Sharp's Travels: February 2011

Monday, February 28, 2011

Gay Feb-27-11

6:50 AM |

Posted by Sharp's Travels

We picked up Grandma this morning at 9:15 am and headed for church. After church we once again went out for lunch with Ron & Sandy and Mike & Pam at Olive Garden for their soup and salad. It is always very good. After lunch we headed home to drop of Grandma and then back to the 5^th wheel to change clothes. Then we met Ron and Sandy at the Home Depot as they wanted to show us a house that they are thinking about buying. They wanted to hear our input good or bad. It does need a lot of work as the bank had foreclosed on it and was being auctioned off by way of sealed bids. We think that even if they would get it for a low price they would have to put more money into it than if would be worth in the end. On the way back the four of us stopped to have some ice cream. We were back home by 4:00 pm and settled in to watch the NASCAR Race. We called Paul and Bev to see if they wanted to play dominos this evening and they said that Paul’s sisters husband was in the emergency room. He had a kidney stone that he can’t pass and are going to have to put in a stint to get it out, so no dominos this evening.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Gay Feb-26-11

6:00 AM |

Posted by Sharp's Travels

Cheri spent most of the morning writing the blogs for the last two days. That’s what happens when you are having so much fun. There just wasn’t any time to tell you about the fun we were having. Cheri did laundry and was putting things away and I was just finishing up uploading the blogs when Bud stopped by to see if I wanted to go for a motorcycle ride today. Of course I couldn’t pass that up. We left at 10:30 am; there were six of us on the ride. Jack was in charge of leading the ride. He took us over some roads that Bud and I hadn’t been on before. We ended up at a bikers bar out in the boondocks. What an interesting place on the river where air boats were coming and going plus a whole lot of motorcycles. They had a band playing music and a steak fry for lunch. Lunch was steak, baked potato, and corn on the cob for $5.00. Everything was very good. They also had a vendor that was selling hats and all different kinds of patches for shirts and vests, plus he had a sewing machine there to sew them on. On the way home we made one last stop in Dade City for ice cream. Yep it was a ride that we didn’t stop at a Harley dealer, think we only done that one other time. It was a 102 mile ride and were back home by 3:30 pm. It was a great day for a ride and we did run into a few sprinkles a couple of times. Cheri had been up to visit with Bev while I was gone riding as Paul had gone to the three day car show and swap meet south of Zephyrhills. Later we walked down to get our mail and then up to see Grandma, she is doing well and is going to go to church with us tomorrow.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Cheri Feb-25-11

9:52 AM |

Posted by Sharp's Travels

We were up early again this morning. We have a big day planned.

We took our luggage out to the car then Gay worked uploading our pictures from yesterday, we said our goodbyes to Robyn and the girls and headed out.

Our first stop was John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. That was only 12 miles up the road. We made it in time for their first departure cruise out to the Coral Reef aboard their 70ft glass bottom, 125-passenger, motor yacht.

We were lucky today, all 3 cruises on a number of previous days were booked full—our cruise only had 49 people aboard! The waves today were 3 to 4ft high. They sold Dramamine on board so we bought some just to be on the safe side. We did not want to have our trip spoiled by being sick.

We stood out on the front deck and got a panoramic offshore view of the Florida Keys and watched the spotted sting rays swan around the boat. As we reached the reef we all gathered around the large viewing windows, while our host narrated the wonders of the reef below. The water was so clear you could see up to 20ft down. The numerous corals were beautiful, along with a vast number of fish. It was neat.

Back on shore we headed for the visitors center where they featured a 30,000 gallon Saltwater Aquarium. The coral colors were beautiful. That was a must see!

At the gift shop I had to make a purchase. It is a glow in the dark jelly fish paperweight, beautiful.

Our next stop was the African Queen. This boat was built in Lytham, England in 1912 for service in Africa on the Victoria Nile and Lake Albert. The movie, African Queen, with Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn was filmed there. The boat has been around the world twice and ended up in Key Largo, Fl to use as a calling card for a charter service. It is in pretty rough shape but you can still charter it for a ride if you so desire.

It is way past time for lunch so we found an Arby’s and had a Ruben Sandwich to charge our motors again.

