Old friend from Nottingham HS

Got to stop by a catch up w Brian Hanlon and his family in Ft Myers on
our ride fr Marco Island to Orlando. Very fun to trade stories and
compare experiences since the good old days.

Elena and Bo, the India rose ringed neck

Disavowal

I HEREBY DECLARE MYSELF COMPLETELY INNOCENT OF ALL"CREATIVE" EDITS ON THIS BLOG.  DJCR

This post is going to be a hodge podge of stuff from the last week... Some may be repeating from earlier posts that were sent from our Iphones which are not conducive to much typing.

We arrived in the keys on Wed, Feb 17 and stayed around til Mon, Feb 22. During that time we went to Key West twice; once to visit w the Itkins and splash around at the state park in KW and another time with Darren, Kathleen and Evan. We also had time to have a seafood feast on our grill including fresh tuna steaks, shrimp and scallops and spend a great day at Bahia Honda beach.

From the keys we went to the Everglades national park and spent two nights at the Flamingo campground which is 28 miles from the entry gate. Deryl made rice crispy treats.

On Tues, Feb 22, we rented a motor boat and spent about 6 hours on the water driving through a maze of mangrove islands and trying not to get lost. We were pretty much the only people on the water and had the entire bay to ourselves it seemed. Everyone got a chance to drive the boat. At one point we needed our compass to get our bearings straight and Deryl had the great idea to check if our Iphone map app was working and it was. In fact, the map on the Iphone was more accurate than the map that the boat rental kiosk gave us and we arrived back without any trouble. While out we saw three dolphin swimming in the bay which we briefly caught on video. We saw some alligators and crocs too.

We took a walk along the Anhinga trail on our drive out of the park. There were more gators than you could count and tons of different types of birds.

From the Everglades park, we set out toward Marco Island. Along the way we stopped a second time at this super fruit and produce stand called "Robert is here". it's been around since 1960 when Robert's father would drop him off on the side of the road with produce from their farm and a sign that said, "Robert is here". Robert still owns and operates the place and it has become an icon in the area. If you're ever in the area, have a strawberry milkshake there!!

We drove to Marco Island and have been parked at the Marriott resort right on the water. Deryl's friend Joanne is one of the managers in the front office and has been able to have us stay in the back of their lot for the last 3 nights. Awesome pools which we have the privilege to use and have enjoyed catching up with Joanne and her husband, Ashley.

Our former neighbor from Riverside, Sharon Eddy, stopped b

y for a visit at the Marriott. We spent the afternoon catching up and telling her stories from the trip. Elena introduced her to Farmville on Facebook while Isaac screwed back on the coverings on the steering column.

Here are some videos from the places described above. Their fairly self-explantory I think.

Elena's log; Days 1 - 23

ELENA's trip log

Day One in Robsons' Runabout
Today we woke up and went straight away to the hotel's All You Can Eat buffet (we stayed in a hotel parking lot last night. Dada had a meeting to got to in the morning). After we'd stuffed ourselves (Mama didn't, she only had eggs and was hungry later), we headed toward the indoor pool and hot tub. We the children had a free time in the pool playing a game, while Mama exercised in the gym (she could still see us, there were windows between the gym and pool). We
did that for about 2 hours (by the first hour and a half, Mama was done so she came in to the room we were in and read). After those two hours, we started taking turns being gym teacher. It was a ton of fun. I taught Isaac three different strokes and a gazillion types of water aerobics. We were in the pool from 7:00-12:30. After we got out of the pool, we realized that our clothes were soaking wet. We had to walk out to the camper in our bathing suits and jackets! I felt like Sharpay in HSM3. Thankfully, nobody saw us because we went out a door that looked out to our camper. Imagine going through the front lobby! When we got into the camper, Mama got a call from Dada saying that he needed to be picked up. I stayed in the camper and listened to my Ipod. When Mama and Dad and the boys got back, we started driving to Virginia, where a camp is. Note to self: everyone in Delaware are bad drivers. Well, maybe not EVERYONE, but 6 people pulled over in five minutes on the highway we were on. When we got to Virginia, we went
to bed.

