THANKSGIVING ON THE BEACH

The sun was shinning and the skies were a bright blue on Thanksgiving Day, with temps in the mid-60's. My dear friends, Don & Carrie drove 518 miles up from Ft. Myers to spend the holiday with me.

Neighbors from the park arrived and we started the day at Winnie with Bloody Mary's, quiche, a strudel & fresh fruit - enough to tide us over until the big turkey dinner at 3p.m.

Emerald Coast provides the turkeys and mashed potatoes & gravy (all prepared by residents) and then everyone brings a dish to pass. Attendance was limited to 56 - and the trestle tables groaned under the many choices of salads, veggies & dressing. My desk was turned into the desert table. Pumpkin, apple & cherry pie; brownies, cookies and chocolate cake - Yum-Yum!

Of course football was also on the menu, as well a a Netflix movie to end the evening. Don & Carrie headed back south on Friday morning after breakfast and I went back to work.

Saturday one of the work/camping wife's and I headed over to Rosemary Beach and Seaside. These were two of the first completely 'designed communities' built on the beach. The houses are all beautiful pastels and each very unique. Common areas with gazebos and parks off-set the fact that they are built on zero-lot lines.

Rosemary Beach was having their outdoor holiday art fair, so we braked quickly, found a parking spot and wandered from booth-to-booth enjoying the beautiful day and finding some nice Christmas gifts. Once we arrived in Seaside, we parked in the little square and had a ball shopping at all the quaint little shops and enjoying a great lunch overlooking the water. The town, including their itty-bitty post office was decorated for the holidays. What I loved the most was a line-up of little Airstream's that were set up as coffee, sandwich & drink shops. This was so much more fun than running out at 4 a.m. on Black Friday to fight the crowds and find a bargain.

Sunday was spent cleaning, doing laundry and getting text messages from #1 son who loves it when "his Vikes" beat Mom's Bears.

Today I start the countdown to Christmas. I'm so excited to be going to California to spend the holidays with Tobin and Courtney and see their new home in Sacramento. The plan is to drive up the CA/OR border to the little town of McCloud, where Courtney's family is from. It's located right under Mt. Shasta and Tobin keeps telling me to bring winter clothes as there is likely to be large amounts of snow! I keep reminding him I haven't got one single item of winter clothing in my wardrobe - not a heavy coat or even closed-toed shoes! It should be a fun-filled, if chilly holiday.

Until next time....take care of each other. Wishing you and yours a blessed and joyous Christmas.

ReAnn

The Florida Keys & Hurricane Ida!

My friend John and I drove down to the Florida Keys last week for a few days of fun in the sun! Instead we found ourselves on the far side of Hurricane Ida as it came barreling into the Gulf of Mexico. Though we didn't have the rains, we had lots and lots of wind (look at the palm trees in the pic with the pool) and the sun was not seen for the entire time we were there. But the temps were in the mid 80's and we had a great time.

My dear friends, Laura & John Radke, from Chicago, were very generous and offered us their beautiful home on Colony Key Beach (Marathon) during our stay. How nice to be in a 'real house' for a change, with room to spread out and move around. Though I love my Winnie, I do miss the space of a house.

We ate some wonderful seafood, spent a whole day down on Key West wandering up and down Duval Street, and of course had pictures taken at Mile Marker "0" at the Southern most point in the US, ate some more seafood and drank a few rum punches, relaxed and got to the clubhouse and pool one afternoon to try and see the sun - not!

The only thing wrong with the entire trip was the distance. 718 miles from Panama City Beach - and Florida is a flat, boring state to drive through. We took the tollway down the East side and came back up the West. We decided to take the 'back road' home along the coast, even though it added another hour and a half in travel time. It was fun to drive through all the little seaside towns and villages, stopping along the way for...some great seafood!

Back home I was thrilled that my neighbors had rolled in Winnie's awning and took down my twinkle lights and wind chimes. Though Ida had been predicted to come ashore as a hurricane, it had dropped off to tropical storm level when it came in at Mobile. We got rain and some winds, but nothing that caused any damage. The Northeast got hit a whole lot harder than we did.

The day after I returned, I worked the Emerald Coast Cruzin' Antique, Street & Hot Rod Car Show, which we sponsor. Had a booth outside at Frank Brown Park for 3 full days. What a hoot! I was next to the registration booth and all the cars had to parade directly in front of our booth. Besides the cars, the people-watching was fantastic! So fun not to sit behind a desk and a computer all day. The weather cooperated and it was sunny and bright all 3 days.

Yesterday good friends Don & Carrie stopped in for lunch on their way to their winter home in Ft. Myers, and this morning John started his return trip to KS... and I came back to work!

So life continues here on the coast of Florida and I'm enjoying every minute of my time here.

Until next time...take care of each other.

ReAnn

BOO!

