Georgia Peach or Peanuts?

Georgia Peach or Peanuts?
In the last blog, we were entering the Southeast State of Georgia. With little knowledge of what to visit or see other than looking online and carefully looking at our trusty Walmart atlas we really had no clue what to expect. I had highlighted several possibilities on or close to our route of travel up US27. The one exception was the Little Grand Canyon which I had seen a picture of at the Visitor Center, on the way down to Florida. I actually got this wrong as far as locations goes.

Georgia "Little Grand Canyon"

I wrongly assumed that this was located at Kolomoki Mounds State Historic Park. It would be one of the first stops just north of Blakely. Driving into this State Park, about five miles to the west of US27, I smelled smoke and the atmosphere was hazy, the forest were mainly of tall pines with little underbrush. It was overcast and cool. We now could see where the smoke was coming from. The foresters were doing a “control burn” to eliminate the underbrush and give the tall pines command of the forest. This is what the road signs, at least indicated. Soon we were driving along large fields with historic fencing on both sides of the road. There, to our right, was this very tall mound with very gentle rolling hills all around. These mounds are man made by ancient Indian tribes and used as burial grounds.

From Wikipedia
Kolomoki Mounds State Historic Park is an important archaeological site as well as a scenic recreational area. Kolomoki, covering some three hundred acres, is one of the larger preserved mound sites in the USA.
In the early millennium of the Common Era, Kolomoki, with its surrounding villages, burial mounds, and ceremonial plaza, was a center of population and activity in North America. The eight visible mounds of earth in the park were built between 250-950 CE by peoples of the Swift Creek and Weeden Island cultures. These mounds include Georgia's oldest great temple mound, two burial mounds and four smaller ceremonial mounds.
The park's museum was built to incorporate part of an excavated mound; it provides an authentic setting for viewing artifacts. The museum features a film about how the mound was built and excavated.
As with other mound complexes, the people built and sited the earthworks according to a complex cosmology. Researchers have noted that several mounds are aligned according to astronomical events. For example, mounds A, D, and E, which form the central axis of the site, align with the sun at the spring equinox. Mounds F and D form an alignment with the sun at the summer solstice.
Soils at the Park are mostly dark red sandy loams or loamy sands of the Americus, Greenville, and Red Bay series. Some pale brown sands of the Troup series occur on the western shores of Kolomoki Lake, and at the northern end of the lake is brown or dark gray alluvial loam of the Herod-Muckalee soil association.
A view of the temple mound at Kolomoki Mounds State Park.

The Temple Mound is 56 feet high and measures 325 by 200 feet at the base. Research indicates that it would have taken over two million basket loads carried by individual workers, each holding one cubic foot of earth, to build this mound. The southern half of the mound is three feet higher and was probably the temple platform. From the top of the steps, most of the Kolomoki Archaeological Area can be viewed. Approximately 1,500 - 2,000 residents lived in a village of thatched houses arched around the plaza.

Back to rolling down on the highway

First stop was at the Park Visitors Center. The attendant mentioned that the park would be booked solid for the weekend. We weren’t planning on staying here anyway. We just wanted to visit the “Little Grand Canyon” anyhow. Surprise, surprise! The canyon is not located here! She gave us directions to Providence Canyon State Park about an hour north on US27. We could have stayed here and explored the archaeological site, but not on this day. We wanted a “Little Grand Canyon”!

