Sunday, December 13, 2020

Holidays Begin 2020

November 25-December 8, 2020                       Most Recent Posts:
Gamble Rogers State Recreation Area           Rough Times in More Ways Than One
Flagler Beach, Florida                                        From Congaree to Gamble Rogers


Not much has happened lately.  Life seems a bit in the slow lane.  It’s OK with me.


I’m not sure how many years I have spent Thanksgiving at Gamble Rogers State Recreation Area on the ocean in Flagler Beach but this is the second year I’ve been alone. This year, thanks to covid, there are more people than just me “celebrating” alone. 

That doesn’t mean we can’t be thankful for those we love, those who stick by us through thick and thin and especially for our health.   I’m also thankful for my wandering life which allows Winnona and I to be here on the ocean front where the weather is still “mostly” hanging around in the 70’s although as I’ll mention later that is MOSTLY.
How thankful am I for it all.



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I wouldn’t call my Thanksgiving day dinner a feast but it did have some traditional things though no turkey or ham.  I put on a sundress dress for the occasion and the temperature was a high of 79 and low of 66.  Perfect temperature in my opinion.


I did have whole cranberry sauce and candied yams, green beans with sliced almonds, scalloped oysters and pecan pie for dessert.   I’ll be eating this for days as it’s pretty difficult to cook for one.  But I love oysters and am Thankful for food on my table.


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I spent most of this sunny day on the ocean in my beach chair reading or walking in the water.  Others were swimming, it was that warm.  How lucky am I!








On many mornings the color over the ocean  before sunrise is fantastic.  And of course I take too many pictures.


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As sunrise gets closer, the pinks disappear to be replaced by oranges.


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The colors are enhanced by the clouds but the sun sometimes has to burn through them at the horizon.  Pretty sweet fishing spot.

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Winnona has a great sunrise view.

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IMG_1294But all is not beautiful sunrises, good food and reading on the beach.  When I pull the awning out, I find that the bottom, which I had repaired a few days ago is not the only problem.  The arm has become disconnected from the top bracket which you can see has been twisted.  So it’s another visit from the RV Tech to fix it and another bill of course.  But the end result is that it is fixed.


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In the mean time, it’s time for Ruby’s oil change, another thing David always did.  Also, last week, the rear driver’s door handle just stopped working.  Can’t open it.  Not good since I use Ruby as my garage for carrying extra salsa from Cherry Republic in the UP of Michigan, all my kayak and beach gear, a box of books of course among other things.  So Karl of Karl’s automotive in Ormond Beach gets me a new door handle, paints it Ruby’s color ($33 for a can of paint) and changes the oil.  It’s all done and it’s only money.  Hope I don’t run out.  This didn’t seem picture worthy but repairs are a part of life and expenses on the road.  How lucky am I to be able to be on the road, to be able to afford the repairs and find someone who can do them for me.



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Every morning I go out for the sunrise and “most” mornings it does not disappoint.  But when I went to put this post together, what I found was that I had not much else in the way of pictures other than these sunrises.  So here are a few days in a row of what I see out my window at around 7:05 or so.  Nice that the sunrise at such a reasonable time.  Much easier than when it was just after 5am earlier in the year.


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Some mornings the clouds are so thick that the sun can barely peek through.

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As the sun was going down in the west on November 29th I saw this full moon rising in the East among the pastel colors.  What a sight. Another thing to be thankful for.

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The moon appears full to our eyes a couple of days both before an after the actual date of the full moon.

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IMG_20201126_101853332I had some not so simpatico neighbors.  Can’t say I’m terribly thankful for them.  I fear their cult is trampling on our democracy.  It is now 3 weeks since the election was called for Biden/Harris.  And as I write this, every court challenge including the supreme court has failed.  And still  people continue to strut this stuff encouraged constantly by their tweeting leader. 