We then headed west along HWY 41 on the edge of the Florida Everglades. I have always wanted to do an airboat ride through the Everglades and up popes Coopertown’s Airboat rides. We stopped and the next tour was ready to depart in 10 minutes and we were on it! There were 20 people on our boat. We covered about 8 miles through the tall saw grass, sticking to the open canals, so as not to destroy the tall grass. We stopped at a number of spots where the alligators were sunning themselves along the edge of the water. We also saw a number of different birds native to that area. Now I can say I’ve done the Everglades in an airboat!

We hit the road again and drove until it was time to stop for supper. We found a Perkins and had soup/salad and sandwich.

We arrived home before 9pm. It didn’t take long to crawl into bed, we were both very tired.

For pictures of the day see album: Reef/Everglades or click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels/ReefEverglades#

Cheri Feb-24-11

9:48 AM |

Posted by Sharp's Travels

We were up by 5AM and by 7:30 we were ready to head for Key West. Robyn and her friends planned to take their car down, so Gay and I were off to find a place for breakfast. We found a bakery/restaurant and by the time we had our order in the girls walked in. Within ½ hour we had eaten and were on our way.

Most of the way down the speed limit was only 45 MPH. I got a few shot of the bridge going up so the big boats could pass through and a few shots of the ocean as we were crossing the 7 mile bridge.

As soon as we arrived on Key West we found a Welcome Center and were advised where to park and we bought our trolley tickets. For one price you can hop on and off the trolley all day at any location. This island is only 18 ft above sea level.

While we were waiting to board the trolley we checked out the old truck there, the sponge man, and the yachts in the harbor.

We made our way to the oldest house in Key West. The tour was free! There was a guide inside that gave us the history of the house and summer kitchen in the back. Some of the furnishing was original to the house. There are over 3,000 houses on the island that are on the Historic Building List.

We had to check out the USCGC Mohawk and USSCGC Ingham, ships anchored in the harbor. Gay got pictures but they wanted $15 per person to tour them so we passed on that and headed to the Florida Keys Eco Center. They had some real underwater tanks of the reefs and pretty salt water colorful fish.

Everyone has to get their picture by Mile Marker 0, the end of HWY 1! Been there, got that!

We passed by Ernest Hemingway Home and headed on to Key West Lighthouse. It was built in 1847. We climbed to the top, 88 steps and what beautiful views from the top. We checked out the lighthouse keepers quarters and we on our way.

It is a must to have your picture taken by the landmark of the Southernmost Point in the Continental United States. There was a big line of people there so I just sat on the wall surrounding it and Gay got the pictures. Also saw a house listed for sale at 2.2 million. It was in terrible shape. Property is high down there.

We found Kermit’s Key Lime Pie Shop and took a break for a Key Lime Milkshake and frozen Key Lime Pie on a stick, dipped in chocolate. Very good, that was lunch!

Gay wanted to buy a tee-shirt from the Hog’s Breath Saloon. They had lots of choices to pick from but he finally settled on one, it goes along with his Harley Davidson Shirt from Key West.

We headed for Mallory Square and checked out the shops there. We did lots of walking are we were both ready to find a place to sit down and watch that beautiful sunset.

We were ready to make that 2 hour drive home and fall into bed!

For pictures of the day see album: Key West or go to this link.
https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels/KeyWest#

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Gay Feb-23-11

9:21 PM |

Posted by Sharp's Travels

I had to be over to the VA clinic this morning at 7:30 am so they could take blood for my physical that I will have on March 4th. I was back at the 5th wheel by 8:15 am and Cheri had everything packed and ready to load the van. I couldn’t believe all the stuff Cheri wants to take with us for three days. I know she has enough stuff for a month. We got on the road at 8:30 am headed for Plantation Key; it is one of the keys on the way to Key West. We arrived around 3:00 pm and Robyn and her two friends were out deep sea fishing. We called them when we got here and they were on their way back and arrived around 5:30 pm. After they showered and got ready we went out to eat at the Island Grill. We sat at a table outside and they also had a band playing music. It was 9:00 pm before we got back to the house. The rest of the evening was spent planning the activities for tomorrow. As of now we are planning on going to Key West for the day.

