WE GOT 2 CAMPGROUND HOSTS POSITIONS IN MICHIGAN!!

Entering South Carolina

                                                            Added another State!

                                              Ichetucknee Springs "THE BLUE HOLE!   45' DEEP              

                                                            Craig swimming by the Blue Hole!

                                                         Turtle sunning at Ichetucknee Springs!

                                                "THE SWIMMING SPRINGS"

                                                   BEACH VIEW OF OUR FIRST HOST JOB

                                             LIGHTHOUSE AT OUR FIRST GIG!
                                     

                                           BEACH SCENE FOR FIRST GIG

                                               BEACH FROM ON SECOND GIG

                                                    BELOW IS THE BLUE HOLE CAVE

We left our friends Annette and Barry's in Homasassa Florida after being there for a couple of weeks, had such a good time with them, couldn't ask for better hosts and friends, we left there and headed for a camground in Branford about 100 miles from Homasassa! Branford was a place my husband lived for a couple of years in his youth, he wanted to revisit Ichetucknee Springs and his old rental house, well, the house was torn down, so we went to the Springs, they were awesome, there is a cave under water called the blue hole and the water was so clear you could see all the way to the bottom, but I was surprised at how small it was, you had to walk about 1 mile to see the blue hole and the swimming springs were about 2 blocks but very small for swimming! Craig swam by the blue hole for old times sake, I watched and videoed it, lol, I can't swim and it was very deep! We left there and stopped to visit my childhood friend Maria and her husband Wayne, visited for about 2 hrs. before we had to leave, they have a beautiful home and we had a wonderful visit! We left there and stayed at the Harmony Lake campground in Georgia, beautiful campground with a lake, but it was so tight that we could hardly get our slide out and the bugs were horrible! But it was just for the night we got in late and were exhausted so we didn't sit outside anyways!  We decided to get off the road early yestesterday because Craig's back was bothering him and he just wanted to get off the road and rest up a bit, we are at the Lake Marion Resort & Marina campground in Santee South Carolina, nice place with a pool, putt-putt golf, a fishing lake and has cabins for rent and not as many bugs! We will be leaving here around 10 or 11 today, hoping to make it to my daughter Susan's by tonight, but we still have almost 300 miles yet to go, we don't like driving that many miles in a day, to hard on the motorhome and us! So we will play it by ear and see what happens!  We are so excited to see her, her husband, our granddogs and grandcats and their new home!
We got two great camphost positions in Michigan, the first one is right on lake Huron on the edge of the bay. The park contains 183 acres situated on the end of a sandy bay. It has been referred to as the "Cape Cod of the Midwest", where the water is shallow and warm for swimming. We start there on May 31st to July 14th! Such a beautiful place and all we do is smile and greet campers, check the bathrooms to see if they need cleaning and let "THE RANGERS" know so they can clean it, no more cleaning or physical labor for us anymore, Craig can't anyways with arithis in his shoulders now, they said all we have to do is smile and be friendly, have coffee hour every Saturday and enjoy talking with the kids and people in general, well, talking is what I do best, Craig has lots to share about his experiences with nature! Our second camphost gig is Aug. 27th to Oct. 9th on a 1000 acre park with almost one mile of shoreline along a beautiful lake. It has 400 modern, hardwood-shaded campsites, a mini-cabin, sandy beach, fishing, boat launch, picnic area. Self-guided nature trail. Ungroomed trails for hiking ,rowboats, canoes, paddleboats, small motorboat and pontoon rentals and a metal detecting area. We will be there for their fall festival where campers decorate their campsites for Halloween, we will be helping with games for the kids and passing out treats that are provided by the rangers and again they want us to just put on a smiling face and greet everyone coming in, no cleaning or physical labor! It is what we have prayed for, we realized after being in housekeeping in Texas it wasn't what we wanted and when Craig's shoulders began to give him pain and his arms were going numb, we realized physically he couldn't do it, his doctors told him he will lose the use of his arms permanently if he continued doing that kind of work! We knew that financially we had to do something or we wouldn't be able to continue this lifestyle, especially with the price of gas, also we can only stay in a state campground for 2 weeks and would have to move, well, this way we can stay longer and not have to pay! LIFE IS GOOD! We are signed up for their camphost classes at Higgins lake for two days, they will provide us with a campsite for 4 days free while we attend classes plus all meals for the two days of the classes!  This will also look good on our resume! I will let everyone know the name of the Campgrounds as soon as we are for sure locked in, we have signed the contracts so we know we got them but feel it is best to wait for now! We also have reserved a 10 day stay at Bay City State Park in July with our sons and their families, which will be inbetween gigs, this way we will be close to home and get Craig's veteran's visits taken care of but most of all we will be around the kids,grandkids,family and friends, plus we can take care of business around town also!  We will probably being staying there also as soon as we are done with our classes, our granddaughters birthday party is May 21st and my grandson's 4th birthday is on the 17th, plus my son's birthday on the 11th! So as you can see April is going to be an important month for us!  We have missed my family so much and realize how important quality time is with them, next fall we plan on camphosting in Florida for the winter, not that far from Michigan that way, plus with the price of gas it will be financially more affordable! 
           Well, time to pack up and head out to our next adventure! Until next time God Bless!

