Thanksgiving, a Good-Bye pot luck for Drew, Kyle Riding the Trail with us, and Bears

We celebrated a fun-filled Thanksgiving dinner in front of our motor home with fellow volunteers and Kris. We had a campground full of campers who were a bit rowdy; however, we didn't have one injury so it was a successful weekend. Later in the week we bid a sad good-bye to Drew with a pot luck at the OHV Center. A good time and good food was had by all. I went "out of commission" for about a week while I frantically finished the grand daughter's Xmas dresses in time for their Santa visit. We have seen many bears while in The Forest this year. They seem to be coming in closer and closer. We woke early this morning to find this beauty stalking around our campground checking out a firepit. Thank goodness they were all free from food. He stopped to take a look at me when I went outside to take a photo, and then slowly lumbered back into The Scrub. Did I say "Life Is Good Today?"

Busy Busy Weekends in The Forest

Since arriving at Big Scrub we have learned that Friday, Saturday and Sunday can be busy busy busy on The Trails and in the campground. Below is a photo of the "Swamp Crawlers" Jeep Club driving through the campground last Sunday. Loved those Jeeps! We had a head-on collision on The Trail Saturday that sent one victim to the hospital. Last night we had another head-on collision thankfully with damaged ATV's but no injuries. That adds up to three head-on's in the month since we have been here. YIKES! Careful out there folks. Kathy, JC, Billy and I took a trail ride out to Rodman Pond and took some photos for my brother. He and his friend, Dean, used to fish Rodman Pond many many years ago. It was a great ride. Did I say "MANY" years ago? It is still a great place to catch large fish! Billy and I made an unplanned trip to Tampa and I was honored to attend a Tea Party (complete with hats) with Jackson. What Fun!?!? As a final note the chocolates were not a part of our Tea Party, but Billy and I stopped off at the Russell Stover Outlet Store to pick up some "cheap" chocolate Bloopers! The Outlet Store is next door to the Russell Stover factory, so the deals were fantastic. That was a very fun stop; however, we do not need to be stopping by there often......we devoured that box of chocolates! Oh My! We are off to The Villages to accomplish our Thanksgiving dinner shopping. We have a campground full of campers, hunters, and ATV'ers arriving this week, so we will be enjoying Thanksgiving Dinner with our fellow Campground Hosts, Patsy and Jimmy, as well as Kris (our Ranger) and anyone else who wants to stop by in The Scrub to visit. "Life Is Good Today!"

Another Weekend in The Forest

Billy and I went riding on The Centennial Trail on Thursday to begin gathering firewood for campfires through the winter. I finally received the dog goggles (Doggles) for Maggie. I have been having to put my hands over her eyes while riding the ATV in order to keep branches from damaging her eyes. She thinks she is REALLY working now. On Friday, Patsy (our OHV Volunteer Host neighbor) and I went to The Villages for a little shopping therapy. We stopped off at Brown's Country Market, Best Buy, Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, and PetSmart, and then enjoyed lunch at Five Guys! Yum. On the way home we stopped off at Doe Lake Campground in The Forest to pick up some ice. There was a large horse group staying there in the campground for the weekend, and I thought the horses were beautiful! Below is a photo of Patsy as she was returning from dragging The Trail last Thursday. The photo of the two children are two of our precious little riders who were out riding The Trail today with their parents! After spending our Saturday enjoying SEC football, we had a very active Sunday afternoon. There was a head on collision on our Centennial Trail and a lady was reportedly badly injured. All worked out well....our Ranger arrived just in time and he and Billy jumped on the ATV to go out on The Trail to locate her while I waited at the campground for the ambulance. They somehow how encountered another rider who was a paramedic so they were able to transport the victim off the The Trail to the campground just as the ambulance arrived. (The Trail is too narrow for the ambulance.) It is frightening how quickly an accident can happen on The Trails, but I think she will be fine. Tomorrow, Billy and I are meeting Kathy and JC for lunch at Square Meal and then going to ride The Trails at the north end of The Forest. Closing for now......."Life Is Good Today!"

