Then we got cleaned up and headed over to St. Augustine Beach to the Bryn Mawr Ocean Resort.  I didn't give you a link because the resort's website never seems to be working.  :)

Once we paid our visitor fees and got through the gate, we found Kenneth & Marianne's rig.  It was pretty easy to spot since it looked just like ours.  :)

They bought their Keystone Cambridge fifth wheel at the end of 2006, and since they don't full-time, the interior looks new.  But, other than that and just a couple of other tiny differences, their rig looks exactly the same as ours.

Linda described some of the modifications we had made, and Kenneth showed Linda some of the modifications he made.

And then, suddenly, in the middle of our pleasant conversation, Linda had to bring up the "toilet discussion".  You see, lots of RV toilets have a pedal that you step on to flush.

Well, what we didn't know and what our dealer didn't tell us, was that we could pull up on that pedal to fill the bowl.  The dealer just told us to push the pedal down slightly to fill the bowl which is much less effective.  We were in our rig three or four months before Linda accidentally discovered that little "secret".

So now, especially when she sees an RV toilet like ours, Linda strives to enlighten others.  And, we have discovered that about half of the time, her "students" did not know about this either.  :)

In fact, there was a whole discussion about the various RV toilets and their operation in the Chat Room a few nights ago.  That led to several people going in search of their toilet owners manuals.  And after four and a half years living in our RV, Linda discovered our manual taped, out of sight, to the back of our toilet.  Yep, the "pulling up on the pedal" thing is in there.  :)

Apparently, that was quite a night of "bathroom humor" - literal bathroom humor.  :)

Anyway, before the clouds rolled in too much, we crossed the boardwalk from the RV park to the beach.

It's a wide beach and vehicles are allowed to drive on it.

After walking and talking for a little while with our new friends from north Georgia, we headed back to their site.

Dunes block most of the views of the ocean from the RV park, but you can see the water over the dunes from some of the sites.

Back at their rig, I inspected Kenneth's flat screen TV installation.  We've been contemplating replacing our big, fat, 80 pound TV with a flat screen, so it was nice to see how someone with our exact same set-up made the change.

And that led to a demonstration of their Wii game system.  We have heard about all the RVers that now have Wii in their rigs and how much fun they have.  But we had not actually seen it in person.

Marianne showed Linda how to play a few games, including Wii bowling.

And, eventually, I got in on the act.  The interactive aspect is certainly amazing, and I can see how it could be addicting.  At least, for an inside activity, it gets you up and moving.  I can see a flat screen TV and a Wii in our future.  :)

After the Wii demo, we went for a short drive on the beach and then to a nearby restaurant called Salt Water Cowboys. 

It's a neat little rustic-looking place on a marsh.

We got a table in the corner where we could watch the sunset.  Of course, I had to actually go outside and photograph the sunset.  :)

By the time I got back, our seafood had arrived.  It was a really cool place and the food was good, but it wasn't the best value.  A little pricey for pretty basic seafood preparation.

Of course the setting and the company made up for that.  We continued our conversation through dinner and beyond.  :)

On the way out, I got a shot of the large, glowing alligator.

And of course, we had to have a pic of Linda ready for a Santa Gator ride.  :)

And finally, a nice twilight shot of Salt Water Cowboys.

Being quite full, we returned to Kenneth & Marianne's place, where we talked just a little bit longer.  Soon, it was hugs and handshakes and we were on our way.

We made a quick stop at Walmart, where I picked up a new fishing reel and we bought our Florida non-resident fishing licenses.  They are $47 each for an annual non-resident freshwater license and $47 each for an annual non-resident saltwater license.  We're sticking with freshwater only.  :)

We made the 40-mile drive back to Welaka and settled in for the evening.  We don't have anything planned for New Years, which is quite all right with me.  I'll be perfectly happy to bring in 2010 quietly under the full moon here on the St. John's River.  :)

I hesitate to give any hints about the book, because where I start and where I end up may not be the same.  :)  But this first one will be non-fiction and will likely end up being sort of an autobiography of our lives and how some of the twists and turns (as of yet undisclosed) led us to full-time RVing in our early forties.  Hopefully, readers will be able to identify with much of it and, at the same time, find the parts they don't identify with interesting.  :)

One thing I know is that three months is a very short time to write a book, so it probably won't be complete by the time we leave here.  And I'm sure I will tweak and re-write it several times.  So, to get as much done as possible while we are here this winter, I'll have to treat it like a "job".

We're gonna have to get into a routine.  And that routine will have to include daily exercise, periodic "days off", and short "vacations".  It will be a lot more flexible than a "real job", but we'll have some daily goals.

Today, we started with some exercise.  I shot some hoops to get warmed up and then Linda joined me.  The other day, we got her some Skechers Shape-Ups shoes.  We stopped at Kohl's in Jacksonville where she tried on a pair and power-walked around the store.  It was more than she'd ever spent on a pair of athletic shoes in her life, but she liked them.  :)

So, we walked around town at a pretty quick pace.  It was a good start.  Now we just have to stay consistent and build on that.  :)

Back home, I jumped in the shower, and Linda said "I think we have company".

We were expecting company in about an hour, but not quite that early.  It turned out to be Kenneth & Marianne and a couple of their friends from DeLand, FL.  They have a Keystone Cambridge and are staying in St. Augustine Beach.

We were in the process of working out plans to meet them in the next day or two, but they were out scouting RV parks and decided to drop by.

We really don't mind drop-ins as long as folks understand they get what they find - like me in the shower or Linda in her pajamas or the bed unmade ... or us not home.  At least we don't worry about the rig being a mess because we always keep it reasonably uncluttered, clean, and organized - otherwise, it would drive us crazy.  :)

Since their fifth wheel is exactly like ours, they didn't need a rig tour.  So we did a quick walk-through of the resort and they picked up some brochures.  They didn't stay long and, before they left, we finalized plans to get together tomorrow.

Not long after that, Jim, Terry, & Becky arrived.  We had met them a couple of years ago in Texas, and they attended our first Rally in Branson in 2008.  They are staying in Jacksonville and emailed about coming over today.

We also gave them a tour of the resort and ended up sitting down on the dock chatting for a little while.  Also, sitting on the dock with a pair of binoculars was Dave.  Dave and his wife Patty arrived here over the weekend, but with our reclusive couple of days we hadn't yet met them.

There was a couple that was here and gone before we arrived that found the Welaka Lodge & Resort via our Journal.  Dave & Patty also discovered this place through us.  Cool.  We'll have to spend a little more time with them before they leave later in the week.

We were getting hungry, so the five of us headed to an early dinner at the Shrimp R Us & More restaurant about a block and a half away.  We hadn't eaten there yet, but just about every local recommended it.

Soon, after our reasonably priced seafood meals started arriving, Dave & Patty came in the door.  Jim joked that the town was benefitting from the RV-Dreams Welaka Stimulus Plan.  :)

I wouldn't say the food was outstanding, but it was very good for the price.  And I'm sure we'll be back a few times over the next couple of months.

Back at the rig, Jim & Terry bought an RV-Dreams Hat, a Ho-Hummers hummingbird feeder, and two DreamLife Creations bracelets.  That was a nice end-of-year sale that we appreciated very much.  :)

With hugs, they departed.  Since they live in Michigan, we'll likely see them again this coming summer during our workamping stint in Hillman at the Thunder Bay Resort.

Well, after two days of doing almost nothing, we filled up a few hours meeting new RV-Dreams friends and spending time with "old" ones.  In a few days, the book writing will probably take over my time.  We'll have to see how the Journal writing takes shape during this "work" period.  :)