Exploring By Car

Friday the 29th

Well last night was supposed to be our last cold night for a while. Once again we need to turn on the heat for a couple of hours to overcome the 38 degree temperatures. This morning I got up at 6:30 AM, hit the "warm up" button and went back to bed for another 45 minutes. The dogs didn't even stir. Finally Punky decided we'd had enough sleep and started bestowing kisses on us until our feet found the floor. Heh, heh!

Once everyone was up, walked and fed we saddled up the Hyundai, grabbed the HoloPuter, leashes, poop bags, cameras and headed over to Bushnell and breakfast at the Bakery. Grabbing a couple of local papers, we had a relaxing breakfast. Tina had Ham and Eggs, over easy, while I tucked into a very good Ham and Cheese omelet. On the way out we bought a couple of scones, some macaroons and a cranberry muffin for snacks later, yummmmm!

We had mapped out a route of interest which took us to the small community of Nobleton on the Withlacootchee River. Other than the Canoe and Kayak rental (http://www.nobletonoutpost.com/index2.html) place it was mostly just a collection of small homes.

From Nobleton we headed for Inverness on Henderson Lake following several back roads. Along the way we saw a "Rails to Trails" project which is a paved bicycle path on an abandoned rail track. We made a note to find out more about the trail when we got back home. About eight miles from Nobleton we passed through Floral City and onto a more developed road finally reaching Inverness on the shores of Henderson Lake. This entire area is covered with lakes of all sizes.

We got lost in Inverness and ended up driving out into the country where we stopped at a dog park and kennel. Turns out the 11 acre fenced dog park is privately owned and funded by memberships. We got a guided tour of the facilities and were really impressed. The area is split into two sections, both sides having their own pond, bathing/drying stations, a dedicated training area and grooming room. Really pretty neat! For $34/month (for two dogs) you get unlimited use and a key to access the facilities. Since we had no idea where we were, Tina walked the dogs in the parking lot while I pulled up the "hp" and displayed a map of the area. Ahah!! Just what I thought. We're not where we're supposed to be. Hmpfff. We need to go back to Inverness, find the courthouse and get back on route.

Leaving the dog park we wound our way back to town and after trying several streets around the courthouse finally found ourselves back on track headed for Long Hammock. Eventually we realized that we missed our turn, did a "U'y" and made our turn at Rutland. Turns out our "holoputer" had sent us into a wilderness area.After several miles on a questionable road we arrived at an open gate that had a sign on it, "No Motorized Vehicles Beyond This Point". Great. Turning around we came face to face with a small group of range bovines, included several youngsters. Tina immediately got out of the car and tried to converse with them to no avail. But they were cute. Once again the somewhat trusty "hp" was brought out and we mapped a new route to Long Hammock. Since we were trying to avoid major roads, I found another side road and we were on our way again.

Re-tracing our route back to the main road we turned east for four miles then north on county road 475. Two miles later we turned east, crossed I-75 and following CR 475 continued north looking for Long Hammock. We drove and we drove and we drove on CR 475 eventually ending up in Ocala City, nearly 30 miles north of where Long Hammock should have been. Since it was now after noon, we drove through town until we found..... STARBUCKS!! Grabbing the dang "hp" we went in for a couple of Triple Vente Mocha's. Once we were seated, out came the "hp" and after it made several rude noises displayed a map of the area. That's when we really learned how far off base we really were... I begin to suspect gremlins living in the holoputer, might be leftovers from the time it was hooked up in the Swift Dora when Commander Scorpion and I were on a mission for the Galactic Space Command, but that's another story (refer to chapter 9 in "Out of the Black and Into the Blue" (http://blacktoblue.blogspot.com/). I digress...

Finishing our drinks we headed back towards Long Hammock following Hwy 301 eventually arriving at "The Villages", a huge multi development planned community (http://www.thevillages.com/) where golf carts are the primary mode of transportation and they have their own newspaper. Winding our way through various collections of housing and shopping we finally drove through Long Hammock on towards Lady Lake, once again on our planned route of exploration.

