Monday March 27- Today is the day...we are finally getting the kayaks in the water. We packed up, loaded up and headed to the boat ramp here at the park. When we put in the water it was as calm as could be. It was going to be a perfect day on the water. It was warm but we had clouds that gave us a break from the sun. We had a plan today. We were going up to Trapper Nelson's and see Kip and Amanda. We have made our way up there before but it seemed longer than we remembered. We figured out the closer to Trapper's the prettier it is. Since it was Monday we didn't see a lot of boats or kayaks. So it was very peaceful.
We made it to Trapper Nelson's and met up with Kip and Amanda. Then the tour boat arrived so we got to watch Kip in action. He really gives a good tour. So happy they will be back next year. On the boat were some volunteers from our campground so we visited with them too.
We stayed and visited a bit more then we walked down to our kayaks and right behind our boats was a manatee feeding on the grass....so cool. The people on the boat said they saw a couple manatee's on the way up. We didn't see any on our way here. So I grabbed my phone and camera and started taking pictures.
We watched the manatee until he disappeared, then we jumped in our boats and headed toward home. Good bye Kip and Amanda.....thanks for the tour.
Well we knew the trip back was going to be a lot easier than the one up because we had the tide and current in our favor. I got my camera ready to get some pictures of all the critters. Kip told us a place to look for gators, and he was right we saw 2. We also saw a total of 8 more manatee's. That wasn't all, we saw jumping mullet, squawking osprey, turtles and lots of other birds. What a great day. So happy we decided to do this. It was awesome and the pictures I got were great. I'll share a few.
When we got back we were tuckered out for sure....So we took it easy the rest of the day. Tomorrow to work.
Tuesday March 28- It was a work day for us but part of our job is to answer people's questions. So we get to visit with lots of the campers that come here. There are many interesting people out there if you take some time out to listen. That is one of the best parts of our job. We have connected with so many people we would have never had the chance to meet. We are very lucky to be doing what we are. After our working we met up with Kip and Amanda to go to supper. They are leaving on Thursday so we wanted to have a final dinner. The told us about a restaurant....The Beach House. We found it and found a table out by the pool. We had burgers that were alright and the home made chips were really good. Amanda had crab cakes that she and Jeff thought were wonderful. We ate, visited and then left for home. So happy that they are coming back next year.....safe travels.
Thursday March 30- Again we worked today and it was our last day this week. We went down to Eric and Susan's tonight for a happy hour. Some of the volunteers that are leaving Saturday came. Have I said how great the volunteers are here? We visited and learned where everyone was heading next.
Friday March 31- Our neighbors Don and Deb left this morning. We will miss them and there pups Snickers and Bella. It is going to start being a whole lot different around here.
Saturday April 1- Today we didn't do much, we watched as some of the volunteers pulled out. It sure seems different around here. It was really warm out there today. I spent the day doing banking and blogging. I also got my laundry caught up. By the end of the day we had 3 new sets of volunteers. It doesn't take long to replace them.
Sunday April 2- They asked us if we would greet again today at church. We said yes of course. Then after church we made our Walmart run. It a lot less busy on a Sunday morning...easy in easy out. When we got home we had new neighbors. We visited with them, Jeff and Robin. He is a retired firefighter too. It was nice to meet them.
Monday April 3- Today we had plans to go to Stuart and visit Aldi's, then on the way back stop at Hobe Sound Wildlife preserve. Before we went there Tom the assistant park manager came for a hair cut. I never cut anybody's hair but my own family. He seemed happy with the result. When he came I told him I had 3 hair styles I could cut, mine, Jeff's and our schnauzer Belle's style. He picked Jeff's.
After we ran to town and got some groceries. On our way to the wildlife refuge we had a light come on in the truck. It was the diesel exhaust trouble light and the check engine light....great. This happened one other time before. The truck was running fine but if you don't get it fixed it will put your vehicle in limp mode. So we skipped wildlife refuge so Jeff could come home and look for a dealer to bring it in. He got online and found out that since they have been having problems with this they have extended the warranty on it. He called and got it in on Friday. Since we skipped the refuge we decided to go to a movie this afternoon. We had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory and then saw the movie The Zookeepers Wife. It was good. So we saved this day off.....oh the popcorn was super good.
