Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Gay Feb-28-12
7:47 AM | 
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
I headed for Tampa at 8:45 am for my appointment to have my hearing aids turned down. The high frequency was too loud. They have to be adjusted with a computer and I had to wait a month for an appointment, so I haven’t worn them. I have had them in all day and they seem fine now. Also they turned on the volume control so I can now control the volume, not sure why they didn’t do that before. I had a couple of errands to do on the way home. I also stopped by Bud’s to see about a bike ride tomorrow. He is fighting a very bad cold and won’t be riding for a while. After lunch Cheri headed for the Rec Hall with Denise for their quilt gathering. Cheri got home around 3:30 pm and said that she helped Denise with her project. A few minutes after Cheri got home Paul and Bev picked us up to go to Dade City. Paul and Bev wanted to renew the license on their park model. So we thought that we could also get Grandma’s done along with her van. We did get the licenses for the van but we were two days early to get the one for her park model. When we got done with the licenses we headed over to ABC Pizza for their Tuesday night spaghetti special. It was the first time we have been there this year and it was very good. On the way home we stopped at the car show in Zephyrhills in front of K-Mart. There were about 30 cars and most of them we have seen before, but was still nice. When we got home I made calls to our motorcycle riding group to see if anyone wanted to go for a ride tomorrow. When I called Larry he wanted us to come down to their place to play cards. So we played one game of Hand, Knee and Foot.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Gay Feb-27-12
6:38 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
I worked on the motorcycle today. I received in the mail Saturday the new voltage reducer for the GPS. It took about an hour to install, good to have it working again. On our last ride I had to be careful what roads I took so we didn’t get lost. I didn’t realize how much I used it until I didn’t have it. Later this morning I see Paul out raking the lawn so I went up and visited with him and Bev for a while. When I got back I put together a little tool kit to keep in the truck to have when I need to change the fuel filter. I always have the tools in the 5th wheel but nothing in the truck so it would have been my luck to have the filter plug up when we are out and about with the truck. I planned on watching the Daytona 500 this afternoon but once again it was canceled until 7:00 pm. Larry and Denise came up and wanted to know if we wanted to go for a motorcycle ride. The girls wanted to go to Jo-Ann Fabrics for some supplies they need for their next project. While the girls were at Jo-Ann’s Larry and I went over to Lowe’s to check on what I need for the new mattress we are putting in the 5th wheel. When we got back to pick up the girls it looked like rain and sure enough when we came out of the store it started to sprinkle. We rode for about half a mile and it quit so we made a quick stop at Sam’s Club. When we left there it was sprinkling again. We could see the storm off in the direction we needed to go to get home. We decided to take a different route home to try and get around the rain storm. It did work for a while and finally we stopped to put on our rain suits as we could see the rain ahead of us. Long story short we got home without getting wet but we were right behind the rain because the roads were really wet and a lot of puddles along the road. After supper we settled in to watch the Daytona 500. What a race, everything that could go wrong did and the race didn’t get over until 12:50 am.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Gay Feb-26-12
6:31 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
After church it was just Grandma, Cheri and me that went out for lunch. The rest of our Life Group had other plans today. It was cool and windy so we went to Chili’s for salad and soup. When we dropped of Grandma we left the van with her and walked home. Paul and Bev just got home from the car show. Paul said that they didn’t sell any cars today like they did in the past. I guess people weren’t happy about cars being sold on Sundays. So now they sell on Friday and Saturday. After we got home Cheri gave me a much needed hair cut and then we settled in to watch the Daytona 500 (so we thought). It was in a rain delay and finally was cancelled until tomorrow at noon. So we watch a lot of shows we had recorded as our DVR only had 18 percent space left before it would be full. That is the first time we have been that close to being full, I think we have always been under 40 percent full. I did order some parts for Paul on the internet; he had broken the sanding pad on his orbital sander. So as you can see it was a lazy day in the neighborhood.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Gay Feb-25-12
6:30 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
Paul picked me up at 8:30 am and we headed to the Zephyrhills Festival Park for the car show and swap meet. It is one of the largest in the area and is held twice a year for four days. At 9:00 am they started the car auction and it didn’t get over until around 4:00 pm. We watched some of the cars being sold and they were going for only about half as much as they should have. Some buyers got some great deals. If we were settled down in one place I would have bought something, but we have to wait until we are done full timing. We walked around looking at all the things that were for sale and didn’t see anything we needed, but a lot of things we would like to have. It was around 4:00 pm before we got home. Cheri and Bev went shopping and hit all the quilt and fabric stores and buying more material for some additional project they want to do. Bev wanted to play some dominos this evening but I was just too tired from being out and walking around the car show. We watched some TV this evening or I should say Cheri did as I fell asleep in the chair.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Gay Feb-24-12
6:19 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
