Manatee Day (that's me on the right)

We took the 10 minute trip from Upriver over to Manatee Park today. We visited this spot back in 2005 during our first Florida trip. Chuck and Agnes Peterson told us about it. As advertised, we saw manatees. There is a small inlet here where the electric plant discharges warmer water and the manatees like it. You really only see their nose or their back as they come to the surface to breath. They say that in the morning, when the sun is behind you, you can see into the water a little bit to make out more of the manatee shape.

We got an unexpected bonus on this visit. Because of the drought conditions here, the water in the Manatee Park inlet is much saltier than normal. Also, the water from the electrical plant, which comes from Lake Okochobee originally, is saltier too. Because of the saltier water, the inlet has been "invaded" by cow-nosed sting rays. Usually, they stay out in the Gulf. One of the employees told us that there were over 100 of these guys there today. They have never been seen in the park before this winter. You could see the tips of their wings breaking the surface constantly.

A note about the picture in yesterday's post showing the pelicans on the pier. The woman in the picture and her husband were catching quite a few fish. They weren't keeping any, so they fed them to the pelicans. We thought that this was probably a common practice and the pelicans had certainly learned the routine.

Trip To The Beach

We went on a beach excursion today. We motored down I-75 and then went toward the ocean and Bonita Springs. There were many new things to see along the way. The first stop was Bonita Beach which is a long, beautiful stretch of sand. There were beach access parking lots along the road so we stopped at one and just walked the beach a bit. Being Wednesday afternoon, it was not very crowded. By then it was mid afternoon and we were hungry. As luck would have it, we found a little restaurant called Pat and Deb's Cafe. The special of the day was all-you-can eat spaghetti with salad and garlic toast and that appealed to both of us. Neither of us eats large amounts of food, but I did have a second helping.

We then continued along Estero Blvd toward Fort Myers Beach. The traffic was kind of slow, but that allowed us to look at the houses and hotels along the way. There were some very upscale areas. When we actually got to Fort Myers Beach, we were pleasantly surprised. It was like a slightly smaller version of Key West. Lots of shops and restaurants, all within walking distance of the beach. There was a nice boardwalk/pier and really easy access to the beach. We hung out on the pier for a while, then walked around town a little. Finally, we took folding chairs that we had brought with us, set them up on the beach and watched a beautiful sunset. We finished off the day with DQ ice cream while we watched some of the street performers. We didn't see anything like the "cat man" from Key West. For the trip home, we continued north, just to see different scenery. It was a good day, but we were ready to sit down for a while when we got home.

Bus Under Attack

When I came back from walking Wickett this afternoon, I noticed these white blotches on the driveway in front of the bus. Then I saw the front of the vehicle. Both sides of the windshield were covered with giant splatters of bird poop. I guess birds use tracers like fighter planes to line up their target. That would explain the streaks in the driveway. I don't know what we may have done to offend the local seagulls, but they singled us out for some reason. With my extension brush and a bucket of hot water, I got rid of the problem. Stay tuned.

Earlier in the day, we decided to go out sightseeing and grocery shopping rather than wait until Sue watched "Days Of Our Lives", her favorite soap opera. When we stopped for lunch at Arizona Pizza Company, each booth had a 15" flat screen TV, hooked up to cable. We watched the soap while we ate. I love it when a plan comes together.

When we got home, we went over to the site of our neighbors, Lee and Marie, and visited for awhile. They are very nice people. Marie is a former first grade teacher in New York state. Later we packed up our bingo duabers and went up to the rec hall for a rousing evening of bingo. This was our second visit and we still haven't won anything. They get between 150 and 200 players, so the payoffs are pretty good. They play 20 games and the average winner gets $35. Special games pay between $70 and $80. We will probably try again next week. The conversations are good, even if you don't win any games.

Latest Adventures

Last Thursday, we went to the big RV show at the Lee County Civic Center. The Center is about five miles from us. As usual, there were many motorhomes to look at. We got our exercise that day by just going up and down the steps into the different units. They had quite a few GulfStream coaches. More dealers sell them down here than in Ohio. We drooled over a 2007 TourMaster that was a leftover new model that they wanted to get rid of before the 2008 ones come in. It was a diesel pusher and was about 43 feet long. Mom loved the built-in stack clothes washer and dryer, and the tons of closet space. The basement compartments were huge and they even had compartments inside up high around the ceiling that they referred to as the attic. It was for stuff that you didn't use very often. The outside main awning was electric. You just push a button and it extends or retracts. You could even set it for wind speeds from 9 to 17 mph and it would automatically retract if it got windy and you were not home. It's nice to dream. The sticker price was ONLY $238,000. If we ever decided to sell the house and go to full-time rving, a bus like this one would be great.

