Sunsets, Blue Angels, Relaxing

Monday March 16th, 2015

I have seen a squirrel chasing a blue bird around the tree by the motorhome a couple of times but haven't managed to get a picture yet.  It is quite amusing to watch as the bird is teasing the squirrel and daring him to catch him.  This morning Bryan managed to get a picture of this squirrel as he posed in the tree by the motorhome.

We took a drive to a Camping World as we needed some parts for Lily.   It was in Gulf Breeze and we decided to drive on to Eglin and Destin to look at the military campgrounds there.  Eglin was Ok but not as nice as where we are and you can't reserve the sites there.  Destin was on the water but the sites were soooo close together that I felt as though I couldn't breathe just driving through.
As we returned to our campground we stopped and got some more pictures of the sunset.  So lovely.

Waiting for the sun to go down

Wildflowers

There were some lovely colors as we watched the sun go down.

Tuesday March 17th, 2015

Today was the first day of training for the Navy Blue Angels. We went to the Naval Air Museum at Pensacola to watch them practice.  I was surprised at the number of people that showed up to watch as I thought as this was the first practice it wouldn't be anything special, but I was wrong.  There were only the four planes that fly in format and not the two solo flyers but they put on a good display for us. 

There is no charge to watch the practices and I would recommend going if you are in Pensacola when they are practicing.  Tomorrow there will be a full practice with all planes and the pilots will meet with the public in the museum afterwards.  We chose to go today instead of tomorrow as we knew it would be very crowded tomorrow.

After the practice we drove into Pensacola and took these pictures downtown. 

Pensacola Downtown

Pride of Pensacola

We liked these pelican statues, painted to represent the military services.  We were a little annoyed though that the only one missing was the Air Force, hmmmmm.  I investigated and found this news article which says that it was knocked over by a driver and so I guess it is being repaired.

Wednesday March 18th - Sunday March 22nd, 2015

The weather wasn't that good and Indian Wells Tennis was on the television so we stayed in these days.  Even when the weather isn't good here it is nice being close to the water.  Haven't felt this relaxed since we were at Mayport watching the ships sail by last April.  

On the 20th we returned an item to Camping World, but chose to take it back to a different store in Alabama which was about the same distance as where we bought it but a different direction.  We quite like this area of Alabama as well and will do some more sightseeing before we leave.  

Foley, Alabama

This palm tree by the campground had a wisteria growing in it.  We saw a lot of other trees where wisterias had grown around them.

The weather cleared enough by  the 22nd for us to put our flags back out. 

Tomorrow we are going to Fort Morgan, Gulf Shores, Alabama.  Should be interesting.

Blue Angel RV Park, Jury Duty, Anniversaries, It will be a Boy!!

Tuesday March 3rd, 2015

I had my second IV Iron infusion and this week I didn't have any side effects which was good.  Hopefully these will work and my iron will increase.  I won't find out until we get back here in a couple of weeks and they test my blood.

Wednesday March 4th, 2015

We had planned on leaving Livingston and going to Pensacola on the 5th but the weather forecast was not very good and so we headed out a day earlier on the 4th. We did encounter some rain but it cleared as we got closer to Pensacola.  We are getting used to these roads, it is the third time Lily has been along them and we have travelled the same route many times previously.

 I missed getting a picture as we crossed the Florida state line and I'm not sure there was one but it was supposedly the middle of a bridge.  Four states in one day, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama & Florida.  It took us 4 hours and a 30 minute lunch stop before we reached Blue Angel RV Park.  It is a very nice park with views of Perdido Bay.

Lily & Tilly and the flags

Thursday March 5th, 2015

We went to the base hospital to order the refills for our prescriptions.  They will take about 3 days to get transferred here from Ft. Hood and we can pick them up at the satellite pharmacy which is next to the commissary.  That is good because they are open on Saturdays in case we can't get there next week because of Bryan's jury duty.  After that we went to the BX and had a look around and to the commissary to get our food shopping and stock up.

Friday March 6th, 2015

We had a relaxing day although it has been quite cold.  Bryan got an e-mail to tell him he would have to report on Monday for jury duty and so we will find out then whether he then gets selected for a jury and how long we will be here.  

We went for a walk along by the beach.  This campground is lovely and very quiet.

Bryan with the sun setting

Selfie

Footprints in the sand

Volleyball net with the tide in

Giant Lifeguard Chair

Sue couldn't get to the top, ha!! ha!!

Perdido Bay

Small stream down to the bay

Dead tree inside a live tree, different!!!

This is the opposite side of the tree above

Sun going down

Playground on the beach

There is also a marina, crazy golf, disc golf, paintball as well as lots of trails here.  You can hire boats as well.  We are content to just walk around and admire the views.

Saturday March 7th, 2015

Happy 1st Anniversary to Ryan & Christina.  Wow, one year ago today we were in San Diego at their wedding.

