Palm-Sicles - Jan 30th 2014

Its hard to believe that just a few days ago we were beach-combing and Barb collected some great shells.

Part of Barb's shell collection.

Being a boy from the Great White North I can honestly say I never thought that this would happen, but it did!

I got very, very cold here in Florida and Barb will back me up on this.
It all started the day before yesterday as the temperatures dropped and the rains began.

These guys don't seem to mind the cold weather?

We are parked on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico again over by Panama City.

The TV stations started to post ALERTS and even tonight they are still showing warning banners across the bottom of the screen. We were told to prepare as if a Hurricane was coming!

The winds began to howl, the rains quickly turned to ice. The roads turned to skating rinks. That's just a sample of what happened. States all around us went into a "State of Emergency" warning people to stay home and stay off the roads. Schools and businesses closed. Some counties even posted alerts that all of their roads are closed to travel!

It's hard to see here but the ice was about 1/2 inch thick.

The sides were dripping with the rain and then it all froze!
I couldn't get the basement doors to open.

The heated mirrors won't help in this storm!

We were told to plan for power outages and falling trees. Thankfully that didn't happen here but others weren't so lucky. Being parked on the edge of the ocean just made the winds that much colder. The wind chill factor forced the temperatures down dramatically!

In Atlanta they didn't seem to react quick enough and thousands of children had to stay overnight at their schools camped out under their coats on the GYM floors!

Highways began to get plugged and the pileups had begun to happen.

The grille and engine hood were coated with ice and couldn't open either.

What have we gotten ourselves into I wondered?
At first I thought it can't be all that bad after all this is Florida.

Soon my thoughts changed & I lost my sense of humor a short time later to boot.

It doesn't matter where you spend your winters.
Make sure you have winter clothes with you even in Florida!

We closed our slides (rooms that extend outwards) to protect the "toppers." I turned off the water and disconnected the water line and we huddled under blankets with our 2 electric heaters going full blast!

As you may recall we had lost our Internet a few days back as we had used up our allotted amount so all we had was about 4 very bad TV channels to keep us entertained. Sad... I know. A nap or two did come in handy!

We waited it out and finally today around noon things started to slightly warm up. It went back above freezing and the ice that had covered the motor home like a thick blanket (even on the sides) was beginning to melt. I went outside several times to check before we finally felt confident enough to open the slides again and turn on the water.

The birds came back out this afternoon as did the squirrels. I have no idea where they hid out but we are glad they are OK! Finally I think we got up to about 45F which felt like a heat-wave after what we had been through.

Add to that Barb decided to check our wifi and low and behold we now have our Internet back, so here I am typing another post.

Tonight we headed out for the first time since this storm and we celebrated by going to a laundry-mat and Wal-Mart! Whoo-hoo!

Tomorrow we will spend the day celebrating Barb's birthday by heading up to Nashville, TN to visit some close friends.

We will hit the dusty trails again on Monday.

Safe Travels Friends!

Beachcombing on the Gulf of Mexico - Jan 27, 2014.

Yesterday turned out to be much nicer than we thought it was going to be so we got out and did a couple of sessions of Beachcombing here at St. Joseph State Park. Later in the evening we did a nice bicycle ride around the State Park area as well.

This morning we woke up for another beautiful morning. It was actually warm with no wind! I know I shouldn't be complaining about the weather we have had but once you get climatized to the hot & humid weather that we had before, even 55 F feels like its below zero!

Today it is supposed to hit 67F so all is right with the world today!
The weatherman says we may get a chance of snow flurries coming on Wednesday. I will believe that when I see it... and I will post photos too should it occur. Did I mention they had flurries in New Orleans the other day uggh!

This morning I am sitting in the car down the road from home. My radio is on (loud & high) as I sit with my laptop while borrowing a wifi signal from a closed concession stand.

As I sit here and write there is a slight breeze to the fresh ocean air on the bay here. Add in the sounds of seagulls as they fly around the bay in the background. The ocean is blue and green with that beautiful caribbean look to it, you can see the white sand hidden in the depths beneath.

I look out into the sky as the clouds go by us from the Gulf of Mexico and ask myself "would you ever have believed you'd be doing this five years ago?" No...