Hurricane Sandy in The Forest

Thankfully we were spared the wrath of Sandy; however, we have been experiencing high winds for days now. When will it ever stop? After our visit to Tampa our internet has been down until today, so we have been rather bored in the forest. Too windy to even take a walk. We stopped off at Publix in The Villages on our return from Tampa. You can tell by the photo below that I was highly amused by the number of souped up golf carts in the parking lot......what a life! On Friday morning at 7:30 I drove to the Off Highway Vehicle Center to take the ATV class. I was fearful of my bum shoulder hampering my participation, but I was able to spin that 4 wheeler out like a pro! Yea me! On the hour drive to the OHV Center I passed a dead Black Bear by the side of the road. So so sad to see them hit by cars. We had a few campers this past weekend-a real nice group from the Jeep Club who had a blast for two days and two nights driving the Jeep trails through The Forest. After our campers departed, on Monday Billy and I made the complete 45 mile loop around The Centennial Trail. There were some mighty big trees down from this unrelenting wind. Today it is too windy to even consider going out on the trails, so we drove in to the Lake George Ranger Station to pick up our mail. YIPPEE! Life in the fast lane. Jackson and I decorated his Halloween pumpkin as Elmo and then he phoned on Sunday night with a big surprise for us....he is going to be a big brother!!! Now, I feel compelled to really begin sewing; however, my shoulder is killing me from the 45 mile trail ride yesterday. Yikes! We are so excited to be expecting yet another grandchild. They are just the BEST! They are our reward for not killing our children! Also, below is a photo of Jimmy and I preparing to leave the campground yesterday to work on The Trails. I had a great photo of Billy but.............."Life Is Good Today!"

Forest Friends

We have spent this past week meeting up with our Forest friends....some old, some new. Kate and Tom stopped by to spend an afternoon with us and Kathy and JC arrived from Wisconsin last Sunday. We met them early Monday morning at one of our favorite diners in Salt Springs - Square Meal. We even ran into our favorite waitress while there. Patsy and Jimmy moved over to our campground so we have some steady "neighbors" now. Yesterday I had to drive in to a laundry mat (45 minute drive) to pay $3.75 a load to use the washing machine. Got to find another solution to the laundry issue. For dinner one night this week we enjoyed a huge plate of shrimp that Kyle and Bret netted. Yum Yum Yum.....So you see...."Life Is Good Today!"

Forest Friends Stop By For a Visit

How delightful to find ourselves back in The Forest! Patsy and Jimmy (OHV Trail Volunteers from the OHV Center) stopped by for a visit yesterday. They will be moving over here to Big Scrub with us next week. We had one camper last night.....Yippee! After dinner we road a few miles on the Centennial Trail to check it out. Going to be much hard work to bring the trail back up to "snuff." We made a trip into Silver Springs to Wally World yesterday, and plan to go out to eat at one of our favorite Forest Diners for dinner tonight. Billy is out pressure washing the bathroom, and I have been hiking around the campground picking up trash. This morning I walked old Forest Road 13 and 14 in front of the campground. I found a treasure trove of bear footprints coming and going in and out of the campground all along the roads fronting the campground. Made me stand up and pay attention. We now have the Bear Pepper Spray out and ready to fire. Bret Bush stopped in this morning to say hello. Great to see our friends once again. Checking out for today and wishing everyone a great weekend because...."Life Is Good Today."

Our Trip Into Big Scrub......

was thankfully uneventful yesterday. As we returned 8.9 miles down the dirt road and deeper into the Forest to our Big Scrub destination I felt the freedom of being back into the "great outdoors!" Maggie slept fitfully last night as did I at first. As soon as lay down my head I heard a loud noise right by our bedroom window. Mind you...we are back into the dark dark darkest of nights without benefit of street lights out here. I quickly rammed a sharp elbow into Billy's side to go investigate the LOUD noise. Of course he didn't hear a thing. He stuck his head out the door and said that he didn't see a thing "out there." I begged him to look again as the noise was loud. Low and behold our rather heavy outside rocking chair was knocked completely over....bear, racoon, possum? Your guess is as good as ours. Then our electricity began surging until it finally completely shut down. Billy went outside with his trusty flashlight (the floodlight is now charging) to investigate. We couldn't get the power back on so we slept through the night with the generator running. Billy cancelled his shrimping trip this am so he wouldn't leave me stranded alone out in the boonies without electricity. As soon as the sun came up Billy was able to find the main circuit breakers and you guessed it....We have power and Life Is Good Today!

