Busy spring

Busy is not the word….shoulder surgery and recovery….lousy weather (we wonder why we came home so early)….good times with grandchildren and soon to come a week up north on a lake with the whole family.   No traveling to speak of which is as good an excuse as any, beyond the trip north with family we are leaving the end of July for a trip West for two months.   Will keep this blog up then.

February Fun

Well once again a month has gone by and it has been busy with family visiting, fishing, eating out, eating in and mostly just partying with friends we have met over the years that spend their winter here at Sunshine Key.

Our son Ben and his family Emily, Jack and Molly visited us for Presidents day week and we had a great time visiting beaches, visiting the Turtle Hospital in Marathon and of course spending some time fishing

Two of my favorite fishing buddies who caught quite a number of fish!

Grandma at a music concert here in the campground.

One of the many dinner dances that have been entertaining with even some good food being served.

A superbowl dinner get together in the park at one of our neighbors and of course we all participated in the preparation.

We have had company and we do get together with everyone most days but its not all party and the weather while advertised as fantastic does get windy enough to prevent us from fishing some of the time. We even had a few days of fog which is a first for us and it was thick? Below is picture I thought was kind of neat showing the fog.

One of the old bridges in Florida Keys

One other thing of interest is that we have noticed this year an active presence of the Border patrol…..considerably more that in years past.

At Last ……Sunshine Key

We arrived four weeks ago and were welcomed by old friends and acquaintances who also spend time each year in the warm Florida Keys.  Its quite a place!

We’re back in our same spot again, and we have been busy!!

 

Had super ribs with good Friends on the first Friday night there.

                                            

                                                                               

 

Watched our friends from Wisconsin launch their brand new boat

 

 

 

 

Saw our old boat looking as good as new!

 

 

 

Launched our boat and did some fishing without much success getting skunked and then at another time only getting enough for just one great dinner of fresh snapper.  Weather has not really cooperated.

 

Volunteered at the ice cream social and also again at the “Havana nights” dinner with authentic Cuban food that was unbelievably good!

 

 

 

Marge found time to decorate our campsite!

 

 

 

 

Worked on repairing some things on the motorhome.

 

 

 

Some of us passed the bad weather time playing holey ball. Notice the sweatshirts and long sleeve shirts.  Temps were as low as in the high 40’s at night.

 

 

Had another dinner out with friends.   Actually it seems we seldom eat at home and are doing a lot of Hors D’oeuvres and potluck with the neighbors.

 

Visited Key West and explored this beautiful city again.   Found this special sign that’s kind of unique.

Will post more about Key West soon….it’s one of our favorite places.

 

 

Old friends arrived for a weeks visit….Steve and Mary Hefernen….newly retired and enjoying life.

 

 

 

Food prep for Superbowl party with everyone in the neighborhood.  It does seem that all we do is eat, but such good food.

 

 

 

Just before the game our friends the Thompsons arrived ….with the new retiree Sue…..the one with the smile.

 

 

 

Once again its been too long for this post and once again I will try and post more often.

Busnuts Annual Convention

This last week in December 2008 we attended Bussin’ 2009 in Arcadia, Florida and enjoyed seeing some of the conversions that had been accomplished on a variety of older coaches.   We had heard about from two sources …..the first from my friend Art whose son Chris and his wife have become “Busnuts” as indicated by their personalized license below….and secondly from a camper across the way from us who had an old bus called “Bubba’s old Hound” (a former greyhound bus that had been converted.

Actually, they are in business providing a source for buses and bus parts for older GMC coaches to all those that spend time restoring them.  You can check their website if interested at  www.gmbusguy.com

Below are a few pictures of the gathering and one particular bus that was over 50 years old that is now like new.  It was a 1955 scenic cruiser that has been totally rebuilt….nice!

 

There were even some more modern bus conversions….some that were converted to haul entertainers around that were unique a series of bunks instead of the usual kitchen and living area arrangements.

Last but not least on display was an old Cushman scooter from the early 50’s that brought back memories.

Riverbend Railroad

One of my favorite topics has always been anything to do with railroads and now it seems if you stay at Riverbend RV park you can continue your model railroading while spending the winter months where its warm.   My friend Art is staying at this particular resort and he invited me over to see the “railroad operation”

There are about 6 or 10 club members that own lots there in the Riverbend RV Resort and each year they have added to, built and landscaped the layout in an area near their clubhouse that is quite sizeable.  They have laid their track on a base of block and brick and then laid the ballast of seashells loose along the track.   Electricity is supplied by battery power and the whole thing is radio controlled so that more than one unit can run at the same time.   I believe the scale is referred to as “G” scale and is available through most hobby shops that handle model railroad stuff. 

