DeFuniak to Dallas

We haven't really told you much about the town of DeFuniak Springs, where we've been staying the last couple of months. It's a small city of around 7,000 in the Florida panhandle located off Interstate 10 between Tallahassee and Pensacola and is the county seat for Walton County, Florida. It has one of only two naturally round spring fed lakes in the world located in the historic downtown DeFuniak Springs area; the other being located near Zurich, Switzerland. The town was developed in the late 1800s as a railroad town and named after Fred R. DeFuniak, who held many high offices with the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. A Christmas tradition in DeFuniak Springs is called Christmas Reflections, where more than 5.5 million lights make up displays surrounding Lake DeFuniak. The one-mile circumference area of Circle Drive and the approximate 400 feet to the shores of Lake DeFuniak is illuminated with lights draped in the towering pines and oaks. Also, animated lighted figures, characters, Victorian silhouettes, Nativity scenes and holiday characters are spread throughout the grounds of the park and many of the surrounding homes are lit as well. The cost is $3 per person with the money going towards the following year's displays and various community projects. When we arrived in late October, we drove around the lake and saw inmates from the Walton County Correctional Institute dressed in black and white striped prison uniforms assembling the annual Christmas Reflections show. I didn't get any photos of that but did get these photos when we took the tour the night of Christmas Eve.

The historic district has many quaint little shops and buildings, one of them being the Hotel DeFuniak, built in the 1920s and restored in 1997. From what we've read the entire hotel is full of 19th century European and American antiques, and every room has its own unique theme from the Safari to the Dutch Romantic to the French Country. It's a very popular bed and breakfast location.

One of the great things about this lifestyle (as we may have mentioned before) is the flexibility to make last minute changes. As you know, we were scheduled to stay here until Jan. 3, but Christmas Day Russ asked me if I'd like to got to the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Now if you remember, that is where our University of Missouri Tigers will be playing the University of Arkansas Razorbacks on New Year's Day. Well, didn't seem like a bad idea to me! We debated a little as to whether to spend the extra money since Dallas isn't exactly on the way to Baton Rouge, but then we thought 'hey, this is what fulltiming is all about...having the flexibilitiy to do these last minute, crazy things!' Mizzou had released some more tickets for sale so Russ got online yesterday morning and bought two. The Cotton Bowl grounds has onsite RV parking, which opens at 1pm on Sunday, Dec. 30. So tomorrow morning we are leaving DeFuniak Springs, will spend a couple nights at a campground in Monroe, LA, then head to Dallas on Sunday. We'll be boondocking at the RV parking site for 3 nights (meaning no water, sewer, or electric hookups), but between the generator and batteries, we should be ok. We've only boondocked for one night at a time before so this will be a new experience! But, hey, that's what this is all about! The game will be televised on Fox at 10:30am, Jan. 1, so maybe you'll catch us on TV. GO TIGERS!!!

Merry Christmas!

May the wonder of Christmas be with you always.

Peace, love, and happiness from the Farmers.

Time to Reflect....by Russ Farmer

As we enter the last week of 2007 we thought this to be a good time to reflect on our travels. In less than two weeks we will have completed the first leg of real full-timing on the road. We will have come full circle as we return to the starting point in Denham Springs, LA. We've gone more than 4,600 miles in six months while driving the Folly down the road. We have added an additional 5,000 miles in the Saturn Vue, and we have a lot to show for it. One thing that has struck us is the absence of the crime, and the worthy values of those we have met. We found almost every person we met, both in the cities and in the country, to be the kind of decent, caring people we thought had disappeared in our country. We can't really blame it on the media or TV for feeling that way. We are at fault for not getting out and meeting America on her own terms before now. It's too easy to get caught up in isolation induced by job, family, TV, and just not enough time.

I used to marvel at Charles Kuralt and the people he found for his Sunday segment of "On the Road". I wondered how he ever found the unique characters he presented. Not any more. I now know they're on every corner, of every town in our great country. We have only highlighted a few of the people we've met the last six months. We haven't mentioned all the dinners we've eaten with new acquaintances, all of the chats with characters we've met and shared some moments with. Just the thousands of smiles and handshakes would take a book. And we have just begun our journey.

But more importantly, we have met a lot of great people who've helped us make it every inch of the way. Anyone can buy a rig and hit the road, but there's a lot more to it than driving and parking a 55 foot rig and car through narrow roads and towns. RVers are probably the last of the American pioneers. With all the camaraderie, genuine assistance, and common bonds that the early RVers in their conestoga wagons had. As a group we have found them honest, helpful, and as much, if not more, talkative than us!

But more to the point, as we gather each day in front of our rigs, we have experienced more of the old fashioned sense of community, with perfect strangers for the first twenty seconds or so, than I ever felt in a tract house community with neighbors of two or three years. The common bond is that we are doing it, and talking about it. Each person we meet has a story and each story has made us better for listening. It doesn’t matter where someone is from, how old they are, how much money they have, or what type of rig they call home. At these moments in time we are just neighbors.

Last night we watched The Polar Express with a half dozen others. We enjoyed popcorn and a sense of community. There was a line toward the end of the movie: “The thing about trains…it doesn’t matter were they are going. What matters is deciding to get on.” As we walked back to our home, we realized how true that was about our RV. We also realized that we were glad we decided to get on. Home for us is truly where we park it.

