Dude, Is This Crush?

Yet another perfect day at Disney. Because it was Mardi Gras, I donned all my Mardi Gras beads from our New Orleans trip from years ago. This is one of the things that I love about Disney. You can wear multi-strands of cheap beads and no one thinks a thing of it, except to smile or give a thumbs up.

In the morning, we took a bike ride through the campgrounds. We stopped at Trail's End for the breakfast buffet. On our return, I called Disney tours and set up a Behind The Scenes: Steam Train Tour for Mel. Since I got to go to Kennedy Space Center, I thought it'd only be fair for Mel to have a special day. So Thursday morning, he is off on a new adventure.

Then, I called Fort Wilderness front desk to see if we could extend our stay to Friday, March 10th. They were able to extend us to Monday, March 6th. So, we drove over to the campground office to re-check in until Monday.

Then, it was off to EPCOT. We went straight to Soarin', only to find out that there was an 80 minutes wait. I guess Spring Break has begun. Undeterred, we headed to The Sea, where I finally got a shot of the elusive sea turtle. Now I am a happy camper. For reasons that I cannot explain, I have become obsessed with sea turtles in Florida. So I just had to get a picture of one.

We also got a chance to see "Adventure with Crush" from Finding Nemo, an interactive show, in which Crush answers questions from children in the audience. It is very charming.

After visiting the aquarium, we decided to have a nosh at the Coral Reef restaurant. What a place! Because it was later in the afternoon, we were seated right next to the window of the aquarium. What a romantic setting! So we ate our snack and watched the fish, sharks, sting rays and sea turtles swim by. To think that I could have just had lunch to get all my fish pictures.

Then, we walked over to the Petroleum exhibit and enjoyed our ride with the dinosaurs. We finished off our day by riding in the big silver ball, the Communication exhibit, one of my favorite rides in EPCOT.

After we returned to the RV and rested for awhile, we drove to Walgreen's to pick up some necessities, then went on to Publix for our supplies, since we hadn't shopped since St. Augustine. There was a Chinese carry-out in the same shopping center as Publix, so I finally had some Kao Pao Chicken for dinner, which I enjoyed while watching Boston Legal.

Melvin On The Wall

The alarm clock rang at 6:30 a.m. jolting us out of sound sleep. It was time for Brian to leave after his whirlwind visit. By 7 a.m., Brian and Mel were out the door. Brian drove Mel to pick up the Jeep for the Fort Wilderness parking lot. Then, Mel led Brian out through the backroads of Disney to shortcut him to the highway. When Mel returned, we decided to sleep in. I was happy to do so, so I could let my medication work in my system. I want to feel good again.

When we got ourselves together, we went to a charming little island-style restaurant, called Pebbles. Once lunch was over, we headed to our favorite park, Magic Kingdom.

Much to our own surprise, we found things to do at the Magic Kingdom that we hadn't done in our three previous visits. Something old, but recently re-opened after years of refurbishment, was Tom Sawyer's Island. We rode Huck Finn's raft to the island that is basically an island of exploration. It had several caves, a barrel bridge, a fort and lots of climbing places. It was quite a workout but great fun.

From Tom Sawyer's Island, we went to Country Bears Jamboree. During the show, Melvin the Moose, in the photo above, cracks jokes about the bears' performances. Cute but Mel and I just aren't country. Finally, we treated ourselves to apple and cherry turnovers before returning to the RV.

I was happy to be home as I crawled in to bed to watch my tape of Dancing with the Stars. While I was happy that Drew Lachey won, my heart was with Jerry Rice. Jerry truly was the most improved of the three choices and the only one of the three that didn't have previous dance experience. Of course, Stacy Kiebler was gorgeous. Actually, no one in the whole competition were losers. Except for P. Daddy or whoever he was, I liked all the competitors. Can't wait for the next season's show.

Big Bang

We were up bright and early because today was moving day again. We have reservations to return to Disney World until Thursday, March 2nd. So we packed up the RV for the move. At 10 a.m., Brian arrived. As part of his long weekend, he decided that he wanted to go to the Kennedy Space Center. Mel was concerned about securing a good campsite at Disney so he volunteered to stay behind with the RV and make the move on his own.

Brian and I left for the Space Coast with fairly moderate traffic, but as we closed in on Orlando, we ended up in a traffic jam. Poor Mel was following behind with the RV.

As we drove on, we discussed luncheon plans. I thought that we would eat at Milo's Cafe at KSC, but Brian had another idea. When he was down here eight years ago, we ate at a restaurant called Rusty's at Port Canaveral. I agreed but I didn't know how we would find it now. Brian was determined. As we neared the cruise ships, Brian spotted the road leading to the ports and we drove right up to the restarants. Brian treated me to a lobster dinner. Yummy.

By 2 p.m., we arrived at Cape Canaveral. We quickly bought tickets and boarded a tour bus that took us to an open air observation post overlooking the two launch sites for the space shuttle. Then, we reboarded the bus and went to the museum that contains the Saturn rocket that is pictured above. When you enter the site, there is a reenactment of the first rocket launch in a replica of Mission Control. I had tears in my eyes throughout this whole museum. The NASA program is one of the few government-sponsored efforts that makes me prod of this country. As a nation, we can be so good. I could tell that Brian was in heaven as he actually read all the information presented in the exhibit. I just took pictures. The tour ended with a reenactment of the Moon Landing (more tears). When we returned to the entrance, we walked to the Astronauts' Memorial Mirror that has each astronaut's name etched into the glass as a memorial to their service to the country. Very moving! As the sun set, we drove back to Orlando.

We picked Mel up and went to Giordano's for pizza. Mel explained that it took him until two p.m. before he was able to move into the campsite. The arriving RV's were three rows deep trying to check into Fort Wilderness. Can you believe this? Giordano's pizza oven was broken and they were waiting for part from Chicago. No Pizza! ARRGH!

Off Day!

