Two More Weeks Til We Head North

Thought I'd write another stirring blog post while I sit and watch the Spartans attempt to make it into the Final Four. Two weeks from tomorrow will mark the end of our extended stays here in Florida. We plan to stop near Tampa at Lazydays RV campground for a couple nights (April 14th and 15th) to meet up with cousin John Dau who will be in the area for business. After that, the only firm plans are to be in Gaffney, SC on April 28th for our one year coach service and then arrive at Camp Dearborn in Milford, MI on May 6th. 

The last week of our time at Deer Creek was mostly relaxing although I did manage to wax the front and passenger side of the coach. Lisa spent more time at the pool and I did likewise one day. On Saturday, March 8th we went to nearby Citrus Ridge RV Resort for their garage sale and craft bazaar. I bought another red Jeep from some fellow Michiganders. You can see a picture of it below. We went back down to Downtown Disney for more shopping and dinner at the House of Blues that Saturday afternoon and evening. On Sunday, March 9th, we took a ride to Bay Lake RV Resort to check it out as friends, Eddy and Jill, who we met at Newmar, recommended it highly. It was indeed a very nice all class A ownership resort with a beautiful clubhouse and pool, and casitas on some of the sites. It's still under development, but what they have so far is very upscale. The pleasant surprise during this little excursion was unexpectedly running into friends, Joe and Sue, who we originally met in Sevierville and then spent a week with in Williston, FL last November. They were visiting Eddy and Jill (above), and checking out Bay Lake. After Bay Lake we went and checked out Mt. Olive North. Mt. Olive North is a larger and more varied community with everything from simple pads to million dollar homes with million dollar coaches in pull through garages.

Dale's new Jeep

Downtown Disney

Tall people in Downtown Disney for St. Patrick's festivities

On March 13th we pulled out of Deer Creek and drove up to Independence RV in Winter Garden, FL to have them look at one of our hydraulic jacks. It's been leaking of late and, in fact, I pulled the jacks up the last two weeks at Deer Creek as the leak started to get excessive requiring me to sop up the hydraulic fluid daily. Unfortunately, the leak could not be simply repaired, but required that the whole jack assembly be replaced. Independence offered to order a new jack, but it would take 7 to 10 days to get it. We left without  any work being done on the jack. We had three options to pick from: 1) Have North Trail in Fort Myers order the jack and drive the coach nearly 200 miles round trip down to them, 2) Find a reputable local mobile repair facility willing to do the job, or 3) Have Independence order the jack and go back to them on our way north. Decisions, decisions. We spent the night of March 13 in a Walmart in Sun City Center, FL. 

On Friday, March 14th, we pulled into Frog Creek RV Park just north of Palmetto, FL. This is a very friendly park with an active combination of transients and snowbirds. Lisa went to bingo the first night, but came home empty-handed. The park had a community garage sale on Saturday so we walked around. Then we went to the Red Barn Flea Market (large and partially air conditioned) and later to the Ellenton Outlet Mall. The outlet mall has 130 stores and must be very popular as it was packed. That evening we went to the community bonfire where I became all too acquainted with no-see-ums or some other sneaky Florida biters. I was slightly aware of a few bugs around my legs, but nothing that bothersome. For nearly a week afterward I scratched and whined to Lisa who seemed not to be affected. Does this mean I'm sweeter? Lisa doesn't necessarily see it that way. On Thursday, March 20th, we participated in Frog Creek's weekly Scramble Golf outing. They had 11 four person teams. I was lucky enough to be teamed up with very good partners and we managed to take first place at 10 under. We even used several of my drives and shots, so I was a happy camper/golfer that day. Lisa had fun, too, even  though her team finished in the middle of the pack. I played darts that evening and my year+ away from the game showed as I lost both of my games in the double elimination tournament. On Friday, March 21st, we enjoyed a very nice day. We drove out to Anna Maria Island and found a nice place to relax on the beach. After some time on the beach we then drove south through Longboat Key onto Lido Key to Lido Beach. Lisa wanted to relive some memories. See, Lisa was not allowed to go on a 'Spring Break' trip during her senior year. So she and a high school friend had flown down to 'visit the friend's grandma'. Well, we all know how that went. We finished the day off with dinner at a fantastic hidden gem on Longboat Key. The place was called the Dry Dock Waterfront Grill. It was a little hard to find behind a BP gas station, but once you found it, it was obviously very popular. We had to wait a little over an hour to get seated, but it was well worth it for the food and the setting overlooking the Sarasota Bay. We will definitely be back if in the area. Saturday afternoon we walked the Bradenton Riverwalk. Nice public area. Saturday evening found us at the annual 'end of the season' Frog Creek Variety Show. It was actually a lot of fun and the 2-plus hours flew by. 

