Saturday, September 7, 2019

Good afternoon! We were up and out exploring the St. Pete beaches via truck with the doggies. It was nice ... much like Ft. Lauderdale/Pompano Beach except ... NO waterfront views from the road. In open spaces, the dunes and sea grass obscure it. So, Ft. Lauderdale, Pompano Beach and Deerfield Beach are all superior. 

The chair was so hot we couldn’t pose the dogs! 

We brought the dogs back to the A/C and went shopping ourselves. At Island Rags & Gifts we found a cool wall hanging ... macrame with abalone shells for $105. The nice young man gave me a better price of $89 👍🏻. It’ll look great in the RV living room. We looked for a beachside eatery (plentiful) but decided to have a burger and beer at Texas Roadhouse. 😂 After that, we walked around the biggest Walmart to burn off a few calories!  

Tonight was cuban food at the clubhouse with Mama Mia 2 ... being a musical, not my favorite, but okay! Now, we’re going to sit out with Karen, Pete, Wayne & LaDonna. Tomorrow’s back home and out of this humidity! 

Mark tried on hats at Island Rags (where we bought a cool wall hanging.) 

LaDonna and Wayne on the dolphin cruise. 

So Marky put the telly on channel 86 and Voila! History Channel and .... da da daaaa Ancient Aliens 👽! It’s now going on 1 o’clock and even the dogs have given up on me. 😁

Friday September 6, 2019

Good morning sunshine! We slept very well. Mark made a quick trip to Walmart for ground turkey. Yup, I didn’t bring the dog’s protein! (Mark cooked chicken for them and apparently I put it in the freezer at home 🙄.) So, Marky’s cooking for the kids now! 

Today’s plans are for a drive about St. Petersburg and later, a potluck get together. There’s just 19 rigs here with our group this trip. Many couldn’t make the trip because of the weather. (It’s lovely here ... just very hot.) 

We sat at the back of our rig enjoying the Bayou for an hour today. Our neighbor Kelly came over to say hi and asked if we wanted to go swimming. We took a rain check til tomorrow as Mark’s cooking peppers, onions and sausage for tonight’s potluck. 😋 

The potluck dinner was terrific. There were a lot of very inventive dishes tonight. Afterwords, we played bingo which raises money for the homeless veterans. Afterward, we sat outside till 1130 just enjoying the evening while Mark and Wayne smoke cigars. We all had a good time.

Thursday, September 5, 2019

It’s just 12:15 and we’re backed onto Long Bayou at Madeira Beach KOA. It’s a nice spot!

The drive was good, just normal traffic. Only Karen and Pete are here so far.

Cool sign!

Gorgeous Roseate spoonbill right behind our rig! 

Tonight, we’re going to a steakhouse for dinner. LaDonna and Wayne are riding with us.

After dinner, we drove about the campground which is huge! After walking the dogs we trued to sit outside but only lastec 15 minutes. It was so hot and muggy! Tomorrow’s going to be hot too. We’ll likely drive about the area. 

Sue and Wayne are in Wisconsin Dells tonight after driving through heavy rain and hail. Yikes. Randy and Dawn called while on their way home from a restaurant in Clermont. They had dinner out with Dan and Mary. 

Wednesday, September 4, 2019

Good afternoon. It’s going on 1 o’clock and we’re saying bye-bye to Hurricane Dorian. It’s finally leaving the Florida coastline. Good riddance. As we tidy up from the storm, which was nothing in our neighborhood, we have to think of the Bahamian people and make donations to the rescue leagues heading over there with boats and planes. 

Sue and Wayne left their cottage, heading for Florida. We hope they will stop by for a visit on their way south!

It’s a busy day here! Mark had a chiro appointment and shopped for a Friday potluck at Madeira Beach. Meanwhile, I baked 100 pumpkin spice cookies for the Scotties! Lucky kids. 

Tonight we picked up Rose and Jim then met RanDawn at Oakwood Smokehouse for date night dinner. It was delicious, as always! 

Tuesday September 3, 2019

Hey there. We got a case of cabin fever waiting on Hurricane Dorian to move on. 😜 So, we went for lunch, then Home Depot and Walmart. 

This picture of Hurricane Dorian as a Cat 5 was taken from ISS.

This beast battered Grand Bahama FORTY HOURS STRAIGHT. The Bahamians will need everyone’s help to recover. 

A few pics are coming through of Marsh Harbor and they’re awful. 

Tonight we’re to have rain and 39 MPH winds overnight. 😅

Monday, September 2, 2019

Good morning. I was up at five and checked the TV weather to see if Hurricane Dorian had begun the northward turn. I noted that it had, very slightly, but was still hammering the poor Bahamas. With nothing to be done, I went back to bed till 8 o’clock when Mark got up to check the weather. Everything is fine here; we are very concerned about the Bahamas and south Florida. 

This afternoon, Mark puttered about securing a few things ahead of the rain and eventual wind that we will get. Other than that, it’s going to be a rather laid-back day around here.

Sue and Wayne have Ron coming to help close up the cottage for the season. I guess they will be on the road south in the next few days. Our plans are to travel with them next summer. 

Matt and Tiffany and the girls had to evacuate their Boynton Beach waterfront condo. Fortunately, they have family nearby who took them in with all the critters! Here’s the 2 PM Monday weather report ...

This 1 MPH crawl is crazy ...

Well, it’s 10:20 and the dang hurricane is still sitting over Grand Bahama just beating it. 😱 It’s total devastation and I’m afraid hundreds of lives may be lost. 

Sunday SEPTEMBER 1st 2019

Good day and welcome September!

 It’s our buddy Roddy’s birthday! We phoned him and yakked it up about Hurricane Dorian and ‘the wait’ for it’s turn northward. He and Shay were having a bottle of bubbly compliments of their neighbor. Nice. Plans are for lunch at the legion by golf cart. 😜

Canadian friends Bruce & Heather keep their yacht at Marsh Harbor in the Bahamas. Here’s what’s going on there ... 

Sadly, Hurricane Dorian is pounding the Bahamian Islands today. Tomorrow, it’s forecast to turn northward and skirt Florida’s east coast. Mandatory evacuations have been done on the barrier islands already. Dorian is THE strongest hurricane (this far north in the Atlantic) in history. It is a Cat 5 with 185 MPH sustained winds gusting to 220. Seas are 49’ in the area. 

Now it’s time to put the RV back in its port. We will be getting some wind regardless of how close this hurricane gets, so better to put it away and be safe.

Tonight, we’re going to meet Randy and Dawn for dinner in Mount Dora. We haven’t been there for a while. We went to Pizza Amore and it was great. We love that place! 

Yum yum ... Dawn had Chicken Alfredo, Randy had Eggplant Parmigiana, Me - Shrimp Alfredo and Mark had Penne with Marinara and Artichoke. Everything was served piping hot!