Jan 1 Sun.  Happy New Year!,  well, its a short story.  We had a nice uneventful drive up I-95, we found our new park with ease.  The office was closed, but we called the number on the door and were told what site we were assigned.  GREAT.  so as there were several surrounding spaces empty we swung right and backed in.  Easy, but I suggested that we could move a few feet right and clear the utility pole and be further back, giving us room to park the truck in front, and CaptDan decides he wants to circle round and pull through from the other side.  It really just seems if you leave well enough alone, everything is fine.  So as he circles around and clears the little red car he is focused on, he forgot to keep the other eye on the big Monaco Coach on the other side and with a loud resounding C-R-A-C-K, and scrapppp, we had removed a side mirror from the coach and added a hole to the side of the Lake House.....and a few other little scrapes and scratches.  It's amazing how fast you meet all the new neighbors.  Everyone except the owner of the Monaco, who was not here yet for the winter.  So we notified the management when she was in and boxed up the parts and pieces and knew there really wasn't anything to do until we heard from the owner.  We had a beautiful spot!  Wide, grassy, a little shade and room to put out the slides and rugs and just breathe.  And wait.  Everything was hooked up and working by 2 pm.  And we checked out the WiFi....great WiFi.

Jan 2 Mon.  We had a bike to pick up in Jacksonville, it's about 100 miles.  On the way north we see a sign for Camping World near St. Augustine and we decide its worth a side trip.  Dan wants to check out the trip-pod supports for the front of the 5th wheel.  We have talked to people who use them and they all say it helps with the stability and with our 90 lb lap dog who can shake the house with a good scratch, well it's worth looking into.  What we find is the steel ones weigh too much, and for no real good reason.  The aluminum ones are much more appealing and we decide the price online is worth the few days wait to have it delivered.  So we come out with a few new odds and ends and head on north.  When we get to Performance Bicycles we spot a Millers Ale House and decide lunch is a priority and a brew, well 2 for me, I'm not driving.  Then its time to pick up the bike and after the salesman brings it out of the back room Dan asks what is on sale for the same money?  Really a fair question as there are SALE signs all around.  So we check out the options, and for less money Dan can upgrade to the next model up, SOLD!  We are able to add the handlebar extensions and the seat he wants and we are still out the door for less then the original bike.  That is a sweet deal.  Now we detour for one more stop at Costco, we need a few things, very specific items on our list and we almost stick to the list.  By this time it is dark and we turn on the audio book we have been listening to and head for home.  It's 2 tired travelers who fall into bed tonight.

Jan 3 Tues. We always enjoy going to the movies and there are several theaters in the nearby area so we decide to take in Fences.  This is a very moving film, at times hard to watch and at times tearful.  Overall I'm glad we took in this film.  The theater in New Smyrna has replaced all the seats with recliners, so if we return here I will bring my movie blanket.

Jan 4 Wed.  Signed up for Dive lessons.  Dan had mentioned a character from a series of books he read long ago, and the house boat he lived on called the 'busted flush'.  I had never stumbled upon Travis McGee and as they are not inexpensive ebooks, it seems that a used book store is called for.  I scope out 3 used book stores in New Smyrna and we had checked one out on Monday.  Now we head out to check the other two.  First one, closed early for some reason.  Second one, closed early for 'early release' at school.  Humm, guess we will try again tomorrow.

Jan 5 Thur.  The first store we made it to today was the second one from yesterday and upon walking in and asking about John McDonald books, we being presented with a box containing all of that authors books, I selected 4 used books, figuring I could return these within the month for credit on other reads, now I can get acquainted with...Travis McGee.  We had to check out the local grocery stores and decided it was time to start juicing again.   Our missing neighbor arrives today, its nice to get moving forward on this episode of our lives. Brian is a really nice guy.  After much conversation and our concern that getting parts for a 17 year old MotorCoach will be really tough he assures us that he has a source and shares the contact.

New Smyrna Beach

Jan 6 Fri.  All our neighbors have been asking if we have been to the beach yet. It's time to take care of that.  So we drive down to the beach, just 2 blocks south of the drive-on beach access.  We head on over to the beach, great long, miles and miles of beach, cars parked and driving up and down the beach, surf fishermen, and surfers, and walkers, lots and lots of walkers and we join in.  What a great day!  mild temps, light breeze and sand just firm enough that you aren't straining the calf muscle with each step.  After about 30 minutes we decide it is time to head back and with the breeze at our back we head north, it's surprising to find how far we had walked.  As we could see the place we left the truck we also saw a beach bar.  Well, hummm, Margaritas are calling and so we go on up to the deck area and order, we start chatting with another couple with a similar mind set and after a second round and the sun setting we decide its time to head on home and plan to juice tomorrow.   But we have now been to the beach!  At some point during the day Dan gets on the phone with the parts place in Michigan and we now have a mirror on its way to us.

