We Knew It Was Too Good.....

Wednesday morning about 10am were packed up and were heading out of the CG for Ocala. I drove the car over to the dumpster to get rid of our trash and was to meet David in the MH at the gate to head back to the rental car agency. When I didn't see him behind me I turned around and went back. This was what I saw--------------a shattered windshield.

And here is the cause---- see that little knot on the tree to the right that caused it. LOL
I won't explained what happened. It just happened.
     

Luckily the RV hit the knot on the windshield only and not the frame or front so it was only the windshield that was damaged. It was totally our fault. The owner of the CG came out and gave us the name of a windshield company, but they were closed. We called our insurance company and reported it and spent a couple of hours trying to find a local company that could replace it. Finally I called Camping World and they gave me the name of a local glass company that does their RVs, Boyd's Glass. Winston from Boyd's Glass came out right away and took the information on the glass to get it ordered. He was great to get things moving. As a matter of fact his sister and BIL were staying here in the same CG.

We spoke with our insurance company and after a few hours they got everything going too. The problem was the windshield would have to be shipped from Lakeland and would take 3 to 4 days due to the holidays. Ughh. Bad timing.

Our bigger problem was where to stay. We were already checked out of here and they were fully booked. If they were booked sold so would everyone else be. We couldn't drive anywhere without pieces of glass falling out. The owner of this CG found a spot for one night, but after that we were clueless. David didn't sleep all night. He kept reliving the CRASH in his head all night. We were really stressed not knowing where we could go for 4 days or more.

In the morning, the owner of the CG said he had a couple of options for us. We could move to a site with a 50 amp hookup and nothing else for less $$$ or to a site with full hook up for more $$$$. We opted for the full hook up since we were going to be here so long waiting on the windshield. 

As it turned out it was the owners site. He said he would move his rig and let us stay here. We could not believe how generous and kind that was. We can't say or do enough to thank him for that. We owe them big time and we are so grateful.

And if that wasn't enough kindness from people here........ Gary, one of the work campers here came over yesterday afternoon and insisted that we take 2 VIP tickets to the NIGHT of LIGHTS here in  SA.  Downtown SA has wonderful Christmas lights for about a 2 month period. The Old Town Trolley gives tours of the area showing all the lights while singing Christmas Carols all around on the open air trolley. They give you magical glasses which makes all the lights look like stars and snowflakes.  We went last night due to the upcoming NY Holiday and the fact that it was going to be cold (59 degree) after a rain and cold front came through. It was perfect timing It was not nearly as buy although the downtown area had plenty of tourists.. The line for the trolley had about 200-250 people in line, but our VIP tickets put us at the head of the line. THANKS GARY. How very, very kind of you. We cannot believe the kindness of people here.

Here are a few pictures of our tour last night.

So we are all settle in and just waiting for our new windshield. It could be much worse.

Additional Time in St. Augustine

On the 26th the Meyers and Bells left for Mexico for vacation and we had originally planned to head to Ocala to visit Maryanne for a couple of days before heading home. But then we thought,..... well we don't HAVE to be anywhere right away so we talked to the campground about staying a couple of extra days. They were able to squeeze us in if we were willing to move to another site. We said, great. I know that was a problem since this place is booked solid. Luckily, for us they have cancelations from time to time. We called Maryanne and the rental car company and everything was set.

Monday, we drove around during the day to view the downtown area and  Vilano Beach where we usually stay while in SA. The CG there was under water after the hurricane a couple of months ago and we weren't able to reserve space there. This day it was very windy and foggy with very few people on the beach. Many of the dunes were washed away during the hurricane. Right across the street from the beach is the campground we usually stay at.

 ST Augustine is a beautiful city. Luckily this day the traffic was not so bad.

 The Old Fort which is usually packed with tourists.

The bridge to Vilano Beach.

This is our mode of transportation this week. They were out of the small-mid size car we reserved. So  they asked if we would mind taking a Mustang convertible.   So very sad.

