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Establishing Residency in Florida

After the kids left we were more than ready to leave Apopka and head up to St. Augustine to get our driver’s licenses and new license plates taken care of.   Lee was taking care of getting the rig travel ready and I was on a series of conference calls for work, but he is so efficient it really didn’t take him long to get us ready to go.  At the last-minute I shut the computer down and stepped outside the rig while he completed the final task of hooking the fifth wheel up to the hitch in the truck.  For those who don’t know, I find this to be the most intimidating part of owning a truck/fifth wheel combination.  So I am going to do my best to explain how it works. We have a Reese hitch mounted in the bed of our truck.  The front of the fifth wheel has a kingpin which hangs down.  See pictures below:

This is the hitch we have

This is the hitch we have

This picture shows where the king pin is on the fifth wheel

This picture shows where the king pin is on a fifth wheel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You have to lower or raise the fifth wheel (using the landing gear in the front at the bottom) so the truck can be backed up right under where the kingpin is.  Once it is straight you have to lower the fifth wheel down so the king pin can slide into opening on the rear of the hitch. If everything is the right height and the right angle the kingpin will click between these jaws and then you can lock the jaws closed around the kingpin.

Shows how the king pin and the locking jaws fit together

B. the king pin slips into A the locking jaws

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sound easy??  Well, it’s not.  It’s tough for Lee who is very mechanically inclined and I honestly don’t know if I could ever do it alone.  Once the kingpin is in the locking jaws it’s really tough to tell if it’s properly seated. There is a locking handle that theoretically will not go into place if the fit isn’t right but it is absolutely less than ideal.  Needless to say Lee is extremely careful about how he hitches the truck, because we know of several people who have damaged their truck bed, tailgate, or the hitch when the hookup is not done properly.

Back to Tuesday.

I was standing outside on a call when Lee started to move the truck forward and BANG! the front of the camper slipped out of the hitch and dropped down on the back of the truck.   Lee STOPPED!!!  Very important because often people don’t stop here and the damage done is so much worse.  I yelled stop and then got off the phone call I was on.  Michele was very understanding later when I explained why.  I have to say from this point, Lee was absolutely amazing.  I was breathing pretty hard but he got out and slowly started checking out the damage.   As you are going to see from the pictures below we definitely have a guardian angel.  Although the weight of the RV landed on the truck bed side walls it was also cushioned by the Blue Boy we just bought which took all of the impact from the kingpin.

 

Full weight of RV on truck often crushes the back

Full weight of RV on truck often crushes the back

Side dent was all we received

Small side dent was all we received

 

The blue boy too the bulk of it...and has since completely reinflated back to its original shape and still works

The blue boy took the bulk of the weight..

 

 

 

 

Blue Boy after two days completely reinflated with minimal scratching

Blue Boy after two days completely reinflated with minimal scratching

 

What is absolutely amazing is the blue boy has since “re-inflated” on its own and although it has some scratches was not punctured! It appears to still be working. If the Blue Boy would not have been in the back the kingpin would have likely punched a hole in the truck bed and crushed the tailgate.  After much discussion we chose between the gate and the hitch as the blue boys permanent home because we can lock it in place and even though we need to remove it when hitching it’s a great way to use some largely unusable space.  That decision (along with Lee stopping immediately) probably saved us thousands in truck repairs and a major delay until it could all be fixed.   I can’t even tell you how blessed we feel about how this turned out.   Lee is an extremely careful person.  He double checks and triple checks everything.  So let me say if this can happen to him it can absolutely happen to anyone.

Everything worked fine thankfully on the short trip to St. Augustine and I continued to work while Lee set up the camper.  St. John’s Campground is attached to a flea market and we knew it wouldn’t be the best place to stay but needed somewhere close to Green Cove Springs so we could work on getting residency.  Originally we were only staying a few days and then heading to Savannah, but I have work trips booked the next two weeks so we have cancelled Savannah and are now going to stay here.  Lee needs time to get together everything for his business; signage, liability insurance, business cards, etc…and although this is definitely not a place I would pick to vacation it’s working well enough for us to meet professional requirements.  Plus it’s Passport America and full hookup sites are $22 a night for two weeks which is a bargain this time of year in Florida.  We really need to make back some of the money we spent in Apopka!

Wednesday we went right to Green Cove Springs and started the process of becoming residents.  See below for a step-by-step of how the process went.

1.  We chose St. Brendan’s Island as our mail service in Green Cove Springs, FL.  ( After some initial issues with changing our addresses with Bank of America, we got all of our addresses changed and started receiving mail there…you need two pieces from either a bank or insurance company to establish residency)

2.  Went to the Courthouse in Green Cove Springs to establish domicile.  It cost $15 each (Visa/Master Card card accepted) and all we needed was our old NH driver’s licenses to get this done.  No lines and took about 10 minutes.   As a side note, we chose to go to the Court House/DMV  in Green Cove Springs because it is a small town and they are familiar with people establishing residency and using the mail service there.

3. Drove next door to the DMV.  On Weds at 10am there were two people in line in front of us.  Driver’s licenses required a birth certificate or passport and proof of SS# (SS card, W-2, or pay stub.  If you have a clean driving record they do not require you to take the written test, just an eye exam.  If you do not have a clean record they can require a written and/or driving test at their discretion.  They took the pictures immediately and printed the licenses.  Cost was $44.25 each and all major credit cards were accepted.

4.  Voter Registration can be done right at the DMV after you get your license.  It’s free and they give you a card with numbers to call if you want absentee ballots.  Update:  The voter registration board very quickly sent me a letter that stated this was not a real address and they could not register me.  I have voted consistently since my first time in 1984 and found this to be pretty upsetting, but at this point I am not really in a position to completely change my home state again.   After asking some folks on the forum and reading the fine print, I emailed my Letter of Domicile to the voting board.  Will see if this solves the problem. 

5.  Vehicle registration requires a VIN # verification of the truck, car, or driveable motor home, trailers and 5th wheel thankfully do not require this. If you drive it to them they will walk outside and do it for you, or you can take the vehicle to a police station or authorized car dealership and have them do it.  I recommend driving your vehicle there as it was super easy.   You also need titles for the vehicles in hand.  If you own them outright, this is no issue.  If the bank owns them, you need your loan account number and the address the DMV can write to request a copy of the title. This surprised us as I have read nothing about this requirement anywhere but luckily the DMV person Cheryl was extremely helpful and walked us through it.  We ended up filling out all the forms in advance and then calling her with the account #’s and addresses.   She called back within an hour to tell us it had been processed.  She stated once the titles came in, we could pay over the phone and then she could mail the plates. We will see how this works and hopefully the titles will come before we leave the state.  Worst case we could drive back down here from OBX and pick them up.  Thankfully the tags don’t expire until August so we do have time, but we really want to get all this done.

Overall I was very pleased with the process.  We would have been shocked if everything had gone off without a hitch and the woman at the DMV was so nice it made the experience exceptional.   3 out of 4 items in one day is not bad.  I asked if I could have requested titles in advance but she said no it had to be done by the DMV for them to accept it.    So we are here for another couple of weeks and hopefully it will all be taken care of before we leave.  If we have to leave before everything is taken care of, my impression was they would mail the plates to us.  I have to say that was by far the best DMV experience I have ever had in my life.  Highly recommend going to Green Cove Springs if you have to get all this done.

Also, I thought I would mention that we managed to kill the pretty large ant colony that we acquired in Clearwater. Lee found it in the basement crawl space between the kitchen sink and the bathroom sink and there were hundreds of ants.  We tried numerous things but the Combat Ant Bait Strips is what worked for us.  We placed them along the ledges where we saw them crawling and they eventually took the poison back to the colony and we haven’t seen an ant in two weeks.  Hooray!! I’m not usually this blood thirsty but those little suckers were everywhere.

I really needed to take a weekend “off” after last weeks marathon of activities so this weekend we just relaxed.  We did pop over to the Flea market that is attached to the campground we are staying at and spent an enjoyable couple of hours looking at stuff we neither needed nor had room for.  The place was huge and very popular with the locals, they even had some live music playing in the center.  Don’t get me wrong, it was a true flea market with lots and lots of old stuff, but sprinkled in were some cool booths we really enjoyed.   There was a nice used book stall in the flea market for example and Lee got a hardback copy of Hunt for Red October for $2 in perfect condition.  When we got back to the rig and he looked at it, he realized it is signed by Tom Clancy!  Overall its been a very busy week and as I will be traveling for the next two weeks for work  (Nashua and Princeton) I was glad for some down time.  Lee is going to use the next two weeks time to finish getting his business setup so he can start working.  Also, next weekend will be exploring St. Augustine and I am really looking forward to that.

On a completely side note for those who are wondering where Lee’s comments are…he reads and edits every single blog post.  Sometimes he wants to chime in and other times he isn’t feeling it.  Can’t force the funny as he says.  This puts me in a situation to leave the blog posts unpublished until he feels it or go ahead and publish them.  As much as I would love for him to add to every post, I do think it’s important to keep it somewhat current.  So think of it as a special surprise when he chimes in. That’s what I do. 

