Our RV Adventures

Today started out with us trying to keep the coach tied to the ground, or at least it seemed that way. We had a 45-50 mph wind directly from the south. The only redeeming factor was the fact that it was hitting the coach head-on, and not from the side.

But that meant it was very hard to get the coach door open. I had to lean out and put all my weight to hold it open so Jan could get out. And then try not to let the door slam back on me.

Even the birds were hunkered down, and note the angle the bird feeder is hanging. One time I saw it almost horizontal.

Jan and I left the rig (or blew away from) about 1:15, first heading over to the Wendy’s in Dickinson for a lunch of Spicy Chicken Sandwiches. Then it was on up I-45 to Sam’s Club to pick up a prescription.

Next we went right next door to Wal-Mart for more ‘stuff’. Everyone needs more ‘stuff’ at Christmas time.

Leaving there we stopped off at Brandi’s to pick up some more packages that had come in.

Then, next it was Wells Fargo to get a problem fixed with my new VISA debit card. They messed up the setup and although it would work as a VISA card and as a debit card, it would not work as an ATM card.

Next on our list was a visit to the storeroom, and finally the PO to drop off the last of the Christmas cards.

A busy afternoon.

But finally it was close to 5pm and time to head over to Seabrook to Mario’s to meet Chris and Linda. An extra bonus was Miss Piper showing up with her friend Porter.

After dinner, we got back to the rig about 6:30, and the first thing I had to do was get the satellite dish re-aimed. The high winds had moved the entire mount even though it was staked to the ground. The winds have slacked off so hopefully it will hold for a while.

Thought you might like to revisit our trip to Prince Edward Island last year.

Thought for the Day:Always trust in the five G’s: God, Gold, Guns, Grub, and the Government screwing up.

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Lighthouses and Wind Farms…

Posted on August 30, 2009

Today was the start of our 2 day Prince Edward Island road trip.   We decided it would be easier to just leave our rig in Moncton and drive the truck over.

We left Moncton about 10 am for the 75 mile drive to Canada’s smallest province.  Lengthwise, it’s about 160 miles from one end to the other.

But first we had to cross Confederation Bridge to get to the Island.  The curved, 8 mile long bridge is the longest in the world crossing ice-covered water and is considered one of Canada’s top engineering achievements of the 20th century.

And it’s a very beautiful bridge, too.

Confederation Bridge

And they’re really proud of it, too!   It’s a toll bridge, but they don’t charge you to enter the island, they charge when you leave.

And it costs $42.50 to get off the island!

Once we were over that shock, we decide to head toward the west and north ends of the island.

The first town of any size we came to was Summerside.  Passing a nice looking Chinese buffet restaurant, we decided to have lunch at the Jade Garden.

This is the 2nd Canadian Chinese restaurant we eaten at, and it’s apparent that Canadian Chinese food is a little different from American Chinese.

They only seem to have Won Ton soup, no Hot and Sour, which is our favorite. And they have egg rolls, but they also have something like a small fried burrito that has egg roll ‘stuff’ in it.  What the real difference is, I don’t know.

I mean, you’d think we were in a foreign country, or something.

After lunch, we continued on what was called the North Cape Coastal Drive, which winds around the coast and up to the northern tip of the island.

The first place we came to was the West Cape Wind Farm, one of several wind farms scattered around the island.

We were starting to get a little low on gas, and finding no gas stations along our route, we headed about 10 miles back toward the center of the island to fill up.

Rounding the West Cape area and now heading north, we traveled along the coast to more great scenery.

Now working our way north, we finally reached the North Cape at the tip of the island.

This lighthouse and wind farm look out over the Atlantic ocean and the red cliffs show the effects of the ocean waves.

By this time it was getting late so we headed back down the main road down the center of the island to the capitol of Charlottetown where we where going to spend the night.

We got a room at a Holiday Inn and then went out for supper to a place downtown called Sim’s Steakhouse & Oyster Bar.

We had a dozen raw oysters (Up here they called them ‘Fresh’,  not raw), and a couple of appetizers. The food was really good.  But the service was abysmal.  We were there almost an hour and a half,  just for appetizers.

Tomorrow, we’ll do some of the Anne of Green Gables area,  and then the other side of the island.

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When I got up this morning, Jan said our son Chris had just called and we were meeting them about 11:30 for lunch. That meant we had to get a move on to get our walk in before we needed to leave.

After we got back, and while Jan was in the shower, a lady from the Happy Wanderers, the full-timing chapter of the American Coach Association that we belong to, called to check on our ACA membership numbers. She was trying to reconcile her database with the national chapters, and apparently our numbers weren’t correct. I told her that I would look them up and call her back.

Brandi sent over this video of Landon laughing up a storm. It’s so amazing watching his personality develop.

About 11:15 we headed up to Kemah to Stomp’s Burger Joint to meet Chris and Linda for lunch. I’m glad we got there early because by 12 the place was full and people were waiting outside.

Getting back to the coach, I turned around and headed back out to run some errands

After stopping off at the bank to make a deposit, it was off to Fry’s Electronics to pick up some Christmas gifts. Unfortunately, I forgot the refund certificate that I was going to cash in, but I’ll do it another time.

Then it was on to Brandi’s to check our mail and pick up some packages that I knew had been delivered. Lowell was already home so we got to talk for a few minutes.

I got back about 3:30 and a nap seemed to be in order. Then about 5 pm Jan and I drove over to meet Bob and Maria Sutton at Spring Creek BBQ for dinner. Then they headed off to Bingo while I went back to the rig to work on the 4 computers that I’m trying to de-virify for clients.

When I picked Jan up at 10pm she said Maria had won the $750 grand prize for the night. Unfortunately Jan didn’t win anything this time. But then Bob called right after we got home to say that Maria had stopped and bought a Lotto ScratchOff and won $100. Sounds like she should have been buying PowerBall or Mega Millions tickets, if she’s that lucky.

Nick Russell called a little after 11pm with a computer problem. I managed to get him fixed up and sent him on his way. He’s really been complaining a lot on his blog about how cold it is in Florida.  Right now it’s –35 in Fairbanks, AK and 9 degrees in Elkhart IN.  He doesn’t know what cold is.

WUSS!

And just to taunt him with more beautiful warm weather in the Key’s, here’s another repost of our visit there last year.

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Thought for the Day:
Remember, half of you reading this are below average.

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Sponge Bob and Tarpon Frenzies…

Originally Posted on May 17, 2009

After eating a great breakfast at the Geiger Key Marina Smokehouse Restaurant here at the RV park, we headed back down to Key West with our friends to spend some more time exploring.

The first thing we noticed was that there was a new addition to the scenery. Since we left last night, a Disney Cruise ship had docked right on the square.

After finding a place to park, we wandered some of the many gift shops before taking a tour of Key West on the Old Time Trolley.  It’s a 90 minute ride going past all of the major sites in Key West.  Our tour guide, Tim, was excellent and really kept us laughing.

We also came across what seems to be the original ‘Sponge Bob’, although his pants weren’t square.

After wandering thru more gift shops, we ate a late lunch at Alonzo’s Oyster Bar, right on the water at the Key West Marina. Once again the food was good and the scenery was great!

Right across the dock from us, a fishing boat had come in and was cleaning some of their catch, throwing the waste overboard.

This attracted a lot of gulls, and some very large tarpon, all of them fighting over the feast.

Some of the tarpon seemed to be at least 6ft in length.

But now it was time for us to head back to the RV park since our friends planned on heading back up to West Palm Beach, about 220 miles north.

We had a great time visiting together and will see them again in a few days when we stop over in West Palm on our way up north.

Later…

afd