Tiny camping in Lakeland FL. (the site that is)

Thursday 24 January

     We had breakfast in and a nice walk for Rudy.  I was sweeping the Moho when Dave came down to visit, so Brad sat and talked while I finished cleaning.  Brad had a bike ride then came and got me and we headed back to check out the Park Models.  Back home and I was ready to shower.....no hot water.  We had a nasty storm during the night and water got into the water heater vent tube, Brad drained that and voilà, I had hot water.  I headed over to Winn Dixie for a few things while Brad stayed home to clean up the outside of the Moho.  Back home a walk for Rudy and a meet and greet with people from Lawrenceville, PA.  They are volunteers at Ives Run and then we found out there are 3 more couples here in the park that volunteer at Ives Run as well, I guess this is Ives Run South.   I cooked dinner so we would have left overs for lunch tomorrow, after our move.  

Friday 25 January

     We moved from Paradise Oaks to Woodall MHP and Campground....we should have stayed at Paradise Oaks.  It was fun getting here, we had a glitch with steps and they would just go out, then

We got in here, just hoping

we can get out!!

back in whenever Brad hit a pretty good bump.  They park is packed full and very tight, I had to knock on someone's door to have them move a golf cart and Brad still had to back up to make that corner.  When we were getting ready to park the guy across the street was nice enough to move his truck to we could get into our spot.  Now this place is crossed off our list as a stop over, the people are nice enough, but just to tight for us.  We have already mapped our exit plan, one of two of the normal exit turns we just can't make in the Moho.  After walking the park, that is kind of a maze, we managed to find our way back home.  We had burgers for dinner and were in early, it's been pretty cool in the evenings.

Saturday 26 January 2019

     Nice morning cool but sunny 45 degrees.  Brad made breakfast, sausage and pancakes on the grill.  A couple of walks around the park and I think we have finalized our way out of this park. 

Pictures just doesn't let you see how tight the corners are.  Anyway, we went over to visit Kate and Tony and of course stopped for lunch on the way.  They are all sick with cold/flu so we sat outside and talked until they were froze and when they went in we headed home. We are planning to go back on Monday hoping they are feeling a little better.   The park was really nice but the neighborhood out side of the fence is rough and kind of run down.  We had Apple sausage cooked on the grill for dinner.

Sunday 27 January 2019

    Rain, rain and more cold rain.  We had an all day steady rain from daylight to dark.  Poor Rudy did not go out until 11:30am when he couldn't hold it any more. Since it was so cold and rainy we went to meet Buddy and Teresa for lunch at Cracker Barrel.  It is right beside Lazy Days RV sale and was crazy busy.    No we didn't look at any RV's but we did go to the parts department to get a water filter, but it was closed.  We got back home and forced Rudy out for a walk about 6:00 pm.  We had left overs for dinner and then just listened to rain until bed.

Monday 28 January 2019

Woke up to a cloudy morning but by 10:00 the sun was shining and the thermal heat from it felt good.  Diane made breakfast, while doing 2 loads of laundry, then she showered and called the Ochenrider's to make some plans.  Well the plans were, no visit everyone is still sick and not up to doing anything...Oh well.  We had a quick lunch here at the Moho then headed out to the grocery store.  Back home and a long walk for Rudy.  After yesterday he was refusing to get back in the Moho,

 "I was locked in there all day yesterday, you can't make me go back inside.

I'm just going to lay here in the middle of the Road and enjoy the sunshine!!". 

We did manage to get him inside.....he is only 15 lbs after all.  We had dinner in and are hoping to see Kate and Tony tomorrow.  

Last days at Paradise Oaks

Sunday 20 January, 2019

It was windy and rainy last night so neither of us slept very well.  Brad got up this morning and the temp was 65, now that is our high for the day.  About 9:00 the 4 of us headed out for breakfast, then

Our site for the week

back to the CG for Buddy and Teresa to finish packing and head out.  We said goodbyes walked Rudy before heading out for gas, credit union, a little drive and stopped at the inside out grill for a mid afternoon snack.  Groceries then back home grilled cheese and soup to warm us up.  It was down in the 40's by bed time.

Monday 21 January 2019

There was a hard frost this morning and it was only 33 degrees.  We had breakfast in, then about 11:30 we headed up to O'Shucks for lunch, stopped at the bike shop to get Brad's tire fixed and a trip to Beall's (Diane needs a pair of sneakers).  We did some touring around then headed home about 3:00 with a stop to get water and a quick beer at the VFW.  There was nothing quick about the beer, we ended up being there until 5:30 or so before we headed home.  

