Florida

We left our faithful readers while were in Beaumont, Tx.

Since then we traveled thru rain and wind another thousand or so

miles eastward and find ourselves in Tampa, Fl.

We've been in an RV park here that is populated with these gigantic

Party Busses of all shapes and sizes.

The park has about 400 spaces and the snowbirds from up north seem to

keep it pretty full.

Most of the busses are so long that they fill up the parking space and any

car pulled behind (known as a "Toad") must be parked in the street.

Many of the Busses  (Class A RV's) are in the million dollar plus range.

Peeking in the bus above I think we saw one of the musicians from ZZ Top.

Or is it Kid Rock?

I can't decide…  you be the judge.

The reason for our being here in Florida rather than Arizona was due to the passing

of a friend of ours…  taken from us by ALS.

Only 54 years old, Deb was a special person.

An accomplished Attorney, Author, and humanitarian she touched

everyone that she came in contact with.

Today was her Celebration of Life in Sarasota, and hence the reason for

our mad dash east from Arizona.

We met Deb & her husband Craig about 6 years ago.

They were on our sailboat forum and had left their jobs, sold the house, and

were spending two years cruising from Maine to the Bahamas on their

Sailboat "Charmed"

While Craig certainly grieves over the loss of his love, he at least has these wonderful

memories of a life that was lived to the fullest.

If there is a lesson to be learned here I'd say it has to be

Don't wait for tomorrow to start living your life.

Chase your dreams.

Live everyday as if it is your last…  it might be.

Deb wrote about end of life issues.

Rather than try and explain this link to Amazon will show you what some

of her books were about.

One of the most touching to me however is her book

"One More Conversation"

From Amazon - here is the synopsis:

Losing a loved one is heart wrenching. All opportunities to express love or resolve differences are now lost. If you have ever wished for "one more conversation" with a loved one who has passed, this book will provide you with the tools and the guidance to create a forever conversation . . . a conversation your loved ones can have with you over and over again. Whether you want to say, "I love you" or "I'm sorry," tell a story or give some sage advice, One More Conversation shows you how your words can have a lasting impact and become a cherished family legacy.

At Debs Celebration of Life she left us with that Conversation.

It was her last message to Her Family and Friends.

The Service was held at Marina Jacks - a scenic establishment on the Sarasota

Waterfront.
Rest in Peace Deb.
You left the world a better place by having been here.

This area brings back many memories for Kate & I since we lived here

in the early 90's and spent much time cruising these waters on our Sailboat.

Getting ready to head back to Tampa we paused for a self portrait on the docks.

It was an hour drive for us and we needed to get back for the Doodles…

Feeding time at the zoo you know.

Tomorrow we pick up the Dog House, load it back onto the truck and head

South and East - our next destination is down by Miami.

After that the Keys

Then up to Vero and then Disneyworld!

Eastbound Again

After saying goodbye to everyone we spent one last quiet night in Tubac, Az

Our night was punctuated by the light pitter patter of rain on the roof.

One last time we got to sleep with the windows open while enjoying

that unique sent of a freshly moistened desert floor.

Friday morning we were on the road.

We took some two-lane highways for the first hour or so.

It's always so much more scenic on the little roads, but the driving

is also a bit more heads-up.

7 hours & 470 miles later we settled into a KOA in Van Horn, Texas.

Van Horn is a dusty little town in the West Texas mountains about 140 miles east of El Paso.

This was a convenient find for future reference as I am often looking for somewhere to

crash in west texas and the places are few and far in-between out there.

The KOA had a little Cafe so we decided to try our luck rather than cook dinner.   

Kate had a Salisbury Steak 

and I had a German Seasoned Baked Chicken Quarter.  

Both were served with Corn, Mashed Potato's, Gravy and Texas Toast.

It was tasty inexpensive and hit the mark.

Saturday morning dawned Clear and Cold.  The temp just above freezing.

I enjoyed the rare luxury of sleeping in till 7am.  That was a treat.

By 9am we were fueled up - our first fuel since Yuma - and on the road.

About 2 miles west of Ft Stockton on the South side of I-10
there are several statues - actually silhouettes of Indians on horseback.

This is called "Look to the East"  it represents a Comanche hunting party as they pause
in their search for some of the fast dwindling Buffalo in the Area.
Their leader has warned them to be alert for danger and to look to the east.
(the soldiers would come from the east)

On the east side of Ft. Stockton are more silhouettes - of mounted Calvary.
I'll try to catch that for you next time.

We stopped for some provisions at the Walmart in Fort Stockton.

and by 4:30 we had peeled off another 470 miles,
crossed the halfway thru Texas mark,

and were resting at the Buckhorn Lake RV Resort in Kerrville Tx.

An interesting part of this section of I-10 is that about 50 miles East of Ft Stockton

you start to leave the dry sagebrush desert and start to see the beginning of Trees and greenery.
Just a little bit at first but within a 100 mile or so stretch of roadway
you are back into a more eastern looking landscape and have left the west behind.

The Buckhorn Lake Resort looked like an interesting place.

They have live entertainment and dinner shows along with all the other

usual RV Resort amenities.

Our night they were having a spaghetti dinner and guitar jam session.

After getting set up we took the Wolly Beasts for a good long walk around

the resort.  There was lakes, streams, bridges, pools and hot tubs to name a few.

The showers were some of the nicest as well.

Overall an enjoyable place to relax for the night.

Sunday morning we departed even later.  

It was almost 10am before we were on the road.

On the way we stopped at Target on the northern San Antonio bypass.

Our mission at Target was to get some bars of

Dr Bronners soap and then continue east.  

Our goal for the day was to simply get

thru Houston on the weekend.

By 5pm we had arrived at Hidden Lake RV Resort in Beaumont, Tx.

We now have only 40 miles left and we will once again have crossed the Lone Star.

Calling this place a resort is taking great liberty with the english language.

It is no where near what one would call a resort - but it is certainly nice for

an overnight stop and with my passport america the site was only $17.

It is only 1/4 south of I-10 but there is no road noise which is nice.

After settling in we enjoyed a nice meal of Roast Turkey,
Stuffing, Gravy and Green Peas.

Last December while Kate was in Chicago I stuffed and roasted a small
Honeymoon Turkey, made gravy and then made two meals out of it.
Then I vacuum packed and froze both meals, one for
Christmas and one for New Years.

We ate the Christmas meal…
I don't recall what we did for New Years Eve…
Must have been good.

In the morning we were greeted with heavy pea soup fog.
Welcome back to the coast :-)

I let Kate sleep in a bit while I got a start on my Monday morning work
and let the fog burn off a bit.
By 8am it got a bit better as you can see below.

By 930 we were back on the road.
Todays weather was alternating fog, rain, & clear.
By 2pm we were sitting at Cafe du Monde in Mandeville, La
enjoying a French Roast Coffee and some Beignets.

On the way to the Campground we stopped at our favorite meat market in
this area and picked up a package of fresh pork Boudin for dinner.

We are now at Fountainbleu State Park on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain.
Tomorrow will be a down day - no travel planned.
A chance for me to work during the day and take the night off.
The forecast is for rain and currently it is raining on and off.
Only a hundred miles or so north it is snow and ice so rain is ok I guess.
The temps are in the high 40's.
I miss the warm air already.

Our Trip East thus far:

A - Tubac, Az

B - Van Horn, Tx

C - Kerrville, Tx

D - Beaumont, Tx

E - Mandeville, La

About 1,450 miles since leaving Arizona.

Another 2,200 or so planned yet to cover.