After driving through Lady Lake it was on to Eustis where we made a pit stop to walk the kids. From Eustis, on the shores of Lake Eustis continued southwest to Leesburg where we drove through the Historic District along Lake Harris looking for a restaurant (Vic Embers Steak and Seafood) that was supposed to be very good. We didn't find it so since this was our last stop on our drive we decided to continue on to Bushnell and have dinner at Sonnys Barbeque Pit. Dinner was pretty good and we even brought home some chicken for tomorrows lunch.

By the time we got home it was nearly 6:00 PM and we'd covered something like 190 miles, but all in all it was a nice day and we got to see a lot of the countryside.

To see all our photos, click on:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

Exploring Sumter County by Bike

Thursday the 28th

Man, another cold night with temperatures in the thirties. I've been getting up at 6:30 AM to turn on the heat, then going back to bed for another half hour - the kids don't seem to mind a later get up. But still, when we go for our morning constitutional, I'm putting on my winter jacket and gloves.

Not much happening today, Tina has a hair appointment around noon and I'm going out for a long bike ride covering parts of Sumter and Lakes counties. One thing about being in a rural area that's different from urban areas, especially bigger urban areas, there are no bike lanes, or dedicated bike paths. In fact riding in the rural areas is extremely difficult as traffic can be very heavy at times, most roads are relatively narrow and there is no such thing as a paved shoulder. Frequently there is less than four inches outside the fog line which means you get really good at riding in a straight line, no meandering allowed.

I started off riding west on US 48 under I-75 before turning south just before the small community of Nobleton. Eventually I found myself in Webster where the big cattle auctions are held every week. This is primarily cattle country after all. From Webster I rode northwest to Center Hill (population 250) where I stopped at a small convenience store for lunch. From Center Hill it was on to Okahumpka, another small community. When I was looking at the map to set my route it appeared that I would be riding through a countryside strewn with lakes, yet I never saw anything bigger than a small cattle watering hole. Most of the scenery resembled areas of eastern Washington with lots of wide open fields with clumps of pine trees here and there. From Okahumpa it was on to Sumterville. From Sumterville, I rode south back to Bushnell.

By the time I got back, I'd covered 55 miles - wheewww! But it was a good ride, partly sunny and in the mid 60's. Time in the saddle less than four hours. Not bad for an old man, heheheh!!

Later that evening Tina went to Bingo and I played pool.

No photos today.

Day One at Blueberry Hill

Wednesday the 27th

Man it got cold last night. There was frost on the ground when the kids and I went for their morning walk at seven this morning. It was clear overnight and even though the sun was up I had my jacket and gloves on. After breakfast we started working on plans for things to do in the area as well as what activities we wanted to participate in.

After lunch, we went for a bike ride to the Dade Battleground State Park about two miles from the RV Campground. The park is located on the actual site of the battle that started the Second Seminole War. On December 28, 1835, Seminole Indian warriors ambushed 108 soldiers at this site - only three soldiers survived (http://www.dadebattlefield.com/). After stopping to visit the History Museum we went into Bushnell and rode around town before heading back to the coach.

After dinner, Tina went to play cards while I joined three other men for team "One-Fifteen" Eight Ball. This seems to be a popular version of American Eight-Ball where the one ball has to go in the left center pocket and the fifteen in the opposite side pocket (the other balls can go anywhere), before shooting the eight ball. Good times!!

To see all our photos, click on:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

Drive to Bushnell, FL

Tuesday the 26th

We got up to a beautiful morning and after taking the kids out, having breakfast and cleaning up I took the car and drove over to the local cable company to cancel our account and getting a refund. When I got back we finished getting ready to travel, pulled the coach out onto the drive, hooked up the tow dolly, drove the car onto the dolly and locked everything down.

Pulling out of camp we drove through Tarpon Springs. Crossing Hwy 19 we slowly wound our way over to I-75 for the 40 mile run up to the town of Bushnell and our new home at Blueberry Hill RV Resort. This is a big complex across the street from a super WalMart with really nice amenities. After registering we were led to our site where after a few minutes we were all set up.

Hopping on our bikes we rode up to the club house and checked out the activity list and met some people who are participating in a wood carving class. We signed up for Eucher and took a schedule with us back to the coach. Since it was a nice day we took out the new patio carpet, lawn chairs and drink tables, rolled out the awning and decided 'it was good'! Heheheh! Then the wind came up and started blowing the carpet around. Hmpff.

