Thu - 6 Feb/14

Charlotte went to quilting armed with her (lost) quilt pieces that we managed to find. I did some more storage compartment arranging while she was at classes.

On her return we immediately left for Blount Honda in Leesburg - stopping on the way at Wendy's for lunch.

I noticed a small spot of rust on the Del Sol and brought it to their auto body shop a few weeks ago. The rear wheel well becoming rusted is common in civics of this vintage. It was just beginning to bubble the paint in a few places. Not bad for being 19 years old. I thought it was best to take care of it immediately. I was now returning to the shop for a buffing and polishing. It needed a few weeks to let the paint harden. Looks good!

Then, it became a "Murphy's Law" Day (i.e Whatever could go wrong - would go wrong!)

Our next mission was to hurry to Bev Neal's "Painting Outside the Lines" Gallery in Mt. Dora, FL. We had obtained a Mt. Dora Bicycle Festival Poster when we were at the Mt. Dora Chamber of Commerce. We were told that Bev would gladly autograph it so we dropped it off at the gallery a few days ago. Bev replied to my phone call and we were now on our way to pick it up.

Murphy's Law: The paint polishing took a lot longer than planned. We only had 20 minutes to get to the gallery before closing!

Murphy's Law: It was rush hour. The extra traffic meant we hit a lot of red lights!

Murphy's Law: We hit a detour! There were no instructions - just a detour sign. Bad enough for locals - disaster for strangers. I took a guess at which way to turn. Eventually, I got to a road I recognized and arrived in historic downtown Mt. Dora.

Murphy's Law: The delay meant we arrived at the gallery a few minutes after 5 p.m. Rushing upstairs to the gallery we found it was closed!

Bev Neal, being forever thoughtful, had provided an opportunity for visitors ( who missed her) to leave a note. I started to write a note when I heard a voice.

Our Murphy's Law Day was suddenly reversed!

We were in luck! It was Bev. She had returned - she had forgotten her iPad! She graciously re-opened the gallery and I was able to get a photo of Bev with Charlotte holding the autographed poster.

Bev Neal specializes in Acrylic and Watercolour Art. Bev studied art at the Maryland Art Institute. Influenced by water colour techniques, Bev adds bold colour and strokes to the fluid washes yielding a unique style. Her paintings show the influence of travel to France and the Carribean. They literally bring you along on the journey. (Check out her website: paintoutsidethelines.com/‎ )

Sharing space with the One Flight Up Cafe, her studio is a must visit when in Mt. Dora.

Then Murphy's Law took hold again!

I planned on taking Charlotte (as a surprise) to the Movies at the Barnstorm Theater in Brownwood Paddock Square in The Villages. Murphy's Law: the GPS would not take the address. What is happening often these days is that necessity requires that business use what the USPS (U.S. Postal Service) decides is there address. This often is the result of the USPS opening up a new postal (ZIP) code as an area becomes more developed. This does not always equal the mapping address. Tomorrow I will see if the GPS will take the address with the city as Wildwood rather than The Villages.

I had a good idea how to get to that part of The Villages.

Murphy's Law: I could not turn onto the road to Wildwood, FL. This area was under construction and the usual turning lane could not be accessed as no turns were allowed. The combination of rush hour traffic, heavy rain and darkness influenced my decision to head to another "The Villages Theatre" - the Old Mill Playhouse in Lake Sumter Landing Market Square

Murphy's Law: The movie we planned on seeing was not showing at this cinema.

We then went to the Square to enjoy the live music.

Murphy's Law: The rain picked up and the temperature dropped off. It was too uncomfortable to enjoy the great music.

Reverse Murphy's Law: We then ventured over to Johnny Rockets just across from the bandstand. Charlotte enjoyed an old fashioned Root Beer Float and I had a Strawberry Milk Shake w/real ice cream and strawberries. We shared a Philly Cheese Steak that was really tasty. Sharing means you don't have to take home a doggy bag.

Murphy's Law: Suddenly the light went dim. Was it a power failure?

Reverse Murphy's Law: It was the staff (and patrons) who were clapping and dancing to "Rockin' Robin" (My first 45 rpm record purchase - WOW! - That dates me!). Chris, Our waiter, was really "Groovin' ".

Reverse Murphy's Law: Chris was a lot of fun. He added to our evening. We had thought of having him arrested for stealing (his wife - from Toronto, Canada - grin). Canada's loss is Florida's gain - if we could only convince them to keep Justin Bieber!

Reverse Murphy's Law: After supper Charlotte did a little shopping in the Market Square. Found a nice navy blue slacks and top set.

(N.B.   Canada       vs      USA
            Dinner        =      Lunch
            Supper       =      Dinner )

We stopped at Publix on the way back to the RV. We need milk and I checked my lottery tickets.

Murphy's Law:  Shucks! I didn't win the PowerBall lottery - What are the odds?

(Actually: 1 in 175,223,510 - meaning you are 251 times more likely to be hit by lightning.) Is this what they mean by..."Luck of the Irish"?

OK! With those odds I can't really blame that one on Murphy!

Again, we had a busy, but fun, day!

Charlotte hit the sack at the start of the last Tonight Show hosted by Jay Leno! It was great! I made it to the end because I was doing the blog.

I think we will sleep in tomorrow morning!