QC11-06 To the Locks

January 28, 2011 (Fri) Lakeland, FL to Englewood, FL (115/2108 miles) 47/65° - The four days of fun, laughter, and camaraderie came to an end today with the six of us going our separate ways two by two. Each day was a mixture of talking, joking, sharing, eating, resting and dominoes. Bob and Pat loaded up their car, having recently sold their motor home, and started north toward their home in North Carolina. Ed and Kathy carried the last few things they would need for a camping week out to their motor home. And we turned south toward Englewood, Florida. It was great fun and we look forward to our next get together.

We got off at 9:20 (54° clear) and made our way to I-4 westbound toward Seffner where we stopped to fuel up at the Flying J  ($2.95/gal). Costco in Brandon was our next stop then on south to Englewood. Jeannie, the owner and proprietor of the family group home where Joy's mother now lives, has always been been very generous in her willingness to let us park and camp out in the drive behind her home. And she was there again today to greet us and guide us into our parking space, now doubled with the addition of our car. Bom was in the living room when we walked in and was very glad to see her daughter (and son-in-law). She looks very good for 99 years old and though slower is very much herself.

January 29, 2011 (Sat) Englewood, FL (2) 46/71° - Shopping was the order of the morning. We went out to get some synthetic oil (we thought the CRV was getting low - it wasn't), some nonslip shelf paper (to create some storage space on top of the fiberglass fresh water tank - it didn't work), a can of silicone lubricant (to replace the one we left at home) and some craft supplies for the ladies in the group home. Joy also needed to pick up a couple of clothing items for Bom at Beale's and she wanted to hit the quilt shop. While Mark sat in the car reading outside the quilt shop, the car alarm went off for no apparent reason. He tried to shut it off but couldn't. Joy finally had to come to the rescue. The ladies in the quilt shop must have thought her husband was getting rather impatient. We have come to the conclusion that the two remote assess fobs (one for Q and one for Lamont) on Mark's key ring were interfering with each other. It happened before to Joy when she carried them in close proximity.

Joy spent a couple of hours with the ladies, including Bom, helping/teaching with their project to make greeting cards from fabric like her mother has done for years. In the evening she went in and played a (card) game of SkipBo with Bom who did amazingly well.

January 30, 2011 (Sun) Englewood, FL (3) 47/73° - After a jaunt out for the New York Times and bagels (for lunch later) it was another day with Bom - well a few hours anyway. Joy played scrabble with her for a couple of hours in the afternoon (with kibitzing from well meaning visitors) and shared an hour or so of reminiscing with her in the early evening. Mark hung out working through an unexpected learning curve with a new gadget for his camera, playing his guitar, reading and snoozing.

There are several citrus trees on the property here. Jeanie said we were welcome to as much of the fruit as we wanted. We now have a bag full of two different kinds of oranges, grapefruit and kumquats to carry south with us.

Q073154 Jeanie's driveway (x3)

January 31, 2011 (Mon) Englewood, FL - Ortona Locks CG (90/2108 miles) 55/83° - We took our time getting ready to leave this morning. We wanted to say good-bye to Bom and waited until after her shades were up. She was just finishing up her breakfast when we went in at about 9:15. A stop to see Doris at Quail's Run was unproductive. She must have been at the office. We left her a note promising to see her when we come back at the end of the month.

The trip south to Ortona Locks Campground was uneventful. The traffic was light and moved well even through the normally more congested areas. The only real slowdown was approaching the site where a pickup truck had apparently skidded and rolled several times. The rescue people were just taking the driver to the ambulance as we passed.

We kind of vegged out after we got here, recovering from a stressful few days. We recovered enough in the evening to take a walk around the campground. It was quiet and peaceful.  We have always loved this campground.

Q073244 Ortona Locks Campground #40 w/e $12 A+