Crazy Summer

During our stay in Pensacola, FL this spring, we found this nice little place on Perdido Key called Perdido Cove RV Resort and Marina. We spent the rest of spring there on a site on the bank of the Intra Coastal Waterway. We had a blast watching all kinds of boats and barges and birds and dolphins go by.

It was tough to pick out the type of boat we’d like to live on when we leave RVing behind for open waters. So many to choose from! I’m sure the choices will be much different years from now when we’re actually ready to do that, but it was fun to play our little game anyway. Meanwhile, we kept getting photo texts of the piles of snow being dumped on our family in Minnesota. We felt so bad for them, having to endure such a long, hard winter. We felt really guilty for taking so much pleasure in the white stuff we got to deal with.

It was hard, but we waited patiently for the last big snowstorm to pass before we headed north for our annual visit.

We stopped in Alabama on the way to say hey to Brad and Phyllis and got to enjoy seeing Brad’s band play in a benefit concert. Then we spent a couple of weeks with our son Mike in Indiana, before arriving in Minnesota to begin our crazy summer. After a couple of weeks of visiting, we loaded the granddaughters and all their stuff in the RV and took off for new adventures with them.

Our first stop was at Pirateland in Myrtle Beach, SC. I was really hoping to take them on the one mile walk in the dark to catch the sunrise at the fishing pier that Trevor and I have enjoyed so much, but with them being too close to teenage years, trying to get them out of bed in the morning seriously wasn’t worth the hassle. We did enjoy the large pool, the lazy river, horseshoes, paddle boats, mini golf, the arcade, and feeding swans and ducks before heading next door to Lakewood Camping Resort. Both resorts are great family places! It was so hot, we spent most of our time in the pool or the ocean. If you have younger children (who rise before 10 am) there are many planned activities for them in both parks.

We planned our next stop to the Colonial Williamsburg area in order to get some learnin into the young ones. Over three days, we visited Colonial Williamsburg, Historic Jamestown, Jamestown and Yorktown. There were lots of cool museums, people in historic costumes, and interesting replicas and restored buildings of times past. We had a lot of fun, although we did have a bit of a discipline problem that needed to be dealt with early on. Ha, ha!

Fellow RVers know that a class A is pretty comfortable for two people. Once you get more than that in there, it’s pretty chaotic. The trick is, if you’re a perfectionist you need to get over it! Take a few times a day to pick up, but mostly just spend the whole day outside and enjoy yourself! We’ve fully enjoyed our time so far. We dropped the girls off on Thursday to visit their other grandparents in West Virginia for a week. We’ve just been hanging out in a sweet little park in Virginia about an hour away from them. The silence this week has been deafening! That little problem will go away in the morning when we load the girls into the rig again to set off for more adventure. Hey Dad! In answer to your question about who Myrtle is, it's the name of common bushes in Myrtle Beach. Enjoy your summer guys! We love you! Love, Trevor & Roni

Living the Dream

Today, on the third anniversary of our great adventure, we find ourselves so thankful to be living this dream. This past year has been a crazy one, taking us over miles and miles of this beautiful country. New Mexico, The Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, Salt Lake City, UT, Lake Tahoe, Crater Lake, Oregon, Seattle, WA, Cedaredge, CO, Lincoln, NE, Bloomington, IN, Alabama, Alpharetta, GA, Nokomis, FL, Sarasota, FL, Orlando, Ft. Myers, Destin, and Pensacola, FL. We look forward to what new adventures lie ahead. Take care, guys. We love you! -Trevor & Roni

