Wildwood, FL

Finally made it to the Monaco Service Center in Wildwood, FL. We are a few days later that we were supposed to with no kitty and less money. We ended up having to purchase two new tires after our alignment at Josams showed extreme wear on the two front tires of the motorhome. Unlike car tires...the tires had to be ordered and run about $500 - EACH! Yikes! Wait until we have to call our financial advisor for some extra $$ this month! I always tell him that I feel like I'm asking my dad for money...even though it's our money!

We had to be at the tire dealer at 8:30 this morning. It wasn't too long before they had the new tires mounted and back on the coach and we were ready to roll. Wildwood is about an hour north-west of Orlando. We had to wait until 4:00 to find out if we would get a space, but we lucked out and got one. Our service writer has said that we should be able to stay here until Monday when we meet up with everyone to go into the Brooksville FMCA SEA (South East Area) rally.

Lots of coaches from the rally are here, but since it's a few days after the rally...they are slowly leaving as their work is finished. One of the first things I saw was this sign...

Haven't seen an alligator yet, but there is a picture in the lobby of the "Monaco Alligator". While we were waiting for a space, I tookTess to an open space and gave her a bath. Figured since she was clean, I could take her picture! These trees are at the "back side" of the pond. I have no idea what it is that's hanging off the branches, but it's certainly worth a picture!

Not A Good Day...

This has not been a good day. I had to say good-by today to one of my best friends, Maggie. Yes, he was a cat, but he was a great friend. The past few days you could see that he wasn't doing well. It had been a struggle to get him to eat and he wasn't eating enough to sustain himself. I had said when I first found out that he had bone cancer that I didn't want him to be in pain or to suffer, but even with the pain medicine I was giving him, it wasn't enough.

Maggie's tumor had grown but he didn't seem to let it get in his way. He still liked to jump up on the counter to have a drink of fresh water (that's where he is in the first/top picture). The past few days he was very restless and no longer sleeping with me during the night. He'd lay down for a few minutes, but then leave. Not his normal self.

I have to say, that the veteranarian that I found here in Orlando, was top notch. She made sure that Maggie was comfortable even with that big lump on his leg. Maggie was ready...he didn't even struggle when we laid him down. He laid quietly as I rubbed his neck and his ears...one of his favorite places for me to scratch. It was over in just a minute and he was at peace and no longer in pain. I wish I could say the same...my heart is hurting but I know that I made the right decision. The vet told me that I made the right decision as well. She told me that you could see he was losing weight and his muscles were losing their tone. I knew it and apparently Maggie knew it as well.

Good by Maggie...I'll miss you.

May 1992 - January 2007

Winter Garden, FL

Decided to find out where we were going to need to go on Monday when we have our appointment at Josam's to get the motorhome aligned. First though, we had to drive to the AAA office to pick up the Florida Tourbook that they forgot to give me when I was there the other day! It was 16 miles from our campground to AAA. It took us more than 45 minutes to get that far! We never saw anything to make it take so long, but there was lots of traffic and lots of lights! I finally called them to see if they would leave the book outside if I didn't make it - I did make it...with only a minute to spare! Florida traffic on Saturday sucks!

From there it wasn't too bad finding Josam's, but it was even easier to get to the motorhome! Before we went home I decided to drive through the historical district of Winter Garden. There was a small museum and an even better Railroad Museum. The museum curator for the Railroad Museum was a neat guy to talk to and Don was able to tell him of some of our visits to various Railroad Museums in our travels and those while in California. Trust me when I say he had lots of things in a small place! At the Winter Garden Museum we discovered that on Jan. 23, 1998 a TORNADO came through and created a wide path of destruction! TORNADO? We thought only hurricanes were in Florida! Between museums we stopped at Downtown ?? for an ice cream. It was pleasant sitting outside and interesting to see all the people riding through the middle of town on the bike trail. The bike trail is where the railroad used to run through town!

Went back to the motorhome and waited for awhile before barbecuing hamburgers! It took awhile since we weren't very hungry after having ice cream, but boy, was that ice cream worth having! :-)

Stuck...in the mud!