I worked on the truck today installing the new wheel covers I ordered the first part of the week. It took longer than I figured, when I had new tires installed last year they tightened the two nuts that hold on the rear wheel covers so tight that I had to use a breaker bar with a two foot extension to get them off. Then I work on the front mud flaps, the bolts and washers that hold them on were getting rusty so I took them off, cleaned them up and put a coat of white paint on them. They look much better than before. I had bought new stainless steel bolts and haven’t been able to fine stainless steel fender washers to replace the rusty ones, so the painted ones will have to do until I find the stainless steel washers. Cheri took Grandma to the bank, CVS to drop off a prescription and then to Wal-Mart to get groceries. After I got my projects done we went downtown to order the new mattress for our bed. Then we rode out to Ron and Sandy’s Green Acers so I could see the progress that they have done but there wasn’t any one there. We stopped by the Sprint store to see about upgrading our data plan from an air card to a hot spot so Cheri can use the I-Pad that we have. They said we could do an upgrade until September. I wasn’t happy about that so he called someone for me to talk to on the phone. She needed my security pin number and I didn’t know what it was and she couldn’t help me. When I get more time I will check into project further. We stopped at CVS and picked up Grandma’s medicine. At 4:30 pm Larry, Denise, Cheri and I left for Lakeland on the motorcycles. The Lakeland Bike Fest was going on from 6:00 pm until 10:00 pm. It was the first time we have been to this. It was a lot of fun; they had a lot of streets blocked off for the event and for parking motorcycles. There were a lot of vendors and most of the stores were also open. There were a couple of bands playing, a bike show and poker walk. It took us about four hours to see everything and buy a few things. On the way home we stopped at Panera Bread for soup and a sandwich. It was around 9:30 pm when we got home.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Gay Feb-23-12
7:38 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
Bud and I left at 9:15 am with the motorcycles to Clermont as Bud had an appointment at the Harley dealer to have a new sprocket put on his bike. The belt guard had been installed wrong at the factory and had worn a grove in the sprocket, so they replaced it with a new one under warranty. When we left this morning the sky looked like it was going to rain but only a 10 percent chance of rain. Well down the road a few miles it started to sprinkle but that was all we got, I told Bud we got our 10 percent. They told Bud it would only take an hour to replace the sprocket, well two and half hours later they were done and we were ready to leave and get some lunch. It was around 3:00 pm and 100 miles later when we got home. I set up the recorder to record the twin NASCAR 150’s and when I got home I had recorded the Nation Wide practice and not the 150’s. I did watch the Speed channel and got all the highlights so I now I am update. Mike and Pam picked up Cheri and they went out for lunch and then over to Ron and Sandy’s Green Acers. Ron had called Mike this morning and told him that they were putting in the new stairs to the loft. So Cheri took her camera and took pictures. Ron said they never took any before pictures of the house so Cheri went around taking pictures for them. Larry stopped by to see if we wanted to come down to their place to play cards this evening. We decided we would only play one game because everyone was tired. Well after the game was over at 8:00 pm we decided to play one more game and didn’t get home until 10:00 pm.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Gay Feb-22-12
6:42 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
Today was a play day for me and a shopping day for Cheri. Four of us old hogs left at 10:00 am for our weekly ride. Larry was sick with a cold and didn’t go. We headed south and I took some roads that we had never been on before and without the GPS I wasn’t sure where I was going and got on a wrong road that turned out to be a wonderful ride. On the way home I was going to stop at the Lakeland Harley dealer but the guys were afraid it was going to rain so we headed back home and arrived around 2:30 pm and the sun started to come out again. We still managed to put on 130 miles and turned out to be one of our better rides. Just as we were coming into the park I see Cheri leaving with the van, when she saw me she turned around and went back to the 5th wheel to wait for me. She spent the day shopping and was headed out to do some more shopping as she didn’t look for me to be home until around 4:00 pm. So we went out shopping for a new mattress. We think we have found one we like and they can have it made to fit our 5th wheel which has an odd size. They are going to call us tomorrow with the details, as the factory was already closed for the day. Well the rain came around 5:00 pm and it was a hard rain. But the nice thing it was over in time for us to go to our Life Group gathering. Tonight was the first one for the spring. Sure nice to get back with our Life Group learning about God and what he can do for us. Cheri made a pineapple cake for dessert to have after our gathering sure was good and everyone wants the recipe. It was another wonderful day God made for us.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Gay Feb-21-12
7:31 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
After our workout at the gym and our morning walk we headed over to Wal-Mart to get some groceries before it got busy. Between 7:30 am and 8:30 am is a great time to shop, not many people out and about. I worked on the motorcycle this forenoon. My GPS quit working the last time I rode. It works in the car so the trouble is with the power connection on the bike. When I installed the GPS on the bike I had to have a power converter and when I check it out it wasn’t working anymore. So I headed to the computer and ordered a new. I have a ride planned for tomorrow and it is going to seem strange riding without the GPS. Then I spent the rest of the day cleaning the bike except for a break to go and see Bud and talk about where we are going to ride tomorrow. On the way home I stopped by Larry and Denise’s to see if Larry was riding with us tomorrow. Then I headed back home to finish cleaning the bike. Cheri did some house cleaning and working on a project for Nikki, she is doing the illustrations in a children’s book that Nikki wrote. We got a call late this afternoon from Pam and wants to meet us at Flaco’s café for supper, so Cheri didn’t have to cook supper (I am sure she likes that). After supper we pull in at the 5th wheel and got a call from Pam telling us about a lot of cars in front of K-Mart. We drove by there and didn’t even see them. So we headed up to Paul and Bev’s to play dominos and asked them if they wanted to go over to K-Mart to see the cars. It turned out to be a nice car show with 30 plus cars. Thanks Pam for the heads up on the car show. We were there for about an hour and then back to Paul and Bev’s for a game of dominos which the girls won. Paul and I have been on a losing streak.
