Been Awhile

 Not sure what happened, but I stopped blogging for the summer.  Not going to promise anything but do want to catch everyone up with what has happened.

I brought Teddy home with me and I have to say, Yuma has never gotten over his jealousy.  

This has caused a lot of troubles in the household.  I know it is mostly my fault, but I just can't ignore poor Teddy's pleas for attention.

And Dolly has her new baby poodle, Freddie.

Evan and Kristi's daughter, Erin graduated from high school in May and applied to several prestigious universities.  She decided to attend the University of Southern California (USC) in the Fall.  I'm sure she will love the weather.

Dolly and I went to the Bloomington Zoo with Jim and Keaton.

Ant Eater

In November, Steve, Nick, Mollie (Nick's GF) and Lane ran at Indianapolis.  Steve and Nick ran the Marathon.  It was Steve's 17th consecutive run.  He has run it since the inauguration run.

Lane, Steve, Nick and Mollie

As Fall arrived, I decided to travel to Merritt Island, Florida to visit my brother Richard and his wife, Paxti, and their son, Jonathan and his family.

Took me four days to get to their home.  The eastern states are much more crowded than the western states.  It was not a fun trip.

Richard and Paxti pool side

Richard has recently moved to a one floor home to save on going up and down stairs.  They have a beautiful home.

Jonathan has a 40-acre lot nearby and that is where I stayed for the two weeks.

Luna Lake

The lot has not been cleared and looks much like Florida did before being inhabited.  The lake is named after Jonathan's daughter Luna.  It only sprinkled once while there and the weather was warm and sunny for the rest of my time there.

Another neighbor

They grow them big around here

Jonathan did have four lawn mowers to keep up with the undergrowth.  A daddy, momma and two baby goats.  Luckily, they were quiet at night because they stayed in a cage right near my motorhome.

I was staying about three miles from Cape Canaveral and there were rocket lift-offs going up almost every day, but this is as close as I got to getting a picture.  I ran inside to grab my phone and this all I got.  The rocket was out of sight.

I have always wanted to go back to Melrose, Florida where my grandfather retired to back in the forties.  We lived there several time in those years when Richard and I were around six or seven years old when my Dad was between jobs and we needed a place to stay.  This place had a lasting effect on the two of us.

Granddad and Grandmom

Entrance to unincorporated village of Melrose off the state highway.

Always loved the large oaks and hanging moss over the sand roads. Still the same after all these decades.

This used to be a lake house.  The main house is a big Victorian house behind it.  The rich from Lakeland and up north have winter homes around Melrose Bay.  Not sure how my Granddad ended up with it, but it looks almost the same as when my family stayed there.

This is the walkway to the dock on Melrose Bay.  Looks like it is the same boards we walked on, but old now.

Our swimming hole is exactly the same.  Beyond Melrose Bay outside that row of Cypress trees is the huge Lake Santa Fe.

I wanted to travel to Yuma after my two weeks visiting my brother, but after nine years of visiting the southwest, most of it with only Yuma, I just couldn't get up the interest to travel five or more days across country, so I turned north toward home and family.  I have decided to stay home this winter and see how I feel next Fall.

I lost a long time friend this week.  Al (Travel With The Bayfield Bunch) lost his wife, Kelly this week after a long illness.

Dolly, Fergie and I stopped at their home in Congress on January, 9, 2014.  I had been following Al's blog for awhile and when I bought my Class C Motorhome and Jeep, Dolly, Fergie and I headed west.  I just had to meet, Al, Kelly and Pheebe.  They were doing the exact same traveling I wanted to do, but I had never boondocked before.

I called them and they said to stop on by, so we did.  I followed in their footsteps for the next nine years, traveling to the same beautiful places they did.  I ran into them many times over those years.  May Kelly rest in peace and Al carry on her legacy.

Until next time, thanks for stopping by.