These are the Old City Gates, built in the 16th century, in St. Augustine, FL.

We had a hard time getting our day started today. We could not agree on a travel plan. Mel wanted to go to the movies, but there wasn't a lot to choose from so I balked. I suggested doing some touring close to our campsite and he balked. Finally, he said, "We have been running for a week. We need some down time." I was so grateful to hear him say that since I am usually the one begging for a day off. We decided today would be a take it easy day and we needed to address some minor RV repairs.

Once we got ourselves together, we went to Exit 10, off I4 to one of the biggest RV dealers that we have ever seen. We have needed to restring our day-night shades since before we left Chicago. No one has repair cord or kits. It is very frustrating. On our RV campsite map, various camping-related businesses were advertised, one being shade repair. So, we were happy to seek out the establishment to see if we could buy cord from them. However, they were closed and not to be opened until Monday-too late for us.

From there, next door was Camping World, an RVer's Mecca. It was like WalMart on payday there. The aisles were crowded with RV owners, searching for repair and replacement items. We have been needing a replacement fan for our bathroom and there they were stacked up waiting for us. We needed a flat wire connector for our satellite system. I picked up an indoor-outdoor thermometer, as I can never figure out what to wear based on how the inside of the camper feels and sometimes the weather reports are too generic to be reliable. So $200.00 later, we were out the door.

We drove to Brandon, Florida another exit down I4 and I75. We had lunch at Macaroni Grill where we always find tasty dishes. There was a Barnes and Noble on the corner so we stopped in for magazines and I bought a copy of John Steinbeck's Cannery Row. My sister, Carol, had given me Steinbeck's Sweet Thursday, the sequel to Cannery Row. I was loving Sweet Thursday so much that I stopped reading it so I could read them sequentially. I forgot what a terrific writer Steinbeck was. I don't know if I have mentioned it before but I just finished Elie Weisel's Night, Oprah's latest book club pick. Mel could not understand that I was reading such a depressing book but that is the way it goes sometimes. Actually, I am surprised that Oprah picked another memoir, after the James Frey debacle.

When we returned, we had found that the breaker had blown and we had no lights or air conditioning-not that it is all that hot but the humidity has been high. I hadn't been feeling too peppy so I crawled into bed with a magazine. Mel began tinkering so I thought he was installing the new fan. However, Mel was investigating the cause of the breaker blow out and found the small exhaust fan that keeps the circuitry cool had seized up. So here was the poor guy on the floor trying to access the fan motor that is buried under the closet. Mel does not curse but.... Finally, I said, "Cool it. Our next door neighbors are sitting outside and they may hear you." Soon, I dozed off and then the phone rang. It was Jimmy telling us that Vince's mom, 82, had passed away after a long bout with cancer. What a bummer! While Mel re-showered after his struggle with the mini-exhaust fan, I called our kids to let them know.

Once Mel was finished with his shower, I told him I thought we should go to a nearby out-patient clinic as I wasn't feeling better. With much grumbling, we drove to Plant City, FL to the Baptist Hospital's FirstCare clinic. I thought I had a urinary tract infection and so I did but it took 2 1/2 hours to determine it. Armed with prescriptions, we found a Walgreens and were home by 10 p.m. My husband was not smiling-what a way to spend a Saturday night! At least, we were out of there before any gunshot wounds showed up. Mel got to see the last few races of the Olympics.

While I was writing this in peace and quiet, suddenly the little exhaust fan started up with a riotous racket. Poor Mel was asleep. So, at 12:15 a.m., he had to crawl out of bed, get dressed, retrieve his tools from outside and pull that little sucker out from its hiding place again and tweak the repair, adding more oil, too. All is quiet on the eastern front now and I am going to bed, too. Tomorrow will be a better day.

P.S. Because of today's adventure, we have our million dollar idea: easily accessible changeout parts for the RV. Also, I can start a business restringing RV shades since practioners are far and few between. Anything to keep us on the road.

Beauty and the Beach

Oprah called. She is concerned about the accuracy of the information contained in yesterday's blog. While she had not endorsed it, she has informed me that she will not give any future support to what possibly may be a bogus report. Mel

We have moved southwest to a midway point between Tampa and Orlando. Our intent had been to cross the Florida state line into southeast Georgia. But the weather reports indicated snowfall in the Mid-Atlantic states and we just are not equipped to deal with those kind of conditions.

So we left St. Augustine, Florida about mid-morning. We weren't twenty miles south when the clouds lifted, the sun shone and the air heated up. I quickly changed from jeans into shorts as I wasn't prepared for such a rapid warm up.

Mel being Mel, as we neared Orlando, announced, "We are going to Disney World for lunch." Not everyone would detour from their path to drop in at Disney. He drove right into MGM Studios, got us a parking spot up in front where the tour buses park. We were steps from the main entrance. We used our passes to get into the park, strolled up the main street, veered left to Prime Time Cafe, put our name in at the podium and in ten minutes, were seated, ordered and ate our lunch. This was all done in less than an hour and we were back on the road, heading to Tampa. We arrived at our campsite at 3 p.m. and were tucked in for the day.

Then, we waited for Brian's arrival. He flew into Orlando's Sanford Airport from Rockford, but his plane arrived late and he was unable to stop in and see us. Instead, he drove on to his friends', Vishal and Roshan, home, where he is staying for his long weekend.

Because his friends had to work today, Brian was able to spend the day with us. He drove to the campgrounds about eight miles from his friends' place. We took his rental car to my sister's, Carol. From there, Carol, Bill, Brian, Mel and I drove to Clearwater Beach so Brian could see the Gulf of Mexico. We ate at the Palm Pavillion, a beach bar. The photo was taken from the deck of the restaurant. Then, we returned to Carol's and Bill's to visit.

