September 28,2016- Wednesday

Like I have started almost every post this trip, another hot, humid day! Today we went to a beach a little farther down the road. The parking seemed closer to the water, but there was no boardwalk so the walk to the water was all sand. It was the pretty white, fine sand but it is very hard to walk in. I wish someone would invent a "sand shoe" on the order of a snow shoe, to make it easier to walk in the sand. Maybe I should and become a millionaire!! The waves were stronger today so no relaxing on the raft for Richard. There was a nice gentle breeze and there were several wind surfers out. It is amazing how they do that. When we got back we went in the pool for awhile. Then Richard tried steaks on the griddle. They weren't bad, but they were a cheaper grade of steak, so not very tender. I guess you get what you pay for. Richard finished painting the tow dolly and put new straps on to accomadate our new car.

September 27,2016- Tuesday

Another beach day, hot & humid. Thank goodness we had our beach umbrella up. The water had quite a lot of seaweed washing up and there were jelly fish spotted close to shore. In fact a little girl about 6 years old, next to us was stung by one. Her mon said she was playing right along the shore and it washed up on a wave.  No walking on the shore for me today!!! I just sat under the umbrella on the beach. Richard went into the water on his raft for awhile, but he saw two jelly fish go by, so he was out of the water also! We still spent the afternoon there, just not in the water. 

September 26,2016- Monday

OAnother hot,humid day. Did some errands in the morning. In the afternoon we decided instead of going to the beach we usually go to, we went to the Santa Rosa Sound on the road to the beach. The parking is along the road, and the walk to the water is a lot shorter, but of course you don't get the waves from the gulf. Richard liked that because he was able to relax on his raft without worrying about a wave knocking him off. (I like to watch the waves roll in)  He also was able to practice his golf chipping because we were the only ones in that area of the sound beach. On the weekends this area is crowded, but during the week not so much. We stayed there for a couple of hours, then it clouded over & looked like rain so we headed back. All in all it was a relaxing afternoon.

September 25,2016 - Sunday

In the morning Richard painted a little more on the tow dolly. It was a little overcast, but hot out, so beach here we come. Well we got to the beach parking lot and got all our "gear" out and started down the boardwalk to the water. I noticed that there were a lot of people coming from the beach area toward us. I saw a lady carrying a piece of cake on a plate so I thought a birthday party must have just ended, but another lady told me, "I'll save you a walk, the lifeguards are making everyone get out of the water because a storm is coming." Richard of course was way ahead of me because he walks so fast all the time... I tried to call him on his cell phone to let him know. Then I saw him coming back, he was all the way to the water and found out. So back to the car we went. We came back and went in the pool. Richard took his raft and went down by the sound water which is along the resort area by the pier where they ride the kayaks. By the way the storm never materialized. We were told that a fellow was struck by lightening on the beach and died last month so they are now super cautious if there is any chance of lightening. Well better safe than sorry! 

September 24,2016 - Saturday

Saturday morning Richard went to a flea market down the road. When he came back, he decided to paint the tow dolly and make a few adjustments to it to accommodate our new car. I spent the morning doing some housecleaning in the RV. (The maid didn't show up!) In the afternoon we went in the pool for awhile before church. While we were at church a strong storm came through. The church we go to here has huge floor to ceiling Windows so we were able to see the palm trees swaying and the pounding rain. In fact the priest commented that because of the storm we would probably have to stay there  longer than usual so he may as well make his sermon longer, everyone got a good laugh at that! But it had stopped raining when church was over and the sun was out.....Florida weather!! We did find out when we got back to the resort that hail was reported not far away in Pensicola..... HAIL IN FlLORIDA!! my goodness just like being home in Illonois!! Anyway after church we went out for bar-be-que ribs and they were delicious! (The picture is of the RV Resort we are at)

September 23,2016 - Friday

We started the day with a good home-made breakfast made by Chef Richard and his hot griddle. We had an appointment  in the afternoon made by KIA to have the trailer hitch put on our new car. It was in Emeral Coast which is between Navarre & Destin about 1/2 hr away. Richard was pleased with the end result. When we got back he made sure the bike rack fit the hitch, which it did. One thing our new car doesn't have is a CD player on the radio. That sure was a surprise to me. The salesman told us that the KIA Soul was orginally geared for the younger  population by the manufacturer and they use their smart phones with playlist. We found out that a lot of the newer cars now aren't including CD players for the same reason. I have to have a CD player in my car because I listen to audio books from the library when I drive. The salesman told us we could buy a portable one with an auxiliary cord so that it would play it through the radio speakers. So we went to Best Buy and got one for $25 and it works fine. The gal at Best Buy said she heard that also about newer cars not including a CD player as standard  equipment. I guess we do live in a "smart phone" world. Call me old fashioned, but we still have flip phones!! 