It's almost Halloween and though we have decorated the clubhouse for the holiday and will have a big potluck dinner that night, there will be no little kiddies knocking on our doors wanting treats. Except for Spring Break and summer, this is truly an adult park and the gate is closed at 5 p.m.

I have been working my 40+ hours and still love my job. Calling Bingo is a hoot and I cannot believe how people really care about winning a $7 pot! This Friday is my last night in charge of "Movie Night." We're showing The Proposal which will be much funnier than last week's Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The 'snowbird' who has been in charge of this activity in the past returns November 1st and will take over.

Sunday Lorrie (GM's wife) and I drove to Destin, a hour away, for a fabulous arts & craft show which was held right on the beach. Beautiful day and wonderful, high-end art. We stopped for lunch and more shopping on the return - a perfect day and I forgot to take my camera! Sorry.

Friday I have a friend coming in to visit from KS. Good friends from WI will swing through for a day mid-month and then return for Thanksgiving and just heard that folks I met in Cody will be here for 4 nights the first week in December. I asked to work only my 'required site hours (24)' during the month of November so I can play!

There is a medium-sized probability that I will be back in Wilmington the first of the year. My renters, both of whom work in the home building business, are waiting to see if they get a big contract they bid on the end of November. If they don't, they will vacate the first of January. My property manager says the chance of finding another renter is going to be really hard, as everyone who would be trying to sell their house can't, and are renting instead. The market is glutted.

So I have the following options....Go back, get my furniture out of storage, give some to Son #2 who by then will be living in his very own home; leave some in the house and try and rent it again, partially furnished; or stage it and try to sell; or just move back to Wilmington for awhile. I would really hate to give up my RVing and traveling around the country. It has been so much fun. I've seen more of this beautiful country than I've ever seen and met some really wonderful people. Will just have to wait and see what happens.

Until next time....take care of each other!

ReAnn

Phew - I forgot how hard work is!

I've been here a month today - which doesn't seem possible - and still have yet to really go sightseeing. I'm also trying to remember that I'm retired and enjoying my free time while working a 40+ hour-a-week job. But I love it and the people here.

I've gotten involved with and now represent Emerald Coast RV Beach Resort as their 'face' at the local Chamber. I still over see the activities and in charge of a couple, including 'calling' Bingo! every Wednesday night. And on Sunday I'm cooking 'northern-style' brats in beer for the resort's Octoberfest celebration.

I finally got to see a sunset at the beach last night while listening to the fantastic Johnny Rawles play & sing great blues, Mississippi-style, at Pineapple Willy's Pier Bar & Grill.

My fellow work/campers are the nicest folks and come from all over the US. It's only the guys that are working as the resort is doing some major building projects this winter and advertised for carpenters, electricians and maintenance. I'm the only female they hired! Of course, can't make everyone happy and the heat and the oppressive humidity have gotten to a few and they decided not to stay.

But today it's perfect! We had heavy rains come through last night and this morning and as they departed so did the humidity and the heat. Right now the sky is a beautiful blue with big, puffy white clouds and the sun is shinning brightly with the temp hovering at around 77 degrees. It's even forecasted to get down to 49 on Saturday night. Brrr. Decided to buy a heated mattress pad to not have to run my furnace, which runs off propane, during the colder nights.

Only a couple of new photos to post, but thought you who are experiencing early snow and cold rains would really love to see what a typical day at the beach is like here!

Well, that's all my news for now. Until next time....take care of each other.

ReAnn

Meet My Neighbors

Thunder on the Beach (better known as Fall Bike Week) has come to an end. The majority of RV's towing multiple motorcycles, have pulled out of Emerald Coast this morning - phew! Quite time once again. But I must admit I was amazed at the beautiful bikes (the bikers washed and shined them every single day!) and the RV's were absolutely fabulous. Had to take a few pixs - especially the 3-wheelers! This particular rig, is a custom-painted huge pusher which had a matching toy hauler which was filled not only with 4 bikes, but a custom golf cart to drive around the park - just mouth-dropping. (A beautiful woman just drove by on her hot pink and white polka-dotted Harley - guess not everyone has gone yet.)

This weekend was also $1 day at Zooland, which houses all types of animals which have been injured or abused and can't be released back into the wild. Winnie borders a very high wood fence which separates Emerald Coast RV from this property. I and fellow work/camper Nancy I took advantage of the low entry fee (us and 100's of parents and children!) Of course I took my camera so I could document what's behind my fence. Really glad now for the height of that fence as I found that the very loud and scary growl I hear now and then is coming from the black leopard which is directly behind me. The black bear cage is next to it. The peacocks and macaws are all over and 'talk' loudly whenever they feel like it. And as you can see, quite a few others add their 'voices' to my neighborhood. Sidney, the very friendly giraffe, thank goodness, lives up on the front end of the zoo - far away from me. Sidney is a sweetie but when he urinates, which he does often, the smell overwhelms every other smell in the zoo!

