Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.

Henry David Thoreau

The Week-end Between

Friday May 12 & Saturday May 13, 2012
Lithia Springs Site 40, Lithia, Florida

 

There is one bright spot these days.

I am so grateful to those of you who comment on my blog.  I so look forward to seeing what you have to say.  It is one bright spot I can count on in my days.  Thank you so much for taking the time and having the interest. 

 

This is the week-end between one rough week and another.


The steroid shot is still 3 full days away.  David had a difficult night and was still sleeping when I tip toed out in the morning to sit along the river bank with my journal.

 

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Site 40 has a really lovely river front site.  A bunch of small brown eyed susans bloom at the foot of the cypress tree.  The water is so low it is almost still.   I wonder where the water level would be without the drought.  No fish are jumping.  And then down the river they come.  White flashes.  They land just across on the opposite bank from me.  I try not to breathe or blink.  I know Ibis are as common as crows in Florida but I still think they are beautiful.  Wild creatures are all beautiful.  It is their very wildness that I love.  I think I would like to be a bird.  To be able to soar above it all and fly away whenever things were not to my liking. 

 

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Too soon the rest of the park wakes up. 

The children are yelling.  The river seems full of canoes.  I can sit inside Winnona at the dining table and see them coming down stream in droves.  I assume they are coming from the Alafia River Canoe rental company which is upstream from the park.

 

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David rests most of the day.  I decide it’s time for a haircut and
since there is already so much noise, no one will notice my flowbee.

 

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In the late afternoon, we find the limitation of Site 40.  All of a sudden the power cuts off.  Our Progressive Industries Power Guard is doing its job.  Low voltage error.  For the first time this week, we are unable to run both air conditioners at the same time or one AC and anything else.  This had not happened at all during the week in this site or at any time in any of the other sites we’ve been in.  Of course it has never been as warm as it is now either.  Someone from the park office brings out a new electric board.  Makes no difference.  The electrician can come on Monday.  SIGH…..

Apparently being the last site in the line and a 30 amp site is not a good thing on the week-end if it is really hot here.  Good to know although aggravating on a 90 degree Saturday late afternoon.  But we manage.
Finally the sun goes down, the fans come out, the warriors go to sleep but leave their smoldering camp fires.  Doesn’t that bother them in their tents right next to the fire ring??

 

Sunday is Mother’s Day.

Clearly I’m way behind in wishing all Mothers a happy day.  I wish my Carrie were here but when you are on the road, it is seldom the case that you are near your children or they visiting on those Mother’s Day/Father’s Day holidays.  I miss them both today, my mother Margie and my daughter Carrie.

 

So what to do on this day?

I know that exercise ultimately makes me feel better if only because I feel righteous for having done it so I do not use Mother’s Day as an excuse to skip my morning run.  My iPod shuffle bit the dust.  At some point my dell laptop would not recognize my shuffle so I couldn’t change any of the music.  OK since I can still charge it I’ll just keep listening to this same music and it will be fine.  But now I can’t charge it and so today I got out my old walkman which is ANCIENT but still working since it has batteries of its own.  I have some old books on tape so I ran off listening to Step-Ball-Change.  Very funny light hearted story.  Made me smile at many points as I ran along.  The book might be in the free stuff for you e-reader owners.  So if you want something light and fun.  Take a look.

 

Having no plan to celebrate Mother’s Day. David had suggested that I do whatever I’d like.  I’d thought I’d just skip it all but then I wondered if doing something relatively easy might take David’s mind somewhat off of his pain.  Ok then, what I want is ICE CREAM.   We can drive there, easy on David so I went to work looking for where there might be some actual home made ice cream within an even remotely reasonable distance from us.  But that little voice from my own mother is telling me I should actually eat something first. 

 

I’m not a big restaurant fan. 

I really don’t find the food better or even as good as what I have at home.  And the prices seldom fit in my budget.  Subway excluded of course.  :-)  Guess I’m just not a foodie.  Although in a former life I was in a gourmet cooking club and could create with the best of them. 

But I know David likes to go out and we seldom do so I added a Mother’s Day lunch to my plan.   Another thing he could do with little effort that he would enjoy and would take his mind off of the current situation.

 

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Knowing nothing about the restaurants in this area even though we’ve been here now for over 3 months, I turned to Yelp and chose two places in Brandon.   Off we drove.  The first place was closed on this Mother’s Day and referred us to their “other location” which was in the opposite direction from which we’d come.   So we went to choice #2 where every table on the patio and inside seemed to be full.

