After departing Riverwalk on Tuesday DEC 10 (Carol's birthday) we stopped for the night in Valdosta, GA using the Sam's Club parking lot. Usually the diesel prices are quite good in GA but the lowest we saw at Flying J was 2.99. I decided to pass that up and I was lucky to find diesel for 2.77 right across the street form Sam's. I saved $0.22 per gallon and that adds up when you put in 102 gallons!!
Our next stop was in Monteagle TN at Dave and Lana Reagel's. They have a great summer cabin that is so large it should not be called a cabin. We stayed 2 nights there and even did a little fishing in Dave's pond. He stocks it with bass and catfish so it was easy for me to catch a couple of catfish. I also helped Dave install a new ceiling fan as the old one fell to the floor unexpectedly.
We left there on Friday and stopped in Cincinnati so Carol could go to the Otis company picnic on Saturday. It was as hot as FL but we had a good time and Carol got to see some of the folks she used to work with. Jack and Barb Blomback were there so we got to update each other. We have camped with them each winter for several years when they came to FL.
We got to Zanesville Sunday and parked in our normal golf course parking lot near our Daughter-in-laws house. The weather finally cooled down some and we are able to sleep at night with the windows open and be comfortable. We even found diesel at Sam's Club for only 2.92 which was less than on the road by more than 10 cents per gallon.
On Monday we went to Rob's grave site and did some clean up and put new flowers at the headstone. Lorrie and Brad came by at the coach and we had a nice visit for several hours. I am sure they will be getting married at some point and it is a good match. They were high school sweethearts but went there own ways when he went to college.
Lorries spent a good bit of time with us on Tuesday and we played cards and had a good time. In the evening we went to Ruby Tuesdays for dinner but Dawn would not go, I think, because I did not want any texting going on while we were having dinner.
Tomorrow we leave here and head for Trafford.
Later!!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Getting ready to head north
Today I put up the hurricane shutters since we are leaving on Tuesday for about 3 weeks. You never know when a storm may blow in on us!!
With all the hot weather and the warm water in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic I am surprised that we have not had any real storms yet. I went snorkeling in the Gulf last week and the water temperature was above 90 F. It was actually to warm to be refreshing. So I have been doing about 45 minutes in the YMCA pool 3 times a week to get my legs in shape for Scuba. The water at the Y is much more refreshing.
Even though it is not until late October when we go to St Thomas I have been contact with the Coki Beach Dive Club and have already set up our dives dates with them. If you want to see why I like Scuba so much, go to their site, http://www.cokidive.com/hotelguests.htm and look at the videos and the still photo albums. I am not in any of the pictures or video but they are very good underwater shots and it shows the beauty of the area.
We went out with friends to the Legion last night for dinner and dancing to our favorite entertainer, Jay Smith. Dinner was good but Jay called in sick about 3 PM and the Legion had to scramble to get a replacement. He was OK but he just didn't measure up to Jay and we left a little early.
I hope to take some pictures while up north and will post some on this blog.
Later, Jim
With all the hot weather and the warm water in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic I am surprised that we have not had any real storms yet. I went snorkeling in the Gulf last week and the water temperature was above 90 F. It was actually to warm to be refreshing. So I have been doing about 45 minutes in the YMCA pool 3 times a week to get my legs in shape for Scuba. The water at the Y is much more refreshing.
Even though it is not until late October when we go to St Thomas I have been contact with the Coki Beach Dive Club and have already set up our dives dates with them. If you want to see why I like Scuba so much, go to their site, http://www.cokidive.com/hotelguests.htm and look at the videos and the still photo albums. I am not in any of the pictures or video but they are very good underwater shots and it shows the beauty of the area.
We went out with friends to the Legion last night for dinner and dancing to our favorite entertainer, Jay Smith. Dinner was good but Jay called in sick about 3 PM and the Legion had to scramble to get a replacement. He was OK but he just didn't measure up to Jay and we left a little early.
I hope to take some pictures while up north and will post some on this blog.
Later, Jim
Monday, August 2, 2010
Three Quarters of a Century
Yesterday I became three quarters of century old!! Holy smokes that sounds old. But I don't think that old, even if my body sometimes tells me that I am getting older.
