December 31, 2017. Happy 2018!

 

December 31, 2017.  Happy 2018!  So, it is the last day of 2017.  The years go by fast, don't they.  And, the older we get, the faster they go by.  I don't like that.  Why don't they go by faster when we are young and looking forward to Christmas?  Why don't they go faster when we have a lot of them ahead of us.  When we get older, time should slow down.  Old people don't have a lot of years to waste.  Sorry, it is just one of those things I don't understand.

We biked the neighborhood yesterday and walked it today.  We have yet to venture out in the car other than going to the grocery store.  We decided to postpone our trip to Sanibel until the holiday travelers have returned home.  We don't like crowds, you know.

The pictures: another picture of our villa, ibises on a power line, a lone ibis on the same line, view of palm trees, yard ornament, odd photo of the nativity where the wise men are wearing Santa suits, the canal behind the villa with boaters enjoying the 72 degree temperature.

Before you become too envious, the weather dude says it will be colder here next week with daytime temperatures in the 60s and into the 40s overnight.  I know, that probably sounds pretty good to those of you back home.  But, we've come a long way for warm weather.  I guess we'll just have to bundle up.

Happy New Year.  Goodnight. 

December 29, 2017. Villa Jasmin, Cape Coral, FL.

   

December 29, 2017.  Villa Jasmin, Cape Coral, FL.  We are here, 1400 miles from home.  Cape Coral is across the Caloosahatchee River (don't  ask me to pronounce it - it sounds like an Alan Jackson song title to me) from Fort Myers.  We are staying in a home owned by a couple from Germany.  They call it Villa Jasmin.  It is a nice three bedroom villa with a pool.  The lanai screen over the pool was carried off by the winds of hurricane Irma.  The owner has scheduled a replacement but that won't happen while we are here.

The water in the pool was very cold.  I know.  I put on my swimsuit and waded in.  When the water was up to my waist, I decided I would wait until the villa manager showed us how to turn on the pool heater.  With age comes wisdom.

After unloading the car, we went to the nearest grocery store and laid up supplies for the next thirty days.  Annie says it is the most food she has bought in twenty years.  Good.  I am a positive influence on her.  She needs to hang out with me more often.

We are discussing our options for tomorrow.  We talked about going over to Sanibel Island.  However, tomorrow is the beginning of a holiday weekend.  The island may be overrun with holiday tourists.  As of this moment, we aren't sure what we will do, maybe nothing.  That's what vacations are for, isn't it?  I'll let you know.

Goodnight.

December 28, 2017. Two Blogs in One Day - or, Two Days in One Blog.

December 28, 2017.  Two Blogs in One Day - or, Two Days in One Blog.  I know I disappointed at least one of my followers by not publishing last night.  She told me as much.  However, it worked out for the best because neither yesterday nor today were sufficiently interesting to support its own blog.  So, tonight, you get either two blogs in one day, or two days in one blog. 

We left Paducah, KY, yesterday morning expecting to drive 300-400 miles, depending on whether we stayed the night near Atlanta or forged further south in Georgia.  The traffic was terrible all day.  I have no idea where all those people came from or where they were going.  The first back-up was on I-24 between Nashville and Chattanooga.  There were three lanes of stop-and-go for about five miles.  Eventually, we came up on the cause; there was an overturned camper trailer behind a jackknifed tandem truck.  The trailer was still hitched to the truck and the rear wheels of the truck were suspended in the air due to the trailer being on its side.  Fortunately, there appeared to be no injuries, but two of the three lanes were blocked.  

We hit another long stretch of congestion in Chattanooga.  This time, both GPSs told me about the problem in time for me to detour around it.  However, the detour took me miles out of the way and more time was lost.  

The third back-up was in Atlanta - surprise.  Traffic is always backed-up in Atlanta.  The GPSs alerted me in time to get off I-75.  However the rerouting took us through downtown Atlanta, into a dark industrial area highlighted by graffiti on stone walls and a gazillion stop lights.  By the time we emerged, we had had our fill of Atlanta.  We sojourned on to Macon, Georgia before stopping for the night.  We closed the day, 400 miles from Paducah.  

Today, we drove to Tampa, FL, two hours north of our destination.  We took a spin through The Villages, a number of retirement developments south of Ocala.  The various "villages" have a total population of 150,000 residents.  It is one of the largest developments of its kind in the US, spreading over five different zip codes.  The homes range from 1000 square feet for $125,000 to 3000 square feet on a golf course with a pool for $800,000.  There are charter schools and commercial areas with Walmart, CVS, groceries and a movie theater along with any other creature comforts you can imagine.  It would be a nice place to retire to if you don't mind being 1200 miles from your family.  But, I do mind.  We'll be staying close to family.  Maybe someday, some enterprising entrepreneur will build a development like The Villages near home.  

