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April 30, 2016.....Saturday 

Today is our last day here in Orlando.in the morning Richard, Jack & Jan went to a golf lesson at a nearby golf course. I didn't want to go, my golfing needs more than one lesson! I stayed home and got our laundry done. They said the lesson was very helpful, giving them one on one tips. In the afternoon, the guys watched a race on TV. Jan went to watch her grandsons at the motor cross track where they practice. I didn't want to sit out in the sun there, it was an extremely hot, humid day. I decided to go do  some supply shopping for the trip. I was backing out of the driveway very slowly because it is a very busy street, and I felt a bump...sure enough I hit into the telephone pole right by the side of the driveway!! oh lord I thought, not again. Luckily the bike rack is on the back of our car so it just pushed it in slightly. Of course Richard was not to pleased when I got around to telling him!! Oh well that's why there are erasers on pencils! Later we went to the park pool we were at yesterday. It was very refreshing, and we did some water aerobics . We went to church in the evening, came home and again had a delicious meal and played cards.

April 29, 2016..... Friday

We spent the morning and part of the afternoon around the house. Jan did some gardening and Richard & Jack worked on the motor for their boat. Me, I sat in the screened porch and did some coloring, & watching the little lizards (which are everywhere in Florida)  climbing on the screens. I tried to get a picture. Actually they are only about 2inches long. It looks a lot bigger in the picture. I hate them! I know they are more afraid of humans and they run fast when a person appears, they still give me the creeps, I think they are UGGG.....LY!!! The lake is like glass, it is hot and very still out, no breeze to speak of. Later in the afternoon Jan and I went to a neighborhood park pool. The water was so refreshing! We had a good supper....porkchops on the grill along with potatoes onions &peppers also n the grill yummy!! Played cards later.

April 28, 2016

We decided to go golfing today. We had a great time, but it really got hot , was in low 90's. But we played 18 holes anyway ( I only played 9, I was Richards caddy for the back 9.) It was early afternoon when we finished. Richard and Jack went to Ocala about an hour away to pick up something Richard bought from a private owner for his Jeep, so Jan & I went to do some shopping, of course. We went to this huge mall, it was gigantic ! We did a lot of walking and only covered a small portion of it. We ran into a bad storm on the way back, lightning, thunder and downpour's, and we were on an expressway, but Jan did great driving Jack's truck. Thank goodness I wasn't driving!! We got home and the guys came in about 5 min later. We had a good meal then played cards.

April 27,2016.....Wednesday

We left W P Franklin campsite and started for Orlando. It was nice travel weather it's abut 200 miles, a little over 4hrs. We arrived at the "J & J" resort  in the afternoon . The owners were outside with their famous "vacancy" sign, gave us a god laugh! Jan had prepared a delicious meal and we spent the rest of the day chatting and catching up and playing cards.

April 26, 2016....Tuesday

We did some supply shopping in the morning  then we went to spend the day again at the Wiggins park beach. Another warm, sunny day. We had a great, relaxing beach day. In fact it was really hot. I put my chair right down by the shore to keep cool, the waves hitting my feet kept me comfortable. Richard did some metal detecting. He found 25cents and a little metal car which he gave to a little boy. His mom thanked him and said that was nice of him. He also had his "beach nap". This was our last Florida beach day this trip. So I'm glad we had these two really warm beach days.Tomorrow we head back to central Florida to The "J & J resort" (Jack & Jan's)  in Orlando. 

April 24 & 25....Sunday & Monday

We had a great weather travel day, as we left Port St. Lucie for our next site. It is about a 200 mile, around 4hrs. Drive to Alva,FL to another core of Enginers campsite , W P  Franklin. We were here 3years ago. We got the RV all hooked up and Richard found the NASCAR race on tv, so I relaxed by the water which we are right next to, under a palm tree and did some reading. I even had a little nap out there. Later we took a drive to check out the beaches which are about 45min away. We are now on the gulf water side of Florida, not far from Naples.  We will be here 3 nights, two full days.hopefully we will have warm beach days.