Tuesday 22 January 2019

Today it was cool and windy so it was a good day to do some running around.  We headed to CVS to get Brad's prescription, then over to Big O's for lunch.....it was ok.  Over to hardware store, Tractor Supply and True Value.  Now they are all surrounded by RV parks so you think one of them would carry water hoses....nope.  Back home and we found the on Amazon, so we placed another order with them.  We had baked haddock for dinner and just as we finished, Len stopped in for a quick visit.  It was good to see him, but after about 30 min., he was off again to his last call of the day....at 8:30 pm.  He does keep busy.

Wednesday 23 January 2019

We got up and it actually warmed enough to make breakfast on the grill.  We then got cleaned up and headed over to Len's, first to check out his new office and our second job was getting Rudy all his shots.  Now he had never been to Len's office before, but at the door he knew it was a Vet's office and we had to drag him in the door.  He did his normal barking/growl at Len and when a dog came over to visit him, he hid behind Brad....it really was a funny site.  After that we took Rudy back home, had lunch then headed over to the cemetery.  After that we stopped at the VFW just up the road from the

The old Truck

cemetery and got to check out this old truck.  It was the owners everyday, run around truck. 

We then headed home and Brad walked Rudy while Diane worked on getting dinner ready.  Steaks, mushrooms and a baked potatoes, but we  didn't get to eat until about 7:00.  Gene and Dawn stopped by for a visit then a phone call or two, but it was all good and the only thing that was a little crispy were the potatoes.  

The original vehicle

Air Conditioner

From Lake front to Paradise Oaks.

Thursday 17 January, 2019

Up this morning and Diane made breakfast....yes inside scrapple and eggs. We have one pack left we are saving.  While Diane was rearranging the cupboards she found a bag of Wege pretzels, what a lovely surprise.  A load of laundry done and now time to finalize the washing of the truck.  The inside of the doors are still full of mud, how it gets there we'll never know but we washed them off,  the truck is starting to look good.  Then usual trip into town.  Propane, wire and electrical connectors to fix the awnings. We had lunch at the 'Downtown Grill' Brad had salad with shrimp, Diane chicken salad sandwich on a croissant Yum. Back home and we noticed the camp ground starting to fill up, there

Sunset on the Lake

was a BMW motorcycle rally being held here this weekend.  The landing pads for RV arrived at 4:30 as scheduled (we were worried they wouldn't be here before the office closed),  but it was a little to late to install them tonight.  We had Chicken on the grill and enjoyed our last campfire for a while.  

Friday 18 January, 2019

Up and packing.  By  10:00 jacks were up and Brad crawled underneath to change the landing pads, bolt came out easy enough new pad installed....but wait they don't fit.  So take the new ones off, put the old ones back on  and Brad is dirty from being under the Moho, he cleaned up and we got on the road.  Stopped at a truck stop for fuel and had some nasty food from inside, another break at the rest area and back on the road to Paradise Oaks where Buddy and Teresa were waiting on us.  We parked almost back to back, had a nice visit then off to get dinner at the Mexican place.  The food was just OK, but the margaritas might have us going back.  Back home, hooked up water and satellite dish and Brad was off to bed about 9:30,  Diane at 10:30.

Saturday19 January 2019

We had cereal for breakfast, showered and visited with Buddy and T for a while.  We then gathered up and headed to the River Ratz for lunch.  It was a bit disappointing as they were out of Shrimp and Cat Fish, but we should have gone someplace else when we pulled in and there were about 100 motorcycles parked in the lot.  It was a fairly nice sunny day to sit and chat which we did.  We had Happy hour on the patio and "Buddy" burgers (Buddy's secret recipe) for dinner, yum. Then sat and talked til 9pm

Still at Camp Blanding

Sunday 13 January, 2019

     Brad made a nice breakfast on the grill.  Then it was just a hang out day.  We took a lot of walks with Rudy and said good-bye to our new friends, Bill and Judy.  We both made called a few phone calls.   Although we were busy all day we can't remember what we did.

Monday  14 January 2019

   We were up and moving like normal a quick breakfast then off to town to do some clothes

Nicole's

shopping. First stop is lunch just as always.  We found this little place called 'Nicole's Cafe in the Country', what a find.  Looked like an old house converted into a restaurant.  Food and service was great Diane had blackened flounder and I had shrimp with fried green tomatoes.  We did a little clothes shopping Diane bought two new tops and I just had so much fun walking in and out of all the stores.  Back home chicken and waffles for dinner. 