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First Time Having a Daughter Stay with us

Lee has a serious case of hitch itch (the desire to move along which strikes some RVers who stay in the same place to long) but I am viewing the move with mixed feelings.  I’m comfortable here in Largo.  I know where the grocery store,  etc. is, plus I’ve finally learned the roads, but now we are going to move on.  Don’t get me wrong, this is definitely not the place we want to put down roots…it’s way too congested for us, but I am comfortable. It’s funny how quickly you can get into the habit of a place.  Plus Rainbow Village has really provided a great long-term visit experience. I’ve written more below, but I would absolutely recommend it if you’re looking to stay in the Clearwater area for more than a month. Lee washed the RV, truck, and car and accomplished numerous other outside chores.  As a side note, washing RV’s is not allowed in many campgrounds so you really need to take advantage of those that do allow it.  It looked very pretty when he was done although he was adamant about not washing any particular side in full sun (something about hurting the finish and decals) so the chore did stretch out throughout the day as the sun moved.

In one of the periods where we were waiting for the sun to re-position, we went to an Asian market.  I have numerous recipes that require pretty specific asian ingredients that you just can’t get at a regular store so I was excited when he stumbled across a full-sized Asian market.  What a terrific experience! I almost want to put the $106 we spent into the entertainment category. I had a blast and the store was very neat with extremely clean restrooms and people at every check out lane to assist.  What a refreshing change from most standard grocery stores.  They had live fish in tanks for sale (including eel), tons of ingredients you wouldn’t find anywhere else (complete pigs feet, dried squid,etc.) and lots of items imported from China, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, and Korea.  I was attracted to those labels that were almost solely in a foreign language for their authenticity and luckily the price label on the shelf always had an English translation.  I did have to google a couple of things though to make sure I was getting it right but it was tons of fun.  An entire aisle of noodles for example…how cool is that?

Best Asian Market I've ever been to

Best Asian market I’ve ever been to!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday we took our time getting ready.  It was a short drive (less than 2 hours) to Apopka and we couldn’t check in until after 1pm.  Normally on a travel day we like to get up and out, but the short hop allowed us to take our time.  The driving went perfectly and when we arrived at Magnolia County Park it was absolutely beautiful.  There was a lake across the street, huge peacocks in the yard, and it was a very nice and clean facility.  So we had big smiles on our faces when we walked into the office…until the camp host said he didn’t think we would fit in Site 11.  I was confused by this as I specifically stated in my phone call we had a 4o foot fifth wheel and allowed the camp host to book our site.  The host didn’t understand what had happened but suggested we drive back in our car first to see what we thought.  We drove the route and although we did think we could squeeze into the slot, unfortunately we did not see how we could get out of the park as the last turn to get out was very tight between two low hanging trees.  We also couldn’t drive back the way we came because the right pulling out would have had us hitting the electrical pedestal.  So here we were in Apopka during spring break with Katy and Micah on their way to stay with us, and no site to be had.  To the credit of the park hosts they were very nice and they called several state parks for us to see if they had a spot.  There was one about three miles away which accommodates horse trailers but unfortunately they were not willing to guarantee anything beyond Thursday.  Since I wasn’t willing to wing it with the kids, I started to push Lee a bit to see if he could try to make the spot work and finally he held the truck keys out to me.  This was pretty effective as I realized I wasn’t willing to chance it so why should I expect him to do it?  At that point we started looking and found a park called Lost Lake that takes Passport America.  Lee called the number and we drove there, but the camp office was closed.  Luckily there was another couple waiting and the owners (taking their first day off in three months) sent over someone to help us and the other couple.  We got a huge pull through site with 50 amp and full hookups and although the weekly rate of $210 for this site had no Passport America discount we were happy to have it.  Under normal circumstances we would not stay here, but the kids will mostly be at the parks or Cape Canaveral so really we only need a place for them to sleep and me to work.  The wifi is really strong and although the park is pretty run down the people seem pretty nice and frankly I was glad we found a place at all at that point.   I will say it’s the second time we have tried to stay at a State or Local park where we were assigned a site that we simply could not get into.  Lesson Learned is to have more discussion with these type of campgrounds when making the reservations.

Because we got in on Sunday and the office was closed, the camp host told us to just come check in and pay tomorrow.  We were quoted $210 a week over the phone, and we knew the Passport America price we were given would not apply to the site we were in.  What we didn’t know until the next morning was that they were charging us $35 a night for 9 nights and then an extra $10 for each of the kids for each night, which was yet another $90.  By the time we found this out it was late into the first night and we were totally set up.  So we paid $370 for one week in a very mediocre park.  The kids offered to make up the difference, but we weren’t going to make them pay for our mistake so…Lesson Learned is when finding a second site don’t just take the first thing that comes along.  Take some time to research again even if that is inconvenient.  I did go back later and called the owner we had spoken to and she said she would refund the $90 but when we went to the office the person working there said she didn’t know how to do it. By the time we left at the end of the week, she had figured it out, so we did ultimately get the refund. However, we would absolutely NEVER stay here again.  See at the bottom of the page for my detailed campground review.

The kids came and so the week was really fun.  We looked at our budget in advance and talked about how to handle it.  We have $350 a month for entertainment and dining out, so obviously that wasn’t going to cut it.  We didn’t mind going over some but this could quickly turn into a $1,000 week so we talked through it first with each other and then the kids when they came.   The deal we struck was the kids paid for one of us to go to a park and we would drive them and pay for our own food.  Lee went to Universal Tuesday and Wednesday and I went to Epcot with the kids on Thursday. Because they didn’t have to pay for a hotel room or car rental it made the vacation far less expensive for them and because we went separately and tried to keep food costs down it made it affordable for us.  Plus the kids went with Lee to the store and we planned out some meals to make at the camper, and they chipped in for some of the groceries, and we bought some really nice steaks to make for dinner at the campground on Friday night.  Saturday we all went to the Kennedy Space Center together and everyone paid their own way  (which was more affordable because the ticket prices are so much lower their.)  Altogether we still blew the budget some, but it wasn’t a complete disaster which was good for everyone plus sets a good precedent for future kid visits.  When you have more than one and want to be fair, everything you do (in our case) needs to be multiplied by three so I feel pretty good about how the visit turned out financially .

Enough of that now onto the good stuff: here are pictures of the two days in Universal Studios which Lee, Katy, and Micah did.  Katy and Micah are huge Harry Potter fans and really the purpose of the whole trip was to see these two mini parks within the two Universal parks. Universal has put half in one park and half in the other, pretty much forcing you to by a two -day park hopper pass (they give you a third day free, but despite the costs the kids (and Lee) had a really good time and were gone from park open to closing time both nights.

Kat bought a wand at HArry Potter world in Universal which is interactive with displays in Diagon Alley

Kat bought a wand at Harry Potter world in Universal which is interactive with displays in Diagon Alley

Great shot of the dragon breathing a fire ball

Great shot of the dragon breathing a fire-ball

The Hogwarts train actually rides you from the newer section of the park to the old one

The Hogwarts train actually rides you from the newer section of the park to the old one

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday, Kat, Micah, and I went to Epcot.  The first time I visited the mouse I was 5 years old (see picture below), and I love Epcot the most.  Micah has never been to any Disney park at all, and chose Epcot as his park to visit so I was thrilled to go.  We had a great time in all the countries eating a little snack in almost every one and the kids drank a little something in everyone as well.  We were there open to close and definitely got our money’s worth.

My dad and I in Disney the year it opened

My dad and I in Disney the year it opened

Katy had a nice chat with Alice

Katy had a nice chat with Alice

Hook was awesome

Hook was awesome

Katy and the Crocodile

Katy and the Crocodile

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Kat and Micah at the Tequila bar …they had a jalapeno and cucumber margarita that they said was delicious

 

Micah, me, and Kat at this great Moroccan restaurant at Epcot

Micah, me, and Kat at this great Moroccan restaurant at Epcot

Micah with his huge man crush on Aladdin

Micah with his huge man crush on Aladdin

Tinker Bell was talking at me ...freaked me out a little

Tinker Bell was talking to me about pixie dust …freaked me out a little.  Kat loved it

Micah was nice enough to put on every weird hat I found for him

Micah was nice enough to put on every weird hat I found for him

So I thought this was a bear and put it on not knowing it was a beaver which as Micah says is funnier

So I thought this was a bear and put it on thinking I would freak Lee out …but it was a beaver which totally cracked Micah up

These made me laugh

These made me laugh

Nice to see Katy can still be silly

Nice to see Katy can still be silly

Hydroponic Garden in Epcot

Hydroponic Garden in Epcot

Loved the Topiaries

Loved the Topiaries

The frozen topiary was really pretty

The Frozen topiary was really pretty

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday we all took the day off and chilled.  Everyone was pretty pooped from all the walking, even the kids.   We went around Apopka a bit….which I truly am not that found of…and looked for some Roadside Attractions.  The only neat thing I found was a beautiful Buddhist Sanctuary I stumbled across (only 3 miles from the campground).