Jan 7 Sat. The weather is changing and it is not what Dan likes to see,   We're very glad that we got to the beach yesterday.  We were on our way to the grocery store and decided that the local Mexican restaurant, Azteca d'oro sounds like a better idea for dinner.  It was.  Their food is really good and I'm sure we will be back here a time or two in the future.  Then with full tummies we did our grocery shopping.

Jan 8 Sun. Rain, and cold, really cold, like a high of 51 today, burrrr, on-line shopping day.  We are getting buffeted by some pretty good wind gusts and decide it's time to bring in the awning before it takes a trip.  This is the kind of day when we are really glad to have our little electric fireplace.  Butter spends almost the whole day curled up in her bed, in front of the fireplace rather then under the kitchen table.

Jan 9 Mon. 63 high today.  A short drive up to Port Orange this afternoon and we go see LaLaLand..  That is a very enjoyable movie, just a feel good afternoon.  After yesterday's on-line shopping we have a new tripod for the front of the wheel on its way as well as a new Garmin RV780LMT.  I am looking forward to the new Garmin, this will mean we no longer will get directed to go 1/4 mile and make a u-turn.  I must admit, I might miss the humor involved in that particular direction.  This new Garmin will allow us to input the dimensions of our Lake House and it will try to keep us on routes that allow our size, but of coarse we still have the ultimate responsibility to know where we are going.  A stop at Home Depot and we pick up all the pieces for some tie-downs for the awning.  Straps, ratchets, anchors to go in the ground and some springs for a little give.


Jan 10 Tues.  68 high and almost back to normal.  A day to drive up to Daytona, we need to check out  West Marine.  Our neighbor Jeff has this chair that I took a shine to and he told me its a deck chair that he got a few years back at West Marine, so after hours checking online versions I decided I really need to sit in the chair and make sure its the right chair.  Short legged people understand this thing about chairs.  I like to touch the ground when I am sitting, and I don't like deep seats that cut into the back of my knees.  It's important to be comfortable when sitting and I want to be able to sit outside and crochet, or bead, or knit, or just sit!  So we spend at least an hour and I try a couple different deck chairs and we leave with my early birthday gift.  We also leave with a new rocking chair for Dan.  Very nice experience.  Then we head over to Sams Club for a new Shaver.  Since our cruise Dan hasn't been able to locate the charger for his shaver and it is past time to get a clean smooth face again.  We are able to buy the same shaver he has, so now with a new charger he has a spare razor. (and maybe tomorrow he will have smooth cheeks again, yippee!)

Isn't my new chair pretty?

On the way home we stop by at Perrines Produce and decide this is a great place for fresh produce.

See the little shock absorbers?  Rockers.

Jan 11 Wed. Dan gets the tie-downs put together and installed. now a little wind and we can be comfortable leaving the awning out. We also set it to have one low corner to help the rain drain off rather then puddle.  Now its time to run over to Perrines Produce for veggies, this is a really terrific shop for all the fruits and veggies you could want and they are all really fresh and less then half what the big grocery stores charge.  Right next door is a "Deli" so we now know where Jeff found those Frozen Shrimp and we will be picking up a bag or 12 before they are gone.  Also getting some cheeses for the weekend.

Now we can have 8 bottles handy.

Jan 12 Thurs. The tripod arrived and today Dan puts it together and gets it installed.  We'll see how this makes a difference.  We had purchased X-chocks that expand between the wheels to are supposed to help stabilized the rig, I'm not sure it helps, and for a 2-3 day stay we probably wouldn't put them in, but this is pretty easy, we'll see.   Back for the daily run to Home Depot for all the parts to install Brians new mirror.  When we get home it is time to just sit.  This is what we dreamed about doing and the time is here, I do a little reading and go adventuring with Travis McGee while Dan surfs the net....Our neighbors Dick and Marilyn arrive home from their afternoon run to Dunkin Donuts and I tell them that Dan has never gone to DD, and so tomorrow they will rectify that lack in his experiences.  Next thing Jeff comes over to show us the organic wine, with no sulfites and before you know it, wine party.  Marilyn brings a bottle of home made wine she received as a gift and the Barbera was very nice.  We dig out a bottle of Cab.  from the newly finished wine rack, and with snacks and Jeffs wife Kathy joining in, its a full circle, laughter and sharing and when the evening cools to the point of needing jackets we all decide its time to call it a night.  Very satisfying day.  And before you think "weren't they juicing?"  yep we are, juice of the grape!