And today they went for a 3d scan of their first baby to try and determine what they were having.

Yay, it's a boy.  They both wanted a boy although would have been happy with either.  This is Trystan James Stewart.

This was the sunset today at the campground.

Monday March 9th, 2015

Bryan went to Jury Service today in Crestview which is 64 miles drive from the campground.  Unfortunately, he got picked for a jury and has to go back on Thursday for the first day of the trial.   The good news is the trial is only expected to last 2 days.

He left about 5:30am to make sure he would get there by 8:00am.  He got there in plenty of time which was good.

Today, it's been 6 months since Mum left us and not a day goes by that I don't think about her.  Some days are better than others but I'm not sure I'll ever be able to get over losing her.  As much as I know it was for the best, my heart still breaks.  She was my best friend and confidant as well as my mum and I didn't realize how hard it would be without her, but she would want me to live my life and life must go on.  With the help of Lily (our inheritance from my parents), we will continue to enjoy our retirement and live life as best we can.  Love you Mum xx

Tuesday March 10th, 2015

We went to Walmart today for a couple of things and ended up buying two bicycles.  They were both good prices and were saying buy me, buy me.  Now, let's hope that we use them.

Wednesday March 11th, 2015

Last night when I went to bed the room started spinning.  Once I laid down and waited a couple of minutes it was fine.  The same thing happened when I got up this morning.  I was Ok once I waited for my head to stop spinning and feeling heavy.  I will see what happens over the next couple of the days but hope this is not connected to my other problems.

Bryan decided to go for a bike ride and try out his bicycle. I didn't join him as I didn't think that would be the best idea with my dizziness.

It was a foggy morning and he got some good pictures.

This was our peek-a-boo view of the bay through the trees from the motorhome

The old runway that runs parallel to the bay

There are pelicans out there

Pelicans on the posts through the fog

Thursday March 12th & Friday March 13th, 2015

Bryan went to jury duty and was finished late on Friday.  So, that is his duty done for at least a year.

Saturday March 14th, 2015

On Wednesday Bryan was checking tire pressures on Lily when he found that one of the inner tires had no air and he couldn't get any in it.  It was completely flat and punctured.  We called our roadside service who were supposed to come out.   After many hours and phone calls we told them not to come as it was getting dark and we weren't going anywhere, but to come this morning instead.  They arrived this morning and managed to get the old tire off.  They had to take it and the spare back to their location to take the tire off the rim and put the spare on it.  Eventually they came back and put the spare on and we are good to go, we hope.  We were very lucky that the tire didn't completely blow out while we were driving along as it could have caused us to crash and/or caused a lot of damage to Lily and possibly others.  Someone is looking after us and we are extremely thankful.  It will be very expensive to replace though, ugh!!!

The damaged tire, eek!!

Sunday March 15th, 2015

Today, is British Mothers Day.  It is the first Mothers Day since my mum went to Heaven and it is hard not to be able to wish her a great day but I'm sure she is having one with her own mum and loved ones.  Thinking of you Mum as always.

My dizziness wasn't getting any better or worse but I was worrying about if it was connected to my anemia and other problems and so we went to the Urgent Care clinic that they have at the Navy hospital here.  I didn't have to wait very long, as Urgent Care's go, before I got to see the doctor.  He told me it was Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo and likened it to having a BB rattling around in a matchbox but in my ear instead.  He discussed an exercise to do which was called the Hall Pike Maneuvers which is basically lying crosswise on the bed with my shoulders on the edge and my head hanging over the edge, then quickly getting up, keeping my eyes open and waiting for the dizziness to stop before turning my head to one side, quickly laying down, waiting about 10 seconds and then getting up again.  Wait for the dizziness to stop again and then repeat on the other side.  He told me to do this exercise three times a day.  He said astronauts do this to get themselves acclimatized to weightlessness in space!!!!  So, I guess I'm training to be an astronaut now!!!  Hmmmm.

We were scheduled to leave this park on Wednesday and head back to Louisiana but we decided to extend another week.  It really is a peaceful and relaxing park here and Bryan was exhausted with the trial and it's responsibilities as well as the driving on the three days.  He hadn't really had much time to enjoy it here and so the decision was made to stay.

Mom's 75th Birthday, 18 months on the road, Doctors

Before we start, as you can see it is taking me a while to get back in the writing mode.  I have added a link that you can use to get e-mail notifications when a new blog is published.  This will save you from having to keep looking to see if I have written anything, at least until I get back into a regular routine.  On the left hand side of the blog, find the "Follow By E-Mail" box, enter your e-mail address and submit.  You will get an e-mail that you have to read and verify and then you should get notifications every time I publish a new post.  Hope this will make it easier for everyone.

