SILVER SPRINGS….

On Sunday Dec. 4th ….

Pheebe & I went over to Silver Springs  St. Park here in Florida…met up with Liz…Anita…Margie….But first on Sat. Margie & I met up at the Renningers Flea Market in Mt. Dora…No pic’s cause my phone died and lost all pix..Below is my site at Silver Springs…all set up with my new Clam screen room…

Site at Silver Springs….

There were only 4 of us staying at the camp ground…but on Wed. Irmi & Brenda came for a pot luck lunch…lots of good food and fun time…starting at front left…Liz …Brenda …Anita…Margie & Irmi…

Pot luck lunch….

We did not do a whole lot on this outing…Margie had to leave Wed. after she had pot luck lunch…on Thur. i went for a hike with Liz & Anita…on the river trail…was not sure if i should go or not…more walking than i am use to…but sooooo glad i went…Thistle & Pheebe went also…and that is where i think she got a tick…Pheebe…

Liz …Thistle & Anita ready to hike…

 

And this is what we found at the end of the trail where it meets the river….i hope you can see him sitting on the rail…

See that cutie…

And this is the boss man …he seemed to be looking after the troop….

And the rest of the story…

The story behind these monkeys at Silver Springs … supose to be the decendts of the rhesus macaques that were used in the Tarzan moves that were filmed along the Silver River…But from what i have read they were released by a tour boat operator in 1938…so take your pick…a couple years ago i was camping here with the RV girls and we went out kayaking looking for them but never seen any…so this was a great hike finding them…there were at least 30 of them …they ran across in front of us along that rail…there were at least 6 of them carrying babies on their bellys…sure would have liked to seen a baby or two up close…While Margie & i went to Renningers Flea…we went to Mt. Dora that night to see the Christmas lights thru out the town…well worth the trip…i would like to go again…be more prepared to see things such as the boat parade…we were planning on staying at the fair ground they had elec. to plug into but it was more than a little iffy …so we ended up at WM for the night then on to Silver Springs next morning…Well thats it for now thanks for looking and come back soon…blessings to all…GM&P

MERRY CHRISTMAS…

Pheebe & I went to the beach…

for the sunrise this morning…was not sure we would see much as it rained about 5 am…but even on the way over crossing the causeway bridge had some beautiful pre-sunrise pic…if i had a Gro-Pro on my dash i could have got some goodies…but it ended up with some good ones at the beach too…

The RT was almost alone when we got there…a little decked out for Christmas…next year will be better we are hoping…

On the way out  was a different story packed full parking lot…a bunch on the beach…

Well this was our tree this year…not much not even decorated…I got it after Christmas last year at WM…cheap…The houses are from the 1940.s belonged to my maternal grandmother…i love them as a kid…you put Christmas light bulbs in the back…Father Christmas my daughter painted…along with the shell…

And here is my Christmas dinner…ham just a slice of Smithfield not a whole ham…sweets i made…box dressing…do not like it so will make my own from now on…brussels sprouts sauteed in garlic olive and butter i made…mashed patatoes compliments of Bob Evens. i browned the ham and it made a great gravy….even tho i cheated it was delish…fast & easy…

And the rest of the story…

We have been working hard with a little play in between…got a big dent in my packing and purging of my stuff…doing some camping with my RV gal pals…had to get some work done on the RT…new brakes and rotors…a couple new belts and air filter…the rig is 10 years old so its no shame for needing fixed… hope to do a few post on camping and other happenings soon…but all for now thanks for looking and come back soon blessings to all GM&P

MERRY CHRISTMAS…

SOME STORAGE IN THE RT…

Been working on the RT…..

on and off as i purge and sort…i need some place to put stuff…so as i run across things that i will need to travel in the RT i put those items in…but needed places to store them…storage not as easy as the Class C….

