We arrived at McKinney Falls State Park, close to Austin, in the late afternoon. We spent the next day relaxing and took a hike to explore the area. That afternoon, we drove into Austin to check out the music scene. After walking several blocks, we found that most bars charged a steep cover charge. We stopped at a few bars and ended up at the Jackalope to eat and listen to some music.
With all the hype about Austin being a music mecca, we were disappointed. Since there were not any Music Festivals going on, it may have been just a slow time of the year. We decided that Nashville and Memphis is more to our taste.
From Austin, we drove to Breaux Bridge, Louisiana and spent the night in a rest area. As we were ready to leave the next morning, I noticed a blue bird admiring its reflection in a car window and trying to get in that window. I managed to scare it away before it beat itself to death.
By Sunday March 6th, we were in Gulf Shores, Alabama, another recommendation given us by a fellow RVer. We loved it!
We had a scrumptious feast that afternoon in the warm sunshine. We definitely would like to come back to Gulf Shore in the future.
After enjoying the coast, we made a run for Florida and pulled into the Ocala Sun RV Park at dinner time, after a long day of driving 420 miles. We tried to get into the Indian Creek RV Resort in Fort Myers a day early, but it was full so we spent another day in Ocala. We had a reservation at Indian Creek for 6 days before going into our Home Exchange. It was in a good location, 2 miles from Fort Myers Beach. What we noticed immediately was that the other residents were not as friendly as they were in Arizona, one of the differences between the Eastern part of the country versus the Western. We did some exploring before the rest of the family arrived. A few miles away, we drove over the causeway to Sanibel Island and made our way to Bowman's Beach, known for shelling.
There were mounds of shells on the beach and tons in the water along the shore. I spent my time looking for special and unique shells. Apparently after a storm, seasoned shell seekers find some very valuable shells on this beach.
On our way back to our truck, we saw an osprey flying over head with a good size fish in his talons headed for the nest with Mama waiting to feed her young chicks.
Later in the day, we drove down Fort Myers Beach to Times Square where street performers entertain the crowds. There were several bars along the beach with bands playing on the deck. We settled on Nemo's and listened to a one-man band playing classic oldies. We both commented at the same time that this would be a good place to bring the family after every one arrives.
On March 16, we put our 5th wheel in storage and found our way to our home exchange. It was a lovely 4 bedroom home on a lake with an enclosed pool. Not long after we got settled in, Dan and Gail arrived from the airport. It is always good to see their smiling faces. Before we knew it, it was time to drive to Punta Gorda to pick up Mom and Dad from the airport. Our friends, Marty and Mary Connell, from our home town, were on the same flight from Plattsburgh, NY. Marty and I were classmates since first grade and he has always been a close friend of ours. After loading everyone up, we took Marty and Mary to their condo downtown and found our way back to the house.
The next morning, we made an excuse that we had to go to the pharmacy but drove to the airport to get Eric. He wanted to surprise Gram and Grandpa. Unfortunately, Holly could not come since she had just started a new job. Later in the afternoon, Jeremy and Lalanya arrived.
Denny and Kelly were already settled in at their vacation rental and were waiting for Todd, Corey, and Devin arrive. It was St. Patrick's Day so naturally the Downs clan had to celebrate our heritage. Donned in green, we headed for the celebration in downtown Fort Myers.
Before we left, Lalanya and Jeremy opened up some gifts for the new baby that is due in July. They had better get used to Momma and Poppa Downs spoiling our first grandchild.
On Saturday, we all went to Fort Myers Beach and ended up at Nemo's for a very entertaining evening, to say the least. We had not laughed that hard in a long time...thanks Denny! We took lots of pictures for proof and posterity.
On Sunday, our friend Mark invited us to go on a boat to cruise around Bonita Springs. Jeremy and Lalanya, Gail, Bob and I joined Mark and Renee, Marty and Mary, and their friends Scott and Janice for a beautiful day on the intercostal waterway.
We decided to celebrate Mom and Dad's 65th Wedding Anniversary on Monday. We had a little party at the pool before going to dinner. Eric and Jeremy put together a DVD of the Downs Family adventures of the week for Gram and Gramp. Bob and I gave Dad a little present. Last Thanksgiving when we were planning the trip to Florida, we told Dad that he could be the "cabana" boy.
