Gooooooood Morrrrrning Floridaaaaaa !!!

Today was a first - we joined the community community. Deliberate repetition there.

We rose at 7:30, showered and walked down the park road to the rec room to have coffee (and a strange variation of English muffins) and join the weekly social morning for residents. This event lasts an hour and I so wish I'd taken my camera. I will next time.

As we approached the building, we saw a plethera of golf carts and bikes lined up outside. It was like the scene at the start of the Le Mans (well in ye olden days anyway) and I didn't want to be anywhere out on the roads when the wrinklies broke ranks and rushed off home to get rid of all that coffee. It'd be a zoo for sure and no squirrel or slow moving Brit would be safe.

We entered and saw that everything was in full swing. Obviously the 8am start was to fool the newbees like us as just about everyone was already seated with their drinks and muffins and we were regarded like the craggy gunmen who enter the saloon with every local eye on them.

No seriously, it wasn't like that at all. People were still up at the counter in line to get coffee and food and after we had done so, we sat with some people who, as it turned out, came from Michigan as well. Some leader/organiser was on the floor with mic in hand telling us what events were taking place and when. At the end he asked if anyone was new and our 3 hands went up.......and our 3 hands alone ! Opps. Over he came with the radio mic and we were asked to introduce ourselves and tell where we were from. Deb & Den went first and after their introductions, they got a round of applause. The mic was passed to me and like a professional, I waited for the applause to die down. Then I suddenly felt like Bruce Willis (as Korben Dallas) when Chris Tucker (as Ruby Bhod) sticks his mic in his face for a comment. I didn't know what to say. Then I was inspired ; with my voice booming over the PA system and not a sound to be heard from my rapt audience (ok a few might have nodded off already as they were old and it WAS early) I boldly said...........my name is Ian and I'm from England. I handed the mic back and basked in the applause and gasps of amazement.

What I did NOT expect was someone near us saying.......hey another one from England !!! Another one !!! Could it be ??? Well sort of. I'm still the only one here so far who actually still lives in England and is only here on holiday. But there is a couple here and the husband was from Selby and married a US lady. Now Selby is only a few miles from where I live so yet again it's one of those 'small world' times. We met up and had a little chat over coffee and we know where the other lives here - so can stop in for tea and scones whenever we want

We signed up for a few up coming events like a Thanksgiving and a Pot Luck meal. It's all very organised and as I've mentioned before, there are plenty of things going on to keep old idle hands busy - and that doesn't include sunset encounters out on the gazebo !! You gotta watch these oldies. Well not literally.

I've mentioned the 2 heated pools before and until yesterday, only the large one was open for use. With the coming of Nov 1st, a few other places open up as many new snowbirds arrive. We were booked to arrive on Nov 1st but as a previous post will tell you (go read them all - don't be lazy), we altered our plans and arrived a week early.

I took this view of the big pool at dusk a few nights ago and it pretty much looks like this all day - empty of people. I'm not sure of it's dimensions but it takes me quite long enough to swim it's length - no obvious comments please ! It's very clean and the building to the left houses toilets and the rec hall. The pool closes at dusk so any late night skinny dipping would involve leaping over the locked gates and I really can't think that's very likely to happen here. Late night dominos in pj's and nightdresses goes on though and you can hear the 'clink' of the doms echoing round the park after darkness sets in. Then all is quiet by 9pm and I'm sure that at 1am this morning, I was the only one awake. Who am I kidding, make that 10pm

I almost said it's as quiet as the grave but in this community, the G word is a big no-no.

Wintering In Florida

Well I can already tell that I'm going to get great topics for posts by wintering down here in sunny Florida - the retirement capital of the US !! You just have to think of all the crazy things that oldies can get up to and you'll see my point. But more of that later...................

Today is the start of our 6th full day here in Buttonwood Bay and I've seen quite a bit of the town of Sebring which is just 5 minutes drive up US27. We're in south central Florida about 90 miles from Orlando to the north and say, 160 miles from Miami to the South East. This puts us within relatively easy distance from places like The Kennedy Space Centre, Daytona Beach, Tampa, Cyprus Gardens, Busch Gardens, The Everglades, Disneyworld, Universal Studios, Seaworld.......oh just about any attraction you can think of it Florida !!

It's hit the mid 80's every day we've been here so far and drops to a more pleasant temperature during the night so sleeping isn't a problem. Most days we've gone into Sebring as for the first few days we were still in the process of setting up camp and so needed to eat out at local restaurants and grocery shop for fresh food. Now the trailer is looking more shipshape with most things in their proper spaces and we can cook and feed ourselves just nicely, thank you very much.

Living in a 5th wheel for 5 months (or 3 in my case) might seem like a sort of hardship compared to, say, being in a motel room or even your own house but I can assure you it's not. We have cable tv, wi-fi internet, a dvd recorder, a 300 CD player, a vcr, 2 laptops, a printer, a portable dvd player for individual use, 2 mp3 players and just about every other electronic goodie going. The trailer has a recliner chair for each of us, a 6 speaker surround sound system, full kitchen setup, dining places for 4, a microwave oven, shower and toilet facilities, beds for the 3 of us, air conditioning which is certainly needed here and a furnace for when it gets cold (not likely to be used for this trip). We've also got our outside chairs and a bike each and we're on a waiting list for renting a golf cart. So when I might type that we're camping here in Florida, it's about as far removed as possible from the traditional term that we'd use back in the UK. No tents and sleeping bags for us !! We like our luxuries.

I mentioned in the previous post that avoiding oldies in their golf carts is one of the few routine occupations here in the park........or community I should say. Actually it's a retirement community so the word 'occupation' is never used. These golf carts, which just about everyone has here for zipping around the park - visiting with friends or just to get to the heated pools, rec rooms, library, tennis courts, crazy golf or any of the other places and facilities free for residents - usually come as ex golf course models but it's obvious that many are brand new and even customised.

Even some of the pets here are retired and don't bother to walk much on their own. I know cats like to be pampered at any age but I'd never seen one happily seated on a golf cart before I came here. The superior look it gave me as it passed by left me in no doubt that walking for any other purpose than for exercise in Buttonwood Bay is seriously frowned upon. Don't you just hate cats with attitude ??!!

Speaking of pets, did I mention that Pixie, the long haired miniature dachshund, is with us ? Well she is and she has her own bed in the trailer too - although she does prefer to sleep on top of me most nights !

She has settled in well although she still has to meet any other doggie residents and has spent almost all of our 6 days here inside. We've not got started on any routine walking or anything as we're easing slowly into life here and so she has yet to go walkies.

She does like to read though and when Dennis got the Sunday papers, she got to read parts of it even though she seems to have a unique reading technique and prefers a sideways view. They say every dog has it's day and Sunday seems to be hers.

Yesterday I went out exploring the park and came upon a small expanse of water near the main lake.........Lake Josephine...........which the park borders. There were 3 'wading birds' in the water and this is as good a time as any to admit that I'm no animal expert and if I see and photograph any wildlife here, I'll not have a clue what it is. Well I might recognise an alligator I suppose and if a herd of wildebeest rushes by me, I'm confident that I'll know them too.

So I've no idea what these birds were called and as I got off my bike and crept slowly towards the water's edge like some wannabe David Attenborough, I assumed they'd fly off at any moment. Not so. I managed to sit on the grass and it was one of those classic occasions when you look at a creature through a lens or binoculars and suddenly see it filling your view. I knew I had a zoom lens but I wasn't zooming at the time and yet this one bird was getting closer and closer !! Excitement turned to slight panic as it had a beak that could perform open heart surgery and it's eyes were locked onto me. It looked pissed.

It stopped a few yards away as if to say....ok, pal, it's your move now. I decided not to make one. I held my breath and clicked away and couldn't believe my good fortune - ironically the bird was now so close to me that I didn't need the zoom lens. A woman was standing on the other side of the water and she called out to me that this was very usual and had to be that this was a mother bird and she was protecting her babies from me, or at least making sure she was between me and them. This seemed to be the case as when she realised I was no threat (apart from maybe taking inferior photos of her family), she was happy to look around and finally she waddled back to the water. Ok she was not a waddling type bird but on those long thin legs, she still looked like the bird equivalent of Charlie Chaplin.

