Winding Down Time

It’s that time of the year that many members are heading north to their summer places and the activities are winding down. Even though, there is still lots going on – eating, shopping and even more time on the water.

It’s Thursday, March 24^th and after Barb comes back from her morning quilting session with the ladies, we load up the boat and head back to the Fish River and go south again to go see what is around that bend! Life is too good, peddling along the river with the sun beating down on us! Using Google Earth to measure our route, we completed a 4.6 Km round trip this time. It was another great ride!

 

Barb’s sewing machine was acting up at the most inappropriate time so we needed a field trip to Pensacola for a consultation! Luck was with us, the previous sales person sold Barb the wrong part! That was a relief, Barb will be able to continue with her projects! Of course, we couldn’t make this trip solely for fabrics etc so we dropped into Harbour Freight! What a neat store! I was in ‘toyland’! After an hour or so off aimless wandering with my mouth gapping, we finally decided on a few things and got back on the route home. Whew, I was exhausted!

Saturday evening we attended the ‘Sundowner’ gathering on the front lawn of a home owner here for a group farewell to many of us heading north. Each of us had to bring a snack to share so the carport was filled with treats and goodies for all pallets! Oh, there we are, eating again! Anyway, lots of chatter and laughs carried us through as darkness fell and we all retreated to our rigs.

We are truly LEOs! 14 of us went to LuLu’s  for lunch to celebrate Monday! Hey, everyone doesn’t like Monday’s so we thought we would salute Monday – what other reason do we need to go out for lunch? We had a table overlooking the inland waterway and the US Coast Guard boarded a pontoon boat to check on papers and jackets etc and we saw a lady drop something over the side – hummmm a little pot maybe? These weren’t kids either! People are always good entertainment!

So, now it’s Tuesday and we’re having ice cream for lunch at a local ice cream parlor! We needed this as we are dining in the clubhouse tonight so we had to keep the kitchen clean! A baby bird – Morning Dove – fell out of its nest on a site behind us and camper put crates around the mom and baby so no one would step on them! As the sun progressed across the sky, the birds kept moving around the crate to keep in the shade. As the evening approached and while no one was looking, they both disappeared. We hope the baby makes it!

Summer here is around the corner. Our senses fill to the top with fragrances and sights of the beautiful Azalea bushes. Trees are almost in full leaf while the Live Oaks are starting to drop their leaves and the new growth shows a new bright green!  Barb says it is raining leaves on our site.

Well, it is roof time again so up I go with the Tilex this time! It made some improvement but not really enough but it will do until I get up there again!

We have been hanging out with new friends, Bill & Ann from upper NY but we won’t hold that against them. We’re having lunches, dinners and just hang’n together and having lots of laughs and fun times. Bill offered me a cleaning product that he thinks will do a better job on the roof. You’ll notice that I am not saying he offered to go up and show me how good it is!

Our time is running out and we wanted to navigate the Magnolia River. We have heard that it is nicer than the Fish River. Saturday is our only opportunity to go – it is breaking our rule of not being on the water during a weekend when all the worker bees are out there! We had to access the river via a creek and once on the main river, we see lots of beautiful homes with docks and decks. Some had to install long board walks to get to their docks through the salt marshes. We went down river toward Weeks Bay and turned around at the big bend before the bay, a 4Km round trip. Another wonderful ride and good exercise – I need something to help me with my young boyish figure!

Well, it’s our last ice cream social at the club house today. Before we do that, the four of us drive over to the Weeks Bay PreservePitcher Plant Bog to view the Pitcher plants in bloom. It was sort of on the way to the Fish River Grill for an early dinner before the social –we had to go to dinner, we were moving the next day and had to keep the kitchen clean! The blossoms are beautiful! The Pitcher Plant is a carnivorous plant but you will learn more from the web site than what I can provide! After walking the board walk in the bog and admiring the plants, we head over to the Fish River Grill only to find they are temporarily closed – how disappointing! Plan B is quickly established and we detour to Big Daddy’s! Good food, cold beer and good service, what more can you ask for?

Monday brings our departure for points north! Several friends stop by to say farewell before we got going. It is always a downer moment for us but we are experiencing the ‘ignition switch twitch’ and it’s time to go!

More about the road trip next time. We hope all is well where you are.