A Day At The Fair

This weekend Dave and I went to the Volusia County Fair with my brother Rick. It was a perfect day to wander the fairgrounds looking at all the displays, animals, wild rides, and of course the tractors.


We even hung around for the tractor parade, hoping that we would be invited to drive some of the older ones that sat lonely and unmanned. We weren't part of the chosen few though. I think it's because we didn't have our cowboy boots on!


A fair isn't complete without the wide variety of foods, and this one beat out all others. Just looking at what was offered made our cholesterol count go up several points. The concessionaires deep fried just about everything imaginable including BUTTER! We certainly bypassed that, but couldn't resist trying the famous fried Kool-aid. It was more like funnel-cake batter with Kool-aid in it, and was really quite tasty.


Rick had to pose by the gigantic bottle of chocolate syrup that is probably the only size bottle that could satisfy his son Matthew's chocolate milk craving.


After having our fill of fair delicacies, we explored some of the other shows and displays. Dave tried his hand (literally!) at milking a cow, but the poor plastic cow was 'fresh out', but mooed at him.


He also tried panning for gold but alas, he didn't get to trade any in for his beloved candy. You all know how hard he must have tried to find some though!


One of the best shows was the Frisbee dog exhibition and these rescued dogs were truly amazing. Of course the trainers were too. What a workout for them and play time for the dogs.


There was only one disadvantage of going to the fair. Now all three of us want more tractors!

Geezerdom

A perfect example of being a geezer.


Today Dave even ordered off the SENIORS' menu for the first time ever. A moment to remember. Ha!

Ahh, Warmth & Palm Trees

We have arrived in Daytona! It was great to trade our falling leaves and 24 degree early morning temps for palm trees and a nice mild 72 degree evening. We certainly looked like trick-or-treaters at my mother's front door with our 'costumes' of turtleneck sweaters and jackets. We couldn't wait to shed our layers of clothes and get into our Crocs.

Unfortunately that Halloween night became a bit showery so there weren't quite as many kids and parties as last year, but still entertaining. Well worth the trouble we went through to get plane tickets so we could arrive in time for the annual festivities.

Our Honda Helix was sitting in the garage waiting for us, and we have been out exploring for the past two days. First stop was Walmart where they even have special parking for motorcycles. We parked right next to another Helix, so I guess we fit right in with the rest of the retirees. Dave says it is the perfect way to begin 'geezer-dom'! As we rode around we realized that we are now both eligible to live in all the 55+ adult trailer parks. I don't know if we should laugh or cry.

Adios Northeast

Off we go into the wild blue yonder! We are waiting for Jim to pick us up to take us to the airport for our flight to Daytona. It's definitely time since even the frost is so thick that it looks like it snowed again. At least it's not like my sister and family in NH where they had 12-14" of snow with the last storm.
We lucked out with 2-3".

What a summer season it has been and we want to thank our wonderful friends for all their help and camaraderie this year. Things just wouldn't be the same without you all! We're already looking forward to returning next spring.

Check back frequently this winter to see what adventures we get into. More from Daytona...time to fly!

I'm Dreaming Of A White....

HALLOWEEN?!

Yesterday afternoon it started with a rain/snow mix.
Good thing the gold fish are basking in their winter aquariums at Jim & Lyn's house (we ended up having 14 offspring, plus the original 9 fish by the end of the summer).

By nighttime it turned to all snow with huge snowflakes falling down.


This morning it was a winter wonderland.


I guess we waited too long to head south this year. Now we're really anxious to turn the white flakes of snow into white grains of sand!

Where Did October Go?

Looks like October has gone the way the rest of the summer season has gone...way too fast!

It's been a month filled mainly with ongoing projects that needed to be completed before our southbound departure.

The Ticonderoga house has been winterized and the toys are back in their toybox. It was a gorgeous fall day when we went north, and we had a colorful ride on Tongue Mountain's twisty roads.
We also took one last walk along the LaChute Trail and the colors were at their peak.

It is always hard locking the door for the last time of the season, especially since it was so nice out that day. We knew it had to be done though, since there was so much else that had to be taken care of.

Among our other chores, Hercules has been the biggest project. The engine was put back together with Kevin's help. Then it was time to reinstall the 800 lb. engine back in the frame with the New Holland tractor (which barely lifted it).

The front end sits ready to be reinstalled.
Two happy mechanics!
That is until it was all hooked up and didn't run. Smiles turned to frowns with several different theories as to the cause. Unfortunately we've run out of time, money, weather, and patience, so Herc is now totally back together and parked under the big shed out back. As is the Full Circle, which also needs engine work in the spring. Dave will have his hands full when we return, because people have already been dropping off motorcycles for him to work on next year. He better rest up this winter!

We did have one last 'Rally in the Woods' ride this month, and everyone declared it our best yet (I think the 'bar is raised' each time).

Many thanks go out to Kenny, Kerstin, and Tyler for being such great hosts, and to everyone who brought so much delicious food and other goodies! Thumbs up and thanks again to Andy, who once again played our favorite tunes...definitely a hit with the crowd! Should we name this air band 'Classic Old Men'?

Yeehaw! 'Johnny Vortex' gave a great trail tour with the Farmall.

We started setting up for the rally at 9 A.M. and the last piece of wood went on the campfire at 9 P.M. No one wanted to leave, which shows how much fun we all had. At the end of the night, Sara paid tribute to herself and the riding season by putting flowers on her own memorial where she broke her ankle this spring. Hopefully this will please the trail gods so it doesn't happen again next year.


We are now in our final phase of preparing to leave the cold, damp northeast. Our flight south is on Halloween Monday. First stop...Daytona. We are ready!

Migration

The yearly migration has begun. The geese are honking as they fly south, and can be seen in just about every field and body of water along the way. We have lots of different birds stopping for a rest and a meal at our feeder before continuing on their journey. The hummingbirds have departed and there even seems to be fewer deer around. We also had some gorgeous butterflies passing through our yard yesterday.

I was glad that my marigolds were still in bloom for them to land on and have a bit of respite (although that may all change tomorrow when we get frost).

Gee, even our Honda Helix motorcycle will soon be on I-95 South, as it it gets transported down to Daytona for more explorations and adventures during our family visits.

When will we join the migratory ritual? We are getting closer to setting a date, but our list of projects here just gets longer. For now we will have to be content being observers and not participants.