From the ridiculous to the sublime

Finally, just two days before Thanksgiving, I found a garage that would let me stay on board while they did the repairs. I really had no other option--finding a motel, renting a car, figuring out how to move RV, car, cat & me from place to place became a headache I could not work out.  Not to mention the expense.  The brake job took all of two days--and a huge chunk of money--to complete. The free night in the garage helped a little.

Sigh Me and I slept in the RV in this great metal building--all alone and just a wee bit scared.  Do you have any idea how much noise a metal building makes when it is cooling?  The owners of the garage--a very nice couple--reassured me that the doors were all locked and there were cameras everywhere so I was not to worry.  "But whatever you do," they said,  "Don't touch the doors!  The silent alarm will bring the police right away!"  So if I should be attacked by a big burly man with a fu manchu mustache and a skull & crossbones tattoo--then I'm reaching for a door!

I woke up at midnight, 1 AM, 2 AM, 3 AM and finally got up at 4 AM and crept outside the RV to take these pictures.  Even Sigh Me was spooked--she stayed curled up next to me all night.
But, Hooray!  I now have a really good set of brakes!

Craig Waterman--These pictures are for you and thank you so much for suggesting Santa Rosa Beach.
This area of the Florida Peninsula is so beautiful.  The sand is blindingly white and as fine as sugar.

Late Wednesday afternoon I pulled away from the auto garage, stopped in a local fish market and picked up a shrimp salad and a loaf of French bread for Thanksgiving dinner, then drove to  Fort Pickens campground on Santa Rosa island just before dark. As luck would have it they still had a space available for the following two nights.  I did not realize how many people would be out in their RV's over the holiday weekend and most campgrounds were full.

The water sparkled an emerald green.   And the beaches are so expansive they feel almost deserted.

Okay!  There were 'no-see-ums' in the sand--so paradise isn't perfect.