BLOG IS GOING ON HIATUS

Saturday, April 14 – We have extended our stay here in Amelia Island, Florida, due to an unexpected health issue. Marsha was awaken from a restless night on Wednesday with a minor stroke. Luckily, we were near a large city (Jacksonville, FL). Within a very short time, we were at Baptist Hospital, and Marsha was receiving emergency care. After extensive testing, it was determined she had a minor stroke on the left side of her brain. She has some difficulty using her right arm, a weakness when walking, and minor difficulty forming thoughts into words. She was released from the hospital Thursday evening to return home to the RV.

It is amazing the progress she has made in just a very short time. She is doing home therapy which they taught her in the hospital. Monday she will begin physical, occupational, and speech therapy on an outpatient basis. We are spending our time exercising, taking short walks, and getting Marsha back to her fun-loving self! With hard work and support of medical staff, she is expected to have a full recovery! Paul is confident that we will be able to move on in a very short time.

We are remaining here in Amelia Island, Florida, until her neurologist releases her to travel. We will then travel to Canton, Ohio, our summer home. The manager here at Bow & Arrow Campground graciously permitted us to extend our stay to a month, even crediting us the cost of our first week. That was very thoughtful, and we thank him for his kindness.

We will not be blogging until Marsha is healthy. Marsha won’t be doing much computer reading as she cannot leave a comment. We will update her progress and keep our “blogger” family informed. Marsha is doing well and on the road to recovery. She would appreciate your prayers and encouragement.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back soon. Hope you have a great day.

WE TRIED TO HAVE A BEACH DAY.

Saturday, April 8 – With good intentions, we headed down to the beach just a few steps from John's house on Amelia Island, Florida. The weather report was not good, but we had high hopes any rain would hold off until later in the day. Of course, the boys have a great time even if the adults would never dream of going in that cold water. They wanted to remind us how wonderful it is to be young. They skim boarded, boogie boarded, dug in the sand, tossed the football, and of course did a little swimming.

Paul testing the waters.

Paul saying NO WAY!

These boys just crack us up! L-R: Graham, Hudson, Noah. Graham and Hudson are twins.

These guys kept us entertained while we waited for the sun to shine.

The sky was getting a little dark and the air was cooling down, so we decided to retreat back to the pool area. The water was warmer, but the adults remained as spectators while the boys challenged each other to swimming contests. After a short stay at the pool, we gave up on any hopes of enjoying a sunny Florida day at the beach and headed back to the house.

After a quick snack for lunch, the Mexican Train game was dug out. We enjoyed several hours of fun. Marsha was the winner, and of course, she didn't want to mention it in the blog! Her name and date are also placed permanently on the lid of the box as a historical documentation of the win. That's a neat tradition!

What would a family get together be without food? Soon it was time for dinner. Karen had prepared BBQ, corn on the cob, French fries, and baked beans. Yummy!

After visiting for a while longer it was time to bid our farewell for the day and head back to the RV for the night. Unfortunately, the weather isn't looking good for any more beach time, so we'll have to find other ways to enjoy some family time together for the next couple of days.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

FERNANDINA BEACH, AMELIA ISLAND.

Friday, April 6 - Having arrived a day earlier than planned here in Amelia Island, Florida, we had a day to kill before meeting up with Paul's brother and the family for dinner tonight. It was a beautiful day, so we decided to get a little exercise by visiting historic downtown Fernandina Beach. (You can always click on any photo to enlarge it.)

Our last visit to Amelia Island was back in 2013. The downtown area has expanded since then. It still retains its quaint small town feel, but there are many more restaurants, shops, and taverns to serve the expanding tourists trade. We noticed significant building taking place increasing the residential community and hotel space as well.

David Levy Yulee, the prime mover behind the Florida Railroad Company and the founding of modern Fernandina.

We enjoyed walking along the dock and stopping into several of the small shops to checkout the displays. We always enjoy visiting this downtown area because it is not overcrowded with tourists even though it is less than an hour from Jacksonville, Florida.