It's too early to tell if they are there every day or if this was a one off, but at least I got to see and photgraph them this time. There were a few smaller birds on the water but compared to these big ones, they didn't merit my time.

I'm not sure what other wildlife to expect to see here. There are definitely alligators in the area and I REALLY want to see one of those suckers......at a distance of course. Anything else will be a bonus.

Further on I came upon a squirrel who was busy at the base of a palm tree eating a nut or some such item. Once again it wasn't phased by my stopping and getting my camera ready and it posed nicely for me.

Squirrels are the commonist critter here. I'm used to black ones back in Houghton Lake but these are gray squirrels. Spotting their colour is as far as my expertise goes.

They scoot up and down the palm trees and forrage around the houses as they know that oldies are predisposed to dropping food - either by design or mistake. The squirrels don't care.

They just see oldies as a walking meal ticket and I saw a few bounding after a golf cart the other day. In any other context it would have been seen as slightly threatening behaviour but here, it was like watching meals on wheels in action !!

On I went on my bike ride of exploration and came to a sort of inlet or canal which led into Lake Josephine. Numerous boats and pontoon craft were moored along the canal sides and it made for a very pretty sight as sunset was rapidly approaching. A few men were at the point where the canal met the lake and were fishing - without much success as far as I could see. I asked one what kind of fish they'd catch and he said bass.

On the approach to the lake, they've built a lovely wooden pier with a sort of gazebo affair at the far end. I'm sure it has a 'proper' name but I don't know it. Hoping that no illicit oldies type romancing was going on out at the pier end, I went out to take some photos looking back at the canal and also be there for the sunset.

Glad to find myself all alone in the gazebo, I set up and took this shot - where the fisherman is standing is the entrance to the canal or inlet. The main body of the lake is to the left of him and to the right of the closest golf cart is the start of the wooden pier.

All set with where we are now ??? Good.

Then came sunset and a sad end to my bike ride of exploration. I suffered for my art ! Sunset brought out the mozzies and other biting flying critters and as usual they found the taste of fresh British (dare I say PRIME) meat much to their liking. Every photo I took rewarded me with more bites and what really annoyed me was that most of the shots were rendered useless as the flash would go off and I'd get dozens of white blobs on the images - insects caught in the glare of the flash.

If I turned off the flash and used a longer time exposure, I could feel the bites while trying to keep the camera steady. In the end I gave up and left the mozzies to feed on some other poor soul.

This wasn't even the shot I wanted but it's the only one that I got with no flash enhanced insects on it. I thought I could digitally remove them but there were just too many of them to make it worth the effort.

So I'm left with about 30 itchy insect bites on arms and legs (and one on my forehead, thanks a bunch) and only this photo to compensate me. I've kept a few of the duff ones to remind me how I suffered to get them......and will continue to suffer for a week or more yet.

Don't tell me it's dangerous being a war photographer. Try taking sunset photos near water in Florida, pal !

I rode back to a lovely waiting 'home made' supper and settled down for an evening of tv watching and internet surfing with my bloated legs elevated on my recliner footrest.

Yes life is pretty good down here and when the itchness wears off and I'm not scared for life, I'll enjoy it all the more.

The Snowbirds Really Have Landed

We woke and drove a hundred yds to be first in line at the dealership service dept when they opened at 08:30. We got the impression the work would only take a short time so we left the trailer with them and drove a few miles back along the road to the local IHOP and ate a hearty breakfast.

We went back and sat.....and sat.......and sat waiting for the news that all was fixed and we could leave for the campground. We were told again and again that it would be....soon. Our concern was that we really wanted to be at the camp by 3pm as we needed help to reverse the trailer onto our lot as two lovely but awkwardly placed palm trees made it almost impossible for a non trucker to achieve this task without damaging the trees or worse still, the trailer. We knew a park guy was available to help us but that he'd be leaving at 3:30pm.

The clock ticked on and we were actually told at one point that we'd have to wait a final 45 minutes while the newly painted edge of the toilet door dried !! We said we'd take the door as is and attach it later ourselves. But they sorted it out using a hair dryer I think but it was still close to 4pm when we got away.

On the way to the park I took a photo of the temperature (F) being displayed on the rear view mirror of the truck.

After the snow and sub zero temps we had left in Michigan, it was so good to feel warm again and know that it could be like this for most of the winter.

Wooooohoooooooo.

Buttonwood Bay is a couple of miles south of Sebring on route 27. It's a retirement community where the age of the permanent residents has to be 55 and over. As temporary residents we didn't have to meet that criteria but it's no secret that two of the three of us are close enough to 55 to be 'allowed in' as permanents.

We arrived at Buttonwood Bay and were welcomed by the friendly office staff who had even arranged for 2 experienced employees to be available to help us get the rig onto the lot. Gotta love the technical gargon eh ??

I liked the place from the moment we entered and I could see why my friends had been so excited about coming back after their one month 'trail period' in April.

As we drove at 10mph along the neat internal roads, I saw a mix of permanent homes and lots which were being rented just like ours. We were following the 2 employees who were ahead of us in their recycled golf cart. As most of the residents are elderly, these golf carts are a perfect mode of transport for getting about within the park. I'd seen them before when spending time in another park near Key West but never on this scale. It seemed that every other home had a cart parked on it's driveway next to the owners car and we saw plenty whizzing along with the drivers looking like they'd been around at the time of the invention of the automobile.

Not for the first time was I reminded of a UK cult tv show from the 60's or 70's called The Prisoner. I quite expected to see a huge white balloon come bouncing along the road but I kept my thoughts to myself as no one else would've 'got it'.

Once at our lot, we handed things over to our trusty helpers and within minutes our home for the winter was sitting proudly in place surrounded by palm trees and every insect in Florida that bites.

Well paradise does come with a few drawbacks and I can just tell people I've got chickenpox !!

There was so much work to do to get settled in and after unhitching the truck and opening up the trailer sides, we said sod this for a game of shuffleboard and headed into Sebring for supper. It had been a long day on top of many long days since leaving Michigan on 20th and we were finally able to relax, have a lovely meal and come back to what will be my home for the next 3 months.

BEEP "Houston, Buttonwood Bay here, the snowbirds have landed" !!! BEEP

The Snowbirds Have Landed - Day 6

Day 6 saw us leaving our campsite in Greensboro and heading down through North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and finally into Florida. It was 766 miles and we took all day to do it. Hauling a 33ft 5th wheel, even at speeds of 70 mph, is hard work and when you factor in eat breaks, restroom breaks and of course roadworks, then we made good time overall.

I've no photo of us entering Florida as it was dark and I missed it !

We wanted to get to the RV dealership near Sebring where my friends had bought the 5th wheel earlier this year. There were a few things that needed fixing and they might as well be sorted before we went to the campsite for the next 5 months. So as we knew the dealership had an area set aside for a few overnight campers, we had arranged to be at their service department first thing (08:30) on Thursday 26th.

We passed down through the madness that is Orlando and after a bit of practice, I managed to get a few photos of the advertising signs that illuminate this city better than the street lights.

This is just one example and as we were trying to get through Orlando at 10pm, the roads were packed with everyone leaving the big entertainment complxes of Disneyworld and Universal Studios.

We continued south and got to Dusty's at 11pm where we found all the free overnight power hookups taken and we had to just pull up and yet again, spend a night without being able to extend the trailer sides. Another corpse like sleep for yours truely and 8am came along all too quickly.

At least I didn't freeze in the sleeping blanket this time. Welcome to Florida !

The Snowbirds Have Landed - Day 5

Tuesday started quite cold but dry and we went to a few retail stores in Greensboro but bought very little. Once again I was able to use my UK membership card at Costco which was cool.

Then we went for lunch......to Hooters !!! Now for anyone who hasn't been to one of these places or never even heard of them, let me enlighten you.

Hooters is a restaurant chain with many locations in the USA and internationally from Argentina to Venezuela. There is even a branch in the UK - in Nottingham of all places. How did London miss out ??? Although rightly famous for it's hot chicken wings, it's even more famous, or maybe that should be infamous, for it's 'serving girls' who wear a uniform that would make Hugh Hefner proud. I couldn't bring myself to openly take a photo of any of them when they were facing me and so I took the cowards way out and waited till they had their....backs.....to me. I could pretend that this was to protect their privicy (who knows, maybe some parent or husband was totally unaware of their daughter/wife leading such a colourful life in the catering industry) but really it was more to do with me being too shy to point the camera at any of them.

