Sharp's Travels

Cheri took Grandma for her doctor’s appointment and then to Wal-Mart to drop off a prescription and help Grandma get groceries. They got home around 1:00 pm. I made and early trip to Lowe’s to get the hardware to install the rock guard. By 1:00 pm I had it mounted and still had a space of about 8” to fill between the bottom of the 5th wheel and the top of the rock guard. So it was a trip back to Lowe’s to find something to fill that space. I ended up buying a piece of house fascia. I got it cut out in laid in place and still have to fasten it in. After supper Cheri and I went back to Wal-Mart to pick up Grandma’s medicine. On the way home we stopped at the DQ for an ice cream treat. We were both tired and did a short evening walk.

With the help of Cheri I got the fuel tank reinstalled on the truck. I didn’t get done until around 1:00 pm. Cheri also worked on her quilt; she also gave me a much needed hair cut. This afternoon we went to Wal-Mart as Cheri needed some green thread for her quilt and I wanted to put fuel in the tank, so far no leaks. The rock guard I ordered for the back of the 5th wheel came late this afternoon. So now I know what I will be doing tomorrow.

I have uploaded pictures of the new fuel tank and Cheri’s quilt and wall hanging.

I left early this morning to take the fuel tank to Dover welding to have the leak repaired. On the way home I made a stop at Camping World to return some things that I didn’t need. I was home by 12:pm. Cheri was working on her quilt. We had lunch and then I went to Lowe’s to get something for a backing on the fuel tank. I ended up getting a carpet runner. I had noticed that the tank had rubbed on the back of the truck rack. I glued the carpet runner to the front of the tank. Tomorrow it will be dry and hopefully I can get it reinstalled. Cheri continued to work on her quilt this afternoon. This evening we went over to Grandma’s to play a game of dominos. After playing dominos we took our evening walk. It was almost 9:00 pm before we got home.

We picked Grandma up at 9:30 am and went to a different church south of town. It was very nice and had an excellent speaker. We really enjoyed it and plan to go back next Sunday. After church we stopped at Golden Coral for lunch, Grandma treated. Grandma need to stop at Wal-Mart for groceries as well has us. It was 2:00 pm by the time we got home. Then it was time for me to watch the NASCAR Race. Cheri worked on her wall hanging and now has that done. It looks great, she did a good job. Once again we waited for it to cool off before we took our evening walk.

Cheri spent the day working on her wall hanging and I spent the day installing the wireless camera on the back up the 5th wheel. At 4:30 pm we went downtown to the car show. It was pretty hot in the sun so there weren’t that many cars in the show and the ones that were there were looking for shade to park in. It was still fun looking and dreaming about the ones we would like. We waited until it was a little cooler (7:30 pm) before we took our evening walk.

I went to work on washing the 5th wheel this morning. I figured I would at least get the roof cleaned before it got too hot. With the good wax job I did before made cleaning a lot easier, so I kept going and got the whole trailer washed by noon. It was getting pretty hot by the time I got done. Cheri cleaned inside and did laundry. This afternoon I unpacked the wireless camera I bought for the back of the 5th wheel. That way I can keep an eye on the motorcycle while we are traveling. I checked it out and made sure it worked and checked out where I want to install it. It is 90 degrees outside and decided I had enough sun. I spent the rest of the afternoon in side where it was nice and cool. Cheri worked on doing some sewing and putting the binding on her wall hanging.

We had our hottest day so far this spring. We had a high of 89 degrees and a lot of sun. This morning Cheri took Grandma for another Chemo treatment, they were back by 11:30 am. I mowed the lawn today, should be the last time I have to do before we leave. This afternoon we took Grandma and went to see Grandpa. He was still in bed and was having a bad day. All he wanted to do while we were there was sleep. So we didn’t stay very long. We didn’t take our evening walk until 8:00 pm, waited for it to cool off to 80 degrees.

Cheri left at 8:30 am to take Grandma for her Chemo appointment. It was the first one and was going to be 4 hours long. She had some trouble and had to stop for a while. Cheri and she didn’t get home until 3:30 pm. While Cheri waited for Grandma she made a trip to Wal-Mart to have a prescription filled for Grandma. Cheri also got a call that her quilts were done, so she went to pick them up. They look great; she still has to put the binding on them. I work on getting the fuel tank off the truck so it can be welded. I installed some grommets on the bottom of the motorcycle cover to help hold it on while we are traveling with it on the back of the 5th wheel. I also added a couple of tie down brackets to the motorcycle lift. It was a busy day for both of us.

