Square Dancing By The Dashboard Light

This morning, as I do on MWF, I stopped at the exercise room during my morning walk. I do a few reps in different directions with some free weights. Just to remind my arm and back muscles that I still need them. On the other side of the wall, there was a square dancing class.

The music background that the caller was using sounded familiar and after listening a little longer, I recognized "Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad", by Meat Loaf. I took this as a sign of how the Baby Boomer generation(Sue and Bill included) are beginning to infiltrate the retired and "snow bird" populations of Florida. I'm not sure that, when he released that song, Mr. Loaf had square dancing in mind. I see this kind of thing as a positive note, showing that different generations can get along.

I've heard a rumor that there are 3 episodes of The Lawrence Welk Show that were recorded in 1974 that are perfectly synchronized to Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side Of The Moon" album. I can believe it. I always thought that Larry was a lot more hip than people gave him credit for. With the outfits that they wore on those shows, when they did the big production numbers with singers, dancers and the band in the back, how could you not flash on the Sgt. Pepper cover?

Peace Out!

Not All Fun And Games

Spending the winters in a place like Florida is not always easy. You have to make adjustments.

Manny's OK

In case you were worried about ex-Indian, ex-Red Sox, current Dodger player, Manny Ramirez, relax. Manny just signed a two-year, $45 million contract. That should get him through these tough economic times. And in case Manny gets tired of eating Dodger Dogs, he can bail on the contract after one year and still walk away with $25 million.

In a related story, there is apparently no truth to the rumor that the Octomom and Ramirez are negotiating a deal that would allow Manny to "grow" his own baseball team.

Pot of ????

When things look bleak, remember
that the rainbow has another end.

Little Surfer Dog

The Wickster went to the dog beach in Bonita Springs today. He had fun and is now sleeping soundly. We were mildly surprised at how well he did. He barked at some of the other dogs, but not that much. We didn't let him run free because we were concerned that he would pick fights with some of the bigger dogs and get his #$%^ kicked. The video shows two of his many trips into the water. He would go in until the water was up to his shoulders (that's only about 7 inches). A couple of times he actually started "boinging" like he does in the snow. Too bad that we didn't get that on film.

This beach is about 15-20 minutes from the RV park where we will be staying next winter. Maybe we should get him some baggy, brightly colored swim trunks and cool sunglasses.

A Bit Further South Next Winter

We made a reservation for next winter at a new location. We will be spending January through March of 2010 at Imperial Bonita Estates RV Resort. The park is about 30 miles south of where we are now. A major factor in the decision was the difference in monthly rate. We will be saving almost $200 per month compared to this year's cost at Upriver. And chances are, the rates here will be increased. Also, we have to pay a separate electric bill here and in the new park, the electricity is included in the monthly charge. That is a significant benefit, especially if we are running the air conditioners a lot. Here is the address of the website for Imperial Bonita Estates if you want to learn more about the place.

http://www.imperialbonitaestates.com/

Another advantage of going to IBE (lazy typist) is that the park is less than 5 miles from the Gulf beaches. Up here we have to fight through the city traffic so the beach is a minimum of 45 minutes away, usually more. We will be closer to Naples and can have fun exploring all kinds of new shopping and eating locations. Actually, we plan to do some of that this year and then we will be more at home next year.

For anyone planning to visit us, we will be south of the airport but closer to it than we are at Upriver. The Dog Track and the Flamingo Flea Market will be right in our neighborhood. The flea market will be of more interest. FYI, Mike and Kim, the dog track has poker rooms and the Seminole Casino is not too far away.

I will miss the jam sessions with Gator and the boys. I might still make the trip up to play with them once in a while. All things considered, we are excited about the move. And hey Kris, if we want to take a nap before dinner, we won't have to put up with the "4:00 alarm" everyday. Yes, it's still happening. Grrrrr!!

Indians Update: Tribe is losing to the Giants 3-7 in the bottom of the 7th inning. It's the first Spring Training game at the new facility in Goodyear, AZ. Can summer be far behind?

Ave Maria

Ave Maria is a project started by Domino's Pizza founder, John Monaghan. He wanted to found a new Catholic university in the United States. The location of this university is about 50 miles from our RV park, near Naples. We had talked about making a visit there last year but never got around to it. Today we remedied that.

Ave Maria would still be considered a work in progress, in my view. The original university has been joined by a town square that surrounds a church. I understand that the original plan was to only sell residences to Catholics. People here at our park say that that requirement has been relaxed somewhat. I'm not surprised. Even without the problems in the housing market, it seems that limiting your client pool to one religious group would not be the best strategy.

In addition, there is a Del Webb community that is being constructed in this area. They had some model homes that you could look at without getting involved with a salesperson. We looked at two of them. The house pictures in the slideshow are from that home. Very nice!

The other pictures are of downtown Ave Maria, the church and some of the university buildings. Sorry for the blur on some of the pictures. Either the auto-focus was having problems or my hand was shaky. I've got to learn to lay off the Long Island Ice Tea before 10:00AM. Just click on the picture to see the slideshow.

Ave Maria