Wickham Park, friends and family time

We got to Wickham Park on our third day of travel. We were grateful to get a driving break and see our family and friends. Wickham Park is a county run campground that is really hard to get into during peak season (when we were there). And with good reason. It is a beautiful park, in a great location, with comfortable campsites and lots to do both in the park and in the area immediately surrounding it. A snowbird can't ask for a better place to spend the winter so the competition for campsites is fierce. Hopefully we will get one for next year, but may wind up camping in friends yards. Not a bad situation either way. We spent time with family and saw all local family members and enjoyed visiting with them. I saw as many friends as I could, but missed seeing several I wanted to see. I wish we had had 2 weekends there so I could have seen everyone when they weren't working but my weekend was essentially tied up with the dog show (next blog post). On Saturday after the show, I hung out with my friend who had been there through much grief. I miss knowing she is right down the road. I got to pet her horse and donkeys. On Sunday I hung out at the beach after the dog show. I invited friends, a few came. It was great catching up with them and hanging out in a social environment instead of a working environment. We went to Long Doggers with the dogs for dinner. They have expanded their menu and it was very good. Friday I got to go to the new Rescue Riders. They are doing a fabulous job with the farm they have purchased. I enjoyed hanging out there and will be camping there next Florida trip. And hopefully helping out with a little of the work as long as it doesn't involve digging, I can't, unfortunately. I went to as many dog training classes as I could. I miss the classes. I prefer classes to working on my own or private lessons. None here. One day I will get the nerve up to start a group. But I haven't missed the people drama. I wonder if I can start a dog training group without people drama. Just people wanting to have fun with their dogs, improve their relationship, be able to keep their dogs busy, compete, and go anywhere with them, and remember that every dog and human is different and all have different ways to do the same thing. On the day before we were supposed to leave, I noticed the van was running a bit hotter than usual. I took it to my local mechanic who diagnosed a bad water pump. They had it fixed the next morning and warranted it out, so it cost us nothing, except a tip. I dropped it off at 2pm and they had it done by 9am the following day. We were able to check out of Wickham on time. Whew, they got a bit upset when I asked for a late check out because the van was at the mechanic. The only photos I took were at the beach.