I can not complain, not even when the weather gets bad for Florida.
We are just so thankful for this opportunity.

This lifestyle can make you really HAPPY!
Just ask Barb!

This morning we met a couple from Switzerland.
They are camping in our campground and they are now parked beside us borrowing the free wifi signal just like we are. I saw their VW camper-van the other day wondering if they were from Europe? 

They will be travelling along a similar route as we do (westbound) and then north on to Canada. They will be arriving in Calgary around the end of May so we hope to keep in touch. I hope that I can help them along the way with places to see and stay too.

Here are some photos from yesterday:

A boardwalk along the beach dunes with the tall Pine trees.

"Barb... I think he is looking at me?"
Double click to zoom in.

Big open beaches, perfect for Beachcombing!

The tide comes in and the tide goes out...

Wild Sea Oats along the beaches
& the beginning of another happy sunset.
Until next time my friends!

The Panhandle of Florida – Jan 25, 2014.

Last night shortly after 6pm we pulled into a State Park near Port St. Joe, Florida. Now we are on the top of the Gulf of Mexico rounding our way to start our westbound leg of the trip. The name of our new home for four nights is St. Joseph Peninsula State Park.

Double click the photo to see where we are. 

I admired the Patriotism of the Americans and their flags.
So, we have our own flag now too!

It was a nice 4 hour drive and as we got farther north the grass started to turn greener. I don’t know why? Perhaps they get more rain here or less of the drying winds. 

The last part of yesterday’s journey was on a smaller highway with lots of curves hugging the northern Gulf coastline. Lots of pretty homes on the sides facing the waters and most of them seemed to be quite new.

As we got closer to our destination the sands turned to snow white. In fact the sand is so white I’m not even sure I have seen it this bright as it glittered along the edges in the setting sun. 

This is a beautiful part of Florida with a lot of tall pine trees. I don’t know what kind they are but they remind me of the Ponderosa Pines of the Radium BC area that we sometimes visit near our home.

We turned down a small highway heading down onto the Key where our campground is located. A very quiet and peaceful drive with a few little villages and a small store or two along the way. My mind couldn’t help but to wonder what this must be like in the summers when the crowds come in. 

It certainly wasn’t very busy on this day leading me to believe most of these homes were perhaps summer homes? Sitting high on their stilts these homes come in all colors shapes and designs. The views of the Gulf must be incredible up there but I am glad I am not the one to haul the groceries up all those stairs! barb suggested we would get one of those "Dumb Waiters" if we ever bought a home down here. I replied we would need a Dumber Waiter to carry me up too.

As with some of our other trips we knew the state park office would be closed when we arrived. This time of year they close either at 5pm or dusk so Barb called ahead to get the gate’s pass code. Most state parks here have electric gates. We as usual registered ahead of time so they provide the code when we tell them we are coming in late.

Pulling in with the Dunes on the right side.

As we arrived we un-hooked the car from the motor home once inside the park gate. Barb takes the car and leads the way in. As the sunlight was nearly gone I could just see as we rounded the roads past the campsites that we were surrounded by large sand dunes. This is a great park as most State Parks are. We found our site and backed the rig up right into our stall. 20 minutes later we were all set up and ready to relax.

Our home is here for the next 4 nights.
We hit the road again on Tuesday.

It’s been a while since we have driven 4 long hours in "Bounder" and we were tired. I guess we are getting out of practice.  It used to be that we were known by many of our friends as crazy drivers. Not that we weren’t safe but because we would drive hours on end to get to a selected destination. 

If you like camping amongst the Palms this is a nice place to be.
I can hear the waves crashing on the beach from here.

There have been times where I have driven from home to Las Vegas or home to the beautiful Oregon coast. One time we had 11 days off and drove to Los Angeles and back just to go to Disneyland! 

I think as we age, we begin to slow down and do shorter trips. Much more enjoyable I think and much more scenic as we don’t buzz by all the sights with only one thing on our minds – getting there! As the driver I actually get to see some things along the way now too!