Gay Feb-20-12
7:26 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
Blogger has been broken for the last couple of days so that is why this is late. I did find a work around this morning.
It was on the cool side this morning with a light wind making for a morning walk with a jacket. Cheri and I were both tired from the last few days and are moving slower. We along with Grandma had company today (Jim and Jeanette Frye). They are from Tennessee and are staying in the Fort Myers area. So they drove up to spend the day with us. Jeanette’s parents and my Parents were lifelong friends and we kids have carried on the friendship. We went to Golden Corel for lunch and we all ate too much which always happens when we eat there. They left around 5:30 pm and Cheri and I went shopping for a new mattress for our 5th wheel. Of course we struck out at the mattress store because of the odd size we have 72” X 80”, the standard king is 76” X 80”. So after a stop at Sam’s Club which we only did because it was in the same complex and bought a few things that we could have lived without but thought we needed. When we got home we measured and there is no way a standard king will fit. So we are going to look at an Olympic Queen which is 66” X 80” and is four inches narrower than the one we have now, not sure if we want to give up the 4 inches. By doing this we will have many more options on the type of mattresses we can have. Or we can check out and see what they have at Camping World to replace the size we have now. So we have more shopping to do before we make a decision.
It was on the cool side this morning with a light wind making for a morning walk with a jacket. Cheri and I were both tired from the last few days and are moving slower. We along with Grandma had company today (Jim and Jeanette Frye). They are from Tennessee and are staying in the Fort Myers area. So they drove up to spend the day with us. Jeanette’s parents and my Parents were lifelong friends and we kids have carried on the friendship. We went to Golden Corel for lunch and we all ate too much which always happens when we eat there. They left around 5:30 pm and Cheri and I went shopping for a new mattress for our 5th wheel. Of course we struck out at the mattress store because of the odd size we have 72” X 80”, the standard king is 76” X 80”. So after a stop at Sam’s Club which we only did because it was in the same complex and bought a few things that we could have lived without but thought we needed. When we got home we measured and there is no way a standard king will fit. So we are going to look at an Olympic Queen which is 66” X 80” and is four inches narrower than the one we have now, not sure if we want to give up the 4 inches. By doing this we will have many more options on the type of mattresses we can have. Or we can check out and see what they have at Camping World to replace the size we have now. So we have more shopping to do before we make a decision.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Gay Feb-19-12
6:40 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
We were up a little before 4:00 am this morning. In fact Cheri was up before me which is very unusual, I didn’t even know when she got up and she had to wake me up. We got Kari packed up and were on the road at 5:00 am heading to the airport. We dropped her on at the check in and said our goodbyes. Sure was nice having her here, it was a short time but we made the most of it. We got back home at 6:45 am. Just in time to get ready for church. We picked up Grandma at 9:00 am and headed out for church. After church we went to Los Vallarta Mexican Restaurant in Wesley Chapel. It was the first time we have been there and it was very good. Shortly after we got home Pam called and wanted us to come up at 4:00 pm for soup and cards. Because we were up so early this morning we thought we would take a nap this afternoon. We had just laid down when we heard a knock at the door. We checked and it was Paul and Bev. So we got dressed and headed up to their place for a visit. We left their place at 3:30 pm and got ready to go to Pam and Mike’s. We played one game of cards and then took a break to have some of Pam’s homemade potato soup for supper, very good Pam. Then it was time for a game of Hand, Knee and Foot. That didn’t turn out so good for us guys as Cheri and Pam won big time. It was another wonderful day that God made for us.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Gay Feb-18-12
7:52 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
Not much going on today, spent our time with Kari as it is her last day with us. At 10:30 am we went over to Grandma’s to visit and I had Kari work on Grandma’s computer, installing Outlook Express for her e-mail. The new e-mail software that came with the new internet service was too hard for her to understand. She had an older version of Outlook Express on her old computer and we thought that it would be better to use Outlook Express as she was use to that. At 11:00 am we took Grandma with us to visit with Dean and Betty. Kari hadn’t had a chance to see them until today. We visited with them until about 12:15 pm and then it was time to meet Mike and Pam for lunch at Sunrise Eatery. We wanted Kari to meet our Life Group friends. After lunch we went back to Grandma’s so Kari could finish the work on Grandma’s computer. Grandma had gone with Carol down to the Rec Hall to see the park variety show. She got home around 4:45 pm and we all headed for Clearwater Beach to watch the sunset. With the late start I didn’t know if we would make it or not. I dropped them off at the beach and by the time I got the car parked I had time to take two pictures before the sun dropped behind the horizon. Kari took a lot of pictures as it was the first time taking pictures of the sunset with her new camera. She got some really nice pictures. I did take a few. We checked out the vendors on the pier. Cheri fixed us all a sandwich in the car before we started for home. We arrived back at Grandma’s around 9:00 pm. Kari sat down with Grandma and showed her how to use the new e-mail software. I walk on home to watch the end of the Bud Shootout NASCAR Race, very exiting but not the way I wanted to see the finish. Cheri and Kari came about half and hour later. It was time to turn in as we have to be up by 4:00 am in the morning to take Kari to the airport.
