Florida

The sunset over Western Lake in Greyton Beach State Park

Hi everyone, sorry if has been so long since I last posted, things have been a bit tough lately but we have still been having some fun.

Because our trip funding by my music and culinary work hasn’t panned out quite the way I had hoped we had to fly through South Carolina and Georgia, heading directly into Florida. I really am sorry we didn’t get the chance to meet with Ronda Churchwell and the folks at the North Georgia House Rabbit Society on our way south but we hope to be headed through the area in the spring.

Our trip south started with us heading through North Carolina, south towards Savannah, GA.  We thought it would be fun to spend a couple of hours in Charleston so we took a small side trip off 95 and hit the port city.  Well finding a parking space for a truck pulling a travel trailer in an old eastern city is not easy at all and instead of a quick walking tour of old town Charleston we had a long driving tour, making scarey turns on skinny streets and generally going around in circles for a couple of hours.  Charleston is a very pretty city and I wish we could have actually gotten out of the truck and seen the sights closer up!  We headed out and down with the goal of hitting Savannah, GA.  It was Thanksgiving so we stopped at a Denny’s and we had a Thanksgiving dinner that couldn’t be beat  – thank you Arlo Guthrie – (Debby substituted garden burgers for her turkey) and finished dinner with a nice piece of Denny’s pumpkin pie (nowhere near as good as Mom’s).  It was kinda fun and pretty much exactly as I had predicted when asked what we were doing for Thanksgiving before we headed out on this trip. We reminisced about all the fantastic Thanksgiving gatherings we have hosted together at our place in Kanab.  After dinner we hopped in the truck and continued south till we couldn’t go anymore, we spent the night in a Ramada in Pooler, GA just outside of Savannah.

The next morning we had the required free breakfast (if we are gonna pay for a room we WILL have a free breakfast!) packed the truck and got back on the road headed for Jacksonville, FL. We stayed at Kelly’s Countryside RV Park in Callahan, Fl. (about 30 miles west of Jacksonville) for two nights and hit Jacksonville Beach for an afternoon just to see the Atlantic, it was cool, jacket weather but we had a good time.

We are now just west of Panama City Beach on the pan-handle of Florida, at Greyton Beach State Park, and I’m shooting out applications for restaurant, deli and customer service or tech support jobs and will be playing on the street tomorrow.  There is a real nice little shopping area near where we are staying at the State Park and I think I can make some bucks playing the storefronts there.

Debby on the nature trail at Greyton Beach State Park

Zoe at the dunes on the nature trail at Greyton Beach State Park

We have taken some walks along the beach and have gone on a nice long bike ride down 30A through the little beach villages on the way.  CR 30A is a scenic highway and follows the beach on the gulf coast, it is very beautiful and there are some very unique features here.  The most notable are coastal dune lakes. Only New Zealand’s Northland, Australia’s Queensland, Madagascar, and Florida’s Northwest Gulf Coast are home to these natural wonders.  These lakes are generally permanent water bodies, although water levels may fluctuate substantially due to rain, groundwater seepage through the surrounding coastal sands, and storms. Sand dunes ranging in height from a few feet to more than 30 feet separate the lakes from the Gulf of Mexico. We are camped next to Western Lake.  At 214 acres Western Lake is one of the larger dune lakes. Most are considerably smaller. These waterways have the highest occurrences of rare wildlife species in the state, some of which are found nowhere else in the world.  It is beautiful here and the weather has been wonderful, highs in the upper 60s to lower 70’s.

Bogie at the beach on Western Lake Greyton Beach State Park

Bogie is wondering why the heck we stopped!

Bogie seemed a little bored this morning so I got out the stroller and took him for a walk around our camp ground.   We walked around the campsite then found the path that runs along the bank of Western Lake.  It was fun watching as Bogie reacted to the new smells and sights.  He really seemed to have a good time and when we got back to the trailer he was ready for a nice breakfast and a snooze!

The bunnies are coping really well!  Bogie is becoming a real attention hog, he is now chewing on his bars whenever he wants dinner, a cuddle, a banana chip or just wants some attention.  Doc has been a bit needy lately but I think that since he has had more outside time (after a rainy couple of days) he will settle down.  Joey is still his super sweet self and is almost always cuddling Angie, they are such a sweet couple!  Zsolt and Halle are little monsters, the other day, while we were still in NC, Szolt decided to take a walk when I was transferring Halle to the x-pens, he got about 20 yards from the trailer before we rounded him up and chased him back to the pens, little bugger!

We have found the the hay is different down in the deep south.  At the feed store near here they had no grass hay (timothy or orchard not even baled alfalfa) and only had “coastal” hay.  Coastal hay is the most common type of hay in the south because it is easy to grow and is a hearty, abundant grass.  Coastal hay’s nutrient content is similar to the early-bloom timothy and has a much lower protein content than alfalfa.

Type            Crude Protein          Calcium            Phosphorus
(%)                                (%)                     (%)

Coastal        6-11                               0.25-0.4             0.15-0.3

Timothy          7-11                           0.38-0.51            0.15-0.29

Alfalfa         17-20                             1.19-1.41            0.21-0.24

So far the buns have taken to this change very well and all are munching on the hay and snuggling into their litter boxes like nothing has changed.

Debby had company today!  Sylvia,an old Folk Dancing friend of her’s caught up with Debby on Facebook and just happened to be headed by our area today on her way to Pensacola, FL to visit her folks and stay for the winter so she dropped by on the way through.  It is funny what happens on the road and this sure was a pleasant surprise!

The way we now have it planned is if nothing happens job wise here before the 8th (our checkout day from Greyton Beach) we have reservations in Pensacola at a place with full hookups for a month at a real good rate.  Hopefully I can get a gig there, it is a bigger city and the snow birds should be migrating in full force pretty soon, someone has to cook for them!

