Big Lagoon State Park!

We left St George Island State Park and headed west for a two night stay at a private campground that was supposed to have everything (according to their description) that would have Jasper be a happy boy for those nights. I guess you can write anything you want and never have to update it.

Needless to say it was OK but they only thing that worked for us there was the fact that They had a basketball court for Jazz and me to shoot hoops and that the immediate neighbors were nice. The place had been recently and continually dumped on, rain wise, so it was very damp through out the park. We got there late the first day only to find our site had already been taken, by someone who drove in and was just as confused by the sign sheet left out for everyone arriving after the office closes, as we were. I, with the help of a friendly passerby, found the on site maintenance man, and after some personal effort he got a site up and running for us and we managed to get set up and have some friendly conversation with the neighbors before dark.

I noticed while taking the car off the dolly that one of the, not so great anyway, tires was real low on air. So....

The next day was spent doing function things. We had to do laundry and decided to have it done in town, twenty miles away in Panama City. While going there I decided to get new tires for the dolly and have that ready to go, no more worries. After a bit I found a company that sold almost my size tires and got them mounted while we were doing the laundry. It is days like this when my romantic version of this trip has a tendency to slip away a little and I have to actively recreate a vision of what I want this trip to be and accept that things are going to happen and that's all part of it. There is a theme for me in here! I am still discovering how to be with things when they don't work out the way I think they should. Probably no real surprise for some of you but an on going source of surprise for me. GO figure!

That all went well enough. We now have clean clothes and new dolly tires. We spend the next day lounging a bit and cleaning house and playing some B Ball and walking on the beach. But a cold front is moving in and my body has finally acclimated, to some degree, and it feels cold with the stiff wind blowing from the Gulf. We make the best of it but, Megan and Jasper both voice their dislike of the place we are staying. As we travel around, we find, certain places have a very different feel. Some are OK to visit, some are OK to stay at and others are you have got to be kidding me, no way we are stopping or staying.

We loaded up the car on the dolly after dark that last night. There were weather reports of severe thunder storms and hail for the morning and they aren't kidding when they say severe. They predicted 60 mph winds and we got then along with a sizable downpour. We were very glad we had already loaded and closed up.

We got on the rod then heading for Big Lagoon, inside the city limits of high class Pensacola. This park is beautiful and very limited in camping (75 sites), well maintained and very friendly.

I want to let you know that Florida just a fabulous job of maintaining and operating all of the sate parks. It has been an extreme pleasure, consistently, to stay in them. You can count on them for there stated attributes and beyond. All of the rangers and other employees have been so friendly and helpful as well as the volunteer park hosts. Hope you get the chance to enjoy them your self some time.

On the way here we stopped at another day use state park called Eden Gardens. I will leave you with some of the photos of this beautiful, once privately owned, estate.

I have to go know to meet the welder who is repairing our tow dolly with the new tires. If came apart on the way over to Pensacola.

"The difference between an adventure and an atrocity is attitude"

St. George Island

Saturday Morning we left Lake City and continued actually heading true West for the time on this trip. We headed to St. George Island on the pristine, emerald coast of the Gulf of Mexico in northern Florida. We stayed on the Island in the same named state park. One of the nicest we have been in. Unfortunately we could only get one night there.

Megan and I were sick from food poisoning all day Saturday but I was so struck by it that by noon on Saturday all I could do was lie down. I was hammered by it all night until 4:30 AM Sunday when it finally had run its course....

As you can see by the picture, our being affected by food poisoning didn't stop Jazz from enjoying "one of the best Smore's he has ever had."

This left me, finally, able to move and to make a concerted attempt to enjoy some of the time on this (what I had heard until this moment) beautiful island. So, on Sunday morning we headed down to the beach and sat in the fold out chairs until noon. We then went and broke camp and got out of our site but returned to the beach for the rest of the afternoon. We met and Dad and Son, on the beach, from Tallahassee who had been camping there for the weekend. We hung with them and the the kids enjoyed swimming and exploring in the salty gulf waters. At around 3:30 we headed to the RV to head out west a bit further over to Mexico Beach, Florida as we head on and aiming to be out of Florida by Mid Week. The water and sand and bright clear sky's and the reasonably limited population of tourist in these coastal towns make them perfect spots to be in the winter.