The highway soon turned from pine forest to large plantation fields. Peanuts! Yes, I even had Jimmy Cater’s "Plains, Georgia" on the possible list of sights to visit. Plains is fairly close to Americus, GA… about the same distance from Kolomoki Mounds to Providence State Park, but in a different direction. North was our destination and so President Carter wasn’t going to welcome us to his home town. Providence Canyon was soon on the horizon and our lunch stop was there, at the Park. This is a self-registration State Park and the honor system is the rule. You fill-in the envelope, put your five dollar check, seal the envelope, put the envelope stub on your mirror and you are good to go. After lunch, we walked over to the overlook some twenty feet away and were blown away by the spectacular view and the one hundred fifty foot drop off at our feet. Amazingly, it reminded me, of not the Grand Canyon in Arizona, but of Bryce Canyon in Utah. This State Park is over a thousand acres in land mass. The access road has many overlooks to stop and admire the scenery. It’s not only the land erosion that makes this place special, but the flora makes everything jump out into the cameras view finder. At the end of the road was the Visitor Center which was not open. "Off Season” I guess. In the back of the Visitor Center was a trail guide which indicated different trails to the valley floor. We weren’t sure what equipment we would need and elected to pass on this hike to the bottom. There were plenty of places to explore along the ridge of the canyon.

Its Five O'clock Somewhere!

There is a tradition here at Trumbo Point that around five o'clock, especially on Fridays, but not limited to Fridays, to gather at someone's RV and have a party, dinner, or social get together. Last night was such an event. Ron,

Chef Tommy

who recently got engaged to Lygandia had a homecoming party for her arrival here in Key West. Lygandia, who goes by the nickname of Lala. She said her name was derived from two American Indian tribes. I didn't get the exact full story, but for now she is Lala and maybe "O La La!". A bunch of guys were in charge of the BBQ which explains why the quantities

Lala on the right

of food were on the abundant side. They barbequed 20 lbs. of chicken, 10 lbs. of hamburg. The ladies brought everything else. Tommy, retired "Coasty" did an outstanding job behind the grill. We all ate more than we should have and with Key Lime Pie and Chocolate Mouse for desserts, we were happy and full.
It is truly amazing how the camaraderie is everywhere in this 99% military retired community. The only other place that I have found this type of friendship was in a National

Welcome Committee Girls

Guard Unit back in New Hampshire. I presume that is because Guard members are together as a unit for years and friendships develop over time. Regular Army units are rotated every few years and the bonds aren't made as easily. Here at Trumbo Point, the military service is all behind us, but that is what bonds us. All the branches are here and no arguments on who's the best.

Disney Cruise Ship in background

Two nights ago, we were out again doing some night photography. It was unusual to see one of the cruise ships stay in port after sundown. They leave before sunset in order to eliminate an extra dock fee. Now we talking about $25,000 to $30,000 a day docking fee. I was told that is about $11 per passenger. I'm getting off subject. I got some good photos of the "Disney Magic" cruise ship. They did a "Disney" super job of colorful lighting on this Disney production.

Giant Disney Cruise Ship

We continued our nights' walk and took more night photos down on Duval and Caroline streets.
Yesterday, we met this couple who have traveled the world on "Space A" (space available travel with the US military.) Of course, the best part of this is that's free. This is not a given that you sign up for a flight and get accepted, but with a little patience you get to go to places that are neat to visit. The tips that Mike and Alice have given us are invaluable and will, I'm sure help us on our quest to visit Europe

That is what Helen does while I'm
doing night photography!

in the coming year. I just can't wait! We walked down to the Two Friends Bar and Restaurant and had dinner with them. Naturally, the topic of discussion was Space A, lodging, places to visit, how to pack and keep the weight down to 30 lbs. and still bring everything you need for a minimum of about a month stay. They explained how to get flights in Europe to out of the way places with high

(World Space A Travelers) Mike, Alice,
 Helen, Lucien

ranking officers, how to check into the terminal daily to see what, where, and flights coming and going. Story after story were incredible!
Sunday, with our busy schedule, we still found the time to volunteer at St Mary's Soup Kitchen on Flagler Ave. I cooked 20 lbs. of hamburg and two 5 gal pots of noodles. Of course, Mike the lead team leader oversaw my amateur cooking abilities. This operation took place mid morning until noon. We left and later returned at 3:30 for the 4pm dinner serving.  
It is now Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015 and we are at Bill and Mary's annual "Hot Dog Party" Bill joined the military on this date in 1948. Bill has been doing this event for a very long time. His time in service has been a rewarding career. He honors all veterans by having this annual "Hot Dog Party"

