DAY 64 - PACKING UP!

 Today is pack up day. Tomorrow we head north toward Jerry & Heidi and Bonnie's home in Murfreesboro. It's a 2-day drive. 

We took down the Clam this morning, tied Gus out while we worked.  

This afternoon Gus and I took a walk, hoping to see Maise, a chocolate lab and her owner's. We found out they are staying at Sun Outdoors next year so we will get to visit again. 

Bathroom has been wiped down, and floors have been vacuumed. 

Tonight we are burning the rest of the firewood...less to haul home!. 

And the moon is waxing...almost full tonight..

Taken at 6 pm CST..

DAY 63 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY JIM!!!

 For Jim's 77th birthday, I let him sleep in while I took Gus for a walk this morning. Later, after coffee and tea, I fixed him a hearty breakfast, and let him watch Fox News.  We got several rain showers throughout the morning before it finally cleared out. Jim and I drove into Pensacola, first to Joe Patti's to buy seafood, and then to Maria's Restaurant for an early dinner with Mike & Joanne. 

As we headed out of town back to camp we caught a city sunset....Red sky at night, sailors delight.

DAY 58 - Olympics Over Today

 Overnight the temperature dropped into the 40s, so this morning we turned on the heat.  It may get up to 60 today but it is very windy out. The sun is shining, so it's all good. Gus and I went on his early morning walk with no issues.  There is a running race going on in the park, on the trails, so we stayed clear of those. 

We leave here in exactly 1 week. There are several things planned during the week so it will go by quickly. 

Today we watched the Men's Hockey Team win a Gold medal....great game! It could have gone either way.  Later I will watch the closing ceremony.  We have nothing else planned; just relaxing and probably reading. 

I FORGOT TO PUBLISH THIS DAILY REPORT! OH WELL.

DAY 61-62: BACK TO WARM & SUNNY

 Yesterday the temperatures  climbed back into the low 70s. We enjoyed a leisurely morning, including Gus walks before heading to visit Donna and Bill Springer,  our travel companions to Ireland. Mike & Joanne joined us over there.  Donna made me this incredible piece that is a camper, with all the details. 

Bill had prepared spare ribs that were falling off the bone delicious, and Donna had made sweet potatoes with lots of fixings, and cole slaw as well as a delicious drink from blackberry cider in her frozen drink machine.  Gus got to play out in the yard, running around. By the time we got home in the evening Gus was a tired pup.

Today I need to get laundry done. This will be the last time before getting home...yah!!!  

This is the last bit of laundry drying. We are set until we get home in 10 days. 

DAY 59-60: COLD FRONT

 The temperatures dropped 20 degrees for t hse two days. The weatherman promises it will be back up in the 70s tomorrow. 

Yesterday we had a lunch date with Mike & Joanne in Perdido Key, at Hub Stacey's at The Point. There is indoor and outdoor seating, but no one was eating outside with the temperature in the 50s. This is one of those places where there are dollar bills stuck all over the walls. We have been to such places in Arizona and in the Keys. The menu was varied with lots of sandwich choices. Jim got a Reuben and I got a mushroom Swiss burger. Both were delicious, and of course the company was better. Mike has a boot on his right foot after having surgery last Wednesday. He will be wearing that for a while, but he can still drive with it. 

Today is starting slow. Gus is hanging out on the bed, and Jim and I are lounging in the "living" room. Jim took Gus for an early morning walk with temps in the 30s. 

I am tutoring this afternoon, but otherwise we have no plans for the day. I will probably work on paying bills, etc, take a walk with Gus, and maybe read a little. Tomorrow promises to be back up in the 70s. 
 

DAY 57 - Happy Birthday To Me!

 75 years young!!!  Gus and I enjoyed a morning walk, mostly quiet and greatly successful. He di let me sleep in until about 8:30...I guess that was his gift, since cleaning up the poop...twice! wasn't such a gift, but necessary! 

This afternoon we have an early dinner date at Rodizio's in Pensacola, where I have a certificate for "buy one meal, get the 2nd for a Dollar" issued by the restaurant in honor of my birthday.  We missed that opportunity last year but decided to take it this year. The certificate has to be used within 14 days of the birthday, so why not use it on my birthday!

It turns out that our 2 pm reservation included their brunch salad bar with lots of options, followed by lots of different skewered meets, and our favorite item, pineapple sliced from the skewers they were cooked on. I also got a free dessert that I shared with Jim, and the waiters sang a Brazilian version of happy birthday!...so much fun.

The drive home was mostly uneventful except for the fog that engulfed the coastline.

Feeling very full. We spent the evening relaxing, watching some of the final olympic events. 

DAY 56 - VISIT Carnival Museum

 The Mobile Carnival Museum, 355 Government Street,  is about 80 minutes away in downtown Mobile, and is open from 9-4 pm on MWF and Saturday.  It is in an historic home and houses costumes, photos, documents and trinkets from past Carnival Celebrations leading up to Mardi Gras. 

The home itself is a Creole-style building. constructed between 1872 and 1883. The museum has been housed there since 2005, but represents the history of Carnival since 1885. 

The tour was very informative and entertaining....so much history and so many stories, including having a ghost in the museum who likes to disrupt things from time to time. The costumes, especially the King and Queen dresses, crowns, and robes are very detailed and very expensive. 

On our way back to camp, we got a good view of the USS ALABAMA in Mobile Bay, plus the storm clouds we ran into as we headed east.