Last day in Tampa

Tomorrow we head out to a new location. A little North, a little East. You'll just have to wait for the location! I can hear thunder so it's probably raining in the bay. The forecast is for rain later

The other day I joined Costco. Always wanted to see inside and compare prices with Sam's Club. We didn't spend much but we brought home some freebies! When I joined they sent coupons and we picked up a free rotisserie chicken and a free 2 pound bag of coffee beans. Three dollars off 2 pounds of chocolate chunk cookies made us both happy. Time will tell if one warehouse is better than the other.

While at the commissary the other day we saw Monk parakeets! We've been here a month and now that we're getting ready to leave we see feral Quakers! By the way the bird is known by both names and is an introduced bird to the US. I used to have one as a pet. I've looked around but I didn't see their nests. They build huge condo style nests. I think they were feeding on the berries on the palm trees. Read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monk_Parakeet

Other birds we've seen here at the campground and throughout the base are: herons, egrets, osprey, wood stork and roseate spoonbills. These are all normal for a coastal area.

Weather

We've had rain almost every day here in Tampa but it was expected. It is summer and these storms pop up. But the rain that is dumping on New Orleans is more than enough for that city. Tropical Storm Lee is making a mess of the Gulf South! But because of Lee we're not getting rain. :) It will make it easier to pack up our belongings and make the rig ready for the road. We leave on Tuesday.

We bought diesel fuel the other day for $3.76 a gallon. Lowest we've seen in awhile, hope it stays down! Also wanted to mention the toll roads in the Tampa area. They don't have toll booths! I'm sure most have the Sun Pass but for tourists and those who can't afford one they just take a picture of your license plate and send you a bill. I guess that's cheaper than hiring folks to take your money at a booth. We got our mail on Wednesday and there was a $3 bill for tolls. There is signage so you can avoid them but when you don't know where you're going it's easier to stay on the toll road.

Instead of buying software for my recipes I decided on a binder system. Software would come with preloaded recipes and for the most part I wouldn't use them. I can print out what I want and just keep it in the binder.

When I got up this morning it was very nice, low 70's and a gentle breeze. Does this mean summer is coming to an end?