Night Sky

I aways loved walking the dogs at night when we were at RiverBend Motorcoach Resort.

The streets were rarely traveled after 9 PM and the rare car or golf cart never went very fast. 

Sure, there were critters - we did have a panther sighting on a wildlife cam, and I'm sure there were bobcats. We often saw armadillos - they drove my big dogs crazy! 

But, I still felt safe. 

The roads were lit well enough with some street lamps,

but not too many,

and none too bright. 

The stars shone over us all, 

Such bigness out there.

And me, a mere speck!

 

Memories/Memorials

Waaaayyyy back when, in January 2014, we spent a few nights on our RV at the Ft Clinch State Park in northern Florida. We met a charming woman. Claudia, and her dog, Tater.  We chatted a few times as we were often out walking our dogs. 

In 2017 we visited RiverBend Motorcoach RV Resort near LaBelle, FL. While we were driving through the resort I saw a woman walking her dog. They looked familiar. I rolled down the window and called out, "Claudia?" She turned. She was the woman I had met 3 years before! Just another example of how small our world really is. 

We bought a lot at the resort and over the next few years we became friends. We visited at the dog park. We enjoyed meals and Happy Hours together. Claudia and her husband revamped their RV lot and installed this fantastic 'rock' in the shape of a dog. Everyone loved it. 

Last year Claudia lost a battle with cancer. It's hard to imagine that such a vibrant woman is gone. 

Today, while walking around RiverBend, I saw the rock outside the dog park. Evidently Claudia's husband had it moved as a memorial. It's so touching. A plaque at its base says, "You're Forever in our Heart". The 'dog' has a collar with an angel tag on it. 

Sweet memories of a wonderful woman who loved RiverBend and her beloved dog. RIP Claudia. 

Back to The Bend

This morning we loaded the last bits and pieces onto the RV. We are ready for a road trip!

I took off in the car as I had a morning appointment with a podiatrist in Brooksville, about 45 minutes from our home. He's in the same practice as the hand surgeon. 

The Mister dealt with the last dribs and drabs, locked everything up, and turned south in the RV. 

There happens to be a Hobby Lobby store a few miles from the podiatrist, and I was a wee bit early, so I ran in to get a painting canvas for a project.  I hope to get it finished this week. I'll share then. 

The podiatrist wasn't very encouraging. I was hoping for something beyond, "Arthritis is the cause of your pain." I was hoping to hear, "Oh, I have an easy fix!" He had me purchase orthotics that he feels are the most supportive, and gave me a list of recommended shoes (the Hoka sneakers I wear daily are on his list. We talked about injections. I've had them a few times with varying results. I'm willing to try again and will probably do so in a few weeks. The doctor mentioned two possible surgical solutions, but at this point in time I'm hesitant - I think the arthritis is more extensive, and fixing one area won't provide enough relief for the entire foot/ankle.

After leaving the office I continued south and stopped by the solar electric company to make our final payment on the system they have just installed. In this coming new year we will be getting most of our power from solar panels on the roof of our barn. 

I continued further south and had smooth sailing until I reached the Sarasota area. Traffic was snarled. I could only drive in first or second gear, with constant starts/stops. It was all very annoying and tiring.  The Mister was a few miles behind me in the motorhome and we occasionally chatted on our cell phones (whined about the traffic). 

Just before Venice, FL, traffic cleared, but at this point I hopped off the Interstate to stop in and see a friend of ours. I set my timer for 20 minutes. I enjoyed a brief respite to the trip. It was great to see her...and of course, I didn't think of taking pictures! 

The Mister got ahead of me at this point, and beat me to RiverBend Motorcoach Resort near LaBelle, FL We rented a friend's lot and will be here for a week. We used to own a lot in this resort, and have always loved it here. 

 I took the girls out for a walk when we arrived, and later before bed time. 

There are a lot of good smells around, they tell me!

 

Seafood Lunch

Things are slowing down at RiverBend Motorcoach Resort as more and more folks crank up their engines and head to cooler climates. We will be here until the end of May, then will head to Rochester, NY for my high school reunion.

