We left Virginia and headed down I 95, boondocking at a Walmart in Walterboro, South Carolina for a night and then on to Titusville, Florida for two nights. I wanted to get a picture of a Florida Scrub Jay over at Merritt Island NWR. and we always love to stop at the Dixie Crossroads restaurant and partake of their delicious corn fritters and Rock Shrimp. While in Titusville Josie found a nice serving platter in the Orange Poppy pattern she is collecting. We also were able to watch the Blue Harvest Moon rise over Cape Canaveral.  

We were going to spend a week in Key Largo but after 3 days we decided to head north to get out of the way of Tropical Storm Eta. It was a good move as Eta did some damage and flooding to Key Largo. While in Key Largo I was able to meet up with Vince, a high school classmate I had not seen in 55 years. 

​ We stayed 4 night in South Bay County Park, just south of Lake Okeechobee. They said there were alligators in the lakes in the park and we had a six footer in the pond right behind the RV. While in South Bay we drove over to Wellington and visited with Susan and Robert and had a nice dinner at West Palm Beach Brewery. After 4 days waiting out the storm, we then headed back down the Overseas Highway to Key West.

It had been 25 years since we had really visited Key West. We came to the Keys 15 years ago to take a three day birdwatching trip on a boat over to the Dry Tortugas, and did not get into the city on that visit. We thought it would be fun to try to recreate a picture from that first visit to the Southern Most Point. We put this on Facebook and many of you were so kind to say we had not change much. You all might want to get your eyes checked. We watched the sunset at Mallory Square, had great shrimp tacos while a Key West Chicken waited for us to drop him a bite, did not happen. We finished the night with ice cold boat drinks. 

We found the food at the Hogfish Grill, which was very close to the RV park, to be outstanding. We took one of our old South Dakota license plates over and they added it to the wall of plates from all over the US. 

Josie joined me at the Botanical Gardens one morning while I birded and she took in the tropical plantings. I was able to get in a round of golf on the Key West Golf Club, but it was so wet I lost a ball in the fairway when I hit it into standing water from all the rain from the storm and it plugged in the mud. 

We finished our visit to the Keys with a week on Ohio Key at the Sunshine Key RV Resort. We had a beautiful site with great views of the tropical water.  Scott and Cathy came down from Boca with their friends, Steve and Sylvia, and we met them for dinner at the Lorelei Cabana Bar in Islamorada. 
 
Josie again joined me on a birding adventure, this time to Crane Point Hammock in Marathon. One of the quirky things you can do there is get a Fish Pedicure. You stick your feet in the water and the tiny fish come and eat the dead skin off your feet. Anyone who has ticklish feet might not enjoy it. A few days later we went back up to Islamorada and sampled a brew at the Keys Brewing Company, then on our way back south stopped at the Keys Fisheries Bar for boat drinks and Stone Crab Claws. 

You cannot come to this section of the Keys without visiting the No Name Bar on No Name Key. Inside the bar there is said to be over forty thousand dollars stapled to the walls by visitors from all over the world. We chose to eat outside under their huge grass hut. While eating a resident endangered Key Deer came by to entertain us. 

Birding in the Keys is always exciting. You never know what might show up. Tropical Storm Eta blew in a couple of Cuban and Caribbean birds that were lifers for me. A Cuban Pewee and a Black-faced Grassquit. I also had a Great White Heron, White Morph fly right onto the beach in front of the RV. This is a bird you can only see in the Keys. (last Picture)

We have spent the last six weeks back in Virginia. Aaron was gracious enough to let us spend the first two weeks of our visit parked in the lower driveway of his lake house. He was a great host and Missy was also able to join us for almost a week. She drove down from DC in her new car. We played a lot of golf and Aaron treated us to one of his famous shrimp boils. We saw many of Aaron's neighborhood deer, who came to visit us every day. '

We did not get out to eat as much in past years due to Covid but we did manage to have dinner with a lot of our friends at least one time. Hutch and Lynn had a nice dinner on their deck one evening for a few of us. I forgot to get a picture. Leon and Laura had us over along with Audra and Bruce for oysters one evening, and once again I forgot to get a picture. We also ate crabs one evening at the RV Park with Aaron and Lindsey. We met our friends Bob and Kathy one evening along with Aaron at the Bonefish Grill. 