Buddhist Sanctuary

Buddhist Sanctuary

Buddhist Sanctuary

Buddhist Sanctuary

Loved the Buddha

Loved the Buddha

The dragon was very cool

The dragon was very cool

 

So I was a bit bummed, but on the way back to our site we saw the coolest bus in our campground.  It’s owned by a couple that train entertainment cats and it was AWESOME.  I would have loved to have met them but didn’t see them around, but the bus speaks for itself.  Interested in the story…check out CircusCats.com 

The front of their bus was awesome

The front of their bus was awesome

Circus Cats .com

Circus Cats .com

Seriously you can't make this stuff up

Seriously you can’t make this stuff up

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday we went to the Kennedy Space Center and I was pleasantly surprised by how interesting it was.  First of all they have RV parking close to the entrance for only $15 (so you can pop out and make your own lunch) and they also offer free dog kenneling.  The complex has its own bus tour which includes several buildings and we got to go very close to the launchpads.  It was a terrific combination of adult experience with enough interactivity for kids and adults alike and well worth the $50 admission price.   As a bonus, the space complex is completely surrounded by protected wetlands so there are opportunities to see wildlife.  We saw our first wild gator, an eagle, turtles, and numerous other birds.  A retired engineer was in one of the buildings and he explained to me how the lunar module reconnected with the command ship after landing on the moon.  Really interesting conversation and the engineer said, “I understand why people think we faked it.  I worked on the projects for 42 years and I am still amazed at what we managed to accomplish with 1960’s technology.”  Really enjoyed my conversation with him.   My only disappointment was how small and isolated the astronaut memorial site was.  I vividly remember the Challenger explosion that killed the first civilian teacher that went into space and unfortunately the Saturn rocket building really downplayed the two explosions that killed entire crews and significantly set back our space program.  But other than that I was incredibly impressed by the entire experience and Highly recommend it if you are in the Titusville area.

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Kat and Micah at Kennedy Space Center

Kat and Micah at Kennedy Space Center

Assembly plant is the largest single story building in the world

Assembly plant is the largest single story building in the world

This huge transporter moves the rockets from the assembly building to the launch pads

This huge transporter moves the rockets from the assembly building to the launch pads

The launch pad and water tower being worked on by Space - X

The launch pad and water tower being worked on by Space – X

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These fences curve inward because apparently alligators can climb a 6 foot fence...yikes!!

These fences curve inward because apparently alligators can climb a 6 foot fence…yikes!!

Interactive movies were great

Interactive movies were great

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This eagles nest has existed since before the Kennedy Space Center was built

This eagles nest has existed since before the Kennedy Space Center was built

Our first alligator in the wild

Our first alligator in the wild

Full size Saturn Rocket

Full size Saturn Rocket

Dave worked for NASA as an engineer for 42 years and he answered some questions I had

Dave worked for NASA as an engineer for 42 years and he answered some questions I had

The beds were weird you have to zip yourself into them so you don't float away

The beds were weird you have to zip yourself into them so you don’t float away

You think RV toilets are bad in space you have to watch your pee and poop on a monitor to make sure none floats away

You think RV toilets are bad? In space you have to watch your pee and poop on a monitor to make sure none floats away

Slides aren't just for kids !! It went fast

Slides aren’t just for kids !! It went fast

Read this is your a Colbert fan

Read this if you’re a Colbert fan

Memorial plaque for the astronauts who have dies

Memorial plaque for the astronauts who have died

Sunday was the kid’s last full day and they went to Magic Kingdom, but we went to visit our rally friends Mario and Ellen.  We haven’t seen them since April of 2014, and it was great to catch up.  Ellen is finally retiring after 27 years in the same locale and although they are planning on taking long RV trips, they decided they don’t want to full-time quite yet.  So Ellen is fulfilling her dream of living on the beach and selling her very nice modular home near Orlando.  The house was really open and airy and the 55+ resort was super friendly. She’s selling it for under $50K and is willing to owner finance if anyone is interested! So Ellen and Mario will be part-timers living in their home at the beach in the winter and traveling the country or staying in their mountain campsite in Northern Georgia in the summer.  Speaking of that, Ellen has a beautiful 1-1/2 acre full hook up wooded lot near the Appalachian Trail in Northern Georgia.  She rents it out by the day, week, or month and offers a 20% discount to all her friends.  The monthly rate is only $360 (all-inclusive) and it looks like a great place to hang out if you’re trying to manage your budget and want to explore that area.   If you’re interested send her an email at EBendana @ yahoo.com, and mention you saw it here.  We spent several hours with them and one of the coolest things was we walked through an abandoned orange grove next to her community. We picked a big bag full of tangerines…totally yummy right off the trees, and saw the ponds on the property.  Hopefully we will get to see her and Mario in either South Dakota or Montana this summer as they are planning a 4 month trip which will be in  the same area we are staying.

I know this is a very long post, but I wanted to mention that having four people in the rig went much better than I expected.  We had plenty of hot water for 4 showers in the morning if we used the propane to help the water heater recover, the kids kept their stuff in our bedroom in the daytime which kept down on the clutter, and because I found I could be in the room with them for longer stretches.  Still spent a lot of time outside and with at least some of us out most days it worked really well.  I would definitely be up for trying it again.  And finally, speaking of the kids, Micah proposed to Katy at Magic Kingdom and they came home engaged!!!  I was so glad that we were here when it happened.  We really like Micah and they have been very happy the last four years together.  And in case anyone is wondering, we talked about the money for the girls weddings before we came on this adventure.  It was important to me that the money was set aside just in case, so we should be all set there.  Plus, now that we are mobile, we can spend more time with her prior to the wedding.  Pretty exciting all around!!

 

The newly engaged Micah and Katy

The newly engaged Micah and Katy

Lessons Learned

  • When making a reservation at a State or County park be very specific about your length and height when talking to the camp host.  Don’t only talk about the site but also discuss getting in and out of the park.
  • If you have daughters and plan on paying for their weddings, set that money aside before you embark on this life.

Campground Review

Rainbow Village  11911 66th Street Largo, Florida   4 out of 5 pinecones

A really great 55+ community that will take younger couples.  It is centrally located to St. Petersburg, Clearwater, and Tampa and within 2 hours of Bradenton, Arcadia, and Fort Myers.  Indian Rocks Beach is only 15 minutes away and despite the fact that it is located in town, the park itself feels somewhat isolated. With over 65% of the sites taken by permanent or seasonals, I would not recommend the park for short stays but really liked it for the 10 weeks we were there.  The park has outstanding laundry facilities, a billiard room with 5 tables, large pool, card room, library,  and a huge rec room.  There are numerous activities every day and since many of the folks who are there are french Canadian many of the activities are offered on alternating nights in either English or French.  The management was terrific, the people living there were incredibly nice, and it was exceptionally clean and well maintained.  We stayed in site #433 which was tough to get into but worked great for us once we were there.

Magnolia Park 2929 S Binion RD Apopka, FL   3 out of 5 pinecones

Small state park in Apopka Florida is reasonably priced in a beautiful setting.  The sites are on the small side and the entrance and exit would be extremely tight for a 40 foot rig.  We chose to not stay here because we did not think we could get our fifth wheel through the exit.  The camp hosts were very friendly and tried to find us another location to stay in.  I would definitely recommend it if you have a smaller rig, but I was disappointed that the person I spoke to on the phone was not completely accurate on whether or not my rig would fit in the park.

Lost Lake RV Resort   3400 S. Clarcona Rd, Clarcona FL 1 out of 5 pinecones

Absolutely the worst park I have stayed in so far. The Lost Lake is basically a hole in the ground that used to have water in it.  Lots of permanent residents in very old and very poorly maintained vehicles, but I will say the people who lived there were all very nice and friendly.  We were told the 50 amp pull through we were given did not honor the Passport America discount but they had no other sites available.  When we pulled up there was no one in the office and we had to wait (with another couple) for over 30 minutes until someone came to give us our sites.  The next day when we went to pay we were told it would be an extra $90 for my daughter and her fiancée to stay with us for the 7 days.   Eventually we did get the $90 refunded but it took multiple trips to the office.  Visited the restroom on the way in and two of the three toilets weren’t working. Used it again on the way out and there was no toilet paper. I would never go there again and absolutely do not recommend it.

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Update on Dreamers Graduating Class of 2014 and Working from the Road

It’s been almost a year since we attended the RV-Dreams rally in Sevierville, TN and I thought it would be a good time to give an update on the Graduating Class of 2014.  While we were at the rally we met tons of couples who were planning on full-timing and of the 11 couples in the pictures below 10 are on the road!!   So for those of you reading this who think it all sounds great but could never happen for them, maybe this will be a little proof that it can happen 🙂  Also, it really demonstrates how different the life looks for different people.

