Tuesday, January 15, 2008 (DAY 19) Dance lesson 101, session 2 was today. It felt much better on the dance floor today as we practiced the waltz—the boxstep, the balance step(?), i.e. six steps forward, six steps back, six steps to the left, six steps to the right, and the traveling step (?). Anyway, it’s going to take lots more practice. It was funny, but sad as well, to see so many men out there, but their not wanting to be there. Actually, I kind of had fun. After the waltz lesson and lunch, it was back to the dance floor for country western dance lessons: the two step, the country waltz, the swing, and the country polka. We actually did pretty good, at least a step above the brand new beginner. After a brief rest, it was off to a "marriage enrichment" seminar led by Jerry and Doris Hart. Jerry and Doris did a great job, with an appropriate amount of humor. Much of the material was the same as had been presented in other leadership seminars I attended or gave while working, but theirs was enough different to be worth it. At the conclusion, we were given a personality profile questionnaire (created by Fred Littauer) to complete before the next session. I’ve been to so much self-help stuff the last few weeks, you all won’t know me; guess I’ll be more the man Kay wants me to be—just kidding, Kay!

Monday, January 14, 2008 (DAY 18)  Today was cleaning and laundry day. While Kay attended the 9 AM general meeting, I emptied and flushed the gray and black tanks, cleaned the area rugs, vacuumed the floors, and began the laundry. This may sound like an unequal pairing of jobs, but believe me I much preferred the cleaning and laundry to attending the meeting. Monday nights are always "pancake dinner" nights at Pine to Palm, with about 500 people eating dinner. We enjoyed pancakes, strawberries, link sausage, and coffee, with music by Vicky’s band—the band members were all dressed in red, with red cowboy hats and shirts, and the band consisted of two keyboards, drums, guitar, trumpet, and trombone. I finished reading the 12th book of the trip tonight.

Sunday, January 13, 2008 (DAY 17) We were up early this morning to practice our special, Stand by Me, and attend choir practice. The Pine to Palm Christian Fellowship congregation really enjoyed the bass lead song and the Canadians seem to really like southern gospel. Jerry Hart preached a great sermon on the Triune, i.e. soul, spirit, and body; this is a subject I’ve got to learn more about. Following church and fellowship, we ate lunch at Luby’s. After lunch, I didn’t feel well, so we just hung around Dunn Gone for the afternoon, reading and watching football. After an Allegra (antihistamine), the stuffiness went away. The park sponsored a concert by the Bacons from Branson, MO, in the evening, and it was great. The younger son of the Bacons performed with Paul Braschler, our former music minister who lived with Kay and me for several months last year.

Saturday, January 12, 2008 (DAY 16) This was a shopping day. Kay and I shopped at the Don Wes flea market, and they had everything, from junk to junk. We purchased some paring knives for my sister, a swim suit and visor for Kay, and some 4/$3 chamois cloths for drying Dunn Gone and the other autos at home after washing. We drove across the street and bought some oranges and a pineapple at the fruit market. Next, it was a trip to the outlet mall, where we found a pair of size 11, 4E cross-training shoes for me. It is so hard to depart with comfortable shoes, but the time had come. We ate Chinese at the food court, then drove back to the park for shuffleboard both in the afternoon and evening. We also practiced the song, Stand by Me, with Vicky which we will perform on Sunday.

Friday, January 11, 2008 (DAY 15)  Kay and I enjoyed a quiet day, reading and enjoying the peace and tranquility. I turned in 4 books and picked up 4 more. We "shuffled" in the afternoon, then attended a "jam session" in the early evening; Kay sang a great rendition of "Moon River."

