Lindsay's and Jamie's 20th anniversary

The couple celebrated by spending the weekend on Jekyll Island in Georgia. We have the kids and the dogs. We had a completely busted fishing experience when we tried our luck in St. Augustine over spring break so I was looking for a way to rectify that. We hired Captain Kevin to take us somewhere to catch some fish. That he did. Most of the fish we caught were not keepers but there were a few bigger ones. Connor caught a hammerhead shark that really didn't want to be caught. It was pretty exciting. The couple picks up their brood tomorrow and our lives will return to normal.

Aubrey's Ft. Mill HS Graduation

Aubrey graduated on 23 May. The weekend turned into quite a celebration. The celebrants arrived from far off locals. There was a lot of food and as the night progressed it became pretty loud. Aubrey was trying to get some sleep because she was leaving on her Myrtle Beach post graduation trip. Anyway, congratulations to Aubrey. She's on her way to The College Of Charleston.

Reunion Synopsis

Things were so busy, and ended so late, I didn't post anything while we were there. Today is Sunday and Jenny & I are in Vicksburg Mississippi. The first night of our drive home. There was much catching up, several good meals, consisting of various meats, washed down with beer, bourbon and wine. It appears that Bill and Patty are serious about moving to Portugal. They have jumped through most of the hoops that are required for a long term visa. They still have to go to the Portuguese embassy in Houston and get interviewed. Good luck with that. Donna and Diane are doing well. John and Jeanne's river house is uniquely suited for large gatherings. They frequently host their entire family which numbers 19. They must like chaos. We did spend one afternoon in Marble Falls. Live music and cold beer. I found out my pathetic Aggie Buds can't handle IPA. That is about it. We probably won't make it home tomorrow, we loose an hour and still have 650 miles to go 

Jerome's House day 2

Today was exciting. Jenny and I did an out and back hike/walk on the Salado creek Greenway. It's a paved trail about 30 miles long. It can be connected to the Leon creek Greenway trail and that would lengthen it to around 50 miles. The excitement was the frigging mosquitos. They didn't turn Biblical until we got as far away from the house as we were going to get. We picked up the pace trying to outrun the bloodsucking vermin only to have a black cloud of possibly Zika infected assassins forming at our backs. Jenny swatted them from my back and I swatted them from her back. It turned into a mosquito apocalypse. But some of the buggers succeeded. If we end up hospitalized in a day or two show the doctors this post. We are outta here tomorrow.

On the way to another Aggie Mini-Reunion

We drove for 2 days and are now in San Antonio staying with Jenny's brother, Jerome. He had a dinner get together with all of the Everetts tonight. It was good getting caught up. We are here all day tomorrow and then we head a little north to John Begnaud's house on lake Buchanan.

Spring Break last Day

 We have both made it home. Seth's family is still on break. They are in Florida and will be passing through here in a few days to retrieve Ruby. Not sure if Ruby will be willing to go with them but they are certainly free to try and convince her. We'll see. The pic is our parting shot taken in front of the house in St Augustine. We all enjoyed the trip and the kids are now ready to return to the grindstone of school. Here's hoping.

Spring Break day 3

This is Easter Sunday. The Easter Bunny brought 45 eggs to our rental house. One of them was a Golden Egg. Somehow Lindsay knew this in advance. The kids scrambled around the yard, assisted by Ruby, until all 45 eggs were located. I didn't hear what was in the Golden Egg. Whatever it was probably got consumed immediately. After that excitement we drove 20 minutes to visit Anastasia State Park. The boys went fishing and the girls went to the beach. 3 hours and a bag of frozen shrimp later we got back together. No fish. This is the first time either one of them have gone fishing. They learned how to cast, rig a fishing pole, tie a fishing knot and bait a hook. There was significant frustration involved but inspite of that they still seem to be enthusiastic about it. I just found out there was $20 in the Golden Egg. Austin got that egg. We both head home tomorrow. We hope I 95 is better heading north because it suxed big time coming here. That picture is a 750 piece jigsaw puzzle that Lindsay mostly put together in 2 days. I think I found 3 pieces. Not bad 

Spring Break day 2

Today was our 2 hour Kayak tour of the waters near the fort. I won't get into the fort other than to say it's downtown and pretty impressive. One thing though, as we paddled near the fort a ceremonial color guard fired a cannon. I think that is done several times a day on Saturday. No cannonballs, just gunpowder. Noise and smoke. This was an out and back trip narrated by our 23 year old female guide whose second job is bartending. She was very talkative, well informed and obviously enjoyed her job. On a different subject, did you know that Opossums cannot get rabies? Something about their blood or their body temperature or something. So, next time you get bitten by an opossum don't worry about it. More tomorrow.