Waking up this morning I was amazed as I was last night that there were no winds. After spending a week in the windy area of Cedar Key it was a nice change. I don’t mean to say that Cedar Key is always windy but I do know it is not uncommon down there. People here actually have their awnings out and pagodas set up on their patios. We haven't seen that in quite some time.

After making our pot of coffee this morning I was able to sit out and enjoy a couple of cups of Joe while sitting on the patio and oh, what a nice change. I hope it stays this way for our entire stay! The weather is due to change again tomorrow though and they are calling for another cold front. Yes we even get nasty weather down here. Thankfully it isn't as bad as the northern states or back at home.

As I write this I am sitting here looking out at the sand dunes that divide us and my view of the Gulf. The sea oats are plenty with a smattering of shrubs and palm trees. Last night at 1130pm I went outside and could hear the noise of an animal. 

In hopes that it was a friendly one (there are bear warning signs around here) I took out my flashlight to see a mature white tail enjoying the oats and brush too. Something we can both enjoy in different ways. I can feel the peace settling in. Another place I would highly recommend on your travels to Florida!

Barb shooting photos of a Red Cardinal.

This afternoon we took the car into the town of St. Joe. A quaint little town along the coast. It was quiet, seemed like it was mostly locals out and about and not many tourists. Perhaps its the un-seasonable cold weather?

After touring around town I went over the the local McDonalds to get some free WiFi. I must say it was quite the burger joint. Set up in the McCafe style it even had a couple of tables with Mac desk top computers for customers to use. I have never seen that before!

After a couple hours in town we decided to head back to camp. A nice drive along the coast again and very enjoyable. We stopped at one beach. I watched the guys fishing and Barb wandered the beaches looking for shells. One guy was in the water up past his waist pulling his net in. He had netted about 15 x 8-inch fish. I am told they are Mullets. 

Like everyone else on the continent it seems we are having un-ruly weather. Although I would rather be here or southern California than anywhere else. We have been watching the news and weather forecasts. The mild winters of years gone by didn't return this year! Our weather has been cold and windy. We have had several nights of freezing with below zero temperatures. We know many of you have been braving the cold nasty conditions back home. 

THE DAYS GET LONGER!

For all the right reasons the days are truly getting longer. It wasn't all that long ago that it would be dark by 530pm est. Now it seems the sun stays up with decent light until 630pm. I am in my happy place with long periods of daylight for a number of reasons. :)

TIP of the DAY!

If you are travelling in your RV and are camping where you can plug in make sure to bring at least two small electric heaters. One for the bedroom and one for the living area. These work much better than burning up all your expensive propane with your RV furnace!

Make it a GREAT Day!

Dark Waters & Kayaks.

One of the many sunsets enjoyed at Cedar Key

KAYAKING AT NIGHT.
We have been out in Kayaks a couple of times in the last few days. Yes it is true Barb is beginning to see that I too like this type of activity. I never thought it would be true.

There's few things better than being out on the water and although I usually like to do it in a boat with a loud and fast motor! The peace from a quiet Kayak trek is so much like sailing. Like with our new bikes I have found another new activity to enjoy.

Our first venture a few days back was one that was advertised as a Moon-Light Kayak Trip on a river. Enjoy the moonlight and the stars as we wander up and down a river was what we were told to expect.

Barb wearing her night-time Kayak gear. 

Note the incredibly stylish water shoes!

Well, we never did see the moon until after the trip was over.
But.. the stars were amazing! Millions of them in a very dark black sky out in the country and backwoods of Florida!

It gets a little soupy around here.

The Suwanne River in daylight.

Manatees live here when it gets cold.

SUWANEE RIVER.
Many of you have heard the song;
"Way down upon the Suwanee River, far, far away..."

Well that's where we were... the same river!
That's two famous rivers now, the other was Moon River a couple months back.

I would like to give you some advice though.
If you are not an experienced Kayaker don't do a dark night trip like this until you are experienced. There were about 15 or so of us out there in both canoes and Kayaks. It was an organized trip with Guides. However the organization went a bit downhill as soon as the boats hit the water.

Two of the people who brought their own Kayaks wore wetsuits as well.
I was a little overwhelmed by this at first as all I had on was 3 layers of sinking clothes and a ball hat that didn't do anything but cover my baldness. I thought to myself these guys really look like Pros and obviously know what they are doing. I need to get a better look!

