Before I do anything else today, I want to wish my fellow veterans happy Veterans Day. Whether you were a cook at Fort Dix, New Jersey or a pilot flying off an aircraft carrier in the Gulf, a grunt humping the boonies or a company clerk, wherever and however you served, I thank you for your service. Welcome home, brothers and sisters.
After reading my recent blog post about the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge with pictures of the alligators we saw there, I got e-mails from several readers asking me if I was crazy for paddling my inflatable Sea Eagle kayak in waters where things like that lived.
Yes, there is no doubt I’m crazy for a lot of reasons, but that’s not one of them.
We’ve seen a lot of alligators in Florida and I’ve never been worried about them. They just lay there on the bank and ignore us as we pass by. I’ve been more scared when idiots have flown past us in motorboats and almost swamped us in our old hard shell kayaks.
Seriously, what are the odds? I’ve never known anybody who was attacked by an alligator, but I’ve known quite a few people who were killed in traffic accidents. It doesn’t stop me from driving. Besides, if it comes right down to it, I think I can paddle faster than Terry. 
Taking the extremely remote chance of being attacked by an alligator, which is much less than being struck by lighting, I don’t think most people have any idea just how tough a Sea Eagle is. They are not pool toys, like some of the cheap inflatables out there. Sea Eagles are incredibly well made and will take more abuse than you could possibly believe. Alligators? We ain’t afraid of no alligators!
It rained again most of yesterday, finally stopping sometime in the late evening. We drove about 30 miles south to Rockledge to visit our friend Ann Moran, and spent a lot of time reminiscing about her late husband Tim, our mutual RV travels, and the adventures we shared together over the years. It was a very nice time.
Ann took us to dinner at an excellent restaurant called Florida’s Seafood Bar & Grill in Cocoa Beach. Ann and I had broiled rock shrimp and Terry chose the Mahi Mahi Rosamaria with sundried tomatoes, spinach, feta cheese, artichoke hearts and asparagus. Everything was delicious, and none of us left the table hungry.
Today it’s time to say goodbye to Titusville. It’s about 165 miles from here to Pleasant Lake RV Resort in Bradenton, which is south of St. Petersburg. We’ll be there for a month and plan to spend some time writing (me) and weaving (Terry). Our friends John and Kathy Huggins from the Living The RV Dream website are there too, and we’re looking forward to spending some time with them while we’re there.
Thought For The Day – Man cannot live by bread alone; he must have peanut butter, too.
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Nick Russell
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And thank you Nick for serving.
Ditto.
Thanks Nick for your service
Thank You Nick, Ed, and My wife for your service.
Happy Veterans Day to you also Nick, and to all our Vets. We are blessed to live in a country with the freedom we have. The Vets have made this possible. Thanks again!
Thank you Nick for your service to our country, also to every man and women who served this great nation and hope that everyone sometime today will bow their heads and give thanks.