The Edison - Ford Estates!

Friday, January 23, 2015 The Edison Ford Estates!

Today we toured the Edison Ford Estates and Museum and had a delightful time. We chose the $20.00 audio tour and walked out he grounds at our own pace. The estates are lush with tropical plants, including many varieties of fruit trees. 

Edison's Moonlight Garden

We were there for the better part of four and one-half hours before walking back to the yacht basin. In the evening, we went into town to return the Deadwood series of DVD's to the library and then spent an hour or so listening the "the Band with the Big White Van." They are a Celtic band with a rock and roll bagpiper. His virtuosity on the instrument was amazing!

Fort Meyers!

Wednesday, January 21, 2015     Fort Meyers!

This city has changed! When we visited in 2009, it was a ghost town of sorts. We found two restaurants and dozens of lawyers' offices and not much else. There were very few people on the streets and not much car traffic. The downtown apparently had a urban redevelopment project providing attractive store fronts. Most had for rent signs in their windows. The streets had brick accents and were lined with Palm Trees.

Fort Meyers - The City of Palms

Today, the city remains attractive with its Palm lined streets (Fort Meyers is known as the City of Palms), over one dozen restaurants, boutiques, a state of the art library and a free trolley that runs throughout the River District. The restaurants are busy and there are a lot of pedestrians ducking in and out of the shops. The city had made quite a remarkable in the last few years.

The Florida Repertory Company produces shows in its downtown theater. We hope to catch a show before we depart. A visit to the Edison- Ford Estate is in the works as well.

This afternoon, we purchased fresh off the boat shrimp from the fishing boat located on the next dock. The captain had quite a nice inventory of fresh fish from which to choose.

 

We managed to get more of the road grime off the boat. We have 1/2 of the starboard side left to go. It got too hot to finish this afternoon!

Flock Reunion!

Friday, January 16, 2015     Flock Reunion!

We left M/V Sunshine and the Ft. Meyers Yacht Basin yesterday for a brief trip to visit our friends in Bradenton. Pat and Ray offered to put us up for a few nights so we could participate in a reunion of cruisers we traveled to ICW with in 2008/2009. 

In the morning, Ray invited me to join him and some of his neighbors in a game of pickle ball. It was great fun. After an hour or so, we returned home to find the Flock. We went to the Beach House for a nice reunion lunch while overlooking to Gulf. Although on the cool side (the temp was around 65), the sun and a propane heater provided warmth. The food was delicious and we enjoyed sharing stories of recent adventures.

The Flock! 

After a visit to the Cortez Museum and a tour through the quaint fishing village, we returned to Pat/Ray's home where the crew of Tally Ho and Kalista bid farewell, until the next time.

In the evening, we attended a documentary on the life of Jane Goodall. It was most inspiring. 

Tomorrow, we will return to M/V Sunshine where we will finish preparations for the Keys Cruise. We have an appointment to get new tires for the trailer and we will visit S/V SUNSHINE to assess her condition and plan her next adventure.

Street Party!

Friday, January 9, 2015      Street Party!

So, how is living aboard different than living at home? I doubt I can articulate all of the differences, by I can try to mention the highlights.

One big difference Is that our daily routine involves at least one long walk. Many times we'll take two or three long walks. Today, for example, we took two walks, one of six miles and another just short of two miles. When we're home, we only take a long walk once a week. It might be too hot, it might be too cold, or the desire to get chores done trumps walking. When the grandchildren are with us, we don't walk. None of them like it, so we don't go.

On the boat, we watch one DVD movie or concert per night. At home we watch a few sporting events and light night TV. On the boat we listen to the radio frequently. We almost never do that at home unless we are in the car.

On the boat, Anna Marie usually prepares our meals in a pressure cooker. More often than not, she enjoys one pot cooking. Tonight's dinner was pork chops and sauerkraut with mashed potatoes and fresh German dark rye bread. This meal is one of our favorites and we have it a couple of times a month when we are on the boat. We almost never have it when we're home!

When conditions are right, I will grill our dinner. I do veggies, chicken, fish and pork. I can't grill if it's too windy or rainy. The wind is the biggest factor in determine whether I can grill or not.

We cleaned the interior of the boat today and stowed all of the gear and provisions. It seems to me that we clean more when we're on the boat as compared to when we're at home. The space on the boat is considerably smaller and the routine chores usually get finished quicker. I straightened up some of the defunct wires in the electrical panel. A previous owner removed a lot of electrical gear and gadgets. The wires were disconnected but not removed. Many just dangle loosely. I secured most of them as best I could today. 

Fort Meyers had a "Cowboy" themed street party to night. They closed about four blocks to traffic and ha three stages and several watering holes set up. The restaurants were busy most of the night. Several bands performed, country line dancing lessons were offered, young ladies performing arial acrobatics on silk scarves, and I'm sure there were other acts that we didn't see. Having events like this at a cruising destination make that location special. It was a fun evening.

When we're home, we always put these kind of events on the calendar but when the time comes, we usually don't go. We're just too comfortable doing what we're doing or perhaps just too lazy.

Florida - We're Back!

We have arrived in sunny Florida! Towing Sunshine, the motorboat, was relatively easy. We kept our traveling speed at around 60 mph. We could have gone faster, but we would have burned more fuel. Besides, we liked the relaxed pace and were entertained by the programming we chose on our Sirius radio.

