Bringing in 2022-January to May

JANUARY/FEBRUARY/MARCH

PALMETTO/CITRUS VALLEY - FL

In early January, we drove to Palmetto Florida and stayed at the elegant, Class A only, Tides RV Resort. We were there to meet up with family and celebrate my Aunt Maryanne’s 80th birthday! My cousin, Annmarie, with her sophisticated food and wine palette, led us to the most lovely restaurant in St. Petersburg. It was a perfect Florida evening to eat outside and celebrate. I was so happy we were able to share that milestone with my Family Matriarch!

From left, Chris, Auntie, Annmarie, Uncle Tony, me and George.

Outdoor dining allowed us to be mask-free.  

During "peak season," several of the members of our FMCA local chapter, The Islanders, joined us at Elite for a few months and we shared many nights of laughter, wine, food and conversation. If you have access to Charlie's blog, he documented all the trips and dinners out. For George and I, it was daily life spent with lots of friends who enjoyed the time away from the cold winter up north. They "flew" back north in early April to celebrate Easter with family. 

APRIL

OLDSMAR, FL

We drove Bertha over to Tampa for Easter with the girls, their Uncle Gregg and his girlfriend, Angie. We camped at the beautiful and super-convenient Bay Bayou Resort in Oldsmar. The food, wine and company were wonderful.

Meily, me, Stella, Gregg and me (with glass of wine:).

Not happy with her Easter Bonnet.

MAY

All to soon, May approached and it was time to start out on our next adventure, which was traveling north-west up through Georgia and Tennessee. First exciting event was Cinco di Mayo. Stella was having a grand time, but Mommy had to cut her off after her second margarita.

Humm, she didn't seem to mind this hat after her second drink!

CHATTANOOGA

After two one-night stops, we landed in Chattanooga for a few days, which is steeped in history and had explorable caves.  We visited Ruby Falls and it was our first time experiencing an indoor waterfall. Revolutionary Mountain was close by, filled with Civil War history.

NASHVILLE

Our next stop was Twin Rivers RV where we met up with fellow "Islanders" again where we toured  Nashville. First order of business was a trip to The Grand Ole Opry. We saw the Gaitlin Brothers along with a couple of up-and-coming singers. Sitting in the burgundy velvet "pews" was enough for me, because I found this historic place, with the ghosts of past performers and it's original wooden "circle" on the stage exciting. The Opry is a definite destination stop if you want to be part of country-western music and history.

Top: Charlie, Johnny, John, Doreen and Tony
Girls from L-R: Chrissy, Fran and me.

Note wooden circle on the stage.
 It was cut from the original Opry stage and installed in the new venue.

A little history of the Opry: 

• The Opry began in 1925 and has continued to be the longest-running radio broadcast in US history
• The Opry had multiple venues, from small second-floor offices to its current relocation in the renovated Ryman Auditorium. A circle had been cut from the original stage when it was in another location and then installed front and center of the new stage. So many famous people stood on this piece of wood, wearing it into a smooth, darkened sphere. I would think that every new performer who stands on it gets chills. 
• An interesting fact: Elvis performed there only once and was never invited back due to his provocative moves and style. Their loss.

One evening while in Nashville, we went on a dinner cruise aboard the General Jackson. We were provided with a delicious meal and terrific country-western music. 

PIGEON FORGE

After Nashville, we headed to Pigeon Forge and the land of Dolly Parton. Dolly single-handedly took a small coal mining town and transformed it into a thriving community by building Dollywood and employing local residents. New businesses were needed to accommodate the influx of tourists. A sort of reverse domino effect.

Some Hudson Islanders (I won't mention any names) had much fun buying up a bunch of Moonshine. Evenings were spent with us all taste-testing different flavors. The day following a tasting required re-visiting Gatlinburg to stock up on favorites.

George and I took a tour of of famous cars from movies and TV shows. It was a trip back in time for both of us. See if you recognize any from the not-so-perfect photos before scrolling down.

Answers:

In order: The General Lee, from Dukes of Hazard; The truck from the Beverly Hillbillies; 
Barney Fife's Patrol Car; The Jeep from Mash and The Ghostbuster-mobile 

For some reason, things like this catch my eye all the time!

As May came to a close, it was time to celebrate another 80th birthday! Not sure if this is in Pigeon Forge or Croton, but regardless, we raised a glass to toast our dear friend, Charlie's milestone birthday! 

We did a hop-skip-jump to New York. The first stop, Wytheville KOA, in Virginia, was a very nice campground and then on to Jonestown AOK (not a typo), in Jonestown, PA. I was far from a-okay.

It seems that the closer we get to the tri-state area, besides the roads being worse, there are less campgrounds and they become more rustic. 

