The blog is back

Once again I stopped writing to the blog without explanation, it's a good thing this is not a real job! It seems to be a habitual lapse every time we near the end of a trip. My only excuse is we seem to be busy all the time when we get home. I’m going to go with that one, because it’s true, we have many things going on with the new to us old house. We've also been on the road twice since returning from Delaware. I have a few posts in the can and will put them up one every couple days.

The whole time we were in Delaware for my mother’s funeral we had a heater running in the compartment where all the water tanks are located. The temperatures were going down into the 20’s every night and we were concerned about freezing pipes. Inside the motorhome we were warm with both the gas furnace and electric heater running, but we were watching the weather closely. Few Recreational Vehicles are made for winter climates, ours certainly isn’t.

We stayed a few days after the burial to help my brother Dave and his wife Lois with anything we could. My parents stayed in their home right up until their deaths, which is remarkable but they couldn’t have done it without Dave and Lois. They did everything for my parents in their final years and went well beyond what any children would be expected to do, we owe them a debt of gratitude.

Classic Nor'easter

With another nor’easter bearing down on the coast and snow and ice predicted, we decided we better get out while we could. We secured the bus for travel and at 0 dark thirty on the morning of March 19^th we pulled out of Lums Pond state park.

Our normal leisurely route down the Delmarva Peninsula didn’t seem like the prudent way to go, so we planned on the dreaded I-95 route. I don’t know why everyone hates 95 so much, probably because of the heavy traffic from Delaware to south of DC. 

Blue is I-95, Orange is 301 route to Carmel Church

We used the 301 connecter to avoid all the big city traffic. Through the eastern shore 301 is a down right pleasure. Traffic picks up some approaching the Bay Bridge where route 50 joins 301 at Kent Island, but it’s all going in the same direction! We are now south the Baltimore traffic and before we reached the DC congestion 301 splits off and travels thru rural Maryland and Virginia.

We intersected I-95 at Carmel Church Virginia, stopped for fuel at the flying J and then joined the south bound traffic on the nations first interstate highway (I think it was the first anyhow) I know we stopped again somewhere because we had a half tank of fuel when we got home, but I don’t remember where it was. FYI, it’s 550 miles from Lums Pond state park in Delaware to Myrtle Beach. We burn about 85 gallons of gasoline to make the journey. We weigh just shy of 26,000 lbs pulling the truck, are 57 feet long, have 10 wheels on the ground and get 6.5 mpg.

Our modified I-95 route from Delaware to Myrtle Beach.

We arrived home in Myrtle Beach at about 5pm; our total travel time was 10.5 hours. That’s not bad at all, considering we made two stops and I never consciously exceed the speed limit. Actually my preferred top speed for our flying circus is 65mph. Things can happen too fast above that speed and then there’s the sometimes thrilling feat of bringing the whole contraption to a stop when a traffic signal changes unexpectedly!

It sure did take me a long time to thaw out. Besides leaving Florida early this year and driving north to Delaware, winter just would not let go. It was unseasonably cool down here in March and April. I was wearing long pants in Myrtle Beach for gosh sakes! 

We toughed it out and worked on some our home projects, spring finally came, it lasted for two days and now its summer…..I’m not complaining!  Not even when the $80 worth of southern grass seed dried up and burst like miniature kernels of popcorn! I could write a play about my education with southern grass, it would be a landscaper’s Greek tragedy!

The greatest couple from the greatest generation.

The country has lost one of the greatest couples from the greatest generation. My parents came of age during ww2, my dad served in the Air Force and my mother worked in a factory during the war. They were married for 69 years. We lost our father last winter and now our mother has joined him. 

My brother Dave wrote a moving eulogy for our mother and he has given me permission to post it here.

 Mom was always the backbone of our family.  She raised four boys and worked part time to help with the family finances.  She was able to keep the family running amid the chaos of the four boys and our Dad.  She made all of our friends feel welcome and always treated them like family.  We always had half a dozen friends hanging around and she would feed them all.

Mom loved to cook and one of my favorite memories was watching her bake and flour being all over the kitchen table.  She also liked to sew and I think she made curtains for all our houses and her relatives. 

