AFTER NEARLY A YEAR AND A HALF WE FINALLY GOT TO SEE AUNT JEAN AGAIN:)))))

AMAZINGLY ENOUGH WHEN I GOT ALL THE DIRT AND GRIME WASHED OFF I FOUND A NICE LOOKING JEEP LIBERTY UNDERNEATH

I’m guessing it’s been well over a year since we last heard raindrops on our rig’s roof and although there were not a lot of them last night it was a sound that always brings back pleasant memories of old tenting days many, many, Moons ago.

HERE I AM RELAXING AT AUNT JEANS TODAY IN ONE OF HER TWO RECLINERS

I THINK JEAN WAS WATCHING ‘THE LAMP SHOW’ ON TV WHEN WE ARRIVED

Gets so humid here in the night that in the morning everything is soaken wet.  Didn’t even have to pre-soak the Jeep before washing it because it was already wet.  Knowing the day would heat up fast we didn’t waste any time getting to the things that had to be done this morning.  Kelly had a big cleaning job in the rig and my priority was to get the Jeep washed and all cleaned up.  Wasn’t even 7:30 yet when we both got right at our tasks. 

KELLY HAD A FEW THINGS SHIPPED TO JEAN’S VIA AMAZON AND HERE SHE TRIES ON A UNIQUE NEW WINTER HAT FROM VINTAGE FARM AND FORAGE

Over the years I have had a lot of various vehicles but I thought to myself this morning I have never had a vehicle that has ever gotten as dirty as both the Jeep and Motorhome are at the moment.  What a mess they were.  Nearly needed a wire brush to get all the accumulated road grime, desert dust and road salt off the Jeep.  Took me about an hour to finally step back satisfied the Sarasota Highway Dirt Patrol wouldn’t pull us over and impound the Jeep.

MAYBE I’LL JUST WASH THE FRONT END OF THE MOTORHOME AS WELL

WELL OKAY MAYBE THE WHEELS AS WELL

HMMM. WONDER IF I HAVE ENOUGH ENERGY TO DO THE BACK TOO

With morning temperatures on the rise I surprisingly had some energy left over so figured I would just wash the front of the Motorhome too.  Finishing the front I thought I’d at least get the chrome wheels cleaned up as well.  That done I considered doing the back which of course was the absolute dirtiest.  It was a race against the Sun now and I knew if the Sun got on me in this humidity I would be immediately turned into a 210 pound ball of sticky paste.  Half an hour later I had the back of the rig done.  Okay I’ll just slip around the corner to the rear end of the driver’s side and wash a quarter of that side then call it a day.  Another half hour or so later I had the whole driver’s side washed.  And that was it for me today.  My energy was gone and I was a hot sticky blob of gooey paste

 

WELL AT LEAST I’VE GOT  HALF OF IT DONE

HOLY SMOLKES AND NOW THE WHOLE DRIVERS SIDE IS DONE AS WELL

I’LL TRY TO GET THE PASSENGER SIDE DONE IN THE MORNING BEFORE THE SUN GETS AROUND TO THAT SIDE

For me, showers are life saving so I was soon into the rig and under the shower nozzle.  Ten minutes later I emerged a new person once again ready to take on the trials and tribulations of another day.  Cranked up the A/C in the rig and I never stuck my head outside again until it was time to head on over to Aunt Jeans for supper.  How people can live in this heat I will never know.  We did see a fair number of RV’s heading north on I-75 Friday and somebody told us many folks can’t take the heat and are heading home to milder winter temperatures early.

Had been nearly a year and a half since last driving to Jean’s from our present location so not trusting our memories to get us there through all the Sarasota traffic we programmed in Jean’s address and Garmin Gertie had us there 15 minutes later.  What a treat scooting through the traffic in our  little Jeep compared to lumbering along in traffic with the big old Motorhome towing the Jeep behind.

LOOKS LIKE THE COOKS ARE IN THE KITCHEN

Pheebs remembered Aunt Jean’s front door and was the first one inside to greet Jean.  After our many weekly phone conversations over the past 16 months or so how great it was to finally see Aunt Jean her very self instead of only the voice on the phone.  And Jean was soooo happy to see the Pheebs again too.   We all had some catching up to do before Jean and Kelly fixed us up a yummy supper.  Cream corn and mashed potatoes with gravy are two of my favs and the pork tenderloin topped it all off.   And the lemon squares for dessert were just the best.  We’ll be over to Aunt Jeans Monday afternoon and from there we’ll head out to Miller's Ale House for supper Monday night.

