, maybe because the Igloo was quieter. At first I thought it was coming from Roy and Pat's as Roy is very hard of hearing. I donned my shoes, and a hoodie, stepped outside to listen, nope, not coming from Roy and Pat's trailer. Stepped around to the other side where Ed and Sue are living, sure enough, it's coming from there. I stepped closer and realized their outside speakers were on. ~laugh~ We've done that as well without realizing it, we however were lucky we were in the Pit when it happened and no one was around to hear it except maybe Bambi. So I knocked on the door and asked them if they knew the outside speakers were on, of course they didn't and now they've shut them, quiet is all around us once again. ~laugh~ 

So as you can see or have read, it's been a pretty lazy kind of day here but a productive one all the same. We have plans to pick up some milk, cheese and a rotisserie chicken tomorrow. Other than that we shall see. 

 

Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed your visit. Please feel free to leave a comment. Until next time...be safe, take care.....

 

 

 

Cooler today....fraud call.....

Our Location: Bluegrass Rv Park, Foley, Alabama

A much warmer night than expected but a cooler day followed. Out of the wind and into the sunshine it was a fantastic day however it wasn't always possible to stay out of the wind and in the sunshine. Know what I mean? ~laugh~ We managed to make it to about 58F/14C by this afternoon but the clouds rolled in periodically so the temps may have been registering at those numbers but it didn't feel like it. However, no complaints, we aren't shovelling anything. ~grin~ 

A holly berry bush and some kind of flowering shrub mixed together here in the park.

 We hung around for a bit after breakfast as we thought we'd go to the train museum in Foley before going grocery shopping but around 9 am, decided we'd do the train museum after groceries and putting them away as the museum doesn't open until 10 am. We went off to Robertsdale Wally World instead of the local one and stopped at the TSC (Tractor Supply Company) on the way. I needed some 'chicken' wire for a project I want to do in the near future. We wandered around the store for a bit, Riley got herself a pair of half rubber boots, and I got myself a pair of sloggers. No half rubber boots are not just one boot, ~laugh~ they are only about mid calf instead of almost to your knee. Sloggers are like ducky boots, but very shiny and a bit more like a shoe. I guess I should show you a pic but then again, I'm lazy and I've already uploaded all of today's pics. ~laugh~  We also managed to find a small roll of wire for me. Leaving there it was a short hop to the Wally World but the Dogsled wasn't feeling like making a left hand turn and so we voomed right on past thru the little town of Robertsdale. On the outskirts of the town we came across a Fred's that I was pretty certain was there from a previous visit.

Isn't this just such a pretty flower?

 

Fred's is a combination pharmacy, dollar store kind of thing but it has a variety of goodies to keep one's attention. We picked up some stuff for my dad that he requested a while ago. We also managed to find some kitty litter for Her Royal Highness. A couple of bottles of shampoo and body wash, some face clothes for us rounded out our big shopping trip at Fred's. 

Holly Berries and see the flower bud beside the berries?

From Fred's it was back to Walmart and some much needed groceries. Riley and I eat a lot of fruit and vegetables, it seems as if we are buying them constantly. With a small fridge you can't really stock up plus they don't always keep so well either. Therefore if it seems like we buy groceries often, it's because we do. Paying for the groceries with my debit card was an experience. We've had trouble with the chip readers down here in the US since we've been here but often times if we just swipe instead of inserting the chip they work fine. Tried a number of times to swipe, and/or use the chip, wouldn't work. Same thing with Riley's card. Hmm....I used my card at this same store just a few days ago and it worked fine. They tried keying it in as well, no good. Finally Riley's card worked, no reason, didn't do anything different it just worked. Hm....wonder what that means? 

This is the driveway between Rows B and C. Row B is in the picture. We are further up from the brown trailer.

