Getting ready for another Thanksgiving and a cruise

Well the last week or so has been relaxing. Sue and I have been exploring the area more checking out some of the state parks in the area and of course the beaches. The weather has been unseasonably hot with day time temps in the the mid 80's and night time temps staying around the 60's We visited my cousin Sandra and her husband who have a place just south of us near Port Charlotte and had an enjoyable seafood meal with them at fisherman's wharf in Punta Gorda. We have been out numerous times eating with our new friends in the park and of course Sues cousin Bill and his wife Phyllis. They have taught us a new card game hand and foot and we have been over playing that a few times. Today is American Thanksgiving and we will be joining Bill and Phyllis for dinner with some of their friends. Just what I need another big meal. We are also in the process of packing everything up as we pull the rig out of here on Saturday and put it into storage. Whew we will really be homeless then as we "mooch" off friends and relatives until after the holidays when we return back here to pick up the rig again.

We are staying with Bill and Phyllis Saturday and Sunday nights and at 6:15 am Monday catch a shuttle bus from Sun City Center to Fort Lauderdale to board the Emerald Princess for a 10 day cruise to Aruba, Bonaire, Grenada, Dominica, U.S. Virgin Islands, Princess Cays, Bahamas, then back to Fort Lauderdale where we will board our plane back to Toronto. Scott will pick us up there ...... Looking forward to seeing friends and relatives not sure I'm looking forward to snow and cold. newest pics have been posted here. Http://picasaweb.google.com/collindo99

Doug.

I know it has been a while

Well I have been somewhat remiss about keeping up this blog. Part of the reason is that I have taken to updating my facebook page more frequently and it seems redundant to do this and facebook. Another reason is that Sue and I have been so busy it is hard to find time to blog each day. The reason I started this blog in the first place was so that my family could keep track of my travels and I could share my experiences with them as I travelled. Most of them are on my facebook but not all. So I guess I should try to keep this up for them. I think what I will try is to update this once a week for a while and see how that goes. Well here goes Sue and I are well settled into the park here in Ruskin Florida. The weather has been great sunny, breezy and in the upper 70's or low 80's most days. We have explored all around going to Anna Maria Island, the Ruskin seafood festival, Florida Aquarium, YBor city, Fort Desoto beaches and of course shopping trips for Sue. I have posted some pics of the last few weeks here Http://picasaweb.google.com/collindo99

Well of to the pool.......

Doug.

The eagle has landed

We have landed at the Tampa South RV resort in Ruskin Florida and have set up on a scenic waterfront site on the Little Manatee River. We started the day out by having the truck and rig washed at the Ocala RV looks nice and shinny now. The short trip down I75 brought us to our present location. Sue is extremely happy with a waterfront location..... all we can see out the large window at the back of the rig is the river and mangrove trees on the other side. The WiFi is good and we have full hookups. The pool is being repainted but should be ready by Saturday. This evening we joined about 9 other couples and went to a local restaurant for a good food and conversation. Looking forward to seeing our friends Bill and Phyllis tomorrow.

Doug.

enjoying the sun

Our second day in Charleston we decided to visit camping world and then went on over to the Boone Plantation for a tour. What and interesting place I added a few Pics of the Plantation Http://picasaweb.google.com/collindo99 We ended the day by going to Gilligans for an all you can eat Shrimp dinner. The hush puppies were also very yummy :-) Tuesday morning we packed up and started further south, we were going to stop at Savannah Georgia but decided to leave this to another trip and continued on towards Florida. We ended up at the Ocala Sun RV resort (Ocala Florida) after a long trip and set up. This is a nice park that allows you to wash your rig so we decided to stay two nights and today will wash the truck and trailer before we head down the rest of the way to Ruskin Florida.

finally far enough south warmth

The weather has been beautiful for our two days of driving a portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway. What a beautiful drive the leaves are in their fall radiance. The road speed limit is 45 mph in most areas which is good as it is windy, up down and very narrow especially if your pulling your house behind you. There were many beautiful scenic overlooks and we spent the first night on the parkway in a state park beside a lake. Had a nice 5 km hike around the lake then spent the night without electricity in the cooling temps at 5000 ft. Got down to -2 but warmed up quickly when the sun came out and we were off further south on the parkway with stops at many arts and crafts areas. We ended the day boondocking at Walmart in Columbia S.C. The next day we made it to Charlston S. C. and had a great day exploring this old historic city. Took a horse and buggy ride around the city and had a great seafood supper at the messy oyster. I have posted some pics from the last week here Http://picasaweb.google.com/collindo99

Doug.

rainy windy and definitaly not far enough south yet.

