Oct 18th - 19th, 2010

The last night on our trip. Yesterday we said our goodbyes to the staff who looked after us so well and the new friends we met. Off to the Gellert Hotel which has the famous hot bathes. We visited the market, had a "fast food" Hungarian lunch, checked in and then hit the hot bathes for a couple of hours. Such fun and they feel soooooooooo good. Even the steam room and cold water bath after wards was "interesting". Today we had a massage and then hit the streets walking, and we walked and we walked. Visited a couple of museums, had goulash soup at a small cafe, window shopped and after dragging ourselves back to the hotel we hit the hot bathes. Felt so good. Flights tomorrow and we will be home. Looking forward to it. See you all soon

Oct 15th - Oct 17th, 2010

Our last night on the ship. The time has gone quickly and we have had so much fun. Ditched the formal tour on Thurs and roamed the streets of Passua on our own and then spent a relaxing afternoon on the ship as we cruised down the river and thru the locks. Local entertainment brought on board has been fabulous. Tonight we a trio playing - two on violins and one on guitar. The last two days have been filled with a visit to the Melk Abby (which has a very interesting museum, old library and church), a topside cruise thru the Wachau Valley noted for its vineyards, a Vienna concert of Mozart and Strauss, a tour of old Vienna and the Ringstrasse, a show at the Spanish Riding School, the Captain's dinner and fun in the lounge afterwards with people we have met on the ship, Blake's story of his 3 shoes, up on deck this morning at 8am to cruise into Budapest, and meeting Dianne and Ivan at the Royal Palace in Budapest. We met them later on their ship which is docked 3 ships behind us. Tonight we are doing a night cruise of the harbour and lights. Nite, nite to all.

Oct 10th - Oct 14th, 2010 Danube

What a wonderful way to spend a holiday ! On the Danube River with a small # of people (145), excellent accomadations, excellent service, very friendly staff, delicious food, local entertainment, piano bar and dancing, excellent local wine, warm sunny days, and of course fantastic company ! We have had some interesting bus and walking tours of Nurenburg, Regensburg, Passau, and Weltenberg Abbey. Their history, architecture, and culture are fasinating and so old. We are such a young country. Passing thru the many locks on the Main-Danube-Canal was a highlight. Last night around 10 we sat on the outer deck, wrapped in blankets, drank hot chocolate/rum and went thru a lock very near Morris's home town. Our little memories are Vicki playing "Bertha" in a local musical chair/poem game, closing the lounge down every night after dancing, the local entertainment on board, watching and meeting new folks, the scenery along the river and the towns we tie up to, drinkibg a beer at the oldest brewery in Germany at Weltenburg Abbey, eating gingerbread at the market in Nuemburg, and so on, and so on. We have just spent the afternoon cruising down the river and are tied up at a dock in Linz, Austria. We were not here 10 minutes and another cruise ship pulled up beside us. Have to watch out opening curtains ! Hello to everyone back in Canada.

Oct 09 - 10th, 2010 River Cruise

Our last two days in Prague were packed with many memories. Yesterday we toured the Strahove Monastary by the Prague Castle. The view of the city from the outdoor cafe where we had lunch was fantastic. The weather was perfect, Czech food delicious and the beer cold. The 12th century library with thousands of books and hand painted ceiling was something to see. The perfect evening was walking the many little streets in the Old Town taking in the sights and sounds of Prague. Many languages but everybody switches to English whether you are Czech, German, Italian, Russian, etc. We found a small Italian restaurant in an old cellar. The service was perfect and the food delicious.

On Saturday we had a city bus tour with the cruise group and ended up at Prague Castle. Unbelievable the size of St. Vitus Cathedral.After touring the Old Royal Palace, St. George's Basicilia and the Lobkowicz Palace, the walk down the hill on cobbled streets towards the river thru the vineyard, and the walk across one of the many bridges over the Vltava River made the perfect end to an afternoon. After we were back to the hotel there was a huge peaceful demonstration on the streets by the hotel. It was hundreds of students but nobody seemed to know what their issue was. Vicki and Blake had never been to a NHL game so off we went to see the Bruins and the Coyotes play. Great game and one of the best parts was coming back to the hotel on the subway. Thousands of people and it was a piece of cake. Half hour from rink seat to hotel. Needed to fill our tummies again so off we went walking. Another old cellar restaurant, and since it was late, no one but us to enjoy the piano music and delicious meal. In Prague when you order meat espically the Czech food, there is no veggies or potatoes - order seperate. We tried a lot of goulashs, pork dishes and Czech beer.