Our hosts Dave and JoAnn returned from Milwaukee late this afternoon and we met them and their son Zachery when we arrived back at the rig.  Nice folks these people.

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Things I've learned from my Children……….

1. A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2000 sq. ft house 4 inches deep.

2. If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with rollerblades, they can ignite.

3. A 3-year old's voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant.

4. If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42 pound boy wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape. It is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can, to spread paint on all four walls of a 20x20 ft. room.

5. You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on. When using a ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way.

6. The glass in windows (even double-pane) doesn't stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan.

7. When you hear the toilet flush and the words "uh oh," it's already too late.

8. Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.

9. A six-year old can start a fire with a flint rock even though a 36-year old man says they can only do it in the movies.

10. Certain Legos will pass through the digestive tract of a 4-year old.

11. Play dough and microwave should not be used in the same sentence.

12. Super glue is forever.

13. No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool you still can't walk on water.

14. Pool filters do not like Jell-O.

15. VCR's do not eject PB&J sandwiches even though TV commercials show they do.

16. Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.

17. Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.

18. You probably do not want to know what that odor is.

19. Always look in the oven before you turn it on. Plastic toys do not like ovens.

20. The fire department in Austin, TX has a 5-minute response time.

21. The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms dizzy.

22. It will, however, make cats dizzy.

23. Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.

24. The mind of a 6-year old is wonderful. First grade...true story:

One day the first grade teacher was reading the story of the Three Little Pigs in her class. She came to the part of the story where the first pig was trying to accumulate the building materials for his home. She read, "...And so the pig went up to the man with the wheelbarrow full of straw and said, Pardon me sir, but may I have some of that straw to build my house?'" The teacher paused then asked the class, "And what do you think that man said?"  One little boy raised his hand and said, "I think he said...'Holy crap a talking pig!'"

25. 60% of men who read this will try mixing the Clorox and brake fluid.

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GORNTO SPRINGS OLD TOWN FLORIDA TO SARASOTA AND OH WHAT A RELIEF IT IS TO HAVE FINALLY REACHED OUR FINAL FLORIDA DESTINATION

We waved good-bye to our quiet little spot on the banks of the Suwannee River this morning and with birds chirping a fond farewell in the tall Live Oak trees overhead we slowly rolled out and set our course for Sarasota Florida. 

THE SUWANNEE RIVER IS FLOWING FROM LEFT TO RIGHT IN THIS PHOTO OR NORTH TO SOUTH

THIS ENTIRE FLOATING DOCK IS MADE OF ALUMINUM WITH SOME STEEL POSTS THROWN IN

THE CLEAR WATERS OF GORNTO SPRINGS


CAREFUL TO NOT STEP ON THE LITTLE FROG NOW

YES WE SURE ENJOYED THIS SPOT ALRIGHT
A mixture of sun and clouds on a warm morning as we made our way south on highway 349 to Old Town and turned left onto 98/19 heading for Chiefland.  At Chiefland we picked up 27 to Williston then 41 south in the direction of Brooksville.  Traffic was light and I again appreciated the smooth Florida roads.  Passed by cattle and horse ranches with acres of nice fencing looking like Kentucky.  Beautiful looking morning and we really enjoyed the scenery along the way.

I ESPECIALLY LIKE THESE SECONDARY HIGHWAYS FOR THEIR LACK OF TRAFFIC

Original plan was to stay on 41 until we reached Brooksville but after going through a few small traffic congested communities with a bunch of traffic lights we decided to cut over at Inverness to I-75 and take our chances.  Merging onto I-75 in a construction zone we had a close call with a pick-up truck pulling a travel trailer but other than that we kept right up with the best of them.  One stop at a Rest Area and we headed down the home stretch. 

FAIR BIT OF I-75 ROAD CONSTRUCTION ALONG THE WAY

REST AREA STOP
Wouldn’t ya know it…..we were within 5 miles of our 210 Sarasota exit ramp when traffic quickly started bunching up and slowing down.  Truck fire at our exit ramp had traffic backed up for miles but at least is was slowly moving and by the time we got to the exit they had one of two lanes open and we were able to get off I-75 Okay.


