Sebring Race -- Saying Goodbye to Friends (for Now) -- I CAN SEE!

(Avon Park, FL)  Hi 86 Lo 62 -- Saturday, March 14, Jim, Jessica and Harry participated in the "Run the Track" event at the nearby Sebring International Raceway. The event raises money for the Sebring Hall of Fame. The course covers one lap of the famous 3.84 mile road course.

We got up before sunrise, not my favorite time of the day, but I was elected as picture taker so I tagged along. When we first arrived it was dark and very few people.

Registration and picking up the timing chips for their shoes.














Jim and Harry attaching the chip to their shoes and Jessica ready to go.












The sun came up fast as over 200 runners gathered to start the race.

Harry ran the race in 31 mins 40 seconds.

Jessica came in at 39 mins 44 seconds.

Jim used to run a lot in his military days, but nowadays he walks. So he treated the event like it was his daily walk and came in at 52 mins 26 seconds, which is about 14 minutes per mile. He said he was just happy that he didn't finish last. :)

Jim took time to take a photo of the track from his vantage point during the race.

Jessica was third in her age group, which earned her a medal. Way to go Jessica!

All three are looking forward to next year's event, and Jim said he may do a little training and run it next time.


 Happy St. Patricks Day!  

It's been a busy few days with friends passing through the area. Rick and Gail arrived on Sunday. (Click on the photos to enlarge them.)

Rick and Gail (sorry for the bad pose, it was a quick candid shot).

Rick and Gail's beautiful Tiffin Allegro Bus

We all got together for "happy hour" under our awning.

Dee, Lessie, Jessica, Harry, Vi, Kevin, Rick, Gail, and Ed. Jim is taking the photo.

We visited for two days, sharing stories of full timing adventures. We had a lot of laughs, with stories about low underpasses, construction areas, and other things that made our travels a challenge. Most of the incidents weren't funny at the time, but at least now we can look back and laugh about them. We had a great time with everyone. Today we said goodbye to Rick and Gail, and Ed and Lessie. They're now on their way north.

Today we had a St. Patrick's Day parade in the park. Everyone decorated their golf carts, bikes, and even dogs.

It was great fun, and everyone was smiling and happy.

Today was a very good day. I got a call from Walmart to let me know my new glasses were in. I had cataract surgery on both eyes, and I had monovision lenses put in. One eye is for distance and one is for close up. My brain is supposed to adjust to both, but it isn't happening fast enough. So my eye doctor prescribed glasses to help with the transition. They're great, and I can now see perfectly. I'll try my best to wear them only when I drive, hoping I'll eventually get my eyes to adjust without them. But now I can drive! I was worried about that because I drive behind Jim when we travel. My "hitch itch" is now really kicking in and I'm really ready to hit the road in three weeks.

We're starting to smell the orange blossoms in the evening, and it smells so wonderful! There's also been some burning of orange groves in our area to combat a bad disease that's destroyed a lot of the orange crop in Florida the past two years.

We're now starting to get the rig ready to roll out on April 4th. I'm cleaning out cabinets and cupboards, and next week Jim will start on the outside, cleaning the rig and doing some re-caulking.

We'll see you in a few days.