Vacation Time!

Sorry we haven't been around much.  We are on vacation and apparently, that means a vacation from blogging, too.  We are doing fine, but we have been busy.  We haven't taken many photos.  :-(

We went trout fishing at Bennett Springs State Park.  I am not sure why they call it trout fishing because I never saw a trout.  Dad doesn't let us near the water because he is worried we might get a hook in a paw or that we might see some old bait and eat it.  We basically just walked around the campground.  Mama always likes taking photos at Bennett Springs, but she only did it as we were driving out of the park, so the photos are not that good.

The "waterfalls" at Bennett Springs.

Yesterday, the folks visited their doctor for their yearly check ups.  Today, Scout and I visited our vet.  Our vet has moved to a new location, so we were a little confused at first, but then we remembered him.

Yep, our vet is really called "My Vet".  It's an easy name to remember.

"When is he going to see me?"

"Why am I here?  I am current on my shots."

Scout has lost four pounds.  We thought it was more.  Mama says it is from all the walking we do.  We walked a ton in Houston and Denver, but not quite as much in Fort Lauderdale, but it is still a lot more than we used to do when we lived in a house.  I gained a pound or two, but the vet says it is because I am so muscular.  I am pretty ripped if I do say so myself.  The pictures really don't show it.  The vet was impressed by my body. 

After the vet visit, we went to the car wash.  It was scary!

Mama thought Scout's expression was really funny in this photo.

Mama picked up her mixer, sewing machine and a clock that the folks bought before they married 27 years ago from Grandma's house.  Mama is happy to have these items with her again.

Cookies are in our future.

The folks are visiting the family today, so Scout and I will hang out in the motor home.  We are exhausted after the vet and the car wash, so we are happy to sleep the day away.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Doesn't Think Other Dogs Go To The Vet On Their Vacation.

It's Time For Trout Fishing

We are at the trout fishing place.  I was here two years ago.  I had a cast on my leg back then.  I don't really remember the place, but Mama says it looks the same. There are a lot of people here.  Scout couldn't control herself and dripped all over a little girl.  It was her nose that was dripping.  Mama explained that we have been in a campground without other humans and Scout was just excited to get petted again.  I peed in a storm drain, but that is not as embarrassing as dripping all over someone.  I think it is fun to do. Girls can't do it like us guys can.

Our trip here was good.  We had excitement about 40 miles from here. The tractor trailer in front of us had a blow out.  It went "KABOOM" and his tire started shredded all over the highway.  Dad hit the brakes and we started heading for the shoulder.  It was scary, but we were fine.

Dad brought Mama home a digital picture frame from his trip.  She loaded it up with pictures of our travels, so now there are a lot of photos of me!!!

Grandma and Grandpa will be here later today.  They said they would eat lunch before they get here, so Mama said she is going to Wendy's.  Yes, she is getting another Pretzel Bun Bacon Cheeseburger. 

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Thinks Peeing In A Storm Drain Cuts Out The Middleman

Almost Home

We have been on the road for two days.  We have one more to go.  There really isn't much to say about the trip and I guess that is good.  The stops we make are at rest areas, truck stops and our campground at night.  It is great having a diesel engine because we just fill up with the big trucks.  It is easy in and easy out. 

Scout smiling at the camera.

The campground we stayed at last night in Tallahassee, FL say they are the best in Tallahassee.  If they are the best, we hate to see the worst.  The only grass they had, had signs that said not to walk on it. Where's a dog supposed to do his business?  Dad was concerned about how we were going to make the turn to get out of our site.  He ended up taking the long way around instead of how it should have been.  We were also not happy that their rates were higher than what they posted on the Internet.  It was $40 for a site.  CRAZY!  They did have great Internet, but that is not worth $40. 

The neatest thing about the campground were the big oak trees.  There was one section that was really pretty.  This was it though. If it all looked like this, we wouldn't be complaining.

Big oak trees at campground.

Tonight, we are staying in Clarksville, TN.  It is near the Kentucky border.  It is a really nice place.  There are a lot of areas for us to walk.  The campsites all look really nice and clean.  This is a place that we wouldn't mind staying long term.  It is $33 a night.

Me and Dad walking in the campground.

Pretty

The cottages are cute. They even have flowers under the side window.

Mama made a peach cobbler tonight.  Yum! She is also doing laundry.  Yep, the machine is still working. 

We don't know what is wrong with our map.  We updated it today and it is not appearing correctly when we view it.

Tomorrow, is our last travel day!

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Will Be Sniffing Missouri Grass Soon!