Panhandle Opry

Part of the fun of this adventure is taking in the local sights and attractions. Well, Saturday night we decided to visit the Panhandle Opry in nearby Mossy Head, FL. It's billed as the "Cleanest Country Music Show on Earth", and the panhandle's answer to the Grand Old Opry. Now neither of us are big country music fans, but we had heard it was a good time and since it's one of those local attractions, we figured we should check it out especially since the cost was only $6. On this particular Saturday they were having a covered dish dinner an hour before the regular show at no additional charge. The Opry provided the ham, beverages, and dinnerware while all in attendance were to bring a covered dish to share. On the way there we missed a turn so arrived about 5 minutes late, and when we walked in, nearly everyone had already been through the line and were eating!! The food was okay, but the ham was extremely salty even by Russ' standards and you know what a salt fiend he is!

Now we weren't expecting any phenomenal entertainment, and we weren't disappointed. It's a family affair and has a long history in the area. We had heard that pretty much if you've seen the show once, you've seen it all. This particular night they did throw in a few Christmas songs though there were only two that were familiar. Nearly all the songs were slow, and if you like country, it might have been a somewhat enjoyable evening for you. But there were not only musical miscues but they were also having technical difficulties with the sound system. There were a couple highlights of the evening however. One was when two of the grandsons joined the group onstage on lead guitar on Memphis and Heartbreak Hotel during the first half of the show, and on Wipeout on the second half. (This also broke up some of the monotony of the s-l-o-w country music!) And the other was the special guest appearance by "Lulu" singing All I Want for Christmas and Santa Baby.....what a hoot she was!!!

If you want to check out further info and photos on the Panhandle Opry, simply go to http://www.panhandleopry.com/. We can at least say that now we've seen the Panhandle Opry, but it's definitely not something we plan to see again. But then, maybe we just caught them on a bad night....or not. After leaving the Opry, we headed over to the local bar for a couple beers. The band was Vic George & Doublecross, and they were surprisingly good. They played some country but had a really good mixture of other tunes as well. The clientele was quite diverse, and we believe this is the "hot spot" for the local area. We got a kick out of watching the pretty young girls hustling the guys for free drinks. And not just the young guys! Good thing I was with Russ!! Russ commented that the girls were really nasty on the dance floor and enjoyed the show. We even discussed that we should return some evening with the only problem being the action does not pick up until about 10pm. Quite late for us nowadays!

A couple people have asked me via e-mail about my singing, and if I miss it. I've mentioned in the blog about visiting a couple choruses in other states, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and I missed out on attending a rehearsal in Ft. Myers. Initially I had hoped to be able to attend a few rehearsals while in this area, but then before we arrived I discovered that the nearest chorus is 1-1/2 hours away. Now I know there are some of my chorus friends who travel that far or further at times to attend a rehearsal, but that's never been something I wanted to do, at least not on a regular basis! I had considered the idea of going at least once during the two months we were here, but the thought of driving that distance by myself at 10pm didn't really excite me. So I haven't been able to sing with a chorus since September, and yes, I miss it, especially this time of year. I've always loved singing Christmas carols, and the smaller choruses I've belonged to always do many Christmas performances as fundraisers and/or community outreach. It's harder for the larger choruses to do this, but they might have a Christmas show instead. In high school there were a few of us that started an annual Christmas caroling event. The first year a few of us along with brothers and other friends decided to go singing door to door simply bringing joy to the neighborhood, but people kept trying to give us money! So we decided we'd go ahead and collect for the American Cancer Society and used someone's knit cap to collect the donations in. We couldn't believe that people actually trusted us enough to put money in a knit cap! Afterwards we went back to my house for hot chocolate. Every year thereafter we'd choose a charity ahead of time (we usually tried to pick one that wasn't as well known and didn't get as many donations), make up a canister, choose one of our neighborhoods, and set a date. Seemed our group got bigger each year, and we so enjoyed doing it. Slowly everyone's lives got busier and it became harder to maintain this tradition, but it's one of my fondest memories. And so, yes, I truly miss singing but will soon be back in Baton Rouge where I can visit my friends in the Baton Rouge Chorus and once more join in song, if only for awhile.

Last week I mentioned about karaoke at hot dog night. The machine wasn't for everyone's use (so no, I did not perform....thank goodness!) But the man who owned the machine and his wife did as well as Wendell, who stays here several months out of the year and plays a mean guitar from what we've been told. And he has quite a good singing voice from what we heard. There was also a special guest appearance by "Willie McLaine". Think he should meet Lulu!!

I shared some photos a couple weeks ago of how folks have decorated their rigs and sites for Christmas so thought this week I'd share some photos of how the owners have decorated the grounds around the clubhouse.

Also, here's a photo of one of the shirts I've painted so far, and I plan to work on another one this week. I'm really enjoying this craft but probably won't continue when I leave here since that would mean buying a whole bunch of new paints since I can't use my ceramic ones on fabric. But at least now I've done it and know the process.

Just a reminder (since someone asked) that if you double-click on the photos, they will open up fullsize...at least most of the time. Every once in awhile you'll find one that won't open. Don't know why since they're all loaded the same way...just won't.

Oh, and by the way, we finally watched Star Wars III, after joking beforehand whether we should first go back and watch number II one more time! LOL Have a great week!