Here is the newbie class of 2014...all the people we have been hanging out with all week !!

Back Row:  Craig, Lee, Gene, Steve, Greg, Scott, Linda, Kelly, Bill, Pam, Red, Jo, Mario   Front Row: Ben, Jo, Eileen, me, Cori, Debbie, Sue, Ellen, and Guy

 

Jo and Ben – Traveling nurses who have been on the road for a year in an Arctic Fox fifth wheel.  They are on their third work contract and have been from Maine to Florida this year. They travel with a Malamute and a Shephard Mix.

Craig and Jo – A retired couple who waited three years to make their dream a reality as they took care of Jo’s aunt until she passed away. They travel in a Lifestyle Luxury  fifth wheel and have mainly been in the southwest and southeast with some jumps up to the Midwest to get solar, Mor-Ryde suspension, and custom RV furniture. No pets but Craig adores every dog he comes across and the feeling is mutual . 

Eileen and Gene – Both retired,  just purchased their second Winnebago. They have been all over this year from Wyoming to Maine to the Florida Keys.  They took a “break” in Florida for a few months so Gene’s mom could stay with them in a condo they rented, but will be back on the road very soon.  They travel with a cavachon.

Lee and Tracy –  On the road since November 2014 in an Open Range 386 FLR, we have been on the East Coast from New Hampshire to Florida. Lee just finished a 10 week RV Technician school and will be working as a Mobile Tech on the road and Tracy continues to work from the rig as a project manager with the same company she worked for before selling the house.  No pets currently. 

Cori and Greg – Have been stationary full-timing for a little under a year in their Country Coach Class A  as they started a Solar business and finished other job responsibilities.  They will be starting their wandering in April and will be doing solar installs on the road.  They travel with a cavachon. 

Debbie and Steve – Get the award for most miles traveled in their Montana Fifth Wheel.   They started in California, went across the northern US, down the east coast and into Florida, and are now exploring the South West.   Steve works from the rig for a large software company and Deb keeps them moving and organized.  They are still waiting for their house to sell, but have the ability to full time while waiting.  They are currently traveling with their son’s pitbull who is a total sweetie. 

Linda and Scott – They did a bit of traveling out west in their Trilogy Fifth Wheel and then took a long-term work kamping assignment in Texas helping to start a brand new campground.  Linda is a traveling nurse and Scott enjoys working at the campground they are at so much they may extend and continue to stay in Texas.  They travel with two dogs and two cats. 

Sue and Guy– Have been waiting to sell their house all year and finally decided they had waited long enough.  Guy retired and they have hit the road in their Class A with their house still on the market, and couldn’t be happier.  They are swinging through the Southwest, but then are heading back to the east coast. They travel with their little dog. 

Bill and Kelly –  Kelly and Bill are retired and living off their investments in their Landmark fifth wheel.  They have traveled from the Midwest to Florida so far and are with their dog and two cats.

Pam and Red – Pam and Red are retired and  just purchased their second fifth wheel a Grand Design Toy Hauler.   They have been to Alaska, to Quartzsite and are now heading to Texas among many other places.  Pam doesn’t have a blog, but sends us these great newsletters with beautiful pictures of the places they have been.  They travel with three dogs.  Of all the couples Lee and I have the most travel envy for Pam and Red as they are ALWAYS somewhere super cool. 

Eileen and Mario – Are the last couple left in the group who are not on the road yet.  Ellen finally retires in just a few months and they are trying to figure out what the next stage looks like.  Mario loves his toys so they are currently in a toy hauler.  I don’t think they travel with pets.

There are many other couples from the rally or the RV-Dreams forum  who accelerated their plans and ended up going on the road in 2014/2015.  Here are a few of them…it really was a good year for graduates.

  • David and Sharon sold their Bed and Breakfast and are now in Florida
  • Mitch and Cheryl sold their house and are traveling in Florida as they work on the road
  • Curt and Glinda retired and are hanging out in Arizona
  • Larry and Brenda retired and hanging out in Texas
  • Dawn Raye a soloist who is seeing the country which I think is incredibly brave
  • Jim and Barb retired and traveling all over and definitely get the most boon docking nights award

I know I talk quite a bit about these people we started the journey with, but thought this would be a good time to check in on how they are doing. We have had the opportunity since full timing to meet with 9 of the couples and will be seeing several more at the RV-Dreams reunion rally this May.  In my mind we are family.  Maybe we don’t see each other as much as we would like, and are spread out across the country, but truly an RVing family.  Love you guys and very happy for all of you that your dreams are coming true.  Go Class of 2014!!!

On a completely separate note I wanted to take a moment and give an update on working from the rig.  So far our travel schedule has been pretty simple with 6 weeks in South Carolina and then 10 weeks in Largo, Florida.  Now we are entering the phase where we will be moving every 10 days or so and I wanted to pass along some of my lessons learned.  These are very specific to my particular work situation but hopefully they may help others.  You should know we have two vehicles and I fly for work at least once a month, sometimes twice and the work trips certainly complicate things.

1.  We have to plan our route at least 30 days ahead.  My trips are mainly booked 30 days in advance and I need to know what airport I am flying in and out of in order to book the trip. This requires coordination in advance of where we will be and the necessity of being within two hours of an airport.  Thus far on the East coast has not been a huge deal but as we move out west this will require more careful planning. The upside of the pre-planning is less stress and the ability to really look for a good campground deal.  The downside of course is less spontaneity. Currently we are booked in campgrounds through May 15th, but are loosely schedule through July 4th.

2.  The weekends are the only time we are guaranteed to be able to see local attractions.  I am trying to book us in campgrounds on a schedule so we have two full weekend days to see local attractions.  The two days do not have to be consecutive, but I like one Saturday and one Sunday if possible. When I am working from home we have the opportunity to see local attractions in the evening but many are only open during the day or if nature related only during daylight hours.  In addition, I have to assume that a work trip could be scheduled at any time.   Recently we booked a week in  Savannah (which has been on our Must See list from the beginning) at a state park near the city.  The price was high,  $273 for a week, so we decided to try to just stay there one week,  which essentially gives us part of a weekend.  We booked the campground (which was already filling up btw) and two days later I was scheduled for a training class that same week. Usually,  I do have some flexibility over my schedule, but other  trips are mandatory.  So we had a decision, do we cancel the week, try to stay somewhere else, or let the plans stand.  When faced with these decisions, I like to make a plan and agree that unless there are extenuating circumstances this is how we will handle similar scenarios going forward.   Ultimately we decided to keep the reservation as we would not be able to get our deposit back and there wasn’t really another campground close to Savannah that looked appealing.  Does it suck that Lee will be in the really cool campground all week, and I will be in New Jersey…sure.  But why should he suffer because I have a work trip, plus I am looking forward to the class its just a shame it’s in a not very exciting part of New Jersey lol.   In order to make this work,btw,  I will be flying out of Jacksonville, Florida on Monday and then flying back into Jacksonville on Friday and then driving to Savannah on Friday.

3.  Travel days are complicated.  We have two vehicles which means I cannot work from the rig while Lee drives.  I am seriously tempted to turn in the company car, but it is saving us so much money when we get to a place I have held onto it.  That may change once we are moving more, because I could work on the computer while Lee drove and we could travel any day and any time we wanted.  With two vehicles I can only travel a few hours in the morning during the week.  My conference calls start around 9am est usually and I need to be in front of my computer for most of them.  Can’t do that while driving.  So that means we have very short hops or we travel on weekends.  We are still working through it, and again in the east it is less of an issue because new areas to explore are relatively close to each other.  Should be very challenging when we get out west and we are dealing with longer drive times and the time change as well.

4.  Vacation Days are used differently. Over the years my use of vacation days has morphed.  When the kids were small much of them were used in kid related illnesses or activities.  When they got bigger we used them to travel back to Columbus so the kids could see their grandparents.  Finally we started taking a couple real vacations a year and I used the extra days for long weekends.  (I have 4 weeks vacation a year.)  My vacation schedule flips to a new year April 1st and I  am thinking about using some vacation days as travel days to help make the schedule a little easier to manage.    Occasionally I will want to take a week off (Rose Bowl Parade HOP and RV Dreams rally come to mind), but the best us of the extra days might well be allowing us to travel with no limitations or through areas with limited cell coverage. Will let you know as it unfolds.

So that’s what I have learned so far and at this point I am sure some of you are thinking is all of this even worth it.  My answer is heck yes 🙂 The other night I worked until 6pm…drove 15 minutes to see a beautiful sunset on the beach…and then came back to the rig in time for my 9 pm call.  I would have worked those same hours in New Hampshire but without the sunset on the beach 🙂

 Lessons Learned 

  • Depending on your work situation travel may be complicated and require planning in advance 
  • Vacation days might be used as travel days or to extend a weekend to see extra stuff
  • There isn’t as much time as you might think to see local attractions during a work week.  Allow yourself a full weekend in a place to really see the area.

