Long time senior blogger, Tioga George, has passed away. RIP George.

After the Hurricane Irma  9-12-17 Tuesday..
Been like forever since I blogged but I know a lot of my followers know we're living in SW Florida so I thought 'd drop a note to say we are ok .

MY VIEW

BEFORE, DURING, and AFTER

with excitable voices HURRICANE IRMA

9/9/17 Saturday BEFORE : The insanity starts when the weather guessers say “ Here it comes “ . The hype and excitable voices start on TV and radio and won't stop for weeks. Mind numbing forecasts and endless guessing. I listened to the governor and all the officials assure us that it's gonna happen, BUT... the weather guessers couldn't really say for sure East or West so they added some colorfull adjectives to the reports. AND the madness continued with exciteable voices. We prepared..batteries, water, emergency passes to get back on our island, BUT if Irma goes East we stay , BUT it might go West....hmmmm. So we have to make a decision. OR..spend thousands getting outa Dodge. We decided to stay. As time went on we decided to go to a shelter.

Our governor says stay safe, evacuate, go to a shelter...Well, alrighty now !!

So we left home early in the morning and headed to a shelter called Island Coast High School. The internet posting is lacking a lot of info like zip codes and phone numbers and mapping. We arrived to a line of cars and creeped our way to a cop that said they were full, turn around , go away.. OK NOW, he said he didn't have any info on other shelters, hmm, but I remembered our Governor said just call 211 for help in such a case. ( By the way-- I wanted to see if there were any shelters with room so I called 211 for 4 hours and it immediately went to a message “ Due to a large number of calls, please call back later . )

Luckily I have a friend, Amy, that offered her place to us so we headed there, at least it's more inland and safer than a surge area . We were there in about ½ hr, nice, newer building. It had steel storm shutters installed.

DURING: At our friends house which I will forevermore refer to as “ Fort Ferguson “ . Northwest Fort Meyers Near I-75 & Hwy 78, 25 miles inland from our house, we caught the Western edge of Irma's eye, The condo was built about 10 years ago, steel shutters installed, kinda like a vault. Could not hear the storm inside, good solid building. South facing porch out the front door enabled us to go outside and watch Irma and her 100MPH gusts. Unbelievable energy. SCARY..strange noises outside. Saw some trees come down nearby. Made me glad it wasn't any worse. We managed to have power til near 830 PM at the end of the blow hard time. The lights did go off & on a few times. Once the winds slowed to a reasonable speed of 30MPH we all took a deep breath and Thanked God for his mercy. WE SURVIVED.

AFTER : We woke up next morning after a fitful sleep at about 7AM. Our first outside observations showed us no flooding or bad damage. Car was ok ! About 830 AM my friend, Carl, called me to report no damage to our place on Matlacha Island and no surge damage. ( 9 foot or higher surges were predicted, DID NOT HAPPEN ) He said there was Electric Power. One of the few powered sites in Lee County Florida. We headed home at 9AM but had to delay for 1 hour while some good neighbors cleared a downed tree at the subdivision entrance,

we got out about 10 AM.

We were home before 11 AM after Heather dodged and weaved thru debris and manuevering powerless intersections. No cops directing traffic yet ! We saw a lot of landscaping blown around and some trees down but only a couple homes with structural damage. THANK GOD !!

We came home to almost normal conditions. AMAZING !!

APRIL 16TH 2017

HAPPY EASTER

I miss blogging every day. I still read some blogs. I was sorry to see The Old Fat Man ( Barney ) quit blogging so suddenly. Billy Bob is still doing an occasional blog. It takes time and devotion to blog on any kind of regular basis.

We still have our beloved motorhome for sale. Had a few interested folks but nothing became of them. Sold the storage/tool trailer a week ago. If you know anyone that wants to buy an older motorhome ( 28ft 1984 Titan ) send me an email . cmhl09@passportamerica.com (that's CMHLzero9) It's had a lot of great care as you all know.

After last December's wreck with our car and my hip repair I've just been healing and so far so good. I decided no more driving so Ms. Heather has become our chauffeur. The hardest part of that is I'm a terrible passenger but I WILL get used to it ( I hope ).Life on the island is great. This winter was a bit warmer than usual. It was a bit of a problem getting around while we were without a car for awhile but thanx to some friends we got to wherever we needed to. I feel humbled by the outpouring of love sent our way and all the help we received. We found another car and life is slowly getting back to normal. Now I still have to see a neurologist for some tests. I sure wish one of these 5 docs and 12 tests would pinpoint the syncope problems. One of my docs grins at that syncope word, I ask why, she sad that's a word doctors use when they are stumped ! To date my insurance has spent $400,000 ! ! ! WOW !!