As it turned out that wasn't the case. Shortly into the trip upstream they were having problems balancing one of their two Kayaks while the rest of us were off like Pelicans after a dead 4 pound Mullet.

Later we found out one of the Guides suggested they just go back to the launch area and wait in the warm van until the rest of us were done.

Once out into this very dark river I did have a bit of a "this could go very bad" feeling if something were to go wrong.

Barb in her Kayak out in the river - You can see how dark it is!

Jimbo Kayak style!

At the time I didn't know about these other two Kayakers having problems but I did realize that I could not see a thing! In fact unless I called out I couldn't even see Barb or the others!

At times I could see shadows of other boats out there but they were few and far between unless we happened to get within 5 feet of each other.

Wondering what was down underneath you in the deep black water (remember that song by the Doobie Brothers) was just one more entertaining thought my mind was playing with me.

There were signs warning us of alligators and all sorts of water snakes including ones that will bite you and they grow very, very large!

Even though the water was freezing cold (52 F degrees) I used the power of positive thought to get my mind onto a positive course to enjoy the adventure. Hypothermia won't happen unless I fall in I told myself.

This all coming from a guy who has been in the water a lot during his life including midnight Police Boat trips in which I was the Captain. Who knows maybe that's where the fear and mind games were coming from?

We paddled up the river for what seemed like miles but in reality it wasn't much more than one or two miles. It just seemed far as we were going against the current and tide. Once up there we held our position, all got back together in a circle and talked for a while. It actually was quite enjoyable even tho one couldn't see a thing other than the stars. Once we were moving we were warm for most of the trip.

Once done we used the currents to power back down the river towards our launching area.

On the way downstream I asked one of the Guides, "how will we know when to go to shore?" I still couldn't see a thing it was so dark. I thought they may have marked it with a beacon, but they hadn't. (We were headed downstream southbound towards the Gulf of Mexico).

His reply (in his southern accent) was my favorite part of the whole trip:

"If you see a bunch of guys coming towards you, paddling like crazy... in a 57 Chevrolet... you know you have gone too far!" 

We laughed and we laughed!

Even though Barb and I brought LED Flashlights they were not near powerful enough. Fortunately one of the Guides brought a spotlight with about a billion candlepower. We found the launch ramp nestled over on the shore amongst the trees and the mangroves.

We all eventually got our little ships into shore and then we noticed the two other Kayakers were not in the van staying warm like they were instructed to do? In fact we couldn't find their Kayaks either? Where did they go?

As we packed up our gear one of the Guides jumped back in a Kayak and went downstream to try and find them. He finally found them about 1.5 miles or so down the river.

As it turned out they were not able to find the launch in the dark and went right by it. We were just thankful the one with the tipsy balance issue didn't overturn in those dark waters! They eventually made it back to camp.

It was a good thing they had those wetsuits on! It re-taught me a good lesson. Judging the outwardly appearance of someone doesn't always give you an accurate picture of who they really are. 

Nice people but I don't think they should have been sent back on their own at night.

Would we do it again?
I can't say that I would do it again, for a couple of reasons.
None of us were properly prepared and I don't know that the Guides were prepared for that size of crowd either.

We didn't have lights strong enough and warm waterproof pants & boots would have been a great idea. Another reason is that unless you have a strong desire to see the stars from the water side of things just go out side of town and stand in a dark field and look up. You will get the same view.

We didn't bump into or encounter any alligators, snakes or manatee's
It was cold, cold, so they were likely hiding out somewhere.

But if any of us would have hit one of these or had one approach us I can't imagine how loud the screams would have been. It would have been quite a sight (in absolute darkness) I am sure. So save your money and/or your time and go Kayak in the daytime... that would be my advice.

Loading up and done - We made it back in one piece!

DAYTIME KAYAK TRIP.
After that trip we waited a day or two and went downtown to the beach in Cedar Key and rented a tandem Kayak. It was the nicest day we had seen in quite some time. It has been very cold and windy.