Tuesday 15 January 2019

   What a great day for Diane, she was off to get her hair cut just before lunch.  Later that afternoon it happened, at 4:30 the much shopped for, the researched to death

Rudy heard no fire,

so he's in the sunshine!

and long awaited for vacuum arrived via fed ex.  Now she is happy.  After reading all the instruction and assembly she is ready to go except the batteries need charged over night.  Oh no, she must wait one more day to use it.  Just a little to cold for a fire so we grilled the last of our hog maw sausages for dinner.   

Wednesday 16 January 2019

     We headed into town for supplies and stopped at the drug store, grocery store and washed the truck all before lunch. I know!!   Lunch was at the Stone E Cabin great reviews and the ad on the radio made it sound great.  Well not so much, it was OK.  The best part was 5 or 6 good old boys sitting behind us just a talk'n in that mush mouth southern accent that no one can understand.   Occasionally we could make out a few words and just start laughing.  Other than that the place was unimpressive. 

    We stopped at the Camp Blanding  museum on our way back.  Very surprised what we learned.  This was a big WWII camp where 10's of thousands of men were formed into army national guard units and then sent off to the war.  Each division had a monument with the number of men, followed

POW Camp

by the number killed, wounded, and captured.  Thousand killed from each division only one division suffered less than 1,000 and that was because their troop transport was sunk on the way over, they lost 800 men and were never sent to the front.  The other little known fact is that this was a huge POW processing center most of the German prisoners were sent here, processed and sent to other camps.  Over 4,000 POW's were kept here and treated very well to the point some had to be force to return to Germany.  Enough history, if you ever get a chance stop in the check it out.

    Back home Rudy and I spent the afternoon outside as Diane vacuumed the whole house several times over, she is soooo happy.  Left overs for dinner and a nice fire.

Wrapping up first week at Camp Blanding

Thursday 10 January, 2019

     Up in the morning and I made breakfast for us all.  Threw in a load of laundry then started rearranging my cupboards....it took me all day and I'm still not happy with them. As soon as I opened a cupboard to start, Brad headed outside  and found a job of his own to do.  There was a leak in the

And now we need parts

to put it back together!!

water bin and it was time to fix it.  He gathered most of his tools and took off both plates covering the water pipes to find the leaks.  Leak one fixed...oh a second leak, that got fixed, but the third leak is up the wall in the 1/2 bath, so into the house and out comes the wall.  Now, don't think I took that well, I felt like crying because I'm not sure how or when it's all going to go back together, but the leak does need fixed.  He found the problem but now needs parts to fix it, so the wall stays off and it will be a trip to town tomorrow for parts.  OK, so I got over my feeling and got my stuff all put away, then got things started for dinner.  Brad was out walking Rudy when Bill and Judy stopped to chat, so I went out and joined them.  We sat until we were chilled, they headed home, Brad started the grill to make ham steak and Rudy and I headed inside to warm up.  A nice meal, nice evening and off to bed.

Friday 11 January, 2019

     A quick breakfast then we headed into town, a hair cut for Brad then lunch, I had 2 slices of Pizza and Brad had the Shrimp Arribiato.  After that a walk through town to the Walgreen's for my meds,

A walk by the Lake.

then to the tiny RV store to look for the parts Brad needed and they actually had the parts.  We got our things then headed back to the truck to drop off the stuff and headed back down the street to go to the museum, just our luck, they are closed Friday's....what the heck.  Back to the truck then over to Winn Dixie for the few things we need then a trip back home.  Brad put the parts in, I turned on the water, oops it leaked.  He worked on it a little more, no leak, even after 2 or 3 tests.  The wall is still off with a plan for another test.  After that we did 3 laps around the park with Rudy and 'til we got home I don't think Rudy could have walked another step.  We both showered and had fish and veggies for dinner......yum.

Saturday 12 January 2019

     We had the alarm set so we could go to the Waldo flea market before having lunch with Gabe. 

Waldo's Antique/Flea

Market???

We were awfully slow moving and didn't leave until 10.  But we did make to Waldo 1.5 hours before lunch!.. The flea market was more like a scrap market to the point we wouldn't even go in some areas.  Anyway,  off to lunch with Gabe at Randy's Rib shack.  Just a small roadside place with outdoor seating only but boy was it good food.  We all three shared the rib family meal.  Brad wanted to order a side of grilled shrimp but didn't, good thing.  We couldn't eat it all and Gabe had two or three ribs left to take home.  We had a nice chat about school, his trip the Japan and life in  general  We then headed out to find a geocache but gave up after 20 minutes.  A couple of stops on the way home, then home, a walk for Rudy, a visit with friends and a short bike ride.  After that

The Rib Shack

we just sat by the fire and ended up having hot dogs for dinner, neither of us was very hungry.  