We've been watching our snowbirds starting their homeward migration. The colors of the license plates on the island are getting back to Florida colors. Street and traffic congestion is improving. Same thing every year at this time. It's nice but the people will be missed.

I hope to write a short blog from time to time and I thank God for the opportunities he allowed us to enjoy with our travels around this great country of ours. Please be thankful for each day. 

REMEMBER, LIVE YOUR DREAMS AS TIME GOES BY QUICKLY !!

ROLLING EARTHQUAKE IS FOR SALE

3-8-17

I had an accident Dec 23^rd, 2016 while driving our car and hit a tree. It totaled the car. I ended up with a broken hip and fractured ankle and a concussion and a fractured neck. Lucky to be alive and thankful no one else was involved. I've made up my mind that I'm done driving so we've decided to sell the motorhome.

I reviewed, in my head, how many new parts have been installed in just a couple years. EGOD !! I know we'll never get our money back. I never fixed things thinking we'd be selling it in 2017.

If you have followed this blog you know the TLC this vintage 28ft,1984 Titan Motorhome has been given.

We put it in storage last year and I go there once a month and run it and the genny and take it for a decent ride.

The motor (454 Chevy) was changed out 2 years ago. Only 39K miles on it, great transmission.

The Genny was changed out 3 years ago.

New roof A/C 3 years ago. ( No engine A/C ) We run the genny to run the roof A/C while on the road.

New stove and water heater 4 years ago.

Tires in great shape, 2 front are new and spare never on ground.

New master cylinder and brakes.

Radiator was rebuilt 3 years ago.

The only thing I can think it needs is new batteries (chassis and motor).

If you want a turnkey older rig this is it ! Located near Cape Coral Florida.

Blogging has been fun .

Drop me a note. Charlie … cmhl09@passportamerica.com

THANX FOR ALL THE YEARS OF SUPPORT :)

1-14-17 Ya gotta love getting older !

I was reading some blogs today and realized I really miss writing ours. If you are/were a regular reader you know that we settled down about 1 1/2 years ago. We still have the motorhome in storage ! Decided 2 weeks ago to try and sell it. Recently my health took a downturn. Episodes of syncope. I passed out last May 26th, again July 16th and then Dec 23rd. I've been seeing a lot of doctors and having a lot of tests but no causes found yet. I was driving our car last episode and crashed into a tree. Broke my left hip, fractured right ankle and sore all over. I've decided no more driving for me. Thanks to a lot of great people around us we can function. I'm glad this didn't happen in the motorhome !!  To all of you that still blog, keep it up as I still love reading about the adventures !! Love you all !! Charlie & Heather.

DECEMBER 2015, GOODBYE SUMMER, HELLO WINTER !!

I know it's been awhile since my last blog but I think that's normal when us bloggers finally settle in somewhere. I miss blogging but my plan is to only occasionally write one. We signed a 2 year lease on our place on Matlacha Island, Fl. And put our motorhome in storage. If we start to travel again my blogging will probably increase again.

Ms. Heather and I are quite content to be planted again. We do miss traveling but our decision to sit awhile has been good. Matlacha Island is a great place to be. We, of course, have made a lot of friends here after snowbirding for 5 years.

We found out that the weather is very hot in the summer til about the end of October. Did a lot of AC, like the locals. November brings a break in hot and starts to get comfortable again. We used to get here in late November so this year has been a learning curve.

We've slid in to “Island Time” in a big way. Music, seafood, and other ways to while away the time. Our weeks slide by effortlessly.

We put on a karaoke party Monday evenings at home, Tuesday's we play Bingo. ( unlike most bingo's this one is FREE, free is good) , Wednesday's we go play pool with some friends. FREE. Thursday evening our favorite band, The Hipnauticals, entertain us, ( No commercials) The weekends are a mix of diversified island things, never the same !

Being land based has inspired our culinary skills. I've been getting creative and started baking again. It's great having a full sized kitchen again. I do have to get in a lot of walking to make up for the extra calories though !!

