Day #87 - Ducks!

Bradenton, FL

This morning, I walked down to the river in search of the Bald Eagle.   What did I find?  A black goose with a white head, sitting on the dock, and preening.  From a distance, with blurry vision, and only the upper portion visible, it would look like an eagle…to someone who wanted to see an eagle.  My mother used to tell me, “If you think you see something uncommon and it looks like something common, it’s probably something common.”  When something like this happens, it shakes my confidence as a bird watcher.  But then, she also told me that every birder is entitled to mis-identify a small plane as a hawk once in a lifetime.  Kelly and I had a good laugh.  I made her promise to not use this in any comedy routine until everyone has a chance to hear my side of the story first.  I’m now fair game.

Kelly took her mother to see the trailer today while I sat at Pat’s house and did computer work.  Later, they went to a movie and did some shopping.  It was a hard day for both of us and we were very happy to go home.

Day #86 - Moving the Trailer -- AGAIN

Bradenton, FL

A few weeks ago, we noticed that an above-ground pipe at Mom’s house was seeping water. It looks like the lawn guy ran over it with his massive mower and that it could become a larger problem. Since we thought this was disaster waiting to happen, we scheduled a plumber to come over this morning to take a look at it. Suzie was dealing with the plumbing troubles and I took Mom to Sam’s Club for some groceries. We figured she’d be less likely to freak out about the yard being dug up if she weren’t at home when it happened.

We were right about the problems. Once they started digging, they found all kinds of additional problems underground caused by addition of a now defunct sprinkler system. Suzie said she was surprised that they dug down to the pipes by hand and that it took only a few minutes – the joys of digging in sand. They were fast and efficient and all was fixed for a reasonable cost.

I returned towards the end of the project, and we decided to contact the Linger Lodge to extend our stay. We had noticed we still had a lot of things on our “do list” that we just weren’t sure would get done before we were scheduled to leave town. It’s a good thing we called, because the office manager informed us that we had set up on the incorrect spot, and would have to move soon. Suzie was livid when she got the news. We had already moved the trailer twice on day one after discovering we were on the incorrect spot. She was certain that this time it wasn’t our error. I cancelled the TracRac installation that was due to take place in the afternoon, and we drove back to camp, before the office closed.

We found our map on the floor of the car. Suzie was right, this wasn’t our error. When we went to the office and showed the lady in charge our map, with the space clearly marked, she told us “the other girl” had marked the spot incorrectly. She offered to let us stay where we were, but explained that two families wanted adjacent spots and she really didn’t have any other place to accommodate them. She gave us several spots to choose from. We decided to walk around before we picked a site. Most of them were too small, too crowded, or too far from the river. We managed to find a spot we liked very close to the boat ramp, and asked for it. Management agreed, so we moved our trailer. We really are too nice sometimes. What a hassle!

After most of the hard work was done, Suzie took a walk down to the river. She spotted a Great Blue Heron a few feet away. They must be used to people walking near them because it didn’t fly away. About 75 feet down the river, just below the crest of a beach, she spotted a big black bird with a white head. Because of the way it was sitting, she couldn’t see the whole bird, but it sure looked like a Bald Eagle. She came back to the campsite and pointed it out to me. It kept putting its head down, as though it were eating something. I thought it looked like a Bald Eagle too. Nothing like watching a Bald Eagle eat something dead to cheer us up!

Later that evening, Barb, Brenda, and Sue drove up to see our humble hovel and have dinner at the Lodge. It was surprising that we all fit into the trailer at the same time. Barb stood in the walk-in closet, near the bed; Brenda admired the kitchen; Sue stood in the entry-way; Suzie and I stayed in the living room. We laughed at how we’ve given room names to the areas of the trailer dependant on what we are doing at the time. The dining room and living room are the same booth seats at the table, but change as the activities change. If we are looking at the cabinet that holds our clothes—just close the bedroom curtain, and open the bathroom door and you have a private dressing room we call “the walk in”. After touring our home, we all walked up the nearby steps to eat at the lodge.