While nothing is actually exposed, little is left to the imagination either. Lets put it this way, Roseanne Barr, Rosie O'Donnell, Anne Widdecombe and even Laura Davies need not apply for work at a Hooters restaurant. Thankfully neither should any anorexic catwalk model as Hooters girls are not recruited from either extreme. Just good looking, homely, fit, attractive, stunning girls who then wear small tight tops and even smaller tighter shorts. I've no idea what I ordered and I've no idea if it was any good but I've never looked around more and listened less to my eating companions in any restaurant before in my life.

Good food.....who the hell cares !

We then went to a local pet store as the kids have been thinking of getting a puppy to go with the 2 cats. I can see problems there and I think that Chester will just live in the closet if and when a puppy arrives on the scene. I'm not a dog person really but they had some cuties in this store. I loved that they had little booths set aside for customers to take a puppy from it's cage and be with it in some sort of privacy - to get the bonding session going I suppose.

Very effective from a selling point of view as it would be hard to say no after spending 10 mins or more being licked to death by a frisky cute puppy.

This was the little fella they really loved but at $1000, it may have to remain a dream doggie.

The store had no kittens, which pissed me off a bit so I had to content myself with thwe puppies and a load of exotic birds which were very colourful but didn't have the awwwww factor that kittens evoke.

We left the pets and did more shopping and later had another meal at a place so memorable that I've already forgotten it. I just know it wasn't Hooters again. Say what you like about sexism and scantily clad females being used to 'sell' a place or a product but.....it works.

We all came back to our campsite for a final chat and the kids left as they'd work the next day and we were leaving for places south. We'd already decided to pass on spending time in Savannah (sorry, Paula but we'll visit your restaurant some other time) and planned on driving close to our winter home in Sebring the next day.

I liked Greensboro. It had everything you'd expect in a medium sized city and doesn't get extremes of weather. It's not in tornado alley, doesn't get earthquakes (as far as I know) or hurricanes, gets barably cold in winter and acceptably warm in summer and even has the other two season as well.

But best of all, it has a Hooters !!

The Snowbirds Have Arrived - Day 4

'The Kids' had taken 2 days off work to spend time with us and we went across to their house shortly after noon. It was my first visit and as I'm a cat person, I loved that they had 2 of the little critters.

This is Delilah and she was quite friendly - after the usual period of waryness that comes with most cats when they meet someone new.

I go down on the floor when meeting cats as it's less intimidating to them. I also never make sudden movements towards them and slowly put out one hand so they can sniff it. Even then I let them move away and invariably they'll turn around and, with the inquisitiveness that cats have, they'll want to come back to you and allow you to pet them.

I'm no animal behaviourist but I did have my own cat for 17 years. This technique works for me and in no time, Delilah was purring gently and enjoying being stroked. Sadly it doesn't work for ALL females !!

Their other cat, Chester, was one of those timid felines that needs a LOT more persuasion to come and be friendly with strangers. He started off hiding in a bedroom closet and wouldn't come out for anything. I kept going in and talking to him and after a while he'd come to the closet door and peek out - but any noise or movement would have him scuttling back inside.

By the time we left, he was as you see him in this photo - out on the living room floor and totally happy with being approached and petted.

There is a good reason why the photo of Delilah looks natural (colour I mean) and the photo of Chester looks like a sepia print.

I quickly realised that I couldn't use the on board flash when trying to get up close shots of the cats. Their eyes are just too big and reflective. Someone should make use of this feature and design something clever like, oh I donno.........cats eyes !!!

Anyway, I had to turn off the flash to get decent photos and with Delilah being by far the more friendly cat, I got her photos taken early in the afternoon with plenty of natural light coming in to the room. By the time Chester came out of the closet, so to speak, it was 7pm and the living room lights were on and so they affected the shots. I should have used the white balance settings to compensate but hey, I was, and am, still learning.

We had a lovely time and I even tried a new meal for me - gumbo. It wouldn't be on my Top 10 fav foods list but then I am kinda picky.

After supper we headed back to our campsite and we arranged to meet with the kids the next day for some shopping and a couple of meals. The location for the first of those meals was 'interesting' to say the least and another first for me................................

The Snowbirds Have Arrived - Day 3

Talk about one extreme to another ! After the long day driving yesterday (21st), we only had a short few miles into Greensboro and to the campground.

It only took a half hour or so to set up and open out the 5th wheel for the first time since leaving Houghton Lake. With the truck released from it's towing responsibilities, we were free to go shopping and dining and we just relaxed for our first night in Greensboro. We rang and made arrangements to visit with my friends eldest son and his wife who had made the move from Michigan to North Carolina a few months previously and had prompted this stop off for us on the way to Florida and our winter campground.

The campground had only the basic facilities like water and sewer so we were concerned that we'd miss our Sunday tv shows - and especially The Amazing Race which we all love. But with the 5th Wheel's aerial raised, we got a very acceptable CBS picture and so we settled in for the night and watched tv. Not the most exciting of days and so not the most exciting of posts.

The Snowbirds Have Arrived - Day 2

We left our rest area early on Sat (21st) as after all, we'd little else to do after waking up. Personally it wasn't my best night of sleep ever and I was relieved to be upright again and able to move my limbs before rigor mortis set in.

Ohio isn't the most beautiful state in the union by any means but it had something Florida will never have - Fall colours !! If you have a long drive ahead of you, as we did, then it's good to have something pretty rto look at out the windows.

I had the (new) camera with me in the back seat of the truck and would snap pics from time to time as we went along. Taking photos when zooming along at 70mph isn't easy so most of them don't stand close inspection - but they still serve to remind me of the trip and after all, aren't memories what photos are all about ???

I guess if I'm being honest, I was wanting to come upon something 'exciting' like a large accident (with no one injured of course but with a few vehicles piled up) or a gun totting trooper approaching a motorist at the end of a long chase or even some critter crossing the road and coming to a sticky end under the wheels of the vehicle in front of us. I know......I'm one sick puppy.

So I'd sit for hours on end with camera and zoom lens at the ready - all set to get my award winning shot out the truck window. Sadly nothing much happened and the best I got was this shot of a group of police vehicles doing heavens-knows-what.

Probably the cops were stopped for an exchange of Krispy Kremes or Twinkies and hot coffee.

The plan was to drive south through Ohio and get well into West Virginia before finding a motel for the night close enough to our destination in Greensboro to make it a short drive to get there on Sunday. Why get a motel when we had a 5th Wheel ? A good question. Well we needed a night with mains power as we didn't want to sleep as we did last night - me all squished up in the unopened trailer and Deb/Den having to get into a bed with no room down the sides and stuff heaped on top of it. It was just cheaper and simpler to get a motel.

That was the plan - but events conspired against us. First of all in southern West Virginia, just as we started looking for a motel, we discovered there was a huge event taking place called Bridge Day and this brings in over 200,000 visitors every year and so every room within 100 miles of our route was booked. We drove on.

As a little aside, some of the scenery WAS quite pretty and almost spectacular but America has such awesome scenery that you tend to get a bit spoiled by the really 'good stuff'.

Even scenery from the interstates can fall into the 'good stuff' category and I've often wished I wasn't driving so that I could take photos. Now that I'm not the driver on these long trips, I can take photos but on this trip down to Florida, there really isn't that much to get excited about.


I continued to use the trip to get used to my new camera and zoom lens so that when the time came, I'd be ready to take THE photo I've always wanted to take.

Anyway, in Virginia, we found there was some NASCAR event taking place in a town near to our route,so again, every motel was full. We drove on.

It was getting late and we were now faced with entering North Carolina and being only a few miles from Greensboro. If we'd thought we'd have had this problem getting a room, we'd have just driven straight to our campsite in Greensboro and paid for arriving one night early. But we knew it closed it's gates at 8pm and we'd left it too late for THAT option.

We finally found a motel about 15 miles from Greensboro that was charging over $100 for a crappy room as it knew rooms were in short supply. We took it and fell into bed for the second night when we didn't really care how comfortable we'd be as long as we could get some hours of sleep.

