Day 2- St. John, N.B.- June 30, 2016

This day we started out by going to the downtown area.  We parked around the King’s Park, a city block park that had some memorial statutes.  Across the street from the park was the City Market, a small market of produce and meats along with other items as tee shirts, placemats, toys and other such stuff.  We then walked about the area into a small shopping mall.  Actually the downtown had little going for it. 

 

We drove to The Martello Tower, a tower used for coastal defense during the War of 1812.  Unfortunately, reconstructive work is being done on the tower so we were unable to go inside but we could walk up to it and see the views of the city from that point.

  We returned to the downtown to get lunch at an Italian restaurant before returning back to the motorhome.  We have been disappointed in this area.  The reversing rapids are a must see but after that there really wasn’t much that held our interest.  We are thankful for GPS for getting us around the confusing streets.  Initially, we thought about staying here for 4 nights but when we checked in at the campground Tom was told that we would not need that many days because there was not that much to do here.  We do have another day and we haven’t figured out just what we will do tomorrow.  The campground does not refund money if we wanted to leave so we will stay another day.

After a rainy night, the day was mostly cloudy until late afternoon when the skies cleared. This evening we did return to the reversing rapids about 2 hours before high tide and with sun shining instead of the rain like last night.  The black ducks that we saw last night were in abundance during this pre-high tide.  There were swirls in the water that apparently stir the food fish upward giving these ducks a hearty dinner.  We were told that these are cormorants.  These ducks swim along with the tide and then dive down often bringing up a fish that they quickly swallow before the sea gulls can steal it from them.  There must have been hundreds of these cormorants feeding.

St. John, N.B. - June 29, 2016

Yesterday evening the fog moved in the St. Andrews’ area and was still there this morning.  We moved a little farther east today to St. John, a rather short 68 miles along a foggy coastline.  We are camped at Rockwood Park Campground owned by St. John Horticultural Association.

After setting up and eating lunch we drove to Fallsview Park within the town of St. John.  This park has a good viewing area of the reversing rapids, a natural phenomenon caused by the Bay of Fundy tides.  These tides are the highest tides in the world.  As the St. John River flowing through a narrow gorge to St. John Harbor meets up with a rising tide it creates a reversal of the rapids.  When we were at this viewing area the tides were at low tide so no reversal was in effect.  The flow of the St. John River was extremely strong.  We planned to come back during high tide.

We then drove to the downtown Market Square that has some shops, restaurants, a library and the New Brunswick Museum. 

We went into the Museum which was interesting.  We saw a movie playing and went in that room to watch this movie about the Bay of Fundy that was very interesting.  We then walked through the exhibits displaying the history of New Brunswick, art and natural history.  A nice museum.

Before returning to the campground we returned to the reversing rapids but the tide was not at high tide yet.  We have since learned that high tide should occur at 7:55pm.

About 7:30pm we drove again to the Fallsview Park in pouring rain to see the effect of high tide on the rapids of the St. John River .  It was absolutely amazing that the current was now flowing swiftly in the opposite direction from earlier today due to the high 25 foot tide.

Earlier today when we were at the rapids we observed ducks in the water coasting along with the flow of water and then flying up  and landing farther upstream to repeat the coasting and relocating,  like a game.  This evening with the current going in a different direction these same type ducks were doing the same thing but now coasting the opposite direction.  In spite of wearing raincoats this evening we returned to the campground with wet clothes which we soon changed to dry clothes.  And the rain has continued pouring even harder.  Temperature at 9pm is 60 degrees, temperature today was in the low 70’s.

Jardin Kingsbrae and Minister’s Island- June 28, 2016

We woke up this morning to the sound of rain but after a couple showers early today the rain stopped but the cloudiness hung in there.  It wasn’t until late afternoon that the sun appeared and added some warmth to the 60 some degree windy air.  I neglected to say yesterday that New Brunswick is in Atlantic time zone- 1 hour ahead of Eastern time.

The day started with us going to the Jardin Kingsbrae a 27 acre garden with a large variety of trees, shrubs and plants along with ponds, a stream, a variety of birds and a 1/3 scale windmill.  There were even some alpacas, goats, chickens, ducks rabbits and peacocks to see.  A self guided tour allowed us to walk about at our own pace. 