Our site at Frog Creek between a permanent 'park model' and a new park model

Stopped on the way to Anna Maria Island waiting for the drawbridge to let boats through

On Anna Maria Island

Beach homes on Anna Maria Island

The beach on Anna Maria Island

Traffic lineup getting off Longboat Key near the end of a great beach day

Lisa on Lido Beach

Hidden gem on Longboat Key

Dry dock area attached to the Dry Dock Waterfront Grill

Dry Dock Waterfront Grill

Dale & new 'friends' at the Dry Dock

Easy to miss sign for the Dry Dock located behind a BP gas station

Bradenton Riverwalk

Bradenton Riverwalk going under US 41

The only sink hole (?) we've encountered so far in Florida in a bank parking lot in Bradenton

Anxious crowd waiting for the start of the Frog Creek Variety Show

Re-enactment of Art Linkletter's 'Kids Say the Darndest Things'

On Wednesday, March 26th, we drove up to The Villages for a birthday party for, Cheryl Wheeler and Joe Knoblauch, two of our gang up there, held at Joe and Judy Knoblauch's beautiful new home. Another rousing three table marble tournament ensued after some preparatory conversation and gourmet snacking. We spent the night at Ralph and Lois' home in the Del Webb community just a few miles north of The Villages. The next morning we visited our Canadian friends, Claude and Linda, at Recreation Plantation. We had been notified that they expanded their family since we left. They adopted two little puppies: a Yorkshire Terrier and a Chihuahua. They were indeed very cute and very puppy, and have been keeping Claude and Linda VERY busy. Later that day we golfed with Ralph, Lois, Bob, Cheryl, Joe and Judy at Ralph and Lois' Del Webb Eagle Ridge Golf Course. It was Lisa's first ever shotgun start golf event and my second. Although I was happy with my score, the memorable statistics were once again put down by Lisa. She had not one, but TWO birdies! If you'll remember, this is her second two birdie day in less than a month. She accomplished the same feat on March 1st up in Kissimmee. Lisa, my golf monster! Of course, this meant that Cheryl had to break out her Birdie Juice (aka Cinnamon Schnapps) which she always has on her cart complete with throw away shot cups. Everyone in the group is obligated to partake. That evening the same golf crew went to Ralph and Lois' for a nice dinner and a new-to-us game of 'Pay Me'. Joe was the big winner. On Friday we stopped at our new Florida CPA's office, finalized our taxes and got them shipped off. That's a load off my mind. Glad to get this transition year out of the way. Next year should be a piece of cake. That evening we met Don and Kathy Ilkka for dinner in Mt. Dora for likely the last time before we head north.

The birthday kids: Cheryl and Joe

Serious marble game on Joe & Judy's back porch with its beautiful view

Lisa, Lois, Cheryl & Judy

Joe, Ralph, Dale & Bob

The cart lineup awaiting the shotgun start at Eagle Ridge 

Birdie Juice to celebrate Lisa's first birdie

Birdie Juice left for the guys at the tee after the gals celebration

Relatively rare white pelicans on Eagle Ridge

Well, I started this post out with the hopes of seeing three Big Ten teams in the Final Four, but alas, only Wisconsin will carry the Big Ten torch down to Texas. Go Wisconsin!

Life Near Mickey

OK, starting with this blog entry I am going to change the writing style. As most of you have probably figured out I (Dale) write this nonsense. Lisa convinced me it might be more natural and easier for me to generally write from 'my' perspective rather than 'our' perspective. The disadvantage to this is that when I describe one of my bonehead maneuvers, it'll bring it closer to home as I talk about it. When I used to refer to 'Dale' performing this or that less than admirable maneuver, it was like I was talking about someone else. Now we'll all know who 'I' is. Oh well, here goes.

