Hope you enjoy the pictures.
Our Alto R1713 in Florida
We're lovin' it!
Saturday, February 22, 2014
2014 Feb 22 - A Walk Along the Indian River
The Indian River is part of the Intercoastal Waterway. It's bound on the east by the "outer banks" where US Route A1A runs, and on the west by the mainland. This morning, after another stop at Walmart, we parked the car and started walking south along the river. The sky was kind of overcast, but the walk was enjoyable.
Hope you enjoy the pictures.
Hope you enjoy the pictures.
Friday, February 21, 2014
2014 Feb 16-21 - Miscellaneous shots around Barefoot Bay
Today is Friday. We leave Monday on our long-scheduled Florida camping tour. Maybe the blog will get a bit more interesting after that. We've slowed our pace a bit, but are still cleaning and fixing stuff around Dad's house.
Tuesday, we went to see the attorney and moved the puck a bit closer to the goal. At least things are starting to move in the right direction. Seems the court approval of my appointment as executor was the big holdup. Nothing much can happen before that.
Wednesday, we went to see a financial advisor/stock broker who is transferring a couple of Dad's stocks to the estate account, and will then transfer them to the beneficiaries (my brother and me). Why it can't be done in one step beats the hell out of me! Anyway, to our great surprise, he's not charging us a dime! He just asked that we pass his name along to anyone who might need his services. So, let me know if you're in need.
Last night, we went to a Mexican restaurant with Marsha's cousins and their husbands. Nice evening. We really enjoy their company.
Today, I used two bottles of Tilex Meldew Remover and scrubbed ten years worth of meldew off of the sunroom ceiling. It's aluminum, so it comes of easily, but, of course, it's all overhead work. No pictures. I just looks like a big whiteboard. I'm too old for this crap!
Oh, I almost forgot. Yesterday, I got a letter from the Barefoot Bay Recreation District - Kind of like an HOA Gestapo - saying that I was in violation of their restrictions that say that I can't park my camper on the property. Funny! This is the fifth year I've done it and the first year I've been honored with a letter. I went to the office and told Heir General that I was leaving on Monday. He checked with the dur Fuehrer and I was granted a special dispensation until then! Grrrrrrr!
Other than that and a few tours of Walmart and Home Depot, we've been riding our bikes and hanging out in the nice warm weather.
Later.
Tuesday, we went to see the attorney and moved the puck a bit closer to the goal. At least things are starting to move in the right direction. Seems the court approval of my appointment as executor was the big holdup. Nothing much can happen before that.
Wednesday, we went to see a financial advisor/stock broker who is transferring a couple of Dad's stocks to the estate account, and will then transfer them to the beneficiaries (my brother and me). Why it can't be done in one step beats the hell out of me! Anyway, to our great surprise, he's not charging us a dime! He just asked that we pass his name along to anyone who might need his services. So, let me know if you're in need.
Last night, we went to a Mexican restaurant with Marsha's cousins and their husbands. Nice evening. We really enjoy their company.
Today, I used two bottles of Tilex Meldew Remover and scrubbed ten years worth of meldew off of the sunroom ceiling. It's aluminum, so it comes of easily, but, of course, it's all overhead work. No pictures. I just looks like a big whiteboard. I'm too old for this crap!
Oh, I almost forgot. Yesterday, I got a letter from the Barefoot Bay Recreation District - Kind of like an HOA Gestapo - saying that I was in violation of their restrictions that say that I can't park my camper on the property. Funny! This is the fifth year I've done it and the first year I've been honored with a letter. I went to the office and told Heir General that I was leaving on Monday. He checked with the dur Fuehrer and I was granted a special dispensation until then! Grrrrrrr!
Other than that and a few tours of Walmart and Home Depot, we've been riding our bikes and hanging out in the nice warm weather.
Later.
Saturday, February 15, 2014
2014 Feb 12-15 - Miscellaneous shots at Highlands Hammock State Park
Wednesday night, we had a pretty heavy rainstorm, so there wasn't much activity during the evening after the potluck. We put a few miles on the bikes and sat around visiting during the afternoon.
Thursday was chilly - in the high sixties and even lower (fifties) during the evening. We had a communal campfire after the soup supper, but only about eight people showed up all evening. Most of the others were snuggled in their campers. After we put the communal fire out, we ran across another one, so we stopped in there and had another beer, or two, before going back to the camper. We managed to stay out until 11:00 or so.
We were only able to get four nights when we made our original reservation. Our last night would have been Thursday, but we didn't want to miss the wine and cheese party on Friday night. We went to the ranger station and asked about staying an extra night and, much to our surprise, they had a spot for us, but we had to move before 1:00pm on Thursday. So we left site 125 and towed the camper, without folding it down, to site 6 on the other side of the campground. We got a few strange looks, but we made it.
The wine and cheese party drew a large crowd on Friday evening. It was a good evening for sitting around the campfire drinking wine.
Saturday morning, we left and headed back to Dad's house in Barefoot Bay, arriving around 1:30. We unpacked and were eating lunch by 2:15. We'll be here until February 24, when we head out on our long-reserved camping trip around the state of Florida. We'll be camping in six state parks and a commercial campground between 2/24 and 4/7 when we'll head north. Probably won't be much excitement on the blog until we start camping again, but you never know. Stay tuned!