Thursday April 6- Our 3 day work week went pretty good. It has been super hot. We are lucky they have a good breeze most of the time. Today we had rain coming in so we worked between the showers.
Friday April 7-We got up early and made our way to the GM dealership. It looks like GM is going to cover this. We sat and waited awhile. Then they told us we could get a car to use. We filled out all the paper work and headed home. It felt really weird sitting in this car. It is so low to the ground we felt like Fred Flintstone. When we got home it looked really funny parked in front of our rig.
We got home and got stuff ready for supper. We invited some friends from church, Lori and Todd came over to eat and visit. We had a wonderful evening because the weather has finally changed...it cooled off. When we first went to Generation Church Lori was one of the first smiling faces to greet us. We thought she was great, but after getting to know them better she and her husband are better than wonderful. Lori and I both like to scrapbook so we've made a plan to get together next year when we come back.
Right before our company arrived they called from the dealership to tell us the truck was ready. We told them we would pick it up in the morning.
Saturday April 8- Before going to get the truck we went for breakfast at Time To Eat, great as usual. Then over to get the truck. We got in and both of us were saying how good it felt to be back in our truck. Jeff pulled out and went about 1/2 block when the lights came back on..........
Great.....well we turned around and took it back. They said they didn't have a diesel mechanic here on Saturday so we should bring it back Monday. Well to say we were disappointed is an understatement.
On the way home Jeff stopped at The Container Store. That's my new favorite store, so that cheered me up some. Then we made our final stop at Trader Joe's. That always cheers me up too. We got home ad put everything away. To end the day we got on our bikes and rode to Tiki 52. They always have live music and today wasn't any different. Today it just wasn't our cup of tea. Still really pretty there.
Sunday April 9- This was our last Sunday at Generation Church. We greeted again today, it was t-shirt day and Palm Sunday. We love this church and all the people we have met. Every time we leave we feel blessed.
We both felt a little sad when we left. Came home and made brunch. Then we started putting some stuff away outside. Our refrigerator is kind of acting weird so we are watching it close.
Monday April 10- This is our last day off before our final work week. I did some laundry really early. Jeff took the truck back. He showed up in a different car. Another little bitty thing. We decided to get out and get those last things done before we leave. So off we go to the Hobe Sound Wildlife Refuge. It was free to get in and really nice, better than we expected. They had a display with red tailed hawk, and a barred owl. The great thing was they weren't in a cage. They were sitting on a branch, neither could fly. You really could get a good look at them. Then a gal got out a baby alligator so we got to pet it. All the displays were so nice.
After checking out all the displays inside we moved outdoors and took a trail, it led us to the water and it was pretty along the way too.
We made our way back to the parking lot just in time to see this snake slither across the parking lot.
Went back home for lunch. Then we made a phone call to Ron Campbell, he was a volunteer here but now has moved on to volunteer at John MacArthur Beach State Park. He told us to come and he would give us a tour. This is a day use park, no camping. We showed up and he got in the car and gave us a great tour. This park offers wildlife, nature walks and kayaking in lush environments. We were very impressed with all the have. Everything was very well taken care of and full of information. We made our way to the beach which was beautiful. Here is a little of what we saw.
We had a full day, we were ready to go home. It was a great day for sure...way to cram it full of fun.
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday April 11,12,& 13- This was our last week of work. We have loved our time here but we are ready to get back and see the family. You can kind of tell the busy season is coming to an end here. We also heard from the GM Dealership and they got our truck ready to go. We were kind of nervous that we would have to extend our stay. Everything is still on track for us to leave on Friday. After working each day we would put things away a little at a time. We have gotten rid of some things we plan on replacing when we get home. We said our goodbyes to everyone and turned in our keys. We are ready to hit the road. We will miss everyone at Jonathan Dickinson State Park for sure. We have found some wonderful friends here. See ya all next year.
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