When we left their home, we decided to take Brian over the Sunshine Skyway in St. Petersburg. As we neared the city, it started to rain, but we decided to detour to show Brian Fort Desoto Park, our favorite RV campsite. We drove throught the RV park, then to the fort, then to east beach so he could see the bridge before we crossed it. On our way back to the highway, we toured him through West Shore Estates at Tierra Verde, filled with million dollar homes. Then, we crossed the 12 mile set of bridges over Tampa Bay, quite an engineering feat. We ended our day at Jesse's Steakhouse in Brandon, Florida. A good time was had by all.

My Fixer Upper

Mel's statement, as dictated to Chief Brody:

"Well, we decided since we are going to continue along the east coast, why not do it by boat. So, we traded off our motor home and a bunch of cash and purchased this American classic, as seen in the photo above. Upon further inspection, we learned that the only reason that this much of the boat was showing was because it was sitting on the bottom of the bay. It appeared that our two week restoration may turn into another Mel Karasek multi-year project. In anticipation of completion, we had already bought a new 98 inch flat screen TV with surround sound to install. While under construction, we would be living in the Jeep. The water pumps had been running for two days. The hole was bigger than we thought. Next, we needed to power our boat, outfit it with a new interior, new exterior-well pretty much everything. We'd need some Stay Alive Life Jackets, if we figured out how to float our boat.

I sent Nancy in to investigate the boat's interior. I am pretty sure that there are man-eaters in there. I'd been waiting for her to come out but on the bright side, it'd only been a few hours since I'd seen her. Then, I decided that I may need to send the crew of the Orca in to kill off Jaws! Well, it's getting dark now, so we are calling off the search!"

Nancy's statement:

"After my exhausting three foot swim to shore, I laid there like a beached whale, wondering why Chief Brody and Mel had missed me in their extensive search. I am thinking that they were not looking that hard! After I found them at the restaurant, Mel did not seem to be grieving too badly-that is, until he turned and saw me standing there. The poor man broke down in tears."

It's a sob story, but one that had to be told. The end! Mel

On the Waterfront

Our adventure continued as we drove north of Jacksonville to Amelia Island for a day's tour of the first resort community on the northeast coast of Florida-think Long Grove on the water. We started the day by driving to Jacksonville to Jackie's and John's hotel. We transferred to John's car and started north on A1A.

While we traveled north, we all experienced an optical illusion as a barge with triple stacks of railroad box cars passed across our path about a half mile ahead of us. We weren't sure what John should do. Pull over? Proceed? What are travellers to do? We proceeded only to find that the road was gently curving away from the shoreline and we, indeed, had seen those boxcars crossing the road. I only relate this because we all had the same reaction to what was going on.

I did my best to follow the map that the hotel provided. As we neared what I thought to be a bridge crossing the St. John's River, we found ourselves in line to take a ferry across the river. So much for my navigation. But it was a fun, if unexpected, experience and a short crossing.

What we enjoyed about the drive on the island was that for the most part it is still in its natural state and relatively undeveloped, unlike South Florida. Our destination was the city of Fernandina that had been developed as a resort town on the island. Its claim to fame is 50 streets of Victorian houses scattered through the community.

We stopped for lunch at Brett's Waterway Cafe, an adorable restaurant right on the waterfront of the Amelia River. The photo is a view from the marina back to the city. I liked the cheerful multi-colored apartment building in the background. Then, dear John indulged me and slowly drove up and down the streets of the town so I could view the Painted Ladies.

On our way back, I was determined to find that elusive bridge to cross the St. John's River. Once again, we missed it and ended up on St. George Island, then crossing over what was named on the map, the Dames Point Bridge, but as we approached the bridge, the sign said the Napoleaon Bonaparte Bridge. We had no idea where we were and we were supposed to be picking up Jackie from her training center. But suddenly, we found ourselves on the highway, where the hotel was. None of us had a clue as to how we got back. By the way, I tossed the hotel map out as I couldn't make heads or tails of it.

Once we picked up Jackie, we got some drinks and sat by the hotel pool and chatted about our day. Then, we decided to call Dennis and Marilyn to see if they had been able to move back into their house after it had been infested with a skunk family in the middle of the night last week. At 2 a.m. in the morning, they had to evacuate their house with their dog in tow and move into their local Holiday Inn. How's that for an experience? After our chat, we walked to the Gallery Bistro for our light last supper. Then, we gave our last hugs and kisses and headed back to St. Augustine, where we were able to watch some of the Olympics.

Consider the Possibilities! This Is Waiting For You!

This morning, Mel left bright and early to drive to Jacksonville to pick up our friend, John. Jackie had her training to attend so we decided to have John go along with us to hang out in St. Augustine. Our first stop was in Old City, the section of St. Augustine that is still preserved from the 16th century. They must not have thought about the possibilities of automobiles as the streets were barely a donkey cart wide. The explanation for this was that the streets would be easier to defend and since there was no air conditioning, the narrow streets would serve as wind tunnels to direct cooler air to the buildings that lined the streets. This area is all very charming and well preserved. They like their history in St. Augustine and they do a great job of preservation. John and Jackie's daughter, Megan, has her degree in historic preservation and I wish she'd been along to see all of this. Anyway, once we walked out of the Old City area, it was much cooler so I don't know if those earlier theories were working too well.

From that area, we walked to the Intracoastal waterway and discovered that a tour boat was getting ready to cruise so we quickly hopped aboard. John learned a lot about how Mel and Nancy operate. We had no plans to take a boat ride but when the opportunity availed itself, there we were on board. We have come to so enjoy these narrated cruises on water. They are stress-free, laid back and informative. The photo was captured as we cruised by Anastasia State Park. I was intrigure by the lone chair on the beach with no hint of ownership anywhere close by for miles.

After the cruise, we took a brief walk to the Santa Maria Restaurant that is out on a pier well into the Intercoastal Waterway. It was one of those old salt restaurants with sailing ship motif. While we were dining, suddenly two dolphins came in to the bay to feed so they put on quite a show for us. The restaurant provided baskets of bread so you could feed the gulls. We had a lot of laughs doing this. I don't know who was goofier us or the gulls. It was fun to watch the little ones trying to feed the gulls as soon as the gulls approached the kids would go screeching away.