We are happy to be missing the cold weather that has settled in back home. Florida weather is warm. In fact, we had to use the AC yesterday and today. A cold front is moving in tonight though, but it won't be anything like the weather we have escaped! 

The boat is floating, the engine's faulty "no oil" alarm has been successfully repaired and we are cozy and comfortable aboard. We have already met the crew of the Nimble Nomad, Arthur Dent. They are berthed in this marina and have been living aboard for  fifteen months now. They are working on the boat and hope to do the Great Loop. They will join the Flotilla to the Keys to test out the modifications they have made. I suppose it will be their "shake down" cruise.

We will be here at the  City of Fort Meyer's Yacht Basin until January 26. We will rendezvous with the flotilla on the 27th. In the meantime, we will do a few boat chores, one trailer chore and visit friends in Bradenton and Indian Rocks Beach. We have tickets to see one of Arlo Gutherie's Alice's Restaurant 50th Anniversary Tour shows before we head out on the cruise.

We would like to visit my sister and brother-in-law who are RVing in Clermont, near Disney World. I'm not sure how the timing will work out since Marje is away visiting family in Missouri where she will meet her new grandson. That should be a fun visit!

Remembrance Weekend!

Remembrance weekend is a time to reflect on the 151st anniversary of the dedication of the National Soldiers' Cemetery and Lincoln's Gettysburg address.

Parade 1

Parade 2

Parade 3

The day started off with a parade. There were thousands of participants, hundreds of flags, many fife and drum corps, many ladies in hoop dresses, some horses and even horse drawn carriages. The Army of the Potomac leads the parade with the Army of northern Virginia assigned to the rear. It was the best parade we have witnessed!

Little Round Top

Little Round Top View

 After the parade, we drove around the battlefield and marveled at the many markers and monuments. We stopped at Little Round Top, scene of one of the most important battles of the conflagration. 

We enjoyed an excellent and relaxing Civil War Era dinner at the historic Dobbins Inn. Before heading back to the camper we went to the National Soldiers’ Cemetery to view the thousands of luminaries and flags that were placed to honor the fallen soldiers. It was a moving tribute, both sole and noble. 

Dinner at Dobbs Inn

Luminaries

During our drive back to the campground, we were left to contemplate the sacrifices of all those who  have served and are serving in an effort to secure and maintain the freedom we enjoy. It was a most sobering and contemplative ride.

Sunday, November 16, 2014     Departure! 

After a nice french breakfast at the Cafe Saint Amand, we broke camp and headed home. It only took us about five minutes to close up the camper. After a four and a half hour drive home, including a stop for lunch, we were home. 

Livin' Lite - Livin' Right!

   

Set up in our site

This past Monday, November 10, I was the winning EBay bidder on a 2011 Livin Lite Quicksilver 6.0 (VIN (Vehicle Identification Number): 1l9bc0610b1435916). It's a tent trailer that sleeps four, two comfortably, with room to lounge. It is all aluminum and has no wood at all. We have the Saturn loaded. We'll pick up the camper tomorrow in Hagerstown, MD. Assuming it checks out as described, we'll take it to Gettysburg Campground which will serve as our base as we observe some of the celebrations of the 151st anniversary of the dedication of the National Soldiers’ Cemetery at the Gettysburg National Battlefield.

The camper weighs just 635 pounds. Even with the rest of the camping gear, we should be we'll within the 1500 pound tow rating of the Saturn Vue.

The camper was owned by an "older couple" who used it one time. It had been stored in a garage. The unit appears to be in "as new" condition. We arrived in Hagerstown within minutes of the appointed time of 1200 Noon. We quickly checked the unit out and found it to be as described, in near perfect condition. We hitched it up, paid the owner and were underway within the hour. 

Right along a babbling brook!

Another view

Despite the cold weather forecast, we headed to Gettysburg Campground. It was to be our home base for a couple of days and nights while we attended the events of Remembrance weekend. A series of events meant to commemorate the 151st dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery and Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.

By 1430, we were in the Gettysburg Campground and set up the camper. We took a bit longer to do the set up as we tried a few different things to make the process easy.

Interior View 2

Interior View 1

The Bed

Strolling thru town

 After setting up camp, we made our way to historic Gettysburg where we encountered many folks dressed in period garb. There are two formal balls, one tonight and one tomorrow night. Period garb is required and the balls sell out weeks, if not months, in advance. 

As part of our activities, we checked out the visitor’s center at the National Military Park and we checked out some of the sights.

For dinner, we drove to Abbottsville where we enjoyed a fine German dinner at the Hofbrauhaus. Soup, salad, and dinner for $7.95. Economical and delicious!

  

By the time we returned to the campground, it was past 2100 hours. The temperature was in the high 20’s. Other Quicksilver owners have mentioned that the aluminum floor and sides of the camper are cold, making it difficult to heat the interior. We brought a couple of rugs to keep our feet off the cold floor. On our way to dinner, we purchased a queen sized electric blanket from the local WalMart. It proved to be the item that allowed us to sleep well and enjoy our first experience in the camper. The ceramic disc heater, usually very reliable, couldn’t heat up the interior. We weren’t able to lounge on the benches in the camper. It was just too cold! Fortunately, it was bedtime and we were snug and toasty thanks to the electric blanket.

The military arrives

Anna Marie poses with the Civil War Santa