Rainbow Springs State Park Campground, December 2020...with hitch anomaly issue.

Here’s a link to our Rainbow Springs campout: https://photos.app.goo.gl/vjxC6jmZSqfCUUik8 . As Space X would say, we had a transportation anomaly, thankfully not a RUD (a rapid unscheduled disassembly ) but a PHD (partial hitch disassembly) caused by the loss of one of the securing locking pins due to HUYA head up your ass) distraction issues. It could of been a lot worse.... such as Mel’s toad passing him on a back-stretch so we’ll count our blessings. Details over cocktails or teleconference. Cheers! January 4th, 2021: Today the car goes in the shop to get repaired from the PHD that put a hole in the front bumper. 1 Megaunit.

The new normal can be frustrating...for sure.

 

I will NOT complain...as so many others have it so much worst, but I'll whine a little.  We do miss the theater a lot. Prior to Covid 19 we had season tickets to five local theaters. This year we purchased our renewal seats to three of them before the pandemic hit, but we're still not attending them. We have some friends who are, but it appears that Florida still has a long way to go so.....Luckily our local Titusville Playhouse records their production and gives us a key to watch it on Vimeo and we're been taking advantage of that.

We're still going out on our monthly camping jaunts.     

In August we went to Angler's RV Resort in Cedar Key Fl on the Gulf Coast: Snaps here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/K4YbhqNrqNgUfctL9

In September we went back to Anastasia State Park in Saint Augustine: Snaps here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/1K3AFhPJmy2xkYk9A

Social distancing keeps us isolating a lot....no indoor restaurants and very limited "out of camp" activity. But it (the camping) is a blessing in that it gets us away for a break from the daily routine.

In the interim we had our roof for our Town Home replaced, the central A/C replaced, and had a rebuild of the roof under the upper deck so there's been a lot of construction going on, with all that entails. We seem to have gotten through it in one piece.

SpaceX Launch of South Korean military satellite at 5:30pm.....

As seen from our deck:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/5kC2dVTcHpVznqsJ6

Check out this article from Florida Today:

SpaceX launches South Korea's first military satellite from Cape Canaveral

https://www.floridatoday.com/story/tech/science/space/2020/07/20/spacex-launches-south-korean-military-satellite-cape-canaveral/5461693002/

New roof at 1960 Dipol....

Our new roof installation was completed yesterday ....they did a nice job😊.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/zwSvgPxbYwHvzevu8

Going backwards with the Covid19 Pandemic...

One step forward, two steps back it seems here in Brevard County in Florida.  Our current pandemic situation seems worse than when this whole thing started three months ago.  We recently turned in our tickets to Titanic, The Musical which is re-scheduled to play on July 4th. They'd cancelled the original production and this is the new run BUT...the pandemic situation is certainly no better now than it was. Many of the restaurants that had closed and reopened are closed again (including our David's Shilo's). The State Parks have reopened and we had a good jaunt a few weeks back, but that's social distancing as an art form...love those State Parks!  We're heading back out next week to another one for several days.  Definitely miss the theater and going out to dinner but counting our blessings as those are minor annoyances compared to what a lot of folks are putting up with, and suffering with :(.
In the meantime the pets still need to be taken care of, the laundry laundered, and the plants watered. These are very strange times.  The only thing with any consistency is that wonderful rumbling sound of yet another SpaceX Falcon 9 lifting off over at the Cape as they build out their satellite network.  That sound is always a welcome distraction :).

Lake Louisa State Park June 2020 camp-out...

We  just got home from our first camp-out since February.  Very nice four night get-a-way, and feel blessed all the rig mechanics worked flawlessly after this camping hiatus. Google photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/U66tKYVYGGPBSL9a9

Normal will never be the same....Middle of Pandemic and riots over police lack of accountability...

We've been following the Pandemic rules of separation the best we can and are just now looking over the edge to see how safe it is to venture forth.  Mostly we've used Walmart pickup for groceries (excellent) and tried Instacart with Aldi (terrible), and have stayed away from crowds.  As a result we're a little stir-crazy, missing going out to eat, the theater, the little things in life that add dimension to it.  That being said, what with the current civil upheaval over police lack of accountability our troubles seem, and are, truly insignificant.  People are going through things, personally and financially, that are beyond anything I can imagine and our hearts are breaking :(.