Sunday was a tour to Trizen concentration camp outside of Prague. It was interesting and very sobering. The communist era makes up a lot of their history and from the guides we discovered many stories. The demonstrations, the invasions, the Jewish prisoners, the war, the liberation, the destruction of Stalin's statue, communist bldgs destroyed, the rebuilding of Prague and the change to the people of Prague. Also the floods of 2002 affected the city dramatically.
Sunday eveningwe wandered the streets again taking in the sights and sounds.Climbed the Clock tower to view the city lights, the Castle on the hills and the many Gothic towers and churches. Prague is a very clean city and safe. Thoroughly enjoyed the 4 days.

Friday, October 8th, 2010

What a wonderful city. On Thursday we spent 10 hrs on a walking tour thru the New City, Old City, Jewish Getto and Kampa Island with a tour guide (Dana). She was wonderful and besides showing the sights we learned a lot on what it was like to live during the Communist Era. Highlights were The Post Office (to buy NHL tickets), the interior of the largest bank, Old Town Square, cobbled streets, Czech food and drink, 10,000 Scots walking around in kilts and work boots for a big soccer game tonight, many alleys and side streets, churches, sculptures, Charles Bridge, John Lennan wall, the architecture, and many more. Today we switched hotels and joined the cruise group. We took the HopOn-Hop Off bus (would not recommend) to the Monastary and Brewery near the Castle. The weather and company are great

23 Sept 2010

12 more sleeps until we take off in the big silver bird to Prague and the Danube River !!!

April 28, 2010, Wednesday

After 3 nights on the road we crossed the border into Canada. Spent the night in Bath and arrived home at 5pm on Wednesday. 10,000 kms under our belt, lots of good times and memories. Glad to be home !

April 24, 2010, Saturday

Saturday - rise and shine and pack. It is a bit dreary outside which makes it easier to leave. Looking forward to going home but will miss the great weather. On the road by 9am to head up Park Blvd to pick up the RV, unload the car and then back down to Clearwater to drop off the rental car. We made good time, traffic not too heavy on the 75, 301 and then the 95. Bernie drove and I quilted. Around 5pm we left the 95 and headed east about 16 miles to Jekyll Island, Georgia where we found a spot at the campground. Have stayed here before and really liked the area. Quiet, good sized lots and lots of trees and best of all - no traffic noise. After setting up, we went for a nice long walk to the pier.Bernie put a campfire on while I threw together some supper. Had a great evening with supper outside and sat around the campfire for a couple of hours. Peaceful way to end the day.

April 23, 2010, Friday

Our last day at Redington Beach for another year. We have had a great time and a real rest - good for the mind and body. This morning we cruised down to Pass a Grill at the end of the Island to see if any tents and exhibits have been set up for the weekend "Music on the Beach" festival. We were too early but did take a look around at the area. Back to the condo for lunch and then hit the beach. Usual thing, swim, rest, read, wander down the beach to Grand Shores to see what is happening. Ended up with Beth and Pete and friends for the afternoon on the beach and then "waddled" down to Wahoo's for a delicious fish dinner on the deck on the canal side. Lots of laughs. Great way to end the 2 weeks.

April 21-22, 2010, Wed-Thurs

Wednesday was sunny and warm again. No wonder nobody talks about the weather down here-it is usually nice. Bernie played golf at the Bardmor Course with Eugene, Chris and Dick and had a pretty good round. I went and had my "quilt fix" at Rainbow's End in Dunedin. Luckily enough, I talked to Les on Skype before I went so I could give her the good news about my adventure ( her old quilt store she used to visit when she lived in Florida ). She and Dennis are pretty confident they will be able to fly home from Paris on Friday (the volcanic ash seems to have cleared over Europe). They have enjoyed their visit with Sophie in France. Spent the afternoon on the beach and then "had" to go out to dinner with Jeannie, Mark and Mary Anne to Cheddars. Jeannie just bought a used Austin Mini Cooper and had to show it to us all. It is so cute.

Thursday - sunny again. Drove down to Indian Rocks. parked the car and walked along the Inland Waterway for our morning walk. A few boats on the water and a couple of dolphins following in their wake. Afternoon on the beach, swim, read, people watch. Didn't see Beth and Pete today as they rented a tricycle (3 wheeled motorbike) for the day and took off towards Anne Marie Island.
Dianne and Ivan Duvar called to invite us to go to dinner at Spoto's Grill 131 (corner of 131st St and Park Blvd) and of course we said yes. It was so good and definitely the best meal we have had in Florida. Another fun day.

April 19-20, 2010, Mon-Tues

Monday woke up to a dreary day. Went for a walk along the beach and we were not 10 minutes into our journey and it started to rain - a nice warm rain so we kept on trucking. By the time we had our coffee, breakfast and cleanup the sun was out and the sky was blue. Paul, Judy, Barry, Wendy, Donnie and Karen arrived around 11:30 to have lunch and some time on the beach before Paul and Judy caught the big white bird to fly home. Doubletree Condos have a nice patio on the beach so we headed there for lunch and a cold one. Were not disappointed. The crew caught some rays and then hit the road to fight the traffic to the airport (Bernie and I returned to the beach :-)), Supper we barbecued chicken and sat on our deck and watched the sun go down. There was a huge black object in the water and we couldn't tell what it was. Out with the binoculars and decided it was a huge tire tube or the likes bobbing in the water. People along the beach couldn't tell either so as soon as they saw the binoculars they would come ask . We met a lot of people that evening as well some Newfs next door who were barbecuing. Between Dancing with the Stars and a hockey game, we had a quiet evening.

