Winter to Spring 2018 - 1/1 - 4/08

2018 was ushered in by doing what we did a year ago; drove to the cast member parking area behind Magic Kingdom and watched the New Year’s Fireworks. Since Byron didn’s schedule availability for New Year’s Day, we were able to enjoy the special show together even through from a distance. By the way, we were not alone. Several other carloads of castmember view the display from there, too.

One of the perks Byron receives from Disney is complimentary admission to Walt Disney World (based on number of hours worked in a calendar year). Who better to use them on than family? We entertained our grandsons, Ben and Luc (Luciano) for a few days. Martha took them to Magic Kingdom one day and we all went to Disney Springs to enjoy the sights there on another day.

The Lego Store at Disney Springs (formerly Downtown Disney)

offered Ben and Luc the opportunity to gaze at all

that can be made if you have enough Legos.

The nightly fireworks show started a new production in May of 2017. This was after we left to go to Jackson, WY for the summer. We finally got to see them from the front side of Sleeping Beauty Castle when we went in February. We had Chapel and Ben with us to share in enjoying the nightly pirotechnic program. It is a production in a very real sense; complete with synchronized music, projected animation, and aerial as well and lower level fireworks. Since Byron occassionally picks up hours serving as an attendance control cast member for the show, “Happily Ever After,” he knew just where we needed to be and at what time to get a good viewing spot. (A hint to others wishing to see the show; be sure to arrive 30 minutes early to get a suitable place near the hub at the end of Main Street.)

The nightly fireworks presented in Magic Kindgom now feature animated

graphics designed for the unique shapes of the castle. Two projectors

facing the castle plus one from each side (four in all) provide

quite a display that always attracts thousands for

viewing each evening. The production is now Disney’s

nightly feature presentation since the Electric
Light Parade was retired two years ago.

Since we are official KOA Work Kampers and have spent three summers working a three, different locations, we were contacted with regard to answering some questions about our experiences. The result was the publication of our interview on the KOA Blog. The blog can be found at the following URL: https://koa.com/blog/whats-it-like-to-work-kamp/

This photo accompanied our interview in the KOA Blog. For those

of you that don’t know, KOA stands for Kampgrounds of

America. The reason “K” is uses is because the

term was disallowed for trademarking by using

a “C” for the company name.

We returned to the Kentuckiana region by leaving Kissimmee during the second week of March. We visited with Lewis and Marcia, Byron’s brother and sister-in-law, who live in Johnson City, Tennessee. While in Clarksville we experienced three or four different snowfalls and unusually chilly weather for that time of year. This was not Martha’s idea of an appropriate way of being welcomed. Byron, while not complaining much about the cold, did join Martha in complaining about the many days of rain and gray skies. One thing we did accomplish was to remove the carpet from the living area in our motorhome and install vinyl plank flooring.

The installation of luxury vinyl tile planks called for a good

team effort. We did get the job completed and have enjoyed

having a floor that’s easier to clean.

This view shows the floor as completed. Carpet remains on

floor of the slide (living area extension). Curving around

the tile of the kitchen was not difficult.

While in our “home” area we, of course, get to visit with some friends. This is always a special treat as we get to catch up with each other. This time it included dinner with the Bashams at their home and dinner with the Harmons at one of our favorite places, Mark’s Feed Store. Of course, we had a few times of sharing meals and good conversation with Jeremy and Jody.

Our Easter photo for 2018.

Before leaving Louisville we enjoyed Kentucky Hot Browns

in Jeremy and Jody’s home. The entreé followed Jeremy’s

own recipé though using the traditional one as developed at

the Brown Hotel as a guide.


In December we had to put Redford, our male English cocker,
at rest from the cancerous condition that had developed.
In March we had to make the decision again regarding
Julie, our female English cocker. They shared the
same father and returned to sharing time together
when we acquired them a year apart
from a breeder in Tennessee.

Journey through Kentuckiana to Kissimmee: 10/1 - 12/31

Our trip from Wyoming to our home port at Add-More Campground just north of Louisville in Clarksville, Indiana was not uneventful. Our first night out was spent at the KOA in Rawlins, Wyoming. Yes, it was cool and windy that first night. However, on Monday, October 1, 2017, we had to drive through lots of snow on I-80 until we got to Cheyenne. By “lots of snow” is meant several inches with wind blowing toward the west. However, once we turned south toward Denver, the snow cleared in a matter of miles and, in fact, revealed the grass on the ground.

Upon reaching Denver we turned eastward. Before the setting of sun that evening we encountered thunderstorms and tornado warnings. Imagine, going from heavy snow on one day to terrible storms and high winds 36 hours latter. We had never experienced such extremes before. For that night in WaKeeney, Kansas, we didn’t put our slides out because the wind was so strong. Be the next morning, however, it had calmed down a great deal and the sun showed itself.

Our next stop was in Oklahoma City to visit with members of the Shealy family there. While there we stayed at Twin Fountains RV Resort, a very nice place on the east side of Oklahoma City. From there we headed on through Missouri and stayed one night near Carthage. From there we went to Fairfield, Illinois, Byron’s hometown. On October 7 we arrived at our “interim” home in Clarksville, Indiana which is just across the river from Louisville.

After visits with friends and appointmens with physicians, we headed to Florida twenty-two days later. Yes, it was a brief visit in the Louisville area bet we wanted to get to Kissimmee before Halloween.

While in Louisville, Byron attended the annual Aviation Heritage

event at Bowman Field.

On our first night going south we stayed at Bear Creek in Ashville, North Carolina. It was there that we were parked next to another Newmar Dutch Star. It was a year older than ours but in the paint job of our coach which means it was finished just after the summer retooling break at Newmar’s facility in Nappanee, Indiana.

Sibling motorhomes parked next to each other. Ours has the

Honda Element, our tow vehicle, parked behind it.

From Asheville we traveled on to Franklin Spring, Georgia where we spent the night with Martha’s sister and brother-in-law. From there we traveled to Brunswick, Georgia and an opportunity to have some fresh shrimp. We left Coastal Georgia RV Resort the next day and arrived at Great Oak RV Resort in Kissimmee by 2 PM. This gave us time to clean our concrete pad and pull into place for our winter stay.

Byron, of course, continued with his position working at Walt Disney World in Magic Kingdom at his home locations, Casey’s Corner and Tomorrowland Terrace. Within weeks, he was back to teaching the Hugh Embry Sunday School Class at First United Methodist Church in Kissimmee. Martha was welcomed back by the owner, leaders, and crew at Chick-fil-A in Celebration.

For a Christmas celebration, the CFA employees and guests were

treated to a meal at Kobe Japanese Steak House.

Elvis and husband, Avelio, with Martha and Byron following the

dining experience at the Japanese steak house. The couple is

from Venezuela. While Avelio worked there for a time, Elvis

still does. Elvis helps Martha with Spanish and Martha

helps her with English.

For Christmas we took a few days off and traveled to Weston, Florida for time with Ashley and Michael and their family, Jada, Chapel, Ben, and Luc.

With family for Christmas. Yes, short sleeves are always worn at Christmas in South Florida.