Gay Feb-22-11

5:55 AM |

Posted by Sharp's Travels

The first thing this morning I took Grandma’s van back to the garage that installed the struts on the front as they made a noise when turning the steering wheel. I had an 8:00 am appointment. They said that they would have to install new strut plate bearings as there were some thing wrong with the ones that were installed last month. He said that it would be done by noon and would call me. No problem there as Bud and I were going for a motorcycle ride today. It was very foggy this morning so Bud and I held off until 9:30 am so the fog could clear out. Then we headed to Ocala to make a stop at the Harley dealer. We took all the back roads we could find on our ride. It turned out to be a 191 mile ride with lots of sunshine and a temp in the high 70’s. It was a little after 4:00 pm before we got home. Paul took me down to pick up Grandma’s van and it was still apart. He said I told you I would call when it was done. I said you also told me it would be done by noon. So our conversation didn’t go very well. He said that things didn’t go well today and I said that it was warranty work and so you weren’t in any hurry to get it done. Long story short Cheri and I went to Wal-Mart to pick up Grandma’s and my medicine and then back to the garage at 5:30 pm and the van was done. We dropped it off at Grandma’s so she would have it to use to go and play cards this evening. We had our Life Group meeting this evening; it was another great time that we look forward to every Tuesday night. Cheri spent most of the day doing laundry and packing for our trip to the Key’s tomorrow.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Gay Feb-21-11

6:11 AM |

Posted by Sharp's Travels

This morning I went down to see Bud & Joyce. I wanted to see about going for a motorcycle ride today or tomorrow. Bud was busy this afternoon so we are set to go tomorrow. When I got back home Cheri and I went up to Paul and Bev’s. Cheri was going to Wal-Mart to get some groceries and want to know if Bev wanted to go. I stayed and visited with Bud. Jack came from across the street and said that he couldn’t get his lawn mower started. So Bud and I went to check it out and found that there is a restriction in the carburetor. The carburetor is made of plastic which I have never seen before. So I guess Jack was going to take it in to have it looked at. By the time we got done with that Cheri and Bev were back. After lunch Cheri and I went to see a movie. We saw “Just Go with It”, staring Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston, and Nicole Kidman. It was entertaining and pretty funny. Cheri and I enjoyed it and if you need something to do it is worth seeing. This evening I grilled up some pork chops for supper. Later this evening we went up to Paul and Bev’s to play domino and we guys won both games again. Paul and I are now in uncharted waters as it is the first time we have won four in a row. It was a very nice day with the temp in the mid 70’s and a mild breeze

Monday, February 21, 2011

Gay Feb-20-11

6:46 AM |

Posted by Sharp's Travels

Our sunset from a few nights ago

We went over to Grandma’s this morning to pick her up for church. She said she was tired and was going to stay home. After church seven of us went out to Red Robin Gourmet Burgers for lunch. Cheri and I split a prime rib sandwich with fries and that was enough for both of us which was very good (it also means no supper tonight). When we got home we stopped to check on Grandma and she said she was ok, just tired. She still isn’t completely over her cold. Today was the Daytona 500 and I had to watch it. Cheri napped through most of it but was awake to see the ending, what an exciting race. It was another very nice 77 degree day plus all next week is supposed to be great weather. I think our cold weather has finally left us.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Gay Feb-19-11

8:06 AM |

Posted by Sharp's Travels

Ron and Mary Jo Walton friends from our Alaskan RV trip came for the day. Ron wanted to do an ultra light ride. So we headed over to the airport as I had him scheduled to go up at 11:00 am. When we were at our Alaskan Rally in January I was telling Ron that I had done the ultra light flight and he said that it was something that he would like to do so today was day. He enjoyed the flight very much. The World War Two days were going on at the airport so we stopped to see the planes and equipment that was used during the war. It was very interesting. Then we went over to the other side of the airport to see all the gliders. One went up while we were there. Then it was on to the Sky Zone where we watched several groups of sky divers come down. We also got to see a group of 15 stacked up on top of each other on the way down, it was very impressive. Then we headed for Golden Coral for a late lunch. After lunch we headed back to our place to visit and Cheri was showing Mary Jo some of the things she needed to get started quilting. It was another beautiful day to spend with friends as we had a lot of sunshine and a high of 77 degrees and a light breeze. This evening we watched the NASCAR Race that I had recorded earlier, well it was we when we started watching but Cheri took a nap though most of the race. She doesn’t get as excited as I do. For pictures of the day see album: Ron’s day at Zephyrhills Airport or Click on this link. https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels/RonSDayAtZephyrhillsAirport#

