Finishing Up At Jonathan Dickenson

Friday April 1-We have a pretty busy day planned. To start off....the least fun stuff...laundry. I got a small walk in before we headed down to the Kimball Center. They are having a lunch for Barry, the park ranger. He is retiring so we went to join in on that. Mark the park manager made the food and it was really good. Pulled pork and rice and beans, very tastee. We sat with some other volunteers, Dan and Amy. The more you get to know these folk the better they are. They have the best volunteers here. After eating and visiting and listening to all the wonderful things Barry has done in his career here we went back to the campground. We then had dinner plans at Norman and Diannes. They have a snowbird lifegroup from church. Each time they get together they feed us. I brought a dessert and there was new people to meet. Again it was a wonderful night of fellowship. Met so many nice people here from all over the country....we are lucky indeed. This is the view they have.

Saturday April 2-It's another hot day.....Jeff mentioned a bike ride but we decided the beach instead. Again we have lots on our schedule today. We left for the beach really early so it was very quiet there. We went to a new beach for us...Coral Cove. It's a beauty of a beach but the clouds kept some of the colors away. We were happy for some clouds because it was so hot and no breeze what so ever.

We had to walk up the beach to get to the rocks. It was like we had the beach to ourselves. We made our way back to the parking lot and decided to try a new restaurant....(to us) We have heard a lot of good things about Time To Eat Restaurant. Everyone was right, the menu is huge. If you can't find something to eat you aren't hungry. We shared a breakfast and still had some leftover. It was really good and so was the service.





















We went home to clean up and then we went to the Gardens Mall because they are having a Health and Wellness Festival. We figured it would be crowded but went anyway. They had lots of booths set up but we just wanted to see Dr. Oz and Suzanne Somers........done.








































We watched some and escaped before it was over to beat the crowd. Ended the day with walking our lazy dogs around the campground loop. It's funny because you say to Belle...let's got for a walk and she jumps on the couch. Soffee isn't much of a walker either. I drag her to get her going then after awhile she gets herself going.


Sunday April 3- We started our day off at Generation Church, we greeted today and they had baptisms today...so it was a great day at church. We left feeling blessed.

We hung around the campground and Seth called us and told us that Hailey has been invited to a special tumbling class, we are very proud of her and can't wait to see all of her tricks in person.

We settled in and then heard a knock on the door. Our neighboring host invited us over to a campfire. Jeff and I went and so did most of the other volunteers. It was another real nice evening. Loving this park for sure.

Monday April 4- Our plans for a beach day had to be changed. It was cloudy with sprinkles now and then. I prefer a sunny day for the beach. When it rains...go to a movie. We did try a new theater this time. It was being remodeled last year but this year its open. It's called Cinepolis.




















We saw the movie Eddie The Eagle, it was really good pick. Both of us liked it. We changed up our snacks this time. I had some caramel corn and Jeff had a coffee. The theater was really nice for sure.


Tuesday April 5- Normally we would be working on Tuesdays but we traded a shift because they need Friday off. It turned out great for us. Today was a perfect beach day so we got to enjoy the surf, sand and sunshine. We went to Juno Beach today. I went and found a nice spot. It was about 9 a.m. when we arrived so not many people. Jeff went out on the pier to fish and joined me on the beach later. It was a perfect day. When the beach got full we headed for home.

Wednesday April 6- It's our last full work week. It's starting to slow up here at the campground. We are seeing some empty sites. Haven't really seen too many empty sites around here. I guess that's a sign it's time to head north. After cleaning I spent some time outside in the sunshine. It seems the girls here at the park are going on a little outing tonight. We met up and went to the Tequesta Brewery Co. We met a few more gals at the pub and sat around trying to visit. It was a bit loud so hard to hear. The place was really neat, they make there own beer. I'm not a beer drinker but the company was great.

