Month: March 2017

Matt and Stacia’s home, St. Mary’s, Georgia 251 mile jump

We were here last year and it’s always fun to spend time with the grand daughters. The two older girls are on spring break and Matt took leave from his post on the naval base to be around for the week. We backed the camper into the driveway and made ourselves at home. They have a hobby farm here in the suburbs with chickens, ducks, dogs, cats and a miniature pig. He loves to fish and does every chance he gets. Stacia is incredibly talented making the girl’s outfits for all the big holidays as well as all sorts of home decor. Penny is in heaven with her daughter and grand kids!

Gordy and Sandy’s Ranch, Clermont, Fl. 206 mile jump

We had great expectations of an early departure; I felt bad postponing our visit to my high school buddies ranch. Last year we had passed close by without knowing they were so close. After we had moved on Gordy made contact through FB and we promised to visit this year. I was in their wedding 47 years ago and was looking forward to catching up.

All we needed to do was start the truck, lock up the trailer, and drive across the street to a RV storage yard that has a waste dump station. However, for some strange reason they said that bay was reserved for two hours and the fee would be $25. Pretty steep, but local. We went to breakfast and asked around, but no one knew of a good option. We considered driving back down to Camping World who advertise free dumping as a perk of membership. Smartly, Penny called ahead and they said they didn’t have a dump station. We did locate a truck stop down that way that had a dump for $10. So, after driving in the wrong direction to dump we headed for Clermont.

Arriving at the ranch at about three o’clock was a truly amazing experience. The property had been in Gordy’s family for years. They had twenty acres including a wood clad rancher with three car garage and a guest room on the other side of the garage. They had waterfront on a picturesque private lake. And, a screened lanai enclosing a swimming pool, hot tub and tiki bar was a real treat. The grounds were covered in a variety of trees including magnolia, palms, bananas, pineapple and many others.

For Penny, the biggest treat was the two resident Sandhill Cranes who called the property their personal habitat. If you have been keeping up with this blog, you’d know Sandhill Cranes are Penny’s favorite subject for sketching and painting. These two were so tame they walk right up to you!

We spent the evening catching up on one another’s life adventures, enjoying grilled hamburgers, fries and a couple of beers. I was astounded to see myself in their wedding pictures wearing a sort of prince charming haircut and leaping to try to catch the garter. So long ago, so much water under the bridge, but friends are friends forever and we all meshed back together so easily. What a joy!

Punta Gorda RV Park, Punta Gorda, Fl.

Penny and I hoped to leave around noon, but I was determined to fix the water heater. We drove south about thirty minutes to the nearest Camping World, who had told me they had three of the parts I needed in stock. However, when we got there “the box was empty”. We saw another large RV dealer on the other side of the interstate at the exit before this one. So, we drove up there and they had both snap discs and a heating element for $37.00! We were ecstatic and drove back north to Punta Gorda where we installed the snap discs and had hot water in about 20 minutes.

By then, it was too late to get to our next destination so we enjoyed more time with her mom and dad. We had supper with them and retired early. The trailer was still hooked up and ready to go, so we hoped to get an early start to my high school friends, Gordy and Sandy’s ranch about half way to Matt and Stacia’s from Punta Gorda.

Confidentially, all day I had remnants of a stomach bug that sickened a few party goers over the weekend. Penny’s son, Penny and I had it in succession. I had recuperated, but the Rajun’ Cajun Sunday night was too spicy for my not yet healed stomach.

Punta Gorda RV Park, Punta Gorda, Fl.

Dan, Joel and I mopped the entire clubhouse floor and hauled out the trash this morning.That was a fairly big undertaking; luckily, there was two good mops, mop buckets, and floor soap to facilitate the undertaking. It was undoubtably the most thorough cleaning the floor had had in some time.

Then, I learned the hot water heater at Jon and Shirley’s was making only warm water. Upon further investigation, I found one of the snap disc thermostats was defective; I hadn’t noticed that the other day. So, tomorrow we will have to find a new one.

About 25 of us went out to eat at the Rajun’ Cajun tonight and pretty much overwhelmed the cook staff although we gave them plenty of warning. The food was good, but it came out slowly so that one end of the table was finishing as the other was served. But the beer was good and there was time for people to mix and mingle.

The exodus began after that with Max and Corrine driving north to Pennsylvania over night so that the kids would sleep. Penny’s son, John left for the airport this morning to fly back to Grand Rapids. Most everyone else will leave tomorrow.

Punta Gorda RV Park, Punta Gorda, Fl. Happy 90th, John!

Today is the big day and most everyone was busy with projects from picking up the sheet cakes (Penny and Stacia) to getting Joel’s fishing boat to run (Matt) so John can more easily get out fishing than sailing in his sail boat. Dan and Lindy were directing the the kitchen setup for the family lunch.

The lunch was sumptuous as Schindler meals typically are. Joel and Lindy’s kids, Troy, Josh and Ashley rounded out that branch of the tree. Unfortunately, Peter’s branch including wife Kathy, their son, Simon, daughters Gypsy and Katie, and her husband, , and their boys were not able to get away from their work. They live very close to John and Shirley’s summer residence, so they see a lot of this branch.