Well that occaisioned a quick drive into town to the local Ace Hardware where we picked up some spikes. We spent some time driving around town and sightseeing, it's a really small sleepy community with a big County Courthouse building and not much else. But we'll probably take the bikes back to explore at a more liesurely pace.

We got back home and spiked down the carpet (through the corner gromets) and since it was windy brought in the awning. After dinner I went back to the clubhouse and shot a little pool on one of the four eight foot tables. all new and with new felt, the table played pretty good but no challengers. Tina stayed at the coach and watched a little TV. When I got back we picked up our books and with one eye on the TV spent the rest of the evening relaxing.

No photos today.

Travel distance for today, 71 miles. Total for the trip so far, 4,268 miles.

Last Days in Tarpon Springs

Sunday the 24th

Cold and blustery today so we passed on our day at the beach. Later in the afternoon we went for a bike ride but it was so windy that it felt like 50 degrees instead of 64.

Monday the 25th

A much nicer day today with temperatures in the high 60's. Big activity of the day... drive out to Howard park with the kids, hoping to take them for a splash. Arriving at the park the sign said dogs must be leashed but when we got to the beach the sign said no dogs allowed. So we went back into the main part of the park and took the kids for a nice long walk.

After our walk we drove up to Port Richey to see the RV Park we were going to. It turned out to be very unappealing, not at all like the photos on their web site, so we cancelled our reservations and decided to go up towards Ocala where Tina found a nice place, Blueberry Hill RV Resort (http://www.morganrvresorts.com/pages/blueberryhillfl_homepage). We made reservations for a two week stay and spent the rest of the day getting ready for tomorrows move.

No photos today.

Brooker Creek Preserve

Saturday the 23rd

Today promises to be warm and dry. After my shower I'm able to take the kids for their morning perambulation dressed in a light shirt and shorts. After a relaxing morning reading the paper and watching the news we decided to go for a hike at the Brooker Creek Preserve.

Brooker Creek (http://www.friendsofbrookercreekpreserve.org/about_the_preserve.htm) is a 9,800 acre mixture of cypress and bottom land swamps, freshwater marshes and pine and oak hardwood forests. Most of the natural portions of Brooker Creek were disturbed by former land-use practices; however, some splendid intact natural sections of the creek just south of the Florida Power Corporation power line still exist and eventually flow into the property’s vast riverine swamp. There are thirteen separate channels that eventually collect into one creek which ultimately feeds into Tarpon Lake which is the primary source of drinking water for northwest Pinellas county.

We arrived about 12:30 PM, parked and walked along the entry boardwalk to the education center where we watched a very well produced video. The video showed the history of the land dating back 12,000 years to the original inhabitants and the changes that occurred from differing styles of habitation. It was quite interesting.

From the learning center we went out onto the trail which has several loops and walked out to where the trail becomes impassable due to recent flooding. We spotted several species of birds including a Florida Wren, three different Armadillos and a Yellow Rat Snake that must have been five feet long. After returning we walked out to the bird viewing blind near a large wetland. Finally we made it back to the car and drove to the 'Friendship Trail' located about a mile and a half away.

After deciding not to do any more hiking we drove out to Palm Harbor where Tina picked up some new paint brushes for one of her projects, then drove home. While I spent the rest of the afternoon uploading photos to the web and updating the blog, Tina took the kids for a walk then fixed dinner. Tomorrow we plan to spend a day on Caladesi Island.

To see all our photos, click on:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

First Week cont'd

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday

The weather is pretty iffy, very cool in the mornings and occasional afternoon showers so we don't make any specific plans to go on any adventures. An occasional bike ride into town, grocery shopping, laundry, pool Wednesday evening at Stix Billiards, A repair guy to look at our jack system on Wednesday, the dogs to the groomers, a movie (Sherlock Holmes - quite good) on Friday, it was a pretty quiet week. We talked about our options for a couple of days then decided to check out next week and move up to Port Richey to a nicer place for three weeks. This will give us an additional week for travel to SD.

No photos this week.

