A Whirlwind of a Holiday Weekend

26 Monday May 2014

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Where did that weekend go? It was a four day weekend for us as we took the Friday before Memorial Day weekend off from work and yet it flashed by like a regular weekend.

We left home on Friday around 9:00AM after a quick business meeting and headed for the storage lot to pickup the trailer and set out for Fort Wilderness Campground at Disney. After a quick run home for the items left behind in the freezer, we headed out around 10:00AM. No traffic to speak of and smooth cruising to Disney.

We arrived around 1:30PM and were assigned to space #908. We could not have asked for a more perfect space as it had a greet place for walking the dogs and nice forest cover as well as easy access to the Trading Post. We setup and prepared for a hot extended weekend, and hot it was! All weekend in the low to mid-nineties and very little breeze. The temperature by itself wore us out, let alone the additional activity.

We were blessed to be visited by family all weekend, with Wes dropping off Logan to stay through Sunday and the rest of Logan’s family joining us on Sunday. As usual, Logan was full of energy and we enjoyed seeing the world through his growing eyes. Friday night was burgers on the grill and then Wes headed back home.

On Saturday we were busy outdoors all day. We went exploring on the golf cart, took a boat ride, checked out the playgrounds, went swimming and ended up making s’mores at the big bonfire. We even had our pictures taken with Chip of Chip and Dale. Bath time and a quick cartoon was enough for that day.

On Sunday we mostly stayed around the campsite until the rest of the family arrived, keeping busy with the various camping toys available. Once everyone was there, it was off to the playground (though so hot) with fun for everyone. Since only six would fit in the cart, I stayed back with the dogs and watched a portion of the Indy 500. I always so enjoy that as it reminds me of so many good times over the past years, even being up at the lakes and listening to the race on the radio. It is more than just another race and one of the few times I truly get homesick for Indiana.

Sunday closed with cupcakes to celebrate Gavin’s birthday and then a dinner of fresh bratwurst on the grill. Somehow we made it through the heat and still managed to remain patient and civil to each other. It wrapped-up a great time together.

Oh, I must mention the use of the new Bliss Lights. We are still figuring out how to make the most impressive display with them, but they were pretty cool. It needed to be really dark to see them best and we needed more foliage in the immediate area to make them really pop, but it was pretty impressive anyway. In fact, our neighbor dropped by twice to inquire how we were able to string all of those lights in the trees.

Monday was a get-up and get-going day as we needed to be out of the campsite by 11:00AM. We wrapped up and headed home without incident or worry. Another great memory vested in our collective memory scrapbook. I doubt that as those three kids grow they will truly remember this weekend. My hope is that it serves as a good foundation that as they look back over the years, they know they were loved and special to their grandparents.

Anyway, another one for the books. We are glad we had the opportunity to do this and now look forward to our next camping adventure.

Thanks,

Captain Skip

Two happy campers!

Rounding up the pinecones

Playing with the camping toys

Relax at Hanna Park

11 Sunday May 2014

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Hanna Park

This weekend we were fortunate enough to get away again to Hanna Park. We so much enjoy coming here and this time was not a disappointment. We arrived around 7:00 and easily found our way to space #99. We like this space because it is easy in/easy out, has a beautiful forest cover and convenient for walking the dogs. The site was not perfectly level and we needed one-half of a board on the right side to level things out. Of course we do not have one-half boards so we were a little off kilter all weekend.

A little off kilter is a good description of me this weekend. The changes at work and the threat to my continued employment lay heavy in my thoughts. We have been on an emotional roller coaster for months now and last week became unbearable. I received a call Friday evening before we left that should help stabilize things and move in a generally favorable direction. However, I am totally used-up and am having a hard time refocusing my thoughts away from the what-if scenarios that could impact my employment.

We had a great weekend with perfect weather and great food. On Saturday, I cooked a two and one-half pound pork roast in the Cobb grill using a rub we acquired in St Martin recently. We thought the roast would be good but it exceeded our expectations in every way. It was moist and flavorful beyond belief, with an ample supply of leftovers for this week.

We were just so at peace there we did not want to leave. We usually plan on starting to pack around 1:00 and leaving the site by 2:00. Not this weekend, we just kept putting things off. We ended up pulling out around 3:15 and managed to get to the storage lot and unpack by 4:00 when the rains really started.