I don't think her childhood was the best - she was orphaned at a very young age. I can't even imagine that because she was such a presence in our lives - always there for us!

She moved to New York for a brief time and always spoke fondly of her adventures there, but then came back to McAdoo and married our Dad. 

I hated that she had to be sick and tethered to oxygen, just as much as she did, but near the end she would always say, "No Regrets", assuring us that she would be ok.

I will only have good memories of Mom. 

Love you Mom.  Rest in Peace. 

Here is Mom’s Obituary;

Mary Midash

Newark - Mary Midash, age 93, of Newark, DE, passed away peacefully on Friday, March 9, 2018 at Heartland Hospice House.

Born in McAdoo, PA on August 8, 1924, she was a daughter of the late John and Mary (Zurek) Matuskevich. She married John B. Midash on July 5, 1947, moved to Delaware and together they raised four sons.

Mary was a gifted seamstress, making custom draperies for J.C. Penney and her family. She also enjoyed making friends and meeting people in her role as a banquet server for several country clubs in Delaware. Mary enjoyed going to Delaware Park and shopping, but her favorite role was wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother and homemaker. She was also a member of Holy Family R.C. Church.

In addition to her parents, Mary was preceded in death by her husband of 69 years, John, who died on December 9, 2016; youngest son, Randy; granddaughter, Melissa; daughter-in-law, Deborah; sisters, Helen, Julia and Sophia; brothers Paul, Pete, Michael and Edward. She is survived by her sons, John (Sandy), Larry (Millie) and David (Lois); her caregivers; three grandsons, Larry (Kristie), John (Heather) and David; three great grandchildren; sister, Stephanie Mackin; brother Stanley (Patsy) Matuskevich; brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Joseph and Dorothy Midash; numerous nieces and nephews; and good friends, Sallie Midash and Chris and Tom Kelley.

The family extends their deepest appreciation to Shannon and Amy from Heartland Hospice and the nurses and staff at Heartland Hospice House.

Graveside services and burial will be held at 11 am on Friday, March 16, 2018 at All Saints Cemetery, 6001 Kirkwood Highway, Wilmington, DE 19808.

To sign guest book, visit: spicermullikin.com

SPICER-MULLIKIN FUNERAL

HOMES & CREMATORY

Unexpected trip north

We’ve driven a lot of miles since the last post from Florida and we are now camped in Newark Delaware. Yes we’ve gone from 80 and sunny to frigid and overcast!

1200 miles, Clermont Florida to Newark Delaware

We departed Wauchula Florida on March 5^th and returned to Clermont. The Orlando Thousand Trails Campground here was our first stop back in December and is usually our last stop on the way home. We had originally made reservations for 14 days, but we were getting anxious to return to our “new to us” house and get back to work on our current projects. We had tickets to see Jimmie Fortune at the Strawberry Festival on Monday and had to go to the IKEA store in Orlando to pick up a purchase. Then if the weather looked good in Myrtle Beach we would head home by the end of the week.

On Monday morning a call from my brother changed those plans, my mother who is 94 with a failing heart was not doing too well. We quickly decided to miss the Jimmie Fortune show, pick up our purchase at IKEA on Monday and head home early Tuesday.

We departed Clermont at 8am and drove north for 550 miles, arriving home in Myrtle Beach in the afternoon. By now it was clear that my mother’s death was eminent. The new plan was for me to fly or drive to Delaware while Millie stayed home with our dog, Maggie. Sadly my mother died before we could implement the plan.

Mary A Midash in fall of 2017

As soon as funeral arrangements had been made, we reloaded the motorhome and made the trip north. We traveled up RT 17 because of the Nor’easter that was depositing snow on the I-95 corridor. Winds from the storm were very strong all day and when we got to Norfolk we decided to wait unit morning to cross the Bay Bridge and Tunnel.

The following morning we drove up the peninsula to Lums Pond state Park near Newark, adding another 550 miles to our travels.

March this year has been colder than February in the Mid-Atlantic, temperatures are forecast to be well below freezing each night for the next week. Inside the motorhome is comfortable, outside is another matter altogether!

