Blessed With Lovely Home Town Encounters

 Hello,

I am so so grateful to be healthy and feeling so so blessed with the wonderful people that surround me.

The photo below was taken by John L. on my first ride back with the Withlacoochee Bicycle Riders.  I thought I looked pretty spiffy and happy.  So of course I am going to share it with you.

Hurricane Ian Help

Hey, it isn't too late if you want to join in the effort to clear some places for the people affected by Hurricane Ian.  

I am leaving here on Saturday, Nov. 5th, to go to Fort Myers where I will camp for six or so days.  If you so inclined and want to join us for a day or two or all six, let me know!  You have to have your own lodging though, or a self-sufficient camper.  I have a place for you to park a camper while helping out.

Steve is volunteering also,  He is bringing a couple chain saws and laupers and rakes.  I have never operated a chain saw, this should be interesting!  We will see what we are getting into when we get there. Whatever it takes.  

I went to the thrift store and bought a cotton long-sleeve shirt, trying to protect my arms from bugs and scratches, it probably won't do much good.  I got some muck boots, but I think I won't need them, we will see.

A fellow camper asked what I was going to do with my trike while I was gone.  Hmmm.  I have now delivered it to my friends Jean and Keith and they will keep the Purple Pavement Eater safe until I return.  I am taking my two-wheel bike, just in case.

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Book Sale

How professional am I?  NOT!  

I told you that Alzheimer's Trippin' with George would be on sale for $19.95 for the paperback.  It is AlzAuthors' Caregiver Appreication book sale.

I found out when I went to change the price that Amazon won't let me go that low.  Almost but not quite.  The good news is I see that there are several used books for sale at an even better price.  Just in time for Christmas!

The Kindle will be $2.99 during #AlzAuthors book sale. 

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Friends Join Me for Jekyll Island!

Last time I wrote to you I ran out of time before I got to share with you my trip to Jekyll Island on the coast of Georgia.  I had with Steve and Amy.  Amy had ridden the island before and she said I should not do it alone because it is an experience to be shared.  So thanks Steve and Amy for driving all that way to ride the island with me. She was right, it was much much better shared.

Glynn County Governor Blythe Island Regional Park (that's a mouthful) was only twenty minutes or so from that park to Jekyll Island. Thats where I had reservations to camp.  Steve was bringing his camper too and driving in from New York.

When I drove into the entrance of the spacious park and campground, I got out of the car to enter the camp office.  The office had a generous covered porch with teal painted adirondac chairs.  Nice!

I had to walk around a trailer and truck of the camper checking in ahead of me.  In the bed of the truck was a red mountain bike... "Hey that's Steve's bike!"  He had sent me a picture of it as he was packing up for his trip.  

Sure enough, there comes Steve out the door.  What are the chances we would arrive at the same time?  Me from just North of Savannah and he... well, he had been driving and using Harvest Host campsites for three nights on his way down from New York.  I was so happy to see him again, though we talked or texted all summer it was good to give/get a hug and have company for this adventure.

We went our separate ways to set up.  The sites were roomy and flat.  I set out my flowers and flamingos, I was going to be here four nights.

Later Steve and I walked the park.  We discovered the park has lots of rabbits.  When we returned from our walk, my waste basket was tipped over just as if a raccoon had ravaged it, but it was a cute little  bunny!  

I kept my little sink-side trash can inside LILAC after that.  There is a marina at the park.  We got a nice view of the sunset.  But the lights on the dock kept us from getting a good view of the stars at night.  

Amy was coming to ride with us on Jekyll Island on Wednesday.  Steve and I decided to explore the Island on Tuesday also.  I am glad we did because each day was great.  We took some of the same routes and some different.  

Both days we walked into the old hotel.  This island was the location of a boating/sailing club with many wealthy members.  Goodyear would come here and have strategic meetings with investors and others.

In the front yard of the hotel people still dress in all white to play croquet... or yard hockey?

We went to a dock where the water was rushing by, Steve said the tide is nine feet, which is a LOT of water to go in an out twice a day.  I took a video of it rushing by.  The island is part of a huge river delta on the coast of Georgia.  Lots of huge areas of saw grass.  

We got to a beach I thought was the beach people had talked about.  I couldn't remember the name and called it Skeleton Beach.  But I think it wasn't the right place because the next day with Amy we encountered Driftwood Beach.  Yes, I am having senior word problems.  

Steve and I were talking about the rental bikes and how they must have to use stainless steel chains because of the salt water and riding on the beach.  But when we stopped for lunch we saw some rental bikes with belt drives.  Good idea.   We surmised that the rest of the bike was also made of materials that don't rust.

Steve pointed out an unusual gator warning sign.  There was a hand in the stomach of the gator.   

We didn't see any gators but we saw a small shark feeding just off shore!  That was pretty cool.  I don't think I have ever seen that before!

The next day we drove back to Jekyll Island and met up with Amy from Ohio.  Remember she and I rode trikes together in Ohio?  She is from Columbus, OH and is part of the active group, Impromptu Trike Riders of Ohio.

It turned out she was going to be meeting up with friends for a few days at Tybee Island which is within two hours of Jekyll Island.  I was soooo glad she joined in the fun!  