Well we are living the dream. We left Brant on Oct. 16th and ended up at Rondeau Provincial park for two days. We had great visits with Sue's sisters Nancy and Margie. We discovered that Margie is not a campfire lover preferring the warmth of the camper. Tuesday we headed to the border and crossed at Detroit. After the rig being inspected by two border guards we were allowed on our way and drove to Delaware State park for the rainy night. We were about 50 miles west of the exotic ranch where the owner let all the animals out then killed himself. The next day we set off further south and it was a long wet windy drive down to Virginia. We are in a park at Fort Chiswell and have stayed here two days to rest and wait for better weather before heading out on the Blue Ridge Parkway. So far Sue and I are enjoying the lifestyle and are still talking to one another. :-)

Doug.

The next journey begins

What a lot of change in the last few months...... House has been sold, 39 years of stuff disposed of or stored, Sue has set a retirement date (Oct. 14th) and we are living in the RV full time. Oct. 16th is the date we leave our temporary location at the Brant Conservation Park and head south for warmer climates. Looking forward to this next period in our lives.

Doug.

It's that time of year again

Well it's back to school time in this part of the world.  The days are getting cooler, finally and its time to start thinking about winter travels.   Hopefully this year I will have a travelling partner (if Sue decides to take the big step into retirement).  Right now we are in the last month of a sub-let on an apartment and I have made arrangements to park our rig in a local park until Thanksgiving so at the end of Sept.  we will be officially with out a stick and bricks home and into a home is where we park it situation.   I think we will head down to Florida this fall at least until Dec. then probably head on over towards Texas  in January.  
Doug.

Almost back from the Soo

We left the states yesterday and decided to stop and check out one more campground, this one closer to Brantford. We will need a place to park the rig later in the fall and early in the spring. Most parks around Ontario close up after thanksgiving weekend mid Oct. and don't open until mid May. This park we are checking out just north of Woodstock stays open till the end of Oct. and opens the first of May. Nice little park which is definately an option. We will spend the morning cleaning up and getting the rig ready for a few weeks of sitting. The next time we take it out will be as our home on wheels at the end of Sept. when our sublet on the apartment expires.

Up in the Soo

After a long drive and a two night stay near Sudbury we arrived in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario for the Titanium Owners rally. We picked up a few friends along the way and when we pulled into the KOA we had a convoy of 4 Ti's checking in. By the next day we had about 28 rigs here. The first night campfire we had a local historian give us an overview of the history and attractions in the area. Thursday saw a morning tour of the Ermatinger Old Stone House , Bushplane Museum where we had lunch and a tour of the Essar steel plant, with our good friends Paul and Jane we stopped at the local casino to try our luck with the free vouchers we were given and Sue and I ended up about $100 to the good (at least for now) A wine and cheese was put on by the park owners in the evening and then on to the campfire. whew a busy day. Friday was taken up all day with The Agawa train tour ending with another campfire. Saturday morning it was off to the local farmers market for some homemade wild blueberry pie. In the evening we boarded a bus for St. Joes island where we had a good whitefish dinner then went to the a ghost walk at Fort St. Joseph National historic site..... what a treat really well done and the night sky was spectacular with little ambient light to dull the night sky. Sunday started with a tech talk and open house with the evening seeing us eating again at the pot luck. (we made perrogies) The prize drawing was held after the meal and everyone got a prize ranging from O gravity chairs to door wreaths. Sue and I got a collapsible bucket filled with goodies. Monday we got up early again and headed over the boarder to board a boat for a tour of the locks on the American and Canadian sides. We had lunch in Sault Ste. Marie Michigan and then crossed back over for an afternoon Heritage Tea at a Parks Canada Lock administrators house. Afterwards we stopped in at the casino to donate some of our winnings back and ended the day with another campfire.

Thanks to Mike and Dianne for organizing this event packed rally we will be leaving Thursday to head down through Michigan towards home.

Doug.

up in the air

The move is done....... we are located on the 4th floor of an apartment building in Brantford at least till the end of Sept. then its into the RV to live at least for as long as Sue can stand me. I am exhausted what with purging 29 years of "stuff" packing up the rest, dealing with the emotions of two kids and Sue, moving all the things to storage or into the new apartment, oh and yes dealing with my emotions. To top it off it has been hot hot hot Looking forward to a few days of relaxing.

Homeless

House is sold ....... wow that went fast just 2 weeks on the market. Some tough negotiating but our realter Dave Schouten did a great job. We are happy with the outcome but and it is a big butt (the house not mine:-) well that one is to) we have to find another place to live and pack up everything and move by July 29th. Yikes !!!!! we will rent in the short term then when Sue retires it's full time RVing for us at least for a year. Well gotta go packing to do

What else could have gone wrong?

