Feb 1 Wed.  We thought we would check into Blue Springs today.  With the weather having turned pretty cold and they tell us this is where all the Manatees go when the water gets cold.  Well we had a relaxing morning and didn't get over there until about noon.  The line to get into the park was pretty long and that ranger at the gate said it was close to full, we figured we would come back earlier tomorrow, aftreall we are retired!  We we turn back to home and Dan wants to make a stop at the flea market for a knife that he had eyed last week.  Only problem with this plan is that the flea market closes up pretty early and so that plan doesn't pan out.  We get back closer to NSB (New Smyrna Bech) and decide to make a stop at Walmart.  Just a few things then on home, well almost home.  Home Depot.  There always seems to be something needed for one project or another.

Feb 2 Thur.  Thinking of getting to Blue Springs earlier then yesterday, about 10, longer lines then yesterday, bummer.  We really don't care for lines too much so today we decide to head to Orland and Divers Direct.  I had been checking out skin suits and figured if I could get Dan to try one on he would see the benefit.  Success, we bought 2 skin suits and he tried on a couple more wet suits and realized how much easier it is to get into a wetsuit when you are wearing "fingers to toes" lycra.  And they say it adds .5mil to any wet suit...we'll see.  We get home in time to receive my wetsuit and it fits and I love it.  Then it is time to head over to the Dive Shop and on to the pool.  Another night of pool exercises.  We are really looking forward to getting into some deeper water on Sunday.

Feb 3 Fri.  We are up at 6:30 and off to Blue Springs once more.  This time we arrive just after opening, no lines, its a very cool overcast day and there are only about 10 cars in the lot.  We wander over to the springs and there are the Manatees,  absolutely amazing creatures.  We hear the count for today is about 200, down from a high of 450 3 days ago, but thats okay, we can just hang out around the railing and watch them, the babies are a little more active then the adults.  We wander on up the trail and take in the gift shop and on to the 'boil' where the water comes up out of the ground to feed this spring.  Really fun part of the day was turning around to see our neighbor Marilyn and her friend there too.  Guess even Florida is a pretty small place when you start running into friends our site seeing.  When we get back to the truck we have a guest.  A ranger is waiting near the truck, the very cool morning had turned warm and he was keeping an eye on Butter.  We got her out for water, which see turned her nose up at until she got a chance to sniff and pee, so she wasn't too bad, but we will be more aware.

Feb 4 Sat.  Just an easy day today.  Not doing much but think about what else we need to do in the coming week.  Before we know it we are off to an early bedtime to be ready for tomorrow.

Feb 5 Sun.  
We have to be at DeLeon Springs when the gates open this morning, so up and out by 7.  It's a really overcast day today and we have a few protein bars to sustain us.  We arrive and que up to get in, there is actually quite a line building.  We begin  to wonder just how many people will be allowed in to dive in the spring this morning, what we didn't know was more then half the folks in line are here for pancakes.  Yes I said pancakes.  So it seems the restaurant here has built griddles into the table tops and they sell pitchers of batter and you cook your own pancakes.  This sounds like a good way to celebrate our first real dive.  We get suited up and briefed by Keith and his assistant as to the plan for the day.  The first thing is a swim, yes we get to circle the spring 3 times.  Just swim.  Then we get to remove fins and snorkels and we get to tread water for 10 mins, the last 3 of which we have to hold our hands out of the water.  You know my earlier comments, I float,  so in a wetsuit, i really float.  We all pass the test and then it's time to done the vest and do more exercises in the shallow water.  After we are in the water about an hour we get to go out to a ball that Keith has ached to the bottom and prepare for our first real decent.  I have had to take on another 3 lb weight to compensate for the boyency of the wet suit but I believe I am ready.  ITs sort of a tricky little balance of air and weight as I try to accomplish this first descent.  I have got about 5 ft down when Danny goes right by me and Keith is right on him.  He tells me later that he wasn't going down at all so he let all the air out of his vest and once he was about 3 ft down he just dropped like a weight.  This is the principle that we have been studying.  The deeper you go the denser you get and the faster you go deeper.  Fortunately this spring bottoms out at 20 ft where we were but that is enough for his ear drum to pop and so Keith gets him back to the surface and they try once more, but the ear is not going to let him dive today.  Dan is assisted out of the spring and I continue to just practice going up and down, and swimming in big circles in the 10 to 25 ft depth.  This is an amazing feeling.  Wes completes all the tests for his first open water dive and I decide to wait until Danny is back up to it.  So after a couple hours in the water I am ready to get out and dry off.  Danny is still suffering from some vertigo and nausea.  So we forgo pancakes and I take to wheel to head on home.  Just as we approach 95 Danny decides he really needs a vanilla milkshake and puts in a request for  Steak n Shake.  Its just a little detour to Daytona to fulfill that request and he says there is nothing that settles his tummy like a good shake.  As we head home I take the routs by Perrines and stock up on fruits and veggies so we can begin to juice in the morning.  The Super Bowl is on today and we settle in to watch it, but I have to admit we gave up on the Patriots by the start of the 3rd quarter and headed on to bed.....we should have known better.

