And the Little Piggy Cried.....

Wheeee.....whe, whe, wheeee.....wheeee!!!!

Yes, Jan and Dave are sooo happy. We have said goodbye to our trusty toad, the '99 Cavalier, and a big "HELLO" to an '07 Chevy HHR. In four years we have driven our Cavalier 35,000 miles, and towed it another 45,000 miles. Guess it's no wonder that we started having serious (read that as "costly") problems with it. If we had decided to upgrade 60 days earlier, we would have $2000 more in the bank (see our last blog entry,) but if we had waited any longer we could have had even less. It is what it is. (Is that a Yogi-ism? )

After a couple months in Orlando and Daytona, we came south to the town of Wauchula, FL - you know, just north of Zolfo Springs. We had started looking at what we could afford in a newer car, and had pretty much decided on the HHR. They have been in production (semi-limited) since '06 and are still part of the Chevy lineup in '11, which is good, with no body-style changes, which is good. Lots of favorable owner opinions to be had, which is good. Lots of them available and affordable, which is good. Lots of dealer deals which means good after-the-sale-warranty, which is good. But the right deal had eluded us.

On the drive down, we passed thru Ft. Meade - you know, just south of Bartow - and Jan noticed a few HHRs on a Chevy dealer's lot. So we made a note to drive back up after we had settled in the Peace River preserve. (Must remember to stay clear of Stumpy, the alligator - a fulltime resident of the park. - STAY IN THE COACH, SUNNY!!!)

A couple days later (the next day, it actually was) we drove back up to Greenwood Chevrolet in Ft. Meade. Couldn't have lucked into a happier choice. You have probably found, as we have, that small town dealerships usually offer better opportunities for good auto deals that big town dealers - not always, but definitely so in this case. (BTW, in talking to the owner, we found him to be conflicted over the GM bailout. On the one hand, he hates the government interference. On the other hand, he would have likely had to close up shop - he's Chevy's only - and put a significant number of long-time employees out of work. Ft. Meade, home of the Fighting Miners, is typical of the small town dependency on car dealerships for the economic health of the whole town.)

While we were looking over three HHRs they had on the lot, we were met by Robby Elliot, the son of the owner, Bob. Told him our situation, and he showed us thru them. One particular one seemed to fit our demands on both condition and price point. However, always the bargain hunters, we told him we might be back in touch. Over the next couple of days, we checked on other dealers in surrounding towns, including Fort Myers 65 miles away, and also checked on the cost of installing the equipment we need to be able to tow the car behind our coach. The Greenwood option was sounding like our best bet, so we went back to Ft. Meade after practicing our "hard sell" act.

We told Robby which one we liked, and said  "Let's make a deal!" Well, we marched right to his office and sat there while he put the ol' pencil to it. And it turned out to be a great deal without our even having to go thru our act. (Whew, I can tell you we would never win an Emmy.)

We had a very good purchase experience and highly recommend Greenwood, if you ever find yourself in a similar situation. We feel like we made some good friends there. Even the cost of the tow package we had installed at Camping World in Ft. Myers was at a better price that we had thought.

So that's why we're crying whee, whee, whee all the way home.



A Refreshing Refresher

Ahhh, the life of leisure, relaxing at an uncrowded pool during a hot, central Florida summer and chuming around with the friendly sandhill cranes,

sprinkled with a dose of reality like car repairs and waxing the coach and grilling wings in the rain.

Time for a brief change of scenery - nothing like the beach for a quick recharge and a state park to give us a little refresher on some Florida history. So it was off for a week in the Daytona Beach area.

Little can compare with the Pacific northwest when it comes to grandeur or the Keyes when it comes to incredibly beautiful waters, but nothing beats the warm, clear waters of a Florida Atlantic beach for pure swimming, sunning, and just plain relaxing fun. The 80 degree water temp and the gentle breakers make a little body surfing irresistible - even for an OLD body like this.

