We have both been fine and keeping busy me mostly with visiting Mama at least twice a week in Frostproof, Fl. She is doing well except for the constant complaints about "Arthur" bothering her back, knee and ankle, which she broke many years ago in three places. We have a standing date with her on Tuesday's as that is when they have Bingo at her park and the pay out is pretty good. I have won a half jackpot and Mama won a blackout of $100.
The first two weeks we were here in Florida, we stayed at the Thousand Trails Orlando Preserve on Hwy. 27. We were entertained every day there by three big turtles that lived around our space. It was fun watching them come out of their living quarters and go to one of the other holes and visit there.
During the week of Veteran's Day we camped at "The Oaks Campground" in Bushnell, Florida, with The Buccaneers, a SMART Chapter. On Veteran's Day we went to the National Cemetery there in Bushnell for their ceremony. It was very moving and a lot of participation and excellent speakers. We enjoyed being with the Buccaneers and will join them again in January for their muster down in the Tampa area.
For the past two plus weeks we have been here at Peace River Preserve in Wauchula, Florida. We got here on November 13 and I left with Nancy Leivas on November 14 to go up to Disney and Super SoapNet Weekend.
She and I stayed at a Wyndham Property called Bonnet Creek and went to the park each day to see the ABC Soap Stars. There were people who got in line for "Fastpass" tickets at 3 A.M. We were there by 6 and we still had to wait for 2 hours for them to start handing out the tickets so that you could have your picture taken with the stars and get an autograph. We had to be crazy.
On Saturday, November 22, Mystee decided that she wanted to investigate what it would be like to be an outside cat. She snuck out somehow and was gone until Tuesday night. I did know that she had to be somewhere close as she left all kinds of foot prints on the car but would not come when we called her. It was warm enough that I left the door open and about 10:00 pm she came creeping in, looking around as if to say "Why didn't you open the door sooner."
For Thanksgiving we went over to Southern Pines Resort, and had dinner there with Mama and the folks around that park. Management provided the turkey and ham, along with stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy. Everyone else fixed side dishes which were set in front of your place setting and everyone went around a helped themselves to whatever was there. By the time we got around the room, the dishes that we brought were just about cleaned out. I think there was only one tablespoon left of jello salad and one of scalloped potatoes. Everything was very good and we were stuffed.
On Friday after Thanksgiving, Russ and I went to "Solomon's Castle" (www.solomonscastle.com)off of Hwy. 64 in Ona, Florida. This is a gallery decorated by 80 original-design stained glass windows and countless metal sculptures done by internationally renowned artist Howard Solomon. We really enjoyed this tour and do recommend it if you are in the area. Cost is $10 per adult and $4 for children under 12.
Today we went up to Pioneer Restaurant for breakfast and then to Wal-mart for gas and a few food items so that I could make soup with the remaining turkey we had from Thursday. This afternoon this area was in a tornado watch until 8 p.m. We never did go into a warning but did have high winds and hard rains a couple times during the afternoon. Most of the east coast is having this type of weather today.
I hope that everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving. We are so thankful for all that we have and that we are able to live the lifestyle that we have chosen. We are also thankful that we are healthy and have so many dear friends.