Mary and Bill

There was 68 who attended and one very special guest who is called "Colonel Bill". He is a former Marine World War II fighter pilot, fought in Korea and Vietnam. He is 94 years old and still rides his bike. It was an honor to meet him. We had tons of food that the ladies brought to party. The hot dogs were the giant size type. Sauerkraut with steam dogs or grilled were available. Deserts from homemade rum cake, blueberry cake, cream puffs and countless more. I'm having to really concentrate on riding the bike more aggressively to keep the weight from going on instead going off.

Bill and Colonel Bill...Two great soldiers!!

A few days ago I noticed an RV coming into Trumbo Point with a NH license plate. He stopped and I asked him where in NH he was from. Bow, NH was his answer. He asked me where I was from and I said "Berlin". To make a long story shorter...I have breakfast every Friday with his brother when I'm home. It was Mark Vaillancourt's brother Clem!

Me, Helen, Sandy and Clem

It is truly a small world!

That's is what we did and saw!

Technorati Tags: babyboomers,Retired Military,Travel Adventure,Truck Camping,Culture,Blog Writing

 

From Northern Hardwood Forest to Mangroves in KW

In our homeland forest in Northern New Hampshire, I would be talking about Maple, Oak, Beech, Ash and Birch as some of the most popular and abundant of hardwoods. In Florida, I would be talking about, blank, blank, blank! I have no clue on their names, but I do know that I have seen some mighty awesome looking trees here in the Keys. I’ve got to educate myself and hopefully pass some of what I have discovered, here on my blog. What I know now is… Take pictures of some of these magnificent trees. A couple of them have plaques with descriptions. I will get back to this subject further down on this blog and possibly in future blogs.
Yesterday afternoon, we were at the soup kitchen for our second volunteer serving on the food line. It is amazing how they/we feed 100 people in twenty minutes or so. It reminds me a lot of my old Army days! At the end of the serving line, a 37 year old said he needed to go to the hospital. He said he had a hard time breathing, has high blood pressure and hadn’t taken his BP medication for a month. He said he was sorry and started to cry. There was some discussion about bringing him to the hospital. I had my pickup truck there, but I was very hesitant about bringing someone to the hospital. I kept thinking, what if he’s on drugs, what if he has a seizure, and a lot more what if’s. The correct answer was to call 911. Soon the ambulance and a police officer were on the scene. We stuck around to watch what would happen to the patient. They checked him out, did all of their on site evaluations and than allowed him to board into the ambulance. I guess we did the proper thing in calling 911. Many of the homeless people have a multitude of problems. They are all in need of assistance in one form or another and most are very grateful for what they get from the Soup Kitchen. Another unexpected outcome from volunteering at the Soup Kitchen was the age of the needy. I surely expected middle age men, down and out, but to see young men with haircut short enough to meet military standards, some wearing camouflage bush hats and backpacks. I wonder if they have a military history, PTSD or whatever. The one thing I do know is that they are in need of help! Men are not the only gender in the line. Women, young and old, some look like they could be our retired neighbors at the campground in Trumbo Point.
Sunday night it rained just enough to screw up the Bocce courts for our Monday morning round of Bocce down on White Street. It wasn’t cool this morning, but the clouds were occasionally very dark. Should we bike or not? The forecast, 20% chance of a shower… After a couple of false starts, a little drizzle, we stayed put and read our books close to home. Monday evening the skies cleared and I grabbed onto my Nikon. We took a three mile walk around the water front. I did get a couple of good night shots.
The weather up north is terrible, I’m told. The weather isn’t as nice as it was this time last year, but we’re thankful that we are here.