Well tomorrow a busking session, wish me luck!!

Talk again soon.

Victor

Week three in Wilmington, N.C.

A cute shot of my little Debby at Snow’s cut.

Wow three weeks in Wilmington, didn’t think we would be here that long!  It has been a fun time but our visit here is just about over.

Bogie showing his seasonal spirit!

First a bit about the buns.  I haven’t posted a whole lot about them this leg of the trip because .. well there isn’t that much to say, the gang is settled in very nicely and there has been peace in the trailer!  There are some changes though in how we have them set up.  Since Zoe is our biggest PITA she gets to come with us almost everywhere and since Halle and Zsolt are the the most crowded in their cage we have taken to pulling Zoe’s cushion and blanket out of her cage and transferring the buns into that cage.  Zoe’s cage is at least a foot longer and 6 inches wider than the buns cage so they have quite a bit of extra bouncing room when we are out.  It is kind of funny though when we get home, Zoe knows the buns are in her house and she gets a little jealous about them being in there, it’s not a problem though and she sits by patiently as we move the buns home. Now that we have been here awhile and are comfortable with the park we are not moving the buns inside anymore.  There have been no problems with the cats or dogs, the park is safe and quiet and the buns are comfortable so we bought some little locks and are now locking up the cages and covering them with a blanket and closing up the outside room tightly.  I really think the buns prefer this routine because we don’t have to get them all worked up moving them and their cages into the trailer, it is working very well but we will go back to moving them inside at our next stop until we feel as safe there as we do here.

Mr. Bogart hanging in his litter box at the BunFest!

Doc making his guest appearance At the BunFest.

Bogie is getting a bit bored, he was in a very high traffic area in our house in Kanab so he got TONs of pets and love and he went on lots of walks in Kanab. He was also out and about a lot as a Humane Education Rabbit with Best Friends but he hasn’t had that kind of stimulation on this trip.  He has taken to chewing on the bars of his cage when it is time for dinner or he wants a cuddle.  We are going to give him a treat tomorrow and bring him downtown for a stroll along the Farmer’s Market and the streets of Historic Downtown.  I think he will love it and we are going to put a tip jar on his buggy to see if we can raise some money for the next leg of the trip.  Joey Bishop is really blooming and is acting and treating me like he was before we bonded him with Angie Dickinson, he is loving getting petted and has been letting me sit with him in my lap and carrying him around!  Angie is still a bit put off by this whole trip business but is doing fine, letting us pet her and is eating, drinking, peeing and pooping like she should.  Halle and Zsolt are the same characters they were at the beginning of this sojourn and are doing well. Good old Doc is doing great, being the sweet little guy he has always been!

I also wanted to talk about hay, hay from stores like petSmart and petCo and other pet supply stores can cost a bundle and the bags are tiny.  We have found a much better way to get hay while on the road.  Since we are pulling and staying in a travel trailer we are usually (OK always) a bit out of town and there seems to always be horse folk living near where the RV parks are, where there are horses there are feed stores.  We have found that most feed stores (well the ones we have been to) have grass hay but none of them will break a bale so we could only buy a couple flakes at a time. Since storing a whole bale of hay in a travel trailer is out of the question we have found that the feed stores will let us collect the loose stuff in the hay storage sheds and on our last visit to the feed store here in Wilmington there was a broken bale so we were able to get 3 flakes.  The price is WAY better than the little bags and the hay is better and fresher, the buns have loved all the stuff we have gotten and since we see what goes in the bag we know there is no bad hay going into our buns!

Now what we have been up to:

Houses on the water at Snow’s Cut

On Monday, 11/12 we went down to Snow’s Cut to have a little hike.  Snow’s Cut is an artificial canal that connects the Cape Fear River with Myrtle Grove Sound just north of Carolina Beach and is part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, it is within walking distance from our RV park.  The canal was completed in 1931 and was named for Maj. William A. Snow who supervised the $5.3 million dredging project. Although the name is unofficial, it is called Snow’s Cut by the locals because of the Majors efficiency. (Snow’s engineering was apparently so good that a lock, originally included in plans for the project, was found to be unnecessary.)

Victor walking along the drop-off at Snow’s Cut

A tug pushing a barge through Snow’s Cut

There are amazing houses by the water, beautiful marshes, several nice parks with picnic tables and grills, nice beaches for fishing and a very easy path that goes on for at least two miles along the water on the north side of the channel.  The banks of the trail are pretty steep at times but the path is level and it was a very nice hike.  Zoe loved the walk but still cannot get used to the idea that the water around these parts is either salty or brackish so it all tastes like crap!  We lucked out on our hike and saw a pod of dolphins swimming in the channel as the sun was setting and we watched as a tug boat pushed a barge through the water. Great day!!!

Tuesday we went into town and got our resumes printed along with some pictures, we dropped some at EUE ScreenGems Studios to see if we could become famous movie stars but the guy said there wasn’t anything going on until after the first of the year so I guess we won’t be moving to Hollywood any time soon!  We also went to the campus of the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) to look around and so Debby could get a sweat shirt.  Debby’s Grandson just signed for a four year full ride basketball scholarship so she wanted to show support!

It was rainy on Wednesday so we hung around camp, I practiced on my guitar, ukulele and flutes.  I need to keep my chops up for the next time I am able to play on the streets.  I am also learning a new song on the uke, “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen, I’ll try to get a video up on youTube when I get it down and will link it here in a future post, Maybe I can get Debby to record a video of me playing it on the streets!  We also did a cage and litterbox cleanup. It was still raining on Thursday but Debby had a fitting for her role as Army Chaplin Seymour on the network series “Revolution” (nope not kidding) the fitting was canceled because the costumes had not come in yet so we went to the store and then back to camp to hang out and stay dry and warm.