After lunch, we continued our tour of the area. We stopped at the Castillo de San Marco, the fort built by the Spanish to defend the area. Then, we walked through another old section of the city, again much appreciative of the preservation efforts.

We moved on into the late 19th century buildings, built by Henry Flagler, co-founder of Standard Oil Company. He built two hotels for rich northerners to escape to from winter's ravages. One of the hotel's is now Flagler College, a private college opened in 1968. These students are in absolute luxury attending classes and using the dining hall. The other hotel now houses St. Augustine City Hall and a museum. It also boasts the first indoor swiming pool. Both hotels were wired by Thomas Edison and have their own generators to provide electricity.

The "boys" dropped me off so I could tour Memorial Presbyterian Church, built by Flagler to honor his daughter, who had died giving birth. He so loved her that the church is designed like St. Mark's Church in Venice, Italy. Not only did he commission the marble from Italy but he brought the Italian craftsmen over to build it. He offered them a bonus, if it was completed in a year. They finished in 360 days. However, it took 12 years to complete the stained glass windows that relate to the Apostle's Creed. Flagler and his wife are also interred there.

From there we drove to Anastasia Island to the Conch House Marina so Mel and John could inqure about deep sea fishing. It cost $550.00 for a half day. Yikes! So we had a drink at the pier bar and watched the fisherman, cleaning the catch of the day.

Then, it was time to meet Jackie at Vilano beach for our dinner at Fiddler's Green. The setting was beautiful as we gazed out over the Atlantic Ocean.

We returned to the RV, full and exhausted from our day's adventures.

Spa Day

Mel had me up and moving at 6:45 a.m. He had a busy day planned. Last night, before I could go to bed, I had to pack an overnight bag to take with me this morning. At 7:45 a.m., we left for Jacksonville. Mel and John had made plans to drive to Ocala, FL so they could tour the Don Garlitz Drag Racing Museum. Mel didn't want to leave me alone at the RV park, isolated without transportation, so I went with him to the Sepseys' hotel.

By the time we arrived, Jackie had left for her business meeting-her purpose for being in Jacksonville in the first place. Once the guys left for Ocala, I settled into the Sepsey's hotel room but I had an agenda for my visit. Because Mel had us leave so early in the morning, I began my stay with a shower, a nice change from the RV shower. Then, I made some tea and ate bread, butter and fruit that I had brought with me.

I made good use of my alone time and began planning out our next move. Are you ready for this? We are going back to Disney World. We had planned on moving to Georgia at the end of this week, however, the weather is conspiring against us. So on our trip up A1A yesterday, Mel finally conceded that heading north is premature. So we are retreating first to Tampa and then, we will move back to Disney as of Sunday until March 3rd. Hopefully, by that time, there will be more spring-like weather in Georgia. After I finished our planning, I plugged in the computer and answered e-mail and looked up travel information. Also, I made a few phone calls to chat with friends.

When the maid arrived to clean the room, I walked across the parking lot to eat lunch at TGIFridays. My young waiter seemed a little out of it, but after I ordered, we got to chatting and it turned out that I was his last customer on his last shift at the restaurant. He had completed his civil engineering degree in December and he was starting an engineering job with the City of Jacksonville. When I told him that I was a city planner, we formed a quick bond. We talked a long time about his career goals and dreams. He attributed his quick employment after graduation to his internship with FEMA in New Orleans after Katrina, surveying the levees. What a great experience coming from that tragedy.

When I returned to the hotel, Jackie was back from her conference. I asked her what she would like to do and she said, "Let's get pedicures." So, off we went across the parking lot to a little shopping center where there was a nail salon. We walked in and I requested a manicure, pedicure and eyebrow waxing (OUCH! There will be no other waxing anywhere on my body!). Jackie did a manicure and pedicure. With our services, we got calf, foot, arm and hand massages and I got a mini-facial with the waxing. It was a real girlfriend moment. The shop was owned by Asians so no English was spoken and we only had each other to talk to. Since I started the day not knowing that I was going to have a pedicure, I just had my athletic shoes with me-no sandals. I did not want to mess up my pedicure so I wore the little styrofoam shoesies from the shop.

I was on a roll, so I walked down the street to Supercuts. They weren't busy and laughed when I walked in with the foam flip-flops. While my hair was being cut, the idle hairdressers gathered round as I explained about our travels. Dear Jackie came into the salon bearing iced teas for us as we were parched from our busy activities.

When we were finished, we crossed the parking lot again only to find Mel and John lounging at the pool. Jackie thought I was the height of class (snigger here), so here is a photo of me vamping for the camera after my day spa treatment. Finally, I felt it was safe to put on my shoes so the guys decided we should go to dinner. We ate at Copeland's, a New Orleans-style steakhouse. After dinner, we collected our belongings and returned to the campsite. A good day!

Our Own Daytona Track

Today was a cold, gloomy and windy day in St. Augustine. So we opted to stay put in the RV and watch the Daytona 500. We were waiting for our friends, the Sepseys, to arrive from frigid Chicago to Jacksonville, FL. They were on separate flights but supposed to arrive within 15 minutes of each other. They didn't fly together because John decided to join Jackie at the last minute.

When the race was over, we drove A1A north to Jacksonville as we had plenty of time to get there. Jacksonville is only a half hour from where we are staying.The first beach that we reached was Vilano Beach and to our surprise, we were able to drive the Jeep out onto the beach. So Mel delightedly took us off-roading up and down the beach. It was too miserably cold to get out of the car so I took this photo from the car. As you can see, the ocean was really rough and the only live creatures on the beach were the gulls. I am sure the warning flag for boaters was red-Danger, Will Robinson! Anyway, Mel got that racing fever out of his system.