The pictures: Nashville skyline, The Amish Hippie (I have no idea what is sold inside, but the exterior was intriguing), the bowels of Atlanta and the information center at the Georgia-Florida border.  Annie is doing her best Darth Vader imitation next to the NASA astronaut.  And, she is checking out local knowledge about the American Alligator.  She has a thing about alligators as you will recall.  I am hanging with a dolphin.  We were about the same height.  I think he had me by a nose.  

So, as I said, nothing too interesting, but two days strung together make a blog.  

Goodnight.  

December 26, 2017. A Different Kind of Trip, Yet Similar.

December 26, 2017.  A Different Kind of Trip, Yet Similar.  It was 9 degrees this morning and there was a light snow falling as we departed for Fort Myers.  I needed to pull the car forward in the garage so I could mount the bikes on the rear.  The engine cranked a couple of times, then the starter just clicked.  I had a "Jump Starter" portable battery kit and hooked it to the battery.  The car started.  As we drove off in the cold, snowy, early morning, I was confident that the battery would charge as we made our way east.

Two hours later, we stopped at a rest stop.  When I tried to start the car, it was stone dead.  I used the Jump Starter again and we drove to the nearest Walmart.  I have bought several batteries at Walmart and paid about $100 for each.  But, by this time, I was having additional concerns that the problem might be the alternator.  An alternator recharges a battery as the engine runs.  Since the battery was dead after two hours of charging, I thought it could be the battery, the alternator, or both.

The nice man at the service desk told me it would be several hours before they could test the battery.  Of course, I didn't want to wait, so I drove to the nearest auto repair shop.  I was pleased that the service manager got the car into the shop immediately.  Ten minutes later, the mechanic told me that the alternator tested okay, but the battery was shot.  Twenty five minutes after arriving, all that was left to do was to pay for the battery.  The cost was twice what I have paid in the past, $218.22.  But, I didn't mind all that much.  The service manager dropped everything to get me back on the road as quickly as possible.  Time can be more valuable than money. 

With Harvey, we reposed in repair shops all over America and even Vancouver Island.  I thought those days were over.  Oh no, mon frere.  However, 25 minutes in an auto repair shop is much better than 2-3 days in an RV shop.  But, alas, there was a happy ending.  As we left the repair shop, we saw a Five Guys hamburger shop.  We spent as much time there as we spent in the repair shop but to much better effect.

The pictures: Annie has her sun hat on as we pose in the garage before driving off.  Several of the pictures were taken with a flash.  Those show the snowflakes falling as we left  Those without snowflakes were taken with the flash disabled.  We hit more snow in St. Louis.  You have to look carefully, but you can see the famous Arch in one of the pictures as we crossed the Mighty Mississippi.

We are in Paducah, KY, tonight, about 900 miles from our destination.  I will write again when I have something which may interest you.  Until then, Goodnight.

October 18, 2017. Final Blog this Trip. Middlebury, VT.

October 18, 2017.  Final Blog this Trip.  Middlebury, VT.  Today is our final day in New England.  We drove 40 miles north to Middlebury, a town of 8500 in west-central Vermont.  We were there about five years ago to visit the 200-year old Stratford Inn featured on the Newhart television show which ran from 1982 until 1990.  The inn is actually called the Waybury Inn in real life.  The exterior has been painted, I think.  I remember it as being white on the TV show.

Middlebury is also home to Middlebury College, a highly regarded liberal arts school founded by the Congregationalists in 1800.  Many of the churches I've shown you were Congregationalists.  The Congregationalist Church evolved from the early Puritan Church.  Some Puritans objected to the strict dictates from the church hierarchy and separated, creating their own denomination.  New England is flush with Congregationalist churches.  I don't think I have ever seen one in the Midwest.

Otter Creek, one of the few waterways which flows from south to north, cuts through the downtown.  There is an impressive waterfall in the heart of downtown.  There is also a two lane covered bridge over the creek.  Finally, there is a Morgan horse farm on the edge of Middlebury.  It is operated by the University of Vermont.

The walker reminded us both of our friend, Fred.  Fred was a founding member of the Southside Running and Debate Club in the 1970s.  He is now a walker.  The walker shown above sorta looks like Fred from the back.  He even is wearing a Fred hat. 

Middlebury was Annie's idea for our final day.  She chose well.  Oh, and what is a trip to Vermont without a stop at Ben and Jerry's.  The Ben and Jerry's factory is in northern Vermont between Burlington and Montpelier.

We have enjoyed this trip without Harvey.  Harvey hasn't sold yet, so who knows, maybe we will reclaim him and return to the RV life.  Vacation home versus RVs?  I am still not sure which I prefer.

So, until our next trip, this is it.  Thanks for coming along with us.  Our next trip may be a cruise and if it is, I doubt I will blog.  But, who knows.  We'll see.

Until the next time, whenever that is, goodnight.