"I think if you click on it you can enlarge it"
If you look just to the left and over the top of Jasper's friend Jake you can see one of the many dolphins that swim by just 50 feet or so off shore. The boys actually got to within 15 feet of them but I wasn't there to get the picture. You can see it on the Picassa site listed in the My Profile section to the upper right of the blog page.

Here is Jazz riding his bike on the beach and obviously thru the shallow tidal pool left just as high tide is starting to come in.

Northern Florida

We are on the move!

It has been a while since we posted as we have been busy in Port St. Lucie as I have previously mentioned. We have completed the things we wanted to do there for Pop and Bud and Megan has had a wonderful opportunity to be with her granddad and they had a truly heart touching moment together just as we were ready to pull away from the house. It made the trip worth while and the parting moment sweeter than any writer or director could have possibly suggested. I will explain in a few moments just what occurred.

Please make sure you check out the picassa picture web site - listed to the right under our info for all of the pictures that I do not get to post along with the stories.

I will just spend a few lines explaining what we were able to get done there and then on to the closing moment. It feels so completely great that we were able to help out. We are satisfied that what we did made a big difference for all of them living in that house. So...

We picked out and assembled a shower chair and a raised toilet seat with arms on both sides to allow Pop the ability to get up and down without getting stuck any more. A little dignity is nice. We also repaired the toilet that had been leaking for who knows how long.

We painted all of the gables on the exterior of the house. All of the areas where we painted have not been touched in about 30 years. We also painted the storage sheds out side that contain all of the tools and supplies that we normally put in basements or garages. (They have neither). We also painted five large exterior rolling racks/bookshelves that house plants and other decorations within the screened in pool area. We cleaned up outside by removing old electrical panel boxes and conduits that had been abandoned since the hurricanes several years ago. I patched the concrete block areas that became exposed as a result, as well. We also got rid of some things that were being stored outside of the sheds for various reasons but of no use.

Inside, we stripped the wall paper off of the main hall bathroom walls, patched and prepped the walls and ceiling, primed and finished painted them. We also hung new towel bars. In bedroom three we cleaned and finished painted the walls and trim a nice light sage green. In bedroom two, we cleaned and finish painted the walls a real light yellow. Then Bud cleaned the carpets. This gave us the opportunity to clear out the rooms of unwanted belongings and clear space for the move of some of Nancy's furniture over to the house that they will be living in after she and Bud are married in October. We went to her place and brought back her dining room set, framed pictures and paintings, dressers and a real nice futon frame and mattress. We relocated Buds older furniture over to fill the gaps in Nancy's place so it can still be used or rented or whatever.

Back at Pops we set up all the furniture in three rooms and reorganized it to work and hung all of the paintings. We then took on the task of hanging crown moulding in the Kitchen, Dining room and Living room. It is clear to me that we could go around America visiting all of the people we know in many states and do the same thing for them wherever we stayed. How nice is it to have someone come to your house and get the projects that have been waiting on the list for a while organized and completed while you are at work. What seems to happen is that then on the weekends the recipients are so fired up and motivated that we go right thru the weekend getting even more done. It is good for everyone involved. Those of us who like to help and those who enjoy getting the help.

Upon completion of those things we made ready to leave by collecting all of the various items that we had used and spread out throughout the many rooms of the house.

I will complete the story tomorrow. We are heading to St Georges Island on the Gulf tomorrow.

In the mean time here are some of the pictures from today. One of the coolest things we have done to date was to swim in the spring fed swimming holes that are a constant 72 degrees, as the 240+ million gallons a day , of perfectly clear, pristine water that stays underground in the aquifers for up to 40 years before it pushes up to the multitudes of the springs openings throughout Florida and turn into above ground rivers. It is no wonder that Ponce DeLeon thought these were the "Fountains Of Youth".

Jasper, eventually, became very brave and got off of his tube and swam with us in the crystal clear, constantly 72 degree water from the aquifer. We had a very special time here knowing that these springs have been here for a long, long time and that they were still here for us to experience.