Scanning My Life Away

When I began scanning the family photos a couple of months ago, I had no clue what a chore I was in for. Here I sit, untold hours into this project on a Sunday night, still at it. I feel like I’m scanning my life away. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed reliving my life through the memories brought back by each photo, but I’ve felt as though the present is quickly slipping away. When I looked through our most recent photos though, I realized I’ve been having much more fun than I thought. We’ve actually been pretty busy! See, if I don’t keep up on this blog, I forget where I’ve been and what I’ve been doing! We left Sarasota in February and settled in Fort Myers for a month. We were tempted to stay on Sanibel Island, but the prices were as hideous as the traffic. We chose to stay at Siesta Bay RV Resort instead, located just before the bridge to Sanibel; still a bit pricy, but without the traffic headaches. Pam flew in for a brief visit. We’re always trying to woo her into taking a traveling nurse position in Florida so we can see her more often, so we made sure we packed a lot into the two days she was here. The fun included tanning the light, Minnesota skin while searching for shells on the local beaches, taking a Dolphin Cruise from Sanibel Island, enjoying the ambiance of waterfront restaurants, and going on a Manatee Sightseeing Eco-Adventure near Naples, FL. No Florida winter is complete without some deep sea fishing, so Trevor took a Friday off so we could knock that out. We had fun, but didn’t get the catch we usually do. I’m accustomed to catching a trigger fish every time we go out. I missed that this time. No matter, Trevor consoled me by taking me to our newly discovered favorite restaurant, “Doc Ford’s Rum Bar and Grille”. There are two of them, but we like the one in Fort Myers best. Another place with great ambiance! It was here we discovered a new author by the name of Randy Wayne White. I’m just into his first book in the Doc Ford series, which we purchased right at the Fort Myers restaurant. I’m looking forward to reading it. I’ve talked to others who’ve really enjoyed his books. When we left Fort Myers, we spent a couple of nights in Orlando where we were able to meet up with my friend Mary. As a skilled photographer always anxious for new photo opportunities, she picked me up and took me to Gatorland for the day. We had a couple of camera issues, but we worked them out and enjoyed our time together, photographing birds and gators. Trevor and I also had the opportunity dine with another skilled photographer we’ve wanted meet. Until now, we’ve only known him from an RV forum. It was nice to meet him in person. Tom’s a great man, who does great work and is always willing to teach you something new about photography. After Orlando, we went to Destin for two weeks to visit Mary and Bob who rented a condo on the beach. The water there is the pretty turquois, emerald green color with sand as white as snow. What a wonderful place to be! The view from their living area and the balcony there was totally mesmerizing. We enjoyed catching some good rays with them, meeting their friends, sharing wonderful dinners together, and playing many games of Hand and Foot in the evenings. We recently took a trip to New Orleans so Trevor could attend Microsoft Convergence there. One of his coworkers brought his wife as well, so Yolanda and I spent many hours shopping and sightseeing while the guys attended the conference. In the evenings, the four of us attended different conference events and checked out the local cuisine. For a girl who’s felt as though she’s been stuck in the house a great deal, I’ve really gotten around! I’m feeling much better about it all now! I have to ask you though, is this cute or what?! Take care, guys! Love, Trevor & Roni

Endless Summer

Except for a minor deviation to attend a wedding in the snow, Jennifer!!!

we’ve been enjoying an endless summer for a couple of years now and it’s been great! The above happy couple did make it up to us when they grabbed the little people, left their winter wonderland, and came to visit us here at Sun N Fun in Sarasota, FL. We had a lot of fun but at times, not a lot of sun.

On Christmas Eve, we had an early dinner and took a Sunset Cruise aboard LeBarge, where we enjoyed the Sarasota Bay waters with an accompanying breeze, wildlife, music, and a hint of sunset behind the clouds.

Christmas Day: No sun, just fun. We enjoyed a traditional Christmas dinner at Boondocks, a buffet restaurant here in the park, some pool and spa time, and mini golf after dark.

The following day, we visited the Big Cat Habitat. It’s a place where big, old, cats go when they retire from the Circus. All of the old cats seemed to love to pose for the camera. At Lido Beach that evening, we watched a man catch some air and do some hang time. We thought that was pretty cool! We were hoping the sun would make an appearance before it dipped below the horizon, but it was much less spectacular than on most evenings. At least it didn’t upstage the football game on the beach!

When we heard the sun was to make an appearance for most of the following day, we scheduled Sports Day and tried to play as many sports as we could in the park in one day.

We were only able to squeeze in Frisbee Golf, the jumping pillow, tetherball, and a bean bag toss before the big sporting events of the day opened up: The Hippo Slide, Hamster Ball and The Wibit (an inflatable obstacle course).

The following day was to be beach day, with or without the sun! It wasn’t bad in the morning as we shopped for bathing suits in Siesta Key Village, but by the time we got to the beach it was sketchy at best. It was quite enjoyable to watch the little people build sand castles and sculptures and to hunt for shells on the beach.

The next day, the sun was out, shining in all its glory. Of course it was. It was the day our sweet people had to fly home! We killed time together in Downtown Disney until it was time for the sad goodbye. The weather’s been perfect ever since, but definitely lacking a certain atmosphere.

With the influx of the annual snowbirds, more activities abound in the park. We’re looking forward to breaking in the new Bocce Ball court and discovering what new things await us. We’ll let you know what we find. Keep warm guys! We love you! Love, Trevor & Roni