Debby on set for the network series “Revolution”

See, I wasn’t kidding! Today Debby was filming!!!  Michael Hand told me about this Facebook page that advertised for the extras for this series so I has been following it and sending in for every possible extra part I could fit, we saw one for “one female professional type” so we immediately sent in Debby’s info and received a reply that she was booked within 10 minutes.  She filmed today and she was the only extra in her scene, pretty cool if you ask me!  Her episode won’t air until March and is episode 12.  I have been watching the series and I really like it.  I got called for a “townie” spot and while Debby was filming I was at the studio in wardrobe getting fitted, I film on Monday!

That was our week, it was a lot of fun but  we are planning on heading further south on Tuesday morning, probably Charleston, SC for a couple of days, then Marietta, GA to visit the folks at the North Georgia HRS.  I worked with this group on their website a couple years ago and made some friends in the chapter so it will be nice to meet them in person.  We have reservations in Panama City, Florida on the 24th so that is our first deadline for The Sunshine State.  We have applications in at an RV park on Grassy Key to see if we can work at the park for some money and a free full hook-up site, keep your fingers crossed and send good thoughts that we get the gig, it would help tons to have a steady gig while we were there!

Hope you all are doing well and I’ll post again soon.

Victor

Wilmington, N.C. ~ Blues Night, Wrightsville Beach, Busking and more!

The private fishing pier at Wrightsville Beach (You have to pay to get on it, and no dogs)

I can’t believe it has been a week since my last post, sorry it has taken so long but we have been having fun here in North Carolina, well for the most part, still need to make some money but I’m working on that.  I’ll try to post more often but most nights we are ready for bed pretty early, with the daily activities, the time change, no TV and it getting dark earlier that memory foam remembers my tired butt and it’s dreamland WAY earlier than I have been hitting the sack in a very long time, it’s kinda nice!  I forgot to mention that Debby and I had the pleasure of meeting Paula Wakins of the Cape Fear HRS.  We had a nice visit at her house and met her buns and husband (also a former Marine).

So here goes, kinda a week in review:

Monday 11/5 Debby and I went into town so I could apply for a gig with a caterer and Debby hit a Hobby Lobby to get some jewelry findings.  I haven’t heard back from the catering company o I’ll keep hunting.  It was a cold, rainy and pretty miserable day so went hung out at the trailer for the rest of the day,

Mike on stage at The Rusty Nail!

The second time Mike went up on stage, this combo was even better than the first!

The evening of 11/6 I hooked up with Mike at his house, had a nice visit with Make, his wife Jessica and their wonderful little girl, Stella. It was a very nice visit, I had a very nice conversation with Jess and Mike and I hadn’t seen Stella since she was a little baby and she is growing up to be a little darling!  But Mike and I were on a mission and soon we took off to the “The Rusty Nail” for the weekly Blues Night!

 

Mike doing a set at The Harp

The Rusty Nail is the classic Juke Joint, a short bar, a pool table some tables and chairs and a stage, about the only thing it was missing was cigarette smoke! The Cape Fear Blues Society puts on this gig every week and they do a spectacular job, all a blues artist needs to bring is an axe or a voice and they can join right in.  It was amazing, I haven’t heard live blues that good in years and years!  This venue was all electric so I sat and listened to the remarkable music, Mike played a couple of sets and man oh man he is getting better and better, his solos were super sweet and he blended perfectly into the mix when it was his turn to provide rhythm for the next soloist, I was impressed!

After hanging at the Nail for a bit we moved to a place called The Harp for the Acoustic open mic that was hosted there and I got me some stage time, Mike got a set in as well, playing my Martin!!!  The Harp is an Irish Pub in Downtown Wilmington and I had a great time, I was able to do a couple of sets, it was slow being election night.  I had a great time, met one of Mike’s guitarist friends and I was well received by the folks that were in the bar. This was a great night, it was the first time I got to play out on the trip and I got to catch up with a good old friend!

Henrietta III

Tuesday 11/6 was a day spent getting the rabbits set up for us to be out and then go drop a resume for a part time gig with a caterer, so far no reply. we shopped for groceries and went home, I practiced for some busking and Debby rested.

There is a major studio here and on a whim we went by to see if there were any temp gigs for us there and got the lowdown on what we needed to do to apply so we went home and worked on our resumes, we will print them out this week and drop them at the studio.  On 11/8 we went back downtown to scout pitches for me to busk on Saturday. I was looking for a place not to far from the Farmer’s market but with some Saturday shopping foot traffic, we noted a couple of spots and headed home.

Debby caught this shot of a surfer and seagulls.

Debby on the beach shooting pics.

We went to Wrightsville beach for a picnic and a walk on the sand on Friday, it was chilly but the beach was beautiful and there were locals walking, fishing, enjoying the open beach and there were three very dedicated surfers out in the water. I say dedicated because I am used to the surf in Hawaii and the surfers there would be in the bars on a day like today, heck the surf in Waikiki isn’t ever this low!

On the streets of Wilmington, playing my guitar

On the streets of Wilmington, playing my flute

On Saturday Debby and I headed downtown so I could finally hit the streets.  I found out by talking to the local music guys I met through Mike and a guy at a music shop downtown the rules for playing on the street had changed (my info was from 2009) and it was OK to play just about anywhere downtown as long as there was no sign asking for tips.  I brought along my guitar, ukulele and a selection of flutes so I could give a pretty diverse show.  I played for around two and a half hours and did pretty well.  I’m planning on heading out again on Monday to play in the afternoon, see if I can’t get some office folks to support music on the streets!

Today Debby and I went to Carolina Beach State Park to do some hiking.  it was an absolutely fabulous day with a high temp in the low 70s!