Sunday February 1st - Saturday February 28th, 2015

I got up in the early hours of the morning to watch Andy Murray play Novak Djokovic in the final of the Australian Open.  I had very high hopes that he would win as he had been playing very well so far. Unfortunately, it was not to be.  It was a very intense and energy sapping match and Andy got distracted by Novak's apparent distress at the beginning of the third set when Andy had just broken serve to go in the lead.  Novak "recovered" very well but Andy went downhill from then on and finally lost in the fourth set when Djokovic scored a bagel 6-0 over Andy.

We have spent this month visiting with mom and going to doctor appointments to get our checkups and repeat prescriptions.

Bryan put some trim strips on mom's kitchen ceiling, painted it and put a new light up for her.

Mom and Tobian watching Bryan paint the ceiling

Tobian (Mom's cat) is a real character and likes to play with your hair. She is a real cutie and so affectionate.

Bryan & I both had our regular bloodwork done and mine came back and showed that I am anemic. This could be why I have been getting so out of breath.  I saw a Hematologist and she arranged for me to have two IV Iron Infusions.  I had the first one on February 24th and am due for the second on March 3rd. After the first one I felt as though I had flu.  I was shivering, my breathing was worse and I had a bad headache.  The next day the shivers had stopped and my breathing was a bit better but still worse than before I had the IV.  The following day I was back to where I was the day before the IV, no better or worse and then the fourth day my breathing was better and I didn't get out of breath as much.  A definite improvement from before the IV.  So my breathing has got better and hopefully will improve, even more, along with my energy after the next one.

I am trying to eat things that have a lot of iron in them and have started taking multivitamins.

We had to call out a RV technician as a valve blew on our water lines and we had no water until it got repaired.  Fortunately, we stayed at Mom's for the night until it was repaired on the 12th.

February 13th marked 18 months on the road, albeit nearly 6 months of that I was at mum's and Bryan was with me for 3 months.
We have traveled 7,472 miles and spent 161 hours 7 minutes on the road and still have a lot to see.

Our favorite campground so far is Pelican Roost RV Park at NAS Mayport, Florida.

We loved staying here and although we had a few wet rainy days there was always something to see from our window, whether it was ships of all sorts, military, cruise, barges, tankers, coastguard etc. etc., dolphins or just the river and ocean.  It was also in an interesting area with a lot of history to explore.

Anyway, back to the present.

We had a quiet Valentines Day and didn't do anything special.  We had gone out to Red Lobster with mom earlier in the week and we said that was our Valentine meal.  We always try to avoid restaurants on the actual day anyway.

February 20th was Mom's 75th Birthday.  We had plans on spending the day with her and taking her for a meal which we did but unfortunately I had a doctor appointment with the Hematologist in the middle of the day and so we had to spend some time there.  We were glad to be able to spend the day with her though.  HaPpY HaPpY Birthday Mom, we love you xxxxxx

The 23rd was our son-in-law John's birthday, so a HaPpY HaPpY Birthday to him as well. 

Ryan & Christina had a baby check up on the 25th and another scan.  Ryan couldn't make the appointment as he is in school at the moment learning the guns on his new ship, USS Decatur.  A friend videoed the scan for him which was really awesome. Everything is looking good with Stewart Little. 

Bryan also fixed his mom's bedroom window that had been leaking when it rained.  Hopefully it will work and we will find out when the next rain hits.  While he was doing it, a friendly lizard decided to run up his arm.  I'm sure that didn't do his heart any good.

To finish the month, how about a sunset taken from the Walmart parking lot in Walker, La.  See there is even beauty to be found at Walmart, Ha!! Ha!! 

See you next month……..  Take Care……...

Visiting Mom, Repairs and "Stewart Little"

Monday, January 26th 2015

We got up and headed out toward Livingston in Louisiana where we will be for the next month.  We will spend that time visiting with Bryan's mom and taking care of some doctor appointments.

Ryan & Christina had a doctor appointment today.  Everything is looking good and here is a scan of "Stewart Little" Estimated date of arrival: September 5th, 2015

We arrived at Lakeside RV Park, Livingston, Louisiana safely and got set up. This is our home away from home while we visit with Bryan's mom and is our third stay here.  

Tuesday-Saturday, January 26th-31st 2015

We spent the rest of the week visiting with Bryan's mom and getting some good home cooking.  Thanks Mom. :)

We went to Camping World and picked up a couple of things for Lily. 

Bryan started a project replacing the steps on mom's rear porch.  We went and got the wood and hardware one day and he started the next.  

Here they are nearly finished. 

Next project will be the ceiling in the kitchen.  It is good that he can help with these things as it makes him feel useful and gives him something to do.  

I watched Andy Murray in the Australian Open, meaning I had to get up in the middle of the night a few times but he made it to the final which is tomorrow (February 1st) so I will be going to bed early tonight and getting up at 2:15am in the morning to watch.