​ Josie, was able to catch up with the Haddad family that she was a Nanny for. They are all grown up now and are young adults.

Our friend Gloria came down from Michigan to Williamsburg so we drove up and spent a few days with her. She was gracious enough and one day took the Jamestown Ferry, followed by lunch at a Williamsburg institution, The Olde Chickahominy House.

I played a lot of golf with the old gang.  Missy was in town long enough to be able to play with Leon and me, something we almost never get to do. It was great playing with, Tommy, Mike, Hutch, Leon, and Aaron. Joe even treated us all to a round at the Country Club one morning and we had a great time playing as a sixsome. The foursome behind us never caught up with us. 

We now head south to Florida for the winter. 

We have spent the last two and a half months in Lake Orion, Michigan, visiting with Josie's son, Michael, his daughters Abby and Anne and their dog Sully. We did not plan to stay this long but with everything canceled and the Canadian border closed we were lucky enough to have a great place to spend the summer. Cathy and Scott flew in from Florida and we had a fun long weekend celebrating Josie's birthday. 
 
Mike has two boats, one a ski boat on Lake Orion and the other a classic 45 foot Mathews that he moors on Lake St, Clair. So needless to say we spent a lot of time on or near the water. We spent the 4th of July watching the fireworks on the lake from the boat and then the girls wake boarded the next day. On another day Michael took Abby and 7 of her friends out wakeboarding. We had Mike's neighbor Glenn over for dinner a few times and we also spent some time in Glenn's boat house man cave. 

We spent a few days cruising on Lake St Clair in the Mathews and both times we ended up at Bumpers restaurant. We had a great social distancing meal with boat drinks, while listing to Mikes friends Bob and Carl play just about anything we requested. On another trip it was raining when we arrived at the boat, so we plugged in the tv on the aft deck and watched golf till the rain stopped. 

We had a great long lunch with our friend from Arizona, Gloria, who is spending the summer with her sons in the Detroit area. We caught up on how she was doing and what she was up to and basically solved all the world's problems in the span of two hours. Josie mentioned to Gloria that she liked this great beer we had found from ROAK brewery in Royal Oak, Michigan and it turned out that her son Spencer knew the owners and when the owner found out how much Josie liked the beer he gave Josie a case of it. So, we met Gloria and Spencer at ROAK and Josie's son Michael also joined us for a grand afternoon of beer tasting and fabulous food. 

Addison Oaks County Park where we parked for the summer, is very nice with miles of trails. We liked to walk the one around the lake. 

I found a great place to go birding just a few miles north of our park. Seven Ponds Nature Center is very nice, and I found it to be quite birdy.

The United Shore Professional Baseball League is playing an abbreviated season at Jimmy Johns Stadium in Utica, Michigan. I attended an afternoon game where you had to wear a mask when entering and walking around, and you had your temperature taken at the gate. Seats were blocked off in every other row and limited concessions were delivered to your seat.   

Josie and I drove up to Frankenmuth, Michigan and had one of the famous chicken dinners at Zehnder's restaurant, a tradition with us whenever we come to Michigan.  On the way we stopped at a few antique and collectible shops where Josie found three more pieces of the pottery she collects. We spent two night in Frankenmuth,and left the RV back in Lake Orion. My full time RV friend Russ and two of his friends drove up and joined me for a round of golf at the Fortress Golf Course. 

Michaels Birthday was on our last day in town and we celebrated with his favorite Derby Pie and then relaxing in his new hot tub. 

I played a lot of golf with Mike's neighbor Glenn, He is a member of the local country club and we were able to play there once a week and then at some other local course later in the week.

I joined up with full time RV friend Russ and his friends and we played almost every Wednesday at different courses throughout the area.  Just as in Florida, the Sandhill Cranes like to browse for worms on the golf courses. Almost every course we played had at least one pair of cranes in residence.  

Once again this year I was able to participate in the Dads Supporting Downs Syndrome Charity Golf Outing. I was in a foursome with Josie's son Michael and one of his practice partners Matt, and Trevor a medical rep who played college golf at local Oakland University. We shot 14 under par to take 2nd place.

