Back Porch Pickin'

Thursday

On Thursday we set off for Marilee’s and managed to squeeze the trailer into her back garden. We have done lots of sitting and playing. On Thursday evening we joined in a Back Porch Pickers rehearsal. This is a band in which Marilee and Jan play. They have a gig on Sunday, playing for a Church leader's inauguration - Bluegrass and BBQ- the Bishop and other church leaders will be there, so quite important.

Friday

On Friday we had a bucket of KFC chicken, Checkers Apple Pies and stuff and a whole bunch of friends came round to play in Marilee’s front room. Great fun.

Saturday

Went to Sleepy Hollow for breakfast. There were 7 of us and we all enjoyed a huge breakfast for $5 each. Ed and Lois joined us after breakfast. This is a great place, a real bikers paradise, set on the edge of a lovely lake. There is a large area outside with picnic benches and they serve breakfast, followed by BBQ alongside a bar. It's very popular place for bikers and airboats, as they can pull up along the canal, and others who come by road. There was a live country singer and we sat and watched people coming and going in airboats. One got stuck on some dry land just opposite us and we all enjoyed watching his antics as he tried to get off (if your goin' to make an ediot of yourself, why not do it in front of two hundred bikers). Terry and I had a ride on an airboat - quite an experience - always wanted to ride one of these. We saw an alligator's nest with 9 babies swimming in the shallow water with a 7 foot Mamma alligator keeping watch! Amazing sight! There were loads of birds on the lake - ibis, herons, vultures etc. etc. The canal leading to the lake was very pretty with the cypress trees just turning green with new leaves.

We then went to Fort Cooper State Park for a walk round the nature trail. Supper was KFC Chicken etc left over from the night before!

EPCOT

From Our day at EPCOT

Sunday

We have arrived safe and well at Connie and Jim’s. We are here for two purposes, (apart from seeing Connie and Jim, who are the nicest people) one, to get some rest and two, to go to EPCOT Disney for the day. Our joy was complete when we found out that you can get in for free on your birthday, because Sally’s birthday is on Wednesday!

Wednesday

Our day started early on Wednesday (you have to work really hard to enjoy leisure), we were away by 7.30. True to their word Disney gave Sally a free pass to Epcot. They give you a big badge with Happy Birthday and your name on it so most of the cast say “Happy Birthday, Sally” to you as you go round. Corny, but it makes you feel quite special. Epcot is all about the Future World - big buildings looking at Spaceship Earth, Universe of Energy, Mission Space, Innoventions, The Seas with Nemo and friends, The Land and Imagination. Then there is the worlds showcase where they give you a flavour of some of the countries round the world. We enjoyed some of the rides - especially the one about Nemo and friends in Sea - we went on twice. They have a huge tank with dolphins, all types of fish and sharks - great. We also enjoyed the last ride in Future and a simulator ride taking you up to Mars. Jim and Connie were great guides, steering us round the park, showing us the best bits. We had booked a table at the Mexican Pavilion as we have never eaten Mexican before, it was very nice.

To round off an exhausting but great day we called in at Steak n’ Shake for an Ice Cream Sundae.

Waldo Festival

Sunday
Well we have enjoyed another Bluegrass Festival.
Some excellent bands.
As I have noted before, this is a much smaller festival than Palatka. The effect of this is that people are friendlier and things are more laid back (not so tightly organised).
Most of the bands we have seen also performed at Palatka, however this time we had seats on the second row and could see them clearly.
Carolina Sonshine are quite entertaining, they do nice vocals, the lead singer has a really good voice.
Bluegrass Brothers Are very entertaining, they are a "high energy" band, concentrating on mountain music, either bluegrass or old time.
The Moron Brothers are a great comedy bluegrass act, catch their river boat video although I don't think it is actually their own boat. They have some very funny stories and some nice bluegrass songs inbetween. Well worth listening to.
Nothin' Fancy, though already reviewed, thought I would put them in here as well. We really enjoy their style of bluegrass, it is fun yet well delivered. They are also excellent musicians.

