Days 88 to 90 - Ft. Myers, FL

We packed up camp and headed south a few more hours reaching Fort Myers mid-afternoon.  We found a wonderful RV park at half-price and settled in for a few days of biking, swimming, and relaxation.  We head further east to Ft. Lauderdale on Tuesday.

While in Fort Myers we took in an RV show touring dozens of motorhomes and trailers.  We're getting ideas together for when we return the USA in 2022 and need a place to stay while building our new home.

We drove out to Sanibel Island and spent a whole day biking the beach and wildlife refuge.  We enjoyed a nice lunch at a local restaurant.

We took in a movie at the local theater.

Day 82 to 87 - Off to Clearwater, FL and some Frenchy Time!

We enjoyed a quiet morning in camp and our traditional Sunday morning routine of a big Sunday Bobbie Breakfast and our favorite Sunday morning CNN shows. Around noon we headed out and south to Clearwater, Florida where we will spend the next five days.  We have found a lovely RV park just a few miles from Frenchy's house.  It will fun spending time with our good friend before heading on to Key West for a "snowbird winter."

Theses five days were very relaxing.  We did a long bike ride along the cuaseway between Celarwater and Tampa, we went kayaking at Weeki Wachi Springs where we say manatees and other wildlife, we took in a couple of movies, went metal detecting on the beach, and played a LOT of cards and Scrabble.

We love Frenchy and her boyfriend, Bobbie-boy.  We will see them again on February 4th when they come down to Key West.

Days 76 to 78 - Mobile, AL

After two days of catching up with old friends Johhny and Diane Dixon, we headed further east toward Mobile.  The rain was intense once again and we battled huge walls of water almost all the way to Mobile.  We found a nice RV park nestled in a pecan forest and set up camp for three nights.  The dropping nuts from the trees made huge BANGS on the roof of the camper...lots of laughs after we got used to the bombardment.

Our first day in Mobile was a busy day.  We got the camper services with new oil and filter, did a bit of shopping for groceries and supplies, and enjoyed an afternoon movie.

The next day we devoted to exploring the battleship Alabama and the submarine next door.  It was a full day with lots of ladders to climb.  We had full run of both ships.  The tour was self-guided and we got to see a lot of stuff normally not allowed at most ships.

Day 74 - Off to Baton Rouge

A major storm was headed our way so we got an early start and still ended up behind deluged on the I-10.  We stopped for a while to let the storm pass and still ended up driving most of the four hours in heavy rain.  We arrived late afternoon and enjoyed seeing our old friends...now almost 15 years since our last time together.  We stayed the weekend with an expectation of heading off to Florida on Monday.

Days 64 - 73 - A Most Special Thanksgiving in Houston

Day 64 - We left New Braunfels a bit early to stop by a tire store for a checkup. All was well and we were on our way sooner than planned.  About 60 miles out of Houston the traffic slowed to a crawl and those last miles took a bit more than two hours.  We met our son at the Marriott Residence Inn.  He booked us for four nights in a very, very nice suite.  It was such a treat to get out of the van and have some real room to spread out...and that we did...almost to the point that we figured it would take us a day to get it all back into the van.  The hotel was lovely and the service was superb.

Later that evening we met up with the kids at their place.  It was the first time we had seen their home and it was quite nice.  We are so proud of our boy and how well he is doing.

Day 65 - Thanksgiving Day - We gathered at Patricia's home and met all of the in laws. We were joined by my sister Kathy and her husband.   Susy's family was wonderful.  We could not have felt more welcome.  The children were a pleasure. The energy was overwhelming and the love was flowing.  It was one of those family no-drama holidays that most folks only dream about.  We got to enjoy it!

Day 66 - NASA - Johnson Space Center Houston -  Today we were joined by Rick as we visited the space center.  We have been wanting to do this for a long time and today was the day.  It was great fun and got us all excited again about going to Mars!

Day 67 - Texas Renaissance Festival - The largest in the world and justifiably so.  55 acres of food and fun.  It was a warm day and all the costumes and fool-heartedry was great.

Day 68 - Another Big Family Day - We met with Susy's family once again for a lovely Sunday brunch, followed by bowling, and then a movie.  A very big and packed day.

Days 69 - 71 - Cypress and More Family Time - We said goodbye to the inlaws and headed over to Cypress for some downtiem with Billy and Tootie.  We sat around most of the day enjoy the quiet.  In the evening we were treated to Texas stuffed pork chops.  Over the next few days we just hung out, ate, and enjoyed the company.

Days 72 & 73 - A Couple of Days with a Special Friend - At the end of our Houston visit we ventured to Sugar Land and Paul's home.  He has a huge sprawling mansion in an upscale neighborhood.  We were sure the HOA was going to have a fit about our rig parked in his driveway...but nothing every happened.  We enjoyed eachother's company and Paul treated us to a local musical.  Good food and drinks abounded.