As we proceeded north on A1A, we came up the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve. It encompasses 60,000 acres of salt marsh, mangrove wetlands, oyster beds, lagoons and all the flora and fauna natural to the region. It looked like a fascinating place to explore but it was just too cold and windy to walk around. Perhaps, we will make it back there another day.

It was close to 8 p.m. by the time the Sepseys made it to their hotel, but we passed the time in the hotel lobby, watching TV. John's plane had been delayed in Atlanta, where he had to transfer and Jackie had to wait for him at the Jacksonville airport.

Once they were checked into their room, we went to a local microbrewery for a late supper. We talked, laughed and caught up with the news of each other's families. We got back to the RV at 10:30 p.m.

Red Train Tour of St. Augustine

My heart rate is returning to normal and my blood pressure is slowly leveling out. Why? Because I lost my photos on the Picasa Picture program that I have been using to store my photos in. I backed up photos from February 1st on CD's, then discarded the files. What I didn't realize was that the files were then deleted from the Picasa program. Why is this a big deal? Because when I work in Picassa, I enhance (label, crop, straighten, lighten, etc.) the pictures. I didn't cry but I wanted to. I restored everything from the recyling bin and will deal with discarding things later, but I have lost all my work (meaning photo enhancements) from the 1st of the month. It is 11:30 p.m. and I am first starting my blog work. Yikes! Thank goodness the Olympics is on to keep me company. How about that Shani Walker (?) He won the gold for the 1000 meter race. He is from Chicago & Evanston and we were so excited, but then he was interviewed after the race and what a head case he was, no smiles or excitement. What an attitude!

Now that my trauma is over, I can report on our adventure. It was almost 80 degrees and sunny so we decided it was a great day to take a riding tour of St. Augustine. These tram tours are great, as you see the highlights and learn the history of the area. This is the way that we decide what we want to return to actually tour. We find neat restaurants this way, too. The photo is of the former Flagler Hotel that is now Flagler College. Mr. Flagler was a real visionary and is responsible for much of the development of Florida's east coast down to Key West. His name is on everything and we can see why.

We found a darling car wash. Yes, I know who would write about a car wash but the name of it is the Showboat Car Wash and sure enough, it is built like a showboat. We have passed it several times in the past few days and couldn't resist. For $5.00, the car is nice and clean. We returned to the campsite and Mel polished the Jeep's hood, while I cleaned the windows inside and out. The Jeep was in need of some tender loving care and it got it today.

Also, I got to talk to Ryan and Daniel today and oh yes, Michelle, too. Poor Daniel is so confused by our absence. Michelle said that they were riding around this afternoon, when Daniel piped up with "Okay, when am I going to see Grandma and Grandpa. They should be done with their trip and if I don't get to see them I am going to die." A bit dramatic for a 6 year old but he was frustrated and fed up and couldn't contain himself anymore. Michelle asked if a chat on the phone would do and he agreed. So we had a nice long chat with both of the boys and Mom and caught up on their doings and they on ours. Guess Mom will have to let them read the blog.

When the sun went down, we ordered pizza for carry out from our new favorite restaurant, Carinos. It was yummy!

The Sentinel of the Sea at St. Augustine

In 1513, Ponce De Leon visited this area searching for the Fountain of Youth. Maybe, we'll find it. St. Augustine is the oldest city in North America, founded in 1565, on the feast day of St. Augustine. The light house, in the photo, was built in 1874, as the area grew to be a winter retreat for wealthy northerners.

We are definitely back north and out of the tropics, no lovely palm trees everywhere you look. Mel t0ld me that the party is over and back to reality, whatever that means as we continue to live this life style.

We had lunch at a great little Italian restaurant, Carinos' Country Italian. We plan to go there all week until we have eaten through their menu. Yes, it is that good.

It is Friday, Movie Day so we saw Freedomland, with Julianne Moore and Samuel L. Jackson. It is a very overwrought and confusing movie-a real time waster. It was so hard to follow that I fell asleep through part of it and nothing happened while I was out. Good actors were wasted in this turkey. Then, we saw Disney's Eight Below, a true tale about the survival of a dog sled team, pure Disney, but not Old Yeller. If you have young ones, go for it and if not, go for it anyway, it is good for you. Mel and I did ponder as to why anyone would go to Antartica, but we are not true adventurers-we like our creature comforts. All that snow, ice, blizzards and hardship-Yikes!

Moving North

Today, we left Vero Beach and took a sunny three hour drive, north on I95, heading for St. Augustine, FL. We are encamped at Indian Forest RV Campgrounds. The campground is in a rustic setting, giving us the feeling that we are camping in the woods, quite a pleasant experience.

Once we set up, we drove into St. Augustine, about a 6 mile drive, to get an orientation to our new home. We are here for a week, but will travel south to Daytona, after the big race, and north to Jacksonville and Amelia Island.

We found a restaurant, the Conch House, on the water. The photo shows the individual grass hut tables overlooking the water.

Then, we drove A1A to see the St. Augustine Beach and light house.

This evening we watched the Winter Olympics' Men's Figure Skating and Snow Boarding events.

Flying In Formation

This is a photo taken from a moving car on A1A at Sebastian, FL.

Today was a laid-back sunny day in Vero Beach. We joined Marion, Cal and Marilyn for lunch at Captain Hiram's that is located on the Intracoastal Waterway. Afterwards, we went to Walmart, where we picked up camper supplies and groceries-one stop shopping. Then, we returned to find that the laundromat at the campsite was empty so quickly loaded up the Jeep with our laundry and spent the next two hours washing, drying and folding. In between, we read our new magazines so we were quietly entertained. The rest of the evening was spent tidying the RV, stowing clothes and groceries and getting ready for our move north. A nice easy-going day.

Happy Valentine's Day

Mickey and Minnie are wishing all of you a wonderful love-filled Valentine's Day. Did you enjoy Mel's effort at composing his blog? He was really nervous and put a lot of thought into what he wanted to say. I thought he did pretty good for his first time. It's true-he is a virgin blogger! It's been a long time since the words, Mel and virgin, were in the same sentence.