Thursday April 7- We worked, then relaxed then we had a group of volunteers that rode our bikes to Tiki 52. Again we had others join us there. We had a really nice table outside and the view was wonderful. We had planned to have supper but when we asked for the menus our waitress said the kitchen is closed but we are selling pizza by the slice. Guess what we had for supper....pizza.








































Saturday April 9- After saying we have had some empty sites the weekend shows up. Since the snowbirds are heading home the weekend campers have arrived. Jeff ran to The Jupiter Donut shop and got me some doughnuts this morning. They were yum. We just stayed around here til lunch time. We made our way over to The Cheesecake Factory for lunch with dessert of course.

While we were enjoying our dessert we received a call from Seth. Ashton is playing in a drop in hockey tournament this weekend. In the first game he had his first hat trick...(3 goals in 1 game) we are very proud of him. What a big day for him. We left the restaurant and made a few stops. When we got home Jeff changed the oil in the truck. Starting to get things ready to travel.


Sunday April 10-This was our last Sunday at Generation Church. We sure will miss these people. They have really made us feel like part of there family. Sad to go but we will come back. We came home and did some more tasks. Jeff washed the truck and I worked on the inside.




Monday April 11- Again we had planned on a beach day. The weather just didn't cooperate. We just stayed here and worked on packing stuff up and cleaning.


Tuesday April 12- We have only 2 more working days. Today I trained the next host Peggy. It went well and I think she has a good idea of what she needs to do. When we finished working we got busy working around here. Time to start packing up. Getting excited about moving on. We have met so many nice people and we will miss them but it's time to get home and collect some hugs.



Wednesday April 13-Our last day at the office. It's warm and sunny today. We cleaned the shower house's and the sites. Then home to finish packing up. Steve came over and invited us to join them for dinner. So we followed them to Jupiter Ale House. So it was Steve, Claire, Fred, Pam and us.  Our dinners were all wonderful and my dessert was super good....I shared. It was a great way to end this adventure.

Thursday April 14- We both woke up early. I guess we are both ready to move. We have loved our time here and all the wonderful people we have met. It's a little bittersweet, our volunteer road its starting to look like a ghost town. So til next year....goodbye Jonathan Dickenson thanks for all the wonderful memories.....

The Rest of March

Tuesday March 22-Well back to work, Jeff let me know that we have 11 working days left. We love the host position we have here but are starting to get a little family sick. We are grateful for face time and phone service but are missing the kids and grand kids. Most of the time during the work week we just hang around the park unless we need something at the store. I did get Belle's hair cut today, the temperature had cooled a bit so I took advantage of that.




Wednesday March 23- Today I'm adding a post today because it's Belle's 8th birthday, I felt bad because I allmost forgot about it. She didn't seem to notice and she doesn't look a day older than 7.

Thursday March 24- It was our last day of work this week and we decided to celebrate with having some company over to join us for supper. Don and Karen came over and we had a yummy dinner and sat around and visited with them. We have met so many really nice people while here. Some make return trips so you look forward to getting together again. This is the third time they have been back and we try to get together each time. What's funny is that these new friends we meet are from all over and are very different but its great fun to learn about each other and all the places each of us have visited.



Friday March 25- The weather man was predicting rain today. We didn't want to spend all day inside so we went for breakfast and picked up Belle's prescription food. Then Jeff took me to a different Tuesday Morning. I have been getting scrapbook supplies there and they have really good deals. We came home and the weather finally arrived. It really rained. Found out at a later date that someone was struck by lightning here at the park. We weren't surprised by that because the lightning was crazy. I went to do the laundry at the laundry facilities between rains but I got caught there and had to wait awhile for it to stop raining. We decided to attend the Good Friday services at church tonight. When we left the park the rain had stopped. As we went toward town the rain there was pouring down like crazy. The service was not at all what I was expecting but it was very powerful.

Saturday March 26- Well after all that rain it was really nice today. We decided to launch the kayaks from Burt Reynolds Park in Jupiter. We had checked it out earlier and thought it would be a nice protected area to check out. They really had lots of rain, I heard 4 inches. The parking lot at the park was flooded as you can see. We launched the boats and headed out to explore. We haven't kayaked here before. We got there early so it wasn't busy to start but definitely picked up. It was very protected for the most part but you could get out in the intra coastal if you wanted. Then you needed to be a bit more careful. There are some very large boats...(yachts) there.










































We had a nice day exploring. We were both fishing but not many bites. I did catch a catfish but those aren't so good in this area. We went back to the camper and cleaned up the kayaks and put everything away. We stayed around the campground tonight. Our son Seth and his son Ashton went on a road trip to see the Stanley Cup in Waterloo Iowa. They sent us some pictures of that. They sure were excited to be there and get some really nice pictures.