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| Grandma |
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Gay Feb-17-12
6:30 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
Today was a wash out as far as the weather goes rain on and off all day and when it wasn’t raining there was a mist in the air. Late morning we went over to Grandma’s for a short visit and then Cheri and Kari headed off to Lakeland to do some shopping. I work on Grandma’s coffee table as it was coming apart. I cleaned up the joints, glued and screwed them back together. Then I headed home to do some more work on insurance, trying once again to get our refund going to direct deposit. Then I worked on cleaning out the basement until it started to rain harder, I got that project about half done. Kari called around 2:00 pm and said they were on their way home and to meet them at Grandma’s for a late lunch and early supper of hot wings from Buffalo Wild Wings Bar & Grill. Kari had taken us to one last year when we visited her in McHenry and they were excellent. After supper I had Kari fix a couple of things on Grandma’s new computer that I wasn’t able to figure out. We still couldn’t get the e-mail to work the way we wanted and tomorrow Kari is going to install Outlook Express so it will be the same as she had on the old computer. We played one game of dominos which Cheri and Kari won, it was a very close game and went down to the last hand to see who would win, makes for a fun game.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Gay Feb-16-12
6:24 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
We took our time getting ready this morning, visiting with Kari. Cheri fixed a breakfast of pancakes. I got a call from Bud this morning and he was putting some chrome on his bike and had a problem, so I went down and helped him. From Bud’s I went up to Grandma’s to meet Cheri and Kari. Kari hadn’t seen Grandma for about five years. So we visited until it was time for Grandma to go out for lunch with her cousin that was passing through from Wisconsin. So we took Kari out to the flea market. Then over to Wal-Mart to have a new battery put in her watch, which they wouldn’t do because she didn’t buy the watch at Wal-Mart. Then Cheri and Kari wanted to go to Beall’s shopping. While they were in Beall’s I went to Tractor Supply (man’s store). Later Grandma called Cheri and told her she was home so we headed to her place and I dropped off Cheri and Kari. I went back to Wal-Mart and picked up a battery for Kari’s watch and came back home and put it in for her. Then I headed over to Grandma’s to visit and play dominos. Grandma wanted to have pizza for supper so I went to Papa John’s and pick up the pizza. When we got home we tried to watch some TV, but had trouble staying awake so we called it a night and went to bed.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Gay Feb-15-12
10:24 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
Today was an interesting day, I had a motorcycle ride planned to leave at 10:30 am. Bud called me around 9:00 am and wants to have us get together for a picture and a little write up about our riding group for the paper, so we all met at down by the gazebo at 10:30 am. After we got done with the picture we had to go back to Larry’s to put some oil in the primary case on his bike as it was leaking. So it was after 11:00 am before we got started on our ride. We weren’t able to do the ride I had planned because we need to head for a Harley dealer so Larry could get a new gasket for the primary cover on his bike. All in all we still manage a 145 mile ride and were home by 4:00 pm. Just as we pulled in to the park we met Cheri and Bev headed out to do some grocery shopping. This forenoon Cheri and Denise went to Dade City shopping. At 5:00 pm we headed out to Tampa to pick up Kari (daughter) at the airport. She is going to be with us for a few days. We just got out of town when we got a call from Kari telling us that she was still in Houston TX. She missed her connecting flight and wouldn’t get to Tampa until 10:15 pm. So we turned around and went back home and watched TV until 9:00 pm and then headed for the airport to pick Kari up. Actually it turned out better because there wasn’t any traffic to content with. It was 11:30 pm when we got home. We visited for a while and called it a night.