 

 

Ministers Island was our next touring spot.  This island is accessible 5 hours a day during low tide as you need to travel over the sand bar that connects the island to the mainland. Today it was 11am to 4pm- of course, this time changes with the tide schedule daily.  The island was bought many years ago by a minister who built a house there that he and his family lived in hence the name for the island.  Later, it was owned by the Van Horne family.  It is now a provincial and historic site.  For a donation we were allowed to walk about the island on trails.  We selected the shorter 2 mile trail that had some hill climbs with nice views of the surroundings.  Upon entering the island we were given a tag that had to be returned when we left to insure everyone was off the island before the tide covered the sand bar.  With high tide the sand bar is under at least 14 feet of water.  As the tide rises the water over the bar is very swift.

The Road to Ministers Island at High Tide.

The Road to Ministers Island at Low Tide.  You can now drive over to the island.

 

Before returning to the campground we stopped in St. Andrews for a late lunch at the Gables restaurant and then to the grocery store for a few food supplies.  Tom made a run to Tim Hourton’s, Canada”s Dunkin Donuts, for coffee.  Tomorrow we move on to new territory.

St. Andrews, N.B., Canada- June 27, 2016

This morning we left Bar Harbor, Maine about 9am and continued our northern travels to St. Andrews, New Brunswick in Canada.  We did make a stop in Ellsworth, Maine, about 15 miles from Bar Harbor, at a WalMart to pick up a few items.  We traveled on state roads that were in need of some work in Maine.  We were driving through Maine Land Management forested hills.  Just about noon we were passing through the border crossing into Canada at Calais without any difficulty.  As we drove through Canada to our destination of St. Andrews we were in coastal areas and had better roads for traveling.

At 12:35pm and 133 miles we arrived at the Kiwanis Oceanfront Campground in St. Andrews.  We did not have reservations but had no problem getting a site.  A no frills campground with full hook-ups (30 amps, no 50’s)  but right along the ocean on the outer perimeter of the town.

Before setting up we drove to the downtown area for lunch at the Harbour Front Restaurant.  Both of us had fish and chips that were very good as we sat on an outside patio viewing the harbor. Returning to the motorhome we finished setting up and then relaxed for a while.  In the evening we walked along the ocean road into town.  There was quite a noticeable change in the tide levels as it had been at lower tide when we came to the campground and now in the evening it was near high tide.  There is a 20 foot difference in the tides here.  In the downtown we walked out on what looked to be a fishing pier but in fact was a docking area for dinghy's to the boats moored off shore.

The Beach with the Tide in.

The Beach with the Tide out.

It has been breezy and sunny today.  No need to use air conditioning with temperatures in the 70’s.  Air coming across that cold water is real cool. 

Schoodic Point- June 26, 2016

Today, Sunday, we drove about 40 miles to Schoodic Point which is another area of Acadia National Park.  This Point was turned over to the National Park service by the Navy a few years ago.    Winter Harbor is the town closest to the point.  The tide was at low tide when we arrived which was quite apparent with the mud flats extending football field lengths at various places. 

At the point large boulders extend out to the ocean water.  Since it was low tide the waves were not crashing into the rocks and spraying up very much. 

Since high tide was to be about 4pm we had lunch in the town of Winter Harbor which took about 2 hours due to the slow service at the restaurant.  After lunch we returned to the point about 2pm as the tide was coming in.  The rise in the water level had covered much of the mud flats and there was more crashing of the waves on the rocks.

On the point the air temperature had dropped  about 10 degrees (to 66 degrees) from our earlier stop  until this afternoon stop which we assume was due to the higher tide and cold from the water.  Inland the temperature was much warmer.   The tides have about a 10 foot difference between high and low.  This was a very beautiful area and much less congested than the Bar Harbor Acadia Park .

Tomorrow we will be leaving this area and moving farther north into Canada.  We have had the best weather while in this area.  Clear skies, bright sunshine and temperatures in the upper 70’s to low 80’s during the day and dropping to the low 50’s at night.

Acadia National Park, June 24 & 25, 2016

Friday, the 24th, we started the day’s activities by going to the Visitor Center of Acadia National Park. 

 

We watched a short film about the park and then a ranger spoke to the group about getting around the park.  Leaving the Visitor Center we started out driving around the loop road within the park.  We made several stops.

Sieur de Monts (a natural spring with a domed covering) is an area that once lawn parties were held.

 

  Wild Gardens of Acadia were flower beds of the various native plants are grown.  The parking areas near Sand Beach were full or nearly full causing us to park too far to go to the beach but we were able to see it from a distance.  With water temperature of 51 degrees we had no desire to test out the water.  Thunder Hole, an area that when the tide is incoming often makes a sound like thunder, was not thundering when we were there even with the incoming tide.

