April 27,2017 - Thursday

The weather was very overcast & cold, so we decided to continue on home. It was gloomy and cold all the way. We drove about 250 miles, 6 hrs & arrived home early afternoon, safe & healthy, thank God! Once again we thank you for "being with us" via our blog. These past 32  days went by quickly. We enjoyed every day. Had a lot of beach time, golf time & visiting with good friends! 😊 so until Pauper's Pride is on the road again, so long, and safe travels! 

P.S. Our grandson Zach left us the welcome home note which was heartwarming when we walked in our door....there is no place like home & family!! 😄

April 26,2017 - Wednesday

We drove through TN and  crossed the state line into KY. Our plans were to stay in Paducah,KY. When I called to make sure there was an opening at the Çampground we stayed at on our way down. But I was told they were completely filled! We were told there was a " National Quilt Fest" in town and all Çampgrounds in the area were filled! That is the first time ever that we could not find a Çampground. We found out on the news that night that this quilt fest is a really big deal there.so we decided to keep on driving. We crossed the state line into our home state...Illinois. We had already been driving for 6 hrs  , and being that Richard does all the driving, he needed a break. It's a lot different driving a 30' RV pulling a car,  than driving a car. We drove to Whittingham, IL to Gun Creek Park where we also stayed before. There is a golf course near, so Richard wanted to unwind with a round of golf. We got the motorhome hooked up and were just about to leave for the golf course when all of a sudden it got very dark and extremely windy and a very hard rain. It was so windy that tents in the Çampground blew down! We found out that this area was under a severe weather warning. After it eased up, we went to dinner at a little diner nearby. We got back to the RV just in time ... It started pouring with lightning and thunder. On the news it stated that Paducah,KY (where we couldn't get a site) was hit with a really bad storm! I guess faith was on our side!! We are going to let the weather in the morning  decide whether we stay here another night  and go golfing or get on the road for the last about 250 miles home.

April 25,2017 - Tuesday

We got an early start and drove the northern half of Georgia. It was a beautiful travel day & light traffic. Our next stop was in Manchester, TN at Old Stone Fort St Pk. We drove about 350 miles, about 7 hrs, and arrived early afternoon. We found out that there was a golf course nearby, so after we hooked up the motorhome....we went golfing. Richard golfed 9 holes and I was the cart driver. It was a really hard course because it was recently purchased by a private owner after it had been unused for over 4years. It just opened recently and still needs a lot of work. But it was refreshing to be outside after the long drive. 

April 24 - Monday

We said our goodbyes to Jack & Jan and thanked them for their hospitality once again, and for making us feel very welcome in their home 😊. This trip went by really fast. Hard to believe we are on our way home,  As we started out the weather was overcast and the temp was dropping as we headed north. We drove for about 51/2  hours,  left Florida and crossed the state line into Geotgia. We spent the night at Southern Gates RV Campgeround in Arabi,GA. A very nice family owned Çampground which we stayed in on our way down. In the motorhome we went from air conditioning to heater in a matter of 12 hrs!

Saturday

In the morning Jan & Richard went to  neighborhood garage sales.( they like doing that...I don't) then Jan & I did some "real" shopping in stores! Later in the afternoon we went to church and then came back for a delicious Italian dinner prepared by Chef Jan. We ended the evening playing cards. A full day!                     

Sunday we started the morning with a good breakfast cooked by Chef Richard outside on the griddle, sausage & eggs. Then we enjoyed a fun afternoon of golf. It was a beautiful weather day. We turned in early because tomorrow we will start our journey home!

April 21,22,23 - Friday,Saturday & Sunday

SarSpent a fun weekend at the " J &J Resort" with Friends Jack & Jan. Friday we got there early afternoon, so we got a tee time for later that afternoon and had a fun time golfing.

April 20,2017 - Thursday

Not a great beach day, very windy, super strong waves that were bringing more brown seeweed on to shore. But it was our last chance to enjoy the beach this trip, so we spent the day there  at Jensen Beach anyway. At least it was warm. Tomorrow we will leave this site at Port St.Luci in Stuart,FL and head to our next stop, in Orlando back  at the J & J Resort (aka Jack & Jans) we will spend the weekend with them. Then we will began our journey home! Hard to believe we are on the back side of this trip already. Oh by the way this morning we saw an alligator in the water along the campsite! Tried to get a picture, but it didn't turn out too good. 