Debby Loves these pics, we have one from almost everywhere we have been together!

Me and Zoe on the walk over a march area in CBSP

We did a hike called the Sugarloaf Dune Trail that went to a 50-foot sand dune near the bank of the Cape Fear River that has been an important navigational marker for river pilots since 1663. The dune was also of strategic significance during the Civil War when, as part of the Confederacy’s defense of the Port of Wilmington, about 5,000 troops camped on or near Sugarloaf during the siege of Fort Fisher. This park is also home to several interesting carnivorous plants such as pitcher plants, bladderworts, sundews and butterworts, but the most familiar is the Venus flytrap. Venus flytraps are native only within 60 to 75 miles of Wilmington. Unfortunately our visit was outside of the growing season for any of these plants so we didn’t get to see any in the wild.

The sign with the info and history of Sugarloaf Dune

Debby on the elevated walkway over the marshes on the Sugarloaf Dune trail

This trail was great for bird watching and watching fiddler crabs crawl over the mudflats. The trail started at the Marina, goes along the Cape Fear River through a marsh and a pine forest. There are 3 limesink ponds are along this trail. A short spur goes to the Sugarloaf Dune

This has been a great week,we have had the ocean, the woods, the mutt and the buns don’t think I can ask for a whole lot more (well money would still be nice!)  I’ll close this for tonight and might spell check it tomorrow but for now it’s getting published.  see you all later!

Victor

Wilmington, North Carolina

Our new home in NC!

So Here we are!  As much as this campground is pretty funky you can see that our site is pretty darn good!  We have a ton of space on either side so we can have x-pens out when ever we want!  It is quiet, with only a few dogs and they have been no problem so far!  There are a bunch of feral cats here and we were warned that some of them can be pretty aggressive so we are happy to have Zoe here to keep them away.  Some of the neighbors have come over to visit with the buns and every one of them have been shocked by Bogie’s size!  The site is very level so setting up the trailer was a breeze and it is a full hook-up site on the cheep, couldn’t ask for a whole lot more!

There were some college kids in the campground over the weekend, in town from Raleigh, NC for a rugby tournament and a pair of the girls came over to visit.  One of the girls was from New York originally and had a House Rabbit in the past so she was interested in Bogie (for his size, she thought her 8 pound rabbit was big!) the trip and the blog.  People cannot really believe that we have the herd with us and we really are showing how it is possible to travel “Roam With Rabbits”!

The Riverwalk and board walk on the Cape Fear River, Wilmington, NC

On our first day in Wilmington, 11/02, we went into the Downtown and Cape Fear River areas (I’ve been keeping my eye out for both Robert Mitchum and Robert De Niro just in case), there is a boardwalk with shops and restaurants along the river.  We brought Zoe along but had to leave her in the truck when we were on the boardwalk. This town has a ton of history, it has been around since before the Revolution (it was incorporated in 1739) and as a major port it played a critical role in opposition to the British in the years leading up to the Revolution. During the Civil War Wilmington was the major and busiest base for Confederate blockade runners delivering badly needed supplies from England. It was captured by Union forces in the Battle of Wilmington in February 1865.  We were quite impressed with the old houses in the neighborhood around the Riverwalk area and the downtown architecture was beautiful as well.

Debby found a cupcake shop while we were window shopping in Wilmington, NC

There were a ton of shops, we have little room to store stuff in the trailer so our “shopping” trips are pretty much window shopping but there was plenty to look at and good chow to munch on.  Debby found a cupcake shop and got a red velvet cupcake and was in heaven.  We found a seafood / oyster bar for me but I had crab cakes on smokey lima beans instead of oysters and we both had a nice pasta dish, mine with fresh flounder grilled to perfection.  It was a great day and we really enjoyed Wilmington, the little bit we saw.  Since we will be here at least for the next two weeks I am sure we will get to see more of the town.

 

Zoe and Victor, playing on the beach at Kure Beach.

Zoe was a hoot playing with the water!

The weather has been very good to us after the fiasco in West Virginia and on the 3rd we had a chance to get out and see more of the area.  Debby, Zoe and I went to Kure Beach and Zeke’s Island Coastal Reserve for a hike and to get to the ocean for the first time this trip.  The hike was fantastic!  This was the first time Zoe had ever seen the ocean and being a desert gal she wasn’t quite sure about the place.  The first thing she did was smell the water, seems the brine of the sea was a shocker!  She also gave it a taste, not at all what she was expecting.  Zoe has always been a sprinkler chaser and she had a blast playing with the waves as they rolled up onto the shore but she didn’t drink a whole lot and needed lots of fresh water when we got back to the truck to get the salty taste out of her mouth!

Boardwalk across a marsh in Zeke’s Island Coastal Reserve.

Debby and I had a nice picnic on Carolina Beach

My Picnic partner!

Yesterday, 11/4, we headed to Carolina beach for a picnic in the sand! Carolina Beach is a long stretch of beach that was dotted with off-season folks enjoying the nice autumn day, a guy was flying a stunt kite, a couple was getting married on the sand and there were plenty of fishermen.  I asked one kid that was setting up his gear what he was fishing for and he said “anything that bites”!  I do know that they have beautiful flounder in the waters around here as well as red drum, speckled trout, whiting, spots, bluefish and pompano. there are local oyster and clam beds near here too, a seafood lovers delight!!! (Heaven, I’m in heaven!) We have had a wonderful start to the North Carolina leg of the trip.

You might be wondering what happens to the buns when we head out to sight see or hike or bike or what ever.  Well sometimes we take them with us in the truck, just pack them like we do for the road legs of the trip.  If we will be out for too long a time we set them up in the trailer.

This is part of the set up for then buns when we go out to tourist!

This is the other part of the set up for then buns when we go out to tourist!

