Memorial Day Weekend

Sandhill Crane

We moved to Mayport Naval Air Station near Jacksonville, FL on Thursday. Our trip from Clermont was short and uneventful. Mayport NAS has two FamCamps. The Pelican Roost is on the St. Johns River with the Atlantic Ocean within walking distance, and the other one – Osprey Cove is in a more wooded area near the golf course. Both have very nice and generous sites.

Ship passing by

We are in the Pelican Roost and we have a wonderful site overlooking St. Johns River and the Navy Shipyard. An interesting spot to be this weekend, as we take time to remember those who gave all in the service of our country.

We are also keeping an eye on weather as we watch one storm after another devastate many states. We have kept a diligent watch over weather near our daughter’s home in Oklahoma. So far, the Lawton area has been spared and we hope it stays that way.

Sandy uploaded our Disney photos.  There are a lot of them…..sorry about that! But it is a great way to keep our photos safe after all the disasters we have been seeing lately.

Before we left Clermont, we got some photos of the local Sandhill Cranes. We have never been around Sandhill Cranes. Big bird! Very big bird! And very protective. We had a family come by a few times.
 Mama and papa would dig around looking for grubs to feed to their younger ones. Yea, not so little. They were as big as mommy and daddy! While they were near our site we watched a stray cat trying to sneak by the family. One of the parents would have none of that! It sounded the alarm to warn the others or the cat. Now the sound they make – it sounds like something out of Jurassic Park’s movie. A little prehistoric sounding if you know what we mean. It certainly got all of our cats’ attentions! It then confronted the poor cat with its wings out. If it was trying to look bigger, it was succeeding! The poor cat decided to take a different route through the wood’s underbrush.

Fence is 3 ft

I'm the pretty one

Waiting for mommy to feed me!

From Space Coast to Mickey Mouse

Boy, did we let time get away from us! We spent all of April at Patrick AFB near Melbourne, FL. We had a wonderful view of the Banana River with many sightings of dolphins, ospreys, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, and Great Blue Herons.  Not to mention, a front row seat to many beautiful sunsets.

Great Blue Heron fishing at sunset

While the view was great, the location on the base was very noisy. We decided we could never spend a winter at Patrick’s FamCamp. Our Key West relaxed attitude was becoming a little frazzled. Aircraft noise from the flight line, early morning gun fire from the firing range which is right in the campground, and low flying helicopters were just a few of the noises we heard though out the week. It took the cats a few days to get used to the sounds of freedom, but we have discovered that nothing will come between them and exploring the great outdoors.


New Nikon D7000

We kept pretty busy during our stay at Patrick by taking barefoot 3-mile walks along the beach, taking the cats out for walks, exploring the Space Coast area, and working. Yep, you read that right. Dan accepted an online job with Lionbridge. He now spends time reviewing various websites. He can work whenever he feels like it as long as he does between 10 and 20 hours each week. In the meantime, Sandy spent her time learning how to use her new Nikon D7000. She has some test shots of the Space Coast area in her album New Nikon D7000. Her biggest challenge is learning to trim down the megabytes before uploading them.

Epcot's Flower Festival

We celebrated Dan’s birthday by moving to Disney World’s Fort Wilderness on 1 May. We had a fun-filled week of rides, eating lots of food, and just feeling young again….yea, feeling our age and body…big time! We will try to get the photos uploaded soon.

Magic Kingdom

On Saturday, we moved to a Thousand Trails campground located in Clermont, FL (near Orlando). We are booked in for the next 3 weeks. We might move early or stay. Who knows? It is very quiet here so we think we will find our Key West relaxed attitude once again.  Pictures are "clickable" for larger views.

Hey Neighbor!  Got any food?

Good-Bye Key West!



You're leaving!



The Weavers are leaving Key West!

On 30 March, we left sunny Key West and arrived at stormy Patrick AFB near Melbourne, FL. We had just parked the motorhome in front of the RV Office when high winds and driving rain hit the area. Since our rig was getting hit from the side, it was really rocking and rolling. We drove to a more sheltered area in the campground and waited for a break in the storm to unhook the tow car and park in our site.

On the following day, a lot of the counties in and around central Florida were in Tornado Warning and Watch conditions. What a great way to start our trip Back-to-Civilization. Well, at least it's a little bit cooler here and we have full utility hookups with a view of the Banana River.

We plan to stay in Florida on the east coast and near Orlando for a month or two at multiple campgrounds. 
It feels a little strange to see so many stores, people, highways, and lots of traffic. After kicking back for five months in Key West, we feel like country folk visiting the city for the first time.



Squirrel:  Nice cool rock!  Could be a little softer, but hey, it is a nice cool rock.

 

We will miss Key West, but it was time to move onward with the weather starting to feel more like a 24 hour steam bath. The cats were not enjoying it very much. Poor Dusty with all that fur seemed to do a lot of panting. Even Hitch did a lot of sleeping. We had to tiptoe through our motorhome because the floor was covered with stretched out cats.  Step on one tail and it was a chain reaction!  Cats leaping! Cats running!  Fur flying!  Not a pretty sight…no…not pretty at all.  When we took the cats outside, they would find the deepest shade and lay there for hours. It is cooler here in central Florida thanks to the storm and the full hook ups for air conditioning as needed, so the cats are starting to look a little more perky again.



Hitch sleeping in the hamper.



We hope to make it back to Key West for another winter, but probably not next year.  Too many areas to explore for a back to back winter in Key West.

As the weather is improving, we will begin to explore the space coast over the next week or two.

Our Second Anniversary

Albuquerque, 2009

Two years ago in Albuquerque, NM, we secured the last of our belongings into our motorhome, hitched up the car, and with feelings of amazement, realized we were Full-Timers traveling out of town starting our first of many adventures! That feeling of adventure and amazement is still with us. We have seen a lot of our beautiful country; we have visited family and friends; and we have also made new friends. The best part is knowing there is more to see and a lot more friends to meet. Don’t worry, we have not forgotten family. Yes, we do plan to visit them again someday.

Key West, 2011

(Hitch & Squirrel)

Even our cats seem very happy with their new lifestyle. They know the travel routine very well. As soon as they see us packing away our loose items, the cats start to ‘Man’ their stations. Dusty sits near the bedroom door while Max and Squirrel sit near the barrel chair. They like to be near their hiding places so as soon as the engine is turned on, they disappear. And Hitch? Oh, Hitch is under foot, bouncing off of walls while bobbing his head and howling, “Road Trip! WooHoo!” Yes, Hitch gets a little excited and he never seems to tire of moving on down the road. As soon as we stop, all four cats are greeting us at the door or looking out the windows. They have learned that a new location means new smells to explore and grasses to eat.

Hitch & Dusty

Max

Our winter stay in Key West has been the best winter we have ever had in all the countries and states we have lived in. We now understand why many of the campers have been coming here for over 15 years. It is sort of sad to see our time here come to an end, but we could be back in a couple of years.

So, what’s next on our agenda? Well, we are not quite sure and we like it that way. We do plan to spend some time exploring the Space Coast, central Florida, and a 4-day visit to Disney World. After that, we are not sure, but we will be happy to tell you where we are once we get there!

Squirrel