April 19,2017 - Wednesday

EeOvercast today so we went golfing instead of to the beach. We had a good time. The course was very hilly, but Richard liked the challenge. We also did some shopping & laundry. So it was a full day. 

April 18,2017 - Tuesday

We had a great beach day at Jenson Beach, but.....the beach has a lot of brown type of seeweed washed up on shore which on the news they say is from hurricane Matthew last year. It is on most of the beaches along the ocean side. They hope to have it all cleared away by next tourist season.  Quite different from the beaches we just came from along the gulf side!! The water was clear but the waves were strong. The water was comfortable, but not  as warm as on the gulf side. There was a yellow flag up which meant strong rip tides, so you couldn't swim out very far. Everyone was staying in the water not far from the shoreline. But a good beach day anyway.

April 17, 2017 - Monday

After 14 days we left WP Franklin Campgeround  in Alva,FL to make our way to the ocean side. Our next site is St Luci. It was about a 4 hour drive..on our way we were on a 2 lane highway and right along side of the road was an alligator !!😳 unbelievable !! At first I thought it was dead, then it moved it's tail.. It was about 5 feet long...just sitting by the side of the road!!  On the news they reported that because of the extreme drought, and the forest  fires, it is causing the alligators to go in search for water. It was also reported on the news that in a nearby city an alligator crawled on to someone's patio!...then after we got settled at our new site, we went to an auto parts store. I was sitting in the car while Richard went in the store. And there right on the concrete next to our car was a lizard about 8" long. He had an orange & black tail and an orange head. I wanted to take his picture, but I was afraid  to get out of the car. I thought he might jump at me! I thought Richard could take it's picture when he came out, but then a car pulled I right next to us and the "thing" crawled away. I love Florida beaches, but I sure would not want to live here....I don't like the ugly, drawing creatures that live here!!

April 14 & 15, 2017 - Saturday / Sunday

,Had a beautiful beach day at Delnor-Wiggins State Park. ⛱ Oh my goodness, we have never seen the beach so crowded!! Being the weekend and spring break, & the beautiful weather....= crowded beach. In fact there was a sign saying the parking lots were full. There was a police car by the entrance so we were going to turn around, but he waved us on and said there were now some open spaces. We got lucky. Some people were leaving and it was a really close space.The waves were gentle, so there were a lot of people actually in the water, which was warm. I love to watch the kids splashing in the water & playing in the sand. Richard got a lot of relaxing time in the water on a raft. It's also interesting "people watching". You see it all on the beach 🤔 !!!

Sunday - Happy Easter!🐇 We went to church in the morning. We had planned on going to the beach when we got back, but we figured by the time we got everything ready and drove there (which as I said  before is about  a 45 min drive), it would probably be as crowded as it was yesterday and the chances of getting a close parking place would be slim. (At our age that is important ) So...we went golfing instead. There were just a few golfers being Easter, so we pretty much had the course to ourselves. Also we were given a great rate... $1.00 a hole!! After,  we had our Easter meal at Rib City, very good. Tomorrow we leave this campsite, which is on the Gulf side of FL , after being here 14 days. We will  travel across the state to the ocean side to a Çampground at St. Lucie.

April 14, 2017 - Friday

Woke to a sunny day, so we got all ready for a beach day. Then it became overcast & very breezy. So we figured that if it was this breezy here, it would be very windy by the water. So we changed our plans , changed out of our swim suits and went golfing instead. Today we were not paired with anyone. We had a great day. Afterward we went to a Perkins Restaurant .

April 13, 2017 - Thursday

A little too chilly for the beach, so we went golfing. We got paired with a couple who were French Canadian & spoke little English, but they were very nice. They were a little younger than us (isn't everyone??) it was an enjoyable day.