This is a pretty major deal because the cages are too big to fit through the door of the trailer while set-up!  The way we get this done with minimal impact on the buns is we set up our two x-pens and transfer the top two guys (always Doc and Bogie) to the pens.  We then pull everything out of the cages and either refresh the litter boxes with fresh hay of clean them out completely, depends on the changing schedule.  If needed we change out the blankets and the cages get broken down, I bring the cages into the trailer and set them back up, we move Doc and Bogie to the cages and repeat the process for the two pairs on the bottom.  We put Doc, Bogie and Szolt / Halle on the bed (on a sheet) and Joey / Angie’s cage gets set up on the table.  This has worked out and everyone gets time in the great outdoors in the process!

Well it’s off to bed now, tomorrow I am out looking for a short-term gig to help fill the coffers for the next leg of the trip, tomorrow night I am meeting up with my friend, Michael Hand and will be headed out to a Blues Night at one of the local clubs, its open mic so I might see some stage time, looking forward to that big time because there are some strict rules about playing in the street in this town. 😦

I’ll post again soon, if you have any questions about the buns just follow the blog and ask in the comments!

Victor

Beckley, West Virginia

Well we are now in Wilmington, NC and more than happy to say it! I’ll tell you about where we are later, maybe in a new post, maybe here, depends on how long I can go tonight.  This post is about the blizzard we got stuck in.

We left Columbus, Ohio on a cold, rainy and totally overcast morning, October 29, 12012, looking to skirt the Frankenstorm by heading south through West Virginia and Virginia into North Carolina somewhere, probably Winston-Salem, well that was the plan but as is usual for this trip, the plan didn’t happen!  After driving through rain all day we made it as far as Beckley, WV and as I’ve posted already we holed up in a Microtel.  When we got into our room we briefly thought about hitting the road the morning of the 30th and try to get further south but since high winds were forecast and we are pulling a 24′ travel trailer we thought better of it and booked another night hoping that we could get out the 31st, this is what we woke to:

Snow accumulation on a table outside the breakfast area in the hotel!

Well we knew we would be in it for the long haul so we started making plans for the mutt and the buns.  I also posted earlier that we had missed the exit where all of the hotels were in Beckley and took the Microtel in a pinch thinking we could either get further south or move to a pet friendly place, but we now had to make do and get the buns and dog as warm, dry and comfortable as possible.

Debby in the door of the trailer.

Evidence of the winds that blew during the night.

We went out to the truck first thing to clear it off so we could get to the buns and to let Zoe out, on one of my visits to the herd I grabbed the winter duffel se we had warm clothes to wear. I cleared the truck so I could empty the dog and she was VERY VERY happy to see me! While I was walking her around the hotel Debby got into the trailer to get out the food, extra blankets and tarps so we could set the buns up and add as much additional insulation and wind protection we could.

Zoe getting ready to play in the snow after I get her out of the truck.

After I got back with the mutt I let her off leash, since there was no one around, and she had a great time helping out and playing in the snow.  I got to work getting the buns set for winter weather.

Getting the cages set for the weather.

getting ready to close up.

We  changed all the litter boxes and put extra blankets in each of the cages so the buns could either sit on the extra layer of they could cuddle into the blankets.  We then placed a moving blanket across the  top of the cages and bungied it down for warmth and wind protection.  On the side we bungied tarps to hold the warm air in and to Block the wind.

We wanted to keep some of the ventilation open so there would be some wind getting into the bed of the truck, so we placed our outside rug between the window and the cages to baffle the wind and to stop and snow from reaching the buns. We then fed everyone and gave them water.  All the buns went right for the food like they had missed a week of meals even though they all got a nice dinner and greens when we got into the hotel and I gave them treats on my last visit with them the night before (it was only about 10 am when we went to take care of the kids)!

There were many visits to the truck throughout the day and everyone did just fine!  Zoe was fantastic and handled the entire event without any fuss at all, I was amazed after all the crap she had given us at the beginning of the trip.  Zoe stayed in the cab of the truck with her huge pillow, her food and water, a rawhide bone and a couple of her favorite toys.  She slept and when I was seeing the buns I let her off leash in the parking lot or take her on a short walk before I headed into the room to thaw.

This is how we will get out on Nov. 1

We stayed the 30th and 31st hanging in the room, there was nothing to do in walking distance so we were pretty tied to the hotel. There was a little diner next to the hotel and we took a couple of meals there but mostly had the free breakfast and grabbed enough to munch on in the room for the rest of the day.  The critters all just went with the flow and we made it out none the worse for wear! The snow and wind had died down pretty well by the morning of Nov. 1 and the roads were clear but wet so we got the heck outta there!  We made it through the rest of West Virginia and the little piece of Virginia and got as far south as Raleigh, NC.

We stayed the night of Nov. 1 at the State fair grounds in the RV lot there, cheep and full hookup so we had a bathroom! We then headed to Wilmington the morning of the 2nd.  We found our park and .. well remember Enon Beach in Ohio?  This place makes that place look like the Hilton!!!  I would guess that over 70% of the trailers here are long-term folks and some of these trailers look like they haven’t been moved in years.  It is comfortable, with full hookups and it’s cheep!  I actually kinda like it because it feels safe, the folks are real people and it is funky. We will be here for at least two weeks.  I’m gonna try to see what it takes to busk here and if that doesn’t work out I’ll get a temp job to restock the coffers!

Well I’m beat so the talk about our new digs will have to be my next post, until then!

Victor

Midwest Bunfest

Well since we are snowed in I figured it was as good a time to post twice today.  This would have been one long extended post but I also figured that these are two WAY different subjects!

