Man oh Man, do I ever have a great skin doctor!

Got these before and after photos of my face. Was treated for skin cancer of the face. Did he do a good job or what?

Merry CHRISTmas to all!

What a great couple of days this has been! Last night at daughter Richelle's family home and this morning most of the kids and grandkids at our condo. We are so blessed to have children and grandchildren that still wish to share and love with us!

And a little longer yet!

The bad thing is that, since we have returned home, we have discovered that Carol needs cataract surgery and I have had some cancerous crap taken from my forehead. Now, Carol discovered that she has infection in her eyes and the surgery was put off for a week. The good news is that we have been well taken care of and will return to Florida healthy. We have a first - this year we have finished our Christmas shopping and are locked and cocked to go for Christmas Eve at Richelle's and Christmas morning the kids and grandkids are coming over here. Thank you God for these blessings!

Looks like we are staying here a little longer

We were planning on returning to Florida a couple of days after Christmas and now it seems like it will be on or after January 3. Carol discovered that she will be having cataract surgery on December 28 and her last checkup with the doctor will be January 3. Two good things about this is that Carol will be able to see well again and we won't have to tow the Montana south when we leave in early January, like we have done so many times in the past. Looks like all is really well! Thanksgiving at Renee's was great and now Christmas Eve at Richelle's and Christmas morning at our condo with the kids and grandkids.

We're back home, now

We left Silver Springs, FL Sunday morning and did what we don't care to do and NEVER WILL DO AGAIN, drove straight through home to Grand Blanc, MI. We only took two half hour nap stops at rest areas along the way but otherwise we were moving. We never traveled through the cotton field area in this time of year before and were amazed to see that they looked snow covered. We also were privileged to see "Fall Colors" on the trees in Georgia and they were beautiful. We were passed by a "Working Greyhound" and Sunshine smiled because she remembers how it was before she retired and joined our family. It was getting dark by the time we got to Atlanta but we were able to see the Olympic Flame once again. We were unable to see the views in the mountains of Tennessee and Kentucky because of the darkness but coming down the mountain from Kentucky into Cincinnati, we were treated to see the Cinci lights. When we left Florida, the temperatures were in the low 80s and when we got home, it was 29 - Shock to the system time. We will travel to Renee's house for Thanksgiving and then celebrate Christmas with the kids and grandkids here and then leave for Florida soon afterwords. We plan on arriving in Florida in time to see the light show at Silver Springs Park and celebrate New Years with our friends from the MOC, Helen and Bill Moll. They are the people who interested us in the park we are staying at in Silver Springs.

Tomorrow we cool off!

Tomorrow, we head back to Michigan from Florida. We are planning on driving straight through, leaving the Montana here on our lot in Silver Springs. It was 72 here today and our daughter, Richelle, called today to tell us to get ready for colder, winter weather back home. We are planning on staying in Michigan through Christmas and then  heading back to see the Silver Springs Holiday light presentation before New Years. We hear that the whole park is aglow during this month and we are fortunate that it lasts until December 31. Happy Thanksgiving to all - Jim and Carol

A beautiful day at Silver Springs Park

Today we spent a few hours at Silver Springs Park, a tropical, water wonderland. We knew it was an interesting area when we saw the Bear Crossing sign on the highway near our RV Park. There were colorful birds, turtles, crocs, gators and a host of other wonders of nature. We took a river cruise on a glass bottom boat and went deep into the "jungle." We saw several turtles lined up on a log just like they were in a beauty pageant. The gators are pretty dormant at this time of year but we saw two where one had its head on the back of another, sorta "gator love." We saw a Muntjac Deer, so small it looked like a medium sized dog. We have season passes so we will return many times during the winter but this was a great couple of hour start and gave us an idea of what we have to look forward to. We never tire of seeing the sun shine through the Spanish Moss hanging from the trees, here as throughout the south. We return home for Thanksgiving to Christmas, leaving next Sunday.

Ocala and The Villages

Ocala is horse country. There are statues all over town honoring the horse. Last weekend, The Breeders Cup series featured many horses that were bred and trained right here. It was a Marion County Weekend of racing. Down in The villages, the flowers and flowering trees are looking beautiful. It seems quite unusual for us Michiganders to see such floral beauty in November.

Ocala and

This is not a bad looking area!

Yesterday, we started hearing a squeal from under the hood of the truck and discovered that the Serpentine Belt was bad. While replacing this, the mechanic discovered that the belt tensioner was frozen. Almost $200 later, we were good to go again. This was not planned for but we are OK now. The campground has two dog parks in it and Sunshine is in her glory. There are long, paved, clean streets for walking and even a Fitness Center on the property. Today our friends Bill and Helen Moll, from the MOC, took us to Silver Springs Amusement Park where we got our Annual Passes and a short intro to the park. This is where many of the original Tarzan movies were made. Many scenes from the old TV Show with Lloyd Bridges were shot here too. They have several boat tours with glass bottom boats and wild animal displays in natural settings. All included in the Annual Pass and so tomorrow we will try to return with camera in hand to see more of this wonderful place. They have regular concerts here, too, with name stars that we know. All we have to bring is our chairs. Saturday we will go to the Market of Marion, a flea market/vegatable market that seems like a real bargain. Looks like a very interesting winter coming up.

We're now at our Winter Home!

