'11/#14 We Survived!

First let me apologize for the lack of paragraphs in the blog. For some reason when I post the web site deletes all the paragraphs I put in. I hope to solve the problem soon.

The music festival is over & we are exhausted. We also found out that we may be getting too old to work the concert tour. The experience was one we will never forget & we hope to be able to come back next year. Mary spent a lot of time around the stage & vendor areas & was able to see & meet some of the stars. I was in a golf cart most of the time running around trouble shooting. People who were lost, needed arm bands, or transportation from remote lots were the ones I dealt with. Their appreciation made me feel like a rock star. Sunday was clean-up day. The stage was dismantled while the few volunteers that stuck around stacked chairs, picked up traffic cones, & made sure all the campers were able to get out of the park. Again it was a lot of hard work but we had a great time & met some awesome people.

Monday we left Wickham Park & made a brief stop at a Giant RV World of Melbourne. The brakes weren't working quite right & I wanted some one to check the water heater again. Cold showers are no fun! Once again we got our moneys worth out of our extended warranty & were on our way. Next stop is the uncles in Stuart. We will spend the rest of the week visiting them & then will be on our way towards the mountains of Tennessee.

So tonight we will sleep well in our home in Port St Lucie because.....

Home is where we part it,

Frank & Mary

'11/#13 Holy %@#$!!!!!

We were up, out, & on the job by 7am. Today we decided to stay in the golf cart together. Mary had had enough standing in the sun directing campers & I missed having her with me. Those plans lasted about 10 minutes. They needed someone to man the entrance so Mary agreed to do that for a little while. Meanwhile I was driving around shuttling concert goers around & helping them get the appropriate passes, wrist bands, etc. The next time I passed Mary a local news channel was interviewing her. I can't leave her alone for a minute without her getting into something. Next as I was ticket trouble shooting I hear Mary over the radio trying to get one of the bands, who were lost,back to the stage area. Now she is making friends with the band "Low Cash Cowboys". It was time to get her some relief from the gate. Well after I got her back in the cart we had to make sure the signs on the road were correct to guide the rest of the bands to the stage. Before we got the signs up here comes a bus & truck caravan. So what does my darling wife do? She jumps out in front of Dierks Bentley's bus waving a sign to direct them in to the correct entrance with traffic flying by her in both directions. After this we got water to volunteers & shuttled guests & volunteers around the park. We decided to head back to our rig for lunch instead of waiting for the promoters to get around to it. Lucky for us, it started to rain just as we got home so we sat & waited out the weather. We were supposed to be done by noon but there was more to do. We didn't need to be to the concert until 6pm so we kept right on doing our thing. In the process we got to see "Steel Magnolia" & Dierks Bentley's grandmother. Not quite all access but close enough. At 5 o'clock we headed into the concert. For the next 5 hours we just sat back & enjoyed the music. The concert started with John Anderson, then came our favorite of the day Eric Church, & finally Fridays headliner Dierks Bentley. It was a great show & worth all the work we did. But we weren't done. Oh no, there was more. After the concert we started shuttling guests back to their campsites. In reality we were delivering drunks to their RVs. Some people had better times than others if you know what I mean. Then we found this remote parking lot & I mean remote. A thousand miles away down a dark deserted dirt road to an empty field. We couldn't let people walk out there so we kept shuttling them until there were no more. We got back to our trailer at 1am. So much for being done by noon. We are exhausted. Needless to say we are sleeping in tomorrow in our home in Melbourne because.... Home is where we park it, Frank & Mary

'11/#12 Let The Blogging Begin!

Our next adventure is volunteering at a country music festival. Monday we got a call that we needed to be at the Country Runaway for an 8am meeting on Wednesday in Melbourne. That meant a mad dash to see all the kids, grand kids, & friends so we could get ready to leave. We wanted to get there Tuesday because I didn't want to leave at 3am for a meeting at 8am & possibly have to work the rest of the day. We arrived & set up Tuesday, got a good nights sleep, & were at the meeting at 8am. Only one problem....there was no one holding a meeting. For the next 2 hours we sat around waiting for something to do. Finally the campground host leader decided that we should go & mark the campgrounds. A couple of hours later we were done & told to be back at 9am to start directing the arriving campers. Bright & early that morning Murphy's law kicked into high gear. The hot water heater shut down & we received a panic filed call that we were needed to start directing campers. This was all around 7:30 am. After a frantic on-line search for a mobile RV repair service & a cold shower we were on the job only a few minutes late. It was a long day in the hot sun but we did meet a lot of great people. The organizers(and I use that term loosely) had no idea what was going on or who was supposed to be doing it. Things did seem to get done in spite of those in charge. It felt just like our years working at the Post Office. Food & water eventually showed up & after 2 days on the job we got our staffer T-shirts & credentials. Like I said, no organization. Tomorrow they want us at 7am & hope to have all the campers in & settled by noon. We shall see. For now we are looking forward to a good nights sleep in our home in Melbourne FL because ........ Home is where we park it, Frank & Mary

11/11 What Time Is It?

Has anyone figured what is the purpose of Daylight Savings Time? I mean beside screwing with everyone's head. It's dark when I wake & don't want to get out of bed. It's light when I have supper & make plans to stay in for the evening. Now I am starting to have breakfast at 11 o'clock & dinner at 8 or 9 o'clock. Just leave the damn clocks alone & stop screwing with everyone's biological clocks!



I have a new toy. A friend gave me a stand-up 3 wheel scooter that needed some work. We found a dealer & got the scooter running. Now I am a terror on 3 wheels in the trailer park. The women think it's cute & the guys want to check it out. I am a rock star around here.



We also made plans for next year. Since we are officially snow birds we have to make plans for our next migration. The park had their annual sign up for next year so now we have our plans for the 2011-2012 season.