Thanks Fernandina Beach for caring.

Remember when we were in San Antonio and Paul wanted to try out to be part of a mariachi band. Well, now he thinks he might want to be a pirate instead. He thought this guy could answer some of his questions about how exciting it would be to be a pirate.

Later in the day, we headed to Paul’s brother John’s, who has a home here on Amelia Island. It was great to see John and Karen and a new addition, Grandpa Doc, Karen's father. John's son Ryan, Holly and the boys arrived shortly afterwards. We headed into town to enjoy pizza. After dinner, we returned to John's to enjoy some family time with the gang.

Karen, John, Paul, Ryan.

The gang.

If the weather cooperates, we have a little beach time planned for tomorrow. Stop back and enjoy the beautiful beach here at Amelia Island with us.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day.

OFF TO FLORIDA

Wednesday, April 4 – We awoke in Frog City RV Park in Duson, Louisiana, after a night of heavy rain and severe winds predicted. Thank goodness the heavy winds never arrived, but we sure got the rain. Luckily, it had stopped around 6 a.m. The roads were drying up before we headed out. We stopped to fill the fuel tank at the gas station out front of the RV park and jumped on I-10 heading through Lafayette and then on to Baton Rouge, LA. We passed through Mississippi and into Alabama where we stopped at Wilderness RV Park in Robertsdale, AL.

We haven’t seen the water this high ever.

Even between the divide highway.

Crossing the mighty Mississippi River.

Wilderness RV Park is okay for a quick overnight stop. We really wouldn't want to spend much time here. Most of the residents are here for work or to spend their retirement in the back woods of Alabama. There are numerous trees which might make it difficult to get satellite reception. We asked for a site in the open area, so we had no trouble getting the satellite to connect. The streets here are gravel, and the sites are grass with a little gravel. We have a FHU site with 50 amp electric (30 amp is $2 less per night) for $19 with the Passport America 50% discount. The sites are fairly close together, but we are only here for one night.

Site #14

Looking right.

Looking left.

Tomorrow we head into Florida and plan on stopping around Tallahassee. We are slowly inching toward our final destination of Amelia Island which is off the coast near Jacksonville, FL.

Thursday, April 5 – We left Robertsdale, Alabama, early this morning heading to our next destination, Beaver Lake Campground in Quincy, Florida. We knew we would be there earlier than the official check-in time, but that has never been an issue in the nine years we've been on the road.

Guess there is always a first time! The lady at the gas station where we were to check in told us we would have to wait about three hours to check in. No option to pay an early check in fee and no room for discussion. Paul was a little upset and told her it was time to reevaluate her business plan. We told her we would stay elsewhere. Interestingly, there were only two RV's in the campground, and two additional RV's pulled into the station as we were leaving. Guess they don't want or need the business!

We checked the Tallahassee Elks Lodge, but they were full and other area campgrounds were above our price range. So what started out as a short drive day turned into a long-drive day as we decided to simply push on to our final stop in Yulee, Florida. The drive was uneventful. We have to say that I-10 through Florida is wonderful to drive. What a difference a day makes.

We are at the Bow & Arrow Campground in Yulee, Florida, which is about 20 minutes from John’s house, Paul’s brother, on Amelia Island, FL. The rate is $185/week and this is no Florida resort! The campground is a typical “dated” campground that has seen better days! The roads are paved but narrow, and the sites are all pull-thru and gravel with FHU 50 amp electric. There is the Florida mandatory swimming pool, WiFi, laundry facilities and a little grass between close-together sites. Luckily we are in Site #1 which is an end site giving us a little more room. There are large shade trees so, if you want satellite TV ask for a site in one of the first two rows. We are here for six nights. Stop back and see what fun the Weaver brothers have.

Looking right.