September 22,2016 - Thursday

We decided to go play a round of golf in the morning when it is a little cooler. My foot was still sore, so I was Richard's cart driver again. It got so hot out that he only did 9 holes instead of the 18. When we came back, we decided to go to a beach down the road from the one we usually go to. We went there last year. The parking lot is a little closer to the water, so being that it was so hot we would not have that far to carry our beach things. When we got there we got a surprise.. The beach was closed for upgrades to the beach area. So we headed back to the beach we usually go to. It ended up being a good beach day after all. There was a little breeze in the afternoon and some clouds which gave a relief from the hot sun. The waves were not very strong so Richard was able to float on his  blow up raft. The water was still warm, not very refreshing tho. When we came back, we went to the pool till dusk.

September 21,2016 - Wednesday

Another very hot,humid day. Did some shopping in the morning, then treated ourselves to lunch at a little cafe called Alphy's which we ate at several times when we were here in Navarre, FL last year. Richard remembered they served liver & onions (his favorite ) on Wed. And he was right! The owners actually remembered us. They also give a discount to RVers staying at the Santa Rosa RVResort which is right down the road. We spent the rest of the day in the pool. We decided it was, believe it or not, too hot to go to the beach! There is a bit of a walk from the parking lot to the water carrying our beach chairs & ect, and we are not "spring  chickens" anymore! Of course, Richard has a lot more energy than I, but in my defense I do have a sore foot!! I know Florida is supposed to be hot &sunny, but since we have been here it has been EXTREMELY hot & humid.

September 20,2016 - Tuesday

GFinally had a beautiful beach day today...but it was so hot and no clouds or breeze, so the sun was strong. The water wasn't even refreshing. I even sat under our beach umbrella, which I never do on the beach! We stayed there  for a few hours.  Richard did a little metal detecting and found 26 cents, but it was even too hot for that so he laid on his blowup raft (which he blow up himself) on the water. When we came back to the camp resort we immediately went to the pool till dusk. When it is in the 90's in Florida.....it is super hot!!

September 19, 2016 - Monday

Since we had those rainy days, we were checking out some car lots. We had planned to trade in our 2012 Ford Focus which had 104,000 miles when we get home. But ...... We were able to swing a good deal on  a new 2016 Kia Soul. The 2017's will be out soon and they had new 2016's still on the lot,  with 0 percent interest, so we traded in our Focus! The Kia was one of the models we had been thinking about when we got home, but we never thought we would be bringing a new one home! Richard also bargained with them to put a trailer hitch on it for our bikes we have with us! Now Richard has to make sure it will go on the tow dolly. He might have to make some adjustments, but he said that would not be a problem. We had to transfer all our things from the Focus into the new car, being that we are traveling we had A Lot of "stuff" to transfer, golf clubs, beach chairs & things. So that was exciting getting a new car on vacation!

September 17 & 18 - Saturday & Sunday

A rainy, quiet weekend. Saturday did laundry, some  sight-seeing, shopping &church at St Sylvester's where we went last year. We were planning on going in the pool after church, but it started pouring, so we played cards instead. It was really hot & humid tho. 

Sunday - rain again in the morning. Then it finally stopped and the sun came out later in the afternoon. So we finally were able to get to the beach for an hour or so. It wasn't crowded at all, especially for a weekend. I guess everyone just figured it was going to rain all day. That's Florida weather, pouring rain then hot & humid and sunny.

September 16,2016 - Friday

We woke to cloudy skies, so much for Florida sunshine! Richard decided to wash the bugs off the front windshield and the front of the  RV. On our way here to Navarre  yesterday, we encountered  a lot of black bugs hitting the windshield, I mean A LOT. When we stopped for gas we were told that they are called love bugs. Twice a year they invade Florida during their mating season. They are usually two entwined ( hence the name love bug). They don't bite or sting, but they do leave a sticky mess on the windshield . Some years they were so abundant they were  actually considered a traffic hazard. When we were at the gas station, they were flying around everywhere one even got in my hair! Luckily I was able to pull it out and not bring it into the RV. I wish I had thought to get a picture of them on the RV before Richard cleaned them off, which he had to use warm water and dish detergent and scrub them off. It was unbelievable! Being that it sure was not a beach day or even a pool day, we went to the show to see Sully, a really great movie. 

