January 21 - 29, 2023 - Vendors, Patrina Show, and Car Show

Thursday morning there were Vendors in the clubhouse. To get oldsters to attend these types of events you need to offer free donuts and coffee, which they did.

Here is a picture of the tables set up. Most tables were vendors for vacations or for home improvement projects. We weren't interested in either so didn't stay long.

Thursday evening we had tickets for the "Patrina Show" in the clubhouse. She is a one-woman show and was very entertaining with a lot of audience participation. Here are a couple of pictures.

Friday morning we went to a church rummage sale. We arrived at 8:00 a.m. and there was already a line to get in. We really didn't need to buy anything but Kelly found four crystal wine glasses and a Dominoes set she had to have. For 25 cents I bought a USA-made locking pliers that need a good cleaning. You can never have enough locking pliers!

On the way back to the RV we stopped at Walgreens. This little guy was sitting on the Mercedes we parked next to. He was there when we pulled up and he was there when we pulled out. I don't know why he found this spot so attractive, but he was continually watching in all directions. I'm sure the guy who owned the Mercedes was not happy with him hanging out there. Hopefully he didn't leave any scratches.

Thursday evening the weather turned much colder, with only a high in the 60s through Friday. 

On Sunday the weather turned much warmer for the car show at the park, which is open to the public. In the morning I helped set up tables for registration and then from 2:00 p.m. until 3:30 p.m. I was stationed at the gate to direct visitors to the parking areas. During the event they sold hot dogs and ice cream. Before my shift started Kelly and I got a hot dog and chips and then viewed the cars. There were 82 cars in the show, which is a nice size for this event. There is a "People's Choice Award". We voted but I don't know what car won. This 1933 Willys was my favorite by far. 

There was quite a variety of vehicles displayed.

Two cars really brought back memories. The first was an old van which was decked out with Shag Carpet and a bed. I remember back in the day there was often wording on the back of these vans which said "Don't laugh, your daughter could be in here".

The other nostalgic moment was seeing this 1962 Chevrolet Impala. I had one identical to it,  even the same color. Of course, back in 1970 mine was in much nicer condition. 

Back then, no power steering, power brakes, or power windows. Mine even had a bumper hitch like this one.

Although my shift ended at 3:30 p.m., I waited at the gate to watch all of the cars drive out. None, not even the 1933 Willys, had been trailered to the show. A great day and a great show.

After the car show it was time to watch football. The Chiefs-Bengals game was great with the Chiefs pulling out a win in the last few seconds to move on to the Super Bowl - GO CHIEFS!

January 10th - 20th, 2023 - Life Around Here and Philharmonic Concert

There are a good number of Canadians in this park, mostly from Ontario and Quebec. We have noticed that they like to hang their clothes out to dry. Under the park rules you can hang clothes only at the back of your rig. Here are a few pictures of clothes hanging out which I took just from our lot.

Wednesday there was a luncheon at a local restaurant to help those of us in the park from the Midwest to get to know each other. I went but Kelly stayed home convalescing. I had a nice time and sat next to Brian and Brenda from Waterloo, Illinois. He collects tractors and comes to Perryville regularly to get non-ethanol gasoline for his tractors, because he can't get at home. The group will get together again next month. 

At 4:00 P.M. Wednesday I hosted the "D Street Happy Hour", which is held once per month for those people staying on this one block of "D Street". The weather was great, and it was really well-attended. I neglected to take any pictures. Lots of conversation and lots of food.

Thursday there were horse races at the clubhouse. Kelly will not go out yet, and I didn't want to go by myself, so we will check it out next month. 

Thursday I noticed my neighbor, Jerry, was working on his motorhome. He was replacing the water diverter valve. The factory part was plastic and cracked, causing it to leak. When he went home for Christmas he was able to buy a replacement part that is brass. He brought it back to install. Working on motorhomes is no fun. It was really a pain for him to connect all the hoses and water fittings to the new valve in a very confined area. Friday everything was back together but he found one fitting leaking. Upon taking it apart he found that the washer was deformed. Luckily, he was able to get a replacement at a local RV dealer. Neighbor Scott and I helped by providing "moral support" for the project. 

Friday morning it rained hard for about an hour then let up. The winds were predicted to be 15 - 25 mph so I had taken the sunscreen down and rolled up the awning, as did most others around me. This rain brought in much cooler weather. It was down to 37 degrees the next three nights!

Friday afternoon Kelly came out of the rig for the first time in almost two weeks. We walked over and visited with our neighbors, Scott and Beth from Quebec, who were sitting out. They are a delightful couple and I'm sure we will visit much over the season.

Saturday we went to the hardware store to buy chain and hooks to hang the stained-glass picture Kelly purchased. She had purchased a similar one a couple of years ago but dropped it and broke it. I hung it from hooks attached to the top of the valance on the back window. It adds a little color.

Saturday evening two of the sand cranes who hang around the park walked past our lot squawking the continually. Here is a video of them.

They are really tame and will let people get very close. I think I could hand feed them but I'm not going to that for fear they wouldn't leave.