Ocean Kayaking off the coast of Cedar Key

As we were getting ready to hit the water I noticed some people getting their Kayak ready as well and low & behold we knew them from a chance meeting the other night. Small world!

We agreed to Kayak together over to a small island about 3/4 mile from the beach. We went together and had a great time! You may have had this happen to you too, sometimes you meet people that it seems like you have known them for years. This was one such couple.

Standing on the island beach.
No more people here! No cars or bridges just a long lost town.

We made it over to the island and beached our Kayaks. The weather was really cooperating for a change. After walking the beach and hunting for some shells for Barb we found a path that went into the tropical and heavily treed island.

The old island Pier is being rebuilt but not quite ready yet.

It led us to a an old and likely for most people a forgotten cemetery. Most of the graves here were from the 1800's and some from the very early 1900's. It was a bit of a sad and eery feeling at the same time to wander around this.

A scene from the long lost cemetery in the jungle.

There used to be a small town and a pencil factory on this island and in fact due to the last devastating hurricane they all moved over to where Cedar Key is located now. One couldn't help but to wonder when the last time a family member came over to visit one of their deceased relatives here. No bridges, no ferries just small boats, that's the only way of getting here. It was a deserted island the last people moving off about 100 years ago.

Our RV friends LuAnn and Terry.

On the way out we followed the path and this photo shows something else we found. None of us knew what it was or could even guess. So we decided that it must be a secret missile silo from wars gone by. Not likely accurate but fun, I think?

What did we find here?
Jim on left and Terry on the right.

If you are a "Birder" you will like it here!

Back at Cedar Key - Shops, Bars & Restaurants.

Another sunset at Low Key Hideaway where we stayed at Cedar Key.

Our friends LuAnn & Terry pulled out this morning and we pull out tomorrow (Friday, Jan 24th) morning. I am sure that we will all make sure to cross paths again sometime soon even though we are headed in different directions now.

Until then - Safe Travels!

Serious With-drawl Symptoms!

Have you ever been forced to stop doing something that you or a big part of you really loves to do?

How about an addiction or a bad habit?
Something that perhaps you don't love but a part of you somehow is attached to the the very core of the thing?

Well that has happened to us this week, we are in a stage of with-drawl, pain and remorse all at the same time! This is all very emotional and hard for me to talk about...

What is it you ask?
Well it is the Internet, or better yet... the lack of Internet.

We have a great Internet plan down here that we utilize on our travels. Its a MiFi which is a little electronic thingy (Router) that we keep with us wherever we go. Its smaller than my cell phone and it provides us with affordable Internet. We have a plan that gives us 20 Gigs a month and for the last 2+ years that has been more than enough.

The other day it wasn't working. Barb called into our provider whom I might add have been fantastic and still are. The problem it seems lies with us!

After using up 25 Gigs they decided to cancel our usage for the rest of the month! Yikes, are you kidding me - they have canned us!

Like many things in life you don't really know how bad life can be until you lose that particular something. Then you hit the gutters when you find out. I am sad to admit it & sadder to say it out loud but we are in the gutter!

With only 9+ days to go we both feel like we are in the long part of the short stretch of a life sentence in prison. We rarely have decent TV these days and to be honest there is little on TV (other than NASCAR) that I care to even watch. But please I beg you don't take away our Internet!

Now we are left to do things like normal people do.
We have to go outside and do things even when its cold (yes it is cold here in this part of Florida). We have to interact with each other, talk out loud and even interact at times with other people. All because we have lost our Internet! What else do normal people do? We are at a loss!

You see we did not expect this. We did not expect to be in such a dismal state of affairs just because we have no Internet signal.

I have to ask myself what did I do before the Internet? How did I go on with my days? How could I have accomplished or learned anything, what about entertainment?

Well I must say I am exaggerating a little bit.
But just a little. You see we do like meeting other people. So that's not a problem, in fact that is a good thing!

But deep in the pit of our hearts a little something has changed.
Part of it is the habit (bad I know). For example when we rise in the morning the first thing that happens is we read our email. We do that after making a nice pot of coffee. We also check Face Book, Blogs, News, Maps and research things to do in the days ahead.

