September 19th 2009

ACROSS THE WAY

September 18th 2009

SUNSET BETWEEN THE BRIDGES

September 17th 2009

GOOD BYES & MOVE TO BAHIA HONDA

September 15th & 16th 2009

KAYAKING THE BACKWATER

September 14th 2009

KEY WEST

Conch Tour Train

Big sail boats in harbor.

Lobster Boat just in.

Late lunch at Hog Fish Bar & Grill!!!

September 13th 2009

Drive to and arrival at Curry Hammock State Park.

That went well.

Here it is October 4th and we returned from the Keys on September 25th - just over a week ago. Guess thats how things go when vacation mode sets in. Plus I don't have a wireless internet card and the nearest hot spot was ten miles away over the seven mile bridge. Bummer. So this is what I am going to do . . . I am going to post a few pictures of each day that represented what we did. Since I did have my iPhone I was able to email some pictures to a few close friends and family members while we were gone. At some point the daily email turned into a picture that represented a song title from Jimmy Buffett. Here it goes . . .

Crystals and Diamonds are a girls best friend . . .

And her Airstream. At least that's what my Airstream looked like after a good coat of Walbernize and a soaking rain. Well, we are doing the final touches to the Palace today. The awnings are all washed and re-scotch guarded. All the windows have new D-seals. We are finishing up the replacement of a small roof vent and also put new seals on two of the other vents. The only thing left to do today is clean the Fantastic vent seals and put on a coat of silicone to keep them from sticking when opening.

Now other than packing and a final wash (A/S sits under trees) we will be road ready to leave for our Keys trip. Once we land in the Keys I hope to blog a bit more on our travels. Lets just hope for some good internet service down there.

Walbernize . . . a little dab will do ya!

More like two bottles worth. Let the Walbernizing begin. Hope to get at least the butt done today.

Day Road Trip, Maintenance & Other Fun Stuff

Yesterday's road trip turned out to be a great adventure. Tim & I drove (w/o A/S) all the way to Alachua. It's just north of Gainesville. JD Sanders RV Center, an Airstream dealership, is located there. Even though this place is thirty minutes farther to drive than the OTHER place, what you find there as far as customer service, knowledge and an A/S parts store is well worth the longer drive. While there we picked up EIGHTY feet of D-Seal to re-do all the windows that open on The Palace and a few other odds and ends. We will be doing a slow roll on needed maintenance over the next three weeks to ready for the annual Keys trip.

By leaving early today we anticipated being back home by noon or so to let Roxy out. But as luck would have it we spent lots of time in the parts store - they refused to part with the A/S neon clock. Then we just had to go check out all the new Airstreams on the lot. I swear I didn't run. Tim made me promise that I would not run on the lot. I still wont part with mine. On our return we missed a crazy turn getting onto the interstate and came across Payne's Prairie State Park and Reserve. The park is beautiful and has been added to our must camp list. The town of Oakland didn't see us back until 3:30 pm. Poor Roxy survived her confinement.

Last night we were able to replace the D-Seal on one window. GREAT TEAM WORK! I also washed the three Zip Dee's last week and have re-coated all but the big awning with Scotch Guard. Hope to finish that as well this week. Today I was able to dodge the sixty percent chance of rain and got The Palace washed. Even got behind the rock guards. The one new window seal ROCKS!!! Tomorrow . . . Let the Walbernizeing begin.

Rainbow Springs State Park - July 4th 2009

Normally we never go anywhere on big holidays. But for this years 4th of July Tim and I decided to take off in the Airstream for a long weekend. We met up with my Mom and stepfather at Rainbow Springs State Park near Dunnellon, Florida. The stress of getting last minute reservations for two campsites in the newly re-opened campground was well worth it. All of the campsites are nicely spaced and have full hook-ups.

We arrived on the third and had a nice dinner that consisted of Big Al's Famous BBQ and Baked Beans. Hahahaha!!! Just kidding . . . don't tell anyone but I tried to pull a fast one and brought Jack's BBQ that we warmed up on the grill. OMG it was soooo good. Oh yeah - another stress point was when the BBQ spilled all over the floor of my truck but I think the details would include bad words. Don't tell anyone about that either.

On Saturday we got up early and had fresh home made waffles before heading out to float two hours down river on inner tubes. When we returned to camp we had a Triple A Happy Hour (AN ALL AFTERNOON'R) with Mom and Papa John and some great friends, Chuck and Michelle, who drove up for an afternoon visit. Also in attendance was my cabana boy who faithfully moved my umbrella for me as the shade changed through out the afternoon. Dinner was provided by mom and was cooked as a team effort by Mom and Tim. Papa John supervised. Roxy and Cousin Stella enjoyed some good doggy time together as well over the holiday weekend.

Sunday morning brought us a smokey start from the previous nights fireworks and campfires. Mom fixed a great breakfast. I cant remember the last time I had biscuits and gravy. Everyone arrived home safe Sunday afternoon and glad to be out of the heat. It was a great weekend of good company and great memories.