The Snowbirds Have Arrived - Day 1

It's been almost 3 weeks since my post (ok that sounds WAY too much like a Catholic confessional opening) but we've been busy and on the road.

I'll try and create a post for individual days since we left Michigan on 20th but with my limited memory, that might not be possible.

So back to Friday 20th and although we did our best to pack everything, including the kitchen sink, into the 5th wheel the day/night before, we still had a load to do that morning before leaving. Every possible space was filled with every possible item from the house and as things hadn't been fully downsized yet, there was plenty to take. I'll be flying back to the UK from Florida in January so I 'just' had to take ALL my stuff with me as I'd not be back in Houghton Lake again.

With a groaning and stuffed 5th wheel all hitched up, we set off around noon time and went ..........a mile down the road and pulled into a local restaurant !! Well, no point in overdoing things.

After a lovely brunch we REALLY set off and by night time we were out of Michigan and well onto the Ohio interstate. We stopped at a rest area on the toll section of I-80 and as we'd no mains power, the 5th wheel sides couldn't go out and so I had a tiny (and I mean tiny) space to try and go to sleep in. If I say that the sleeping bag didn't even have space to be laid out, you'll get the idea. There was definitely no room for even a partially inflated airbed so the padded sleeping bag was all I had to take me off the floor. It was fine and ok for one night. I lay on my back with arms pinned to my sides like some sort of living corpse - I actually thought back to those caskets I saw in Costco and realised there was way more room in them than I was getting in the closed up 5th wheel.

Day one was over and it was a case of so far, so good.

A Spot On Weekend

We went downstate again last weekend to meet up with a few people before we head off to Florida for the winter. Sounds good, huh ?? As I may have said before, I'm only going for 3 months as that'll be my 6 months in America taken care of for this year.

The weather has taken a chilly turn for the worst here in mid Michigan so we're ready and raring to get going. We'll be leaving in 11 days time and not a moment too soon. I'm not sure what this global warming business is all about but it seems to have bypassed Michigan. I remember a couple of years ago coming here and playing golf in a t-shirt and shorts in the 2nd week of November (ok so I was getting odd looks from other golfers as we passed them with mutterings of 'there goes that mad Brit') but my t-shirts are only for indoor use right now.

There are many things to get sorted before we leave and I'm seeing first hand what is involved in winterising a house in an area which can get snowbound for months at a time. And I thought I had it hard enough coming here - all I do is turn off the water and drain the tanks and pipes by leaving the taps open for a few minutes. Easy peasy.

Anyway back to the weekend. Part of our 'wish list' was to visit with people that my friends will not see again till next April. One of these friends lives in Flint and so when we decided to go camping in the area and meet up with her on the Sunday, we also suggested that on the Saturday, we arrange a picnic in the same state park for a group of wonderful friends we've all made over the past year on the Weight Watchers site.

Hoping that I get all the names right, here is a group photo of those that met up. Along the back from left to right we have Barbara, Judy, Jacquie and her son Sean, Angela, Jenny, Laura, Rosanna and Debby.

Right at the front is Linda who as (self) proclaimed queen of the pack, just had to have a chair (throne) and a sparkling tiara (crown) although the bottle of wine was more in keeping with Princess Margaret than Queen Liz 11.

We had a great day and, as can be seen by the causal attire, the weather was awesome. We all talk online and so it was a treat to finally put faces to the names.

The next day we went the few miles up the road to visit with Deb's old school friend, Elaine. We'd arranged to meet up at her church as she sings in the choir and what a choir it was !! I love a good choir and don't often get to listen to one. It was also an opportunity to experience another Christian denomination and this was at a Resurrection Reformed Church. It was a huge impressive building with many rooms and meeting places and the main 'worship area' was very spartan compared to anything I'd experienced growing up as a Catholic. There was a banner on one wall and a large wooden cross on another wall and that was it.

The greetings were warm and very friendly and I really enjoyed the service. But the choir singing was the best part of all and I wish I could be there at Christmas time as the carol singing, assuming they do it, would be awesome.

I had another 'first' after that. We all went out to a local eatery called Logans and I highly recommend it. If you feel crunching noises under your feet as you get to your table, don't think the place is a mess - they have large tin 'baskets' of peanuts on every table and customers are encouraged to toss the shells on the floor. Different !

So what was 'the first' ?? Well for the first time ever, I ordered salmon in a restaurant. I know that's not earthshattering to most people but up until this last year, I'd never even eaten salmon, never mind liked it. Is was fish and I just don't 'do' fish. After my heart attack last year, I really wanted to get in my oily fish for their Omega 3 properties but couldn't face those tiny sardines and mackerel and so on. I decided to give salmon a try and wow........what had I been missing all these years ???!!!!! I now have salmon a lot at home but had still to order it when out eating - being the meat lover that I am. Yesterday I decided to go for it and had it with a baken spud and salad - almost a healthy meal for a change.

Well it was delicious and much better than anything I'd prepared myself so now I'm hooked on salmon (little fishing juxtaposition there) and will order it a lot more in future.

We'd booked 3 nights but when we got back from visiting with Elaine we decided there was no point in sitting in the trailer watching tv and then getting up in the morning to drive home - so we packed up and went home on Sunday at 5pm and had a lovely trip back upstate.

Steak & Storms

What a strange day it was. We woke up to blue skies and this lovely Fall weather lasted till about 11pm. At one point we all sat outside as the temps reached the mid 70's. We fancied a treat after a day of moving chairs to and from the 5th wheel, planting flowers for next year in the front and back yards and, in my case, getting out on the bike for some much needed exercise. So we decided to eat out for supper and headed off to our very favourite restaurant when we are able to push out the proverbial boat.........The Willow Tree in nearby West Branch. I have to assume their web site is still being created as little is in place after the main homepage.

I'd been wanting a good steak for some time and so when I was told that a porterhouse was on the daily specials menu, that was enough for me. It was the perfect way to spend an evening with excellent wine, fabulous food and wonderful company.

We got back home about 9:30pm and settled down with bulging waistlines to watch some tv. The shows kept getting interrupted by storm alerts so we knew they were headed this way - and sure enough the thunder/lightning started about 11pm and was a visual treat for many hours.

I decided to see if I'd learned enough about using my new camera to capture lightning images and so I headed outside to give it a try. I set up the tripod and attached the camera and with torch in hand, I attempted to read the manual and also use my 35 or so years of experience in photography. Nature wasn't helping as it was what we in the UK call 'sheet lightning' and not the more spectacular forked variety. All this did was light up the whole viewing area and so my photos just looked like the brightness was generated by the street lights. Only I will know that when it wasn't lit up by the lightning flashes, it was as dark as the insides of a Scotsman's wallet. I'm learning that a lot of photography is like that - only the photographer ever knows what it took to get the image.

Anyway, the best result is below and shows my point..........................

I'm glad the house has a porch as it was raining like crazy and I couldn't have gone outside without being protected by it's roof. As it was, I still felt the rain spray up on me from time to time and I called it a night, or more accurately a morning, after I saw the rain flares on the lens.

I'd really hoped some cars would've driven down the road while the shutter was open for the 60 seconds that it took to get this image as they would've created lines of colour from their tail lights, but it was 2am and this area is pretty dead by then.

I wanted to get this posted before going to bed but as usual the image was too large for upload purposes and I was too tired right then to mess with resizing it. I saved the text and have just now resized the photo and that's us up to date - 11:44am on Wed 4th.

Up From Down South

You could tell I wrote the previous post on location (in a hotel room) and in a hurry as it was only after I'd published it that I noticed several spelling mistakes and other typos in it - not up to my usual standards at all.

In my defence, not only was I being hurried so we could go out to eat, but the laptop was on battery and giving out serious warnings and dire threats that if it wasn't given a lifesaving 110 volts of juice pretty quickly, then it would explode or self destruct or some such nonsence.

I guess I buckled under this extreme pressure !!

Anywho, we had a fabby time and made it back safely late on Monday. Before I go on, here are 2 photos I snapped out the truck window on the way down and I was pretty pleased with them both - considering I had the new camera in one hand and the manual in the other. It sure takes a bit of getting used to compared to the much simpler Canon G2 I had before.

