It’s Mardis Gras at The Plantation

It’s Mardis Gras Friday at the Plantation. This is the day that the King and Queen are chosen after dinner. It is customary that everyone eats a slice of King cake. A small plastic baby is hidden in 2 slices and whoever eats the slice with the baby, is the King or the Queen. Here at the plantation, we use cupcakes instead of a King cake but all else is observed.

Barb & I were asked to be the Royal Pages for the  Mardis Gras celebrations for 2012. Once we finished our meal, we donned our Royal Page costumes and drifted around the room awaiting the King and Queen to be identified. We then whisked them off to the dressing room so they could change into their Royal robes to be sworn into service for the remainder of Mardis Gras. The excitement is mounting. Ron Phinney and Mary Moubrey found the baby in their cupcakes and we swoop down to escort them off. It is fun being a part of this years celebrations.

As we exit the dressing room, the crowd stands and the band plays As the Saints Come Marching In, what a hoot. We escort them to their thrones and Purple Ray proceeds to ‘swear’ them in and place the crowns on. Ron is taller than Ray so a step ladder was proved so  Ray could reach to place the crown – needless to say that was the first volley! After the ‘coronation’, the King and Queen did the customary parade around the room and handed out beads. Barb & I had to make sure the King and Queen had enough beads to hand out or toss. We settled back at the thrones for an evening of music and dance. It was fun with lots of laughs.

Saturday morning we had to be at the clubhouse early to meet the King and Queen and escort them in for breakfast. Again with the customary parade around the room and once settled, we retrieved their breakfasts from the kitchen without standing in the line – there has to be some perks with this job! The remainder of the day was ours so we went into Pensacola with a few folks to watch one of the many Mardis Gras parades going on.  We arrived a little early – remember the night we went to the Christmas boat parade and also went a little early? Well this was even earlier but a whole lot warmer. Anyway, we have the chairs set up and started the ‘tailgate’ party while we waited for the parade. The crowds descended all around us and the parade made it’s way down the street. The pictures don’t really do it justice – lots of stuff  tossed our way. It did rain a couple of times but the party goes on.

After the parade, we made our way down to Joe Patti’s, a renowned sea food market with fresh catch of just about anything you can think of. It was the biggest and busiest fish market we’ve ever seen. We picked up a filet of Mahi-mahi while others in our group went for the shrimp – they will steam them for you while you wait. We got home in time to unpack the truck and get inside and miss the torrential downpour of rain. We were in a flood warning weather alert and got about 4 inches of rain throughout the day.

 

 

Sunday brought us once again to the ice cream social Mardis Gras style. The staff made Root Beer floats for some and lots of ice cream for the rest. We met the King and Queen out front and the King brought us LED false teeth for the parade through the 200+ guests. We moved through the throngs passing out beads with our teeth flashing! The King was a little over dressed with his fish net stockings and bows of ribbons tied on for more decoration – not sure he needs more but great costume anyway! Lots of good fun for everyone. Once the dust settled, we scurried for their ice cream or floats and managed to get ourselves ice cream too – hey we can eat too. After, the local singing group, The Chenilles  gave us lots of laughter with their attempts to sing and then followed by a couple of humorous skits. Everyone is having a good time. Once the amateurs left the stage, the Wayfarers played a couple of sets until 9PM – whew another busy day.

Today is the parade, lunch and the caned chair auction so y’all come back for more later.

Deck Moving Week

Another week zips by in a blink here at the Plantation. Here are a few pictures of the ice cream social on Sunday. As you can see it is always well attended but we haven’t known a food event that the Escapee SKPs don’t attend! The ladies that crocheted rugs from yarn display their projects and you can also see a few of the canned chairs that will be auctioned off on Monday after our Mardis Gras parade and lunch. There will be 21 chairs in all going on the block – wow.

Monday afternoon, Barb attended her knitting class while I faked going over to cane. I made an excuse to leave the club house and snuck out to buy some roses and a pot of tulips for Barb. After I set them up in the rig, I went back to the club house to finish caning my chair for the auction. All done, even a coat of wax to help protect the finish and it looks really good even if I do say so myself. After we were done and finally arrived back at home, Barb was surprised by my sneakiness.

On Tuesday, the quilting ladies had a Valentine  gift swap that they created for each other. Barb made a fabric flower broach and a bag to keep it in. The ladies here show off their prized gifts to each other. When I am in the club house caning, you can hear the ladies are having a good time – I don’t hear many sewing machines working hard but the ladies…. 