First Week In Tarpon Springs

Monday the 18th


What a night! It rained all night long, real, real heavy at times with periodic thunder and lightening. By 6:00 AM the next morning it had mostly let up so I got up to take the kids for their morning 'Before Breakfast' walk. Wouldn't you know, we were only thirty feet from the coach when it started to pour again. By the time we finished our walk and got back to the coach everybody was soaked. Fortunately I had a couple of dog towels next to the door so I was able to dry off the kids before turning them loose.


As soon as they had their breakfast and I changed into dry clothes, the kids decided to go back to bed and curl up with Tina. By now the rain had quit again so I walked over to the office and got a morning paper, returned to the coach and had my breakfast. When Tina got up we checked over our opportunities for things to do and checked the weather. Showers off and on for the rest of the day so we decided to get our shopping done and check out the Real Estate maket in the area.

We saw several well priced places but still want to see what is available in the San Diego area. Before we knew it, it was time for dinner and time to wind down our day and make some plans for the next several days. We aren't sure if we'll stay here at Hickory Point for the next four weeks or if we should check out another RV Park in the area or even make an early start for the west coast. Hmmmmm... so many decisions, heheheh!

No photos today.

Day One in Tarpon Springs

Sunday the 17th

Sunny with a chance of warm, maybe - hah!

Well it is a sunny day and it is supposed to get up to the low 60's which is better than rain and low 50's. The kids don't seem to mind it. We took our early morning walk and went to the road so Wicket could sit and stare at the horses. We're only five minutes and two miles from town but it is very rural here. Our rig is located in the middle of the park, three minutes walk from the Anclote River and across the street from the Hickory Pointe entrance is a thirty acre horse ranch. Just like the M-BAR-C Ranch, the horses walk up to the fence to stare at Wicket. Punky, on the other hand, wants to go inside and chase the horses.

Later in the morning we were given a pair of tickets to the Great Southwest Florida RV Show at the Tampa Fairgrounds so we decided to spend the afternoon dreaming of bigger and better. What we found was that bigger wasn't necessarily better. In fact we didn't find very much better, just newer. Very few floor plans placed a TV where there was actually a way to view it without sitting sideways on a couch. Some had two bathrooms, I guess the second was for guests. Anyway we had a nice time walking around the fairgrounds getting lost.

Not much else going on. I still have to get the jacks repaired. When I plugged the control unit in it still wouldn't function. I suspect one of the jacks has been pulled too far up into the sleeve, so it will take a repair specialist to diagnose and solve the problem. Meanwhile, we're putting together our activity plan for the next several weeks. Looks like we can do some riding, birding, hiking, fishing, shelling and just generally laying about.

Ta, ta for now.

Drive to Hickory Point RV Campground

Friday the 15th

We spent most of the day relaxing, doing a little cleaning and getting things put away for our drive tomorrow. Later in the afternoon, I went and played pool with Fernando and Reggie at the Civic Center. When I got home we had dinner and watched TV before going to bed early.


Saturday the 16th

Today is moving day. By 9:15 AM we were all cleaned up and getting ready to leave. After starting the engine to let it warm up and pressurize the air tanks, I hit the button to retract the jacks. But before they were completely up I released the parking break --- a no, no, and it sent the jack contoler into a tizzy. Meanwhile with the city water disconnected, Tina put the water pump on so we could have water from our on board tank. But no water would come out of the faucet.

So I called Tom's Mobile RV service and asked if Dean could come out and take a lok at it. Dean finally got there about 1:30 PM and wasn't able to fix the jack problem. But after some research into the water problem, he replaced the water pump and were were good to go. We finally pulled out of Rock Creek RV Resort about 3:00 PM in search of a gas station before getting on the freeway. We finally found a Shell we could get into, filled up with diesel and got on I-75 headed north.

Just south of Tampa it started to rain and the last 30 miles into Tarpon Springs it steadily got a little worse. As we got off Hwy 19 N on Tarpon Avenue and drove into Tarpon Springs it really started to come down and by the time we arrived at Hickory Point RV Park, just about 7:00 PM it really was coming down. Tina and I got the car off the dolly, disconnected the dolly from the coach and parked it then Tina helped me back the rig into our spot. We got in okay, connected to power and water, took the kids for a walk, changed clothes and had leftovers for dinner.

The rest of the evening I caught up the blogs while Tina relaxed and by 11:30 we called it quits.

No photos today.

