Sunshine State?

We watched the weather forecast for weeks before we came here and it showed nothing but rain.  It continues to show nothing but rain in the forecast.  Isn't Florida the Sunshine State?  Actually, it has not rained that much on us, but it is cloudy.  We have enjoyed taking walks when it is lightly raining.  Tonight, our walk was very pleasant since it is cool out.

Mama took a lot of photos, but since it is cloudy, they are are not very pretty.  Dad said it is a little eerie being here when no one else is here.  We can only imagine how alive the place is when all the people come in October and stay the winter.

A look down the street into the vacant "village".

This is our yard.  We have a palm tree.

Our home.  The site next to us is vacant and may be our entire stay since it is blocked off.  The people who own it, may not allow it to be rented out.

Cacti tree?

Flowers in a yard.

Cool driveway.

Nice sitting area.  It is a in French, so not sure what it says.

Another pretty yard.

A lot of blooms on this one.  We hope it blooms while we are here.

Many of the homes have their windows covered like this one does.

This is a pretty home.

Today, when we were throwing our trash in the dumpster, a cat came flying out.  It scared us.  BOL!

Mama is getting so clumsy.  She got tangled in our leashes and landed on the grass.  Dad was outside and he didn't even notice.  She landed on her butt and was glad no one saw her.  She didn't get hurt because she landed on the grass.

The folks drove around today to find Dad's work places.  They have not seen a lot of restaurants.  Mama said "This is definitely not Texas."  She loves the food in Texas.  Tomorrow, they will go grocery shopping and Dad will get his haircut.  Thursday, Dad goes to work. 

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Thinks Florida Is Okay So Far

We Are Here!

We made it to our new destination.  We are near Fort Lauderdale.  Dad is going to work at two hotels this time.  One is in Fort Lauderdale and the other is in Miami.

Our trip went well.  We had three people try to cut us off all within a few minutes of each other, so that was a little scary.  Dad slammed on the brakes once and the laptop went flying.  It was closed and it didn't get hurt.  Mama's soda ended up all over though.  That sudden stop caused all our pantry items to knock against the cabinet door and we didn't notice it until we started bringing the slide out.  The salad dressing got caught in the slide and squirted out.  The can of baking spray started spraying.  It took Dad a while to get those out from the slide because they fell to the floor and got stuck.  That incident caused our cabinet to be damaged by the slide, so Dad will have to fix it.  The hinge is messed up and now the cabinet will not shut.  It happened to the previous owner because we noticed just the other day that the door had been repaired.  Dad found a small football that belonged to the previous owners when he pulled out our salad dressing.  BOL

Our park seems to be nice.  We had a heck of a time finding a place that had good reviews and that would take dogs over 20 pounds.  Most of the reviews were bad because the surrounding areas were not safe.  We finally decided on this place and then Mama met a woman at the park in Arlington and they started talking about this area and she told Mama about this place.  Mama told her we already made reservations here and the lady said we would not regret it. She said she had stayed here several times and it is the best place around.  Mama felt much better after that.  In the winter time, this park is full of French Canadians.  Most of the signs here are in French.  The park looks like it is full, but in fact, most of the homes are boarded up for the summer. They belong to the French Canadians.  It is a little strange walking through a place that is full of homes, but they are vacant.  We have seen maybe five people, two dogs and a heck of a lot of cats.  One front porch is full of kittens.  There are people living there with the cats. 

We will take photos of the park tomorrow.  Mama was too tired tonight.  We walked all around the park.  There are 40 acres and I guess since no one else is really here, we can walk wherever we want. 

It is nice to be parked for a while again.  Three days of driving is exhausting!  I don't think we could do four days in a row.

Oh, almost forgot to mention that Mama's hand is fine.  It is not even red.  The burns on her arm hurt less and they left scars. 

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is In Florida For An Unknown Amount Of Time

Two Days Down, One To Go!

We found the dog run area last night.  It was really nice and big.  Scout and I took a run in it this morning.  We did two laps.  The photos are from last night.

There is a swan that lives at the campground and she has a nest of eggs that she is trying to hatch.  The sign told us to leave her alone.

Mama checked the radar as we are heading out this morning and she said "I think we are going to hit rain."  Dad said "Open your eyes and look."  Yep, the rain was headed right at us.

