Planning - #109

I am definitely a planner. I find comfort in knowledge. I like to take the guesswork and surprise and stress out of my life as much as possible and planning definitely helps to reduce those negative situations. Not all - some things you can’t avoid - but advance planning gives me more options and opportunity. 

This year we are doing things very differently. We have the wonderful opportunity of leaving our trailer down in Mississippi at our campground in storage at an extremely reasonable cost. This will definitely save wear and tear on both our trailer and truck, will allow me to be able to share the driving home, save on gas - though it might cost more to stay at a hotel - and on our return trip to Mississippi next winter (25/26) we can drive my car down, instead of the truck. A lot of interesting possibilities. 

This year also- instead of going straight home, we are meeting up with my family in Florida for my mom’s unveiling. It is even more special since my daughter Holly will be flying in from Paris to spend the long weekend. West Palm Beach is approximately 750 miles southeast of Bay St. Louis. We will be there 5 days. From that point, we will begin our 1400+ miles trek home due north on April 21st.  Our plan is no plan. We will drive as far as we want in a given day, and look for a place to stop. I have a small cooler to bring some food and drink; we’ll keep things simple. If we didn’t have Minnie with us we would probably spend more time on the road and maybe do a little site seeing but after 6 mos away from Massachusetts, we’re okay with just returning home. 

Yesterday, our new travel trailer cover was delivered; it’s very similar to our previous. We feel more comfortable with a cover, protecting from those southern UV rays; it is perforated to allow for air flow. I also plan to purchase a lot of damp-X moisture absorption packets to scatter inside the trailer. 

 

We currently are working on it caulking, minor repairs, cleaning, decluttering over the next few weeks. Packing will come towards the end as there just isn’t enough space to put stuff. However, I have made a reservation to stay at the cottage on site at our campground for two nights which is right across from where our trailer will be stored. This should give us enough time to get everything packed up and organized inside the trailer. 

We have been talking a lot about what will stay and what goes with us.  A couple of months ago, storage containers were on sale at Dollar General and we purchased 7 covered containers to use to store items we will take home in the truck, as well as things we plan to keep in Mississippi. 

Just today, we renewed all our prescriptions so we have what we need to take us home. I started putting items in the backpack we will use in travel for clothes and personal stuff. Also keeping that simple. 

The plants I brought and have had for years will be staying as well; I’ll be giving them to a new home. I don’t think they would survive the trip home.  

We still have several weeks to enjoy our time in the Bay. Just this past week, we participated in another wonderful pot luck and were joined by cousins Sally and Jerry. ( it was Sally’s birthday too!)

We hung out at the Silver Slipper a bunch of times and had lunch at several of our favorite cafes.  

I made a floral headband at the library with Deena in mind and joined in on a game of Mexican Train. We played bingo ( it was Charlie’s week to win) and tomorrow morning will be enjoying our Thursday free beignets and coffee.

We have games at the campground the end of the week and  Fush Fry on Saturday. I’ve been doing a lot of baking, trying to use up ingredients. I’ve made pita bread, biscotti, banana bread and some very bad cornbread I had to toss out. I will  try again with a different recipe. 

The weather is beautiful here now; 70’s - 80. Wisteria are blooming, trees are greening. Though we hate to leave, we really miss the kids,  friends and our life up north. We are so lucky to have two places we love!

Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler! -#108

We have just over a month left until we leave our Mississippi home; hard to believe we’ve been here 4+ months!  Our three years of winter camping have been a dream come true! Hoping we have many more years to enjoy this lifestyle! 

This year we tried some new activities we really enjoyed!

-Visit to New Orleans -  Though very close to us          (about 40 miles) we generally just don’t enjoy cities, crowds.  However, it was great to join new friends we made this year on a day trip to the French Quarter.  The architecture is amazing and you can’t beat the beignets and jazz!

