No pictures today. I thought you would want to see the pouring down rain just as much as I'd enjoy seeing more pictures of snow. Not. Really don't have too much to share today either. Happy to report no sightings of any alligators. Today was laundry day and then dinner in town at an authentic Mexican restaurant. Not bad but not Hacienda. Jack loves to try new restaurants and at the new restaurants he tries new foods. Me...I stick to the tried and true foods I know I like. I seldom venture out of my comfort zone. I've eaten at Hacienda in Warsaw too many times to count. I have only ever ordered one item (not to mention their margaritas) and that is their wet, beef burritos. I'm too many years in to it now to change, I guess. So, tonight I again ordered the burrito and Jack ordered fish tacos. Shoot me!!! The smell alone was enough to make me want to hurl. He said they were good though and that's what matters.
We did make the trip down to the Gulf yesterday. It was just as cool and rainy there as it was here. Jack picked up our water heater element and installed it today, in the rain (I thought I took the water heater off of bypass after being winterized the first time we used it when I turned it on but I didn't. Water heater elements get real hot when not in water. Bet I won't make that mistake again. Jack ). It was a long day and I was happy to return to the RV. We took the dogs with us as we knew it would a long day and was so glad we decided to take them. We were gone for a little over 9 hours. Tomorrow it is supposed to clear up and warm up. I hope so. There is an island here that has two huge board walks that you have to take to get there and I'm not afraid to admit that I'm kinda scared. I feel like a blind person at night when we walk the dogs. Both of us, flash lights in hand, are constantly scanning the bushes and trees back and forth, back and forth. I know I ask Jack, every night it seems, if alligators can out run us. He tells me, "Well, I don't think they can out run me." So that pretty much leaves me dead. And since I am the one who walks Tanner, it pretty much sucks for him too. Each time I've ever dropped the plastic retractable leash the noise scares him to death and he stops dead in his tracks. So even if I dropped the leash, while the alligator was chewing my limbs, I doubt Tanner would have enough wits about himself to take off.
We have gotten numerous phone calls and emails about our blog from family and friends telling us how much they enjoy following us. Thank you so much for caring enough to read it and for traveling along with us via our blog. It really does mean a lot to us. We've been ask many questions about how we are doing, do we have regrets about our retirement, what we do all day, etc., etc. Believe it or not, it's not much different than the things we did at home except we live in smaller quarters. We sleep very well and very comfortably; for whatever reason much better than we did at home. While we have a Tempurpedic mattress at home, the mattress in the RV is nothing special to speak of. We generally get to bed between 11:00 and midnight and seldom set the alarm clock. Most days, though, we are up by 8 or 9. Some days, like today, it was raining so hard that I got up at 8:00, looked out the window and decided to crawl back in to bed for more sleep. There is nothing better than sleeping in an RV during a hard rain. We get up and do the usual stuff; shower, eat breakfast, check emails, read the news and Jack does all of the above as well but he also watches his stock market shows. Unless we've made plans prior to the day we talk about what we want to do. If we haven't made plans we usually try to get a good bike ride or a long hike in. When it rains, though, as it has the past few days we do both get a touch of cabin fever. Generally the rain doesn't stop us from doing what we want to do but when it rains as hard as it did today there's not a lot we can do outside without getting soaked to the bone. It's tough on us and it's tough on the dogs. We have to dry them thoroughly each time they come in from a potty walk. We take turns cooking. Just depends on who wants what to eat. For example I wanted an omelet for breakfast so I made breakfast this morning. Jack, though, is trying his best to keep us on the straight and narrow, so if he wants fruit and or oats, he'll do breakfast. We do what we want, when we want. No more time sheets, deadlines or stress doing what others want us to do. We generally eat dinner between 6 and 7; clean up the dishes and settle in for an evening of blogging, emailing, or watching tv. We always take a late walk with the dogs just before bedtime. We always try to enjoy the area where we are staying. Although Opp, Alabama is about as boring as they come there is always something to do. They have a really well maintained little downtown so we are hoping to ride our bikes in to town tomorrow and have a looksie close up and personal.
I'll let you know how the island trip goes if I make it back with all of my fingers in tact.
A journal written about life, retirement and our journey throughout the United States in a 5th wheel, along with our two Shih Tzus, Tanner and Syndey. Written not for notoriety but for our sons, family and friends, so they know where we are at any given time. And particularly for ourselves. Finally, we get to slow down and smell the roses and we don't want to forget any of it. You are welcome to join us as we go 'Down the Road a Piece'.