Well had the open house today and Sue and I worked hard for the last few days getting everything spiffy for the showing. Sue was off to a bridal shower and I stayed around till the Realtor got here, then handed off to him for the 2 hour showing. I went up to visit my father who was alone as my mother was with Sue at the shower.....had no sooner gotten there when my phone rang it was the realtor (Dave Schouten) calling to ask if I knew I had a leak in the basement between the hot water heater and the furnace/air conditioner....... No everything was fine when I did a last walk through 1/2 hour before he arrived. Went right back home to discover that the hot water heater was leaking and it was getting worse........what lousy timing as people were showing up to view the house. The heater was a rental so I called the company and they said they would send someone over. I turned the water off and left again. 1 hour later I got another call saying the repair guy was there and was replacing the tank. Oh well all we could do was tell the people visiting that if they bought they were getting a new hot water heater. :-) Dave also informed me that a lady viewing the backyard got stung by a wasp and that he found the nest on the bottom of a small stool I had near the hot tub. He found a hockey stick and got the stool and nest out of there but a little boy with another group also got stung. What a day ..........Oh well lots of people toured the house hope something comes of it.

Doug.

House is on the market

Well Sue and I have been very busy lately, Sue with work and both of us with getting the house ready to put on the market ....... yes after 29 years here we are pulling up stakes and moving...... well not sure yet where we are moving but it will be a smaller place (house) with less grass to cut. Sue and I want to travel and not be tied down to a house and all the associated "chores", at least for a year or two.

So.... the for sale sign went up last week and we have already had a few people looking. This Sunday we are having an open house so hopefully we will start getting some offers coming in to consider. If anyone is interested the MLS # is 31090 enter it at www.mls.ca

This selling a house thing is a pain however as you never know when someone might want to have a tour soooooo the house has to be kept neat and tidy all the time. I hope it stops raining before Sunday so I can give the grass a good trimming and get the pool cleaned up and looking spiffy. I'll let you know how it goes.

Doug.

Kingston Titanium Reunion

Just got back from the 6th Kingston Titanium Reunion. The weather was changeable to say the least. Rain Rain Rain when we arrived and most of the 40 RVs we had in our group ended up having waterfront property. The Scottish festival they have on Saturday looked like a mud bowl. Sunday things started to dry out and by Tuesday the steam bath was on. Wednesday saw high winds and Thursday brought cool temps. Despite the weather extremes we had a great time. Me for the whole week and Sue on the weekend. Happy hours, pot lucks, dinner cruises, casino trips, hiking and evening campfires were all enjoyed as was the company of many fine friends. I have posted a few pics here

Http://picasaweb.google.com/collindo99

Doug.

First Trip of the summer

I had a birthday celebration for Sue's sister to attend in Erieau Ontario and decided to get the rig out of its winter hibernation. Rondeau Provincial park was close by so rushed all day Friday getting things back in the rig and dewinterizing the water system. Boy it was a long day as I got up at 3:30 am (yup that's in the morning) to watch the royal wedding. Sue had some friends over and we had scones and champagne orange juice. Anyway by the time we got down to Rondeau after Sue got home from work and set up, we were both ready for a long sleep so off to bed at 9:30 .....had a great sleep. Saturday was a great day weather wise and we arrived to help the birthday girl celebrate at around 11:30 am. When we returned to the park we had time to go for a walk on the beach and had a nice fire to end the evening. Sunday morning we awoke to rain and rain and more rain. It finally stopped around noon so we hurriedly packed up hooked up and left for home. Think I'll head up to Morry's to get some "stuff" done on the trailer tomorrow.

Doug.

This and That

My father continues to improve, matter of fact he is looking better than he has since last spring. We have decided to put our house on the market this spring so to that end I rented a storage shed to put "stuff" in that we just can't seem to part with yet. We are hoping that our son will find a home to live in soon and will be able to take and/or store a lot of "stuff" for us but until that happens we will continue to "edit" and store the rest in a storage shed. At least with less "stuff" in the house it will look bigger to prospective buyers. I am hoping to "offload" some of our stuff on my daughter as well, but she is presently in Alberta, might just have to take a drive out there with a truck load if things fall in place. Sue and I are driving up to the Bayfield area on the weekend to check out a few places to retire to. One of them is a retirement community that we first saw a couple of years ago and thought this is a beautiful setting in which to live. One of the blogs I follow http://thebayfieldbunch.com/ is written by a current resident of the community. Sue has said she will probably retire herself within the next year but needs to be close to work till then. If the home sells this spring we will have to get a place near St. George in the short term, however, if something good comes up that we can afford we may get it now and just rent a room for the short term. It's all up in the air. Decisions decisions decisions Well it makes life interesting.