                      

Heading for Virginia Soon!

                                               MONKEY ISLAND
                          

                                            CRAIG ENJOYING THE VIEW

                     OUR CAPTAIN BARRY AND THAT'S MIKE IN THE BACKGROUND!

                                           GETTING SOME RAYS!

                                             CRAIG ENJOYING THE DAY

                              MY FRIEND ANNETTE WITH TRIXIE AND ME!
                                          BELOW; ME AND LENNY IN ANNETTE'S POOL

   

Had a great time here with our friends Annette, Barry and Richard for the last two weeks, they made us feel so welcome and had a lot of fun! Went out in Barry's boat and seen dolphins in the wild, it was so very awesome, enjoyed the best pizza ever, oh, can't forget Trisha and Mike, Annette's daughter and boyfriend, had some fantastic meals together. But it is time to move on now because we got a new gig in Michigan as campground hosts, we have to be back in Michigan by April 25th for our camphost training for two days! So we are leaving Thursday morning and heading for Virginia, we want to stay at Ichetucknee Springs by Lake City before we leave Florida, then we want to stay a night in each of the Carolina's also, hoping to get to Virginia by Sunday or Monday! My daughter and her husband have been working there butts off getting their already beautiful home in shape before we get there! We also want to be back in time for our granddaughter Kennedy and grandson's Blaken's birthdays in April, my son Richard's is on the 11th but can't possibly make it by then! Have missed too many birthdays and holidays but will soon be home to celebrate the summer together, my son Matt and daughter-in-law Courtney have already got a new tent and all that goes with it so we can spend as much time together as we can, called my son Richard and told him to pick up a tent also, he was going to get one in the next couple of days! I believe a family that camps together stays together, lol, nothing like bonding in the woods! 
                                          I have been busy listing a lot on e-bay and selling quite a bit, but problem is I have bought a lot while here and now have to make room for it all! But, hey, it's gas money!  Can't wait to hit the road again, getting hitch-itch! I can't wait to see my daughter and son-in-laws new home, can't wait to hold my grandbabies again, been a long winter for them, but am proud how they all survived some rough times while we were gone, they are tougher then I thought!  Well, supper is ready, so until next time, God Bless!

TEXAS, LOUISIANA,MISSISSIPPI, ARKANSAS, FLORIDA!

                                                  HELLO ALABAMA & FLORIDA

          CRAIG AND LENNY ON THE BEACH OF THE GULF OF MEXICO IN MISSISSIPPI!

                   ME AND LENNY ON THE BEACH TOO!

                                               OUR DOLPHIN WAITING FOR US!

                                                      A BUTTE IN TEXAS!

                                              MY DASH WITH ALL THE BOOKS I USE!