The final piece I wanted to add to this story was the last minutes just before leaving Port St Lucie. Megan went in to Pops room to say good bye to him even though he seemed to still be sleeping. She stood by the side of the bed just gazing at him as if saying her goodbye in silence. Soon Jasper joined by her side as they bid him so long. As if noticing them there as he slept he gently awoke. He looked up and asked her what was going on. Megan told him that we were leaving and that she wanted to say good bye to him before we left. He asked "Where are you going?" She explained that we were heading off on the rest of our trip to travel across the US and into Alaska. He looked up at her and exclaimed, "really, wow! When are you coming back?"
I don't know exactly when we will return. We expect to be out on the road for the rest of the year," Megan told him. He looked at her in a gentle way and sweetly said, " Well, I'm sure gonna miss you and I love you a lot." With that Megan became teary and they hugged and kissed and Pop gave Jasper a hug and kiss too. They left the room and Pop drifted off back to rest. A very touching moment for Megan and a perfect closure to our visit.
From there we headed up to Lake City, Fl. This is just outside of High Springs where we experienced the cool spring water shown above. We stayed in this area for three nights and had a perfect viewing spot and miraculously clear skys from our campsite for the Lunar Eclispe on Wednesday night. We sure hope to got to watch this spectacular astronomical event. It was awesome and beautiful. We left lake City on Saturday morning and began our trek West to the panhandle of Florida.

Joe Torre in Vero Beach!

Today, Jazz and I, took off on a sort of quazi planned and hopeful trip up to Vero Beach. We left with a hope of catching up with Joe Torre and getting his autograph as he started a new chapter in his life and career with the Los Angeles Dodgers. They began spring training today at Dodgertown. Today just the pitchers and catchers of the previous year and the hopefuls for the up coming year all met to begin their bids for the starting lineup for the new season.
"The grass feels really good and cool," Jazz said, as his he accidentally had a shoe slip off while we were standing there watching and he immediately said, "Dad, take your shoes off and feel this grass. Is this real!"
I asked a guy standing in the shade if he had seen Joe Torre this morning. He told me that he had and that he was still way up in the north field. We turned and headed to towards that field in order to increase our chances of getting a picture and his signature. For the occassion I had, somewhat inappropriately, worn my old Official Yankees Cap for him to sign if we got that close. As we got closer to the field where he was reported to be, it became obvious that he was in fact there. It had to be him, surrounded by the mutiltude of fans pressing him up against the fence at his back, just outside the diamond where some of the coaches were about to begin bunting practice. (NO one even noticed that going on)
The scene was just a little brutal as the grown men pushed in and shoved, quite physically, to get their chance to say Hi to Joe, wish him encouragement (as if their comments alone would make his season completely successful) and have the wide variety of baseball paraphernalia signed by one of baseballs legends, as he began his new seasons away from the ongoing controversy of New York and the current congressional hearings that have been creating a black spot for baseball of late.
Standing in the crowd and not being pushy, I tired my best to get my hat close enough for him to see and sign. Feeling as though my efforts were not going to work, I also tried having Jazz get in close enough, straight thru the closed off group of big guys, who had little regard for the fact that he was even there, as he got pushed around and shoved as they jockeyed for position, as soon as one lucky person moved from the front of the group. I made a few semi loud comments for certain guys, to watch out for him and to not get him hurt, but it all but fell on deaf ears. I pulled Jasper back to protect him.
The next thing I know, Jazz is standing right behind Joe and calling to me and signaling me to give him the hat and marker by his reaching for it. He evidently went to the left and squeezed in along the fence to get in perfect position right next to Torre. I handed him the gear knowing that a kid had a much better chance of breaking rank and size. And just as I did, we heard Joe say, "I really have to go now and get to work." I thought for a second that we might just miss this opportunity to get what we came for but in that moment Torre turned and saw Jazz standing there with the Yankee cap in hand and raised in his direction. He took the cap and signed it for him and as he did I snapped the picture to the right. (You can see the cap being signed and Jaspers head in the lower left corner of the picture.) Jazz came out of the group and over to me. We were both really happy and satisfied for having gotten the signature we came for on this special day.
I imagine I was probably more estactic than Jazz for just having a deeper sense of what was going on and knowing and appreciating who the guy is and having watched him for the past decade and a half in New York. Also there was this little repeat of history going on that really moved me to misty eyes, crackling voice and joy in this very moment.
Back when I was 8 years old my Dad brought me to some field in either Fort Lauderdale or Miami for my first glimpse of a spring training team and field. At that field, that morning, I walked up towards a fence with many people gathered around and pushing and shoving for positon just like they were on this very beautiful day in February at Dodgertown Field. The only difference is that it was 1963 and that there was a man that I had only heard of and had never actually seen, sitting on a chair on the inside the field behind the backstop fence to the right of home plate. The man was none other than Casey Stengal. As I got close enough to the fence where we could actually see each other, I got pushed to the side by a guy who was very enthusiastic to get into the gap that appeared above the heads of the taller guys waiting in the area. (My shortness in the group apparently made it look as if there was a gap between Casey and the fence and he was looking to get into the gap) As I got moved to the side Casey stopped the signing and asked people to stop shoving and wait while spoke with this young fella. He signed my score card that was printed with the list of players on the field that day. He talked to me for a minute or so and gently wished me well as he handed the signed card back to me thru the fence link.
Jaspers experience was much less tramatic when he actually got next to Joe Torre. He was feeling successful and reacting to his Dad's apparent happiness about getting the cap signed. So when I told him that I really would love to get a full frontal picture of Joe with him, he simply said, "do you want me to go back up there?" I told him that if he thought he could get there easily that that would be great. So he just walked back to the same side angle that he went in the first time through and I just followed him. As Joe was really trying to leave this time, Jasper patted him on the back, facing him and looking directly at him, he asked if he could take a picture with him. Joe reached down and placed his hand around Jaspers head and gently turned him towards me to stage the picture for us. I snapped it , we thanked him for taking the time and we left feeling satisfied and complete. Knowing all of the bad press that baseball is going through right now, it was a sincere pleasure to meet up yet again with one man who has the presence of a true hero. That is how he appeared to each one of us in that group. He is truly gracious and kind in a time when it is most appropriate. We are thankful for this shining moment and example of a great man!