Todays trip was 195 miles. Total for the trip so far, 4,196 miles.


Drive to Tarpon Springs

Settling in at Hickory Point

Lely Preserve and Delnor-Wiggens Beach

Thursday the 14th

This morning we drove to a park near Lely Resort and took the gogs for a walk around the lakes in Lely Preserve. We spotted several small alligators, lots of Anhingas, ducks, storks, herons, ibis and egrets. The dogs got their exercise and with the sun coming out they got pretty warm and tired, so we dropped them off at the coach before heading off to do a driving tour of Naples.

Eventually we ended up at Vanderbuilt Beach where we stopped for lunch at the Lighthouse Restaurand andate out on the deck overlooking the bay. After lunch we drove to Delnor-Wiggens Park where we went for a long beach walk. By 4:00 PM we called it quits and went back home to load the luggange and take Steve and Alicia to the airport for their flight home.

To see all our photos, click on:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

Airboat Ride and Search For Alligators

Wednesday the 13th

We had a pretty busy day planned so we were out of the coach by 10:30 AM to drive to Evergldes City then down to the end of the road on Chokoloskee Island. Not a lot to see but it was a real cute area for boaters and RVers.

Returning from the island we stopped at a restaurant in Everglades City for a very nice lunch. From lunch we drove to Jungle Ervs Airboat Rides back up on US-41 where we went out for a real speedy ride on one of the bigger airboats thrugh the Everglades swamps. It was a pretty wild ride but everybody had a good time.

From there we drove another sven miles towad Miami and pulled offon apark service road that ran next to a canal leading to the gulf. We had been told by our airboat captain that we would see plenty of alligators there and he was right. We drove along this unpaved road and stopped every 100 feet or so to get out and take pictures of alligators and birds. We must have seen 40 or 50 in less thant two miles.

At one stop, there were several on our side of the canal. One of them was a big bull, hidden in the reeds and he let out a bellow tha sounded like he was only a fewfeet away. Everybody jumed especially when he did it again. We think he may have been calling to his lady friend.

Returning to US-41 we drove to the boardwalk in Fakahatchee Park and went for a mile and a half hike into the swamp. There were lots of birds including a nesting bald eagle. We finally headed back home about 4:30 PM and got there just in time to feed the kids and take them out for a walk.

We went to dinner at a nearby restaurant called MichelBob's (http://www.michelbobs.com/) and had Ribs! Everybody had a little something different but it was all excelent. The rest of the evening we watched a little TV and visited.

To see all our photos, click on:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

Kayaking on Cocohatchee River

Tuesday the 12th

Today we went to the Nature Conservancy in town and went kayaking. This was a first for both Alicia and Steve although Steve had been canoeing before. The both took to it like pros and we probably went out about two miles and back through the mangrove swamps and along the Cocohatchee River.

After our trip we went home, fed the kids, had dinner and went to the card room where we played "Hand and Foot" for a couple of hours.

To see all our photos, click on:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

Corkscrew Preserve and Manatee Park

Monday the 11th

Another chilly day with temperatures in the mid 30's. We figured we'd wait until 11:00 AM then drive up to Corkscrew Preserve outside Imakalee City. On arrival the temperature was in the high 40's and continued to warm up through the afternoon.

We had a pretty impressive day with lots of wildlife and bird sightings including two different hawks hunting snakes, actually catching a snake and going to a nearby tree to eat. Even the rangers were surprised that we could get that lucky. It was pretty amazing. We spent almost three hours to make the two mile circuit on the boardwalk.

After we returned to the car Tina suggested going up to Manatee Park in Ft Myers to see if there were any manatees still in the lagoon. It was getting late in the afternoon when we arrived and with the sun low on the horizon it was difficult to see them, but there were still lots of manatees slowly drifting with the currents, coming up from the bottom to grab a breath then dropping back down.

We let the park and went home to feed the dogs before going to the movie theater. First we got tickets for the 7:30 PM showing of Avatar 3-D, then went to Mo's for a burito dinner, then back to the theater for the movie. It was GREAT!! After the show we went home and basically crashed.