Tuesday, another nice day. Walk, breakfast, trip to John's Pass for coffee, Winn Dixie shopping, used book store splurge (I'm out of books) and then it was lunch time. Friends from Amherst, Jeannie Milner and Maryanne Price came to spend the afternoon on the beach so Bernie took the opportunity to go have his "Hardware Store Fix" by himself. He checked on the RV and had a wonderful time browsing. And of course he found a couple of things. Beth and Pete came for supper and we barbecued shrimp, scallops and peppers with wild rice and asparagus. Have to say it was delicious. Bernie "made" his coconut cream pie (just like he "made" the Key Lime pie when we went to their place) for dessert. No sunset tonight as the clouds have moved in.

April 16-17 2010, Fri-Sat

Friday another gorgeous, sunny day. Up and had our walk on the beach and collected our coffee at the cafe. Lots of people out walking, fishing, gathering shells (the beach is covered with little shells and white sand), pelicans, seagulls, and boats. By the time we read the paper on line, wash the dishes and have our coffee it is beach time. Finally barbecued those steaks we bought a few days ago - social life disrupts home cooking a lot of nights ! After supper we wandered up the beach to Beth and Pete's to have a sociable and say goodbye to Marlene and Joe.

Saturday - Happy birthday Aaron - 2 years old today and is singing happy birthday to himself. I bet his Mom taught him how to sing that. This morning we took off to the big Craft and Artist Fair in St. Petersburg on the water. A lot of fantastic things. Bought a map of the Abacos for the cottage. Spent the afternoon on the beach again . Am on my 4th book since we arrived. Sharman and Roy called so we went to dinner with them. See, another social night, no home cooking.

April 18, 2010, Sun

Sunday woke up to rain and more rain. No beach day today. We and the Estabrooks headed to Punta Gorda to the Muscle Car Museum where we spent 3 hours looking at corvettes (the owner has a least one from every year they were made, including 2010), lunch, car store and talking to the owner. There were at least 200 cars - all GM and some very old ones. Great way to spend a rainy day. Back to watch golf, leftovers from the fridge and watch the American Counrty Music Awards. Relaxing day .

April 14-15, 2010, Wed-Thurs

Wednesday was a day of relaxation. Walk on the beach, swim, read, snooze. We went to bike night at the Quaker State restaurant with Pete, Beth, Joe, Marlene, Kurt and Ashley. Hundreds of bikes in all shapes and sizes (as well as the owners) and it was a sight to see. Some of the get ups they wore, tattoos, bikes dressed up - it was a show all its own. We had very good burgers for supper while listening to the band and people watching. One poor guy had his bike blown over by the wind and did a lot of damage to the custom paint job.

Thursday Bernie played golf with Roy, Eugene, & Chris and I went shopping. Spent the afternoon on the beach and had a visit from Sharman and Roy. At the last minute we decided to go to the show under the big top. It was called Cavalia (www.cavalia.com) and it was described as an equestrian arts event with 40 horses per show, horse whisperer, visual effects, live music, dance, acrobatics and a Cirque du Soleil atmosphere. The Liberty segment was the most powerful with 9 white horses coming onto the stage area one at a time, loose with no person with them. They played and frolicked with each other for several minutes and then a female trainer came out and had them go thru some fantastic maneuvers by just touch, hand movements and a sound now and then. The whole time they played and nipped at each other. Just like a group of little kids but they were in control the whole time. It was magical to watch. There were stunt riders, dressage, and a lot of the time the horses were loose on the stage with no riders or ropes and acrobats flipping all around them and the music playing. Quite something.

April 11-13, 2010, Sun-Tues

Sunday we packed up the car with our goodies for 2 wks at the condo. We looked like hillbillies with all our bags and food. Left the RV at Roy and Sharman's office parking lot overnight and checked in at Far Horizons by 2pm and on the beach by 2:15. Soooooooo nice to feel that white sand and salt water. Not to over do it, we watched the exciting last round of the Masters, munched on little bits of this and that for supper (have to get to a grocery store) and enjoyed listening to the waves falling asleep.

Monday we took the RV to the storage bldg (StorHouse on 49th), played golf with Sharman and Roy at the Biltmore Golf Course,had supper at a burger joint called The Five Guys. Good old fashion burger and homemade fries which was delicious but you only do that once on your holiday. Missed our swim today but did get in a beautiful sunset. We wandered up the beach and found Pete and Beth, and Joe and Marlene (also their son Kurt and girlfriend Ashley). Time for a sociable or two !