I mentioned the seafood lunches in my last post, and said I'd write more about them. The lunches are amazing because of the quality of the food, and the fact that it all happens because of volunteers. The chef and his wife used to own a seafood restaurant in Rhode Island. They began offering lunch every other Friday as a service to our community. He runs the kitchen and she manages the "front of the house" and the orders.

Early in the season I contacted Chef's wife. "I'd like to help," I said. She indicted she had more than enough volunteers already. I was heartbroken. Then, at the last minute, one of her "beverage" gals had sciatica (it's tough getting old), and I was "IN"!! I wandered from table to table, offering glasses of tea or water or more ice. I did this a few times and then they needed help in the kitchen, at double the pay! Both "jobs" are great fun, but in some ways I think I prefer the "behind the scenes" tasks.

For the last seafood lunch of the season I had the opportunity to work in the kitchen, again. My job was to place the uncooked seafood in small plastic bins for the chef. The orders were brought in by the "waitresses" (more volunteers), a post-it note was created listing the dishes needed for each order and I'd take the note and place fish in one bin, scallops in another, shrimp in a third and so forth for each ticket, and stack the bins. Then, I'd stack the bins for each order and place them on a platform above the chef. He'd take the orders and soak the food in batter, then drop it into the large pan of breading.

Chef would stir the food in the crumbs, then turn around and put the items in a fryer basket. (Some of the seafood is also baked in a small oven.) Chef also fries 150 pounds of French fries!

While orders are coming in, and food is being prepared, orders also come in for "Chowdah".  On average, 20 gallons of chowder is served for lunch, or in take-out containers for dinner. My friend who dishes out the chowder also prepares pieces of key lime pie for dessert.

Once fries and seafood are done, they are emptied into stainless pans (on the left in the picture below) and the guy in blue "plates" the food. The gal next to him places paper plates out for him, puts on a small cup of coleslaw and a lemon. Do you see the mountain of stacked paper plates behind her? Usually 275-300 plates are served at each lunch!

Food for each ticket is plated, and handed off to be placed on a server's tray. 

The bus"boys" scramble for each French fry that drops on the tray!

We don't get fed until everyone is served, and the smell of all of that food is almost maddening!

The food is then whisked out the door to the appropriate table. 

I had such a great time working the seafood lunches this season. The guests from the resort love the food. Each year we hope that "chef" and his wife are willing to cook lunches for the resort again!

Coming to Camp

I'm going to step back in time a bit... back to this winter.

I tell people that living at RiverBend Motorcoach Resort is like being at camp... without the enforced rest hour! They are quick to add that we also have access to alcohol!

Here is part of an "end of season" poem that I wrote last year:

This year we had Bunco and Bingo and of course, pickleball too

Zumba, line dancing, and karate, which did you do?

We had Croquet, and Crafting and Chicks with sticks

And yoga, and water volley ball, how does one pick?

People went fishing and boating and floated in the pool

Some folks read books, while others helped at the school.

The days are filled with all kinds of activities, and often there are several things happening at one time. It's hard to choose!

This year I was president of the Creations Guild, so much of my time was spent organizing classes, revising schedules and doing other Guild stuff. I didn't play as much Pickleball as I'd like... maybe next year! I didn't get to bocce ball at all, and I didn't do corn hole. I stopped by a few times to watch on my way from one thing to another and the group seemed like they were having a great time. I played Mahjongg two or three times a week, and I did do morning yoga a few times, but I missed out on water aerobics. Everyone said that was great. I did get some sewing projects completed, but there are still a bunch to be done. I brought my hammered dulcimer with us from California and I attended a 3-day workshop in Mt. Dora. That was awesome. I try to practice a bit just about every day. 

My end of season poem for this year included:

If it’s Monday it’s pizza and some Fridays it’s fish,

Bar food on Wednesdays is always delish.

And on Tuesdays and Thursdays we can buy a great lunch, 

And on Saturdays we eat with the Breakfast bunch.

Some Fridays the food trucks are parked out in the yard
Philly cheesesteak, wings or seafood, the choice is so hard.