Move to Florida????

Well, we're still here in DeFuniak Springs, keeping active with all the ongoing activities. Yesterday morning was the pancake breakfast. For $2 you got two big, fluffy pancakes, two sausage links, orange juice, and coffee! An added treat for this evening's hot dog night is karaoke and also a few of our neighbors will be strumming their guitars and beltin' out some country music. It don't get no better than this! We kid about some of these things, but we actually find them quite enjoyable.

Some of you may be curious as to the title of this post so we'll take some time to fill you in on our upcoming plans. We will be staying here in DeFuniak until January 3, and then travel back to the KOA in Denham Springs. As it stands now we have a reservation for one month, but still do not know how much longer we'll be staying. We have a few doctor appointments scheduled and are in the process of getting a couple others on the calendar. We hope to have all of those appointments finished by the end of January.

At some time between February 1 and April 30 we plan on changing our legal residence to the state of Florida. Why, you ask? The driving factor behind doing this is our health insurance. When our COBRA runs out on April 30, we will be eligible for a medical conversion policy to Cigna healthcare, which presently administers our health benefits. There are 4 states in the entire country that do not allow this conversion, and you guessed it....Louisiana is one of the 4. If we remain in LA, because of our pre-existing conditions, we will likely have to enroll in the Louisiana Health Insurance Association. This insurance is available to LA residents who have been denied health insurance for any reason. It is expensive, has high deductibles, limited choices, and just plain scary. By "moving" to Florida, we can get the conversion and have been informed that the cost will about $1,000 per month. A little bit more than what's in our budget, but obviously necessary.

In an effort to re-balance our budget we have spent the last few weeks trying to determine the most economical (cheap) way to continue on our travels. The second major expense that we incur each month are campground fees. Although we are only paying $375 plus tax per month here at Sunset King RV Resort, that amount will rise to almost $1,000 per month in Denham Springs. We have found since we left, and although KOAs are consistent and generally nice, staying at them has run about that $1,000 per month. We have investigated a number of different programs to help control this cost, and we have recently purchased a membership at the Breckenridge Lake Resort in Crossville, TN. We made this purchase so that we could utilize Coast to Coast Resorts for only $10 per night. They have campgrounds in almost every state, and although they are generally not located as close to major metropolitan areas as KOAs, there are many located within 30 or 40 miles of areas we would like to visit. The purchase price of this membership was $46, a $125 transfer fee, plus a $32 annual maintenance fee. In addition we paid to join Coast to Coast, which has an annual membership fee of $89.95. The program allows us to stay 14 days for free at our "home resort" in Crossville, TN. The $10 per night fee is available at all the other campgrounds and allows us up to a 7 night stay twice per year at each resort. The day we were making the decision, the resort here asked us if we'd be interested in a membership from them. Their membership included all the same benefits but was priced at $2,000 with a $250 annual maintenance fee. It is our understanding that some resorts sell their memberships for $4,000 - $5,000. So the $46 plus the $125 transfer fee sounded like a pretty good deal to us!

We have also stumbled across a company called My RV Mail, which for $12 per month supplies a Florida legal address and runs a mail forwarding service. They also allow you to view your mail online, delete anything that you do not want, and have the rest forwarded to you anywhere in the country for $4.05. So it looks like we will sign up for that service, change our billing address on the few items that still go to our P.O. Box, and when we leave Baton Rouge, have the mail from our box forwarded to this company. We will use this address to register our vehicles, for our drivers licenses, and for voter registration. It just so happens that this company is located about 20 miles down the road in Crestview, FL.

Another issue we hope to resolve while in Denham Springs is the issue of our storage unit. Most of the items in storage are considered collectibles and probably need to be listed on eBay. We only have a few large items, a dresser, chiffarobe and mirror that belonged to Russ' grandparents, and some glass tables that we purchased in Houston. We will need to go through the unit and determine what items we will try one last time to sell, what items we may take with us to eBay during the coming year, and whether we want to stay long enough in Denham to eBay our Dept. 56 Christmas in the City collection. It looks right now, that we will need to continue paying the $65 per month storage fee for another year. Not sure we want to hassle with it right now.

The last issue is to determine which items we have brought with us that it doesn't look like we'll use. We also have some items in storage that we may want to bring with us on our next trip. Speaking of our next trip, when we leave Denham, we will either come back to DeFuniak for a couple months, or if we stay longer in Denham, we will head north from there. We are leaning toward a trip along the East coast in 2008. We would like to visit some Civil War and Revolutionary War sites in GA, SC, NC, and VA. We're also hoping to see friends in Charleston, SC, spend some time in Savannah, GA, and Washington, DC. We will, of course, stop to see both of our sisters in DE and NJ. Hopefully we can get up and visit New York City, Cooperstown, and Niagara Falls. We also have plans on making it up to Maine, and back to St. Louis for the Missouri/Illinois football game in late August. At the end of the year, we may end up at Walt Disney World, since the FL resident annual pass is pretty reasonable! Plus there are about a dozen Coast to Coast resorts within 30 miles of the castle. 12 resorts x 7 days x 2 visits = 168 nights! Nothing like Disney World in December!

That's all for this week. By the way it was 82 degrees today!