Today we're going out to eat with two other couples, at a restaurant on the Inter-coastal North of us that has lots of outdoor seating and excellent oyster stew.  One of our theaters called and they're staging their first play since the shut-down starting tonight in Melbourne.  We signed up for the shows closing at the end of the month...still giving things some time.  Mid-month we have a reserved camping outing to a Florida State Park....they just recently reopened, and this reservation is one of the few they hadn't cancelled.  So, looking at the next month in a very cautious way we're resuming going out to eat (with masks and separation) , local theater (again, with masks and separation) and camping.  Sounds to me like we're starting on the right path to the new normal.  Hope so!! In the meantime, we've had plenty of rain lately and the flowers are doing good...and do lift the spirit.

Being appreciative in hard times....

Being appreciative…


A lot has been written on “privilege”, that state of being where your advantages in life...as compared to others, is noticeable or even profound.  As I sit here on April 19th in the year of the modern day Pandemic, I think just how damn fortunate I am. And, I’m thankful for that.


As I type I have a chicken in the oven roasting (in a cast iron skillet), the potatoes which will be mashed are on the stove-top cooking, and the frozen corn is in the microwave waiting to be started. I’m typing this note on a wine-proof Chrome Pad, and listening to BBC Proms on a Google Hub maxi.  Despite the quarantine with the pandemic we have a pantry full of food, our health is reasonably good for the condition we’re in, and our rec vehicle is gassed up and ready to go when we have the all-clear to get out of Dodge and socialize.


That all being said I’m very aware of the blessing that has bestowed on us, and our unique position as compared to others less fortunate.  May I never forget that and not be thankful for this unearned privilege.

Living with the pandemic....

I'll count our blessing where I find them.  My immediate family's health is good as is the many pets, the weather is terrific and we have an ample supply of toilet paper and red wine.
On the down side our recreational life has gone to hell in a basket, which is a small price to pay compared to what's happening with other folks.  Our local theaters have been massaging their schedules and trying to postpone and advance, and most of them has pretty much just quit and are waiting it out. One theater notified us yesterday that they'd be streaming a play we had good seats for (A Chorus Line) and they'd be sending us the log-on and password for it on Friday so we could enjoy it in our home. How slick is that? 😃
We were also notified that our Florida State Parks are pulling the plug, and cancelling all reservations in a two month window that start on March 18th.  We had two camp outs reserved and that's disappointing.  In the meantime, some orchids in the yard are in bloom. There's usually a bloom if you look for it, somewhere :).

Some Payette pets 🥰

Meet Jello, the new bird😊

Dave and Ashley delivered Jello today, a yellow rescue Cockatiel to go with our Pudding.  She/he is settling right in 😍.

Tony & Alissa down from CT for a visit.....

Alice, Alissa, Tony, David & Ashley.

Tony and Alissa were down from CT for a few days....staying at her snow-bird parents home a bit further South. Had a nice dinner with them at the local Durango's and a visit afterwards...they'll be back for breakfast before flying home on Saturday. Always nice to have them come South!

Nice mini-vacation at Stephen Foster Folk Culture State Park...

Last week \we spent some time at Stephen Foster Folk Culture State Park, the place where we found our Buddy the hound two years ago in February. https://photos.app.goo.gl/xY44aRTqTXMnvZNs9
Click the link above for some snaps from this campout.

We've reconnected recently with some snow-bird friends from CT, and celebrated some birthdays with friends from the old FL camping group.

Life is going pretty good.  There are some health issues being addressed (hopefully!) as we move forward.

Heading out January 19th to O'Leno State Park...

It seems like forever since we last camped!  During the last camp out we dropped the transmission of our toad (tow vehicle), a 2018 Ford Focus) and it took over a month for repairs to be completed...so we've been off the road so to speak.  This morning we're heading out to O'Leno State Park.  https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/oleno-state-park and we're just a little nervous as this will be first time towing the car since the transmission failure.
This is a particularly beautiful time of year here in  Central Florida, and it'll be good to get back into the countryside after the Holiday period.  I'll post photo's here after the trip.