We finally got word from Carol’s doctor, he said “keep traveling, enjoy your trip and there is nothing to worry about”. “Resume breathing!”



We pulled out of St Augustine before that call and made a stop in Micanopy, FL after less than 80 miles. It is about twelve miles south of Gainesville and is a very old town dating back to the early 1800’s. Micanopy (accent on the long o) means highest chief in the local Indian dialect. Today it is a beautiful town of many antique shops and a lovely B & B. We walked a bit and then had lunch and moved on to Paynes Prairie Preserve just a couple of miles north of town, where there was great birding and a campground with room for us. We saw Bald Eagles in flight and other birds to numerous to list here. The facilities were lovely and well maintained.

On Thursday we moved on to St Petersburg and our reservations at Ft Desoto. The campground met all of our expectations. It is rustic and woodsy and the sites are very nice once you get into them. When Carol first saw #195 (our first site) she thought the entry was obstructed by a tree and hydrant. With some careful maneuvering and Carol’s guidance, I was able to back between the two trees with a foot our two to spare. Once in we had plenty of room to deploy our slideout rooms.

We went to Art and Natalie’s home as soon as we got set up and cleaned up. There we had a wonderful dinner and sat and talked until time to drive back and get some sleep. That night it rained. A front came through and the wind came up. We heard some strange noises and went back to sleep. Art and Natalie came over in the morning and as I was showing them around the motorhome and site I realized that there was a tree leaning against the back of the motorhome. It had fallen in the storm. It did not cause even a small scratch. I pulled it clear and was able to see that it had barely touched us. I called the rangers and within an hour it was gone. Whew!

As I write this it is Thursday night the 20^th. The time has certainly been flying. Natalie had some doctors appointments and is going to have a heart pace maker implanted next week. The good news is she will get to go to her grand daughter’s bat mitzvah in Israel, the bad news is she will miss Josh’s. The even better news is she was diagnosed early and has not had many of the symptoms.

We have continued to sight see around her appointments. On Tuesday Carol and I took off for Sarasota and Long Boat Key where we have several friends. We had a delightful lunch with the Blochs at Tommy Bahamas on St Armand Circle after touring the John Ringling Estate. We went on from lunch to the Selby Gardens where we took in the orchids and many other beautiful plants. Then we ended up at the Rapowitz’ house for cocktails before going out to dinner with them, the Blochs and the Holtzmans. After all that we drove back to Fort Desoto and called it a night.

In the midst of this we keep make small additions to Gee 2 to make it more personal. I finally got around to mounting a second fire extinguisher in the bedroom, and applying Velcro (I bought the stuff with the brand name) to hold down the DVD player in the A/V cabinet and applying it to the bottom of the docking station for this computer so it won’t slide around on the dash when the driver turns or hits the brakes. We have been adding hooks in appropriate places and looking for better ways to do things. Today we went to the flower show at the Tropicana Stadium. I found the only way I will ever get onto a professional baseball field. We even found stuff to buy for Gee 2 there. Tomorrow we hope to see some Manatee at the power station and do some other things during the day. We have not made any plans for Saturday yet and Sunday is move out day.

Wow, did we see manatee! The Tampa Electric Company canal where they discharge warm water was full of manatee. The highest number thye have recorded there is 303. There weren’t that many, but enough to give us the sense of their presence. We went on from there to lunch in Ybor City, the home of the Tampa Cigar and a wonderful mixed culture of Cuban, Spanish and Italian. Today it features lively night life and decent luncheon places.

The weather as warmed as we prepare to move on Sunday back to the cold of Virginia. I may post once more before the Bar Mitzvah, then you won’t hear from me for a few days while we get clear of the East Coast.