Tuesday it was walk time on the beach, BadAss Cafe coffee, Bernie had a haircut at the women's boutique/hairdresser, visit to the grocery store, afternoon on the beach, Skype with Leslie and Jeff, Jack and Aaron,phone calls to the Moms, spaghetti supper at Pete and Beth's , a few sociables and lots of laughs with them and Joe and Marlene. Late night for us - midnight.

April 7-10, 2010, Wed-Sat

Another 4 gorgeous days - sunny and hot. Wed I spent with the girls shopping at the outlet stores and did have fun buying a few things for the "kids". We then hit the beach for a little R & R as we had a very busy day ! So busy, we even went out for supper to the Beachhouse restaurant. Bernie and boys rented a 62' catamaran and spent the afternoon off the shores of Daytona.

On Thursday all the wives and husbands met in Orlando for a joyous reunion and then we hit Universal Studios for some entertainment of rides, music, plays, food, people watching, eating, etc. Can now tick Universal Studios off our list. Bernie and I stayed at the KOA Kissimmiee while the rest stayed at a motel.

Friday Bernie and I went across country to Cortez (Bradenton) and set up the RV at Holiday Cove RV Resort which is just a mile from the Cortez bridge to Bradenton Beach. The MacLeods. MacEacherns and Cormiers have a condo just on the other side of the bridge. We had a nice quiet afternoon - swam in the pool while our laundry was being done, barbecued hamburgs, talked to Greg and Jeff, went for a drive down Longboat Key and ended up at Lido Beach to watch the sunset.

Saturday, Bernie played golf with the guys and the girls did the beach thing - read, swim, sleep, people watch. Great afternoon. In the evening we went to the Seafood Company Restaurant. A dumpy little place right on the dock, with picnic tables and the smell of fish. Just the kind of place Dad would have had the Health Dept in to shut down ! Waited an hour for our food out of a card board box. Pretty good crab cakes, fish, etc but it was all about the atmosphere. Been on the road for a month and things are great

April 5-6, 2010, Mon -Tues

Monday - Steve left at 5am for a flight to North Carolina to play golf with a bunch of guys. Denyse and I were up at 6am to see the shuttle launch, marvelled at the sight and then went back to bed for a couple of hours. Lazy morning, packed, and headed out to do a bit of window shopping, lunch and then dropped Denyse off at the airport to pick up her vechile. I hit the 75 and headed to Anna Maria Island - great trip, traffic not too bad and landed at Wendy's by 5:30. Judy and Karen arrived from home by 7pm and we all settled in for a few days of sun and relaxation while the guys are golfing.

Tuesday another day of sun and heat - 80. Beach time, walk, swim, lunch, scenic drive, grocery shopping, barbecue, chat and relaxation. Talked to Jeff and Aaron on Skype - it was so great to see them both. Jack was at a friend's house. Chatted with Bernie and they are having a great time. They are chartering a boat tomorrow .Another great day in the sunny south.

April 3-4, 2010, Sat-Sun

Saturday - another beautiful day. We packed again and headed out to Miami but first we had to drop "Rocket" at the doggie spa and kennel. Steve and Denyse's first dog and first away trip without him. Big time stuff ! Across Alligator Alley to Miami was smooth sailing - traffic was light and the company good, We stopped to visit Denyse's sister, Paulette, in North Miami on the beach. Nice spot and great beach with the huge waves rolling in. We continued down to South Beach to have lunch and experience the atmosphere of that part of Miami. Found our hotel which overlooked a race track and casino and could see the Sunlife Stadium down the road. The pizza man making a delivery to the hotel gave us a drive to the stadium (for $'s of course) as the shuttle line was huge. Into the Paul McCartney concert we went along with 40,000 of our "closest friends".Some of them were having great tailgate parties. It is an open air stadium and we had seats on the floor relatively close to the stage. It was a great 2 1/2 hr show of singing with no intermission - lighting, video shows, a drummer who was a show in himself, the crowd, the atmosphere. It was great. A few songs, the bass so a bit loud and our old bodies could feel the vibrations. Could have done without those but he put on a great show - lots of old songs, new songs, other artists songs. No costume changes, just guitar and piano changes. When we got out the line for taxis was huge and not moving so we walked the 2 miles. Felt safe the whole time as there were policemen every 1/4 mile. And the limos, every shape, length and colour.It was 12:30 by the time we hit the sack.

