wild.....

I'm sitting here trying to remember the last time I had a cold, and either I have a really bad memory, or it has been so long ago it has just faded from my memory.  If it's been so long I have forgotten, I guess that is a good thing.  I have a number of friends right now who have been battling a cold for up to two weeks......Ernie back in Stuart, my mountain bike friend Paul back in Southern California, and my Newell friend, Tom, back in Arizona.  That seems like a long time to me, and I was really hoping mine would not have a similar duration.  If I go back to when the symptoms for my current condition first began to manifest themselves that would be last Friday.  I woke up with a "scratchy" throat, which eventually was replaced by minor nasal congestion, which was then superseded by a mild cough.  Eventually the cough became bad coughing spasms with the blowing of the nose quite frequently.  By Wednesday morning I felt like a limp dish rage after a night of fitful sleeping in the recliner.  I was only 6 days into this scourge, but it felt like it was getting worse and worse.  My chest felt tight, and every time I coughed my chest muscles hurt.....my nose was becoming raw from using a wood pulp product to remove the snot flowing freely from same.  As I greeted a new day Wednesday I was not optimistic about my near term health.

As I mentioned previously TLE got up around 5:30 yesterday after hearing me struggling with a spasm of coughing and made me a lemon-honey hot drink, which seemed to stop the coughing fits.  By this time I was down to 3, or 4 Ricola cough drops and was checking my Android phone for local stores and/or pharmacies where we could acquire more.  About this time I got an instant message from our host, Ann, advising she was heading over to the local Piggly Wiggly to do some shopping, and could she pick up anything for us.  I messaged her back that I needed some more Ricola, and maybe some Nyquil.  She came by the coach shortly thereafter with an unopened bottle of a Nyquil equivalent, and said she would pick up some more Ricola.  We sat and talked, and after a while I realized I hadn't coughed for a few hours.  Shortly thereafter Ann left on her mission of mercy, and I decided I would spend the day just reading, and taking at easy.  If we were on vacation, or had a rigid schedule to adhere to there is no way I would have taken a day off.  I would probably have pressed on, and then gotten sicker as a result.  The pressure to do, to see, to accomplish would be there in the back of my mind forbidding me to take time off.  But, since we are just "living" that pressure is just not present anymore....it's okay to take a day off.

During our sojourn in Cedar Key Debby (Bill and Debby's Wild Ride) was reading a book entitled "wild" by Cheryl Strayed.  The book revolves around Cheryl's partial hike of the Pacific Crest Trail which runs 2,663 miles from the Mexican border in California to Manning Park Canada, just over the Washington border.  The book chronicles her 1,100 mile SOLO long distance hike along this famous trail in 1995, and her struggle to detach herself from the memories of a failed marriage, bad childhood, and the death of her mother at 45.  I have been interested in the Pacific Crest Trail for years, and have read journals of people who have traversed its entire length, so when Debby asked me if I would be interested in reading I immediately said "yes".  Well, I finally cracked the cover of this book a few days ago, and yesterday just dove into it.....it is a good read, and I enjoyed it.  Any book of this nature that touches me deep inside as this one did I regard as a successfully written book.  If you read this book, and don't shed a few tears at its conclusion I will be surprised.  Should you choose to read this fine book, please read the entire prologue...it really sets the stage for what is to follow.  (Ann, I know you read my blog, so if you are interested in this book I will be more than happy to pass it along!)

Ann returned near Noon time with the last bag of Ricola cough drops from the local Piggly Wiggly, and some noodle soup she had made....it was supposed to be chicken noodle, but Piggly Wiggly had no chicken (what's up with that?), so she used pork.....it was hot, nicely seasoned, and delicious......thank you Ann!

All during the day I repeatedly became aware that I was not coughing.  I napped a few times, finally finishing my book around 9:30 pm.  The "no coughing" continued all day and into the night.  I went to bed around midnight still not coughing but decided to ingest some of the night time liquid cold medicine Ann had so graciously provided and slept soundly until nearly 8 am....at this writing I am still not coughing.......YAY!!!

