Sand Sculpture Festival

Nov 4^th


A beautiful day dawns over Paradise Coast as the kids clamor to go out for their morning constitutional. Rolling over to look at the clock – it’s 7:00 am, and suddenly a warm, wet, fuzzy face is peering at me as if to say, “Wakey, Wakey!” No, it wasn’t my good buddy Don, it was Wicket... and Punky was getting Tina awake, heh, heh (inside joke).

Needless to say we promptly leaped out of bed and staggered to the bathroom, quickly followed by the kids looking for their leashes or breakfast, either one. After our eyes were finally open and pills swallowed, teeth brushed, etc., I pulled on my shorts and tank top, leashed up the dogs and led them out for a quick run.

After they had their constitutional and everyone ate breakfast, Tina and I headed for the car to start our day. Our first stop was the Comcast office – our third time in four days. Let me back up a bit. When we moved in we had very basic cable (17 channels) but our HOA pays for the next level up which gives you 99 channels. Since we wanted HD as well (only $13/mo), we called Comcast and they said to stop by their office and they’d give us a couple of boxes we could install ourselves.

So we drove out to their office the next afternoon (trip 1) and the place was packed, so we decided to come back the following morning when they opened. We did that, getting there five minutes before they opened (trip 2) we found a line 20 people long. Our turn came though and we got to the counter to find that the “cable boxes’ we needed weren’t available but they could have an installer come out on Friday to get everything set up.

The Comcast Cable Box is just below the TV

Yesterday a Comcast installer came out in the afternoon and after setting up the cable boxes and connecting everything, tried testing the system and couldn’t get it to work. He claimed there was an equipment problem at the sending end, told us he would get us a welcome package from his truck, went out the door and we never saw him again. Tina spent several hours on the phone with Comcast support trying to get the cable box to work – they concluded we had a faulty “Remote Control” and suggested coming in for a new one.

Thus today’s trip. Fortunately we had a whole day of activities planned so this was just our first stop. This time we arrived 15 minutes early and the line was about 30 people long. Finally they opened the door and told us to go directly to the counter to get a replacement remote. Yippeee! A break. We got the remote and headed for our next stop, JC Penney. But this is another story, heh, heh.

We have been getting a lot of small things done since we got here. Putting up mirrors, cabinets in the bathrooms, assembling furniture for the guest bedroom, etc. One item was drapes for the living room and dining room. We found what we wanted at JC Penney’s in Naples  and bought drapes and rods for both rooms. Bringing our purchases home we plugged holes and painted our repair work. 

The missing panel in our drapes covering the sliding glass doors which lead out to the lanai

After the paint dried Tina measured and I installed the rods. Once that was done, Tina started hanging the drapes. We had five panels 84” long and one panel 94” long. Calling the sales lady at Penny’s we found out they were all out but she’d call around and see what she could find and call us back. Well she found a set of drapes but they were at the Estero Store, 30 miles away. We agreed to go pick them up since we were going to Ft Myers Beach.

Stop two. We got to Penney’s and found the drapery department right away. Explaining the situation the clerk went and found the replacement panel with our name on it. Ooooops! It was the wrong style and color. Dang! Finally a sales manager came to our rescue and after searching through their entire stock found what we needed on hold for somebody else. Since we were there she gave us the one we needed and also gave us a discount on our original order – finally something is going right for a change – heheheh!

Heading for the beach at the Gull Wing Beach Resort

Leaving Estero we got back on I-75 south and drove ten miles back to the Bonita Springs exit. Getting off the freeway we drove through the sprawling city of Bonita Springs and out to Lovers Key State Park. There was a large grassy field across the road from the park and the local boy scout troop was directing cars to parking. Once we got parked we walked back to the entrance and boarded a large tour bus for the ten minute ride to Ft Myers Beach and the Gull Wing Beach Resort where the festival was being held (http://sandsculptingfestival.com/).