A Different Christmas Poem

Our friend Scott, who we met at the KOA in Eureka, MO, had posted this poem on his blog (www.serenityadventure.com), and we thought it so wonderful that we asked if he'd mind if we posted it on ours as well. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

A Different Christmas Poem

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts.
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."

"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.

My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December',"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas Gram always remembers.
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile."

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
"I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN
30th Naval Construction Regiment
OIC, Logistics Cell One,
Al Taqqadum , Iraq

Talkin' Cotton

Well, we had quite the excitement last night here at the Sunset King RV Resort! About 6pm we heard sirens wailing, and they kept getting louder and closer. Last week one of the ladies here had a heart attack and had to be taken away by ambulance. She had a couple stents put in, so when the sirens didn't stop and kept getting even louder and closer, that was my first thought, that she had suffered another heart attack. Russ and I went outside and could see the vehicles coming around the bend, lights flashing and sirens blaring. It was dark, but then I noticed that on top of one of the trucks were several people waving and realized it was Santa Claus! I ran inside to get the camera, and they drove right down our row tossing candy. Now the neighbors and we agreed that we're not sure it was a real good idea driving through the resort like that with so many older folks staying here....just might give someone a heart attack!!

Tuesday last week we went with four other couples to Country Folks Buffet for lunch. It's located in the town of Florala, Alabama (Florala = Florida + Alabama), just 20 miles up the road. For $6.99 you get all you can eat including drink, salad bar, and homemade desserts. The menu changes slightly everyday but we had our choice of fried chicken, baked chicken, pork chops, chicken & dumplings, chicken pot pie, and all sorts of sides. The food was really good and as the brochure states it was "good country cookin' just like Granmaw's!"
We rode with another couple and along the way we passed several cotton fields. On the drive Ed told us a little about cotton picking nowadays. He said that most cotton is harvested mechanically by a cotton picker, a machine that removes the cotton from the boll without damaging the cotton plant. Seems the logistics of cotton harvesting and processing have been improved by the development of the cotton module builder, a machine that compresses harvested cotton into a large block, which is then covered with a tarp and temporarily stored at the edge of the field. A couple of the fields had these huge cotton blocks in them, but unfortunately I hadn't taken my camera. So I went back a couple days later with the camera and the bales were gone, but I did get a couple shots of the cotton fields not yet picked. Oh, and we also passed the sign showing us the way the Lakewood, Florida's highest point with an elevation of 345 ft., just a couple miles down the road.

Saturday was the monthly yard sale. When we first heard about this, we wondered if everybody just traded their junk! But turns out an ad is posted in the newspaper, advertised on the local radio station, and signs put out at the major intersections by the Activities Director. So we had a few things that we had discovered we didn't really need that we put out, and also the ceramic ornaments that I had painted. I had brought some craft things with me, and the ornaments and my paints were part of that. There didn't seem to be a lot of outside traffic this month so we only made $21, and Russ wondered if it had been a waste of time, but hey, what else were we going to do for those 3 hours!

After all, we had to kill some time until the big game that night, Missouri vs. Oklahoma for the Big 12 Championship. For those who don't know, Missouri lost 38-17, so we were slightly bummed. We knew that this loss meant they would not be playing for the National Championship but hoped they would at least get to play in one of the BCS Bowl games. Despite the loss, the Tigers still had a great season and are poised to become a national power for many years to come. They won their first Big 12 North title, finished 7-1 in the Big 12 for the first time since 1969, and the 11 regular-season wins were the most in the program's history. Well, the BCS Bowl rankings came out on Sunday night, and the Tigers were ranked 6th but not chosen. Russ' view on the BCS is that it should be abolished, and the winner of the SEC and the Big 10 should just play for the National Championship every year. The whole process is a joke, and although it is a cash cow for the major conferences, university presidents should be ashamed of themselves for not moving to a playoff system. The Tigers will be playing in the Cotton Bowl on January 1, which is nothing to sneeze at. Before the Bull Championship Shit (BCS), the Cotton Bowl was one of the four premiere New Year's Day Bowl games, and this year will feature a better game than most BCS bowls. This is not sour grapes because the Tigers lost as you can go back to previous blog entries and find references to our opinion on this subject. We're still very proud of our Tigers and will be rooting loud and strong on January 1!

Seems like a lot of folks in the campground were busy decorating for Christmas this week! The decorations range from the very simple to more elaborate.

There are some folks who live here year round in "permanent" housing and are able to do even more as you can see from this picture on the left.

They started a shirt painting class this week so I decided to check it out. I've never painted on fabric but found it wasn't that difficult, and the lady leading the class is very encouraging and helpful. Several of the ladies have been doing it for a couple years and had some very nice work to show for it. You bring your own shirt, stencil the picture on, and then paint it, so it's not freehand, but still turns out very pretty. Most are working on Christmas scense right now but that wouldn't have looked good on the shirt I brought this week. So now I've got another class to add to my weekly agenda along with the exercise group 3 days/week (walking & yoga) and the line dance group, 1-2 times/week. Though some people are still doing water aerobics, I've put it on hold for now....water is way too cold! Then there's the ice cream social and the bonfire hot dogs and the weekly pot luck....whew! There's so much going on here, and we're not even participating in everything! Until next week...have a great one!

Thanksgiving & More!