Well, that was Wednesday........recuperating quickly south of Savannah, GA.

Thanks for stopping by!

Only hitting on 7 cylinders.....

The day we were leaving Stuart, and our friends Ernie and Carol, Ernie was coming down with a cold.  Well, now I have come down with a full blown cold....I'm not bed ridden, but I am not hitting on all 8 cylinders.  Tuesday morning TLE woke up with an upset stomach....so aren't we a fine pair!

Even though I was under the weather, our hosts have bikes that need some TLC (tender loving care).  One is a Nishiki ridden by Ann when it is tuned up, and a tune up is what it needed. 

After unloading the T'Bird I walked over to Ann and Elliott's to pick up the Nishiki and bring her back for a tune up.  The tires were flat, but they just needed air.  I pulled off the wheels, pedals and cranks, then proceeded to start cleaning the bike.  The shifters and brakes worked fine, so it was just a matter of cleaning the bike of some rust, and grime.....then putting it back together.

When I'm working on a bike time just seems to melt away.  I kind of get lost in the process, but the process is what I love.  Putting a "smile" back on a bike that has been sitting for a while gives me a lot of pleasure and this Nishiki provided a lot of that.  I finished with the bike around 1 pm, and rode it back over to the hangar.

The weather was very pleasant....plenty of sun, but not too warm.....just about right after all the cold weather we had in St. Augustine.  After finishing Ann's bike I decided to just relax the rest of the day, and give this cold a chance to run its course.

I gradually emptied a bag of Ricola cough drops trying to keep my cough at bay with only modest success.  For a while I read a book......"Wild" by Cheryl Strayed.  The book is about her partial hike of the Pacific Crest Trail back in the late 1990's......something I once thought about doing, but never got around to actually doing.  It is something I am capable of doing, but it takes 6 months and since TLE is not into long distance hiking I could not see myself away from her that long.  I watched some NCAA basketball, then at 11 pm I watched NCIS, then NCIS L.A., then Body of Proof, which started at 1 am.....remember we are still on the West Coast feed from Direct TV, so prime time starts at 11 pm Eastern Time......:D

I coughed on and off all night.  I wasn't able to sleep in my  bed for the first time in 2+ years.....I needed to sleep in a more upright position, so TLE got out a comforter and I settled into a fitful night of sleep.....or at least tried to go to sleep.....it wasn't until 1:30 am, half way through Body of Proof that I finally dozed off for 4 hours waking at 5:30 in  a spasm of coughing.  TLE heard me and got up to make me some lemon/honey tea for my throat.....it helped a lot, and finally around 6:30 I dozed off again for 2 more hours.

Today, Wednesday, I feel a little ragged, but I am alive and feeling optimistic about life after this cold.

Thanks for stopping by!

You just never know......

Sometimes you kind of have an idea how your day is going to go, and what to expect, BUT sometimes you just don't know how great a day it will end up being.  The odds of something unexpected (in a good way) happening increase if your plans are written in Jello.  Monday was one of those days of serendipity. 

Sunday night was freezing.....literally!  The overnight low was 31 degrees......I left the middle gas furnace set at 50 degrees last night, and it came on every 10 minutes all night long.  I like the middle furnace on at night when it's cold, because it keeps the bathroom warm.  The inside temperature got down to 50, which is not bad, unless you need to get up to go to the bathroom.....I put that off until 6:30, but finally had to get up.  I went ahead and turned all three gas furnaces on, went to the bathroom, then climbed back into bed to wait for the air temp inside to get to a civilized level.