Home to the Igloo, put away the groceries, decided we were done for the day. ~laugh~ Are we lazy or what? We actually did manage 4 rounds around the park this afternoon though. Not a long walk but still a bit of a walk. Anyway, I'm getting off topic. As we're putting the groceries away my phone dings, and I get a text message from TD Canada Trust (my bank), we think there has been a fraudulent attempt to use your debit card ending in..XXXX, if this is you send yes, if not call...XXXXXXXXXX. I send a text saying yes....one comes back....we can't help you at this time..please call...XXXXXXXXX. I don't bother calling, I'm in the middle of things right now. As I am just finishing making my lunch my phone rings, it's TD Canada Trust calling me about an attempted Fraudulent use of my debit card. Please press 1 for .....you get the idea. Press 1, press 2, finally a voice says," Thanks for calling TD Canada Trust, how may I help you today?" Hm.....you called me, I didn't call you. Give him my name, and "oh, yes, we think there was a fraudulent attempt to use your debit card this morning.". Long story short, they finally agreed I was who I said I was, that it was me trying to use my card and that they would lift the lock on the card so I could use it. Isn't that wonderful of them? I mean I appreciate it very much but TD Canada Trust already knew I was in the US for 5 months as I had already contacted them about my credit card not working. They assured me there would be no more problems with either debit or credit. Hmmmmm.......I appreciate the position they are in, seeing something out of the ordinary but had they taken the time to look they could have seen a number of other transaction on both credit and debit card in this area. Oh well...it's fixed now, apparently. ~laugh~ 

This is Tom Jackson's cat. (Tom & Linda owned the park but Tom passed about a year and a half ago)

 

Lunch was inside today, too cool outside but I did slip outside to read for about a half hour but it was too chilly for me with the sun slipping in and out of the cloud cover. Like I said above, we walked 4 loops around the park this afternoon. Stopped in at the clubhouse on our last round, Vern, Charlotte, Pat, Charlotte (yes 2 Charlottes) were all working on the puzzle. I take my hat off to them, the pieces are small and I don't have the patience. I kept offering Pat pieces but she didn't seem to want them. ~laugh~  As we were headed into the clubhouse we noticed Charlotte's (not Charlotte of Vern & Charlotte) golf cart had a clear plastic enclosure over it to keep out the weather, one side was completely open of course for access but the front panel was open from the top down about a foot. Riley mentioned it to me and asked why I thought it was down, I had no idea. So I asked Charlotte if that was to let the wind blow thru her hair as she's not tall enough to see thru it. ~laugh~ She assured me it was to let the wind blow thru her hair. ~laugh~ Actually she said it kept fogging up and I was going to comment on her being hot stuff but thought better of it. ~laugh~ 

 

These guys are ripping the roof off the trailer. It's a fairly new looking Mobile Suite but they were just ripping strips off the roof and tossing them on ground, so it must have had a leak.

Home after our little chat, prepped dinner and sat down to read my book again. Cools off as the sun goes down causing us to turn on the heater again tonight. 

Yummmmmm....

 

Dinner was excellent and I as the cook will assure you that it was not a fib, it truly was excellent. ~laugh~ Dill potatoes with onion, Garlic Rosemary Veggies and Orange Mustard Glazed Pork Loin Chops.  Plus we added a couple of Oatmeal Cookies for dessert. 

Clean up inside, outside, and walked the trash to the dumpster. After that it was a quick game of Yahtzee, ~doing my dance~ yes, I did, and yes I did. ~laugh~ 

After that it was off to our own corners to do our own thing. Me to write this blog, read some blogs and perhaps catch up on some emails before calling it a night. 

So there you have it, nothing exciting but a pleasant day all the same. Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed your visit. Until next time...be safe....take care....

It's Monday....some things aren't open.....

We are currently in Foley, Alabama but we were without internet connection for a couple of weeks so I’ll be posting the blog posts in order over the next few days until I get caught up.