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| The Old Hogs |
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Gay Feb-14-12
7:27 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone, it was a special day for me as 45 years ago today I asked Cheri to marry me. While we were on our morning walk the lady that is secretary and treasurer for the park stopped us and asked me if I would set up the new workout equipment that they have installed in the gym. As long as Cheri and I use the gym I couldn’t very well say no. So my morning was spent getting that project done. Cheri’s quilt gathering was at 9:00 am this morning because the Wisconsin park potluck was this afternoon. We picked up Grandma at 12:45 and headed down to the Rec Hall for the potluck. A good time was had by all with a lot of good food and games. This evening Paul and Bev went with Cheri and me to the Longhorn Steak House in Lakeland for a great steak dinner to celebrate our 45th engagement. On the way home we stopped at Harbor Freight, I can’t pass this store without stopping. I did buy a couple of containers to store screws in. I had bought one last week and Cheri laid claim to it for her sewing machine gadgets. When we got home we played one game of dominos with Paul and Bev. The girls were too much for us and won big time.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Gay Feb-13-12
7:38 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
It was another cold morning around 37 degrees. It did warm up later in the day to be out and about without a jacket. At 7:45 am we went over to Grandma’s to take her down to the Rec Hall for breakfast but when we got there she was still in bed and had forgotten about the breakfast. We walked over and to Dean and Betty’s and Betty went with us. After breakfast we walked back up to Betty’s to visit for a bit and Betty wanted to do the Poinsettia quilt project that Cheri started last Tuesday. So Betty got out her material stash and they picked out the colors they needed to do the project. Then Cheri and I headed home so Cheri could get the things she needed to help Betty. I worked around the 5th wheel dumping the black water tank, putting water in the fresh water tank as the water is going to be turned off one day this week. I also got the water softener regenerated. Then I got the tools I needed to fix Carolyn’s toilet and headed over to her place. She said that it wouldn’t flush. It turned out to be the flapper cord was broke, so I headed over to Home Depot and got a new one. After putting it in I noticed that when I flush the toilet it would leak between the tank and stool. So that met another trip to Home Depot to get all new insides and gaskets, now it is just like new. On the way home I stopped at the VA clinic and made an appointment for my yearly physical. It was after 4:00 pm before I got home. Cheri was already home and had done some cleaning and laundry. I made a call to the VA in Tampa for an appointment to have my hearing aids adjusted; they are too loud and have to be reprogrammed. Larry and Denise came up this evening to visit and we ended up play one game of Hand, Knee and Foot. Larry and I thought we were going to win the game because after three hands we were ahead by over 12,000 points. Well it didn’t turn out that way, Cheri and Denise really put to us the last hand and won the game (very happy girls).
Monday, February 13, 2012
Gay Feb-12-12
6:33 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
The forenoon was pretty much the same as all other Sundays. We picked up Grandma 9:00 am and went to church, then after church eleven of us went out for lunch at Red Robin’s. Cheri and I each had soup and split a chicken wrap. The soup was very good and hit the spot as it was cold out. Out temp this morning was 34 degrees and windy, the high for the day was around 55 degrees. After lunch we made plans to go to a movie this afternoon with Mike and Pam. They picked us up at 1:40 pm and headed over to the theater to see Big Miracle. It was a very good family movie about trapped whales in Alaska. It was based on a true story. After watching the beginning of the movie I remembered when this happened back in 1988. After the movie Mike and Pam came to our place and we played Hand, Knee and Foot. We played two games, took a break and ordered in pizza from Papa John’s. We had to play one more game to break the tie. It was a tough battle but we guys came through with the win. It makes up for the last time we played, when Pam and Cheri won every game we played. It was a great day God made for us to spend with him and our Life Group friends.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Cheri Feb-11-12
6:21 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
Our day began with breakfast at golden Corel with Sandy & Greg at 8:30am. We’d bragged about the breakfast there so they wanted to check it out. Needless to say we did not go away hungry!
Greg had never been to a Harbor Freight so that was a must stop for them when we reached Lakeland. Sandy & I waited for them in the car. An hour later they were ready to leave, so off we went to Bok Tower in Lake Wales.
The tower is located on Iron Mountain. At the elevation of 298ft, this is one of the highest points in Florida.
They began construction of the Bell Tower in 1927 and was completed it in 1929. It was built as a centerpiece to the gardens for the Bok family. It stands 205 feet high. The outer facing is of pink & gray Georgia marble & Florida coquina (a limestone of shell & coral fragments).
It houses the 60-bell carillon. The bells weigh from 16 lbs to 11 tons. They give a concert at 1 & 3pm Thursdays through Sundays. They also play taped music during those days.
