Still kickin'

Yup -- I am still alive and kickin'! Sorry that I (we) have been so busy that I haven't set aside time for blogging. We have been looking at places to (potentially) buy, meeting all the "old timers" who return to this park year after year, etc., etc. This first photo shows our humble abode, a class-C motor home. Tiny little thing that is almost big enough to accomodate L and me, and not much else. Plus it is NOT ours, so that is something that we are very careful about. This is courtesy of L's friend F and his wife, M. They own the the little home and have put it on a lot for us to use, gratis. We ARE paying for the lot rental, however. Didja notice my "Don't mess with Texas" bumpersticker on the wheelcover? For those non-Texans who might be reading: this is not a macho statement - it IS, however, the anti-littering slogan for Texas. I like it!

We are lovin' the 1990 Honda Goldwing that we purchased from L's friend, F, and some of the new friends are other "bikers". Yup, we are among the graying of America's bikers. We all ride safe -- almost all are helmet-wearers, and no one drinks (alcohol) and drives. So it's a good, sober group. You can't see the Goldwing in this second photo - it is at the front of the Rav, under that deep blue cover. Gotta protect our li'l baby from Florida's sun! I did not realize that L had captured me behind the bike, in that photo.

L likes golf and admits that he is really NOT good at it. But he golfs with the Wednesday group of guys and hopes that I will join the ranks of the female golfers. I have gone out to a coupla driving ranges with him and did notice some improvement from session # 1 to session #3. I actually hit some of the balls around 100 yards during the third go-round.

This place is like a small town, complete with gossip mill, etc. But the majority are friendly. It is interesting to find out others' backgrounds. There are some like us - living-together couples - but the majority are long-married couples, with histories of kids and grandkids. Because I feel like such an outsider, I have "reached out" to J, a gal who feels like even MORE of an outsider than I do. She has health challenges with her back, so that rules out golf for her. She is doing a "trial" winter time with her guy, T. He is a widow, she a divorcee - the opposite of L and myself. I love her accent - she is originally from West "by God" Virginia, although she and T now live in Ohio.

Saturday we had a pool party. Naw -- no pool, folks. Actually, this was an attempt to make the best of a situation that has many rankled. The pool has been ripped out and is in the process of being rebuilt. Actually, the process seems to be at a halt. The contractor does not seem very motivated, and a LOT of the folks here count on that pool. I mean, they are here from cold climes and WANT to enjoy all aspects of Florida during winter. And folks -- that DOES mean access to a pool. So our "pool party" was at a vacant lot across the street from where we are staying. We all brought our own lawn chairs, some snacks, and whatever beverages we wanted. One of the guys, B, videotaped some of the events. L took some photos (I hope to post some soon). A tongue-in-cheek get-together, done in fun.

We (the bikers) drove west to Hudson, on the Gulf coast - about a 20-mile ride or so - to a neat restaurant for dinner on Friday. This place had a great seafood menu - of course - and I defaulted to fish-n-chips when I found out that the fish was fresh grouper. It was so, SO good. If we get back to this place, I do want to try their scallops. The restaurant was PACKED. I think our party was either 9 or 11 in size.

There is a hurricane brewing in the Gulf - yeah, I KNOW that this is November and that hurricane season is OVER. Will someone tell Mother Nature?

That's my quickie, catch-up post, folks. Hope to be better about this, next time - not SO far down the road. Maybe have someone take our photos on the Goldwing?