Sept 29,2015-Tuesday

Another cloudy,  overcast day! So it was a good day to get the laundry done. : ( . Then we went supply shopping. Around 4:00 the sun actually made an appearance! It was really humid so we went to the pool. The water was really refreshing. We spent the evening watching tv... Real exciting day!!

Sept 28, 2015 - Monday

A Happy Heavenly birthday to my mom who would have been 91 today! Well it started storming last night and continued all day! I mean really down pouring with no let up all day. We could not even get out of the motor home to our car without getting drenched. So we just stayed in and played cards. Finally around 3:00 it seemed to ease up a little, so we decided to go to a mall in Destin. There was a lot of flooding on the streets and it started pouring hard again and we had only been out about 20 min so we thought it best to turn around. We did not want to chance getting stalled out on a flooded street. The news was reporting flooding all around the area. Later in the early evening there was a beautiful rainbow.

Sept 27,2015-Sunday

We went to a "seafood Festival" in Pensicola. There were signs all over advertising it all week. We found out that it is an annual event. When we finally found out where in Pensicola it was, we had to find a parking place. That was a chore! All the parking lots were full as well as the parking places along the streets. We were ready to give up when we found a lot with spaces available. It cost  $10 and we had to walk about 4 blocks to the festival. It was very crowded. There were a lot of seafood booths (hence seafood festival), and a lot of craft booths. It reminded me of the Frankfort fest back home. A LOT of walking and all we bought were root beer floats. It started to get a little overcast and we had to walk back to our car, so we started back. Richard saw a guy on a bike with a cart & a sign saying rides for tips, so he asked the guy to give me a ride. The guy said he could take both of us, so we took him up on it. I felt sorry for him at first, but he said he made over $300 the day before (the festival was a weekend event) we gave him $10, it was worth it not to have to walk that distance back. We just made it to the car and it started to rain. 

Sept 26,2015 - Saturday

Another hot, humid day. We went to the beach of course. The beach flags for the day were yellow,caution rip tides may be present & purple, marine life may be present. Well the rip tides really don't effect us because I just stay at the shoreline and Richard don't go that far out. But there were jellyfish in the water. You could see them floating on top of the waves. In the water they look like a clump of seeweed.they say they don't harm you unless you get too close then they will give you a very painful sting. If someone sees one they usually point it out to other people in the area. A few might get washed on shore (see picture) they are ugly! Those are the only ones we saw on shore. Being the weekend, the beach was pretty full, a lot of kids. Thankfully we didn't hear of anyone being stung. We only stayed at the beach for a few hours because we were going to church at 4:00. After church the Knights of Columbus were holding a spaghetti dinner in the church hall which we went to. It was very good. Bread, salad, spaghetti & meatballs and beverage & dessert. There was bingo afterward. Six games were played with a win of $20 each.the last was a coverall with a win of $50. We didn't win any, but we were sitting at a table with two other couples our age, so it was a good evening. 

Sept 25,2015 - Friday

We have been RVing to Florida for five years now and have been on a lot of beaches, but today we saw our first sand crab! You know the ones with the big eyes that walk sideways. He was by himself and would pop out of a hole in the sand, then "skitter jump" back in. I Don't like them or any other little critters, so I'll be glad not see another one! He was too fast to get his picture.We did see another interesting item. We saw what we called  the "leather lady" her skin was so dark tanned that it was all wrinkled , just like leather. On top of that she looked like a skeleton with a thin layer of leather, really!! We have never seen anyone like that! We thought she must be in her 80's, but her sister said she was just 65, unbelievable!!! We had a nice afternoon , but we left the beach early because they were setting up for a huge concert on the beach tonight. The police were blocking off the parking lot. We showered, changed and went out for pizza.

Sept 24, 2015 - Thursday

We heard about Pensicola Beach  which is only about 40 min away, so we decided to check it out. We weren't quite sure exactly where it was, but every morning on the weather station they would show a picture of the beach with a water tower painted like a beach ball. I really wanted to see that. First the GPS took us downtown Pensicola. We took a different route and it took us to the  entrance of the Pensicola Naval Base. I kept looking for that water tower. Finally after going over a huge bridge (there are a lot of bridges in Florida) I spotted the tower in a distance! We found a pretty close parking place. It also is a white sand beach with Aqua water. Very well maintained. But one problem was that the walk from the parking lot to the water was a very long walk on sand. White sand beaches are pretty, but it is very hard to walk on that fine sand. It is a more popular beach so it was fairly crowded even for a week day. We spent the afternoon there, the water was great, but there wasn't a cloud in the sky and the sun was extremely hot. We sat under an umbrella when not in the water. We had a nice afternoon, but we like "our beach" Navarre Beach which is  five min from the RV park better.