Leaving The Land Of Palm Trees

Hollywood Beach, FL

We are setting out on a long, three day road trip.  We should be back in Missouri Sunday night.  Dad is trout fishing for three days and then we will be  heading back to our home town. The folks will visit their doctor and Scout and I will see the vet.  The motor home is going in for some maintenance work.  It will be a busy time.  It is supposed to be a vacation, but Mama said she thinks she will be doing more cooking than she wants to do and that is not a vacation to her.  I guess she had her vacation while Dad was in DC this week.  BOL

Hollywood Beach

Mama planned on doing her laundry at the laundromat here, but the machines use a card instead of coins and they were out of cards.  Mama decided to hand wash some of her clothing.  She then decided to see if the dryer on our washer/dryer worked and it did!  She then pushed her luck and did a load of towels in our washer because it started working again.  She will still ask Dad to look at it. She thinks she must have jarred loose whatever was stuck in it or something. I think it was that last kick she gave it that fixed it.  BOL

Indiana Dunes State Park

The tent campers are still here!  It has been four weeks!  We think the parents are working around here because they leave and come back at the same time each day.  We just realized this week that their son is staying here by himself.  He is between the age of 11-13.  Mama says there is nothing for him to do here on his own except get into trouble.  He must really be bored.

Mama helped out one of the kittens yesterday.  We saw him on Tuesday on the far end of the campground which is way away from his house.  He is blind in one eye, if not both eyes.  We searched for him Tuesday night, but couldn't find him and thought he had returned home.  Wednesday morning, we saw him again in the area he was at on Tuesday.  Mama said he is going to starve to death on his own.  After our walk, she found a canvas bag that she didn't need and decided to use that to carry him.  She really didn't want to touch him because he probably has fleas and other things.  She scooped him up and carried him home.  He is now back with his siblings.  We have seen him three times since that time and he seems to be doing okay.   The canvas bag is in the dumpster and Mama scrubbed her hands really good.  BOL


We probably won't be updating our blog every day while we are traveling.  We will try to update the map each night.  It really depends on how tired we are. The trip here was three days and we were all dragging and cranky on the third day.

Indiana Dunes State Park

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Wonders If The Cats Will Miss Him As Much As He Will Miss Them

A Visit To Coral Castle

Sunday afternoon, the folks visited Coral Castle.  I hope this post is better than the one on Fruit and Spice Park.  BOL  Coral Castle was built by one man working alone.  It took him 20 years to complete.  Ed Leedskalnin was born in Latvia in 1887.  When he was 26, he was engaged to Agnes Scuffs who was 16.  The night before their wedding, she told Ed that she did not want to marry him because he was too old.  He always thought her mother didn't think he was rich enough or educated enough.  He had a fourth grade education. He was heart broken and he wandered for several years and eventually made his way to Florida around 1918-1920. He chose South Florida because he was told he had tuberculosis and the climate would be good for his health.  Ed was 5'5" and weighed only 100 pound.  We mention his size because it is quite amazing what he was able to build this on his own.

Ed created his castle for Agnes who he called "Sweet Sixteen".  She never visited, but she did know about the castle according to reports.  Mama thinks that Ed was obsessed with Agnes since he even built beds for the children he planned to have with her. Poor man. He even built a repentance corner for his kids and wife, which he never had.  He said if they misbehaved, he would make them put their heads through the opening, wedge them in place with a clock of wood and they would sit on a bench while he talked to them for about an hour.  He figured this would keep them in line for several months.  Yes, he had it all planned out except he never had the wife and children.  He died in 1951 at the age of 64.

When looking at the photos, remember that Ed worked totally alone and did not have machinery.  He did all the work with hand tools.  When he was asked how he did the work, he said he understood the laws of weight and leverage. He was a very private person and no one ever saw him work. 

Ed charged people $.25 to see his work.  The price is now $15 a person.

Ed's yard.

The cooker. The food is placed in the pot and it is lowered to the fire.  It is like a pressure cooker.

He created tables and chairs.

Tools that he used.

Ed

Ed's bed.  It hangs from the ceiling.

Ed's living quarters.  16 steps lead to the top.

Can you see the chairs towards the center.  There are chairs all over.  They are actually pretty comfortable.

Planets in the back.  See the moon?

Feast of Love Table - it is shaped like a heart.

Throne Room - Pictures really don't show it, but Ed's throne is here.  It weighs 5,000 pounds.  Sweet Sixteen's chair is there as well as a child's chair.  Directly behind Ed's throne is the mother-in-law's chair.  He designed it to be the most uncomfortable chair.

Nice view of a tree.

Florida table because it is shaped like Florida.

 

Ed's bathtub.

The well.

 

The quarry.  Each section of the walls around the castle are said to weigh 13,000 pounds.

There is a 9 ton gate which is considered to be Ed's most outstanding achievements, but it looks like Mama didn't take a photo of it.

Another picture of the wall.

Close up of one of the walls.

Mama thought it was interesting, but not worth $15 a person to her.  She did have a coupon, so their costs were $12 each. 

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Glad His Dad Is Not Ed Because He Wouldn't Want a Repentance Center