Doug.

Finally getting rid of snow

Well what a difference a few days make. The piles of snow are mostly history now and my father who has stopped taking most of the medications he was on before has bounced right back and is 100% better than he was a few days ago. Makes you wonder if we take too many meds. these days. Once you get into your 90's you have to balance the benefits of the drugs vs quality of life. My dad is much happier now that he is not taking the Warfarin. (blood thinner) I got outside today and did some yard cleanup, felt good to be outside. I am in the choir at my church and last Thursday I got busy helping my son repair his bed so missed the choir practise soooo what do they do but decide since I missed the practise they would have me do a solo during service (that will teach me) Anyway I was told this just before the service started oooops Luckily it was a a relatively easy song and my solo wasn't until the 4th verse so I had a chance to learn the tune during the first 3 verses. Hope it was OK. Yesterday Sue and I went to the RV show in Kitchener and met some friends, checked out the new rigs and features, and decided that I liked my rig better than the new ones (at least the ones in my price range.)

Doug.

will it ever warm up?

Yes winter hangs on and that big dump of snow last week is still around as the temps refuse to climb much above freezing. My father is doing better in the hospital and we are hoping he will be coming home again tomorrow. I have spent time on packing things up in anticipation of moving some stuff to a storage unit so we can finally get our house on the market. One good thing is the sun has been shinning brightly these last few days and that seems to raise everyone's spirits. Can't wait to get the rig out and do some camping this spring. Doug.

glad winter is over (I hope)

Sue and I enjoyed our week down in Myrtle Beach. The weather was great sunny and warm and we had a great relaxing time. Saturday morning we hit the road home about 8am and around 10 am while driving through North Carolina got a call from my sister from the hospital again. Seems my father fell early Saturday morning and hit his head, an ambulance was called and he was admitted into the hospital for the fourth time this winter. Seems his meds were way out of wack ..... he was taking too many blood thinners which if left unchecked could have killed him sooo the fall probably was a good thing. He is recovering now and we hope to have him back home again in a few days. Of course this added some urgency to our trip home and so we didn't stop as often as Sue would have liked to visit the outlet malls Oh well I guess that means I'll have to take her again. :-) I have posted a few final pics of our time in Myrtle Beach https://picasaweb.google.com/collindo99/MyrtleBeachMarchBreak##

Doug.

glowing red

yes I am glowing red (from sunburn) but so are the beautiful sunrises we have had everyday here in Myrtle Beach. We certainly lucked out on the weather. Rain was in the forecast for last night or this morning but all we got were a very few clouds and warming temps. Sue has been getting her shopping fix in at the outlet malls and I have visited camping world and best buy. We took in a show last night and today drove down to Brookgreen Gardens... what a pleasant surprise.... The gardens were some old rice plantations bought up by a wealthy New Yorker who had a wife who was a sculpture. They have changed the 9000 acres into a beautiful garden and outdoor sculpture exhibit. We will definitely return. As we missed lunch today because we stayed at the gardens so long we decided to head on out to one of the local all you can eat seafood places....well it was good and plentiful and we had our years quota of King Crab legs, shrimp, salmon etc. prepared every which way. We waddled along the beach this evening to try and work some of it off. :-)
To view pics go to https://picasaweb.google.com/collindo99/MyrtleBeachMarchBreak##

Doug.

Finally Glorious sunshine and warm weather for us

Well it is the March Break in Ontario and Sue and I took off as soon as she could get out of work on Friday. We drove through snow flurries until we got near Erie Pennsylvania then it was a snow storm almost down to Pittsburgh. Passed a few accidents and saw a SUV go off the road behind us (why don't people slow down) but we were OK and kept going all the way to Beckley West Virginia where we grabbed a room for the night. Saturday morning we were on the road again and headed southeast through the mountains still seeing snow on the mountain ridges but it was gone at the lower elevations and the temps were rising. Finally pulled into Myrtle Beach South Carolina to the Jade Tree cove resort. Older smallish 1 bedroom unit but right on the beach with a million dollar view and the temps were up to 20 celcius (high 60's low 70's F) We have started on our sunburns and are enjoying the beach sand relaxing, reading and enjoying the sites. We got a call in the afternoon from someone wanting to know if we would like a $100 gift card and other gifts..........ya right a timeshare presentation. We normally don't partake but we had our allotment of sun for the day so decided to sit through 90 minutes for the gifts. Interesting presentation and they do know how to push all the right buttons but we decided it wasn't for us and were getting ready for the hard sell that comes at the end where they sweeten the pot and presure you.........but suprise we said it wasn't for us and they said well thanks for listening take this form to the office and pick up your gifts. whew what a plesant suprise. So where to spend my $100 prepaid visa card Oh I'm sure Sue will think of something.
We both were up before dawn again (a first for Sue) to watch the sun rise I'll try to get a few photos posted soon. off to work on that sunburn :-)
doug.