Under the 2020, the flag says “No more bulls**t.   Is he kidding?  His man is the source of all the bulls**t.  Ok, enough politics – You know mine.  I’m for the most environmentally concerned candidate whatever his/her party is. 

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Back to the amazing full moon.  This is what I saw out my front window the night of the actual full moon.  I wish this picture could adequately show the amazing shimmer on the water as I looked out my front picture window.



But so much for warm days on the beach, December brought in the cold temperatures.


That’s the outside temperature at the top and the inside at the bottom.  The outside high was incorrectly recorded because the sensor was in the sun. It never actually got above the low 50’s.  And look at the overnight low – 31!!!   It isn’t any colder than that in Virginia or Maryland.  GOOD GRIEF. 



This cold business went on for several days. So I warm up the house and me  by making some vegetable stew.  Notice the steam in the picture.  It’s cold enough inside to create steam.  But I am thankful that it goes up into the 50’s during the day at least.



And then there is another night of that fantastic moon.  Does it look any different than last night?  Just breath taking.  I’m so grateful I was here on the ocean front to see this.



My second two weeks at Gamble Rogers are up and it’s time to move back to Anastasia for a few days before my 3rd and final two week stay at Gamble Rogers.  I guess you could say I like it there.

I had a great spot at Anastasia but neglected to get a picture of Winnona in it so I took this one off the web.  So cozy!!  No wind problems here.  Warmer tucked in here as well. 

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IMG_20201205_200315379No wind problems but that doesn’t mean no problems.  I started my holiday DVD watching tradition early this year for lack of things to do.  Usually I wait until after my birthday which I have never enjoyed having sandwiched between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Things were going fine at Gamble Rogers but the first night at Anastasia, the DVD player refuses to play and refuses to open.  I push every button.  No luck.  The player is as old as the rig but David has the manual for it as I knew he would.  However, there are no suggestions in it about what to do in either of these cases.   So, I manage to get the player out of its overhead bin, and down where I can take the top off and look inside.  I see nothing obviously wrong but I do notice that one of the wires which I guess goes to the tuner is put through a metal panel in the back of that bin which means replacing this thing is likely not something I can do myself.   Of course it’s not.  



I try over and over to make it play or just release the CD with no luck.  I’m bummed since the watching of our ton of DVD holiday movies is a tradition decades old.  You can tell the age by the fact that some of them are VCRs.  Others have 4 movies in one case and one has 12 “movies and shorts”.

So it’s no movies for me to relax with and have popcorn after my move.   I don’t have enough bandwidth or speed to stream anything with my jetpack and mobile hotspots so without the player, I’m out of luck.  Any suggestions for remedies to my streaming problem would certainly be appreciated.

This story does have an unexpectedly  happy ending though.  The next day I’m on the phone with my friend Pam telling her my latest “needs to be fixed” story and while explaining what I’ve done, I walk over and push the eject button and the door opens and there’s the DVD.  What?  Why?   I have absolutely no idea but from then on, to now (fingers crossed) it works perfectly even after I put it all back together, wires in the right places, lid back on and hoist it over my head into its bin.  Pam is  good luck charm.  I’m going to call her any time I have anything that needs to be fixed.


I’m only at Anastasia 4 nights but one of the days is my birthday.  In years past, when my mother became ill with ALS from which she died at age 64, she started sending checks for our birthdays rather than gifts.  She just could not get out to shop.

After she died, my father, no gift giver,  kept it up until he was no longer able to sign them.  It was actually fun to consider what I could have them buy me for my birthday and I always chose something I would never spend the money on to buy myself.


This year I did the same and consider these unnecessary RV sheets my birthday gift from David.  I know he would love the idea.  Who knows, maybe he put it into my head.

The only thing wrong with these sheets is that there is every single kind of RV from teeny, to trailer, to 5th wheel to class C but no Class A like Winnona.  What in the world were these makers thinking??    If you have a casita and tow it with a truck, these are the pillowcases for you.


