It happened again

 May 20. 2022

I'm sure you have all experienced it.  You have a favorite product or item and suddenly.....it's no longer available.  W H A T......  If it is my favorite, it certainlly must have been a favorite of others.  So why discontinue it?  Just to disappoint us????

This morning it was Dad who was disappointed.  Momma had to have lab work done at a location right next to an IHOP.  Dad is very fond of their Harvest Grain Pancakes so he decided to go with Momma this morning and take her to breakfast after her blood draw.  

The only thing that went smoothly was the blood draw by an efficient tech with a sharp, painless needle.  When Dad went to place his Harvest Grain Pancake order, he was informed ....'we no longer offer them on our menu.  They have been replaced by Protein Pancakes.'  

Needless to say, they weren't near as tasty as Harvest Grain...and then when you add in the factor that they were overcooked and dried out....well, it wasn't a breakfast choice that will be repeated. 

And I'm sorry to report that the service was so poor, it is not a place that will be revisited.  

Momma and Dad could have left the car in its parking spot outside of the lab and slid into Darrell's right next door, following the lead of numerous other patrons, and chances are they would have been rewarded with decent service and an edible, tasty breakfast.  

Choices....some are good and others are better off not made.

I'm Chloe

Grand finish to a fun weekend....entertainment to the end

 Maiy 5-8, 2022

Southern Oaks Resort

Summerfield, Florida

Thursday arrived right on schedule and so did we.....arrive on schedule.  It took us all of 5 minutes to arrive at our destination for the weekend....only because we caught a traffic light that held us up.  Yep, we live VERY close to Southern Oaks RV Resort. 

So close that we dodged all the love bugs.  Dad said something about the engine not even getting warmed up due to the short trip.

Actually, it was a blessing that we didn't have far to travel as Dad had to make an early morning, unexpected, unplanned trip to Ocala to pick up our car before we could depart.  And Momma had such a positive vibe when she left the Service Center after getting a routine oil change on Tuesday. Surely with such an attentive, caring service writer, it couldn't be anything but a refreshingly, delightful experience at the dealership.

Well, Dad had a very negative vibe on Wednesday, the day after the oil change, when he saw oil all over the garage floor.  That vibe turned even more negative when he popped the hood.  What did he see?   A messy, icky, oily coating all over the engine and the underside of the hood along with a half seated dip stick!! 

The diagnosis:  an overfilling of oil built enough pressure as the car zipped home to push up the dipstick, releasing the pressure and shooting oil over anything and everything ....and I'm not talking about just around the fill spout.  Needless to say, the car was loaded on a flatbed and delivered back to the dealership.  

After all that unexpected aggravation, things could only get better...and they did.  Our camping friends are a joy to be around.

My friend Bella and I enjoyed an afternoon socializing with everyone under the shade of the awning.  Now I will have to admit, Momma and Dad did more socializing than I did as they headed off to the clubhouse for games, food, meetings and whatnot over the course of the weekend.

There were plenty of table games (card and board games) as well as more active games like corn hole and bean bag baseball.

Here's how bean bag baseball looks thru the home run hole.  Get those pants hitched up Jan so you can slide that bag right thru the hole. Your team needs another home run.

I got real excited when Momma entered the rig Friday evening with a delicious smelling take home box....but the excitement was quickly squelched when she went straight to the refrigerator with the box, not even giving me the time of day.  WELL!!  That was totally uncalled for in my book!!  I had to listen closely as I really didn't get a good enough smell to determine that what was in that box was dinner from the Japanese Restaurant Sakura where not only did they eat well, but they were entertained while the chef cooked their meal in front of them with a gift of showmanship.

Momma wasn't quick enough to grab a pic of the wide eyes as the entertaining chef lit a high rising flame/fire on the griddle.  Yep, they said the entertainment was as enjoyable as the food.  

This campout is the last one for a while as the group 'goes dark'...no campouts in June, July and August... while most of the group head out of Florida in search of adventures in cooler temperatures.  Momma said our departure date will be June 1st.  I think it's getting warm now.  Maybe she should consider an earlier departure!?!?

Everyone adds a bit of joy, excitement and entertainment to our gatherings, but some people go that extra mile.  Our weekend had a grand finale finish compliments of the Griffin's.  But never fear, in honor of Mother's Day, the ladies stepped up and each used their strongest finger to get the job accomplished.

Or at least that what it looks like in this picture.

The real story is:  true to form, the problematic bedroom slide didn't want to retract without some "man power"

But it wasn't quite as simple as an extra push. I mean after all, this is our last campout for a few months so the send off had to be memorable!!   The slide motor quit running and had to be reset....thank goodness for the written instructions on how to perform that task.  But Tim had the backup plan covered.  If the instruction sheet couldn't be located, he had found the instructions in a websearch.  How did we survive without Google??   So after getting the slide motor up and running again, the slide was 'pushed' back out by the guys with some motor assistance to square it back up.  Then they all took up a position back outside so another attempt could be made at retracting the slide for travel down the road.  It took an RV Village, but they got the job done.  

Yes, an RV repair date is in the future for this rig to cure the 'drag' of the heavy slide.  Someone else will have to take over providing the 'conquering the challenge entertainment' as Steve said he's tired of handling that position and he will gladly relinquish that to someone else.  Dad said not to look at him to volunteer.  He is much happier when everything is operating as expected on our fifth wheel.  

Maybe I can entertain everyone with my ball catching technique.  

I'm Chloe