Amy took the picture below of me crossing the bridge to Jekyll Island.

And she took the picture below of the people in white playing... lawn tennis? Croquet!

We found the REAL driftwood beach.   

Some of the trails were paved, some were not paved.  Sometimes we were on lightly traveled roads.

We parked under the canopy of a tree with low branches and went to the Warf for lunch.  Steve had a gift card burning a hole in his pocket and bought us lunch!  Thank you Steve!

After our wonderful day with Amy, I asked Steve if he wanted to go to Savannah on our last day in the area.  It was an hour away by car.

"Yes!" he said.  He said he was going to ask me the same thing.  So the next day off we went for a trolly tour of Savannah.

Frankie had said to be sure to go to the cemetary that was in the book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (or something like that.)  I don't know if we found the right cemetary in the old district.  But it had a wall of old tomb stones.  The wall was not thick enough to hold bodies or even urns.  The stones were mounted with more modern hardware.

Later on the trolly, the driver told us that Savannah has just built over the dead.  Streets go right on top of cemetary land.  I think then that those markers on the walls are the markers that were moved there before the pavement was laid.  

I read the book years ago but could not remember anything about it.  I vowed to get it and listen to it on my way south to Fort Myers on November 5th.

We saw a bike tour  being lead by a guide that was talking to the other riders in front of different locations.  I said to Steve, "If we ever meet up at a big city again, let's do the bike tour instead of the trolly tour."  

I think we were both thinking that meeting up again to bike or camp or tour a city was a distinct possibility.  We were enjoying ourselves.

Voting and Home

After Savannah I packed up and got ready to return home.  I was surprised I could get all the way home in one day.  Even with a stop off at Green Cove Springs where my mail service handles my mail.  I had to go pick up my vote by mail ballot.  I went to the elections office there and filled it out and put it into their box.  I hope I did everything right and my vote gets counted.  I should have asked, was I supposed to sign it with my middle initial or without?

Friendly Hugs and Lovely Reunions

It is wonderful to see folks and re-connect.  Debra fixed a wonderful dish and invited me over for dinner my first full day home.  We talked and talked, the conversation flowed.

She told me the cyclopaths were riding their annual halloween ride on Monday.  I went on that and got to say hello to some more folks.

In the evening one of my neighbors at Oasis RV had a pot luck... with cool popcorn.

When Steve and I had been texting and talking by phone during the summer I had told him about kayaking on the Silver River.  He and his wife had not kayaked there!  So when we arrived in Florida Steve asked if I wanted to go Kayaking.  "YES!"

He said, "You choose the place and time."

What a wonderful day we had on the Silver River!  There were sooo many turtles and gator and birds.  We even saw manatees and monkeys!

Steve took the pictures of the manatee, the monkey... and me.  I am giving him credit.  I sent my sister I picture of the monkey in the tree that I took and she couldn't find the monkey.  ha ha.  I learned that the iphone SE that I have is less expensive because the camera isn't very good.  

I am back to exercising at the Windermere Clubhouse as a guest.  Thank you Marilynn and Margaret!  I love it.  

Then, Tuesday and Thursday I got to ride with the bike group and I was amazed at how good I felt on the trike.  Several people commented that I was riding at a good clip.

Three of us went all the way to Dunnellon on Tuesday and ate the Purple Sage Cafe.  I rode almost 50 miles that first day back on the trike!  

Steve, me and John at the Purple Sage Cafe in Dunnelon.

Then as I was riding home I got a call from Diane.  I had run into her at the vegetable market about an hour earlier on my way home.  "Wanna come over for a glass of wine by the lake?" she asked.  "YES!!" I was thrilled.  We sat by the lake and watched it get calm and become like glass as the sun set.  We talked about everything.  She invited me to join her the next time she goes birding.  Thank you, Diane!

What a wonderful welcome home.

Prepping for Hurrican Ian Cleanup

The next day I shopped for work boots because I was thinking of snakes.  Fort Myers is by the Everglades.  I am sure it will be buggy and wet in places still from all the rain that came with Hurricane Ian. 

I talked to Linda who is the Sister on the Fly that has a place down in Fort Myers area.  She said she thinks she only has trees down.  She will arrive from her northern home only one day before we arrive. She has camping spots on her land so if we aren't helping her with trees we can be stationed there and go elsewhere to work.

I visited my storage area.  OMG!  What a bunch of crap I am paying to store there.  What was I thinking!  

I grabbed a ladder. I had to climb over stuff to reach it. And some plastic gloves in case we step in and clean for someone.  Any garden tools were buried deep in stuff.  

Wednesday late afternoon, I got a text from Jean saying, "Wanna go swimming?"  

I was dripping sweat.  There is hardly any shade in my spot at Oasis and I was hot!  "YES!!"  I drove back to Windermere and had a wonderful time with her.

So as you see, this is why I call Inverness my home.  Home is where the heart is. 

I better go now and get some sleep.  I am driving to Ft. Myers tomorrow.  We will be there six or seven days.  That is the plan.  But we really won't know how much we will be helping.

I will tell you all about it next time.  In the meantime, feel the fear and do it anyway.