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!