Parked in Starke

Monday January 7 2019

    Another really nice day sunny in the low 70's.  We stayed home, continued to clean and completely re-organized the basement bins. We have ordered new jack pads and leveling blocks so I am going to burn the old ones.  New ones are made of a dense rubber that is suppose to support 50,000lbs.  Diane did several loads of laundry and even hung out the sheets.  So nice having the washer and dryer. I

Decorations

found tools I didn't know I brought including a few items I thought went missing during the auction.  Diane found site decorations we haven't had out in years. We took several walks around the park and a short bike ride.  Happy hour, chicken on grill, just a great day.

Tuesday January 8 2019

    We were up, moving and with great dispatch headed off towards Jacksonville.  We left, stopped at the office to check for packages, stopped for gas and bathroom break to arrive in town at ….lunch time just like always.  We ate at Salsa's Mexican Restaurant, the food was great.  We then hit the Bed Bath and Beyond, Lowes, At Home (Diane said it's larger and had more stuff than any Home Goods she has every seen), General RV, Michaels and of course Winn Dixie.  We did get our

shopping done, bought chairs for the RV, coffee, wire and stuff to fix a kick  plate and although we didn't purchase one we shopped and made a decision on a sweeper. We stopped at office to pick up several packages we had delivered.   After a hard day of shopping it was happy hour and just sausages for dinner and several walks for Rudy. 

Wednesday January 9 2019

    Today was supposed to be a stay home day but we ran out of grill propane so we  headed into Starke for supplies.  You won't believe it but we arrived in town at noon, go figure.  We stopped at a Thai restaurant I had a shrimp stir fry and Diane had Shrimp Pad Thai  food was great but they didn't get any of the six orders we saw served correct.  We ordered egg rolls as a appetizer and didn't get them.  When Diane told them we didn't get the egg rolls the waitress looked puzzled and said she didn't know what happened to them.  Off to the grocery store for just a few items and things were good until they didn't give Diane the bogo price for the chicken we got.  We stood in another line, then sent to the office at this point I headed to the truck while Diane and the chicken went to the office.  I loaded the groceries and pulled up to the door to get Diane( I was blocking driving lane) and it took for ever and just as she came out some little old grey hair lady just read me the riot act for being a ####### idiot for parking there.  But we got our free chicken!  After walking Rudy for awhile and despite the cool and windy weather we had free chicken for dinner.

Time to move

Friday January 4, 2018

  Had a decent breakfast then headed outside to start packing.  We aren't leaving until tomorrow, but they are calling for rain this afternoon and evening so no sense in letting everything get wet.  We got that finished and the place looked bare.  We chatted with the people across the street from us, two Moho's from PA, both couples from Lancaster County.  We then took a bike ride to the back of the park to check out the expansion, chatted with some new people and looked for some old friends, but none were out and about.  Back to the Moho and we head inside as it looks like it could rain any minute.  I got on the computer and ordered 3 things that Brad had been fussing for...….time to quiet him down a little. Not much else to do, we had left overs for dinner than sat back a watched some TV.  It was a nice evening all in all. 

Saturday January 5, 2018

  We got up and had a quick breakfast.  I started cleaning and packing the inside of the Moho while Brad headed out for a bike ride.  He got back and I still wasn't finished so I sent him off  to the Winn Dixie with a very detailed list.  He got back from there just as I was finishing, so I put the stuff away while he started packing up the last of the outside stuff.  He had misjudged his remaining outside

Lake view from

out Patio

stuff to pack, so it was 11:30 until we pulled out.  Now we are only going 100 miles north, back to Camp Blanding, we figure about a 2 hour drive.....were we ever wrong.  We got on I75 in Bushnell, looked at the computer 3 accidents up ahead, so we thought we would try our luck anyway...oops.  About 8 miles up the road we got off 75 and headed over to 301, not a bad trip up that route and about 16 miles up 301 we headed onto a side road heading back to I75.   Oh my gosh, we can see I75, but 3 red lights between us and it was 45 min later until we got to I75..  We finally stop at the rest stop after 2.5 hours on the road, just about 35 miles up I75 from where we started...oh my what a trip.  We did a pretty good walk around there for Rudy and us, it was a nice break.  Back onto I75 and the traffic was stop and go and we finally got to our exit to get back on 301 to head to Camp Blanding, but we are still 60 miles away....what a day.  We get to Camp Blanding and are set up by 4:00, that is 4 1/2 hours to go 100mile.  A long walk around the campground then we headed back to our site to make our next plans.  In the mean time Brad was doing some research on the lake here at Camp Blanding, it actually has an interesting history.