Today was the last day of our "Shipwrecked in Orlando" rally. One by one everyone left the fairgrounds. Everyone left on their own power...except this one! This guy (who we don't know...and he probably wants to keep it that way) drove into soft, wet dirt...otherwise known as mud! With the weight of most of our motorhomes it proved to be too much and he got stuck! A tow truck was called and there was quite an audience as the tow truck pulled the motorhome out of the mud! I told Lew that if he had gotten donuts we could have sold them and made a profit off those that were watching!

We had a great time at the rally! It's always fun to meet up with friends that you have made at other rallies or on the road. Of course, we drink and eat way too much! On Monday, the day "before" the rally, Monaco had heavy hors devours and wine. This is when they opened up the coaches for all of us to get a "preview" of them. Tuesday morning was our first breakfast, seminars, crafts, the vendors opened up for business, and once again the coaches are available for viewing. Later that afternoon we enjoyed "Rum Runner Punch", went in for another great dinner and finished off with some great entertainment! Wednesday morning was breakfast again, a craft class where we made a sun catcher with crystals, beer and wine (we skipped this - it was too cold AND rainy), dinner and another night of entertainment! Thursday morning we once again had breakfast, but this day we had to get there in the rain! Luckily it was only sprinkling by the time we went to breakfast and the rain seemed to stop for the rest of the day. I left to do some shopping (Target, Bath and Body, Pier One...had fun browsing!) and made it back in time for dinner. Once again, we skipped the Champagne social they had but made it in for dinner and entertainment. I think I forgot to mention that there is a "happy hour" before dinner so missing the socials isn't a big deal! Our entertainment at this rally was a performance by a country group out of Branson, a comedian and a Motown "impersonating" group. They were all fun to watch!

Onward We Go!

There were about 40 Monaco coaches today that left TGO (The Great Outdoors) in Titusville, FL and headed to Orlando for the Monaco "Shipwrecked in Orlando" Rally. If you've never been in a convoy of motorhomes, you don't know what you're missing! Actually, todays convoy wasn't too bad! Whoever was leading it did a great job. When a convoy works right, there is a space between each coach and each coach is driving the speed limit! What often happens is that you have "bunches" of coaches going *V*E*R*Y* slowly! It can take HOURS, but today we only had to drive 40 miles. It really helped that there were police officers outside TGO that stopped traffic so we could turn left out of the resort! That could have been a nightmare! I love when you can see the motorhomes stretching for miles in front of you but I'd bet that people that are affected by our "traffic" aren't too happy! The drive wasn't too bad until we got to the fairgrounds. Even though we had a "parking time" assigned to us, it didn't seem like they were ready for us but hey, we all got in and we got parked together with those we wanted to be parked with!

After we got parked, setup and had checked our e-mail we all (Clarkson, Leith, Anderson, Rea, Clerc, Bahnson and Stone) sat around, kibitzing and enjoying the great weather! A little later, Jane & Fred Hengle joined us (they are parked in the handicapped area) and we had Flirtinis and appetizers! A little later than our "scheduled" time we lit the barbeques, put together our leftovers from the previous night and enjoyed another great dinner! One thing campers of all types seem to do is eat well! We discussed the current state of Monaco, what crafts, seminars and things we wanted to see and/or do at the rally and where our next destinations might be! All in all a great and enjoyable evening!

Catching Up...Part Two

Arrived in Duson, LA on our 15th wedding anniversary and settled into the Frog City RV Park! When we pulled in we met Rick & Joanne Stone for the first time. Rick & Joanne just retired and live in Oklahoma. We had only "met" them via the internet...and our Monaco coaches! We invited everyone over for a glass of champagne to help us celebrate our anniversary. After that, we all headed to Mulate's for some Cajun food. Now, I don't even like seafood, so my choices were limited! I know that whatever I had I liked, but writing this a week or so later...I can't even remember what I had! Must have been something good!