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Gay Feb-18-11

6:50 AM |

Posted by Sharp's Travels

We were on the road at 7:30 am and headed for church to help with the yard sale. Cheri continued where she left off yesterday sorting clothes and stacking them for the sale. I helped people carry things to their cars and I was also the guard for the cash box. When we set stuff out yesterday I thought who would buy this stuff. Well now I know, couldn’t believe the things people will buy. We were done at 12:30 pm. We stopped at Arby’s on the way home for lunch. Then we stopped by Grandma’s to see how she was doing and asked her if she wanted to go out the church near here for their soup and pie supper. She said she wanted to go but had to be back to play cards. When I hear her say that I know that she is feeling better. When Cheri and I got home we crashed for the evening. We got a call this evening from Darren to let us know that he and Jodi has got everything they need for the new puppy that they are getting in about 3 weeks. They have the name Harper picked up for her. We had a beautiful day with a high temp near 80 degrees with a light breeze.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Gay Feb-17-11

5:51 AM |

Posted by Sharp's Travels

Not much to write about today. We left here at 9:30 am for church to help set everything out for the monster yard sale. There were about ten of us working all day. We did take time to have a donut and some water and also a short break for a lunch of delivered pizza. Otherwise we worked until a little after 4:00 pm. Cheri and I were really tired when we got done. We stopped to check on Grandma on the way home. She seem to be doing better each day although she is still having a problem with her stomach which we think the antibiotics are the cause and she will be done taking them Sunday. When we got home I had to watch the NSCAR race that I had recorded plus a couple of other shows. We were in bed by 9:30 pm.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Gay Feb-16-11

6:13 AM |

Posted by Sharp's Travels

Today was a busy day. Cheri and Bev took a bunch of things to the church for the yard sale that will be on Friday and Saturday. Then this afternoon Cheri took Grandma to the doctor to have two cancer spots removed from her face. I worked with Paul all day helping to put insulation over the old roof of their Florida room and then putting a new aluminum roof over the insulation. It was after 3:00 pm before we finished and all that is left to do is for Paul to do some caulking. This evening Paul, Bev, Cheri and I went out for our Wednesday night spaghetti supper at ABC’s Pizza place. After wards we headed over to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things and fill Grandma’s van with gas. Then it was back to Paul and Bev’s to play a couple of games of dominos. I think the world is coming to an end as we guys won both games, can’t remember the last time that happened. It was a wonderful warm day in the neighborhood.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Gay Feb-15-11

6:49 AM |

Posted by Sharp's Travels

Cheri and I took our time getting around today as we didn’t have anything going this morning. Cheri started some laundry and I did some computer work. I did go and get a tank of LP and had to wait in line for about 20 minutes; usually I get right in or have to wait for one person. When I got home it was time to get ready for the noon Wisconsin pot luck and games down at the Rec Hall. The pot luck was really good with all the people bringing their best dish of food. After dinner we played Bingo and Cheri won one of the traveling prizes which was a nice picture frame. They also had a White Elephant auction. This afternoon Cheri went over to see Grandma and she was doing better and also in better spirits. I cleaned out the shed and put a few things in the van to take down to church tomorrow for the big yard sale that will be Friday and Saturday. Cheri had to lay down for a while this afternoon as she had a bad headache. It was near 5:00 pm before I got done cleaning the shed. Cheri asked me if I wanted to play dominos this evening with Paul and Bev. So we went up to see if they want to play and Bev said I thought that you have your Life Group meeting on Tuesday night. Cheri and I looked at each other and said yes we do. We forgot that it was Tuesday. Getting old is not a good thing. Our Life Group meeting was great as usual. We would have been very upset if we had missed it.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Gay Feb-14-11

