.... and other Bucket List trips!
Welcome to Dave and Joyce’s blog. This blog was initially created to capture our Great Loop adventure. However, it has now transformed into our “Bucket List adventures” blog. Many people followed our Great Loop blog and have told us how much they enjoyed it. That somewhat surprised us … and totally pleased us. So we decided to continue the blog with post Great Loop trips … i.e. “Bucket List”. We hope you enjoy our new adventures!
A note about navigating the blog: Since the beginning, the blog was an active journal, updated daily whenever Internet service was available. The latest information is always posted at the top of the blog page to make it easier for viewers to see our daily/weekly progress. However, when viewing it later, the format is a little awkward. For example, to see the pre- Great Loop blog, scroll down to the archive section and click on the last link July 2010 . After the page is displayed scroll down to the bottom and begin viewing by scrolling back to the top. This will give you a better sense of the trip since it is the true times sequence of our travels … we hope this makes sense … Enjoy!
Cell: 317-403-0128
Email: davejoyceajohnson@gmail.com
We arrived home in Indiana and the top "thing to do" was to see our great grand daughter Ella. She is so cute and pretty ... and at times loud. Hey thats what babies do!
Papa Chase loves holding her ... going to be a great dad. Of course they will have a basketball or baseball in her hands before she walks. Chase and wife Emily are very good athletes ... no pressure Ella:-) Besides that Aunt Chelsie will have you riding her dirt bike soon after you learn to walk.
Okay talk about spoiling "little Joysea" she is now in a covered slip with boat lift and all! What a lush resort we are staying at:-)
Joe and Alice are selling their jet ski and suggested we put our little boat on the lift .... how nice ... Thanks Joe and Alice!!!
Its been windy and colder than most winters here ... and everywhere else in Floriday. We think things will change beginning Sunday. We plan to meet John and Judy, go to breakfast and then take their son's pontoon boat out on Lake Jackson. Hopefully the wind will die down.
Yep, thats Dave's little fishing boat beached. If the wind subsides, he make try to go fishing this afternoon.
Carl, Margaret, Joyce and Dave drove to Lake Wales today to visit the Bok Tower Gardens. We walked the gardens and heard the 205 foot Singing Tower. It is a magnificent Carillon that contains 60 bronze bells. The smallest weighs 16 lbs. and the largest 11+ tons. All in all it was quite an experience.
Gary organizes a couple of golf outings per week and asked Dave to join the group ... of course Dave was delighted to join and golf twice a week .... getting harder and harder to manage fishing time. Actually its been hard to fish with the wind blowing hard most days. Feels and looks like we are on the Gulf of Mexico most days.
An interesting note; Monica's parents use to vacation in Lake Placid ... but it was a long time ago and she doesn't remember much about the murals ... but they did exist back then.
The next evening Carl and Margaret cooked us a great salmon dinner. Sorry you had to leave Jackie and Joe ... you missed some fine dinning.
Brian and Linda stayed with us a couple of nights and Carl/Margaret are in a nearby RV park. We all did the downtown Lake Placid mural scene the next day. Another "fun with friends" day!
More pictures and hopefully fish stories later.
We had more rainy days than sunny ... but who's complaining ... its warm out! On this particular day it was beautiful so George and Nancy Murrphy took 10 of us to a dockside restaurant aboard "Jenna Star" a beautiful American Tug. Above Linda and Joyce wave to boaters as we leave Banana Bay.
Right image has Steve, Linda, Cindy and Nancy upper deck of Jenna Star enjoying the view as we return to Banana Bay.
All in all a very good visit with our boating friends. Steve and Linda had us aboard Yesterday's Dream for a gourmet dinner of salmon with all the" fixins"-. Pat and George took us out to dinner at the Yacht Club which is always good.
And of course the cocktail hours visiting all our friends in Banana Bay... even with wind and rain it didn't dampen our spirits ... impossible with all the friends we are blessed with:-)
We also enjoyed our "Hoosier" friends Janet and Daryl who are staying in Duck Key for several weeks. Of course Joyce and Janet insisted that it was their birth month ... and that they should be treated accordingly.