Great Farewell Dinner in our Neighborhood with.....

Bruce and Fran and most of our neighbors. Again, we all laughed until it hurt, and a good time was had by all. We will be heading out tomorrow for Big Scrub Campground at Ocala National Forest. Will miss our friends, neighbors and fishing in Panama City; however, we are looking forward to being back together with our Forest Friends!!!! Will share a few photos with you of our new property (across the street from our sticks and bricks house) and and fantastic neighbors. Then I shall call it a night. Life is Good Today.

Snakes, Flip Flops, Golf Carts.....Oh No!

It has been cloudy most of this week, and the heat has been unbearable here on the Gulf Coast. I thought that I had finally learned the hard way to take long walks in the woods while wearing REAL shoes as opposed to flip flops and to pay attention to where I am walking. Yesterday I was meandering along looking at the bayou off to my right when I noticed a BIG snake sitting mid-stride under my feet. I did a high acrobatic leap into the air and a girly girl scream escaped from my mouth. Note to self: Going to the Forest next Wednesday....wear real shoes. The camp ground here is not crowded yet; however, the snowbirds shuffle around the park on these slow as Christmas golf carts. Can hardly wait to get back on the Razor and speed through the Trails in the Ocala National Forest. Until then somehow I don't think the campers who live in this monster RV are the ones cruising around the campground in golf carts. Isn't it cool? No picture of the snake...I had to get far away from him but I got a photo of the beautiful bayou. Life is Good Today!

Could You Hear Us? Good Times with Neighbors/Friends

Billy and I took a fun break from meetings with county officials, contractors, and draftsmen to enjoy dinner and many long laughs with our East Bay neighbors and friends-Fran and Bruce, Melva (DeVaughn had the attitude but I propose that he wanted to stay home and watch the Ryder Cup), Bill and June. We met the Atkinson's and Ingram's at Uncle Ernie's for great fellowship and food. Out of our huge neighborhood we were only missing three families, and we had a great time. Can hardly wait to move back (just for a spell), and make a habit of weekend dinners in "town." No, No, No. We are not giving up our Gypsy lifestyle. We plan to build a small and simple stilt house with set-ups underneath for our motor home. That way when we the kids and grandkids come to visit they will have sleeping arrangements. Hopefully we will be able to pull off our plan of putting a deep, full length, waterfront and screened front porch on the house so that folks can sleep on the porch if they want. On your bucket list - never miss an opportunity to sleep on the porch! I must add that Billy and I are outdoing ourselves with our healthy eating regime. I make a loaf of whole grain fresh bread every other day and haven't bought a loaf of bread in weeks. It tastes great toasted for breakfast (just another way to transport butter to my mouth), goes well with dinner, makes the best homemade croutons and breadcrumbs! Yup! Just call me Suzy Homemaker. On our way out to the house to check on the power pole and insure that our neighbors made it home safely last night! LOL. Much love to all....and....Life is Good Today!

Oh La La.......We Love the Gulf Coast

We couldn't stand being around all of this good smelling salt water so we took off last Friday for Tampa. We made a stop over in Ocala and picked up our boat and dropped off the Razor. Had a great weekend visit with Marianne, Kevin and of course Jackson and returned to Panama City on Monday. We have spent the last two days out on East Bay fishing our little hearts out. Bruce went with us yesterday and we caught enough keeper trout for a good dinner. Didn't see one other fisherman the entire day out in East Bay. How peaceful to have the solitude on the water, and to be able to drive the boat by water to Bruce's house and our neighborhood to pick him up for a day on the water. Fran picked him up at the campground after she got off work and we had a great dinner of teriyaki meatballs, stir fry vegetables, homemade bread (of course) and rice. Yes, Life Is Good Today. The word in the Tyndall Fam Camp Campground every day is....did you see the bear last night? This bear comes into the campground every night to check the dumpster. The campground is quite populated and on the busy Highway 98. It is just a matter of time before this bear discovers the wonderful barbecue grills gracing his landscape. Somebody is going to get hurt and it is not going to be the bear's fault. These campers have bragged about being only 10 feet from him. That is too close. Oh well....certainly wish they would trap and transport to the poor fellow to a safer location. We are telling ourselves that we are going to complete our "chores" today before we fish again.