It rained for a while.  We stopped at a rest area in the rain because we thought Scout needed to go, but she didn't.  Oh, she walked and walked and walked.  It turns out that Scout loves walking in the rain.  I don't mind it either.  Nope, no raincoats for us.  We like getting wet.

It rained in Mississippi.

It was sunny when we hit Alabama.

And, of course, it was sunny when we hit the "Sunshine State".

We stopped at a rest area in Alabama and we were swarmed with kids.  They loved us.  One kid said I was his favorite.  Scout usually is the favorite.  I like kids because they are my height.  One girl said we were the same age.  She thought that was cool.

We lost an hour today since we are now in the Eastern Time Zone. 

We wanted to stay at a park that has three fenced dog areas, but they wouldn't answer their phone, so we had to choose another place.  This place is okay, but definitely not a place we would want to stay more than a night. The sites are very close together.  They do not allow you to use your own washer/dryer.  It probably has something to do with their septic system.  They do have cable TV, so that is nice.  The place last night did not.

Mama ordered Pizza Hut tonight.  She was happy about that.  Tomorrow night, she will probably fix dinner when we arrive at our new "home".

Any guesses on where we are headed?  We are in Tallahassee, FL tonight.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Slept Most Of The Day, But Is Still Tired

One Day Down, Two To Go

Are you following our green line on the map?  Mama has been updating it each time we stop for gas or a rest area.  You can enlarge it if you click below that little man.  There is a + sign.  It makes it easier to see.

We were sad to leave Texas.  We were happy to see Miss Woe and her Mom before we left.  Mama left her a note with our blog address on it so that we could keep in touch.   We really need to get business cards.

Our travel day was easy. The weather was good.  Traffic was light.  Oh, do you know what we saw today?  Alligators that were roadkill!  Yep, they were just on the side of the road....dead!

We stopped at a rest area that had drinking fountains for dogs.  Louisiana knows how to treat us right.

We are staying at a park we stayed at last year.  We are actually just two sites down from our old site.  They say they have an enclosed dog park. We couldn't find it last year.  We are going to check it out after we take a nap.  We are tired.

Mama burned herself, again, while fixing dinner.  She pulled out a microwave dish and the cheese spilled all over her hand. She screamed.  I thought she was going to start crying.  I was concerned because she said she might not be able to hold our leash.   Dad said he would help her, but will he at 5 a.m.?  She is feeling better after less than an hour, so I think she will be okay. 

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Resting After A Long Day Of  Driving

That's A Wrap!

Well folks, our time in Texas is coming to an end.  That's right, today is our last day in the Lone Star State.  We have really enjoyed our stay here at Treetops RV Resort/Carefree.   The staff here is so nice as are the residents.  One of the workers drives a golf cart and he always gives us treats and loving.  You should see all the dogs line up to see him.  He is like the ice cream man for us.  BOL

We loved napping in the yard...

....and chasing squirrels.

Our weather has been nice except for the night that we had to evacuate due to a tornado threat.

The folks enjoyed touring Southfork Ranch, Sixth Floor Museum (JFK) and the George W. Bush Presidential Library.   Texas has great food and the folks enjoyed many restaurants.  They found that some of their favorite restaurants were less than five minutes away.

Mama was able to walk to stores while staying here.  She walked to the mall twice and Super Target was visited many times.  Raising Cane's became a lunch stop on her way home from the mall.

We liked it so much here that we have considered it for our winter destination.  However, they do get ice here, so that is a big drawback.  We will have to think about it some more.


So, where are we headed next?  Well, it will take us three, ten hour days of driving.  It takes longer to drive in a motor home than in a car. Our stops take a little longer and our top speed is 65 mph and that doesn't happen very often.  We thought it might be fun this time to let you guess where we are going by watching us on the map.  We will update it each night to show you where we are for the night.  Our travels will be marked with the green line, we think.  If it is not green, we will let you know.  We don't have control over the color.