We were in Fort Myers on Sunday and we stopped at Camping World for a few supplies. While we were there, we made a purchase that we can afford. A new, folding lounge chair for use outside. We have been wanting one for a while. Another stop on this trip was at Iguana Mia Mexican restaurant for lunch. Good food. We have it on our list if Kris wants some south-of-the-border cuisine during her visit. Speaking of Kris, there is a Skyline Chili in the same general area as Iguana Mia. Decisions, decisions!

The weather here continues to be great. Lots of sun. The temperature gets into the 40's sometimes at night, but the furnace keeps us toasty. The highs are upper 70's, low 80's and that is just about perfect. We are gradually getting to know more people. We met two couples from the Steubenville area who have known each other since grade school. There is an Ohio potluck dinner scheduled for Feb. 8th, so we should meet many other Buckeyes.

I'll close with a big cheer for the Malvern Hornets basketball team. They are 16-0, ranked 2nd in the state in Division IV and just beat the 2nd ranked, Division III team by a score of 81-54. My brother Jim's son, Trevor, is the second leading scorer, averaging about 18 points per game. He also passed the 1000 career point mark last week. Good luck to them in the upcoming state tournament.

Back In The Day

This picture really brought back some memories. The cats on my grandpa's farm would line up for a treat just like the ones you see here. Then came the automated, vacuum milking devices and it was all gone. Rage against the MACHINE!!. I think I'll buy a goat (and a cat).

Update from UpRiver

It has been kind of windy down here for the past three days. Winds have been about 15 mph with gusts to 20 or more. We had some rain overnight on Friday and Saturday and both Saturday and Sunday were pretty gray. The winds have not really been a problem, but we did finally take the awning down this morning. We had it supported and tied down well enough that the wind didn't really move it much. We kept hearing this humming noise inside the motorhome, however, especially in the back. I couldn't figure out where it was coming from at first. You couldn't hear the noise outside, but it seemed to be related to the wind. Finally I felt the aluminum support rods on the awning and I could feel them vibrating in the same pattern as this humming noise. We had the thing tightened up so well that those rods were vibrating like guitar strings and then transferring the vibration to the walls of the bus. Just like a big, hollow guitar body. Ain't science wonderful?

We have been exploring the area. The Lee County Civic Center is just down the road to the east. There is a big RV Show scheduled there next weekend and many other events throughout the winter. Sue went clothes shopping at Beall's (pronounced Bell's) and got four tops for under $18 total. They were having a 70% off sale and then were taking off 40% of the sale price. What a deal!!

Today, we drove about 20 miles to the west, along highway 78 to Pine Island. We just were tourists, checking out all the sights. On the way home, we stopped at The Shrimp Shack, for some good seafood. Once we were full, we decided to pick up some groceries and bus supplies before heading home.

In Fort Myers, the Edison Festival of Light starts on the 26th and continues through Feb. 18th. There are parades, fireworks, concerts, etc. It's a big time for the city. We plan to catch some of these, especially when Kris is visiting.

Wickett has a girlfriend, sort of. Her name is Ellie and she is a 14 month old Shih-Tzu. She is mostly white with a little gray. She also has a personality very much like you-know-who. She gives it right back to him when he barks at her and it's funny to see the surprised look on his face and how he retreats.

We see that the weather up north has been pretty cold. We have actually had the furnace on here over the past two nights to keep things comfortable for sleeping. A warmup is in the works for tomorrow and again for the weekend. Hopefully, it will be warm enough to be pool weather again.

The Rain Came.

We finally got some rain. It started during the night and continued off and on until about 9:30 this morning. No more since then, but it has been very cloudy all day.

We ventured out to a nearby flea market yesterday, but we got there too late. Evidently, they close up shop at 2:00 and we got there at 1:30. Most of the vendors had already put everything away. This one didn't look too impressive anyway. It's in a old outdoor movie theater lot with no real permanent buildings. We hear that there is a better one on the other side of the river, closer to downtown Fort Myers. Maybe we will check that one out sometime.


Last night, there was a comedy show here at UpRiver. A guy named Johnny Roberts. He is a former band instructor (25 years) and a former principal. He said that he is a native southwest Floridian but does shows all over the country. The show was very good. He got on stage at 7:00 and basically told jokes and stories until 8:15. He also sang and played guitar. I suppose that he did about half a dozen original songs.

