Mystic Springs Cove - Part 2

I've been trying to post on here for over a week and have been unable to get it to work. In desperation, I tried shortening the blog and it apparently worked. So here is the rest of my first Mystic Springs report.

About the time it was starting to quiet down a little, a late arrival created a whole new round of "Hellos and Hugs". Beth, husband of Bill and co-owner of "Boop-Sea", a REALLY shiny vintage unit arrived straight from work. And since she's leaving Tuesday for 2 years in Alaska as a visiting Nurse Practitioner it was a going away party, too. Their trailer has a big nautical Betty Boop on the spare tire cover. By Saturday morning I felt I knew them well enough to give them a Betty Boop pin. Yes, doll collector friends, one of THOSE pins. For you who don't know what I'm talking about, I can't explain here. Ask to see one the next time our paths cross. For those of you who do know, Beth wore it in plain sight most of the weekend. Cool people. Their trailer won "Best in Show" and she did remove it for the awards photo.

On Saturday I finally got around to officially registering. I was welcomed again and told, "If you want to come back in May and be Campground Host for a week or two, you get to stay for free!" I told them that to make that a really attractive offer, they needed to raise their rates well above the $9.00/night (with full hookups) that they currently charge. Since I had two free nights, the only charge for the weekend was the $10.00 Rally Fee. Which included that wonderful Jambalaya dinner, breakfast and dinner Sat, and "Toast and Coffee" and lunch on Sun. And an excellent program on how to polish an Airstream. Which made me VERY glad that mine is not Vintage and does have a Clear Coat. Gus Spies really knows what's what in the polishing world. He also gave a short seminar on riveting that will be of major help to me in the future.

That's what was officially included.

Unofficial perks included non-stop food and Margaritas, incredible new friends, and lots of my questions about Airstreams and Airstreaming answered under a bright blue Florida sky.

Before dinner Saturday one of the Vintage folks was bragging about some 'shine he'd made from apple mash. By the time he brought it back from his trailer for us to sample, there were three other samples there as well. We all pretty well agreed that the 18 yr old corn was the best, but the apple had several fans as well. It was compared very favorably to Courvosier V.S.

I didn't even make it to "Toast & Coffee" or lunch on Sunday because Vinnie and crowd had already fixed a breakfast of bacon, Italian sausage, eggs, hash browns, and cheese grits with garlic and spices. It's the first time in my life I ate a complete helping of grits. Anne Mollere from Jackson, MS, made them. I told her, "Chunks of cardboard would be delicious with this much butter, cheese and seasonings." Then I went back for seconds.

I did go by for dessert Sunday and was told that the people who were supposed to Host for two weeks just called to cancel. "Would you be willing to stay and do it? There's really nothing to it. Just be here in case a camper shows up. Turn the flag spotlight on and off. That's about it." I asked what would happen if I said, "No?" This entire place is owned, maintained and run by volunteers. So if I didn't fill in, a member would have to take time off from work and come up here. So here I am, on 10 acres along the Escambia River, three miles from the paved road, in the middle of 100,000 acre of paper company timberland.

ALONE.

I mean REALLY ALONE!

And the first week has been wonderful.

I can't match the pictures on their website, so here it is again.

Mystic Springs

I'll let you know about the second week in a few days.

Leaving Christmas

Well, I've had a wonderful time here in Christmas. I've made a bunch of wonderful new friends. Most of them have headed North already but we've exchanged email addresses and I'm sure we'll cross paths again.

And God keeps putting Blessings in front of me that even I can't miss. I was having a little pity party when I arrived back in Sanford after my wonderful 10 days with my friends in VA. I was really missing them. "Here I am, all alone again. Nobody loves me. etc etc."

While waiting for my luggage I heard, "Tom! What are you doing here?" It was John and Tina Renick with their daughter, Anna. She is one of my favorite little girls from the Church nursery. They were making their first trip to Disney. So I left the Sanford Terminal at 10:30 on a Wednesday night with a GREAT BIG HUG from one of the sweetest little girls in the world.

While I was in VA, Sandra, my WhirlyGirl friend from Denmark stayed in the Airstream. She was between apartments and even though the security here is good, I was happy having someone stay in it while I was gone. So it was a win-win situation.

Many of my new friends fit Mary Ann's phrase that "Tom, you're walking proof that God is kind because He's allowed you to meet so many truly sick people. You'd have been very lonely if He hadn't smiled on you in this way."

The old guys I have coffee with in the morning definitely noticed Sandra. Well, she is 26, blond and beautiful so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

But when I returned my "friends" said, "Please just sit here for a while, we've called the police and they're on the way."

I said, "C'mon guys, aside from the fact that I wasn't even here, she's over 18. What are the charges?"

They said, "Assault with a dead weapon."

Badaboom.



In the last post I promised pictures of the beach in Melbourne that I visited on the Saturday I was there.

Here's looking North















And South.





I didn't know those three people but they obviously didn't get the email that said, "This is Tom's beach today."







Sandra was not pleased that I wanted to take her picture, unposed, no make up, just not prepared. But she humored me anyway. And because humoring me is one of her most endearing traits, I thought it would be totally appropriate to put in this picture with that look I've come to know and love. We had a good-by brunch at Paneras today. I probably won't see her again until the Helicopter Convention in Houston next February. And even that depends on where in the world she finds work. She's about to finish her Helicopter Instrument Instructor's rating. Although she has a job offer in CA, she's hoping to find something here in the East. And when her student visa expires this summer, maybe Denmark, or Greenland, or India. She's been such a good friend for the short time I've been here in Christmas. It's really nice to stay in touch with the aviation world, even from the sidelines. She certainly fits the description of WhirlyGirl that I've been telling many of you about for years. VERY smart, focused and driven. And supremely - but quietly - self confident.

I will miss her.







My next stop is Mystic Springs Cove Airstream Park, north of Pensacola. If I stick with my goal of staying off Interstates, here's the route -

Map 4/19/07

It's not on the Gulf, but on the Escambia River and my Airstream friends say it's as beautiful as their website shows

Mystic Springs Cove

For my last night in this part of FL, I drove to Orlando to watch my friend, "FiddinJessy" perform outside the Arena where the Magic are playing their last regular season game. She put on a great show, as always. And THIS time she actually DID introduce me to her parents.

"This is the guy that played Bass with me at Cypress Gardens. He lives in an Airstream."

I said, "I'm Jessy's oldest fan."

She said, "No. You're not. My Grandpa is. Well, yeah, I'm PRETTY SURE he's older than you."

Ouch.

Please refer to Mary Ann's quote about "sick friends". I had it coming, though. Although she's a natural blond, she's currently a gorgeous redhead. And I had made a couple of comments about "those blond roots being really strong." in reference to a couple of silly mistakes she'd made.

Again, I don't know when our paths will cross again, but I hope that someday very soon I'll be able to say, "I knew Jessy before she was famous."

If a webpage means anything, she's on her way.

FiddlinJessy

And those of you who know me well will appreciate how much I love her.

I actually bought a T-shirt and CD from her.

At REGULAR PRICES ! Could there be stronger proof??

Until next time.

Please remember the Hokies in your prayers.