In the evening we celebrated Valentines with a dinner and camaraderie at the clubhouse. As usual, the food was good and the company is always fun.

Wednesday is landscape day on our site and this day we chose to move the deck! We propped it up on 4x4s and used planks as pry bars and inched it out to where we wanted it. Little did we know that it had a ton of blocks under it and a couple of times the deck would get hung up on the blocks. So, we doubled the 4x4s and continued to where we wanted it. Barry came by to help and then we were able to lift one side to about 40 degrees and cleaned out all the block and stuff from underneath. Next was the challenge to lower it without dropping it and try to get it level. We lined up some block along the trailer side and then tried to line up a few on each end. While it was up in the air, why not put some block under the frame at the low end so we wouldn’t have to raise that side to place the blocks in the right spots. Good idea in theory but when we started lowering the deck, it scooted out from under us and slide to the Sage Palm and hit it with a thud. Not our plan! So we inched it back and then started the leveling process at each corner then the centre. Great job by all.

Ouch, oooch – it is tough rolling out of bed today! I think I used muscles I hadn’t used in awhile. Anyway, I’m off to the computer group session this morning and Barb gets to stay home – what a role change that is. The quilting ladies cancelled their sewing today as the clubhouse is busy with Mardis Gras decorating. After the computer group, I came home to finish the deck. We had removed the centre boards and then I could place blocks under the deck frame to stabilize it. The first few were difficult then my darling bride suggested I get OFF the deck to place the blocks. Wow, did that make the job easier! All done and now it is solid and level, I just have to drop and attach the anchors so it hopefully won’t blow away this summer.

It’s Friday and after dinner, we crown the king and queen for this years Mardis Gras celebrations. So, tune in next week to hear and see our few days of excitement. Hope all is well where ever you are.

It’s Coming

This is the second time I have written this blog but the PC operator deleted some files because it was r e a l l y slow and he deleted the draft of this blog. So, lets see if I have any recall at all.

After getting our Mardis Gars decorations, we finally got them up and our site looks a little more festive.

Barb & I have been beating the bushes to see if anyone knows something about digital cameras and the many features they have available to the photographer. We were not successful so we are chairing a collaborative ‘round table’ conversation to see if we as a group can ‘learn’ more about our digitals. On our way back from the office with our poster, we stopped off at Rita & John’s to check out their new window drapes that Barb made for them. They are still happy. A storm looks to be coming our way so we had better get back to the rig – opps to late, about half way home, the clouds opened and the down pour soaked us through, thanks goodness it was warm!

Friday, we take the day off and go over to Weeks Bay Reserve  with Barry & Lorrie. We had a park ranger chat with us about some of the finer points of the park. He mentioned that they recently completed a controlled burn to get rid of dry timber and unwanted ground growth to keep the forest healthy. After wandering around the nature display we venture out onto the boardwalk and of course, lots of conversation. There was lots to see from unusual tree trunk formations, of course Weeks Bay and even a salamander kept an eye on us. Notice the tree trunk growing over the hand rail of the board walk. The blackness of the rail was due to the recent burn but the tree sheltered the rail – that was kinda neat. From the viewing platform, we can see across Weeks Bay to Mobile Bay and have never been out there so why not?

We drove around to Pelican Point, past many nice looking homes – of course, they are looking out onto Mobile Bay. There is not much over at Pelican Point, just a boat launch but another opportunity for us to launch our kayak so maybe another trip there. After all this, it’s time for lunch and a beverage so off we go to Big Daddy’s. We’ve been there many times before and it is a terrific setting, sitting alongside the Fish River watching boats sail by.

Our weeks seem to run together as Barb goes to the clubhouse for sewing, knitting and quilting and I am still working on the rocking chair and making good headway. The back is done using the ‘snowflake’ pattern and I have started the seat caning. It’s the same pattern I used last year that I am familiar with but still use the coaching's of  Bob & Roger.

 

 

 

Tuesday night was the Baldwin Pops concert in Fairhope. Six of us – Pat & Carolyn,  Barry & Lorrie all travelled together and stopped for dinner first at the Old 27 Grill. We had good food and the usual southern service – y’all come back now, ya hear. The concert did not disappoint us, the performance was terrific and over too soon.