Feb 6 Mon.  juicing.  I get a good breakfast juice ready and we discuss the ear issue. Danny still has fluid draining from his ear so we decide it really would be wise to go see a doctor, so we head to the local urgent care facility.  We wait about 3 hours and the dr. says he can't see anything due to the abundance of wax buildup, but he does prescribe antibiotics and ear drops.

Feb 7 Tues.  We are just hanging around this morning when we get a knock on the door and its a bug company that is spraying down the way,  we chat for a few minutes, and I would really like the stink bugs to be gone, so we pay to have the inside sprayed and he assures us we won't have bugs.   We have been dealing with the stink bugs since South Dakota, every day between 1 and 4 get killed.  So I look forward to no more.  At about 5 we head on over to the dive shop to meet with Keith and take our final written test, first we have a little review and Danny says he really doesn't want to take the test, he doesn't feel ready....test anxiety.  I tell Keith we will take the test and away we go.  I got a 96 and Dan got a 94.  Sometimes not having time to build up the anxiety is better.  So now we just have to wait for the ear to heal and then we can schedule our open water dives.

Feb 8 Wed.  I gather up the laundry and head to the local laundromat.  Its a quieter time than the last visit and in 2 hrs I'm done and we are headed to the Dr. office.  We had made appointments for a local Dr about 2 weeks ago and today we go in and see about getting set up with this Doctor.  We both really like Dr. Mellendez and now we have blood draws scheduled as well as full physical appointments in a month.  Danny gets his ear looked at again, and she gives him a different antibiotic, says keep up the drops they are clearing out the wax and she will see him in another week to check on the ear.

Touring Daytona Speedway

Feb 9 Thurs.  There is a group here at the park that gets together for dinner once a week, or so we were told. well its starting today.  We are all gathering in Port Orange at Panheads Pizza tonight.  We needed to get up to Daytona to pickup our tickets for the 500 and we decide to take the track tour while we are there.  ITs a nice 90 minutes tour and while some of it is closed due to one tank and another we really do enjoy seeing the track and the museum they have there.  The museum at Talledega was better, IMHO.  But we realize that we need to get moving if we are going to make it to the Pizza place for dinner.  During the course of the day I have been developing a blister on the tip of my nose and it is just really annoying.  I'm grateful that the restaurant is dark I feel like I have a clown nose.  We meet more of our neighbors and celebrate Ritas birthday.  And have really good pizza.

This is the section where our tickets are, up in the third tier .

Feb 10 Fri.  I go over to Perrines produce, as we have decided to try and get a few days of juicing in before Daytona.  I love the fact that I can buy all I need to juice for 6 days for about $20.

Feb 11 Sat.  Juicing, and just trying to get a few chores done around the old homestead....That usually means work a little, visit a little, work a little more then visit a little more, its a nice way to spend a day.  By the way, the stink bugs are back, we did have a few days without them, but they have returned.

Feb 12 Sun.  Sunday dinner at Azteca with Jeff and Kathy, its a nice way to wind down the day.

Feb 13 Mon.  I get an interesting call today.  Det. Verseeg from Broward county Sheriffs office calls to see if I can identify my stolen bicycle.  he forwards a couple of pictures and I make a very definitive id...they recovered my bike!  Well sort of, its at a pawn shop in Davie, FL.  We chat for awhile and I ask about Dans and if the serial number helped identify his...seems  the supplement with the serial number didn't get any attention and he looks it up again.  The serial number we gave them had 3 extra numbers in the number the pawn shop listed, but the shop had Dans bike and sold it already.  So the deal is if I want it back I have to go buy it from the pawn shop, okay, I really loved that bike and to me its worth $40.  The Detective will call me back tomorrow to give a recorded statement and then they will go arrest the guy.  I call the Doctor to get in with Danny to have my nose looked at.  This thing has just gotten really big and scabbed over...

Feb 14 Tues.  We decided to smoke a couple of trips-tips and ask Jeff and Kathy to join us for dinner, Jeff offers to bring couches and salad and we have a plan.  Danny wants to make up a batch of Margrittas so I run down to the store for glasses and ice....Dollar tree and I find great Margaritta glasses, you know the ones with the cactus stems, and the perfect price,  Then I run to Publix for a few things and ice, and walk out without the ice, typical, u-turn get ice.  Now we are ready for the evening nd we make up the drinks and take them next door to enjoy before dinner.  As we prep everything and set the table I start to get a twinge of pain that harkens back to a certain pain from the Gallbladder....this can't be, they don't grow back!  Before we can even get dinner started I am excuses myself to go inside.  Dany comes to see what is going on and I tell him to use make my excuses and leave me be.  The pain is too intense to even consider leaves the bedroom/bathroom.  I spend the rest of the night in passing bouts of pain and just want this to end.