Pioneer Days

Our Canadian neighbors are staying in south Florida for several more weeks, fore spring does not come to the provinces until May. The northeast is being battered by a strong nor’easter as I write this; I don’t miss those cold rain swept winds. For Millie and I, winter is about over. Spring is popping in Myrtle Beach and we are migrating home. 

roughly 200 mile trip to our next stop

Leaving South Florida this year we drove a different route north, for no other reason than we’ve run the spine of the state (route 27) many times and wished for some different scenery. We left Southern Comfort RV Resort in Florida City on Krome Ave, the straight as-an-arrow road that runs north between Miami and the Everglades. At the intersection of Krome and the Tamiami Trail we turned due west onto the 75 mile causeway across the ocean of grass and water. 

We're not the first ones to think it would be a good idea to "Drain the swamp!"

The state has already built one long bridge on the Tamiami Trail and has another longer one under construction. The adjacent causeway is being removed to allow a more natural flow of water through the glades. It is man correcting the mistakes of those in the past whose master plan was to drain the swamp for farmland and development. Where did they think all those alligators and mosquitoes were going to live!

On the western side of the state we moved onto I-75 to avoid the congestion of the gulf coast cities. Much like the rest of Florida there is a lot of commercial and residential building going on in the southwest coast. Most of it looked high end to me, no poor people retiring over here.

Just shy of Ft Meyers we angled northeast on secondary roads into the very rural interior. Cows grazing on the tropical savanna dominate the landscape with an occasional village or small town at the intersection of long lonely roads.. One of these towns, Wauchula, is our destination for the weekend.

Before the electrical power grid these stationary engines provided power for farms and industry.

Hardy County Pioneer Days is an annual festival held in Zolfo Springs. It has grown each year we have attended with its main attraction being the antique tractors and stationary engine gathering. There is also a large flea market, food trucks, live entertainment, and historical displays. 

This tractor was sold with the claim it would run on almost any combustible oil and would pull its rated horsepower.  That was probably a good selling point back in the great depression.

In addition to walking past miles of flea market tables we watched the Antique tractor parade and enjoyed a performance by a local gal who sings in the style of the British singer Adel. Nineteen year old Nola Price was a contestant last year on “The Voice”, and made it to the battle rounds. 

"The Voice" contestant Nola Price

Our campground for the weekend is the Thousand Trails campground which is just down the street from Pioneer Park. About half the campground sites are out of service due to damaged electric and water lines. They say they are waiting for construction permits to rebuild, I suspect the county is taking a serious look at the wisdom of rebuilding in a flood plane of the Peace River. This part of the campground floods several times a year.

Now closed lower campground was built in a flood plain

Swedish meatballs!

As we near the end of February, things are winding down here at the campground. When Millie and I went for our bike ride this evening we counted at least 35 empty sites. Up until last week the park was full. That’s not to say the snowbirds are going home, just starting their northward migration.  We too will be leaving next week, we are moving to Wauchula so we can go to Pioneer Days, the annual antique tractor and stationary engine show held there.

We had an interesting road trip last week; we went to an IKEA store. The big blue and yellow stores are a familiar sight, but the inside was somewhat of a mystery to us. We knew they sold Swedish styled furniture that you assemble yourself, but neither of us was prepared for the presentation. 

The store is literally a maze, from the entrance you follow the arrows on a tile road that twists and turns its way through all of the departments of the store. You write down part numbers of any item you want for later retrieval. At the end of the showrooms you pass through a cafeteria. If you stop to eat and then spend $100 in merchandise, you get reimbursed for your meal. Yes, they do have Swedish meat balls!

Part two of the maze is the merchandise mart, still following the directional arrows, you may now fill your bag or cart from a large selection of household items including, kitchen, bedding, lamps, decorator items, etc. 

The shows not over yet, next you get a flatbed cart and enter the warehouse. Finding your large items is simple using the aisle and bin numbers that you wrote down when you made your selection in the store. You load the flat boxed furniture yourself and finally get to the checkout and vehicle loading area. 

While it’s not “Man” shopping, it’s not a bad experience. One plus is, with the arrows on the floor you don’t have to ask for directions. Time wise, it does drag out a bit, but you don’t have to talk to salesmen, nor wait for someone to bring your stuff to the loading dock. 

