Pickleball

We saw people having fun all winter long playing Pickleball. We only got started the week before we left. While we were there last weekend we got in quite a few games with Debbie and Richard. Mom took the video! Our plans for next winter have changed. We will be spending the entire 6 month season at Palm Creek RV in Casa Grande Arizona. We will miss Peace River, we love it there, but we won't have to miss Pickleball. In fact, Palm Creek is where we first heard of it, they even sponsor regional tournaments! All the best places have it dontcha know!

Paddle the Peace River

Florida has been in a drought for quite some time and the Peace River showed it. Luckily, a kayak only draws a couple of inches so we were able to paddle anyway - but we did have to walk our kayaks over a couple of spots. Mom got her own kayak because the park provided. Here's Richard helping us load kayaks in the park's truck and take us up to the launch spot. ahhh - even with low water it is still peaceful. What the photos don't show you is the heat. 96 degrees in the shade - and there wasn't much shade. Even all the alligators were hiding. We didn't see even one.

A Peaceful Weekend

We get uncomfortable when we're parked so long, so we made plans to take a weekend trip to our other home park - Thousand Trails, Peace River. If you visit this link, make sure to click on the link to the video - Jim made that. It is *such* a pretty place. Since it's off-season, we had our choice of where to park. We decided to be right next to the pool, hot tub and Pickle Ball courts. Mom came with us ... I think she really likes our loft/guest room! Aaaaaaahhh - the nature trail - Odie's favorite. This is what you call 'quality time'!

Google Earth and *your* pictures

We gave our Google Earth Seminar the other night here at Paradise Island. Jim added a little new material - showing how you can attach your photos to particular places using Lat/Lon readings. We're always looking for new ways to share our travels - Blog, Picasa Web Albums, Photostory, Video - but, this may be the coolest way yet! Just click on the link below and watch - don't worry if the white screen just sits there ... wait 5-6 seconds and the video will start on it's own. If not, please email me. Watch a 3 minute sample of a Google Earth Photo Tour.

The Geeks are dragged into the iPod generation

Kind of embarassing to admit that we call ourselves geeks and we do not have an mp3 player - till now. I like music - sure - but it's not a major focus in my life (I like silence when I work) and I just didn't get the fascination with iPods and podcasts and downloading music. I can get all that on my computer - and I'm at my computer all the time! We've been walking every morning with Bill, the park manager here, and he has an iPod. He listens to music and therefore, sets a good pace for our walks. He has a cool attachment from Nike that reads wireless signals from a clip on his shoe. His iPod then records the time and number of steps. Shamed into compliance with the 21st century, Jim kept his eyes open for mp3 deals and found these cool mp3 players for $30 (after rebate.) Ok, I'll try it. These are also AM/FM radios - so the first day, we just listened to NPR as we walked. The second day, I downloaded a podcast from NPR. So, for my whole walk I listened to GeekSpeak! I'm in heaven! :-) By the third day, I wanted some upbeat music. So, I took my favorite CD of The Nylons, 'ripped' it into the computer, then copied the tracks to the mp3 player. Wow! It really does make the walk more fun. I'm skipping and snapping my fingers as I walk. And, Jim's happy because I'm not demanding that dreaded 'conversation' :-). Oh, and, if I have some great idea while we're walking - the mp3 player is also a voice recorder. Here's a closeup of the player: And, here's how it connects to the USB port. Then it's just like any USB drive and you can copy files from the computer to the player. It holds 1 Gigabyte. That will last me a while. I think I'm hooked.