I know it sounds like a broken record, but once again time has flown by. We have less than a week left in our month of living just 20 minutes from Mickey and the rest of Disney World. While our stay hasn't quite lived up to the lively expectations the first night might have suggested, we have enjoyed our time here very much. Deer Creek RV Golf Resort is an ownership park where several lots and homes are available for rent either directly from the lot owner or through the resort management office. We went through the resort office. There are 5 sections to the development. The first four sections are a mix of motorhomes, fifth wheels, travel trailers and park model trailers.The newest section, Regal Pointe, is where we're staying and is restricted to Class A motorhomes. I really appreciated getting back onto a nice clean pad to park the motorhome. And being a complete brick paver pad, as are all of the pads in Regal Pointe, has been a first for us. The outside of the coach stays much cleaner as well as the interior since we're not tracking in dirt and grass. We could get used to this 'clean' living. Besides cleanliness, Deer Creek also has good electricity. No funny power business like Recreation Plantation. And the water pressure is the highest we've encountered so far, about 80 psi. This meant I had to use the (cheap) water pressure regulator (aka cork) I bought early-on in our adventure just in case we encountered such a high pressure situation. I learned cheap is sometimes just that, CHEAP!! Our wonderful water pressure regulator did such a good job of protecting our water system that the washing machine faulted out and shut down for lack of water. The cork (aka water pressure regulator) took us down to something less than 40 psi. That, combined with the fact we are 8 months into the life of our original factory whole house water filter, resulted in a relative trickle inside the coach. So, our first adventure in Davenport found us heading off to the Kissimmee Camping World (and Sams Club just because it was there). I bought an adjustable pressure regulator this time with a built-in pressure gage. Installed it, dialed up to 60 psi, and Voila! plenty of pressure for showers and keeping the washing machine happy. What a wonderful invention! Over the next three weeks we watched a lot of Winter Olympics, rode bikes around Deer Creek, and generally enjoyed being in a very nice park. Lisa spent a few hours relaxing by and in our Regal Pointe pool and hot tub. I joined her on a few occasions, but spent much of my time on paperwork and more tax prep. I managed to find time to whack at a few balls at the onsite driving range and once again convinced myself that I should never step foot on a golf course.

Lisa took a picture of her pedicure at our Regal Pointe pool

That wonderful adjustable water pressure regulator

One of the more memorable outings we did manage to fit in was a trip to Safari Wilderness in Lakeland on February 19th. Lisa found a Groupon for half price admission. This is the kind of excursion we always looked for when traveling with Kristy and Kelly. They always got a big kick out of seeing animals and we loved watching their expressions. But how would it be without them? Actually, we thoroughly enjoyed it. Our guide, Kathy, was enthusiastic about the mission of the sanctuary and extremely knowledgable. Unfortunately, my memory is anything but a steel trap and I won't have a chance of regurgitating the names of all of the cool animals we saw. They had two main habitats: Africa and Asia. Each contained animals related to those regions. We got to feed Asian water buffaloes right from the safari truck. Lisa got a picture or two of their long blue/purple tongue that would come out to latch onto the feed pellet. After the nearly two hour driving tour was over our Groupon included the additional cost option to feed the lemurs. And what did we feed them you ask? Nice sticky grape pieces. The reason the experience was so sticky is that we had to tear each grape into at least four pieces as the whole grape was too large for the lemur to eat. Have you ever torn apart a grape with your bear hands? How about several without washing in between? Try it. Alright, I'm not really complaining. It was actually very cool having them take the grape from you with their little hands (paws?) and then lick at least some of the juice off your fingers. There must have been at least a dozen vying for your attention and grape pieces.

The photographer wandering before the tour

In front of our tour bus

Wait for me! I'm supposed to be on that bus!

Hey Buddy! Just try and make us move off this road. Ever seen a llama spit?

I'm going to go check these guys out.

Watch it! I've got my eye on you!

This is what happens to your horns when you stick your hoof in a light socket.

Ain't he cute? Warthogs rule!

African cattle

Will that be one hump or two?

Asian Water Buffalo

Dueling tongues

Can I tell you a secret?