Day Two in Robson's Runabout
Today, I woke up and realized that my hair was a mess. It was because I didn't take a shower after swimming yesterday. Mama RIPPED a brush through my hair. Then we drove to the subway station and took 12 stops on the green line and 2 on the yellow line. We went to the Smithsonian and walked around a bit. After that we went to the Washington Monument and took an elevator to the top. It was really cool. Then we went to The Museum of American
History. I liked that a little more. When we got back to the subway station, it was 5:30. It was nearly 7:00 when we got back to the camper. My feet were killing me! When we got back to the camper, I fell into my pillow after I took an aspirin.

Day Three in Robson's Runabout
Today, we stayed in the camper until after lunch. Then we went the National Archives and saw the Declaration and the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and some others. After that we went to The Air and Space Museum. It had some cool stuff, but I didn't really like it. By now it was almost 3:00, so we went and got a snack. I got carrot cake, I loved it! Then we went to the International Spy Museum. It is my favorite museum EVER! It was soooo cool! After that, we
went and walked over to China Town and had dinner at a really fancy restaurant. Mama, Isey, Jay, and I all shared a Puu puu platter for 3, it was delicious! After that, we went to an art museum. I REALLY disliked that. We were in there until 6:30. Then we tried getting to the Lincoln Memorial but we couldn't find anywhere to park, so we skipped that and headed back to the RV. We got back there at 7:30.

Day Four in Robson's Runabout
Today, we went for a hike in the morning. I was a spy, keeping to the woods so that nobody could see me. Jonah was getting nervous. Oh well. I kept spying. In the end, I came out of the woods and Isaac came made a report saying that his sister was the spy! Well, it just goes to show that you can't trust anyone! After that, Mama took a nap and the boys and I watched Planet Earth. Then, when she got up, Dada rushed us to the Arlington Cemetery. It was really cool.. We
saw the changing of the guard too. There were perfect scuff marks on the ground where they tepped. They must have practiced a really long time. After that, we drove around looking for an “Ethiopian” (what Mama called it) restaurant. It was actually Moroccan. We got to eat with our hands! The first course was bread with pickled cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, and a really good eggplant dip (I didn't even know it was eggplant). The second course was a pastry with a
filling of chicken and eggs and sugar. It was topped with a thin pastry (it felt like a crispy piece of paper) and powdered sugar. The third course was a small tender chicken, with a lemony thin sauce on top. We dipped it in the sauce and sprinkled it with lemon juice. The fourth course was a beef shishke bob. It was really good. I couldn't finish mine though..The fifth course was coos coos with raisins and butternut squash. The sixth course was a bowl of fruit and walnuts in the shell. They gave us nutcrackers too. That was the most fun course. The seventh and last course was a cup of sweet honey tea and baklava. The baklava tasted like cinnamon wrapped up in apple pie crust. It was DELICIOUS! That was my favorite course. By now everyone was really tired, so we went home to the camper. It was 10:00 when I fell asleep.

Day Five in Robson's Runabout
Today, we woke up, and started getting ready to drive to the Chippendale's' house. Mama and I went over to the showers and then walked over to the pump station that Dada and the boys were filling the water tank at. Then, when Dada was done pumping, we drove for 2 ½ hours to get to the Chippendale's house. I LOVE their house. It's really big. Little baby James reminds me of Titus, he's very clingy... and cute. Addy was cuter this time but little Will hasn't changed in two months. Oh well. Anyway, we had pizza for lunch from Pizza Hut. They put way too much oil on the pizza. After lunch, we went back out to the camper while the Chippendale kids took naps. When they were done we went out into the snow and played with their super-nice neighbors. Since we had no snow pants (Mama refused to bring them) we came back into the camper after a while. We played with legos and then went to the store to buy Jonah and I's new $100 lego!!! After that, we came back to the camper and started building it. Then we went and had spaghetti and meatballs and played inside until 7:00 when the boys went back to the camper to build legos while I stayed inside until eight when I went to the camper to bed.