So I started in the back…the problem with the back the door that carries the spare tire i can not use at this time…to heavy for me to put down and lift up…so i work around it…not to hard as you can access the storage area  from inside if needed…in the above pics you can see some of my first lay out of storage…my dad had all these little lock n lock boxes that he used in his big freezer…i was going to get rid of them until i had a light bulb moment…lol they would work good in the RT…my red tool bag is on the right might not use that and use another box…will see…but you can see I  still have plenty of room …

Below is the cupboard inside that i will be using as my pantry….i can fit one box on the top shelf…one on the second shelf and a tray in back and box in front on the bottom shelf…on the second shelf i can fit can goods or what ever behind box…i am liking these boxes…

Inside again up front that little shelf goes across that doesnt seem much good for anything…i found these little baskets 3 for a $1 at the dollar store …not sure what will end up there but thats what it looks like for now…any ideas what to store there??

And at the back again…i want to show you where i store my Clam screen room…fits like a glove back there…and all the boxes and what ever will fit in front of it….i love that it fit there and i dont have to make room inside when i travel…have enough stuff to fit inside for traveling…

And the rest of the story….

Most of what you see here are empty boxes…i want to get my storage arranged so i know what is what…then as i know what i want to take or keep in the rig i will load it up…A week from this coming sat. going on a road trip camping again…on Sat will meet up with Margie at Renningers near MT.Dora…so we can check out some Christmas doings in Mt. Dora…then we are headed to Silver River St. Park for some camping with a bunch from the Women RV forum…looking forward to both these outings…will take the Clam and see if i can do a better job with it…so anyway if you all got some good tips & ideas about storage please comment…thanks for looking and come back soon…blessings GM&P

THE CLAM….

When Margie & I went …

camping earlier this year at Trimble Park near Mt. Dora…she brought her new screen room The Clam and we used it for the first time…and loved it…so when i had an opportunity to get one this fall…i went for it…i paid for it and Margie had it shipped to her via Amazon…and then brought it to Lake Kissimmee with her…she had got the larger 12x15…but with the RT i knew i had to get the smaller 6x7…and it is a good fit for me & Pheebe…

Well it seems we forgot how to put the dang thing up…below Margie working on it while i was reading the not so informative directions again…have know idea why we could not do this simple thing…when we had alread done this once before…  later she put hers up in less than 5 min… …by her self…and it took us an hr. to get this up…You Tube works great for show how to put this up in 5 min.

The fur babies watching their  two crazy mama’s wondering what in the world was going on…they were so good staying in the buggies…they probably thought they would get eaten by the big brown monster that was all over the place…several times we had to grab it to control it…lol…we made this much much harder that what it was…so easy to put up and take down by one person…

TA-DA…and we did it…like i said we made this way to hard…one person can put it up in 5 min. and i highly recommend it…if i had a larger RV i would get the bigger one…it could fit over a picnic table …you see we got 2 buggies 2 chairs and a small table it mine…if no buggies you could get more chairs..you can order side panels for it ..keep out wind & rain…Margie got them for hers…i will also get them…

We put this to good use at the camp ground…and we had a great time camping …No Verizon service at Lake Kissimmee but Margie had AT&T that work somewhat…

And the rest of the story….

As usual i am late with my news…this was a few weeks ago…been busy…on a roll now getting crafts stuff together…when that is done or almost done i will feel i have made progress…Thanksgiving in a few days…staying home watching parade…watching dog show…and then the Steelers play…might or might not cook a turkey dinner. Then on Dec 3 heading out for more camping…today will be working on packing and then will leave at 5 for the last crafting with the chruch ladies…all for now thanks for looking come back soon …Blessings GM&P

Fleamarket…

Before we headed out to ….

Lake Kissimmee St. Park…I went over to the local fleamarket…Renningers bought out the Big Flea…and boy is it 100% better…

I went with a purpose ….but had to have lunch first………..

A slice of great pizza….

And an all time fav…funnel cake…

And then on to my business…get a new ride for Pheebe…She likes to ride in her big sisters buggy so much and it works out so well while camping i decided to get a new one…reason being small rig needed smaller and one that would fit into the RT better…this buggy will collapse down flat…where the other one will not and this will  take up much less room and make for a better transport…

Hippy-flower buggy for a wild flower child….