We made an early trip to Wal-Mart. With all the people that are gone north it was a pleasure to shop in Wal-Mart. At 11:00 am we picked up Grandma and headed to Lakeland. I made a quick stop at Harbor Freight and then a stop at the Chinese restaurant for lunch. Then we stopped a shoe store on the south side of Lakeland that sells SAS shoes. Grandma needed some new ones and SAS is the only ones that she can wear. We got home at 2:30 pm. Cheri spent the rest of the day reading and I did some more checking on how to cover the motorcycle while it is on the lift behind the 5th wheel.

This morning Cheri went over to Grandma’s to do some more spring cleaning. I stayed home trying to figure out how I can cover the motorcycle for our trip this summer. I did go over to Grandma’s early this morning to put the charger on the golf cart. I also made some calls to get the fuel tank leak fixed. I have to wait for the company I brought it from to give me the green light to have it done. Cheri got home around 1:00 pm. It started to rain and didn’t stop until this evening. So the rest of the day was spent reading.

I have uploaded pictures of our new 5th wheel.

We had company to day from Clearwater FL. Charlie Patti and Griffin Wiley came to see us for the day. We were on the Alaskan caravan together last year. When we were in campgrounds we rode around with them. It was nice to see them again. We went Golden Coral for lunch and then back to our place to visit and look at Alaskan pictures we took on our trip. They are planning a trip to Nova Scotia this summer. We are planning on being in Maine about the same time and may be able to meet up in Bar Harbor, Maine. We had a fun day together.

After our morning walk we took it easy. I did go over to Grandma’s to put the charger on the golf cart. This afternoon we took the motorcycle and went to see Grandpa, he was in good spirits today and did some talking. After seeing Grandpa we took a ride down to Plant City. Cheri wanted to go to Applebee’s for supper. Of course I was ready for that as it is my favorite place to eat. After we eat we headed into town to the car show. There must have been at least 200 or more cars. It was fun checking out the cars and dreaming about which ones we would like to own. We had a nice ride home and settled in for an evening of TV.

Our project for the today was going over to Grandma’s and do some spring cleaning. We washed down all the walls, vacuumed the carpet and drapes, and shampooed the carpet. I also fixed an awing that was loose, caulked some holes, and charged the golf cart. We still have some more left to do. Then we made a trip to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things (mainly ice cream). We waited for it to cool off before we took our evening walk.

Today was another beautiful day. It started out at a cool 52 degrees and topped out at 82 degrees. First thing this morning I washed the shed, motorcycle garage, and motorcycle lift. Also did some miscellaneous jobs around the 5th wheel. Cheri left at 10:30 am to take grandma for her two doctor’s appointments. They didn’t get home until after 2:00 pm. Cheri fixed a late lunch and we headed out for a motorcycle ride. We ended up at the Harley dealer in Lakeland. I had them take my name off their mailing list for the summer. We didn’t buy anything. It was 4:30 pm when we got home. It was 8:00 pm before we got done with our evening walk.

It was a cooler and drier morning with a temp of 52 degrees. So after our morning walk I went to work on washing Grandma’s trailer, patio, car, and golf cart. I didn’t stop to eat lunch and was 2:30 pm before I got done. I have wanted to get that job done since November, just kept putting it off. Tomorrow I plan on washing my shed and the motorcycle garage. Cheri did some laundry and made a cherry pie for supper. We took our evening walk early and it was very warm walking. We could see that more people left for the north today.

We got our morning walk in before it started to rain. It had already rained some early between 4:00 am and 5:00 am. At 9:00 am Cheri left to pick up Grandma to take her for her blood work and heard the sirens had gone off because of the bad storm coming. We were to have winds up to 80 miles per hour. Cheri came back to get me, but I had just gotten out of the shower and I told her to go on down to the Rec Hall. By the time I got dressed the worsted part of the storm was over, some wind and a lot of rain. It did rain all day with some breaks late in the afternoon. Late afternoon Cheri and I went to the tax collector to get the new license plates for Grandpa and Grandma’s van and trailer. On the way home we stopped by Wal-Mart to drop off a prescription for Grandma.