Tyndall Air Force Base Fam Camp, Panama City

We left Elijah Clark on Monday for long slow drive southwest to Panama City. We are back at the Tyndall Air Force Base Fam Camp where we used to visit at least 2 weekends a month when we still lived in Atlanta. It is still the same and as beautiful as it ever was. We enjoyed dinner last night at Rodeo's with our friends and neighbors, Bruce and Fran. It is so wonderful to be with them again laughing out loud at anything and everything. Billy is currently at the Bay County Municipal Building getting the required permits to put electricity on our new property. Seems we have to register an address first.......going through the process. I have gotten on this new kick that we are going to eat better, cheaper and healthier. After a few missteps I searched for and purchased a bread machine yesterday that makes EVERY type bread plus jams and preserves. That's what I am talking about..... The bread machine provides me with a portable oven big enough to cook a loaf of bread and it doesn't heat up my house so much while baking. My first loaf was a failure. I made a nutty whole wheat bread but it didn't taste so good because it needed salt. Currently, I am dicing it, baking it and making fresh croutons and bread crumbs. The croutons will taste great dipped in the hot pimento cheese dip that I made last week! It feels strange to be a paying customer in a campground. I feel like I need to "clean up" as I walk around the campground. It REALLY feels strange to have to pay to stay in a campground. I would so much rather be a HOST! Life Is Good Today. Thanks for stopping by......

Bluegrass Weekend at Elijah Clark State Park

Wow! Billy and I had an awful time last week fighting fevers. I think we have finally recovered. I had an appointment with my surgeon on Thurs. I was disappointed to be scolded to keep my arm in a sling for another month at least, not to exercise it at all, not to lift anything heavier than a coffee cup and not to pull it away from shoulder. Do I need to say that Billy as my hair stylist is very lacking? We started off with the three day bluegrass festival last night. Caroline, Sam, Phil and Lincoln came to enjoy the music and some barbecue topped off with a red velvet cake for Caroline's birthday. The boys thought it was great fun to take $5 each to the festival. They ended up buying Hawaiian Shaved Ice and nachos. I think Phil was anxious to see "Our" Hannah sing the National Anthem, and she certainly didn't disappoint us. A beautiful girl! We were disappointed that Brandon, Lori and the girls couldn't come visit but with the high state of alert Brandon is tied up with work. Billy and I have completed our 2 hours work today at the festival (just behind our motor home), so we plan to enjoy the music relaxing from our porch this evening. It's a difficult job, but somebody has to do it. LOL If all goes as planned we intend to break camp here early Monday morning and slowly make our way to Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City. I will be driving behind Billy and towing the razor so it will be a slow go with one arm. Life is Good Today. It broke my heart to say goodbye to those boys a moment ago. I had a weepy moment after we went to bed last night and Billy promised me that I could come see them any weekends I wanted.

Trying to Motivate my Lazy Self

After "entertaining" our full campground over the Labor Day weekend I had surgery on my left shoulder in hopes of preventing it from dislocating all the time. Wow! It surely does hurt!!!!!! I am thankful that I went to Rock Hill and spent the day with my brother and Mary Ann before the surgery. Surely wish I could have stayed longer. Billy came down with the flu on the second day after my surgery so we have been a sorry "mess" here. Feels like we are barely hanging in there! LOL! Also, prior to my shoulder surgery I was able to gather and burn piles of limbs that were scattered around the park. Having a burn pile in a State Park gives a whole new dimension to yard work. Sunday we went to visit with Caroline and the boys for the afternoon. We are certainly going to miss those sweet boys. Short blog......not much energy.....too much to get done.....But still......"Life is Good Today!"

Lincoln has got ATTITUDE. I love it!