First, where I wish I was (rather than freezing in West Verginia):

Debby taking picturses of some horses in a pasture on the Hana side of Maui

Midwest Bunfest, Saturday October 27, 2012, Whitehall Community Park Activities Building, Columbus Ohio

OK now the Bunfest! This event was a blast, We met some wonderful rabbit people, the speakers were fantastic and the vendors had wonderful products to sell!  I had Bogie there and he (as usual) was the star of the show.

Mr. Bogart hanging in his litter box at the fest!

There were a couple other Flemmys there but since Bogie is very experienced, and a bit of a celebrity, he shined. Bogie is an extremely calm guy and because he has been a Humian Education and Spokes-Bunny he has been in the public eye almost his entire life, he handles crowds better than the average rabbit. Many of the buns were nervous but not Bogie, he took many guests and about a million pets!  He really was made for this kind of event and did his very best to be an excellent Rabbit Ambassador, he was right in his element! Bogie also left with quite a nice bag of parting gifts including a nice bag of goodies from the Daton Area Rabbit Network, a willow wreath from Worfie’s Willow Wreaths, some absolutly beautiful hay, called “Crazy Tasty Hay®”, from Bingaling Bunnybox and some really nice treats from Plaid Rabbit Designs, he fully endorses all of these folks and the many other vendors that supported the Bunfest!

Crazy Tasty Hay

Now about this hay, talk about incredible! it is some wonderful stuff, we bought a bag for all the buns and I wish we had more room cuz our buns went crazy over the stuff!  This is the description from their website:  “This is a softer, sweeter hay grown for the particular tastes and smaller mouths of house rabbits. This is a combination of sweet orchard grass and Eastern Timothy hay, blended at seeding to deliver the most flavorful taste to bunnies. Our hay smells, well, different. It smells “candied”. But it is not. We do not add sugar or flavors to our hay. Unlike most hays, this is an Eastern Timothy hay that is grown with the orchard grass to create an amazing blend of sweet flavor and scent!”  All I can say it is some great stuff and when we get the chance we will get more for the kids, order some for your buns but be ready for a feeding frenzey!

Doc making his guest appearance

Doc also made an appearance at the fest, being his usual cute self!  He came in with me after a break and when I needed both hands to carry my snacks from the snackbar I stuck him in my jacket.  He liked it and spent about an hour hanging with me and meeting the folks at the fest.  He also made an impact as he is a special needs bun and showed that he was just at ready to travel and hang out as Bogie was!

Folks browsing the vendor area of the festival!

The fest was well attended and it seemed that the vendors did well and sold lots of stuff.  It really helped that all of the products were rabbit friendly and of very high quality!

As for the speakers, there were great topics covered such as:

1. Emergency First Aid and Home Care Tips to Use With Your Rabbit
   •  Susan Borders, D.V.M. , Norton Road Veterinary Hospital
   • Terri Cook, Licensed Educator for the Columbus House Rabbit Society
2. Feed ’em weeds: growing and foraging for edible wild foods for your house rabbit
   • Phyllis O’Beollain,  Dayton Small Pets Examiner Columnist
3. Therapy Rabbits
   • Sassy Pickard,  F5RS,  Bunnies in Baskets (BIB)
4. Dental Issues in House Rabbits – and How They Can Be Treated
   • Susan Borders, D.V.M. , Norton Road Veterinary Hospital
5. Keeping Your Rabbit Healthy: Wellness Exams and Best Bunny Food
   • Laurie Millward, DVM , Capital Area Humane Society
6. Digestive Issues You Should Absolutely Know About – GI Stasis and Bloat
   • Barbara Oglesbee, DVM, DABVP (Avian), Capital Veterinary Referral & Emergency Center
7. Bunny Basics: Easy and Innovative Ways to Care for Your Pet Rabbit
   • Heather Dean, Rabbit parent and foster mom for rabbits with special needs
8. Bladder Sludge and Related Issues
   •  Barbara Oglesbee, DVM, DABVP (Avian), Capital Veterinary Referral & Emergency Center
9. Bunnies in Baskets – Therapy Rabbits
   • Jane Flores, DVM, Elemental Veterinary Center and Pet Spa
   • Terri Cook, Licensed Educator for the Columbus House Rabbit Society
10. Best Friends Forever: Bonding Rabbits
    • Karen Winstead, Columbus House Rabbit Society Educator and co-leader of volunteers for the Rabbit Care program at the Capital Area Humane Society
11. Bunny Play and Language
    • Linda Baley, Too Many Bunnies Rescue, CA
    • (Bogie was the Visual aide for this seminar and helped keep things on track!)
12. Using Acupuncture to Help Your Rabbit
    • Jane Flores, DVM, Elemental Veterinary Center and Pet Spa
13. Elder Bunny Care
    • Terri Cook, Licensed Educator for the Columbus House Rabbit Society

The Ohio House Rabbit Rescue is the official sponsor for the Midwest BunFest.  They have partnered with rabbit rescues across Ohio and the surrounding states to build a network of individuals, organizations, and corporate partners to improve bunny welfare in our community.  The event had a Bunny Spa where trained volunteers, many of whom are registered veterinary technicians and veterinary assistants provided such services as:Nail Trims, Light grooming, Gland Cleaning, Mat Removal and Bunny Massage.  There was also The Bunny lounge, a place for visitors and their bunnies to take a break, relax, kick back, and meet some new friends! This was a place to give bunnies an opportunity to get out of tieir carrier or stroller and stretch out a bit. They had tables and chairs for the people and x-pens with litter boxes, water, and hay for the bunnies. Finally there was a raffle and a silent auction to raise much needed funds for the  Ohio House Rabbit Rescue.

Debby and I had a blast, Bogie had a chance to star once agian and Doc even got a chance to join in the fun.  After the event was over Phyllis, Skye (her daughter) Debby and I went out for a bite and have a nice chat, Debby and I went back to our RV park and fell fast asleep, We got up the following morning and headed south to avoid Sandy and what happened next will be covered in my next post.

