The Florida Keys

Traveling
We are on our final night of a two week stay on the Florida Keys.  We count our blessings that we were able to make reservations for a few days each at three state parks in the Keys since they are very hard to get into.  Each was unique in its own way.  The whole two weeks the temperature was around 84 with only a few rain showers one day. Our first stop in the Keys was at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo.  It is the first undersea park in the United States.  It is THE place to go if you enjoy snorkeling or scuba diving.  We didn’t try either.  Someday when we don’t have our sweet old dog with us we will try the snorkeling.  …
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South Miami

Traveling
After two weeks we are getting ready to leave one of the most comfortable RV Parks that we have stayed at, Larry and Penny Thompson Memorial Park & Campground, in Miami.  The sites were spacious and we were surrounded by avocado and live oak trees.  I tried to get Joe to like avocados since you could pick them off the ground or from the trees.  There are 240 sites sitting on 275 acres of preserved woodlands. There is also a nice paved 2.5 mile bike trail around a small lake.  The CG was set up different than we have seen before.  There were 11 pods with 20 sites in each pod.  The pods are in a circle with an inner and outer circle.  Because of this set-up the outer sites…
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A Wedding In Naples

Traveling
So here we were with our second wedding in a year.  Our 30 year old twins decided to both get married in 2012,  Zach in June in Ohio and now Amanda in Naples, FL.  Naples is a beautiful city filled with many elderly people.  The beaches are wonderful and downtown Naples is so charming and beautifully lit up at night.  Amanda and Ron picked the perfect spot for their wedding.  It was so them.  All of our kids, Cassie, Aaron, and granddaughter, Cate, Zach and Lauren, Eric, and my 91 yr old dad flew in on Friday for the Saturday sunset wedding (except Eric who came in early in the week). This was our first opportunity to meet Ron’s family except for his mom who we had met previously on…
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Florida

Traveling
We arrived in the Florida Panhandle on Oct 21, 2012.  Our first destination was in at the Topsail Hill Preserve State Park Gregory E. Moore RV Resort.  This was an absolutely beautiful resort.  At one time it was privately owned which was very evident in how it was set-up.  Everything was beautifully landscaped and all sites were on cement slabs.  After the state took over they continued to keep up the pristine landscaping.  This was not a place we could afford to stay very long even though we would have liked to.  The beach was .5 miles from the park which was an easy walk or bike ride on a paved trail.  But if you wanted the easy way you could ride a tram to the beach which ran every…
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Army Corps of Engineer Campgrounds

Traveling
We have been fortunate to find two Army Corps of Engineer Campgrounds.  One was outside of Nashville, TN and the other in Montgomery AL.  By far the Steven Points CG in Nashville had the best site we have ever stayed on.  Our site overlooked the lake and sat on about ¼ acre of land.  One morning I opened up the door and there sat a bald eagle in the tree.  Joe couldn’t get the camera fast enough to get a picture but it truly was beautiful.  Because we didn’t have reservations we could only stay there for two nights otherwise we would have stayed longer.  It is suppose to be the most used Corps of Engineer Park in TN.  We could understand why.  The Golden Age Pass is good at…
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Mammoth Cave National Park, KY

Mammoth Cave National Park, KY

Traveling
Our three day stop in Ohio was great.  We didn’t get a chance to see our daughter-in-law, Lauren, because she was out of town but we did have a couple of great phone conversations with her using our nifty little speaker device for our phone.  It was great spending time with Zach and the dogs but we were kicked out of Winton Woods RV park because of their weekend Halloween festivities.  So after three short days we were officially heading south.  October is a great time to be on the road going south.  The Fall colors were absolutely fabulous going through Kentucky.  We decided to make our first stop at Mammoth Cave National Park in KY.  We purchased our Golden Age pass for $10 and what a bargain that has…
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Summer 2012

Traveling
We had a fun and busy summer back in Minnesota.  Where did the summer go?  Our trip from Ohio was cut short because of some medical stuff.  Our intentions were to stay in Ohio for two weeks after the wedding to spend time with Zach and Lauren but doctor appointments forced us back sooner.  As it turned out my doctor really screwed up and we should have been able to keep our plans.  I will be looking for a new doctor next year. So we drove back to Dakotah Meadows in Prior Lake, MN for a week and then went to Cassie and Aaron’s lake in Wisconsin over the 4th of July.  Of course, it was fabulous.  Any time we can spend time with our granddaughter, Cate, we count as…
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Wedding in Ohio

On Our Minds
June brought us to Ohio for our son’s wedding.  As parents we would all like to be able to do the “picking” of our children’s spouse.  Joe and I are very fortunate.  We couldn’t have picked better for any of our kids.  Our son Zach moved to Ohio seven years ago at the age of 22 to take a job that his Uncle Art offered him.  I remember watching him drive out of our Jordan drive-way by himself, car packed with clothes and a few essentials for the 800 mile trip to Ohio. I thought "he'll be back". He moved in with his Uncle’s family for a few months before he found an apartment.  Joe and I then packed up a U-haul with all of his belongings and made the trip to OH…
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Hanging Out -May 2012

Traveling
We decided to get out of Dakotah Meadows for a little bit and meet Joe’s sister and her husband, Bonnie and Tim, in Duluth for a long weekend.  On our way to Duluth we made a stop for a few nights at one of our favorite Minnesota State Parks, Wild River, in Center City.  We love this state park for several reasons; great hiking trails, nice biking trail, and the sites are far apart and very wooded.  The wild flowers were in full bloom.  The woods were full of beautiful white and pink trillium, purple lupine, and red columbine.   For those who know me know how much I love my flowers.  It was nature’s way of giving me a bouquet of flowers without disturbing them.  Loved it! Off we went…
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Back In Minnesota

Traveling
Returned to our home state, Minnesota, mid-April.  So much to do – dentist’s appointments, doctor’s appointments, family and friends to see.  Our first priority was to see our granddaughter, Cate.  She is so much fun but was a little afraid of grandma.  I think I was so excited to see her that I frightened her.  Then it was wedding dress shopping with daughter Amanda.  It is one of the best days a mom can spend with a daughter.   It was a fabulous day because I got to spend the day with both of my girls and Amanda found a stunning dress to wear for her November wedding.  Our five weeks at Dakotah Meadows was filled with a lot of catching up with friends and family.  Joe and I were lucky…
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