"Writers Wanted"

I have embarked on a writing path as part of the fun of this trip we are on. I have started writing the first book and have conceptualized three others to date. Thus I have attracted and met several people who are on similar paths and doing writing for fun and some for pay. Some of us are interested in starting an online writers group.
This group would be primarily to support each other in our writing and to offer a place where we could share our writing projects or pieces as they progress or prior to submission for publication (if that is your goal).
The guidelines are not set and we could form them as a group. We will most likely not have more than 5 of us in the group to keep the time committment to an effective level as we meet online and share. The one thing that the online format offers is that we are not required to be in the same place at the same time in order to hear or review the written pieces. We will most likely have a requirement to write something each week and to review someones or each persons work each week and send comments back to that person thru the group email process.
I would certainly enjoy doing this project and am looking to get started as soon as possible. I have three people so far and am looking for two more to join the group. If you or someone you know would like to be a part please email me at bill@adaptbuilders.com as soon as you can so we can get it rolling.
Thanks in advance for your participation and I look forward to hearing from you

Atlantis Lifts Off in FLorida!

Feb. 7, 2008 -

Space shuttle Atlantis and its crew of seven astronauts launched on spectacular plumes of gold-tipped smoke today carrying Europe’s primary contribution to the International Space Station – the Columbus science laboratory.

Not knowing if was actually going to go off or not this afternoon, we took a shot and a drive. We headed north and east abit and did the one and a half hour drive to a position just shy of the launch site on Merrit Island, FL. We parked in a public beach lot and headed to the shore to see the much anticipated and delayed lift off the the space shuttle. We were approximately 5 - 8 miles precisely south/down shore, sitting on the sand on a beautifully bright yet partly cloudy day. It was 88 degrees here today and being near the shore was a wonderfully refreshing thing to do.

I had been conversing almost all day about the shuttle launch as I was fortunate enough to have my good friend and soon to be brother in law Matt, remind me via text message that today was the day and that it was looking good for launch. I had read a story about the possible launch in Sunday's paper but they were worried then that weather would scrap the launch once again.

