Naval Air Museum and Luau

Camper went in again last week for slide issues- once to check it out and then to get it fixed. We got it back yesterday, hopefully it is done with problems since the warranty ends this week. We did buy an extended warranty just in case- this thing has been a real lemon so far but we really do like it.

We all went out to McGuire's Irish Pub for dinner and then went to see the movie "13 hours" in Destin.  Great food and beer brewed there, and almost a million dollar bills stuck to the ceiling and the walls. Good time was had by all.

On Wednesday we went to a Snowbird Expo at a local golf club, lots of people there. The local businesses gave out samples of their food, and also little trinkets.  

On Thursday we went to Pensacola to visit the Naval Air Museum since it was raining all day.  What an amazing place, with tons of planes and displays from WWII, Vietnam, an aircraft carrier. Blue Angel 4D experience was great, you really felt like you were flying them! Kirk and I also did the F-16 simulator. Not as good as the real thing but we got a good feeling for it.

Marine One used by Presidents Ford and Nixon

We had a big storm on Thursday night- tornado watches all night, our weather alert radio went off every 20 minutes. Lots of lightning and rain, pretty scary in the camper.  Luckily no tornado by us though we did have rain that came in one of our windows. Sure wish we had gone to Kevin's!

On Saturday the park hosted their luau/seafood fest.  Plenty of good food, including oysters, shrimp, fish chowder, grilled chicken, mac and cheese, salad bar and dessert. Ten of us ladies did two hula dances before dinner.  They went well I guess. The audience sure liked it!

I've been having some medical issues - pain and tingling in neck. Spent 6 hours in ER on Monday having tests and today I had an MRI. Waiting for results. They did rule out my heart so that's great. May be a pinched nerve.  Pray for a good resolution soon! We plan to leave next Monday and head to Texas. Here's some pictures of the sunset Sunday night- great view from the dock. Phone camera doesn't do it justice!

FLA- Opal Beach and Fort Pickens

We've had some sunny days, but still cool (60's for highs). I know our friends and family do NOT think that is cool when they've had below zero's.  Yesterday was our nicest day this month- high of 68.  We all went to Fort Pickens which is an impressive fort built in the 1830's and used to defend the port of Pensacola by the Union army in the Civil War.

15 inch Rodman cannon- 4 men needed to carry balls!

After the fort we went to Pensacola to see Joe Patti's fish market.  What a place- reminds me of the Pike Place market in Seattle.  It was very busy and I bet there were 15 people behind the counters filling orders.  We bought some home-made bread and dipping sauce.  They had tons of different fish and seafood available. We met a couple from Stevens Point.

Saturday night we all went to Johnny Huston's (sports bar) up the road to eat burgers, wings and watch the Packer/Cardinal game.  We only stayed until half time, then went back home to watch second half. What a disappointing loss!

On Thursday we went to Opal Beach on Santa Rosa Island so Joe and Kirk could fish. Nancy and I collected sea shells.  It was a windy day and no fish were caught. They will keep trying!

Deb and Bill got a really nice Keystone Alpine 5th wheel- they are very happy they upgraded. It makes such a difference to have some space when you are using these as your home!  Deb, Nancy and I have been taking hula lessons after our daily exercise class to prepare for the park's Luau on Saturday.  Nancy and I went to the thrift store and got two outfits for $4.50!  We are having fun meeting lots of people at the park at bingo night, game night, and walking around the park.  There are only 70 sites so it's small enough to get to know people easily.  Miss everyone back home, though!

Emerald Beach Week 2

Haven't posted for a while, was trying to upload photos from my phone but messed it up. Weather has been cool (50's for highs) with some rain but the last two days have been in the mid-60's and sunny.  Had a beautiful sunset a couple nights ago.  We've been doing some exploring- checked out the Navarre Beach fishing pier which is about 1/4 mile long. They charge $1 just to walk on it!  The water is beautiful green and very clear.

Taken from Navarre Beach pier- it's very high!

Kirk and Joe tried fishing one day at Hurlburt AFB (on the sound) but did not catch anything.  They've been asking the guys in the park and getting some tips so maybe we'll have a fish dinner someday.  We may have to go to Joe Patty's fish market that everyone talks about!  Kevin is on night shift now (6 p.m. to 6 a.m.) so we try to have him over for supper on his days off.  Nancy and I started the exercise class, they follow videos of mostly walking with some steps.  First day was great, but my back has been complaining so I've had to back off a bit.  We usually walk 3 miles but today we only did two since it was free coffee and donut day in the same space.  Lots of people go to that- met some new folks.