2022 TO BE CONTINUED...

Deep Thought for the Day: It is said that the biggest journey begins with just one step. I had been dreading the enormity of documenting the last two years and, sadly, many details have fallen by the wayside, so I will push through with the second half of 2022, because 2023 needs to be etched into this blog before the mind sifts out the details. ~ vc

Better late than never - Memories of 2021

As I open this draft that I began over two years ago, I try to convince myself that I must stop procrastinating and "git er done." I almost thought of ending my blog since it is a lot of work, but I don't want to lose the memories, so I will be brief as I go way back to 2021 to recap what I remember before they fade like a well-worn pair of jeans.  

I am including descriptions of the photos below to make this huge process a little less daunting. This will be a "Photo Novella" and each photo brings back all the memories....the good, the bad and the ugly.

PHOTO BELOW: In July, we were at Black Bear Campground. 

We got to spend a day with cousins Lisa and Maurizio 

(who makes the most amazing pizza). We are NOW ready to plan our visits for 2023!  

While still at Black Bear, a great day was spent with my dear friend, Berni, her husband, Ron and Charlie. I think our smiles explain it all.

Most of the summer we were parked at Croton Point due to its proximity to our NY house. There is always something to do to a house you don't live in - although there is a lot to do in an RV when you full-time, so, the summer was twice as busy.

Some of my time was spent caring for Georgia when her mom and dad had events to attend 

Not many memories remain of 2021, except for those in my last blog written about my dear friend, Laurie. 

Our northern visit ended and we made several stops to break up the monotony of the I-95 boredom. We had planned an extended stay in Myrtle Beach, so we looked forward to relaxing for a couple of weeks.

Below  Stella checking out campground 1. 

Here is campground 2.

Myrtle Beach, SC was finally a reality. We stayed at three different campgrounds, Lakewood Camping Resort, Ocean Lakes Family Campground and Myrtle Beach Travel Park. I liked all three resorts for different reasons.  Lakewood was older and dustier, but it had very easy to access to a rather empty beach. Ocean Lakes' beach was very crowded, yet it was a bit more physically appealing. Myrtle Beach Travel Park was the most modern with a lovely pool. We didn't have the best weather, but we enjoyed whatever sun we received.

 

We took a day trip to deserted, yet gorgeous Pawley's Island in South Carolina. Since George was a good boy, he got an ice cream. Unfortunately, the Ice Cream wasn't that good. 

While in Myrtle Beach, we were able to meet up with friends, Shirley and Tom Kelleher. We spent a lovely lunch together chatting about our kids and of our years working together. 

The time at the beach ended without the weather improving that much.

As the photo below will attest, we finally made it to our first Buc-ee's! If you haven't been to one, imagine a Cracker Barrel on crack. It's an upscale Truck Stop where no trucks are allowed. This Buc-ee's housed 104 gas pumps and 1,000 parking spaces.  You really need to see it to believe it.

Beautiful Big Bertha at Buc-ee's.

We arrived back at our home base in October and Big Bertha was treated to a hot shower and wax by Jose, the only person allowed to touch Bertha besides George. He asked us where she got all the sand! He did such a great job making her sparkle and shine.

We spent Thanksgiving and Christmas in Oldsmar with the Tampa Crew. 

December brought slightly cooler nights. I got to bake "Grandma's Cookies," with some help, and they were a hit.

We all went to the Tampa Convention Center for the "Enchanted Lights" show. The photos didn't come out all that well, but the night was a great way to get in the mood for Christmas.

Still masking-except for photos. My lightbulb cup is still working!

COOKIES

My mom's Pecan Sandie recipe

Grandma's Cookies the lazy way, but still as good.

Christmas dinner minus the cook.

Our baby!

The year 2021 ended quietly. Neither George, Stella or myself were able to remain awake, but at midnight, the crazy Florida tradition of fireworks woke us in time.

Finally...2021 is completed. The next blog entry will be full of many different places and memories. I hope it doesn't take me as long to get it composed and posted. 

Deep thought for the day: If you've gotten this far, choose your favorite "Deep Thought" from below and let me know in the comments your choice for the Deep Thought.

1. "Tis a lesson you should heed Try, try again. If at first you don't succeed, try, try, again"......Popularized by William Edward Hickson (1803-1870)
2. "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There's no use being a damn fool about it." W.C. Fields' Legendary Counter quote.
3. "If at first you don't succeed, you may be at your level of incompetence already." The Peter Principal (Dr Laurence J. Peter)
4. "As my old Pappy used to say, 'If at first you don't succeed, try something else." Pappy Maverick's Wisdom, as per Bret Maverick (James Garner-see below).

Such a handsome guy.

THE END. For now.