With just two hours to go we took the plunge figuring that the worst that could happen is that we took a long ride to the beach. I spoke to Matt a couple of more times and my brother, Scott, as well while we were driving up to Sattelite Beach Patrick Air Force Base area.

My brother and I grew up in eastern Florida and did so thru the mid 50's to late 60's. Being here in Florida where most all of the launces took place and hearing first hand the mandate from Kennedy to put a man on the Moon, this space conversation was embedded in our lives and psychies. It is still very moving for me to watch the lift offs and landings as a result. My brother was on the phone from his Air Force office based in Ohio and gave me the countdown as I watched the launch pad through my binoculars. It was great for all three of us as Matt and Scott were able to watch the lift off in real time on the NASA website as I watched it in real, real time from the beach.

This was a first for Jasper as well and there was lots of activity going on this close to the site. Both on the beach and at the launch site. There were litterally hundres of not thousands of people lined up on the beach for miles to watch the event. There are apparently still alot of people capture or at least interested in the space mission.

Very exciting for us!

I will post Megans Pictures tomorrow of the lift off.

Here at Pops

Reporting LIVE!
From suburban Port St. Lucie, FL!

Currently the blog machine will not let me check spelling or post pictures so, sorry in advance!
We are making rumblings about heading out early next week, which really means thinking about specifically where and doing some planning before we leave. This way we actually discover the next place to see and things to do and explore and maybe even have a place to pull the RV into for the night if we remember to plan that much in advance.
(This piece is important to me(Bill) so I generally make sure that we are set with a place to sleep before we head off somewhere. But, I must admit that I have been getting better with just going with it and seeing what turns up. It is actually becoming exciting and less worrisome (most of the time when I can have faith that ALL IS WELL!)

We are spending this week doing projects around the house to help Bud (Megs Uncle) out but mainly focused on making the house work for Pop! (Megs Grandfather) much to his immediate chagrin. We have made some accessible renovations in his bathroom to make it easier for him to use (which as of last night he didn't like and told us to take them out) and also added in a couple of functional item repairs to keep things running smooth. We will also do some asthsetic changes on the in and out to get some of the things completed that working, living, being in a loving relationship and taking care of someone would or does prevent most of us from getting to on the house. It is great to be here and great to get to be with Bud and Pop and be a vital part of the family unit.
Jasper has just been having a great time here. He has fully integrated into the neighborhood with all of the available kids and waits anxiously for them to get home from school each day so they can begin another play adventure. I imagine it is somewhat novel for them as well, to have an out of town, home schooled kid to play with, particularly when it is Jasper.
The other day a couple came walking down the street in an obvious panic and very upset stating that they had lost there dog. Jasper got on his bike and rode thru the neighborhood until he found the dog, a grown German Shepard, got the dog with the help of some of his new to be friends, who provided some string to tie to the dog's collar. He brought the dog back to the very happy and relieved family. As of symbol of their relief and gratitude, they gave Jasper 10 dollars. He came home all excited to show us he had gotten the money and to ask if we had two fives as he wanted to share the money with the other kids who helped him. We found the change and he headed off to give the kids their share of the reward. He came back about 15 mins later and reported that he just gave the whole ten dollars to the other kids. He told us that he knew he had forty dollars and that he thought that they didn't and that they had actually found the dog but didn't know who he belonged to, so he gave it all to them to share. "Besides, now I have about 13 new friends," he said and ran back out to go play with the boy, Niko, next door. We were amazed and warmed!