The community party was huge. More tables had to be brought out accommodate all the love. John was the guest of honor and a good time was had by all!

I snuck away to watch Gonzaga advance to the Final Four for the first time in its history winning big over Xavier. Go Zags!

Today was the start of decorating the Punta Gorda RV Park clubhouse for the two parties tomorrow. The clubhouse has a well equipped kitchen and commercial grade BBQs outside, but we wanted to ascertain that all was in working order and put our heads together to devise a game plan.

Stacia had prepared a lot of decorations including pictures of John for the tables and a slideshow to run on a continuous loop throughout both parties. Dan had put together a menu for the family gathering in the afternoon consisting of brats and potluck dishes supplied by family members. The community party (6-8PM) was to be cake, coffee and punch. We expected over 100 guests plus family; sheet cakes were $120! My job was music; I set up a Louis Armstrong station on Pandora then hauled our Sony Wave music system from the camper to the venue, Voila, period music!

Tomorrow morning gives us enough time to get it all together. Today’s team got things done! What a great family this is; John and Shirley have a wonderful legacy in their offspring. Everyone gets along, pitches in and helps one another. Amazing!

Three more of Dan’s clan, Christoph, who had to leave his wife and very young baby at home in Colorado and Oliver and his wife, Devin joined the party at the rental house. It has a screened in pool, so they had fun.

Punta Gorda RV Park, Punta Gorda, Fl.

Dan and I got another long ride on a third different route while family mingled in various groups. Joel and Lindy had to work, unfortunately, but were home in time for a smaller family gathering to dine on pulled pork sandwiches, provided by Matt and Stacia.

Dan has two TVs in his trailer. His team, Michigan was playing Oregon and Gonzaga was playing West Virginia in the Sweet Sixteen at the same time, so we watched simultaneously. The Wolverines lost a heart breaker losing to Oregon by 1. The Zags played against a smothering defense; one of the toughest teams I have ever seen them play. They have had a history of late game collapses and appeared to falter a bit, but stayed mentally tough to win by three! On to the Elite Eight!

Punta Gorda RV Park, Punta Gorda, Fl.

It turned out there were more repairs to be done, so I dove into serviceman mode to repair the water heater wiring, trouble shoot one of the two A/C thermostats, replace some irrigation hose fittings and repair the porch light.

About that time, Penny’s family drove in from St. Marys, Georgia. Matt, a Navy man and husband of Penny’s daughter, Stacia, and girls Kadie, Alison and Emma along with Penny’s son, John. He had flown from Grand Rapid, Michigan to visit his sister on Monday.

Dan’s boys went to get settled at their rental and get their kids to bed. So, we had a family dinner in Joel and Lindy’s ground floor lanai including 14 adults and 5 children.

Punta Gorda RV Park, Punta Gorda, Fl.

It was not hard work to ready the fifth wheel: wash windows and patio furniture, pressure wash the patio, hang blinds on the patio, clean and air out the interior, etc. It took us about 6 hours yesterday and four today. I still had time for hour long bike rides with her brother, Dan, each day.

John and Shirley arrived around 3:30PM looking quite well for having covered over 1300 miles in four days! John was walking with only a cane and climbed the stairs into the trailer without difficulty. They were grateful to Dan, Penny and I for opening the property for them. Dan, a professional chef, made a chicken dinner and we spent time in the 84F warmth in lengthy conversation.

Then, Dan’s family started to arrive. He has four boys, all of whom are renting a nearby home. Ed and his wife, Mindy and girls, Sage and Finley arrived from Colorado. And Max and his wife, Corrine and girls, Liberty and Serenity drove in from Pennsylvania.

Punta Gorda RV Park, Punta Gorda, Fl.,       88 mile jump

Our last day here in Ruskin started with a glorious sunrise as I turned east on my way to church. The tree lined road about 1.5 miles from the park to town, framed the huge golden ball just perfectly. What a gift to witness that moment!

After church and then breakfast, we broke camp methodically and left EG Simmons about 11:15AM. It was an easy 88 mile jump south to Punta Gorda RV park where we will celebrate Penny’s Dad’s 90th birthday next Sunday. Her mom and dad just left Michigan Saturday, so we are praying that they will make it safely in time for the party. We will be prepping their fifth wheel in the next couple of days, so they don’t have to worry about such things after a long drive.

Today, we watched Michigan beat #1 seeded Villanova and Michigan State lose to #1 Kansas. Our camper is parked on Joel (Penny’s brother) and Lindy’s property in the park. They rent the home of the people who built this park years ago; it is great for entertaining and we have enjoyed their enthusiastic hospitality many times. Lots of family is coming from all over the country; we are sleeping in our camper so there will be room for others in the house.

We are still amazed at the grace we have been given allowing us to live this eccentric lifestyle. So many things just fall into place. Individually coincidental, continuously mystical, dare I say miraculous. Sure, we have breakdowns and setbacks but even those often turn out wonderfully. For all these gifts, we are very grateful!