One Tree...One Person

The last couple of days we have been riding the bikes, crisscrossing the main arteries of KW and getting into more side and back streets. I’m amazed at the number of City of KW workers that are out and about beautifying the city. Most residents also pitch in and keep the maintenance on their properties updated. Every now and then, I stop and click a landscape front entry to someone’s home. Also on our quest are those amazing trees that I mentioned at the beginning of this blog. This Saturday, there is an open house at the Botanical Gardens, they, I’m told, have a couple of National Champion trees.
Sunday, Feb 15, 2015

Air Force checking in for the night at
our campground!

The Key West Tropical Forest and Gardens had an open house this past weekend. Many artist and vendors were present to sell their crafts and goods. The main reason for our interest was the fact that the Tropical Forest  has five National Champion trees and Challengers (runner ups). You would think they would have had a plaque or marker to help easily identify them from the many others clustered together. No dice! I just have the names, but no pictures. Cinnamon Bark, Milkbark, Wild Dilly, Locustberry, Pigeon Plum and finally Saffron Plum. I did get pictures of the Nation Champions down on Truman Ave by the Basilica. Key West definitely has some remarkable massive trees. The summer hurricane season does reduce their numbers, but they are still surviving here in the tropics.

Nearly looks hand painted!

Amazing flowers in the Tropics!

One of the most interesting vendors at the Gardens was the KW Botanical Garden Society Tours to of all places “Cuba”! I often talk about visiting Cuba and we both brought our Passports just in case. There are several different tours on different dates. The next one is called the Western Loop scheduled for March 17 to 24th, 2015. The Vinales is a red-earth pasture area known for Tobacco growing. The breathtaking National Park, “Vinales” is also a highlight I’m told. May 14-18, 2015 will be Havana Only tour. That’s the one I would be interested in. The May schedule is past our must leave KW campsite, so most likely that won’t happen either.

Night, Night until morning!

That is what we saw and did!

Technorati Tags: Dendrology,Baby Boomers,Culture,Nature,Retired Military,Travel Adventure,Truck Camping

 

Our First Month…Snow to Sun!!

Yes, this week will mark our one month departure from zero degree weather to more favorable temperature down in the Keys of Florida. I can’t believe how fast the month has flown by! Our schedule seems to be busier than ever. That’s a good thing. I’m trying to get back on my routine of biking around the ten mile perimeter of Key West every other day.

Sunset on our evening bike ride

This morning, we did our ten miles and tonight we went to town on the bikes again, this time to buy batteries for my bike’s head and tail lights. It is incredibly wonderful to bike in the evening. We find many new little streets to explore. We are doing this relatively early evening, just after sun down. The breeze is light and the temperature is near perfect for the ride. Key West is a unique town with many small blocks of residential housing. Many of the streets are nearly passable by only one car at a time. This is where we enjoy riding and seeing what the different residences have for landscaping. All have trees of different species, that I would never be able to identify.

Another stop for an evening photo

The real-estate is tight, as there isn’t enough for all of the people on the island. This naturally brings the cost up to unbelievable amounts. This exploration is what we enjoy immensely in riding our bikes on the byways of Key West. 
Another thing we enjoy is finding nighttime locations to photograph. Key West is well lit and many of the mansions have landscape lighting that accentuates the mansions and especially the landscaping. I experiment with different camera settings to try and get the image I'm looking for. My Nikon D-7000 is capable of taking photos in nearly total darkness. I can make

Many of the street are perfect for an evening stroll

a totally dark scene turnout just about into broad daylight. So the trick is to try and reproduce the scene as my eye sees it, dark, with evening lighting accenting the mansions and landscape.
Now, a recent comment on Facebook about the lack of trees here at the Coast Guard RV campground has me thinking of all of the majestic trees we’ve seen here in Key West. I’m going to have a new tree photo each week on Facebook. Some of these trees are Nationally recognized. We’ve seen giant red wood trees that are 15 feet across at the base, but there are trees here that are 30 feet across. The difference is that the trees in California are hundred or so high, where here they are maybe seventy-five high.

