Back at Mom's

October 19 – 23, 2006


Here we are! Back at Joni’s Mom’s. We decided to spend the winter in Florida again this year to help Joni’s Mom get back on her feet, after the death of her Dad this summer. The picture posted was taken in December, 2005.

Mom seems to be doing OK. She has her ups and downs. We hope our love and support will help cheer her up and give her some direction. After 3 days here, we will be staying in Vero Beach, about a 2 hour drive from Mom’s, and will be making regular visits to see her.

We ask you all to please pray for her as she makes some decisions for her future.

Siesta Bay in Fort Myers, Florida

October 15 – 23, 2006

We decided we would head to Mom’s via the west coast of Florida. We enjoyed our stay in Fort Myers Beach last February, so we thought we would go there again.


Our friends, Mary Jane and Dave Mulaski stayed at the Siesta Bay RV Resort a few times and we visited them while they were there. We wanted to give the place a try. It was GREAT! (It seems we think everyplace is great!!!!) The park is a combination of homes and RV spots. Pictured is our site.


It was a very very friendly place and we met people very quickly, especially tennis players, many who even knew Mary Jane and Dave. They had a round robin tennis match for anyone who showed up every morning, so when we showed up every morning, we had instant friends. Pictured are some of the people we met. Since it was still early in the season, many “snowbirds” had not yet arrived, so the group is smaller than during the winter season.


Joni decided to join the pool volleyball games held everyday in the larger of the 2 pools. Again, new friends were made. See Joni in the middle of the back row on the left.The games were good because a small section of the pool was used which made each person’s coverage small and there were 10 people on each team. It made it a lot easier to play. AND THE MEN DIDN’T HOG THE BALL!


During her daily bike ride, Joni noticed a strange object “floating” along in one of the lakes in the park. It was an alligator. Joni did not want to kayak with the alligator this time. She may never do that again! The lake is right next to the tennis courts.

We enjoyed our stay and again, didn’t want to leave, but on the Mom’s……….(just 2 hours away).

Heading South

October 12-16, 2006

After leaving Destin, we spent one night on the road and then stopped at Joni’s college friend’s home in Lakeland, Florida. Gayle McGibbon was one of Joni’s best friends in college. We have visited with Gayle, and her husband Dean, quite a few times in the last few years.

Brittany, Gayle and Dean’s daughter, had her second daughter, Sydney, in September. Joni loves little babies, so she loved holding and playing with the baby while we were there. Brittany was staying with her parents until she was able to go back to work.

We "enjoy" dicussing politics and religion with Gayle. She is always on the opposite side of the argument. What can I say - she's a democrat! We love you anyway Gayle.

We didn’t take any pictures while we were there, so the included picture is from our visit last year. We will visit again on our trip back north.

The Most Beautiful Park Ever

Topsail Hill Preserve, Florida
October 7 – 12, 2006

 The panhandle of Florida has the most beautiful beaches in the continental U.S. It also has one of the most beautiful campgrounds – Topsail Hill Preserve in Santa Rosa, Florida. It’s just 8 miles east of Destin. Before we got to Destin, we spent one night at the Navarre Campground. Pictured is the Navarre Campground Beach.

 
Pictured NEXT is our site at Topsail. It’s the most beautiful spot we’ve ever had.  
The landscaping is lush, green and full of colorful flowers and tropical plants. The reason the foliage is so nice is that the park has a sprinkling system. The streets have curbs. It’s neat and clean.

  
The park is located on the beach, although you must take a 1 mile bike ride, walk or shuttle to get there. Most ride their bikes on the private, paved path to the beach. Once you get there you can park your bike in the bike area and walk a little further, over the dunes to the beach. Pictured is the boardwalk to the beach. It’s all so very pretty. 

We met a few tennis players and enjoyed some fun games.   

Delton played golf. We had a great time and didn’t want to leave the area. We honeymooned in Sandestin, a few miles away, 19 years ago when we got married. The area has changed a lot since we saw it last, but the beaches are as beautiful as ever.

Prayer for Karen and Paul Reinhart

Steele Magnolia House with Karen and Paul
October 7, 2006


We were able to visit with Karen and Paul Reinhart again this year. We were on our way back to Florida for the winter and our route took us right by their home.

Their home is the Steele Magnolia Bed and Breakfast. They own the home where the movie was filmed. See December 2005 in our archives for more information on their home.

We would like to request prayers from all our family and friends for Paul and Karen. Karen has been very sick with cancer. Please pray for her and family. Thanks.

Back Home in Texas 2006

September 15 – October 4, 2006

Well, here we are. Back Home! Again! It always feels good to be back home. AND we are having a wonderful time traveling around the country and visiting lots of family and friends everywhere. It’s what has made fulltime RVing wonderful.

We stayed at “the Vineyards” RV park in Grapevine, near The Gaylord The Vinyards Park is an old park that was renovated last year and now it is very very nice. It’s right on Lake Grapevine which is very very low right now. The Scout’s Landing Marina is right here, but the boat ramps are not usable because the lake is so low. We’ve enjoyed staying here and will stay here again. It’s nice and it’s close to friends, family and church.

  
Kathy and Larry Lehrmann came to the campground and we rode bikes to the Gaylord (pictured) and enjoyed diner. Chris joined us for diner that day also.    Also pictured is an indoor scene from the Gaylord in Grapevine.



We are sorry that we haven’t taken many pictures while here, but we just don’t think about taking our camera everywhere because we are “home”. We have just a few and will use some for previous times.

We were very busy doing lots of catching up on “business” like getting our car inspected, new tires, etc. We also got a new washer/dryer for the motorhome. Our old one wasn’t working very well and I don’t want to go the laundramat. Ron, Delton’s brother, helped him install it.

Delton got to play lots of golf at Lake Kiowa with his brothers and nephew Jay. He had to drive 1 hour each way but it was worth it for him. He loves golf and seeing his family as well.

 
Joni’s son Chris came to the campground a few times. One day he decided to go kayaking with Joni. They used Joni’s hard kayak and also the blowup one. Chris started out in the blowup one and after paddling for about ½ hour, we discovered it had a hole in it. Wish we had a camera. We managed to get back to the campground, but we didn’t have a lot of air left…… Pictured are Chris and Delton watching football.

Delton’s son, Chris, celebrated his birthday while we were here. We took him out to diner. It was nice to be able to be here to celebrate with him and his family.

Delton’s son, Ken and his wife Shawna, are in the process of purchasing a new house and we were able to go see it. We’re hoping that it closes soon and next time we’re here they will have moved in.

We got to see many friends and family: Chris and Michelle (Delton’s son), Ken and Shawna (Delton’s son), Chris (Joni’s son), Kandy and Val, Kathy and Skip, Kathy and Larry, many friends from church, lots of family in Lake Kiowa.   

We also got to meet Ron’s new wife, Trude. We welcome her into the family. Pictured are Ron and Trude.

We took a day trip down to Waco to visit Gayle and Walt Fengolio. They recently moved back to Texas from Glorietta, New Mexico near Santa Fe.

Wish we had more pictures. Sorry!