Day Six in Robson's Runabout
Today started off with eating and building legos. At 9:00 we drove away from the blizzard in Richmond, VA to go to a place ½ an hour north of Charleston, SC. Half way to lunch time, Jonah move Dada's computer to somewhere where it could fall, a stool. It fell and our Sierra Wireless chip broke. It was the only thing connecting us to the internet, so now I can't go on Farmville. Sad, sad me. All day, I wanted to go and play on Farmville. Oh well. We drove until 6:30 and then ate dinner. We played around a little bit, then went to bed at 8:30. At 11:30, Jonah tossed his cookies for some reason. Everyone keeps saying this could be a realty show! They're right!

Day Seven in Robson's Runabout
Today, I did some research on Dada's iphone and figured out that there was a Reformed Presbyterian Church near our location. We really liked the friendly people there. When church was over, we went to Fort Moultrie. It was OK, not my personal favorite but oh well. After that,we went to a fair to raise money to renovate a bridge (?). I made TWO s'mores!!!! They were really good. Then, since Jay wasn't feeling well, we went back to the RV (notice that I don't say home). We took our new bikes out and rode around the campground meeting neighbors, and having a nice time. When we finished doing that, we played around with our bow and arrow. Then we ate cheeseburger fresh off the outdoor grill (Jonah didn't because he's afraid of vomiting. Tee hee, more for me).Then I went inside and put Jonah's clean plate away, and went back outside to meet a girl my age. She had a little Maltese puppy named Holly (the girls name
was Lawson. She was really nice). Holly is ADORABLE! Anyway, then I went back inside and we all watched a movie and went to bed.

Day Eight in Robson's Runabout
Today, we ran some errands and then went to Magnolia Plantation. There was a TON of stuff there including a HUGE petting zoo with a lot of animals including deer that came right up to you, wild turkeys, and bunnies. Mama and I went to that while the boys went to the big maze. We were in the petting zoo until we had to go to the tram tour. If there hadn't been blankets there I don't know how I would have fought off hypothermia! It was freezing next to the ponds and lakes with alligators, ducks, mud ducks, cranes, and turtles. It was also really pretty. The plantation really earned the name magnolia. Then, after the tram tour, Mama and I went to the gift shop and bought a souvenir mug and a TON of post cards. Then, we walked back to the car to find out that the boys had tried the petting zoo, but one duck had kept following them, so they left after less then a minute. Then, we went to dinner at a restaurant called Reds. The food was really good. When we went back to the campground, we went to bed. At midnight, Isaac blew chow all over the place. Poor kid...

Day Nine in Robson's Runabout
Today started with packing up to leave for Florida and Isaac throwing up. Between midnight last night and lunchtime today, he threw up 8 times. We drove and drove, until 3:00 when we went to a Cummins repair shop, because there was a clunking noise in the front of the RV. Dada pulled Jonah and I out of the filthy RV to wash it with him. It was actually kind of fun! After that, Dada started cooking the Trader Joe's short ribs that we had in the freezer. They were really tasty, but after eating them I wasn't feeling too good. After dinner, we watched a movie, and I slept on the couch, just to be safe. At 9:00, I threw up! Again, at 10:00, it happened. Day Ten in Robson's Runabout My day started at 4:45 when I tossed my cookies again. I didn't sleep a wink after that, just like I hadn't since 9:00. That morning after everyone else got up, we went to breakfast while the camper was getting looked at. We went to a place called Waffle House. I didn't eat ANYTHING except water and a tiny bite of my toast. Then, we went swimming, and I felt a little better. After that, we went to Walmart and bought groceries, a skim board, and Jonah's new diving goggles and snorkel gear. We had McDonald's for lunch (Mama and I were careful and splitted a strawberry shake). After that, we went back to the RV and drove for 45 minutes to a state park called Anastasia. We walked around a little bit and found a little palm branch hut. It was really cool and whoever made it obviously knew what they were doing. After that, we took a walk on the beach. We had a really nice time playing tag with the waves, although the flags notified us that there was strong currents and dangerous marine life, but so what? It's not like we were going swimming in that 30 degree water! After that, we went back and Mama, Dada, and I went to throw the trash into the dumpster. Dada turned around 3 quarters of the way there, because he knew that the boys would get freaked out. Dada, Jonah, and I had pizza for dinner, while Isaac and Mama felt a little queasy and just read in bed instead (no rhyme intended). After watching a movie we all went to bed (Mama slept on the couch). Mama and Isey
both took turns throwing up. Poor people. I hope tomorrow night isn't Dada's night...