We picked up Grandma and went to meet Grandpa at the doctor’s office for his appointment to check on his kidney function. Cheri went to the nursing home last week and filled out all the paper work as this was a new doctor he was going to see. Will when we got there they hadn’t brought the paper work with them. Cheri had to fill it out all over again. The nursing home also said that if we were there they wouldn’t have to send anyone with him. Will they sent someone with him and now we have to pay for her to be there. We plan on having a talk with the nursing home about this. It was noon before we got home. This evening we went over to Grandma’s to play dominos. LaVerne and Delores were also there.

Happy Easter to all. Today was the last church service here in the park until next November. We still had a nice turn out, around 50 people. Grandma treaded us to an Easter dinner at Golden Coral. This afternoon we went to see Grandpa. He seemed to be having a pretty good day and did quite a bit of talking. On the way home we made a stop at Wal-Mart, to pick up some ice cream. We have to have our nightly ice cream fix. It was pretty warm today so we waited until 8:00 pm before we took our evening walk.

Cheri did another day of trip planning and made a grape salad for the Pot Luck tonight. I worked on the motorcycle adjusting the highway pegs and Cheri’s floor boards. I am still trying to get her riding position more comfortable for her. I ordered a rock guard for the back of the 5th wheel to help keep some of the stones and dirt from hitting the motorcycle. At 3:00 pm we went down to the Rec Hall to set up for the evening Pot Luck at 5:00 pm. We had 87 people attend. I was surprised as I figured there would be about 45 or 50. I didn’t think there were that many people still left in the park. Most of them will be going home next week.

Cheri continued working on putting together places to see and things to do on our summer trip. She also did some laundry and cleaning. I work on getting all the tires pumped to the correct pressure and the sensors on the 5th wheel tires, also got the 5th wheel greased. This afternoon I worked on getting the tail lights on the motorcycle lift. We didn’t take our evening walk until 7:30 pm, wanted to wait for it to cool off a bit, it still was 81 degrees.

We went to the coffee hour down at the Rec Hall. Most people have gone home and there were only about 50. At 10:00 am we went and picked up the motorcycle trailer that I had at the consignment lot for the last 90 days, were hoping to sell it. On the way home we stopped and looked at park models that Care Free Parks have for sale. They had three on display and pictures of about 50 that are for sale at the different RV parks in Florida. This afternoon I took the motorcycle trailer apart and got it stored in the shed. Cheri spent the afternoon going through her container of things to see in the different states we travel through, getting ready for our summer trip.

We got around early this morning as we had to take the 5th wheel down to Dover Welding to have the motorcycle lift installed. We drop off the 5th wheel and then went to Camping World which was close by to do some shopping. Then it was off to Bob Evans for lunch. Then we headed back to Zephyrhills to get the motorcycle. They wanted to have it at the welding shop to make sure everything fit right. On the way we stopped to see Norm Lewis, he had shoulder surgery. It was 3:00 pm by the time we got back to the welding shop and they where just about done with the lift install. We loaded the motorcycle, made a few adjustments and headed for home. By the time we got everything set up it was 6:30 pm. We did our evening walk and watched a little TV before turning in for the night.

It was very windy and cold today. The high temp was only 59 degrees. We picked up Grandma this morning and went to Dade City to get my glasses fixed, the lens kept coming out. We stopped at Walgreens on the way out to get a hearing device that we hope will help Grandpa to hear better. Then it was back to Zephyrhills for a stop at Wal-Mart to pick up Grandma’s medicine and groceries for all of us. On the way home we made a stop at the bank for Grandma. This afternoon I took Grandma’s van in for an oil change. The rest of the afternoon we stayed inside, it was just too windy to be outside.

This morning Cheri took Grandma for her blood work appointment at 9:20 am. I went down to wash Ken & Eileen’s trailer. After I got everything set up Bud Randolph came by and asked if I needed help. I said if I never turn down help. We washed the whole trailer and Florida room starting with the roof. It was 5:00 pm before we got done. Sure was nice of Bud to help, other wise it would have taken me an extra day to get the job done. Cheri called me and while we were washing and said they took Grandpa to the hospital again with chest pains. Everything checked out ok except his blood sugar was very low. They got that up and sent him back to the nursing home. We didn’t do our evening walk, told Cheri I was too pooped to walk.