Not that you can see faces (photographer's excuse is that he only had cell phone camera) but here we all are enjoying ourselves with Jenna Star floating in background (red hull).
Of course our first stop was Banana Bay to visit George and Pat Hospodar aboard Reflection. Above, Joyce, Lou, Judy, George and Pat enjoy the view from the back "patio" of Reflection. Lou and Judy are neighbors/friends of the Hospodars and all will be visiting us in May for the Indianapolis 500.
Later in the day we checked in to our Blue Green condo, not far from Banana Bay. Above Dave enjoying the sun as one of many iguanas strolls along the pool area.
Dave and Joyce spent some time on the beach. Windy but pretty. It was fun watching sailboats sail out of the bay. Only one sun fish cap sided ... not bad considering the "bumpy" water :-)
Today Joyce and Dave walked along the lake taking a different direction and came upon this beautiful flower memory garden (ashes of relatives and friends buried here). Above Joyce in front of garden with lake in background. Bottom left is the same garden opposite side with homes in background (courtesy of photographer Steve).
Tomorrow we head home. We had a very good time ... great vacation spot shared with great friends.
Golf team Steve and Carl.
Fore!!!
Earlier in the week Joe, Brian, Carl, Steve and Dave golfed at the beautiful Crooked Tee Golf Club. Today it was just Steve, Carl and Dave. The course is in great condition with unbelievably fast undulated greens. Today the winds were strong. You can barely make out the white caps in Little Traverse Bay ... talk about making a tough course harder!
Ed took some of us on a Hemingway tour. Dave and Joyce elected instead to walk the Bay View community.
Home or church?
Too many older, beautiful homes to capture on camera. One after another ... pretty amazing.
And of course you need a picture of the Bay View post office.
Tonight is the Johnson and Dewes day to prepare dinner. Its going to be Italian night. We hope it matches all of the other great meals we have had.
Dave and Joyce took a 3 mile walk this morning. Stopped at this pretty waterfall on the way to the marina. Interesting thing is we met a couple from our church; Steve and Paulette, then another couple; Brian and Linda and yet later another; Joe and Jackie ... small world I guess :-)
Dave standing in front of the yacht he is considering to purchase ... not! This 80 footer won't fit in Keith's new lake. We looked for AGLCA burgees but found none. Most loopers are still in Canada and won't be in this area for a couple of weeks.
We left on Sunday and 8 hours later arrived at our Lake Michigan vacation spot with all our friends. Above group photo on front yard with the lake in background. Linda, Brian, Margarette, Carl, Jackie, Joe, Ed, Cynthia, Murray, Sara, Paulette, Steve, Joyce and Dave ... say cheese!
The gathering place, where all important decisions are made. This large wrap-around front porch is where the action is. Morning coffee, happy hour, serious discussions and not so serious BS :-)
More front yard chatter with Little Traverse Bay in background. What a gorgeous view. Many older large homes in this area, all with a view.
Speaking of action ... I'm not sure who Steve is kissing, but the front porch is not a very good place to hide ... hey Paulette is this guy bothering you?
Some of the guys went golfing today ... and Dave forgot to bring the camera which is a good thing because its an excuse to play again. Absolutely beautiful course with views of the lake and large grand homes. Pictures forthcoming!
Before we head for Petoskey, MI Sunday, we took a ride on our son's new lake. With all of the rain it didn't take very long for it to fill up. Above Joyce enjoys the view from the dam end of the lake
A view from the water of Keith and Lori's beautiful home.
Above Keith is taking pictures of the other end of "Iron Horse" Lake. Its a pretty big lake with a bend in it, so you can't see all of it from one spot.
Keith had a large boat ramp put in ... lot of toys to launch! There is work remaining, but hey the lake is in and it is holding water just fine. Foreseeing many splash parties at the Johnson's!