Feb 15 Wed.  When I finally pull myself our of bed this morning it is almost time to head to the Dr. and I am so glad that I called for an appointment about my nose, cause this gut ache is intense and I really do believe its possible for the gall bladder to have grown back....  Well the Dr. is pretty quick on checking Danny's ear, and continues the ban on scuba.  Me?  well I get sent over to the hospital for a ultrasound.  No Gall Bladders don't grow back.  Results, I have a mass in the bile duct where the gall bladder used to connect.  So Dr. gets me an appointment to see a Gastro specialist, next Tues.  She also tells me if the pain comes back to please just go int the ER and get something for the pain and nasua.  Fortunately the pain has subsided.  Now I just walk on eggshells hoping it doesn't come back.

Feb 16 Thurs.  WE make a run to the store for rice pudding. jello, and chicken broth.  I don't know if it will help but I know that I am s sore from the pain and cramping that I don't want to put anything else in my system.

Feb 17 Fri.  Another weekend in beautiful Florida, yes I am feeling better, but still can't wait to see the Dr. and get some p

lan in place to deal with this..

Feb 18-19 Sat, and Sun,  pretty much just doing nothing special, I hate not knowing whats going on and I hate feeling restricted to the house.  ENOUGH

Feb 20 Mon.  we decide its time to make the drive to Ft. Lauderdale and go get my bike.  It's about 3.8 hrs to drive down there but I do want that bike back.  We stopped at a Dennys just before the destination as we are both really testy and we need some food before we face this chore.  We have to go to the pawn shop that bought the bike from the thief, and pay them the $40 so I can have my property back....I still think its a scam!    But we get the job done and load the bike on the rack and head for home, well sort of.  I figure as long as we have come this far we can detour to the nearest Costco and stock up on a few items.  The biggest item is dog food, literally.  We want to keep Butter on a steady diet and as we had to make this trip anyway.  We are home about 9 and Butter is really happy to see us.  We don't ike to leave her home for this long, but better that then living her in a potentially hot car.

Feb 21 Tues.  I went in to meet the new Dr. and he explained that I have a stone in the bile duct and he can use a procedure called an ERCP, and the full name is enough to scare anyone.  But walking on those eggshells gets really old and there is no way to know when the pain will come back.  I am really tired of rice pudding.  We decide to make it an early dinner and try the NSB SeaShack.  I had spicy shrimp and broccoli pasta.  Oh my goodness this is such a great meal, too bad its just on the lunch menu.

Feb 22 Wed.  Danny had another followup at the Dr. for hs ear and while the ears are now clean it looks like there is still an infection going on in there and so, no water.  Meanwhile the new botties he ordered came in so we go on down to the dive shop to try them on and he likes these much better so they are keepers.

Feb 23 Thurs.   The folks here at the park are getting together tonight at the NSB SeaShack and it does sound like a good idea.  I decide to go for grilled chicken and rice, being very easy on the tummy.

Feb 24 Fri. I got to spend another night in pain, woke Danny up at 5 to take me to the ER and as he dressed and I tried to dress, I just doubled over the bed and he started rubbing my back, the pain eased up and after about 10 minutes I just curled up against him and fell to sleep.  Up at 10 to head to the hospital anyway.  I didn't have too long to wait, but they needed to take me back and let me lay down.... The Dr. came in and I was rolled off to the day surgery center.  Happy Birthday!  Woke up a few hrs later and the Dr. said it was a very successful procedure, showed me a picture of the stone and Danny got to take me home about 5.

Feb 25 Sat.  Delayed birthday, we went by the restaurant where we love the Carrot cake, find out that they get it from Sam's Club.  Well Sam's Club is up in Daytona Beach so we go up there and buy one, then get hold of the Social director here at the park and send out a general email invitation to come on by site 31 for birthday cake about 630.  That was a rousing success and we almost finish off the whole cake.

Feb 26 - Sun  Daytona 500!!!  We are ready!  I get up early and make the sandwichs nd bag up a few other snacks and we fill the ice chests.  Off to Daytona.  We had looked up the free parking lot and I lead us right in, no really long lines and the process is pretty easy.  We park in area 12 of Lot 7, catch a little tram to a collection area where the school buses are waiting to run people over to the parking lot behind BassPro shops.  So far so good.  We still have a bit of a walk around the store, across the parking lot up the ramps and over International Speedway Blvd.  down the ramp and across another huge parking area to the Sunoco Gate.  They tell us this place holds 101,500 people.  Its huge.

Feb 27 Mon.  We really aren't up to much after yesterday, the weather is wet and I really do need to take it easy, it's amazing how much it takes out of the body to have any kind of procedure.

Feb 28th Tues.  We are still waiting on Danny's ear to heal but we went down to the dive shop today.  It's good to check in with Keith and let him know our status.  He had ordered in a wetsuit for Danny and he tried it on and finds that it is an acceptable fit, so now he has his wetsuit and we will just wait to get clearance to go back in the water.  We know that having passed the written test we have 1 yr. to finish the certification so if it requires us to wait until November when we are back here

we can.