 

 

 

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  The first question was “do you have reservations”?   No.  Uh oh!   But the manager snagged his wait staff a nice tip by making another table appear outside for us.   This was the Sunday Buffet and $17.50 a head. 

 

 

 

 

The food was very good and David ate enough for the both of us.  Not to say that I didn’t eat my own of course.  But I think he went back three times to the buffet.  He really does need to put about 20 pounds back on so that was good.  Although he does have a problem with feeling bloated when he tries to eat to gain weight.

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Luckily that doesn’t seem to be the case today.

 

 

 

We left and were too stuffed to even consider ice cream which was my main celebration event.  But I wasn’t going to go back to Lithia now.
I had found a Bruster’s ice cream in New Tampa and that was where I was going one way or the other.

 

So now what?

 

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I needed something to do for a few hours to work off some of this lunch.  I remembered we were only a few exits down I 75 from Lettuce Lake County Park which had been recommended as a beautiful place to see so that was our next stop, to walk off lunch to the extent that David was able.

 

 

 

We discovered almost immediately that this park definitely has a sense of humor.

 

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We parked the car as close to the visitor’s center as we could and went in to get some information about short walks.  On the outside we found something I know all our dog parent friends would appreciate.

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But how do they press the button to make the water come out?

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The park has a really lovely boardwalk that goes around Lettuce Lake and over to the Hillsborough River which cuts through the park.

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There were numerous birds out on this lovely day.
This was a mighty long neck to scratch

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We came to this observation tower along the boardwalk.

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It appeared that someone had thrown this juvenile gator some long stemmed roses.  What an interesting picture.

 

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There was a small flock of turkeys on the other side of the Lake as we took the boardwalk to the end by the Hillsborough River.

 

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I hadn’t ever thought I would like to paddle a kayak paddle on a river through a city but this section of the Hillsborough River in Lettuce Leaf Park right in the city of Tampa could make me change my mind.  It was beautiful and at this point, very small.  The park has a canoe/kayak rental and launch spot so maybe some day we’ll try it.  Or at least the part in this park.

 

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We sat on the benches enjoying the river over look for some time.

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We’d spent the better part of 2 hours and thought we could now take I 75 even further north to Bruster’s and get that ice cream.  Nancy & Bill Mills had introduced us to Bruster’s earlier this winter when we were camped together at Silver River State Park.  We went there for David’s birthday and he chose THE best ice cream flavor ever….Jamaican Me Crazy.  Best that is if you love coconut.

 

 

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It’s clearly a popular spot but sadly on Mother’s Day they did not have the flavor I’d driven 30 miles to get.  So I drowned my sorrows with almond chocolate coconut and chocolate peanut butter buckeye.  YUM! 

 

As you can see, the place had clearly gone to the dogs. 

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And there you have it, the last minute plan for Mother’s Day.
Thank you all SO much again for your comments.
The End.

 

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49 comments:

  1. Glad you could enjoy some peace and quiet, at least for a bit. Sounds like David is enjoying the food:)

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    1. So good to hear from you. David has lost too much weight but not his appetite.

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  2. Good choices for your Mothers Day outing. Also a good choice to go out instead of sitting around the RV.

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  3. Thanks Teri. It was good to get out and didn't tire him out too much.

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  4. What a small world! My middle son lived in Tampa and he took us to Lettuce Leaf Park. I thought it was fascinating though I was a little leery of the gators. Keep on keeping' on, Sherry. We're all rooting for you and David.

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    1. The park is really lovely. I'm so glad you got to see it too.

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  5. That ice cream sounds wonderful!!! David looked good!.. Well, so did you :)

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    1. You are so funny Loree. Thanks for those smiles - Carl too!

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  6. Getting out is good! So happy you were able to enjoy the day.

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  7. What a perfect way to spend Mother's Day! A little something for both of you...with ice cream on top! Clearly it was a nice diversion for David and maybe even a treat for you :) I'll have to try a Bruster's if we're ever in one of their areas. Love a good ice cream!

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    1. Hey Gail, you may have to come back to the southeast to have some Brusters. :-))

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  8. Sherry, I'm a "lurker" reading lots of blogs every day. I suppose I need to start signing up as a "follower", 'cause I surely do "follow along". I have a long list of "friends" who don't even know I exist except for the few times I comment.