To see all our photos, click on:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

Steve and Alicia Arrive

Sunday the 10th

Steve and Alicia arrived from Wisonson this morning. We were up early to meet their plane (7:40 AM arrival) so we got to the airport cell phone lot around 7:30 and waited for Alicia to call. When she hadn't called by 8:00 AM, we drove up to the baggage claim/arriving passenger pickup point and I dropped Tina off. She went in and checked to see if the flight had arrived but there wasn't a listing. So she came back to the car and we headed for the cell phone lot. I asked if she had talked to one of the agents? She said, No. So we went backaround and I dropped her off and made another circuit. The next time around Tina got back in the car and told me the 7:40 AM time was for their arrival in Cincinatti and they wouldn't be to Ft Myers until 10:30 so we drove into town and stopped for a long breakfast. We got back and only waited a few minutes before we got the call to pick them up. Heh, heh! It could have been worse.

Since it was pretty cold out, we got back to the coach, dropped off their bags and went into town for lunch at the Dock. Another great lunch but really chilly. After lunch we stopped at the Naples Pier for a short walk on the beach. Real short!! The rest of the afternoon we hung out at the RV Resort, had dinner and visited until bed time.

To see all our photos, click on:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

Cycling, Kayaking and Lunch With Laura

Friday the 8th

Well it looks like we're finally getting some good weather. Today we decided to do a little bike riding, some kayaking and a farewell lunch in town. After a quiet morning waiting for the temperature to come up a bit, we saddled up and headed over to the Nature Conservancy of Southwest Florida (http://www.conservancy.org/Page.aspx?pid=474). Tina and I had stopped here several weeks ago and we wanted to get back to do some kayaking and explore the area.

Entering the Gift Shop we paid for our rental and were directed to the docks out back. Walking to the dock we were directed to select a life vest and strap it on. Once we were properly atired for our adventure we decended to the lower level and were given paddles and helped into our single kayaks.

This was Laura's first time so we spent a few minutes paddling around the lagoon providing a little instruction and practice before heading into the mangrove swamps. Negotiating our way through the labyrinth we finally emerged on the Cocohatchee River and headed upstream to continue our exploration. We were enjoying a beautiful day to be on the water, the temperature had finally reached about 70 degrees and it was very tranquil, drifing along the calm waters, dippling a paddle in every now and then to maintain steerage.

Slowly winding our way through the passages between tightly packed mangroves we arrived at a fork where the river divided into two chanels. From here we would be moving into the urban part of the river so we decided to head back downstream. Even though this was Lauras first time in a kayak she was doing great! We returned through the tight chanels and mangrove tunnels eventually reaching the dock. With Tina in the lead, she reached the dock first and helped steady us as we disembarked and stored the kayaks and paddles.

After a stop in the gift shop for a little retail therapy, we jumped on the bikes and made the two mile ride back to town where we stopped at Bellini's and got an outside table so we could sit in the sun. We all had a little something different but it was all very tasty.

From here we rode back to the coach where Laura packed up for the flight home. Around 4:00 PM Fernando and Reggie came and collected me to go shoot a little pool, so I said good bye to Laura and wished her a safe journey home to Virginia.

I got back to the coach a few minutes after Tina returned from the airport so we had dinner and spent the rest of the evening relaxing and talking about our plans for Steve and Alecia's visit. They fly in on Sunday morning for a week.

To see all our photos, click on:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

Manatees and Beach Walk

Thursday the 7th

The cold has let up a bit more, 43 overnight headed for 60 this afternoon so we decide to drive up to Fort Myers and visit Manatee Park. This is a really nice park set up on the outfall of a power plant. The waterway stretches about two miles to the Orange River which flows into the Caloosahatchee River. With the warm water from the power plant mixing with the brackish waters of the river, the area has become a natural gathering place for manatees looking to warm up.

Since manatees are air breathing warm blooded mammals, they need the warm waters to live and when it gets cold in the Gulf, water temps are currently in the mid 50's vs mid 70's for this time of year, they will travel up the rivers or search out the cooling lagoons of shore based power plants (http://www.savethemanatee.org/manfcts.htm).

Arriving at the park about noon we found a parking spot and joined hundreds of other people lining the shores. We were fortunate to have several naturalists in the crowd who answered questions and showed replicas of manatee flipper bones which strongly resemble hands.

