does Santa Claus come to the Florida Keys?

Lovely Marathon Florida and the scene from our RV. Arrived here on the 22nd and much to our delight, the park is very nice and friendly. Many of the people here come every year for the holidays. We have several friends from Michigan who come down every year and we are getting together with them.

I have to admit that I am missing the family this year, Perhaps because the youngest grand child is 4 and it would be fun to watch her on Christmas. Maybe I am just getting sentimental in my older age, who knows.

Jim was able to wash the RV which made him happy. All the rain and mud from the state park in Georgia - gone.

Not much else to add. While lots of people have their RVs decorate more so then a house- lots of palm trees and flamingos as well. We opted for the minimalist approach, ie , nothing. May go to K -Mart tomorrow and look for discounted Xmas goodies and do a half hearted holiday theme.

We have finally solved the problem with Nemo who cries all night if he is in his crate but if left free he insists on sleeping on our heads. I have a slip lead that is tied so he can not get on the bed and I brought one of the dog beds to put beside the bed. this keeps him off the bed but with us. Unbelievable what we do for our guys.

Just got the confirmation for the Palmetto trial, short to tall every day but Saturday- that means Wednesday thru Friday, early days. Hooray - then again it doesn't much matter as what else are we doing. It will be interested to see if Deco maintains the agility edge he showed at the Cluster in November. Here's hoping.

In closing, Merry Christmas to all. May Santa be good to you. ( and the dogs if that applies)

Savannah Georgia, or let it rain rain rain

Arrived in Skidaway Island State Park on Tuesday the 15th Great park with lots of trees, lots of space , great walking trails and a shower house with heat. This is probably the closest I have come to actual "camping" if you can use that term while in a 40 ' RV with washer and drier.
No one close by , no outside lights - which makes it a bit hairy when walking at night because of the flooding on the roads. Yes, we have had rain.
We have visited Tybee Island and went into Savannah yesterday , even ate at Paula Dean's compliments of Toby. Savannah is interesting but I think that Charleston is the prettier, or more elegant , city. I think Savannah can be real party time at times. I do love the way it is set up with 'quarters' and little parks in the center of a neighborhood so that you drive around them.
Today we had lots of rain and I stayed inside and read from my Kindle - love the Kindle- it did stop raining enough for me to get the dogs outside and walked, large puddles and all. Actually can you call water over your ankles a 'puddle'
Tomorrow should be dry a cooler and we are spending one more day here as it is easy for me with the dogs and lots of places to walk them. Sunday we start the journey to Marathon and then it is RV parks with people close together and I have to watch the mouthy dogs.
It does look like we left New England in time however, especially considering the snow covering all those mid Atlantic states that we have to drive through.
Yes, I do miss the snow at Christmas but not the cold.
will download pictures tomorrow and add to my blog - night all

charleston sc

We arrived in Charleston on Sunday. I found this state park on James Island that looked interesting . It is 643 acres with 125 RV sites, a large dog park with lake, and three mile to 2 mile trails. I figured that would work especially for the dogs.

Little did we suspect that this is the site of the Holiday Festival of Lights and it is spectacular. Three miles of lighted displays. It draws thousands of people, includes a Santa's village, lighted walkways. The animation is amazing. You can't really take pictures that capture it all. There is one display with Santa hitting a golf ball and across the road is the lit green and you see a white ball come across the road and roll on the green. Really something . It also meant that we were lucky to get a spot here. And I was just coming for the walking trails.

The only bummer is the damn rain. Everything is wet and soggy as it has rained for the better part of a week. We went into Charleston but the fog made it impossible to see the water. What a beautiful place and the houses are unbelievable !! Can not imagine what it takes to for upkeep with the humidity and ocean air.

Next, to keep the adventure going, we went to the only place in north america that grows tea. The Charleston Tea Plantation. (Jim thought this was on par with going to see the largest ball of twine- isn't that from a Chevy Chase vacation movie) Actually I knew nothing about how tea was processed so I found it interesting. From the time the tea is picked to dried and "tea ready" is 20 hours. So I thought it was interesting. Weare going to be in Savannah for 5 days so I thought we would have enough time to visit plantations, etc. But WHEN would we see tea grown again !

Tomorrow we leave for Savannah. I have walked my legs off but the dogs seem none the worse for wear. If Deco doesn't stop barking I am tying him to a tree, a palm tree at that . Damn dog- he is spoiled. Last night Abbie slept in the entrance to the bedroom so Nemo whined all night as he won't go by Abbie. Unbelievable !

Hope everyone is well and prepared for the holidays

Signing off

Lindsay and Jim on the road

countdown

As I looked outside and saw the snow, not a good sign. We need to get out of here and past the snow line.
It is taking me longer to load up this year, maybe because I know what I need or am bringing too much stuff. Can be pretty sure I am bringing too much stuff.
Loading up all the dog things, grooming kit, meds, leashes and poop bags, treats and food. Like moving a small circus. And all the while I am thinking, god this is the last day I can just open the door and let them out !!! I will get use to all the walking, did last year, but I am dreading it a bit as I have to manage these guys. If they would all get along, but that is not in the cards. Actually the one who is the problem is Flee as he and Abbie don't see eye to eye and he goes after Deco. Macho Flee
then they don't have the big crates as only 300 crates fit easily in the space assigned for doggie beds. Big enough for corgis, they are spoiled at home.
Our goal is to go as far as Winchester VA Friday where there is a camp ground. Most campgrounds are closed in new england and Penn. - wonder why as I look at the snow outside and frozen water.
I do not want to do 95 through New York and New Jersey and DC, so we are opting for a bit more inland. Tomorrow is high wind warnings, now that is not fun in our " high profile vehicle" the wind can push us across the road.

OK folks, promise some good pictures and more interesting text. Love the iphone so I should be able to get some interesting candid shots.
taa taa

One Week and Counting

Now comes the big push,getting the bus packed and the house un-packed , so to speak. Looking over all the summer duds, bringing more with me this year as I really didn't have anything to dress up in I mean casual dress up like no jeans, and I do have that stuff here so might as well bring it with me.

Then it is reloading food stuffs like bread crumbs and diced tomatoes and pasta, stuff I have in the house. We have 2 refrigerators and a freezer in the house so everything needs to go into one frig and I see what is in the freezer that I can take with me. The refrig and freezer on the bus is small so I have to be careful and the dog's food takes up a good amount of room. Unfortunately I can't find decent raw down in Florida so we just have to make due.

Will miss my doggie friends , all the Sneak members and Paulie ,my herding guru. At least I have a few contacts all set in Florida and that has possibilities.

Once I get the packages wrapped, the money set aside for those type gifts, the rv packed and cleaned, the bed made towels folded etc. I will feel less stressed.

I always find the holidays stressful and alot of it has to do with the fact that I feel I don't do enough for the kids and grandkids. Now where does that come from ? Somehow I always feel lacking during the holidays which makes me do more and more, unfulfilled expectations that I put on myself. Damn you would think at 64 I would be over that, it just gets worse until I leave and head south where I can avoid the jingle bell jingle bell feelings. How Christmas can it be with a palm tree ??

Got to say that I love the iphone . love it love it. I took pictures of the granddaughters making a gingerbread house and downloaded it, so handy to have available. And the apps!!!!!! I have one that reads barcodes and tells me where I can buy it cheaper. what a great toy.

OK fellow bloggers, countdown is on . More to come