I believe Jeannie had a nice Mother’s Day weekend and I started the mental healing process, so overall it was mission accomplished for us. We look forward to four days at Ft Wilderness in just two weeks with Logan for a few days and a visit from his entire family on Sunday to pick him up. We may have to breakout the “rocky-talkies” again for our nature walk, who knows?

We are still having fun, so this must still be the thing to do.

Thanks,

Captain Skip

Island Time in the Woods

Zephyr the Camping Dog

Start of a New Season at Stagecoach

26 Saturday Apr 2014

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Finally we are back on the road again! It has been over six months since our last camping adventure. Much too long of a time to not be traveling with the Island Time. Between family events, a cold that would never go away, and business travel things have just conspired to keep us occupied with other things.

As tradition holds, we are spending the weekend at our favorite Stagecoach RV campground. We are in space #46 which is a very nice place like all of the spaces here. We arrived last night around 7:00 PM which was as soon as we could get ready after work. I flew home from Chicago on a business trip and was passing through downtown Jacksonville about the same time that Jeannie leaves the office. As I was creeping along in traffic I noticed a car that looked just like our ML350. Turns out it was Jeannie as she merged into traffic onto 95 Southbound. I noticed a big smile and received a phone call at the same time and we laughed at the odds of this happening. What a great homecoming escort after being gone all week.

I am glad to get away from work. While there is a lot to be said about that, this is all I am going to say about it.

The Island Time is pretty dirty, but we hope to give it a complete washing tomorrow when we return. Jeannie is cleaning the inside and I am troubleshooting our Internet connection. After a couple of hours of trying to fix it, I somehow managed to get the repeater working. I am still not sure of what I did to get it working.

Anyway, it is great to be back at it again! Getting ready for another six months of fun!

Thanks,

Captain Skip

Perfection at Hanna Park

12 Saturday Oct 2013

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Hanna Park

Wow! I think that is the best way to start this entry. It is a perfect Fall day at Hanna Park and we have the most fabulous view that could be imagined. We are in site #142 which is a pull-through near the end of the park. We are the site closest to the lake with an amazing view.

As I am writing this I am sitting outside in a “weightless” recliner, a cool breeze is blowing a perfect 75 degrees without a cloud in the sky. I am under the awning with the music softly playing my favorite tunes while the Cobb puffs away at a chuck roast supplying an occasional waft of oak smoke. I have a nice cool drink and am munching on some sliced apples while the dogs nap in their camping beds. I mean really, how does it get any better than this!

While the site has an awesome view, logistically it is not the best. It is very narrow and we had to spend some time moving the trailer as close to the utilities as we could to be able to unroll the awning. Also, I am not sure how we will get out as when we pull out we are at the end of the road leaving us with a 180 degree turn in either direction. We will probably have to back out which will not be easy due to the adjustments we had to make to get into the site. With all of that said, this is still an awesome view and I am sure we can workout the options tomorrow and it will all be more than worth it.

This is one case where having the shorter wheelbase of the ML350 is a real advantage. I was able to move the trailer over about 18 inches within a very short length, something that would be more difficult with a longer wheelbase truck. The shorter wheelbase is considered a disadvantage for distance towing, but has not caused us any problems so far. While I keep my eye on the pickup market for pulling the Airstream on the “Victory Lap”, I think the ML350 is perfect for us now and will serve us great should we be so fortunate to later afford an Airstream.

Checkout the new license plate on the Island Time! We have always enjoyed the challenge of tagging our vehicles with a vanity plate, so after several months in the application process we have “ISLNDTM”. We were hoping for a space between the words, but were not so lucky. Oh well, we like it and it serves as a conversation topic to explain it.

I am going to wrap this up because I see there is someone flying an amphibious R/C airplane from the lake and I have to see it! Is this fun or what!

As you can tell, we are really enjoying our entire RV adventure. Even as I take all of this in, I am already starting to think about planning the next opportunity. It works for us.

Thanks,

Captain Skip

PS: With great direction from Jeannie we were able to back out of the space with only one adjustment needed. We put it perfectly in the middle of the road with one foot to spare from a neighboring campers awning (extended to the road) and one foot on the left side of the ML. No problems!