They did a great job putting all the pictures and videos together to music: it was funny and entertaining. For the celebration dinner, we all went to Bahama Breeze for a delicious meal and wonderful time with family and friends.
We all went to Sanibel Island for a picnic. What a relaxing day with family and friends. The water was warm and we even had some company.
Eric wanted to get some shells for Holly at Bowman's Beach. He talked Gail and I into getting up before the crack of dawn to go to Sanibel Island. We had the beach to ourselves, a gorgeous sunrise and found plenty of unique shells.
On Wednesday, Eric and Lalanya left for Key West and Dan and Gail left for Colorado. The following day, Eric was on his way back to Alaska. It was sad to see them all leave after such a fantastic week. The rest of the family went to Fort Myers Beach one more time.
On Saturday, Mom, Dad, Bob and I moved from the home exchange back to Indian Creek RV Park. That evening, we went to dinner at Marty and Mary's condo. We had a great dinner and enjoyed the evening with them, Scott, Janice, Mark and Renee.
We said our goodbyes to everyone and on Wednesday, we drove Mom and Dad to the airport. What a wonderful time that we had and will always treasure the memories.
On the way, I happen to find a last minute cheap cruise (7 nights for $329 per person to Cozumel, Belize, Isla Roatan, Grand Cayman) that was scheduled to leave on Sunday. We called our friends Mark and Renee to see if they wanted to go. Before we got to the airport, they called back and said that they were in. We dropped Mom and Dad off and continued on to Lakeland, FL for Sun N Fun Air Show, billed as “Spring Break for Pilots”. After we got set up at the Sanlan RV Park, we went for a walk and got caught in a downpour and were completely drenched by the time that we got back to the 5th wheel.
The next day, it looked like the weather forecast was for more rain so we decided not go to the air show since there would not be many planes flying. Our friend Art Garcia came down from Orlando to see us. It was great to see him and hear about his family, as well as how retirement was going.
After lunch, it started to rain and when I went out to close the door, the rain and wind picked up. I was holding on to the door yelling for help, in seconds I was soaking wet. A few miles away at the air show, a tornado came through and destroyed several planes. We were glad that we were not there to see it. The next day it was sunny skies and we headed to the Airshow. The winds from the tornado on the previous day had caused a lot of damage. There were at least 19 airplanes destroyed and one building collapsed.
Some of the vendor booths were blown down. In spite of Mother Nature, the show went on. The Blue Angles performed their precision flying routine, as well as a few of the best aerobatic performers in the world. We enjoyed the static display of many unique airplanes. It was a thrill to be able to see this International Fly-In and Expo, the second largest next to Oshkosh.
By Saturday morning we had stored the 5th wheel and were on our way to Fort Myers to stay with Mark and Renee. We were excited to be on our way to Miami to start our cruise on the Carnival Glory. After we found our cabin and toured the ship, it was time for the Sail Away Party with music by Caribbean Ecstasy. Our first day was at sea...ah time to relax!
Cozumel, Mexico was our first port of call. We were ready for sandy beaches, crystal clear turquoise water, snorkeling, and ice cold cerveza! Paradise Beach was lovely, not very crowded with comfortable lounges and umbrellas, and a great pool. It was a fun day and we were not in any hurry to get back to the ship.
On Wednesday morning, we arrived in Belize, home of the second longest reef in the world after the Great Barrier Reef. We had hoped to go to one of the Cayes, but we did not have enough time. I want to come back here and do a home exchange on Ambergris Caye.
One of our favorite ports was Mahogany Bay, Isla Roatan, a island off the coast of Honduras. The island is also located near the Caribbean's largest coral reef. It was a short walk from the ship to Mahogany Beach or you could ride the chairlift called the Magical Flying Beach Chair.
We found some great lounges that looked out over the pristine turquoise water. Bob and I enjoyed swimming and snorkeling in the warm water. We saw some beautiful tropical fish, coral and sea fans. After relaxing on the beach, we went for a walk and found a little tiki bar with some great island music. The lead singer came over and serenaded us while Mark and Renee danced. We all decided that Carnival needs to drop us off here and pick us up when they come to port the next week. Maybe someday...
