3/25/2016 2/1/16-2/29/16
February is going to be busy. Making plans & reservations for this summer continued on & off all month. The interesting thing is trying to understand all of the different systems the different parks follow for reservations. And California seems to be an entity all by themselves...like a foreign land. Rules nobody else have, asking and refusing to reserve a site if your camper is over 10 years old (we bet the RV industry loves this one) and large areas with no parks at all. But we stayed with it and have made most of the necessary reservations. It is going to be a fun summer if things go as planned.
After a few more doctor appointments, we set off for Miami with our friend Patti from Newnan Ga for our 2nd cruise of the Spring season, Outlaw Country, led by Blackberry Smoke. We went down a day early and spent the night in a hotel with about 100 of the other cruisers at the same hotel. So, a 4 day cruise turns into a 5 day party, lots of music with lots of friends. The first night was Super Bowl Sunday and they had a huge TV set up so we could watch Peyton Manning's last NFL game...what a way to end a great career. At 1/2 time, Bobby Bare performed live, and sang one of his most famous songs: 'Dropkick me Jesus Through the Goalposts of Life'...how appropriate. Shortly after 1/2 time, a very big girl planted her heal on my left big toe, so I was dealing with that for the next month, sadly for us. We had a fun time, but some of the talent didn't really measure up in our opinions. And we are thinking about reducing how many of these we will go on in 2017, likely less than this year.
After the cruise, we headed back to Orlando and met up with a friend from Maryland that was visiting with 3 friends for dinner. We had a nice visit and it was fun meeting more people. The next morning, we drove to Jacksonville, FL., got a hotel room and went to a Blackberry Smoke concert in downtown Jax with about 25 friends from the cruise...more music. The next morning we drove south along the St Johns River, places we had not been in years. We stopped at a couple Florida State Parks we had never been along the way, Florida is a beautiful state. We stopped at Barberville and took in a night of dirt track racing featuring the World of Outlaws Winged Sprint Cars...fun racing, lots of speed. After the races, we had a 1.5 hour drive home, glad to get a decent nights sleep.
After a lazy day at home on Sunday, we are off again Monday for our 3rd cruise, this time with Joe Bonamassa and a group of Blues performers. What a great time this cruise was. Between Joe B & Beth Hart we saw about 6 hours of the best Blues you will hear anywhere. We decide that we will go on this cruise again next year, even if it is the only one...fun 4 days!! Here is a fun review:
http://jbonamassa.com/features/2016/ktba-at-sea-2-reviews/national-rock-review/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=JB%20Official%20Newsletter%2013%202016&utm_content=JB%20Official%20Newsletter%2013%202016+Version+A+CID_e3b4b221b1b4c784f21821895de01cee&utm_source=Email%20marketing%20software The day after we got back, Blues Traveler is in Cocoa and we went down to see them. The organizers were out to lunch with their planning, making it not very enjoyable...we left half way through the show and went home to get some sleep. It has been an amazing 2 weeks but us old guys are exhausted, time to rest.
The next week was back to planning for the summer, laundry, resting, and doing some relaxing. On Thursday, we drove over to New Port Richey to see our friends Karen & Bill Harvey who we have known since the early 70s. We spent the day jabbering and catching up...been a while. Then we drove south to a concert in Clearwater, Experience Hendrix, a group of about a dozen performers playing the music of Jimi Hendrix. We had great seats and really enjoyed the show. The 2+ hour home was pretty draining, but that is part of the deal. Barb doesn't mind driving, so I keep us both awake jabbering and reading stuff off Facebook & the internet, catch up on happenings around us.
Steve & Barb Larson
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Getting the party started on the Pool Deck |
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Says it all |
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Goodbye Miami |
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Our halftime entertainment |
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Blackberry Smoke |
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The Battleshots competition |
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Steve Earle |
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The 2 fun gals I got to share a cabin with |
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Cindy is always smiling |
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Mardi Gras |
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Sunsets on the ocean are always cool |
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Monkee see... |
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Jason Williams is very entertaining |
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BBS with a guest |
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Getting Smoked in Jacksonville |
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Ravine Garden State Park in Palatke |
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We are amazed at what we find along the road |
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The beautiful St Johns River south of Palatka |
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We had lunch at this little place next to the river |
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Sixthman Jayne welcomes us |
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Blues Traveler |
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The one & only Joe Bonamassa |
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Best friends |
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Our reward for lots of cruises |
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Tad Kinchla playing his 6 string bass |
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Blues Traveler |
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Joe B & Beth Hart...amazing! |
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The band is like an all-star band |
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Anton Fig on drums & Michael Rhodes on Bass |
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Joe's keys guy...Reese Wynans |
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Some of the lighting controls |
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Lee Thorburg & Paulie Cerra |
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Activity at Grand Caymen |
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Robert Randolph is always entertaining |
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Pushing off at Grand Cayman |
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The Sail-away from Grand Cayman |
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Joe B & his band gave us 2 hours of amazement |
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Barbie & one of the many fun folks that work on the ship |
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Jim Shuler & his band...saw him several times |
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Beth Hart at the Q & A...what an amazing lady |
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Jim Shuler & his band playing with Gary Nicholson |
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Reese Wynans sat in too |
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Tad Kinchla in Cocoa |
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Blues Traveler in Cocoa |
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