 

 

 

Wednesday, I attended a cooking class. We have a professional cook that is conducting classes a couple times a month. Last year I took her Cajun cooking class and learned lots of neat stuff with some good recipes. This class was on crook pot cooking and after some discussion on food quality, where to buy and preparations, we got down to business and started getting ready for a sumptuous lunch. Miss Barbara, our cooking instructor created most of the crook pot recipes in the wee hours of the day so after we finished the prep work, we all sat for a great lunch.

Never let it be said that I am the sharpest knife in the drawer. We brought one of our chairs down for the Mardis Gras Caned Chair auction and I had forgotten it in the shed. Barb reminded me of it and suggested I put a hold on the rocker and get crack’n at the other chair. Have I mentioned that our Mardis Gras celebration is quickly approaching? Thank goodness I don’t need to refinish the chair – I have a secret sauce mixture from Al, a caner last year that cleans the old crude off and revitalizes the existing finish so Sunday, I applied it to the chair. Monday I put another coat on and wiped it down for a beautiful luster so I can start the chair Tuesday.

Wednesday is our landscaping day and we moved some more garden boarder stone out and dug out weeds and roots on an old garden that we didn’t want. We trimmed some bushes and planned a new garden. We probably won’t get all the work done before our departure for home.

Friday, Pat & Carolyn pulled together a lunch trip to McGuires Irish pub in Pensacola. In the end, 40 of us descended on the restaurant at 11:30 for lunch. Most of the people go for their famous bread pudding – me, I went for lunch! We took Barry & Lorrie and Bill and Ann with us so after lunch, we hit the ladies hot spots in Pensacola – Jo-Anns fabircs and A&E fabrics. The guys, well lets say we’re happy just being there.

In all this activity, Barb managed to complete her quilted jacket. It looks great doesn’t it.

 

We hope you are well wherever you are out there…..

Too Much to Do

Time just zips by, so much done and so little said. This may seem disjointed writing but I’m having trouble with my rememberer remembering all the exciting things we have been doing.

Barb is very busy with her crafts and quilting ladies at the clubhouse. I have been busy sanding, staining and applying Varathane to the rocking chair to get ready for my caning lessons. Barb learned how to hook a rug using regular knitting wool and they – yes, I said they, she couldn’t stop at just one, we have 2 new hooked rugs to keep our tootsies snuggly at the sink and to wipe our shoes when we come in the door. They look great don’t they? Barb also learned how to apply and embroidery appliqué to fabric and made a couple of throw pillows for the living room. They look spectacular too. She is sooooo talented!

The design was all hand sewn

You remember we trimmed our Sago Palms and harvested about 30+ ‘pups’? Well, we took two that we liked, gave 5 to the park and offered the rest to anyone who needed Palms. They were gone that day and it helped that Ms Barb (a resident here) came over and took the remainder off our hands so she could plant around the park (she has volunteered to plant and maintain the public gardens in the park and she does an excellent job).

We are getting serious now about getting a new grill (BBQ) since we have a shed to store it in. Our neighbor is able to roll his grill in and out of his shed so we have a new project. Yes, we need more to do so we are building a small deck/porch for the shed so we don’t have to lift the grill in or out. A little plan, a shopping list and off we go. Within the day, we have it all done and anchored in place and ready for use. Now what you ask? Well, off to buy the grill and of course, our first cook out is steaks! Yeah, life is good.

 

Barb & I have been helping a few people having computer problems and learning some new things besides so it works out to be a two way street.

One of the other guys here was teaching how to make bamboo knitting needles so Barb signed me up. She likes her bamboo needles and thought she could save us money if I knew how to make them myself! Isn’t that nice, she is thinking of me and saving us money?

The quilting ladies spent a day fabric hunting in Pensacola. Arrangements had been made to tour a quilting equipment manufacturer, quilt shops, fabric retailers and of course lunch. Apparently, they all had a fun time and I’m sure plans are already in the works for the next one.  I don’t know where we can store all of her new materials.

Barb thought she wasn’t busy enough so she volunteered to make new window drapery for the front window of another Escapee’s motorhome. Barb smoked into it on Saturday morning and burned the midnight oils and finished them early Monday morning before coming to bed! We delivered them Monday afternoon and Bob and I installed them and they are very happy. They are getting the rest of the coach reupholstered but Barb didn’t raise her hand for that one, thank goodness!