Manatees have a large flexible upper lip that acts in many ways like a shortened trunk, somewhat similar to an elephant's. They use the lip to gather food and eat, as well as using it for social interactions and communications.

The adults have no incisor or canine teeth, just a set of cheek teeth, similar to molars. Uniquely among mammals, these teeth are continuously replacd throughout life, with new teeth growing at the rear as older teeth fall out from farther forward in the mouth. Its tail is paddle-shaped and with its two forward flippers is usually slow moving as it forages for plants along the bottom. We spent about 90 minutes along the shore taking photos and visiting with other people before we headed into Fort Myers for lunch, stopping at Taco Bell.

Since we were NE of Fort Myers we decided to head back via Fort Myers Beach. Traffic was heavy as we worked our way back down to the coast finally crossing over to Estero Island and the city of Ft Myers Beach. Driving south we pointed out some of tnhe places we visited last year and the Red Coconut RV Park, where we stayed for several weeks.

Since we had the dogs with us we decided to stop and go for a walk on the beach. Shucking our sandals as soon as we got across the dune it was time to go barefoot. Laura immediately went to the water to step into the Gulf! With the sun out and light winds it was quite pleasant as we strolled along looking for shells. There were quite a few people out riding bikes, walking or just hanging out soaking up the rays. We probably walked a mile and a half before turning around and heading back to the car.

From Ft Myers Beach we continued south, crossing into Bonita Springs then winding our way down to Vanderbuilt Beach, through Pelican Bay and past the resort condos and highrises. Eventually we got into Naples and back to Rock Creek where we decided to call it a day.

To see all our photos, click on:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

Looking at Condo's in Naples

Wednesday the 6th

A slow get up, I was up about 7:30 AM to walk and feed the dogs. Still cold this morning, we decided to just take it easy today. Since Laura wanted to see the condo we were looking at we went over to Marbella Lakes and showed her the unit we're interested in.

After spending time at the condo we decided to have lunch then visit the Naples Botanical Gardens. Driving down Bayshore Avenue we parked and entered the Gardens. Even though it was chilly, about 55 degrees out, we spent a couple of hours touring the area and walking on the paths around one of the lakes.

Returning to the coach we had a nice dinner and spent a leisurly evening relaxing and watching a little TV.

To see more photos, click on:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

Airboat Ride in the Everglades

Tuesday the 5th

A very quiet morning. Everybody is sleeping in except the kids, they want to go out. It is looking like a nice day but chilly so I decided to get the laundry done before we do anything. After walking the dogs and giving them their breakfast, they head back to the bedroom for their their post breakfast snooze with Tina while I put the laundry in the car.

Since it's early and I need quarters, I headed over to Joe's Diner for a relaxing breakfast with the morning newspaper. After a delightfully relaxed meal the waitress gives me my check and I get some change for the laundry. We normally do a load or two every day in the coach, undies and light loads with a big load of jeans, towels and bedding once a week. So I returned to Rock Creek and started the laundry. By the time everything was washed, dryed and folded it was nearly 11:00 AM.

Returning to the coach, the girls were up and relaxing after their breakfast. Tina and I put the laundry away and we made plans for the day. With lunch done by 1:00 PM we headed down US 41 towards Everglades City to go for an AirBoat Ride with Everglades Private Airboat Tours (http://www.epat.cc/) located near Everglades City arriving about twenty minutes before our trip.

After signing in and getting our assigned trip time we went out on the porch where Laura spotted a big alligator hauled out on a hummock, trying to get warm in the weak sunlight. With the wind blowing and the low temperature, it was probably about 53 degrees out, so it was a challenge for the gators and us too!

We met Captain Jack who recommended everybody grab one of the cammo rain jackets to protect against the wind and spray. Laura and Tina got theirs and we went down to the dock where we took our seats on the airboat. After a brief safety talk, Captain Jack took us out into the Everglades. Out to the mangrove swamps, through the mangrove tunnels and on into the sea of grass where we spotted several alligators trying to get war. Gliding across the water, sliding around and across grassy hummocks, spray from the bow swept back and chilled our faces! But what a rush!