So the next day six of us (Anderson's/Bahnson's and Leith's) headed north to Mamou. The Bahnson's had told us about this "bar" that is quite popular. You can read about Fred's Lounge here - http://www.lsue.edu/acadgate/mamou.htm. This bar is ONLY open on Saturday from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM! That's right...and only one day a week! We got there about 9:30 and the place was already PACKED! You could kind of tell that we weren't "locals" and someone offered us their table in the back. We lucked out because we were seated behind this group of ten women. These women have made this an annual event while their husbands are out for their last weekend of hunting, these women rent a limousine and come to Mamou! They left their homes at 6:30 am and I would have to think that they probably also started drinking about then! They were drinking shots of something called "Hot Damn" and they offered Dottie and I a shot to try. These ladies were hilarious! They provided a lot of laughs! Forgot to tell you that a local radio station was broadcasting from Fred's! Lots of dancing, loud music and French! Don thought he might have had too many beers when he couldn't understand anything they were saying until I told him it was all in French! :-) We enjoyed listening to the music and the women told us about themselves and kept us entertained! We left after a few hours since we also wanted to go to Avery Island and take the Tabasco Tour!

We stopped by and picked up the Rea's and Stone's and headed towards Avery Island! We didn't travel by highway instead took local roads! It was interesting to see the various houses and the local area instead of only what you see from the highways! Avery Island is one of five salt dome islands. (Read about it here: http://www.tabasco.com/tabasco_history/avery_island.cfm). Since this was a Saturday, you only walked through the factory but nothing was going on. Of course, we also checked out the Country Store where they had all kinds of Tabasco flavored products...one of which was ICE CREAM! I had a sample...not sure I'd want to eat a whole bowl of the stuff!

Wasn't long after we got back before we headed to Thibadeoux's another local joint for Cajun food! Lew ordered 5 lbs. of crawfish...and ate it all to boot! Here I had fried pickles, a salad and boudin! Yum! Yum!

Nothing better than going to bed on FULL tummys! Another early morning and we were once again under way! From Duson we headed to Robertsdale, AL. We arrived at the Wilderness RV Park and got settled in. Had dinner on our own and the next day we ventured off to various locations. Don and I took in the USS Alabama that is docked in Mobile. After the Alabama it was over to see the submarine, USS Drum. The Alabama was christened in 1940 and was almost completed at the outbreak of hostilities in WWII. In 1942 she was placed in full commission. The USS Drum was interesting, but we had already seen the USS Razorback a year ago and didn't take too long to go through it. The outside had lots of rust and wouldn't even be considered seaworthy now!

From there, I wanted to be able to say that I had been in the Gulf Ocean so we drove quite a ways to get there! It was probably closer another way, but I was just guessing on how to get there! Along the way I spotted a sports tavern called the Loose Moose. You know I just had to stop there even if only to say we'd been! Anyhow, got to the beach in Orange Beach. The sand was whiter than I've ever seen and filled chock full of sea shells! I can remember going to the beach in So. California when I was young and seeing that many shells! The water was just a little nippy and there wasn't too many around...a few people strolling along the beach but no one swimming or surfing that I saw! We couldn't tell if the parking lot we were in was damaged from Hurrican Katrina or had once been a building of some sort that was taken down for some reason. It looked like there had been some damage, but we couldn't tell since we didn't know what had previously been there!

Since we had taken the drive to the beach, we met everyone at Lambert's, Home of the Throwed Rolls (www.throwedrolls.com) for dinner. Not only was this a fun place to eat (they really DO throw the rolls at you) but the food was great and PLENTIFUL! If you've never eaten at Lambert's you don't have a clue! They come around and offer you fried okra, tomatoes and macaroni, fried potatoes, black-eyed peas and collard greens this is in addition to your food AND the throwed rolls! Joanne Stone ordered a Chef Salad. It was huge and served in a real "roll" shaped bowl! We all waddled out of there!

Once again, an early morning arriving at Defuniak Springs, FL! Spent the night and headed into Lake City, FL. Another night and then we arrive in Titusville for the MCOA and Monacoers Rally!

Catching Up!

I am so far behind on "blogging" that I decided to do an "all in one"!

Don and I left Nuevo, CA on January 1st and began our trip east. Our first stop was in Huachuca, AZ to meet up with friends, Dottie & Lew Anderson. We are the beginning of the "West Coast Gang" a group of Monaco coaches that are heading to Florida for several rallies. Along the way we will pick up more of our "gang", see some sites and enjoy some of the local fare! When we arrived in Huachuca, Dottie served us a great spaghetti dinner. It was so nice not to have to make dinner after a long day driving! Did I mention that the spaghetti was super as well?