    I have to say that you are one awe-inspiring lady! The grace with which you are handling your predicament is astounding. The way you are shouldering the load and soldiering on. Looking for the bright side of things,(no matter how hard you have to look at times!) The way you're writing your story with the pictures scattered throughout is wonderful. Talk about a role model for the rest of us on this journey called life! You take your readers with you through your days. Consequently we feel close to you. We want you to know that you're not alone. That we are here to help you in any way we can. All dreaming of better days for you and David, SOON!

    Mother's Day was a real blessing for the two of you. You even had a nature walk and ended the day with ice cream! I was so happy to find your post about it today.

    You certainly need have no qualms about posting your thoughts and feelings along with your activities. You are doing us the favor. We are so fortunate to see a "light" such as yours shine! Hopefully the airwaves of love sent back to you will warm your heart and help keep that light glowing.

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    1. What a beautiful comment RunNRose. I'm honored that you would unlurk to make it. Hope you won't go away. You have no idea how much hearing from you brightens my world. Thank you!!

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  9. What great choices for Mother's Day. Don't know how you do that Flowbee on yourself?!?! Thanks for the tour of Lettuce Leaf Park and the return to Bruster's. Such great memories of our time together at Silver River...really made me smile:o))) Glad to see David still has a good appetite!!!

    Happy Mother's Day to my twin;o))

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    1. Doing the flowbee for yourself is a snap especially if you don't really care how it turns out. :-) Come on down and I'll do you too!! David still has his appetite but somehow the more he eats the less he weighs.

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  10. What a perfect Mother's Day. Glad David got his fill, and ice cream too :)

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    1. He definitely ate A LOT. I was very surprised that he didn't feel like he over ate. I'll be honest here and say that he only had one scoop of ice cream while I had two. But then the lunch was just an excuse for dessert for me!

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  11. You came up with a great plan for a change of pace and adapted it beautifully with that side trip to the park; a change of scenery always does wonders for my mood.

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    1. Thank you thank you for the endorsement of my plan. I'm a constant planner. I love to dream of things to do, places to go.....and can do it on the spur of the moment thankfully.

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  12. Sounds like you had a nice Mother's Day and the ice cream was the "icing on the cake"! I love anything coconut. But ouch - $17.50 for brunch? We're such cheapskates and agree with you that what you make at home is better (and better for you)! When we got out to eat, it's usually a "social" thing...rarely go by ourselves.

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    1. We thought $17.50 each was high too but we eat out so seldom what do we know. David is an eater and we needed a pick me up so it was money well spent in that sense. Sounds like you and I had better go out for ice cream together - coconut anything is RIGHT ON! Do let me know of any great coconut ice cream concoctions you come upon.

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  13. Lettuce Lake park is a nice paddle. That ice cream looked great

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    1. It's so funny that whenever I talk about Lettuce Lake, I call it Lettuce Leaf :-) Thanks for your recommendation of it as a nice paddle. Looks like it might be a short one so I hope we'll be able to get out and do it.

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  14. I'd say that was a pretty good Mothers day - sometimes the best laid plan is no plan at all. Not to mention that David seemed to enjoy it too!!

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    1. It was a good day Roger. Thank you so much for your comments. Your words on my "downer" post were just beautiful. We are so glad to have you out there

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  15. It's nice that you both were able to get out and that David was able to enjoy the day as well. Glad to hear he still has a good appetite, that's important. I hope you don't have any more power issues. I know you need that a/c to be working full time.

    Hang in there...both of you.

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    1. Thanks for your wishes Karen. It's always wonderful to read your comments.

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  16. That sounds like a wonderful Mother's Day! Glad you decided not to skip it as it sounded like an excellent way for you both to get your mind off things for awhile. And as it turned out, you saved the best for last -- ice cream!!

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    1. So good to hear from you Terri!! How are you and your shoulder?? I hope that PT is helping. It's been 9 months since I broke my ankle and it still isn't totally right. May never be. But it's good enough. But then I broke it twice. Hope your shoulder goes back to perfect.

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  17. So sorry that Dave has not been feeling very good recently and is in such pain. I hope the steroid shot will help. Glad that you were able to get out and enjoy Mother's Day and give Dave something to keep his mind busy and hopefully off the pain. The sound of those ice cream flavours sound delicious.

    Kevin and Ruth
    www.travelwithkevinandruth.com

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    1. Thanks so much for all your good wishes. I'm so glad you are still with us. We're counting on you to take us to Australia.