Truman Annex next to the Truman White House

The first week of February was marked by steady wind and a few rain showers. This interfered with our Bocce schedule. You can’t play Bocce if the sand is damp. The sand sticks to the balls and it just doesn’t work! That meant that we tried something different. We volunteered at St Mary Star of the Sea soup kitchen. Yup, my first job was to make peanut butter/jelly sandwiches. I used 12 sandwich breads and one large bowl of peanut butter and plenty of jelly. The sandwiches are not part of the one four o’clock meal they serve. The sandwiches are for the next day’s breakfast. We actually worked from 11am to 12:30pm.

Our neighbors Jerry & Maxine are leaving
Key West for their home in Georgia

We left and did some shopping for our selves after that. We volunteered to come back at 3:30pm to help serve the four o’clock meal. I sort of had a pre-conceived notion that they were all homeless, drunks or on drugs, but this was not the case. A lot of people just run out of money each month. Nearly all were so thankful for the meal. We are going back later this afternoon to help serve another 4pm meal. Ninety three meals were served to these people in need.

And finally a photo of the full moon taken a few nights ago from our campsite at Trumbo point

I am ending this blog for today Sunday Feb. 8, 2015

That is what we did and saw!

Technorati Tags: Baby Boomers,Nature,Retired Military,Travel Adventure,Truck Camping,Health Workout,Culture

Key West…Blog Writing

Last year, it seemed that I had more time to blog about my travel adventures than this year. Some of this lag is due to a couple of reasons. The first is my new IPhone 6 picture uploads to the laptop. Data usage is one issue. I’ve been doing “Drop Box”, but that involves going online and to the cloud. The next inconvenience is that my laptop, I think, is on the way out. The top of the screen has a 1” black strip across the entire top. That makes it difficult to “X out” or minimize an application. I also have a more busy schedule this year. Bocce, Yoga and some Pickle Ball have taken up a good part of the week’s schedule. Meeting with friends for lunch or dinner also has cut into my blog time. All of the above are fun activities to do and so is blogging about our daily routine in the lower Keys.

Our private security Coast Guard Cutters in the background

Thursday, Jan 22nd                                                                                                                                                                                                  
Started late morning and biked over to have lunch at Martins on the corner block of Duval and Truman Ave. Martins’ is one of many restaurants that do half price appetizers if you mention that you are local. Now, the appetizers are large and getting a couple will more than satisfy

Paulette buying cigars for her son!

both of our combined lunch appetites. From the restaurant, we biked over to Truman Annex NAS (Naval Air Station) checked out what was playing for a movie, nothing we wanted to see and we peddled back over to Trumbo Point and visited with my classmate, Paulette Lowry and her sister Jeanette Morneau. Late in the afternoon, the four of us walked over to Mallory Square.

Sunset amusement at
Mallory Square 

The sunset didn’t materialize and actually we had a good shower. To escape the rain shower, we ran into “2 Friends Patio Restaurant” for Lobster Bisque. The rain soon ended and we walked back to our campsite at Trumbo Point.
Friday, Jan 23rd
This morning our bikes were on the road to the Bocce courts on the Atlantic end of White St. Some of the teams were milling around when we got there. George, in his 80’s, the guru of the Bocce here in Key West, said that the courts were too damp from last night’s rain showers. They postponed the game until Sunday night. Paul mentioned that we should visit the West Martello Tower Gardens. This is an old Fort that had been abandoned and had nearly been totally looted by locals for bricks. The site was taken over and converted to a partial museum and gardens. Admission is by donation. We strolled among the Fort’s many arched rooms and admired plants of every descriptions.