Although the temperature has been up in the 60's and even 70's at times, Friday night was really cold, below freezing and since the Pavilion is outdoors, we all froze as well, so it was a good job the music was good. Sally even took a hot water bottle to cuddle under her blanket!!
There have been several groups pickin' during the week. Despite invitations, I seem to have spent most of the time with our old crowd, guess I still lack confidence, still I am getting better at it. Biggest problem is remembering all the words to a song. Practice is needed really badly, don't seem to get enough time, even when we are supposed to be doing nothin', we seem to be too busy.
This morning there is a Gospel Hour, so I guess we will join in that.
Later today we are going back to Connie and Jim's, looking forward to our visit to Epcot.
We have also signed up for another festival at Palmdale, way down in the south, near Lake Ocachobee.

Goodbye Palatka, Hello Waldo

Saturday is the main event day at the Palatka Festival.
The Line up brings some of the top names in American Bluegrass together on the same stage.
The Bluegrass Brothers (excellent on stage entertainment).
Rhonda Vincent, top female singer.

From Palatka Festival 2009

Ricky Skaggs, top bluegrass and country singer, since the 60's!
This was an exciting and entertaining days bluegrass.
Ricky Skaggs was a bit low key, but delivered some great music. He also did appear out front after his second performance, though not immediately.
It was a memorable occasion.
Afterwards we had a jam session at Connie's RV.
A great day.

Sunday
Today we had a quiet day as we were going to move on to Waldo on Monday.
In the afternoon we drove into Palatka to visit the Ravine Valley Gardens State Park (I think, though I must check back, that this is the 39th Florida State Park we have visited), we were hoping to see some of the azealias that it is famous for. There were some, but recent cold weather and being a little early meant that the show was sporadic. Also access was difficult for Sally (no, it was impossible to get into the Ravine Gardens, we had to drive round the rim).
We had a pleasant evening with some friends who we are travelling to Waldo with. We watched the Daytona 500 race fizzle out 40 laps from the end because of rain.

Monday
Today we have travelled in a caravan( four RV's) to Waldo for another Bluegrass festival, this one is smaller and I think will be more laid back. We are looking forward to a more relaxing time, with a bit more time to practice music.
In the evening we ate out at a seafood restuarant. This was an outstanding meal, outstanding because of the number of basic errors made by the staff. Almost every dish came to us cold, so one by one we returned all the dishes to be cooked properly, the poor waitress was being driven demented as she was the go-between from the kitchen to the table. Eventually she arrived with a complimentary desert for everyone, having also provided an extra plate of fried shrimp for us, she also allowed me to take a box home of a nearly untouched plate of broiled shrimp (I had the 'all you can eat' option). Finally, she gave a 50% dicount on our bills. Which enabled us to make it a very entertaining evening rather than a disaster.

Palatka: Friday

Ok, so the heady rush of being a celebrity has now worn off. People are no longer coming up to us to ask for autographs. We are working hard to return to a life of being normal hard working tourists, just out to blend in.
Today the concert artists stepped up a gear in popularity.
Goldwing Express were entertaining, but we both thought they were not as sparkling as we have seen them in previous performances (perhaps it is because we have seen them for the fifth time).
Dailey and Vincent were excellent, they have amazing vocal harmonies. One of the characteristic sounds of bluegrass is the use of a high powered high tenor voice in harmony with a lead singer, or as a lead singer. They are the experts.
Doyle Lawson and his band are a living legend, but in my opinion was not as tight as other bands.
Nothin' Fancy provide excellent entertainment and are instrumentally very tight. really enjoyed the fiddle playing.
Pretty good line up though.
Had a nice jam afterwards at Connie and Jim's.

The Palatka Gazette

Yesterday we were interviewed by Bob Hays of the Palatka Gazette.
It was fun explaining to him what our aims are in being in the States.
So far we have only been here for a few days, so here is a reminder that you can read about our previous trips on these pages
Last fall: Georgia and the Carolinas
Last spring: Spring into Florida
Fall 07: Florida in the Fall
The record of our first trip is not available at this time.

Palatka: Thursday

Today the festival starts proper.
You can see the line up at the festival site.
As I write this (8.30 a.m.) there are small showers of rain. Hope it’s a good day.