All the vendor booths

Getting off the bus at the entrance to the resort we walked past a line of food vendors and out onto the beach. What a beautiful setting! A bright blue sky, white sand, vendor tents and the Sand Sculpting area roped off with an entrance and exit. We bout our five dollar tickets, got out wrist bands and went into the artist area. 

Cinderellas Castle under construction by the"Amazin" Walter McDonald

What amazing talent!

 I’m only putting a couple of photos here on the blog, the rest will be on our photo album page (http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski).

Pretty impressive!

We wandered around for an hour watching the artists work, then went out to the vendor area to walk around and admire all the crafts available. Tina found a small silver dragonfly so she scored – heh, heh! By now it’s after noon so we headed out towards the bus, stopping to get a couple of huge polish dogs for lunch followed by a small ice cream cone. It was a quick trip back to the car and then we were headed back towards Naples.

Stop three of the day was actually a whole series of stops at furniture stores, thrift stores and consignment stores looking for a chest of drawers for Tina. It has to fit a spot exactly so we need to find something that had specific dimensions – only 36” wide and 42” tall – exactly. Not easy to do. By 3 o’clock we located one dresser and only one at our eighth and last stop. It would work, it looked nice but it was not very high quality, so we left it and decided to head home.

Arriving back at the condo we took the kids out for a long awaited walk then Tina got started on trying to get the remote to work. Remember the remote? The one Comcast said needed replacing? Well, it didn’t work. So Tina went back on the phone to Comcast Support. After nearly an hour of waiting on hold and then working with the tech, Comcast said they’d remotely reset the cable box and within an hour everything should be working. Right…

After dinner, after checking to see if the box had been reset, Tina called Comcast again. Another frustrating hour and the support people finally through in the towel and agreed to send out a tech person, on Monday, sometime between 7 and 10 am. We’ll see. This saga is to be continued.

On a lighter note, we are almost finished with getting everything set up in the condo, we’ve started our workout routines in the gym and on alternating mornings we are going for bike rides to get back in shape. We expect to be comfortable riding to the beach within a couple of weeks. In the mean time we’re enjoying the nice (warm) weather and planning lots of things to do.

Signing off for now.

Lake City to Winter Park and Home to Naples

Oct 27th Oct 2^8th  

This is our last drive in the motor home. We’re delivering it to the same place we bought it from – American RV Online (www.americanrvonline.com). We got under way bty9:00 AM and made the trip in just under three hours due to light traffic and being on freeways for the entire trip. No hassles on the drive.

Arriving in Winter Park, we pulled the rig into the lot and went to lunch at the Fairbanks Diner. The Owner got back just after we did so we worked out our arrangements then Tina and I went to get the U-Haul truck. We picked up a 14’ truck even though we didn’t need one that big, but needed it because we were towing the car and the ten footer wasn’t certified for towing.

It took us almost three and a half hours to box up everything in the RV, load the truck, hook up the car and sign a contract. By then it was nearly 4:15 PM so we fueled up the truck and struggled our way through Orlando commuter traffic. The roads finally cleared about thirty miles south of Orlando then it was on to Naples. I drove the first 125 miles then Tina drove the final 100 in the dark arriving at the condo around 9:30 PM.

We were fortunate to have a spot where we could get close to the door of the condo and we moved enough essentials in to let us go to bed. After closing and locking the truck, I moved it out of the way and being exhausted we called it a night.

No photos today unfortunately.

Miles to Winter Park, 153 and an additional 236 to Naples.

Total for the trip, 4,411 miles.

To see all our photos go to,:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

Oct 28^th

First Day in the Condo

We spent all day today unloading the truck, organizing the contents, storing stuff and putting stuff all the RV related stuff in the truck for delivery to U-Haul Storage for next spring, in case we get a new RV. If not we’ll sell or donate it all. By the end of the day we were once again exhausted but happy for all we had accomplished.

Signing off for now….