This 'hells angel' blasted past us and I used the camera's excellent servo focus feature to keep him in focus and get him pretty sharp despite the speed we were both going at.

I wanted the background to be a blur to show this speed but I hadn't got to that page in the manual !

Sadly it's captured the image so 'well' that it looks like he's stationary at traffic lights. You only have my word that we were going at 72mph and he was still overtaking us. Honest.

The next photo has been given a bit of an edit using Photoshop. I was really just messing with it as I didn't even want to keep it at all - but again I was pretty pleased with the sharpness considering our speed and anyway, it WAS a nice looking church.


We were just heading into some awful weather and the clouds soon blotted out the previously blue skies. It went as dark as night and the rain bounced off the road like wet bouncy stuff.

Then as we approached Grand Rapids it suddenly stopped raining, the sun came out and we came upon bone dry roads. We were able to unload our belongings into the hotel under a glorious warm sun and so began our weekend there.

Sunday was an even better day, weatherwise, and we shopped and ate and shopped some more.
One place we wanted to go to was Costco as I'm a member back home in the UK. My card caused a bit of confusion and could not be recognised by their system even though it has worldwide use AND their system is set up to access UK memberships. When queried, it kept saying 'SYSTEM BUSY' and never showed anything else the whole time we were there. As this had happened in Canada too, I have to assume 'SYSTEM BUSY' is Costco-speak for 'WE HAVE NO IDEA ABOUT YOU JOHNNY FOREIGNERS BUT WE'LL GLADLY TAKE YOUR $$$$'S ANYWAY'

This was all happening at the Customer Service desk and after being assured that we could shop till we dropped and that we'd have no problems at the checkout, we passed into the warehouse.

I immediately came to a row of little booths set up for special services and products - we have them in the UK stores too. There was a carpet area with a few carpet samples to look at, a tyre section with lists of the tyres sold by Costco.......but the one which really stopped me in my tracks was the one offering deals on coffins, or caskets as they are called here. I'd heard of one stop shopping but this took the prize.

Yes, dear readers, caskets. They even had corner pieces on display so potential buyers could see the quality, colour and craftsmanship of the units. No doubt about it, American caskets put our British coffins to shame. Many a homeless person would be more than happy to climb into one of these beauties every night as the luxury has to be seen to be believed. Talk about a right royal send off ! Seems a shame to send it 6 feet down to be recycled into pulp again.

I was all for going back to the truck to get my camera but I decided they might object to me taking piccies of such delicate and sensitive products - so I did the next best thing and picked up a brochure and later I took photos of a couple of the casket offers in this brochure.

I'm not sure how they decided on the names for these caskets or indeed why they felt that names were necessary in the first place.

I think I'd have been satisfied buying a 'black metalic effect casket with ornate siding and luxurious trim' without the need to refer to it by a name made infamous by Monty Python. I wondered if their naming department really did have such a wacky sence of humour.

In any case (or casket), it was a very nice vehicle for leaving this earthly domain and at a cent under $1100, I felt it was a steal.

There were several others but I've only included one more here - just to show that the previously mentioned naming department must've decided that a Brian was enough and even they didn't see the need to develop a Fred, Barney or Bambam. Praise the Lord.

Speaking of Him, I think this model below offers excellent value for money.

Not only has it been given a perfectly reasonable name (well for Christians anyway) but it even has the name embossed inside the lid in case the dearly departed 'comes to' a few months later and is DYING to know the name of his casket. Sick I know. I'd throw in the invoice to give him something to read, but that's just me.

For $800, I was tempted to get one myself but I didn't fancy getting it back home. You know what these new carry on regulations are like - no liquids, no nailclippers, no caskets. It'd be just too much hassle.


But we bought a few items and passed through the checkout with no problems. My membership card didn't register of course but they had been warned I was coming and unlike Eddie Murphy at a KKK meeting, I was warmly greeted and made to feel special.

On Monday we shopped a bit more but again the weather was terrible and the thunder and lightning were worthy of the end of the world. At noon it was like midnight and the roads were like lakes. Once we left the city, we saw blue skies ahead and for most of the drive home we were blessed with glorious sunshine.

A lovely end to the weekend.

Down South

I'm on location again.....this time using the wi-fi connection in the Grand Rapids Hilton in sunny downstate Michigan.

We drove down yesterday and had to 'endure' horrendous rain showers and generally nasty weather and as we approached Grand Rapids, it all stopped suddenly and we came to totally dry roads as if it had never rained here at all. Probably hadn't.

Anyway we are on a combined shopping and meeting-my-friends-kids trip. Well 2 of the kids and one wife to be precise. We shopped a bit last evening and ate at the nearby Outback - gotta love those No Rules burgers. They'll be the death of me.......literally.

This morning we slept in and are about to leave to lunch with one of the kids and his wife at a Cracker Barrel. Ok I know none of this is exactly exciting stuff but I like the idea of posting from a hotel room even though there is sod all to post about. In any case, I just know that visitors to this blog from far off places will be fascinated by my location ramblings !!!

I did bring my new camera (Canon Rebel XTi) as I played with it on the trip down taking.........well cars on the other side of the road ! no deer, no accidents, no police stops. Just cars. Well if nothing else I got to practice taking action shots. I didn't bring the download cable so the world isn't going to be able to share these stunning photos. Who said, just as well ??? Philistines.

It's a glorious morning with hardly a cloud in the sky - so different from yesterday. After lunch we're going to Costco and I'll see if my UK membership card works here. It's supposed to. we might go see 'Open Season' later too as we love those silly animated movies. we're simple folk !!

The battery low alarm has gone so gotta go.

Toledo Zoo 2

There was a problem a while ago loading photos to blogspot sites and so I cut my really exciting post about Toledo Zoo in half ! I'm sure everyone has been checking back and tapping fingers to find out how it all ended. Well your wait is over. But first.............

In a world where nothing is as it seems, one man set out to prove that his life is JUST as it seems. 65 million years in the making; this time, it's personal.

Ok what is going on here you ask ? I've really been into 'voice overs' these last few days - well ever since I saw the Geico ad featuring the king of movie voice overs, Don LaFontaine. This got me surfing for more of his work on You Tube and found his feature on Good Morning America last year. This led me to other voice over clips on You Tube and I found 2 more excellent ones, 5 in a car and one with some guy I'd never heard of. Very funny.

Once I start looking at these video clips on You Tube and how easy it is to move from one to another and another and another, then hours and even days can pass in a blur ! I'm THAT sad.

But what a career it must be - voice over artist. Wonder what it says on his passport ? It was funny to look at the clip in that limo as he had hair back then. No idea how old it was but he sure is different now. The money he reportedly makes per voice over is astonishing and he can churn out loads of them every day. Nice work if you can get it - and few do.

Of course this has nothing to do with Toledo Zoo, but as blogs are all about sharing, then I thought I'd get in a bit about voice overs. Sorry.

So where were we ? Oh yea, the zoo. Well we'd seen some reptiles and birds and so on, but I really wanted to see a bear. I wasn't fussy.......any type of bear would do. On the zoo map we carried with us, it showed they had a polar bear - so we headed off for a look.

And here it is. As impressive as it was, I couldn't help but recall the ad on tv showing a bear pounding the ground over and over with it's front paws and the voice over (not done by Don) informing us that it had been driven mad by having to perform on the streets and being in captivity all it's life.

The zoo bear seemed to have a nice clean environment but it still wasn't 'home' for it. As if to prove the point, it would pace along the edge of it's bit of a pool (as in the photo) and pop it's head into the 3 or 4 little cave openings along the ice wall. I've no idea if these caves went much deeper than the bears body but it would just reverse out and go into the next one and when it got to the end of the ice wall - which was as far as it could go - it went back and did it over again.....and again......and again. You can see why the tv ad came to mind. Can an animal be driven mad in a Zoo ? Was there another bear somewhere for it to be with ? I don't know the answers to either of those questions but I came away feeling quite sorry for the Toledo polar bear. There is a polar bear webcam where you can sit in the comfort of your home and watch the bear doing what I've just described. Yep, it still looks mad to me !