It was Friday before we knew it and we pulled into our last port,Grand Cayman, originally named “Las Tortugas” by Christopher Columbus. We did indeed see one big turtle on Seven Mile Beach. We found a perfect spot under some shade trees to enjoy the day. We walked the beach, basked in the sun, swam and snorkeled before ending our day at a tiki bar.
What a wonderful day. We had one more day at sea to rest up from an eventful week...eating, dancing, laughing, reading, did I mention eating? I am going to miss the towel animals.
On Sunday, we docked in Miami and could not believe that we got off the ship, picked up our bags, passed through immigration and were back in our pick-up on our way to Fort Myers in one hour. We dropped off Mark and Renee and thanked them for a great week of fun in the sun. How many friends do you have that would go on a cruise with you with only 3 days notice?
We then made our way to Lake City, Florida to spend the night at Oaks N Pines RV Park. With the price of diesel over $4.00/gal, we decided not to drive the 5th wheel to Alaska. Instead, we headed back to Arizona to look for some houses to buy and rent them out. On the way, we stopped in Alabama and sampled some delicious seafood at Felix's Fish Camp.
From there we headed to Fontainebleu State Park on Lake Pontchartrain, across the lake from New Orleans. It is a 2,800 acre park that was an old sugar mill built in 1829; the crumbling brick ruins are still there along with many of the enormous live oaks.
We enjoyed it so much we stayed an extra day. I wish that we would have had enough time to drive over the causeway to New Orleans, maybe next time. After a night at WalMart and at the Coach Light RV park in Las Cruces, NM, we arrived back at the Mesa Regal RV park in Arizona.
Wow, it was like a ghost town with all of the “snow birders” gone home. We were happy to see John and Linda Wilson and their friends Pat and Clovis, from Canada.
We had some lovely dinners and happy hours together. One evening, we all met at the San Tan Flats for dinner and drinks outside by a our own personal fire pit, listening to a young country singer. After looking at houses for the week in the Queen Creek area, we, made five offers on homes, hoping that we are able get two.
We left Arizona on Easter Sunday and drove 420 miles to Beatty, NV where we spent the night. Our next stop was Camp N Town RV Park in Carson City, NV owned by our friends, Ivan and Sandra Lepire. We met them at Mesa Regal this winter and had some fun times together. We spent two nights as guests at their park and enjoyed seeing them. Unfortunately, Ivan was not feeling well so we did not get to spend much time together. We owe you two a dinner in Mesa next year!
On Tuesday, we drove over to Reno to see our friends Cam and Flora Solari. We had not seen them since Christmas in Alaska and it was as usual, wonderful visiting with them over a scrumptious dinner at an excellent Italian restaurant. Thanks for a wonderful day Cam and Flora. We hope to see you in Alaska this summer.
We arrived at our friends' Barb and Michael Burgener's house in Olympia, WA on Thursday, April 28. We have all been friends for nearly 35 years and some of our best memories include them. Barb and I share so many fantastic life experiences, including raising our boys, emotionally supporting each other (through some challenging times, personal growth, graduate school) as well as the joys of friendship. We have celebrated milestones such as birthdays and my retirement in our favorite place, Kauai, Hawaii. We have to thank our wonderful husbands for “baching” it while we have our girl time. We love the ocean, a sandy beach, sunshine, good books, fresh fruit, Hawaiian music, and let's not forget driving in the convertible with the wind in our hair. She is the sister that I never had and someone that I know will always be there for me and my family. A friend that you can call at any time day or night and would come in a heartbeat if I needed her. How blessed you are if you have one friend like this amazing woman. We had 4 wonderful days with them. We walked to the Saturday Market enjoying all of the Spring flowers (the rhododendrons were gorgeous) and stopped at the Dragon Boat Festival.
After, we savored a delectable meal at Anthony's Hearthfire Grill on Puget Sound to celebrate Barb and Michael's 20th upcoming wedding anniversary. We started out on the deck watching the sailboats and basking in the sun, until some enormous clouds blocked our warmth. We moved inside before hypothermia set in. On Monday, we found a place close by to store our 5th wheel and truck for the summer before heading to SeaTac to catch our flight to Alaska. Thank you Barb and Michael for your hospitality, friendship, and love.
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