WOW !!!!!!!!!

We witnessed the launching of the Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral today.  It was awesome!!!  Definitely worth the trip to the backyards of Florida and the Kennedy Space Center.  Yesterday, we were tourists and went to Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center to observe all the history of the Space program and it was amazing.  This a must see if you are in the area.  We were amazed!  But today, today was the only reason you need to come to central Florida and the Space Coast.  We were upfront and personal with a launching!  I am so proud to be an American, just to observe what we can do when we put our minds to it!  We have put this launching up there with witnessing the honor guard at the Tomb of the Unknown, visiting the Arizona at Pearl Harbor, or watching the Mount Rushmore evening lighting ceremonies.  Americans do things right!!!

The Atlas 5 is sitting just to the right of the picture, waiting for launching.

Blast off - we are about 5 miles from the launch pad.

Watch the video- it is amazing!

We are very fortunate to have visited so many awe inspiring events and scenery since we have been traveling the backyards of America.  We have met some very interesting people, we have been allowed to reunite with some wonderful friends, and we have been with our families to share more memories.  But as we look back over our lifetime, we feel very blessed to live the life we have and to enjoy not only our friends and family but to witness some very memorable events .  Today was one of those moments in history that we will not forget ... it last only a few minutes but it is a memory that we will never forget!  America at its best, Americans doing something very few nations can even dream about...we launched a missile, put a satellite into space at a precise orbit, and are able to help mankind with our technology.  Wow!!!!

We normally close with hoping you have enjoyed your backyards today but we can guarantee that we have enjoyed this backyard event more than you today!  Today was one of those days that just can not get any better--at least for us!

Another day of Golf in Florida

We met up with George's brother and sister in law,  Dick and Karen, for a day of golf at Patrick AFB.  They drove over from Orlando in the morning and we spent the day together.  It is always great to play golf with Dick but we were treated to a 2-fer when Karen decided to join us on the golf outing.  Although Karen does not play she is a great cart driver, flag holder and cheerleader.  When we left the campground we were met by our newest friends, Stumpy and his little sidekick alligator. They were waiting for us just as we turned on the road out of the campground.  We are beginning to see more gators everyday, maybe because now we know they are here and we are looking for them.  We have seen them on the side of the road (where we go for our walks), we have seen them in the bay (we saw two gators this morning as we were watching the dolphins and manatee with Dick and Karen) and one was just off the women's tee as Pat was teeing off this afternoon (she hit a great shot despite the distraction). 

Stumpy and his little alligator friend (look close)

After we visited with our aquatic and gator friends this morning we drove down to Patrick AFB to play a round of golf.  Dick's driver, Karen accompanied us to make a day of it, so we not only got in a round of golf but also visited with Dick and Karen.  If you know Karen, you know that she kept us smiling despite some really bad shots from each of us.

Karen driving Dick around the course - there is always a smile on Karen's face!

Karen relaxs after working hard just to keep us smiling today!

Maybe the white flag meant more to us than marking the center of the green - we were ready to surrender after 18 holes on this course.  We had 18 fairways lined with water on both sides and around each green plus all the sand we could mine.  I think we all lost at least one ball to the water gods and got to play on several beaches today!  It wasn't our best round of golf but we did have a good time.  After all --- a bad day on the course is better than a great day at work.  Oh that's right!!! None of us work anymore, we (as my oldest son will tell you) are drains on society and the hard working Americans who pay their taxes to allow us to live the life style we enjoy.   To those Americans who toil each day, "just for us old retired folks" - we thank you!

Tomorrow we "need" to go to the real beach with Pat's brother, Chas and sister in law, Sharon since the temps will be back up in the mid 80s.  Oops, Sorry about that comment!!  We hope all of you are enjoying your backyards and please remember that we keep you in our thoughts and prayers.

The Beach, The Manatees, Good Times!!

We are having a great time in the Sunshine State.  Pat's brother Chas and sister-in-law Sharon invited us to join them at the beach.  We drove out to the National Seashore Recreation Area just outside of Titusville for a day of fun in the sun.  A perfect day with temps in the 80s.  We packed a lunch and joined Chas and Sharon, Bob and Donna for a day of watching the surf, strolling down the beach and just relaxing.  It could not have been any better if we had spent a million dollars!

Pat and George enjoying a Feburary day at the Beach

Why is it that only Bob seems to be working?

Chas and Sharon know how to enjoy the beach!

Sharon, Pat and Donna will be getting wet sitting that close to the waves!  Just after this picture was taken Donna was drenched with a big wave, however, the other girls just received a splash.

A perfect picture for a perfect day!

The Manatees at our RV park are amazing. 

They were over 36 manatees in the bay today.  They are so gentle it is hard to believe that they are so big.  Many of the manatees were over 15 feet long and are several feet around.  They seem to like people and come right up to the docks to get petted and drink a little water (it is illegal to give the manatees water but there are always people around that ignore the signs - we just took pictures so we think we are OK and are not going to jail).

A grandpa opened at water hose for his granddaughter so we thought we would document his illegal activites for the record -- it is a shame we did not get his picture or name to turn over to the authorities.

Sharon tried to pet the manatees but her arms were too short so she could not be accused of harrassing the manatees.

If you enlarge this picture and if you look in the middle of this picture you will see a very large alligator on the bank.  He was small compared to one we saw just a few hours later.  We also need to add that Donna caused a gator to be shot last night.  She walked within a few feet of a 9 1/2 foot gator and the authorities seemed to think that the gator was getting too close to people.  The gator was in our campground so I also think he was getting too close but I also think they were here first.