Since leaving in December, I, Like Megan, have had opportunity and joy to read many good books., I read "Three Cups of Tea", The Tipping Point, another Mitch Albom story "For One more Day" a novel called "Lost and Found" and I am currentlly reading another novel "The Whistling Season" but I am mainly, currently, completely and thoroughly enjoying and somewhat obsessed and mesmerized by the reading of the book "Mark Twain - Himself".
This book is a chronological account of his life through corresponding excerpts of his writing, explanations from the author and accounts of Twain's where abouts, travels, aquaintenances, friends, family, drawings, jobs, notes and potraits, newspaper articles and many other pieces of info all assembled in remarkable fashion to illustrate the life and times of Samual L. Clemens and how he became so well known/famous in the mid to late 1800's. Before reading this I had no idea he was born in Florida....... Florida, Missouri. He moved A LOT but spent a good deal of time in Hannibal, MS and thus where we have now added another stop to our journey. His success and carreer were nothing if not magical and mysterious but certainly illustrious. He met near every dignitary of his day from here to Hawaii to Russia, if you can believe even one word of what he says in his writings.
Speaking of writing, I wanted to let you all know of some really wonderfully, cool news. My great friend, who meets me and travels with me in and to many different places in the world as I go... Dan Zuckergoods' new, first book "Teaching in the Real World-Stratagies to Survive and Thrive" is being published by Prentice Hall and is currently in printing and will be released in all of your favorite book stores throughout the country on Feb 27, 08' http://www.pearsonhighered.com/educator/academic/product/0,3110,0131590529,00.html
Take a look at the book on the site and pick it up in the stores! I am very excited for him!
This is a remarkably touching book that will pull at your heart strings as you read the real life journey of the making of a magnificant , extraordinary teacher and the touching moments that Dan (and his students) gets to experience and enhance as he participates in this process with his student teachers. He is a professor at Springfield College, Springfield, MA and begrudgingly allows me to beat him at golf (albeit occasionally). He shares the rest of his life and freindship with me willingly. Dan and his daughter, Megan, (a student at Springfield College) met us recently for the afternoon at The Alligator Farm (pictures soon) just outside of Everglades National Park on their way back to the cold north after a week cruise during winter break from school. We hope to meet next in Clevland at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. http://www.rockhall.com/
I have been there and have been tantilizing him since to get there and enjoy our lifes' time as seen thru music. Soon!
Speaking more of writing, I have completed the outline, the development of the majority of the characters and have even written a few thousand words for the story I am writing for my first book. The tentative title is "The Discovery of Passion". This will be novel with the underscore of how several of the characters discover and rediscover the heartfelt true purpose in their lives.
I am so very much enjoying the writing process and hope that someone actually gets to read it when I am done.
Thanks for all of your comments, calls and continued support and connectivity to us while we are on this trip. I have not enjoyed a winter this much since the first time I experienced a blizzard as a young boy of 10 in Meriden, CT.
Maybe, just maybe, I am enjoying this one a little more.

GO GIANTS!!!!

No Kidding and not that it really matters in the grand scheme, but,

I really hope the Giants beat the Patriots today, as much as I can't wait for Bush to be history!

!!!Go Giants!!!

Did someone say.... 17-14?????

or was that 18 and ONE I heard?

Oh Yeah!!!!

You see, dreams do come true!

Defense! Defense! Defense!

Tell me that story again PaPa. You know, the one of how a cocky undefeated team called the Patriots was defeated by the team that no one said had a chance. I love that story!

They must be Giants!

We're still in Florida!

We are back in Port St. Lucie for another week or so. We will attempt to modify some aspects of Megan's grandfathers house while we are here to make it easier for him to continue to live easily here.

We will most likely head out to St. Augustine (and the fountain of youth, as discovered by Ponce DeLeon some 400 years ago) and them head up thru the panhandle on one of America's most scenic drives on our way west. Ever mindful of warm temperatures!

The folks in Lake Charles, Louisiana have a project that they say is perfect for us to participate on so we will likely stay there for a couple of weeks before heading to lower Texas (South Padre Island, Laredo, Brownsville) and then into shallow Mexico for a brief visit and then over to lower New Mexico and Arizona.

We have applied and intend to become selected to do a one month workshop with Michael Reynolds http://www.earthship.net/ in Taos, New Mexico in May, building environmentally stable earthships. Please intend for us to get selected this would be a phenomenal experience and allow us to initiate change in the way we build.

Please take the time to sign into Meg's Picassa Web Site to see all of the photos she has been taking of our journeyy. It is Awesome! She takes great pictures! Heres the address...
http://picasaweb.google.com/meganlps/
Our Love to all of you!