Every now and then I just stop blogging....Our life, at times can be boring and I feel y'all don't want to hear about it.
We've certainly had our share of rain and it's ok! It is not snow....but it does make for boring days unless we drive a gazillion miles for entertainment. We read, play games, watch movies and grumble just like other folks..I guess you'd call it RV fever...LOL
Today is a sunny, bright day and Jim is working so I'm catching up on the laundry and planning meals. Why is it when you have a fridge full of food you can't find anything you want to eat?
This past Friday we went into St Augustine for a doctor appointment. Jim had a few more lesions burned off and had them look at some new spots. Of course having them burned off is painful and takes some time to heal Jim claims it's better than using the cream. A couple of our friends used it and one blogged about it...not pretty and quite uncomfortable.
While we were in the 'big' city we did some shopping too stopping at Dianne's and Michael's and having lunch at Panera Breads. I wandered through Big Lot's while Jim wandered through Harbor Freight. Didn't buy anything except coffee creamer.
We're thinking of not going to Key West after our visit to Tampa. Florida campgrounds are expensive and even though we can stay at the Naval Base in Key West it will cost to much to get there and come back north. We'll probably stay awhile in the Tampa area and explore some. There's a lot we haven't seen.
After that, who knows! We'll be heading north and leaving Florida but future stops have yet to be determined. Cedar Key perhaps?
35 days
- 3,024,000 seconds
- 50,400 minutes
- 840 hours
- 35 days
- 5 weeks
Our destination Saturday was Ft Matanzas but we had to make some stops along the way. The day was lovely and during the course of the afternoon I heard many people express this many times.
After breakfast and doing the morning chores we dressed and headed to St Augustine. Our first stop was Bed, Bath and Beyond. For Veterans they had 20 percent off your entire purchase so we decided to see what they had that we couldn't live without. I found some serving pieces to go with our new silverware (more on that in another post) and we found a rug that fit the front door entry...have to laugh, we don't have a back door!
Next I dashed into Michael's right next door for some crafting supplies and Horehound drops for Jim. I picked some up last time we were here and he likes them...
Next we headed to Verizon to see if the screen protectors for Jim's phone were in stock....they were.
Whew all this shopping makes you hungry! Across the street was a Carrabba's so we popped in for a wonderful lunch. Jim had Sangria and I had Chianti to drink with the delicious bread and olive oil they supply you with while waiting for our meal. Jim ordered a shrimp Alfredo dish and I had linguine with tomatoes, mushrooms, artichokes and garlic. I brought a lot home and they gave me another loaf of bread to eat with it!
Then it was off to Diane's Natural Market for some coffee creamer. I'm not sure why, but they always give me a hard time with coupons!
Now that the shopping is out of the way we headed for the coast. Driving south on A1A is always enjoyable and before long we were pulling into Ft Matanzas National Monument By the way, there is no charge to enter
After a short, free ferry ride we disembarked to tour this well preserved fort. I think this is the smallest fort I've ever seen. It's 50 feet on either side with a 30 foot tower. Only seven men were assigned here. One officer, four infantrymen and two gunners. The brochure say up to 50 men could be here during a crisis...I think it would be standing room only!
I have to admit the view from all four sides would keep me entertained.
After the tour we headed across the street to the beach. there was a northeast wind blowing and the waves were pretty
Continuing down A1A we stopped in at this gallery because of this guy out front. He is a huge driftwood sculpture
Head here to see more pictures of sculptures Of course not all of them are at this gallery. But if we had a yard I'd be tempted to buy one.
After drooling over the artworks inside and outside we hopped back into the truck, heading south and stopped in at Washington Gardens State Park. No camping here but it's great for gatherings and picnics. Great park on both sides of the highway. Access to the intracoastal waterway on the west for fishing and the Atlantic for the ocean
By now we're about done for the day so we headed further south on A1A to Flagler Beach where it looked like something was happening...cars and people everywhere! We just kept driving heading west and going home.
Sunday Jim woke up with an infection in his mouth. It really looked like someone punched him and it would have been comical except he was in pain also. Still he went to work and I planned mushy foods for him to eat.
The Saints played the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football and we watched until they pulled Drew Brees from the game. We looked and looked but couldn't see Sonsearae and Chris in the crowd! They went over to New Orleans for the weekend to see the game and to have fun with friends who happen to be Cowboy fans.