We had a quiet day to celebrate my birthday. Got up a little later than usual ... about 8:30 ... and Carol asked if I was going to fix breakfast. I said "I thought that was supposed to be my question on this day". So I fixed breakfast!!
We were invited by our friends, Gus and Marilyn, to have dinner with them. Marilyn's meals are always something very special and this was no exception. A superb crab meat appetizer, stuffed mushrooms and a pork loin roast. Dessert was provided by Carol as she made my favorite, pineapple upside down cake. She knows it is my favorite but I don't see it too often; but then my waistline does not really need it.
Today we went to the YMCA and I did pool laps for 40 minutes since no one was there to pay racquetball with. My legs need the exercise since I have not been on a dive for about a month and have not been doing any real amount of snorkeling. Yea, I do all these things at 75!! Carol did her aerobics while I was in the pool.
In fact today I was emailing the Scuba place in St Thomas to arrange for 10 tanks of dives during our stay in Oct/Nov.
After the YMCA I got the needed part for my motorcycle and installed it to fix a small oil leak. Success again and a repair done for $3.18 instead of $100 or more!!
So that is all for now.
We had a quiet day to celebrate my birthday. Got up a little later than usual ... about 8:30 ... and Carol asked if I was going to fix breakfast. I said "I thought that was supposed to be my question on this day". So I fixed breakfast!!
We were invited by our friends, Gus and Marilyn, to have dinner with them. Marilyn's meals are always something very special and this was no exception. A superb crab meat appetizer, stuffed mushrooms and a pork loin roast. Dessert was provided by Carol as she made my favorite, pineapple upside down cake. She knows it is my favorite but I don't see it too often; but then my waistline does not really need it.
Today we went to the YMCA and I did pool laps for 40 minutes since no one was there to pay racquetball with. My legs need the exercise since I have not been on a dive for about a month and have not been doing any real amount of snorkeling. Yea, I do all these things at 75!! Carol did her aerobics while I was in the pool.
In fact today I was emailing the Scuba place in St Thomas to arrange for 10 tanks of dives during our stay in Oct/Nov.
After the YMCA I got the needed part for my motorcycle and installed it to fix a small oil leak. Success again and a repair done for $3.18 instead of $100 or more!!
So that is all for now.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Mr FIXIT
I have been lax posting and it may be due to the heat or that I have been fixing everything around here and other places. In about a week we leave for a trip up north so I better put some info on here before we leave. Earlier this month a cabinet at the clubhouse had 2 drawers that had problems with the pulls and one of the drawers was extremely tight. The one drawer was so tight that a drawer pull was actually broken and the other had threads stripped. I was able to re-tap new threads and use a larger screw to solve one problem but the other was a difficult rebuilding job. I finally was able to set a new crossbar to replace the broken one and it looked like new and did the job. It does not even look like it had been broken. Naturally the drawers were trimmed to prevent any further problems with the pulls.
Our dishwasher has been having problems for a number of months. The motor would not start but would hum. I found that if I reached under to the motor and gave it a spin with my finger (with the power off) it would then work. It did this only occasionally earlier but it now became an every day deal!! I looked up the drawings of the "works" online and found it was either the pump ($40.00) or the pump and motor assembly ($150.00). When I dug into the "works" I could not get the pump open to replace it so it would have cost the $150.00 solution. Too much to spend on an older dishwasher. So we finally found a new one that fit our needs and wallet and I installed it. It took only several hours for me to do it and it works fine.
When I turned the electrical power back on, the kitchen fluorescent light would not light. After changing the bulbs and even going to get two brand new bulbs it still would not work. That meant the ballast in the fixture was bad. So I installed a new ballast and viola, it works. So that day I spent several hours crawling around on the floor installing the washer and then several hours up and down a ladder fixing the light fixture. I was really beat after that.
While we were shopping for the washer we saw a great closeout price on an outdoor lamp post so we bought it and all the needed other stuff such as a photocell switch, the lamp and needed electrical stuff. Last week I finally got the time and strength to dig the hole, mix the cement and install it. I even installed an electrical plug that can be used for other lighting (flag pole or Xmas lights). The light adds some badly needed lighting to our street area and is a nice addition to the front landscape.