The drive was just beautiful as it was a bright sunny day with gorgeous blue skies.  We interrupted our loop travels to search for some lunch.  We had been recommended a place called “Chart Room” where we ate scallop dinners- it was okay but nothing to get excited about. After lunch we retreated back to the motorhome until later in the evening when we drove up Cadillac Mountain.  Cadillac Mountain is the area that the sun first shines on in the U.S. at certain times of the year.  The parking lot was filling up as people were wanting to see the sunset from that point.  We were a little disappointed that with such a pretty day there was still a haze.

Today, Saturday, we returned this morning to Cadillac Mountain thinking the haze may be less for picture taking.  Unfortunately, there was still some haziness but we did walk up and around the mountain top.  The views from up there are just spectacular.  There are numerous islands in the Atlantic waters that surround this area. 

Coming down from the mountain we next stopped at the Jordan Pond House.  This area has a restaurant that specializes in serving pop-overs and tea.  There was quite a waiting line in place waiting to get served. 

We passed on eating here.  We did go into the gift shop which was one of the nicer shops in Acadia.  This travel on the loop road this morning completed the loop for us.  We then drove to the downtown area of Bar Harbor.  Getting there about 11:30am we were able to get a parking spot with a 2 hour limit.

We went to the shops to look but didn’t buy anything.  For lunch we ate at Stewman’s Lobster Pound on an open deck over looking the  harbor area.

This lunch of lobster roll, cole slaw and fries (regular for Tom and sweet potato for me) was really good.  Leaving downtown Bar Harbor we drove to the town of Ellsworth about 20 miles away.  We stopped at a store called Reny’s that is supposed to be unique to Maine but we didn’t see anything to get excited about.  But I did spy a beauty shop that had a sign about loving walk-ins and I was in need of a haircut so I was able to get that accomplished without much of a wait.  L.L.Bean had an outlet in this town that we also checked out but didn’t find anything to buy.  But we did find some Frosties to buy at a Wendy’s before returning to the motorhome.

To Bar Harbor, Maine- June 23, 2016

We left a cool (52 degrees) Freeport at 8:20am and about 4 hours later, the 144 miles completed, we were in Bar Harbor, Maine.  We traveled on US 1 instead of interstate routes.  This route took us through towns, frequently along the coast, at a slower speed.  We did make a stop for diesel fuel, ($2.299/ gallon) a pleasing price.  We are noticing that often in this area the diesel fuel is less than gasoline.

We are camped at Bar Harbor Campground.  They don’t take reservations or credit cards but will take checks if issued from a U.S. bank.  Tom had called yesterday to ask if there were empty campsites available and was assured there were.  Campsites are on an incline in the area we are in which made leveling a little difficult.  We were told we could move tomorrow to another area if we wanted but we have decided against doing that.

Once leveled up and able to put out the slides we ate lunch.  Tom had not finished hooking up the water and sewer before lunch as we started having rain showers.  So after eating we chilled out a bit.  The rain stopped and the sun came out and then Tom completed the hooking up of the water and sewer.  We then rode around the area going first into the busy town of Bar Harbor and then around coastal areas.  With the sun coming out it was fairly warm in the late afternoon although tonight it is cooling down to the 60’s.  We plan to be here for the next 4 nights.

Day 2 in Freeport, Maine- June 22, 2016

Today, Wednesday, we returned to Freeport to do some shopping at the outlet stores.  This town has quite a few stores within the town itself not in a mall as most outlet stores are located.  We really had no big needs but we like to take time to look and if something appeals, to buy.

It was cool this morning but not down in the upper 40’s, as predicted, but in the lower 50’s.  Sun shined briefly and then the clouds rolled in keeping the temperature down to the low 70’s before raining in the early afternoon.  After a shower the temperatures were in the 60’s.  It is a beautiful sunny evening that feels like fall to us.  Haven’t turned on the heat in the motorhome yet but we are wearing sweatshirts.

Tomorrow we will be moving to the Bar Harbor area for several days.