Jan 13 Fri.   Mirror repair,  everything goes pretty well, just a single run to H.D.  and almost finished.  Dick and Marilyn come over about 3 and its time for Dunkin Donuts, we didn't know its happy hour at the donut shop and all drinks are half-off...nice.  and before we know it 2 hrs have gone by and they need to get back home as they are going to a play tonight, the same one we are going to next Thursday, small world for little theater.   Drizzle has started and so finishing the mirror will be tomorrow.

Jan 14 Sat.  The mirror is done, The neighbor is happy.  Now we are ready to celebrate.  We head over to Banana Split Republic (?)  I have no idea what the name is about, maybe the ice cream half of the Deli.  We are there for the meats and cheeses, and head home with fresh tomatoes and ham and chipotle Turkey and just really good stuff.  But first we need to go to Heaths, ( its a health food store) and I have been told to try Iguana Oil to ward off the bugs.  I have bunches of bites all around my ankles and I don't want any more.   Then its home for sandwichs and just a laid back afternoon.  After time just sitting, enjoying my new chair, we decide we will try the Argentine Shrimp that Jeff brought us a few days back and make shrimp tacos for dinner.  This might sound a little unusual, but, don't knock it till you try it.  I boil the shrimp, then peal and clean it and set it aside with a good pour of cocktail sauce.  Then I chop a couple stalks of celery and thinly slice a small head of romaine.  We have a Papaya sitting on the counter so I decide the chop up a few slices.  I warm up a flour tortilla in a skillet and we lay on the shrimp, celery, papaya, a pile of shredded lettuce and roll it up.  What a great dinner!  Danny has 2.  A little play-off football and the end to our first 2 weeks in New Smyrna Beach.

Dec 19 Mon  It was a pretty quiet day.  CaptDan decided to finish some of the home projects  Our bedroom closet door had a case of the rattles since it was new.  We took a good look at it and it needed to have a bead of sealant to stick it to the frame better and now the door doesn't sound like its going to break every time I open or close my side of the closet.  Yippee!  Progress has been made on the flagpole holder and the weather station holder, so we may have those things out and blowing in the wind soon.

Dec 20 Tues.Nothing of note today....

Dec 21 Wed.  I had been looking online for a replacement bike and I found something very close to what I had at Sears.  It is a Schwin and I really loved my old bike so I scouted around and it looked like the Sears a few miles north of us had what I wanted, funny the mall parking lot was a minor case of chaos but Sears was fairly sane.  We found they had just the bike I wanted so it looks like I got another Christmas present and we asked them to hold it for an hour while we went out and found the local Torrid store in the mall, we were hoping to fide another pair of sweats for Sophi as the ones we sent earlier were just a tad small, and we scored again, they had them and the matching Sweat shirt.  Then a real Chai Tea, and a little people watching as we relaxed for a few minutes.  Back to Sears and we picked up my new bike and headed on home.  We will keep the bike inside with us until we leave this park, we really don't want to give the thieves another bike.

Dec 22 Thur.  While this is on the edge of insanity we braved the holiday crowds at Costco.  This was the biggest Costco I have ever been in and we scored a parking space while so many others were circling for hours with a glazed look on their faces...We needed a brisket, that was what we wanted for Christmas dinner and Danny had to get a few lobster tails to accompany the meat.  A pumpkin pie and three more bottles of wine went home with us.  It was a successful trip and really went pretty fast and we sampled its of thinks that we decided were very good, but we didn't need.

Dec 23 Fri.  Danny had been looking at bikes and found what he thought he wanted so we headed over to a local bike shop and hoped to find what he wanted.  Unfortunately, they had the bike, but not the size, we looked at various others but nothing that he really sparked to.  Out in the truck we talked about the bike shop in Stockton that we bought his original bike from and they had an outlet here in Ft. Lauderdale so we headed down there to check it out.  The gal that helped us was really great.  I told her we joined their club and she looked up the bike.  Again they had the bike, but not in his size, BUT, they have another outlet in Jacksonville and we can order the bike and have it shipped to Jacksonville.  Since we will be closer to there on Jan 1, it should work out fine.  So now we both have bikes.  Or soon will.  I spotted a bakery as we entered the parking lot and we were still in need of some sourdough bread for Christmas dinner.  Yes they had 2 small loaves, we really only needed one, but why buy 1 when 2 will do.  Then as we headed back to the truck I was drawn into The Spice Lab,  what a great store, the aromas as we came in the door were just over whelming and made me dream of grilled chicken, and fish and Tri-Tip and teas....they had teas.  All good stuff.  I found a rub for the brisket and tasted about a dozen others, deciding to take another one home for Chicken later in the month.  Danny sat and sipped tea and I tasted salts and spices and smelled teas....this place is amazing.  If you ever find yourself in Ft. Lauderdale I recommend the Spice Lab on Federal Highway.  We were in there for 2 hours!  and I got a few bottles of spices to send off to friends.