Thursday, January 10, 2008 (DAY 14) We planned another quiet day with no set agenda, except for Kay’s haircut appointment and choir practice. We walked our typical 2 miles, watched a portion of the expert tournament, and had lunch. Kay departed for her haircut, and received text messaging that Karyn, Kay’s daughter, would arrive mid-afternoon, and was staying at a hotel near us. After choir practice, we met Karyn, brought her back to the park, and did a walking tour. We followed that with dinner at the Blue Onion (pretty good sandwiches, etc.) with Karyn and a co-worker of hers, then back for reading (me) and TV (Kay). I finished the 9th book of the trip.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008 (DAY 13)  No plans for today! After our morning cup of French press, it was off to the laundry for clean clothes and off to the bathhouse for clean bodies. We did manage a trip to Sam’s Club for some food items and, while there, I bought a couple of shirts, pair of shorts, and lots of socks. Upon returning, we watched our friends shuffle in the tournament, losing after 3 matches. The Park serves lunch during the tournament, and we ate the hot roast beef sandwiches with tea and a slice of pie. The raisin pie reminded me of those my mom made, and it was a little sad thinking of her. Kay returned to shopping for some other food at Wal-Mart, and I stayed in and read, finishing the 8th book of the trip. Late in the evening, Kay was asked to partner in a friendly shuffle tournament on Friday, but declined since her daughter, Karyn, was coming into town for business on Thursday and departing on Friday. It has really been great getting to basically do nothing, and catch up on reading, etc. The itching and swelling on the toes finally disappeared, and is still a mystery. We watched a little TV and hit the bed pretty early.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008 (DAY 12) Dance, dance, dance! Today was dance lesson day. Our (read that MY) first lesson was at 9:30 AM at Victoria Palms RV Resort—ballroom dancing. On the way there, we stopped at Burger King for their Winter Texan $1 biscuit and sausage special. The ballroom at Victoria Palms was large and the RV resort in general is very nice, upscale. We signed up and paid our fees ($3 per person). The instructor was a Danish lady in her 70s. She had danced at Merlin Rouge and Follies Bergere in Paris, taught instructors at Fred Astaire Studios in New York, and she was excellent. Kay and I learned a couple of basic steps for the waltz—the box step and another step I can’t remember. I actually did not do too bad, though it still feels uncomfortable moving this 265 pounds around the floor in dips and sways. The mind still moves faster than the body (though I guess that’s a good thing)! We drove back to Pine to Palms for lunch of lasagna; lunch is being prepared at the park because of the huge shuffle tournament (see photo). Then, after lunch, it was back to Victoria Palms for county western dancing lessons. The fee was $4 per person and the instructor was a little Jewish man from New York. He and his wife assistant were excellent. I "learned" the 2 step basic, the country waltz basic, the swing basic, and the country polka with Jesse. Actually, country western dancing was fun, though I kept stepping on Kay’s tows in the Two Step Basic. Guess we’re dancing too close. Two hours of country western dance lessons stiffened this old body considerably, resulting in a lengthy visit to the hot tub—it was wonderful. In fact, it helped the itching toes immeasurably. I’m guessing I got in some jelly fish at South Padre Island. We returned to Dunn Gone for a couple of hours, after which Kay and I played shuffleboard against each other with Larry and Vicky. Needless to say, sleep came easy.

Monday, January 7, 2008 (DAY 11)  Another busy day, beginning with a 9:00 AM general meeting. Afterwards, we "relaxed" for an hour or so, then headed to South Padre Island, stopping in Port Isabel for seafood. Kay had a shrimp po’ boy and I had an oyster basket. The fried oysters were OK, but not to New Orleans standards. We saw an old lighthouse and possibly the world’s largest fly rod (see photo). After lunch, we took a short tour of South Padre Island, walking briefly in the surf and sand (see photo). We managed to get back to Pine to Palm in time for the famous pancake dinners. We had been told that if we waited until 5:30 PM we wouldn’t have to wait in line; the line was doubled back on itself, and over 100 yards long. The pancakes were great, but they had not planned on such a large crowd and we missed the sausage and hot coffee—maybe next week. I played two games of shuffleboard with Larry, and learned a lot about both defense and offense. Kay stayed behind, took her shower, and read. Upon returning to Dunn Gone, I read until late, catching glimpses of LSU beating Ohio State. Unfortunately, the book I read was missing the last few pages, so it was very upsetting. The tops, bottoms, and in between areas of my big toe and adjoining two toes on both feet began itching like crazy, without any sign of rash or blisters. They did appear swollen. Anyway, I could not get relief.

Sunday, January 6, 2008 (DAY 10) We were up early today for church, having choir rehearsal at 8:30 AM. Kay sang, “Praise His Name” and did a spectacular job. Jerry talked on four things to do in 2008 to become better Christians: communicate with God, don’t hold grudges, don’t whine, and tell the truth. After service and fellowship, i.e. coffee and donuts, we went to lunch at a very good Chinese restaurant with Vicky and Larry and our new friends. The wind blew like crazy today, with 20-25 MPH winds steady and gusts of 45 MPH, all day long. We stayed in the rest of the day, and both of us read till bedtime.