Why?

A funny thing happened on the way to Largo.  As we were driving down I-75 near Ocala, we looked at each other and we both said, "Why do we have to go home now?"  Legitimate question.

It was Saturday afternoon;  there was Rays baseball to watch that night and Chargers football on Sunday, and neither one of us wanted to start the unpacking process after driving several hours.  After living in the motor home for 2 months, unpacking and transferring stuff back to the house is going to be a big task.  Best to start that early in the day, well-rested.

Ergo, we decided to spend the weekend at a local park in Tampa Bay.  There are so many nice parks here (thanks, snow birds) and October 1 is not the "season" yet, so prices are low and availability is high.  Our main criteria for this weekend was twofold:  good wifi and good TV.  We headed for a favorite nearby campground, Bay Bayou in Tampa.  It is lovely and only about 30 minutes from home.  We spent the weekend gearing down from the trip, watching baseball and football, and preparing for the move back into our house

Here is where we have been:

This has been a wonderful trip.  Come back to the blog for the epilogue + more pictures.

Spartanburg, The End

Sunrise in Spartanburg

And on the last day in Spartanburg, the men played golf.  It was good.

Linda went to some local antique shops, the outlet mall, and Camping World.  Sorry, no yarn shops this time, even though one of the country's prime yarn stores is nearby.  Her stash is screaming for mercy already.

Frank and Linda missed seeing Matt's fiancee Raelyn, but understood that she was taking an important professional exam and needed solitude and study time.  Go Rae!  We know you did well.

Back at the motorhome, we dined on take-out Mexican food and relived the day.  All too soon, our time in Spartanburg with Matt was coming to an end.  But it was such a good visit.  We will be back here, too!

Next morning, we packed up and headed for Florida.  The only destination awaiting us now is home in Largo. 

As we said when we began this trip, are we ready for this?

Spartanburg, Part Deux

Sunset in Spartanburg

We timed our stay at Spartanburg to coincide with our son's days off from work.  The day after the shrimp fest, Frank and Matt went to the driving range to hit a couple of buckets of balls.  We had sent Matt a new set of clubs for his birthday, and now we were able to see them in person.  They were a hit, to say the least.

Meanwhile, Linda went to see the Cowpens National Battlefield.
Google it.  Very interesting, really.

A man and his clubs

Battle of Cowpens ... short but mighty

Then we all went to Matt's softball game.  His team split a double header, and he had a long home run in one of the games.  After the games, we went out for a later dinner with Matt and some of his teammates.  Great day, so far.

Just before lift-off

As we were dining on sliders and chicken salad at Applebees, we watched the final MLB games of the 2011 season.  It was down to the wire for our Rays, and the prospects of them making it to the post season were grim.  Those darned Yankees were beating the Rays to a pulp;  worse yet, the Red Sox were leading the Orioles in the top of the 8th inning.  Any hope of a one-game playoff between the Red Sox and the Rays seemed to be gone as we drove away from the restaurant.  Goodbye, Rays until 2012.

We pulled into the campsite 20 minutes later, and turned on the TV to see just how badly the games had turned out, and to see the Red Sox gloat over their victory.  It was going to be sad.  Whoa...what happened?  To our amazement, the Rays had rallied to a 7-7 tie, and the Orioles were tied 3-3 in the bottom of the 9th.  How could this be?

The rest, as they say, is history.  One of the best sports days in history was nearing a close ... the stuff of legends.  The next day the internet would be full of videos and blogs and analysis of What Happened on September 28, 2011.