Dec 24 Sat.  So those projects I mentioned, Danny mounted the second Wine rack in the kitchen today and now we have 8 bottles of wine on the back of the kitchen island.  It's nice to have a few bottles out where we can just decide to enhance dinner without having to dig though boxes.  He also got the brisket out and rubbed it down with the new rub and then wrapped it up and returned it to the fridge for 24 hrs.

Corona with cheese and crackers and Farkle

Dec 25 Christmas.  Merry Christmas!  We had a slow leisurely day.  About 11 Danny started up the traeger and the brisket headed out.   I just took things easy, after all steaming lobster is pretty much a low energy activity.  I had bread to prep and salad to prep.  We decided to have dinner outside today so the table and chairs came out and I got some crackers and cheese ready and got the Farkle dice out and we spent a few hours just playing dice and talking on the phone to friends and family while the brisket smoked.  Around 3 we pulled the beef out and put the bread in.  When that finished the asparagus went on the grill.  This dinner shaped up very nicely.  Added some wine and we just sat outside until we ate all we possibly could.

Christmas Dinner Smoked Brisket, Lobster, asparagus, bread, salad and wine.   

 


















Dec 26 Mon.  Movie day.  We decided on Assasins Creed for a good action flick and it didn't disappoint.  Popcorn and soda and the movie I didn't get on Christmas, perfect.  Then an early dinner at Sweet tomatoes, we really love Sweet Tomatoes, just a really clean and fresh salad bar and they had a Carmel Praline Bread Pupping for Dessert, oh my goodness, that was really good!

Dec 27 Tues.  We didn't get going early enough to do breakfast so we went looking for a Mexican restaurant for Lunch and found a very good one.  LaBamba III,  really good food and a nice Margarita.  We discussed the agenda for the day and Danny had been wanting to get his own mask and snorkel and fins so we headed down to Dania Beach to Divers Direct and 3 hours later we came out with his gear and a head full of new knowledge.  We have talked about getting dive certified and this might be where to do it.  It would give him the chance to dive in North Carolina for Megaladon teeth....So we will discuss it more and make a decision soon.

Dec 28 Wed.  We headed up to Palm Beach Gardens today to meet up with Cathie and Lou for lunch. We got to the decided spot, and texted Cathie.  She replied and soon she was pulling in too, but no Lou.  Seems he had needed to check into the hospital and we were very glad to hear it wasn't anything too drastic.  So we hunted around the area for a lunch spot and settled on Paddy Mac's.  Cathie was really pleased as she has a severe allergy to onions and they had lots of options for her.  I had an open faced chicken and cheddar on chibata and it hit the spot.  So while we missed Lou it was a great lunch and visit.  By 3 we were headed home with leftovers and no desire for dinner.

Dec 29 Thurs.  While we were out today I decided there wasn't going to be a better time to get my snorkel gear, so we headed back to Diver's Direct and I got my full mask, snorkel, boots and fins.  Now we will be ready when we find the right place.  Then we headed over to Popeye's for dinner and they blew the order and we got home with 2 mashed potatoes, darn.  I really like their cold slaw.

Dec 30 Fri. Just seemed a good movie day and we wanted to see Passengers.  Really very good movie!

Dec 31 Sat.  It was prep day, we got all the interior stowed and the tanks drained.  As the hook-ups were all on the passenger side of the rig at this park, we figured to at least get the sewer packed up today and save time in the morning.  This was the first time we had stayed put for a month and we really did have more stuff spread out.  We had wanted to try at least one 'special' restaurant while we were in they area, so I did a little digging and found a "Triple D"  place called Grandpas Bakery.  It was about 2 in the afternoon which is generally a good time to try out a place that has a great reputation.  It was easy to find and even had some parking.  Danny ordered Lamb Shank and I had Veal Stroganoff, and we had another meal with the leftovers.  Of coarse we had to take some dessert home and 2 pieces of carrot cake sounded good, and it was good, not great!  We shared a piece about 6 as we were not needing a full meal at that point.  The meal we had was excellent.  We agreed, if in the area again, that would warrant another visit.  Oh yeah, we did take a sausage dog with kraut home also, Danny said it was calling to him.   We listened to the explosions and the sounds of partying but we were both anxious to get on the road in the morning, so by 10, we were tucked in and off to sleep, See you next year.