Palatka: Wednesday

Our first evening. By now the temperature has climbed into the 80’s, so setting up has become something to get in a sweat about. However all was accomplished by mid afternoon and a small nap was taken by most. We are all parked near each other, making a small ‘U’ shape, just in case the Indians attack I suppose. High priority task was to take chairs down to the pole barn as it fills up on a first come first served basis. We have seats about 2/3rds back, not too bad considering.
We had a pleasant evening unpacking rusty instruments and rusty voices and picking a few tunes, with a lot of talk. Later a guy from Kentucky came over and gave us a masterclass comparing and contrasting the playing styles of Merle haggard, Chet Atkins and Doc Watson. Very interesting.

Wednesday: Convoy!

We set off for Palatka, collecting Connie’s sister, Brenda, on the way. Now we were four units all travelling together. It’s a Convoy! Very exciting, until we (being at the rear) got caught at a red light and watched them disappear over the hill. It took about 15 miles to catch up with them again, they had even stopped to wait for us. Still its all good fun.
Interestingly enough, in the States they call RV’s travelling together a caravan. So after 2 years of RVing in the states we at last spent time in a caravan!

Wednesday: Banks

Banks are in the news today, also in our lives. If our experience of Wachovia is anything to go by no wonder they have gone bust.
October: Set up bank account, very good. Got temporary check book.
December: collected check book. Got home found that they had made an error in our address (PO box number 1059, instead of 1095). Phoned and was assured of address correction and new checks.
Feb. Each received a letter from bank, now they had Sally’s PO box right, but the house number wrong. Also Terry’s house number right, but still the wrong PO Box.
Went to bank to collect new check book. They had corrected the PO box, but had the wrong house number and misspelled the name of the road! After a couple of attempts with the nice lady at the bank we eventually got it sorted out.
Scary thought that they are dealing with our money! Especially when I realized that each mistake they made with our address reduced the numbers in the address, hope they don’t do that to our money in the account!

Tuesday: Sandhill Cranes

Sandhill Cranes are a feature of the birds in Florida, although not common (wikipaedia says about there are 5000 Florida Sandhill Cranes) they are large (bigger than a swan) and do not appear afraid of humans, so they are quite easy to see. They are ‘famous’ for their migration habits. They are famous for gathering in huge numbers in Nebraska (?) where they make one of natures fascinating sights. My interest in them is that while at Connie and Jim’s last spring (Feb 4/5th) I had been enthralled (well almost) by seing that large numbers of Sandhill Cranes were gathering over Harpers Hideaway, circling to gain height then flying off, en masse, to the north, forming a characteristic V formation.
One photo I took enabled me to count more than 300 birds. Well surprise surprise. On Tuesday morning while working away I heard the disctinctive sound of a Sandhill Crane in Flight (the sort of noise a goose, or swan makes in flight, but different). I looked up and once again saw large numbers of cranes gathering, wheeling in the sky, finding updraughts, waiting for others to join them and then disappearing northwards. Of course I was amazed (as I have said before I am very easily pleased). Now either this is common, happening on a lot of days, in lots of different places, or else it is one of those amazing animal activities whereby Sandhill Cranes gather in the same places, at the same time each year, possibly the same Sandhill Cranes each year. I want to believe the latter of course. Either way it is an amazing sight, compounded by seeing it repeated exactly a year later, in the same place.

Monday: Back In The USA

So we are here again, safe and well.

We had a very relaxed flight, only 8hours, 15 minutes. A nice easy passage through the airport and were on the road by 3.05. The trailer was ok, the truck started first time. Connie had made us a nice roast ham. We collapsed into bed.

Tuesday

It was lovely to see some of our old friends, Connie and Jim, Paula and Walt and Fred and Cathy. The weather is warming up and in the evening we were able to sit out under the pole barn just chatting, it was a lovely. Very relaxing.

Countdown - 1

Well, it's our last day at home and we are practically ready.

I cut Terry's hair this morning - he hates having his hair cut and lets it grow too long before getting it cut. He looks very nice with a short crew cut and a well trimmed beard.