I was checking out all the buggys they had was looking at lime green & pink…and a red one…a couple just did not feel right pushing them…dont know why i did not notice this one first off…but soon as i seen it and pushed it ..this was the one…and doesnt it suit her just right…??? and she loves it…a hippy buggy for a wild flower child…lol

And the rest of the story….

I have been very busy …but i am taking breaks to go camping…as you seen the Lake Kissimmee St. Park post…i have more on that also…i had a yard sale with my stuff…i was happy it was ok..but did not get rid of enough…I have decided i cant afford to rent a storage unit…sooooo what to do…thinking maybe i will have to get rid of my craft supplies and my material….but i got my craft mojo back and i really would like to supplement my income selling …and also i have 4 small pieces of funiture i want to keep…so now thinking i will need to find my home base sooner rather than later…to much to think about …cause i still have sooooo very much to do…this last week i have been at the church helping set up for the bazzar…it is now over and we did great…but it was the last one …the church is dissolving and the building is being sold…it is a Lutheran church…i wish they would take it over so we could continure on…today Sunday i am takeing a break not doing much but watching football & washing bed linen…well all for now thanks for looking and come back soon …blessings GM&P

ROAD TRIP….lAKE KISSIMMEE ST PARK

On Sunday the 23rd Margie, me & the fur kids….

took a camping road trip to Lake Kissimmee State Park…of course any adventure is not without some minor mishap or the like…Margie had step probems had to find some bungies to tie them up..then she was on her way…we met up at the park found our sites & settled in…by that time it was late afternoon and Kissimmee Cow Camp exibit was closing about 4:30…so off we went on  her scooter/golf cart thing to the camp….This is only open on the weekeds so it was now or never for this visit…

 

i was particulry intrested in this as i had just finished reading Land Remembered by Patrick  D.  Smith…it is an historical ficition about Florida in the 1800s….it was about the  cow hunter who “popped cattle” out of the Florida  wilderness branded them and drove them year round on long cattle drives to Punta Rassa on the west coast and shipped to Cuba..

A little about the Florida cow hunter …he was similar to that of the western cowboy…Roundups…rustlers…long cattle drives and a fair share of violence were a way of life…the important difference between the cow hunter and the cowboy of the west ..the marshes…hammocks and flatwoods of Florida prevented the use of the lariat which was very effective on the open ranges of the west..Instead the cow hunter used  trained dogs and a whip know as a drag to drove the cattle…the loud crack of the drag (whip) moved the cattle and signaled to other cow hunters…because of this the cow hunters became known as “ Crackers” ….the loud crack of the whip….

Florida cracker (cowboy) AKA ranger ….

In this cow camp you will meander down the trail to the cow camp and travel back in time to 1876…at the end of the trail you will find a Florida Cow Hunter (park ranger & he did a good job portraying the cow hunter)  in a  frontier camp along the route of a cattle drive…He will be cooking…making coffee …tending the cattle and other duties of the the job….

Descendents of the Andalusian cattle…

the cow camps were built along the cattle drive routes  the camp consisted of a holding pen for the cows and primitive shelter for the men… most likey the had a wagon loaded with cooking supplies…the lean “scrub cows” are descendents of the Andalusian cattle brought to North America by Spanish Explorers…

The cow hunters were paid in gold Spanish Doubloons …this became the common currency in the south Florida frontier…

we got there just before closing but the Ranger was kind enough to tell us some of the tail of the cow hunters and give a demo of cracking of the whip…it makes a very loud noise… heard it way before we got to the camp Margie though it was gun shots…it was very very intresting wish we could have made it earlier and see the whole demo…

Cowboy (cracker) camp with chuck wagon….

