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.

October 22-24 From Smokies to Alabama to Florida

We left the campground in the Smokies about 8:00- have about 400 miles to go today.  It is windy and cold again but it was fun seeing the Smokies.  Would like to return sometime when it's not so crazy busy.  We still want to see North Carolina but ran out of time- some other trip!  We drove through Chattanooga (heavy truck traffic), then passed through a corner of GA before hitting Alabama.  We arrived at Sherling Lake Campground (another city property) in Greenville, AL about 3 p.m.  It was humid and 86 when we got there- after setting up we turned on the AC and Kirk and Joe washed the gunk and bugs off the campers while I walked the dogs.  Nice campground- grassy and lots of trees. Spacious pull thru sites, nice rest rooms but no extras.  It was about half full with people like us who were just passing through. It was a warm night- kept the windows open but still did not sleep well. I was surprised at how hilly and forested Alabama is.

On Friday we drove about 133 miles to Kevin's house in Mary Esther, FL.   We passed lots of cotton fields and truckloads of peanuts!  It was great to see the gulf when we got to Navarre. We emptied the frig's into Kevin's and prepared campers for storage- closed all drains and put lots of dryer sheets all over to repel bugs.  Kevin had to work from 4-7 so we drove over to Emerald Beach campground where we'll spend the month of January. It's about 10 minutes from Kevin's place.  Walked around- it's pretty small, between the gulf and a busy road.  Nice clean place with a beautiful beach and fishing pier.  We stopped at County Line Pub for a beer (mystery $2 beer night) and ended up staying for appetizers and then pizza. Kevin met us there after work. This is the bar where he comes to watch Packer games- sports caps and military stuff all over the place!

On Saturday after breakfast Kirk, Kevin and Joe took the campers over to Eglin AFB to store them. I walked the dogs and read by the pool while they were gone.  Joe left to go back to Cincinnati.  The three of us drove to Fort Walton Beach to eat dinner at Rick's Crab Trap- kind of a diner like place but the food was good.  I had grilled shrimp and Kirk had fried mullet.  We came back to Kevin's and watched a very interesting movie about Antarctica before crashing.

On Sunday 10/25 we left Kevin's about 6:15- it is 1270 miles to home.  We drove until 6 p.m. and stayed at a Fairfield Inn in Effingham, IL- dog friendly place.  Ate dinner at the local Cracker Barrel.  On Monday we drove 500 miles- stopped at Portage for lunch and fuel- and got back home by 2:20.  It was a great trip, although Kirk says we can't go away for so long in the fall when the leaves are falling!  It was great to see Kevin too and I'm sure he was happy to see Lexie. We'll be back in December!

October 19-21 Great Smoky Mountains

On Monday 10/19 we left Nashville about 9:40 and drove 195 miles to the Whispering River RV Resort in Walland, TN.  When we pulled into our site Larry (Kirk's brother) and Beth were sitting there waiting for us! We had no idea they would be there! This is a great campground that lies next to a river and in between bluffs on each side. The sites are grassy and spacious, all were pull-thrus. They had a big field where we could walk the dogs.  We made chili for supper and even though it cooled off by sunset we did sit outside by the gas firepit until about 9:00.  It was a windy night- the temp got into the low 30's. They also had a outdoor pool and a nice shower/laundry building (in the barn).  Every morning the valley was covered in fog/mist but it cleared up by mid-morning.

On Tuesday Joe and Nancy went to Cincinnati since Nancy's daughter was having medical issues. Larry and Beth joined us to go exploring. We went to Cade's Cove (11 miles scenic loop in the Smoky Mt. National Park). It was so busy that it took us one hour to cover 4 miles, so we ducked off on a gravel road to get out of there- enjoyed the view better from up on top of the hills anyway. We got as high as 3100 feet and ate a picnic lunch up near the top. October is the busiest time in the Smokies- due to the trees changing color.  We stopped at Cades Cove Cellars winery for some tasting and bought a bottle of blackberry wine.  In Townsend we went to the GSM Heritage Center- a nicely done little village of 1800's buildings and a small museum. We had a great meal at the camper, and sat around the campfire again until the wind picked up and we got too cold.
On Wednesday (my birthday!) Beth made breakfast before they headed out.  Kirk and I drove to Gatlinburg via Pigeon Forge. Pigeon Forge is a zoo- almost worse than Branson. Tons of hotels, restaurants, and attractions.  We parked in downtown Gatlinburg and took the Sky Lift (chair lift) up the mountain that we thought went to the ski hill but it didn't.  Nice view from the top, after we came back down we walked to the tram that did take us to the Ober ski hill. We got there just in time for the 1:00 Oktoberfest show in the restaurant.  German band, music, singing, dancing.  The meals we had were pretty good, not as good as those in Amana though.  Afterwards we took a ride on the Sky Coaster- each of us had a sled that went down a track like a roller coaster, down the mountain.  It was fun but scary! We drove back to the campground taking the Gatlinburg bypass- it was about an hour total.  Joe was back so we went to Smoky Joe's BBQ for dinner- good food in a country style family restaurant. Nice owners- talked to them about hog hunting. Imagine that!

Going up the mt. on my sled!

Nashville continued

The weather has been cooling down- it was a high of 62 Saturday, 59 on Sunday.  We went to the Hermitage and took the General tour of Andrew Jackson's home.  This included both live guides and an audio guide.  We added on a horse-wagon tour of the grounds. Spent about three hours there- it is very interesting and I enjoyed it even though we had been there before.

Picking cotton!

After the tour we had a late lunch at the campground before heading to the local sports bar to watch the Packers beat the Chargers- sat with other people and had a great time!