Fri - 28 Feb/14

We will be going home shortly for at least 24 hrs. This is necessitated by our "Out-of-Country" Health Insurance. Now that we are over 65 (yrs. young) our group coverage is no longer continuous. It covers 75 consecutive days. After staying in our home province for 24 hours it reloads and we are good for another 75 days. It is cheaper to go home than pay thousands to extend coverage past the 75 days.

It is (should be) a 2 day drive (weather permitting). We were trying to decide if we should put the RV in storage until we return or pay to have it remain on-site. We decided to leave it as is so I went to the office and paid for March. Tentatively, we will leaver for home this coming Tuesday.

That done, it was now time to enjoy the return of the great weather.

We returned to Gator Joe's in Ocklawaha, FL. We discovered this restaurant because other RVers in the park graciously invited us to dinner here. (For previous visit and a little "Gator Joe" History see  the Blog for Tue - 18 Feb/14) 

Now we were returning - this time for the daily (M - F) All-You-Can-Eat special. Today it was the Fish Basket. Like the Shrimp Basket;  it was also Fantastic.

We got a "Big Bang" out of Matt, our server. Actually, it was a little bang. He was trying to shoo away the Sea Gulls by letting off a few very small firecrackers. He said that this usually keeps them away for a few hours. 

Matt, besides giving excellent service, also took our picture at our table on the deck - just to prove Charlotte is not living dangerously by travelling alone (grin).

After lunch we headed towards Ocala, FL. We were off to the I-75 Super Flea Market (Fr-Sa-Su) near Exit 354. With the top off on the Del Sol the sunshine felt great. As we turned off I-75 we saw a sign that indicated "Flea Market - Next Light". The only problem was it did not indicate which way to turn. We took a guess and turned right - which was right.

I thought the Flea Market was open 9-4 on all the days. Ooops! it closed earlier (2 pm) on Friday. We decided that we would not shop; but, continue driving and enjoying the sunshine. The roads around Ocala were like the Orlando/Kissimmee area - wall to wall w/stoplights. We decided to head back in another direction to avoid the crush of stop and go traffic.

Following "My Nose" we zig-zagged a few times alternating between going South and going East. This eventually got us back to "The Villages". We decided to head to the "Square" at Fort Sumter Landing for the nightly live entertainment.

We arrived just as the "Antique Car Club of America" vehicles were pulling into the square. 

They are featured on a regular basis at the square. The parking on all 4 sides is reserved for their vehicles which remain on display until dark. 

Trade the red for gold and this one could almost pass for my '31.

Paint this '56 Buick Century Black/White/Black it could have been the car in which I first did my solo drive. This was actually in Florida were my aunt lived. Everyone was at church for Easter and the roads were empty. (Spring of '59 - I was only 12). Florida wasn't crowded (or discovered) yet. 

My dad almost bought an Avanti R-2 (Paxton Supercharged) model. My mom would not hear of it - the Plastic (actually fiberglass) car would never last. Oh well, Dad (and I) had to settle for a Thunderbird.

Nice to see a few Corvairs. Mine was a Burgundy coloured Monza. This later model Spyder is a factory supercharged model. Neat. Ralph Nader reputed to having killed the Corvair by calling it "Unsafe At Any Speed!". Although this book "made his name" the second generation Corvair suspension was based on the then current Corvette which gave it better handling characteristics than most other production autos.

We set up our chairs and enjoyed the music.

"Happy Hour" at the "Corner Bars" (literally at the corners of the square) had many waiting in line for the 2 for 1 specials.

We chose Johnny Rockets for supper. We were fortunate to have Chris serve us again. (See Blog: Thu - 6 Feb/14). He always greets with a "Smiles" (Left) created with Ketchup in a bowl and (Right) created with a laugh.

Chris makes Johnny Rockets more than just a great meal.

His wife, Chantelle, is also into being sweet - she makes cupcakes and more and ships everywhere:

http://www.eatcake-love.com/ 

Yummy, Eh!

To round out the evening we crossed the street to the theatre. We decided on "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit". 

Done in the "Bourne" style the film features Chris Pine as Jack Ryan, who, as a young covert C.I.A. analyst, uncovers a Russian plot to crash the U.S. economy with a terrorist attack. Keira Knightly is Ryan's love interest (fiance) and Kevin Costner his C.I.A. handler with Kenneth Branagh as the Russian villain. This movie is not based directly on a Tom Clancy novel - it just uses his character: Jack Ryan. This was an enjoyable spy-thriller that resurrects the Jack Ryan character to the big screen. Can you say: "Film Franchise?"

I'm still trying to make sense out of this sign???

It was an easy ride back to the RV going home the "Back Way": CR-466/US-27/SR-25/CR-42/SR-19.  With almost no stoplights or traffic it is a lot less hectic than US-441 which is slightly shorter.

We are starting to get use to the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. We don't always "Clue In" to his references or humour; however, we do understand NBC going for the "younger, hipper crowd". 

Disclaimer: This in no way infers we are not young or hip (grin).

The Tonight Show is still a good way to end the evening.