The ball

Another BC day, except that we walked the dogs on the beach instead of taking the usual route around the campground.

The beach was empty today, a Monday, and the dogs really loved having new things to look at and new places to sniff. Tearing around in the surf after his favorite green ball  is one of Lewis' special treats.  We had been tossing it around for quite a while, when suddenly a wave reared up, grabbed the ball and dragged under and away.....gone.       I swear I could hear it scream.

Dave and I went back to the beach after lunch for our usual walk, read and doze time.   We walked the surf line, hoping to find it in one of the little pools left at low tide, but it wasn't there.  The Atlantic had swallowed the little green ball  for sure.  Don't tell Lewis.   (Dave says maybe Richard and Ruth will find it in England...)

We were chased off the beach around 4 p.m. by not so distant thunder and cloud to cloud lightning in the quickly building cauliflower clouds.  Absolutely stunning to watch,  but we realized we were the highest things on the beach and sitting on metal chairs to boot, so we cut our sunbathing/storm watching short and headed back to Beluga.
The bad weather went all around us, but we never saw a drop of rain.  Tomorrow is another day.

BCA

BCA - Boring Couple Alert.     Living with a pilot you find yourself sprinkling acronyms into your normal speech patterns.

We're just a boring couple here in Vilano Beach.  We sleep late, have a relaxed morning, walk the dogs, eat lunch and head to the beach for the afternoon.  A g and t outside, a nice dinner with wine, and we're ready for bed....boring (but wonderful in its simplicity).

I found these great chairs at Lands End.  They are backpacks that hold all the necessary beach stuff (books, towels, camera, binoculars, etc.) and you still have hands free to hold a leash!  Plus, they are very comfortable to sit on and are constructed of beach friendly materials.

The sky was so clear, the water so warm....

Dave is doing some deep thinking....we always say that we do our best thinking/problem solving in two places.  One is walking on the beach, the other is cleaning a stall.....

The winds of change are blowing.  This is a view from our table at Aunt Kate's restaurant on the river.  Its a casual, picnic table type place on the edge of the river and tonight we had a good view of the thunder clouds building.  Weathermen are calling for rain and possible hail tonight, and we can see the beginnings....

Ah well, we've things to do on a rainy day, so what will be will be.

(Once again, the laptop poltergeists are playing with me.  I don't know why my writing is straying all over the page, but.....)

Tale of two dinners

Once again, I apologize for the order the pictures have organized themselves in.  Not what I wanted, but its what "they" wanted, so just go with it!  Dave says its the full moon's doing, but I think there is a poltergeist in here somewhere.

We had a great dinner at Caps on the River, at the back of the campground.  Horseradish crusted grouper, Mmmmm.   The tree pictured below grows outside the dining deck.  It is polished smooth, probably from the scores of kids that climb and slide on it while they are waiting for their dinners.  The night we were there, Thursday,  the outdoor dining area was calm and restful.  The bird and gecko joined us as we ate on the shore of the river.

view from our table at Caps

Caps on the River, one of the restaurants we can walk to.

interesting tree growing laterally from Caps' shore

worn smooth

isn't it beautiful!

A Voyeur

a fellow diner at Caps

We found a wonderful fish market at the base of the Vilano Beach bridge.  Shrimp last night, Sea Bass tonight, Wahoo tomorrow?

We added these beautiful chili rubbed shrimp skewers and  some grilled asparagus to a caesar salad and ended the meal with two guava pastries.  If we keep this up people will think we named our motorhome Beluga because it has to carry two whales around!

According to the weathermen, today is the last sunny day for a bit, so we spent it on the beach, again....
We walked on a long sandbar exposed by the low tide, read and dozed a bit and watched a sweet wedding unfold on the beach in front of the Reef restaurant (across from our campground).  A lovely sight and a lovely day.

Vilano Beach 2

Our campground is on Vilano Beach's beach.  These pictures are of Vilano Beach, proper.  It is a small 50's beach town trying hard to engineer its rebirth while preserving what it has.  Along its somewhat kitschy main street old buildings stand proudly next to empty lots left by would-be developers, long gone.

