Cedar Key, Tablet, Steps & Boat Parade

Barbie is writing here today. I wanted to get you caught up with some of what we have been doing lately. First, we went to Cedar Key two Saturday’s ago to meet up with friends Steve and Cheryl Beringer and their puppy McGee, whom we met at our summer/fall home park, River Vista RV Resort in Dillard, Georgia, last summer.

They summer/fall in the Clayton/Dillard area and winter in Titusville, Florida, at the Great Outdoors. They were staying at a fairly new campground in Cedar Key called Cedar Key RV Resort. We had beautiful weather that day and sat outside and talked and had a great time. They took us to a place to eat where they have a fish market next door to a restaurant, which was about mile away from the campground called Robinsons. Everyone had shrimp and crab cakes, except for me. I had the shrimp but no crab cake. Their hush puppies were absolutely delicious! Soups ranged from clam and corn chowder to grouper chowder and it was good. Of course, we brought Kozmo along and she and McGee got along fantastically! Cheryl gave Kozmo a snack from Blue Buffalo. It was a pumpkin and cinnamon biscuit, which she really liked. It was so cute to watch McGee eat a baby carrot. He just puts it between his paws and chomps away. Apparently that is his daily afternoon “happy hour” treat. Kozmo just doesn’t like raw carrots, but occasionally she will eat cooked ones. Steve and Cheryl got us hooked on the Blue Buffalo products since they have natural ingredients which are very healthy for dogs. Jeff and I took Kozmo to the Pet Supermarket in Inverness to stock up on some Blue Buffalo canned dog food and treats for her. She absolutely loves the beef stew and chicken with vegetables. We also got her some pumpkin with cranberries soft chews and bacon, egg and cheese biscuits. I swear, Kozmo is so spoiled, but she deserves it. We thanked Steve, Cheryl and McGee for a very nice day and hope to see them in Titusville during the winter months, or if not at River Vista in the spring. They just recently bought a site at River Vista.

A few days later, we went to Spring Hill to do some shopping. We stopped at Best Buy and Jeff purchased his first Tablet. I swear I didn’t know the difference between a Tablet and an IPad, but now I do. His is an Acer Iconia 10 inch tablet. It is a neat device which will definitely be used everyday. It is very addictive to play some of the free games that Jeff downloaded, like Poker Square Solitaire or Tabby Cat Solitaire. Jeff was even getting involved in a game racing app where you drive a car by “steering” the tablet as his car races on the course against other cars. Crazy for sure!!! While at Spring Hill, we went to Pet Smart and got some more Blue Buffalo products there for Kozmo. She went inside with me and I tried to entice her with toys, but she snubbed them. That girl just doesn’t like toys. I purchased two new cans of the Blue Buffalo food and out we went. We can’t believe how nice the Spring Hill area is set up. It is only 40 minutes away from Rock Crusher and an easy drive until you get to Spring Hill. That is when it starts getting congested on Highway 19, but it was more bearable than Highway 60 in Brandon. We stopped at a place called Olive Tree Diner and had their specialty gyro sandwich. I had a cabbage soup with mine, which was good and Jeff had potato salad which was also good. However, the gyro was lacking. The meat tasted like it had been in water to keep it warm and it lacked a good taste. Needless to say we won’t be going back there again. It prides itself on having the best gyro in town… we wonder if they make the only gyro in that area.

I am so proud of Jeff. This past week we went to Home Depot and spent an hour in there looking around for the materials we needed to build some wooden steps for our entrance into the fifth wheel. He was on his feet for an hour and then helped load the wood into the truck and never had a problem with his back. I think his endurance has really improved. He used to just stand and walk around for a half hour before his back started to strain. And, we certainly don’t want a repeat of the back issues he had from June of 2010-October 2010 when he couldn’t even walk at all for a while. After we bought the wood we ate at Arby’s and had a very good Philly Steak sandwich. We have eaten those type of sandwiches in shops that specialize in Philly Steak sandwiches in Crystal River, but we can’t believe how much better the Arby’s is compared to those places.

We worked on the steps for two afternoons and then ran out of screws before we could finish the railing. So out to Home Depot again to get some more screws. It looks fantastic for two rookies who haven’t built something as big as this in a long time. The thing is really sturdy and heavy too. See the picture below. The only thing we have to do is stain it. But already we just love it! And, Kozmo prefers these wooden steps to the slippery metal ones on the fifth wheel.

 

We ate at Kim’s Café for breakfast on Friday and then went to get our tags renewed for the truck. We didn’t know you could renew our truck tags in Citrus County even though it was issued in Hillsborough County until this past week when we went to pay our taxes on the Rock Crusher site. It was very convenient for us. We could have renewed on-line but this is so much easier. The line for Citrus County tax office was very minimal. I only waited three minutes. After the taxes were paid, we stopped at a Sweetbay Supermarket in Crystal River. I had never been in this particular store and probably won’t go back again. It is an older store with narrow aisles. They were nice in there but the Homosassa Sweetbay is much roomier. I usually shop at Publix, but it is good to try out something different for a change.

Yesterday we had breakfast in the clubhouse here in the campground. They had blueberry pancakes, eggs, sausage, hash browns, potatoes with onions and green peppers, grits, fruit salad, coffee and juice for $5.00. They also had a 50-50 raffle and we won a free breakfast. Two weeks ago we won $10, which paid for the breakfast. Luck is on our side. We have new neighbors, named Roger and Judy who are from Massachusetts and they dined with us. She is a retired paraprofessional who worked in the library system. So we talked a lot about books which I absolutely love!!! Following breakfast, there was a craft show & sale held in the clubhouse. Campers could sell items they have made. I came out with 2 rings, one bracelet and a coin purse—all for only $15 total!

Last night, we went to the Homosassa Christmas Boat Parade and took Kozmo with us. We went last year and it was great! The no see-ums weren’t bad this time and we had a great time! Jeff took some great pictures while I held Kozmo in my arms for an hour. She actually met another dog named Max, who is a 6 month miniature pincher who absolutely loved her. But the most precious thing was Kozmo falling asleep in my arms for the first time ever. She even gave me a kiss, which she has never done when I hold her. She usually just freezes in my arms. Talk about a “Kodak” moment!!! Too bad we didn’t get a camera shot of that. Check out our favorite boats below. As always, click to enlarge the view.

 

 

Which one is your favorite?

We are headed tomorrow to the “stick” house in Valrico. Jeff has a dentist appointment at 3:30 and then a doctors’ appointment on Tuesday at 12:30. So hopefully we will get back to Rock Crusher late Tuesday afternoon. I am trying to get a doctor in Citrus County so I don’t have to travel to Valrico if I get sick.

It’s another gorgeous day in Rock Crusher Canyon here in Citrus County. Folks are really getting in the holiday spirit here in the campground. See…..

 

 

 

‘Til next time….