6:58 AM |

Posted by Sharp's Travels

Happy Valentine’s Day. It is always a special day for us as we were engaged on Valentine’s Day 44 years ago. It was 37 degrees again this morning. At 7:30 am we were going to take the van down to the Rec Hall for the monthly breakfast. We ended up walking as the windshield of the van was all iced up. But the weather quickly warmed up to 69 degrees for the high of the day. After breakfast we stopped back at Grandma’s to see how she was and she did sound better but said she had a lot of back and leg pain. Cheri took her for her follow up doctor’s appointment at 10:00 am. I went for a motorcycle ride with John, Bud, Jack and Edie. We rode over near Orlando so Jack could register for the Richie Brothers action. It is a five day auction where they sell all large work equipment, dump trucks, semi tractors, and all kinds of cranes. I would guess there were between 25 and 30 acres of equipment. Then we rode over to Camping World so Bud could look for a camper van, no luck. Then it was time to find a McDonald’s for lunch. Then a quick stop at the Harley dealer and then it was time to head for home. We got home at 4:30 pm and it was an enjoyable 120 mile ride. We were late getting started as we were going to leave at 10:00 am and John was 20 minutes late, then when Jack went to start his bike the battery was dead. He had left the switch on and run the battery down. We put the charger on for a while and then finally I went and got my jumper cables to get it started. So we didn’t get on the road until 11:00 am. This evening Paul, Bev, Cheri and I headed down to Lakeland to the Longhorn Steak House for our Valentine’s meal. We decided it was time for a good steak. We had to wait an hour before we could be seated. But it was worth the wait as it was a great meal. It was 9:30 pm before we got home.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Gay Feb-13-11

6:08 AM |

Posted by Sharp's Travels

It was 37 degrees this morning but did turn out to be a nice day. On the way to church we stopped to see how Grandma was doing and she was still in bed sleeping so we didn’t wake her up. After church we along with friends went out for lunch at the Texas Road House. It was very good. It was after 1:30 pm before we got back to town. We stopped by Grandma’s and she hadn’t been up very long. She said she put in a bad night. She hasn’t felt like eating and asked Cheri to get her some Ensure. So later this afternoon Cheri went over to Publix’s to get the Ensure for her. After she got back with that she had to make another trip to get some cough medicine. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening watching TV. We have a lot of shows recorded that we need to watch. Bud stopped by this evening to set up a motorcycle ride for tomorrow.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Gay Feb-12-11

6:48 AM |

Posted by Sharp's Travels

It was 39 degrees this morning with a breeze out of the north making for a cool day. Today was our cleaning day at church. We have to do it about once every six weeks and takes us about 2 ½ hours to complete the cleaning. We stopped to check on Grandma on our way to church and she seems to be better this morning. We got a call last night that my cousin Roger and his wife Jean, they are down here visiting my cousin Rick and his wife Janis. They wanted together for a visit before they leave tomorrow on a cruise. So we made plans to meet for strawberry short cake at Parksdale’s Farms in Plant City for lunch. So as soon as we got done cleaning the church we headed for Plant City. The strawberry shortcake was very good and the visit was even better. The last time we saw Roger and Jean was last year in June when we were in Wisconsin. We took a roundabout way home to see some different country and arrived home around 3:30 pm. We watched some TV and we both end up having a nap in our chairs. Yea!! Tonight is the first race of the year for NASCAR. It was the Bud shoot out. What a race with speeds over 200 miles per hour, now that’s racing. Now that football is over I can settle into a season of stock car racing.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Gay Feb-11-11

6:44 AM |

Posted by Sharp's Travels

It was 41 degrees and cold all day with no sunshine. There was wet dampness in the air from the rain we had yesterday. Cheri and I clean house this morning or I should say I pretty much stayed out of Cheri’s way. She was also busy getting things ready for supper this evening as we were having Pam and Mike over supper and some cards afterwards. Late this morning I went down and got the lawn mower to even up the grass as it is starting to grow again with the rain we have had. Cheri went over to see how Grandma was doing and she said that her chest felt heavy and was hard to breath. So Cheri called over to the doctor’s office to see if she could get in this afternoon. The doctor said to take her to the emergency room. So they headed for the emergency room, they got her in and did an EKG, blood work, and an x-ray. While they were waiting Cheri called me and said it would be an hour before they had the results. She said that I should call Pam and Mike to cancel supper with them as she didn’t know what was going to happen with Grandma. So I made the call and cancelled. About an hour and half later Cheri and Grandma were back home and it turned out that Grandma has bronchitis. Long story short we called Pam and Mike back and asked them if they could still come for supper and that it be ok with them. So we had the wonderful supper that Cheri fixed and then after supper we played a game of dominos, Five Crown, and SOB.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Gay Feb-10-11