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Second Budget

Well the second trip up north definitely did me in and I got laryngitis for the first time in my life.  For a couple of days last week I couldn’t speak above a whisper and I felt pretty much like crap until the following Tuesday.  I did manage to meet my daughter Kyrston and her boyfriend Jeremy for dinner one night.  They drove 1-1/2 hours and I drove an hour and we met in Vermont.  Thankfully the weather cooperated and we had a very nice time although I had to whisper my way through the dinner.  Jeremy was pretty sweet about it and it was wonderful seeing Kyrston since we hadn’t been together since we left in November. When I got home on Friday I was a wreck, so I slept most of Saturday and stayed in the camper on Sunday as well.  Dr. Jo came up to see us one last time before we leave Tampa and brought Peyton and Annubis with her.  It was sad because although I know I will see her down the road I don’t know when.  But it was so sweet that she drove the four hours round-trip to see us and hopefully we’ll see her and Ben sooner rather than later.   So nothing exciting this weekend at all to share in the picture department, but I do have February’s budget finished.

February Budget 2015

February Budget 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The good news is we did better than last month!!  Still over budget but only spent $3900 versus the $4100 for last month. The highlights are as follows:

  • Went over a bit in campground fees because electric here in Florida was much more than we expected ($88 for the month of January and we didn’t use AC once).  So if you are staying in Florida for an extended period of time, factor that into your budget,
  • Groceries under budget…hooray!!  Thank you Walmart Neighborhood market!
  • Dining out we went over by $82, but we knew that would happen this month and we did much better at communicating on this category so I still count this as a win.
  • Entertainment we were under by $106 which cancels out the overage in dining, but I would like to track those as separate categories and try to stay under in both.
  • We were under in truck fuel and used no relocation fuel which was great.  We will see what happens in this category when we start moving again next week.
  • RV and Truck Insurance was high because we switched to a full-timers plan and had to prepay on one and were paying in arrears in another.  One time blip.  We will be paying $160 rather than $90 going forward though, but totally worth it for the piece of mind by having the right kind of coverage for our lifestyle.  Next month I will adjust the budget on this once I get a clean monthly bill.
  • Ok… Home Improvement…went over by another $372.  Obviously we need to get this category under serious control.  It’s hard to complain though when Lee is doing such cool customization to the rig…but yes we have discussed it in detail.
  • Clothing we went over by $72 and that was all me and the new shoes I bought.  I’ll take the hit on that one.
  • Personal care went over by $72.  This is another category we will need to adjust because obviously $50 is not going to get it done for us, even going to Super Cuts.

So overall we did ok, especially for as much activity that we packed in with our friends.  In March my daughter Kat and her boyfriend are  coming to stay for a week, so that should be interesting, but they are chipping in on groceries which should help.

Couple of expenses not on the budget I did want to mention though;

I signed us up for the Escapees Rose Bowl Parade HOP.  It’s been a bucket list item of mine since I was a teenager and the all-inclusive week will cost us $1680.  The includes tickets to everything, transportation, campground for 7 days, and one meal a day.  So I took $840 out of savings as a deposit and consider that our “vacation” this year.

We also had to buy a portable water tank and a macerator pump since we are staying for a week at a campground with no full hookups.  This was on our original purchase list, but we didn’t buy it before we left.  Thankfully, we got an unexpected refund check on our house insurance for $500 which covered the costs. How awesome is that!!  My advice here is you will be tempted to wait and buy some bigger ticket items once you are out on the road.  In some cases that may make sense as you won’t have enough information about what to buy until you try out the lifestyle, but I absolutely recommend a separate savings account for those items so they don’t come out of your contingency funds.

I also wanted to pass along that Jim and Barb of Jim and Barb’s RV Adventure just hit their one year mark and shared their annual expenses here.  To prove the point that everyone’s budget and experiences are very different, they have traveled for a year with an average campground costs of $5 (they boon dock a lot).  They also spent $7,400 for the year in fuel because they traveled quite a bit last year.  I am so glad they shared the information so I could drive home the point that literally Your Mileage May Vary…. Plus they have a darn good blog :).   

So that was my week.  This week is all work, and getting ready to move on to Apopka. Then things start to really get interesting as we see how moving around and my working gel…plus first time with a kid staying with us.  Should be interesting and lead to some new firsts!!!

Lessons Learned

  • When preparing for full timing set aside the money for big infrastructure items (blue boy, solar, wifi booster etc) that you don’t want to purchase up front but know you will need down the road. This should not be part of your contingency fund
  • Adjust your initial budget as real spend data becomes available
  • Everyone’s budget truly is different based upon how they travel and what their personal requirements for living comfortably are

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First Time in a Winter Coat since going on the Road

I skipped last Sunday in the post before last because it was already really long and I wanted to give it justice, so I am going to start there and work my way forward through the week.  As you know, Lee has been attending RV Tech School for the last 8 weeks and although I haven’t posted much about it (will do a nice long write-up when he’s done) it has been a major part of our lives. One of the best things about the school is some of the people he has met and we had an opportunity to have dinner with one of the couples last Sunday.  Fernando (Nando for short) and Jen  have a really interesting life and prove there are all kinds of full timers out there.  Jen, if I get any of the details wrong please forgive me…it’s been over a week and my memory is not what it used to be.

Jen and Nando have been together for over 15 years and are raising three boys (ages 13, 12, and 9) in a converted bus (38 foot 1994 Monaco Dynasty…with no slide outs), which means: not a ton of space for 5 people.   Jen (like myself) works remotely from the rig and also oversees the boys curriculum as they are home schooled.  Many years ago when they were younger they liked going to folk music festivals and Nando  noticed that the food being offered lacked any ethnicity at all.  So largely on a whim initially they started providing Mexican food at some of the festivals.  Over time they developed some repeat customers and have used it as many years to supplement the income they made from their “regular jobs.”  Fast forward and they realize they could make a living from just the festivals so they flew to Florida and bought a bus.  This is where the story gets really interesting.   Jen does not like to plan too far in advance.  This is a lifestyle choice, not caused by any sort of laziness (Jen works her butt off to make this lifestyle work for her family) but because of how she wants to live.  So, you know me, the uber planner…the thought of no plan makes me break into hives (not really but you know what I mean). but as we were talking I opened my mind to the concept.  Which was easy because Jen and Nando are obviously very good parents  (I know this because they frequently say “those damn kids…” with a smile on their face which only supremely confident parents have the guts to say ) so  I opened my mind to what they are doing  and it’s easy to tell they are totally making this work. They want a non-conventional life and they want their children to have the same and although that was not our choice I say more power to them.  They sold their house and flew down and moved the three kids into a used bus in Florida.  Which promptly broke down in Georgia. They got it fixed and made it to Nashville where it broke down again.  At this point they had to stop and wait three weeks for the correct parts and eventually Nando fixed the bus himself.  I asked if he had any experience with fixing this type of engine and he did not, but he’s a really smart guy and mechanically inclined so he figured it out. During this time period they also needed to be at a festival and there was some flying back and forth to make that happen.  I would say in general that sums up Nando and Jen.  They take life as it comes and do what it takes to make things happen.  I admire that tremendously and frankly wish I was more like them.

Like us Nando and Jen discovered the RV Training Center school and since they are all about multiple streams of income (which is very smart in this life) took a 10 week break from the bus, rented a small house, and came down here for the school.  I met Jen at the luncheon the school had for families a few weeks ago and immediately felt a connection to her, so when Nando asked us to go out with them for her birthday I couldn’t say no.  Yes I knew we would go over budget on dining out, and was pretty pooped from a busy couple of weeks, but I really wanted to get to know them better and I am so glad that we did.  They purchased family passes to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium  and had free friends passes and asked us if we wanted to start the day there.  I had been wanting to go, plus can’t pass up free, so we met there around 12:30.  Jen won’t take her boys to traditional zoos only places where animals are kept for rehabilitation and research so this place is right up her alley.  I loved it because along with Winter (the dolphin with the mechanical fin from Dolphin’s Tale) they help many sea turtles.  Right when we walked in the door, we saw they were operating on a rescued sea turtle, and seeing my interest, one of the volunteers took us on a back hallway tour and spent 20 minutes or so explaining the facility and what they do.  It turns out they get no royalties from the movie because they are a non-profit and operate on donations, admission fees, and over 400 volunteers.  This may seem like plenty but according to the volunteer the previous weekend they responded to 18 calls for turtles in distress (10 were brought back and 8 died on scene) ranging from turtles cut by fishing line, tumors, and even one in a trash can.  The volunteer was very passionate about what they do and I really appreciated her taking the time to show us the behind the scenes.  My favorite story was of a female sea turtle who was picked up initially 5 years ago.  She was helped and released back into the wild.  A year later she was found on the same beach and sent back for another issue.  Two years later same thing and then just 6 months ago.  Turtles are smart.  It was like she was checking into the emergency room 🙂 

Lee got this great shot of the turtle operation through the glass

Lee got this great shot of the turtle operation through the glass

Rehabilitating turtle in its habitat

Rehabilitating turtle in its habitat

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The Winter part of the aquarium was less interesting to me.  They have Winter blocked so it’s tough to get a good picture unless you pay extra which was disappointing.  I understand the money is going to a good cause, but I hate that commercial feeling, but the sea otter area was a nice treat and we got to see the staff working with the animals preparing training them for release which was cool. Overall I am glad I didn’t have to spend $22 each to go, but I am really glad we got to see it and Nando and Jen were great to hang out with.