Looking left.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

GOODBYE HOUSTON

Tuesday, April 3 – We pulled out of the Houston Elks Lodge about 9:00 am, having waited until we thought rush hour was over. We jumped on the Sam Houston Tollway (Hwy-8) which circles around the city avoiding traffic heading into town. This is a first for us. We usually drive straight through town but have recently purchased an EZ Pass and wanted to give it a try. Although it was nice to avoid the stress of driving through town, we're not sure it was worth the cost. Since we were towing we had to pay for a four-axle vehicle. The cost amounted to $17, which includes a $5 bridge toll over the Houston Ship Channel. Ouch!

Goodbye Texas.

Ship channel…bye.


The road condition from Beaumont, TX, east to the Louisiana state line is AWFUL. They've been working on this section of road since we've been coming to Texas ten years ago, and it’s a mess. This has to be the worst section of highway in the entire state of Texas. Certainly not the welcome mat the state should be putting out for people entering the state from the East!  It was nice to get off those darn concrete highways…hate’em!

Hello Louisiana.

Marsha hates to go over bridges of any kind. This one really made her nervous going over the St. Charles River. One lane was closed. Lots of traffic. One of the nation’s most unsafe bridges.

We arrived at Frog City RV Park in Duson, Louisiana, about 1:00. A pretty easy drive if you ignore the poor road condition near the Texas state line. This is a very nice park. They gave us a 50% discount as Escapee Club members providing us a reasonable $20/night rate. All sites are pull thru and very long. We’re are in Site #11, which is on the end of a row giving us some yard and privacy on our door side. The streets and sites are gravel with some nice grassy areas and shade trees. The restrooms and laundry are in a park model type trailer near the office which also has a small RV parts store. WiFi is free, and the swimming pool is open.

Looking right…that is the Motel 8 next to the campground.

Looking left.

We are only here overnight. We will be heading East on I-10 tomorrow so stop back and see where we end our day tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

HUGE SURPRISE!!!

Sunday, April 1 – This weekend was moving day! Not for us but for our daughter, Carrie. She was surprised by her landlord three weeks ago when he told her he sold her loft, and she would have to move ASAP. Luckily, she found another nice place in downtown Houston. She got busy, packed her belongings, hired a mover, and relocated this weekend. Due to the holiday, it actually ended up being a good time to move because downtown Houston was deserted the entire time. Everyone must have taken off for Easter/Passover.

We started early Friday morning and by shortly after noon, the movers were paid and on their way to their next job. Now to get things unboxed and put away. We worked till about four o'clock when Carrie had to take some things down to the rental office. When she returned there was another SURPRISE!!!

She had two additional “helpers” with her. Our daughter, Kelly, and husband, Dave, had flown in to surprise us for the Easter weekend. WOW! What a great surprise! They were a great help in getting Carrie settled in to her new place and a wonderful addition to our holiday weekend. Carrie is not settled in but she's uncluttered and comfy in her new home.

L-R: Marsha, Paul, Carrie, Kelly, Dave.

We spent a wonderful time at a local restaurant watching the Cleveland Indians (win) and the Houston Astros (win). The weather was beautiful. We had a bite to eat, some beverages and a lot of fun playing Jenga.

The entire family is here for Marsha's Easter dinner, so she is in heaven! And of course, we ran out this morning to buy eggs. Paul thought this was going to be the first Easter we didn't color eggs. Duh! What was he thinking. The family will be arriving shortly, and we'll be making memories for another Happy Easter. 

Decorating eggs.

We went for a walk on the Edible Arbor Trail. This trail features several groves of hardy trees and shrubs that produce edible fruits and nuts along Missouri City's Oyster Creek Trail. The trail is a little over two miles and includes 213 trees within 19 groves. Residents and walkers are invited  to pick any of the fruits or nuts for free. Nothing is ripe right now.

Golden Fig trees.

Mexican plum trees.

We really enjoy playing games when we get together. Today was no exception. Farkle was in order.

Dave really gets excited when we play.

Lastly, we take some photos to save for years to come. Thank you so much Kelly and Dave for flying to Houston to surprise us. Thanks, Carrie, for keeping the surprise. What an awesome and blessed weekend we had. We will be leaving Houston tomorrow heading towards Florida for a super visit with Paul’s brother, John.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!