We are expecting 20+ work/campers to arrive this week. Mostly it will be the male 1/2 of a couple who is working, as we advertised for licensed carpenters. They will be involved with constructing a new shower/laundry at the far end of the park (we'll then have 3), new fencing, huge landscaping projects around the lake, new RV sites also around the lake, and adding an addition to the clubhouse. Busy, busy! The owner flies in from California on Saturday which has everyone on edge. All I want is some of his $$ to enlarge the marketing program and buy highway signage for the park! The GM and his wife are hosting a party so he can meet all the work/campers, which should be fun. And now with the last, big, seasonal event over and traffic slowing down, I plan to go exploring and actually get to the beach this week!

Until next time....take care of each other.

ReAnn

Life's a Beach.....

...though I've been so busy working I haven't gotten there yet!

But this places is absolutely beautiful and the folks I'm working with are really, really nice. Right now, through the end of October, I'm working a 40-hour week just so I can get up-to-speed and thoroughly involved with all aspects of Emerald Coast RV Beach Resort.

I've already attended a Chamber of Commerce meeting, designed a new print ad, sent out an email-blast to previous guests and helped planned the October Activities calendar. I'll be calling Bingo on Wednesday night, leading the Tuesday and Thursday morning Fitness Walk and volunteered to cook the brats 'Wisconsin-style' for OctoberFest. The owner arrives next Saturday, but this week is wild! It's Thunder at the Beach - the Fall motorcycle rally and we're packed! Rumm...rummm. I am amazed at the size of the RV's the are coming in towing huge 'toy hauler's' that contain 2-4 bikes each! The amount of $$$ is amazing. Winnie sure looks little sitting in the midst of these Big-Rigs.

I thought I would make you all jealous with a photo I took sitting at my desk. What makes me jealous is when the pool is filled with our guests and I'm sitting behind a computer!

Like I said, I have yet to get to the beach - which is less than a mile away. And this week, with all the bikers, is not a time to even leave the resort. I've found WalMart, Pier Park (shopping and dining), the closest Publix grocery store, a branch of my bank and a good fresh, seafood store. For now, that's enough. Next week I'll venture forth and explore more. Oh - did 'cross the bridge' into Panama City proper and found TJ Maxx and the big mall. Just drove by - didn't stop!

I'm looking forward to my youngest coming for the Thanksgiving holiday. My friends Don & Carrie, who winter in Ft. Myers, will be here as well, along with Big John from KS. It will be so much fun to have family and good friends with me for a holiday. AND I booked my flights to Sacramento for Christmas with Tobin and Courtney in their new home. All-in-all, it's a great day! Hope you're enjoying yours as well.

Until next time....take care of each other!

ReAnn

Kansas is Flat - really Flat! And Missouri is very Hilly!

I drove for 2 days to get to Lawrence, KS, which is located between Topeka and Kansas City, for a visit with my new friend John. Wheat, corn, and thousands of cows! Not the most exciting or eye-catching drive! But had a blast touring the area and taking pictures of Jayhawks everywhere! I even have one on the back of Winnie now. Met lots of wonderful new people, John's circle of friends were so welcoming and friendly. Had a great reunion lunch with old friends John and Joan Levin. I've know them for over 30 years and it was so fun catching up.

After 3 days in Lawrence, we packed up Winnie and John, I and 6 other couples headed off to Branson, MO - home of old, should-be-retired, once popular performers, of whom most have their own theater's named after themselves. But they have some great golf courses! We had 2 full days of hitting the little white ball around the courses, playing some fun games, and making new friends. We even went to the Andy William's Moon River Theater to see Paul Revere and the Raiders (Paul is 72!) and Bill Medley (of the Righteous Brother fame). It was an evening filled with songs I knew every word to - 50"s & 60"s rock & roll - it was like reliving my youth. A great evening, but sure was funny seeing old men, dressed in tight pants and wiggling their bottoms and try to stop giggling.

On Sunday morning I packed up and headed on the last leg eastward that will take me to my 'winter home.' Two very long days of driving through 4 states one day and 3 the next, though horrid thunderstorms that exploded the minute you drove into a massive road construction site in downtown 'big city' USA! Not pleasant and driving 10 hours a day is never fun.

But late Monday night, in pouring rain and pitch black, I made it to the Emerald Coast RV Beach Resort in Panama City Beach, FL. What a SPECTACULAR place. I woke up to the sun shinning and palm trees outside my window. What a big change from the high desert landscape of Wyoming and Utah. I'm a 1/2 mile from the beach, the folks who run the resort are fabulous and I started my new job as Director of Public Relations today. Unfortunately it's been raining every day and is forecasted to continue doing so till the weekend, so pictures will have to wait.

But I've settled in, unpacked everything, even have the awning open for the first time in 3 months. Tonight the 'park worker-ladies' are coming over for drinks so gotta spiff up Winnie a bit. Pictures coming and will also share with you whom my 'neighbors' are over the back fence.

Until next time....take care of each other.

ReAnn