We only had 145 miles to drive Monday to our next northerly destination, so there was no need to start getting ready to leave until about 10.  Our destination was Townsend, GA....yes, we are leaving the Sunshine State after 66 wonderful days.  We have only spent more time in one other state, Kentucky, on our journey.  After dumping our gray and black tanks on the way out of St. Johns RV Park we merged on to I-95 northbound around 11:30, set the cruise control at 60 mph, enjoyed the drive up through Jacksonville, and into Georgia.  We have been looking forward to visiting with our friends, Ann and Elliott,  whom we first met at Cedar Key during the NuRVer's convergence.  When they heard of our travel plans they invited us to stop off at their place, just about 40 miles south of Savannah.  Ann is an Editor by trade, as well as an avid "quilter", and Elliott is an Optometrist, as well as a light aircraft pilot.  Their property is located in a "Fly In" neighborhood.....everyone (about 40 homes) has a plane, and most a hangar.....planes have the right of way on streets, and of course, they have their own landing strip with lights.  

We arrived around 2:30 after a quick Rest Stop just inside the Georgia border for lunch.  Ann and Elliott's neighbors have graciously allowed us to park on their property in front of their hangar where we have electrical and water hookups.....the view to the east is not too bad either!  Their neighbors live full time out of state, and come here occasionally, so we have the place to ourselves.....we are only a 2 minute walk to Ann and Elliott's home.

After setting up I had some insurance work to take care of, and needed a nap....this cold is wearing me down.  Around 5:30 we got dressed and walked over to our host's home for dinner, only to find Elliott readying his plane for a short flight.  He invited us to come along, and I accepted immediately....TLE had to think about it, but eventually she agreed to come along.  Who would have thought our day would end in this fashion?

She doesn't look too nervous here, even though this is her first ever flight in a small single engine plane......here she is just after takeoff......I have been up a few times over the years, but not for about 20 years now.  Here you see our trusted pilot, Elliott,smiling for the camera.

He quickly banked around so I could take a picture of our coach/trailer from the air.....you can see it top/center in the picture below.....we are about 1,000 feet here.

Their property is in the middle of a big marshy area, with access to a nearby river for kayaking.  The views as we neared sunset were spectacular!

After a very smooth, and successful landing.....obvious on the successful part.....we retired to their home for cocktails, dinner, and delightful conversation.   For dessert Elliott treated us to a shot of  Yamazaki Single Malt Scotch.....very smooth.  Around 9 we bid adieu to our hosts, and headed back to our coach for the evening.

As you know I have been dealing with a head cold the past week, so I took a decongestant and went to sleep around 11, sleeping well until I woke up coughing around 5:30 am.  I lay there for a while trying to go back to sleep, but the urge to cough kept returning so I decided not to fight it and just get up.  The bright side of this extremely early rising was I saw the moon high in the sky just before the sunrise occurred......sunrise pictures, as you know, are not often viewed on my blog.

Moonrise Tuesday

Beautiful sunrise Tuesday morning

Tuesday Ann has agreed to let me play with her Nishiki road bike for a couple of hours, then we  may take a bike ride around the neighborhood.....that will depend on how I'm feeling.

Thanks for stopping by!

Funk and Funky

The past few days I've been nursing a mild cold....I wrote about the scratchy throat I had a few days ago.  It eventually evolved into a runny nose, and last night into a minor cough.  I was feeling in kind of a funk yesterday morning, and was thinking about cancelling our plans to head to downtown St. Augustine for more walking around, and hanging out time.  It would have been easy to just sit at home nursing my cold, but Sunday was our last day in this cool town, so I got up from my recliner and took a long, hot shower.....that seemed to snap me out of my funk, and suddenly I was feeling more optimistic about the day's adventures.

We headed out in the T-Bird (way, way, way toooo cold to ride bikes....especially with me edging toward pneumonia....lol.....temperature at departure time was 48 degrees). Our first stop was CampingWorld to exchange the new lock I bought for the "tongue" on my trailer.  There is a little latch that you lift up on the end of the "tongue" when dropping it on the hitch ball, and I had lost the lock for it at Choo Choo Express Garage back in December.....okay, lost in the sense that I forgot to put it back on and it must have fallen off the tool box when we drove away from Choo Choo.  The one I bought yesterday was not long enough.  Once that exchange was completed we headed for downtown St. Augustine.