So as we head into day 5 (I believe) we are learning to make do without. The last 2 of 3 mornings we have had coffee at a cafe that has Internet. Yes no matter how cold it was we cycled down the road a mile or so just to get wired.

One day we drove to Gainesville (about an hour away - still in Florida) so that Barb could get groceries and guess what I am doing? You are reading it.

So, we are learning a lesson and I am in fact glad to have had it taught to me (again). Whether it's a left-over from my corporate days or what, I do not know, but we have come to rely on this and rely on it far too much.

Sure we use it for communicating with family and friends back home but far too much time is wasted on no-brain cramping too. So I guess what I could have said in one sentence or less is that - we do not have Internet and you might not hear from us for a few days! :)

No worries though, our sanitized North American culture and way of life has provided and likely still will for a few more days. Thanks to Starbucks, McDonald's and others we get free Internet when we go out and look for it! So the with-drawl symptoms are not near as bad as first thought and yes we will survive the rest of our sentence to do without.

BREAKING BAD.
I may have mentioned this before - This is a big problem and another big bad habit!

You may or may not have seen this TV series. I didn't until recently. What happened here is that we became addicted to this too! In fact we are so addicted to this silly TV show it is the real reason we have lost our Internet!

We have watched far too many episodes this month (on our Laptop) and we have to stop! If you decide to watch this show I will warn you. Do not do it on anything other than your TV at home (Net-flix is what we use). If you use your computer it will eat your Gigs faster that an Alligator eats wild chickens in a Florida campground!

Soon after the 1st of February we should be back online again. Until then we will either be in a restaurant or off line... Time will tell! :)

Wild Monkeys in our Campground! - Jan. 16th, 2014.

When Natalie (our oldest daughter) was about 5 years old I took her camping with me out to an area at the base of the Rocky Mountains.

At one point we were sitting at the dinner table eating cookies. For some reason (that still escapes me) I knocked on the bottom of the table with my hand in a fashion similar to knocking on a door.

Natalie asked me "what is that noise?"
Without thought I replied its the Monkeys, they must want our cookies?

That began a family story that lasted for some time and we still laugh at it today because at the time Natalie being so young actually believed it.

I did advise her that the Monkeys were friendly (won't hurt us) but that we shouldn't go outside as they will want our cookies!

We are currently camped at a State Park just on the outskirts of Ocala, Florida at a place called Silver Springs. We are here for three nights and hit the road again tomorrow.

I just found out that there are hundreds of wild Monkeys here!

Wild Monkeys at Silver Springs State Park!

Its not a joke!
Actually a friend told me about this the other day before we got here and I thought he was pulling my leg!

This morning Barb confirmed the story after reading it somewhere and I just googled it now as I still wasn't quite sure that I believed it.

After seeing Alligators and having them near our campground in a few different places, having seen warning signs for Panthers, Bobcats, Racoon's, Bears and other animals we can now add Monkeys to our list of neighbors!

Click the Link and read the attached article if you still don't believe me?

Monkeys in our Campground - Tampa Bay News

Our Travel Map

This Map (see Link) shows our travels since we left on Sept. 1st, 2013 up to and including where we are right now which is just outside of Ocala, Florida (January 15th, 2014).

Link: Messner Travel Map 2013-09-01 to 2014-01-15

If the Link above doesn't work this is a screen shot.

Messner's in Europe.

Barb has been bringing up the subject of wanting to go back to Europe for another trip.

I'm not sure when this will happen but both of us feel like we only saw about 10% of what we wanted to see while over there. It would be very cool if we could do that in a motorhome! As you know we have met several people from Europe who have shipped their motorhomes over to North America so that they can tour here.

Only one problem...
Our motorhome is a tad too big to travel the small European roadways and villages where we like to explore.

To be honest when one travels Europe even like we did (several months) you still do not get to see enough! So we do need to get back there at some point.

So let this be fair warning that perhaps in the next year or two we will leave the motorhome in storage for the winter. If so, we would fly back to Europe for another adventure on the other side of the pond.

This is the Link to our last trip in Europe: Messners in Europe

http://messnersineurope.blogspot.com/2010_01_01_archive.html

Barb Dodges A Bullet - A Very BIG Bullet!