IMG_1427Had there been no covid, I would have gone into Old Town St. Augustine for my birthday and perhaps to the light house. 

Instead on my birthday morning, I go for a walk, over to the kayak put in where I find a Great Blue Heron strutting down to the water.  He’s obviously used to people since he pays no attention to me at all.


No idea who he’s squawking at here  but he’s soon high stepping it along again

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He crosses over the boat launch opening.  You can see the dunes at the ocean in the distance.

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I spend a fun 20 minutes with him before heading back to the rig.

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Later in the morning I drive over to Les Petits Pleasures, the local French Bakery.   Other than folks coming in to buy the luscious pastries to go, I have it to myself.  With no covid fears,  I eat in!!  Happy Birthday to me!
I have a delicious slice of quiche with a small salad and two pastries, one for now and one for later.




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How to choose is the big problem.

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IMG_20201207_155338608Back at the campground, in the afternoon I go for another walk, this time over to the ocean front.  There is a LONG boardwalk over the dunes to the wide wide beach.  Very different than 40 miles down the road at Flagler Beach.





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From the boardwalk, in the far distance I can make out the St. Augustine Light House.  If you are up for a long beach hike you can get much nearer but it’s been moved back away from the shore for safety reasons.  The red arrow in the picture below points up to the tiny lighthouse on the horizon.  Hope you can see it.  Gives an idea of how far away it is.









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A little closer

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I have the beach to myself too.  It stretches in both directions as far as the eye can see.

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On the 8th, I move back down the east coast to Gamble Rogers where my birthday presents from Carrie await.   The rangers are so nice to keep them for me given that they do not have to even allow mail to be sent to the park, let alone sent before you arrive.

Carrie sent a great covid mask, best one I’ve seen and a puzzle at least as difficult as the one I’m making scant progress on.  It’s all black, white and brown but who can’t love those faces. 

From the time I was 21 years old I owned beagles in pairs.  They are the most wonderful, happy, loving dogs.  Carrie grew up with them every day of her life from birth until she left for college.  Now she only has cats – what a traitor.  Our last beagles died a few years before we went on the road and we decided to travel dogless since so many parks restrict where they can go.  Hope I’m up to this puzzle.


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These two special days were about as nice as they could be given that I was alone in the midst of a pandemic.

Next up will be my last two weeks at Gamble Rogers and my move away from the Coast for for the end of December.

Hope your Thanksgiving was as wonderful as times will allow.

44 comments:

  1. I surely know how things break, especially when you don't need it. The transmission is toast on my Element so I hunted down a used one on ebay. It has only 145K miles on it and since mine lasted close to 300K, I should be able to get another 100K out of it (I hope). Now I have to save my pennies up to get it to a repair shop to have it installed. I could do it myself if I had a car lift and an transmission jack, but alas just have to help the economy along with my $$$. It's tough this time of year to get it done because Christmas and 9 grandkids are competing for the money in my wallet. ;c)

    I'm sure I know why there is no picture of Winnona on those bedsheets. She is a lady with high class and standards and not willing to lower herself to be pictured on mere bedsheets! :cD

    I'm Thankful to have you as a friend.

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    1. What a wonderful comment Paul. Thank you so much. I love your suggestion for why Winnona is not on the sheets. I hope you and Marti have a great holiday.

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  2. Totally agree, I'm happy to have life in the slow lane. You are fortunate to have such beautiful places to be and know who to call when repairs are needed. Though seems you're becoming more adept at that too. It's always something. I might have left with one of everything with those pastry selections. A high school friend lives in St Augustine. I'd find sunrises out the windshield at a reasonable time just perfect especially over the water.

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    1. Thanks Gaelyn for such a nice comment. It was definitely hard to limit myself to two pastries. I think you need to come and visit your friend in St Augustine especially when I'm here.

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  3. Happy belated birthday! So glad that the necessary fixes were not big ones!