7:00 AM |

Posted by Sharp's Travels

It started to rain shortly after I got up this morning. Cheri had to cut her morning walk short because of the rain. I am still not doing any walking but I must say the foot is getting better, sure is taking a long time. The rain didn’t quit until around noon. Today was Cheri’s day as she wanted to go shopping and I was her chauffer. Our first stop was at a store on the south side of Pant City called Southern Hospitality Living. It was a large building with furniture on one end and everything else you would want for decorating on the other end. Then we headed over to Brandon where we had lunch at the Sweet Tomato. It is a salad and soup place. It was an ok place but nothing special. The part that got to me was a bottle of water and glass of coke was $4.60. After lunch we went over to a store behind the Sweet Tomato called Old Time Pottery. It was full of all different types of pottery and home decorating items. Cheri sure is a good shopper as she didn’t buy anything. We had planned on going to a movie this afternoon but didn’t get back in time. So we went to Wal-Mart to get groceries and a stop at the farmers market for some vegetables.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Gay Feb-9-11

6:17 AM |

Posted by Sharp's Travels

I headed up to Paul and Bev’s at 8:30 am to work on the electrical project that still had to be done. Mel had the new windows in so I could start running the wire for the new outlets near the windows. Mel spent the day putting up the paneling. I follow along behind him install the lights, switches, and outlet. I got caught up so I took a break and took our trash to the dumpster and walked down to get the mail plus some computer work. Then back to finish up the electrical work. It was near 4:00 pm before I got done. Cheri had come up to spend some time with Bev and then went over to see Grandma. She has a sore throat and feeling a little under the weather. This evening Paul, Bev, Cheri and I went out for the Wednesday night spaghetti at ABC Pizza place. Then we made a stop at Lowe’s so Paul could get some more paneling glue. Cheri and I tried to watch some TV this evening but didn’t last very long before we fell asleep in our chairs, so we called it night and headed for bed. It was 41 degrees this morning but turned out to be a beautiful day with a high around the mid 70’s and no wind.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Gay Feb-8-11

6:25 AM |

Posted by Sharp's Travels

It was 50 degrees, no sun, windy and I am going for a motorcycle ride. Ron and Kathy are leaving this morning and going back to Daytona. Jack, Edie, Bud and I are going to ride half way with them. We did wait until 11:15 before we left but still no sun and the temp was still 50 degrees. By the time we got to Leesburg the sun was starting to shine which made it a little warmer. We made a stop near Leesburg and said our goodbyes to Ron and Kathy. Bud was looking for a used B plus motor home and had seen one on the internet that was only about two miles from where we were so we headed up the Campers inn RV. It was a 2006 with low mileage and looked very nice. So Bud is going to take Joyce to see it tomorrow. On the way back we made a stop for lunch. Bud and I had hot coffee and a bowl of soup, Jack and Edie had a burger and fries. We got home around 4:30 pm. It was a 123 mile ride and the high temp for the day was 54 degrees. Cheri made a big pot of clam chowder for supper. Boy was that good and took the chill out of my bones. She also made a pineapple cake to take to our Life Group meeting for desert after the meeting, it was delicious. It was another fun night with the Life Group; I always look forward to each meeting. It is always a joy to learn more about God and what he can do for us.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Gay Feb-7-11

6:21 AM |

Posted by Sharp's Travels

Our friends left this morning and headed farther south to Fort Myers for a couple of weeks. Cheri and I headed out to do a few errands this forenoon. I needed to stop at the VA clinic to make an appointment for my yearly physical and then to the foot doctor to get the prescription for therapy on my foot. Then we made a stop at Wal-Mart to pick up Grandma’s medicine. After lunch we stopped by Paul and Bev’s for a visit. Then we went over to Grandma’s to drop off her medicine and play a couple of games of SOB. We were back home by 3:00 pm and spent rest of the day relaxing. We did get a call from Coz, Nikki and Cece late this afternoon. They are still getting more snow and cold weather up in Wisconsin. I do complain about the cold weather we have down here but after kids tell us how bad it is up in Wisconsin we are very happy to be here. I am still waiting to pass my kidney stone.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Gay Feb-6-11

6:43 AM |

Posted by Sharp's Travels

After church we went to Golden Coral for lunch along with all our friends from the north. After lunch we headed back to our place where the ladies started preparing goodies for the Super Bowl party. Bart had a couple of drawers in his motor home that the bottom had broken from putting too many heavy things in them. So Bart, Jim and I headed over to Lowe’s to get some 3/8 plywood to put new bottoms in them. They didn’t have any small panels of 3/8 plywood and their saw was broke down. So we headed out for Home Depot and got the 3/8 panel and they cut it for us. When we got back to the park we put the new bottoms in the drawers with glue and screws. This is a common problem with RVs has they don’t make the drawers with heavy enough material for pots and pans. After that project it was time to get the grill out and grill up a bunch of Buffalo wings for our Super Bowl party. Then it was time to get the TV on and watch the Super Bowl. Go Packers!!!! It was one of the best Super Bowls I have ever seen. I knew it would be a hard fought game. Just glad the Packers came out on top. It was great day to spend with close friends.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Gay Feb-5-11