Spring Break 2025

We have rented a house near St Augustine Florida. The house is on an island with 5 other houses. There is a pier that juts out into the marsh that gives us access to the water. At low tide it's mud and no water. Today we did some tourist stuff in town. The main event was a tour, led by a convincing prisoner, of the turn of the century county jail. The prison was forced to close in 1954 because it was considered inhumane. It was really, really bad. The 3 dogs are getting along as well as can be expected. Ruby weighs more than Opal & Dash combined so she doesn't put up with any shenanigans. We have a Kayak tour scheduled tomorrow. We'll see how that goes.

Fort Mill HS Senior Prom

We drove up here to participate in the festivities. Some of the picture taking occurred at the Tega Cay golf course. Observing the golfers it was evident that they were somewhat distracted.

Beaufort Twilight Run

Jamie and Lindsay brought their kids to Habersham to participate in the 5K race that supports one of the local schools. Jamie, Connor and Austin ran the race. Things were happening pretty fast and I didn't get a good pic of Austin. Sorry buddy. The boys finished in the top 1/4 of the pack, Jamie not so much. Their time was pretty impressive considering that the 3.1 mile route was the furthest either one of them had ever run. This might become an annual event.

Home in Habersham

I'm a day late posting this. Things get pretty hectic moving back into the house. The big freeze knocked back a few plants but most of Jenny's favorites were in the garage or in the shed and they appear to have faired pretty well. The MP has a few issues that we will need to address but if we didn't that would be weird. Here are some trip stats. 2424 miles. We filled up 11 times and we were forced to pay $3.98 once. We were out 30 days, camped in 5 state parks, 4 commercial camps, 1 National Park and 1 city park. We used nearly 5 gallons of DEF, and I really need a haircut. I was sick when we left and I needed a haircut then but couldn't get one. Jenny likes it but I don't. Davejennyjournal will be off the air for awhile. We really have nothing planned until next summer and we really don't have any plans yet for that trip. We are thinking California. Signing off.

Yemassee KOA

This place is only about 30 minutes from home. There was nothing interesting that happened today. Interstate 95 wasn't even too bad. We should be back in the Sham pretty early tomorrow and the trip will be over. All in all things went pretty well but the sunny South Florida weather that we were hoping for didn't materialize. We did, however, avoid the deep freeze that covered the Southeast in snow. I didn't take a single picture today but I'll look back through the pictures I took on the trip and post something.

Hanna Park day 2

Our big event today was Disc golf. The course is hacked out of a primeval jungle with narrow fairways and impenetrable rough. As is typical, there was a lot of confusion concerning the course layout. After that adventure we drove into Atlantic Beach and ate at a Peruvian restaurant that served mostly Ceviche. There were many different variations. After that we did laundry which is always fun. Tomorrow we move to a KOA that is close to home. We always stop there to flush the holding tanks and prepare the MP for storage. Tomorrow will be our last night.

Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park

This park is in Jacksonville. It is a city operated park. There is a lot of beach, a disc golf course and great trails for hiking or biking. We have been here twice before so I rode my favorite trail. Very nice. I took that first pic during our hike yesterday. I thought it was blog worthy but some how it failed to make it into yesterday's post. That dog is a Border Collie. There is a couple camped across from us who were running that dog through its repertoire of tricks. That dog is very talented. In the pic he is springing off of her foot and doing a flip. Lindsay, I'm thinking you should try to teach Omar something like that. We are here all day tomorrow.

Wekiva day 2

Another day of visiting with Mike and Linda. Mike had to fly home this afternoon to attend a friend's funeral. Jenny and I did a hike in a nature preserve near here and we were lucky enough to see a couple of Sand Hill Cranes. Only my second time and Jenny's first. Right before Mike left for the airport I took that picture of the Everett Florida brain trust. The dog pic is Chief, Mike's Rottweiler and another pic is the interior of their rather large movable home. We head further North tomorrow.

Wekiva Falls RV resort

This campground is North of Orlando. Our campsite is next to Mike and Linda. We had a good visit and a fantastic meal. We are here tomorrow.