                                            HELLO LOUISIANA

                                            CAMPGROUND IN LOUISIANA

                                                 HELLO MISSISSIPPI!

                                                     ENTERING MISSISSIPPI!

                                  ADDING ARKANSAS AND FLORIDA TO OUR MAP

                                             SUNSET IN FLORIDA CAMPGROUND!

 Left Arizona a week ago, took us 3 days to get thru Texas, and 4 to get thru the rest, we left Mississippi this morning and went thru Arkansas and made it to Florida today!  Louisana was so so, a lot of swamps, but we didn't drive thru New Orleans because of the flooding going on there right now, Mississippi was beautiful, we drove along the coast and stayed at a the Buckaneer's State Park, in was right on the Gulf of Mexico, beautiful, we could of  stayed on the gulf side for $15 more, but it was very foggy out and couldn't see much anyways until morning when the fog cleared it was and it was awesome, the sand is so white and the water is so clean!  We finally was able to stop alone the road and walk on the beach, looked just like the beaches in the Caribbean!  Was only in Mississippi about 2 hours and Arkansas for about an hour and a half, we drove along the bottom of each state on I-10!  Made good time today, should make it to our friends in Homosassa by late tomorrow or early Sat.
                                  I included a picture of all the books I have on my dash, I use everyone of them, Woodalls is for letting me know where every campground is in every state, most even have the prices, I use the Next Exit so we know what is off each exit, gas stations, camping, stores, restaurants,etc. I use the Walmart book so if we need to boondock or need a few items I know where everyone is in every state and last but not least is our Escapee's book, we are skp members and get up to half off rv resorts that honor our memberships, we have saved a lot of money this way, helps a lot, especially with the cost of gas right now, we are paying between $3.56 to $3.89 a gallon and it is a killing us, there are days when we are putting $200 a day in the tank! Hoping and praying the fuel prices go down by the time we leave Florida! We try to save by eating most meals in the motorhome or fast food places, we stay only at state parks or Skp parks!  Been cutting back on the souvenirs too! But we will be staying put at our friends for about 2 weeks before we head to our daughters in Virginia, that will save us a lot on gas, we will give them money towards our expense for staying there! I also use travel books from AAA travel. Well, tired and ready to hit the bed! Until the next time God Bless!

GOOD BYE ARIZONA! HELLO NEW MEXICO!

                                         HELLO NEW MEXICO!

                                                   A TEEPEE IN NEW MEXICO!

                                         OUR CAMPHOST READY TO SHOW US OUR SITE!

TWO STRANGE BIRDS, THINK THE ARE FLY CATCHER BIRDS!

Had a great time in Arizona with family but time to move on, having a bad attack of hitch-inch!  We left Arizona Thur. around 11:00, stayed at Saguro SKP(escapees) Co-op resort in Benson, Az, because we are Escapee members we stayed for $15 plus electricity which was on $2.50.  Left there around 11am Fri. and headed for New Mexico! The wind was horrible plus we were really pushing the motorhome up some pretty high mountains, so we decided to quit driving around 4 pm and settle down for the night, found another SKP park for only $16 a night including electric at Low Hi RV Ranch in Deming, NM. Both were nice parks but still love State Campgrounds the most, resorts are like living in a trailor park, where state campgrounds are more with nature and usually more scenic! Temperture dropped down to the 30's last night, going to be raining and only in the 50's today! Should be in Texas today and Craig said it will take us about 3 days to get thru it, hoping to be in Florida by the 17th, where we plan on staying for a couple of weeks and visit our friends Annette and Barry, then head for Virginia to see our daughter Susan and Russ, stay there until the end of April then head for Michigan.  Got a bite on a couple camphost positions, we have decided to go for  the camphost positions only, less physical labor, so we are going for state campground camphosts only!  We are looking into the Bay City and Caseville area in Michigan and for next fall the Homossasa area in Florida! With the price of gas possibly going as high as $5 a gal. we are not going too far from home, Mich. for the summer months and Florida for the winter months!  We have been pretty lucky with the gas prices so far, it was up to $4.05 in Arizona when we left, we were able to fill up for $3.77  and $3.61 so far, still a lot but prices are getting lower as we head east! Gas prices are one of the reasons we decided to find only escapees and state campgrounds to stay at, gotta cut cost somewhere, plus finding camphosting positions will help also! But the biggst reason to stay in Mich. and Florida we will still be closer to our kids and grandkids, miss them all so much, but have to admit how proud I am of all of them, they have made it thru some very hard times since we left and have done ok, a couple of times I was ready to fly home but was told not to worry that everything will be ok! And they were, I pray EVERY NIGHT for them and am so proud to see how well they have handled everything that camp up, my boys were there for each other, big brother was there for his little brother and vice versa!
Their sister Susan and husband Russ have been there for us and her brother, love them all so much! Well, gotta get packed up and get out of here, believe it or not it is snowing, only light flurries but it's still snow, time to move on!  UGH!!!! Texas here we come!

