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!

Upcoming Labor Day Weekend and Bluegrass Festival!

Since we last spoke Billy received the results of his Xrays after his fall, and he has three broken ribs. I repeat.......I am so thankful that I didn't laugh when he fell down. We had the boys sleep over with us on Friday night. We spent the day Saturday swimming in the lake, playing on the playground, swimming in the lake again, playing Hi Ho Cherrio, watching the Rangers feed the snakes and walking through the woods. Fun Fun and more Fun. This next couple weeks we will be busy getting the Park ready for the Labor Day Weekend. As I type and look out the front window I see campers setting up for the "week" holiday. After the Labor Day weekend we have the Bluegrass Festival in our section of the park over Sept 14, 15 and 16 so we will be really busy the next few weeks. We watched from afar as it appeared that Hurricane Isacc was headed directly for Panama City Beach. It was not a good sign when we received an email yesterday from our Homeowners insurance that we should prepare our home for a hurricane. Later in the day we received an email from our vehicle and boat insurance to prepare for a hurricane. Today it looks as if our friend Isacc is heading in a more westerly direction. Thank you. I so regret not having a picture of Lincoln this weekend. I will definitely take more him on his next visit. But following are photos of Phil watching the Rangers feed rats to the snakes. Caroline was not amused!! Life is Good Today!

Children and Four and a Half Grandchildren Visit...Oh My!

Seems as if Billy and I "checked out" after the week visit of Marianne, Kevin, Jackson, Caroline, Sam, Phil, Lincoln, Brandon, Lori, Kinley and the 1/2 was our unborn Austyn. We had tons of fun together eating, gabbing, laughing, swimming in the lake, playing Putt-Putt and sharing. Obviously it took Billy and I about a month to recover but a good time was had by all. Phil and Lincoln have been spending nights with us and we have enjoyed their visits immensely. We are going to miss those boys when we return to Ocala National Forest. Hot Diggity Dawg! Our newest Grand daughter was born last week. I was honored to be able to stay with young Kinley while her baby sister was making her arrival. Two beautiful little girls and a beautiful family! We are so blessed. The morning we left to go sit with Kinley Billy fell in the driveway. Thank goodness I didn't laugh when he fell. I used to laugh every time someone fell but somehow it's not funny since we became elderly! Ouch! Did I just say that? At least I didn't get angry with him as he did me last year when I broke my sternum. Long story short we are waiting for the X-Rays to see if he has a broken rib with repercussions! As for myself, the left shoulder has been dislocating on a regular basis at night while I sleep. Billy and I have previously been able to put it back in place; however, a few weeks ago it went out for 40 minutes as we waited for the ambulance to arrive. As the ambulance pulled up the driveway my shoulder went back into place. Whew! That was awful! Did you hear my screaming? The result is that I am scheduled for shoulder surgery on Sept 7th. Hope I can wait that long without it dislocating again! If all goes well with the surgery and recovery we plan on leaving here after the Bluegrass Festival on Sept 16th. We plan to go to Panama City and set up at Tyndall Air Force Base Campground for a few weeks while we tie up strings with our property, our house and visit our neighbors! Did I say that Billy has already hired someone to get the proper permits and build a dock for us? We are scheduled to arrive at Big Scrub in the Ocala National Forest on October 10th. Billy and I both have been trying to exercise and condition so that we will be set to fullfill our obligations on the Trails at Big Scrub! Yabba Dabba Do! I sadly confess that I didn't take one photo during the week that the kids and grandkids were visiting. Was I too busy enjoying every second with those babies? I think so! "Life is (STILL) Good Today"

Possibly New Things to Come for Us!

A few weeks ago, late at night we received a text from our friend and neighbor in Panama City telling us that the waterfront lot across the street from our house was up For Sale By Owner. We texted a low ball offer and the end result was that a deal was made on good faith without documentation or even a handshake. Billy and I made a quick trip to Panama City and sealed the deal in a quick 15 minutes at the lawyer's office. Yes! "Life Is Good Today!" We are groping our way around the possibilities; however, Billy is seriously moving forward with plans for a dock. Our renter is still happily enjoying our house so we will continue to fulltime in our motorhome for another year! On our return trip from Panama City we stopped by and spent two wonderful nights with Jimmy and Trish Padgett. We were treated to a dinner with their motorcycle "gang," and a beautiful country dinner complete with freshly shelled peas and then a swim in the pool. What fun! They purchased a motor home exactly like ours and we are encouraging them to come "play" with us. Of course, they had two Harley "tricycles," and are encouraging us to buy "trikes" and join their motorcycle gangs. It would be fun! :) Prior to that quick side trip to Panama City we were super busy here at the campground getting ready for and then keeping up with the 4th of July campers. We hosted our 1st Annual Elijah Clark Water Wars and a good time was had by all. The Elijah Clark staff road through the park on the back of a tractor and attacked unsuspecting campers with water balloons, water pistols and super soakers. Truthfully, the campers were prepared for us and the staff was soaking wet after the escapade. On Friday, Marianne, Kevin, Jackson, Brandon, Lori, Kinley, Sam, Caroline, Phil and Lincoln arrive to spend a week here with us in one of the cabins. We can hardly wait for Friday to arrive. Pimento Cheese - check Chicken Salad - check Pound Cake - check water toys blown up - check supplies purchased - check. I finally completed Kinley's new summer capris set and Austyn's matching dress and play suit. "Life Is Good Today!

Elijah Clark State Park's 1st Annual Water Wars

Our new motorcycle friends! "Life Is Good Today!"

A photo of our house taken from our new lot across the street.

The water view from our new lot!