On July 9th my brother Tom passed away. He had a stroke last fall, and it looked like he was going to recover from it, but it was not to be. I spent a week in Kansas City getting his affairs in order. I miss him and our times meeting at the races all over the country. I will especially miss all the funny jokes and cartoons he texted almost every day. 

​ Our first day on the road was not an easy one. Just after we got on the Florida Turnpike near Fort Pierce, a truck pulling a boat passed us and a folding chair in its sleeve flew out of the boat and we ran over it with our left front tire. We pulled over and saw no damage, we dodged the bullet that time. 

Fifty miles south of Gainesville, someone decided to roll their Jeep over and we were held up in traffic for an hour and a half.

Then just outside of Lake City a car pulling a popup camper with three bikes on top of it passed us.  When it was about fifty yards in front of us one of their bikes fell off and I could not miss it and ran right over it. I was able to not hit it with my tires and the only damage we had was our generator exhaust pipe was ripped off.  The bike then got wedged under the Jeep and we dragged it over a bridge before we could get off the road safely. The people did come back and give us their insurance information and the Highway Patrol also stopped to make sure everyone was ok. We were very lucky that we did not hit the bike when it made its first bounce off the trailer and it went under us instead of into us. 
 
Oh, life on the road is so much fun!  But not today.

We are now heading north after spending an extra three months in Delray Beach, Florida.
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We have never stayed in one place this long (7 1/2 months) since we have been on the road. Having never visited Florida in the summer before we found out what real humidity is. We have seen torrential rains followed by high temps and thus the humidity is very uncomfortable. 

We were still glad to have Cathy and Scott in the area. Scott joined me one morning on a birding trip to the refugee. Later he made Bourbon Bacon, maple syrup, brown sugar and bourbon mixed together and then basted on bacon. Sweet as candy and made a nice accompaniment to our nighty bourbon tasting. We will miss their company, Scott's cooking and our nightly Mah Jongg games.

With a soft opening of outside dining, we were able to get back together with Susan and Robert again for a nice dockside dinner. They also invited us to use the pool at their beautiful home, so we could beat the heat and humidity. It has been great being able to visit with them for these past 7 months, and catch up with our longtime friends. 

After sitting for over seven months it was time for some TLC for the coach, so, we hired a detailer to give her a spa day. 

One day Josie and I drove up to Juno Beach and visited the Loggerhead Marinelife Center. We were able to see many of the turtles that were found stranded on the beaches of south Florida, and their efforts to heal and rehabilitate them for release back into the wild.  

With the golf courses reopening Robert and I were able to play golf around once a week. Social distancing is in effect on the courses, with only one person per cart and each hole adjusted so your ball only falls an inch or so into the hole and you do not have to ever touch the flag. I took advantage of the off -season rates and one day played the famous Doral Blue Monster Golf Course. 

Hope this post finds everyone healthy.  We are still in Florida and most likely will be for some time to come, since all the travel plans, we had for the summer have been cancelled or delayed. We have to say this has been a great place for us to ride this out. We have Josie's daughter and son in law, Cathy and Scott nearby and we have been getting together with them for dinner and Mah Jongg. 

This is the longest period we have ever stayed in one place in the six and a half years we have been on the road. Like I said before this is a great place to ride this thing out because the family that owns the park are very nice and they shut down new arrivals when the lock down started in March. Many of the people who were here, have gone back to their homes in the north, so the park is only half full now

We have never shown any of the symptoms of the virus, so we have not been tested even though there are many places we could go to get tested. We still wear masks when we go out in public and the beaches and golf courses are just now starting to reopen. Some restaurants and other businesses are also opening very slowly. The Boca Raton Resort which has been closed, shows the LUV every night and the Blue Angels did a flyover to salute medical workers.   