Again it's been a busy week starting off Mon. night with the ice cream social followed by hot dogs at the bonfire Tues. night! The weather was a little chillier this week so not as many attendees at the bonfire (yeah, I know, you'd think they'd come cause the bonfire would keep them warm!)

We also put up our Christmas decorations this week! Since space was limited, I only brought a couple small decorations for each of the holidays...a small jack-o-lantern for Halloween, a small scarecrow for Fall/Thanksgiving, and a small wooden snowman and nativity for Christmas. When I was in St. Louis my friend, Gloria, had given me a small, plush snowman with a St. Louis Cardinals scarf and cap so I planned on adding that to the "decorations". Additionally I had brought along a couple dish towels representing each of the holidays. I figured we'd get a very small fake tree to complete the decor. Well, my husband surprised me when we were at Wal-mart and headed to the Christmas section where he proceeded to buy a 32" tree with fiber optic lights, snowman window clings, cotton blanket for the snow, a string of icicle lights, and green garland to hide the wiring! So as you can see from the photos, we're all set for Christmas! Since Jo likes to lay on the dashboard to get some sun, we cut out a section so she could look out, but she seems to prefer laying on the "snow blanket" under the tree!

Thursday we drove down to Rick and Jill's house in Ft. Walton Beach to spend Thanksgiving. This time not only did Mikey and Abby get to go, but so did Jo. They were our neighbors when Jo adopted us in Lancaster so they were looking forward to seeing her again and said that Romeo liked kitties. As expected, Jo initially spit at Romeo but then just made herself at home. Jill was busy preparing the Oyster Dressing New Orleans Style, so Russ and Rick spent their time trying to find an easy way to cleanly open the pecans we had brought, which were given to us by a campground neighbor. They tried several pliers, vices, and clamps but couldn't find anything that made it easy to get the meat out once opened. But it kept them busy. :-) A couple hours later we headed to Jean's house (Jill's mom) for the Thanksgiving feast. Mikey, Abby, and Romeo came along so Jean's dog, Rags, would have company. Russ and Rick were in charge of deep frying the two turkeys while Jill, Jean, and I went over to a friend of Jean's for hors d'oeuvres and some yummy homemade Sangria. When we returned, the turkeys were done, and it was time to eat and what a feast! Jill and Jean had prepared everything they had learned in a cooking class a couple weeks before, and all was incredibly delicious.

Crazy as we are, we ventured out on Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year....what were we thinking! Jill wanted us to see Old Tyme Pottery, one of her favorite stores in Destin. It was crowded but not nearly as bad as the Bass Pro Shop! Good grief, what a nightmare! Then we stopped at the Lucky Snapper Bar & Grill (http://www.luckysnapper.com/) for a Bloody Mary and a bite to eat. We had planned to sit outside on the deck overlooking Destin Harbor, but there was a bit of a breeze which made it a little too chilly. So we sat in the bar and still had a nice view. Of course, I forgot to bring my camera! Friday night Jill and I went to a Beaujolais wine party being held by Jean's friend, Sara, while the guys stayed home and watched football.

Saturday was a big day for football as far as Russ was concerned, but the only things I was really interested in watching was ESPN Game Day at 9am, which was being done live from Kansas City, the scene of that night's Border War, and of course, the BIG game at 7pm!! So after Game Day and breakfast, Rick, Jill, and I went over to Jean's so I could use her sewing machine and they could help her with some stuff. But then it was back to their house to get ready for the BIG game!! (Have I mentioned that it was a BIG game?!!?) For those of you who may not follow college football, what made this game even BIGGER than what it already was is the fact that LSU, the #1 team in America, had lost their game to the unranked Arkansas team on Friday, which meant the winner of the Missouri/Kansas game on Saturday could potentially become #1 in the nation! So we were fired up come game time (as if we needed extra incentive), wearing our Missouri shirts, and ready for a great game. Rick and Jill are loyal to their own college teams but cheered along for Mizzou as did their friend, Steve, who came over initially to watch the Florida game beforehand. In the end our Missouri team prevailed winning 38-26!! And the BCS poll came out yesterday, and Missouri is #1!!!!!!!! Next Saturday they play Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship game being held in San Antonio. The winner of that game will more than likely get to play in the national championship in January. So we've got our fingers crossed and are ready for another really BIG game!!

After breakfast Sunday, we returned to DeFuniak Springs and vegged out the rest of the day. Today it's raining pretty good so am spending the day writing the blog, painting ceramic ornaments for next Saturday's yard sale, and doing laundry. Don't think I mentioned that we finally decided to give the built-in washer/dryer a try a few weeks ago. I had put it off because we had read and heard that they use a lot of amps, a lot of water, and hold very small loads. Well, we decided that while we're parked at a place where electricity and water are supplied as part of our fee, we might as well give it a go (besides it's probably cheaper than spending $10 at the laundromat!) The machine uses only 1-1/2 tablespoon each of detergent and fabric softener, and it takes about 2 to 2-1/2 hours to do a "load", but it can run in the background while doing other stuff. Hey, guess it fills up the time! LOL

Well, that's all for now until next week. Don't forget to watch the next BIG game Saturday at 7pm and root for Mizzou! (Of course, I don't expect that from our Oklahoma friends.) GO TIGERS!!!!!!!!

De Funiak Springs, FL

Another week (or so) has passed so must be time for a Folly update!