Day 11 in Robson's Runabout
Today, we just hung around in Anastasia until about 1:00, when we went to the town of St. Augustine. Right away, I said that I wanted to go to the Ripley's Believe It or Not museum. When we arrived there, we met an ADORABLE little rooster who we later found out was named Ripley. Mama and I went into the museum while the boys and Dada went to an old fort. That's was OK; they wouldn't have liked it anyway. It was sort of a rip-off. I didn't like it, I'm
better of spending my money on the books. After the museum, we met the boys at an old Spanish pedestrian street with lots of Spanish shops, food, and houses. I my favorite dog in the world being walked in there, the Australian Terrier. For a mid-afternoon snack, I got a chocolate covered frozen banana on a stick, while everyone else got gelato (a Spanish version of ice cream). The boys, Dada, and I went to a really cool playground (it reminded me of the one that used to be near the Barrington Library) while Mama went further up the street. We went home around 5:00, and drove back to the Cummins to sleep. That night, after everyone was asleep, Dada threw up. For once, I didn't wake up.

Day 12 in Robson's Runabout
Today started at 6:30 for me, when I woke up and went into the already lit Mama and Dada's room to read with Mama and Jonah. Next, we packed our things, and went for breakfast at Ihop. I got nutella crepes. After breakfast, we went back to the pool. Dada tried to sleep in the car. After that, we went to see the CMSA (cowboy mounted shooting association) have a contest. There were people all the way from Mexico!!! The winner of what we saw was 14 yearold
boy named Cody. His winning time was 16.29 seconds. He had to shoot 8 balloons with one gun, switch guns, and then shoot 4 more balloons, WHILE riding a really fast horse! Very cool. We watched that until 1:00, then went back to the camper and drove until 6:00, and tried to sleep in a Kmart. Sometime in the middle of the night, a tow truck came and saw us. He apparently called the police, so we moved before they got there. I was asleep while Dada drove us to a rest stop.

Day 13 in Robson's Runabout
Today, we woke up in a different place then where we fell asleep. In a rest stop. After we did our morning routine, we drove to the NASA Space Center museum (the Palmers' gave us the idea). We went on the bus tour, where we saw all of the buildings that the shuttles and rockets are made in. Surprisingly, the unused property of the space center is a wildlife reserve. When we eventually left the museum, we drove for about 45 minutes to another rest stop on the
highway. That's where we slept.

Day 14 in Robson's Runabout
Today, Dada did some research and found a Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church very near the rest stop we had stayed at. The service was, ironically, on the first chapter of Jonah. When we left, Jonah gave a very cute good-bye to a new friend he had made; a hand shake and a hug. We drove to St. Sebastian Inlet State Park, as an intention to get a day pass. They had a spot for us so we settled there instead of a rest stop again. Everyone there was very nice. After we got settled there, we went to a beach to walk on the warm sand. We unintentionally (well, not really) got our clothes very wet playing tag with the waves. We played there for at least an hour, and when we got back to the park, we saw a manatee being rescued from the too-cold water that it was in. Everyone who REALLY knows me knows that I LOVE manatees, so seeing one so up close was a dream come true. After that, we went back to the camper and just hung around. I biked around a lot and met a lot of cute dogs. We ate dinner outside and went to bed.