Cattlemen’s dinner was another special treat

Piling our plates with far more than one person could eat.

We’ve enjoyed some catered meals, and some pot lucks as well
I’ve gained a few pounds and my diet’s gone to Hell.

The amazing thing about RiverBend is how people volunteer to do just about everything. I think the "culture of volunteerism" is what makes this place special. I was lucky enough to be able to help out with the seafood lunches on Fridays. (More about that on the next post... maybe!)

As I write, "camp" has come to a close. In March and April more and more coaches went out the gates. Fewer activities were held each week, and by now almost nothing is going on. However, I am finding the slower pace is actually pretty darn nice... it is almost like having that enforced rest hour!

Here are a few pictures of us having fun this year!

I can't wait for everyone to come back in the fall!

Westward Ho!

... and so the journey begins!

Yesterday we parked the Airstream (the Silver Bubble) on the street next to our motorhome (Big Red) and transferred clothing, canned goods and more. Since our resort does not allow pull-behind campers, we took it to our storage garage for the night. We could plug it in there and get the refrigerator cold so we could transfer items from the motorhome to the Silver Bubble. Scott drove Big Red down today, I backed the Silver Bubble out, and we installed the motorhome in her summer quarters.

Tonight we are at a local campground in LaBelle, FL. It is fairly new and has a lot that travelers like about campgrounds. The sites are all covered in pavers (is it coincidental that the owner's oldest son manages the local paver company owned by his family?!) The sites are flat and access roads are adequate. There is a man-made pond/lake in the center of the campground with a nice pavered walk all the way around. Many sites front on the lake. This is a 55+ Mecca for snowbirds. The owner said they are generally full all winter, and they are building more sites. It will be a lovely park when plantings mature.

Knowing I have a penchant for bursting into song and changing words to fit the occasion... sing along with me… 

(Leaving on a Jet Plane)

The coach house is packed,

We’re ready to go,

There is so much in there, we could barely shut the door,

We’ve had so much fun it’s hard to say goodbye.

But the kids are calling,

They want their mom

The grand kids are bawlin’

It’s time to go home,

Already we’re so tired

We could cry….

So next year we will see you

We’ll have fun with things we’ll do

You’ll think of us like we will think of you

We’re leaving on our Airstream

RiverBend is an amazing  dream

It’s gonna get hot, we surely have to go….

(A Long, Long Way to Tipperary)

It’s a long way to California,

It’s a long way to go.

It’s a long way to California

To see the grand kids at their home.

Goodby, RiverBend

Farewell to all our friends.

It’s a long, long way to California

Soon we’ll be where summer never ends.

(See You in September)

We’ll be far away each and every night

We’ll miss RiverBend, it is such a delight;

Bye-bye, so long, farewell.

Bye-bye, so long.

See you in November,

See you when the summer's through.

Here we are (bye, friends, goodbye)

Saying goodbye from the road (bye, friends, goodbye)

Our trip to another home (bye, friends, bye, friends)

Is taking us away (bye, friends, goodbye)

We’ll have a good time but remember

Our travels give us things to think of

And we’ll see you in November

‘Cause RiverBend’s the place we love

(counting all the days ’til we come back)

(counting the miles and plotting our track )

Bye, friends, goodbye

Bye, friends, goodbye

Bye, friends, goodbye (bye-bye, so long, farewell)

Bye, friends, goodbye (bye-bye, so long)

Energizer Bunny

It took a few weeks for me to recover from the "gift" I received from my wonderful grandchildren - like the little Drummer Boy they had nothing to give... so they gave us their colds! Recovery was slow; it came day by day. My ears continue to be clogged. They snap and crackle and I feel like I have water in my ears from swimming. But, most importantly, I have my energy back!! Hooray!

My days are very, very busy! A typical day goes something like this:

7:45-ish: Walk the dogs. If I walk the perimeter of the RV resort it is just over 1.1 miles. Some days I don't have the wherewithal do go all the way around, but other days I take twists and turns to add steps to my walk. Gypsy is thriving on our new regimen. She has lost a few pounds and is keeping them off. Wish I could do the same! I know that Tucker has had enough of a walk when he stops pulling on the leash!

