QC31-10 A stint in civilization

February 27, 2013 (Wed) Hudson, FL (116/2128 miles) 63/76° - Domestic discussion: "They said they'd start [working on Q's back window] at 6:45" "I know but that was just to make sure we were up and ready when they did start. We could go on and eat breakfast." "I don't want to be in the middle of it when they come." "There are a bunch of other motor homes here. They won't start with us even if they do start at 6:45." "Wanna bet?" At exactly 6:45 a young fellow came to our door. "Ready for me to take your window out?"

Before noon we learned that we'd be spending another night in beautiful downtown RV-repair-parking-lot-ville. Apparently the type of seal needed for the door window requires a 24 hour curing period before it can be reinstalled. We celebrated by going to a Walmart to buy a gas can. Oh, and we found a Panera Bread for lunch. The good news is that they happened to already have a piece of tempered glass of the right shape to replace the bad one so they didn't have to have one especially made - which would have taken a week.

Q088145 Hudson, Fl Suncoast Designers parking lot(x2)
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February 28, 2013 (Thur) Hudson, FL to Lakeland, FL (56/2184 miles) 58/69° - We assumed that we didn't have to be up and prepared for a 6:45 am knock on the door this morning. They said yesterday that all the windows to be repaired are removed before the finished windows are installed. So we spent most of the morning watching young men carrying motor home windows on their shoulders parade into the shop. When we saw them carrying windows out of the shop we knew it wouldn't be long.

We got off at about 11:00 with our brand new rear window. Mark reports that a glance in the rear view mirror gives a momentary shock impression that the door had been left open. It's wonderful to be able to see traffic back there again. Joy likes being able to see what's going on out that way while we are parked.

When we got gas in Silver Springs we paid $3.91/gal thinking that was the best we could do. Wrong! Prices north of Tampa are running around $3.69. We even saw one station selling it for $3.59 this morning but we really didn't need any. We should have topped off anyway. Prices in the Lakeland area are $3.79. Grrr!

March 1, 2013 (Fri) Lakeland, FL (2) 49/68° - Ed and Kathy had to work today so Joy took the opportunity to do some shopping that she has been wanting to do. Unfortunately we couldn't find the Beall's Department Store where she thought it was. We ended up going all the way to the south side of Lakeland. Good news is that we found a Chipotle Mexican Grill near there where we had lunch. The rest of the day was spent relaxing.

March 2, 2013 (Sat) Lakeland, FL (3) 47/67° - We made another run to The Book Bazaar in Lakeland this morning. So now the five bags of paperback books we brought south to exchange have been reduced to one, producing about one and one half bags of new books to read. On our way home we stopped at Ling's Chinese Buffet for lunch.

Before we left home we had tried to suspend our subscription to Netflix as we have done in the past but found that this option is no longer available. It so happened that the movie we could not keep them from sending to us was the very popular Boomerang. After holding it out of circulation for 2 months we finally got the chance to watch it tonight. It was awful. 20 minutes into it we turned it off.

March 3, 2013 (Sun) Lakeland, FL (4) 39/64° - Other than going to church this morning, hanging out with good company during the day and dominoes in the evening, it's been a pretty unremarkable day. COLD!!

March 4, 2013 (Mon) Lakeland, FL (5) 37/73° - The coldest night so far in the current cold snap. Our feather bed is doing a wonderful job of keeping us warm. The news this morning is reporting a wild fire burning in the Ocala National Forest. As far as we can determine, it is very close to the campgrounds where we like to go and have been this year. We are wondering if either or both of them have been evacuated. I guess we'll find out when we go back there later on this month.

March 5, 2013 (Tue) Lakeland, FL (6) 47/76° - Most of today was devoted to Disney World Animal Kingdom. It was a great experience in spite of all the human animals. The highlight of the adventure was the Kilimanjaro Safari. We were loaded onto a large safari truck (with all manner of camping and hunting equipment on the roof) and driven out into the simulated (it was Disney after all) lush African savannah amongst such inhabitants as elephants, giraffes, lions, cheetahs  hippos and wart hogs (to name a few). We ate at Tusker House Restaurant which was a pricey though excellent buffet featuring African cuisine. All in all a day to remember.

March 6, 2013 (Wed) Lakeland, FL (7) 53/68° - Except for the enjoyment of hanging out with good company, today has been another one of those do-nothing days. Tomorrow we are back on the road again and back to Ortona Locks.

Q088201 Ed and Kathy's yard