 

Of course, there is always a lunch out. Dan & Barb asked if we like sea food and well, you know my line to that so we joined them at Steamers in Gulf Shores. It was good even if you don’t count the dollar draft! Barb had a couple of filets of Mahi Mahi and I had Royal Reds and Mahi Mahi – they had a special on, 6,6 and 6 – 6 oz each of 2 entries and 6 oz of potato or potato salad along with a tossed salad for $7.99, oh, and a dollar for a draft beer! After lunch, Dan & Barb went to the beach with his metal detector looking for his fortune while Barb & I headed back and stopped off at Ole Time Pottery, looking for a couple of planter pots to add to the deck and plant with ‘stuff’. Saw some nice pots but nothing there spoke to us that we needed it so we’re still looking.

Mardis Gras is fast approaching and the planning is moving forward. You can imagine our excitement, so shopping we go to Toomies Mardis Gras store. We had fun trying on lots of masks, hats and even a wig.  We bought wreaths and ornaments to decorate the yard.

We leave you with a few pictures of some of our neighbors that come around every day to say hello. We hope all is well with you where ever you are. If you have comments, please leave you for us.

All that Jazz

Another week of goins on goin on! Barb was off to the clubhouse to do be crafty while I hung out at the rig keeping busy with stuff. I finally started working on the rocking chair that I brought down to learn a new caning pattern. At first glance, I didn’t think it needed a lot of sanding etc to splash a coat or two of varnish on it but upon closer inspection, it need a great deal more attention so the sanding has begun and it’s coming along nicely.

On Friday, we lunched out at the LA BBQ with new friends from ERPU row and met up with another couple of SKPs and had a fun time – what can go wrong, good food and good company always equals a good time.

While Barb was off being crafty, I wired an outlet on the outside of the shed. It wasn’t a big job; I just had to add onto the existing system but again, a little more difficult than first thought. The previous tenants used # 10 wire – a little big for standard outlets, the ground wire was being difficult and wouldn’t stay snug under the ground screw.

Sunday, we tried to upgrade our satellite TV system to HD. I was given an oval dish from a friend back home but it would not capture the signal at all. I tried using our existing dish but could only get a weak signal. After trying a few different permutations, we decided that the plastic LNB holder was not the correct one for our set up and we’ll have to wait for this upgrade until we return back home.

Tuesday was dinner at the clubhouse and free entertainment after. Chuck Stevens sang lots of tunes and sounded like ‘ole Blue Eyes’, Manilow, a little of Willie Nelson and James Taylor. It was very well done and again, a fun time.

Wednesday was the bus trip to the Crescent City, the home of jazz, Creole food, beignets and Mardis Gras – New Orleans. We had a great time, even though it was about our forth time there, there is always something new to see. We left very early – we had to meet at the clubhouse at 6:30AM – I didn’t know clocks had those numbers on them! We arrive in ‘Nawlins’ around 11 and a group of us head out as if we know where we’re going. The first stop was to pick up a muffuletta at the Central Grocery – it was advised we get it early as it is a popular sandwich and could be out if we waited for lunch. Of course, I can eat – after all, we had breakfast at 6AM!

Our next stop was to browse through the French Market . It is a street flea market with lots of stuff, crafts, jewelry and of course, food stops. Walking through the Market, we end up on Barracks Street and turn toward Bourbon Street, the heart of the French Quarter. The architecture is like nowhere else, almost every building fronting on Bourbon Street, has a balcony edged with wrought iron railing. Not sure on how truthful this fact is but these apartments on Bourbon Street rent for as little as $900/week – yikes!

I can't walk and chew gum yet this guy plays 2-3 instruments

Lorna, Barb, Barb, Dan, Gloria, Skip & Ed

One of our group has difficulty walking so it was time for a break and where best but a jazz bar. It must be the time of the year as there was no live entertainment but the bar keep turned on a stereo system to keep us amused – we were the only patrons there. From here, we continued on to Toulouse and turned south toward Jackson Square. We came upon a group of street buskers playing unusual instruments – upside down washtub, a washboard, a suitcase as a drum, the drummer stepped on a ‘hotel desk’ bell as well the conventional string instruments. It was very entertaining and an abstract from the day. We picked up another couple of our travelers at Jackson Square and then headed over to the Café Du Monde for a chicory coffee and beignets – a must stop for anyone coming to New Orleans. On the way, we ‘played’ with a mime, dressed as a cowboy. He wanted a kiss from the girls and to shoot off the private parts of the guys. Our next stop was on the tram and to look over the Mississippi and ‘watch the world go by’. Soon, we were loading back on the buses and on our way back to the Plantation. It was a great day.