Many of the local farms have been overloaded with fresh produce since restaurants have been closed, and they have opened up drive throughs where you can buy a box full of vegetables, fruits and even flowers. Scott is a fantastic cook and he and Cathy have made us many great meals. On Kentucky Derby Day they treated us to Mint Juleps and Bourbon Chicken. Josie made a Bread Pudding with bourbon sauce for dessert. A few days later we celebrated Cinco De Mayo with beef and shrimp tacos. On Mother's Day they made Josie's favorite meal of ravioli and shrimp with lots of chocolate for dessert. We still try to order out a few times a week and support the local mom and pop businesses.  We also celebrated with Scott after he passed a test he had to take for his job. 

Scott and I treated ourselves to one last Stone Crab Feast before the season ended by pigging out on Colossal claws from the local seafood market. We also have been sampling a few nice bourbons on Mah Jongg nights. 

Spring here in Florida is beautiful with all the flowers in bloom. I have been out to the wildlife refuge a few times, where it is very easy to social distance. I was able to get a rather poor picture of a Swallow-tailed Kite scratching its head in flight, and also pictures of butterflies, grasshoppers and of course Wally Gator.  

We hope that this blog post finds every one of you healthy and doing well. I know many of you are hunkered down and waiting this crisis out just like we are.

We were going to head north on April 1st but with everything being up in the air now we are going to stay at least an extra month in Florida. We have tickets for the Kentucky Derby and with that being rescheduled till Labor Day weekend it will make us adjust our summer travels. We are still planning on spending most of the summer in Michigan.
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Of course, just like everyone else at this time we will just have to go with the flow and see how this whole thing turns out.
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Our day to day life has been mostly reading and playing games on our Kindle Fires. We did get together with Josie's daughter Cathy and son in law Scott a few nights a week but starting tomorrow Boca Raton, where Cathy and Scott live, will change from social distancing to a quarantine in place.    Scott has been cooking a lot of tasty meals for us and we really appreciate it. We also have been trying to get take out a few days a week in order to help the local businesses.

Josie has taught Scott and Cathy how to play Mah Jongg and they have picked it up very quickly. Each game evening, Scott has been sharing his supply of fine bourbons with me. So I made a quick stop at the liquor store and picked up a bottle of Jefferson's Ocean bourbon. Liquor stores are considered essential businesses, with only 10 customers allowed in at a time. Other than that we stay home and only go to the grocery store once a week during senior hours.  With the gym now closed we try to walk the neighborhood and just keep our distance from other walkers. If we go in the heat of the day we don't see anyone.

Hopefully in a month or so we can all get back to normal. Until then stay safe everyone. 

We hope this blog post finds all of you healthy. We are still in Delray Beach, Florida. We were able to get in some fun times before the needed virus restrictions went into effect. 

Before the virus shutdown we were able to get out with Susan and Robert a few more times. We had one great evening at a restaurant that had all you can eat Stone Crabs. I managed to eat 18 of them, stopping just before it became uncomfortable. They truly are delicious. Of course, Josie had the shrimp and they were the size of her hand. A few days later we had Stone Crabs again with Cathy and Scott and we did manage to eat out a few other times before the restaurant restrictions went into effect.

We were able to attend two Spring Training games before they cancelled them due to the coronavirus. We were able to get Cathy to one of the games by bribing her with cotton candy. I also took Robert and Susan's cousins to a game. One evening I met Robert at the Palm Beach Stadium for a Florida Atlantic University vs number 1 University of Florida game. The following night I went to see FAU play number 7 Miami, at FAU stadium. 

We were able to get to Gulfstream Park for a day of horse racing before they also closed down for the virus. We had a visit to the Palm Beach Polo Club scheduled as well, but it was also canceled. 

We are enjoying our time here in Delray Beach with Josie's daughter Cathy and her husband Scott. We have been meeting for dinner at least once a week, either going out to many of the fantastic restaurants or enjoying Scott's gourmet cooking.

​He treated us to rib fest for the super bowl and with my Chiefs winning again after 50 years it was an exciting evening. Of course, I am old enough to remember the Chiefs only other win. I was in the Navy in Virginia Beach watching it at the home of Tom and Barb Smyth. Scott broke out a fine bourbon and we toasted the Chiefs win.

We have attended the Boca Raton Greek Festival and Seafood Festival and we joined our friends Robert and Susan in their home town for the Wellington Brew Fest. The fun seems to never stop.  