Sunday March 27- Happy Easter everyone!!! I was really looking forward to Easter this year, usually we attend a church. This year we attended a church that we feel a part of. We greeted for the 2nd service of 3. It was great...the worship, message and just feeling the love that everyone there has towards each other and Jesus. The day was super. We talked to the kids on face time today too.

I made brunch when we got back. We just hung around here. It turned out to be very hot and humid today. We got an invite from some other volunteers, Ken and Mary to come down for drinks and cheesecake. We went down there and visited with the volunteers that are still here. We had a wonderful Easter, all that was missing was the family.


Monday March 28- It's really a smoker out there today...feels like summer. We decided to do some running. We needed fuel for the truck and wanted to get some more hardware to keep our rugs from blowing away. That's a good/bad thing around here. The bad is, some times it makes outdoor activities tough. The good is when its really hot at least there is a breeze to make it bearable. We also went for lunch at Grimaldi's for pizza. We ate there before and liked it so we thought we would go again. It was really good again. After we went to The Cobb Theater for a movie. We saw My Name Is Doris. I really thought it was funny and cute. It was kind of a girl movie.



Tuesday March 29- Back to work and its hot to start the day and only got warmer as we went on. One thing I did notice is we actually had some open spots. I think that is the first time for that. I think people are starting to head north. We also have noticed that people aren't staying that long. I think this is one of there stops to get home. With all the heat and humidity means storms are all around and can pop up. It did just that later in the day. It looked pretty scary but mostly rain is what we received. Others around us got some severe weather. I'm not looking forward to spring because of all the storms that accompanies it. Just have to watch and be careful. We do not hesitate to abandon the rig and take cover.


Wednesday March 30- We woke up to rain today but it stopped before we needed to get working. It was cloudy most of the day with some sprinkles. It cooled off a little for a little while. Went to our bible study at church tonight, it was very good as usual. We both are going to miss this group and church but look forward to coming back next year.

Thursday March 31- It's the last day of our work week and the last day of the month. Check this out, I have noticed some twigs and sticks in my bike basket but today the birds and worked a lot harder. It was almost a complete nest. There wasn't any eggs in it so Jeff took it out and took my basket off so they wouldn't do it again. After we got all our work done we decided to go out to eat at Ruth's Chris Steak House. It's normally out of our budget to eat there, but they have a small menu of early bird specials. Jeff has taken me there the last 2 New Years, it has my favorite steak and dessert. It's very expensive so its our big treat to start the year. We got there early sat in the bar area and had picked out our choices. I ordered a burger, medium well and Jeff had the steak sandwich, medium well. When they brought out our food I knew right away mine wasn't cooked correct from the bloody bun. Well it took awhile to get someone to notice our problem. A different waitress took it and said she would throw it back on the fire. They brought it out and it was definitely well done this time. I would think that a nice steak house would understand how to cook to order. Let me just explain something....I understand that mistakes are made but the service we received was horrible. Our original waiter brought back my food but didn't apologize or anything just set it in front of me. After we got our food we never saw or heard from anyone else. We even had to track some one down to get our bill. That was brought to us by the trainee that our waiter was training. I watched our waiter go around to all of his tables checking how everything was. Now like I said we have ate here before and sat in the dining room instead of the bar area.. We had ordered off the main menu which is expensive to us. Our service there was wonderful. We felt very disappointed when we left, I didn't even get my favorite dessert, crème brulee because nobody gave us that option. What was suppose to be a nice evening out turned into something quite different. We came home and took the dogs for a walk around the campground. We ended the evening on a good note, the sunset was very pretty. I just wish the pictures could show the brilliance of the colors......Bring on April......