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    1. Hi Jeannie, good to hear from you. The awning fix was actually a rather expensive one considering but the DVD player just seemed to fix itself. Those are the kind of fixes I like.

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  4. Sure love those sunrise photos...how special are those colors!!!! Those sheets made us smile and we know David would have loved them and those wonderful pastries:o)) Hope the warm weather stays with you. We'll be glad to get back and enjoy some warmer temps.

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    1. Thanks Nancy. The sunrises here are wonderful and one of the things that keep me returning. 38 was cold enough for me, I can't imagine what it must have been in South Carolina although it wasn't all that much colder in Virginia than in Florida. Hope you get your warmer temps wish.

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  5. Happy belated birthday! Would love to catch up.

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    1. Thanks for the comment Brenda it was good to talk to you. Glad to hear you are enjoying your new spot in Texas.

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  6. I have never heard a heron squawk. I love how they move in s l o w motion. Take those nasty oysters out of the stuffing and I would've been right over. The French pastry place has all kinds of things that I would love! Wish I was there with you! Glad I fixed your DVD player. Love, Me xxxooo

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    1. I sure wish you were here too Pam. I'm sure you could do an even better job of fixing things if you were right here. Xoxo

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  7. Love to see where you are staying. The views and wildlife are amazing. Hope the temperature stays mild. We miss the RV travels during Covid, hoping to get going in the coming year. Stay well and safe.

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    1. Glad you are enjoying my blog posts. Thank you so much for commenting Patty. Hope you are able to get back to RV travel soon.

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  8. I love all of the gratitude in your post...it's what we really need to focus on in these challenging times. Your Thanksgiving dinner sounded delicious—oyster dressing is the best! I made oyster dressing and ate it four days in a row, lol. And I'm happy to see that you celebrated your birthday in style. The sheets are so fun, and your lunch at the French cafe sounded yummy.

    You know I share your sentiments about the people who are not accepting the results of the election. Sadly, I don't think it's going to go away, because the ringleader keeps the craziness stirred up. Here's hoping for more peaceful times ahead. Keep on celebrating life, my friend.

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    1. As we know Laurel you and I are definitely on the same wavelength in nearly all areas. Gratitude, peace, and celebration for us all. Well put.

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  9. So glad to hear you enjoyed your Thanksgiving despite more issues. Ugh! Happy the DVR decided to work again so you could continue your tradition. That pastry shop looks divine. Perfect spot to celebrate birthdays :)

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    1. Good to hear from you Laurie. A French bakery is definitely a wonderful place to celebrate one's birthday. Hope all is well with you and George and that little fluffy cutie of yours.

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  10. Belated happy birthday! I have so much admiration for you getting out there on your own.

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    1. Thank you for your wishes Karen and for your comment. I admire your fortitude to hang out all winter in the Frozen North.

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  11. Hope you had a happy birthday.. Sent you a note on messenger... Your weather is pretty amazing. We've had a lot of similar weather in Texas. Like your new sheets and pillowcases. Glad you have been able to get repairs done and the cd/dvd player fix was really fortunate. It's awful when outdated equipment fails and leaves you with few options... Enjoy St Augustine and Merry Christmas.

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    1. Thanks Roger. Not sure why I didn't get your note. My phone is not good about notifying me but I couldn't find it when I went searching. I was very fortunate that the DVD player fixed itself given the way it's installed I don't know how I could replace it. Merry Christmas to you and Carol.

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  12. Happy belated Birthday. All you sunrise pictures are fantastic. Sure happy you DVD player started working again.

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    1. Thank you Jo for the birthday wish and the comment. I'm glad to know I didn't overdo the sunrise pictures. I have far too many of them.

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  13. A delightful post of gratitude in a beautiful place. Love the sunrises, and the moonshine on the water is stunning. What a gift to have both just out your window. Love the fun sheets and the yummy bakery! The Pooh mask is the best, good find Carrie!! Hope you got my birthday email - it's bound to be a much better year ahead.