Anyway, I could not let the day go by without my version of our Valentine's Day. While it was a cool day in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area, it wasn't as cool as yesterday. There was no wind and the sun was shining so it was quite beautiful. So while Mel de-camped us, I walked around our campgrounds to get a fair view of the place and to take a few photos. We were parked in the overflow lot with the air boat and gator wrangler employees, thus our fearful stay. But there was a nicer section of the place, we just weren't part of it.

Before we left the area, we had made plans with our niece, Susan, to meet for lunch. We chose a restaurant, Flannigan's, because it had a big parking lot. We secured our belongings. Then, we stopped for gas. We arrived a few minutes before Susan, so we sat looking at maps, planning our future travels. We saw Susan wheel in, in her Mom-mobile. As we opened the door, there came our beautiful niece, heading for the RV, bearing gifts. Our sweetheart brought us a minature white rose bush for the RV and a decorated notebook, titled "The Reivers on the Road: The Adventures of Nancy and Mel, 2005-2006," filled with copies of all of our blogs since we left Chicago. What a delight! This beautiful young woman, wife and mother of three sons, with an incredibly complicated schedule, took the time last night to print and assemble this gift for us. What a sweetie pie! That wasn't all, she picked up the check for lunch. Wow, what a girl!

From lunch, we started our trip north to Vero Beach. We had made reservations at the same campsite that we had stayed at on our previous visit. We've been like giddy children, thrilled that we are in a safe place.

We no sooner got ourselves situated in the campsite, then we were off to Cousin Marilyn's for a Valentine supper with Cal and Marion, too. Marilyn is Mel's godmother, so she outright spoiled him by serving spaghetti with meat sauce and garlic bread. He grinned through the whole meal so happy with his spaghetti. Actually, it was a beautifully prepared meal and very tasty.

While we were visiting, my cell phone went off and when I answered there were the voices of my little cherubs, Ryan and Daniel, seranading me with "I'm a teeny little Valentine for you." What a treat it was to hear from my little guys. Makes me miss them so much. It was a superb ending to an already joyous day.

We're Safe!!!

At the request of our niece, Susan, Mel is narrating this blog.

Question: What does V.P. Cheney call Harry A. Whittington in the woods? Answer: Skeet!

As you can tell by the picture above, we have left Disney World, the home of million dollar rolling homes, beauty and flowers for a campsite in the Everglades, where we met our new neighbor. Now, this is living large!

At first, we were afraid to leave our camper at night and only went out during the day together so we could watch each other's backs. One of us would dash for the Jeep, starting the engine for a quick getaway, while the other barred the door and made a running leap for the speeding car. But after a few days, we decided to join them rather than fight them.

So family and friends, it's goodbye Hawaiin shirts-hello flannels. We are off to join the carnies and gator wrestlers. We have finally found our true calling.

I woke up on this Valentine's Day morning in a pool of sweat, then I realized that the nightmare was over and we could move on to Vero Beach.

Miami Beach Skyline

Today is our last day in South Florida and it was the coldest day of year. However, the sun was out so it seemed much more pleasant although the wind was coming from the northeast so they were actually talking in terms of wind chill.

We drove into Miami to meet with our friends, the Urbanskis. Ivah and I worked together 25+ years ago, when I was in my first planning job and we have maintained our friendship all these years.

Ivah and her husband, Glenn, currently have a commuter marriage. Two years ago, Glenn was "offered" a position from his company of 25 years to go to Miami and with two teen boys still at home, he took it. So Ivah maintains their Rogers Park home with the boys and then Glenn and Ivah commute every other weekend, although for now, because of weather, Ivah is flying to Miami instead of Glenn flying to Chicago. Makes sense to us. But this kind of life style is challenging so we commend them for their courage and tenacity in working it all out.

We visited them in their lovely condo overlooking Biscayne Bay and Miami Beach. The view in the photo is from their 16th floor balcony. For lunch, we walked to an adorable little restaurant, The Toscano Bistro. It had about eight tables with lots of attention from the owner and staff. Almost all the patrons were Italian so we felt the food was quite authentic. Good food, good company, lots of laughs.

Sunday on the Intracoastal Waterway

In the background of this photo is a blue A-line roof. It is the roof of a restaurant called Riverwatch Bar. The yacht in the foreground is the Mustang Sally moored at the restaurant. The restaurant is where we had lunch today, while we watched first one, then two, then three, then four deckhands wash the yacht and polish the chrome and brass. The fourth man was the supervisor and pointed out where the other three had missed a spot. Mel explained to me that on a yacht this size the deckhands stay with the boat, while the owner flys to whereever he wants the yacht to be. There is probably a cook on board, too, because if you can afford this yacht, you don't have to cook, except for fun. Regarding the restaurant, a former name may have been Down Under because it is located next to the 17th Street Bridge, almost under the bridge.

For those of you suffering from the snow and cold in the midwest and on the east coast, we want you to know that today was the coldest day in Miami/Fort Lauderdale (56 degrees) since January 24th of 2003. It was 59 degrees in Key West and 55 in Marathon. There is no where to run to for warmth.

Because of the weather, today was a very quiet day. We talked to friends and relatives, which felt so good as we really do miss everyone even though we are having a wonderful time on our adventure. We needed our Katie report on her pregnancy. Everything is going great and the time of arrival is nearing. Along with the rest of you probably, we watched the Olympics. We took a break and decided on banana splits for dinner. I know that is an odd choice with the cold weather but it always a good time for ice cream. The Olympics notwithstanding, I did have to switch to Desperate Housewives and now, Grey's Anatomy. Mel had been watching NHRA racing but has now joined me. He is rolling his eyes at me over my show, but he can just go back to his races as far as I am concerned.

Lunch Anyone?

Here is a photo of The Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, FL.

