Punta Cana, Stuart, Biloxi, Friends

Here is a look at what we have been up to the last couple months in Stuart and on a couple of trips. The first trip was to Secrets Royal Beach Punta Cana. This is the fifth time we have been there and this trip just confirmed it is a great place to visit. The second trip was a road trip to Biloxi to meet our friend Betty. 

One reason we love Royal Beach is the food. Everyday there is something to eat at the pool. Here is a big pan of paella.

There are six restaurants to choose from at Secerts and a few more next door at Dreams. This is at Hitmitsu.

How about a boat load of sushi, very yummy.

Something else that keeps us coming back is the people. This is Reynair at the Preferred Club bar.

We have had a different butler on each visit and they have all been great. This time we had Albert, who was there for whatever we requested..

Edwauny was our favorite bartender on our last visit in November and we were happy to see him again. Great seeing pictures of his beautiful family and how his kids are growing up.

If you prefer the beach, like the name says, this is a Royal Beach. 

Great wide strip of sand and no seaweed. That has been a problem this year in many places.

Music, music, music, even a violinist playing the violin on a floating violin.

Music on the main stage every evening....

.....followed by a live show with dance and music.....

.....and circus acts. The shows were very good, but a couple were the same ones we saw in November. Time for an upgrade.

The entertainment team always has something to do. Here's Nanc refining her bartender skills. 

Another day she aqua cycled.

Yoga on a board in the pool. All participants did end up in the water.

Yoga on the beach. No one got wet.

My favorite activity. I like being able to get in the shade.

There were several Brits and Canadians there so the coronation was a big deal for some.

While there were a lot of people none of the five pools were ever packed. You can find a quiet spot or one with music all day.

We did a spa day getting massages and doing the hydro-cycle, my favorite.

The preferred pool at night. This was the fifth time we have been to Royal Beach and we really like it. That said after talking to other members we are thinking our next stay will in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. 

Here in Stuart we have been keeping busy while trying to stay cool. We have our weekly happy hours but we have bigger gatherings for the holidays. A big table of food for Memorial Day. 

The Stuart area has a great music scene where you can find someone performing seven days a week. We recently tried Taylor's Beach House in Hobe Sound to hear Dave Goodman and Paddy Knight.  Both the entertainment and food were very good.  

Another evening we went to Conchy Joe's in Jenson Beach to hear Burnt Biscuit. Great rockin roll and food here also.

We have gone to hear Dottie Kelly a couple times recently. This was at Crawdaddy's in Jenson Beach.

You never know what you will see in our lakes. This heron has been fishing in the same spot all week.

Look closely there is a Blue Jay facing off with this hawk to protect its nest. The jay had several friends who seemed to come out of nowhere to chase the hawk when it flew. 

We had a nice gathering for Independence Day even though it was super, sticky hot. Always fun catching up with neighbors and meeting new ones.

When we went on the road the only RV park on our must do list was Betty's in Abbeville, LA. Betty became a great friend who we missed seeing every year. We decided to met in Biloxi for a few days to catch up with each other.

The first couple days we had stormy weather that produced these unusual sun rays. Very neat. 

We picked Biloxi because there are several casinos. The good news with so many to choose from we got some free play, food and drinks. The bad news it was not enough to cover our losses. Nanc trying to win a slots contest. 

Betty's smile must be because she was happy to see us, as it was not from any winnings she collected. Oh well, it was great seeing her and spending time together.

It has been abnormally hot for the last month so we get up really early for our walk. We have not been venturing out during the heat of the day. We will be heading north in August and will be in WashPA until late September and then flying to London for an eleven day British Isles cruise and a week in France. 

Life is Good!!!

Stix and Brix Projects

It's hard to believe it has been over four years since we purchased our condo in the Lexington Lakes Community in Stuart, Florida. When we bought, our plan was to live here in the winter and travel in Opus four or five months a year. We did that in 2019 and it was great. But like in so many things, 2020 and Covid changed our plans. While we have been cruising, going to all inclusive resorts and returning to WashPA the last two years we have had more time to do projects in our new home. 

When we moved in the sellers left all the furniture and much more. We have replaced some things but the dining area and counter gets a lot of use. That is where I'm starting this post. Because it gets so much use the wall under the counter was getting marked up and needed to be covered. After much thought we decided to make it into a wine corner.

The first step was putting together a wine rack to install in the corner. It took a while but I finally got it assembled.

We decided to buy old wooden wine boxes to cover the wall. We first laid them out on the bedroom floor. It was like working on a jigsaw puzzle without knowing what it would look like when finished.

Once I started gluing the pieces to the wall there was no turning back. Some had to be trimmed but it slowly came together.

Nothing says job well done like a smiling wife. Nanc can now buy a few bottles at a time and have a place to store it.

You can see how different it looks now compared to the first picture. There are a couple of symbolic things on the wall, a wine cork with 2019, the year we bought the condo, printed on the top. Another thing is a box from Opus winery, we called our RV Opus, and another with an archer, Sagittarius is our Zodiac sign.  

After we moved in we realized the kitchen storage space was not as good as what we had in Opus. The pantry had a bi-fold door so the 18 inch opening was only 14 inches wide....

....and the four wire shelves were not very deep. Almost half the pantry was wasted space.

We bought five slide out drawers to replace three of the wire racks. The drawers were cut to order but had to be assembled.

After removing the three lowest wire shelves and patching the holes I needed to use 2X4's and wedges to narrow the space where the drawer sliders would be attached. 

Next I attached the sliders to one of the shelves to make sure they would fit. Surprise, surprise! Even though the condo is relatively new, the pantry was not perfectly square meaning each corner was a bit different.

After painting everything I installed the five sets of guides for the slides.

We left the top wire shelve in place and installed the five new roll out shelves. The old bi-fold door did not have trim which I needed to glue and screw in place as the new door was attached to the new trim board.  

The new door was the next step. It had to be where it would open all the way to the wall to clear the shelves when they were rolled out.

The last step was a new spice rack that fit nicely inside the door frame. The pantry now holds double what it held before and everything is much easier to get to.

Another project for Nanc. She took a class and made a neat patio stone out of glass. She did a heron, her favorite bird. 

This is a project we had done. The concrete at our entrance was very discolored and it was not something that could be scrubbed out.

The same thing on the patio. The concrete also holds dust and dirt and there is no water spigot in the back so it was difficult to keep clean.

Along with two of our neighbors we got permission from the HOA manager to have an epoxy finish put on. First the old material was sanded and vacuumed.

Then they painted.....

....and spread flakes on the paint.

After letting that dry for a couple hours they top it off with epoxy.

The finished entrance. 

The finished patio. They both look much better and will be easier to keep clean.

This was the living room when we moved in. Everything here came with the condo when we moved in. It was okay, but it did not feel like our home.

The living room has slowly been changed by Nanc with our own pictures, a new rug, sofa and recliner. We are very happy with our home in Stuart and it now has the feeling of the way we want it to be. As in most homes the projects are always ongoing but our place is finally feeling like home.