ABOUT 5 MILES NORTH OF OUR 210 FRUITVILLE ROAD EXIT

BURNT OUT CARS FROM A TRUCK CAR CARRIER



Less than 10 minutes later we un-hooked the Jeep close to our final destination and proceeded to Dave and JoAnn’s place about 3 minutes away.  While stopped for a few seconds in front of their place a red pick-up stopped beside Kelly in the Jeep and said ‘Hello Canada’ where ya from’.  Kelly said ‘near Goderich Ontario’ to which the other driver said, ‘Hey I gotta cottage in Bayfield and with that he had to quickly speed away as another car was approaching.  Apparently he’s a neighbor of the people’s place we are staying at.  Small world eh:))

THE ROAD LEADING TO JOANN AND DAVE’S PLACE

ROLLING INTO THE DRIVEWAY ABOUT 12:40 EARLY THIS AFTERNOON
We are sooooooooooooooooooooooooo glad to finally be here.  It’s been a long tiring journey ever since we pulled out of that American Legion in Borrego Springs California weeks ago.   I knew right where to park the rig and where all the connections were.   Didn’t waste any time in getting things hooked up.  Priority was to get the A/C on quick as we could.  I was hot, sticky, and sweaty and my next priority was to throw myself into the shower under a prolonged deluge of warm soapy water.

OH BOY CAN’T EVEN BEGIN TO  TELL YOU HOW GREAT IT IS TO HAVE FINALLY COMPLETED THIS PART OF OUR LONG JOURNEY

WE JUST SAT HERE FOR AWHILE IN KIND OF A RELAXING DAZE SOAKING UP THE COOLING BREEZE

‘OH DAD LOOK AT ALL THIS SOFT GRASS FOR ME TO RUN AND PLAY ON’

WE ARE SO FORTUNATE TO HAVE JOANN AND DAVE LET US STAY HERE WHILE VISITING AUNT JEAN

OUR RIG’S PARKED UP THERE SOMEWHERE AND DID YOU NOTICE THE WINDMILL

AND THE NEIGHBORS HAVE HORSES
 

LOVE THESE MOSS LADEN TREES

SO NICE TO SEE THINGS SO GREEN

NO GATORS IN THIS POND BEHIND OUR MOTORHOME

While I was in the shower Kelly called Aunt Jean to let her know we had finally arrived safely all in one piece.  Soon as we get rested up and re-organized we’ll head over to Aunt Jean’s Sunday afternoon.  That will give me a chance to get our Jeep cleaned up as well and hopefully make a start at getting this ‘dirtiest of ever’ Motorhome washed.  Hope to get a lot of that done in the coolness of Sunday morning before the heat builds up and knocks the stuffing out of us like it did early this afternoon.  I wasn’t long in falling asleep in my recliner for a short snooze later.  A welcome cloud cover rolled in around 4 and we were able to sit outside for awhile with the nicest breeze blowing on us.  We are just so relieved to finally be here and are so much looking forward to seeing Aunt Jean Sunday afternoon.  And would you believe Kelly fell asleep before 7 o’clock tonight.  That’s the earliest ever for her.  She did get up later before going back to bed again.  We was whupped……..

GROANER’S CORNER:((  The new army recruit was given guard duty at 2 a.m. He did his best for a while, but at about 4 a.m. he went to sleep. He awakened to find the officer of the day standing before him.
Remembering the heavy penalty for being asleep on guard duty, this smart young man kept his head bowed for another moment and looked upward and reverently said, Amen!
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Nurse: Doctor, there is a man in the waiting room with a glass eye named Brown.
Doctor: What does he call his other eye?
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A small boy was lost, so he went up to a policeman and said, "I've lost my dad!" The policeman said, "What's he like?" The little boy replied, "Chips and beer."
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A drunk phoned the police to report that thieves had broken in to his car.  "They've stolen the dashboard, steering wheel, break pedal, even the accelerator," he cried out.  However, before the police investigation could get under way the phone rang a second time, with the same voice came over the line. "Never mind," said the drunk with a hiccup, "I got in the backseat by mistake."
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