Even with the clouds today, the temperature still got up to 80. If you were out of the wind, it was very comfortable. Riding our bikes was much easier when the wind was behind us.

Note: Click on the Beatles' picture in yesterday's post. You should see "animation".

Today In Beatles' History

On January 16, 1957, the Cavern Club opened for business in Liverpool, England.

Renaissance Biker Babe

Kris and Mark! Who knew that the Harley-Art connection went back this far?

Florida Fun

You just can't have fun like this in Ohio. The photo shows I.M."Fool" Hardy feeding one of the local pets. Soon after this picture was taken, he changed his nickname to "Lefty".

Some Pics Of Our Park

Here are a few pictures of Upriver RV Resort. I was going to take a picture of the pool, but I started getting strange looks from some of the ladies who were there at the time. I'll wait until it is less crowded and try again. In the shots of the motorhome, you can see how big the site is. We have the tow dolly and the car behind the bus and still have all that room in front. The patio is longer than usual too. It was kind of cloudy when I took these pictures, but we're into Sunday afternoon now and still haven't gotten any of the rain that was predicted for the weekend. Wickett feels like he is officially on vacation now. He went with us to Sonic last night and got a few bites of Sonic burger and chili dog. It makes his coat shiny. Mine too.

Clean Bus

Well, it took a large part of the morning and afternoon, but I got the bus cleaned up. If I had done it in a big bath tub, the water would have been filthy. We picked up a large amount of dirt on the way down here. I told some of the people in the office that they could blame me if it rained. Because of the recent dry weather, they thought that most people would thank me if I caused rain. They actually have restrictions on what days and hours you can wash vehicles.

An update from yesterday's post. It turns out that the Minnesota Twins also have their Spring Training home about 18 miles from here. That gives us a second team to choose from if we want to attend a game. Unfortunately, they don't play any games against the Indians. Speaking of the Tribe, how about the name change from Jacobs Field to Progressive Field? Money talks.

If you have seen the news, you know about the big accident on I-4 a couple of days ago. It was near where we stayed Monday night. There were a couple of accidents on I-75 today that bottled up traffic for a while. Luckily, we got here earlier and missed all that.

We Love Hogbody's

We are two for two in the eating place search. Hogbody's Grille is about 500 feet from the entrance to our RV park. We went there on Thursday night. Wings, ribs, $1.99 draft beer from 4 to 7, seven days a week. And a really good acoustic guitar player providing live music.

The awning is out now with lights, patio rug and all the trimmings. I already took a nap out there. I got the bike tires up to proper pressure also, so we took a short ride. The park is very flat and has a lot of roads to use for bike riding and walking. Sue and I have been walking together in the morning. She stops before I do and we go a little slower during the time when we are walking together, but it's still fun. Her stamina will increase as the days go by. I have a year's head start on her.

The only baseball team playing Spring Training close to us are the Boston Red Sox(boo). Their stadium is less than 15 miles from our park. They play two games in March, at home, against Cincinnati. Maybe we can go to at least one of them.

Our grocery run went well today, so I doubt that we will be restaurant hunting for the next few days. Home cooking is good too. I can do some grillin'. Tomorrow may be bus washing day. That will make it rain for sure.

Fort Myers Excursion

We went across the big bridge over the Caloosahatchee River and explored the southern section of Fort Myers. Don't worry, Kris, we are following your request not to have any fun until you come to visit in February (NOT). We did find a great Italian restaurant called Nino's. Delicious salad, bread, spaghetti and meatballs. There were many others good things on the menu so we definitely have to go back. Sometime today we have to go grocery shopping. Our supplies from the trip down are starting to run out. The prediction is for a slight chance of rain over the weekend and slightly cooler temperatures at the start of next week. No complaints from us.

We Have Arrived!!

We got to UpRiver RV Resort at about 12:30 today. We were on the road for about 2 hours, not counting one stop for gas. It was the short driving day that we had built into our schedule. We spent the afternoon getting settled in, all the utilities attached, etc. There will be little things to do over the next couple of days, but basically, we are "home".

We took a short drive this evening to scout out the surrounding area. Most of the civilization is west of us in North Fort Myers. Our area is just far enough out of town to be peaceful and quiet, but still close enough to allow us to find stores and restaurants when we need them. The car was really dirty from the trip down. West Virginia must use some sort of powdered coal product on their roads in the winter. The car and the motorhome got very dirty. We stumbled across a car wash in our travels, so the car got clean. I plan to wash the bus later this week.

Tomorrrow will be a time to explore the park, meet our neighbors and do some more settling in. Both Sue and I plan to find some time to just sit in the sun for a while too.

Day Three-Almost There

Monday was another great day of traveling. It was warm and sunny. The weather reports tell us that those of you up north are having some nice weather too. You've got to love those short term effects of global warming. It's 77 degrees here in Tampa right now. For our last leg of the trip tomorrow, I'm thinking shorts and a tee shirt. I'm not rubbing it in, really I'm not.

We started on I-95, this morning, then took I-10 over to 301 S. 301 was a good road and it gave us a chance to see some of the sights that you miss on the interstate. Lots of little speed trap towns to watch out for too. One of those towns was Waldo, so if anyone asks you, "Where's Waldo?", tell them it's on 301 S between Starke and Gainesville. Somebody with some money to spend must have gotten a speeding ticket in Waldo because we past a full-sized, black and white billboard that said, Waldo Speed Trap-2 miles. Anyway, we didn't get any tickets and reached I-75 , rolled south to Tampa, and then a slight eastern jog on route 4 to get to our park, Tampa East RV Resort, in Dover.

We have to thank Kris for the music CDs that she made for us three years ago. We used the "Good Music", volumes 1 through 6, to help the miles fly by during the last two days. We have about two hours of driving to reach Upriver RV Resort, our home for the winter. It will be good to actually be able put out the slides, lower the awning and all the other things that will make it seem more like "home".

Sue is making dinner now and Wickett is taking a nap (surprise, surprise). All of us will be glad to put down some roots tomorrow so we can stop being gypsies and start being snow-birds. Bye for now.

Quote Of the Day

Age is something that doesn't matter, unless you are a cheese.

Luis Bunuel

Georgia On Our Minds

Today was sunny from the start of our travels. The views along the Blue Ridge Parkway were great this morning, even though the mountains were hidden a little by fog at the beginning. We didn't run the furnace at all last night, just one of the electric heaters on the lowest setting. It kept the temperature warm enough for good sleeping. We even got an earlier start (for us) at 8:45 and we got to Savannah Oaks RV Resort a little after 4:30. We got to talk to two couples from Ohio, one from Columbus at a rest stop south of Columbia, SC and the other, from Dayton, at a gas station near Savannah. As we approached Savannah, we finally started to see some palm trees, although the first ones were just stuck in the median of the highway for decoration. Later there were some that looked to be natural. Today was another trip of approximately 350 miles. After we finally got out of the mountains, the gas mileage went up to about 7 mpg. On the flat roads for the rest of the trip, we may hit 8mpg. We will get into Florida very quickly tomorrow and will spend Monday night at an RV park in Dover, FL, near Tampa. I should have time to watch the OSU-LSU football game, but since I'm not a big Ohio State fan, I can say that I think LSU will win.

Good Progress

Our first real day on the road went well. We left Stow this morning about 9:30 and had cloudy weather with only a small amount of rain between Cambridge, Ohio and Beckley, WV. No snow or ice, thank goodness. We ate lunch at a rest stop south of Parkersburg, WV and pulled into the parking lot of the Wytheville, VA Super WalMart around 4:45. About 350 miles total distance and the bus got about 6 mpg. All those WV hills and the car on the back made it tough at the gas station. We stopped at a BP station just north of Wytheville and filled up at $2.93 per gallon. That was more than 30 cents lower than the stations in WV, so I'm glad we waited. So we are gassed up and ready to roll in the morning. It is warmer here already compared to home and Savannah tomorrow should be better. We will be in a real campground tomorrow so we can shower and be more civilized again.

And The Journey Begins

Greetings from the WalMart parking lot in Stow, OH. We got everything packed in the bus, hitched up the car and made the 10 minute drive from Kent to Stow last night. Now we can just hit I-77 S and be on our way. We plan to be in another WalMart parking lot in Wytheville, VA tonight. (to be continued)

Go Flashes

The Kent State University men's basketball team travels to Chapel Hill, NC to take on the #1 ranked Tarheels at 8:00 tonight. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN. KSU is 10-2 and North Carolina is 13-0. The Golden Flashes are certainly an major underdog in this game, but you have to admire the fact that they put this game on their non-conference schedule. They could have loaded up with patsies (like OSU FB with Akron, Kent and Youngstown State, sorry Buckeye fans), but they chose the tougher road. Win or lose, they will be a better team when the MAC season starts. Fight On For KSU!!