Winter..you have to pay extra for a good picture

Winter..you have to pay extra for a good picture

Here's her tale without the mechanical piece

Here’s her tale without the mechanical piece

Sea otters being trained

Sea otters being trained

Look at that face

Look at that face

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African Pelican from the movie live here permanently now

African Pelican from the movie live here permanently now

Nando and Jen

Nando and Jen

 

Nando and Winter

Nando and Winter

 

Me and Winter

Me and Winter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the aquarium we tried to go to a beach restaurant in Clearwater, but because it was a really nice day the place was packed.  I really don’t like Clearwater beaches, they are packed with tourists and driving/parking is a nightmare.  I much prefer driving down the coast a bit and going to the lesser known beaches which are essentially the same but with less crowds.  We didn’t have a back up plan, so we starting driving down the coast and eventually came to a waterfront (marina side) restaurant called The Pub Waterfront Restaurant.  What a find!!  I had the absolute best meal I have had since we got here…Bay shrimp, the best spinach and cheese dip I’ve ever had, and some yummy ice tea.  It was $50 all in with tip (damn those drinks and appetizers) but it was really, really good.  They offer reasonably priced meals before 6pm, btw, and if you’re in the area I highly recommend it. We ate and had plenty of time to drive down to Indian Rocks beach and watch the sunset. So we blew the budget but made some really good new friends…I would say that’s a fair trade 🙂 

I took the next couple of days for work and readied myself for my first work trip up north.  Because of the storms two trips have been cancelled, but on Wednesday (the very best day to fly) I flew from Tampa to Atlanta to Louisville with no issue.  The first day wasn’t that bad.  The sun was shining and it was cold but not windy.  The second day however I remembered why I am done with winter.  Overcast, spitting snow, and the wind had a nasty bite…really not cool.  The meeting was great, the people were nice as always, but I discovered I don’t miss the snow AT ALL.  No nostalgia, no nothing, just a desire to get back to the warmer weather lol.  I flew back on Friday and I would like to take a moment to complain a bit.  First they have banned e-cigarettes in the Louisville airport which is absolutely ridiculous.  Non smokers want smokers to stop and the e cigarettes are having an impact on that.  So why ban them??  Mine smells like Berries btw, and it contains absolutely nothing harmful in it for anyone.  Also, they took my toothpaste, which makes me crazy.  The same toothpaste can pass security multiple times and then one bored TSA agent will snag it.  Seriously, they need some consistent rules in these airports.  Anyway the flight itself was fine and it was an easy switch of planes in Detroit.  Then it gets interesting.  There was a woman who was sloppy drunk in the seat behind me and the first thing she said as she sat down was “how quickly can I get another drink?”.  I am sympathetic to folks who are nervous flyers, but drinking too much and then asking for more is just stupid.  Turns out she was in the wrong aisle (misread her ticket, big shock) and she was in the middle seat next to me.   So she sat down and could not get the seat belt to secure around her.  I am sympathetic to people who are larger, but no way was I OK with a drunk person being unsecured in the seat next to me.  I very kindly mentioned we could get her an extender and we wanted her to be safe and she immediately got tense about it.  I stood up and walked back to the attendant and asked for a seatbelt extender.  She immediately said, “Did she ask for one?”  I said no but it wasn’t safe and the airline attendant said , “We have to be very careful how we handle situations like this.”  So let me get this straight you can take my toothpaste, you can ban e cigarettes, but someone can not wear a seatbelt because they might get offended??? Ever seen the scene in the TV show Lost where the plane hits turbulence and the non seat belted passengers go flying up in the air and strike the people around them??  All I could picture was getting smashed flat in a turbulence situation.  Just to be clear I would have had an identical reaction no matter what her size.  So I went back to my seat and was pondering my next move when the lady literally climbed over me (without me getting up) and took a seat two rows back.  Well that worked OK, and although I rarely talk to people I am flying with Jennifer my aisle companion and I spoke quietly for a few minutes.  Turns out Jennifer was a really cool person and I actually ended up sharing my blog with her by the end of the flight.  So Jen if you read this, I enjoyed talking to you very much.

Mom is in town checking on Grandpa and I knew I was going to drive over and see them.  I made the colossally bad decision however to drive straight from the airport to North Palm Beach. I was hoping I would cut my drive time down but because I hit Friday rush hour traffic it actually took longer.  So I flew all day and then drove for 4 hours to get there.  Not fun.  I did enjoy hanging out with them, Grandpa is doing very well considering his loss and Mom and I had a good time visiting the beach that I spent quite a bit of my childhood on.  My grandparents lived on Singer Island when I was young and we spent many summers at their condo right on the beach.  So we went to a local park and walked down to the old condo and I enjoyed seeing a different ocean.  I did NOT like the jelly fish however which were everywhere, but the waves are much bigger and wilder and the beach sand although not white was much deeper.  We had a nice walk and then got pedicures (mom’s treat) and then took Grandpa to Chinese for lunch.  It was pretty overcast throughout the day so I decided to drive back a little earlier and about 15 minutes into the drive it started to pour.  Very poor visibility…people had their flashers on…and it took me another 4 hours to make it back to Largo.  So I love my Mom and Grandpa but the drive both was pretty awful, and I am spending Sunday just relaxing until I fly out again on Monday to Albany, NY. Time to pull out the winter coat again.

Tiny free park on nice beachfront property

Tiny free park on nice beachfront property

Walkway to beach

Walkway to beach

The waves are so much higher and I used to walk on those rocks in low ride as a kid

The waves are so much higher and I used to walk on those rocks in low ride as a kid

The tiny three story building in the middle is the condo complex my grandparents lived in

The tiny three-story building (in the middle of the picture) is the condo complex my grandparents lived in

 

 

The condo I spent my summers as a kid in

The condo I spent my summers as a kid in

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Grandpa and Mom

Grandpa and Mom

 

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First Hair Dye on the Road and other Girlie Stuff

I am not what you would consider a “girly girl”.  I rarely wear makeup, haven’t been in a dress since my daughter’s wedding, and in general believe less is more when making decisions about my personal appearance.  (And just look how smoking hot she is. Makeup ruins faces. That’s why I get to be married to a woman who is hurtling toward 50 like an out of control freight train, and when I look at her, I see a 16-year-old girl. Wear less crap on your face, that’s my advice to all you chicks out there. Not for me, I’m not in the market. But for whoever you’re trying to snag. Or keep. Or trade up to. – Lee) That being said, as I climbed up the corporate ladder, I started to pay more attention to these things because your appearance does change the way people look at you.  Eventually I came up with a “look”; short hair, Brooks Brothers shirts, nice slacks (mostly purchased at second-hand stores), and some killer shoes that are the female version of the male dress shoe.  (Don’t be fooled. All this project manager, masters degree, Six Sigma crap is an excuse so she can have a “look”. And the look is an excuse to have shoes. Oh my dear Lord in heaven, the shoes. They’re everywhere. There are shoes in the closet. Shoes under the bed. Shoes AROUND the bed. Shoes in drawers. Shoes under the couch. Shoes right. in. the. middle. of. the. damn. floor. There are shoes INSIDE of other shoes. And all of them are slightly different shades of dark blue. I swear. And guess what sentence I hear more than any other? Wait for it….”Have you seen my shoes?”. Yeah. The struggle is real. – Lee) The look took years (and countless pairs of shoes) to develop so I was a bit concerned when we started to explore this lifestyle on how that would change.  There is a limited amount of space for clothing in an RV so you need to be very careful about what you bring.  It’s true that I tend to wear the same things over and over..and when working in the rig I am a jeans and T-shirt kind of girl.  I also brought a condensed version of my professional wardrobe, which I use for travel and trips to the local offices.  (She only just barely condensed the shoes. She really does have a lot of shoes for someone who drives and flies everywhere. – Lee) It’s worked out well so far and largely how I dressed before this life is the same as how I dress now…just more shorts and t-shirts.  Other “look” items have been a bit more challenging though.

Makeup is another item that has been a non-issue for me.  I’m lucky that Lee vocally prefers me in no makeup and I only wear it on special occasions.  I brought a few pieces with me..not even sure where they are, because I haven’t touched makeup once since we’ve been on the road.  (I’ve thrown all of it away, to make room for shoes. – Lee) I am using a light tan as my base, a gleam in my eye as my mascara, and excitement as my blush.  Ok, that’s kind of silly, but truly I think I look great because of those things and no makeup has been applied.  My friends who do wear makeup, still wear it on occasion and please feel free to chime in on how that’s working in the comments section because for me it’s been largely a non-issue but I know that’s not the norm.