Happy Easter. Sunday up early as my Blackberry switched over to "daylight savings time" but I figured out pretty quickly that it was too dark outside for 8am. Checked my phone and TV and they were both saying 7am. Back to bed for another hour. When I got up, they were doing a morning run on the horse track. Pretty neat to stand on the balcony and watch them train. We were back in Bonita Springs by 11am to pick up Rocket from his sleepover but I don't think he slept much last night as that is all he has been doing today. Arrived at the Dow's to discover the Easter Bunny had visited. Just what we all need - chocolate. Relaxing afternoon and then headed out to dinner with Denyse and Steve's friends Gerry and Christian. Delicious dinner (peppered steak) and great company. tried to watch the movie Foot Locker but we all fell asleep.

April 1-2, 2010. Thurs-Fri

April Fool's Day. Thursday Bernie was off to Daytona for a week golfing with 11 other "golfers". He was excited (well, as excited as Bernie gets) and on the road by 8:45. Along the way he stopped to wash the RV, got hung up in a traffic snarl around Orlando and arrived safely in Daytona around 2:30 to check into the Daytona Beach Hotel and Convention Center right on the beach. Sharman and I went for a walk around their park, hit some golf balls with Roy and then hit the beach for some Vitamin D and a swim. The water is slowly warming up and the beach was very busy as it is Easter weekend and the end of school break. Sharman and I did a bit of shopping and then had a delicious dinner at the Olive Garden. Ran into Dianne and Ivan and her son, Nathanial.

Friday Sharman and I went to an aqua fitness class early in the morning. It felt great. I left around noon and headed south to Bonita Springs to Denyse and Steve's abode to visit for a couple of days. Trip was fine along the 95 and old TomTom directed me right to their door. Arrived in time to unpack, change clothes and head to the beach with them and another couple (Steve and Cheryl from Minnesota) to sit on the beach, drink a cool one, order pizza and watch the sunset. Almost perfect evening. (Bernie would have made it perfect). The days have been hot and sunny with a cooling off in the evening.

March29 - 31st, 2010, Mon-Wed

Monday morning (after a night of heavy rain and a wet bed because I left the window open a bit) we walked around the little town of Cedar Key and then headed for Wildwood. It is finally looking like spring, the trees are all out in leaf and lots of blossoms. So great to see. Near Ocala we tried to get into the subdivision that Steve Maltby bought a home but the security at the gate wasn't obliging us and said no. The area and houses look really great. Will have to come back when he and Kathy are in residence. Met Marilyn and Brent Allison at their security gate and we parked the RV. Spent a lovely evening with them at their home and out for dinner at the Villages- caught up on all their news.

Tuesday dawned sunny and warm. We left the Allison's and headed south to Tampa. Our first stop was an IH tractor museum very near Wildwood where Bernie had a great chat and tour with the owner. This gentleman had restored 100 old tractors and build a beautiful building for them. All shined up and looking like new. Also had another building filled with memorabilia, stage, video system, limo and other items that IH make. Fascinating place and person. We planned on going to Busch Gardens for the afternoon but after spending 1 1/2 hours getting into the parking lot and line up for tickets, the $130 a person to get into the park and the Safari was too much for our blood. Had no idea the tickets were that much especially when the Safari was what we wanted to see. Had a picnic lunch in the RV and chalked it up to experience. We camped at Rally Park near Lazy Days RV and had a night of steak barbecue, laundry, walk and socializing with neighbours.

Up early today and had the RV at Longview RV to have the slide outs checked as they are a bit jumpy when moving. They did a bit of adjustment on the tracks and then tried to talk us in to upgrading to the next model. We looked and liked but did not bite. By noon we were on our way to visit Sharman and Roy Smith in Largo. They fed us lunch, took us to pick up our rental vechile, and then prepared a delicious barbecue. Some other friends from Amherst joined us - Ginny and Eugene, Frank and Roy's brother and his wife.

March 27, 28th, 2010 Sat - Sun

Greg's birthday - happy birthday hon. Woke to another beautiful day of sun with a forecast of rain tomorrow so we decided to stay in the area and hit the beach for some more relaxation. As there were no available lots at the park we were in, we drove 3 miles down the road to another RV park , Sunset Isle and Yacht club. The guy had just opened with 20 lots or so. The roads were all bricked, a pool not in operation as yet, a screened in cook pavilion and the option to buy an RV lot with a deep water boat berth for $179,000. The other RV park was selling theirs for $70,000. Can't imagine doing it but some people do. We spent the afternoon on the beach and then joined the owners and a few campers for a seafood feast in the pavilion - fresh oysters, oyster chowder, fresh shrimp, and munchies. Delicious food, a wide variety of characters and stories. The only bad thing is Bernie was eaten alive by no-see-ums. His legs look like he has the measles.

