HERE COMES GUSTAV!

We really need this! Right on the heels of the rainfall of the century comes another storm. This one went from a tropical depression to a Category 1 Hurricane in something like five hours. Brevard, Volusia, Seminole, and parts of Orange counties are still trying to pump water out of homes and roads. If this one should turn our way, we may be looking for Noah's Ark in earnest.

CABIN FEVER - EVEN STORMY HAS IT!

Glad it didn't turn loose

Well, for the first time since my retirement, I think I have cabin fever. I guess I just became too accustomed to the pretty days and being able to get out and putter around in the yard, play golf, etc. One thing about it, though. My "Round-to-it" list has gotten a lot longer. Dear old Fay has added a number of things to the list. Typical female.

Stormy (how appropriate is that name this week?)is even showing signs of cabin fever. I have not been able to convince him that he does not need to go outside in 50-mile-per-hour winds and driving rain. When he decides it is time for him to go outside, there is no shutting him up.

He now has a new game to play. It is called "Chase the Palm Fronds". He has a better chance of catching the neighbor's cat than a Palm branch moving at 50 mph. He can't just go out and take care of business, then run for shelter. He has to check out every new item that has been added to the landscape.

The week end that we were at the beach, he ran from the water as the tide rolled in. This week, he seeks out the deepest water puddles to run through. Believe me, he has had no trouble finding some pretty deep ones. When I finally get him back in the house, he feels the need to play tug-of war with the towel. Did you ever try to dry a soaked dog with him shaking the towel like a rag doll?

Just needs a little pruning

All in all, I guess we don't have anything to complain about. We have no damage to the house or motor home. We never lost our power. The only apparent damage we have at this time is a couple of broken tree branches and two large Hibiscus plants that got tired of standing in the wind and laid over. We had staked and tied up most of the larger bushes, but the two we thought were the most protected apparently were not. But as Becky said, they are just flowers, and she can grow more.
Should have put the car against it

Our North Florida daughter started calling earlier in the week. She said she did not feel comfortable about us being here in Fay's path and tried to get us to come north. I felt we were pretty well prepared and would have no problems. On Wednesday night or Thursday morning, I was calling her and suggesting that she come south out of the line of fire. She lost her power for about four hours on Thursday afternoon, then lost it again during the night Thursday night. She says at least the generator will power the play station to keep the kids entertained.

Well, here we sit, still under a wind advisory until 6 p.m. Winds in the advisory area are expected to be sustained at 25 to 30 mph, with gusts to 40 mph. Our flood watch also remains in effect until 6 p.m. I knew I should have bought one of Johnnie's Kayaks.

The Tenth Grandchild

Well, we managed to get nine of the ten grand children together for the picture at the bottom of the page. As I mentioned earlier, the tenth and oldest of the group had to skip the Florida trip to prepare for a trip to Athens. How can anyone prefer going to Athens over an opportunity to come to the beautiful coast of Central Florida? Oh, I did mention that it was Athens, Greece didn't I? Here are a few of the photos that he took while he was in "the old country." Ben at the Acropolis

As you can see, there is a lot of restoration work going on.

A few of his other pictures are included in the short video. It looks to me like he may have acquired his grandfather's fascination with beautiful sunrises.

Different Kind of Week End

Well, it was our turn to use the motorhome. Becky had a long weekend off and we took full advantage of it. She has been working some really long hours since her company took over food service operations at Rockwell. Her boss rewarded her with an extra day off so we loaded up and went to the beach. Yes, I know, we live on the coast of central Florida, but I mean we actually "went to the beach."



Beverly Beach Camptown is located on A1A approximately three miles north of the intersection with Florida Highway 100. (Exit 284 on Interstate 95)They have a very accomodating staff, an extremely well-stocked camp store, and a neat little coffee shop to go along with full-hookup sites that allow you to put the nose of your camper within three feet of the sea wall.
PEEKING OVER THE HORIZON(click to enlarge)
AMAZING HOW FAST IT GROWS(click to enlarge)

For those of you old enough to remember drive-in movies, this was like being in the front row of the drive-in for spectacular sunrise shows. And the movie changed each morning.