-Driftwood Craft Projects- I’m a sucker for working on a project I really enjoy! I wound up making three of these and currently working on a fourth for inside the trailer. ( others I made for gifts and one for home)

-Candlelight Concert - This had been on my list of things to do; it was wonderful when our campground hosts not only arranged for this wonderful event but this quartet covered Beatles music as well! A beautiful and memorable experience!

-Painting Classes - At home, Charlie and I enjoy painting at our local library so we were thrilled that one of the libraries in Hancock county offered adult painting as well! 

-Charlie’s Anoles - It’s not a typo. Anoles are lizards or chameleons. There are two or three living in Charlie’s tent for the past several months. They have gotten used to him and apparently enjoy listening to him practice his keyboard. As a bonus, they eat mosquitoes and noseeums and keep the tent bug free!

There are many other things we’ve done like trying new restaurants, visiting museums, really enjoying our time with the grands, checking out new casinos… but probably one of the best parts of camping is meeting new people! We love the friends we’ve made in previous years but it’s always wonderful meeting new people, spending time, talking about our lives and experiences. Life is good. 

Our Wonderful Campground Hosts!

Year of the Sevens - #107

Seven is considered, by many, a lucky number. It is certainly the most popular number you see at the casinos; three sevens is a win! It also has significance in culture; seven days of the week, seven musical notes on the scale, seven colors of the rainbow…

The year of 2025 is very big on the sevens for Charlie and me.  In January - Charlie celebrated his 77th birthday! We don’t know how he made it this far - but here he is!  He often attributes his advancing age to “ only the good die young”. Yeah- I have to concur. In February- I reached a milestone of my own 70th birthday! I don’t know how that is possible but 1955 is now a long way off! I’m glad to be here but boy, the time sure went by fast! 60’s seem so young to me now! Also,  in February- Valentines Day to be exact - we celebrated our 27th anniversary. I don’t think either of us envisioned being married for that length of time, given being married in our later years, but time just marches on. I’m glad we have each other to walk along side by side. 

                     Charlie and his birthday gift! 

 Celebrating our 25th anniversary at Bay Hide Away

Going back two months since I haven’t posted in a while - we had a very pleasant and inexpensive Christmas Day. Our very local and favorite casino- Silver Slipper- offered a special buffet all day plus gaming bonuses in the evening. After an hour and half of a Mississippi torrential downpour - we ventured over to the Slipper in the afternoon and joined a long, but quick moving, line to the Jubilee Buffet. While this particular buffet was more than we normally spend ( 49.95/pp) we figured it was a holiday and special occasion… While on line, a lady behind me asked if we had any comp coupons. I told her my account didn’t offer any and she informed me if we had $2 in comps ( which I did have on my account) the buffet would be free and she had extra comp coupons and generously gave one to Charlie. Wow! It was like $100 win! After a delicious meal, we enjoyed playing the machines for a bit and then relaxed at home. 

Our New Year’s Eve was a wonderful campground community steak dinner with all the fixings provided by our hosts. ( at a bargain price of $20/pp). The steaks were so large, we spread the leftovers out for 3 meals!

January has just zoomed by and we officially entered snowbird season; many of the regulars have returned and we’ve been busy working on fun crafts, bingo and other games. I learned the card game Euchre and have been playing with several ladies. 

We had a historic snowstorm in BSL ( at least 6”) and some pretty cold temps. But winter doesn’t last long here. February brings sunshine and 70’s.  

We had a great visit with the Ouro-Djobos in mid February! Deena and Wally are growing up way too fast and we tried to make the most of our time with them. They have been our only overnight guests in our trailer and we probably wouldn’t be comfortable ( size-wise) with anyone else. 

We’ve now been here 4 months and developed a fairly regular routine and keep pretty busy. There’s always something new to do and things we enjoy regularly. I still enjoy walking everyday but I’ve been really suffering with knee pain from my left knee. I still walk through the pain but have not been able to enjoy it as much. I keep on trying to exercise the knee and that actually helps it feel better. Turmeric capsules have really helped as well. 

We still have 1-1/2 months left to enjoy! The weather has been perfect too!