Our Location: Bluegrass Rv Park, Foley, Alabama

(Jan 23, 2017)

A much cooler day today than yesterday with a crisp wind that brought a chill whenever it blew. In the sunshine it was nice this afternoon, in fact it bordered on being hot in the direct sunlight. The wind died down shortly after noon time and it was a much more pleasant afternoon than morning.

Devin Scullion

Condolences to my old neighbours back in Hamilton, Ontario, on the death of their son Devin who passed last night. Devin was very special young man, he suffered from a very rare disease that made him age rapidly. Referred to as ‘Old Man Syndrome’ Devin was one of a very few people in the world that had this disease. He managed to live many years longer than predicted by the experts but his life was cut short at just 20 years of age. My thoughts go out to his parent Jamie and Shaun and their family.  Rest in peace Devin.

Native Totem Pelican

Monday of course is cleaning day, as you know. Never takes long, it’s just getting started that’s the issue. ~laugh~ I took the time yesterday to clean out a couple of cupboards, wiping them out, putting them back in order as they seem to slip out of order as the week progresses. Nothing like a clean Igloo.

Christmas Decorations & Street Art

After breakfast the cloudy skies didn’t instill any confidence in the sunshiny forecast that I’d heard but never the less we decided we’d try to sight seeing today. We headed out to Pensacola and the Historic Village of Old Pensacola. Not a far drive but it took us back into the state of Florida of course. We stopped a few times along the way as I showed Riley some places that I remembered and wanted to check out again. Eventually we made it downtown to the old Village of Pensacola. I’d visited here once before but couldn’t find the parking lot I was remembering in my mind. Reason being that it wasn’t open to the public, it was closed off for renovations and it just confused me. ~laugh~ Eventually we parked and headed out to find T.T. Wentworth Museum to purchase tickets for the tour. Hmm…do you remember that it’s Monday? It’s not open on Monday. ~laugh~ I think I did the same thing before too. However we managed to walk around the old part of down town and see a few old buildings and get a walk in as we haven’t been walking here due to weather.

Parking meters

Back in the Dogsled we headed homeward with a few ideas of how to spend the afternoon. We went on past the Bluegrass driveway, headed into the village of Foley on a couple of errands. First we stopped at Piggly Wiggly, one of the little grocery stores here for a few quick things we needed. However it wouldn’t accept my debit card and so one of the errands wasn’t going to be accomplished. I was planning on getting some cash back from them as they offer that feature but well….Murphy …..~laugh~

Pedal trolley. EVERYONE pedals.

We opted out of the second errand until tomorrow as we were hungry and decided lunch was calling. Back home we managed to find our way to the fridge, put away a few groceries, eat a few more and start a new list. ~laugh~ I enjoyed a large garden salad while Riley finished off the chicken from yesterday. We both enjoyed our books as we ate lunch. The warm sunshine kept calling me to come outside and sit. However we’ve been doing a lot of sitting lately but decided today was the perfect time to get back to walking. We made 4 rounds around the park which took us about 20 minutes, we were pleased with that as we’d already did some walking this morning. Riley headed on home while I stopped to chat with a couple of folks I know here to ask a couple of questions they could answer. The park no longer fills propane cylinders so I need either have this one filled or exchanged and we can start bbqing again. Charlotte and I chatted away, catching up on a number of things. She’s one of my favourite people here in this park. I’ve always liked her, she and her husband Vern are super nice folks!!!

Camouflage crane truck.

Home from my little chat with Charlotte I changed into short pants, grabbed my book, outside in the warm sunshine with my hat to keep the sun out of my baby blues. ~laugh~ I wasn’t out there very long until Roy (next door) came motoring over in his chair. We chatted for about 45 minutes, I think Roy is lonely and misses his friend Tom (actually Roy's brother in law) who passed away about 18 months ago. Tom and his wife Linda own the park. Roy fell and broke his leg just about a year ago and has had two surgeries to fix it. He’s 88 but doesn’t act a day over 15.  Reminds me of someone that shall remain nameless. ~laugh~  As Roy and I are chatting the neighbour on the other side, Ed from Missouri came over to chat for a few minutes as well. After the two of them left I once again started reading, enjoying my time in the sun but it got to be too hot and I had to retreat inside. Doors, windows and vents open it was nice in the Igloo.