Before this beautiful bridge was built, an old lift bridge connected "down town" Vilano Beach with the main land, north of St. Augustine.  Business' grew and flourished as people came to spend time on its beautiful ocean beach.  The new span arrives on the barrier island just north of the business district, and most people just keep on going to the beaches, never seeing the town itself.  Recently, however, it has been named a "main street america" (whatever that means, other than it now has money available to rejuvinate itself) and things are beginning to happen here again.  A big new Publix (don't say it Robin...Jesse) has been built.  Its wonderful for us, just a few minutes from Beluga!

bridge over the Tolomato River to Vilano Beach

view from the top showing the river and the ocean (in the background)

close up of the tile work restoration at the Magic Beach Motel

We're so glad someone is bringing this old gem back to life

Old motel in background - new sidewalk in foreground

close up of the new sidewalks - they sparkle in the sun!

I must apologize for the somewhat odd placement of the pictures in this blog.  They seem to have a life of their own, when I try to move them they fly around and land wherever they want to!   Part of the adventure I guess!

Gratitude, no pictures

I want to take time to give a big thanks to all who made this excellent adventure possible, and at the risk of sounding schmaltzy...the wind beneath our wings

Cindy, Walter and Pat, below and Chris and Penny, across, for their stealth observation

The Cooks' for keeping the yard looking good

Patty for patiently helping me handle on-line banking

David and Janet for their sympathetic financial expertise and facilitation

Jerry and Tom for giving us the gift of beautiful music, health, communication and a graceful exit

Friends, including but not limited to: Judi, JoAnn, Cindy, Mary, Robin/Tom, Richard/Ruth, Barb, Jack, Uncle Mike, Lisa, for keeping us up on their lives and helpling us stay connected when we're far away

Steve and Charron for introducing us to this lifestyle and fueling our wanderlust

Jesse for his support and joy

Kate for her valuable and enthusiastic advice and her personalized first aid kit

And, we can't forget Fred, wonderful Fred.  He is taking charge of our stick home, doing what is needed to keep it safe and striking fear in the hearts of the mice that may think the house is available for their parties

We are grateful.....

Vilano Beach

North Beach Camp resort is one of our favorite places to spend time.  Each time we pass through this gate I feel like we're nestling down under a mother bird's wing.  From the street (A1A, Coastal Highway) you can't see a single motorhome or trailer and don't really even know anything is waiting down the sandy road.

I was really looking forward to this part of our trip, and now here we are.

entry gate

Campsites line either side of this sand road, but the foliage is so dense they seem hidden.

road leading in to the campsites

The campground is bordered by the ocean on the east and the intracoastal waterway (Tolomato River) on the west.  There are great restaurants overlooking both shores, in easy walking distance.

our beach

Tolomato River

this little guy was stealing from the fishermen

I love our site this year.  Its smaller than one's we've had in the past, but its nice and private and not far from the beach.  During the week, the campground is very quiet and even on weekends the sites are situated so that each one is almost hidden from the next.  My kind of place.

Can you see Beluga?

our   "yard"

We spent time on the beach, it was a lovely day.

I keep telling him "those little umbrellas belong in your cocktail, not on your nose".....

still playing footsie

Taking care of business

crafting a sky-light cover

guarding the fan

telekinetically hunting squirrels

paying bills

                                        All of us had business to take care of today.

  Three weeks worth of mail was delivered this morning, so I spent a bit of time paying bills and organizing paperwork.    Dave formulated a design and then put together a cover for our shower's sky light.  We needed something to block out the sun and its heat when we're parked without shade.  The sky light is an odd shape and we went through a few versions until he settled on this one - and it works well.

Before

After

It was especially important to take care of this business because it was very hot inside today. The sun beating down on our roof and coming in the unprotected sky light added to the discomfort level.   Beluga's air conditioning thermostat has been toying with us for some time now, and yesterday it gave up altogether.
We were able to find a new one and we picked it up at Ocean Grove RV this afternoon.   While Dave installed it, I did a few loads of laundry to take care of the last piece of business for today.

Well, not exactly the last piece - a gin together in the cool shade of the palmettos was the last piece of  business.