DAY OF DEPARTURE ...

Tim and I spent a quiet day at camp yesterday ... Cleaning and sorting for our departure today. We also took a nice long walk in the campground and by a few of the lakes. Our last night camping here was great! We had more guests arrive just for the evening. Tim's friend Bubba and his son Matthew stopped by. Also Connie & Jon, friends I work with, came out. They attended the December Camping trip with us at Rainbow Springs a few weeks ago.  Not knowing we would have dinner guests I had been preparing an experimental dinner in the crock pot all day .... A Low Country Boil. Normally we would do this outside, in under an hour, with a huge boiling pot of water on a massive propane  burner. 

Yesterday I decided to see how this would work in the crock pot and having it cook all day. The process and ingredients were the same ... Just the timings were different. You just start with the potatoes first then throughout the day add the additional ingredients so that everything is cooked by the time you want to eat. The process was a success and enjoyed by everyone. Our campfire was so warm and toasty. Tim always does a great job on the campfire. We all had a good time and can't wait to get together again. 

This morning it was very foggy and oh so damp out. We slowed the roll getting out while we tried to get things dry. I'm guessing we made it home by 12:30. I towed the Airstream home. Towing is not so much of a problem for me. I've towed through Atlanta in a thunder storm but when it comes to backing up ... I just don't get it. So I left the Airstream half jack knifed in the front yard and Tim gently backed it the rest of the way into the back yard. We leave again in five days for our annual trip to Santa Rosa Beach for the Can Opener. I'm guessing the event is close to having eighty Airstreams attending. So stay tuned the back 'em up saga will continue. 

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Safe Travels~

ALICE WYMER

(Aye chihuahua!)

OPERATOR ERROR ...

Wednesday at camp was quiet. Tim had to go to work and I just hung out here at Lake Louisa State Park. My mom, John and Aunt Martha were still here for good entertainment ... I mean company. And of course while Tim was gone a lot went wrong at my camp. 

First I tried to turn on the TV to get the stations programmed. The only stations I could get tuned in were the Religious stations and Spanish stations or Spanish/Religious stations. So my next step was to get out the weather station since I couldn't get a local TV station to monitor the weather with the big storm and weather front coming through. Well the test button didn't work nor could I get any weather feed from it. 

With those two failures I figured I could at least watch a movie. I plugged in 'The Long, Long Trailer'. A 1954 Technicolor movie staring Lucille Ball & Desi Arnez. It's about a couple who are on their honeymoon in a forty foot three ton trailer traveling about. It seemed like every incident that the young couple happened into ... Tim and I had a similar story. 

Once the movie finished I was going to plug in another old film. Uh ... not so much. Now  'The Long, Long Trailer' was stuck in the DVD player in the wall and would not eject. Rrrrrgh! Among other things the wardrobe latch malfunctioned and then my portable DVD player wouldn't show a picture I only had the audio. Anyway .. I did wind up having a nice dinner at my mother's camp. My mom's dog Stella hung out with us as well. Then they all came over to my camp and gave me an A+ on my campfire that I built. I was so glad something went right without Tim being present. 

Tim arrived back at camp this morning from his 24-hour shift at work and I told him everything that went wrong. And of course it was pointed out to me that every single issue was due to ... OPERATOR ERROR!!!

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Safe Travels~

ALICE WYMER

(Aye chihuahua!)

CHESTNUTS ROASTING ON AN OPEN FIRE ...

The vision I had had all my life of roasting chestnuts on an open fire and my first efforts of doing so ... were so far apart. Actually it was a complete disaster. I did Google what the procedure was before we left the house. I thought  I remembered what to do. So instead of nice yummy warm roasted chestnuts ... We wound up with what looked like glowing red ping pong balls in a pan. Oh and they could have been flaming at one point. Tim did exactly as I told him. He questioned me the whole way. Camp-Run-A-Muck it is!

Once the glowing hot lumps had cooled my nephew, Stephen, tried to pick one up and it just disintegrated between his fingers. Then Tim decided to Google the procedure on his cell ... Uh I left out a few steps.  Oh my ... Embarrassing!!! I hope I made up for it by bringing out all the makings of s'mores. In the end we all had a good laugh and we made a few memories to talk about for years to come. 

Tim and I will be here until the end of the week. We had visitors throughout the day yesterday. My niece Sandy and her husband Richie were here for most of the day. My brother Robbie and his son Brandon, who ate some of my crickets, came by. Then we also had my nephew Stephen who camped in a tent on our site and he had his girlfriend Leila come by.  My Mother her husband John and my Aunt Martha who are camping a few sites over are here. We had a great big casual breakfast yesterday ... Big Al's Famous Waffles (plain & brownie), biscuits & gravy (by Richie) and pigs-in-a-blanket (thanks, Mom) and chocolate covered cherries soaked in vodka (yum ... Aunt Martha) and mamosas AND a wonderful new Christmas tradition has been found!

Happy Holidays everyone!

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Safe Travels~

ALICE WYMER

(Aye chihuahua!)

MELE KALIKIMAKA ...

Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say on a bright Hawaiian Christmas Day 

That's the island greeting that we send to you from the land where palm trees sway

Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright 

The sun to shine by day and all the stars at night

Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii's way to say Merry Christmas to you ...

Wait a minute!!!

Rrrrrrt ...

 Is that Green Swamp I smell? 

Yes, I think so ... We are at Lake Louisa State Park just south of Clermont. It's just a short 20 minute drive from the house and the perfect place to spend Christmas with family. This will be our first Christmas camping ... Hopefully not our last but the beginning of a wonderful Holiday Tradition. 

If I squint really hard I can make believe the cypress trees in the swamp are Hawaiian palms swaying in the breeze and that smell is that of  a fruity coconut drink in my hand. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!

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Safe Travels~

ALICE WYMER

(Aye chihuahua!)

RUN RUDOLPH RUN

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all thro' the campground 

Not a creature was stirring, not even a hound;

The stockings were hung by the campfire with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The campers were nestled all snug in their rigs,

While visions of waffles danc'd in their heads,

Yup ... We'll be bust'n out Big Al's Waffles at camp in the morning. 

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Safe Travels~

ALICE WYMER

(Aye chihuahua!)

Great Gathering & Good Times

Even though we anticipated a little warmer weather here at Rainbow Springs it's still really nice. Thankfully I keep extra jackets in the Airstream. Today we took a hike down to the river and watched fishermen, kayakers & paddleboarders. The water is so clear that what you see in the second picture is the white sand on the river bed. Tonight is our big feed ... The Chuckwagon Pot Luck. 

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Safe Travels~

ALICE WYMER

(Aye chihuahua!)

Woo-Hoo & a yiiipppeee ki-yay!

The Wymers arrived last night at Rainbow Springs State Park in Dunnellon, Florida. Tim and I are here prepping for the Camping Event of the year/December Round-Up. We've gathered friends and family for a fun weekend of camping prior to Christmas. The weather is great and we can't wait for everyone to arrive. 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

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Safe Travels~

ALICE WYMER

(Aye chihuahua!)