FLORIDA FRIENDS

 We were greeted back in Florida by the sand hill cranes.  They seemed a little overly friendly. Some people are feeding them which I think is wrong.

We played a few games of pickle ball, as people started showing up.  It was great seeing Rich and Dee again, since they were traveling out west the last two years. Charlotte and Travis are waiting to play. We also saw Paul but he was being kept very busy driving bus for Disney, so he didn't have time to play pickle ball.

 At RV Connection Larry was told to contact Sam to get the RV fixed and painted. We called and he did the work right at our site on Monday morning.

It looks beautiful again. We were very happy with his work and would recommend him if you need some work done. Give him a call - Sam's Coach Detailing at 407-536-1220.

THE RALLY

    We had a new ice cube maker installed in the RV and the repairman felt that our water pressure may have caused the problem.  Larry wanted to get something to keep the water holding tank safe and clean and then we will keep it on to increase the water pressure.  So we decided to go to Good Sam Rally for the day and browse the vendors booths.  Daytona is 85 miles away, up I-4 to I-95.

 The rally was at the Daytona speedway. It was neat seeing it. On Larry's bucket list is to take our RV to a race. I have never been to a race and not sure I want to be parked in the middle of all the noise.

 We only spent a couple hours at the rally and then we decided to go to the beach. I had never been here before.

 You drive right out onto the sand.

 It was a beautiful, sunny warm day. We sat and enjoyed it and then took a walk in the water.

 This is a different type of gull then we see in Jersey. I like its orange beak and black feathers on its head. I need to look it up to see what it is.

 We asked a gentleman that was fishing where he would recommend to go to eat and he sent us to Aunt Catfish. Apparently it is a restaurant that has been in this area for over 30 years and is very popular. We arrived right before the rush hour and got a table with a great view.  We both had flounder. They have a great salad bar and everything was delicious. We had a very enjoyable day.

View from our table.

LEFT TOWN

 With the weather forecast we decided at 10 o'clock Friday night to leave Circle M and head south.  We  got around Baltimore and Washington with no problem and stopped for the night in Virginia at 3 o'clock. We were on the road again at 7 Saturday morning and drove almost through South Carolina.  All along 95 in North Carolina were highway signs warning of strong winds, heavy rains and debris on Saturday night from Hurricane Sandy. We had tail winds which helped us and had no problem from wind or rain.. We expected strong wind and rain Saturday night while we were parked at a Walmart, but there was none. All along 95 we saw caravan after caravan of electric trucks headed north, so help is on the way.
  I drove on Sunday morning for 100 miles, almost through Georgia. Larry drove the rest of the day and the cross winds in Florida was the only weather we experienced. We were set up at Thousand Trails by 5 o'clock. We are on site B 21 and will be here till Nov7, so if anyone else is in Florida stop by and say hello. Our prayers are with everyone in the North East, hope all are safe.

 Godiva found the tree right away and climbed up to look around. We all are glad to be in warm, sunny Florida.

VISIT HOME

 On Monday when we had the meeting with the staff at the VA Dad expressed a desire to go back home. The doctor handled it very well and suggested we could take him out for a few hours to see the house and to eat.  Since it was going to be a warmer week we decide to do it on Wednesday. We  picked him up about 10:30 and brought him to the house for a "picnic".

 While we had been at the house we had fixed up the garage with a rug and table, a perfect place to gather. We took Mark, Larry's son, with us and Mom's sister Joanie came over.

The family Mom, Georgine, Barb Dad, Trey and Larry. The only one missing was Lynn who had to work. It was a nice visit. Dad did very well getting in and out of the car. We were back at the VA by 2 o'clock. He's hoping to have another outing next week.

TO CLOSE FOR COMFORT

 Larry had the RV parked right against the garage in his parents back yard, getting out was a challenge.

 He had to turn to get out the gate and not hit this, I was watching closely.

 I didn't realize the bottom cinder block stuck out further then the top one and the angle I was looking from I couldn't see it, so we got our first scrape

 We pulled out on the side road then we had to back up onto the main street where cars often fly by.  I was to go across the street and stand on the bank and make sure it was all clear. Larry backed up and started to turn unto the road. On the drivers side was this drain ditch and marker.

 He caught the marker with the front  as he turned, and I was looking for traffic not there to help him. Doesn't look to bad does it.

Look again. It 's going to be a pricey repair. Maybe now that the coach has it's first boo boo I will drive more.

ICY FREEZER

 Friday morning I went to open the freezer and the door wouldn't budge. I thought some food was  jamming it. Luckily Larry was able to  give it a harder pull and get it open. It wasn't food but ice!

 The ice maker has a big problem and the bottom of the freezer was one big sheet of ice.

 With a little chipping I was able to get the blocks of ice out. Unbelievable.

 We thought we fixed it but it started doing it again today. We need a repairman.

HOSPICE HELP

Larry's dad has been at home in Hospice care for over a month.  We were coming over from Hershey TT each day and filling in the hours that we didn't have people from Helping Hands coming in to help mom care for him. Unfortunately Helping Hands was costing almost $1,000 a week for the nine hours they came each day. So we cut it to 4 hours each day, but mom and dad needed more help not less. Luckily we found a woman and her mother who would come in for nine hours for half the cost. But Dad was needing 24 hour care so we moved our RV to the back yard.

Larry's Dad had been in the Army in1944, so with his dad's discharge papers in hand Larry went to the Lebanon VA and found out he qualified for their Hospice program.  They have 17 beds and there wasn't a long waiting list, so dad was able to be admitted on Monday. Amazing!

 The  Hospice wing is on the 4th floor of building one.

 They sent a van to pick him up on Monday afternoon. (I didn't realize the camera was on video)

 This Hospice facility is recognized as the best in the US. Who knew? All for free!!! What a blessing.

 Dad's room. Tom and Barb, Larry's sister, live in Lebanon so they are close by to visit.

 I was impressed with the bathroom in his room. Unfortunately Dad is not strong enough to use it and only getting "birdie baths" in bed.

 A  kitchen area that can be used by the patient and their families.

 A very nice room they can go to watch TV or play cards.

 Another room where families can go to relax.

 There is even a bedroom for a family member to stay over night if they need to.

 One of the things I noticed were the beautiful hand made quilts on the beds. 52 of them had  been  given to them this year. What a great project, makes me want to learn to quilt.

The only thing Dad can't do here is smoke inside the building, but we are allowed to take him out if he wants to go smoke. He had to take a test on his scooter before they let him use it, he passed but hasn't been out of bed since. He is getting great care here, a dentist even came to see if they could help make his dentures more comfortable. We know he is getting a lot more care here to make his last weeks comfortable then we could give him at home. We are very thankful.