Flywheelers At Sebring, FL

Nancy posing in front of a giant redwood from California.  The tree was hollowed out and was made into a home.  It was used for years late in the 1800's and now tours the country for others to enjoy & marvel at one of the largest tree species in the world.  We didn't go in as they wanted a "donation".

We drove to Sebring and met my Sister Debbie & her husband Walter.  Above is Walt, Nancy & Debbie enjoying the parade of vintage & unusual vehicles.

Here are a few of the entries into that parade.

I did say unusual...

The parade was just an interlude to the entirety of the day's events.  Luckily Walt had a golf cart reserved for the day, so we were able to view the sights all day in the comfort of a cart & driver.  :-)

There were probably at least a thousand other carts in the large Flywheelers Park complex.  So we had to be careful about where we aimed this thing.

One of the buildings had an exhibit of hand made wooden artifacts.  Nancy above is looking in amazement at a roller coaster.

A merry-go-round...

A Ferris wheel...

And a whole room of artifacts...neat!

On the complex there is a Village of old buildings (reconstructed or relocated) and many exhibits of old antiques from days-gone-by.  Nice!  But they were way before my time!

Now I ask:  How many people have ever seen a two-story outhouse?  I don't think I'd be interested in using the lower facility.

Here are a few pics from the Village and the many antiques..

 

The real reason the Flywheelers put the annual event on, is highlight a brand of tractors, old & new.  Most of the displays are of vintage years, although I did not get many pics of the tractors.  Trust me when I tell you there were hundreds of them there.  This year the theme was Farmall tractors, and Walt has about a hundred of them himself back in Oregonia that he rebuilds & tinkers with.  One of them even has a hemi, Big John.  Let me see if I can dig out a pic of Big John.

Well, well, look what I found:  A pic of Big John and the proud Father, Walt!

One of the neat demonstrations for me was the sawmill.  They put through about 50 of these pine logs over the few days of the show.  I found it most interesting.

There were many exhibits & demonstrations going on all over the complex.  Here, a chainsaw carver displays some of his works.  Pretty amazing.

It was a very warm day, and it made business at the home made ice cream kiosk a popular place.  I couldn't resist.  I had a IBS root beer float.  Yummy!  And it did me in.  Not used to such high doses of sugar. 

Well, it was a full day of looking at a lot of stuff, including many rows of flea market vendors.  We enjoyed our time with my Sis & Binlaw.  I was glad they were able to get of the cold and away from the humdrum of home routines.  And the sad events of Nov/Dec were a distant memory for both of us as we try to march forward in time.  Well, that about does it for this blog.  The Flywheeler show was late February and this blog was written Mar 21 from Bushnell, FL  So, till our next blog, Joe & Nancy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner At Aunt Dorothy's Home

Soon after arriving in Bushnell, my Aunt Dorothy invited me & Nancy to dinner at her home in the historic section of Ocala.  Several other relatives and friends were also present and enjoyed a marvelous dinner (as always) prepared by my Aunt.  Above my Aunt & her daughter Cathy are opening a bottle of red!

Kay (Chuck's friend), Chuck Aunt Dorothy's oldest son, Nancy, Larry (Chuck's younger brother) and Dorothy's hand :-) about to dig in.  Yummy!

Cathy, Sonja (I think, but not sure, as my memory once again fell off the bus), Chad's friend, and Chad, Larry's son.

Mary Jane (Larry's wife) and Cathy enjoying the after-dinner ambience of a family get-together and singing along to the music.  A bit imbibed perhaps??  And seated beside is one of the family of course, is Morgan, one of two Scottie's belonging to Cathy.

And they have reached their limits of two glasses of Kendall Jackson Chardonnay.

Larry, announcing that Mary Jane is very close to going over the edge.  Fun evening.  Mary Jane & Cathy are just behind me dancing to the music.

Kay, Dorothy, and the party girls.

Larry encouraging Mary Jane to slow down & watch that little step down.  Note Kay in the background asking Chuck, "Is she ok"?  Kidding of course!

Relaxing on the patio with some fresh fruit & cheesecake.  It was a most pleasant evening and the weather cooperated so that we all had a great time with food, family and conversation.

And Aunt Dorothy:  She has put in a long day.  She deserves a big thank you for going way overboard, putting in such a loving time preparing the goodies for all to enjoy.  I'm confident she slept well that night.  Whenever we visit, she makes certain that food is the center piece of the gathering that makes conversation & friendship with family so enjoyable and memorable.  Thank you Aunt Dorothy.  Our stay in Florida will bring us to her home several more times before departing.  So, until the next time, RVing Beach Bums signing off.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bushnell, FL: Our Wintering Location

The Sumter County Court House.  The structure is going through renovations currently but is a very interesting work of architecture.  This photo was taken from the little town plaza fountain.  It was a nice day so we rode our new fold-up bikes from our campsite in the park.  It's only about 2 miles and no hills.

The plaza where we rested a while in the pleasant sunshine and splashing waters of the fountain.  From Wiki:  Bushnell is a city in Sumter County, Florida. The population was 2,050 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S Census estimates of 2005, the city had a population of 2,119. It is the county seat.

Nancy chatting with one of the daughters at the little plaza.

A close-up of the eagle atop the fountain.  Nice!

We stopped for a snack and drink here at Jennie's.  Open only for breakfast & lunch, and it also is a bakery.  Guess we'll try it out one day for lunch.

Down the street 200 feet is Ace Hardware, a place we visited several times already as the nearest big box home improvement store is 25 miles away.

Our fold-ups are fun to ride & comfortable, surprisingly.  And, they are quite easy to unfold and fold and store neatly in our coach basement.

County annex offices & City Hall for Bushnell.

So, we arrived in Bushnell on Jan 13, I think and we are camped at the Dade Historic Battlefield State Park and will be volunteers here till around the first of May.  We will depart here then and head home, via several National Parks in Georgia as well as some sights along the way.  We'll then stop at our home in Va Beach for a week or two and then head for the US Open (volunteers) in Ardmore, PA (Merion Golf Couse & Country Club).  Next blogs will be about our stay in the State Park & other day trips from our location here in Bushnell.  We like the duties here and the weather is nice, a little cool at night, but worms up nice during the days.   So, till the next time, Joe & Nancy, RVing Beach Bums.