September 15,2016 - Thursday

Yesterday Richard saved the people in the campsite next to us a lot of $$. They were leaving, pulling out of their site and he noticed that they forgot to disconnect their electric & water. He yelled and ran to them. They thanked him profusely! That would have cost them major repairs to their RV, not to mention  the damage to the parks equipment. That was his good deed for the day. Then ..... We got on our way today. We drove for about 45min and decided to stop for gas while we were still in AL, because it was only $1.94 and we knew it would be higher in FL. Whenever we stop for gas, Richard always checks the straps on the car wheels on the tow dolly we are pulling. Well today he got a huge surprise.....the car windows were down and the car was running!!! He forgot to shut it off when he pulled it onto the tow dolly...we were towing it running!!!! That sure was a "senior moment"! I told him that was right up there with me putting my car in the retention pond, hitting the house & going through the garage wall on the motorcycle!  But in his defense, he does have a lot on his mind getting the motorhome ready to travel...making sure the jacks are up & locked, disconnecting the water and electric, hooking up the trailer lights and safety chains,etc. so I guess I'll have to give him a pass this time. (But I sure won't let him forget it!! Ha-ha)

Well after 4 days and 977 miles, we safely arrived at our "home" for the next month at Santa Rosa RV Resort in Navarre, FL. The weather was very hot, 90's & humid. After we got checked in and all hooked up, we spent the afternoon in the pool here.

September 14, 2016 - Wednesday

It was a very hot, humid day. Thank goodness we have a good air conditioner in the RV. Our next stop is in Sherling Lake Park in Greenville,AL. It was 181 miles about 3 hrs. We arrived early afternoon. After we checked in and got the RV hooked up, we decided to go play a round of golf. There was a course nearby. We called for a tee time, but there was a slight problem, it was super expensive $52.00 a person! That is a little out of our budget! So we found a Walmart and did some supply shopping instead. We spent the evening outside on the picnic table under the trees playing Mexican Train dominoes. Tomorrow we will arrive at our destination in FL.

September 13, 2016 - Tuesday

   The day started out sunny as we continued on our way to our next campsite in Alabama. We drove through Tenn without incident, but as we were entering Alabama, the rain started. It got very windy and was raining so hard, it was hard to see the road. We had to pull off the road ( we don't take chances when traveling, we are retired, we are in no hurry) Many other cars and trucks also were pulled over. After about 1/2 hr. It finally eased up, so we continued on. We decided to go to a Çampground we never stayed at in past travels in Warrior, AL called Rickwood Caverns St. Park. They have tours of the caverns so Richard went on the tour. It was 209 steps down to the caverns. I did not go, I never would have made it especially with my sore foot. He said it was really interesting. There were live bats hanging down there! (After hearing that, I was very glad I didn't go!!) the tour guide said they never bother anyone as long as no one bothers them. Richard was tired when he got back.he said it was a lot of walking. 

September 12,2016 - Monday

OWe woke to another great, sunny weather day. We had a fairly short distance to our next campsite called Hurricane Creek in Eddysville,KY. It was 106 miles about 3 hrs. The road leading to the campsite was very, very winding and narrow, especially in a 30ft motorhome pulling our car! I had my imaginary brake on most of the way, but of course Richard did just fine. But I realized we had to go back up that road tomorrow, it was really long too, about 12 miles!  It was early afternoon when we arrived, so Richard found a golf course nearby. I didn't golf because my ankle was still sore, so I just was his cart driver. I think it was a really hard course,very hilly but Richard liked it, he said it was challenging. When we got back, Richard decided to go take a shower in the campsite showers which were newly remodeled. He said there was a sign on the shower door to be sure close the door tight to keep out the snakes & spiders!! That is why I only use our motorhome  shower! We were really "down in the boonies" so there was no TV reception. We played cards and believe it or not I finally won!

P.S. The picture of "Superman Richard" was at one of the rest areas

September 11, 2016 - Sunday

'Well Pauper's Pride is back on the road again! We started our journey to FL on our "51st" Anniversary. We had beautiful weather and very light traffic. Our first campsite is in Whittingham, IL, a 6 hour, 278 mile drive. We had stayed here before. Our site is right on Rend Lake. There also is a golf course nearby that we golfed at the last time we were here. But it was too late to get a tee time. After we checked in, we decided to go out for dinner to celebrate our anniversary. But it is a very small town, we didn't even see any fast food places. We saw a young couple walking with their kids and asked them where we could go for a good meal. They directed us to a local "mom & pop" restaurant in the next town, just about 10 minutes away, called Bonnie's cafe. It was fairly crowded and had only one waitress, but the food was delicious real home style cooking. Being that there was only one waitress, Richard said she must be Bonnie, the owner. So of course he had to ask her... She said no this is the town called Bonnie, duh.....we didn't even notice the town name. When we were leaving we saw that there was a Bonnie ice cream, a Bonnie hardware, then we saw a sign that said welcome to Bonnie. So much for being observant!