The holiday season on Matlacha Island, Florida is a mixture of fun. A few fund raisers, like most communities and everyone is preparing for “Season”. It's usually about the second week of January when the license plate colors changeover to reflect the mass migration of folks from Northern States. I regularly will go sit out front and check out the plates on the vehicles. I can see the broad mix of states enjoying the area. Most of the businesses have the next 90 days to make it or break it. Like our previous domicile, Houghton Lake, Michigan, they have a majority of their yearly income generated during the season.

Ms Heather has plans to expand her custom jewelry business this winter. It's good to see her excited about it. She will be getting more exposure of her craft at a local market. It will probably require a few hours every weekend to set up and teardown but it's worthwhile to generate a few $$$ !

Right after the holidays we're planning on a good scrubdown and wax job on the motorhome in storage. I was out there checking on it and it's dirty. I go there every few weeks and fire up the motor and generator to ensure its health. Hoping to get a couple short camping trips in, this winter, too !

We still don't miss winter at all !

May all our family and readers have Happy and Holy and safe

holidays !

Charlie & Heather and Rolling Earthquake .

8-6-15 Settleing in

Well, our housewarming party went very well. We had almost 100% of our invited friends show up and it was pretty laid back. Its was nice to see people intermingling and meeting new folks. Ms. Heather & I appreciated all the donated food and gifts and the words of encouragement, both personally and via the blog & e mail & socia media !! It's great to have great friends.

I've got ads posted locally and on Craigslist to sell the motorhome and tool trailer. Got a few calls on each but nothing solid yet. No hurry, no worry !!

The Florida summer weather seems to be tolerable although hot. It's been near 90F most days this past month but regular late afternoon showers do cool it off . Our central AC has been great. I wonder how much the electric bill will be …. time'l tell !

As is true with most moves, the “ where is this and where is that” seems to be slowing down thank goodness to Ms. Heather's great memory ! I haven't missed finding very much this week.

Mama Cat has settled in quite well including licking my feet and getting kicked off the bed a few times. I CAN”T STAND THAT !!! So she's moved over towards Ms Heather's side of the bed for survival !! ha ha ha ha !!!

We've met a few of our neighbors and so far so good.

Went to a “ celebration of life” memorial for one of our island friends. We were kinda surprised how many people we know from the island. Quite a few more than we realized. I suppose, after 5 years of snowbirding down here, that's inevitable ! There was quite a turnout at the church for Danny “Dog” Dobbins !!.

We decided to NOT get involved in the boat after all ! Wants & needs just don't require 125HP to go fishing a few days every month. Besides, fishing from the bridge and canal fronts is just as much fun. We already know several folks to go fishing with, so why take on the aggravation of boat ownership ?? ( A hole in the water into which you pour $$$$ ) .

A few years ago I sold all my good sound gear and since we're land based now I decided to “ go big “ again. Over the last few weeks I've reaquired some kick butt sound equipment again. Ms Heather and I fired up the karaoke stuff and have had a few close friends over to share some music ! Of course some libations were involved too ! It's fun to have a good sound system again ! Since our nearby neighbors are snowbirds and gone for the summer we haven't had anyone to irritate . I wonder how that will fly this winter ??

Fellow blogger, Billy Bob ( http://billybobsplace.blogspot.com/ ) , has had some bothersome medical problems. I hope he get's straightened up so's he can get on the road again. There, but for God, I could go !!

As I still read blogs, it makes me daydream of travelling. I wonder how much we'll miss that ???

Ms Heather has picked up her painting business again. Since June she's done a few jobs and now she's doing a complete interior job.

I'm building a wall hanging, home entertainment cabinet for the living room. I love the smell of wood ! This should put all our TV and sound stuff in one place. Did I ever tell you I love Lowes and Home Depot. Like a kid in a candy shop !!

Windows 10 has been installed on my laptop for a few days and so far so good..the install went seamlessly and it works a bit faster. The replacement browser for Explorer is called EDGE and works better. Still not as good as CHROME though !!

My buddy, Daniel, who lives just a few miles from us, has been over a few times and it's been nice to see him. He is a great musician and we have fun with a lot of music.

REMEMBER, LIVE YOUR DREAMS AS TIME GOES BY QUICKLY !!

Charlie & Heather