Monday .. We woke to a sunny, warm day, so off to the beach we went! A beach we liked last time we were here is Delnore-Wiggins state park. The parking is great with a short walk on a wooden boardwalk to the beach. It has fine sand and low waves. The water was surprising warm. We spent the afternoon there, a perfect beach day! We ran into rain on the way home and it rained most of the night, but not storms just light rain showers

April 23.......Saturday

Saturday is our last day here at Port St Lucie. In the morning we went to this store we had seen on the way to the beach called"Natical but Nice". It is a huge interesting shop, located next to the flea market which Richard went to while I browsed the shop. There were a lot of interesting things. I got a neat piece of drift wood for my little yard beach at home. It was a beautiful day, just a light breeze. We went to the beach which was crowded, especially being that it was a Saturday. The water was great! A lot of kids playing along the shore, people swimming,  surfers were riding the waves. It was a perfect beach day, of course......it was our last day here!! Oh well, we can't control the weather. I hated to leave,  but we had to go to church. After church we treated ourself to dinner at a Cracker Barrell. Tomorrow we leave for our next stop.

April 21 & 22... Thursday & Friday

Thursday was still very windy we knew if it was that windy at the Çampground  it would  be twice as windy at the beach. So we decided to go play golf. We found a golf course with reasonable rates. We had a great afternoon, it was perfect golf weather the sun was out and the breeze felt good. Richard did pretty good, me not so. We thought the breeze died down a little, so we decided to try the beach again. We changed clothes and started out for the beach and then the weather changed again, the sky started to cloud up. We sure didn't want to be on the beach during a storm (although I think it would be neat to see) so we turned around and went home. Turns out it only "sprinkled". But we were outside playing cards and we met some nice people who had their boat docked here. They sold their house and bought the boat , and travel on the water full time. It is a huge boat, but I can't imagine living on a boat as a home! But "to each their own".

Friday we did a little shopping in the morning. It was still pretty windy, but I still wanted to go to the beach, that's why we came to Florida after all!! Richard thought we should go play golf instead, but he gave in to me. The parking lot was almost empty  but I still wanted to go on the beach.  Boy was I wrong. Not only was it super windy at the beach, but it was blowing parallel to the shore and the sand was blowing! We stayed only about 20 min. The beach was pretty empty , I could see why. When we got back to the car, we had sand everywhere. I even had sand in my teeth!! So richard won,we went and played golf and we had a great time. I actually did pretty good, I had a few good shots. Richard did good too. After golf we went to "sonny's barbecue" which we heard about. The ribs were delicious! The one picture is of a turtle we saw just taking his time walking in the Çampground.

Wednesday

We did some sight-seeing in the morning. It still was windy, but we went we went to the beach anyway. Still red flags flying. Waves were also still strong. We sure are not having very many hot, sunny Florida beach days this trip.On the way we saw these two twin palm trees that were growing at the same angle. Most palms grow straight up. I thought they were so unusual that I took the picture. While at the beach Richard spotted a women wearing the same bathing suit I had on also her hair looked like mine, he thought she looked like me, so he took her picture. I guess there is a slight resemblance, but I would like her long legs !! ha-ha

April 19 & 20, 2016......Tuesday & Wednesday

Tuesday morning we did some errands, post office etc. it was rather windy, but since we really haven't had a lot of warm, sunny beach time, we headed for the beach. Waves were strong, red flags were flying. There were a few really experienced  surfers braving the waves, but the lifeguards were making sure people were staying in the water near the shoreline. We spent the afternoon there anyway. When we got back "home", we were unloading the car and realized we didn't have our cooler bag that we carry our food in! Richard remembered putting it on the bike rack on the back of the car while he was brushing sand off his feet. So, you guessed it, we got back in the car and went back to the beach (about a half hour away) we figured it probably fell of somewhere along the way, but we had to see for ourselves. If it fell off in the parking lot, somebody might have picked it up thinking maybe there was something of value in there because it looks more like a beach bag than a cooler. They would be surprised to find only food in it! Well we didn't see it along the road (it is bright orange, it would be hard to miss) we got back to the parking lot and to our surprise, there it was sitting on the grass right near where we were parked!! Some kind person put it there because it would have fallen off as we backed up out of our parking spot. There are a lot of good people in the world. In the times we live in , I don't think I would have touched a suspicious bag in a parking lot., but that's just me. Picture is off the famous bag!!