One evening we checked out the Silverball Pinball Museum in Downtown Delray Beach. We had a blast playing the vintage pinball machines. It was the first time Josie had ever played pinball and she really got into it, so much so that she broke a fingernail. We also had a very spirited Skeeball competition where on one game we all had the exact same score. 

The next evening Scott made us a fantastic Valentine's day dinner of steak and asparagus, and Josie made a Bread Pudding with a bourbon sauce. We are eating way too much this season! But as you will see in the final section of this post, we do work out 4 days a week.  

As I mentioned above, we attended the Wellington Brew Fest with the Mays and we try to get together with them at least once a week. We usually meet at a local brewery for a few beers and then have a nice dinner at a nearby restaurant. One evening we met at the Norton Art Gallery in West Palm Beach and after checking out the various exhibits, went to dinner nearby. 

On another evening we met them for dinner at the beautiful Rosemary Square in West Palm Beach and then attended the Musical Hamilton, at the Kravis Center. It was a very special evening. 

Our long time Virginia Beach friends, Hutch and Lynn spent a few months just down the road from us in Pompano Beach, and we were able to see them a few times. Once at an Elton John Tribute Band dinner concert and then again at their place on the inland waterway before heading over to the Beach House restaurant in Pompano. 

While Hutch and Lynn were in town I was able to play golf with them once and with Hutch and Lynn's brother and sister-in- law at the Pompano Golf Course. The East Coast Goodyear Blimp is stationed there and you can see it from the course. 

I also have played up in Wellington with Robert and his friends. On a very hard course.

Josie walks the mile to the gym and back 4 times a week. I join her most days if I am not out birding or golfing. We both enjoy the Thursday Tai Chi Yoga class, which stresses flexibility. 

The last three weeks of 2019 have been a whirlwind of activity for us. We went over to Cathy and Scott's and had a great view of the Boca Raton Lighted Boat Parade.

​ A few days later we met with Susan and Robert at Due South Brewery for a pre-dinner drink, then over to The Old Key Lime House over on the Inland Waterway for a fine meal.  A few days after that I attended the Boca Raton Bowl with Robert and his family and friends. We had a great tailgate and then FAU destroyed SMU during the game. 

Cathy and Scott finally made it back down to Florida from Rhode Island after Cathy was given the go ahead to travel with her fractured arm. A few days later Josie's son, Michael and her two Granddaughters Abby and Anne arrived along with Josie's ex and his sister Gail. The family had some fantastic dinners together and all of us went over to see the 100-foot Christmas tree. While there we also rode the Carousel  and laughed ourselves silly.

 One day the crew drove up to West Palm Beach and visited the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium. A good time was had by all. 

​One evening we all played a game of Left Center Right, and it turned out to be a very competitive event. Later that evening  we all made candy for the girls to take back home with them. It was great to spend time with the Donahue side of the family. 

My birding friend, Ingrid just happened to be in town attending a family reunion and was staying only a few miles down the road from us. So, we were able to get out one morning and do a little birding. A few days later I participated in the Christmas Bird Count with a group from Everglades Audubon. 

Missy flew into West Palm Beach the day before the Orange Bowl and after I picked her up, we had brunch with Josie, Cathy and Scott. From there we went to Cathy and Scott's for a nice visit. Missy and I drove down to Hollywood, Florida and spent 2 nights and days taking in the Orange Bowl atmosphere. We attended a night before party at the team hotel and then the next day went to the Fan Fest at the Hard Rock Stadium. UVA put on a fantastic tailgate party a few hours before the game. Virginia put up a good fight but just couldn't beat the Gators, in what was basically a home game for them. Despite the loss we had a great time, and it is always great to spend time with the daughter.

On New Years Eve Scott cooked a gourmet dinner of Red Snapper and Yellowtail on the grill, and excellent side dishes to go with them. We played Mexican Train and Yahtzee until just before midnight. We then took our adult beverages out on the balcony and watched the fireworks over the inland waterway. 

On New Year's Day Josie made the Southern traditional Black-eyed Peas and Ham, and we ate even more great food. 

HOPE EVERYONE HAS A GREAT NEW YEAR!