On The Road Again

We spent the last couple of weeks preparing to hit the road again after 5 months in the Orlando area. Our plans are to head out west again this summer visiting some of the national parks we didn’t see last year, and revisiting a few that we did.

Of course before we left town, we had to include a couple more trips to Disney World. At Animal Kingdom we walked along the Pangani Forest Trail and were lucky enough to see the new baby gorilla. She’s only 8 weeks old and was under the watchful eye of her mama. We were told that normally by that time of day, they are out in the open brush but this morning they were still right close to the observation window…lucky us! On the safari ride we were also fortunate to see the most colorful Mandrill monkey. Though we’ve seen them before on this ride, never had we seen one this colorful. Those blue areas are below his eyes and are more pronounced in the older males. We caught all our favorite shows…Lion King, Finding Nemo, It’s Tough To Be A Bug, and Flights of Wonder. Another evening we went to Magic Kingdom to watch the Spectromagic Parade and the fireworks spectacular, Wishes, but not before enjoying a Dole Whip Float….yummmm! The parks were packed both days we were there, and we kept saying “there’s a recession, right??” Couldn't prove it by the crowds! We also visited the Cast Connection with our neighbor, Bob, one day and got some great bargains. This is where they send last season’s merchandise, and you can only get in with a cast member.










We left Clermont, FL, on Sat., April 24, to begin our trek west, spending the night in the Wal-Mart parking lot in Live Oak, FL, and Sun. night in Mobile, AL, which would constitute The Folly’s first official overnight stay in AL. On our way there, we made a stop at the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park (http://www.ussalabama.com/) located at Mobile Bay. We’ve passed it several times before but decided to make a point of stopping this time. Though we didn’t pay to go inside the museum or on this WWII era battleship, we were able to walk the dogs around the beautiful grounds surrounding it. Located within the park are quite a number of planes, tanks, and military guns from various wars as well as a Korean War Memorial and a Vietnam War Memorial.

Mon. we were making our way towards the Camping World in Hammond, LA, and in no particular hurry so Russ decided to get off I-10 and take the more scenic route of Hwy. 90 along the Gulf Coast which took us through several small towns whose names became well known after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. One such town was Pass Christian, MS, (pronounced kris-chee-ANN) which was nearly destroyed in the hurricane. We’ve read that of approximately 8,000 homes in Pass Christian, all but 500 were damaged or destroyed. Russ actually drove this road a few months after Katrina when he was being transferred to Baton Rouge and well remembers the devastation. There has been a lot of rebuilding but foundation slabs still dot the landscape. A lot of this property is still available for sale but insurance is outrageous so the land sits idle. However, miles and miles of beautiful white sandy public beaches line the shore. We spotted a place where we could park, walked on the beach with the dogs (before we found out dogs weren’t allowed on the beach…oops!), and spent the next few hours just relaxing on a beautiful day. We had hoped we could perhaps spend the night here but decided not to chance a knock on the door at 2 in the morning telling us to move along.

We had made plans to meet our friend, Ron, for lunch on Tues. at Greystone Country Club in Denham Springs, LA (http://www.greystonecountryclub.com/) and had a great, albeit short visit. We were going to continue west after lunch, but Russ decided to book a night at the KOA instead so we could recharge our house batteries. So what else could I do but surprise my former chorus at their rehearsal! Thank goodness Russ suggested I contact someone to verify that the time and location was still the same because as it turned out they were performing at an assisted living facility followed by rehearsal there. I swore Emily to secrecy and genuinely surprised everyone when I walked in the room beforehand! Baton Rouge Chorus (http://www.batonrougechorus.org/) did such a nice job bringing some joy to those people’s lives, and I had a great time seeing everyone and participating in the rehearsal afterwards.

The next morning we hit the road for our trek across Texas…all 880 miles of it along I-10!!

Great Danes

Mon. morning, April 5, we bid farewell to our friends, Paul and Anne, as they headed north to Maryland for the summer. We’ve enjoyed spending time together these past 5 months, and we’ll miss them but plan to stay in touch, hoping to meet up again in the fall.

But Mon. also brought the arrival of our friends from Denmark! They pulled into the spot next to us, and the party began! Russ greeted Henrik with a beer, Anne brought out some wine, and Abby enjoyed playing ball with them. Before their arrival, we had invited them join us for brats and homemade potato salad that night, and of course, more beer and wine accompanied this fine meal. :-) The Cardinals game was on TV, and Henrik wanted to learn more about baseball so Russ spent the next week trying to explain the intricacies of the game. He still has a lot to learn!

Henrik made golf reservations for Tues. afternoon at Stoneybrook West Golf Club (http://www.golfstoneybrookwest.com/) located about 30 min. away, challenging Russ to a match “for the honor, the glory, and two cold beers”, as he put it. I was Anne’s personal cart driver while the 3 of them played, and when they started, it looked like Henrik would wax Russ. However, that was not to be the case, and Russ handily beat him, crushing Henrik’s spirit. Ah, nothing a couple beers won't cure!

Afterwards, we were invited to their place for a typical Danish meal that is traditionally served at Easter and Christmas but can be shared at any time. It’s sort of a smorgasbord consisting of marinated herring, mackerel in tomato sauce, homemade meatballs (never eat meat before the fish!), veggies, cheeses, Danish and other breads, and a yummy but very potent liqueur commonly known as “snaps”. This particular brand, Linie Aquavit, is placed on a ship in Norway, traveling across the equator to Australia, and back again in oak sherry casks (this is supposed to give it a richer flavor). Served chilled, the alcohol content is about 40%, and with each sip one is to raise their glass with the toast “skol!”, encouraging everyone else to join in. We said “skol!” a lot! If you want more info on this traditional Danish custom, you’ll enjoy this article called Snaps for Beginners: http://www.epinions.com/content_1475846276ions.com/content_1475846276. Drinking seems to be a national pastime in Denmark!