The tower has 7 levels, none that are accessible to the public.
The 1st level is The Founders level, 2nd The Archives, 3rd Maintenance Workshop, 4th Carillon Library, 5th The Carillonneur’s Studio, 6th Keyboard Room, and 7th The Carillon (60 bells).
We strolled through the gardens, while listening to the music, took in the view from the scenic overlook and then headed for the Pinewood Estates.
The Estate was built in the early 1930’s, as a winter home for Charles Buck, President of Bethlehem Steel. It is one of Florida’s most outstanding examples of Mediterranean Revival architecture.
The staircase features a different tile pattern on each riser. Also, there was lots of tile on the walls that was all brought in from Cuba. It had striking decorative doors and tiled fireplaces. The house was furnished with original 1930’s pieces from the Buck era, including the pottery and chandeliers.
We strolled back to the museum and checked it out, and checked out the movie on the Bok Tower.
I had to check out the gift shop of course, they had such beautiful things but I just looked and didn’t buy!
We made a slight change in our return trip home, we grabbed a quick burger and then headed for Parksdale for one more Strawberry Shortcake before Sandy & Greg had to leave for home. We had never been at Parksdale at 5pm before. We couldn’t believe the line waiting to be served. It was a nice way to end our day. Sandy and Greg leave in the morning; we sure enjoyed their visit and hope they come back next winter.
Gay has uploaded pictures of the day, click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Bok Tower and Pinewood Estate
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Gay Feb-10-12
7:17 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
Sandy and Greg came over for breakfast at 9:00 am. Cheri fixed eggs, toast, and sausage and I made the coffee. After visiting for a while Greg and I headed north with a stop at Russell Stover’s candy store to buy some candy bloopers (seconds) which doesn’t hurt the taste of the candy. Then we headed to the big truck chrome shop. I figured that Greg would like this as he is a trucker and all truckers like to dress up their trucks. Then a stop for lunch at McDonald’s before we headed up to Ocala to H & B Cycles. I have mentioned before about this used parts and used cycles that he has for sale. Greg couldn’t believe all the used parts he had. Greg has restored a few old Harley’s and started talking to him about the old bikes and I asked him if we could see his museum of old bikes. So he took us out back to a building that must have had around 150 motorcycles, 99 percent of them where Harley’s and one from each year back as far as the 1930’s. When we got done we thanked him and he then said next time you come back I will show you the rest of them. He said we only saw half of what he had. It was unbelievable. After that it was time to head for home. Cheri and Sandy went to Dade City to visit the Pioneer Village Museum. Then they went out for lunch at the Village Inn. Then they did some shopping. Cheri had put a pot roast in the crock pot this morning with carrots, onions, and potatoes. So that was our supper along with fresh baked biscuits. Another great day God made for us to spend with family.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Gay Feb-9-12
8:39 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
We had a busy day today. Greg and Sandy came for breakfast at 9:00 am. After some visiting and breakfast we headed over to the flea market by the airport. While we were there we also got to see some sky divers. I bought a six deck card shuffler, Greg bought some leather punches. After the flea market we headed to Plant City for a lunch of strawberry shortcake, which was excellent. Then to the power plant to see the manatees, which I was surprised there were so many do to the warm weather we had. After visiting the Manatee museum it was time to head to Clear Water pier 60 to watch the sunset. We stopped for supper at KFC a couple of mile before we got to the pier. I didn’t think the sunset would be much because it was so cloudy, but it turned out to be pretty good. We also watch some fisherman feed the fish they caught to the pelicans. It was fun to see them fight over the fish. We didn’t get home until 8:00 pm. It was a great day that God made for us to spend with family. I have uploaded pictures of the day click on this link http://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Clear Water Pier 60
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Gay Feb-8-12
7:27 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
There were only three of us Old Hogs out for the motorcycle ride today, John and Gary had other commitments today. We rode north to Leesburg and made our stop at the Harley dealer for coffee and Bud bought another piece of chrome for his bike. Then we made our usual stop at McDonalds for lunch. I did find a couple of new roads we hadn’t been on before which is always good. After lunch Bud wanted to know what which we were going back home. He said that he saw a motor home for sale along the road and wanted to go back to look at it. So that’s what we did. It looked pretty good from the road but when we got up close it was in really bad shape. We teased Bud about buying it and taking it home to Joyce. We put on 150 miles and were home by 3:00 pm. Cheri took Grandma to the doctor for her B-12 shot and then to Wal-Mart to pick up groceries and Grandma’s medicine. When she got home she checked with Denise to see what she was doing and she came up to visit with Cheri. This afternoon she was cleaning house getting ready for Greg and Sandy who were coming tomorrow. When I got home I see a car in our yard with Ohio plates on it. I couldn’t figure out who it was and when I went inside I see it was Greg and Sandy. That was a surprise because they weren’t going to be here until tomorrow and that they are form Maine I was fooled by the Ohio plates on the car. As it turned out they rented a car to drive down. After visiting for a while we went to eat at Golden Corel and then back to our place for more visiting. Another perfect day God made for us.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Gay Feb-7-12