Nails, however, were a major change.  I have had my nails done for over 12 years..clear gel with white tips, because my nails are very weak and I used to nibble on them.  It cost me $42 a month to maintain them, but I always considered it a business expense so it didn’t really matter.  Fast forward and we are doing our budget and I decide I needed to find another solution.  Luckily my friend Dr. Jo found this amazing product at Walmart (Nail-Aid), and I tried it and it actually worked!!  It’s $8.99, but lasts a really long time and seriously my nails used to bend and tear they were so weak and now that’s gone.  For color I use Sally Hanson Diamond Strength Champagne Blush…which gives me an opaque pinkish tint which lets the whiteness of the tips show through…not as good as a french tip but very good for doing it myself…and finally a Clear coat of Diamond Strength Flawless.  so I’ve saved my $42 a month with a $15 investment that will last several months and I like the way my nails look.  I redo them once a week and feel pretty great about it. (It stinks the place up, but it makes her happy, so I don’t complain much. – Lee)

Nail – Aid almost GEL Harder Nails

Pedicures on the other hand, well, that’s a different story.  Pedicures were not a business expense but a treat and I did them a few times a year in the summer time.  Fast forward and  my feet are bare more than they have ever been but I don’t have pedicures in the budget and I simply cannot duplicate what the professionals do…not even close.  I somewhat jokingly asked Lee if he was willing to give it a shot, but the answer was an unequivocal no…so I miss them and hope to figure our a way to either get them inexpensively or find a good substitute.  Maybe I should check out Groupon.

And so we finally come to hair, which for me has by far been the most stressful.  As I’ve mentioned before I had the same hair dresser for 13 years and I really dreaded leaving her. The first haircut went much better than I expected, but now it’s past time for the first dye.  I was really struggling though with whether I should dye it our not.   First there is the cost ($80 at Super Cuts including tip) and the fact it really needs to be done every two months. I could go back to dying my own hair (did it for years) but I love the blonde streak in the front and that is beyond my capability to do.   Then there’s Lee’s reaction.   The grey has been coming into my hair pretty steadily and Lee really likes it.  I mean really likes it…every time I go to get the hair cut he says “don’t dye it”…he touches it a lot and says how much he likes it.  (It has a really great texture. Seriously, next time you see her, touch it. I mean, don’t be weird or creepy, just point behind her and ask what kind of bird that is, and when she turns around, touch her hair. But just for a second, because, hey, that’s my wife you’re groping. I have a sense of humor and everything, but don’t get all grabby. In fact, forget the whole thing, just take my word for it. It feels great. – Lee) I can’t remember him ever caring what color my hair was before but he really likes the grey.  But the grey says something in our culture and it can have a business implication.   Lee can go completely grey and he looks distinguished, a woman goes grey and she looks “old”.  At least that is what we are conditioned to believe.  So I was struggling, but needed to do something because I had a work trip scheduled and my hair was a shaggy mess.  I called my friend Cori and she neatly summarized it.  Yes, people could judge me, but did I really care what those people thought.  Dammit!!  I hate when she does that.  So getting my hair dyed turned into a conversation with myself about who I am versus who I want to be.  I was still on the fence though so I called the person who has been giving me hair advice my entire life…my mom.  She said that she’s letting her own grey grow in because that’s in fashion now.  Things got interesting!  You mean I can be true to my new self and still be in fashion?…SOLD!!  So I kept the streak and the rest I am letting go.  It only cost $38 for a cut, eyebrow wax, and the one strip died…a bargain!!  I did give Jim a $20 tip because he did a fantastic job but still $60 was cheaper than $80 and I normally won’t tip that much I think I was just on a high from the whole being my new self thing. (And with all the money she saved, she can put a down payment on a shoe! – Lee)

OK, so, we’ve talked about makeup and clothes, nails and hair….what’s left?….well shoes and purses of course. I seriously streamlined how many shoes I have, although it is definitely 3X as many as I need…(the first step is admitting you have a problem…) but baby steps right? I gave all my Coach  purses to the girls and bought a new one for myself that was more low-key when we went on the road.  I have found it’s actually okay to have one brown purse and wear it with everything.  Crazy right?  I would like to talk a bit about designer things though.  When I was 14 years old I was pretty thin and nothing fit me very well.  The first time I put on a pair of Calvin Klein jeans they actually fit me like a glove and I learned how well fit clothes could make a difference.  Yes they were $44 in 1980, but I was lucky that my mom wanted to give them to me because of all the years she couldn’t afford to spend that kind of money on me.  I never was a person who cared about a label for the labels sake,  but I learned from Lee of all people who sometimes a well cared for quality product can actually save you money.  For example when we were young I spent $25 on a new KMart purse 3 times a year (they fell apart on me so I always needed a new one.  Then Lee talked me into buying my first Coach purse on sale for $90 which lasted a full two years actually saving me $60 over a two-year period plus I had a purse I really loved.  So, before you immediately dismiss quality think is it something that will outlast its cheaper competitors and take that into consideration.  BUT, and it’s a big but, sometimes paying for the label is just stupid.  Recently I broke a $20 pair of sunglasses I absolutely loved and have been trying to find a replacement ever sense.  Lee said find a quality pair of glasses and take care of them. His last pair of Ray Bans that lasted 12 years which roughly worked out to $12 a year, cheaper than buying 2-3 pairs of $20 sunglasses a year.  (And guess what I replaced them with? The same damn Ray Bans, I won’t wear anything else, because I use them to protect my eyes, which I use to look at my wife. I am really not as complicated as people think I am. – Lee) His rationale is if it’s more expensive you’ll take better care of them, which is true but when I was in the airport today looking at $225 Versace sunglasses I thought; no freaking way.  (Damn right. You gotta work your way up. You can’t just go leaping willy nilly from gas station shades to Versace. – Lee) So I went down to the Bijoux knock off store all the airports have (where everything cost $10) and found a really nice pair.  They even gave me a little cloth bag to put them in.  So yes, quality matters and yes sometimes it is even cost-effective, but sometimes it’s just dumb. The trick is knowing the difference!

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First Time on a Sunset Cruise

This is probably the longest post I have ever done but it is very representative of an action packed week.  It won’t hurt my feelings at all if you skim the words and just look at the pictures…lol.    I took Monday and Tuesday off to spend more time with friends and it’s been a very full couple of weeks.  Bill and Kelly are staying a week here in our RV park and they came on Monday.  It was really nice that Kelly planned this out months ago to make sure she got to spend time with us.  If you don’t know (I didn’t)  RV parks in Florida fill up VERY early for the peak months (Jan-Mar).  So it takes advance planning especially if you are trying to coordinate with other folks.  Thankfully Kelly knew this and she pushed me to lock in here at Rainbow Village back in November and I ended up getting one of the last two spots.  Kelly called at the same time and booked her week, and I am so excited the time has finally come.  We have been driving all over the place to see people, and although it’s totally worth it, I am excited some folks are coming to us.

I read in Howard and Linda’s RV-Dreams journal that its common etiquette for the person already at the campground to cook a little meal for the people coming in on the first night so they don’t have to mess with cooking the same day as travel and setup.  I really like that idea, and although I knew Kelly was seeing her parents Monday night wanted to do something.  So I went up to Lazy Days in Tampa and picked up Cori and Texas Jo and then brought them back to see our RV park.  We hung out for a while and I threw together some chicken and rice for Bill and Kelly to have for lunch the day they came in.  Thank heavens I had something to fix.  We’ve been running around so much I hadn’t gone to the grocery store, so it wasn’t as elaborate, but they really seemed to like the sentiment and having something hot to eat for lunch that they didn’t have to make. Once they got settled Bill and Kelly came down to my rig and the five of us hung out for a while.  Then Greg and Craig came down, and Lee got home from school, and Kelly and Bill went to have dinner with her parents who live close by.  The six of us then went to Indian Rocks Beach.  We really wanted to share the sunset with them and have them listen to the veteran that plays taps every night at sunset.  They talked to him a little and it turns out he is a Vietnam vet and every night he plays taps to honor the boys who didn’t come home.  It was a lovely sunset and a lovely moment, and to add to the specialness we saw our first dolphin.  I didn’t get a picture unfortunately, but it was frolicking about 30 feet from the shore right when the sun went down…magical. I spoke to one of the older gentlemen who was there and he said seeing a dolphin was a good sign.  As the weather gets warmer they come to this beach in pods, so I am hopeful about future dolphin sightings and maybe a picture or two. Afterwards we took them to Crabby Bill’s for a Florida seafood experience and this time I got the local grouper which I highly recommend  ($42 for dinner and $8 for tip…damn that appetizer!!)

