Travels with Snowbirds, February 2 to February 7, 2017, Thousand Trails, Clermont, FL

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Thursday February 2 to Tuesday February 7, 2017, Thousand Trails, Clermont, FL.

Is that what day it is, February 7? Gosh, I head north tomorrow. Not sure I like this shortened version of my Snowbird trip, I am not ready to go home yet, but am ready to go home. Always a bittersweet moment for me, that turn to the north, but I have another trip coming up with my girlies in April that I am really looking forward to. We made some plans for that trip this week. We will meet in Natchez, MS on 4/20. Kathy, Ginnie and I might meet a day or two before, Kim will join us on the 20^th. I might meet up with Kathy along the way someplace and discover unknown places along the way. Remember, “The Quest for the Stamp,” always seeking the National Park passport Stamp. Natchez to Vicksburg to Tupelo to Memphis to Little Rock to Hot Springs to Buffalo River to Branson, maybe Springfield MO, but we don’t think there will be time, St Louis, Hannibal, and places still to be determined between there and Shanksville, PA, arriving there on or about 5/25. We all have our assignments, but tough for me to work on here with lousy wifi and limited cell data.

I had a gel manicure recently. I went with Kim, convincing her to try the gel process and she was very happy with it. My manicurist was a very slender Asian man with remarkable American Language skills. One thing led to another and this is his story. He and his uncle left Vietnam on a refugee boat 27 years ago. The trip to Thailand took 4 days during a hurricane. Thai pirates boarded their boat and raped and robbed the women. They left the men alone, who were helpless to help the women, lest they be shot. The next 7 months were spent in a refugee camp in Thailand. He said they were treated well, enough food, decent bed, but long periods with no news of the resolution of them seeking refugee status anywhere. Finally, they were admitted to the US. They ended up in Colorado. He immediately made it his prime objective to learn the American language without an accent, as he feels that is what you do when a new country adopts you. He absolutely had no accent at all. It took him 13 years to get his parents here, but they are old fashioned and have not assimilated as well as he has. He has always worked hard and proud of it. He hates lazy immigrants, and sees the large influx of Haitians landing in Florida are troublesome and very lazy. He made sure I knew the Vietnam war was not about the people but about the corrupt government. He assured me that the Vietnamese had to fight or be killed. Better to die as a soldier than at the hands of his own government. He gave an excellent gel manicure. $25, with $5 extra for removal of the old gel. Never heard it put that way before.

We went to see Herrmann’s Royal Lipizzan Stallions near Myakka, FL, south and west of Sarasota. We always forget just how long a ride it is from Orlando. It took over 2 hours, most of the time on Florida backcountry roads, but a lot of traffic thru Lakeland. The show started at 3, we left at 1 and arrived at 3:15, just in time for the start of the show. It was like they waited for us. It seemed to me that the number of stallions they have is down from last year, as is the number of mares. It is always a wonderful training show for the horses, they practice their new and old skills with an audience that is in close proximity. Colt, Jagger, (so named for his large lips) who was 3 days old when we visited last year, seems to be a handful. He had not been in the show ring for a few weeks due to acting out. That day he had a companion horse in the ring with him, and his human bestie, Pete, who he does nothing without. He is very large for a yearling, and still mostly brown, but you can see some white underneath emerging. It can take up to 7 years before he becomes fully white. We are invited to view the horses in their barn after the show, but not allowed to get too close to Jagger as his stall was roped off……that says a lot…..It was a long day in the car, for sure, but so worth the ride to see these beauties do their stuff. One stallion was just controlled with a thin rope, which, most of the time was untouched, and he dressaged (is that a word) around a small ring to voice commands only.

Kelly and her brother from Showroom Auto Detailing washed and polished Moya most wonderfully. The two of them worked 4 hours, did it all including tires and awning, and I am a happy camper. My campsite is on a corner, and I know she got a few other jobs just from having her equipment on my site. I like the fancy expensive polish she uses specifically for gel coated areas. Paste was clouds the decals, she says. She has my business.

Winning at Bingo still eludes me. Ginnie continues to win, often and a lot. It is laughingly frustrating for me. We go in together, we buy our cards together, either she goes first, or I go first…..we purchase the same number of cards, and they are from the same pile and are consecutive. We buy our 50/50s one after the other. She wins, I rarely come close, and I mean 3 numbers close…..never 1 number away. Last night she won….either a $25 game or $50 game. Then, the last game had a $275 top prize. A nice prize! After someone yelled BINGO, she said she only needed #62 and I pointed out to her that 62 had been called some time ago. She yelled Bingo and ended up sharing by 5 the $275 which could have been her if she had seen 62 called earlier. My luck of the Irish just does not work at campground Bingo.

Kathy’s sister Dedie came from NJ for a visit, and we shared a lot of laughs. They checked out on Sunday, and Dedie heads back to NJ today. Kathy will enjoy 2 weeks at Gamble Rogers, a Florida State Park on the ocean near the town of Flagler (south of Jacksonville.) I am so jealous….2 weeks on the other side of the dune from the Ocean. Green eyed with jealousy.