Adiós for now.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Preparing To Leave Texas For The Third Time

Cedar Hill State Park

Sunday was family fun day as Mama calls it.  We all hopped in the Jeep and went exploring.  Our first stop was McDonalds.  We had a few fries and they were delicious.  Our next stop was Cedar Hill State Park.  The state parks here charge admission.  The fee is $7 a person, greyhounds are free.  Mama was complaining about the fee, but then she realized that Texans don't pay state taxes, so the parks have to be maintained with money from somewhere.  In Missouri, the parks are free, but residents pay state tax.  We are now Texans, so we don't pay a state tax, so yes, it makes sense that we have to pay to get in. Mama would rather pay as you go instead of being charged a state tax.

Dad wanted to see the campground in case we ever come back to this area.  It was quickly decided that we wouldn't want to camp there.  They only cut the grass that is right next to the driveway of the sites. The rest of the area is very overgrown.  Mama said "Can you imagine the bugs and snakes?"   It actually made a nice park look run down.  The park was full of campers.

We stopped at the Penn Farm Agricultural History Center which is located in the park.  There are reconstructed and historic buildings from the mid 1800's to the mid 1900's.  It was a very easy walk.  We met several families and they were very interested in us.  Mama showed them our tattoos which the kids thought were cool.  We were celebrities.

The yellow flowers in the back are on a cactus.  Mama refused to walk thru the flowers to get a close up photo.

A cool barn

"Let's go in!"

Mama said no to going in.  She said there might be snakes.  One of the people that lived there died of a rattlesnake bite and Mama kept reminding us of that.

Scout standing next to farming equipment.  Vanna White, she is not.  BOL

Kids were learning to whistle with a piece of grass and it drove me crazy.

Wild flowers

House built in 1880's.  Mama didn't think it looked that old, but it does need a new roof.

We enjoyed our family fun day.  We were so tired that per Mama's request, we didn't ask her to get out of bed until 6 a.m. on Monday.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Loves Family Fun Days

George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum

Mama was very excited when she learned the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum would be open in time for her to visit while in Dallas.  The folks have a goal to visit all the Presidential libraries and museums.  They have been to the Dwight D. Eisenhower library in  Abilene, KS and the George Bush library in College Station, TX.  George W. Bush's library opened on May 1st of this year.

Mama read that it was best if she bought the tickets ahead of time, so after a struggle to get those because many times were sold out already, she secured them for May 25th at noon.  The folks expected it to be crowded because they allow 350 people an hour inside.  Mama said it was packed!

They waited in line for 15 minutes to go through security and then a few minutes to get their "43" stickers to show they belonged in the museum. 

People leaving the library

It was so crowded that the folks were not able to really enjoy it.  They could not get close to many things to read them.  :-(

Quilt with front pages of newspapers showing headlines while we waited to find out if George W. Bush was the new President.

Florida Ballot - remember all the hanging chads?

President and Mrs. Bush

Baseball collection of the President

Dress Mrs. Bush wore at a State dinner just days before 9/11

 After seeing the display with Mrs. Bush's dress, you enter a room that is darkened and it is all about 9/11.

Beams from the twin towers.

This lady wouldn't move as she was playing with her phone, so after waiting several moments, Mama just took the picture and now she is part of our blog.  BOL!

These walls have the names of those killed on 9/11.

Screen showing different things that happened the week of 9/11.

Close up of some of the 9/11 victims.

Pens used by the President to sign documents.

Statues of Barney and Miss Beasley.  They were dogs owned by the Bush Family

Painting of Mrs. Bush and her pups

Statue of Spot - another dog of the Bush family

The folks stood line line for 45 minutes to tour the Oval Office. The Oval Office is supposed to be an exact replica of how it looked when President Bush was in office. They were able to see other things along the way, but it was still a long wait.

Items from the Oval office

Rug in the Oval Office

The Oval Office

Ceiling in the Oval Office

Dog dish that was a gift to the Bush dogs.  Mama thought we would like to see it.

This museum does not show anything about President Bush's childhood which Mama found odd.  Maybe the President figured there was enough about his childhood in his Dad's museum.  BOL!


Mama saw a statue that she meant to take a photo of when she went outside, but she forgot and they didn't pass by it when leaving.  It was President Bush and his father, President Bush.  She is still upset that she missed that photo opportunity.

There were several short films to watch, but the lines were just too long.  The folks said they would like to go back in a few years when it is not so crowded.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Wonders Why Museums Don't Allow Dogs