Day 15 in Robson's Runabout
Today, we packed a lunch and went to the beach. The first beach we went to was too wavy, so we went to a horseshoe shaped beach instead. It was very shallow, and soon the sand was all mud, so, instead of playing in shallow water, we made mud balls in the mud! We did that for a while, but then we went to a REALLY deep and wavy beach that we'd been at yesterday. We played in the waves for a while, but then left at 2:00. We relaxed and biked around for the rest
of the day, then had dinner, played UNO, and went to bed.

Day 16 in Robson's Runabout
Today, Mama went, alone to the Treasure Museum, while the boys, Dada, and I went to the parks' playground. We played tag until about 11:00 when the men drove back to the camper and I biked. When I got to the camper, we all played UNO until Mama got back and we had lunch. Dada and Mama took a rest while the boys and I watched Madagascar 2. After their nap, Dada went to the store while Mama and Jonah and I went for a bike ride. Isaac stayed back at the camper (notice that I don't say “home”) because he felt “sick”. After our bike ride, Dada was back at the RV with Isaac. He had gotten a new coffee maker and sushi and Key Lime Pie for Mama. I had some too. That night, Dada and I played UNO and went to bed.

Day 17 in Robson's Runabout
Today, we had breakfast and then drove to a hammock trail to go for a walk. In the trail were lots of huge trees to climb, flowering plants, poison ivy, and other cool stuff. After that, we packed up, and drove to Fiesta Key resort. On the way, we got Burger King. When we got there, we met a boy named Trevor while exploring the playground. He showed us how to climb a really easy-to-climb tree. He really liked the boys and caught on to their personalities pretty fast. He did get the boys mixed up once or twice though. That night, we went into the hot tub. We stayed in there for about 20 minutes. When we got back, we played a game of UNO and then went to bed. Boy, UNO is popular around bedtime!

Day 18 in Robson's Runabout
Today, we met the Itkin's in Key West. We were at the beach, when Dada said that each could get something sweet. I got my first Frozen Chocolate Covered Key Lime Pie on a Stick. Very good. It was the best thing I've ever tasted. At about 3:00, we went to a museum where we saw a movie about the coral reef. It was REALLY cool. After we left the museum, we wen to the Itkin's boat. It's REALLY BIG. We got off about 20 minutes after to go in search for food. We ended up going to a restaurant that we could watch the Olympics in. After that, we started riving the hour and a half drive back to the camper. About half way there, we got stuck in a traffic jam, caused by a serious accident. The accident was a three car crash (one towing a boat) on the seven mile bridge. Two people were seriously injured and one died. The accident was at four o'clock and people were backed up until 9:30. We got there at 8:15. Jonah got scared and cried. He also went to the bathroom 4 times. Thankfully, we hadn't reached the bridge yet. When we finally got back to the camper, it was about 10:00. I fell into my pillow when I sluggishly climbed into bed.

Day 19 in Robson's Runabout
Today, Dada's friends Darren (nicknamed Derwood), Kathleen (Derwood's wife), and Evan (Leafhead/Assuipe) came and hung around with us. We played bocce, and they sat around the hot tub talking when the boys and I went in. After the hot tub, Derwood, Robo (my dad), Kathleen, and Assuipe/Leafhead went to the store to buy a bunch of seafood. We cooked it on our little outdoor grill and had a lot of fun chatting and eating it all. The boys had HUGE
cheeseburgers. That night, we watched the winter Olympics in our camper. I stayed up until 9:45, then went to bed. Day 20 in Robson's Runabout Today, we went to Bahia Honda (a state park with a beach) with Derwood, Kathleen, and Assuipe. Kathleen had dug a little hole to sit in like a chair and I copied her. It was actually very comfy. At first, the water was freezing, but buy
4:00 I was used to it. After the beach, we went to the Sunset Bar and Grill. It had a nice pool, and Dada took turns with Leafhead playing with the boys and I in it. We ordered LOTS of good food, including a cheeseburger, french fries, coconut fried shrimp, and onion straws. That night, when we got back to the camper and watched the Olympics. I went to bed at about 10:00. I was very uncomfortable because of my sunburn.