QUARTZSIDE, PARKER, LAKE HAVASU!

            Camping in the valley at River Island State Campground

           The beach, that is California across the Colorado River

                    More veiws from the beach!

Craig walking on the beach!

Hi, been awhile since I have been on here, but lots to catch up on! We left Wellton Az. at his Aunt and Uncle and Dad and Step-Mom for about 2 weeks and went to check out Quartzside for about 5 days, which we found out later was too long! We stayed at Rose's Campground, which is not that fancy, but was close to the flea market, lot's of dealers but they are saying it is about 75% down from what it use to be, but found a few things to buy and send to the grandkids, one neat thing Craig found was a Stump Stove, it was a log that was hollowed out and they gave you a tube of jelled alcohol that you squirted into the log, then lit it and it would burn between 2 to 3 hours, depended on what size you got! We liked it so well that we went back the next day to get another one, but the dealer was gone!  Then we headed for Parker to the River Lake State Campground and what a beautiful place, we reserved 4 days but liked it so much that we reserved another 4 days, we were right across the river from California and we had mountains all around us, internet or phone didn't come in good, but believe it or not satellite did come in, even among the mountains! We were on the Colorado River, which is a beautiful turquoise color! I even got brave enough to climb the mountain, one of the things on my bucket list, Craig went part way with me and even climbed a small mountain that over-looked the river! He even got to check out a cave! I went on to the largest mountain overlooking our campsite! I had to climb two mountains to get to the biggest one! I almost didn't do it, looked like it was way to high, but I thought of my Dad and Craig who would have loved to climb it but because of their bad knees couldn't, so I did it for them, when I finally made it to the top I could see our campsite and there was Craig and Lenny looking up, he took my picture, then I sit down and cried it was something I have always wanted to do and here I am 62 years old and I did it! I was sore for a couple of days but it was so worth it!

  Craig checking out a cave! And above our campsite!

          Camp on a small mountain over looking the Colorado River

                                    Craig checking out the cave

              Me and Lenny on the small mountain overlooking California

  Me at the top of the big mountain, had to climb 2 small mountains to get to this one, it is overlooking our campsite!

 

The moutain I climbed!

We then went to Lake Havasu and spent the day there, seen and crossed the London Bridge! It is a beautiful place, on the way back we crossed a bridge in Parker over to California and I kept seeing signs about wild donkey crossing and then I seen them, they were everywhere! Thought that was pretty awesome!

                                       Was able to cross into California from Parker only a 5 mile trip!

                                       Craig checking out the London Bridge!

                                                Me checking out the London Bridge

                                        Wild Donkeys in California!

Just me in California! Loved this tree!

We were even able to go to the local casino a couple of times, pretty much broke even, but we felt that being there was taking us away from the beautiful outdoors! But fianlly decided to head back to Wellton and spend some more time with the family for a couple more weeks, Craig's sister is going to be here this Sunday and stay until the following Sat., then we will be heading along the southern coast towards Florida, stay there for about a week, then on to Virgina to my daughters then hope to be back in Michigan by May 1st!   As soon as we are on the road again, will be blogging about our travels!