Brenda ordered mussels for an appetizer. I had never had them before, and they were quite good in a butter and garlic sauce. I would definitely recommend them. Dinner took forever to be served and was ok, but not great. Barb and I both had crab legs and thought they were a little rubbery. Nobody really complained about their meal, but nobody really complimented it either. Where are Two Amigos when you need them? Nevertheless, it was great of our friends to drive all that way to see us and our home.

After dinner, Suzie and I played Rumicube and listened to the rain on the trailer roof.

Day #85 - Home Sweet Home

Bradenton, FL

Today I was demanding, vocal, and stubborn.  (I was going to say “unreasonable” but Beth decided I was well within my rights.)  I did not want to sleep another night at Pat’s house.  Since we’d been able to pack up nearly half our belongings into the truck yesterday, I thought we should surely be able to get the other half over to the trailer today.  Many things tried to get us off track, but I was bound and determined.  Even #$^@^-y at times.  But, it worked – we got nearly everything out of the house and into the truck.

Kelly decided to put the new gasket in the toilet before we truly settled in.  Remember the toilet?  We sure did!  She had taken it apart several times, so it was easy for her.  And, since it was clean, it wasn’t too much of a Gross Event.  Nothing like a new gasket to make one feel secure in one’s eliminations - and the flushing of one’s eliminations!

Our camp site was spitting distance to the Braden River.  There were paths, boardwalks, benches, and docks all along the river’s edge.  We saw three Black Crowned Night Herons, very very close.  They were noisy birds – loud and frequent squawking.  (http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-crowned_Night-Heron/lifehistory)

Out of curiosity, we decided to unfurl the antenna and plug in the TV.  A TV the size of an index card looks huge when you’re sitting right in front of it.  And to our surprise, it pulled in amazingly clear pictures!  We had all three networks, plus a few extras, all crystal clear. 

Tonight was our first night in our trailer – our home – since December 15 and it felt like a little slice of heaven. 

Day #84 – Trailer Pickup

Port Charlotte, FL – Bradenton, FL

This is it -- the day we have all been waiting for. We have a campsite. We have 500 plus miles on the truck, and today our trailer is ready to be picked up. All we need is a brake controller for the truck, and we have an appointment for that. The stars are finally all in alignment.

Everything goes according to plan. We pack up the truck in the morning with bedding for the trailer, and a few odds and ends. Then we drive to Port Charlotte RV to get the brake controller installed. We had a short wait while the folks got back from lunch, but no biggie. The controller was installed; the hitch was adjusted to fit our new truck height to the trailer; the trailer was attached, and we were on our way.

It almost killed me to do 50 mph. But I survived. According to the truck’s owner’s manual, we are not allowed to go over 50 mph for the first 500 miles of towing. Please don’t honk and yell if you see us on the road. Be kind. It was the longest 81 miles of my driving life. I know -- I might change my story if we ever get to Texas, but right now this is my own personal hell, with only 419 miles to go.

The important thing is we got to the campground, and we pulled into our spot without incident. Yeah, baby this is the all NEW adventures of Kelly and Suzie. Next we went to check into the office. On the door of the office was a note, with my name on it. Apparently we had been moved to another spot. We were a little nervous about moving the trailer, but we did it. Our new spot was on the river. It was very pretty, but there was a wicked tree next to the entrance to the site, with about a 90 degree turn to get the trailer parked. It took a bit, but we got the thing in there, and still no incidents. New adventures, baby, all new. GOOD luck this time.

By this time it was late, and we were hungry, so we drove to Bob Evans for dinner. Oh did I mention that it’s my birthday? Celebrations later, tonight I’m too tired.

Day #83 - TracRac

Sarasota, FL

Kelly took the truck over to Cap World (http://capworld.com) to have the new TracRac and steps installed on the truck.  The guys at Cap World are wonderful – they showed us all the options that were available for the TracRac and made recommendations based on our needs.  They steered us away from some items that we really didn’t need.  The steps will provide an extension to the running boards, so that we can tighten kayak straps more easily….or so we hope.

