Sunday, March 11, 2012

West Palm Beach today!












Marilyn, Gary and Kathy. Had a great lunch and the last one for this group in Florida this trip.











Could be the last time we see the Big Sky in Florida.












This is our new, little Park Model. Same Park, different location.











This is a rear shot with the shed on the right.












My gorgeous wife sitting in the living room.












The patio, under the awning.

We can't wait until next year when we move in to spend another sunny and warm winter in Florida.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Been a busy week with cleaning the rig and the truck. Bringing everything up to a nice shine. The weather has been hot and humid so the trick is to get your work in early so you can relax in the hot afternoons. It's usually in the 70s when you wake up and in the 80s by noon and hotter later. A cold front is moving thru today and temps are expected to go back to the 70s for a couple of days. We might not even have to run the AC for a couple of nights.

Saturday was time for the Saint Lucie County Fair. Our friends and neighbours George and Joan invited us and we had a great time.










Here's Kathy ready to hit the midway!












But the big attraction of the night was the, no, not the Ford truck, but the Rodeo. The Built Tough Ford is the Official Truck of the Rodeo.










Now let me tell you people take their rodeo mighty seriously around here. The crowd gets whipped up in a frenzy whenever anyone puts on a good ride or takes down a steer in quick order. We were not exactly thrilled with how the animals are treated and probably shouldn't go to these things but I must say you can get pretty excited as the thing unfolds.






This horse was a very wild and unmanageable fellow. The small stalls they are kept in while they are saddled up took a real beating from this guy. He seemed furious at any attempt to even touch him. Sure enough, when he was finally saddled and the rider was aboard the gate was opened to a wild and furious display of wild horse rage. I can tell you the rider lasted no where near the 8 seconds required on this guy. That was one wild horse. He was to be ridden 3 times but one was called off because he was just too wild and uncontrollable trying to get the saddle on.

 This was a fun time. The cowgirls took over this event where the horses had to race full speed the length of the stadium and clearly around 3 barrels. The crowd was hootin' and hollerin' for this one, Kathy and I included.








 The Budweiser team of Clydesdales put on a good show. It's amazing the teamwork involved trying to get these horses to work together with each set having specific duties.























Should have had this at the front of the rodeo. They opened with a prayer, a ceremony of remembrance for the veterans, which is a very common occurrence in the US, and the singing of the US National Anthem.








The show was closed by the bull rides. Talk about tough, mean ombreys. The bulls are that and more. I think maybe one rider was able to complete his ride, if that.









One last shot of the midway and we were on our way home. Another fine Florida week.