Back to Our Teens

As if retirement wasn't enough to deal with, we decided to learn, or relearn, something new - riding bikes. After finding bikes we could carry in the little T@B trailer we are now in our practice phase. And I thought keeping financial stability was difficult. Staying on these little bikes is much more difficult.

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Huntington Beach State Park SC

In May 2009 we treated ourselves to a week at Huntington Beach State Park in Murrells Inlet South Carolina. The sun was hot, the beach cool with breezes, and so many fun things to do at this wonderful park. Murrells Inlet is located south of Myrtle Beach and we happened to arrive just at the start of 'Bike Week'. The beaches and bars were rocking and rolling with all the motorcycles and bikers. So we had the roar of the waves and the cycles through the warm evenings.

We spent lots of time on the beach, and doctoring our sunburns, yet we had time to watch the wildlife. Alligators were all over and fun to watch. We had a chance to kayak through the salt marsh at high tide. Later Mike saw an alligator in the salt marsh. Good thing that was after kayaking or Norene would not have gone. A thunderstorm developed as we were out on the salt marsh so we had a new kayaking experience... paddling in a downpour for half an hour. This was the first time Norene had gotten wet kayaking. However, Mike did get thrown over last May.

The Brookgreen Sculpture Garden is a fantastic place to visit. We spent two days enjoying the flowers, grounds, the art, rice plantation, and the history of the area. As you view the Smilebox you can enjoy some of these sights.

Hailey is walking

Upon our return from our Carolina trip we discovered Hailey was walking. The following Smilebox shows us seeing her walking for the first time. There are pictures and a video where Hailey picks out her favorite outfit from some new clothes.

Enjoy watching her walk.

Blue Ridge T@B Rally 09

Sharon & Becky hosted a great rally at the Creekside Farm RV Park in Waynesville, NC April 29 through May 3, 2009. We met many new T@B friends and learned a great deal about fixing our T@B. It was fun seeing all the custom changes different people had made to personalize their trailers. The weather was a little rainy at times but the sun did shine, the days warm, and the activities enjoyable.

Ashlyn & Zach - May 09

Grandma LuLu loves to visit her grandbabies. We enjoyed several days in Charlotte with Laura, Lee and the kids. You never get enough time with the kids. Watch the Smilebox to see some of the fun things grandma did with Ashlyn and Zach.

Easter in Chagrin Falls

We went to Brian and Melinda's for Easter. Grandma got to do all the fun things with the boys. We even went to a ball game in the COOOOL weather. What a fun weekend we had.

2009 Southern Ducimer Tour

We departed South Bend on January 20th bound for Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana dulcimer festivals. During the next sixty-three days we hope to find some sunshine, see new sights and play music.

Upon digging out the T@B we hit the road for Kentucky. Our first night was spent outside Louisville, and the temperature dropped to ten degrees. It was so cold all the moisture in the T@B froze around the window and door seals. We stayed warm, but we had to thaw the ice on the door to get out. That was the coldest night we have spent in the trailer.

The next night in Birmingham, AL was warmer. A whopping twenty-two degrees! The third night in Colquitt, GA was fifty degrees. We were so happy. So happy in fact we forgot to check the propane level and when the temperature went down to forty degrees the second night in Colquitt we about froze when the propane ran out. Needless to say we filled the tank there.

The fourth night we spent in Tallahassee, FL. Most of the people were cold in the sixty degree weather, be we were very happy. On January 25th we rolled into St. Joseph Peninsula for our first week of sun, fun, and relaxation.

Norene’s sister Patti and husband Ken stay at this park during the winter. That week was a great time for the two sisters to spend time together. We enjoyed the beach, the people and the wildlife. The weather was great and we soaked up the sun by day and enjoyed the fires at night. We had a great campsite just off the beach. The sand dunes and Gulf were just what we needed after the -19 degree weather in South Bend.

By Sunday, January 31st the cold weather had caught up to us and we were moving to our next stop, the Stephen Foster State Park in White Springs, FL. The sun was shining again, and we were anticipating exploring this northern Florida state park. Enroute to the park we passed an ominous sign. Perhaps this was foretelling what our next two months was to be like. Norene thought all expeditions with Mike might be classified by this sign. Someday we have to return to take one of these kayak trips.

The first day at Stephen Foster was cold and rainy. Not what we were trying to find. The next day the sun came out, but that nasty cold front which had been chasing us since November arrived again. Night time temperatures in the twenty’s and hard freezes. Again the little T@B kept us warm. Again we were dressed much like we were at home. Again we were looking for that nice ‘Florida’ weather. Where is it?

This park is dedicated to Stephen Foster and his music. It is a wonderful park where Stephen Foster music floats from the bell tower several times a day. Arts and crafts were demonstrated in the folk village. We enjoyed the trails and the music. This was the perfect place for Mike to learn many songs on the dulcimer.

After Mike recuperated from his case of the hives all was fun. I guess Mike was ‘itching’ to explore during our week at the Stephen Foster State Park. Now how can we find warmer weather?


The warmer weather returned as we rolled into Mount Dora, FL. on the Sunday of the Daytona 500 time trials. Going through Daytona was interesting and SLOW with all the race traffic. We stayed at the Weikiva RV Park on the Weikiva River. A wonderful park with much to do at the river and surrounding areas. The dulcimer festival was held in the town of Mount Dora, Florida's 'mountain'. A towering 184 feet. This is a very friendly and quaint town. We have decided to return in the future and stay longer.

The dulcimer festival was great. Norene and Mike enjoyed psalty lessons as well as mountain and hammered dulcimer lessons. We made many new friends and got many new 'tricks' to use in our playing.

On our way to Hattiesburg, MS we decided to see some of Florida's state parks. The first stop was Manatee Springs where Norene saw manatees, deer, and lots of Turkey vultures. It was the first time we were NOT the smallest trailer in the park. A 'Tiny Trailer' chapter had a rally just before we arrived and one was still there. Surprisingly the people were from Indianapolis. We enjoyed a night of talking and exploring 'little trailers'. Our next stop along the gulf coast was St. Andrews State Park in Panama City Beach. There was much to see and enjoy. We moved on to Big Lagoon State Park in Pensacola. We visited the Naval Air Museum and enjoyed the nature. Then to Hattiesburg to participate in the dulcimer festival. What a great group of people! We had the most fun at this event. Not to mention Norene getting to see her first rodeo. The weather was warmer but again the cold found us in Mississippi. One day was 83 the next was 40. Oh MY!!! What a shock!

After leaving Hattiesburg we spent some days resting along the Mississippi coast. We explored Biloxi and Gulfport for a week seeing what the hurricanes had done to the area. Then we moved on to BatonRouge, LA to visit with Andy and Kirstin and attend the Port Allen dulcimer festival. We had a great time with Andy and Kirstin as they showed us their town and took us to see New Orleans. At last we had to come home. We had found the warm weather at last. Norene was sure warm weather would be at home by this time. NO SO. After a week home it snowed again. Next year we will stay in the south longer.

We did get to spend a few days watching grandbaby Hailey when we got home. That was wonderful. You can see all the fun in the following

The tree sculptures created after the Katrina storm along the gulf coast are in this Smilebox.

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