Freeport, Maine- June 21, 2016

We had been under the impression from last night’s weather forecast that we would be hearing thunder and rain in the early morning hours but we only saw non-threatening clouds when we got up.  We were up and underway by 7:40am continuing  traveling northward.  Our route continued on I-84 east on through Connecticut and into Massachusetts.  We then got on I-90 to I-495 that skirted around the Boston area.  I-495 ran into I-95 that goes north along the coast of New Hampshire up into Maine.  New Hampshire had signs at exits pointing out liquor stores and lottery sales which we thought was somewhat strange.  These were not signs advertising stores but just highway signs pointing out these stores.  A little before 12:30pm we arrived at Cedar Haven Campground in Freeport, Maine (242 miles). 

After getting settled into our campsite we drove into the town of Freeport.  Freeport is the home of L. L. Bean Company.  Before checking out the numerous stores we needed lunch.  We ate at Linda Bean’s Maine Kitchen and Topside Tavern and, of course, we had lobster rolls that they are known for.  The rolls were loaded with lobster meat and served with slaw and chips. 

After eating we walked through several stores including the L. L. Bean store.  It was a beautiful afternoon- sunny, breezy with temperatures in the low 80’s.  After a stop at the Ben and Jerry’s ice cream store for an ice cream cone we drove south to Portland in search of a car wash.  There wasn’t any car washes in Freeport and our poor Jeep had lost it bright red coloring due to road dirt.

We will be here for another night so more shopping tomorrow.  The temperature is to be in the upper 40’s tonight.  A lot different than the heat that is occurring in the south at this time.

Mountain Travels- June 20. 2016

Before I tell about today’s travels I need to write about an occurrence from yesterday that I neglected to write about.  As we were traveling on I-66 in Virginia prior to getting to the turnoff to Front Royal we saw a black bear on the bank beside the road.  He looked as if he was eating something, possibly berries, and was not bothered by the traffic passing by.  Quite exciting to see a bear in that area of the country.

Now about today’s travels.  We continued traveling on I-81 through mountainous areas to the Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton vicinities.  Then we left the northern I-81 route for an eastern route on I-84 that continued through the mountains of New York into Connecticut,a total of 278 miles.  Tonight we at Bear Creek campground in Bristol, Ct.  The campgrounds  in the area we traveled today are few so we had made reservations last night.  This campground is connected with some sort of Theme park.  Aside from seeing the entrance gates as we came into the camp area the park is out of our view.  This campground appears to be relatively new although we find it strange that the sites do not have sewer but have 50 amp electric.

  The weather throughout the country appears to be extremely hot.  We received an email yesterday from a relative who lives in Tucson showing a temperature of 121 degrees outside.  The weather here in Bristol is in the low 80’s and low humidity which is real comfortable.

We’ve Returned to the Road - June 14-19, 2016

Finally we are back to motorhome traveling.  Except for a Christmas holiday traveling north to be with family we have not done any trips since last summer when we moved to Florida.  We left our home on, Tuesday, June 14 heading north, of course, what other way could we go from Florida?  We stopped in Brunswick, Ga. (188 miles)and had the motorhome serviced at Speedco before going to Golden Isles RV Park for the night.

Continuing north on Wednesday (15th) we traveled through some rain as we made our way to Dillon, S.C. (282 miles).  We did have some slow traveling due to a semi trailer fire which was extinguished when we passed by but the trailer appeared to be completely ruined.

On Thursday(16th) we moved farther north on I-95 to Doswell, Virginia (291 miles) where we spent 3 nights so we could visit Todd, Beth and our grandchildren.  We wanted to be closer to our family but campgrounds closer did not have spaces available for the 3 days.  Since we were about 40 miles away we didn’t go to see the family on Thursday.  We did have weather issues as a severe storm with tornedo warnings were issued for the area.  Watching the progression of the storm system we saw that a tornedo could touch down in our area about 9;25pm.  We joined other campers on the porch of the bathrooms all hoping and praying that no tornedo materialize.  At one point we went into the men’s bathroom as the wind was blowing the rain into the porch area.  Luckily, we only had pouring rain and some wind and no tornedos.

Friday (17th) we spent much of the day visiting with Todd, Beth, Parker and Gabi.  Parker and Gabi are growing up so fast and are so much fun to be around.  These 2 little ones returned with us to the campground to spend the night sleeping in the motorhome.

