Spring Update:

May 25. The race was yesterday. The walk up crowd must have been bigger than usual as it took us longer to get to the track than usual As we have for many years we went to the track with David, Diane, Bridget, Steve, Jan and Cassondra. We have been doing this for many years.  I keep a chart of the race which you can view here: 2009 Indy 500 Chart The race was exciting with Helio winning his 3rd. Once again my friends at the Panther/National Guard team finished second. Point to the right rear tire changer to see my buddy Joe.  I had told them that they would have a great race. Glad they did. Link to Panther Racing The night before the race we also had the 2nd annual Night Before the Race Poker game at Corne's house. He treated us to his own special BBQ drum sticks...very nice. (BTW I won at poker..LOL) Now we are getting ready to for our trip to Alaska.

May 23. It's the day before the Indy 500 and just about 1 week before we head to Alaska for the summer. We're very excited!. Bob has had a great time working at the 500 this year. He has now worked  4 years at the garage entrance. He gets to meet most of the drivers, mechanics and celebrities that go thru there. One of the things he did this year was follow the #20 car of Ed Carpenter from the garage thru the chute to the pits. He has posted that video on you tube. Gasoline Alley Walk Hope you enjoy it. We are waiting to receive a picture of Bob with Johnny Rutherford that Bob's  friend BirdDog snapped. It will be posted as soon as we get a copy. I want to shout out to Panther Racing and my friend Joe. Good luck in the race tomorrow! I'll be rooting for you. (as well as Sarah Fisher).

On Saturday May 2nd we were invited to see the promotion ceremony for our son Eric to Captain in the Army National Guard. Below are a couple of pictures from that ceremony.

We were able to attend our last Indiana Pacer game of the season on April 8 and enjoyed a GREAT Pacer win over the Toronto Raptors.  The Pacers have just been so much fun to watch this year!

We spent Easter weekend with Mike and family in their new home in Tennessee.  The weather was definitely better than in Indiana and we had a wonderful time seeing sites in their area, including a Civil War battlefield in Franklin and dinner at Puckett’s Grocery & Restaurant; the Adventure Science Center in Nashville; and Easter lunch with Amanda’s grandma and family.  We were able to see the grandchildren’s new schools and learn about Mike’s new job.  It was a wonderful few days and we hated to see it end. 

From TN, we went to Eric & Kat’s in Avon and met the newest member of their family, Zoey, a beautiful black lab.  We were able to ‘hang’ with them for a few days before returning to our ‘home on wheels’ in New Castle. 

Bob looks forward to beginning the “Month of May” at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and we both look forward to spending more time with family & friends.

March 2009
In the past month we:

*        Spent 2 days at the Sebring International Raceway watching Indy car testing, including Marco Andretti, Dan Wheldon, Graham Rahal & Milka Duno.  We were able to listen to Andretti communicate with his team via radio about how his car was handling.

*        Spent a day with friends from Hare Creek Campground, Gary & Ruth Anne, who are also wintering here at Highland Wheel Estates (HWE).  They took us through Okeechobee and a lovely drive to Ft Pierce where we had lunch at Cobb’s Landing and walked along the water.

*        Bob & Gary raced around the Sebring International Raceway at 100 mph with Skip Barber’s driving school.

*        Watched the launch of the space shuttle Discovery over Lake Jackson.  Although we were roughly 100 miles from the launch site, we were able to see the jet thrusters break off and the shuttle soar through the sky.  Pictures cannot do it justice but it was awesome!

*        Enjoyed long-time friends Tina & Denny who came for an overnight in their new travel trailer and truck.  We had a delicious dinner at Chicane’s and enjoyed a tram tour through Highland Hammock State Park.  We saw various wildlife and vegetation and enjoyed the information from the tour guide.  They were able to attend the HWE St. Patrick’s Day party before they headed south to Ft. Myers Beach for the rest of their vacation.

*        Enjoyed former neighbor and friend Bill who spent a weekend with us and joined Bob for the 12-hours of Sebring race.  They had a great time at the race and we had a nice dinner at The Watering Hole, home of Bully, a 14-foot alligator.

*        Joined 6 fellow HWE residents for a bus trip to Seminole Hard Rock Casino for a day of fun and food.  Bob enjoyed poker while Kathy played the slots and wandered the casino.

*        Heard the sonic boom today as the Discovery returned to earth!

We will be leaving our winter home in Sebring on March 30 to return to Greenfield, IN.  Our son, Mike and family have just moved south of Nashville, where Mike has taken a new job, so we plan to spend a few days in their area, helping them settle and spending time exploring and having fun.  We have had a wonderful time in Florida, reacquainting with former friends and make new ones over the winter.