As you may recall from a previous post when we were in NJ, we had taken on the task of washing the RV, top to bottom, and it only took us 4 hours. Well, there's a guy here at the resort who will do the same thing for no more than $100, and it seemed like a bargain to us! So last Thursday, BJ came by and did a fine job. Probably any job would have been fine as long as we didn't have to do it!

Friday was Movie Night. They have an outdoor "screen" here with some benches and show a movie every Friday night. It was supposed to be a little chilly out so we armed ourselves with monster mugs of hot chocolate (with a wee bit of Kahlua) and headed down to see Ratatouille, a Disney/Pixar film. It's a very cute movie about a rat who aspires to be a gourmet chef. I know...it may sound strange, but Disney and Pixar do such an excellent job of having their movies appeal to adults as well as kids with lots of attention to detail.

Saturday was a busy day. We finally got some neighbors on the other side of us and learned they were from Denmark, but more on Henrik and Anne later. Our day had been scheduled for about a week planning to start with watching the Missouri football game at 11:30. They were playing Texas A & M and a chance to move up in the national rankings, which they did! Because of the game, we were a few minutes late for the fish fry we had been invited to by Russ' golfing buddy, Bill, and his wife, Lanna. Bill and Jim (another guy here at the resort) had caught a boatload of fish near the Florida/Alabama border, and evidently this fish fry is an annual tradition. There was salmon, croppie, bass, and more. Lanna made homemade hush puppies, and everyone brought a side dish. There were about 15 of us, and all the food was really good especially the fish. Jim uses a combination of two different flours for the batter, making it very light and delicious, and cooked it up fresh right there at Bill's site.

A pot luck is held every Sunday with the resort owners supplying the meat. This week was fried chicken, and we invited our new friends, Henrik and Anne, to join us. We had been chatting with them again in the morning, and since they had never been to a pot luck, we thought they might enjoy it. There were about 50 people in attendance and quite the array of food and lots of desserts!

Over the next couple days we spent a good deal of time with them. Anne went to exercise class with me on Monday and line dancing on Tuesday. They invited us for dinner one night starting with tapas (appetizers) and served pork kabobs, homemade potato salad, and a delicious traditional Danish dessert similar to rice pudding, all served with a couple bottles of an Australian wine, Lindeman's Shiraz. What a meal! And of course, we reciprocated by inviting them to dinner one night where I served my homemade lasagna, garlic bread, and apple pie, also served with a couple bottles of Merlot, of course! Both nights we finished our evening with a glass of port from a bottle Russ had been waiting for the perfect opportunity to open and share. One of these nights I had mentioned that I like black licorice, and Henrik brought out a bag of what is known as Denmark's most popular candy. It is black licorice coins but with a very salty taste. They're not meant to be chewed but rather let them sort of melt in your mouth. Russ spit his out pretty quickly even though he loves salt. I kept hoping the salt taste would dissipate, but it didn't, and finally even I had to get rid of mine. It was an interesting experience, and Henrik said it's something one needs to acquire a taste for.

Henrik and Anne have traveled all over the world, and recently (along with a Canadian friend) purchased a 40 foot motorhome. They take a 6 month leave from their respective jobs and travel all over the U.S. in the motorhome, and then they return to Denmark, while their friend uses it for the next 6 months. They have worked out quite an arrangement that seems to work for all concerned, and if you'd like to learn more about their travels, you can visit their website at http://www.winnebago.dk/ . It is chock full of excellent information about the RV lifestyle.

Henrik and Russ spent many hours discussing all manner of subjects from computers to world politics. Henrik told us that the tax rate in Denmark is 60%, and even though they have free medical and free college education, it is paid for through the high taxes. He was continually amazed at the "low cost" of items here in the U.S. They had seen their first American football game in Atlanta (playing San Francisco), so had questions about the game, and were surprised at how the fans didn't seem very excited and how many empty seats there were. Russ told them that first of all they had seen two teams that are not very good, and secondly that they needed to see a college football game to really experience the excitement and pageantry of the game. There's nothing like seeing a college football game live!

Last year Anne and Henrik had to put their cat to sleep, and you could tell how much Anne missed her when she saw our cat, Jo. I brought her outside one day so Anne could hold her, and Jo seemed quite content with the extra attention. The next day Anne was going to sit outside and read, and she asked if Jo could come out and visit for a bit. So I put her harness on and took her over to their rig. As you can see, Jo was quite comfortable in her own padded chair! Henrik asked if I'd mind if she went with them, and Anne asked if she'd ever been flying! LOL Of all the traveling Jo has done, she has never been on a plane so that would have been quite an experience for her, but I wouldn't let her go anyway. At 13-1/2 years old, I don't think such a major change would be good for her. At least that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

We so thoroughly enjoyed their company and sincerely hope that our paths will cross again.

The weather had been really nice most of the week, with highs in the 80s, but then Wed. night it rained and a cold front moved in. For the next couple days, the temperature didn't get much above 60, and the nights were really chilly with temps around 35 when we awoke each morning! Again we ask....isn't it supposed to be warm in Florida!!?!?!