Things didn't get much better when we came upon the elephant. THE elephant. Where was her mate, her play pal, her companion ? Oh sure she had a baby (which was asleep on it's side and never moved the entire time we were there) so she must've had a mate at some time. Maybe it was a one off date and they agreed to be friends and keep in touch. Yea we all know how THAT goes ! Maybe she forgot his number. So much for having a well documented memory. In any case, she didn't seem to have a great deal of space or anything much to 'enjoy' in her area and just stood close to her baby and stared enviously at those of us on the outside who could wander where we wanted.

Go back to that webcam site and you'll find one for the elephants too. Often you can't see mom and kid so maybe there is more to their compound than we saw. I hope so, as what we saw was woefully inadequate for such intelligent and long lived animals. I hope mom was born in captivity as given that infamous memory, the look she seemed to have when we saw her might have been wistfully thinking of the open plains of Africa (or India depending on what type she was) and thinking "what did I do to these people to deserve this" ??

I was starting to go off zoo's in general and this one in particular.

I needed cheering up and we headed off to the aquarium. I think. See, not having the memory of an elephant, I'm not sure about our route through the various zoo exhibits and compounds. In any case, we DID go see the fishies at some point and very interesting and colourful they were too. I didn't see many that I'd care to have had on a plate with my chips (french fries), but if size was the only factor, the menu was overflowing with choice.


Even though there is nothing to give scale to this ET lookalike, take it from me that it was huge. My clenched fist would have easily vanished inside it's cavernous mouth and not for the first time in the aquarium, I was very glad that thick glass kept us in our respective worlds.

I think it was a breed of puffer fish but if so, it was 'puffed' for most of the time we were there. Maybe it was having fishy TOM or just a bad day but either way, it was not a happy guppy.

This was also where we saw the cute and amazing dragon seahorses I mentioned in a previous post - so I guess I have got my sequence a bit messed up.

Before we left the zoo, we went on a short circular train ride to see a few more animals all in one area. It was a fun and relaxing way to see many animals in a short period of time so although the area itself left a lot to be desired, it was just what we needed after a long day of walking.

And that was it.......a few group photos near the exit and we left. I guess I came away with mixed feelings about the whole experience. I know that outside of a zoo, I'd never get the opportunity to see 99% of the occupants in my lifetime. I know that the better zoo's have excellent procreation and conservation programs which help with the very survival of many species. I know that most animals are well looked after and obviously, with no preditors to worry about, easily have a longer life expectancy in captivity than they would in the wild.

But, and there has to be a but, there are many lesser zoos around that need both an infusion of cash and also management to bring them up to the modern way of thinking of how best to marry the two contrasting goals of a zoo; how to keep animals in captivity so that THEY are happy and contented and how to show them off so that the paying public are similarly served.

I'm just not sure that in the case of the Toledo Zoo, either of these goals have been achieved.

American Football - College Style

I like it.....football that is. No, not soccer of course, but American football. Few outside of America care much about it - which ironically is what most Americans think about soccer. Happily that US/soccer situation has been changing a lot over the last decade thanks to good results by both the mens and womens national soccer teams.

Right now I'm watching college football which needs a little bit of explaining as there is no such soccer equivalent in the UK. When I came here a decade ago as a 3 week at a time summer tourist, I'd never heard of college football as, like it's professional big brother, it's not played in the summer.

In those days I liked to visit football stadiums when they were near my routes as saying I was from the UK usually got me in for a brief personal tour. I never wanted to pay for an official tour as I really wasn't that interested. Then one summer I got to Dallas, Tx and went to their football arena and once again, talked myself inside for some photos. I was left on my own and was clicking away and thinking what a vast and impressive place it was - when it hit me ! Where was the roof ?? Surely the Dallas Cowboys stadium had a roof ??? I'd seen it on tv, so where was it now ???

I went up to a groundsman and asked..........this IS the Cowboys stadium isn't it ? He give me a withering look like I'd stepped off a banana boat and said......hell no, son, this is the Cotton Bowl - the Cowboys play at Texas Stadium on the other side of the city !!

In those pre-internet days, I had to wait till I got home to look it up as I didn't want to add to my 'shame' by asking who DID play there. I was stunned to find out that this huge stadium, seating almost 70,000, would sit empty most of the year. Not only had the Cowboys left it in 1970, but even colleges found it too small to be of much use to them. You gotta love that.

College football is HUGE. Games regularly get much bigger crowds than NFL ones and most college stadiums can hold well over 80,000 and some over 100,000. 'My' state, Michigan, has the largest of the lot and when Michigan plays neighbouring Ohio, the crowd is around 107,000.
The record crowd was only a few years ago and was over 111,000. And this isn't the only college team in the state !! As well as Michigan (also known as U of M), there is Michigan State and Central Michigan to name but 2 more. Every state is like this so there are literally hundreds of these impressive stadiums all over the country putting the capacity of the new Wembley Stadium to shame.

The reason for these large crowds is based on history. These colleges have been around a long time (well in American terms anyway) and several family generations have graduated from them. The colleges never move and so there builds up a long tradition of supporting a team and going to the games. In the NFL, teams have owners and so get bought and sold and often move to a different state altogether. Given the distances involved here, fans find they can no longer go to games when their team is moved elsewhere and so crowds are nowhere near as high as they could and should be in the professional game.

How can colleges afford to build, modernise and manage these huge stadiums ? Well I'd assume it's down to the fact that when you get 100,000 paying customers every 2 weeks of the season and the players (being students) get nothing, then there is an awful lot of money flying around and a large slice must go into the college coffers. Leeds University must be drooling.

Here are 2 statistics for you - since they shutout Purdue on November 8th, 1975, every Michigan home game has had an attendance exceeding 100,000. In 2002, they had an average attendance of 110,576 fans at its home games. Staggering.

Anyway back to the present and I'm watching Michigan playing Notre Dame. The 'Fighting Irish' as they are known (that's Notre Dame by the way) are an Indiana college team that even some non-Americans may have heard of due to the excellent Rudy movie. Just as there are no good soccer movies, in my opinion there are no good football movies, or baseball, or basketball or.....ok you get the drift. Sport and movies do not mix. Usually. But the 1993 movie, Rudy, was an exception and the ending always bring a tear to even my cynical eye.

Today is the 3rd week of the season and with only seconds remaining in this game, Michigan is winning 47-21 to get a 'played 3, won 3' record. Games are spread over numerous tv channels from noon till late at night so Saturdays from late summer really are college football days. Sundays belong to the NFL.

Where does all this leave us ? Well when we Brits try and push soccer onto Americans and unknowingly use crowd statistics to try and impress them, it's not surprising that Americans look bewildered. Remember the Michigan statistics earlier ? A home gate over 100,000 every game for the past 31 years ? Well my home city, Leeds, has the 3rd largest metropolitan population in the UK and has only one soccer team to support. A week ago it played at home and the attendance was............16.268. Nuff said.

Garage Sales

This is a first for this blog.........posting on location.

I'm sitting in a chair in my friends garage as it's Labor Day weekend and in the US that means............garage sales. Well ok not everywhere and it's not compulsary, but there are a butt load of them all over the country and people make a day of it and drive around visiting as many as they can.

eBay hasn't quite caused the demise of the garage sale as not many people want to be bothered buying or selling the small items that mostly make up such sales. Of course anything can be sold and we have a snow blower for $700 and a load of tools for 25c each...............and everything you can think of in between.

On my walk yesterday I passed quite a few such sales so the tradition is alive and well. Some were small affairs with one table containing only a few items and others were like ours with a huge 3 bay garage filled with groaning tables bearing the purchases of many decades.........as well as unwanted pressies and gifts collected over the years. Anyone who is into downsizing their house clutter will get the point.

It's strange to see cars and trucks pulling up and disgorging family members who come up and pour over this families possessions. I know I'd find it hard enough to put a price of $30 on something I may not need anymore but cost me, say, $100 only a few months ago. Or take the snow blower.......oh God please take the snow blower !!! It was bought only a few months ago but is not needed anymore as we're spending the snow months in Florida. You have to know the market of course and set the prices accordingly. It would break my heart - but then again that's the Scot in me speaking !!