New Years Eve Party held on Jan. 4 at EBRV Park

Last Wed. Kirk and I drove to Gulf Shores, AL on the other side of Pensacola and had lunch with Paul and Terri Garner and Dick and Marilyn Knuteson.   Enjoyed visiting with them, they both bought town homes there, on the same block!

Bill and Deb Eastwood arrived last Friday- they are in Tampa right now picking up a new 5th wheel! They realized real quickly that their small travel trailer was not suitable for long term living.

Yesterday Mike and Deb Richardson stopped for a visit- they were staying in Gulf Breeze for a few nights.  Nice to see them too. I think they are jealous of the snowbird adventure we are on!

Our camper troubles continue, we got the refrig fixed but now the large kitchen slide is acting up so we're waiting to get the approval from Keystone to bring that in.  We want to get it taken care of before we leave here since we can stay at Kevin's while they fix it.  Our warranty runs out the end of the month but we did buy an extended warranty, after all the troubles we've had with this unit!  So frustrating but from what we hear it's not uncommon.  Every time you take these things on the road stuff moves around so I guess it's to be expected.

Navarre Beach RV Park

Joe Cordova and Nancy Teal got here on Tuesday, 12/29. They met us at Kevin's and we all went to Eglin AFB to pick up our campers. After loading up all the stuff we had brought down with us we headed west about 6 miles to Navarre Beach RV Park. Our sites were about half-way between the road and the beach.  The park has a lot of colorful cabins for rent.  Pretty full, sites were pretty small and sand everywhere.  After getting settled in we went back to Kevin's for dinner- scalloped potatoes and ham I had made in the crockpot.
On Wednesday we went to pick up groceries. We then walked Ole around the park since a big storm was on the way. Met some really nice people (our next door neighbors) from Texas.  After supper Kevin came over and visited us for a little while.
On Thursday 12/31 we went shopping with Joe and Nancy- stopped at Camping World to check on our refrigerator which is acting up (could be thermostat, we have to take it in on Wednesday).  Sam's Club, Wal-Mart, traffic was horrific!  We had quite a bit of rain, although Kirk, Joe and I did soak in the hot tub for a half hour when we got back.  We grilled out steaks for dinner, with garlic bread, salad and munchies. Kevin came over for dinner and stayed until about 10:30.  We had a nice evening but did not stay up to welcome the new year! High today was 63.
On Friday morning Jan. 1 we moved out of Navarre Beach to go to Emerald Beach RV Park down the road where we will stay until Feb. 1.  So much nicer- no sand, the sites are grass and concrete pads so the camper should stay a lot cleaner!  More rain and high about 50 degrees. BRRR!! They have a nice beach and pavilion here. We may need to get out our propane firepit if it stops raining long enough!

Our site #41 at Emerald Beach

Emerald Coast of Florida Week 1

We left Tomahawk on Monday, Dec. 21 after celebrating Christmas with Kirk's family. We stayed at Kelly and Billy's in Oregon on Mon. night and left Tuesday morning for Nashville. (620 miles)  We had clear roads, mostly cloudy day- it was 70 degrees when we arrived in Nashville.  NICE! We stayed at the La Quinta near the airport since they take dogs.  After walking Ole we had a nice dinner at Ruby Tuesday's. We arrived at Kevin's in Mary Esther, FL about 3:30 Wednesday. Had some rain on the way down.  On Thursday 12/24 we went to Eglin AFB to get some stuff out of our camper which is being stored there. Went to Christmas Eve service at Holy Trinity Lutheran, Opened presents and watched "A Christmas Story" before bed.
Christmas Day- Kevin had to work so we took a drive. It was foggy and misty but got nicer as we headed east. Stopped at Topsail Hill Preserve State Park. Checked out the campground there- very nice large sites.  High temp was 82. We made a ham, twice baked potatoes and green beans for supper. I think Kevin is really enjoying having us here.
On Saturday 12/26 Kevin had to work again so we went to a couple of flea markets just to look around, then stopped at the Naval Oaks part of the National Seashore. Quite deserted, nice boardwalk from the visitor center to the beach. We met a family from Duluth. The beach sand is very soft and white. It was a little sunnier today, high of 78.