What's Up? Not Much!

Quiet times here in Lakeland, Florida. Norma was glued to the TV the last two weeks watching the Olympics so we have not even been out exploring. I went out with Paul a couple of times, once to watch his granddaughter play basketball and once to meet a bunch of his childhood friends from Kentucky who were wintering nearby. I am now an adopted Kentuckian. I think I am also picking up Paul's accent.

I am helping Paul run a second satellite TV cable into the bedroom of his fifth wheel to allow him to use a PVR. That turned into a bigger than expected job that will be finished today. We are dealing with a slideout and tons of stuff under the floor making drilling holes difficult to say the least.

The air conditioning in the Honda has been slowly getting warmer so I took it in to get it recharged. It has been about 18 months since it was done in Parker, AZ. I was informed the law in Florida dictates that the entire system has to be checked before they can add refrigerant so after about a half hour I was given the bad news. Apparently the compressor has a leak and is not repairable (at least in FL). A new compressor is $700 so that put an end to my little project. They did not charge me for the test. I will get a second opinion in another State.

The weather here has been very nice lately. It has gone from cold and rainy to hot and humid almost overnight. Like they say, "If you don't like the weather in Florida, wait a minute!".

We are starting to look at routes home that do not involve heading into snow storms. We will not be trying to break any speed records as we do not have to be home until late April. We have been parked here at Paul and Dodie's for a month! Time flies when you are having fun.

Lazy times but all in all, Life Is Good!

Sorry World

Fire in The Sky

Sunset through the Spanish Moss in Lakeland, Florida.

Does That Say "80's"?

I can hardly wait! Mind you, the weatherman down here in Florida has been wrong almost 100% of the time so I will refrain from actually holding my breath.

BUT, it is still better than back home in Campbell River!

Basketball Game

Last night Paul's 17 year old granddaughter was playing a basketball game in Kissimmee, about an hour's drive away and Paul asked us if we would like to go. Norma was still coughing and hacking and wanted to stay home so Paul and I headed out at about 4:00.

It was a great game! His granddaughter's team was outmatched and were missing two of their best players to boot but they never gave up. They fought back right to the end. Paul and I went out to a Chinese buffet with his family after the game and had a great time. We got back home with full stomachs at about ten and it was not long before I was nodding off.

This was the first high school basketball game I have been to and I was very impressed with the competitive spirit and sportsmanship of the girls.

Norma was feeling a bit better today so we went downtown where she got a haircut and we did a little grocery shopping. The weather is supposed to improve over the next few days so we might actually get out to do a little sightseeing, maybe over to the Gulf.

Still Around

We are still here but have been doing very little. Norma is having trouble shaking her cold and is hooked on watching the Olympics. We are taping everything on the DVR overnight and then picking what to watch the next day. It is time consuming but the weather has not been great so we have not had the urge to go anywhere.

We are also fighting off an invasion of tiny black ants. I know there is no stopping them and that they will eventually take over the earth but we are just trying to keep them out of this motorhome for now. They can have it later but just for now, please let me make a sandwich without having to check under the cutting board!

There are two types of ants in here. The variety in the kitchen are very tiny - think smaller than a flake of pepper and extremely fast moving - while the ones in the bedroom are larger and slower. I think these are of the Argentine species. They do not go into each others territory but have no problem invading ours,

We are incorporating two weapons. Physical squashing and chemicals in the way of sprays and drops. Norma sprayed behind the slide the other night and that caused about a thousand of the little buggers to run panic stricken up the walls where it kept her busy frantically squashing them with both thumbs.

Paul gave us some gel which is supposedly delicious to ants and which the workers take chunks of back to the nest where it is supposed to wipe out the colony, including the Queen. There is not much evidence of it working all that well. The battle continues. I am considering napalm.

So I Got Rid Of My Cold

But it didn't go far away, only a few inches to the other side of the bed where it took up residence in Norma. She in now doing an imitation of me over the past three or four days. Coughing, sneezing, eyes running and just feeling miserable! Maybe a little less whining.

The weather is slowly improving in central Florida. It was sunny most of yesterday and the temperature slowly inched it's way up to 75 and today looks like it might be a repeat performance.

Paul is going to drive over to Kissimmee on Wednesday afternoon to watch his granddaughter play basketball. He invited us along to meet his family and then stop for dinner somewhere. It might be fun and will force us out. We have been cooped up for a while with colds.

Throttled Back!

I have "Unlimited" broadband service from Virgin but they do have a "soft" limit of 5GB, after which they limit your speeds. Last night I got the following email from Virgin Broadband:

"Your account has exceeded its data usage cap of 5120.000MB. We have reduced your data speeds through 02/13/2014."

I still have a week to go in my current month and had great WIFI to use at Cedar Key so I am not sure where all the usage came from. Maybe some operating systems got updated on the two computers, one smartphone and one iPad. I know I did not download any movies or music. Also, my Cradlepoint MIFI is not password protected so I guess it is possible someone tapped in on it but I can't imagine who or where.

Anyway, I decided to try to live with the slower speed for a few days and so far, I have not really noticed it. I cannot Skype but that is the only thing I have noticed.

I added money to my account at Virgin and can renew the plan any time I want but I will probably let it sit there until my month expires on the 13th. I am grandfathered on their original $40 per month pay as you go unlimited plan and have been happy with it. This is the first time in several years I have gone over my 5GB monthly limit.

I Godda Code

I godda code inda node! My eyes hurt, my head hurts and I am coughing and sneezing. I feel terrible!

The bigger they are, the harder they fall!

Cocoa Beach

We took a drive over to Cocoa beach for lunch and a chance to dip our toes in the Atlantic. It rained a little on the way but it was nice and warm when we got there. A little humid perhaps but definitely short pants weather.

Cocoa Beach is situated next to Cape Canaveral and The Kennedy Space Center  It was the playground of the original astronauts "The Mercury Seven" and the causeway to the beach is still a great viewing area to watch night launches. Cocoa Beach was also the imaginary home of  Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman in their sitcom, "I Dream of Jeannie".

Paul recommended Bernard's Restaurant which was the hangout of early astronauts Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, Wally Schirra, Gordon Cooper, and Deke Slayton and their friends. The walls were covered with old photos of the early spacecraft and astronauts. It was a fun place to be in it's day, specially when one or two of the local heroes were in attendance. However, when we got there we found it is closed. It change hands and with Bernard no longer there the place went downhill, service suffered and it eventually closed.

We found another place, Jazzy's Mainely Lobster and ate at an outside table. I had the lobster roll with clam chowder while Norma had fish and chips. It was on the expensive side and less than remarkable and the portion size was less than we have become used to in the US. But then, we are at the beach and must pay the price. Not complaining.

From there we drove through town and then down to the beach. It was fairly crowded so we had to park a couple of blocks away at a free spot on the street. There was a makeup volleyball game going on and a bunch of families playing in the surf. I did not have my bathing suit so I was happy to just wade in up to my knees. The water was warm enough for swimming if I had been able to do so.

It was a fun day and we got home in time for happy hour with Paul. Unfortunately, Dodi is suffering from a bad back and is awaiting an operation on it. In the meantime, she is spending most of her time in bed. It is a problem that has followed her for years so hopefully her upcoming surgery will be the end of it.

Seahawks!!!