Florida's history of European settlements goes back further than any other state's. So it's not surprising to find a plantation or two, even here on the east coast of the state. The Bulow Plantation was a 4000 acre homestead, over half of which was cleared of its live oak and palmetto and figs and cocoplums and planted in sugarcane and rice. A large sugar mill on-site meant the crop could be reduced to barrels of syrup for easy shipping to market and also exporting back to Europe. Hard working German settlers (and a couple hundred slaves) made it into a successful enterprise for only about 20 years before the local Seminole Indians burned the place out and drove them to seek a life elsewhere. The ruins form the centerpiece of a state park, marked with beautiful arbored roadways throughout the area.

 

 

 

Nearby Ormond Beach, between the Intracoastal (which is really the Halifax River along this stretch) and the ocean provides nice parks and other greenspaces to spend time in. This particular one has a nice little winter home for the Rockefellers - even pictures of John D on "the verandahhh." We cruised by here a handful of different times in our coastal travels on "evermore."

Then, of course, in true Walton style, we stopped for lunch at the Pig Stand - a great BBQ place just outside the largest Harley dealership in the world. (This is just a picture of a big semi in the parking lot - we actually went inside the restaurant to eat!) How many times have we passed this place over the years on the way up and down Interstate 95????

On Seeing Old Friends and Familiar Places

After saying "Bye for now" to David and family in San Antonio, we made for one of our favorite seashore areas and said "Hi" to old friends Jay and Buffy and Dusty and Janet (see previous post.) Then it was on to Conroe, a familiar stop in this northern suburb of Houston, to see an allergist in an effort to get to the bottom of my breathing problems (to great success.) Then we made for Abita Springs, Louisiana, determined to do our part for the economy of the Gulf Coast.

For much of our married life (which is really "for most of our whole life") New Orleans has been our favorite city - especially the Royal Sonesta Hotel (such a gorgeous lobby.) Since our first time here on a long weekend with friends in the late '60's (the hotel had just opened,) to a destination for a boat delivery, to a stop on our own boat, to a couple of special anniversaries, we have always enjoyed the hotel and party atmosphere in the French Quarter (regardless of the time of day,) and tours through the Garden District, or the travels to the ante bellum homes along the river (by car or riverboat,) or just enjoying the Cajun and Creole cuisine of south Louisiana.

We have a membership park in this north shore (of Lake Ponchartrain) village. This is our third time to Abita Springs, but our first opportunity to make the trip into "the city." The first time it was cold weather. The second it was right after hurricane Ike in '08, and things were flooded here.

It's a 45-mile drive, mostly on the Ponchartrain Causeway (in the background here.) We went early (9AM is early for us) so we could enjoy beignets (can you say "ben-yea") and cafe au lait at Cafe du Monde in the French Market across the street from Jackson Square. In one of life's little ironies, no beignets because the fryer had caught fire the previous night and wasn't in operation yet.

But we loved walking around the Quarter - not very crowded, but it's not exactly the height of tourist season - and had a marvelous lunch of oysters, shrimp, and muffaletta at the Sonesta's oyster bar.

We wanted to make a side trip to Venice to see some of the oil spill action. But the 250-mile trip and storm threats put a damper on that idea.

                                                  GOD BLESS LOUISIANA

Then it was on to the Mississippi coast to spread more cheer. We stayed at a very pretty park in Pass Christian that's part of our network. We were worried that we had brought another tropical storm with us here, but fortunately Bonnie fizzled. Beautiful beaches being cared for by an army of clean-up workers (never saw any tar balls,) and good food here and in Gulfport (even though much of the seafood came from Texas waters,) and, of course, a little gaming at the Beau Rivage Casino (really first class - the nicest one we've seen outside of Vegas, itself,) in Biloxi.

We also said "Hi" to cruising friend Ginny Loehr, now working at the library, part of a recently completed municipal complex,  destroyed by Katrina five years ago. Over thirty historical mansions here in town were swept away in the storm surge, only their foundations remaining. Tragic.