Rain Shower hideaway at
Two Friends Restaurant

My favorites were the Orchids growing high on the tree limbs. This garden has little nooks that some families were having a lunch picnic. The views from there are of the gardens and the ocean.This is in perfect harmony with the natural surroundings.
It was now a little past lunch and my tummy was calling. I wanted to checkout a bike shop downtown and hence would have lunch at “Five Guys”. The  “Little Burger with the works” is my favorite! It seems that I write a lot about eating in this blog, but we may eat, but we walk and bike off the pounds. So far, I’m five pounds lighter than I was before leaving the North Country.

No I'm not going to jail! Just a famous photo
opportunity!

My odometer has registered forty miles of bike riding and I haven’t really devoted any time to my power bike around the Island of Key West.
Saturday, Jan 24th 
This was a predicted day of sporadic rain. We spent most of the day reading in the camper. I’ve been reading Bill O’Reilly’s “Killing Patton” a very interesting view of World War II behind the scenes. Later in the afternoon, I got a text message from Paulette who invited us to dinner in her luxurious motor home. We accepted!

Jeanette, Paulette, Helen and I walking
down on Truman Annex...Truman
White House

It was an enjoyable evening and dinner was first class. Paulette was in the army when she met her husband Richard. Richard made a career in the army and they both retired from postal service. He passed away and Paulette has carried on touring with her motor home when not home in New Hampshire.
Sunday, Jan 25th
This morning, I shuttled Helen, Paulette and her sister Jeanette over to church. St Mary Star of the Sea is a beautiful Basilica, as I have mentioned before in previous blogs. After mass, we took advantage of the coffee and donuts at the church Community Center. The next on the schedule was to drop Paulette and Jeanette  off at the corner of Eaton and Whitehead Streets for their walk

One never knows what you'll
see driving in KW

around the Arts and Craft Fair event. We would check this street event later this afternoon. We wanted to Skype the kids from the “Fly Navy” hotel. Lunch in the camper today and off on our bikes for the Arts and Craft Show. I’m always impressed with the quality of the Artisans crafts. The Artisans come from all over the country to this event. They have to be good to compete with others to sell their crafts. I took a few pictures to remember some of the items I’d like to try and duplicate when I get back home. Actually, who am I kidding! I usually get home and never think of doing those neat crafts.
Monday, Jan 26th

Bocce is the name of the game this morning. The camper is off the truck

The Meteor from George Town, S. Africa
is for sail $258 million asking price!
Any takers out there?

and we had to do grocery shopping and errands so the truck was our transportation to the Bocce courts on the other side of the Island. We each won a game and lost a game on different teams. Maybe, we will be good enough to eventually ask some local village Bocce players in Italy for a round or two (ha, ha!). After the game, we headed over to the Fly Navy Gateway Inn to upload, download photos into Dropbox  and publish a couple of blogs I had in the draft mode in “Live Writer”. I’m glad to report that I’m slowly improving in that department.

Tuesday, Jan 27th
The Yoga class this morning was skipped because our friends from Congress, AZ were here at the Fly Navy Gateway Inn.

My favorite biking partner!

Rex and Jodi, our neighbors picked up Dan & Jan Yochum and we followed them to Big Pines Key for lunch. This is about 30 miles north of KW. In Big Pines, they took a left and we followed them to “No Name Key” which is the location of the “No Name Bar”! Confusing isn’t it? This bar has good food and even on a Tuesday noon was packed! The walls, ceiling and just about everything else has dollar bills stapled to them. It is a neat place and we had a good time conversing for a good part of the afternoon. Two

Hockey in KW

Harley bikers from Trumbo joined us. It wasn’t too long before Ron told the waitress that his buddy John wanted to marry her. We all had a good laugh on that one. The party broke up mid afternoon and Rex told us to go across the bridge and checkout the deer on the other end of No Name Key. The deer are a species that only are found on this Key. The deer are small and as we approached their habitat, many signs said “Absolutely no feeding the deer”. Several deer were on and next to the deserted highway. We stopped and to our surprise they didn’t scatter. Helen held out her hand and the deer was soon were

Yes, It's on inline roller skates, Dede

licking her hand. I guess people don’t follow the regulations and must hand feed them.
Returning to Key West, I got a call from Paulette and Jeanette who were at the “Margaretville Bar” wanted us to join them at Mallory Square for the 6:08pm sunset. We left Trumbo Point and walked to the square just in time to catch the sunset. I got a few good photos.