We went over to Orlando a for a couple days to visit with George's brother, Dick and sister-in-law, Karen.  We had a great time visiting, playing golf and driving to Plant City for strawberries.  They were really really good strawberries.  In fact we are taking Bob and Donna back to Plant City to get some more strawberries - they are that good!

Karen, Pat and Dick at a diner for lunch.

With all the activity of visiting, beach combing, manatee viewing, golfing, etc, there has to be time to relax.  Bob and Donna's dog, Riley and Pat rest after another long day.  Tomorrow we will fill up the day driving to Tampa and McDill AFB on the west coast, eating and buying strawberries in Plant City, stopping by Dick and Karens condo (need to deliver some strawberries) and come back in time to watch a missle launching at Kennedy Air Force Station.  Are we packing 10 pounds of strawberries into a 5 pound bag???

Pat with Bob and Donna's dog- Riley relaxing after a few hard days of visiting, playing golf, beach combing, manatee viewing, etc.

 We are following some of you on Facebook now that George was sucked into that by his niece, Kendra!!! (Just kidding Kendra!)  If you are also on Facebook;  George has decided to use Facebook to let "his friends" know when we write a new blog entry (again thanks for your help Kendra).  Until we post again please know that we think of our friends and family often and hope each of you have a wonderful day!

Friends and Gators!

Our traveling partners and good friends, Bob and Donna Dembinski arrived at Kennedy Space Center RV campground this week and we are now traveling together again.  We are so happy that they made the 2000 mile trip to Florida so we could spend a few weeks together in the Sunshine State.  It is always great to explore America's backyard with good friends.  We are so lucky to have Bob and Donna for friends for over 30 years.  Just traveling with them is an adventure --- all by itself.

Sharing breakfast with friends!

This is a sign about 1/4 mile from our campsite!

Since we had not seen an alligator anywhere near our campground we thought the sign was funny.  We even joked that there were no alligators around because no one would feed them ....that is until two days ago....

This big fellow was about 200 feet from the sign above!  Now we see the same 16 foot plus 'gator on the opposite bank of the small ditch we walk by everyday.  We try not to disturb the 'gator nor do we want to be his next meal.  After all that would be in violation of the law above!!!!!!!

Left to right: Bob, Donna, Pat, Sharon, and Chas enjoying the afternoon sun.

All is not work with us ... the picture below is a lighter moment.  As you can see..... old people can relax and have fun also!

Pat and George enjoying a spontaneous moment!

We will continue reporting our great backyard adventures in the Sunshine state.  It will only get better since Pat's cousin, Mildred drove down from South Carolina to Titusville for a few days.  We hope to hook up with her in the next couple of days to continue the conversations we had in South Carolina a few weeks ago.  There is a lot to see down here and even though the golf tends to be a little slow it is better than working for a living. 

We leave you with this thought..."Live each day as if it is your last and never have any regrets."

A Perfect Sunset in Southern Florida

We drove down to Port Charlotte to visit with our friends, Doug and April Allmond.  If you are looking for good friends and great hosts look no further ...we have not seen them since May but it was like we have been together all year.  For those of you who do not remember our friends, we met them when we all camp hosted at Blue Mesa in the Colorado Rockies three years ago and have been friends ever since.  Doug and April's winter home is in Port Charlotte and they invited us down to share a few days.  We only spent a couple days but we enjoyed the company of ourr good friends and filled our days talking and walking on the piers and beaches and boating down the Peace River to a beautiful bird rookery.  The nights were taken up with catching up and of course solving the worlds problems over a few libations.

Doug and April on a beautiful beach near Port Charlotte

That is the Gulf of Mexico behind Doug and April, the water was a beautiful light green, there was a light breeze, it was a little overcast; but best of all we were with friends.   Doug asked, "I wonder what the rich people doing today".   Our answer, "They can not be enjoying life as much as we are today". 

Perfect weather for a day on the Peace River

Our hair was blowing in the wind as Doug powered up the boat.  The water was like glass, the weather was a balmy 79 degrees and the sun peaked out of the clouds just long enough to keep us warm and provided us with a wonderful day on Doug and April's boat. Doug is a master sailor (among other things) and taught us how to read the navigational signs and correctly move around river and open water. 

A Friend joined us on our cruise up the river!  Made our day!!!

We had 5 dolphins playing with us for about 10 minutes.  They would swim along side the boat, swim under the boat and jump up on the other side, surf in our wake and come up along side to say hi --another first for us! 

Roseate Spoonbill, Brown Pelican and Black Vultures at the Rookery! 

The roseate spoonbill (the pink bird in the middle of the picture above) was the first time Doug and April has seen one at the rookery (you can click on the picture to enlarge and really see the birds).   Of course the duckbill showed up just to make our visit extra special.   It was amazing how all the birds got along so well.  The rookery was 23 miles up the Peace River and the views all along the river and canals were just breath taking. 

Doug can really Grill! 

The first night Doug grilled chicken patties for us and it was seared steaks the second night.  Of course, April did all the side dishes so we ate like royalty! 

April and Pat relaxing while Doug does the hard work of cooking!  Is that wine in your glasses? 

Beautiful sunset on the Peace River!

Our visit with Doug and April was way too short and we hope to make it down to their backyard again before returning to Colorado.  It seems no matter where we go or when we visit with our friends and family, one thing always happens -- we are re energized.    We believe the sunset above is very symbolist of a our life.  We know that not everyday will end with a perfect sunset but we will seek that "perfect sunset" and cherish the memories of days spent with you, our friends and family.  Thanks Doug and April for the memories, we had another perfect sunset in your backyard!!!