We started off the day searching for a mailbox or post office. At times, living on the road is challenging, like trying to find a mail box. When did they disappear? They used to be on the corner of the block but try as we might, we couldn't find any. However, we may be in a rural area although there seemed to be lots of houses around. We laughed when we asked a security guard at a shopping center where a mailbox might be and he directed us to the mail lock boxes for the shopping center tenants. Finally, a valet at a restaurant told us where to find the actual post office building and we were good to go.

Once we posted our mail, we were off to Palm Beach Gardens via the Florida Turnpike. Our first stop was the John D. MacArthur Beach State Park. We toured the Nature Center and walked the board walk to the beach. Then we continued our drive on A1A through West Palm Beach and onto Palm Beach. Again, we saw one mansion after another.

We spotted a beautiful large building ahead of us and there it was, The Breakers Hotel. Since it was lunch time, Mel pulled in. We are so nervy in Hawaiin shirt and shorts to just walk in and ask where the restaurant is located. They didn't blink and directed us to The Seafood Bar. We spent the next two hours dining at a table overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. We topped off our delicious lunch with Chocolate Mousse Bananas Foster. Yummy!

What a place! We had seen it featured on the Travel channel but hadn't paid attention to where it was, so to stumble across it on our drive just tickled us. Mel never lets me down for fun adventures. So we will fast for the next two days to make up for our food budget, but it was worth it and made the day quite special.

From The Breakers, we continued south on A1A, passing through Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Boca Raton, Pompano Beach and then returning to Fort Lauderdale. It was quite a long drive without stopping so we were quite stiff by the time we returned to the RV, just in time to watch Olympic coverage. However, now Mel is watching the NHRA Winter Nationals, giving me plenty of peace to write this.

Sampling of Yachts

Today was a low key day, after our wonderful boating day yesterday. The photo is of a marina between A1A and the Intercoastal Waterway. One yacht was bigger than the next. The money down here is unbelievable.

I spent the morning attending to paperwork so we can mail while we are in a big city. Then, we headed to Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise, Florida for an afternoon of movies. We started with Curious George, a cute children's movie, based on the stories of Curious George. Mel was antsy during the show but clearly he hadn't read the adventures of Curious George as a child. The stories' highlights were woven through the movie that was more about the man in the yellow suit. I would recommend re-reading the books before seeing this charming movie. You will want to have Curious George come live with you too.

Then, we went to see the Pink Panther, with Steve Martin, Kevin Kline and Beyonce. This is Steve Martin at his finest comedic self but in the wrong role and movie. You can't out Peter Sellers Peter Sellers. However, I loved one of the cameo performances of a non credited actor.

Finally, we saw Firewall, a suspense thriller with Harrison Ford, Paul Bettany and Virginia Madsen. This is a movie worth seeing, even though there were some scenes not tied together in the end. But it was good to see Harrison Ford back on the screen again and strong performances from all the actors.

We went to a restaurant, called Empire Pizza Cafe for dinner. Now you would think that a place with the name pizza in it would have pizza. But not this place. Printed on the menu was a note to the effect that large and Sicilian pizzas are not served after 4 p.m. It was 6 p.m. so we were out of luck. Strange, isn't it? The food was still good but we probably won't revisit it with that kind of policy.

Afloat On the Intercoastal Waterway

Here we are on the Intercoastal Waterway heading to Port Everglades. This is the bridge at 17th Street that we crossed yesterday to get to A1A.

Our day, February 9th, started with a swerve as Mel avoided a 4 foot iguana crossing the road. I think it is illegal to kill one of these creatures but I don't know if there is a penalty when it is in the middle of the road. There are no pictures because at the time I was screaming like a little girl. Did I mention that we are staying in the Everglades?

It was another perfect south Florida day so we drove into Fort Lauderdale. Our destination was the Riverfront Marketplace on Las Olas Blvd. and the New River. We found it yesterday as we were getting used to our new surroundings. Our goal was to take a cruise on the river to be on the water and to gaze at the breathtaking mansions that line the riverfront and Intercoastal waterway.

We took the 2:30 p.m. cruise that was an hour and a half long. It was peaceful as we leisurely boated up and down the New River looking at one mansion with yacht after another. Mel has decided that Fort Lauderdale is his new favorite city. I find that amusing since I took a lot of grief for heading back south after Disney.

After the cruise, we walked the Riverwalk, a gorgeous place to stroll and take in the sights and sounds of Fort Lauderdale. The city really nailed their waterfront beautification program. In many ways, Chicago has a long way to go to utilize its river and lake front.

We had dinner reservations at the River House Restaurant, which is a historical building in Old Fort Lauderdale. It was an elegant, romantic place to dine. The food was great and the ambience even better.

Fort Lauderdale is considered the Venice of America with over 200 miles of waterways traversing the city. There are so many channels and fingers that many of the homes have water access. I think that is why Mel fell in love.

Georgia On My Mind

As we drove up A1A, I snapped this photo of the Fort Lauderdale beach from the car.

It is with a breaking heart and tears in my eyes that I write today. This morning, we got a call from my cousin, Carl, from St. Louis. He told us that my dear cousin, Georgia, his sister, had died at 9:10 a.m. CST. Georgia, 59, had been battling breast cancer for the past 13 years. She was never able to get into remission so she struggled with grace and fortitude with bout after bout of chemotherapy and experimental medicines. Her last year was very challenging with many ups and downs culminating in a diagnosis of bone cancer. We had last communicated a few weeks ago when she wrote that her e-mail address had changed. She will remain my role model for will power. She willed herself to live everyday of those 13 years. I will love her forever.

With the sad news, we had a very low keyed day for us. We drove into Fort Lauderdale and walked a bit of their Riverwalk, a beautiful walk on the New River, yes that is the name of the river. We spotted a dockside restaurant across the river so we drove to Shirttail Charley's for a quiet lunch on the river. We enjoyed watching the huge yachts, sailboats, water taxis, tour boats and even a mobile fuel boat that services the boats docked along the waterways. After lunch, we drove A1A to look at the beautiful beaches of Fort Lauderdale. We will be leaving the area before Spring Break starts; it will be impossible to get around at that time, so we will enjoy our time here while it is quiet.