Chokoloskee day 2

We drove into Everglades City this morning. They have the only grocery store and the only post office. Our main adventure today was a boat tour of the 10,000 islands with Captain Mike in his skiff. The tour was 1 1/2 hours and Jenny and I were the only people on the boat. He cruised around the Mangrove islands at an alarming speed and I was absolutely sure he was lost. He wasn't. He took us to a place that he knew Dolphins hung out and he somehow enticed them to surf behind the boat. He literally talked to them and they seemingly responded. I haven't been drinking. Much. This island has many impressive bougainvilleas. That pic was one of the average ones. Some yards have bougainvillea hedges. We move tomorrow to a campground where Mike Everett and his wife Linda are snowbirding.

Chokoloskee Island

We are back on the West Coast of Florida just at the top of the 10,000 islands. As we drove north the temperature slowly dropped. We are hoping the cold weather will retreat north faster than we are. We are here for 2 Nights.

Day 6

No improvement in the weather department today. My hopes of returning home with a tan have been squashed. We decided to head into town and be tourists. We visited the Aquarium, had a good Key West lunch, gawked at the immense crowds on Duval Street and finally we drove by the Southern Most Point monument. There was a line of probably 50 people waiting to have their picture taken beside it. We were doing touristy stuff but that was way over the top. Returning to the MP we did a bike ride and thought we'd stop by the KOA bar and have an adult beverage. Turns out tonight is trivia night. The place was packed with loudly talking senior citizens. I typically have my hearing aids turned up so that I can hear Jenny clearly. I hit that wall of sound and bounced backwards out the door. We are mixing our own drinks. We move tomorrow and are leaving the Keys behind. This is our turn around point. We are headed home.

Day 5

The unprecedented snow accumulating in North Florida hasn't reached us but our weather was windy, cloudy and a little wet. Jenny and I walked and I rode a portion of

Florida Highway 4A. That road has been abandoned for years but it was the original Highway 1 that replaced the RR. There were a couple of ferry rides required between keys but it was in use until the 1930s when the current Overseas Highway was completed. All along the current road is a one lane paved bike/hike trail. That trail follows the original 4A. That's today's history lesson. Tomorrow is our last full day here. 

Day 4

Well, the sun returned today and we got outside and did something. I had a good bike ride, the first of this trip, and we got the yaks off of the car roof and Into the water. We were in the mangroves for a while and then we paddled in some artificial canals with really impressive homes on both sides. That iguana was on a retaining wall behind one of those houses.The bike ride I took this morning is suitable for Jenny so we might ride together tomorrow. There is a chance of rain so we'll see. 

Day 3

Well, so much for shorts and T-shirts. Again, I'm not complaining, the high was 62, but 72 is way better. We visited a state park 10 miles north of here called Bahia Honda. I looked at camping there when I planned this trip but Florida residents can book 11 months in advance and the rest of us have to wait for 10 months. They were completely booked when I tried. We learned a little bit about the Overseas Highway while we were there. It started out as a railroad. For years that was the only way to get to Key West. The road was eventually built, some of it on the old rail bed. A hurricane in 1934 destroyed some of the original bridges and those that were left were either made into fishing piers or closed off completely. I took a pic of one of those bridges. That particular bridge was, or is, the highest point in the Keys. That sign is somewhat confusing. I'm not sure what the punishment would be. The weather should be more like it should be tomorrow. We are hoping to get the kayaks wet.

Key West day 2

We have a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot that uses a T-Mobile cell signal. It allows us to stream TV instead of using our Dish satellite. Well, that T-Mobile device ceased to function yesterday. A part of today was spent in the T-Mobile dealer in Key West. It took a while but we are back in business. We had a few hours before the store opened so we went into town. We did the waterfront and Duval Street. We saw a few chickens and several really weird individuals who were expressing their individuality. I'm not sure Key West will be on my top 10 list. There was a cruise ship docked at the port so things were a little crowded. The weather map looks pretty grim except for South Florida. It has that going for it. Those are some more random pics. There was a wall on the waterfront that was completely covered in stickers. We walked by a restaurant whose walls were completely covered with dollar bills. More tomorrow.

Key West KOA

When I booked this place all I saw was the name. It's the Key West KOA. You would think it's in or close to Key West. We are at mile 20 on the overseas highway, so that's 20 miles from Key West. I'm not complaining. This place is spectacularly good for a commercial campground. There's a cafe and a bar. A great pool and a beach plus a boat ramp with interesting paddling possibilities. We don't really have anything planned for the 6 days we will be here. We should enjoy the weather. It was 82° today and should be something like that all week. More tomorrow.