February 18-20, 2009—We enjoyed a wonderful 3-day bus trip to Key West.  Our first stop on Wednesday was the Oasis Visitor Center on the Tamiami Trail west of Miami.  We saw alligators in their natural habitat, as well as a few birds.  Next we stopped at the Everglades Alligator Farm in Florida City Link where we enjoyed an airboat ride and a snake and alligator show.  Charlie was afraid of snakes but volunteered to hold one to see if he could get over his phobia. The guide put a large python around Charlie's neck. Charlie survived but just barly! See this amazing video on you tube Link Bob & Kathy each held an alligator as you can see below.  We spent the night at the Homestead Floridian Hotel and had a delicious dinner with several other tour members at Mario’s Latin Café. Link

Thursday morning we were up early and headed to Key West.  Our driver, Danny, made a “surprise” stop at the last remaining bat house in the Keys.  These houses were built to help control the mosquito population in the area.  Danny said he learned of this house a few years ago when he was transporting a school tour group.  We had a great time in Key West, riding the trolley, seeing the sights, doing a little shopping, having Key Lime pie of course, and enjoying a beautiful sunset over the Gulf.  It was a very full but pleasant day.

Friday we toured the Coral Castle in Homestead. Link It was built by Edward Leedskalnin, a 5 foot, 100 pound Latvian who was spurned by the love of his life and then set out on his lifelong quest to create a monument to his lost love that has culminated into one of the world’s most remarkable accomplishments.  What makes Ed’s work remarkable is the fact that he was just over 5 feet tall and weighed only 100 pounds. He quarried the coral next to the castle and cut, carved and moved blocks weighing as much as 30 tons each. Incredibly, he cut and moved these huge coral blocks using only hand tools. He put up 3 gates weighting between 3 and 9 tons that were so perfectly balanced that they could be turned with one hand.  He had acquired some skills working in lumber camps and came from a family of stone masons in Latvia. He drew on this knowledge and strength to cut and move these blocks. Engineers are still at a loss to explain how he accomplished his feat. We had a great 90-minute guided tour that really showcased the brilliance of this one man.  It is definitely something to see if you are ever in the area.  Our next stop was the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables.  We enjoyed a guided tram ride through the gardens which included artwork as well as plants. 

Again, a big thanks to Roger & Joyce for organizing the entire tour.  Everyone seemed to have a great time!

January 30, 2009 --We had a cold snap last week with a low of 28 degrees one morning!  It has warmed up nicely and we continue to enjoy the usual activities of the park.  We picked oranges and grapefruit from a local orchard one day and as you can see, the grapefruit are quite large!  Both the oranges and grapefruit are quite sweet and juicy. 

Last Sunday we biked to and through Hammock State Park and enjoyed a picnic lunch.  On Tuesday we drove to Orlando for the day, stopping at Camping World and JoAnn Fabric before arriving at Amway Arena for the Indiana Pacers/Orlando Magic basketball game.  After convincing the parking attendant our truck would indeed fit into 1 parking space, we walked a few blocks to Fratelli’s Italian Restaurant, where we enjoyed delicious pizza.  Their menu includes several Italian dishes as well and we highly recommend it if you are in the area. 

 Wednesday we attended the Canadian Snowbird Extravaganza in Lakeland with Canadian park friends Leonard & Joanna.  We picked up lots of information on various southeastern states and saw some great shows—all FREE!  We enjoyed getting better acquainted with Leonard & Joanna on the drive as well.

Thursday evening was the park pot-luck dinner and we were in for a treat!  There were over 100 in attendance and of course we enjoyed great food and entertainment.  We were in a skit entitled “A Day at Highland Wheel Estates.”  We also enjoyed the HWE Table Top Dancers and a solo by Patty.  What a great night!

 January 11, 2009 - We have come back from Indiana. Had a great time with the kids and the Grandkids. The weather here has been quite nice. We haven't done much since we returned. We may go to the Pacers Magic game in Orlando the end of the month. Here are some pictures from our trip to Indiana. My golf game seems to be improving as I shot an 85 last Friday. :)

December 27, 2008 - We have been spending the last 10 days with our kids and grandkids in Indiana. Quite a shock from the 80 degree weather in Florida to the 20 degree weather here. However, spending time with our kids and grand kids and watching the younger ones on Christmas morning has been well worth it. We have several pictures that we will be posting after we get back to Sebring on Jan 1st.

 December 13 we enjoyed Christmas at Flywheeler’s Park, north of Avon Park. For the donation of canned goods, we enjoyed 2 ½ hours of Christmas lights and music, tram rides through the park, homemade cookies, hot dogs, hot chocolate, live entertainment and interesting sights throughout the park. The weather was cool and clear with a beautiful full moon.

As we prepare to return to Indiana to spend the Christmas holidays with family, we wish each of you a Blessed Christmas and a Safe and Happy New Year.