An associated custom I like here is leaving some item you want to sell out at the end of the driveway with a price on it.......or sometimes not. In the UK this would be taken as an offer for some passing motorist to swipe it and think they'd struck lucky. A totally unwanted item can be placed there too but with a clear sign showing it is free to whoever wants it. The unwritten rule seems to be that if it doesn't say it's free, then it's not......and don't assume it's not either Remember that home owners here might well be armed to the teeth and you might well get a few yards down the road with your stolen item but the bullets will still catch up with you !!

Well it's near the end of the 2nd and final day of the sale and we're ready to pack up, remove the road signs and call it a wrap. Sadly not everything was sold but that's the way it goes. The point is, there are plenty of birthdays and Christmas' to garner up more unwanted items and plenty of national holiday weekends to have garage sales to get rid of them all again.

It's a sort of circle of life thing.

A Request

My blog site collects basic information about anyone who visits even if only for a few seconds. I like to see that people find it and maybe spend a few moments reading my ramblings and looking at my photos (which can be enlarged by clicking on them, by the way).

But I'd love to have some sort of comments/feedback even if it's just a few words and even if it's uncomplimentary. I post for MY benefit as I have this 'need' to blabber away and I do like taking and sharing photos - so never worry that your comments will offend me. I'll just delete them

Anyway, I get repeat visitors (bless you all) and so know that a few people do return regularly to see what's new. I get a rough location (Waterford, Michigan for instance) but would love to have a name to go with the location........just a first name would be fine or even a nickname.

So PLEASE add comments - the more the merrier.

Thanks.

Camping US Style

Last Thursday we loaded up the 5th and set off downstate for a 4 night camping trip. Now to a Brit, a camping trip would probably conjour up images of "Carry On Camping" type movies from the late 60's and early 70's where the family would cram everything, including the kitchen sink, into their car and head off to some farmer's field to pitch a tent while curious cows look on.

Even today camping in the UK hasn't come far from those days and anyone who invests in a caravan (like a US travel trailer but much more basic) gets shouted and sworn at by those of us stuck behind them on narrow country roads. I think this is partly due to the fact that they are restricted by law on how fast they can go and also by the fact that the advanced age range of those who use caravans is directly related to the speed they travel. Caravans are mostly for older retired couples with time on their hands and who are in no rush to get where they're going.

So basically caravans and camping in general have a bad press in the UK. How different it is here and there are many reasons for this. For a start the summer weather is pretty much guaranteed to be awesome and so planning for a camping trip rarely involves checking for a few days when you won't be needing a brolly and wellies. Then there are the stunning variety of vehicles in which to go camping - the wide roads and multilane highways mean that length is limited only by what you can walk to the end of without needing a golf trolley !

Other factors are the camp sites. State park sites can be fairly basic but the price reflects this. Private sites vary from those with only electric and sewer hookups, rest rooms and not much else to those with full hookups (electric, sewer, cable tv, internet) and with facilities like swimming pools, shower and rest rooms, laundries and so on. Finally there are the camper vehicles themselves. Did I mention tents ? Yes you see people using tents and there will always be a need and wish to have them.

But most campers here have units starting with a simple popup which amazingly, given it's size, still has sleeping for two or four and an oven, hob and sink. Now this COULD be used on UK roads with ease. Then comes a travel trailer which can be any length up to 33 ft or so and depending on the model (many have 'sides' which slide out once the unit is parked up and this allows for even more space inside. A TT can sleep a soccer team and has a shower and toilet, full kitchen and dining room and is closely related to the static seaside trailer we'd rent in the UK.

Next up the line comes a 5th Wheel and I've no idea why they are so called. These are much more suited to long term living and although they actually sleep less numbers than a TT, the lucky occupants can be in home style luxury with reclining armchairs, entertainment areas, full kitchen and dining areas and up a level into the generous bedroom - usually with a 2nd tv in place. These last 2 units have plentiful closets and cabinets for clothing, cooking equipment and of course food. These 3 units are pulled by a vehicle of some sort, usually a truck.

The final unit is the full blown RV or motorhome which we've all seen on tv and used by everyone from rock stars on tour to working actors on location. It's obvious from all this that camping here is not the rough and ready recreation that we're used to at home in the UK. Once you've got set up at the site with your unit of choice, out comes the bbq, the chairs, the bikes, the inflatable cactus and the family pets. Those who spend the winter months in warmer states like California and Florida have set ups that most of us would class as a first home. They erect little picket fences and get out real or artificial shrubbery. Lights get strung up along the awnings and American flags get placed to remind God where to shine his blessings.

Reconditioned golf trolleys are parked outside the trailer door in case the owner needs to go to the pool or call on friends elsewhere in the park for a game of cards. This life can be so enjoyable that many go 'fulltime' by selling their homes and being on the road all year round. These would usually be retired couples who have no home ties and have the health and finances to tour the country during the warmer months and drop anchor whenever and wherever they please and then head for Florida during the winter. Sounds great to me !!

So with all that explained, I can go back to our camping trip last Thursday. We drove over 3 hours downstate and through Detroit to Harbortown RV Resort near Monroe. We backed the 5th onto the concrete bay, set it up and unhitched the truck, connected the power and tv cables, then the water hose and finally the sewer hose - remembering not to get them mixed up ! Nothing worse than chunky water.

Our two main excursions were to be to the Michigan State Fair and a trip to Toledo Zoo but we quickly knocked the fair on the head as we'd passed the location on the way down and it would've been a 90 minute return journey. The camp site was at Jn11 off I-75 which meant it was only 11 miles to the Ohio line and then a few more miles to the zoo which made it a better trip out.


I told part 1 of the Zoo trip in the previous post and will finish it another time......................

Toledo Zoo 1

When we were camping last week south of Detroit and near the Ohio state line, we had made plans to visit Toledo Zoo.

We arranged to meet up with a friend (Jenny) and her two kids once in the zoo and so at 10:20 on Friday, we entered the realm of the wild animals. Now Toledo Zoo claims to be in the Top 10 of such establishments in the US but I've done a bit of checking and I can't agree. The one Top 10 list it DOES appear in is for Top 10 Kids Zoos and even then I don't agree - but then I'm not a kid, so what do I know. I just think it's a throwback to the old days when you were kept away from the animals and had to peer through glass or from a distance through bars or netting.

But it was a zoo and as I've not been to many, it was still a treat. We saw bald eagles, bears and penguins by the time we got the call that Jenny and the kids had arrived and so we met for lunch. After introductions (I'd not met them before) and food, we went back to looking at the animals and first up was a crocodile - or maybe an aligator.

At any rate it didn't move at all and could've been a stone model. It needed someone jumping in beside it and poking it on the nose, by crickey, and I know just the person for the job !

Sadly that didn't happen and we wandered off to find something more lively.

I've always been fascinated by hippos as they look such slow cumbersome creatures and even appear quite docile. Then I saw a documentary many years ago when 2 guys in a canoe in Africa got too close to a group of hippos and man did they get a shock. Those docile looking creatures went into a frenzy and with their huge jaws and awesome power, they made mincemeat of the canoe and the men only just escaped with their lives. Brown pants were the order of the day.

This exhibit was very well set up as we went into an area with huge glass 'windows' giving us a glimpse of the hippos above and below water at the same time. This was fun and the hippos seemed to act up accordingly. They'd spend a while with just their eyes and snouts above the water and we could also see their little legs treading underneath. Then they'd drop down to the bottom of the tank and walk from one side to the other - giving everyone a closeup view which was very thoughful of them.

Sadly they did something else which I won't go into in detail but suffice it to say, the tank water wasn't quite as clear afterwards and the term 'floaters' didn't just refer to the hippos !!!

They also had some sort of electronic tag device around their necks although that's just my guess. But I mean, why bother as they've nowhere to go ? Hey, one of the hippos is missing. Oh no, there it is......under the water. Phew. So glad we had it tagged !!

No, I've 2 other explanations : it could be a hippo fanny pack (ok stop laughing you Brits) just in case the hippo wants to have a snack underwater or it could be a hippo ipod. I like that idea best. The hippos walk to the beat of, say, Seal or the Arctic Monkeys or even Crazy Giraffes.

Ok so I made that last one up but I only knew the first two and examples are always better in threes.