6:33 AM |

Posted by Sharp's Travels

Today was the park wide yard sale along with the rest of Zephyrhills. Cheri and I spent the better part of the morning walking around the park and checking out all the yard sales. We got to visit with a lot of people along the way. The good news is we didn’t buy anything. We were on our way home when we got a call from Paul and Bev and they wanted us to stop by their place for coffee. Then at 11:30 am the four of us went down to the Rec Hall for lunch. They were serving soup and sandwiches. When we got home we got a call from our friends that were coming in from the North Country saying they would be here late this afternoon. It started to rain just as Cheri and I were going over to Wal-Mart to get groceries for the evening and snacks for the Super Bowl party at our place tomorrow. When we got home I started the grill to do a much of brats for supper with our friends that arrived at 5:15 pm, sure was good to see them. They were able to get sites just across the street from us. They left Wisconsin in a snow storm then farther south it was an ice storm and then rain most of the way down here. We also had Grandma over for supper so we had group of eight people here in the 5^th wheel. After supper we had a couple of drinks and lots of laughs and stories about things that has happened to all of us over the last 50 years. It was near 10:00 pm when we decided that we had enough fun for one night.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Gay Feb-4-11

6:11 AM |

Posted by Sharp's Travels

It was very foggy this morning and then we got a rain shower. We had a motorcycle ride planned for today and was wondering if we were going to be able to go. We planned to leave at 11:00 am. We met down at Jack and Edie’s place and two of the guys back out, said that it was going to rain and didn’t want to go. So Bud, Jack and Edie, and I took off and headed for Mt Dora to meet friends Ron and Kathy for lunch. They used to live here in the park and the last two winters have been staying over by Daytona. We rode about twenty miles in mist and some fog before the sun came out and turned into a very nice day with a temp in the high 70’s. After a great lunch and a visit with Ron and Kathy we rode over to the Harley dealer in Leesburg. Jack had to get a new bulb for his signal light as it burned out on the way today. Bud looked at a new tour pack and ended up buying it. It is a little bigger than the old one and looks very nice on his bike. The six of us wondered back to Zephyrhills on all the back roads we could find. Ron and Kathy are spending the next few days with Jack and Edie and hope to do another ride together before the head back to Daytona. It was a great day for the 150 mile ride. Cheri took Grandma’s van and went to the Wiregrass shops to do some shopping. She came back with a couple of pretty tops. We got a call this evening and our company from the north will be here late tomorrow afternoon.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Gay Feb-3-11

7:12 AM |

Posted by Sharp's Travels

I woke up at 11:30 last night with pain in my lower back. I got up and went out in the living room and after an hour the pain was much worse and I got Cheri up to take me to the emergency room. Yep it was a kidney stone. They got me in and gave me some much needed pain killers and a c-scan to make sure that it was a kidney stone. Long story short it was about half way down the duct to the bladder. They gave me a prescription for some antibiotics and pain pills. Then they turned me loose and we were back home by 5:00 am. Cheri went back to bed for some much needed sleep and I turned on the computer and did my blog for the day before. I finally did sit down and take a nap. After Cheri got up I took my shower and felt pretty good. So Paul picked me up at 9:00 am and we headed over to Lowe’s to get an outside light to put up by their back door. I had Paul stop by Wal-Mart so I could drop of my prescriptions. We got more of the electrical work done and took a break for lunch and then we had to make another trip to Lowe’s for wire clips and Wal-Mart to pick up my medicine. We were done with as much of the electrical work can do until the new windows are installed. Cheri had gone over to Grandma’s to wash windows and wash down the patio. So when I got home she said that she thought there was a water leak coming from the shed where her washing machine is. Paul and I walked over and sure enough there was a leak where the hoses hook to the water faucet. We took out the plastic y fitting and installed a brass one and put new rubber washers in the hoses. So now everything is good and no more leaks.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Gay Feb-2-11