Sunday was cloudy but warm as we hit the trail towards Cedar Key. We stopped at Wakulla Springs State Park and had a boat tour down the river. It was so calm, and everywhere you could hear the birds singing. All the wild life was so accustomed to the State boats that we could get very close to them - 3 feet. We saw alligators, turtles and many kinds of birds. It was very, very interesting. As we continued on it finally felt like spring - so many of the trees are out in leaf. After we arrived in Cedar Key late afternoon and booked into the Cedar Key Sunset Isle campground, we walked around the quaint little town and ended up at Frog's Landing for supper - crab filled mushrooms, salad and crab cakes. Delicious ! Had fun with the girl bartender and another couple having supper at the bar. RV talk mostly. Cedar Key is said to be a little Key West and we believed it after meeting some of the characters at the camp ground. Did meet a nice couple from Miami and had some great conversation about health care, economy, politics, etc. Ended the night on a lighter note by hanging out at the rec center with a bunch having a musical jam. The even sang an Anne Murray song for us. It poured all night.

March 23, 24 , 25, 26th, Tues-Fri

Still on the road and will do a condensed version. Stayed in a couple of Florida State Parks which are wireless free so a little behind in the travel diary.
Tuesday we left late, tooted along the #98 along the coast and just took our time. We actually backtracked a few miles as we wanted to visit the Florida Tourist Info center. There is always once in our trips we have to go backwards. It was a beautiful sunny day and we ended up in Navarre at the Emerald Beach RV Park which was right by the gulf. Met a couple from Ontario who own a lodge near the Georgian Bay. They were quite delightful and funny. Barbecue was delicious.

Wednesday we headed across the bridge to Santa Rosa Island and headed 28 miles west to Fort Pickens. There were some condos and houses but most of those miles were roads half covered in sand and they had pay loaders and bulldozers clearing away the sand from the beach parking lots and roads. As we approached the Fort, the trees were dead and the landscape was very eerie. Two hurricanes hit in 05 and 06 and there was so much salt it killed everything. We had a tour of the Fort (a lot of it still standing) and it was very interesting. The guide was so enthusiastic and you could tell he loved his job. Bernie finally found a condensed version of the Civil War in the Fort bookstore. We drove back the 28 miles (backwards again) thru the sand, across the bridge and headed down the road thru Destin, and onto Watercolour, Seaside and Seagrove Beach. Aren't they such great names and the buildings, streets, stores, etc match the names. I could come back to these places. We spent the night (back down the road 2 miles) at Grayton Beach State Park. Went for walk to the beach which is beautiful white sand for miles but the water is freezing cold even for we Maritimers.

Thursday we managed to get up earlier and hit the beach for a nice long walk. Beautiful sunny morning but clouds on the horizon. We did the big trip today and made it 90km down the road to Panama City Beach. Bernie had spotted a German Beer Garden advertisement in a pamphlet so we sniffed it out and had lunch. Delicious meal of sausage, schnitzel, potatoes and of course German Beer. As we were enjoying our lunch, the skies opened up and we had one heck of a thunderstorm. So we shopped or mostly window shopped. Still raining so Bernie made the mad dash for the RV and being the noble guy he is, he drove and picked me up. After pulling into the camp ground at St, Andrew's State Park we curled up and spent a couple of hours reading and listening to the rain on the roof. It brought back pleasant memories of camp and family camping. Nothing nicer than hearing rain on a tent or camper roof (as long as we are dry :-) ). Still wet at supper time so Bernie treated me to supper at Hooters - had never been and it was quite interesting with all the Spring Breakers around. The joys of being young !
Capped the day off with a sunset on the beach

Friday we left Panama City Beach and headed up the road to Carrabelle Beach (did 160kms today), Along the way we saw another poor soul dressed in a green costume advertising for a company that does income taxes. We have seen them for the last 3 or 4 days and they are getting funnier and funnier. Parts of the #98 have beautiful scenery along the shore and the homes are every shape and colour. We took a couple of side roads, had a picnic lunch in the marina at Apalachicola (the man who invented refrigeration is from here) and pulled into the Carrabelle Beach RV Park at 1:30 - landed the last available site. Beautiful sunny, hot day so we hit the beach right across the road and went for a nice walk and then vegged on the sand. So great hearing those waves and feeling the suns rays. But the water is still too cold to swim. Called Katja to wish her happy birthday but she was not home from work. Had a great little chat with Derek. Steve Lockhart asked us to look up his friends Skip and Kathy Frisk in Carrabelle so we did. Met them and a few of their friends at a small cafe and we had a great time. It was just like a blind date - describing to each other over the phone what we looked like.