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    1. What a wonderful comment Jodee thank you. That moonshine was just amazing. I am so looking forward to having 2020 and the clown in the White House both in the rearview mirror.

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  14. Even if it breaks again, it looks like you know how to remove it. Just buy a new basic one $35-50. Make sure it takes the same connection's as the old one. They still make them.

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    1. Hi Dave. Great to see you here. Thanks for your comment. Unfortunately there is one connecting wire that goes through a metal wall in the back of the bin where the DVD player is sitting and I am too short to be able to reach back there and see if there is even any way to remove that wall to disconnect the wire and replace the unit. So I really have my fingers crossed that it keeps on trucking. 16 years is already amazing. They sure don't make things like they used to.

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  15. A belated Happy Birthday Sherry. Kathy and I got a year older a few weeks back. I do miss being in Florida this year. Will they still let you visit the top of the light house? Very nice pictures.

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    1. Well happy belated birthday to you Tom and to Kathy. I doubt they will let you into the top of the lighthouse, I'm not even sure it's open. I haven't gone up to see.

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  16. Happy Belated Birthday!! We too had a quiet Thanksgiving, but we had turkey and stuffing, no pie :( We can always find things to be thankful, small and big but not always obvious. Great sunrise and beach pictures.

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  17. Thanks Faye. Glad to hear from you. Sorry about no pie. :-) Don't work too hard.

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  18. It is wonderful to see your sunny spirit persevering through all these hardships. Your beach spots are wonderful. We will get there one day. Merry Christmas to you, and may we all have a better new year.

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  19. Thanks Karen for noticing how I'm trying to have a sunny spirit through all of this. It's a struggle. I share your wish for a better new year. Best to you and AL. Thanks so much for the comment.

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  20. I am truly impressed with that sunny spirit, Sherry, I know how hard that can be sometimes, and especially with everything going on right now. It was fun to read, even though I could see the effort behind it. Lots of happy smiles coming from you. So many memories, such an unknown future and yet we will persevere. and persist!!

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  21. Thank you Sue. You are very perceptive. I very much enjoy your comments.

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  22. Love the moonshine photographs. I think the light of the moon is the most beautiful thing. The pastries at the French bakery look just delcious!

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    1. That's probably my favorite photo too Michele and it was spectacular to see in person.

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  23. That is a great place to spend time and it sure beats the Northeast:)

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    1. You guys are certainly right about that period where are you just now?

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  24. Today I found your new blog....It is now 3 am and i have just finished reading from start to finish---First please accept my sincere condolences on the death of your dear departed husband David. I also lost my husband (of 10 years) Don in November 2019. I know how hard it is to be alone -- it is worse than anything I have ever experienced. I related to a lot of your experiences and feelings of helplessness and paperwork not to mention the current pandemic we are currently experiencing. As I read through I began noticing we had like RV friends and vaguely remembered Winona -- then i went back to the beginning of In the Directions of Our Dreams and discovered we DO know some of the same people Howard and Linda Payne and others-- and had actually attended the same rallies---I have lots more to say but will cut this comment short -- you can email me at elevenfootrv@gmail.com or contact me on facebook. I enjoyed your travels and will b a faithful follower from now on. Glad I found you -- take care.

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  25. Jenny, thank you so much for your kind comment. I too am very glad you found me and look forward to hearing more from you.

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  26. Just caught up with this, Sherry. What a wonderful spot at the beach - sunrises and sunsets...moon reflecting on the water... idyllic. I am so glad that you had such nice weather for Thanksgiving and had a nice birthday. The sheets are a fantastic idea. I love them! I usually give myself a Christmas present even though I receive others, of course. My crazy Covid-19 gift to myself was monogrammed sheets.🙃

    Thank you for sharing. I love seeing where you are staying and what you are doing. Take care and stay safe.

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