Day 21 in Robson's Runabout
Today, Dada drove us to Key West for church. The service was nice, but LONG. After that, we met Derwood, Kathleen, and Leafhead. We ate lunch and then met up with them at a bar. I saw a ton of wild chickens. They were all very cute. We took a walk, and then got snacks. I got another Chocolate Covered Key Lime Pie on a Stick. It was SO good. We drove back to the campground, and ate dinner. We watched the winter Olympics again, and then went to bed at 9:30.

Day 22 in Robson's Runabout
Today, we ate breakfast and had school. In the middle of school, Derwood, Kathleen, and Assuipe came to say goodbye. Shortly after they left, we left for Everglades National Park. We found a big fruit stand on the way there called “Robert is Here”, named after what Roberts' father had written on a big sign to attract customers to his cucumber stand a long time ago. We spent a lot of money on exotic fruits and home-made fruit milkshake. When we got to the Everglades, Mama and Dada made Jonah and I walk around the big loop. Jonah and I detested that. That
night, we ate dinner, watched Snow Buddies, and went to bed.

Day 23 in Robson's Runabout
Today, we rented a skiff and went boating down the rivers, ponds, and lakes of the Everglades. Everybody drove a little. Dada and I drove the most. We saw a lot of birds, 5 alligators/crocodile, and 3 DOLPHINES! When we got back, it started to rain. When it stopped raining, we went for a walk around a pond and saw MORE birds. We cracked a coconut, and Mama and I ate corn salad for dinner. The boys ate hot dogs. We drew until 8:00, and then went to bed.

Pools are cool

Having fun after breakfast. Practiced swimming strokes for PE. This is
an incredible change fr the Everglades park yesterday which had no
ammenities and LOTS of mosquitoes.

Elena livin it up at MI Marriott breakfast buffet "I could live here
Forever!"

Pool area at Marco Island Marriott

Courtesy of my pal, Joanne, who is front desk manager. We could just
stay here in the parking lot for five more months. Beautiful,
beachfront hotel, immaculate landscaping , creative pool design...

Gator anyone??

Walking along the anhinga trail in Everglades natl park. Kids have
counted over 20 gators so far and we've got lots more trail to walk.
Incredible birds all around too.

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In Everglade Nat Park at the very southwest tip of US mainland deep in midst of nowhere. Renting a small motorboat to take up a passage to a lake where we hope to see many alligators, some crocs, a manatee or two, some wood stork, some Roseate Spoonbill (if lucky).
Warm and very muggy. Hard time sleeping last night for all. Thankful for sun!!! Just gotta slather on the SPF. All got burned in Keys bc we didn't reapply. Feel guilty and we're all suffering with Jonah's every ache. ;)

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Entering the Everglades for a few days amongst the swamp creatures

Walking around Key West

This guy looked like a statue til we started to walk by. Kinda
overcast and drizzly but having fun. Went to an OPC church near KW.

Sunset raw bar & grill

Spending the late afternoon here having apps and enjoying the pool
after a day at Bahia Honda state park. Finally have a killer weather
day in the keys!!!

Uncle Evan visiting

In the keys w Evan

Girl time

Loved spending time at beach and dinner w/ Anisa, Doug and family. I
hadn't realized how much I've missed simple face-face time w. Friends
other than my little pod here. Could have talked all night.

Deryl from iPhone.