If you are a rabbit person and are in Ohio next fall I would invite you to join in the fun, the knowledge that was shared was invaluable and the event is just plain fun!  Take care and I’ll be chatting at you soon!

Victor

Hurricane Sandy

Everyone sing along to the tune of John Denver’s “Country Roads”:

Almost frozen, in West Virginia,
Hurricane Sandy is dropping all her water.
Wet and cloudy, I still can't see the sky,
I wanted warmer weather, there are tear drops in my eye!
..........

Well, as usual, things are crazy on the road and this time we have the Frankenstorm to thank.  We left Ohio with the hope of getting far enough south and west to avoid any storm delays and we made it to a little burg in West Virginia called Beckley.  This is a small town with all of the hotels on an exit we happened to a.) not know about and b.) missed by 20 miles.  After driving in the rain all day we decided to hit a hotel since it was late and we both did not want to set up camp in the rain and dark. After we missed the exit where all the hotels were we saw a place off the highway and stopped in to get a room, of course they were totally booked and even if they were not the rooms were about $200 a night, WAY over our budget. The guy at the counter told us about a MicroHotel one exit back so we high-tailed it back and found the hotel and checked in hoping for a one night stay.

Unfortunately this place is not pet friendly so the buns and the dog are in the truck.  We have Zoe in the cab with her bed and two extra blankets to nest in, with food and water.  The buns are in the bed of the truck. We set them up with extra blankets and plenty of food, water and lots of extra hay.  I wrapped all of the cages with a tarp to help insulate the little guys and closed the venting to stop the wind from getting to them. The cages are also insulated above and below with blankets, I’ll add a pic of the set up when I thaw enough to go back out and get a shot. I’ve been out to check on the kids twice since we got up and they are all doing fine (if not a bit pissed that we aren’t in the warmth and they can’t get out and play!)

Zoe and I took a nice walk in the cold and snow and she was VERY animated, I’m pretty sure it was having me as company and seeing new stuff.  Something I didn’t know about her is she is a car chaser.  Living on my street in Kanab we didn’t get a lot of traffic and Zoe spent most of her time in the back yard so she didn’t see many cars driving fast, walking her down a busy street here she was VERY interested in the trucks and cars passing us so I had to be extra vigilant to keep her out of the street and safe, wasn’t a big deal just something I hadn’t seen in our 10 years in Utah.

The buns are taking this all in stride, Bogie was just munching on his hay and new willow wreath (well almost new as his only choice in chew toys is a willow wreath and he has done a good job of eating all the leaves off of it and has managed to make in into a willow twist instead of a wreath).  Zsolt and Halle are chomping on the toy Phyllis gave them and are also munching hay.  Halle came out of the cage as I was setting them up to weather the storm and gave me a nuzzle, almost like she was saying that she knew the storm wasn’t my fault but PLEASE hurry and get us all the heck outta here.  Zsolt let me cuddle him a bit but is also ready to head to warmer weather.

Joey Bishop is cuddling Angie but is still giving me that “What the hell…” look but he also came out of his cage to say it’s alright.  Doc was lucky yesterday when we were driving here in the rain as he was sitting in Debby’s lap for at least 2 hours, just enjoying the warmth and Debby’s calming pets.  He is just going with the flow and was happy to get a new batch of hay.

All in all this sucks but we all have a warm and dry place to stay through tonight and we will see how much snow Sandy drops before we decide if we can get back on the road and head south to warm weather and calm waters. I’ll post later today about the Mid-West BunFest, it was a great time!

Chat soon with pics!

Victor

More About The Critters

Last day in Parma and we are over visiting Amy and the kids for the last time before we head to Columbus for the Bunnyfest.

Zoe taking a nap in the leaves

This post is about our cage and run setup for the buns but first Zoe. The stuff we got Zoe is seeming to calm her down quite a bit, she is going to bed by herself now and is pretty mellow most of the time.  She still gets worked up when a dog comes around but that has been the case since the day she was thrust into my life.  She is eating her food and drinking her water just fine and for the most part is doing well (she is still a PITA but that is nothing new). Zoe is in a cage that is 48″ long x 30″ wide by 33″ high at nigh and is on a long cable at camp or on her leash when we are out and about.

How we set the cages when we are in camp.

Now the setup, the buns are all in cages that are 36″ long x 24″ wide x 36″ high.  We have Bogie and Doc in their own cages and the 2 pairs (Szolt / Halle and Joey / Angie) are in cages as pairs. This works pretty good for everyone but Szolt and Halle they are the only buns that are kinda crowded. Each cage has toys (a ball with a bell, a big bell and some wooded chews if they haven’t chewed them up – Bogie does not get a chew toy because he has never been a chewer). When we are camped we stack the carriers inside the awning room with Zoe’s cage on the outside to help protect the buns from predators, we figure that she will let us know if any critters come around. Each cage has a food dish that  is attached to the cage and a good size water crock that we change daily or as needed.

How we set up the buns for travel.

When we are driving we have the buns in the bed of the truck in their cages, they are two across and two deep.  we have a moving blanket beneath them to reduce the rattling of the cages. We bungee the cages together to keep them from sliding around and to also further reduce rattling. We have blankets we bungee over the cages for additional shade and we have the front vent and the side windows open for ventilation. We check the buns every single stop to make sure they are doing OK and so far they have been fantastic traveling partners and really seem to be relaxing into the trip, I spend time with each of them at the end of the day and having them around helps me relax and get to sleep!

Joey Bishop and Angie Dickenson out for a morning in the sun!

Doc Holiday on his outside time.