Time is running short & there are people we want to see before we leave. We made plans & met with a group of postal workers at the Wing House. Good food, good drinks, & good friends... who could ask for more? We had a blast & know that these friends are for real & we will see them again next year. Next week we get together with a group of postal retirees & look forward to seeing others who have survived the Post Office.



St Patricks Day is a big deal here in the park. There is a parade, games, food, & of course green beer. We helped out with the games & participated in the parade. I even decorated my scooter with all things green for the parade. I was like an Irish Shriner zig zagging though the parade. All in all it was a lot of fun.



This week we are going to slow down & spend quality time with each other. Just ride our bikes & maybe play tourist. So until there is more to write we will be enjoying ourselves from our home in Largo because.....



Home is where we park it,

Frank & Mary

11/10 Gotta Blog More Often

Things have been crazy lately, more so than usual. I am going to have to blog more often just to keep up. Well let's start & see how far I get.

The Strawberry Festival was great. We spent the day with our good friends Alice & Larry enjoying the sights, sounds, & smells at the fair grounds. Mary didn't enjoy the smells so much since she was still feeling a bit queasy. She did manage to eat a good part of a strawberry shortcake & the sight of racing pigs always makes her feel better. Then there was the Chris Young concert. She doesn't care that he is the same age as her baby she still does a minor swoon when she sees him. He did put on a good concert & we had awesome seats, just 3 rows from the stage. Perfect weather made it a perfect day.

It was a good thing we just had a good day because the next day we had our taxes done & picked up the truck from the shop. This is the first time in 20 years that we have had to pay the IRS. Not so much that we have to eat cat food but the timing was perfect with the bill for the truck. It's that time of year that we get the truck serviced before hitting the road. The truck is 8 years old so I wasn't surprised that there were a few things over & above normal maintenance. It was time to see if our extended service plan really works. Well we got our moneys worth out of it this time. After all was said & done the plan paid 80% of the bill & we were extremely happy.

The election for the trailer park association is now over & Mary is the new vice-president. That means a new reign of terror begins. It may be going to her head, she is making me call her "Madam Vice-president" at home now! The association is actually in charge of activities in the park & people want to see the fun brought back. Things have stagnated some but Prez Norma & Vice-prez Mary have some great ideas & support to liven up things come next snow-bird season. With me now calling bingo I don't know if I can stand any more excitement.

There is more but I will save it for the next blog. Maybe tomorrow. We'll see. Until then goodnight from our home on wheels in Largo because .....

Home is where we park it,
Frank & Mary

11/9 Found Time For.....

I know that I always complain about the missing free time that I was "promised" when I retired. But we seem to find time for things both good & not so good. We have found time to help our little old lady friends move, volunteer at school, campaign for Mary's vice-presidency, & call Bingo. While all this was going on we also managed to find time to get sick. Mary started with an upset stomach that had her up all night losing her dinner & freezing. I continued with symptoms of the other end the next day. We have to get well for the Strawberry Festival this week.

Like I said we had time for Bingo. At Bingo Mary was walking around the hall "kissing hands & shaking babies" as I like to put it. The campaign is going strong & looks like to be going well. Before Bingo I was doing my own campaigning. I was chatting up the Bingo players before my calling debut, begging for compassion. Well I did survive. It was a rough start but the players were helpful & understanding. Bingo must go on so they must be tolerant. Afterward many of the players came up to me & said that I did a good job & were glad that I had stepped up as a caller. I was just glad that I could help out.

Well we are going to try to eat a little something & hope to feel better for the Strawberry Festival. Mary is looking forward to strawberry shortcake & the Chris Young concert. I am looking forward to all the other foods that we only get to eat at fairs & festivals.

Under the weather in our home in Largo because....

Home is where we park it,
Frank & Mary

11/8 Just Me Talkin'

There doesn't seem to be anything exciting going on lately. We are staying busy & things are taking some interesting turns. Two of our little-old-lady friends have moved from the park into a mobile home that is much better suited for them. We have helped them move & brought a lot of their plants to the new place to make it feel more like home. Some of their relatives came down from Chicago to help & we all have been getting along & just having a good time. We will be doing a little more landscaping & potting some plants before we leave FL & hope to get all the moving done before their kin folk return to Chicago.



That was the busy part. Now on to the interesting part. This will mean more to those of you who knew Mary from working at the Post Office. Mary is a take charge, speak her mind, kick-ass type that just about everyone likes. She always has the best intentions & people sense that in her outspoken manner. Well take all that & you will understand how she got talked into running for vice-president of the resident's association. She & her running-mate, future president Norma, have some ideas to keep the association alive & even rejuvenate it. The association has been run successfully by the same people for years but has gotten stale & stagnant. Residents seem to want some younger blood as well as see the need for new people to step up as some of our residents age & are no longer able to fill these positions. So we are the "young blood" in the community now.



Did I say WE? Yes I did! Now what could that mean? Well I know I have mentioned that Mary has become addicted to her Friday night Bingo, & you now know that some of the residents that ran things in the park are no longer able to.....so what does that mean? That means that Frank,yes me, is going to be the new Bingo caller. Yes before is now B4. I don't know what made me volunteer & some of the serious Bingo players might want to string me up if I don't call just the right way but it will be my contribution to the residents of the park. Hopefully Bingo will go on without a hitch & the Friday night festivities will continue.

On another note. If you followed us this summer you know that we spent a good part of it in Maine. You may also remember that Mary was single handedly trying to eat every lobster in New England. Well it has been reported that the year 2010 broke all records for lobster harvested. Well done Mary! I am so proud of her.

I am going to call it a night & go to bed in our home in Largo because....

Home is where we park it,
Frank & Mary