It was a really nice adventure going through places just wide enough for the boat to slide through we visited an alligator nest that had been in use for the last three years and spotted large flocks of egrets, several great blue herons, ibis and several small falcons. After an hour of travel with stops for Captain Jack to talk about the alligators and other wildlife we returned to the dock where Laura got to hold a young four foot gator.

Getting back to the car we headed back towards Naples making a stop at the Big Cypress Boardwalk for a quick foray into the swamp. At the end of the .6 mile walk we got to the observation platform where a ten foot gator was hiding in the brush. Even though we didn't see many other birds it was a nice walk after our boat ride.

Returning home we had dinner and went to see the movie, "It's Complicated", which was really good and worth seeing. That pretty much concluded our day as we took the dogs for their last walk and called it a night.

To see all of our photos, click on:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

Laura Arrives and Bike Ride in Naples

Monday the 4th

We got up early to pick up Laura at the Airport in Ft Myers. Tina said she was arriving at 7:40 AM so we got out and on the road by 7:00 AM arriving at the airport about 7:30 AM, parking in the cell phone lot. By 8:00 Tina said to drive up to the Arrivals and she'd see what was going on. I made a couple of circuits and picked her up to see what she'd learned. There wasn't any flight listed on the Arrivals screen that matched her info.

So we made another circuit and back into the terminal she went. After talking to the clerk at the Delta desk, it turns out that the 7:40 AM arrival was in Atlanta and Laura's flight wasn't arriving until 10:20 AM. Oh well, time for breakfast. So we drove to Ft Myers and had a liesurely breakfast at Denny's before returning to the cell phone lot. Sure enough, we got the call and picked up Laura around 10:30 AM.

Arriving home, the weather was nice but chilly with highs predicted to be in the 50's and low 60's for the next week. We rented a bike for Laura and after getting set up and did a nice ride into Naples with a stop at the pier for a cool, breezy beach walk. Then it was on to Tin City for lunch at Riverwalk.

After lunch we rode home to spend a relaxing evening at home.

To see all our photos, click on:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

New Years to the 4th

New Years Eve

Thursday the 31st, New Years Eve day was quiet. Lots of walks with the kids and a long bike ride. Did a load of laundry and vacuumed the coach. Finally I was able to drive to the airport to pick up Tina. We managed to get home by 11:15 PM and got in bed to watch the ball come down in Times Square. So we got to celebrate the new year with a big kiss!!



New Years Day

Friday, 01-01-2010, the fist day of the new year!! The temperatures are easing a bit from their lows so we can go outside and enjoy it. More walks with the kids. Lunch out and a bike ride over to Naples and down to Royal Oaks where all the rich people live. Truly impressive.

No photos today.



Saturday the 2nd

With the sun shining we did laundry this morning and spent a few hours cleaning getting ready for Lauras visit. Shopping and lunch out we also decided to check out a condo at Marbella Lakes, about three miles from Rock Creek.

We spent about two hours with the sales staff and out looking at the various models. We were particularly impressed with a unit in the four-plex, the Sorento, which has 2,100 square feet plus a single car garage (http://www.glhomes.com/marbella-lakes/new-homes/amalfi).

We were so taken with the interior and upgrades that we made a second trip to look at the single family homes for a comparison. With upgrades we could probably get the Sorento set up the way we'd want it for about $300,000 including tax and closing costs. Of course, unless we sell our place, we're just educating ourselves. We have done a lot of research on the web and there is a huge inventory of Condos available between $150,000 and $300,000 in the Naples area, over 1,500, not including all the new ones being built and sold by the developers sales agents.

We'll be doing the same search when we get to San Diego for comparison purposes, since we are thinking of spending seven months south and four to five months north.

Later that evening we went to the movie Avatar in 3-D... WOW!! If you haven't seen it you have to go, this is an incredible flick. We really enjoyed ourselves!

We took photos of the interior and put them up on our photo site:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

Sunday the 3rd

Not much to report. The temperatures are dropping again making it difficult for Tina to get out on the bike, so we are doing walks with the dogs to get our exercise.

Post Christmas Fun

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday

Not much to report, morning walks with the kids, bike ride for a while, more walks, a little pool with Fernando and Reggie at the Civic Center, a movie (Princess and the Frog), dinner at Moe's, evening walks with the kids , then bed. Without Tina it's hard to get excited about much. Thank goodness she'll be home soon.