March 22nd, 2010, Monday

Getting later and later to arise in the morning. Early to bed, late to rise. Must be in vacation mode. After breakfast and packing up the RV, we took a guided city tour. The tour covered the F.Q., the Lower 9th Ward ( where Hurricane Katrina did the most damage), a New Orleans Historic cemetery, St Charles Ave (beautiful huge homes), the Garden District, Henry Connick Jr"s Musicians Village, Brad Pitt's Make it Right Homes. It was a very interesting tour - so much damage even after 5 years. On the road by 1:30 and heading onto the #90 along the coast (I only got us lost once). What a beautiful drive along the coast with miles and miles of white sand beaches and boardwalk. On the other side of the road were the reminders of Katrina - empty lots with just foundations, a lot of new construction and new trees planted and new road work. The hurricane took out about the first 3 blocks closest to the water. We found the Cajun RV Park in Biloxi which is just across the street from the beach. Should be quiet as far as no street traffic but the trains seem to go by pretty often. Tried out our new barbecue which we picked up yesterday. Works just great and the steaks were perfectly cooked by Master Chef Bernie

March 21st, 2010, Sunday

It poured all night and the winds were high. We went to bed in 20 degree weather and woke up to 4 degrees - cold, cold. Went for the buffet breakfast at the casino and hit the road by 9pm. A few miles down the road and we had snow flurries. Can you believe it. Had a great trip into New Orleans - a pile of churches along the roads in the south. It seems we see one every 5 miles and the population is mainly black. On our way into New Orleans we crossed over miles and miles of swamp - it must have been quite a job to build all the roads over the swamp land. The French Quarter RV Park is only a couple blocks north of the F.Q. and is quite classy. People even buy the "lot" as a condominium for $149,000 and park their RV on a cobblestone lot with a screened pavilion. There is a pool, hot tub, laundry room. A city condo on wheels ! After doing our first wash (running out of warm clothes !) we walked to the F.Q. and roamed the streets taking in the sights and then went to dinner at Dickie Brennan's Steak House. Wow, what a meal. One of the best steaks we have ever had, baked casserole potatoes, salad. Enjoyed it so much. We did catch some jazz music at a few bars before heading back to the RV by taxi.

March 20th, 2010, Saturday

Another day on the road. Pulled out of Memphis around 8:30, disappointed we didn't see Elvis. Oh well, we bought a CD. Got off the main highway and onto a secondary road heading south. Miles and miles and miles of agricultural land ( a lot of it was being worked with those ugly green tractors) being used for cash crops and cotton. A lot of irrigation and huge fields. The traffic was light, weather up to 20 degrees. We crossed the Mississippi at Greenville, Miss and travelled into Arkansas - more fields of crops. We were only in Arkansas for about 20 miles and then we crossed the border into Louisiana - at least we can say we were to Arkansas. After an hour in Louisiana we crossed back over the mighty Mississippi and into Vickersburg, Miss. There are a lot of huge barges going up and down the river. We have finally hit spring as there are blossoms on most of the trees, it is warm and the grass is green. The magnolia trees are in full bloom and they are gorgeous. We are staying in the Ameristar Casino RV camp ground for $20 a night and that includes a buffet breakfast. We took a RV tour of the Historic part of Vicksburg and there are some beautiful homes and shops and cobblestone streets. Walked over to the Casino for dinner, music and dancing but only succeeded with the first one - dinner. The music wasn't starting until 9 and that was longer then we wanted to spend at the Casino listening to the bells and whistles. Supposed to be a big rain and thunderstorm tonight.

March 19th, 2010, Friday

Woke up to sunshine but still a bit chilly. Hauled on the old jeans again but we think it will heat up a bit. On the road heading to Memphis to check on Elvis. Stopped along the way in search of a new barbecue as ours "died" last night but didn't find the right one yet. Arrived at the Graceland RV park in time to have a quick lunch, change into short pants (up to 20) and head for Graceland. Really enjoyed the tour of Elvis's mansion (decor right out of the 60"s and 70"s), his car museum, his plane and his costume museum. A lot of songs and info for such a short life. We took a bus to downtown Beale Street for "barbecue" food and some music. A bit disappointed with the area, not very clean or up scale. Stayed for a couple hours to eat and listen to an Elvis double before catching the bus back to our RV

March 17 - 18, Wed and Thurs

Finally made it to a grocery store today and stocked up on some good food and munchy food. Bernie's first trip to the grocery store in 2010. It is still cool, rainy and gray in the city of Nashville so we headed down town to visit the Country Music Hall of Fame. It is very near Nashville's city skyline landmark "the Batman" building (AT&T building with two giant antennas that make it look like Batman) and the "District" which refers to the night life area around Broadway and 2nd.We were back at Camper's world for a 3:30 appt to get the furnace fixed - turned out to be dirt in the connections so it was not a big bill and we have heat ! Had a little e-mail from Karen Carmichael relaying a message that Billy would "loan" us his RV for the next trip since ours was having problems.Ha, ha ! Took a bus right from the camp ground downtown for the evening and roamed the District listening to country music, eating, more music, sipping, more music. There were lots of sights to see - people dressed for St. Paddy's day, some girls barely dressed at all passing out vouchers for the Coyote Ugly, police everywhere, musical street performers, cowboys and lots of lights and noise. And then took the bus back to the RV, Great way to travel in Nashville.