April 12, 2017 - Wednesday

Another beach day! We are of course in Florida!!!🏖 had a good breakfast then set off for the water. It was in the high 80's,but a little overcast. Well.... It stayed overcast all day!! We didn't see the sun except for maybe about 15 min, but it was comfortable. The beach was crowded, in fact we had to go to lot #5 to find a close parking place. The water was warm, Richard was able to relax on his air mattress (after he finally got it blown up) the waves were gentle opposite from yesterday when they were strong. We also saw some Dolphins slplashing about. It's fun to watch the kiddies playing in the sand and splashing in the water. 

April 10 & 11,2017 - Monday & Tuesday

Had a great beach day at Wiggins St. Park. Temp's in the high 80's with a slight breeze.  The water was warm. Richard did some metal detecting & found a dime!! 👍 the beach was fairly crowded being a week day, but it is spring break.

Tuesday - Spent  the morning taking care of paying our ticket 🙁, glad that is done with!! It was a sunny, warm day, so we went to the beach later in the afternoon. It is about a 45 min drive. We carried our stuff down to the beach and got comfortable and within abut an hour the sun disappeared & a very cool breeze came up. In fact it got rather chilly. Soooo we packed up and left. As we were driving back wouldn't you know....the sun came out.

April 8 & 9, 2017 - Saturday & Sunday

Saturday was overcast, so we got a morning tee time because we planned on going to 4:00 mass. This time at the golf course, we were paired with another couple. They were from Germany, but spoke English pretty well, except if they hit a bad shot, then they vented in German and we didn't  know what they were saying .... but we could only guess!! (Like when Richard hits a bad shot). After church we treated ourselves to a delicious bar-be-que rib dinner at a restaurant we were told about called the Log Cabin. It was very crowed, which usually means it is good, which it was!  

Sunday was a laid back day. Richard wanted to watch the NASCAR race on tv, so I got the laundry done, fun time!  The Çampground does have a nice laundry room. We knew the beaches would be crowded being the weekend & spring break. Which also meant the parking would be far. 

April 7,2017 - Friday

Another cool. Day, not a beach day...so we went golfing again at a different course. This course was near the road where we got our ticket, so after we finished golfing we went to see why we got that ticket for the u-turn. Well ..... Right there before the opening where we made the u-turn was a sign stating no u-turns! Neither one of us saw that sign yesterday!! So I guess the officer was doing his job and the ticket was legitimate. From now on we will be more observant. At least he didn't give us a ticket for not having our insurance car with us, only a warning. By the way...the card is now in the glove compartment !

April 6, 2017 - Thursday

The 90 degree temperature's and humidity broke. (Thank goodness!) It rained in the morning and the temp dropped to the comfortable 80's. We decided to golf instead of the beach. We got a 2:30 tee time, so we decided to do some sight-seeing and shopping earlier. Well we missed the entrance to a CVS in a location we were not familiar with, so we saw an opening in the road & made a u-turn, which are legal in Florida. All of a sudden there is a State Tropper car behind us with the lights blinking for us to pull over....when he came to the window, Richard asked what the problem was (we thought maybe we had a light out), boy were we wrong...he said we made an illegal turn. We said we were told u-turns are legal in FL. He said not on that road...huh!!! But we knew not to argue with him. He asked for Richard's drivers license & proof of insurance. I realized the insurance card was back in the motorhome which we told him. Result....we got a $163.00 ticket for a "civil infraction" and a warning citation for not having the insurance card in the car! Welcome to Florida!!! Richard said he wasn't going to let this ruin his golf game. So we did have a good time golfing, but we still didn't think we should have got that ticket!!

April 5, 2017 - Wednesday

Another hot day - 90's. So we headed out to the beach. This time we went a little farther down the highway to Delnor-Wiggins St Park, also where we had been on previous trips and liked the beach. Close parking with only a short jaunt to the beach. We were fortunate to get a really close space. The waves were very strong, but the water was warm ( the dot in the water in the picture is Richard) we sure got our share of sun. We didn't use enough sun screen and we both got a little sunburn . 

April 4, 2017 - Tuesday

We had our first "beach day" today.🏖 We spent the day at Lovers Key State Park in Fort Myers. We had been here on previous  trips. It has a free tram that drives you down to the beach from the parking lot, which is great & it is a double tram that holds many people. It runs back and forth every 15min. It was a super hot day, 90's again, but there was a nice breeze off the ocean. Richard even got his "beach nap" in.