We finished up the week watching another Missouri victory over Kansas State, and the Tigers are now 10-1 heading into the Border War against Kansas next Saturday. As we have mentioned before, Missouri has a rich tradition in football, but it was 1969 when the Tigers last won 10 regular season games. This is one of those rivalry matchups that you throw the records out and is the first time that each school is ranked in the top 10 for this game. The BCS standings have been announced, and Kansas is #2 and Missouri #4! The winner will play in the Big 12 Championship game in San Antonio, TX, and with a victory there, should end up with at least the #2 ranking. Of course, not having an actual playoff in Division I is totally ridiculous and leaves a tremendous advantage for "name" teams to be given the benefit of the doubt. Maybe Notre Dame can still get in a BCS bowl game with their 2-9 season. :-) We ran across an interesting article on just how deep the passion runs between these two universities in the Kansas City Star, which you should be able to access through this link: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/story/365823.html

By the way, today's potluck featured lasagna (not homemade though), and I took baked beans. Oh, well, if they'd tell us in advance what the main course is going to be, we'd be better able to bring an "appropriate" side dish. But then again, the bowl was empty when it was all over!

So until next week, have a great Thanksgiving, and as a quote I ran across by Brother David Steindl-Rast said, "Love wholeheartedly, be surprised, give thanks and praise… then you will discover the fullness of your life."

Ft. Walton & More

The main reason that we ended up in this neck of the woods was our plan to stop by and see Rick and Jill Strama, who now live in Ft. Walton Beach. Rick and Jill used to be our neighbors for over 6 years in Lancaster, CA, along with their yellow lab, Roxanne (Mikey's first girlfriend.) Over those years we spent a lot of time with them doing all the things that friends do. From holidays to garage sales, Vegas trips, and just hanging out, they were constant companions over the last few years of our stay.

When they let us know that they were now located in the Florida panhandle, we made plans to stop by and see them. When we arrived here on Monday, we contacted them and of course, they asked us down for the weekend. So Friday afternoon we headed down, arriving around 6pm and looking forward to spending time with our friends who we hadn't seen in about 9 years. Our first evening was spent grilling steaks, drinking wine and beer, and talking about old times. Roxanne passed away a couple years ago, and they rescued a miniature Dachshund/Chihuahua mix named Romeo, who really thinks he's king of the hill! Abby and Romeo seemed to hit it off, but Romeo seemed to have "issues" with Mikey...must have been that male/macho thing! They basically got along well, but every so often Romeo would growl and show his teeth to let Mikey know it was his house, and it was really quite funny.

Their house is located on a large bayou leading to the Ft. Walton Bay and out to the Gulf. One of the first things we noticed when we arrived was their boat, and we made plans to cruise the waters on Saturday. So after a hearty breakfast at IHOP, we headed out on the boat. The weather was great as we marveled at the homes and boats along our ride. We ended up taking Abby and Mikey with us (Romeo decided he didn't want to go), and both enjoyed the ride, especially Abby. We were able to anchor on a beach near the opening to the Gulf, and let the dogs run, and Abby spent a lot of time retrieving a stick thrown into the water. From there we headed into the harbor passing the many restaurants and yachts in Destin. We were out for about 4 hours and enjoyed the swimming, both planned and unplanned as Russ fell into the water as we were leaving the beach! The rest of the day was spent relaxing, having KFC, and watching some college football. Jill's mom stopped for a brief visit with her dog, Rags, who Mikey took an instant liking to! He made little yipping sounds towards her that we've never heard him make!












After we made a hearty breakfast Sunday morning, we relaxed a bit and then headed home. They plan to come here for a visit and have invited us to their place for Thanksgiving. It's great spending time with them again.

When we returned home on Sunday, some mail had caught up with us, and a letter from our neighbor in Denham Springs let us know that his wife, Bonnie, had passed away on Oct. 23. Although we had only spent about a year and a half as their neighbor, Donald and Bonnie became good friends of ours. We had spent Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Eve at their home. Many an evening were spent with Donald and Russ fishing in the lake behind our home. Although Bonnie had been going through various treatments of chemo during the last year, she was always upbeat and gracious, a true Southern lady. We will miss Bonnie, and we ask all of our friends to pray for Donald as he continues to raise their 11-year-old granddaughter, Mia. She is a beautiful young lady, and Donald is a good and caring role model for her. We hope to see both of them when we return to Baton Rouge, and like them we will never forget the opportunity we had in getting to know Bonnie.

With all the activities going on here, we have decided that unless something extraordinary happens, we will only be updating the blog once a week. Right now we are shooting for Mondays. So far this week we have done the ice cream social, roasted hot dogs and s'mores around the campfire, played golf (Russ), and I've checked out the line dancing class and the exercise class twice. We have yet to make it down to play Holey Boards, which happens everyday at 2pm, nor have we played any of the nightly card games, where each night 20-30 people gather in the clubhouse. Tonight is Card Bingo, and we may mosey down or we may not. On average we are probably 10-15 years younger than most of the other people staying here, but we are already finding that we are having a hard time keeping up with them!

By the way when we awoke this morning, it was 39 degrees! Thought Florida was supposed to be warm!!

Last Days of October

Shortly after we arrived at the campground here in Titusville, we heard about Dixie Crossroads Seafood Restaurant, or as it was described to us, "the world famous Dixie Crossroads". Dixie Crossroads specializes in unique "Wild Ocean Shrimp" caught by a fleet of commercial shrimp boats and is known as "The Home of Rock Shrimp".