I had this post startes some time ago but for some reason I used up most all my data on my Jet Pack…so had to wait on new month start…We had a great time on this trip…and i have more to tell…all for now thanks for looking and come back soon…GM&P

hurricane

It seems we got off…

pretty easy as hurricane Matthew whipped  up the coast…it was going to be much worse if Matt stayed on course…but just as it got to Brevard Co. it made a slight jog to the east and we got lucky…but not so much up the rest of the east coast…now we did have tons of damage but not as bad as it could have been….

sign at the local Mcd plaza

The pic below was taken a week after …they used our Walmart parking lot as a stagging area for the work force that show up to put things back together again…took up over half the lot..barely enough room for customers…they all left a few days later…they also had 6 big buses parked there ….the only thing i could think of why they were there…maybe need to  trasport workers to motels…

Workers from all over the US to lend a hand…

This pic is of a street across from the house…much debris strewn about…as i was out and about i think our neighborhood got more damage than most …but we were rigth on the intercoastal …so not suprised…

a lot of trees for the city to pick up

Looking up our street standing in front of the house…

all most 2 weeks and still in sad shape…

And the back yard…i had that table wedged between the wall and the shed and it blew it right out and blew the mulch up against the wall and lifted the landscap mat up…

strange wind …

More debris…in the back yard….the front yard here is open and everything just blew rigth tru …but not so much in the back…

and my poor frog garden … at least i could put it back together again….

frogs hither and yon

And the rest of the story…

When the weatherman pretty much established it was going to be a cat 4 hurricane i decided to evacuate…I  went to west coast of Florida to an RV friends house…and of course i was a nervouse wreck the whole time untill i finally heard the house was ok…i think the electric was off for 48-72 hrs. it was back on Sat. night so i came back Sun….i could not put up the hurrican shutters but dad good friend Ron did it…and i was able to get then down with the help of neighbor friend Vonnie…she came after work one day & helped…Now i am back to purging…packing for storage and sorting…with a little more yard work to do inbetween…it is a slow process doing it by myself…today i started to clean the RT…we are Leavin on Sunday for Lake Kissimmmee St. Park…for a 3 day camping trip with Margie & fur babies…I am excited this will be my really frist time staying more than over night…I am going to figure out how to stay in it long term for a few months…untill i can figure out where i want to plant myself…still want my home base to be in Florida but thats is about all i know…

pheebe in big sister maggies buggy…

But this weekend she will be getting a new buggy…one that is smaller and folds up…this one does not do that…is to big and hard to store…it was hard to store in the class C and in the RT almost impossible…that is the one thing i have a problem with is storage …especially things i need to carry withe me…like i need hard back chair cant use reg camp chairs…and i am gettign a Clam outside screen room a small one but still need to carry it with us…it will be a challenge…well all for now thanks for looking and come back soon …blessings GM&P

 

West coast …geocache….

We are still here….

on the west coast of Florida…the news is that dads house is still standing just a minor board of on the back sofit…i will do a post when i get back and take some pix….in the mean time Pheebe and i finally got out & about around the Crystal River area and did some exploring and geochacheing…

 

Nice little neighboring town

On Thurs. was a nervous wreck waiting on Matt….it was pretty nice here but i could not bring myself to get out and about…waiting on something like that is not anyting i want to do again…i had no TV …i depended on my friend Margie for info she would text me tell me what was going on…news stations had non stop coverage…

First cache we found

Late Thurs. found out from friends & neighbors that the house was still standing and with-stood Matt….some in the hood were not so lucky with house damage and there were many many trees down…was told it was very sad to look at…

Where the second cache was hid…

We went to a nice little town that had some Geocaches in a park that looked kind of easy to find…Beverly Hills….the above pic is of the second one we found there were 2 of these along a 2 lane road…not a highway but road in the development the park was in…so had easy parking to find them…there were more but it was raining…i didnt mind the rain but wanted to find a few more that were not like these i can come back and pick the rest off…

Second cache…

The pic above is the cache hid at the bottom of the sign…easy peasy…in side the small tube is a log to sign…