Parking most days in downtown is difficult, and can be expensive.  Fortunately, even though this was a weekend day, it was very cold and blustery which seemed to suppress the tourist turn out.  We managed to find FREE parking behind the Lightner Museum, and only a short walk to St. George and Spanish Streets.

Our first stop was the Rendezvous Beer Bar, which Yelp gives a solid 4 stars.  They have an amazing bottled beer selection from all over the world....hundreds of selections....some quite rare, and expensive.....up to $18 a bottle.  They also have about 6 beers on tap, and these vary from day to day.  We had a small lunch consisting of a Rueben, which we split, and some Coleslaw for TLE.  TLE had a Cherry Stout, and I had a Brown Ale....sorry can't remember the makers.  The food and service were exceptional.

Our next stop was the Pepper Palace on St. George Street.  This is the place where Joe of Kona Joe's in Cedar Key gets his Datil Pepper Sauce that we loved so much.  We wanted to get some more.  You see just part of the selection of hot sauce available.  

From there we headed to one final place, Monk's Vineyard and Restaurant.  There is only one review on Yelp for Monk's, and he gave it 3 stars.  For me it gets 4 stars on the FUNKY scale.  Some friends (Debby and Bill - Bill and Debby's Wild Ride) from Cedar Key had recommended this place very highly to us.  It is, to say the least, a very funky little bar......I mean that literally....the bar only has 4 stools.  There are a few tables scattered around amongst the antiques.  We didn't feel like any more beer, but the owner was pouring some Cab (Cabernet Sauvignon), so we each got a glass and found a table in the back room amongst the many antiques.  It was nice to just sit and sip the wine and chat about our day so far.  This is the kind of cool, funky place we love.....just like the GAS Full Service Restaurant the night before.

 This was our view

We sat there for about 40 minutes just soaking up the ambiance, and listening to the owner chatting up his customers at the bar.  By this time it had warmed all the way up to 50 degrees, but it was now around 3:45, so we decided to walk back to the car and head home.  

This day went exactly like I hoped it would.  We soaked up a little more of the ambiance of St. Augustine, and know it just a little bit better.  Monday we continue our northward trek into Georgia to the home of Ann and Elliott whom we met in Cedar Key....twice....the first time they flew their small plane in for New Years, and the second time they drove their Winnebego LeSharo motorhome down for MLK weekend.  They invited us to stop by on our way to Savannah....they are just 30 minutes south.

Thanks for stopping by!

COOOOOLD!

Each 100 miles we have moved northward the temperature has dropped about 5 degrees.  Then there is just plain cold weather that drops the temp further.  Saturday the high was around 59 degrees...when we awoke Saturday morning it was under 42.....Sunday morning promises to be even colder.....can anyone spell "frost warning"?

We had no big plans for Saturday except to hang out at the coach doing chores.  I went up on the roof and tilted the solar panels to catch the sun's rays more effectively.  Since we are completely off the grid we have to maximize our charging capabilities again, and since the sun is lower in the horizon this time of year it is necessary to tilt the panels.  It has been a long time since we have dry camped for 4 days in a row, but it's about time.  Usually first thing in the morning before the sun is high enough to hit the panels I turn on the big genset (Kohler propane 7.5 kw) to maximize the charge going into the batteries for the first hour, or so.  Once the sun get up high enough I turn off the Kohler, and then turn on the small Honda 1000 watt generator for another hour, then shut it off and let the sun do it's work.  Usually near the end of the day I'll turn the Honda back on for an hour, so to help top the batteries off.  Saturday we actually got back to 100%....we started at 84%.  Not too bad.

Tilting!

It was time to replenish our black tank deodorizer, and I noticed there was a CampingWorld about 8 miles up I-95.  Additionally, the toilet was not holding water for more than a few minutes, and it is important that it hold water, as that means the seal is tight, and no odors will enter the bathroom from the black tank.  While we were at CampingWorld we found a product called "Toilet Seal".....you pour a few ounces in the toilet and let it sit for about 8 hours so it can revitalize the rubber seal......AND it works!