For about a month my motorcycle has been spitting out a very small amount of hot oil while I am riding it. At first I did not realize it was oil but thought it was sand hitting my ankle. When I noticed small oil marks on my right sock I did some searching and found an oily spot nearby on the front cylinder. One of the cycle shops gave me some suggestions on where to find the leak and sure enough a small gasket had a crack in it and was leaking the small amount of oil. So I now have the part out and will get a new gasket at the dealer this coming week.
I did not do this following repair job but had good help on it. Since we came back from Sebastian Inlet last month a light on the dash of the Jeep was on that said "part time". It was referring to the 4 wheel drive of the Jeep but never was on previous to this. The 4 WD was working properly except for this darn light. I tried putting the Jeep into and out of 4WD but was not successful getting it to go out. I finally went to the Jeep dealer and they weren't any help as they wanted to put it in the shop and then charge me a lot to test everything. I didn't want to pay to train their mechanics!!! So, I went to a shop I had used before and they fiddled with the 4 WD to try to find out what was wrong before giving me an estimate, which I think is the right way to do things. While doing this, the light finally went out and it cost me nothing for their help. My kind of shop!!
Well, we leave here on August 10 and will be back on August 28 if all goes as planned. We will be stopping in Monteagle, TN; Cincinnati, OH; Zanesville, OH; Trafford, PA; Charleston, SC; and Jacksonville, FL plus several Sam's Clubs and/or Walmarts during our trip. I may have some pictures of the Trafford street fair for a post about it!! Today I became three quarters of a century old. It sounds old but I still think I am a teenager in my mind. My body tells me otherwise sometimes though.
Later
Our dishwasher has been having problems for a number of months. The motor would not start but would hum. I found that if I reached under to the motor and gave it a spin with my finger (with the power off) it would then work. It did this only occasionally earlier but it now became an every day deal!! I looked up the drawings of the "works" online and found it was either the pump ($40.00) or the pump and motor assembly ($150.00). When I dug into the "works" I could not get the pump open to replace it so it would have cost the $150.00 solution. Too much to spend on an older dishwasher. So we finally found a new one that fit our needs and wallet and I installed it. It took only several hours for me to do it and it works fine.
When I turned the electrical power back on, the kitchen fluorescent light would not light. After changing the bulbs and even going to get two brand new bulbs it still would not work. That meant the ballast in the fixture was bad. So I installed a new ballast and viola, it works. So that day I spent several hours crawling around on the floor installing the washer and then several hours up and down a ladder fixing the light fixture. I was really beat after that.
While we were shopping for the washer we saw a great closeout price on an outdoor lamp post so we bought it and all the needed other stuff such as a photocell switch, the lamp and needed electrical stuff. Last week I finally got the time and strength to dig the hole, mix the cement and install it. I even installed an electrical plug that can be used for other lighting (flag pole or Xmas lights). The light adds some badly needed lighting to our street area and is a nice addition to the front landscape.
For about a month my motorcycle has been spitting out a very small amount of hot oil while I am riding it. At first I did not realize it was oil but thought it was sand hitting my ankle. When I noticed small oil marks on my right sock I did some searching and found an oily spot nearby on the front cylinder. One of the cycle shops gave me some suggestions on where to find the leak and sure enough a small gasket had a crack in it and was leaking the small amount of oil. So I now have the part out and will get a new gasket at the dealer this coming week.
I did not do this following repair job but had good help on it. Since we came back from Sebastian Inlet last month a light on the dash of the Jeep was on that said "part time". It was referring to the 4 wheel drive of the Jeep but never was on previous to this. The 4 WD was working properly except for this darn light. I tried putting the Jeep into and out of 4WD but was not successful getting it to go out. I finally went to the Jeep dealer and they weren't any help as they wanted to put it in the shop and then charge me a lot to test everything. I didn't want to pay to train their mechanics!!! So, I went to a shop I had used before and they fiddled with the 4 WD to try to find out what was wrong before giving me an estimate, which I think is the right way to do things. While doing this, the light finally went out and it cost me nothing for their help. My kind of shop!!