April 18,2016 ....Monday

Monday was a nice sunny day, low 80's but extremely windy on the beach, red flags were flying, no swimming.. But we enjoyed sitting on the beach anyway. The waves were very strong and large, but surprisingly there was quite a few people on the beach. Richard took his usual beach nap and I even dozed off for a while, but I woke myself up by snoring!! I was so embarrassed, I shocked myself, but I don't think anyone around us heard me because the waves were so loud,thank goodness!! It got rather chilly, the wind increased. So we decided to go to the laundromat and get the laundry done. 

April 16 ..Saturday & 17 ... Sunday

Guess who won.....Saturday morning we went to a flea market. It was large and we did a lot of walking. I didn't find anything interesting, but Richard found a lighthouse for outside in our yard at home. He had been looking for one. An old fellow had it with a lot of other "junk". He wanted $125. Of course Richard wasn't going to pay his asking price. He haggled with him back and forth, on and off for about an hour.   The guy went down to $80, Richard said no way, he said he would give him $60, the guy said $70, still no way, then $65, Richard started to walk away and the guy finally agreed to the $60. It needs to be cleaned up and a little repair, but Richard was satisfied that he got his price!  We saw a Baskin-Robbins on the way back, so we treated ourselves to Sunday's. We went to church later in the evening, and then it started raining. We went back to our RV and played cards.

Sunday was a "laid-back" day. Richard made breakfast outside on the griddle, sausage & eggs, yummy! He wanted to watch the NASCAR race which he was able to pick-up on our tv. I sat outside at our campsite by the water and watched the boats come through the locks and did some reading. After the race we went and played a game of mini golf, which is not far from the Çampground. Guess who won....... He sure did!! 48 to my 65... Par was 51.

April 14,2016 ...Thursday & April 15...Friday

Thursday was definitely not a good beach day the sky was overcast and thunderstorms were predicted. So we decided to go check out some other area beaches, as to where they were and what the parking situation was. As I have mentioned in the past, beach parking is really important to us. We are too old to half to walk a long distance lugging our beach supplies, although we pretty much have it slimmed down as to what we carry. We went to Juno Beach and Jupiter Beach, which had a lighthouse. The Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse. On past Florida trips, Richard had climbed several lighthouses, so of course he had to take the tour of this one! He even got a certificate saying that he climbed the 105 steps. He took some great pictures. The tour was about 45 minutes long. I on the other hand was quite comfortable sitting by the water in a chair watching boats go by. The sun actually came out for a while and there was a nice breeze. 

Friday... It was again overcast. So we did some sightseeing. It was early afternoon and the sun came out, so we decided to head to the beach. We changed clothes, got our beach gear and started off. Well we got about 10 minutes from the beach and sure enough.....the sky turned dark! So we turned around and headed back to the motorhome. And you guessed it, when we got near the campsite, the sun came back out! But we didn't chance it again. 

April 12, 2016 ...Tuesday & 13.. Wednesday

We finally made it to the beach!! It was a beautiful, sunny day with a lite ocean breeze, a perfect beach day! The water was a little choppy and yellow caution flags were flying. Luckily we found a close parking spot at Jensen Beach it is about half an hour from our campsite. We have been there previous years. In the afternoon, while sitting on the beach enjoying the waves, I was also watching several kids playing in the water, not far from the shore.I heard one of the kids holler help and I thought to myself that he really should not be goofing around yelling help like that in the water. Then all of a sudden two lifeguards in a four wheeler pulled up right alongside by us and got out running in the water by the kids I was watching! They were able to pull them to shore and everyone on the beach started clapping. The kids looked to be about 11-12 years old. As the lifeguards got back to their 4wheeler, I asked what happened. They said the kids got caught in a rip-tide current and weren't able to swim free!! And I thought they were just goofing around, some lifeguard I would make!!! After that they put up 2 red "no swimming" signs  by where we were. That sure was our excitement for the day. I am just so very glad those two little boys were pulled safe.