Saturday(18th) we hurriedly got the little ones fed breakfast and then took them back to their home so we could the go to Mountain View School to watch our 16 year old granddaughter, Maddi, play field hockey.  There was a tournament so we saw Maddi’s team play 3 games.  We then returned back to Todd and Beth’s for the afternoon.  Todd cooked a dinner of Low Country Boil with crab legs, shrimp, clams, potatoes, and corn.  Unfortunately,  as Todd was carrying the big pot of the seafood boil into the house I (Leah) opened the door for him and their dogs came charging out with the biggest dog going between my legs knocking me down the steps where I fell on the patio hitting my head.  This did but a bit of a damper on an otherwise pleasant day.  I told Tom later that there were 2 EMS people there (Todd works as a paramedic and Tom has been an EMT) but I had to tell them to get me some ice for my head.  I later found I had a few more aches and pains but not as bad as it could have been.  After eating dinner together Tom and I said good bye and returned to the campground.

Sunday (19th) and Father’s Day we were once again back on the road headed north.  We are going to the Canadian Maritime area.  The most direct route up there is straight up I-95 but that route goes through Washington,D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York City.  So Tom found something on the internet that suggested going a little to the west catching I-81 to Jonestown, Pa. and the I-78 to I-87 to Newburgh, New York which is just above New York City.  So that is the route we are taking.  We stopped at a Hoss’ restaurant near Enola, Pa.  for dinner.  Then a little further we stopped in Jonestown, Pa (270 miles)at Jonestown KOA (the former Lickdale Campground we had camped at with the Traveling Americans).  Sadly, having KOA name has not improved this campground only increased the price of camping ($47.00 for 30 amp site for the night).  We are finding campgrounds are fewer as we travel north.  We were in need of milk so we went into the store here in the campground.  All the 1/2 gallons of skim milk were dated 6/19/16  so we checked the quarts and they were good for a week longer.  We picked up the milk and 2 bags of chips that were 2 for $5.00 according to the sign on the shelf.  When we checked out the young female clerk rang up $3.69 per bag of chips and $1.10 for the milk.  When we pointed out what was stated on the shelf for the chips she said those prices are usually marked on the  bags but she didn’t bother to go back and check she just rang up what we said.  Then we pointed out the skim milk was $1.00 according to the paper on the door not $1.10.  She said homogenized milk was $1.10 and we explained this was skim milk.  We finally ended with just paying $6.00 but I think the clerk felt we were trying to get away with something dishonest.

Hacked

Our Apple account was hacked on May 25th by someone in China. Leah got an email from Apple that the date of birth and security questions had been changed. When we went into the account, the birth date had been changed and the security questions were in Chinese (good luck with reading that). It looked like the hacker then downloaded "Q Q Hd" from the iStore. No changes have appeared in any of our other accounts. To be on the safe side, all passwords have been changed. We changed our Appleid, but the hacker still had hooks into our account and the security questions were still in Chinese. The reason the security questions are important is nothing can be edited with out answering the security questions. Since they were in Chinese we could not read them and when we Google translated them, we didn't have the answers. We started by calling Apple support and after 14 hours and working with 9 different support techs, we finally got hold of a senior tech that was able to assist us in getting full control of our Appleid once again. We have checked all of our financial accounts and nothing has shown up that does not belong there, so we have not purchased first class airplane tickets, new cellphones or anything else. So remember to be very vigilant in managing your passwords. We still do not know how our Appleid password was hacked and Apple isn't talking.

A Day at the Races

Leah and I were joined by our good friends, Jeff and Anni Albert, and traveled to the Sanford Orlando Kennel Club Greyhound Track.   We enjoyed a nice lunch in the Clubhouse and watched 15 Greyhound races.  We had fun placing bets on the races, but our skills as handicappers were sorely lacking.  It was a different way to spend an enjoyable day with good friends and we will do it again in the future.

