Square Dancing RV'rs: December 2005

Buddy laying sideways on our bed.

Buddy - our cat

Since we've posted several pictures lately of the cat, I decided to write a little biography on him. Buddy has been in our life since Columbus day weekend of 2004. We went to visit Connie's son, Brian and his wife Toddi. The day before we arrived a stray kitten came into their yard. Toddi gave him a bath and some food. But since they already had a dog and a cat, they suggested that we adopt him. After giving it some thought we decided to take him home with us.

He settled right into our home. Bob had foot surgery and he would curl up on the recliner and keep him company. As he got older he started escaping outside and it was apparent that he really wanted to be outside. So, for the first 8 or 9 months that we had him he went outside on his own.

In May of 2005 we took him on a weeklong trip in our fifth wheel. He didn't do real great. In June we took him with us for a week. During that time he managed to escape once and spent most of his time hiding in our bedroom closet.

In July we left on our trip to Alaska and began our full-timing lifestyle. He now had to wear a harness and be on a leash or rope when outside the fifth wheel. Quite a change for him. He has done really great. When we're driving he rides on the console atop a blanket betweeen us. When we pull into a campground he somehow senses that he is somewhere new and stands on Bob's shoulder looking out the window and wanting to get outside and see this new place.

He keeps us entertained with his antics. We have a wine box and a large bag from a department store that he loves to hide in. We have a mouse on a string that he chases around the box. In the mornings he comes into the bedroom and curls up next to Bob who gives him a complete petting. He likes to steal my watch from my nightstand and carry it around in his mouth.

While we were in New York he figured out how to open the screen door. After watching him open the door twice in a row, Bob rigged a spring so that the panel that hides the screen door latch will automatically retract.

Buddy is a beautiful orange and white cat with eyes that exactly match the orange fur. He has grown to an amazing 12 pounds. When stretched out on our queen sized bed can almost cover the whole width of it. We're glad to have him in our life and thank Brian and Toddi for giving him to us.

Cat says " yes I can to fit in this small box....if you open both ends !! "

Cat says pay attention to me........not the silly computer !!!

I am S000000oooooooooo...... SLEEPYzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz !!!

Silly Santas' Say It All !!

Any box on the floor belongs to ME :)! !!!

MERRY EVERYTHING ! ! ! ! from Bud, Connie and Bob

Circque du Solei and Busch Gardens, Tampa

We've had a nice week here in Florida. All of the following activities were done with our friends from Washington, Sue and Richard.

On Thursday, December 15th, we drove to St. Petersburg and attended a Cirque du Solei performance. It was a great show with lots at acrobatics and beautiful costumes.

On Saturday, we went to the mall and had lunch and then to the movies. On Monday evening we went to the nearby state park to view their Christmas light display. On Tuesday, we headed south to Tampa and went to Busch gardens. We enjoyed the day there. We attended some shows, took the tram to see the animals (zebra, giraffe, and other African type animals). We went on a water raft ride and managed to get rather wet. Sue went on two roller coaster rides.

On Friday, we went to Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park. The visit starts with about a 20 minute ride on a boat up Pepper Creek to the west entrance of the park. From there we walked around and viewed several manatee that are being rehabilitated in the park. They have an underwater viewing area, so we were able to see the manatee from underwater, also. They have lots of birds, a hippo, aligators, turtles, black bear, fox, otters, owls, etc. The weather was quite nice, so overall it was a great day for visiting the park. We went out to lunch afterwards at the Margaritta Grill where they have these huge margarittas. We split one margaritta - cost $3.00.

Merry Christmas to all.

Sue and Richard, our friends that we met up with in Crystal Riverr, Florida. Picture taken at Busch Gardens, Tampa.

Busch gardens, Tampa, Florida taken on December 20, 2005.

Whooping cranes led by ultralight.

Crystal River, Florida

We spent the weekend visiting with Bob's granddaughters, Amanda and Lexi. We also visited with his daughter, Amy, and her daughter, Lexi. Bob was so happy to be able to visit with his family members who are important to him. We had Amanda, Robert, and Logan over for dinner on Sunday evening and I made Amanada one of her favorite meals - Taco pizza and chocolate eclair. It's important to have all of the food groups represented!!

On Monday morning we drove west across the state to Crystal River where we will be spending a month. This will give us an opportunity to get a few things done on the fifth wheel. Mainly, we need to get better organized and I want Bob to install some shelves in the large cabinet that could hold the washer/dryer.

On Tuesday morning, we went to see some whooping cranes do a fly over at a nearby airport. These cranes were led by a mechanical flight of ultralights so that they could learn the winter migration route. They had spent 51 days flying from Wisconsin to Florida where they will winter.

Wednesday, I managed to trip going out of the fifth wheel and sprained my ankle. It feels much better today. We're headed to St. Petersburg today with our friends, Sue and Rich, who are in this same park. More on this in our next blog.

Flagler Beach sunset with our RV.

Bob with his daughter, Amy. and granddaughter, Lexi.

Flagler Beach, Florida

We've arrived here at a state park about 20 miles north of Daytona Beach so that Bob could visit with his family. On Friday night we had dinner with his granddaughter, Amanda, her son Logan (10 months), and Amanda's boyfriend, Robert. Today, Saturday, we were visited here at the fifth wheel by Amanda, Logan, and another granddaughter, Kayla. We were very happy to see them and hear how they are doing.

We had spent the last week at Mayport Naval Station which is east of Jacksonville, Florida. The weather was pretty bad - very windy and rainy. But, today, it was really nice - probably about 70. We enjoyed walking on the beach.

We're headed to Crystal River, Florida on Monday morning.

Bob with granddaughter, Amanda and her son, Logan, and grandaughter, Kayla.

Bob with great-grandson, Logan.

Connie and Buddy. We made it to Florida as you can see by the palm tree in the background.

Great Smoky Mountains and Dollywood

We spent Wednesday and Friday touring the Great Smoky Mountains. On Friday we took a drive through Cades Cove. This is an 11 mile 1 way loop through a valley where approximately 125 people once lived and farmed. There are several log structures, plus 3 old churches along with graveyards. The visitor center has several buildings in the immediate area - to include a home, a mill, and a barn. We must have seen about fifty deer and 1 coyote. Weather was sunny and crisp and cold.

On Thursday we went to Dollywood. While there we saw the 'Christmas in the Smokies' show that is part of the admission to Dollywood. In the evening they have about 5000 lights throughout the park. They also do a festival of the trees which is a pretty spectacular light display. This tree changes from red to pink to purple, to green, to gold, etc. We also walked through the Dolly Parton museum and went on a couple of rides.

Another busy week for us. We're headed to Florida, where we plan to take it a little easier.