We love the new TracRac.  It’s an improvement over the earlier model we had on the Colorado.  This one sits in tracks on the edge of the truck bed; they can be adjusted forward and backward to fit the load.  The optional tie-downs will help us secure various loads.  The accessories from our old TracRac will fit this one, so we saved quite a bit of money not having to purchase kayak cradles and locks.

The steps were a disappointment, though.  Instead of a step, we got a peg.  And, they are so narrow that they really don’t give us a very stable reach.  We’ll probably still need to buy a step ladder to reach the kayaks from outside the truck.  The steps had seemed like such a good idea at the time, but we’re wishing we had skipped them. Maybe they'll work out. We'll keep you posted.

Day #82 - Helping a Friend

Sarasota, FL

This morning, we drove Gary back to WalMart to rescue his car.  On the advice of his mechanic, we tried to jump the battery.  When I went there a couple days ago to pick him up, his car had lights and power, and it just didn’t sound like a dead battery when he tried to start it.  So I thought it couldn’t be the battery – thought it might be the starter.  But, having faith in the mechanic – or wanting to prove him wrong - we positioned the truck nose-to-nose to give it a jump.  Since we’re both still having trouble parking the Dear Monster, this was no easy feat.  We had some trouble locating our battery – there were several objects under the hood encased in rectangular protectors.  Then Gary wasn’t sure how to find the positive on the battery – I thought the flaming red paint was a dead giveaway, but he had to process it for a minute.   Then, his cables were too short, so we had to dig our out.  It was worth it though, because his car started right up.  Who knew?!?   There were two old men sitting in a car parked nearby who were quite entertained by the whole scene.  I told them to call their friends and I’d charge admission. 

After Gary bought a new battery, we followed him home.  Gary doesn’t have a butch bone in his body, so it was lots of fun watching him replace his battery.  Since he had a burned out tail light, we made a quick run for a new set and replaced them for him.

The rest of the day was more sorting and packing…can’t wait to get the trailer and be home again!

Day #81 - Food Inc

Sarasota, FL

Today Suzie and I watched Food Inc. It was an amazing movie. I was expecting a horror flick about slaughter houses and was hesitant to watch it. Ignorance really is bliss. This movie barely touched on the horrible conditions of the animals, but did not dwell on that, the way I had expected it to. This film is about one man's journey to discover what really is that thing we are calling food and putting in our bodies. The majority of our nation's food supply is dictated by a handful of corporations that often put money ahead of the consumer's health. Okay that was really no surprise. But the degree that these companies go to was a shocking surprise to me. The fact that one hamburger comes from 1000 different cows was a surprise; that vegetables are so genetically modified that the food value is gone was a surprise; and that chickens have been mutated into Frankenchickens was a surprise. The consumer's demand for white meat is so strong that the birds have been modified to have huge breasts and so they can't support the weight of their body with their own legs! That was a huge surprise. The theme of the film was how our food really isn't food anymore. What we take to be a soybean, is a genetically modified plant that is resistant to RoundUp. Even the vegetarians aren't safe anymore. More and more of our vegetables are covered with salmonella. It was a horror flick, but not in the way I had expected.

The movie talked about Stoneyfield Yogurt and the fact you can buy it at Walmart. They interviewed a hancho at the company. His friends thinks he has turned traitor. He thinks he has finally delivered the message. The people deserve good food. The people demand good food. If you buy his organic product, hundreds of thousands of gallons of pesticide are not polluting the farms or the food. People are demanding good clean food, so much so that companies like Walmart can't ignore the demand and are starting to supply organic choices. So the lesson I learned, is this: Don't protest by not buying. Buy food. Buy good, safe food.Choose better products and better products will start to appear. Let your money vote. It seems to be the only thing that gets heard.

It is hard this new knowledge. It was easier to just not know. It was easier to think food came from farms with green pastures, and chickens looked like chickens. And now I'm going to ask you to do something hard. Watch this movie. Get it from your library, or watch it now on Netflix (http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/Food_Inc./). It will change your life. Which in turn will change my life and the lives of everyone you know, for the better.

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