Busy weekend of visitation, loading up for Memphis

Been a busy few days with a whirlwind visit from the Hebbards, the girls managed to get an an afternoon of power shopping, we have eaten everywhere, missed Johnny's Saturday morning for breakfast becuase they decided to now be closed, wound up at Village Inn- Did Chili's last night for dinner, had some sort of very spicy shrimp tacos and a spicy chicken taco something, headed to McDonalds this morning, then going to go pick up the Nova and start the load out for the Memphis trip. we're also going to swing by Greenwood to see pals, check on the reconstruction progress, and see the grandboys. Aside from needing to go to St Judes, it will be a nice "winter break." Meghan has been a trooper, and Deanna as well. We get regular FaceBook updates, and follow with love and interest. Memphis got lots of snow over the last two days, but it should be pretty well cleared up by the time we get there, with moderate temps for the time we are visiting.

Headed to Memphis for Deanna

The 9 year old daughter of Meghan Grimsley is currently at St Jude's in Memphis receiving treatment and Bette and I have decided to head over that way next week to visit. We'll visit for nearly a week, then probably head back to Greenwood to see the grandsons on the way home.

The Golden Lion for lunch

Cruised on down to Flagler Beach for lunch with the Hebbards and Kingstons at our fave place, The Golden Lion- Think it agreed with the Hebbards.

Nice, but coolish day- they fired up the propane heaters for us, so all was well.

Mexican tonight

Fetched Dan's motorhome-

Ran up to Camping World this morning and helped Dan fetch his Presidio, finally released after 3 months of repairs, looks like brand new, and now we are both parked at Coquina- after a year of waiting for spots to "open." It's all fenced, locked, and pretty secure- Very happy campers....

New House sign now up at Coquina

Our Hodges pals Bev and Dave created a true work of art with our house sign for Coquina. We got it installed yesterday. Bette decided not to paint the frame, and let it age naturally. We are so proud of our sign- and much love to Bev and Dave for its construction! Come visit your sign anytime!

New shades, new sink for Coquina

A shot of the installed blinds. They are kind of cool, in that they open from the top or bottom. They are just the right color too.

The Commander instructing Bob on the proper installation of the blinds.

The Commander supervising the installation of the new sink in the craft garage. We now have hot and cold water in the garage-

Thanks to Dan for following me down to Bulow to pick up the Nova and get it back up here and now we are safely esconsced in Coquina's storage lot.. Yea!!!
We had a yummy breakfast at Bob Evan's- twice in a week for me..... Dan's coach is in the final stages of repairs from Camping World, having been there since the middle of October, and he should be parked next to me by the middle of next week we hope. Another thing off the big list!!!!

No wins tonight at Bingo

Went out to Village Inn for dinner with the Kingstons and the ColaGioviannis, then to Bingo. We did not win. Nancy and Richard won big, twice, and hauled in almost $40! It was their first time too.

BJ and Bubba off the tree

Bette ran into BJ our yard dude who was out prowling the neighborhood for people in need of tree service from yesterday's 60-70 mph. We paid a market demand I'm here price to have the tree removed, and we decided the mother tree was damaged beyond repair, so it came out too. Bright side is BJ will be back to finish his earlier landscaping chores that he has been slack on doing, or so he says. Guess he needs a cash customer. Something about needing a new starter for his truck........Notice the Commander in the photo giving careful guidance........

Beauregard comes to visit

With the weather today a balmy 74 or so, Beauregard, our larger pet alligator, came to sun himself outside today. He had designs on a blue heron walking the other side of the pond, but managed to pass up the tasty morsel.

DUCK!!!!

Well, out of nowhere, about 60 mph straight line winds roared through about 45 minutes ago, and blew the top out a big tree in our back yard. About 250 lbs of tree blew to within 3 feet of the river room. NO worries!!!! We'll have to haul off the dregs and then trim what's left of the mother tree I guess. Now that was a storm!

After a year, a parking space at Coquina!!!

We got a call today that after a year of waiting, a space has "opened" up at the local storage compound here in Coquina, rather than having to park the coach at Bulow Plantation, which is about 35 miles south. Hooray! Our new property manager gets a gold star for getting right on our request.

Bad weather in area, tv is all over it

West and slightly north of us lots of rotating thunder storms- its 71 out, and lots of thunder boomers around, but no rain. There is a full tornado watch out till 4 pm- The TV has been on with live reports for the last hour or so. We'll miss it, it looks like.

Porter's coming for dinner!

An old Newberry County School colleague, Porter is winging her way over to Jacksonville, and will be working with the local school district tomorrow, so we get to visit and have a nice dinner tonight... think we'll meet up with her at her hotel, then head over to St George Street and get something to eat there, might go to Santa Maria, so she can feed the gulls, if they are still there- they leave about sundown......

Early views of St Augustine

The website for Coquina Crossing had these shots of downtown St Augustine from around 1900 on their site today- These buildings are still standing, and form most of the campus of Flagler College, and are very much a part of the heritage around here. This was quite a town back in the day....

Sudden passing of Gaines Adams

Greenwood got some shocking news this morning, seems that Gaines Adams, who had played locally for Cambridge Academy, then went on to Fork Union then to Clemson and finally to pro football died suddenly of what they suspect is a heart attack. He was 28, I believe. A tragic loss-

Daytona for Mah-Jongg

Got up and headed to Daytona Beach to the gigunda flea market, with a stop at Bob Evans along the way for a yummy breakfast, then we located a very snappy set of Mah Jongg tiles for Bette.

First fishing trip is a bust....

The much anticipated first fishing trip was a total bust- Not even a bite after 3.5 hours of effort, but it was nice to get out on the water. It was about 60 air temp, which made for some breezy trips to the next spot, but the problem it seems was the water temperatures. It was between 47 and 50 degrees, and Bob, my guide allowed as how anything below 53 degrees is about fruitless- Which it wound up being. But got to see some nice waterfront houses, the lighthouse and downtown up close, went under a couple of bridges, and waved to lots of folks. Hopefully, Bob will ask me out again soon. He showed me photos of previous catches, so the fish are out there for sure. 17 varieties, he says.

CoCo's new do.

The Kingstons brought their CoCo over for a visit today- She had her stitches out this morning from her operation, which meant she got her plastic head trumpet removed, which meant she was a very happy camper. Then she got a complete grooming, and looks as cute as a button. This was supposed to be a family shot, but unfortunately, eyes were shut, etc etc, so its a tight shot of her. I'll do the family shot another day.

She is a very mellow little girl.

Bette's Basket- well sort of.

Here is the latest in the Bette craft parade. A yet unfinished basket.

Not sure what we will put in our new basket, but something. Maybe the yarn from her unfinished yarn projects.