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  18. Once again I am impressed by you Sherry. Cutting your own hair, I think if I tried that, I'd be looking like a cue ball in no tme.

    Nice picture of David with the big smile, despite all the challenges he's going through, he's holding up like a real trooper.

    Any excuse for ice cream is a good one, even a cheesy one like Mother's Day. ;c)

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    1. Hey Paul! Don't be too impressed. It's really not that hard. Like I told Nancy, you just have to cease caring how you look. :-) Especially from the back!

      David is holding up like a trooper. I hope being a stoic isn't one of the risk factors for this disease.

      I'm going to tell Marti you referred to Mother's Day as a cheesy excuse for ice cream. Mother's don't get nearly the amount of ice cream they deserve for putting up with ALL their children even the ones they married. :-))

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  19. Hi Sherry and David,
    I decided to jump in for my first comment even tho I've followed your blog from the first post last year. I'm so glad you had a relaxing, ice cream filled day. Sometimes you just need to retreat into ice cream. I know the journey is difficult for both of you right now and I send you every bit of strength I can. We think about you often. Your VA "GCRC" friends. Judy

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    1. Judy, how wonderful of you to comment. I had no idea you've been following for so long. Don't be such a stranger. It's such a bright spot to see comments from all our friends. Really appreciate your sending strength. We can use all we can get.

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  20. Hi Sherry!

    I obviously missed your last post when it was your current post.

    I have a friend who blogged about her breast cancer treatment from diagnosis to cure. It wasn't cheery. But, I found it demystifying and powerful. She talked about mundane things like staying hydrated so she wouldn't throw up as much. The metallic taste after a treatment. The day her wife helped her shave her head.

    We bloggers try to entertain, delight, and amuse. We're givers, dammit! :D Let it go for now. You can delight and amuse us again later, once this is behind you.

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    1. Oh Duckie, Your comments and your blog bring smiles to me whenever I see them. Can't thank you enough for these words and all the words you put out there for us.

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  21. What a lovely Mother's Day post - makes me happy that you got out and about - I was sorry not to be there with you for such yummy food, yummy ice cream and great animal sightings! You are amazing, Mama - truly - don't ever forget what an inspiration you are to me!

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  22. Sweet Carrie, what a jewel you are to read the blog and always put such wonderful comments. What mother wouldn't feel she'd done things right if her duaghter said she was an inspiration. Thank you sweetheart - you are amazing too. I'm SO lucky to have you!!

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  23. Ah Daughters! Such a treasure they are. Sons, too, of course, but in a different way I think. I loved this Mother's day musing. Funny, I have traveled to Florida since they year 2000, several times a year at first, then dwindling to just once a year or so. I still love the ibis and they seem so exotic to me. I show how much of a non native I am when I get all excited taking photos of ibis. There is another city river that I would love to explore someday, it is in St Pete somewhere, and I found it by accident. It looks a bit similar to this magical place you found in Tampa...for all I know, the one I am thinking of was in Tampa anyway. Soo soo good to hear from you, Sherry. You are a true inspiration, as is David.

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    1. Good to hear from you Sue. I'm so glad you liked my musing. I really appreciate your all your thoughtful comments. I always look forward to reading them. I'm with you on Ibis. I think they are grand! Who can think their long curved bills aren't amazing?

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  24. Hi..reading for the first time...wishing you the strength to carry through these tough times...it is not easy. Glad to hear that running helps and I do think bloggin helps also...I continue to do both...take care..

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    1. Welcome to the blog city gals. I'm mighty glad to have you. Thanks so muchy for commenting. I so appreciate your kind wishes. Hope I'll hear from you again

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  25. I must say you did a fabulous job back-filling the day in order to get that ice cream! Just wish they had Jamaican Me Crazy. That has been a hard act to follow.

    David

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    1. Did everybody else see though this as well as you did? Back fill is exactly what I was doing. Ice Cream was the goal! :-))

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  26. Well if I keep trying, I'm bound to find that ice cream some where. It's a tough job but someone's got to do it to make sure they are still making it!!

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  27. Super cool gator pics!! I am fascinated by gators and crocs... And I hope they get your AC fixed asap on Monday! AC is pretty darn important...

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  28. Quite the adventures: oysters in a buffet lunch? and long-stemmed roses next to gators? Glad you have some simple pleasures to break up the day and the medical junk, my friend.
    DIane

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