We web cammed the kids this morning. JP, Andrea, Emma and Julia are staying with Andrew, Marie, Ben and Beth in Guernsey for a couple of weeks. It was great to see them all - we sang actions songs with the grandchildren and caught up with all the news. We do miss them all while we are away.

All the washing (laundry if you are American) is all done now, everything organised and we only have to pack our few things in a suitcase. We don't carry much as we have a full wardrobe of clothes in our trailer - makes life so much easier.

Our only concern is the weather. It is still very cold with snow and ice so we are keeping our fingers crossed we can get across the M62 to Manchester tomorrow. To tell you how cold it is, they had snow in Guernsey - about 4 inches which lasted for a couple of days.!!! It very rarely snows in Guernsey - exceptional weather for them.

Let's hope it will warm up a bit in Florida, as our old bones are protesting at the cold. Can't wait to see all our friends in Florida and to play and listen to some Bluegrass. Yippee!!!!!

Countdown - 4

Thursday

We've had snow!!! Twice this week. Monday, we woke up to find 2-3 inches laying on the ground and it snowed on and off during the day. It had melted 48 hours later, except where our next door neighbours kids had built a snowman. Today we had a flurry of snow which lay for about 2-3 hours. It's very cold and the heating is working overtime to keep us warm. Hope it's not bad weather on Sunday as we have a two and a half hour journey over the Pennine Hills, across the highest motorway ( like US Interstate) in England, to get to Manchester. We have to travel from the East coast to the West coast. We are booked into a motel for an early start the next morning.

Southern England has come to a standstill this week, with the worst weather of the last 11 years. Snow, whiteouts and ice; schools have been closed, roads impassible, railways disrupted and airports closed!! We seem to have been lucky up North and not been as badly affected as further south. The M62, the road over the Pennines, is notorious for ice and snow, so keep your fingers crossed we get across and that Manchester airport is not closed on Monday!!

It seems as though it's cold in Florida - thanks for the weather report on facebook, Paula, so we may just be going from one cold spell to another. All we want is some warmth!! and sun!! and bluegrass!!

Countdown -8

Sunday

Yesterday was quite an eventful day - Terry discovered a mouse's nest in our garage with three really cute babies in it. Unfortunately, he had to kill them and then we had to put fresh bait down. We have had a problem with mice in our area since the local dairy was pulled down and new houses built on the land. The mice must like our garage - warm and cosy with plenty of material for making nests and a supply of food as Sally feeds the birds and stores the seed etc in the garage. We have now put all the bird feed in sturdy plastic sealed containers, hopefully removing their food source. Let's hope the bait works.

Helen phoned from America. She is staying with our niece, Sarah , in Breckenridge, CO. It was great to hear from her and find out that all is well. Sarah told us that she, her husband Carl, and their daughter, Brianna have booked flights to come to the UK on 5th May. We don't get home till the 8th May, so it looks like we will have a quick turnaround - will take our English caravan (Trailer) down to Coventry where my nephew, David, Sarah's brother lives, a couple of days after we get back, before Sarah flies to France on 14th May to stay with her dad, who lives in the Dordogne. We haven't seen Sarah for two years and I can't wait to see them all. She is like our other daughter and I love her to bits. David and Claire are expecting their second baby at the end of April, so can't wait to meet her/him, too.

We are still slowly working our way through all the things that have to be done for our next visit. We now have tickets booked for Palatka, a great Bluegrass festival (our first weekend ); a site reserved for Waldo, also a Bluegrass festival( the second weekend); new travel insurance taken out for Sally(her old one changed their medical screening and refused to cover her pre-existing medical conditions); email sent to our mail forwarding service to get our mail sent to Jim and Connie's ( fairly vital it gets there as our new tags (car and trailer road tax) will be in it); shopping for the food stuffs we want to take (eg.cup-a-soups as we couldn't find them in the States etc) and many other bits and pieces. We are trying to get the whole house ready for our cleaner to do a thorough Spring Clean while we are away. Our apple tree needs pruning, so I've arranged that and my neighbour to come in to check the house while we are away. Our neighbours are great and keep an eye out for us, coming in periodically to open/close curtains, sort out mail and check the automatic timers on the lights are working.

We will need the first month in Florida to recover from getting ready!!!!!