March 25, 2007

It’s been a while since the last entry. A little over a week ago, our dear friend, Richard’s Father passed away. He and Vera were ready to leave our Park on the way to Perry, Georgia for a FMCA Rally when they received the phone call. Instead, they left the same day for Pine Bush, New York. Because of the cold, many things to do with family back home and because their dog, Brandi, just had her hair cut short, they let her remain with us. As we said in a previous entry, Brandi is very smart, well mannered and fun to have around. We do miss Richard and Vera a lot. Please add Richard and his family to your prayers.

Since downsizing and moving into our motor home, we’ve wanted to do something with our pictures. We have a large bin in our basement storage with lots of family and vacation pictures. We decided to put them on CDs and give the pictures to our daughter. We purchased a scanner and a large external hard drive. For the last week, we have been putting them into the hard drive. We have logged many hours on this project. Charlotte or I had no idea how long this would take. Believe us, it is a slow process. We started early in the morning and continued late at night to finish this week. Now we just need to put them on CDs. I’m sure this will also take time to complete. We don’t plan to get back on the road until sometime in June so hopefully we have sufficient time to finish this project.

One night while scanning pictures we heard fireworks nearby. The Detroit Tigers baseball team has spring training across the street from our Park. This was the first night game and they were celebrating with their fans. It was a terrific show that lasted approximately 20 minutes. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any pictures but I’m sure you have seen fireworks. I will try to do better next time.

March 8, 2007

Today we went to the Strawberry Festival at nearby Plant City. There certainly was a lot to see and do. We listened to various singing groups, observed the kids on the many rides and explored a multitude of vendor booths filled with lots of unique, unusual, fun and exciting things.

It was very interesting to see what is involved to grow strawberries commercially. They make long raised rows approximately two foot wide and one foot high. They cover this with plastic and then punch the plants through. They have irrigation hoses installed under the plastic for efficient use of water. This is a great system, which eliminates the weeds, makes it easier to pick and keeps the berries out of the dirt.

A favorite area for Charlotte and Vera was the craft building. We saw some beautifully decorated cakes, quilts, artwork, photographs and much more.

I should also mention that there is a lot of food especially strawberry shortcake. Food choices were the typical kinds you would find at a fair or carnival. Most are not the healthiest but they sure taste good. We went through the fix your own strawberry shortcake booth. The shortcake was fantastic. Later in the afternoon, we watched “The Oakridge Boys” performance. After more than thirty years of performing, they still exhibit great vocal range. We did a lot of toe tapping, knee slapping, clapping and singing along with some of their greatest hits.

It was a great show that completed a great afternoon. If you are in Florida in March, plan to go to the Strawberry Festival. It is a lot of fun and entertainment for the entire family.

March 1, 2007

Sometimes we think we want another pet. We often say a dog would be a good companion. A dog would let us know if someone is outside the RV or messing with our car although we have never had any problems around our campsite. We tend to think that a little dog would be ok in our RV. Little dogs don’t take up much room. They also fit on your lap better than large dogs. They don’t eat as much as large dogs so it wouldn’t cost as much. If we had a dog, we would get more exercise. Dogs love to walk and check everything at every stop. We would walk our dog every morning and evening rain or shine. Yes, a dog would be good for us.

By now, you are probably wondering why am I rambling on about a dog. We are keeping Rich and Vera’s dog while they go back to New York for a few days. Rich’s father is in the hospital. Hopefully he will get better and everything will return too normal. Their dog, Brandie, is a cute little Yorkshire terrier. She only weighs six pounds. She is very well behaved and well trained. She loves attention and being petted. She enjoys setting in our laps and she spends an equal amount of time with each of us. She is the perfect companion. We are really enjoying this time with her.

This is a great opportunity for us to remember what it is like to have a pet. We had forgotten about walks in the rain, walks in the middle of a favorite TV show, fleas, haircuts, baths, jealousy of other dogs and such. We have not experienced any of these with Brandie. None of the things I mentioned are bad but we have a different life style now. We come and go without thinking about needing to get back home to take care of a pet. We enjoy not having to worry about such matters. For us, occasionally helping friends by keeping their loving little dog for a few days is enough. We have the best of both worlds. We get to play with a cute little dog with none of the responsibilities of being a pet owner. I don’t think we will be getting a pet anytime in the near future. At this time, we don’t want to share any of our attention and love with anyone else. Perhaps, this is being a little selfish but that is the way it works best for us.