Today, we made our last move with the Montana for the season. We are now set up in Silver Springs, FL, at the Wilderness Town Park RV Park. Our lot is 40'X70' and landscaped beautifully. We have nice grass, trees, bushes and cement pad. The weather is beautiful, the park even has two dog parks and we are happy to be here. We even were greeted by the white bird walking in front of our truck. This is Florida so we do have Fire Ants. They even made a "Fire Ant Smiley Face" for us with one of their mounds. We do have the junk to put on their mounds to get rid of them. The view from our patio is of the edge of the Ocala National Forest and out of our back window is some great landscaping. We have friends from the Montana Owners' Club, Helen and Bill Moll, in the park. Now we will just lay back and see what the area has to behold!

Wildwood and Ocala Dog Park

                            
Today was Sunshine's day to go to the Ocala Dog Park, for the first time this season. I don't know how she knows when she is approaching a dog park but, it never fails, when we get within sight of a park, no matter where in this great country we are, she goes bonkers in the truck. Today was no exception. On the way, we saw this beautiful tree with the red flowers. We will have to try to identify it because they are plentiful around here and look great. As soon as we arrived at the park, Sunshine immediately did her usual thing - made friends quickly with the other patrons of the park. This is a very large park so she ran and got very warm. It was sunny and 77 today. She discovered these small swimming pools and plopped down and cooled off. By the time I got near enough to take a pix, she stood, shook and, now being cooler, ran to mom, who was in the pavilion watching her with an "oohing and aahing" with other dog owners. Tomorrow we will return to Wilderness Town Park, where we move to Tuesday, to assure it is ready for us to move in - water and electric turned on.

Still in Wildwood

We are still in Wildwood and will be until Tuesday. Then we will move to our "winter home" in Silver Springs. We stopped by Wilderness Town Park, where we will stay starting Tuesday, a couple of days ago and it is still beautiful. Our site is concrete padded and has grass and shrubs. The lots are nice sized and well kept. We look forward to our winter there. We still plan on returning to Michigan between Thanksgiving and Christmas, sans the Montana. It surely will be nice to head south after Christmas without towing the rig through the snow and ice. It will be a first for us. Yesterday, we had a mobile detailing company wash and spray wax our rig. It sure shines like the jewel that it is and will be much easier for me to keep up outside maintenance and cleaning. The oxidation, bugs and dirt from storage are now gone and we can start over with a "new" Monty. The other day we drove the short distance to the part that will be our "winter home" to see our lot. The Wilderness Town Park is a wonderful facility with paved roads, concrete pads and much grass and shrubs and trees. Our lot is nice sized and is four lots away from the Ocala National Forest and the Oklawaha River. When Sunshine and I go for our walks, we should probably go during daylight hours and leave the nights to the gators! Today, we are going to the Ocala Dog Park. This is a huge facility where Sunshine loved running around the area unleashed last year. She met a ton of fur friends and we met some pretty nice people, too. Sunshine is pictured running to Carol at this park last year and the badge has the important word "Retired" on it making it possible for us to follow the sun in the wintertime.

Hardeeville to Charleston then to Wildwood, FL

Yesterday, we moved from Hardeeville, SC to Jacksonville, FL. We spent the night at a nice park, Pecan Park RV Resort in Jacksonville. We took Sunshine downtown to a really nice dog park but left after a short visit when a man brought in a Pit Bull that was wanting to play with the other dogs but was young and strong and hurt several of them. We got out of there before Sunshine joined in the "fun." Pecan Park is a new really nice RV park with concrete pull through pads and lots of grass between sites. The only negative was that it was on a flight path for Jackson International Airport and we had several large, loud jets taking off over us. Not bad, though, because there is a Naval Air Station nearby also and we got to see several frisky fighters flying overhead. Today we moved from Jacksonville to Wildwood, FL where we set up at 3 Flags RV Park. We are scheduled to be here for six nights before moving about 20 miles north to our "winter home" in Silver Springs. The photos start with Sunshine lying at the picnic table in Hardeeville when I was breaking down the rig to get it ready for travel. She was asking me "I'm ready, how long are you going to be?" Then the Georgia sign, then our farewell to Savannah. Next comes our entrance into Florida. Then there are Carol and Sunshine enjoying the Jacksonville dog park and one of the great jetliners flying overhead at Pecan Park.

Working Greyhound versus Retired Greyhound!

This is where one finds a working Greyhound!

This is where one finds a playing, retired Greyhound!

Savannah, GA

Today we saw one of the most beautiful, congested cities we have seen in a long time. The bridge leading into Savannah reminds us of the bridge leading into Charleston, SC and is evry bit as beautiful. The Spanish Moss hanging from the trees along shaded streets in front of some very old homes made travel from neighborhood to neighborhood wonderful. Some multicolored walkups seemed to be ancient but very well preserved. The vehicle and pedestrian traffic was very heavy but there were numerous parks (called squares) throughout the historic downtoen section making is easier for peds. There was a huge white steeple that could be seen from the bridge and, up close and personal, it looked great taken through the limbs and leaves of a gnarled, old tree. Taking a hint from our friend, Mick Giandiletti, we went to Fort Pulaski. We are semi-Civil War buffs and this trip was well worth the time. The story of the fort is interesting and the best part is "we" won! The Confederates held the fort in 1862 and the Union forces bombarded it with over 5,400 artillery shells, forcing the Rebels to surrender. The fort still stands and the holes in the walls even had cannonballs in the holes. In photo #8, look at the center of the pic and there is a cannonball. This bombardment led to the end of masonary forts because of the damage caused by rifling in the artillery giving the ammo more "oomph!". Then as we were leaving, a very large spider was seen getting ready to carry our truck away. Good thing we got there in time to save it.