We just got in from Alafia River State Park...

We were at Alafia State Park with friends John and Loretta for several days. https://www.floridastateparks.org/Alafia

It's a nice Park, but we got chewed up a bit by fire ants and no-see-ums.  Our bad for not putting on repellent earlier but....

Some snaps:

Columbus Day Weekend thoughts....

This is the weekend, back in the day, when we would have led our Good Sam Chapter Seaport Sams up to the Berkshires to Country Aire Campground for our "end of season" camping trip.  Often times the fall foliage driving down the Mohawk Trail to the campground was quite spectacular, and the trip itself was enjoyable as there were lots of "fall" activities.  Side of the road stands with cider and apple wine, maple syrup and candy and crisp wonderful to sleep in autumn air with a hint of the changing season. We always ended up spending a day in Shelbourne Falls with its quaint shops and old-time New England feel.  

That being said, in the back of the mind was the fact that this was the last camping outing before having to put the rig to bed...she had to be emptied and winterized before a hard freeze, only to be put back on the road again in late December for the jaunt South. It was bittersweet.

October remembrance....

So, here it is in October and we’re finally seeing a little coolness ...not much mind but at least in the 70’s at night and early morning and it's got me thinking.  Back when we lived in Connecticut and were snowbirds here in Titusville this is the time of year when we had to start prepping the rig (motor-home) for winter, knowing that a hard frost and snow was coming.  So, we’d blow out the lines, add a little antifreeze to the traps ...remove anything that freezing would raise hell with, and park her. In the meantime we’d have picked out a “packing corner” somewhere where the stuff that was going back IN the rig when we headed South would be placed, as we’d be heading out with the winterized rig somewhere between Christmas and New Year’s. Somewhere along the Mason Dixon Line we’d de-winterize so we had working plumbing...

Generally we arrived in Titusville at Manatee Hammock ON New Years Day, it being a good low traffic day for the last day on the road.  Then, in early April, we’d head back to CT and reverse the process. After four years it did get a bit old, as we got steadily older, and we can honestly say that our decision to root here permanently was the right one for us.

We don’t miss the sound of the oil truck backing up our driveway on Branch Hill Road in Preston, and we don’t miss driving the rig, with the car being towed behind, down an icy 600 foot gravel driveway.  Instead of putting the rig away we’ve scheduled camp-outs to Florida State Parks for all of the upcoming winter and spring months. For us, it just plain works :).

Let it be written: The kitchen is finally 100% done!

At last, the installer was here yesterday October 4th from Lowe's and finished installing the trim in the new kitchen.  It's been a long road, but we're happy with the finished product and loving cooking again :).  In previous posts we detailed our kitchen disaster that necessitated getting a new kitchen on the fly so you'll understand why we're very relieved to have it done and behind us.