9:00-ish: Ride my bike down to the Nature Center (our craft center) to participate in some sort of craft class. I am either the student or the teacher. I have already taught the "Mystery Quilt" classes, and a cloth basket class. When no class is scheduled I might be working on one of my quilting projects.

This is the beginning of Week 3 of the Mystery Quilt.

No one knows why the "Nature Center" was originally constructed,  but over the years it has become the crafting area. Sadly, it has screen windows covered in plastic and no heat or A/C. Some days this winter it has been darn right cold!

11:00-ish: Head to the Pickleball courts and teach a beginner class. I have experienced twinges of tennis elbow, so I am taking it easy. I have only played a few games since before Christmas, and those that I have played, I have played with my off hand. Sometimes after pickle ball I head back to the motorhome; I squeeze into my bathing suit and head to the pool for a few laps... and a shower.

Afterwards, I head to the motorhome to take the dogs out. Some days I tie them outside, which they dearly love, and enjoy my lunch while reading a magazine or a book.

12:45: If it is a Monday, Wednesday or Friday I hop on my bike and head to the club house to play Mahjong. I am just learning but I love the game. This week I won three games in a row; it had nothing to do with skill and everything to do with luck!

4:00: Take the dogs to "Yappy Hour" at the dog park. Sometimes most days Tucker gets in trouble for chasing the other dogs. Or, Gypsy gets in trouble for defending her "little" brother. We have begun to take the dogs before everyone arrives, or later, after most of the dogs are tired. Tucker's herding instincts just can't be curbed!

One of the puppy dads had treats to give out at Yappy Hour.
It was amazing how well behaved the dogs were as they waited a turn to get their treats.

Other days bring other activities:

• The Bocce ball courts have just been redone. Bocce is on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.
• I have played water volley ball. That's on Thursday afternoons.
• Line dancing is on Tuesday mornings. We also have the opportunity to do yoga or Zumba in the mornings. 
• Mr. Dreamy races RC (Radio Controlled) cars on an amazing race track. He also participates in a garden railroad club.
• Tuesday nights are movie nights.
• We often have entertainment on Friday or Saturday evenings. 
• Ping-Pong will begin next week on Monday and Wednesday at 10:00 AM
• BINGO is played every Monday evening. I am probably not going to participate this year. I get too tense as I'm waiting for someone to yell out "BINGO"! and I didn't win once last year.
• Bunco is played every other week on Thursday evenings.
• Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings mean pizza, burgers or wings, respectively.
• .... and the list goes on!

This year Mr. Dreamy decided to get a boat. The resort is on the Caloosahatchee River and has slips for mooring boats. The boat was purchased before Christmas but because of a monumental goof-up by the dealer we didn't get it registered until this week. Now we can enjoy going out on the river,... but we will have to find the time to do that!

It's Not the End at RiverBend!

I haven't posted in a while due to Internet issues we experience when we are on the road. Most campgrounds now have WiFi, but all of the campers collectively are trying to suck a swimming pool worth of connectivity through a garden hose. We get a trickle at best.

However, now we have Internet at the new house. We don't have much in the way of furniture... but we can get online!

So, I will go back in time to a few days following Irma's landfall in Florida on September 11. There were 13 residents of the RV resort who weathered the storm in the resort's clubhouse. They soon were without power and water, and cell phone connectivity was sketchy. However, we did get reports that all was well. There was little structural damage throughout the resort, no flooding and only the plant life was damaged by the storm. Within a few days staff from the resort took pictures of each of the 315 lots and set up a drop box online so that residents who were far away could see their property.

These are pictures from our lot:

 

The Royal Palm (on the left) lost most of its fronds. However, one of the onsite managers said that within a few days he could see new growth coming up on the Royals. Our Bismarck Palm (center) is very droopy and looks like it lost fronds. The fan-like palm on the right has some fronds broken in the middle. I wish I could have been there when the picture was taken. It would have been interesting to see if straightening the bent fronds and splinting them would have kept the fronds alive. 