Cheri, Nikki and I picked up Grandma at 9:00 am and headed to Golden Coral for breakfast. Then it was on to the Tampa airport to drop off Nikki. Her plane left at 12:35 pm to take her back to Milwaukee. She had a short layover in Memphis and gave us a call and said that the plane was full and it was her lucky day as she got to sit in first class. She called from Milwaukee to let us know she got there ok and Coz and Cece were there to pick her up. We watched some TV this afternoon, the NASCAR Race and Cheri took a nap. This evening we went down to LaVerne and Delores’s to play dominos. Grandma was also there. It was a nice evening and Delores had made a fresh strawberry pie that was really good.

We took our time getting around this morning. Cheri made pancakes for a late breakfast. I made a quick trip to Wal-Mart to pick up our medicine. Grandma went to see Grandpa at the hospital and they are going to transfer him back to the nursing home this afternoon. Early afternoon Grandma, Cheri and Nikki went shopping and I went for a 75 mile motorcycle ride. We all got to the nursing home to see Grandpa around 2:30 pm. When we got home Cheri fixed supper of chicken barbeque and potato salad. We played a game of domino and a game of Five Crown and Nikki won both games. Grandma went home and Cheri and I did our evening walk, while Nikki did a video call to Coz and Cece.

Cheri and Nikki went shopping today and I took Grandma to the hospital to see Grandpa. They are still doing test and haven’t heard the results. I left Grandma at the hospital and came home to get some work done. Our neighbor had rented out her trailer this winter and now that they have left for the north county she wanted me to check it our to make sure it was close up and everything was in order. Cheri and Nikki picked up Grandma at 4:30 pm from the hospital and bought her over here for supper. After supper Grandma went down to the Red Hall to play cards. Nikki did a video call with Cece and Coz and Cheri and I took our evening walk.

We had Grandma over for lunch. At 12:30 pm Grandma, Nikki, Cheri and I headed for Myakka City to see the Royal Lipizzaner Stallions of Austria at their training stables. We got to see all the young horses that are in training for the shows they perform around the world. The stallions were saved from almost certain extinction at the end of World War ll. Colonel Herrmann and his father smuggled their horses out of Europe under the protection of General George S Patton. It takes nine years for these horses to learn the capriole the move for which they are best known. Leaping from all four feet, they strike out with the hind legs. Once a battle maneuver of their ancestors, it is now part of this remarkable equine ballet. After the show we headed to the Roaring 20’s Pizza and Pipes in Ellenton. We eat pizza while the Mighty Wurlitzer organ was playing. The organ weighs 16 ton. A 20 horse power blower supplies air for its 3,000 pipes. Amazingly, the Wurlitzer has 26 miles of wiring and 350 controls. The Mighty Wurlitzer stated its life at the Oakland’s Theatre in 1931. On the way home we got a call from the nursing home saying they were taking Grandpa to the hospital with chest pains. When we got to the hospital he was resting and not complaining of any more pains. He was going to be admitted and have more tests tomorrow. We got home from the hospital at 9:30 pm.

For pictures of the day see Album Lipizzan Stallions

It’s hard to believe its April already, don’t know where the winter has gone. I have a lot of work to get done before we leave and head north. This morning Grandma, Nikki, Cheri and I took a ride down to Plant City and stopped at Parkesdale to have strawberry short cake for lunch. On the way back we stopped at Dover Welding to make an appointment to have the motorcycle lift installed on the 5th wheel, going to be done next Wednesday. From there we went to see Grandpa. He was pretty talkative today. He does have a hard time hearing. When we got home Grandma fixed supper for us, was very good. We played a game of dominos and then went home. Cheri and I took our evening walk.

This morning Cheri, Nikki and I headed for Fort De Soto County Park. It set on five keys; the park includes 900 acres with protected plants and wildlife, miles of beach and fishing piers. Fort De Soto’s first construction began in 1898 and it was used as a military post until 1923. We explored the layout of the fort, and its guns. We learned a little history as we looked around. We took the stairs to the top of the fort, the view of the Gulf water and beaches were spectacular. From the fort we made our way out on to the long fishing pier. Then it was time for lunch at the snack bar and gift shop. Then we took a long walk on the beach, Cheri and Nikki picking up a lot of shells. After our walk it was time to head for the snack shop and have an ice cream cone. Then it was time to head home, we arrived around 6:00 pm. We had Grandma come over for supper and a game of dominos.
I have upload pictures of the day, see album Fort De Soto