That is what we did and saw!

Technorati Tags: Blog Writing,BabyBoomers,Retired Military,Travel Adventure,Truck Camping

 

Jan 18th to Jan 21st …Key West Life Style

On Sunday, the 18th, we headed over to the Navy Club House to watch one of many football games. Biking across town, we noticed that the street lights were off and Key West had lost power. When we reached the club house over at Truman Annex, the power returned, but all of the satellite feeds needed to be rebooted. This didn’t happen and many football fans were not happy. It’s sort of fun to watch all of the people pick teams. Remember, they are from all over the country and support many teams. The staff put on a movie, but the sport fans were loud and streaming football games on their cell phones. As it turned out, we couldn’t listen to the movie, which looked interesting. We called it a day and headed back to Trumbo and did some reading.
Jan 19th, Monday
Today we would be active as we both played Boccie for the first time! Leaving the campground at Trumbo Point, we biked about a mile to the Boccie courts.

Before the Boccie Start 

We were well greeted and introduced to the game. You pick a card and suit which puts you on a different team for every game. They do the score keeping and the rest is a very easy game. It turned out that we both did very well for the first time playing this sport.
Later in the afternoon, we toured our neighbors, Jim and Betty’s, fifth wheel trailer. Pretty roomy compared to the truck camper! This maybe putting a bug in our ear about upgrading. Still thinking about our travels abroad next fall.

Helen's first Boccie pitch!

Maybe, staying in Europe for a extended stay…who knows what the future adventures will bring to this energetic couple.
Jan 20th, Tuesday
Another first for me. Yup!  Yoga Class! So we walk-in and there are maybe ten guys and thirty women sitting on mats. I want to be in the rear so I can watch and copy the different moves. The instructor, a young girl, perfectly shaped body, wearing these tights with colored designs that make her look like she was tattooed. She got my attention when she started the class. I discovered that it is hard to follow just by listening to her. I had to watch the girl next to me to get the moves somewhat correct. After getting into the relaxed frame of mind, I started to stretch muscles that hadn’t been stretch for thirty years. After an hour of the Yoga class, my body actually felt in better shape. This may help my five bulging disk to get back into position.   

Peaceful Boccie Night in Key West!

Jan 21st, Wednesday
On this day, I conference called one of my last four Berlin Water Works Board Meetings. My term ends in April and I will not seek another term. It’s time to retire! It was sort of neat to have me in Key West, FL, Roland, the newly retired Superintendent in Homosassa, FL and the rest of the board back in Berlin, NH all conducting business so many miles apart.
On this day, Paulette Lowry, a former 1963 classmate contacted us. She was getting ready to check-in here at the military campground in Key West. I conveyed as much information to her and her sister as how to access the base and such. Later in the afternoon, we met up with them up at Sigsbee Naval Air Station. Let me say this about RV’s here in Key West. Because of cold weather across the entire US and the fact that gas prices have lowered this place is packed! They never refuse anybody, but they’ve temporarily been parking RV’s on the street for no charge.
We took Paulette and Jeanette on a walking tour of Key West, down by Mallory Square for the evening. We had dinner at the Commodore Dock Side Restaurant. The neat thing about a lot of restaurants is the half price appetizers between 4 and 7pm. It was an enjoyable evening for all of us. We walked back to Trumbo Point and I gave the girls a ride back to their luxurious motor home. 

That is what we saw and did!