For dinner this night we went to The Couch House which sits along the water. I'm sure during the day it has a wonderful view, but tonight we could barely find the restaurant due to the thick fog. It was cool, windy and humid, so we ate inside. It was a good choice since we didn't have to wait for a table. I had shrimp and grits which was fantastic and David had Seafood Alfredo which was also good. No pictures taken--sorry.

The kitties are really enjoying their time here.  Bentley loves to ride around in his stroller, while Nicholas and Finnegan enjoy sunning in the window.

For breakfast on Tuesday we went to Metro Diner. It looked interesting, but it was more than that. The menu was incredible and the portions unbelievable. We both ordered sausage gravy and biscuits and not only did we get a LARGE

 plate of that, but 3 eggs and a huge portion of hash browns. Too much for us to finish. They must be kidding.

We were stuffed for most of the day. For dinner we found another great place with great reviews, Ned's Southside Kitchen. I had read great reviews on it a couple of years ago, but we never had a chance to go there. It's a plain place packed with locals, no atmosphere and small cramped table with cheesy vinyl tablecloths. The best kind of homey place with great food. We were not real hungry, so David ordered a Cuban sandwich and I ordered Nachos (an appetizer). Good grief the nachos covered a 12" plate piled high. David only ate 2/5 of his sandwich and FFs. Too much good food. So the leftovers came home with us for tomorrow's lunch.

Tomorrow our plane is to head for Ocala.

Christmas in St Augustine

Najla was off on Saturday, Christmas Eve, so we met Najla, Ryan and the kids and went to lunch at MoJos Bar B Que. Very good food. We ate outside on the patio. As you can see the restaurant is right across the street from an old cemetery. That's St Augustine atmosphere.

We had a wonderful Christmas!! The Bells prepared Christmas Eve dinner and brought it over to Najla and Ryan's so that we could have a family dinner early. The meal was spectacular. Randy prepared fresh smoked ham, leg of lamb, fresh vegetables and salad from his garden. Pam prepared the fruit salad and wild rice and cake. We brought mac n cheese which we prepared in the motor home. Kitchen counter space is a little limited, but it worked out fine. The whole meal was excellent and we ate too much. Wish I had thought to take pictures.

Christmas Eve, Ryan and I took the kids for a tour around the neighborhood in our rented Mustang convertible to look at the lights, It was chilly, so the kids wore jackets and we turned on the heat while the kids looked at stars in the sky and Christmas lights.

Christmas morning was a really fun time. The kids are old enough this year to realize what Santa and Christmas is all about and they were really excited. They each asked Santa for 1 thing. All the other gifts are from friends and family and there was quite a haul.  Emma asked Santa for a Unicorn a Trevor asked for a Dinosaur. I forgot to take a picture, but they were huge!!!!

The Christmas tree was in the living room so we opened up gifts there and there were lots of them.

 Emma got a package of Unicorn Farts which she thought was very funny.

Ryan got a very fancy rain barrel with a planter on top.

I took  a lot of videos which were too large to post here. If you go to my Tails of Tennessee youtube channel you can see them there. 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwpP0g0xb3QGZHhGmj9ZRHw

The Bells and the Meyers were leaving on Monday for a family vacation in Mexico, so we left in mid afternoon so they would have time to pack and get ready for their trip.

Trevor's School Program

We we lucky enough to be here for Trevor's school Christmas program. it was only a couple of songs but that was a lot for 2 yr olds. Trevor is not shy and took center stage. He was practically the only one out front and performing while the others were either cuddling with their mothers, crying or just hanging about. He took his job seriously and did a fine job. The video was too long to post here, but here it is on youtube.

https://youtu.be/NGZvPWWf954

Here's another one.

https://youtu.be/CuSakVXB-Ck

The lady standing next to me said "he needs to be in the movies". He is a charmer for sure.