Judy and Larry left on Monday and are at the same campground, as is Joanne. While we were at bingo last night, Ginnie got a txt message from Judy. She was out walking her dog when it got attacked by 3 dogs Who broke free of their leashes. WTF? What’s wrong with this picture…..dogs running amok at a State Park? No No NO NO NO!!. It sounds like the dogs’ owners were horrified. The campground hosts called EMS and the police, and a 24 hour vet was recommended. No broken bones, but multiple leg, ear and lip lacerations. American bulldog, Boxer Mix, and Boston Terrierr. Bandages, Antibiotic, pain killers, and a cone collar administered. The owners met them at the vets and paid the bill. Just in case you don’t understand, it is always a written rule that dogs are on leashes at all times in campgrounds. I dislike all dog owners that don’t pay attention to that, and many campgrounds state 6 foot leashes only, and I have seen signs stating, “keep retractable leashes locked in short position.” I hate those things. Many dogs on them come after me and Winston when we are bike riding, and their owners are clueless to pull them in as we pass. There is one guy here who walks his dog from his scooter. Every day he stops in front of Moya, and lets the dog extend up to inches from my rug and poop. Yes, he gets out of his scooter and picks it up, but it just makes a spot for Winston to go crazy over, besides going crazy when the dog stops anyway. No common sense, or perhaps dementia common sense, so I will be more tolerant.

Kathy’s campsite, just behind me has been empty for 2 days…..until today. It was hot; I was inside with the A/C on and did notice a HUGE older rig pull in. This site is very short, and in order for this 35 footer to get in, it is angled and just four feet off my sewer compartment. I am happy I am pulling out tomorrow. Its A/C has been on constantly (mine is now off and has been for hours, and windows are open and I hear a constant hum.) The occupants are very old, lots of canes and scooters etc. I am happy they can still camp, and it probably is a good site for them, near the bathhouse and laundry room, but just too short for their RV and encroaching on my personal space. Tolerance.

Ginnie and I ate lunch at Cici’s all you can eat pizza buffet. Now, this certainly is not the best pizza in the world by far. BUT, it serves its purpose. There are wonderful combinations on thin and thick crust…the stuffed crust pepperoni and spinach flatbread were very good. When I got to the table, my phone was missing. DejaVu. Frak. I had used it to text Kathy in the car, so I knew I had it. Searched the restaurant, back out to the car….no phone. Now I did not have my Ipad with me, how was I going to use Find My iPhone? On the way back in I just happened to mention it to the cashier…..and she had it; someone had turned it in, found it outside. Ok, Ok, I get it. No more putting this phone in my bra. It just doesn’t stick to my skin like the old Lifeproof case did. I guess I am going to have to crochet myself a small case on a strap that I can put inside my shirt. I want it on my body……to count my steps and in case I fall it is near me. Or, do I need one of those geeky belt clip on things……am I really that old???? Or geeky? I don’t wear a belt……something that clips on to my pants? Or Bra? Maybe I should try putting the glass side towards my skin? Any thoughts??? Guess I am going to spend some time on Amazon tonight.

Kim and Ginnie and I went to Lake Eola on Sunday. In a beautiful neighborhood in downtown Orlando, they have a street fair every Sunday. About a 45 minute drive, $5 to park, vendors set up along the lake walk. It is very popular with dog owners, and we saw them all. Big, small, shivering shy, overly friendly, in strollers, some smart owners, some dumb owners with unlocked retractable leads. I guess the most memorable were the two massive Great Danes. We sampled the dips you stick pretzels into, but never buy, white chocolate raspberry my favorite. We checked out the expensive orchids and jewelry, but no one bought anything but food. The girls had interestingly filled dumplings, and I opted for andouille sausage over scrambled eggs and grits topped with medium spicy tomatoey sauce. Adventurous for me for sure, but it was excellent. The lake has swan boats that are fun to watch. There is a beautiful big fountain, which has light for night that are color set according to the season, and the band shell is now painted in rainbow colors for an upcoming alternative lifestyle event. There were ads for the annual Pet Walk, and the girls might bring their dogs back for that.

Food trucks this week. A really good and large mushroom burger on a roll imported from Philadelphia. Lobster grilled cheese with tater tots. I can’t wait to get on the scale when I get home.

Kim went to the Art Show in Mt. Dora. She called when she found what she calls, bobble head birds. They are cut out of heavy plastic and molded into shape and painted to look like Florida’s birds. You see them on RV lawns, such as flamingos, Ibis, and Kathy has a Blue Heron. I have wanted one, but of course was never in the right place at the right time to buy one. Kim found them, and bought me and Ginnie Sand Hill Cranes. He will make a good addition to my garden art at home. He’s too cute to leave in the RV just for camping use.

So, I think that gets us up to date. I won’t tell you about Ginnie falling out of her rig, and I won’t tell you about Kim’s hissing light fixtures and three dogs and two cats in her 24 foot RV and I did tell you about Kathy’s rotten egg smell saga. By the way, she did get her RV to service, they decided since the RV had sat unsold on the lot for over a year, and the batteries had been left to discharge and recharge multiple times, were now fried. They were replaced, as was the propane detector and the electric system checked from stem to stern and all is well.

My rug is swept clean and stowed away, my gray and black water tanks are empty, my fresh water tank is ¼ full, my bike is in its compartment and the inside of the windshield was cleaned of Winston’s nose prints and spittle. Next stop is 2 nights in Ormond Beach catching up with high school bestie, Judy Adams Thek before I truly point north. It will be good to catch up with her; we never seem to have time to do that when we see each other at reunions. AND, I will be home in time to empty Moya, put her in storage and join the family as they travel to Greensboro for Lilly’s gymnastic competition. Good to be home, but bittersweet



Kat out, hopefully one more blog before reaching home.

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Photos

Map, Lake Eola
highlighting parking space

Annual Lake Eola Selfie
We missed you Kathy

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