I don't think I will be a regular customer as I’m a practitioner of true man shopping; plan your attack, (make a list), execute your battle plan, (go directly to your wanted items) make a swift escape, (get out without browsing around.) This plan is for regular stores and does not apply to Harbor Freight, Tractor Supply Lowes/HomeDepot, or BassProShop!

Crazy Canadian's, but in a good way!

Our Florida campground would be a lot quieter if it wasn’t for our Canadians. Not that I’m complaining, they’re not wild and crazy, but they clearly come here for winter with a "have fun" attitude.

Just this week we were witness to two displays of their exuberance for life.

Every Friday a makeshift band (Jammers as they are known in the campgrounds) performs here at Southern Comfort. It’s actually pretty amazing how these amateur musicians become a band in a few short weeks.

The 2018 Southern Comfort band

One of the interesting things about their performance is the varied genre of songs, this years band plays Pop ballads from the 70’s, classic country, song’s sung in French as well as English and even teen Tragedy songs from the late 50’s/early 60’s. When was the last time you heard “Patches” sung by a County Rock and Roll French Canadian American band?

Our Canadian neighbor Susanne

Every year on Fat Tuesday the campground hosts a Mardi Gras parade. I suspect most of the costumed participants are our neighbors from the north. They’re just having too much fun to be American!

Jell-O Shooters for everyone!

One of the parade members was handing out “Jell-O Shooters” When I told Millie that a Shooter had vodka in it, she said “Oh good, I’ve never had one, it’s another thing I can check off my bucket list!”

Good girl gone bad!

Bits and pieces

Millie just read the blog posting and reminded me that I didn’t mention the nice restaurant on Marathon were we had lunch during our Keys tour. Its called the Sunset Grill and sits on the southern tip of Marathon overlooking the seven mile bridge. We ate there several years ago and I don’t remember it being this nice, they must have remodeled it. 

At the Sunset Grill in Marathon Florida

It is an open air restaurant under a large tiki hut style thatched roof. We had a table overlooking the swimming pool, which by the way, we thought was an odd location for a pool. While a few of the bathers were visually scrumptious, most reminded you to at least look at the lite fair section of the menu! 

Seven Mile Bridge

We did have an excellent view of the seven mile bridge and the surrounding waters. Note: the section of the old bridge that is used by walkers, bicycles and fishermen is being repaired and not open to the public. I don’t know how long it will be before it is reopened.

Poor Maggie is not having a good winter. She’s no longer bike riding and we have stopped her swimming pool use.

Some of you may remember when she was a puppy I built her a sidecar for my bike. She seemed to enjoy that and we pedaled several hundred miles around the campgrounds of Florida, lights flashing and bubbles streaming out the back. 

Maggie and the sidecar circa 2010

I took the sidecar out of storage last winter, reconditioned it with new paint, lights and bubble machine. Maggie didn’t like it, she went along with my foolishness but I could tell she didn’t like it. When we got back to Myrtle Beach I gave the bike and sidecar to a local Shriner who is going to use it in parades. 

Maggie and the sidecar in 2017

This winter, undaunted by Maggie’s antipathy for the sidecar, I rigged a basket to the handlebars of my beach bike, Millie made a pillow for it and we assumed the family would be pedaling around the campground together, albeit without the lights and bubbles.

Maggie doesn’t like it. We’re not sure why but we’re not going to force her to ride, she now watches us from her window on the world (the dashboard of the motorhome) You might ask how I know what she’s feeling, after nine years together we have kind of an unspoken language. I can usually pick up on visual cues and know what she wants or needs. 

Maggie and her swimming pool

The swimming pool is the opposite emotion for her; she is obsessed with looking for bubbles in it and will walk around in the shallow water for hours. Unfortunately in the past year she has developed a persistent skin rash. We have been to the vet several times for it and we thought we had it cleared up but it has reappeared. We had our wonderful veterinarian (Veterinary Clinic of Myrtle Beach) send a prescription to the Costco down here and we are working to clear it up again. Thinking that Maggie being wet for hours might be a contributing factor we have put the pool away. And thus was borne the phrase, “not a happy camper!”