At a nice War (WWII) Memorial park, there are carvings made by a noted Gulf Coast sculptor from the remains of old live oaks done in by Katrina. One was in memory of the father of Robin Roberts (she of Good Morning America,) in honor of his contribution to the welfare of the community (as well as his WWII contributions as a Tuskeegee airman.)

The memorial to lives lost in Katrina was next to the one for lives lost during Camille, considerably worse on the Gulf Coast.

Finally, on our way to Orlando, we made an overnight stop in the Tallahassee area.  When the title of this blog entry says "Old Friends" we don't REALLY mean old. We do have friends who haven't even retired yet. With many of them, we've developed lifelong friendships through our children. Such is the case with the Donaldson family. Lisa, Gary, and daughter Haley were BFF's (before we even knew what BFF meant) with our daughter Shannon and her family in Plantation, FL. Over six years ago, the Donaldson's moved to Tallahassee, and Jan and I have remained close to them ever since.

Now Haley is thirteen and a young women, Lisa has gotten her Masters at FSU, and Gary continues toiling as a consultant at state offices. It was great to get caught up with them during a short visit and dinner.






Now we'll kick back for awhile in central Florida as we plan our next moves. 'Course, the Mickey Mouse Club is only 10 miles away.....

Old Times and New

We spent the first 50 years of our life in and around the Dallas area. (Actually I didn't arrive until my sixth b'day, but that only matters when I try to call myself a "real" Texan.)  Jan and I have always been water and beach lovers, so many of our family vacations when the kids were still kids took us down to the Texas coast. The waters of the Keys, it isn't and the scenery of the Pacific, it isn't, but it's what we have here and we still love it - especially then when we really didn't know any better. The half-dozen times we made the trek were split between the Port Aransas area just northeast of Corpus Christi, and South Padre/Port Isabel just north of the Rio Grande border. The nearly 200-mile longer drive (about 575 total from home) to Padre meant much bluer waters and great fishing in the Laguna Madre - The family caught over 50 sand trout the night before this photo of David and I was taken. The fishing was good up in Aransas Bay and Mustang Island, too, and these vacations were always wonderful and memorable family fun, and laid the groundwork for further adventures for us all on and by the sea.

Our camping memberships give us a "free" place to stay in the historic Rockport/Fulton area of the coast just 15 miles from the ferry which still carries motorists from the town of Aransas Pass the thousand yard passage across the intracoastal (the GIWW) to Port Aransas on Mustang Island. We wondered again, while we waited in line for over a half hour for one of the five ferries making the run, why they don't build a bridge over this short gap. We figure that a continuous span would have to have such a long entrance/exit roadway on the island-side to allow for the 55-foot clearance requirement of the ICW that the merchants and property owners have vetoed it. That leaves an opening span with all it's own costs and built-in wait times. Besides, this lends an air of adventure for the many landlocked families who visit here just like we did 35 years ago.

Besides enjoying the Gulf beaches, there is a very nice city beach in Rockport on Aransas Bay.

Fulton and Rockport have a variety of historical structures, including the beautiful Fulton mansion, and the Texas Maritime Musuem.

The waterfront park has a very nice collection of cast bronze and stone statuary.

And, as usual, our travels put us in touch with friends from our liveaboard life.

Dusty and Janet Libby paid us a visit. They swallowed the anchor a few years ago, and settled in Victoria, TX after many years of Caribbean cruising and travels.

Jay and Buffy Corzine have moved back to Texas (on a sailboat right here in Rockport) after spending a few years in South Florida, where I worked with them at Bluewater Books and Charts, and the Keys, where we shared Boot Key Harbor waters. After stints of home ownership in both Florida and Texas, they are now enjoying the liveaboard lifestyle again at the city marina in Rockport. They have re-explored the Texas coast (they lived aboard here              before  moving to Florida) and have written the very best Cruising Guide to the Texas Coast ever! They work right out of a little office next to their boat slip - how handy is that? When we saw them, they were waiting for a little cooler weather to go gunkholing along the local bay waters - can't do too much research.