Kingsley Lake

Sunday January 6, 2018

A quick breakfast and the rest of the day was rabbit trails, but they worked.  We had nothing planned so Brad headed out and pulled a lot of containers out from under the Moho, then came inside and

Getting rid of the

ice scraper!!

interrupted my day.  I was doing laundry when he decided to pull out the sofa to see what was under there.  So we cleaned up the dust bunnies and pulled out some plastic that was left under there.  After that we hung up a clothes line, I hung out the towels and put in another load of laundry.  W  cleaned up, headed into town for lunch and a little shopping.  We needed some supplies, fire wood etc., and it got us out of the Moho.  We checked out a little more of Starke and took a drive out the back side of town.  Not much there, just a lot of swamp land owned by a logging company.  We finally turned around and headed back home.  We got home took Rudy for a nice long walk, then Brad decided to give Bev a

A nice fire

call so I showered and got stuff ready for dinner.  We were sitting by our fire when a couple walked past and we started chatting.  A long story short, it was over an hour later until we got dinner started and it was a late meal for us, but we met some nice folks and I'm sure we'll see them again.                              

Brad and Rudy watching TV

after dinner!!   Hahaha!!

Time at Paradise

Monday 31 December, 2018

We were getting ready to head to a New Year Eve lunch, but got a call from Shari, they want to come over for breakfast tomorrow and we aren't yet equipped to feed  10 of us.  So change of plans, off we go shopping, first a broom, just because we needed one, then off to find an electric fry pan.  Now you have to know Brad, we hit every hardware store and dollar general store before I finally tell him to suck it up and take me to Wal-Mart.  Well he did and it was as miserable as we both remembered.....we hate Wal-Mart.  We managed to get through that then off to the grocery store for breakfast supplies for 10.  Back home and it's 2:00, time for the luncheon and I have nothing to take, so we stayed home.  We had a light dinner and about 7:00 Kris and Kallen came down for a visit with a bottle of wine and dessert in hand.  We talked and had a nice visit until about 9:30 when they headed home.  We headed inside and even managed to stay up until 12:00, but were in bed shortly thereafter.

Tuesday 1 January 2019

 Happy New Year everybody.  It was a busy morning, up early and right away start cooking.  Potatoes are on, Brad is starting the scrapple and all I have to cook yet are the eggs.  The crew

showed up about 9:30 and were there until after 11:00,  we all ate and had a very nice visit.   After that they headed out, planning a trip to the beach, they invited us, but it's a 3 hour trip, one way and we weren't quite up to that.  So after feeling like we put in a whole days work, we get showered and headed over to the cemetery to visit Shawna.  A bit emotional, then a stop at the local VFW right outside the cemetery and little bit of a ride and then we headed home to rescue Rude.  We walked around the campground visited a few people and made a fairly early night of it.

Wednesday 2 January 2019

  Brad was outside dumping tanks when Dave walked up for a visit.  They chatted for a while then Dave headed back up to the laundromat to swap laundry around.  We were sitting out side when he came back to sit and talk until his dryer was done.  After that we headed out for a long walk around the CG.  first a short visit with TJ then off to the back part of the park to look for Mike and Cheri.  We chatted with them for about an hour, then headed out to check out the new sections before heading back.  We stopped to chat for just a minute with Glen and Vickie, then back home for dinner and a glass of wine.  

Thursday 3 January 2019

   The weather has been just great lows in the high 60's  highs in the low 80's.  the big hoop-la from Shari's crew is over.  I took Rudy for his walk this morning I guess he is still wore out from

Rudy resting of all 

the commotion

yesterdays job of barking and chasing the O'Donnell kids around.  We rested, cleaned, and even sorted some of our things (old clothes etc).  And Brad even parted with.... an old flannel actually I pulled it from his clenched hand!!  We drove up to check out the expansion of the villages and on the way back (it is only 4pm) we stopped for dinner at O'Shuck's .  We have only been in Florida 2 weeks and are already adjusted into the old fart routine.   Back home wine, a snack and off to bed.