On the road Thursday morning by 9:30 and headed to the Belle Meade Plantation just south of Nashville. It was an interesting mansion restored to the mid 1800's with 2 floors open for viewing. It included the 1890's stable, smoke house, log cabin, slave cabin. It was the top Thoroughbreed farm in the US with most Derby winners (Seabiscuit, Secretariat ) tracing their bloodlines back to Belle Meade. After a picnic lunch we headed further south to Franklin where I found a quilt shop ! and Bernie found a Kubota dealer almost side by side. What luck ! After doing a bit of shopping, we took off to head south and found this wonderful road lined with huge, beautiful homes and horse farms. Miles and miles of fences and fields filled with horses. The next stop was Loretta Lynn's mansion, RV campground, mine, village but it was not open for the season so we had to settle for a walk across the bridge and around the grounds. It was back in the woods off the #40. It would be fun to come back when they are open. O well, we just cranked up Loretta singing "Coal Miner's Daughter" and drove to the KOA in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. Parked the Rv and Bernie started to set up and came to find out the man in the next lot was from Perth Andover, NB and he grew up in Holmesville, NB - Bud Dougherty. Small world.

March 15-16th, 2010, Monday and Tuesday

Bernie's optimism was short lived. Started out at 14 degrees but quickly dropped down to 6 degrees. Another "ugly"day of gray skies and a bit of rain. We slept in a bit and then up and on the road after breakfast. First checked out the nearby Campers World store and then a Kubota dealer about 10 miles outside of Roanoke. Small dealer, not a fancy place and they sell Kubota and Cub Cadet. The weather was so miserable that we threw out our plans to visit Gaitlinbury and Dollywood and headed to Knoxville in Tennessee. A bit past Knoxville we stopped at The Soaring Eagle Campground, had a delicious dinner of hot dogs and chile (have not made it to a grocery store yet), a long walk and then discovered there was a problem with the furnace. It would come on but no heat ! Bundled up for the night and got some long over due reading done.

On Tuesday we did not linger after we arose as it was a little chilly (6 degrees). Headed for Nashville and some good old country music. Booked into The Two Rivers campground, hopped a small bus and did the Tour of the Stars Homes. Saw a few "small homes" of Martina McBride (who at the moment is playing in the Maritimes). Alan Jackson, Trisha Yearwood, Dolly Parton, little Jimmy Dickens (his wife did stop by the tour bus and talked to us). Their homes are in the Brentwood and Belle Meade areas south of Nashville. Got back in time to hop another bus and head to the Grand Ole Opry where we saw Little Jimmy Dickens, Terri Clark (Canadian), George Hamilton the IV and V, Bill Anderson, Lee Greenwood, Justin Moore, and others. A lot of fun. Furnace came on once when we came home but that was the only time. Have to get it fixed tomorrow. Getting too old to "rough it".

March 12-14, 2010 Fri - Sun

We did it. Packed and on the road by 9am friday morning. Great day for travel - sunny and 1 degree . Had a short but great visit with Grammie Jeanne and then we crossed the border into the States around 4:30pm. After buying a cell phone to use in the States, dinner and finding a hotel with an empty room (PEI and NS school break) we settled in for a good night sleep. Of course we remembered to turn our clocks back one hour but will we remember to "spring" them ahead tomorrow night ? Gained an hour for a whole day.
Saturday on the road by 7:30am and we headed to Midland Park, NJ to visit Steve and Mary Lockhart. About 3 hrs out of NJ we ran into the front end of the Nor west storm coming up the coast. High winds and rain. We arrived in time to get settled in before the storm really hit. Rain and more rain, high winds, power outages, sirens everywhere. A lot of trees down and some people lost their lives due to fallen trees. We are all OK and no damage to the Lockhart's property. We had a great visit with Steve, Mary and Erica. So good to see them
Sunday - the wind has died down and the rain slowed down but still an "ugly" day - gray and dreary and wet at 9 degrees. Left the state of NJ and headed south to the #81 and stopped for the day at Roanoke in Virginia . It rained on and off all day, the temp slowly climbed to 14 degrees, the traffic was not too heavy and the grass is starting to turn green. Saw hundreds of Canada geese flying north today. We went for a walk before supper and then talked to Jeff and Jack on the phone (they are in Florida) and Jack caught his first fish off Popi Chris's dock. He was sooooooo excited ! Bernie is optimistic and has pulled out the short sleeve shirt and sandals for tommorow morning. I think I'll wait another day

March 5, 2010

Thinking about leaving Amherst on the 12th and heading south for a few weeks. This weekend will be spent preparing the motor home, packing and organizing the house. Do we think the house will be in the same state when we arrive home in April ???