With the Itkins

Have had a great day in Key West w the Itkin family.

Dive bombers at 12 o'clock

Early bird gets the worm which gets the fish

Arrived in Long Key last night. Verywindy but we don't care

Let's see if I can send this to blog. This is Elena on tour thru
Magnolia Plantation, Charleston. Former rice paddies.

A couple of videos for your enjoyment

Had to post a few of the recent videos.

Extra Extra - Robson coffee maker dies; parents bleary and cranky

Not to worry, the children have survived the 3 day loss of parental coffee intake. We have been making coffee each morning as part of our wake up routine. However, due - we think - to a low voltage feed, we apparently fried the chip in the coffee maker and it now just flashes at us... After a few tense days which included Deryl literally driving 20 miles each way to find a quicky-mart coffee shop, we have purchased a new machine. Just had a cup which is what gave me the energy to write a little this evening.

Here's a bit more detail of what we've done over the past several days. Some may be a repeat from short posts I've uploaded directly from my Iphone.

Last Saturday, 2/13, we spent the day at Kennedy Space Center. Even though it was a Sat, there was hardly any crowds. We pulled our rig up w van attached to the very front of the "RV/bus" parking area and were less than 50 yards from the entry gate. Spent a few hours on the bus tour (thanks to a tip from the Palmers) and then headed back to the RV for a lunch and a short rest. Then, went back in to finish up looking the place over. We got to see the "real" room where the Apollo mission control was conducted - it's been frozen in time as an historic area. Definitely would count the day as a science class day for the kids with a ton of international history mixed in. The presentations that they had there were excellent and well visualized with real footage, etc.

We spent Sat night at a rest stop on I-95 which was the second night in a row that we didn't have a proper place to stay. But, honestly, I slept great and was quite content. We put 'er in park, extended the slideout and made ourselves comfortable. Some road noise but not bad -especially when you're exhausted.

After a breakfast, shower/shave and pulling out our "church" clothes - which is to say the least wrinkled shirt and whatever shoes of Jonah's aren't wet, we headed off to an Associated Reformed Presbyterian Church which was only 20 minutes away. From there we were stumped. We didn't have a place to stay that night (again - everything booked due to holiday weekend) but didn't want to travel (work) too much on Sunday since we're trying to maintain it as separate from our weekly chores of travelling and such. We decided to head up to St Sebastian St Park for the afternoon to walk and enjoy the scenary (we were told it was already booked up) and then head back to I-95 to sleep at a rest stop somewhere. Long story short is that the park did have spaces open for walk-ups and we were able to get a pull-thru site. This was a BIG answer to prayer as we really needed to unwind and rest from all the travelling and touring - being a tourist takes a lot out of you!

We arrived at the park just as a rescue squad from Seaworld was arriving to rescue a manatee. It was a young one which had a sensor on it. They had been monitoring it via satellite and knew that it hadn't been moving for an extended period of time. So they launched a boat and scooped it up and were going to take it to warmer waters.

We've now stayed at the St Sebastian park for third night as I write this and really have been able to relax a bit. Kids are quite happy to do school and then buzz around the park. Yesterday required shorts and swimming suits and sunblock. Today was too windy and cool but was still super sunny. Played chase at one point and managed to cut both boys' hair. I headed out this afternoon to stock up for our time in the keys where we expect everything to be a lot more expensive. (This is when I bought a new coffee pot) Bought all sorts of stuff: milk, butter, eggs, cereal, cheese, fruits, frozen veggies, cookies, marshmellows, cornbeef hash (!!!), bacon (!!!), soda, flour, brown sugar, 2 cantaloups, Eggo waffles, gatorade, beers of various flavors and tuna fish. Also bought a few #6 x 1/2" machine screws and nuts to fix the handle on the screen door. Ended the evening watching the sun go down and then saw our first dolphin swimming around in the cove nearby.