The center part of the picture with all of the leaves (and a stray pot) was actually just sand. This area used to be grass and we had pavers installed in all but this one area, where we planned to put in some fake grass sod. We may have to add some more sand before we get around to adding our "grass". 

Considering all of the trees that are behind us, this pile of limbs is not all that impressive.  I had nightmares that the tree would fall in the storm. The tree was one of the reasons we picked this particular lot. We like the shade it provides!

This view of the back of the lot shows more damage with fallen limbs in the foreground and by the oak. That oak 3' or more in diameter and it seems to have lost a lot of smaller limbs. It isn't on our property, and may not even be on the resort's property. We had intended to clean up around it anyway, our cleanup just may be a bit more extensive!

In June we had pavers installed on our property wanted a paver walkway behind our "coach house" (storage building). The original shrubs were removed as they had grown tall and leggy, and were in the way of the pavers.  We replaced the shrubs with Podocarpus. This one is leaning. It looks like at least one of the shrubs was broken. 

Our coach house sustained no visible damage. But, it is strange to see the neighbor's coach house. We will have to give the podocarpus some time to recover, grow and bush out.

This is a shot of our neighbor's property and his storage cabinet. It is possible that the cabinet caused some of the damage to the shrubs we had planted in the spring. 

Our 

The Aftermath

We watched in horror as Hurricane Irma slammed into Marco Island on the gulf coast of Florida. This was expected but being a dreamer, I always hold out hope for a last minute change. In the week before the storm as I watched projections, I had finally begun to relax as I saw that Irma was going to skirt along the western edge of Florida, the projections inching ever so slowly westward. But as we watched, Irma took a turn to the east, bearing down on the RV resort that we call home. NO! This wasn’t the last minute change I wanted. She wasn’t supposed to go that way!  What was left of the eye of the storm, now Category 2,  passed right over the resort. 

The RV Resort is just west of Labelle, FL.
This is a screen shot of the storm on Sunday at 8:29 EDT

There were 11 (or was it 13?) residents of the resort who stayed and rode out the storm in the club house, which was built as a hurricane shelter. 

We received a few updates on FaceBook:

Sunday 6:28 PM “The eye will pass over Ft. Myers in the next 1-2 hrs. Wind about 70 mph here at 6:15PM. Big tree blew down in front of the clubhouse but because wind was from east fell away from clubhouse. Power went out 2 1/2 hours ago. The emergency gen started but did not transfer power to the clubhouse. Lots of debris. Lakes over flowing.”

Sunday 9:09 PM “We’re OK here but we got clobbered. Will let u know when we can see tomorrow.”

Monday 3:31 PM “… sometime after 6:30 the worse of the storm went by. We had gusts in excess of 100 mph, you could not see through the rain going sideways out the back windows of the clubhouse. These gusts I believed did the most damage. They tore at already weakened trees, bushes, awnings and anything round. We watched as leaves disappeared from tops of trees and branches continued to fall. When we went out this morning, it explains why there was so much more damage then they saw around 3:30. The Royals, bigger trees uprooted, some awnings completed torn from coach houses not just the canvas. It will be a massive clean up job.”

We have had a few more reports and some pictures. One property owner was able to share pictures on Facebook. 

Another property owner managed to upload some videos showing damage in Fort Myers and at our resort. How comforting for us to see so much that wasn't damaged, but how sad to see the trees.

We are all anxious to see our individual lots to reassure ourselves that everything is OK. All of this will come, in time, as power is restored. 

But, the good news is that we are safe and our friends are safe. Life is good!

Let the Chips Fall Where They May

Most of you know that we have sold our house. It has been a long 10+ weeks of getting ready. First we had to sort through our things for an estate sale. Then we had to sort through our things and decide what we are going to keep, what we are going to give away, what we are going to take to our RV lot at RiverBend in Florida, and what will go into storage pending the location of a home with a craft place for me and a workshop space for the Mr. In addition to the sorting and packing, we had to fix things. We have had paint cans all around. We have been busy with screwdrivers and hammers. We have hired helpers for inside and outside. Life has been crazy. 