Florida Move and Thanksgiving Holiday - November 30, 2015

It has been quite a while since my last entry but not because there was nothing to write. There has been lots of happenings with Tom and me. After the May outing with the Traveling Americans we received an offer to buy our house in Taneytown. That proved to be a very trying time for us. We believed everything was in order to finalize the sale when the bottom fell out. We had emptied out our house and had our belongings placed in storage and then learned the sale was off. We had no other choice but to continue on with our plans to go to The Villages in Florida to find a home and live in the motorhome during this time. We actually found a home to our liking before leaving Maryland and placed an offer contingent on our having visual inspection within 5 days. We had asked friends to check out the house for us and then we arrived and gave the final thumbs up for purchasing the house. We settled on the Florida home on July 29th and spent our first night in the house on the 30th. We had purchased some new furnishings and brought some items out of the motorhome to make the house liveable until our stored belongings arrived about the 18th of August. Gastley's Moving Company handled moving our items and we were very pleased with the service. Our Maryland house was finally settled on October 26th, four months after the original date.
We settled into the life in The Villages. Tom has been playing golf on Tuesday mornings. We have joined a Segway Club that has monthly Segway rides at various locations. We belong to a club for former residents in the Mid-Atlantic region of the country. The village we live in is St. Charles which has a social club that we have joined. We occasionally go to a town square in the evenings for the entertainment. And we enjoy eating out at the many restaurants in this area.
But we also soon realized that we needed to get away for a bit in the motorhome. We loaded up last Tuesday, November 24th, and drove to Palm Harbor to BayAire Campground to spend 5 days over Thanksgiving. Palm Harbor is on the Gulf coast of Florida. Tuesday (24th) we had a late lunch at Ozona Blue restaurant which served a wonderful seafood pasta dish that was loaded with shrimp, scallops, mussels, clams and grouper. Wednesday we went to Tarpon Springs and walked through many of the shops in the area of the Sponge boats. We had another good meal at Mama's restaurant of grouper prepared in a Greek style. Thursday, Thanksgiving, we drove to Clearwater and stopped at beaches along the way. Our Thanksgiving meal was at Crabby Bill's, another seafood meal. Friday we went to a park between Palm Harbor and Tarpon Springs called Sunset Point which had a nice beach that we walked along and then we had a picnic lunch with sandwiches from Subway. On Saturday we again went to Tarpon Springs for an Arts and Craft show and then to the Sponge piers. We took a 2 hour dolphin boat tour that went to Anchor Island, a state park island. We did see a couple dolphins as well as birds- ospreys, bald eagles and others. We went with a Mexican lunch on this day. Sunday we left Palm Harbor driving the motorhome to Wildwood to spend the night since the storage lot that the motorhome is stored is not accessible on weekends. Monday we drove to the storage lot to park the motorhome and then returned to home.

A Weekend Near Ocean City, Maryland, May1-5, 2015

Camping season with the Traveling Americans got started with a campout in April which we were unable to attend. But we did get ourselves out for the campout in May, the first weekend. Since our lives have gotten to be more complicated than we really like do to our house being on the market and plans for a move to Florida it is not easy to make other plans. We also felt this would be a good weekend to co-host since the Hagans did not have anyone co-hosting with them. The campground in Newark, Maryland which is near Ocean City was Island Resort, a beautiful campground situated around a lake. Friday, May 1st we drove the nearly 200 miles to the campground arriving in mid afternoon. It was a chilly day so for our evening meal I invited everyone (10) to our motorhome for hot dogs, salads and brownies which Libby Hagan and I prepared.
Saturday morning was still a little chilly but we had breakfast outdoors. Breakfast consisted of coffee cake that I made, English muffins, boiled eggs and fruit salad. Tom and I rode into Ocean City but it was too breezy and cold to walk much further than Thrashers for French fries. For dinner we all went to Waterman's seafood restaurant.
Sunday morning was a warmer morning and we again ate outside. Breakfast on this day was pot luck, always a good variety of food. After breakfast the other campers packed up to go back home. Tom and I remained behind, we were not leaving until Tuesday. We left the campground and drove to Assateague National Seashore. A very nice day with pleasant temperatures. We did see several of the wild horses that this area is famous for.
Monday was another really nice day. We returned to Ocean City and was able to enjoy walking on the boardwalk. We drove into Berlin to have lunch at the old Berlin hotel. We ate outside on the porch and watched the traffic manipulating about the narrow streets of this old town. For lunc we both had the same- Maryland crab soup (not the best, overpowering tomato flavor, little crab) and fish tacos with grouper fish which were very good. Avocado chips were served with the tacos and were too good.
Tuesday morning we gathered up and departed for home. We got home about 1pm and after getting the motorhome in the driveway we went for a bit of lunch. Since this was May 5th, Cinco de Mayo, we went to Gettysburg to a favorite Mexican restaurant, Montezuma's. A good extended weekend.

The Big Chill, March 28-30, 2015

Saturday morning, March 28th, we awoke to cold temperatures in the low 30's. But we got under way about 9am continuing our travels toward home. We were taking a different route this time. We picked up I-26 west from I-95, then I-77 north to I-81. The mileage was about the same as going up I-95. We began to see blossoming trees, red bud, wild cherry and dogwood, along the roadsides. After 261 miles we stopped for the night in Union Grove, North Carolina at Van Hoy Farm Family Campground. It was chilly and windy.

Sunday morning we were underway again about 9 am. We found this route of travel had lots of truck traffic, a few congested areas around cities but not quite as the congestion that starts in Richmond, Va. and extends up through the D.C. suburbs into Md. This night we spent camped at Candy Hill Campground in Winchester, Va., 312 miles closer to home. The farther north we traveled the drearier, trees still looked dormant and grass had not gotten green. We had a back-in site but for $13.00 more we could have had a pull through with patio furniture and a grill (like in 40 degree temperatures we were going to be outside). Since we unhooked the car in order to back in we did go out to eat in a nice Mexican restaurant.

Monday morning, Tom dumped the holding tanks so we didn't leave until 9:35am. We were home by 11:15am, 84 miles more. Everything seemed in order with the house and the "For Sale" sign remains in place. Still hoping for a buyer to come along and for spring to come. This day was a little warmer getting into the 60's.

Good-Bye Florida, Friday, March 27, 2015

After a night of rain showers we awoke this morning to cloudy skies but no rain as we prepared to leave Florida heading for home.  As we traveled north on I-75, east on US 301 to I-10 and then picking up I-95 we had intermittent showers of rain.  The traffic on I-95 was heavy but moved well until we crossed into the state of South Carolina where we had slow moving, stop and go traffic for about 20 miles.  We did stop to eat lunch in the Welcome Center as we entered Georgia.  We stopped for the night in Yemassee, S,C. after 306 miles.  We are in another Encore park, The Oaks at Point South and what a muddy, muddy mess.  Equity Life Styles is the company that owns Encore Parks and Thousand Trails membership parks.  This trip has shown us that this company does nothing for these campgrounds.  We encountered muddy conditions in Wildwood, Wauchula and now here.  If the mud wasn’t here the numerous pot holes in the roadways would still be present.  The membership, which has a yearly fee, at Thousand Trail campgrounds allows us to camp free and we are given a discount at the Encore parks.  With the discount this park is costing us $25.00 plus some change- $4.00 is added for resort fee- to stay in a muddy mess!!   We look forward to being able to opt out of this organization.  The one positive feature at this campground was on Friday evenings Ray’s Barbecue brings dinners to the campground.  We had the pulled pork with baked beans and potato salad – very good for $7.00 a plate. 

Movie, Shopping, Kayaking and Friends, March 23-26, 2015

Monday, March 23rd was a rainy day so we decided to go to a movie.  We went to the theater in the Spanish Springs Square.  When we parked a car parked behind us had the motor running and wind shield wipers going but no one was in the car.  When returning to the car after the movie the same car still was running with the wipers going and, by this time, the rain had stopped and sun was shining.  Tom looked in the car to be sure no one was in there, tried the door which was unlocked and pushed a stop button to turn off the car.  The movie we saw was a documentary film called “The Wrecking Crew” about the studio musicians that were used during the 50’s and 60’s for many of the singers of that era.

Tuesday (24th) we spent time on this day shopping in the Brownwood and Lake Sumter Landing squares.  There are some neat shops in these squares, some are expensive and some more reasonable.  Russell Stover candy store is close to our campground so we stopped there to pick up some candies for Easter.  We were preparing for our return to Maryland.

Wednesday (25th) we drove west to Crystal River to rent kayaks and travel on the Crystal River to the Three Sisters Springs area.  Manatees are real popular in this area in the winter.  At this time most of the manatees have moved out in the gulf.  No boats are allowed in the Three Sisters Springs until after March 30 but we could skirt along the edges of the Springs and out into Kings Bay.  We saw one manatee in King’s Bay that had a tracking sensor attached.  The water in the Crystal River is very clear that the river bottom is visible and a constant 72 degrees but the bay is not as clear so if there were other manatees in that area we were unable to see them.  After about 1 1/2 hours we returned the kayaks.  Clouds were heavy all morning and finally clearing out about mid afternoon.  After kayaking we drove to Fort Island Beach to eat our picnic lunch but the bugs (no-see-ems) were so bad that we soon left and went to Hunter’s Spring Park in Crystal River (town) to eat our lunch.  Hunter’s Spring Park seemed to be a popular spot for families and kids on spring break.  A very pretty park that had a beach.

Thursday (26th) our last day before heading toward home.  Since rain is expected tonight and tomorrow we started getting ready for leaving tomorrow.  We again have been parked under trees that have dropped leaves and blossoms on the roof and awnings so Tom worked on getting this stuff cleaned off the motorhome.  I did laundry and cleaning inside.  At 1:30pm we drove into The Villages to have lunch with friends, Bruce and Cricket McGinnis and Anni and Jeff Albert at Toojay Deli.  Sadly, we bid farewell to our friends with hopes of being able to return here permanently one day.

Shopping and Winery March 20-22, 2015

Friday, March 20th, we in to The Villages at the Lake Sumter Landing Square and did some shopping. Shopping in The Villages is not usually the best place to bargain shop but the Izod store is closing so that store is having some good sales. We had lunch at Gators Dockside restaurant which is located beside Lake Sumter. We had outside seating which was really nice on this sunny warm day. Anni and Jeff Albert had messaged us that they were going to be at Brownwood Square on this evening and asked if we would join them there. The evenings entertainment was a group called "Funtastics" made up of 2 entertainers we had seen previously, Clark and Cathy (C-square) plus 2 other female singers. Another night of good entertainment.

Saturday (21st) we went to the Farmer's Market in Brownwood Square again this week. Like last week the square had vendors around the perimeter and it was quite busy. For lunch we stopped at a barbecue restaurant, Burke's, which proved to be a good eating place. In the evening, we went back to Brownwood Square to see the evening entertainment, Scooter the DJ. Scooter is a very popular entertainer. The square was jam packed with people and the area for dancing was equally packed. Scooter is not just a DJ, he dons wigs and acts out songs, gives direction for doing various line dances and keeps the crowd moving and laughing.

Sunday (22nd) we drove south toward Clermont to Lakeridge Winery for their Seafood Festival. And this place was crowded. We did take chairs along but had a difficult time finding a place to set them up. There was a big variety of seafood available, mostly fried. We did get some fish, scallops and shrimp and then sat eating and listening to the music that was being performed. Vendors were also selling crafts and such and, of course, wine was being sold. Leaving there we headed back to the campground making a stop at Wendy's for a couple of frosties. It was a very warm, upper 80's, day.

The Villages and Silver Springs, March 14-19, 2015

Saturday, March 14th, we drove to the square at Brownwood in The Villages for the weekly Farmer’s Market.  The entire square was lined with vendors, not all fresh produce.  We had to get some of those Florida strawberries that are in season now.  A Golf Fest was being held in The Villages that Tom attended while I stayed back at the campground. 

Later in the afternoon we went to Oakwood Smokehouse restaurant for barbecue food.

Sunday, 15th, we stopped at 3 of the numerous open houses in The Villages.  Everyday there are open houses of all price ranges and models in The Villages.  Moving on we went to Leesburg for the Art Festival that was being held there.  We received a text message from Cricket McGinnis, a friend that lives in The Villages with her husband Bruce, asking about meeting for dinner about 4pm.  So we went to The Villages again to have dinner with Bruce and Cricket and other friends of theirs Pat and Bill at Sonny’s Barbecue restaurant.  After dinner we all went to Sumter Landing Square for the evening entertainment.

Monday, 16th, we went to an early showing of the movie “Still Alice” and then ate a midafternoon dinner.  In the evening we again went to The Villages (Brownwood Square) for the evening entertainment.  A male and female singers called C 2 (C square) were performing and had been highly recommended by Bruce and Cricket.  We were not disappointed, they were very good singers.

Tuesday. 17th,  we drove to Spanish Springs in The Villages as there was going to be big goings on here today for  St Patrick’s Day.  We had lunch of corned beef and cabbage at Toojay’s Deli  which was really good. 

Then at 4:30 there was a parade that lasted about 40 minutes.  There were a variety of groups – decorated golf carts, baton twirlers, belly dancers to list a few groups made up of the residents in The Villages. 

Our friends the McGinnis’ and the Alberts, Jeff and Anni, were in a group of Segway riders.  After the parade, celebrating was continuing in this square but we chose to leave as it was extremely crowded.

Wednesday, 18th, we went to Silver Springs State Park.   We had been here several years before when this was privately operated.  In  2013 this park became state operated.  The glass bottomed boats remain and we took the 30 minute tour on the Silver River.  The jeep tours and animals that had been here are no longer here.  The state plans to keep this in a natural condition with native plants.  There are kayak and canoe rentals available.

Thursday, 19th, after breakfast at Waffle’s and then to the grocery store was a stay at home day.  Cleaning, laundry and cooking dinner (yes I cook now and then).  The weather has been warm(80 plus degrees) all week with bright sunny skies