Uno has become to game of choice. Elena and Isaac are able to hold their own and don't need any reminders about shouting "Uno" if the other guy forgets to announce when they are down to one card. Jonah will sit on my lap (which is really more of a glacial sliding action which can really wear your inner thigh muscles out!) and help me pick cards and decide who to give the Draw 2's out to.

Tomorrow is a travel day to the keys. Hoping to be in Long Key by 3 or 4PM so that we can get situated before the sun starts setting. There's a pool there and a small beach so the kids will have plenty to keep them occupied. Planning to see Doug & Anisa Itkin and their two boys in Key West on Thursday. They are down visiting Doug's folks who we also know fairly well (they live in Providence too) and we may score a ride on their 50' Grand Banks which would be pretty sweet. Darren and his wife Kathleen and Evan are all coming down to tour with us starting Thrusday night and we're intending to work in some snorkeling and who knows what with them. Looks like the weather will be in the mid-60's down there which is still not super warm for that area but we'll be loving it for sure.

gotta hit the sack... more photos another time.

(By the way, if you plan on starting your own blog, don't use Blogger! It's very inconvenient to format these postings and add pix. And a number of people have had a hard time leaving comments.)

Just hanging around...

We were able to stay a third night at St Sebastian Inlet state park
which has made Tues a lazy hang around day. Very nice and kinda rare
so far in our trip.

Did school first thing. Elena only needed a minute of help w the
definition of "vertices". Deryl worked w Isaac and I helped Jonah w
addition, penmanship and some spelling.

Had to dump the tank which went w/o a hitch. A super sunny day but
breezy enough for a fleece or windbreaker.

Heading down to Long Key tmrw. Will need to stop by for provisioning
at a walmart or something on the ride down.

Watching the surfer

Not a bad way to spend some time. I've taken off my fleece for the
first time this trip and may need to put on sunscreen!

Robsons Runabout - posting for the week of 2/13

There’s been a few conditions which have prevented us from posting this week. The biggest one is that a stomach bug spent the week with us. Jonah then Isaac then Deryl then Elena then me. Oy! No fun but we managed OK and everyone seems to be back in action now although still a little tired.

This week we have travelled from Charleston, SC to Fort Pierce, FL and have completed our second week on the road. During the drive down, we spent the a total of three days between Jacksonville and St Augustine. We had to stop at a repair shop to have the front suspension of the RV looked at. There was a thunking that I kept hearing when coming to a stop. They looked it over on Wednesday and had us come back in on Friday to have the parts put in.

We stayed in the repair shop’s parking lot (they had full hookups) on Tuesday and Thursday nights and stayed at Anastasia state park on Wednesday night. While at Anastasia, we spent Thursday walking through St Augustine and the nearby fort.

On Friday we had to find something to do while the RV was being repaired. We went back to the community pool that we originally found on Wed and Deryl and the kids swam for two hours or so while I curled up in the back of the van and tried to sleep off my stomach bug experience from the night before. After swimming we still had several hours before the rig would be ready and Deryl wanted to walk through the horse barns that were nearby. Turns out that the CMSA (Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association) was having their world championship and it was free to enter. So, we went in and watched men, women, boys and girls gallop around and shoot at colored balloons. Pretty impressive. I’ll have to post the video separately.

They got our rig back together by 2ish and since it was still rainy and cold, we decided to just keep driving south. Parked at a Kmart in New Smyrna and I passed out at 6PM still feeling lousy only to be awakened at 10:30 by a slamming truck door which turned out to be a tow truck. Needless to say we pulled up stakes and drove away thankfully not getting a ticket or a tow. Drove to a rest stop on Rt 95 near Cape Canaveral and had a surprisingly great rest. Not noisy or uncomfortable at all. In fact, we stayed in the rest stop parking lot Saturday morning til 10 or so. Then, we went to Kennedy Space Center for the rest of the day but that will have to be a different post cause we haven’t uploaded the pix from the camera yet.