Fourth one found…

The forth one found was a magnet box like a key keeper….inside log in a zip mini bag to keep it dry…

The other sign cache with diff. container

Everytime i got a cache in the RT Pheebe had to sniff and check it out…but in the pic below i had stopped at McD for a sauage muffin and she like that better than the caches…. too cute…

Pheebe more interested in a bite of sauage muffin than in a cache…

I am writing this Sat. afternoon…getting my stuff togeather to head back to Melbourne in the morning….it will be Sunday so am hoping that the traffic will be light..but with the weather happening who knows…but i really dont mind I love driving my RT! This is really the first time i have been able to spend time using it…did not sleep in it but was out & about and driving …was great…i know i am going to love camping in it…thanks for looking and come back soon …blessings GM&P

We are out of here…...

Pheebe and i headed out…

we evacuated Melbourne yesterday moring to get out of the way of hurricae matt….sso glad we did…buy whaat i am hearing from my friend Margie ( i have no TV here no news source)it is going to be a very very bad storm…you all can see it on CNN and other news stations…

my co-pilot

We left Melbourne headed to the north west coast of Florida…Crystal River area…i was alone there at the house and after thinking and weighing everything decided i had to leave..dads friend came today and put up the hurricane shutters…and i put evevythig i could away…and now hoping for the best……...

 

stopped along the way

I have no idea when  i will be able to get back to Melbourne…they are saying be prepared to go days or weeks with out power…and that would be one of the reasons i will not alowed back in to the community or even Melbourne…that was one reason my dad never wanted to leave..afraid he could not get back to take care of the house…

breakfast at McD’s this morning

When i got here figured out i did not bring enough food or clothes so off to WaMart this morning …i am scared silly being here alone we are to get tropical storm wind and storms even this far away…but also about Melboure and the house the neighbors and everything involved…they said if you dont get a way from the beach area you will not make it…there has been alot of mandatory evacuation all along the coast…there is so much more going on and involved with this storm…but i just can write about it now…pray for Florida people and all the south east coast…thanks for looking and come back soon ..Blessing GM&P

Sad Happenings….

Pic of dad on 90th Birthday 2 years…

There has been a lot going on…sorry have not had time to post much…On Sept 16 my dad past to Heaven….after suffering a stroke 3 weekes before…it has been a trying time to say the least…he would have been 92 on Nov. 5….it is a sad time….

Sun rise at the home park…

I now have a lot to do…first i have to get my “stuff” all my wordly goods pack …purged and put in to a storage unit…then will have an estate sale for my dads house hold and then list the house for sale…in these few words it doesnt sound like much …but believe me it is a job…at first i was overwhelmed but after working on getting my stuff ready i can see progress…at first it seams like you have to make a big mess …then you see the progress…i dont see the light at the end of the tunnel yet but progress is good..so i guess i will be homeless in a few months….but i do have my home on wheels…that is a good thing….

The beach…

And now we are watching a hurricane that will be coming up the coast…hope it stays off shore like the modles are showing…

Soon to be home on wheels..

Well my new to me Roadtrek has been sitting in camp drive way most of the time…not been out ….after thinking about the weather…i know if a bad hurricane is on the way i am leaving the coast…anyway thinking that i need to get it ready to roll at any given moment in time…just in case…so this weekend inbetween working on packing & purging i will getting the RT ready to roll…i do not like being here alone in a bad storm let alone a herricane…we had a bad one a few days ago Pheebe and i was standing in the door way when lightning struck some place close …i jumped and i think  Pheebe jumpe 4 ft straight up in the air….

Pheebe is growing up…..

Pheebe girl is growing up and is behaving a lot better…but in some areas she has a lot to learn yet…i am planning on taking her to some classes to help her along…will let you know how that goes…just heard on the news hurricane is now a cat 4…ugh…i do have a couple camping trips coming up and will tell about then as time goes on…hope now i can be more on the ball with my posting…so will go now..thanks for looking and come back soon …blessings to all GM&P