On the mend again

I finally have shaken the bug that has had me congested for the last 5 weeks or so. My father is showing great progress and is on the mend. My mother has finally beat the bug as well and my wife is starting to improve. Hopefully with warmer weather all will be back to normal. Being optimistic I have even made reservations at a condo in Myrtle Beach for the march break week. Hopefully far enough south for warmer temps and yet within a hard one days ride if I need to get back home quick.
We are going to put our house up for sale this spring so have started the big job of cleaning out all the "stuff" one accumulates over the years. That is going to take quite a while to do and quite a few trips to the dump I am sure.

Finally starting to clear up.

It seems like I have had this chest thing for ever, but I guess it has been only a couple of weeks. This morning for the first time I didn't wake up coughing and wheezing. I guess the inhalers and antibiotics have finally won. Looking forward to getting dressed and out of the house for the first time in 2 weeks, although the warm temps we had yesterday are gone and it is back to snow and cold. I have been passing the time by reading and have enjoyed following the blogs that are listed on the side panel as well as others. I rarely comment as it always seems anything I'd say has already been said by someone else and they say it so much better. It is nice to dream and look forward to following in others footsteps. (er tire treads). I have learned so much about........well everything......computers, RVing, places to see and things to do. I can't wait for my wife to finally decide to retire and we can start our wanderings throughout North America. (Hopefully before it becomes too expensive)

I'm outa here next year

My Father was released from the hospital yesterday and is now resting comfortably at home. I finally went to the doctor and have congested lungs so am on antibiotics and a puffer. When I look around this year so many friends and relatives have had colds flu or pneumonia that I figure that's it, my last winter for a while here in the cold north. Next year I am definitely heading to warmer parts for the winter months. Even if I do come down with something at least I'll be able to lie out in the warm sun.

Winter of Hospitals

I have been in the hospital more times than I have ever been this winter. My father was in for a week over the Christmas holidays and we had to take him in again last week with a heart attack and pneumonia. He is responding to treatment and improving. My mother visited the ER yesterday with congested lungs but is OK and was released the same day with meds. To make matters worse I have come down with a very bad chest cold so have been unable to visit my folks for the last two days. I am hoping warmer weather is around the corner. Thanks for all the expressions of concern for my parents.

I think I have the Turkey Brain

Well Christmas number two is over.....and another turkey dinner is history. I feel like that guy in the commercial with the Turkey brain from all the left overs. My daughter has winged back to Calgary heavier with presents after a good visit. My father is on the mend, home again and feeling much better. We have had a few minor snow falls all of which only required a shovel but on one of them I hauled out the snow blower as it hadn't been used last year or yet this year. Surprise it started right up and after a short coughing spell starting purring. Boy I am missing not heading down south this year and reading all the blogs of those who have just adds to the funk I am in. Oh well maybe Sue and I can get away for the March break down to Myrtle Beach which is only a day and 1/2 drive south. Won't take the trailer however, I know a friend who has a number of time shares which I might be able to rent. Well off to go out and sit in the hot tub. I can at least have the warm water if not the warm air outside.
Doug.

gearing up for Christmas number 2

Christmas was a bit different this year as I had to call an ambulance for my father on Dec. 23 He had a cold that moved down into his chest and made him quite stuffed up. On a 93 year old that is not a good thing so off to the hospital where he was for a full week. This kinda changed our Christmas plans as the number of people coming to our house for Christmas dinner kept changing. Oh well a smaller group this year only 12 but a good time non the less. My father is now home and on the mend but a week in the hospital takes a toll on a 93 year old and it will take some time to get back to normal. I will be staying around Ontario this winter to help with caring for him. Now to Christmas number 2..... my daughter who lives in Calgary now has never missed a Christmas before but had to work this year sooooo she is flying in on Jan. 10th and my wife assured her that we would have a Christmas with her then, sooooo, that means all the decorations stay up and we will be having another Christmas dinner while she is here. I hope the weather co-operates and she has a good flight into Kitchener with no major snow storms to contend with.
Hasn't been bad here so far this winter. I still haven't used the snow blower once yet this season.
To all a very Happy New Year
Doug.