Building made of big rig boxes.

Puttered in the rest of the afternoon reading, and figuring out what sides to add our chicken for dinner. Before you know it, the air is cooling off and dark is coming. Shutting all the windows, vents and doors to keep in the afternoon heat.

Made with our own shelled Alabama Pecans

Dinner was excellent but cooked inside. Honey Pecan chicken breast with seasoned steamed veggies, along side bow tie pasta. Mmmmm…..

Clean up and head off in our own directions. Another day is finished here and night is settling in, thanks for visiting, I hope you enjoyed it. Until next time…be safe…take care…

Just one of those days....

I have a few more post to catch up on to be back to once a day posting. Today or maybe tomorrow and I'll be caught up again. 

Our Location: Bluegrass Rv Park, Foley, Alabama

(Jan 20, 2017

(All pics today from Blackwater River State Park)

It’s been a day!! This morning started off great, I got out of bed, had breakfast. Great start right? I thought so too. I should have went back to bed after breakfast. ~laugh~

The night was warm, excellent sleeping weather and with the rain drops drumming softly on the roof I fell asleep for a great nights sleep. Didn’t hear a thing until about 6:30 AM. Most night I”m up and down a number of times, sometimes I can fall right back to sleep, but other times I’m not so fortunate. I’m getting off topic here. ~laugh~

The boardwalk at Blackwater River State Park.

After breakfast we packed up the inside of the Igloo, things went well. I stepped outside to start packing up the outside, that’s when things weren’t heading in the right direction. Started off with a small tree laying across the drivers door and a bit of the roof of the Dogsled. No damage but still gave me a bit of a start. I hadn’t heard anything thru the night so imagine my surprise. Pulled the tree off, inspected the Dogsled, we’re good to go, no issues.

Unhooked the water before any of the other utilities, for no reason I can think of except I wasn’t really thinking. How can I rinse things off without water? Had to hook the water back after I disconnected the sewer line which is when I realized my mistake. Sprayed my foot with the water hose (lucky it was clean water) while working with the hose. Had trouble getting one of the connections off the black water pipe to disconnect the line, had to finally use the hammer to tap it loose. Got things finally tucked away and ready to roll by 9 AM.

Cloudy skies this morning but we’re rolling anyway, no wind, no water yet, and our time is up in site #11. Starting out of the campground, touch the brakes and they almost put us thru the windshield, they grabbed so hard. Hmm…..I play around with that for a bit finally get them to where they are no longer putting us in danger of breaking our necks and we’re off. The drive is good, straight forward, no issues. Along US 90 for a bit, then onto I-10, a bit further along we get on US 85, then Baldwin Beach Expressway, finally on to Foley Expressway and lastly onto US 98, arrive at Bluegrass RV about 11 AM. Into the office to sign in, find our spot and hope to get settled in quickly we have a few chores to do. First we chat with Vern & Charlotte, Garry and Nancy as they are already in the Clubhouse/office. Jeff (park manager) comes in, gives us the site number but says there is some soft sand in the place, a motor home pulled out leaving a deep indent as the rain they’ve been having has softened the ground. Not a problem, we have boards for that. B2 is our site, close to the entrance way, near the dumpster, clubhouse and right beside one of my favourite people here in this park, Roy!!!

White Cedar, very twisty tree.

The ground is soft and I take a second turn to get into the spot on a better angle. Trying to avoid the soft sand but not having much luck. From here it went downhill. First, we couldn’t hook up Riley’s bathroom to the sewer, too far away. Next we couldn’t put the slide out due to the electric hook up, then we couldn’t seem to get the hitch to release. We hooked up the water, electric and sewer a few times, put the front and back jacks up and down a few times, hooked up and unhooked the Igloo a few times. And it started to rain. ~laugh~  Of course folks stopped by to chat but finally we managed to get set up. We’re not quite level but close enough for me. I wasn’t going to do any more farting around with it. ~laugh~ It’s going onto 12:30 pm and I’m hungry.