I was keen to get to the reptile house as they really interest me. From a photographic point of view it's pretty easy to get good pics of them as by nature they stay still !! It's simply a matter of turning off the flash and getting the lens close to the glass. It amazes me how many people do neither of these things and wonder why they get a photo of a blinding spot of light and little else.

I've no idea what any of the snakes and lizards are called but I loved their bright colours. By reptile standards, this little fella was quite active and I had to wait till it stopped slithering about and posed for me.


Early in my blog posts I put up photos of my trip to my local reptile house in Leeds called Tropical World. The one thing I noticed about the snake tanks there was that they were dark and fairly dirty and it was difficult to see the snakes inside them.

So it was a thrill to see these well lit and clear tanks at the Toledo Zoo and visitors were rewarded with wonderful views of the inhabitants. Like a lot of others, my camera focuses by sending out a beam of light and 'measuring' the distance to where it hits. When close to the subject, this light can be distracting and I was amused when this lizard seemed to take an interest in it. I did it a few times before pressing the shutter and each time it would cock it's head to one side as the light hit it.

I finally decided that this 'look' was much more interesting than it's normal straight ahead stare and so here it is. Maybe it wants to give me an insurance quote !

We were in time to see a hands on event where 3 staff members came to a small viewing area and brought some snakes and a millepede - I think. I didn't count the legs but it had plenty to spare.

It was my first time touching a snake so I took it.......the chance, not the snake. I knew all about them not being slimy so I wasn't surprised by how it felt. I was more interested in the millepede and not many people wanted to touch it. It was huge. I let it run over my hand and it's little legs were so soft and tickly that it was cool. Glad it didn't poop on me but as if she'd read my mind, a staff member was following along behind the ones with the critters and had a pump action bottle of sanitiser so we 'touchers' could clean our hands and be ready for french fries and hot dogs right away !! God bless her.

It was time to move on to the fishies and other aquatic critters and one tank blew my mind as it contained 2 of the strangest and cutest little sea horse type lookalikes I'd ever seen.


It seems they were sea dragons and for some reason I found it hard to get a decent photo of them. They'd float by with a sort of superior air and only their tiny fluttering fins would show they were alive at all. Yes I know that fins isn't the right word but I'm no expert on the locomotion and propulsion techiques of sea dragons.

All I know is they were mesmerising and we all stayed by their tank for ages. The aquarium also had a good walk through rain forest but I have to say the one back home in Tropical World was slightly bigger and better. This one did have birds in it and they'd dive bomb the visitors showing no fear at all. They'd land inches from us on the guard posts and only fly away if you actually tried to reach out to pet them.

But enough Zoo stuff for now and I'll return to it another day and in another post ..............

Friends & Relatives

As the saying goes, you can chose one but not the other.....blah blah blah.

Back home in the UK I've got few of either but here in the US, I've sort of adopted many of those belonging to my gracious hosts. I've been coming to this part of Michigan for almost a decade now and by staying for up to 6 months at a time, I've met their friends and relatives and been welcomed by all.

Staying here for so long, I've learned much more about the American way of life and certainly much more than the usual visitor who can only spend 2 weeks or so here as part of their annual holidays. Even those 2 weeks are rarely spent exploring deep into the country and sadly most Brits have their impressions of America and Americans clouded by those they may meet at Disney World (FL) or Disneyland (CA).

This would be like an American visiting the UK and only exploring the landmark sites in London and thinking that every Brit was like those they meet there. God help us all but that is often what happens. If only international visitors to our shores would get out of London after a few days and see the rest of our wonderful land.

Even more so than the UK, America is a diverse country with unbelievable contrasts in scenery and peoples. Abject poverty and violence can be just a few city blocks from incredible wealth and (paid for) safety. In the days when I was touring by myself, I'd visit the main cities of all the states and come away thinking of them as clean, safe, vibrant places with much to offer the tourist. Only later might I learn that I'd been lucky to 'escape' without seeing or even being involved in some acts of street crime or violence; that there were parts of certain cities where drugs and guns were commonplace. I was totally unaware of this and looking back on those days now, I'm really glad I was so naive and ill-informed as it has left me with only positive memories and opinions of all the cities and peoples I met.

Now that I've hung up my solo touring boots (ok a few mixed metaphors there !!) with only Alaska left to visit, I have the time to spend many months every year living among the people and getting to know much more about them and what they think and believe in. I have a constant battle trying NOT to compare many of the customs and attitudes here with what we have back home and I tell myself that different doesn't mean better or worse - just.... different.

Televison for a start is.....different. The ridiculous frequency of commercials makes me yearn for uninterrupted programming from Auntie Beeb or Sky Movies or even ITV with it's 3 breaks an hour. Watching any long sporting event like golf here is a nightmare - imagine coming out of a commercial break and seeing Tiger Woods making a 30ft putt, seeing his reaction, seeing the new leaderboard, seeing the customary blimp shot and suddenly....whoooosh, we're off to commercials again. Seriously ! It's probably a good thing that they've never taken to cricket here but I bet the advertisers would love it. An opportunity for a commercial break after every over ??? It makes me wonder why they've NOT taken to it !

And the commercials themselves ??? Take out the ones for food, cars, medicines and lawyers and there isn't much left. Medicines are the best.......no, the worst as I hate them all. Here the viewer is constantly urged to "tell your doctor about......." followed by the name of some drug or other which claims to help with everything from piles to irritable bowel syndrome. It would appear that in the US, doctors don't have any medical training whatsoever and sit in their surgeries just waiting for the patients to arrive and tell them about a drug they saw on television which they'd like to try out if you please. I also love that the makers of these commercials have to add information about possible side effects after they've told us how awesome the drug is. I swear one last night told us about this wonderful pill that only had to be taken once a month (probably to stop unwanted nasal hairs from getting trapped in our teeth) and then a man with a vocal speed worthy of a Texan cattle auctioneer told us it wasn't suitable for those who are pregnant or might become pregnant (hmmmmm that's pretty general for a start), those with liver or heart problems, those with ingrowing toenails or flat feet, those with ugly parents or a sibling called Elvis (and basically 9/10ths of the population) due to nasty (potential) side effects ! Yep, I'd love to ask my doctor about THAT !!

There is even one for Lipitor, a pill I actually take. The ad is accurate and yes the people who should not take it are identified and get a mention at the end. Fair enough. BUT then it adds that "you should tell your doctor if you are taking any other medication" as Lipitor should not be taken with some of these other drugs. Now it is just me or shouldn't your doctor know what you're taking already ??? Maybe the NHS isn't so bad after all. I don't tell my garage mechanic what oil filter to fit on my car ( lets face it, I'm just glad if he actually DOES fit the new filter he's charging me for in the first place) and so I don't see the point in telling my trained doctor that I quite fancy trying out a drug I heard about on a tv commercial.

But I've digressed (oh shut up) and may well return to these little US peculiarities from time to time when I remember them.

So last Saturday my hosts 2 younger sons (and a wife) arrived for a visit from down state. They brought a cute doggie, called Bailey, who was just like a lamb in springtime with the same exuberance and energy.


I've known these young men since they were mid teens and along with their older brother (who just got his first teaching job in NC this week) are 3 of the most charming and delightful sons any parents could hope to have. Well I would say that I guess !!

I think the very fact that I'm 'allowed' to live here and become part of the family for 6 months at a time is a testament to the open and friendly nature of these people and indeed most Americans.

So this all disproves or maybe just adapts the statement I typed at the start of this post - they are chosen friends who have become my chosen family in a way. I got the best of both worlds !!

Anyway I'm hoping to meet some more friends over the next few days as we're taking out the 5th Wheel for a spin - so to speak. We hooked it up to the truck earlier tonight and in the morning we're off down I-75 to a campsite near Detroit for 4 nights as we want to see how the 3 of us can live in it together before we leave for Florida for the winter. Best to find out about any 'issues' now rather than when it's too late.

We plan to take in the Michigan State Fair and a visit to Toledo Zoo so the time will pass quickly. We've got cable hookup and even wi-fi internet (we don't rough it) but just in case those aren't enough to keep us amused when in the camp, we got 3 dvds from the local library and can play them on the built-in dvd player. It's a hard life.

So the next posting might be from pastures new and hopefully I'll have some photos of exotic and even dangerous animals to post - and I might even take some at the zoo