Jan 2, 2011 - winter is over

When you stop at the Florida Welcome Center and have some freshly squeezed orange juice your face breaks into a wide grin. It's then that you know that you are really here. Putting on a pair of shorts and grilling dinner outside on the picnic table are also good signs. We saw frozen FL crops on TV last year and know that it could get colder again, but it's great to be able to make plans without worrying that the next blizzard will interfere.

Dec 31, 2009 - New Years Eve update

Hello to everyone who might still be following this journal. We are just about ready to leave Florida. Heading out first thing in the morning. Next leg of the journey will take us close to Deming, New Mexico to see the property we bought (about 20-30 miles south east)out there several years ago and have still never seen. Not sure what our internet connection will be for awhile. But will update as often as possible. Should be about 4 days or so to get there. Hoping we will be able to stay right on our property. There are no utilities of any...

Nov 30, 2009 - Changing RV Parks

Hello to everyone who is still following the journal. Our month was up at the RV park we were staying at and we decided to move to a different park. We did this for several reasons... Moving closer to Daytona Flea Market where we are working, Moving to a park which was a bit cheaper and did not charge additional fees for electric, cable and internet as the one we were at did..... We are just a short distance from the beach in the area where dogs are allowed on the beach, so the kids can come out and play. (Smyrna Dunes Park) and most...

Jun 20, 2009 - Smynra Beach 6/20-23

Saturday – Tuesday, June 20 – 23 Back to I – 95, moving to New Smyrna Beach and New Smyrna Beach RV Park. Another RV Park in our CCUSA. This campground quickly became one of our favorites. Isabel was the manager, and she was from Germany, traveled with Circus Vargas for years and was quite the character. One of our best buys at $13.50 a day, we had a nice camp spot with many amenities, the pool being the favorite. We spend a lot of time in the pool between site seeing and beach trips, it was always back to the pool. It wasn’t over crowded,...

Apr 27, 2009 - New Smyrna Beach, Part 1

What a busy day this has been! I had quite a few clues for letterboxes in this town and some parks to check out. So, after having breakfast and saying so long to Jeanne & Laurie, off I went. First stop was the Atlantic Center for the Arts. While there was a sign for it on Route 1, it is at the end of a narrow dead-end street that is otherwise residential. The grounds were open for walking the nature trail but the visitor center was closed. Artists live here, as evidenced by signs along the trail asking us not to go down certain branches as...

Apr 14, 2009 - New Smyrna Beach

New Smyrna Beach has been a pleasant surprise. I was concerned that the campground would be inadequate and that the community would be too commercialized. Although the price at the campground was very reasonable for our week-long stay, the campground had excellent facilities. Although it was not close to the beach, it was only a short drive over a causeway to the beach and parks area. Much like the Fort Pearce area, New Smyrna Beach has a long isthmus that runs between the Indian River and the Atlantic Ocean. Our big discovery was Smyrna...

Jan 11, 2009 - This and That

We have been so busy that I haven’t even had time to write our story. Gee retirement is rough. There have been so many things going on that I can’t even remember them all so I will refer to our January calendar. I do remember that the day little Xavier was born we were with our friends Judy and Glen and their Grandson Daniel. We had planned on going out on the glass bottom boats at Silver Springs Park but they did not allow enough time to get here with all the stop and crawl on I-75. That week was the worst we have ever seen the freeway. By...

Dec 15, 2008 - New Smyrma Beach, FL

New Smyrma Beach is located on the Atlantic just below Daytona Beach. We spent a week hear relaxing, walking the beach and visiting the local stores. Melissa was on spring break from college show she met us here. The beaches are great and the water wasn't to cold. This is another great location and I am sure we will visit again. Next stop Dunedin, Florida

Mar 30, 2008 - New Smyrna Beack RV Park, New Smyrna Beach, Florida

We had originally planned to stay a month at White Springs but after seeing it again (not like the last time we visited) and realizing how far it was from everything we decided to move on to the Daytona area and New Smyrna Beach. Daytona was the very fist place we stayed when we started this Southerly Winter Movement back in 1974 with Edwin, Sandy and all our kids. We stayed at a motel on the beach in Daytona called 'Perry's Ocean Edge' and Sandy I'm happy to report that it is still there but it has grown to mammoth proportions. We...

Jan 11, 2008 - New Smyrna Beach, Fl

Many of you have emailed asking for an update so here goes. After picking up Claire's mom near Ocala, Fl, we drove to NY. We did stop for one night to visit Claire's sister, Jody, and her daughters in Baltimore, MD. Once we left Claire's mom at her Aunt's in Clay, NY, we headed to Long Island to visit Ray's daughter, Jakki and her family. Clairese's son and daughter, Christopher and Bethany, surprised her by arriving Christmas eve. Christmas was wonderful for everyone. Great food, gifts and company. It was truly a time to be remembered...

Dec 3, 2007 - Savannah - New Smyrna Beach, Florida

This morning it is raining when we depart; we are going to interstate it today. We will follow I-95 into Florida and figure out from there where we are going. The interstate is nice and wide, but there is a lot of construction going on. Mostly widening the roads more and re-building over overpasses. In some sections we have to slow down from 70 mph to 40 mph. We see a lot more motorhomes and trailers going our way, but strangely enough we also see a lot of them going north. We want to put a sign out our window - stop! it is snowing up...

Oct 31, 2007 - Three For the Road

Welcome back to our Winston Chronicles! Once again its time to get my brain in gear to write about our travels. We can't believe that October is almost gone. For that matter, where did the entire year go? As we described in the Chronicles last June, we went to "work" for the RV dealer in Hatfield for the summer. It was a new experience for the owner as well as for us and the result was that it worked out quite well for both parties and we were invited to return next spring. Her landscaping has a good beginning but next year she'll be able...