Now that the house is sold and the inspection is past (although we have not passed), we have a bit of a lull before movers arrive on August 21. I have had a chance to attack the "Do Not Sell" shelves and weed out things that were stored there very carefully in the beginning, and then not so carefully, and then things that were just chucked into the corner. As I was once again sorting I came across my paint chips! Oh, yeah. I am supposed to be doing something creative with some sort of medium using these colors predominately. 

As a member (and I think I agreed to be Vice President) of the RiverBend Creations Guild I came up with the brilliant idea to have an art show. I dubbed it the PaintChip Challenge. It sounded like a wonderful idea in the coming of spring and all of the new-found energy that comes with that change of weather. It still sounds like fun, but it is also sounding like work!

So, the idea of the challenge is that folks go to a store with Glidden paints and select the called upon paint chips. (Dapper Tan 10YY 55/163, Racy Red 64RR 12/436, Luscious Moss 70GY 27/154, Gold Strike 20YY 46/425) Then, using whatever their choice of artsy stuff is, they are to come up with a piece for our show in January. 

Since I was sorting through things that go to 'wherever we land', and things that need to go to Florida, I thought to myself, "Self, it might be a good idea to find some fabrics in your bins that are destined to go 'wherever we land' and pick out the colors that closely match the paint chips. so you can have them with you in Florida."  I looked in this bin and found some pinky-reds. I looked in another bin and found some greens, and so forth. I ran down to the local quilting shop to pick up something that was "Dapper Tan". 

Ta-Da.....  here are the results 

Now, what to make of it? I'll have miles and miles to imagine and sketch ideas and dream about this project as we head towards 'Wherever we land'. And, of course, I will do a show and tell whenever I finish my project. And, of course, you will hear all about the PaintChip Challenge at RiverBend, and how all of that works out.

Never say Never

We have only three days remaining of our month at RiverBend RV Resort. We have enjoyed a lovely winter respite here, near Fort Myers, FL. The resort is small enough that I am beginning to recognize people and remember some of their names! I play pickleball and Mr. Dreamy has played with RC cars at the race track. I sew with friends at "The Nature Center" (no one knows why it is called that) where I rented a storage space and can conveniently stash all of my sewing gear. Mr Dreamy and I have even become hooked on Bocce. We ride our bikes all over the place. The resort has pizza night, and burger night, and an incredible seafood lunch every other week. They have music events, and movies, and BUNCO and BINGO. What's not to like?
Early on, we Dreamers would comment about some of the pretty lots (all are privately owned. Many have beautiful landscaping). We would talk about about how nice it would be to own a lot.... but not for us. It would be too impractical to live in Colorado and drive so far for winter stays. The lots are expensive. The HOA fees add up. There are taxes to pay, costs while you stay (all of those pizza dinners add up!!) and it just wouldn't work. Would it???

Well, certainly not. 

Not if we only came here one or two months of the year. It would be far cheaper to rent.

Well, certainly not. 

Not only would we pay taxes in Colorado, but we'd have to pay taxes here.

Well, certainly not.

We surely could find something like this closer to home.

Well, certainly not.

We'd be too far from our kids.

But....

We like it here!

But....

What if THIS became our "home"?

• There is no State income tax in Florida. 
• The difference in the personal property tax on our motorhome alone would pay most of the HOA fees at the resort.
• The Fort Myers airport is 38 minutes away. The Miami airport is one hour and 16 minutes away. 
• We were preparing to move out of Colorado anyway, as Mr. Dreamy has been having difficulties breathing at high altitudes. Now we can live in Florida and explore our beautiful country to determine where we want to establish a home base. 

Today we are putting in a bid on one of the lots. If that one doesn't work, there are others we like. We have reservations at another RV resort until March 10, and we are going to an RV Rally at Lake Okeechobee beginning on April 2. We were wondering what we should do between those dates. Perhaps we will be enjoying time on our own little piece of Florida swampland as we do all of the things we need to do to establish Florida residency.

Interesting times ahead!