So what are rock shrimp, you ask? They are small shrimp (sometimes referred to as "peanuts" or "hardheads") that have an extremely hard shell and a large sand vein. The hard shells can make them difficult to clean, and if the vein is not taken out, it's said that chewing the rock shrimp is like eating a mouthful of beach sand. (Sound appetizing so far?) Well, Rodney Thompson, now the owner of Dixie Crossroads, invented a machine back in 1969 making it easier to crack open the shrimp and remove the large sand vein. They are considered a delicacy and commonly referred to as the "shrimp that tastes like lobster."
Wednesday afternoon we decided to go check it out for ourselves. On the outside walls are wildlife murals, fishponds, fountains, waterfalls, and butterflies. Inside the dining rooms Dixie Crossroads is a virtual art gallery; large wildlife murals, photography, stained and etched glass, and even concrete sculptures that portray this region's unique habitats, plants and animals. The menu is quite extensive, but Russ and I ended up ordering the same thing, the Cape Canaveral Special. This "sampler" consists of 1 dozen shrimp, 2 dozen Rock Shrimp, and 1/4 lb. scallops, but Russ took the option of adding a 1 lb. Maine lobster to his. And let's not forget that two side items come with this plus a batch of corn fritters PLUS we had a coupon for a free order of Fried Krabby Bites as an appetizer! Trust me, we had more than enough food! We brought home nearly half of it for another meal including the lobster that Russ never even touched! It all made a nice meal for Friday night's dinner.

Later Friday night the campground was holding a Halloween party so we thought we'd check it out. One of the maintenance guys has all his own musical equipment and provided the entertainment. We were told that he has about 15 guitars and an entire recording studio in his trailer. In fact he gave everyone a copy of his new CD. It was BYOB, and there were about 20 - 25 people in attendance. We stayed a couple hours, danced a little, and drank two bottles of wine. One of the older gentlemen even asked Russ' permission to dance with me. He was such a sweet guy (though kind of looked and sounded like George Carlin!), works here Sept.-April, and then returns to his home in Connecticut. The party was nothing special but something to do, and we had a nice time.

We never made it to the beach last week as the rains started and a cool front came through. So Monday we left for our next destination, De Funiak Springs, located in the Florida panhandle. We plan to be at Sunset King Lake RV Resort (http://www.sunsetking.com/ ), our home through the first of the year. Upon arriving we met a guy while we were registering at the office, who lives here half the year, and is quite involved with the resort (was the Activities Director last year). Turns out Bill's a member of De Funiak Springs Country Club and invited Russ to play with his group on Tuesday mornings. He also informed us that Monday night was the weekly ice cream social, and we should be sure to stop by. Afterwards several stay around to play Pegs and Jokers, a combination card and board game. We decided we'd check it out so about 6pm headed over to the Clubhouse. There was already a good crowd (about 30) and had already run out of chocolate ice cream....bummer! But the vanilla with chocolate syrup and the mini chocolate kisses was just as good, and only $1!

We joined a couple at a table who had just arrived to the resort a few minutes before and were only staying a couple nights, but what a fun couple! Dottie and Cliff are from Ozark, AL, and have a business teaching folks to ride motorcycles. They just recently bought a 30 year old, 24 foot Winnebago on eBay! This was their first trip out with it, and although it was probably state-of-the-art when new, they are now stripping everything out and remodeling it. Although they seem to be having fun, I sure am glad Russ didn't talk me into doing that!! The next night they came by and we cooked up kielbasa on the grill with some sides and talked late into the evening. They plan on coming back this way before the end of the year, and we look forward to their return.

Yesterday Russ played golf with Bill, and another gentleman named Bill, and shot an 85. The wife of one of the Bills called during the round and plans were made to have lunch at the club. I was surprised when Russ called and said I was invited, so off we went to meet the men after they finished their round. The clubhouse is nothing special, but the food was good and very reasonable. We definitely would not hesitate to eat there again. Afterwards we drove around town a little bit and passed this house decorated to the max for Halloween!

Last night was the Halloween party hosted by the owners of the resort that included a vast array of finger food and non-alcoholic beverages to wash it down. They played music for dancing and a costume contest. While Russ was outside smoking, somehow I got picked to be a judge for the contest! And unbeknownst to me, the winners actually went to the same high school as Russ back in St. Louis and one of them graduated with his brother and sister-in-law (they're in the black plastic). Not only was there reminiescing about Ritenour High but also the surrounding communities and hangouts like Steak N' Shake and the St. Charles Rock Road. Talk about a small world!

We did set a couple records on the drive here. Most miles in one day - 418; highest diesel price paid - $3.12 (includes 1 cent/gallon discount); most gallons purchased at one time - 72.03; and largest amount paid at one time- $225.39. UGH!!! At least it will be awhile before our next purchase.

On our travels, Jo generally sleeps on the bed, the floor, or lays in my lap, but this time she decided she wanted to lay in the window for a bit, and I snapped this picture as a big truck was passing. We also passed this sign for the Historic Suwannee River, which as a music person, I thought was so cool. We've passed it several times before on our treks across Florida, but I never had the camera on and ready at the right moment. And one last photo I wanted to share before I sign off for the day....Mikey seems to be enjoying it here, napping in the sun.