As I said, it has been COLD here - low thirties over night since Friday. Here is a picture of the car when I came out to go to church on Sunday.

This car has never been in winter weather so we do not have an ice scraper. I had to use a credit card to scrape the frost off the windows before I could drive off.

Sunday afternoon our friend, Celina, who was visiting friends nearby, came over for a visit. We went to the Olympic Restaurant in town for supper. The food was quite good and reasonable. Kelly is back to normal (healthwise) so she, Celina, and another lady friend went shopping all day Monday We didn't need anything, but Kelly couldn't help herself. She bought an 18-inch-tall glass Christmas Tree for Christmas next year in Marge and three outfits for grandson, Free. We mailed them off on Wednesday.

The university here in Avon Park has a wonderful concert hall called the "Wildstein Center", named after benefactor, Allan Jay Wildstein. Almost weekly during the season there is a different musical concert covering all musical tastes. We purchased tickets for a concert by the "Lviv Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine" and attended last night. It was outstanding. Here is a picture of the orchestra playing.

Before the concert the ushers passed out Ukraine flags for everyone to waive when clapping, which I'm sure was appreciated. The national flower of Ukraine is the Sunflower. At the conclusion of the performance the musicians were given many bouquets of Sunflowers.

We can't imagine what a stress this must be for them to perform around the U.S. as their family members are dealing with war at home. The crowd was informed that the musicians have great difficulty communicating with family members back home. From here they travel to New York to give a concert in Carnegie Hall.  So glad we went.  We hadn't been to a performance like this for many years.

The weather has warmed up significantly. It only got down into the 60s last night, quite a change. My job today is to glue the soles on Kelly's shoes, which came lose last night. I have two types of glue on hand but not contact cement, which is what I want to use for this project. We will make a trip to the store today to purchase glue and to do some grocery shopping as well. We have a coupon to get $12.00 off a purchase of $60.00 or more at Winn-Dixie. Now days it is not hard to purchase $60.00 worth of groceries. Two dozen eggs ought to do it!

 

January 2nd - 9th, 2023 - Reserving for Next Year, Kelly is Sick, Hosting the Block Party

The end of the year we got a letter in our mailbox that park rental is going up for next season. For those of us who stay four months it is going up $125.00 per month. Seasonal spots are hard to get so on Monday January 2nd we went up to the office and put down a deposit for next year. The management here is so nice, everything is so simple. I told her we would put down a deposit on this lot but would rather have a North-facing lot next year, she said to check back after January 18th when those lots not reserved are listed. If a North-facing lot is available then she will just change our lot reservation. The office staff are very helpful and accommodating, which is so different from our past experience at Roberts RV Park. 

We learned from a neighbor that management here does not put up with anyone who doesn’t follow the rules though. On New Years  in Florida everyone shoots off fireworks everywhere. There is a park rule that no fireworks shall be shot off in the park. Totally understandable. Last year someone in the park shot some fireworks off anyway. Management found out about it and kicked them out - permanently. They owned a park model. Management told them to pull it out or sell to someone else. They weren’t allowed to remain in the park. They sold.  

January 2nd it turned very warm. 80 plus. Tuesday is laundry day.  At 6:30 a.m. I did the laundry when no one else is around. Kelly went to bed Monday night not feeling well and got up Tuesday morning feeling worse. By lunchtime she decided to take a Covid test. Luckily it came back negative. A chest cold? I went to the store and bought some NyQuil, Green Tea, and Chicken Noodle Soup. Then I dumped the holding tanks, so that we are good for another week. 

Our patio gets full sun from noon on. The sunshade we bought helps block the sun but since it is a mesh so a lot of sun and heat still comes through it. I didn’t want to catch what Kelly had so I stayed outside reading, etc.  I have to keep moving around to stay in the shade. This is the main reason we would like to get a North-facing lot. The North-facing lots get afternoon shade from the rig and the awning. 

The Pool Party that had been scheduled in December was cancelled due to the cold weather and rescheduled for the 4th. I went up to check it out. There was a pretty good crowd. The music was provided by an old guy singing, playing a keyboard, and using a sound machine for accompaniment. He wasn't too bad and played a lot of songs everyone liked. A fellow took this picture that I was in. Can you pick me out?

A number of the attendees get in the pool and splash around.

On a different subject, I finished carving the boot. Here is a picture. I will take it home and stain it and varnish it. My daughter, Alexa, gets it as the first thing I carved with the carving set she bought me.

Kelly hadn't improved by Friday, so we went to the closest Urgent Care, which is seventeen miles away.