7:27 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
It was a down day for me. I was supposed to go for a motorcycle ride today, but the weather didn’t cooperate. It was overcast with a light mist all day. I did go out after lunch and was going to clean out the basement. There was cool breeze blowing so all I did was take the garbage up to the dumpster. I spent the rest of the day reading on a novel I started some time ago. Cheri on the hand was pretty busy all day. She did some laundry this morning and had her quilt gathering at the Rec Hall this afternoon. Twelve of the ladies are working on a new project called Point seta matting. It was after 4:00 pm when she got home. After supper we made a trip over to Wal-Mart to drop off a subscription for Grandma. Then we headed up t Mike and Pam’s to play cards. Pam and Cheri were the big winners, we played two games of Hand, Knee and Foot and two games of SOB and we guys didn’t win anything. I have a motorcycle ride planned for tomorrow if the weather will cooperate.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Gay Feb-6-12
7:29 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
Not much going on today. It was mostly cloudy with a 30 % chance of rain. Cheri had laundry going before we headed out for our morning workout and walk. I wanted to put on the slide out coating but with a 30% chance for rain I thought that might not be a good idea. So I cleaned out the shed and found the roof coating that I used on the old 5th wheel. I had look for it a few days ago and couldn’t find it and thought that I must have gotten rid of it. I opened the can and it looks ok, so I can take back the coating I bought at Lowe’s. At 12:30 pm we headed to Lazy Days to visit Johnny and Paulette (Alaskan rally friends) and teach them how to play Hand, Knee and Foot. The girls beat us guys really bad. Then we got together with Louise and Paul and the six of us went out for supper together at Cracker Barrel. After supper we said good bye to Paul and Louise and headed back to Johnny and Paulette’s to teach them how to play SOB. We played on game and then it was time to head home. It never did rain where we were but we did hear some thunder so the rain must have been close by. It was a wonderful day that God made for us to spend with friends
Monday, February 6, 2012
Gay Feb-5-12
7:38 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
We picked up Grandma at 9:00 am and headed for church. After church there were ten of us from our Life Group that went out for lunch at Wendy’s. After lunch we dropped of Grandma and headed to Publix’s (grocery store) to pick up some goodies for the Super Bowl party at Mike and Pam’s. We rested and checked out the new book that we picked up at church called The Reason for God written by Timothy Keller. We also got a study guide so we can use it for our Life Group. We headed up to Mike and Pam’s at 5:30 pm for the Super Bowl party. We had a good time watching, discussing, and complaining about the outcome of the game. Well some of us were happy with the outcome. Some of the girls played cards as they had no interest in the football game. Everyone brought some goodies and drink. Pam and Mike had barbeque and a cake in the shape of a football and also had the decorations up for the game. Thanks Mike and Pam for inviting us, it was fun and we had a good time.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Gay Feb-4-12
7:06 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
We had an interesting morning, after our morning workout we were doing our walk and some of the early risers were setting things out for the park wide yard sale today. Well we had no plans on checking out any of it until we came around a corner where a guy had a lot of things already out. So we stopped to look and ended up buying a big box of Christmas ornaments. He also had a lawn mower for sale that I checked out and bought. So we walked home to get the money to pay for our new finds. Then we walked the rest of the park to see what else we might find that we didn’t really need. Cheri bought some playing cards holders. Later in the morning Paul and Bev stopped by to see if we had bought anything, I showed him the mower I bought. It is a walk behind John Deer self propelled with electric start and bagger, all for $30 dollars. I noticed that our neighbor had his lawn mower setting out for sale. I figured he saw that I had bought one because I used his to mow his and our lawn. Well as it turned out he also bought a different lawn mower. We had a good laugh about it and had to put the new mowers side by side to compare them. At 1:00 pm we left to meet our Alaskan friends for strawberry short cake in Plant City at 1:30 pm. Then we headed back to Lazy Days for the rally and a lot more visiting. Spike (our tour guide) had a great meal of barbeque ribs and chicken catered in for us. There were around two hundred people there, the largest group they ever had. It was tough saying good bye to everyone knowing it would be another year before we would see most of our Alaskan friends.