We only brought two x-pens with us to save room but they are pretty good size and are working very well.  We rotate the buns outside (weather permitting). They have been chewing on leaves like mad and seem to think they are chips cuz they keep asking me for fresh salsa (HEAVY on the cilantro)!  We often give them their greens and veggie treats when they are in the outside runs to give them a bit more stimulation. They love their time outside and I really think for the most part they are having a good time!

This last pic is of my beautiful Bogie hanging out in the leaves, soaking up rays and “chillaxing”

My big man hanging out in the sweet fall sunlight!

Take care and I’ll post from Columbus and the BunFest!

Victor

The last couple of days

A nice hike around Stump Lake in Punderson Lake State Park

Zoe and I walking through the leaves in Punderson Lake State Park.

Well it has been a couple days since I have posted (at least a couple of days, I kinda loose track with all the insanity that has been going on with this trip, I’ll get to all that later). On the Monday the 15th Amy, Debby and I went on a nice long hike around Stump Lake, one of the at least three little lakes in this park. The weather was terrific, a nice cool autumn day, and the colors were fantastic. We enjoyed the hike and afterwords we went to Newberry, Ohio, the home of the fourth largest Amish settlement in the US and had a nice late lunch at ” Mary Yoder’s Amish Kitchen, Bakery, and Gift Shop” it was tough getting a nice Amish lunch for Debby seeing how she is a vegetarian, but we got by and the lunch was very very good!

Oksana shooting her bow

Debby trying to shoot the bow (with little success)

On Thursday we went to watch Oksana practice shooting her Bow after she got home from school, she really is quite good and hit the target almost every shot and even hit some bulls eyes, I was quite impressed!!! Oksana shot from 10, 15, 20 and 25 yards and after a little adjusting did very well from each distance, Debby and I each took a turn and well, compared with Oksana we — Sucked! I actually hit the hay bales but not the target and Debby hit the forrest behind the target (we did find the arrows with minimal hunting) so we both gave up quickly. David Columbo, Oksana’s father and quite a nice guy, gave it a whirl and he, of course, did WAY better than Debby and I did but I think he has had some practice! David brought along his wife and Oksana’s little sister, a very cute and quite precosious little girl and we had a wonderful autumn afternoon hanging out at the archery range, talking, laughing and just having a great time.

The American Falls and Bridalveil Falls.

The “Canadian” falls (Horseshoe falls)

On friday Amy joined Debby and I on a day trip to Niagra Falls, it was a wonderful day but it is a four hour drive each way so my butt still has not recovered from the drive. We lucked out and had perfect weather for the trip, the sun was shining and it was simply a wonderful fall day, we visited both sides of the gorge so we got the full experience and with the sun there were incredible rainbows in the gorge below Horseshoe Falls.

Maid of the Mist and a pretty rainbow, the raincoats are pink because this is Cancer Awareness month.

Saturday was pretty fun, we went with Oksana and David to Oksana’s guitar lesson, of course we made her nervous but she did real well and is progressing very nicely. She has an excellent teacher who is showng her much more than just how to play songs, he is showing her how the whole deal works! While we were at the archery range David noticed that the glass on my iphone was cracked so he brought along a new iphone 4 (same as what I have but in great condition) and gave it to me. He backed up my old phone to the cloud switched out SIMM chips and I was back up and running. He also gave me a sweet Otter case for the phone so I shouldn’t have that problem again!

After the lesson Debby and I went back to the West Side Market in Cleveland and got more goodies and of course (for me) another dozen oysters, this time Blue Points for $10.00, what a deal. I also got some cured meats for the road but at the current rate of consumption I doubt they will make it out of Ohio!

Sunday was a “relax around the camp” day, we both needed a day off.

A new problem and another unplanned expense! When we were driving back to Punderson after Niagra, we developed a major shimmy in the truck, it happened twice and was very concerning so we had a guy (the nephew of one of Amy’s neighbors) look at it. We both thought initially that is was the U-jounts but after looking at it, giving it a test drive and asking a mechanic friend of his it was noticed that three of the four tires had blown radials so off to the tire company to get 4 new tires for the truck, another major bummer.

Amy has been working the last couple of days so we had the chance to fix all the problems at her house, yesterday I fixed the gate and the siding and today I got the screen fixed, been a busy bunch of days!

We have two days left here, Birthday dinner with the family for Debby tomorrow and a day to get ready to hit the road. We are on the 26th off to Columbus for the BunFest on the 27th then points south!

See you all soon!
Victor

The Gypsies were run out of Parma …

but there was no mob with pitchforks and torches!!!

Sorry for the delay in posting but we are now camping in a state park about 25 miles from Amy’s house and there is no Wi-Fi and pretty sparse phone signal.  Seems that Parma has an ordinance against trailers in driveways, WAY different than Kanab!! So we had two nights at Amy’s then had to get up, pack up and move to a spot where we can camp in peace!

The lake view from our campsite

I actually like where we are better than living in a driveway and it is super pretty where we are, just was a PITA moving again when we just wanted to hang out (it also ain’t free and that is a bummer). We are pretty much alone in the campground, only three or four RV’s down by the lake and we rarely see anybody which is real nice!

This will be our spot for the next week or so.

The buns handled the move with thier usual grace and style but Doc is currently giving Debby the bum when he sees her, guess he didn’t like the butt bath and grooming sesion! We have two x-pens set up and are rotating the buns outside for some sun and fun, they are really liking that!

Debby’s new tatoo

Debby got inked today, her first tatoo, of course it is a bunny! The tat is of her original rabbit, Rosebud, and came out very nice!

Tomorrow we will be going to Niagra Falls.  Part of this trip is planned for seeing things we have never seen and since we will be headed south soon it makes sense to see the falls and enjoy the autumn colors.  we are headed back to Punderson so I’ll close this for now and hope to get something here tomorrow.

See you all soon.

Victor