A few days ago I had received a message through Facebook from Sam and Tracy Morrow, whom we met at Cedar Key back in December.  They are now just north of Daytona for a few months.  Sam is in his late 40's and still works as a programer.....he is doing some long term work for his biggest client.  He and Tracy wanted to get together Saturday evening and hang out in St. Augustine for a few hours.  We love hooking again up with people we met in Cedar Key, so we agreed immediately.  Sam and Tracy came by to pick us up around 5 pm, and we headed into St. Augustine for dinner at Gas Full Service Restaurant......do you sense a little irony here?  They even have a "Diesel Burger"....:D We met Tracy's brother, Ray, and Sam's friends from work, Tony and Marie.  Yelp gives it a 4.5, TripAdvisor a 4.5, and Urban Spoon a 5, and I would give it a solid 5......great selection of craft beer, and the food is absolutely to die for.  It is located just over the bridge to the island on the right.  Sam and I had the Chicken Fried Steak special with mashed potatoes.....YUM! 

From there we retired back to town for "dessert" at JP Henley's...a sports bar with a ginormous draft beer selection.  Tony and Marie suggested we try the Chocolate Covered Raspberry Stout.  Their beer and wine list can be seen here.

Chocolate covered Raspberry Stout

We had a great evening with good friends, and made some new friends to boot.

Thanks for stopping by!

Back to basics

One thing we have not done enough of in the past few months is ride our bicycles.  Friday we got back to basics and rode our bikes into St. Augustine for the afternoon.  When we were here last year we spent our time being tourists and went from one historical site to another for a number of hours, and even did some wine tasting at San Sebastian Winery.  The thing we did not do was just sit down at a local restaurant and soak up the ambiance of this historical city.

Before we could do that we needed to print off some employment applications to do workamping at the Indy 500 in early May, and then get them in the mail.  Of course the "low ink warning" for the black ink in the printer came on, so we had to make a quick run to the Target to get a new cartridge.

The distance to the wharf area in St. Augustine is 6.7 miles exactly.  The air temperature around 1 pm when we started our ride in was around 60 degrees, so we both wore vests in addition to long sleeve shirts, and I wore my riding shoes for a change, and not the riding sandals......my toes would have been numb by the time we got to town. Our first stop was at the Post Office on King Street to drop off the package for the Indy 500, and some mail to our oldest son.   Our second destination was A1A Ale Works at the corner of King and, you guess it, Highway A1A.  This micro brewery was recommended to us very highly by Maria and Brian (The Roaming Pint).....not only do they have good craft beer, but the food is excellent.....Yelp gives this establishment a 4.5, and I think that is just about right.

On the upper deck of A1A Ale Works

From their website

We sat outside on the upper deck enjoying the ocean breezes, sipping craft beer....TLE had the Bridge of Lions Brown Ale, and I had a pint of A. Strange Stout....both were very tasty.  What we didn't know was the best was yet to come....TLE ordered a cup of the A1A Ale and Cheese soup, and I ordered a bowl......OMG!  If you ever have the chance to eat here order this soup!  We split a Fried Grouper Sandwich, which was cooked to perfection.  This was just how I saw this day in town starting.  As we ate we saw numerous horse drawn "Handsome Cabs" pass through the intersection.  I'm glad we were able to be here on a Friday as the crowds were not that bad at all.

After our sumptuous lunch and yummy craft beer we retrieved our bikes and headed over to Spanish Street where a sort of walking mall has been established recreating a sort of "old town" feel, but to me it just reeked of tourist trap.  We did find, however, a nice little coffee shop called City Perks Coffee Company.....my throat has been a little scratchy the past day, or so and I was craving something hot to sooth it.  Yelp gives this coffee house a 4.5, and I would heartily agree!