Heading South

Here is a photo of a turtle sunning on a log in the Indian River.

With tears in our eyes, we left Disney World. It seems that Mel's food poisoning was, in fact, the flu, because I woke up in the middle of the night with the same issues. Then, we heard on the morning news that there is an outbreak of flu in the south Florida area, so we must have come in contact with a carrier. Of course, with the crowds at Disney, it would be hard to avoid germs and bacteria. Nonetheless, we loved our visit.

There is a cold front heading Florida's way so we ran south to Fort Lauderdale. It will even be cold there, too, but nothing like the area north of Orlando. Once I got Mel to I95, I slept to Pompano Beach. When I woke, Mel was in a major traffic jam, so I quickly looked at a map to get us further west and closer to our campsite.

When we arrived at our campgrounds, which is in the Everglades, we were a little disappointed. It surely is no Disney World and much below our standards but the people are nice and tried to be helpful. We will not be wandering around at night-we are in the Everglades with water all around. I tried calling several different RV parks both when we were in Orlando and when we arrived in the Everglades but no luck. It seems Florida is bursting at the seams at this time of year.

To Infinity and Beyond

If you look very carefully at the window behind Buzz, you may be able to see Mel and me in the reflection. Just one of those things that I noticed when cropping the picture.

Today is our last day at Disney World so I write this with a heavy heart and tear in my eye. But as Buzz says, "To Infinity and Beyond" so we will set off tomorrow for...are you ready for this? Fort Lauderdale and the Everglades. Why? Because campgrounds to the northeast of Orlando are filled to capacity for the soon to run Daytona 500 and FEMA has taken over the public campgrounds, state and county, for hurricane disaster relief. Quite understandable but that and the weather are forcing us back south. I know-shed no tears for us. Another week in south Florida, poor babies.

We started our final day by boating to the Grand Floridian Hotel. We had planned to have lunch there, but the restaurant that we wanted to go to was having a children only function. Isn't that cute? I love Disney.

So we took the monorail to the Magic Kingdom and had sandwiches at the Plaza Cafe. Then we did Tomorrowland. We rode the Tomorrowland Transit Authority twice, the Carousel of Progress and Space Mountain. To our delight, the Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin was operating again. When we arrived here two weeks ago, it was closed for refurbishment. We were so happy it was open again that we rode it three times. I got my best score to date: Space Commander. Mel reached the same level, too. I know, I know, you all consider us Space Commanders all the time.

Then we took a slow walk from the park. I decided to use my Birthday/Christmas money to by myself a Mickey ring, a real one that won't turn green on me. Alas, they did not have my size.

On our last full day at Disney, we always have a special dinner so this time we picked Outback since neither the Grand Floridian nor the Castle were available. On our way to dinner, Mel pulled into Downtown Disney, his least favorite place on property-shopping. I asked him why we were there and he said that he wanted me to get my ring. Wasn't that sweet? Fortunately, the Jewelry section did have my size so I got to wear it right there and then. It goes with my Mickey tennis bracelet. We went on to have a lovely dinner, thus ending another delightful visit to Disney World.

The Monorail Pulling Into EPCOT

Pittsburgh wins! Yes, that means I don't have to wash the RV. Guess who lost?

It was another lovely day in Disney, but alas poor Mel was sick last night. We think a touch of food poisoning. Thus, we threw out everything in the refrigerator. For a change, it was Mel who slept in this morning, highly unusual. Once he got started, we went to the grocery store to replenish our stock. We both agree that it was something he ate, but not from the frig, because we ate the same thing for supper and I didn't get sick. However, earlier in the day, we ate at a restaurant, but had separate entrees.

When we knew that Mel was out of harms way, we decided to go to EPCOT so we could finish seeing the World Showcase of countries. We started at Spaceship Earth, the round globe featured in the photo. Click on the picture to enlarge it so you get a good view of the globe and the monorail. Spaceship Earth is my favorite ride, though Soarin' is coming in a close second.

After the ride, we headed to Canada, then spent the rest of the day circling through the countries. We toured England, split a chocolate eclair at France, visited the marketplaces of Morocco, looked at pearls at Mikimoto's in Japan, heard the Liberty acapella singers at America, saw street performers at Italy, ate bratwurst at Germany, viewed a travelogue about China, rode the Maelstrom at Norway, skipped Mexico because we dined there Wednesday evening and bought a Disney World shirt and Mickey Mouse cosmetics bag at Mouse Gears.

Upon leaving EPCOT, we rode the monorail to the Transportation Center and then back to EPCOT. We reached the RV in time to see the half time show with the Rolling Stones-they rock!-and the end of the game.

We Left a Legacy

Do Not Be Afraid! This is an engraved image of Mel and me that is posted at EPCOT's Leave A Legacy exhibit. We did this years ago-maybe 10-they weren't able to tell us. Mel is upset that I chose this to share but Saturday, February 4th, was another rainy day and I thought it was interesting that I was able to capture and enlarge the image to a credible view.

It was another movie day, but we went to Downtown Disney's Pleasure Island AMC this time. True to our quest to see Oscar-nominated movies, we saw Mrs. Henderson Presents, with Dame Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins. This is a must see movie, folks. Do not miss it. Judi Dench is terrific and my choice for Best Actress. I am beside myself that Bob Hoskins was not nominated as Best Supporting Actor. This is a joyous, funny, yet moving view of pre-World War II England and a monied lady of class and her choices in her dotage. This is another movie that will go into our DVD collection upon release. Totally enjoyable on many levels.

We stayed around to see Annapolis, with James Franco. This was a disappointing movie, less about Annapolis and more about boxing. Franco's performance is earnest and sometimes charming but the material just wasn't there. Mel advises that this is a renter and way down on the list.