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.