Wednesday...we enjoyed another beautiful beach day. No excitement rescue today, thank goodness! We thought we had better take advantage of the beautiful clear day because there are thunder storms in the forcast for the next few days, unfortunately. It was really hot, in fact the sand was so hot Richard hurt his feet walking on it. (I was smart and wore my beach shoes.......just saying!!)There were red flags flying which meant no swimming, because of possible rip-tides. So people were just in the water along the shore area. The water was not real cold either, it was refreshing to walk in.

April 10, 2016.....SUNDAY

Well we left Jack & Jan's in Orlando. We had a great time visiting with them, but we had reservations at Port St.Lucie, a COE campground, in Stuart,FL. It was a beautiful travel day. It was only about a 3hour drive. We arrived early afternoon. We like this Çampground, we have been here twice before. It is a small area only 9 RV 

Sites right by the water near the locks, so we see a lot of big pleasure boats going by. This will be our "home"for the next 2 weeks. Because it is a small campground, it is hard to reserve a site. Richard got these reservations about 6 months ago.   

April 11, 2016...... Monday 

We had a good nites  sleep. We were able to have the windows open and there was a nice breeze off the water. We went into the town to do some shopping as we were out of supplies. Then we checked out the area beaches. It was already too late to have a beach day, which was good because the beaches were flying black flags because it was very windy and huge, choppy waves. Tomorrow is supposed to be less windy.

April 9,2016......Saturday

First of all I forgot to mention yesterday that well on the golf course, we were able to see the rocket launch! It was from a distance, but we were able to follow the white vapor from it into the clouds. Of all the times we've been in Florida, this was the first time we actually saw a rocket go up, so it was really special!

 

Well Saturday was a very busy day. We started out the morning by having breakfast made by Richard out on our griddle, bacon & eggs. It was quite yummy! (See picture) . Then Jan & I went to a large farmers market in the town of Winter Park, about 1/2 hour from Orlando. We did a lot of walking, but there were some good food booths. Richard & Jack went to some sort of Jeep rally. They said it was pretty good......it must have been, because they spent about 3hours there. Later I did our laundry while Jan did some gardening. Richard decided to do a little fishing, but after no "nibbles " he realized he had the wrong type of fishing rod & reel. I don't know anything about that, to me a fishing pole is a fishing pole. I didn't think the fish would know the difference, oh well..... We relaxed by the lake then went to church. After church we treated Jan & Jack to dinner to thank them for their hospitality. We went to a restaurant called "Two-J's" we were there last year and the food was really good. It was when we were leaving that I realized I didn't have my drivers license....oh my goodness!! I emptied out my purse, but no luck. I realized I must have lost it at the farmers market. When we got back, Jan found the web site that she had looked up the hours of the market at. There was a phone number and a website. So I left messages at both. Hopefully some honest person will turn it into the city, if not the DMV will be my first stop when we get home. Luckily I don't do much, if any, driving while we are here. Richard drives wherever we go. (He thinks I would get lost if I went by myself.....he is probably right.i

 

April 7 & 8....Thursday & Friday

Thursday was a laid back day. Jan & I did more shopping (of course) Richard and Jack decided to go with us and they checked out some sports stores and auto stores. We spent later down by the lake and played cards in the evening. 

Friday was a busy day. We went to see Jack & Jan's daughter Jacy, she lives in a town (which I forgot the name of) about 45 min from Orlando. We had a nice visit. Later we went to play a round of golf. It was a great golf course which had a lake right along the course with boaters and water skiers! The four of us did the first nine holes...I did a scramble with Richard because I am not a strong golfer, so after we tee off, I play from where his ball lands. The three of them golfed the back nine...we had a great time, in fact they were not able to finish the last two holes because the course was closing. We were the last carts to come in, but a fun time was had by all! By the way, Richard got in on the " Red Nose Day " with a donation.