Gazelle 

Z-donk's: cross between a zebra and a donkey

Feeding the Lemurs

On Thursday, February 20th we locked up the BBB and headed to Kissimmee for two nights with our friends, Gary and Linda Moore, who were staying in a timeshare at Westgate Vacation Villas. Some of you who have been following our blog from the beginning might recall that Gary and Linda were our first overnight guests in the BBB while we were camped up in Gaylord, MI. We spent some time catching up and then they made us a nice dinner. Their reward for making us dinner was to have us teach them a new game. You guessed it: Marbles. A great time was had by all. Well, at least for the guys. I don't want to brag or anything, but Gary and I won all three games. We finally called it a night at 2 AM. The next day we introduced them to Florida flea markets. After 3 markets with mostly the same stuff we went back to their place empty handed. That Friday evening we drove up to Leesburg to meet our Recreation Plantation friends, Lori and Paul, and, Linda and Claude, at the always excellent Oakwood Smokehouse and Grill. And just to ensure we all had too much to eat for the evening, we went next door to the Perkins afterward for dessert. It was great to see them once again. Back at Gary and Linda's another intense round of marbles ensued. Alas, the guys could not remain undefeated. Lisa and Linda won the second game. Again, I don't want to brag, but the guys still got 2 out of 3. Stayed up till 2 AM again.

Oakwood Smokehouse and Grill

On Saturday, February 22nd, we headed back to Deer Creek to receive a visitor. Kathy Chrzanowski, a friend from St. Matthew in Walled Lake, was passing through the area on her way to Naples. Kathy had gone to India on a mission trip with our Pastor Paul Moldenhauer late last year, so it was neat hearing about the trip firsthand. We had been on the road by the time they made the trip. Although it would be too long to relate the story here, it gave us goosebumps hearing about at least one 'godcidence' from the mission trip. Kathy had been Kristy's confirmation leader and had children the same age as ours, so it was also good to exchange kid updates. After a nice two hour visit she headed down the road to Naples.

Lisa and Kathy Chrzanowski

On Tuesday, the 25th, we golfed at Kissimmee Golf Club with Gary and Linda. It was a fun day and not as bad as my earlier experience at the driving range might have indicated. Although the course was in good shape and we all had some nice shots here and there, the most memorable part of the day was the airstrip immediately adjacent to the golf course. Lots of small planes taking off and landing, even a couple of cool old yellow warplanes practicing taking off in pairs and flying in formation. The pilots would even wave at us at they went by. Finished the day with dinner at a nearby sports bar.

Lisa, Dale, Linda, and Gary

On Saturday, March 1st, we golfed at the Orange Lake Resort Legends Walk Course. It's an Arnold Palmer designed Par 3 course. Lisa was ON her game. She shot a 34 on the par 27 course including her first birdie of the day. Although I had fun, my scores won't be quoted here. Suffice it to say, Lisa took me to school. Our GroupGolfer certificate gave us unlimited golf for the day. So we played a second round, then headed over to Universal's City Walk for some shopping and dinner. After dinner we came back to the golf course for a first. We played golf at night. That's right, the Walk Course is lit for nighttime play. The person on duty during the day suggested that we might see the Disney Epcot fireworks from the course if we got there at the right time. We got there at the suggested time, but never saw the fireworks. No big deal. However, the big deal was that Lisa was on her game again and followed her daytime birdie with a nighttime birdie. Double high five!! It was definitely a unique experience golfing at night, but Lisa and I decided our accuracy needs to improve. Although the course is lit, it's only lit where one is supposed to hit the ball. That's a problem when the balls don't glow.

Lisa's first birdie of the day from where she's standing!

Yeah, I think I can do this.

Nighttime golf at the Orange Lake Legends Walk Course

We golfed again Monday, March 3rd. This time we played Fairways Country Club in eastern Orlando. Although we enjoyed the day we won't be back. It was lined in several cases with homes too close to the fairway. Fortunately, we only banged one ball off a house. No broken glass, but Lisa yelled sorry. It didn't appear anyone was home. The coolest part of the day was seeing a bald eagle on the course. Lisa got the best picture she could with her small purse camera.

Brave herons!

Bald eagle on golf course in the left of the shot

Course heckler

This shows why we were uncomfortable on this course and this wasn't the worst example.