Thursday was chilly - in the high sixties and even lower (fifties) during the evening. We had a communal campfire after the soup supper, but only about eight people showed up all evening. Most of the others were snuggled in their campers. After we put the communal fire out, we ran across another one, so we stopped in there and had another beer, or two, before going back to the camper. We managed to stay out until 11:00 or so.
We were only able to get four nights when we made our original reservation. Our last night would have been Thursday, but we didn't want to miss the wine and cheese party on Friday night. We went to the ranger station and asked about staying an extra night and, much to our surprise, they had a spot for us, but we had to move before 1:00pm on Thursday. So we left site 125 and towed the camper, without folding it down, to site 6 on the other side of the campground. We got a few strange looks, but we made it.
The wine and cheese party drew a large crowd on Friday evening. It was a good evening for sitting around the campfire drinking wine.
Saturday morning, we left and headed back to Dad's house in Barefoot Bay, arriving around 1:30. We unpacked and were eating lunch by 2:15. We'll be here until February 24, when we head out on our long-reserved camping trip around the state of Florida. We'll be camping in six state parks and a commercial campground between 2/24 and 4/7 when we'll head north. Probably won't be much excitement on the blog until we start camping again, but you never know. Stay tuned!
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
2014 Feb 11 - Peddling around Highlands Hammock State Park
We rode a few miles in the park and visited with a few people we ran into. After we got back to camp, we put the canopy up for shade and for shelter from the pending rain.
Then we went to a bike shop in Sebring and bought headlights, tail lights, mirrors and speedometers for the bikes. I put Marsha's stuff on before dinner. I'll do mine tomorrow.
That's about the extent of our activities for the day.
Then we went to a bike shop in Sebring and bought headlights, tail lights, mirrors and speedometers for the bikes. I put Marsha's stuff on before dinner. I'll do mine tomorrow.
That's about the extent of our activities for the day.
Monday, February 10, 2014
2014 Feb 10 - Scamp Camp at Highlands Hammock State Park
Today was our first real day of vacation since leaving home. We traveled from Barefoot Bay to Highlands Hammock State Park in Sebring, FL. The total mileage was 130 with a stop at Fat Boy's Bar-B-Q in Lake Wales for lunch. Really good BBQ at that place. There were so may cars in the lot when we got there, I thought they were giving food away!
We arrived at the campground at about 2:45 and got set up, all the while talking to neighbors and old friends who stopped by. Most of the campers here (they are expecting 68) are Scamps and Casitas. You'll see them in the pictures this week. These folks don't discriminate, so we are allowed to join the fun even though we have an Aliner.
We took our chili to the chili dump location and dumped it into the cookers with everyone else's chili. At 5:00, everyone was ready for the gastronomic adventure. The chili was quite good and there were side dishes and desserts to go along with it.
We spent the evening visiting and headed back to the camper at 9:00. Turns out they now have wifi in the campground (they didn't last year), so we won't have to run to town to use the Internet. Stay tuned for more pictures. We plan to ride the bike around the park quite a bit. It could get interesting!
We arrived at the campground at about 2:45 and got set up, all the while talking to neighbors and old friends who stopped by. Most of the campers here (they are expecting 68) are Scamps and Casitas. You'll see them in the pictures this week. These folks don't discriminate, so we are allowed to join the fun even though we have an Aliner.
We took our chili to the chili dump location and dumped it into the cookers with everyone else's chili. At 5:00, everyone was ready for the gastronomic adventure. The chili was quite good and there were side dishes and desserts to go along with it.
We spent the evening visiting and headed back to the camper at 9:00. Turns out they now have wifi in the campground (they didn't last year), so we won't have to run to town to use the Internet. Stay tuned for more pictures. We plan to ride the bike around the park quite a bit. It could get interesting!
Friday, February 7, 2014
2014 Feb 07 - Morning Bike Ride and Outriggers Bar & Grill
The day started off with a bike ride with Ira, the neighbor across the street, and his friend, Rod, from Ottawa. We went to a lake at the other end of Barefoot Bay that I didn't know existed. There's an alligator in the lake, but we didn't see him. It was a bit cool - about 65 degrees. Shortly after we left the pond, we were joined be two more of Ira's Canadian friends and we put some more miles on the bikes .
After I got home from the bike ride, Marsha and I went to the attorney's office to pick up the Letter of Administration and a bunch of other Florida Probate B.S. Then, after a short stop at Walmart for some groceries, we headed back home to dump the groceries and pick up Dad's checkbook. We stopped at the Outriggers Bar and Grill before heading to the bank to open an "estate checking account." More B.S.! Glad we stopped at the Outriggers first. A few beers under my belt helped me cope with the B.S. at the bank.
So, now we're back home and we'll settle in to watch the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics.
Exciting day, huh? It's got to get better, so keep checkin'.
After I got home from the bike ride, Marsha and I went to the attorney's office to pick up the Letter of Administration and a bunch of other Florida Probate B.S. Then, after a short stop at Walmart for some groceries, we headed back home to dump the groceries and pick up Dad's checkbook. We stopped at the Outriggers Bar and Grill before heading to the bank to open an "estate checking account." More B.S.! Glad we stopped at the Outriggers first. A few beers under my belt helped me cope with the B.S. at the bank.
So, now we're back home and we'll settle in to watch the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics.
Exciting day, huh? It's got to get better, so keep checkin'.