Sept 22, Tuesday & 23, Wednesday (2015)

I've been a little lax in my writing. Tuesday morning Richard again made breakfast out on the griddle, bacon & eggs. It tastes so good outside! We did a little shopping. It again was hot & humid, so of course we went off to the beach. We carried our beach gear down and got all settled. We weren't there but about 1/2 hr when it started to get overcast and we heard thunder. We thought it would pass over (we saw other people coming on to the beach). But then we saw lightning! We knew it was time to pack it up and leave.  So we decided to go to a show. We saw "Everest" in IMAX. It was pretty good except that we had to park a distance & walk in the rain. At least we had an umbrella. 

Wednesday  - Another hot, humid day. We were told that usually this time of the year it is not so humid, but of course because we decided to come in Sept....it's a hot, humid Sept. We spent the day at the beach. There was a nice light breeze by the water and no flies! It was a typical vacation day, just relaxing by the water. The waves weren't very strong, so Richard was able to try out his new raft, the one picture of the truck....a fellow hand made that wooden boat on top!

Sept.21,2015 - Monday

Started the day Ike any ordinary day....doing laundry :(  in the afternoon we went to the beach. We were getting our things out of the car In the parking lot  and a young family was getting their things into their car. I asked how the water was and they told us the water was great, but the flys were horrible, that's why they were leaving. here we go again.....we thought after yesterday being such a nice day at the beach that the flys left...I guess not!! We  didn't  even walk down to the beach. We put our things back in the car and decided to go to the pool at our park. The pool water was great, but we found out that the flys were there also!! Just can't believe this!! By this time it was late afternoon so we changed clothes and went for ice cream!!

Sept.20, 2015-Sunday

Started the day by going to church at St Sylvester church here in Navarre. The Knights of Columbus  had a breakfast afterward. It was a great meal..eggs,pancakes, sausage & bacon. We sat at a table with very nice Florida residents. They made us feel very welcome. We came back to our "Florida home" changed clothes and off to the beach we went! It was another very hot day, but there was a nice slight breeze today and best of all.....NO BLACK FLYS!!! hopefully they are gone for good! The water was really warm. Richard was able to listen to the NASCAR race at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet on the radio, so he was happy. We spent the whole afternoon there. Being that it was the weekend, there were a lot of families. I love watching the little kids playing in the sand & water.

Sept. 19,2015 - Saturday

We found out more about the flys. They are called black flys. When Florida has had several mts of a lot of rain you will first see an abundance of dragon flys (which we have seen)  then come the pesty black flys. They usually stay around for a few weeks, GREAT!! We also have seen several monarch butterfly's which we were told are migrating to Mexico. We had a good Sat. Richard went to a VW & Dune Buggy fest & swap meet in Niceville, FL, about 30 miles from the RV park. He dropped me off at a little strip mall nearby. After that we stopped at a huge flea market nearby. We got a Casio keyboard in excellent condition for $50. I had been looking for one. Richard found a DeWalt radio for $45 which he had wanted. It was a productive day, but a lot of walking. We were going to go to the beach when we got back being that it still was hot & humid, but we were beat and the air conditioning in the MH felt so good so we just stayed in and watched TV.

Sept.17,2015 - Thursday & Sept 18,2015 - Friday

We finally made it to the beach Thursday ! It was hot.....90's & humid ..a perfect beach day. It was not real crowded like it I was when we were here in April and it was spring break. The waves were very strong. Late afternoon a lot of surfers came, we figured they must come after work. Being that it was so hot, I had to keep going in at the water edge to cool off. Well.......richard had gone up by the parking lot to use the bathroom and I went in the water to cool off, that's when a big wave rolled in and knocked me down!!  I had a hard time  trying to stand up as the waves kept coming. I literally had to crawl on my hands & knees to the sand at the edge of the water. There I sat covered in wet sand because there was nothing to hold onto to stand up. I thought I will just wait until Richard comes back to help me up.  When he did get back, he thought I was just sitting there, so he ran into the water. I tried to holler to him that I couldn't get up,but he didn't hear me so I tried to stand up again, I almost made it  and wouldn't you know, not one but two waves one right after the other knocked me right down again!! I felt like a beached whale!! I think I swallowed a gal of salt water!! And I couldn't see because the salt water mixed with my mascara was burning my eyes.  Richard finally saw and realized I needed help. When we made it to our beach chairs , his comment ... Why didn't you just "put your big girl pants on" and get out of the water!! Like what did he think I was trying to do!!! Needless to say that ended our  first beach day!