Mike and Tina

Eufaula to Lake City, FL

Oct 26^th

Leaving Alabama

We got up early so we could get on the road early – long drive today. 

Entering Georgia from Alabama

Crossing the Chattahoochee River

Leaving the campground by 8:15 AM, we drove to Eufaula where we turned on E Barbour St for the drive across the Chattahoochee River into Georgia. The next 130 miles or so were on small country roads, the same as the ones in Alabama only in better condition.

We reached I-75 and headed south. Before long we crossed into the Eastern time zone and suddenly I thought of lunch only to realize it was still early – heh, heh! 

Entering Florida from Georgia

Before crossing the border from Georgia to Florida, Tina made us some sandwiches to eat as we drove. Once over the border it was only another 45 miles to the Casey Jones RV Park, our stop for the night. We pulled in around 2:00 PM after 4 ½ hours on the road.

On our pad at Casey Jones RV Park

It was a fairly easy drive with good roads and light traffic. Tomorrow we head to Winter Park where we plan to drop off the coach at American RV Online for a consignment sale.

Distance traveled today, 226 miles. Total for the trip so far, 4,022 miles.

To see all our photos, go to:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

Adventures in Eufaula

Oct 25^th

We planned a full day of activities – A trip to Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge, downtown Eufaula and Historic District and the Yoholo-Micco Creek Indian Trail.

Starting our drive in the Eufaula NWR

With the day warming up we all headed out around 10:00 AM for the Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge (http://www.fws.gov/eufaula/) just east of our campgrounds. We’re at the peak of the dry season so a lot of the areas we drove through are void of any water. But closer to the lake, where they are managing the water levels with dikes and pumps there is a lot of water for birds, alligators and other marsh inhabitants.

Sure enough - alligators on the beach

This was a driving tour and covered about a third of the land in the NWR open to the public. As we drove down to Lake Eufaula we passed a large open area along the marsh bank. I said to Tina, “it looks like an alligator haul-out. Sure enough, as we drove another hundred yards we got to an expanse of water where we saw several alligators sunning themselves on the banks.

Just a few of the birds we saw today

Continuing our drive we came to another large open area of water and there were hundreds and hundreds of Great Egrets, Herons, Storks and other wading birds. We stopped to take photos and it was apparent we were actually looking at one of the bays of the lake rather than a marsh area. We continued our drive making several stops to walk out to observation platforms.

Our lunch stop - more BBQ!

Leaving the NWR we returned to the coach to leave the dogs, it would be too warm for us to leave them in the car. Once the A/C was set we headed into town and stopped at the Chamber of Commerce to get some information and directions to our lunch stop – Phil’s BBW (http://bestbuttsinalabama.com/). We got to Phil’s and Tina had Ribs while I had the “Smokehouse Special” BBQ sandwich and a side of Eufaula Stew. Ummmm, umm good!

Barbour Street and Broadway

After lunch we drove back to the Historic District to see some of the stunning examples of southern architecture from the early 1800’s through the early 1900’s. A little history of the area - Overlooking Lake Eufaula from the bluffs on the Alabama shore, the beautiful city of Eufaula is one of the most picturesque and historic in the South.

The Old Post Office Building

Named for one of the principal towns of the Lower Creek Indians, Eufaula was settled on the site of Creek villages at a time when the land was still claimed by the Creek Nation. Called Irwinton until 1843, the town was the source of much controversy with the Creeks during its early days and served as one of several bases for attacks by federal and state troops during the Creek War of 1836.

Masonic Temple

By the time of the Civil War, Eufaula was a prosperous river port on the Chattahoochee River and a commercial center for much of the surrounding area. Many of its elegant antebellum homes still stand today, saved from destruction when Union troops halted just west of town after receiving a truce request from Major General Samuel Jones who had just learned that the war was ending.

