WHIRLIGIGS

Whirligigs have always fascinated me. I guess like a child I get mesmerized watching the motion of the moving parts being set in motion by the wind. I started noticing in each of the RV parks, there is always at least one whirligig. Here are three at the current park we are in. Each unique. I will start making it a point to get photos of these fun contraptions for posting. Enjoy!

WILD ANIMALS

We are still in Cocoa, Fl area. Every morning I try take a walk for at least 30 minutes, sometimes up to an hour. The RV Resort we are currently at has a large empty lot next to it. This lot has paved roads throughout it making it a perfect place to do my morning walk. Along the back side of this lot I saw a cleared area set back off the paved road. Being as curious as I am, I strolled into the clearing. This picture is what I saw. As I got closer, I saw a sow pig and three piglets in this caged area and near the tree was a cage set waiting for "whatever" to spring the door. Previously, Mike and I had a bobcat walk in front of us about 20 feet away. We don't know if they were using the pigs to lure this bobcat into the area or some other wild animal. They did have corn spread in the open cage and on the ground, so maybe they were trying to catch some wild boar, which we found out are in the area.

The birds are magnificent. There are so many varieties here. I've got to start carrying my camera with me. No snakes or gators yet.

INSIDE THE RV

One of the more difficult things to doing on this RV is deciding where to store everything. Our everyday dishes are currently in a cabinet above the cooking counter. Normally this would be fine but, being that I am short (no short jokes please) I have to use a stool to be able to reach the far back of this cabinet. So using a suggestion from Mike today I am going to move the everyday dishes down to the large drawer where the cookbooks and measuring cups are stored.

Our RV buddies, Carol and Jack have said to me that I will probably move stuff around 3 or 4 times before I'm happy with where everything is. There is alot of storage on board, not all is convenient to get to. There is always unstacking to get to something needed.

So, I moved stuff around and ended up having plenty of extra room to store more stuff. This will come in use when we get home to load up for "life".

Remember the Puffed Oven Pancake I made the other day. It tasted like French Toast. Very tasty but I would use fresh fruit next time. I had used frozen strawberries, they were too mushy and there was too much juice. A dap of whip cream would be good also.

Tomorrow we are moving to Cocoa area near Charlie and Mary. Sunday we are all going to a Golf Show. Should be fun.

A VISIT TO COCOA BEACH

This is the Cocoa Beach Pier. At the end is an open end for fishing along with the necessary Tiki Bar. Mike, Mary and Charlie are watching the fishermen. We never saw anyone catch any sizable fish, but we were able to eat some very good fish at the restaurant on the pier. Mike and I also ordered Gator Bites. Yes, alligator meat. Since gators lay eggs and since they are reptiles, what is their "meat" classified as. I ask because I try not to eat meat, just fish and poultry. The Gator Bites did taste like chicken. Everything odd always does. They were good.

Ocean beach from the pier.

This picture was taken at the Canaveral Barge Canal. This is where the Disney Cruise ships load passengers. The new Disney Dream Cruise ship was there. We were too far away for a decent photo. I was told that a Navy sub continually monitors this canal. Also, the booster rocket tanks from a space launch are picked up by the Coast Guard ship and brought here to be taken back to NASA which is at Cape Canaveral near here.

There is also a large camping area here for anyone interested in camping. No sewer hook ups or WiFi, so we were not interested in "camping" here.

THE BIRDS

Some interesting birds sighted.

I was a bit leery of sitting between these two birds but, they didn't move. I was much more afraid of them than they of me.

The seagulls reminded me of Johnathan Livingston Seagull. Although very common bird and some people refer to them as Sky Rats because they devour anything, I still enjoy watching them.

OCEANSIDE IN FLORIDA

We finally made it to the Big Blue Pond. Our actual beach site is in Melbourne. We spent a week here last year but, stayed in a nearby hotel. This is my favorite place in Florida. If we ever live permanently in Florida, it would be in Melbourne.

So what does one do once they are at on the beach. NOTHING! That is the glory of it. It is always amusing to watch the birds. As soon as we took out our snack food, the birds immediately gathered around us just looking for a hand out.

The beach is great for the daily walk. We have been trying to walk at least 30 minutes a day, sometimes up to an hour. I find I get a bit of cabin fever in the RV. I have always had to keep myself busy when at the house. I always had something to do. I have brought a few craft type activities to master. My neighbor in NY, Dennis Upton gave a class on Latch Hooking. So I brought that to try to make a few rugs for the RV. I also want to make a Crazy Quilt cover for the bed. There are also plenty of books to read and much writing to be done. If all else fails I could really clean this RV. You know the stuff you put off till the very last; like windows, screens, etc. (I'm not that desperate for activity yet) :)

We are heading up to CoCoa Beach area today to visit some friends. Hope to play some golf with them very soon.

TIME IN THE KITCHEN

Here is "DA MAN" in the kitchen. Actually he's warming up his coffee in the microwave. This kitchen is very functional. The microwave is also a convection oven and broiler. I have adjusted to it very well. I am currently baking an Puffed Oven Pancake. It will be part of the dessert. I'll serve with some strawberries I previously froze from New York. We are having salmon with brown rice and peas. I absolutely love peas not Mike's favorite but, he tolerates my likes since I do most of the cooking.

Mike usually will cook the salmon on the grill but I decide to just broil as I do at the house. We will probably use the grill at least three days a week in this wonderful weather. Mike is great with the grill.

This is the Puffed Oven Pancake. One side puffed up more than the other but, doesn't matter looks great. I'll let you know how it tastes later.

FLORIDA BOUND!!

We left on Monday, January 10, at 10:00am. There had been several storm warnings in our selected route but, we still decided to go as far as possible hoping to out run the storm or shut her down and sit out the storm however far we got. Surprisingly we were able to drive 658 before we pulled into a truck stop for the night. Mike and I took turns driving which really helped us get as far as we did. We made it to Carlisle, PA. We had to turn on both inside heaters and piled on the blankets. I think Mike had to wear his sweat pants and sweatshirt to bed to stay warm.

I remember as a kid, a long time ago, diesel fuel was cheaper than regular gasoline. It isn't anymore. We paid $3.65/gallon. We did get a $.07/gallon discount when we used cash. The tank holds 100 gallons. We get about 7 miles to a gallon. This can be expensive.

Back on the road. Although we did not run into the snow storm, we did see the aftermath after the second day of driving. Driving through North Carolina was uneventful until we reached the southern border and into South Caolina. There was at least 3 inches of snow and alot of ice. There were many places along the side of the road and center island where many cars had run off the road. Thankfully we saw only a few serious accidents. This was our second day of travel. We covered only 493 miles because of the road conditions. Again, we found a truck rest stop and spent the night in South Carolina.

Finally, the third day, Jan. 13 we made it to New Smyrna Beach, Fl. The final 273.5 miles. Right away there was disappointment because we had to wear our jackets. No sunburns today.
We settled in and called our friends we live here in the winter. The Reimans and Staabs. We had a nice dinner at the Staabs. I have a question for everyone. What are the proper manners concerning the amount of food one eats at friends house? We need to pass this info onto Mike. The food was good, so I can't blame him there. :)

We had a good time with our friends but, were eager to get in that warm Florida sun. We took off on the 15th to head further south. We found a very nice RV park in Malabar, Fl. Yes, we took a walk outside in short sleeves. I still haven't walked the beach on the big blue pond. Tomorrow!!!!

OUR LAST SNOW IN NEW YORK

We are finally ready to get the wheels moving again. This time we will stay in the Florida area until early April and head back to New York to finally get the house ready for sale. We have already had one estate sale to help empty the house. A side business I had was to help people downsize by cleaning out their basements and closets and set up estate sales. It was always fairly easy because the stuff wasn't mine. Trying to decide what to sell or keep of your own sacred treasures is another matter. Once you've decided to sell something no one wants to buy it for the value you think it's worth. Anyway, we still have alot to sort through but, it can wait until April. I am ready for some heat and golf.

Mike and I have been spending this last week packing the RV. We think it's ready. We will be leaving tomorrow in snowy weather with expected storms along the way. Here's the RV in it's very last snow setting. See you down the road.