Friday - We started the day with a good breakfast which Richard made outside on the griddle. It was another hot, humid day, even in the morning. Off we went again to the beach. We got all settled and then the flys came!! I have never in my life seen such pesty, biting flys!  They were horrible! You could see everyone swatting at them, one lady put her chair right in the water, but she said they were still biting. Several people were packing up their things and leaving because of them. One lady told us she had been coming to this beach for several years and never experienced such pesty,biting flys. After a couple of hours, we also gave up and decided to go back to the swimming pool at the RV park. The pool water was really refreshing, in fact the beach water was really warmer. We enjoyed the pool for awhile then got out to relax by the pool and, surprise!! The flys were also there. Several other RVers were at the pool and said the flys had been bad all day. There is no rain in the forecast so we don't know why the flys are so pesty, but I sure hope they are gone tomorrow. We didn't notice them at our motorhome so I guess it must have something to do with water.  In as much as I love the beach I never thought I would leave the beach because of all things .....flys!

Sept.16,2015 - Wednesday

Bummer!! We didn't make it to the beach today and it was a perfect beach day....hot & humid. We were having trouble again with our car starting. Since we depend on our car while we are down here, it was our top priority to solve the problem. So we were able to get an afternoon appt. with the nearest Ford dealer which was in Fort Walton about 30 miles away.The result was, they put a new battery in it. Hopefully we won't have anymore car problems while we are here!! That took up most of the day so tomorrow we WILL make it to the beach! After all we came to Florida to enjoy the beach!!

Sept.15,2015 - Tuesday

Well after approximately 932 miles & 18 driving hours, we arrived at our "home" for the next 30 days at Santa Rosa RV Park in Navarre Florida. The weather here is hot & humid.....typical Florida weather. By time we got all set up it was late afternoon so we just took a jaunt (yes Jake a jaunt) to the beach....yep it was still there with white sand and Aqua water!. Tomorrow hopefully we will. Spend the day there! (Will take pictures tomorrow )

Sept. 14,2015 - Monday

Another good weather travel day & another early start. We left Elkhart, in northern Alabama and arrived in Greensville, in southern Alabama . We drove the length of the state, approx 311 miles.. 6 hrs. Our next stop is at shearling lake park. It's a city park. Each site has a redwood deck & table . We arrived around 3:00. We took the car off the tow dolly and went to a nearby Walmart for a few supplies. It was a nice evening, so we grilled hotdogs outside But then we had company.... Pesty Mosquitos!! So we went inside and played cards.(I won!) By the way we paid $1.87 for gas along the way!! I just looked out the window and it is pitch black outside...that is one thing about state or city parks...it gets very dark at night , all you see is lights from nearby RV's or tents.

Sept.13 - 2015 - Sunday

We woke to a little chilly, but nice weather day to travel. We got an early start. From Whittingham in southern Il, we drove through Kentucky & Tenn to the northern tip of Alabama..Elkmont. Which is about 310 miles a little over 6hrs.  We did hit some light rain along the way.  We spent the night at Mill Creek Çampground . It is a small family owned park. We had stayed here our very first RV trip back in 2011. It is located a ways off the highway in what is called a "holler".we had a relaxing dinner out on the picnic table, payed a game of dominions and watched some TV, surprisingly we had good reception being down in a "holler". (The picture of the spaceship was at one of the rest areas. )

Sept. 12, 2015 - Sat.

Well Paupers Pride is on the road again! This is the first time we are on the road twice in a year. We decided to see if the weather in Florida would be better this time of year than in the spring when we usually go, and since yesterday was our " 50th " wedding anniversary, this would be a nice way to celebrate. The weather was nice , in the 60's but we were not even out of our subdivision when we heard a loud bang! The sliding door to the bedroom (which I forgot to latch) fell off the track! So we had to pull to the side of the road so Richard could put it back on, which was not an easy task. So after about 15 - 20 min. We started out again. After about 1/2 hr later, I remembered that I forgot to return to the library an audio book I was listening to in my car. Since we are going to be gone around 6weeks, I would have a hefty fine. It was a new audio book & there are holds on it, so It could not be renewed. Richard said just have Nancy (our daughter ) return it. I said that would be fine except that it is in my car which we are towing behind us! So when we get to Florida I am going to have to mail it to Nancy to return. ( Leave it to me). When we got to our first rest area, Richard checked the straps holding our car on the tow dolly &saw that the wheels were a little turned. He decided to readjust the car on the dolly, but ..... The car would not even turn over to start!  The battery was dead. He had to get the spare battery he has in the motor home and jump the car. So after he got the car back on the tow dolly, we were back on our way! We made it to our first campsite in Whittington, Il ..about 277 miles which with the delays took us about 6hrs. We stayed here last time. It is right on Rend Lake and is right next to a golf course, which unfortunately  we did not have time to play. Richard said we should get a new battery for my car so it would not give us problems. After we got the motorhome hooked up, we got the car started & went to an Auto Zone nearby. We discovered that there is no way to remove the battery unless by a Ford dealer. The fellow that worked there said several of the newer cars are like that. So we will have to go to a Ford dealer when we get to Florida. It was a long day. We had a light supper, played a game of dominos & called it a night.