We have long time RVing buds in Winnipeg that we email often and had not heard from them in awhile so was sort of thinking maybe they just might come down this way this winter. Well, to our surprise they dropped over for a visit on Sunday and we had a great time with catch up chat and stories. Of course, being Sunday, I’ll stop here as we go to the ice cream social. Hope all is well where you are…..

Wow, it’s over all ready

Well, the last time I posted, we were just finishing with Christmas and getting ready for New Years Eve and anxiously waiting to visit with good friends Dick and Karla  from Minnesota. They are stopping by on their way to their winter spot in Bradenton, Florida. We visited with them this time last year while we were at the Escapees park in Wauchula, Florida. Anyway, the clubhouse was busy again on Boxing Day with a pot luck dinner with all of the favorites from Christmas dinner but Barb & I stayed away, we went to the show instead to see War Horse. It was a good flick and also nice not being so busy!

Thursday, Barb needed some supplies for an upcoming project so we took off after lunch and ran some errands and hit the fabric store! We had planned this trip so we could head over to Bellingrath Gardens to view the Christmas light display which has been reported as the best ever! Naturally, you just know Barb took her camera and I have posted some pictures but as good as they are, they do not show justice to the display of 3 million lights and over 900 separate light strings and 14 different themes! It was simply awesome! Apparently, the staff starts decorating right after Labor Day to have the display ready for the Thanksgiving! It looked like a lot of hard work to put up and maintain but it sure brought in a lot of visitors. We thought being so late in the Christmas season, the crowds would be minimal. Wrong! We do not understand why so many people are always in a rush to ‘run’ through a display such as this! I can’t count how many times we were pushed or bumped by others as they jockeyed for position or rushed to pass by! Tourists!

Here we are on Friday morning and our prepaid cell has just run out of days and we have no way for Dick & Karla to contact us when they arrive! Yikes, it’s not as if the phone doesn’t tell me, I was pivoting around as to whether to change carriers since we have not been happy with the Net10 service! So, a quick dash out to WalMart to check into ‘to change or not to change’! After some discussion with the sales folks, we change to Tracfone (both are run by the same company). It has better features for us so we’ll see! Upon activation, we find it is also a bit cheaper, we got 800 minutes and 425 days for $100! That means no more number changes and no more waiting until the new sim card arrives for service every time we come south! Anyway, we transfer the number so Karla can call us! Whew and just in time as we hear from them about 1ish! They arrive and after a tour of our new site and shed, we settle down for some serious ‘catch up chat’! They’ve had 3 full days of travel (1500+ miles) so the evening ends early after dinner even without a game of Wizard (Karla’s favorite) with plans for tomorrow!

This is the second time we have celebrated New Years Eve with Dick & Karla. We toured around the area and had lunch at the Fish River Grill – I still think they ruined the ambiance when they put wood floors in! We were late having dinner and for the party at the clubhouse but had fun anyway. Auld Lang Syne was sang at 9PM – it must have been midnight somewhere – and we had 10 of us back to the rig for the remainder of the party. Unfortunately, I was to tune the satellite into New York so we could watch Times Square and ring in the new year – well, I mistakenly tuned to a west coast channel and we missed it! Can you say oppsss? I was not the most popular guy in the rig! A good time anyway, being with friends!

January 1st brings all the polar bear dippers out here except it’s called ‘The Dipstick Dip’! At high noon, we – yes, I said we all walked, jumped or dove into the pool and received an ‘Official Dipstick’ certificate for ‘braving the cold (65F) water under a stressful 69F air temperature! After, we all went inside for soup and chili! We had lots of fun and friendship to start the New Year. Down here in the south, it is common to all gather for a serving of ‘Hopping Jon’ with corn bread for lunch for good luck for the upcoming year! So, it was a busy Sunday, dipsticking, soup and chili, hopping jon and then the ice cream social (yes John, more ice cream) – all in a couple of hours! After we finish filling our emaciating bodies, the four of us settle back to our rig for a round of Wizard! Kara says “finally”! As darkness settles in, we drive over to Fairhope to take in the tree lights that adorn the downtown streets of this cute town and then – well, you guessed it, out for dinner! What a day and we were lucky enough to share it with such good friends as Dick & Karla. 2012 is just going to be great!

We hope you were able to start off the New Year with family or friends and we wish you the very best through 2012.