Today, I attended the Dade City Mother's Day Pow Wow. Thanks to my colleagues at PHCC who donated generously at my retirement party, I was able to purchase a new camera for my retirement adventures. Not only was it a good day, sunny and not too hot, it was a good chance for me to experiment with all the new controls. What a difference this camera made in quality pictures. Thanks everyone.

A few weeks ago, we had a tree service do some clearing on the property. Removed several pine trees and did some clearing.

Photos of complete job attached. In the last few pics, we are placing flags where the house is going to be.

A visit to Pamona Park this week and we have focused in on our retirement home. Spent some time going over the model home and making a list of everything we want. Dealer working of final pricing and financing options. Should have final design and project time line soon.

Also met with the dealer on the property and placed flags for location of the house.

Pictures of the model attached. Colors etc. are all subject to change.

Today, for my birthday, Rachel took me to see the SS American Victory moored in Tampa Bay. This veteran of WWII cargo ship had an impressive past and has survived long past her design life. She still makes regular cruises on Tampa Bay.  Rachel was able to arrange a private tour which included the engine room and the bridge which are not normally open for tourist. Take a look at the attached photos. Lots of things that remind us of our past.

We spent an evening with Rachel and Shana at the City Walk Universal. Really enjoyed the dinner at Margaritaville.

We spent the weekend in Orlando visiting with Becky and Rachel (also Universal Studios). We stayed at a well hidden secrete of Florida - Bill Fredrick Park at Turkey Lake. This large county park has a small (36 sites) RV park. It is quiet, clean and only 4 miles from Universal Studios. There is plenty to do at the park (picnic, swim, fish, walk, bike ride, or even disk golf).  Here are a few photos of the park. Oh, did I mention, it is only $23 per night, not bad for Orlando.

Today, we spent an afternoon in the Park. It was a whole new experience. The animals were in a totally different mode. Nothing at all like  yesterday morning.

Here we are again, back at Lion Country.
Here are a few photos of our morning adventures.

This summer for Memorial Day, we decided to visit our property and friends in Pamona Park. This trip we choose to try a different RV park. We are staying at Leonard's Landing in Crescent City Florida. This small RV park (actually a fish camp) is located on Crescent Lake. As far as a RV park, it has all the essentials. As far as a fish camp, it has everything you might want. So far, it has been very quite. Do not expect a busy weekend, but a few fishermen are starting to show up. Attached are some pictures of the camp.

Al and I have been friends for over 50 years now. As young boys, we enjoyed many days fishing around Joliet Illinois. The last time we fished together was almost 20 years ago in Massachusetts. Finally, after we both turned 65 last week, we got to spend a day on the water together. With the help of my friend Toni (he brought the boat and know how) we got to fish together again and what a day it was. On a perfect Florida morning, we left the boat dock a the Anclote River County Park just as the sun was rising. We spend about 6 hours on the water and caught a variety of fish including shark, cobia, lady fish, and trout (mostly small, but 3 keepers - we let them go away). Attached are a few photos from the day.

Thanks Toni for a great day!