Author Archives: Sparky
The Plan for the Second Trip North (STN)
Our winter season in Florida is drawing to a close and we are beginning the preparations for hauling the fifth wheel, the dogs and ourselves north for what we hope will be an interesting and productive summer in Vermont. We have already done the “wellness checks” on the vehicles, have tested the hydraulics on the … Continue reading
Banana Derby
We spent a few hours at the Lee County Fair recently. We like county fairs. Yes, we gorged on unhealthy food (funnel cakes, sno-cones and a really tasty gyro dripping with dill sauce), checked out the farm animals (I liked the exotic chickens). We watched the one-man band. I even – at Jett’s urging – … Continue reading
Jett, American Princess
I haven’t blogged much lately because I have been busy doing some genealogical research. I have learned a lot more about my forebearers than I ever knew before. I may be related to old Scottish royalty. Pretty cool. But Jett’s family has been even more interesting. I have gotten almost nowhere on her mother’s Irish … Continue reading
Moving the Yaris
One of the reasons we chose a (towable) fifth wheel RV over a (drivable) motorhome was that we wouldn’t need to tow a car to get around once we reached our destination. The plan was to park the RV, unhitch the pickup truck and then use the truck to get anywhere we needed to go … Continue reading
Snowbird stress
The trip to Costco yesterday was unusually stressful. First there was a backup on I-75 caused by what appeared to be the end of a police chase: two black cars surrounded by 8 state patrol vehicles and troopers with guns drawn. Then, less than a mile later, another backup caused by a single-car accident. It … Continue reading
Parade of Light
Fort Myers was the winter home of both Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, who were good buddies. To celebrate this claim to fame, Fort Myers puts on an annual “Parade of Light” – because Edison invented the electric light bulb, see? It is a nighttime parade which attracts hundreds of thousands of spectators. I decided … Continue reading
And the answer is… Vermont?
The question is: where will we be next summer? We were trying to find a workamping position (in which we work at the campground) somewhere in New England and right now the most likely place is a campground in northern Vermont, on Lake Champlain. It is not a done deal and is a bit further … Continue reading
Houseboating – Days 6 and 7
After a breezy night in the marina we departed Thursday morning to explore the upstream portion of the St Johns river. My original intention was to get to Sanford, but decided against it because (1) there aren’t any good places to dock there, (2) we would need to go through a railroad drawbridge and (3) … Continue reading
Houseboating – Days 3, 4 and 5
I intended to blog every day during our week on the houseboat, but, alas… too much time driving, playing cards and having fun. Plus our wifi connectivity was not stellar. So it is being compressed into 3 posts. Our plan for Monday was to travel up to the Silver Glen Spring Run recreation area on … Continue reading
A good day
Tuesday was a good day. Beautiful weather, lots of errands accomplished (including washing the Yaris which was *covered* with pollen), winning at Hand, Knee and Foot. But the highlight was hitting a grand slam home run in softball. If that has ever happened before it was so long ago that I can’t recall it. And … Continue reading »