Emma had her program 2 days before we got here and we were able to see it on FB since Pam is very good about posting pictures and movies. She was very cute. She's a bit more shy than Trevor,

On Friday we picked up  the little kitty at the campground and took her to Najla at the hospital. Najla said she would spay her and post her pictures to try to find her a new home. She is such a sweet and very friendly kitty. One of the techs is taking her home over xmas holiday to recover from the surgery. If they can't find anyone to adopt her they will bring her back to the campground.

We went for lunch on Friday with Ryan and the kids since Najla had to work.

It was a good day. Saturday (Christmas Eve) we will be having xmas dinner instead of xmas day since Ryan & family and Pam and Randy are leaving Monday morning for Mexico for a family vacation.

St Augustine, Here We Come

We left South Georgia headed for St Augustine. We were hoping to find some warmer weather, but it wasn't that much warmer. The humidity makes it feel colder than it is and the wind contributes to it also.

We checked into the Compass RV CG. This is the first time we have stayed here and it is very nice. They have new owners and it is obvious that they care about the CG and are busy making some nice improvements. Everyone is very, very friendly and eager to make your stay the best it can be. It has a lot of sites as well and ours has a nice patio picnic table and beautiful shrubbery around it.

We also had a sweet little kitty come to visit. She is extremely friendly and loving and  eger for any and all attention. She saw David outside hooking up the RV and came running over. Right after that a older, friendly  male kitty also came over to visit. One of the work campers came by and said the older one will jump up on his shoulders while he is working. They have named them Compass and Compass JR. Here is a picture of the baby kitty saying hello to Bentley.

Ryan and family and Pam and Randy had plans for dinner and the Makado Japanese Restaurant for dinner. The kids were a bit nervous at the fire at the table, but settled down and enjoyed the show. The food was very good, certainly more that we could eat. Just look at the kids plates.

It was a fun night as it was also David's birthday.

Tomorrow we are going to Trevor's school program. I will try to video if I can.

To Florida for Christmas

Our plan was to leave the house in Ooltewah Tuesday at about 9 am, get to the motor home with the kitties and head off to Florida. We had packed most everything up in the motor home the day before, so we only needed to make one more run to the MH with items from the refrigerator and a few last minute items before getting the kitties. WELL......that was the plan. Early in the morning David realized he had to pick up a prescription at Walmart before we left and the pharmacy didn't open until 10am. Well leaving at 10:30 wouldn't be too bad. Well......... that wasn't to be either. David went to the pharmacy at 10 am and returned home and attempted to gathered up the kitties, or at least 2 of them, Bentley and Nicholas. Finnegan was no where to be found. We search the bedroom, the closet, behind the couch, upstairs. He was no where. We searched areas and closed off the rooms thinking we could narrow his hiding place down. He was no where, and we knew treats would not be of interest to him at this point, We had already given him an ACE tablet, so he should have been snoozing on the couch, but NOOOOOO. We searched and searched places over and over. No Finnegan. So I decided to pull out the vacuum cleaner, his worst enemy. Well, he wasn't downstairs.So I tried the office where I keep all my quilting jobs with most of them hanging on the rack in there. When I turned on the vacuum out he bolted, from under my bags, finally. We put him in the carrier and off we went to the MH. By the time we got there, put all the items away and unplugged, moved my car, it was noon. Three hours behind our schedule.

We had reservations in a campground in Lake Park, Ga about 350 miles away. We arrived at 6pm and drove all around the campground in the dark trying to find our site. In the dark it was impossible to read the small numbers on the poles, so I had to get out with a flashlight and walk around to read the numbers. Finally we were all settled in.

We bought the kitties new beds for Christmas. After looking all over we found 2 nice ones and then added a double layer of Sherpa in them to make themt nice ans warm and snugly.

As you can see they all loved them. We almost couldn't get Bentley out of his.

They were all snug as a bug. As a matter of fact we all were. Nice and cozy and warm. Tomorrow should be a better day.