5:53 AM |

Posted by Sharp's Travels

So I heard the Ground Hog didn’t see his shadow which I guess means we only have four more weeks of winter. I never really under stood, I would think it should be just the opposite because if the sun is shining that should mean good weather and only four more weeks of winter. All well it is what it is and we will have four to six weeks of winter anyway. Cheri took Grandma for her 10:00 am doctor’s appointment. Paul and I left at 8:30 am and went to the Mexican flea market down near Plant City. Paul had some things to pick up for his truck (chrome). Then we went to Broke & Poor. It is a discount place for all most anything in building materials. Paul got some Home Zone which is used to put in the house when they are gone for the summer. It will kill any and all bugs that can get in while they are gone north for the summer. Paul also looked at new entry doors and plans on ordering one. As we were coming back into the park we met Cheri and Bev leaving and going to Wal-Mart to drop off Grandma’s prescriptions. Paul and I made a list of things that he needed from Lowe’s to add some electrical outlets in their Florida room. They have someone coming in a few days to put in some new windows and panel the walls. So we headed over to Lowe’s and picked up what we needed to do the job. We work on that project until 4:00 pm and then it was time to get ready to go out with Paul and Bev for a Spaghetti supper at ABC’s Pizza place. When we got home we played a couple of games of dominos that Bev and Cheri won.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Gay Feb-1-11

6:20 AM |

Posted by Sharp's Travels

Not sure were January went as we didn’t do a whole lot as it was a cold month, hopefully February will be warmer. Cheri took Grandma for her B-12 shot and to get a prescription renewed. Then they went to Wal-Mart grocery shopping. Before Cheri left she put a beef roast in the crock pot with potatoes, onions, and carrots to have for supper. Sure does smell good. I work all day on cleaning and polishing the motorcycle. Although I did take a short break to make a trip over to Lowe’s to get some stainless steel screws for the mirrors on the motorcycle. The old ones had started to rust and I sure couldn’t have that on a nice shinny bike. I also picked up salt for the new water softener and new insides for Grandma’s toilet; it has a slow leak and is time to fix it. Then it was back home to finish cleaning the bike. It was after 4:00 pm before I got done. This evening was our first Tuesday night Life Group meeting for the spring session. It was great to see our friends from the last Life Group along with new friends. This session we are studying the book Following Jesus without Embarrassing God written by Tony Campolo. It is very interesting and makes for good conversation.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Gay Jan-31-11

7:54 AM |

Posted by Sharp's Travels

We had a motorcycle ride planned for today and there were rain showers around the area and couldn’t decide whether to go or not. Will it was only partly cloudy and so we went anyway. It turned out to be a beautiful day with a temp in the mid 70’s. We did a 131 mile ride over to Honeymoon Island State Park that is on the gulf coast north of Clear Water. Just before we got to the park we stopped at McDonald’s for our usual lunch of a cheeseburger and a senior drink for $2.03, not bad but the price has gone up. The park cost us $4.00 each to ride in. We made a stop at the visitor’s center to check out the history of the park. All the buildings are built on pylons about 12 feet high to avoid any storm surges. They have a couple of nice trails to walk but we didn’t do that as my foot wouldn’t be able to make the walk. We rode through the picnic area with was very nice and then over to the beach area. It was a pretty nice beach although not as nice as the beaches further south. It wasn’t very busy and a good place to go if you want a large space for yourself. I took a few pictures of the park and have them uploaded for you to see. We did make a stop at the Harley dealer on the way home. It wouldn’t be a ride if we didn’t stop at least one Harley dealer. We got a call from Karen Anderson this morning want to know if Grandma still had the extra ticket for the style show down at the Rec hall as her friend was now able to come. So Cheri went over to Grandma’s to see if she had the ticket, she had given it to someone else. Karen and Grandma thought the style show started at 1:00 pm and Karen told Grandma that she would pick her up at 12:15 pm. So everything is good, Well no so. Late morning Cheri took the dominos that we bought yesterday down to Ed and Lorain’s and she was getting ready to go to the style show and Cheri said it didn’t start until 1:00 pm. Lorain said no it starts at 12:00 pm. Will the monthly calendar said 1:00 pm and the tickets said 12:00. So Cheri walked up to Grandma’s to tell her that it was at 12:00 pm and also called Karen to let her know. So as you can see we all had an interesting day.

Pictures of Honeymoon Island http://www.picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels/HoneymoonIsland

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