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| Johnny, Paulette, Cheri, Mary Jo, Ron, Louise, Paul |
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| Charlie, Paulette, Cheri, Patti, Mary Jo, Louise |
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| Paul, Johnny, Griffin, Patti, Ron |
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Gay Feb-3-12
8:26 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
Right after breakfast I went to work on chalking the bedroom slide. I didn’t do the prettiest job but at least there are no leaks. We didn’t have any sun this morning so it made it nice doing the chalking but the roof on the slide never dried enough to put on the roof coating. Maybe tomorrow I can get it finished. By the time I got done with the chalking and cleaned up it was time for lunch. Then it was time to head for Lazy Day’s for our Alaskan Rally. We did our Alaskan trip back in 2008 and every year they have a rally here I Florida. It is a chance to see the people that we went on the trip with. Our group was much smaller this year as there were only eight of us there today and tomorrow we will have one more couple joining us. It sure was nice to see everyone and catch up on what everyone has been doing over the past year. Spike had a pizza party along with all kinds of desserts. They also had live music for dancing. While Cheri and I were dancing I said it’s been a long time since we last danced. She looked at me and laughed and said it has been a year as we danced last year at the rally. After more visiting we headed home and look forward to more visiting at the rally tomorrow.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Gay Feb-2-12
7:22 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
So according to the ground hog we are going to have six more weeks of winter, if the weather stays as nice as it has been this winter we can handle the extra time of winter with no problems. After our morning walk and workout we headed over to Wal-Mart at 7:30 am to get our groceries before it got busy, sure is a lot nicer shopping there early in the morning. We got a call this morning from Cheri’s sister telling us that they are coming to Florida to see us in a couple of weeks and we also got a call from Kari (daughter) that she is coming to Florida to see us in a couple of weeks. So we will have a busy time while they are here, look forward to seeing all of them. Cheri worked on doing laundry and some early spring cleaning. I worked on the bed room slide. I removed all the chalking and clean the roof of the slide to get it ready for some roof coating. Around 1:00 pm I took a break for lunch and then I dropped Cheri off at Bud and Joyce’s so she could let their dog out as they left early this morning and wouldn’t be back until late. I went to Lowe’s to get the roof coating for the slide outs and back to removing the rest of the old chalking. It was around 5:30 pm when I got done, so tomorrow I will work on putting in the new chalking and coating the roof of the slide out. Around 6:00 pm we walked down to get the mail and drop off Bud and Joyce’s key. Then we went up to Paul and Bev’s to play dominos. It was another great day in the neighborhood that God made for us to spend with friends.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Gay Feb-1-12
8:41 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
Wow! The first month of 2012 gone already, time really flies by when you are having fun. I planned a ride for Cheri and I to go to the airport south of Lakeland to check out where it was as I have a buddy jump coupon and wanted to see when they do there jumps. So as it turned out Larry and Denise along with Bud went with us. Bud wanted to go to Brandon Harley so that was our first stop. Bud and Larry each bought something for their bikes. Cheri and I were good shoppers not buying anything. Then it was on to find the airport. It turned out to be a very small county air port with a grass landing strip. They do their jumps on Fridays and Saturdays. So I have to call ahead to make a reservation. We are busy the next two weekends so maybe sometime late in February. When we got back to Plant City Larry, Denise, Cheri and I stopped at Burger King for a late lunch, Bud went on home. After our lunch Cheri wanted to stop at a craft and furniture store. There was a Tractor Supply store right next door so that was where Larry and I went. When we got back to Zephyrhills we stopped at an automotive store as Larry was looking for an air filter cleaning kit. They were all sold out of them, so that will be a trip for another time. We made one more stop at Radio Shack as Larry wanted pilot light for the motorcycle and there was a TJ Max store next door so that was where Denise and Cheri headed. After the girls got done shopping we headed home and Larry and Denise went to the grocery store. We saw Bud and Joyce outside so we stopped to see if Bud put the chrome on his bike that he bought today and he said no he was going to wait until tomorrow. It was another perfect day in the neighborhood that God made for us.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Gay Jan-31-12
7:29 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
At 9:30 am Larry, Denise, Cheri and I headed out on the motorcycles to Lakeland to take in the Snowbird Extravaganza. We got to park right up by the main entrance, parking area just for motorcycles which was very nice. The place was packed with people who made it hard to check out the vendors. By the looks of the vendors you tell it was geared for us old people. There were vendors that deal with foot pain, back pain, energy drinks, special beds, special chairs and mobility scooters. We signed up for chance to win a free cruise and many more things. They also had a lot of entertainment which we didn’t stay to watch, all people we had never heard of before. When we left we headed to the Harley dealer so Larry could pick up the parts he ordered for his bike. Then we headed to Olive Garden for a late lunch of soup and salad. It was after 1:00 pm when we got there and we still had to wait half an hour to get in. When we left there were a lot of people still waiting. When we got home we stopped by Bud and Joyce’s to visit and get a key for their house so we could let their dog out while they are gone on Thursday. It was near 6:00 pm before we got home. Supper was very light because of the late lunch. Larry and Denise came up this evening to play cards. We played two games and the girls won one and we guys won the other one. It was another great day that God has made.
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