Roy, our neighbour stopped by for a quick chat while we were in the midst of setting up, Vern and Charlotte stopped by on their way home from the clubhouse, while we were setting up and the guy next door was watching us set up. All in all, I think things went well for all that was going on. ~laugh~ We grabbed a quick granola bar for lunch, tossed massive amounts of dirty laundry into the Dogsled and set off to find the laundromat. Now you must realize I know where it is, but not it’s name, nor what street it’s actually on. I haven’t been there in 2 years so I’m going from memory. I know we turn down S Pecan Street but I”m not sure if that’s to go to the laundry or to something else. ~laugh~ You see how this going don’t ya? Well guess what. I got it right first try. ~laugh~ I was shocked.

Inside to do some much needed laundry, it always takes a couple of hours to do it. We used 5 machines to wash, 3 to dry. Took me a half hour just to fold the darn stuff. We had a lot of laundry. Lucky we weren’t going around naked. Riley went outside to put the soap and bleach back in the Dogsled, as she’s unlocking the door, the heavens opened up and the bottom fell out, she got soaked. ~laugh~ I mean she was totally drenched. All the clothes were in the washers and just as wet as she was, so she had to tough it out. I felt sorry for her though. She came back in to the building the rain stopped. It was a 30 second deluge and she was in it.

We're having a good time.

Home to put the laundry away, grabbed another granola bar for a snack as it was now 2:30 pm. We needed some groceries as well but couldn’t do both at the same time as there wasn’t room enough in the backseat of the Dogsled. We hit the local Wally’s World for some food to hold us over for a few days. By the time we are leaving it’s 4:30 pm, and the rotisserie chicken we bought for lunch tomorrow smelled so good that it became dinner tonight. ~laugh~ Managed to make it home and have the groceries put away by 5:15 pm, I headed for the clubhouse to get the internet password while Riley started cutting up the chicken.

At the clubhouse I ran into Norma, so we chatted for a bit, I met Charlie, not sure where he fits in here yet but I’ll figure it out. Before I can get away to come home for an early dinner Bob of Bob & Norma pulls up and chats for a bit. It’s wonderful to see these folks but I need to get home for some dinner, it’s been a long day and I’m starving. I’m almost home and Patricia of Roy & Pat (our neighbours) is standing at the end of their ramp, so I stop and chat with her for a few minutes.

A softer kind of pine than Georgia

I finally stagger thru the door at about 5:30 pm, hand Riley the internet password, call my dad to let him know we’ve arrived and then sit down to wolf down some chicken with Sante Fe rice. Good, but I’m still hungry. We ate the entire chicken. ~laugh~ After we wash up the dishes I cut up some apples, add some orange slices, grapes, and blue berries in a dish, a couple of oatmeal raisin cookies on the side, voila I have dessert. I’m no longer hungry. ~laugh~

A quick shower for me and then it’s time to start doing my blogs. I have to transfer them from one program to another plus upload all the pictures as well. Slow connection makes this a time consuming job. However I’ll manage to get it finished over the next number of days and I’ll be caught up in no time. I opened my email, 50 new emails. How can I have that many emails in a few weeks? ~laugh~ Some body must love me!!!!

Not enough dinner for me tonight.

A Happy Birthday goes out to cousin Craig who celebrates today. I see he is currently in Chiliwack, BC. He is a long distance trucker and it's never surprising to see him in various places. Happy Birthday Craigy!!!! Miss you. Hope you had a fantastic day. Looking forward to seeing you in the summer.

While I”m writing this tonight I won’t be posting it tonight, as I will be posting the blog posts in order.

So until next time…be safe, take care…..