Trip Diary for February, 2010
Land Travel Only

Feb. 1-5; St. Simons Island, GA: Monday continued relatively cool (52) with 20-25 mph NE winds.  The day was devoted to working up a new mail delivery and Longaberger orders before dinner at Applebees.  Rain started around midnight and continued Tuesday.  Larry changed oil, filters and zincs in the genny.  Wednesday was also filled with chores.  Lola done laundry while Larry changed oil and filters in the main engines.  We were treated to a visiting river otter and 6 beautiful wood ducks swimming near the boat during the late afternoon.  We drove to Jacksonville Beach Thursday via Fernandina Beach.  Instead of going back to I-95, we took the scenic A1A route with its St. Johns River ferry.  We enjoyed wonderful lunches at Crazy Fish located right on the ICW. During lunch we decided to accept daughter Judy's invitation to come to Cordova, TN for a Super Bowl party!  Friday was again rainy with 20-30 mph winds, but a 62 degree high.  The day was devoted to getting things packed and the boat ready for departure.

Feb. 6-10; Cordova, TN: We left the marina at 5:45 AM for Saturday's 700 mi. drive, arriving just 12 hrs. later.  After the 11 AM Sunday service at Germantown UMC, Larry helped install Glen and Judy's new 56" flat screen TV just in time for the Super Bowl.  We awoke Monday to 5 in. of snow!  After roads cleared Lola went for a nail fill and Larry drove the Lincoln to Country Ford in Southaven, MS for service and replacing a bad cylinder coil.  Tuesday was devoted to shopping and computer software updates.  We departed Wednesday at 7 AM (EDT) for an uneventful return trip under sunny skies.  Everything was fine at the boat upon our 7:20 PM return.

Thursday, Feb. 11: We spent the day unpacking and then repacking for more travel!

Feb. 12-14; Naples, FL: Friday was another day to rise early for a 7:15 AM, 450 mi. drive to Naples, FL for Purdue Alumni annual functions.  The entire trip was in rain, often hard, that made for tense travel!  We detoured through St. Petersburg to pick up oil and filters for our Cummins boat engines at Southeastern Marine Power.  We arrived at the Inn at Pelican Bay just in time to check-in, shower and then drive 10 mi. to the 6 PM Mollenkopf Tailgate Party at Quail West Golf and Country Club.  Saturday was consumed by great "Back to Class" sessions with Purdue faculty, capped by the President's Council Annual Dinner for 350 at the Ritz-Carlton.  Following Sunday's College of Engineering Breakfast at the Naples Hilton where Dean Leah Jamieson updated us about the college's strategic plan, we left at 11 AM for the return trip in crisp, but sunny weather.  Our 7 PM arrival allowed time to unpack before an early bedtime.

Feb. 15-22; St. Simons Island, GA: After sleeping-in Monday to recuperate from an intense weekend, we done laundry, updated this web and finished our tax filings.  Tuesday-Thursday continued sunny, but 10-15 degrees below normal (highs around 60) with 15-20 mph W winds that made it feel even colder.  We relaxed, attended Lent services at Wesley UMC, and planned our next trips to FL and next month's relocation to Savannah.  We tried a new-to-us Mexican restaurant, Bubba Garcia's, on the island and were very pleased.  A warming trend started and winds dies Friday.  It was delightful to finally turn off heat and open the boat; good conditions for washing and cleaning the boat before driving to Brunswick for an excellent Mexican dinner at Orlando's.  Saturday's temps reached 68!  We drove 48 mi. to St. Marys, GA for the 11:45 Cumberland Lady Ferry to Cumberland Island National Seashore.  With ideal spring weather (65) and no insects, we walked 5 mi. of beautiful trails and beach, observing the Carnegie Dungeness ruins, wildlife ranging from armadillos to horses to oyster catchers, with outstanding ranger tours until 4:45 PM when the ferry returned everyone to St. Marys.  We had our last Cafe Frederica Sunday brunch for who knows how long after church at Wesley UMC.  The beautiful, warmer weekend weather brought out many fisherpersons; returning to the boat, it was obviously brunch time for pelicans at the fish cleaning station! Monday was devoted to final preparations for another land trip to FL.

Feb. 23-25; Orlando, FL: We departed Tuesday at 7:50 AM for the 235 mi. drive to Disney World for a brief stay with Sharon and Keith Hawks at Old Key West.  At I-95 Exit 344 about 8 mi. southeast of Jacksonville we had a sudden blow-out of the left rear tire!  We were in the left-most lane of 3 lane dense traffic so it was impossible to reach the shoulder along the right lane.  After a slight swerve we stopped, still protruding about 1/8-th of the car into the left traffic lane.  Larry was unable to loosen one of the five lug nuts.  As he was calling AAA road service a Florida Road Ranger stopped.  He put out cones and helped us move slowly to a slightly safer spot 1-2 blocks further down the road.  He then proceeded to change the tire.  It required almost an hour due to difficulty getting his jack under the car.  All this service was free!  At his recommendation we proceeded about 6 mi. further to Mike Shad Ford at the Avenues.  Due to screw-ups by their parts department, it required three 1.5 hr. trips before obtaining the correct replacement; total time to acquire, balance and mount a single tire: 6 hrs.!  Thus, it took 11 hrs. to reach Sharon and Keith instead of the planned 3.5 hrs.  After unloading the car into the studio apartment we enjoyed great salad dinners at Sweet Tomatoes in Lake Buena Vista.  Wednesday began at Disney Studios.  It was not crowded; waits at all rides were 5 min. or less!  After lunch we took the bus to Animal Kingdom as it began to rain.  Rain continued for 30 min. after arrival, so we all got wet shoes and pants despite having raincoats.  Our first stop was the Kali Rapids in the rain, so it didn't matter that it was a wet ride.  A first for us, we were invited to continue a second round without leaving the tube (since the crowd was so light).  The same invitation came after the Safari. We had brought along the unfinished "boat puzzle", but even with only 16 unfitting pieces left it was clear after 45 min. we would not have time to correct and complete it; it was torn down for return to Lafayette with Keith and Sharon.  Thursday was sunny and beautiful, but 20 degrees cooler.  We spent the morning at Epcot and the afternoon in the Magic Kingdom.  It had the heaviest crowd of the 4 theme parks, but still not bad.  The day ended about 8:30 with the evening parade.

Feb. 26-28; Gainesville, FL: We slept-in Friday before packing the car and heading to Downtown Disney for shopping before lunch at the new T-Rex Restaurant before departure.  We arrived at Bob and Virginia Peart's, longtime Purdue friends just after 4 PM.  This provided time for conversation, dinner and then an evening of bridge.  Saturday we toured Gainesville before terrific salads and pizza at the delightfully unique Satchels.  This enabled a bit more bridge before watching the Univ. FL vs Georgia basketball game (Florida's endgame rally fell just short).  That evening more Purdue friends, Gerry and Phyllis Isaacs and Ron and Joyce Price, joined us for great dinners at Stonewood Grill before returning to the Peart's home for dessert and conversation.  Sunday began with 9:30 AM Sunday School followed by worship at Trinity UMC.  After lunch at Northwest Grille we headed back to the boat, arriving just after 5 PM.

Water miles traveled to date: 4,768; this month: 0

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