Dodging Wilma

Well, my wish for no more hurricanes was not granted. After our stay in Memphis we headed for Florida. Stopping first in Tampa to have service on the coach at Lazy Days RV. John said that's the first time we've been there that they didn't buy a new RV! I really had a good time at Lazy Days. While the mechanics were working on the coach we sat in the Crown Club and all the girls that work there were just ga-ga over me. My very favorite was Jennifer - she even held me and let me get white fur all over her black outfit!

Hanging out in the Crown Club with John.

Me and my friend Jennifer with John.

After getting the dash air fixed, we moved over to Orlando for the Monaco Eastern Come Home Rally. Since John and Peggy were on the parking committee, they had to be there early. The first five days there were quite warm and humid, and they were spent wondering if and when "Wilma" would be coming their way.

The parking for the rally started on Sunday, and the day was very cloudy and breezy. It started raining around 7:30 pm and the wind was getting stronger. It rained on and off all evening, and around 7 am it really started to come down and the winds were even stronger. It was mostly raining sideways! The winds were pretty strong - gusting up to around 65-69 mph. There were only a few times when the winds were strong enough to rock the coach, but it stayed very dark all morning, and the rain and wind just kept up. Around noon, the rain let up and it started to lighten up. By 1:00, the clouds were starting to break up and the sun was beginning to peek out. Most of this I know from Peggy, as I spent the entire time hiding under my blanket on the couch! We feel very fortunate that Wilma stayed as far south as she did and we only got the fringes of the storm. We didn't get any pictures of the storm, as there was not much to see from inside the coach and Peggy wouldn't go out in the rain.

After that, the rest of the rally was anti-climatic! Peggy was kept busy teaching a beading class every day, and she and John worked as bar tenders every evening.

On the last night in Orlando, they drove out and had dinner with Peggy's son Jimmy who is living in central Florida. Leaving Orlando, John discovered that the dash air was not working, so instead of heading north to St. Louis, he drove back to Tampa, to Lazy Days. We've spent the week-end in their RV park, and they promise to get us in by Tuesday. At least, there are no hurricanes looming, and the weather is very pleasant -- sunny days, no humidity, and very cool evenings. And I can go visit Jennifer in the Crown Club again!