Well, we leave here on August 10 and will be back on August 28 if all goes as planned. We will be stopping in Monteagle, TN; Cincinnati, OH; Zanesville, OH; Trafford, PA; Charleston, SC; and Jacksonville, FL plus several Sam's Clubs and/or Walmarts during our trip. I may have some pictures of the Trafford street fair for a post about it!! Today I became three quarters of a century old. It sounds old but I still think I am a teenager in my mind. My body tells me otherwise sometimes though.
Later
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
A Rainy Fourth of July
We had rain all day long on the 4th of July making it a very gloomy day. We did not even go out to see any fireworks. It has been gloomy and rainy here for about 5 days now and we are getting tired of it.
Our community did have a party on Saturday afternoon to celebrate the Fourth though. Hamburgers and hot dogs just like a picnic. We did enjoy the time there with Gus and Marilyn.
During the week before we went out again to have dinner and dance to Jay Smith at the Punta Gorda Elks again. It has become nearly a weekly affair as we are going again this coming Friday also. Jay is playing at the Venice Legion and we will go to dinner elsewhere and have a better dinner than they serve at the Legion!!
Next week we will be going to Tampa to camp at Lazy days for 4 nights and meet up with our east coast RV friends. It will be fun I am sure.
Our community did have a party on Saturday afternoon to celebrate the Fourth though. Hamburgers and hot dogs just like a picnic. We did enjoy the time there with Gus and Marilyn.
During the week before we went out again to have dinner and dance to Jay Smith at the Punta Gorda Elks again. It has become nearly a weekly affair as we are going again this coming Friday also. Jay is playing at the Venice Legion and we will go to dinner elsewhere and have a better dinner than they serve at the Legion!!
Next week we will be going to Tampa to camp at Lazy days for 4 nights and meet up with our east coast RV friends. It will be fun I am sure.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Sebastian Inlet
Last week we spent 5 nights in the motorhome at Sebastian Inlet State Park. A nice park right on the inlet and overlooking the Indian River Lagoon. Water flowed in and out of the lagoon with the tides and it was a fast flow at the narrow part of the inlet.
There was a swimming spot on the other side of the inlet and still part of the State Park. When the tide was high the "pool" was nearly 100 yards across but at low tide it got down to about 20 yards. I did some snorkeling here at high tide and near the point where the water comes in there were about 20 snook. They were about 18 to 24 inches long and quite a sight. One of them had a long piece of heavy twine tied around it's tail and I tried to grab it but could not get close enough.
I thought about snorkeling in the Atlantic but the surf was more than I wanted to fight. Carol and I did walk the Atlantic beach one afternoon and picked some trash. We were actually looking for gold but found none washed up on the beach!
In July of 1715 a fleet of 11 or 12 Spanish galleons loaded with gold got sunk by a hurricane right off this coast. People have been recovering gold from the area for years. In fact, Mel Fisher, the treasure hunter who fond the Atocha made is first large treasure findings here in the late 1940's.
There is a museum at the site where the survivors of the hurricane and shipwrecks camped and worked salvaging the gold. It is a very interesting story. The area is called the Treasure Coast because of the shipwrecks and the finding of gold even yet today. I may try to SCUBA it someday because the reefs are quite close to the shore.
Camping friends came to visit us while we were there and we had a good afternoon with them. We also made arrangements to go to Lazy Days near Tampa for 4 nights in mid July so we can visit with them more
While at the park, our satellite dish could not find the Direct TV satellite so Carol had to watch normal TV. After doing all I could to correct the problem I finally called the company and found a service guy in Wachula, Fl. Since we were going to be passing within 20 miles of Wachula we made arrangements to meet up with him on our way home. In a very short time he upgraded the program in the equipment and it is now working again.
There was a swimming spot on the other side of the inlet and still part of the State Park. When the tide was high the "pool" was nearly 100 yards across but at low tide it got down to about 20 yards. I did some snorkeling here at high tide and near the point where the water comes in there were about 20 snook. They were about 18 to 24 inches long and quite a sight. One of them had a long piece of heavy twine tied around it's tail and I tried to grab it but could not get close enough.
I thought about snorkeling in the Atlantic but the surf was more than I wanted to fight. Carol and I did walk the Atlantic beach one afternoon and picked some trash. We were actually looking for gold but found none washed up on the beach!