When we got there at least six people were ahead of Kelly. They were SLOW. We were there for three hours. I'm glad she wasn't bleeding. Kelly has pneumonia and was given a prescription for an antibiotic, Flonase, and Prednisone. Her medical insurance changed to Aetna the first of the year and she hasn't received the new card yet. Aetna sent her a letter that could be used until the card arrived. The urgent care folks had no problem accepting the new insurance based on the letter. Kelly needed to get a blood test so we drove to Quest. She completed their paperwork, but they wouldn't accept the Aetna insurance based on the letter. Kelly said the guy there was a real jerk. We then went to Walgreens to get the prescription filled. They accepted the Aetna letter. Go figure. Upon getting back to the RV Kelly called Aetna about the problem. She was told the card was mailed out December 19th. We haven't gotten it yet, which is strange. Our mail is forwarded from Perryville once per week. It should have been here by now.  The lady at Aetna told Kelly to download the Aetna app and she could get the card from there and have it on her phone. She goes back to Quest on Tuesday, January 10th, which was their first available appointment.

A major storm came through Thursday. It rained really hard for a long time. Here are some pictures of the storm coming through.

After the storm the temperatures dropped over fifteen degrees but Friday the sun was back out. 

This block of "D Street" is known for having a "Block Party" once per month. We went to the first one in December hosted by Brian and Janet. While sitting on the patio Friday Brian came up and asked if we would host the next "Block Party" on Wednesday the eleventh. Kelly was sick and inside the RV. Without consulting her (a mistake) I agreed to do it (mostly to get our turn out of the way). A while later Gailen, from across the street, came over. He said he heard we were hosting the next "Block Party" and, thankfully, he told me what was expected of us. (Brian told me nothing.) The hosts provide the space, have a table for snacks, and provide plates, utensils, and napkins. I pointed to our folding table and he said that it wasn't large enough so he will bring one over. Kelly thought it was a bad idea for us to host since she was sick. She said she would not mingle with others and she suggested I tell Brian we can't do it. I didn't want to do that so I will host the group and Kelly will stay in the RV. Now I need to go to the store and purchase disposable dinnerware.

Saturday I was sitting on the patio when I heard cranes nearby. I was able to get this video as they walked through out lot.

Saturday evening there was a dance at the clubhouse but we skipped it for obvious reasons. I have not been going to wood carving to stay away from groups.

Sunday we decided to take a ride to Lake Placid, then on to Arcadia, then back home. This area is the poorest part of the state. Lake Placid is nice but Arcadia is a small community and pretty depressed.

Since it is after the first of the year the park is now full for the season. All the activities will get into full swing. I'm hoping Kelly continues to improve so we can attend events.

December 26, 2022 - January 1, 2023 - Ringing in the New Year

Wayne and Judy told us about a mobile home park in Sebring that is totally decorated for Christmas. it takes quite a while to drive through and directions are given as to what route to take to see it all. Here are some pictures. It was really well done.

Some of the neighbors went back home for Christmas. The last couple of days they have returned, and I introduced myself to them and hung out with them for a while the last two days. 

Upon arrival we purchased tickets for the New Year's Eve Party here at the park. I learned from the last dance we attended that I needed to go up to the clubhouse early and stake out our seats. I picked a couple of seats close to the front and on the end for ease of getting to the dance floor. The band was "Side Project Duo" - a guy on an acoustic guitar and another guy singing and shaking the tambourine. 

They did have a small synthesizer of some sort that gave a little drum beat but that was it. They were HORRIBLE! They might have been okay for a backyard BBQ for background music but that is about it. Their music was more like folk music than dance music and their singing was awful. They played for over a half hour and no one got up to dance. They switched to something a little more appropriate for the occasion and some people started to dance. I told Kelly it was going to be a long night! I thought it was hilarious that the dance floor filled up when they took a break and put some canned music on with tunes people knew and could dance to. 

We sat across from Jack and RuthAnn, from North Carolina, and next to Linda and David, from Taylorville, Illinois. They are all nice people and we had a lot of fun laughing at the crappy music and discussing how we probably didn't bring enough booze to get through four hours of this. Around 9:30 p.m. they drew tickets for attendance prizes, which were bottles of Champaigne, and/or gift cards to restaurants in the area. We didn't win. What was funny was that we were behind Jack and Ruthann walking in. She had to root around for their tickets so they told us to go ahead of them in line. Thus they got our attendance prize tickets and each of them won an attendance prize! After all the attendance prizes were given out people started to leave. Jack and Ruthann left by 10:00 p.m. Only about 1/3 of the partiers stayed until midnight. A good DJ would have been much better. Here we are at midnight making noise and singing "Auld Lang Syne".

I thought it was weird that the decorating committee set out plastic Champaigne flutes for everyone but didn't provide any Champaigne. What were they thinking?

New Year's Day we took down what little Christmas decorations we had. It took about five minutes. They are packed up until next year. Unlike Christmas, New Year's Day it is hot - 80+. We get a lot of sun which really warms up Marge. I would turn on the AC but Kelly is comfortable with the warmth. So I sit outside a lot where there is a breeze.

On January the fourth there will be a pool party. One was scheduled earlier but was cancelled due to the cold weather. The party lasts two hours and live music is provided. (I hope not the "Side Project Duo"!) Our neighbors have said the pool parties are fun. You bring your chair to the pool area and sit and visit. It looks like the weather is going to cooperate this time. I'll keep you posted.