Downtown Shopping District

Today the city and surrounding area are home to more than 20 structures and districts that are listed on the National Register of Historic Sites. Some of the old homes in Eufaula are considered the finest examples of their architectural styles in the United States. Two now function as museums and a number of others are open to the public during the annual Spring Pilgrimage held in early April.

Historic Shorter Mansion

We parked in town and walked through the Historic District stopping at the Shorter Mansion where we got a personalized tour of the house. The Shorter Mansion is a Classical Revival-style house. The two-story masonry structure was built in 1884 by Eli Sims Shorter II and his wife, Wileyna Lamar Shorter. They extensively remodeled the house from 1901 to 1906 at a cost of over $100,000, with the results of that effort being the facade that is seen today.

Eli Sims Shorter died in 1908, but his wife resided in the house until 1927, when it was passed to their daughter, Fannie Shorter Upshaw. It was in turn inherited by Upshaw's daughter, Wileyna S. Kennedy, in 1959. The Kennedy family moved away from the city and the house was purchased by the Eufaula Heritage Association, initially formed in order to buy and restore the house, at auction for $33,000 in 1965. The mansion was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 14, 1972.

Russell-Kellogg House

Leaving the Shorter Mansion we continued our walk through the Historic District (see our photos at: http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski) winding up back downtown where we took several photos of downtown Eufaula. This is a real nice small southern town that appears to be doing relatively well during this current economic downturn.

Starting our afternoon hike

Returning to the Chamber of Commerce we parked next to the trail head for the Yoholo-Micco Creek Indian Trail. This is a Rails-to-Trails project that is about 1.5 miles in length (3.0 miles round trip) and passes along the Eufaula Lake ending up at Old Creek Town recreation area, the former site of a Creek Indian village.

One of the many birdhouses along the trail

Old RR Abutment dating back to the 1800's

Along the way are bird houses, a waterfall (hidden off of side trail), nesting bald eagles, an old cemetery (another side trail) old RR crossing signs including the warning lights, a retaining wall dating back to the 1800's, great views of Lake Eufaula - a horizontal rock shelf that drips water year-round and an old rail road trestle crossing the lake.

Tina on the trestle across the lake

We stayed on the main trail (unfortunately we didn’t know about the hidden waterfall) and walked from town to the RR bridge across the lake before turning around for a two mile hike. We figured all told we did over three miles of walking today – pretty good for us as we haven’t been getting much exercise.

We got back to the car and returned home around 4:30 PM to take the kids for a walk before dinner. After all our walking we took the rest of the evening off.

To see all our photos, go to:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

Pelham to Eufaula

Oct 24^th

Driving the back country roads of Alabama

A beautiful day for a drive. We were on the road by 9:30 AM and after bypassing Montgomery we left the freeway for some travel on less traveled roads. We pulled into Union Springs and stopped at a small convenience/gas station where we stopped to fill up with diesel. Really convenient as we were in the middle of nowhere!

Very picturesque countryside

Leaving Union Springs we continued along country roads into Eufaula when we had to get back on a major highway for the last six miles to our campground. We pulled into Eufaula Resort State Park and found our way to the campground only to end up in a big parking lot next to a community center with an electric gate for controlling access to the campground.

Definitely in a state park

Tina went in and found out we were supposed to register back at the Marina store. So we unhooked the car, grabbed the dogs and drove the two miles back to the marina to register. Once we were done with that and had the code for the gate we drove back to the coach and with Tina leading in the car and me following in the rig we made our way through the gate and into the campground.

At Lake Eufaula - Watch out for Alligators

Tina located our campsite and guided me in. Once I had the rig positioned we got set up and had lunch followed by a walk to the lake. Tina let the kids run loose on the beach until I saw a sign that said, “Be aware - Alligators are a native of the lake”., whereupon we grabbed their leashes and hauled them back to the grassy area. Better safe than sorry – heh, heh!

Tomorrow we are going to explore the area and visit the Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge.

Miles driven today, 162. Total for the trip so far, 3,796 miles.

To see all our photos, go to:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski