October 2020 - An Operation & Noisy hotel stay, State Park, Visit from friends & showing them around, Finally Free & an alligator!!

October 2020

We started off the month much the same as September.  Greeting new arrivals and checking out departures at the campground.

Sunset

The birds still came to visit.  I love watching them.                             

October 6th - 8th, 2020

The time finally arrived for Bryans hand operation.  It got cancelled in May and this was the earliest they could reschedule due to Covid.  It was at Lake City, Florida, which is just over an hours drive away. We decided to get a hotel room for two nights, to save us having to get up really early the day of the operation, and driving back after the operation. It also meant we got at least one day without having to worry about the campground. Having an operation is a pretty drastic step to take to avoid work though!!!  I wouldn't recommend it.

On the way to the hotel we drove to Madison Golf & RV Resort to have another look at it.  They have the office building open now, so we spoke to them about a monthly spot. They had a couple of openings for February and we liked one of the sites so we ended up booking there for the month of February 2021.   As I said in a previous blog they include a golf cart and free golf if you book a site for a month. We would have gone there as soon as we are replaced later this month, but we have annual doctor appointments to get done before we can leave and these go through January.

We got to the Best Western at Lake City.  It is a very nice hotel with a separate living area.  Of course first stop was the bath!!!!  I had my Radox with me and boy, was I in heaven.  The one thing I miss in the motorhome is soaking in a bath.

The next day, 7th, we were up early to get Bryan to the hospital. At least they allowed me in with him. I haven't been able to go to any of his other appointments with him.  Of course I had to wear my mask and have my temperature checked before going in. I got my sticker to say I had passed inspection, ha!!ha!!  

It was strange as usually I have been allowed to wait with him while he's getting prepped and then wheeled to the operating room.  They did wheel him by the waiting room on the way to surgery though so I could wish him good luck.

Sue in the waiting room

Thankfully the surgery didn't take long, although it seemed an eternity.  They wheeled him back past the waiting room and he was already conscious.   Everything had gone well. It wasn't long after that, that they told me he was ready to go, and I was allowed back to get him and take him back to the hotel.

We hadn't been back at the hotel long when we got new people in the room next door. The kids were running up and down the corridor outside the room and there were loud voices inside the room.  We just looked at each other, and figured the kids were hopefully just running off some energy after a long day in the car.

We had take-out for dinner and ate in the room. As we were eating, the noise from next door was getting worse.  The kids were still running around. Doors were getting slammed, and there were threats of killing someone. Hmmmmm. Bryan went to the front desk to complain, and they said they would address it with them. The desk offered to move us, but I really didn't want to move all our stuff for 1 night. 

It quietened down for about 30 minutes before it started again. We ignored it for a while and at about 10pm when it still was going on, we called the front desk. They sent someone up to talk to them and it quietened down again. We heard someone say, "You're going to get us thrown out again". However, the quiet didn't last long.  It wasn't continuous but it would be silent, and then there would be a terrific bang, where they had hit a wall, or slammed a door. Each time it startled me, and made me jump. Eventually at around midnight, the intervals between the slamming/shouting were getting less. We decided to go to bed and try to sleep. There was one more incident that made me jump and then thankfully it was quiet.

We were both so thankful that this hadn't happened the night before, when we had to get up the next day for Bryans operation. 

The next day we checked out. It was a lovely hotel and we would probably stay there again. Hopefully without the noisy neighbors!!!!

On the way home we stopped at an old battleground, Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park

We didn't spend long there as Bryan really didn't feel up to much walking, but what we saw was quite interesting.  They do a reenactment every February, so we may come back for that as we will be in the area then.

We got back to the campground, and checked into the office to let them know we were back.  They told us that one of the camphosts that was due to arrive on the 28th was going to start early and would be here in a couple of days. Yippee!!!, we may finally get a proper day off. We were excited!!!

October 14th - 16th

We were looking forward to our good friends, Johnny & Kathy, arriving as they passed through the area, on their way to their new site further south in Florida. 

We hadn't really planned on seeing them the first day they arrived, but we decided we wanted to go and say hello.  So we went to their campground and spent a couple of hours catching up with them

The next day they came over to our campground as we were "on duty".  I made us Lasagna and we all had dinner together.

All of the pictures are courtesy of Kathy, as we were so busy chatting we didn't take any pictures.  So thank you Kathy for all the following pictures.

Our Site

Sue welcoming a new camper.

Kathy got some pictures as we took them on a tour of the base.

Heritage Park, Display of planes

Park by Officer Housing

Officer Housing

The next day we picked Johnny & Kathy up and took them out to Kingsley Plantation.  We were lucky as the grounds have only just reopened after Covid.

If you follow our blog, you will probably remember that we've been here a few times.  It is one of our favorite places. Again thanks to Kathy for the pictures.

Bryan by a "tabby" built slave quarters

Plantation House

River behind the Plantation

Unfortunately we found the path down to the small beach overgrown and I was sad that the turtle is no longer here.  I believe it died.

This house was on the road to the plantation.  Look at the trees. I'll bet it's spooky at night.

Love this picture

After visiting the plantation it was time for lunch. We took J&K to the Sanddollar, our favorite seafood restaurant next to the Mayport ferry.

After lunch we went for a drive to the base at Mayport and showed them the RV Park there.  We also saw some ships.

We had a lovely day out. They were leaving the next day so we said our farewells.  Hopefully we'll see them some more, now that they'll be in Florida.

October 18th was our first official day off, since July 3rd.  It felt so good to not have to worry about the campground.  We have had a few days out, but always had to come back to watch the campground. 

We had a lot of rain and the water was really high down by the swing.

The rain helped the mushrooms grow.

October 26th we finally had a full campground, apart from two non sewer sites. It was good to see the campground full again.

October 27th the other new camphost came in, although she doesn't officially start until tomorrow, and she will be gone for part of the day for an appointment.  Tom, our boss, wants Bryan to train her, so we will get with her on the 29th.

October 29th - We spent time with both the camphosts, going over things again with them, and then officially handed our keys over.  Woohoo we are done, at least until next year.  We anticipate staying in this campground until mid January though, but purely as paying guests.

October 30th - I was taking some time out and relaxing on the swing.

An alligator swam by. He was chillen, just like me!!!

Coronavirus Update

As at:      Cases USA  Cases Florida  Deaths USA  Deaths Florida                      

Oct  1st    7,273,244         709,144       207,605             14,619                      

Oct   31    9,075,777         802,547       230,009             16,969           

 

The USA had 23,394 deaths in October, 23,216 deaths in September, dropping from 30,309 in August. Unfortunately the number of deaths from September to October leveled out and didn't continue to drop.

Florida had 2,481 deaths in October, dropping from 3,157 deaths in September, and 4,555 in August. The number of deaths in Florida per month, continued to decrease.

On October 16th, the USA surpassed 8 million cases. 1 million new cases in 21 days.  Unfortunately, cases increased slightly per day compared to September. Compared to a slight decrease between August and September.

On October 30th, Florida passed 800,000 cases. Averaging 2,941 a day. Increasing slightly from 2,857 a day in September, but still significantly lower than July(10,000) & August(4,600).  

On October 31st, we had 391 cases on base, as opposed to 275 at the end of September, 237 at the end of August, and 267 at the end of July. Unfortunately, a larger increase between September and October than the previous months. 

Duval County (the county we are in) had 35,256 cases, 523 Deaths and 1,287 hospitalizations. 

An increase of 4,708 cases, 129 Deaths, and 93 hospitalizations from September 30th. However the monthly increases in Deaths and hospitalizations were still on a downward trend from previous months. Unfortunately there was an increase in cases over September, but still lower than August.

 

Unfortunately, cases have gone up as people seem to be relaxing. Let's hope that this levels out. 

September 2020 - Back to work as the campground reopens, Everyday Life & Frogs are disturbed......

September 2020

Well, I don't have a lot of pictures for this month. We really didn't do anything except take care of the campground.  I think we both became very despondent as the days dragged on.

The Campground office and Autoskills reopened on the 3rd and we were hopeful that we would follow very quickly.  

We decided to go and fill our propane tank while we had a chance.  This involves taking the motorhome to the propane station, which in turn meant packing everything that moved away.  We hadn't moved the "house" since the beginning of the year, so Bryan took it for a ride around the base to give everything a workout.  He filled the propane tank and then returned.  We parked in a different site as we wanted to see if we could get a satellite signal, in a spot that was open with no trees.  We haven't had a signal for a few months and it seems it's the dish, but we wanted to make doubly sure.  It is the dish, or wiring between the dish and the receiver.  Bryan will need to work on it some more, but not until the weather cools off as it's on the roof.

Then we cleaned off our site, which had accumulated some mud from the rainwater washing dirt down, and under our rig. As Bryan was cleaning that off he disturbed some frogs that had made their home in the mud.  They were so cute and I felt sorry for them but I'm sure they'll make themselves a new home.

It seemed like a lifetime before the campground opened on the 11th. It wasn't soon enough for us.  We spent a couple of days before opening, cleaning sites and buildings. The gazebo had a thorough spring, or was it fall, cleaning.  We checked power pedestals for cobwebs and insects, and got rid of both.  We had a few lizards scoot out of their hiding places, as we checked breakers.  One frog was so still I thought he was dead, so I got a stick and poked him gently.  He moved very begrudgingly from the place he had obviously decided was home.  A wasp nest was treated a little more carefully, as I asked Bryan to deal with it.  Wasp spray to the rescue. Bryan used the blower to clean off the sites.  We were ready.  Opening started slowly with only 1 or 2 coming in the first couple of days.  It was taking a while for word to get out that we were open.

We didn't mind as we had been informed that our replacement camphosts would not be here until the 28th October and we were aware life was about to get busy with campers arriving and departing on a daily basis and no-one to share the responsibilities that come with that. No days off for us, we were going to keep busy.

The weather is still in the 90's which doesn't help.

It got busier and we managed to survive from day to day.  It was good to see new faces and watch the campground come to life again but it was exhausting to not get a break.  We wanted to get back to our 5 days on, 5 days off with another couple. It was not to be, at least not this month.

Bryan went for a pre-op for his hand operation next month, and they moved the date forward a week. It will be good to finally get that done as the cyst has been getting bigger and is uncomfortable.

We celebrated our anniversary by getting Red Lobster take out and managed to eat it without any incidents in the park, thank goodness.

By the end of the month we were counting the days down until the 28th October.  It can't come soon enough.  Don't get me wrong we love being camphosts and helping people, but it has just been too long, and too much with not having a break. 

Coronavirus Update

As at:      Cases USA  Cases Florida  Deaths USA  Deaths Florida                      

Sept 1st   6,071,971         631,040       184,629             11,521                      

Sept 30    7,216,828         706,516       206,615             14,488           

On September 27th the global coronavirus death toll topped 1 million.

On September 22nd, the USA surpassed 200,000 deaths. 

The USA had 23,216 deaths in September, dropping from 30,309 in August.

Florida had 3,157 deaths in September, dropping from 4,555 in August.

On September 25, the USA surpassed 7 million cases. 1 million new cases in 25 days. Increase in cases had dropped slightly per day compared to August.

On September 27th, Florida passed 700,000 cases. Averaging 2,857 a day.  Dropping from 4,600 in August & approx 10,000 in July.

On September 30th, we had 275 cases on base, as opposed to 237 at the end of August, and 267 at the end of July. The increase was probably due to the opening up of facilities on base. Lets hope that it flattens off in October.

Duval County (the county we are in) had 30,548 cases, 394 deaths and 1,140 hospitalizations. An increase of 4,088 cases, 140 deaths, 187 hospitalizations from August 31st. 😟   However the monthly increases in all, were lower than the figures between July and August, so there is a downward trend. 😀

Things are still not good but the figures are going down for the second month.  Let's hope this trend continues.

August 2020 - Daily Life & A Special Award for a Special Young Lady

August 2020

The campground has been closed to new arrivals since March 23rd when we had 37 of our 42 sites occupied.  Everyone was allowed to stay, but if they left the park they could not return until we reopened. We are now down to 14 sites occupied and we have become quite a little family. Two left toward the end of the month, reducing our numbers to 12.  One went to Mayport as it reopened on August 23rd.  Maybe we are close to reopening as well, lets hope so.  The other couple finally got their orders approved to continue to Key West after they were halted as they were on their way there. I'm happy for them as they have been "in limbo" since this started.  I know how badly that affected Ryan & Christina when they had a few weeks of not knowing what was going to happen before they moved.

We try and walk around the campground twice a day but it has been getting hotter and hotter and it is no longer enjoyable. We continue to do it at least once a day to check everything is ok, including the bathrooms & laundry room. Cleaning and picking up trash as needed.  It gives us an opportunity to talk to anyone who happens to be outside as well.  We like to manage to actually see people as they wander about to make sure they are still ok. There are a few who are on their own and we are aware of that.  So far, everyone is good, if not a little bored and fed up with the situation.

We miss going up to the office and getting our daily updates and will be glad when we can get some normalcy back again.

As the office is closed, only one of us has been leaving the campground for errands. The other stays behind in case we are needed.  This is hard for us as we usually do most things together.  Bryan has been the one doing most of the errands as I don't like to drive anymore, which means food shopping as well. He is getting fed up with that.  I have been a couple of times to the commissary on base but that's about it. 

I still am annoyed at the way we have ended as sole camphosts thanks to the irresponsible behavior of our intended replacements.  However, it is what it is, and we will survive and be the better people. We could quit but we are not quitters and will not leave the campground in the "lurch".

Bryan had an accident while he was trying to replace the spring in our awning and ended up having stitches in his hand.  He was lucky it wasn't broken.

                               

August 10th - We had a day out, woohoo.  There was someone in the office so we asked them to cover for us. We went to scout out a few campgrounds. See the separate blog about that HERE.

We have had a lot of afternoon thunderstorms and heavy rain. Bryan noticed a leak in the front  of our motorhome.  Hence the bucket as we drain the water.  He has been up on the roof and resealing where he can.  He even took the satellite dish off and resealed that.  Eventually I think it is fixed.  

Our satellite is another matter.  It has stopped picking up one of the signals and so we need to try and figure that out.  To be honest, it is just too hot to even think about getting up on the roof anymore at the moment. 

It got pointed out to us that we have saved a lot of money by being camphosts for what will be a year by the time we have finished. We don't get paid, but we get our site for free, so yes we have saved that. Having to be here in the heat and being on our own is really not worth it though.  Although the money helps we really do it to meet and help people.  None of which we are able to do much of, at the moment.  After it was mentioned, I worked out that for a 24 hour day, 7 day week we are getting $1.04/hour or 52 cents an hour each. Hmmm, not exactly a fortune, ha!!ha!!

It has enabled me to get a new wedding band though.  We were going to wait until our 30th next year but decided as mine no longer fit, and was to thin to get enlarged I would get a new one now.  So, I'm one lucky, happy lady.

Our granddaughter LeeAnn was presented with her Special Olympics Female Athlete of the Year, and the link below is to an awesome video showing her receiving it, and her accomplishments that led to her receiving it. We have always been and will always be, so proud of her and her parents for the awesome things she achieves and the person she is. Way to go LeeAnn....

VIDEO LeeAnn Special Olympics Female Athlete of the Year

Bryan repainted the Nature Trail sign as it had faded.

                                                    

After Mayport reopened, we booked a site there at one of our favorite campgrounds, Pelican Roost for the last two weeks of January 2021.  Keeping everything crossed that we will finally be able to start moving again.

The squirrels are still stealing the bird food. 

and I managed to get this picture of a dragonfly resting.

Coronavirus Update

As at:         Cases USA      Cases Florida       Deaths USA       Deaths Florida                      

August 1st   4,617,728             480,028            154,320                   7,144

August 31st 6,020,186             623,471           183,399                  11,331           

Between July 30th & August 5th many Florida State run test sites were closed due to Hurricane Isaias. 

On August 9th, the USA passed 5 million cases. 1 million new cases in 16 days. Cases had flattened.

On August 31st, the USA surpassed 6 million cases. 1 million new cases in 22 days.

Increase in cases had dropped slightly per day. 

On August 5th, Florida passed 500,000 cases, August 23rd - 600,000 cases. Averaging 4,600 a day. Dropping from approx.10,000 in July.

On August 31st, we had 237 cases on base as opposed to 267 at the end of July. 

Duval County (the county we are in) had 26,460 cases, 254 deaths and 953 hospitalizations. An increase of 5,422 cases, 101 deaths, 321 hospitalizations from July 31st. 😟

Things are still not good but the figures are going down.  Let's hope this trend continues. With Mayport opening up their campgrounds, hopefully we can follow soon.

July 2020 - We're on our own, just in time for Independence Day!! Hunkered down as the Coronavirus worsens

July 2020

July 3rd, 2020

Well today we were asked if we could continue as the SOLE camphosts for the campground until we reopen.  We were a little surprised but not totally shocked.  Our new partners just didn't work out.  There were several complaints about them, mostly her, from campers and despite our efforts to guide them in the right direction, they didn't listen. 

I don't know for sure but I think the final nail in the coffin for them was an incident on the night of my birthday.  We had received a complaint from a camper and Bryan went to discuss it with her.  Unfortunately there wasn't much of a discussion, as she started shouting and screaming in his face. I mean, right up in his face. So much for six feet of social distancing in these Covid times!! I am extremely proud of him that he stood there and calmly told her husband that he'd better get his wife out of his face. 

I was still in the middle of eating my birthday dinner and oblivious to it all. However when he returned he told me what had happened and managed to stop me from going to confront her.  We discussed what we should do and realized that if we said anything we would possibly be left as sole camphosts, something we really didn't want.  Also, it would be his word against theirs.  We decided not to say anything at that time.  

What we didn't realize was that someone had witnessed the incident and was about to intervene as they could see and hear the whole thing. Fortunately the intervention wasn't needed. However, it was discussed and ultimately another camper told the powers to be yesterday.  The other camper told us what they had done after they did it, so it was out of our hands but we were thankful. Bryan was asked what happened and confirmed what the other camper had reported.

So, we don't know what they were told but they are no longer camphosts, although they are remaining in the park.  So, we will see how they handle the situation.

July 4th, 2020

Independence Day has a new ring to it, as we are truly independent.  It is a relief to not have to deal with her anymore and her lack of people skills.  However, we aren't really independent as we are now on call 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.  At least there are no new arrivals and the majority of people still here are a friendly bunch and behave!!!  

We joined a group of friends for a Thanksgiving meal. I made a trifle. 

Photo courtesy of Larissa

I went with Larissa & Bubby to watch fireworks.  We found a good vantage spot and saw the fireworks going off all along the bank on the opposite side of the river.

Sorry my camera doesn't take good firework pictures, ha!!ha!!

My bestest friends here

Me & Bubby, he's a sweetheart

July 5th - July 31st

The rest of the month we just did what we could around the campground.  The office still isn't open and so we just need to ensure the bathrooms and laundry room are being cleaned and the sites and campers that are still here are ok.  We are becoming quite a little family, all watching out for each other.  I'm sure some of us will be life long friends.

Speaking of lifelong friends, our buddies Manny, Larissa & Christian left us and moved to the Keys, we will miss them.

The ex camphost did "congratulate" us on getting what we wanted.  We both looked at her and for a moment were lost for words.   Bryan asked her "For what?"  She said for being sole camphosts, and I told her, "We didn't ask for this, anyone who wanted to be sole camphosts would have to be insane and we weren't the insane ones."  

It's getting hotter and hotter and really too hot to be outside for any length of time. Our walks have been cut down to just a walk around the campground.

We got our old Wii out and started doing some of the routines on it.  It had great pleasure in telling us that we hadn't been on it in 8 years!!!!  Nope because usually we are getting our exercise exploring new areas.  

This month we would have been travelling through Texas, Oklahoma & Arkansas.  Next month Tennessee and Kentucky, where we were going to stay at a campground near Mammoth Caves for a month before heading back south.

Instead we are grateful we are alive, in a relatively safe place and trying to avoid the virus!!

Strange sunset one night

The birds are still visiting

I finally got a picture of the Blue Angel displayed at the entrance to the base.  Sorry, it's not a good picture but I guess better than nothing!!!!

We survived the first month as sole camphosts.  It does feel a little like being trapped but really we are trapped by the virus.  We are both eating more comfort foods and my sugar levels are too high as I'm not getting as much exercise.  I need to do something about that but it's difficult with the heat and not doing our normal sightseeing trips.

Coronavirus Update

As at:         Cases USA      Cases Florida       Deaths USA       Deaths Florida                      

July 1st       2,684,416             158,997            128,044                   3,650

July 31st     4,542,620             470,386            152,940                   6,966           

On July 7th, the USA passed 3 million cases. 1 million new cases in just under 1 month!!!

The records for new cases were being broken nearly daily as the numbers rose.

On July 24th, the USA surpassed 4 million cases. Over 1 million cases in 17 days!!

On July 11th, Florida recorded the largest daily increase in cases in a single state so far.

On July 5th, Florida passed 200,000 cases, July 15th - 300,000 cases, July 24th - 400,000 cases. Approx 10,000 new cases a day.

On July 31st, we had 267 cases on base. Duval County (the county we are in) had 21,038 cases, 153 deaths and 632 hospitalizations. 😟

Things are not looking good for Florida and we are hunkering down.  Definitely no sign of the campground opening up yet.

June 2020 - A Special High School Graduation, Campground Nature, Electrical Storm, St. Augustine State Park,

June 2020

June 4th, 2020

While we were doing our morning walk around the campground we noticed that these tables had been double stacked. One of our campers had found one of the tables far in the overgrowth behind. The other camphost repeatedly asked him if he could retrieve it, which he eventually did.  Someone stacked it on top of another one. The tables are quite heavy and so we will have to get someone to help unstack it. There's a story there!!!! 

June 5th, 2020

We walked along the nature walk and cleared any branches/leaves as we walked.  We have these large grasshoppers here.

The bird nest seems to have new occupants. I think this is a White Egret.

June 6th, 2020

Our granddaughter LeeAnn graduated from High School today.  We are so sad that we are not there, due to this virus, but so, so proud of her. Congratulations LeeAnn, you are one special lady.

Last week they had a car parade by the school. 

Here are some of her Graduation and Senior pictures.

LeeAnn, Aimee & their "sisters"

Cheerleader

LeeAnn was also awarded Special Olympics Athlete of the Year. A huge honor and so well deserved.  She has participated in many sports over the years, and won many medals.  We have been fortunate to be at some of these occasions. They bring a lump to your throat.

June 14th, 2020

The squirrels are still stealing the bird food.

June 18th, 2020

There was an electrical storm.  It was quite something and Bryan took a video.  Here's the link to his Electrical Storm VIDEO.

The pictures don't show the lightening.

June 20th, 2020

We drove to Saint Augustine State Park again as we heard the campground there was open now.

I didn't take any pictures in the park but we did manage to drive around the campground and see which sites we could fit into.  I'm not sure we will ever stay there unless we want to visit St. Augustine for an overnight visit which could be a possibility at some time.  Maybe if Bryan wants to do a night tour of the lighthouse again.  There were more people here this time than when we came before and we didn't get out of the car.

June 22nd, 2020

We had a day out to Fort Clinch State Park - See separate blog HERE.

June 23rd, 2020

June 25th, 2020

I had a lot of birthday wishes, via facebook, which was nice.  I spent most of the day watching tennis.  Andy Murray won, yay!!  Trystan & I talked on a video call and he sang Happy Birthday to me and we shared virtual hugs. We had Red Lobster for dinner, I had Crab Legs, yummy.  Bryan went and got it, we still are not comfortable with eating in a restaurant.  About 6pm we had a huge thunderstorm, lightening and torrential rain.

There was a wind gust which destroyed some peoples' awnings and there was a few branches down.  We were on duty so we went round and made sure everyone was ok, which they were.  Just property damage, which is bad enough!!  There's always something. I'm thankful everyone was ok and apart from one incident (not storm-related), which I will talk about in another post, I did have a lovely day.  Flowers and a card from my lovely hubby and lots of happy birthday wishes.

Coronavirus Update

As at:         Cases USA      Cases Florida       Deaths USA       Deaths Florida                      

June 1st       1,809,109               56,830            105,099                   2,460

June 30th     2,629,372             152,434            127,322                   3,604           

On June 11th, the USA passed 2 million cases.

On June 22nd, Florida passed 100,000 cases as opposed to the whole of Canada surpassing 100,000 cases just 5 days earlier!!!

On June 30th, we had 184 cases on base. Duval County (the county we are in) had 6,207 cases, 64 deaths and 361 hospitalizations. 😟

There is still no sign of the campground reopening.