Henrik helped Russ work on our awning Wed. morning, and that night it was off to Manny’s Chop House for the Buy 1 Get 1 Free fajitas, which they really enjoyed.

The next day they moved their coach about a mile down the road to the Thousand Trails campground, where they are members and can stay for free. They invited us for dinner, and Russ brought Henrik a St. Louis Rams cap to add to his collection. Anne made an Indian Curry Chicken casserole…simply delicious! More food, more drinks, more fun.

Sat. the rematch was on for Russ and Henrik when we took them to play miniature golf at Disney’s Fairways Course. This is not the easy, fun course with all the Disney characters that I played with Linda and Angela, but rather one that resembles a traditional golf course with mounds, valleys, and an emphasis on skill. Henrik was sure he’d beat Russ this time, but alas, that was not the case…Russ won by 4 strokes. A rematch on a regular course is definitely in the plans next time we see them! From here we rode the monorails around the Disney parks and then ate dinner at a Chinese buffet. Another fun day with good friends.

Our last day together was Sun., and we had invited them for one of Anne’s favorites (and one of Russ’ specialties)…barbecued baby back ribs. Let’s just say that Anne really enjoyed them! They brought a couple bottles of wine, and though we tried our best to help them get rid of their wine collection during the week, it seems we only made a slight dent in the 33 bottles stored in their rig! They'll have another month to drink the rest before they have to put the coach in storage and head back to Denmark. Good luck!

During their stay here, Henrik and Anne enjoyed taking both dogs for long walks, and it seems the dogs enjoyed it, too! Hopefully it won’t be another 2-1/2 years before we meet up again as we always enjoy our time together. If you’d like to find out more about the Danes and their travels, you can visit their blog at http://www.winnebago.dk/.

In Memory

Scott Gad
1951-2010

Today we lost a good friend. After dealing with cancer the past year, Scott passed away suddenly at the age of 58. We met him nearly 3 years ago at the KOA campground outside St. Louis and traveled together for most of 2008, and into the following year. We will cherish the memories and friendship the rest of our lives. Throughout the last year Scott never complained,

never asked ‘why me’, lived life at its fullest, and continued to see new things. He will be missed by all those he touched along his journey. Scott is survived by his two brothers, Shayne and Chris, nieces and nephews, and his beloved dog, Bonnie. A memorial service is planned for May 8 in El Paso, TX, where he will be interred alongside his mother.

The following is a link to Scott’s blog: http://www.serenityadventure.com/

Spring Is In The Air

Epcot is especially beautiful this time of year during the International Flower & Garden Festival. So we thought we’d start this post by sharing a few photos from there, but of course, they really don’t do justice to the real thing.

On Sat I met Paul and Anne at Epcot to see Tony Orlando in the concert series. They like to go over early to just putter around and people watch while Anne scours the lanyards of cast members for pins to trade (she has a huge collection!) Russ didn’t feel like going so I got there about 2pm, stopped at a couple exhibits, then met up with them. We wandered over to the Pixie Hollow Fairy Garden and Fawn’s Butterfly House where hundreds of butterflies flit among the foliage and people. One lady got a butterfly to climb onto her finger, placed it on her shoulder (had her mom take a picture), and then placed it on Anne’s shoulder! From there we ventured towards the American Pavilion, arriving just in time for a Voices of Liberty performance. Afterwards I got a bite to eat (they had already eaten), then met them in line for the first show. Surprisingly they started letting us in about an hour early so we got good seats but had to sit in the sun for an hour. Finally it was time for Tony Orlando to hit the stage starting with Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree, and you can tell he really enjoys interacting with the audience. There was a large group behind us, all in matching purple t-shirts (with yellow ribbons pinned on), celebrating the birthday of “Aunt Nancy”. He acknowledged them first thing and mentioned that it was also his birthday. A couple songs later while he was singing, he motioned for them to come up onstage. One guy finally got up his nerve and joined Tony onstage, singing along, and then Tony turned the mike over to him to sing by himself! Actually the guy was pretty good! While he was up there, another one from the group came up but said he didn’t sing, only danced, and boogie he did! What a riot!

As it turns out, Tony’s younger brother, David, is one of the keyboardists in the band and Tony “talked him into” singing, Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose? (it’s obviously part of the act). He’s got quite a good voice and really played to the audience. While he sang, Tony played the keyboards (and mugged to the audience), and then joined David for the end of the song. Tony closed the show by singing his version of America, the song made famous by Neil Diamond, and dedicated it to all the troops and veterans. He had members from each war stand and be recognized…very moving.

Also, last week Russ took on the challenge of changing the RV’s air filter…not an easy task. The filter comes already inside a metal casing that is about 24” long x 12” in diameter and needs to be connected in two spots. Paul (and Ed) came over to “supervise” while

Russ first removed the old one. The work area is very tight, and whoever at the factory installed the original filter, placed most of the clamp screws in hard to reach places instead of towards the top. This was the first time it had been changed and proved to be quite difficult to get out. In fact, Paul switched from supervisor to mechanic mode to help get it out! It took a couple hours but probably saved us about $100.

Next week our friends from Denmark arrive at the campground, and we’re looking forward to some fun-filled days!