On Saturday, January 11th, at about 1pm we were driving in Bradenton (near Tampa Bay) on a main artery heading westbound to go see some sights on Anna-Maria Island.

Barb was driving our Honda CRV, I was in the front passenger seat and our 3 friends Angela, Bree and Brian were in the back seat.

It was a four lane road with a turn lane in the center which we call the suicide lane. Traffic was typical for a Saturday, fairly heavy with lots of people out and about.

A car that was eastbound (coming towards us) came across the center of the road right at us! Now you need to understand this happened in a split second with very little time to react!

As the car veered towards us (I could clearly see him looking at us) Barb took evasive action and swerved into the right lane trying to avoid what would have been a head-on collision.

Her quick actions certainly avoided a nasty accident and likely some injuries to go with it, I am very proud of her, Barb was our Hero!

After swerving into the right lane Barb swung back to the left to avoid hitting the sidewalk (on the right) and I remember hearing the tires on our car squeal. I also remember thinking I can not believe that car did not hit us! There were various gasps and screams coming from the people in our car during all of this.

Barb brought our car to a stop and just as the car went past us I looked back to see the car sideswipe the car directly behind us and then hit the next car head on! There was debris scattered all over the place and a horn on one vehicle was blaring as if it were stuck.

Barb quickly parked the car and I ran back to the scene to ensure everyone was OK. An off duty EMT also stopped to help. I saw the driver of the offending vehicle as I recognized him from when he was coming towards us prior to the collision. He had just got out of his car via the back door. His and the other two cars were pretty much totalled.

I decided that it would be best to stay with him until the police arrived which took some time. Others were attending to the needs of the injured. Their injuries were minor however one elderly man was taken to the hospital as a precaution and to get a deep cut on his arm repaired.

It is always in the back of my mind when we do these trips that something like this may occur and that we need to be really defensive and observant when driving. I didn't expect it this day.

If you haven't been in an accident before or a near miss like this one you will not believe how fast it all happens! The two cars that were hit behind us didn't stand a chance and likely didn't even see it coming.

In this case the offending driver didn't even hit the brakes prior to the two collisions and likely hit them both at full force. The speed limit at the scene was 40 mph (60kph).

I am so proud of Barb. Her reactions were awesome and it proved that her years of driving experience paid off. Her being attentive saved us big time and like I said earlier I am sure one or more of us would have sustained some injuries. Below are some photo's of the scene.

The offending car is the tan one on the right side.

A closer view, the wheel and suspension of the car on the right was torn
right off after he hit the 1st vehicle which is back to the right - not in this photo. 

The Driver of the offending vehicle on his cell phone.
He didn't care about the people he hit and refused to take responsibility.
Further, he didn't have a drivers license and said it wasn't his car either.
I stood with him in case he made a run for it.

As one would expect we were a little bit upset at what had occurred.

While feeling bad for the others we thank the Good Lord we weren't one of the vehicles that he had hit!

Company's Coming! January 9 to 12th.

On Thursday morning we headed over to the airport at St, Pete to pick-up our good friends who were flying in from Nashville for a weekend visit with us!

It had been about 4 years since we had seen Brian and many years longer since we had seen Angela and Breanna. What a great weekend we had!

I'm not to sure they knew what they were in for in regards to their sleeping conditions but we were able to fit them in on the two fold down beds and one more sleeping on the floor. I hope they can disregard the poor sleeping conditions and come see us again.

Happy Times at Breakfast!
L to R - Angela, Breanna & Brian.

An Armadillo came for a visit too!

Oliver the tractor Brian is holding his imaginary pitch fork! 

Late lunch on the beach at the Sand-Bar on Anna Maria Island.

Enjoying a sunset on Anna Maria Island.

Jim and Brian solving the world's problems at sunset.

Finally we found the Manatee's!
Thats the tail of one floating in the water.

During cooler weather the Manatee's come in to the warmer waters.
In this case next to a power station. There were hundreds of them! 

We had such a great time visiting, we miss them already!
PS: That's not a real Manatee hahaha

On Sunday morning they flew back home to Nashville.
I must say that we miss their company already!