122 days
- 10,540,800 seconds
- 175,680 minutes
- 2928 hours
- 122 days
- 17 weeks (rounded down)
Hurricane season officially began June 1st and here in Florida we got it started with a bang! Tropical storm Andrea formed in the Gulf as a low pressure system and gathered strength enough to get named. We had several days of intermittent rain and yesterday was mostly rain. As the TS was battering the West Coast town of Cedar Key we were in St Augustine attending to business. To me it looked like the center of the storm went ashore just north of Cedar Key. For pictures and information, check out Pat's blog, Every Miles a Memory, http://everymilesamemory.com/blog/
As I type this the sun is out and we have sunny skies,not a cloud to be seen. I haven't checked the weather, but I'm sure the worst of it is over for us, as this system heads north up the Atlantic coast.
We checked the weather before we left at 1000 and Jim decided there would be no danger to our awning so we left it out. My only concern was possible streets flooding. As we got to the intersection of hwy 309 and 17 we were directed to turn right instead of left to get to St Augustine. There had been an accident and all traffic was being rerouted by law enforcement officers standing in the pouring rain, some with no hats! And let me tell you the detour was through some country back roads and without guidance I'm not sure we could have made our way on our own! At every turn was this drenched officer pointing the way. I guess they don't have detour signs in this area!
Finally after 15 to 20 minutes we were back on Highway 17 and heading to the turn off for St Augustine. Normally we wouldn't go out in heavy rains but Jim had a doctor's appointment and we had made plans for shopping and having lunch. Other than the detour we encountered no other problems.
Our first stop was Camping World as Jim needed some sewer supplies for the rig. After that we headed to a restaurant we saw on a previous visit for a Japanese Hibachi lunch....it was closed and only opens for dinner. So we checked the phone and found another and it's closed permanently....Jim asked if we could eat elsewhere and apparently from my disappointed tone he decided to find a Japanese restaurant!
So we continued to drive around in the rain retracing our route and ending up back near Camping World. I'm not sure how many miles we drove in a complete circle to arrive at Sushi Bistro but it was well worth the drive and we both enjoyed our lunch very much. No hibachi tables but our meals were from the hibachi menu. I had a cucumber roll (I really miss sushi) and a veggie tofu dish. Jim had shrimp and scallops. Both meals came with soup, salad and fried rice. We had hot green tea to drink. The only thing we didn't eat was my fried rice which I brought home.
Next stop was Diane's Natural Market for my coffee cream and other items I can't get in our area. This market is small and expensive but I don't usually buy much there.
Our next stop was Jim's appointment. He needed to talk to a doctor about his GERD. The problem is not resolved and his meds are about to be finished. He had a good visit and likes this doctor who scheduled him for an endoscopy next week to see what's going on.
After this we headed home and arrived just before 1700...Boo was really happy to see us and once I fed him he calmed down. We had a cup of coffee and decided to skip the Thursday night pot luck. The rains had mostly stopped by then with just a few light showers passing through.
People pay the doctor for his trouble; for his kindness they still remain in his debt. ~Seneca
Do you like to cook? I do and I try to put tasty meals on the table. From the weight we've gained I think I'm doing ok :-) I make a lot of food from scratch trying to avoid packaged foods. I love my veggies which leads me to making broth! I keep all my scraps until I have about two cups worth and then I cook them. Of course you can use whole carrots, onions, celery etc but I keep the stems from mushrooms, skins and tops from onions, celery leaves, stems from parsley...whatever bits and pieces to make broth.
Once you've gathered all the ingredients cover with water and add peppercorns, bay leaf, a clove or two and bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for about an hour. You let it cool and remove all the spent veggies. Viola!
I use my broth to 'fry' any onions etc for recipes instead of oil. I also use it in my morning smoothies made with vegetables. My Vita Mix makes excellent drinks!
We went to St Augustine to go to a Seafood Festival. the drive was interesting because it was so windy! The route we take has a lot of farm fields and they were losing a lot of sand? soil? whatever you call it, it was like a dustbowl out there! Along the way we saw Texas Longhorn cattle, Wood Storks and before we left Welaka, Sandhill Cranes.
As we approached the the area where the festival was being held we ran into traffic and as we drove around looking for a parking spot we discovered everyone was at the festival! I'm not sure how long or far we searched for a spot to park our black beastie but it was a no go...so we just kept driving and stopped for a pizza and beer for lunch.
After lunch we went shopping. Stopping at Diane's Natural Market, Camping World and Bed Bath and Beyond. The drive home was less windy and Boo was happy to see us.
After everything was put away we settled in with our afternoon coffee and peach pie while Boo had his dinner. No I didn't make the pie.....it's from Schwan's but it is very tasty. It's Terry Browns fault!!! She told me they were good a couple years ago in the Rio Grande Valley.