While we were in Huachuca, we made a trip to Tombstone and walked along the shops there. Lew was hoping to take Don to a local saloon where they make their own "brew" but they were closed. We also made a trip to Fort Huachuca to see the museum there. Fort Huachuca had it's beginnings in 1877 and became an offical Army post in 1882. It has played a central role in the national defense picture ever since. In the latter part of the 20th century the fort has been a proving ground for electronic weaponry and most recently the center for all military intelligence training.


On another day we went into the town of Bisbee. In it's heyday, Bisbee was a booming mining community. There are lots of old houses built into the hillsides. Dottie and I took the opportunity to look around a few of the shops while Don and Lew managed to find a quaint old bar, called the Stock Exchange Brewery and Bar. The building that housed the bar was awesome to say the least. It was in the original Bisbee Stock Exchange building with the original tote board from the early days. The building has a lot of history and has been refurbished into a bar. The bartender, Joe, was a wealth of information. We would go back, if just to hear more of Joe's stories!


In Bisbee Don and I also toured the Queen Mine which was one of the most productive copper mines of the 20th century! The mine was opened in 1915! We wore slickers, hard hats and lights and rode into the mine on one of the same types of rail cars as the miners did.


On another day we drove into Benson to meet up with two guys that Don and Lew "knew" from their online Monaco group. We met Phil & Nancy Carroll, and Hal & Stephanie Woods at this local restaurant that someone had recommended. Lew and I both had this wonderful baked apple that was wrapped in a light crust and was then topped off with some vanilla ice cream! Yum Yum!



We left the Huachuca area and now we were two. In Deming, NM we met up with a third member of our "gang", Jean and Rod Bahnson. Now we were three! We traveled through Las Cruces and ended up in Vado, NM for the night. An early morning start stopping in Fort Stockton for the night! Another early morning and we ended up in Canyon Lake, Texas where we picked up three more gang members, Marlene and Bob Rea, Linda and Andy Clarkson and Maribel and Bob Clerc.


Maribel and Bob live in Canyon Lake a few miles from the campground we stayed at. They had us all over to their house for happy hour before we went to the Gristmill, in historic Gruene (pronounced Green) for dinner. We all had great, authentic Texas barbeque for dinner! The next day several went off to do their own thing and Jean, Marlene and I went to San Marcos to the outlet center there. It has to be the BIGGEST outlet center that I've ever seen or even heard of! It would take DAYS to cover this thing! There are actually two different centers there! It was amazing! We all bought a few things and had a quick lunch at Johnny Rockets! It was in Canyon Lake that I learned how to play "Pegs and Jokers" with the Bahnson's and the Rea's.


The next morning everyone but the Clarkson's headed out for Montgomery, TX. It was a sight to see all of our motorhomes traveling down the highways through the small towns along the way. We opted to stay off major highways as we traveled around San Antonio and Houston. In Montgomery the women made a stop at Wal-Mart where we stocked up on groceries! After we all had dinner on our own we walked up to the club house and played another few rounds of "Pegs and Jokers"! I'll guarantee you that they don't give me too much leniency for being a new player! A quick fact about Montgomery...it's the birthplace of the Texas flag, designed in 1839!


We began to notice the humidity in Texas, but not nearly as much as we felt once we got into Louisiana! Our first stop in Louisiana was Duson! One of the things Don and I both noticed was all the water. It seems like there were pools of water just about everywhere! Something else Don and I noticed...a pickup truck traveling down the highway...with a deer tied to their "stuff" in the back! Not sure how good that meat would be after driving in the sun for a while! You could even see that rigor mortis had already set in! Yum!















To be continued....

The Rose Between Two Thorns...

Met up with Jean & Rod Bahnson in Deming, NM today. The Anderson's (Lew & Dottie) and Don and I had barely left The Cavern's in Huachauca, AZ when I received a call from the Bahnson's. They were in Lordsberg, NM. Pulled off in Deming where they got fuel and we all had sandwiches in our coaches. It was great to see them - it's hard to believe it's been a year since the last time we were all together, but after hugs all around...it didn't seem like it had been that long! It will be fun to reminisce about the past year and what everyone has been doing. Enjoyed dinner with everyone bringing something for all of us...turned out to be a great dinner...with not many leftovers! In the morning we're off to get fuel and then Ft. Stockton, TX!

Tombstone, AZ

Ft. Huachuca, AZ