They apparently work on this regularly and spend time building new projects like a return loop on the layout.   Also being worked on is a wood trestle that will actually cross a pond area in the middle of the layout.  Buildings and other additions are being built although it will probably never be “done”

Up River RV Resort

We left the Franklin Locks Campground early last week and have settled in here at Upriver RV Resort on the Coloosahatchie River just downstream from the locks and closer to Fort Meyers. We plan on being here for awhile and hope to spend some time exploring the area

We originally had planned on staying on a canal in one area of the campground that has a dock on the backside of the lot right on the canal that we could use for the boat. After looking the lot over we decided that it might be more prudent to take a larger lot and keep the boat on the trailer right at our campsite rather than try to jam everything into what we thought was an undersized lot with neighbors really close!
The canal would have been convenient but we both were more comfortable on a large lot with room and more in the RV section. Most of the lots on the canal were filled with permanent residents, but we also thought it would be more fun closer to the clubhouse.

Our lot (above) in the middle of everything and room to work on the boat, truck, or coach.One unique and interesting coach in the park is an old GM 4104 from the 1950's. The guy that owns it is here primarily so that he can attend a special meeting at the end of the month for converters of older coaches. Always was a dream for me to do what he did.....I even had all the manuals from General Motors. We hope to go up to Arcadia to see some of these coaches just after Christmas.

Last year we had planned on staying through the Holidays, but my good father in law left us at the age of 92 and we went home. This year we are decorating the coach somewhat and plan on having a fun time here. Check out our huge Christmas tree and decorations.

We hope to pick our boat back up tomorrow after discovering a electrical short in the bilge pump that could have been a major problem. We tend to pay attention to these types of things after having had a fire in the Endeavor motorhome two years ago. Will keep you posted.

Florida's Corps of Engineer Campgrounds

There are only three COE campgrounds in Florida and we have now stayed each at least once. They are wonderful places, each on the water with lots to see. The intra coastal waterway in Florida as mentioned in past posts is busy with both commercial and lots of pleasure boats
There are lots of advantages to staying in these campgrounds that I have also mentioned before but just to remind anyone 62 years old or older you can use the Golden Age Pass when staying there to get the campsite at half price. Mind that you are only allowed to stay 14 days at a time and its important to get your reservations as soon as they open up (6 months previous to the start date). They are also some of the most well kept campgrounds you will see.One thing I haven't mentioned is that two of these not only have campsites, but docking facilities for the pleasure boats that travel the waterway.We are staying now at the Franklin Locks ....the picture below shows the view from our campsite there at dusk.
We move on Sunday to stay a private campground just down the river.

Saint Lucie Locks and Campground

A few years back, we were introduced to the COE parks here in Florida along the Caloosahatchee River that runs from the Gulf of Mexico to Lake Okeechobee and then on to the Atlantic Coast via the St Lucie Canal. There are at least 4 locks along the way to control the water levels, all under the control of the Army Corps of Engineers. Along with controlling the "intra" coastal waterway, the Corps has three wonderful campgrounds. We have now stayed at all three and they are the best!

The first two pictures below are from the locks and campground on the Saint Lucie Canal....the first looking towards the locks and east from our campsite. This spot is one of only 9 at the campground, but as you can see it provides everything you might need.

This West view from the campsite shows the canal with a sample of some of the beautiful pleasure boats that travel from coast to coast.The locks themselves are really quite interesting and our stay at this campground gave us some great views of the different pleasure boats while they traversed through the locks.

The seal on the lock gates are not exactly water tight, but that doesn't seem to present any problems. At all of the locks along the way they pay special attention to any passing Manatee's that pass through. There is even a volunteer that tries to keep track to protect the animals from boat traffic and injury from the locks.....Hmmm! Seems like a good job! Pay is a free camping site for the time period you volunteer.
Right now with the water level being high there is about a 13 foot drop in each cycle of the lock. It does take a considerable amount of time, but it seens to go quickly and it's fun to watch.The locks are not only for the many pleasure boats, but occasionally there are commercial pushboats and tugs with their working barges, like this one pictured below.
This one first pushed the barge through the locks on one trip, then left a smaller push boat with the first unit, and went back for a second barge, reconnected and then moved on towards the coast.The locks draw a lot of visitors and besides the obvious amenities like the campground and locks they have a park for children and nature trails to see.

Oh! did I mention how nice the weather is down here......