 In front of a very old working water wheel powering an old grist mill

 The sign says it all

 Drinking coffee and soaking up the ambiance

We sat there for about 40 minutes enjoying the atmosphere.....this is the kind of day I have been missing....just moving about on our bikes....stopping when something interests us, and just enjoying the environment, and each other.

Around 3:45 we decided it was getting noticeably colder, and it was time to start our 30 minute ride back to the RV park.  We arrived back around 4:20.....there was a slight mishap in that TLE's Garmin Edge 205 cyclo-computer fell off her bike and we had to back track a block to find it....those puppies cost about $200.....no way we are leaving that behind!

As the sun fell behind the tree line to the east the temperatures dropped quickly, and we decided to stay inside and catch up on some of our recorded TV shows.  We have been following American Idol this season, but have decided this current team of judges just have not picked a good final 10 for the show.  No one really makes us sit up and take notice....there is no Phillip Phillips in this group.....not even close.  We may watch the finale, but we are done this season, and that is a first.  After that we watched NCIS L.A., and the Top Chef finale won in grand style by Kristen......never thought I would enjoy a cooking show, but TLE has succeeded in sucking me in......hahaha!

The temp got down to the low 40's last night, and it got down under 60 degrees inside for the first time since Cedar Key.

Thanks for stopping by!

Classical Gas

My first summer home from college was the summer of 1968.  I slept that summer in the down stairs "den" of my parents home, which also doubled as a guest room when I wasn't home.  I had a summer job working for a landscape gardener at a local college.  I had my radio set to KBIG, which at that time was located in Avalon on Catalina Island....just off the coast of Southern California.....26 miles off shore to be precise.  They only broadcast from 6 am to 6 pm each day back then, and when they signed on in the morning the first song they played every single day was Classical Gas by Mason Williams.  You can click on the link to hear the song on YouTube.  I usually got up at 6 am and immediately turned on my radio to hear that song....I could never get enough of it.  Those of you from my generation will remember this hit song.  It's funny how things that happen in your life today will remind you of things from your past, and my "gas in the diesel" tank brought this song to mind......it's just the way my mind works, so get over it....:D

If you have read my "Update" blog entry from last night you know we successfully had the the gas/diesel removed from our tank, and then filled up with 100% good diesel.  We hopped on I-95 northbound just before 1 pm.  It was nice after the trauma of the prior 24 hours to just set the cruise control and steer.  The road was flat, and smooth, and the temperatures were in the high 60's, so we drove with the windows open enjoying the cool breezes.  We had 127 miles to cover, so not a major travel day by any means, but anytime we get over 100 miles lately it feels long to me....we have been covering such short distances the past few weeks.

One task that needed to be taken care of this day was restock our fridge and pantry.....we haven't done a major shopping in several weeks.....we've been guests for many meals at the homes of friends and family, plus eating out a lot, so we haven't had to rely on our own supplies.  TLE found a Super Walmart at exit 289....just 22 miles from the end of this day's journey.  We quickly dropped $200+......see I told you things were a little bare.

We covered the final 22 miles in less than 30 minutes arriving at St. Johns RV Park around 5 pm.  We opted to park in their large field for $16.50 per night....no hookups, and NO neighbors on either side of us either!  We quickly set up our camp and were sitting in our lounge chairs to watch the sunset within 15 minutes.....what a team!

And "NO" we didn't drink that entire bottle of wine....only about 1/2....:D

TLE had picked out two filet mignons in the meat section at Walmart.  You have probably seen Walmart's ads promoting the quality of their steaks.  It is no lie.....these were some of the best steaks I have cooked in months.....tender, flavorful, melt in your mouth kind of steaks.  While I burnt the meat, TLE made some cooked spinach, which we chased with a little Pinot Noir....at least I did.

We will be in St. Augustine for the next four days, which we are really looking forward to.  We are about 6.5 miles from downtown, so we will get out the bikes and ride into town Friday and check out some of the local eateries, and sites.  We only spent about 6 hours here last year, so we are really anticipating diving into this town over the next few days.

Thanks for stopping by!