In July of 1715 a fleet of 11 or 12 Spanish galleons loaded with gold got sunk by a hurricane right off this coast. People have been recovering gold from the area for years. In fact, Mel Fisher, the treasure hunter who fond the Atocha made is first large treasure findings here in the late 1940's.
There is a museum at the site where the survivors of the hurricane and shipwrecks camped and worked salvaging the gold. It is a very interesting story. The area is called the Treasure Coast because of the shipwrecks and the finding of gold even yet today. I may try to SCUBA it someday because the reefs are quite close to the shore.
Camping friends came to visit us while we were there and we had a good afternoon with them. We also made arrangements to go to Lazy Days near Tampa for 4 nights in mid July so we can visit with them more
While at the park, our satellite dish could not find the Direct TV satellite so Carol had to watch normal TV. After doing all I could to correct the problem I finally called the company and found a service guy in Wachula, Fl. Since we were going to be passing within 20 miles of Wachula we made arrangements to meet up with him on our way home. In a very short time he upgraded the program in the equipment and it is now working again.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Shark Tooth Dive
On Tuesday, June 15 I went on a shark tooth SCUBA dive with Capt. Gil Cross into the Gulf of Mexico just of Manasota Beach. Gil has a 50 foot boat but only carries 6 paying passengers on a trip. It is licensed as a "six pack" boat!
When I got to the dock Gil was up on the flying bridge waiting for me but I did not see anyone else around but did not think it was odd since I was early. I jokingly said "Is it just you and me today?" and he replied, much to my surprise, "Yes, just you and me." I still thought he was joking, but not so. He said he was going to do some diving also since he makes an income from the sharks teeth he finds as well as other fossils.
For those who may not be aware, the Venice, Florida area is a very good place to find fossilized sharks teeth and other fossils. The teeth range in age from 2 to 35 million years old!!
On the first dive we went to a spot that was about a mile off shore of Manasota Beach and in about 30 feet of water. Gil came up with about 10 small teeth that could be used to make necklaces but I came up empty handed. We moved to spot closer to shore and over a reef that runs parallel to the beach in about 18 feet of water.
Because of an equipment problem Gil did not dive this time and he watched my bubbles from the boat. I was down only about 15 minutes and say what looked like a broken shell in a crevice of the reef. When I picked it up I realized I had a real nice Megalodon sharks tooth that was about 4 1/2 inches long. It was covered with marine "stuff" on it but it still was quite apparent what it was. A little later I found a second tooth but it had a corner broken off and was not a nice as the first one.
Here is a picture of it if you have never seen one.
It did not clean up as well as I would have liked but I will talking to Capt. Gil about how to clean it up better.
We leave this Sunday for 5 days on the east coast at Sebastian Inlet State Park and I may get to
do some diving there. At least I will take my gear and see how it works out.
When I got to the dock Gil was up on the flying bridge waiting for me but I did not see anyone else around but did not think it was odd since I was early. I jokingly said "Is it just you and me today?" and he replied, much to my surprise, "Yes, just you and me." I still thought he was joking, but not so. He said he was going to do some diving also since he makes an income from the sharks teeth he finds as well as other fossils.
For those who may not be aware, the Venice, Florida area is a very good place to find fossilized sharks teeth and other fossils. The teeth range in age from 2 to 35 million years old!!
On the first dive we went to a spot that was about a mile off shore of Manasota Beach and in about 30 feet of water. Gil came up with about 10 small teeth that could be used to make necklaces but I came up empty handed. We moved to spot closer to shore and over a reef that runs parallel to the beach in about 18 feet of water.
Because of an equipment problem Gil did not dive this time and he watched my bubbles from the boat. I was down only about 15 minutes and say what looked like a broken shell in a crevice of the reef. When I picked it up I realized I had a real nice Megalodon sharks tooth that was about 4 1/2 inches long. It was covered with marine "stuff" on it but it still was quite apparent what it was. A little later I found a second tooth but it had a corner broken off and was not a nice as the first one.
Here is a picture of it if you have never seen one.
It did not clean up as well as I would have liked but I will talking to Capt. Gil about how to clean it up better.
We leave this Sunday for 5 days on the east coast at Sebastian Inlet State Park and I may get to
do some diving there. At least I will take my gear and see how it works out.
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