Technorati Tags: Truck Camping,Baby Boomers,Retired Military,Travel Adventure

  

First Four Days in Key West

Monday, January 12, 2015
It has been a trying week to say the least. The trip down here was a constant battle to beat the weather. To top that off, Helen’s mom wound up in the hospital on Wednesday, the 7th, and is now at the nursing home. That in itself was nerve racking for Helen. She seriously considered or still is considering flying back up to Berlin. On the bright side, her mom, so far has adjusted to the nursing home. Helen’s sister, Doris, has taken over the helm and taken care of all the paper work.
Now, for Key West! The campground at Trumbo Point is nearly full to capacity. We are setup in the 600 block area, not the same location as our site last year, but our lot size is nearly double in size. Our neighbors are friendly and Gene has offered to fill our fresh water tank. He has a 45 gal bladder tank with an electric pump which makes short order of refilling. We have met many of our last years friends and tomorrow, Friday the 16th, is the gathering for coffee and donuts at the swimming pool area.
Our site is shaping up every day. I setup the shelter, installed some bamboo screening for afternoon shading. The outdoor rug keeps the debris from being tracked into the camper. The gas grill is unpacked from the roof storage area and already in use. Truck has been power washed and every day I do a little more detailing. There is an unwritten competition here between Laurent, Tommy and myself to see who has the cleanest pickup truck. So far, Laurent and Tommy have me beat by far.
Friday, January 16, 2015
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday just seemed to fly by with no special activities. Our friend, Paul Foster, gave me a heads up for Friday. Another camper named John has a son in-law that is a F-16 fighter pilot.

Fighter Pilot Show and Tell

His Toledo, Ohio Squadron is down here on training. Another Squadron of F-15 from Louisiana is also here, along with the Navy “Conch” Air Force. (Special F-105 fighters painted in foreign adversarial colors.) To shortened the story, John arranged for a bunch of Trumbo Point campers to have a special tour on the flight line and watch the jet fighters take off. I’ve been to air shows before, but never been able to get up close and personal with some of this country’s best and finest aircraft.
First order of business was to meet the aircraft handlers. These are the guys that make them fly and load all of those smart bombs and missiles. Walking into the massive hanger, we saw many aircraft parts. One of the main concerns for security was, you guessed it “No Pictures” I certainly can understand that concern. The Major, John’s son-in-law, did allow us to take a few pictures of the pressure suits the pilots wear to keep blood into the upper part of their bodies while turning the aircraft at extreme “G” forces. We then walked to the flight-line and checked out the aircraft. The F-15’s were starting their engines. We had been given ear plugs and were told that we would know when to put them in. He was right! The F-15s’ with twin engines revving at 37,000 RPM produced a howl that was loud and the sound of power. He said they can fly for about 2-1/2 hours without refueling…that’s 1,400gals of jet fuel…$$$$$
We watched all three squadrons take off. The Major explained how computers fly the fighters and make all adjustments in flight. It was certainly an interesting morning. The F-15’s, 16’s and F-105’s aren't  our latest fighters (The F-22 “Raptors are”), but still a world class fighter that has proven itself in combat many times.
In talking to John, I discovered that he also was a Huey pilot. I worked on Hueys in Vietnam. He said he was a “Dust Off” pilot which indicates he flew medical evacuation missions. There are so many retired veterans from all branches of the Armed Forces here. They all have stories to recount and we are all so called “Band of Brothers”
Saturday, January 17, 2015

This is the first day of the 10th annual Seafood Festival in Key West. It is an impressive event with not only seafood, but local arts and craft vendors and live bands

Crafty Arts!

playing music all day. We had clams for lunch and spent several hours talking to the artist. Some are very cleaver make things from drift wood, coconut shells and even rocks! We sat and listened to a couple of bands. Some people were dancing and I must say, some looked like they were ready for “Dancing with the Stars”. The second band was “Rock and Roll”. They were good, but a little to loud for my taste and we walked back to the campground about a mile away. Yes, that’s what we are here for… exercising and enjoying the great outdoors!
That is what we did and saw!

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