The gang hanging out at the beach

The gang hanging out at the beach

Lee photo bombs Cori and Greg and expresses his man crush for Greg :)

Lee photo bombs Cori and Greg and expresses his man crush

Cori is saying stop taking pictures of me...not sure why she's super photogenic

Cori is saying stop taking pictures of me…not sure why, she’s super photogenic

I absolutely adore Craig and love that he took his shoes off

I absolutely adore Craig and love that he took his shoes off

 

Cool turtle sand sculpture

Cool turtle sand sculpture

Sand Alligator

Sand Alligator

 

Cori and Greg

Cori and Greg

No two sunsets are alike

No two sunsets are alike

 

Jo went right up to the trumpet player and talked to him then she spotted the dolphin and pointed it out

Jo went right up to the trumpet player and talked to him then she spotted the dolphin and pointed it out…very cool

Vietnam Vet who plays taps every night to honor those who did not return

Vietnam Vet who plays taps every night to honor those who did not return

 

Lee communing with the sunset

Lee communing with the sunset

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Tuesday, Kelly and I met for Zumba in the morning.  There are 4-6 activities everyday here in the Rainbow Village, but because of work I have not been able to attend anything that really interests me.  Since Kelly did Zumba for two years she wanted to go and when she invited me I thought it would be a good time to get started working out a bit.  I brought my work out clothes with me, but have not even put them on…and since I really want to push myself to at minimum have 20 minutes of cardio three days a week this seemed like a good place to start.  It was really a lot of fun…totally kicked my butt…was fun though.  Kelly was awesome at it…me not so much 🙂  One of the best things about her is how encouraging she is though and she talked me through some of the rougher parts.  This was NOT Zumba for the elderly.  I broke out in a sweat and was huffing and puffing 20 minutes into the 45 minute session.  The ladies in the class were really nice and encouraging also, and I definitely want to go back.  Unfortunately it’s only once a week, but I really enjoyed it.  As I may have mentioned I’ve been having some problems with my back and I was really feeling it when we were done.  Kelly and I went back to the rig and she showed me this excellent stretching exercise you can use to relax the back.  Amazing!!!  I laid right down on her RV floor and stretched until the tightness went away.  You know you are good friends with people when you can lay on the floor of their RV 🙂  Bill was very nice about the whole thing, and looked away as requested because I felt a bit silly.  Silly or not, wow, the exercise worked and my back felt great when I was done.  For those who are interested I laid on the floor on my back and then slowly brought my knees up to my chest. As soon as it started to hurt I stopped in the position until the tension eased then slowly used my arms to bring the knees in a little closer.  Wait for the ache and repeat.  It took at least 10 minutes before I could get my knees completely to my chest, but when that was done, the pain was gone.

Tuesday evening Cori and Greg came over for dinner so we could have a business meeting on Lee completing some videos for the RV Solar Solutions website.  Although Lee is training as a mobile tech he doesn’t want to stop using his years of video experience and he would like to make videos on the road for campgrounds, nonprofits, or small companies like Cori and Greg’s.  Since we are all such close friends, Lee can make a video for them which can help get the word out about RV Solar and down the road Lee will have something he can show potential clients as an example of what he can do.  It started a little shaky for me because in the past when we had company we have usually sat outside, but it was a cold and rainy night and we were all in our rig together.  I got hit with a strong wave of claustrophobia pretty early on and Cori and Greg were very supportive until it passed…which thankfully it did.  They all had the business meeting in the front of the RV (we have a front living room model) and I hung out down in the kitchen cooking dinner and playing with Hobie who got to come visit our rig for the first time.  Our computer desk is in the front, and Lee has hooked it up to our television, so they had a nice big screen to work with.  They showed him some examples of videos they liked.  He showed them some examples of work he had done, and they discussed vision along with a “homework” item of preparing an outline of the major concepts they would like to communicate in their videos.  It was a very productive meeting and afterwards we all had dinner and as always great conversation.

On Wednesday it was back to work and I was playing serious catch up. I usually check emails on vacation days and address anything critical, but the other items do pile up.  The nicest part of the day was Kelly came down for my lunch break and just sat with me and chatted. I like working in the rig and enjoy going to the offices when it makes sense, but I do miss having lunch with friends on occasion.  She had strawberries and yogurt (healthy and yummy) I had Shrimp Lo Mein (not so healthy…lol).  We chatted for the hour and when it was up I was right back to work.  Really really nice.  Wednesday night we took a day off and just watched some TV and ate some chili.  I love having some chili or spaghetti sauce in the freezer for busy days and it was a great, quick hot meal.

Thursday,  Kelly and I had coffee in the morning and then she went to the Clearwater Aquarium with her mom to see Winter..the dolphin with the mechanical tail they made the movie about.  Her mom has an extra free ticket for me and I would have loved to have gone…but you know; work.  Still it was  nice that her mom asked me and Kelly and Bill came over for dinner that night.  When we were in Pennsylvania Kelly made Seafood enchiladas for the group and I absolutely loved them.  They tasted just like the seafood enchiladas from Chi Chi’s my favorite Mexican restaurant that Lee’s mom worked at for many years and I have been wanting to try the recipe for months.  For some reason I was a bit intimidated by this one though so I asked Kelly if I could buy the ingredients and she would walk me through it…which of course she was happy to do.  It’s a good thing she did because there were lots of steps, but this recipe is outstanding so she walked me through it and I feel like I could make it myself next time.  I have included the recipe below but be forewarned this one is not for the faint of heart.  It has roux in it…for heaven’s sake …which I got to make for the first time and wasn’t so bad 🙂  So the recipe for Shrimp and Crab enchiladas is here.

Seafood Enchilada

Seafood Enchilada

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway, we had a nice time just chatting.  We have a lot of our family photos as a screen saver on our computer, which is in turn hooked up to the TV so we talked as pictures of our life flitted by.  It’s a great conversation starter, btw, and a way to share your life in a non intrusive  sort of way.  You’re chatting about something and a picture comes up and someone asks …”who is that?”…or says “wow you look so young”, that sort of thing.  At first I just had pictures of my past life on the screen saver, which was making me kind of sad to be honest, but as we add new memories and experiences I started adding new pictures in.  The screen saver is on a randomized setting so one minute you see us with the girls in our 20’s and the next you see pictures from last weekend with the gang.  It’s cool, because metaphorically I am saying my life is not just about what I experienced in the past but also about what’s happening now…and it makes the pictures less boring because we are constantly adding to them.  Many people I know brought an electronic picture frame with them because you don’t have the space for picture albums.  This is that concept on steroids!

Friday, Jo and Ben came up..and I promise I am getting to the sunset cruise here soon…lol. Jo and Ben have an Arctic Fox, but they also have a second truck which has a truck topper on it.  We call their main rig the mother ship, and the smaller truck camper the “shuttle craft”. They can use the shuttle craft to take small trips, which is a very cool concept.  They couldn’t find a site in Rainbow Village unfortunately, but were able to find an opening in Vacation Village about two minutes away.  It’s not the best park, but for a couple of nights it will do.  They are set up to boon dock in the shuttle craft, but from what I have seen there is precious little wally docking or boondocking in Florida so we were really glad they found a case close by and I was so happy they went to the effort to come hang with us.  Following etiquette, Kelly made dinner for them on their travel day and also invited her parents who live 15 minutes away to come over.  Everyone was a little worried about me with 8 people in their rig but it turned out to be just fine.  First of all Joe and Barb (Kelly’s parents) were great and since everyone mostly sat I did OK.   Joe worked as a deep earth core sample driller for many years and told some very cool stories about things he had found over the years (like a 90 million year old clam!).  Kelly said she had the best show and tell as a kid because her dad was always finding neat stuff.  He’s also worked all over the country on projects in New York, The Golden Gate bridge, etc.  Basically he would pre dig down very deep to tell the engineers what type of soil and rock they were dealing with prior to the building starting.  He worked on the original World Trade Center for example, and we had some interesting conversation on why it survived the 93 bombing but not the 2001 airplane strikes.  He’s a great story-teller and when he gets really excited the Jersey accent comes out, which I love!!  Since I work in construction, he reminded me a lot of most of the guys I work with so I felt comfortable right away.  Barb’s really nice too and we spent some time talking about the difference between living in a condo complex versus in an RV.  There’s a lot of what I call “high school” nonsense in condo communities, and we were talking about how nice it is that if our neighbors are obnoxious we can pick up and move.  Barb largely likes her neighbors but she did look a little jealous 🙂  Kelly made clam chowder from scratch and we spent a great three hours laughing and talking.  Plus Barb has a ton of birds at her condo complex, because one of the tenants feeds the storks hot dogs…yes hot dogs are bad for them but they love them apparently, so I am excited about stopping by and taking some pictures before we head to Tarpon Springs for our cruise.

Before the cruise on Saturday we stopped by Kelly’s parents condo to watch the feeding of the storks.  There’s a gentleman there who has been feeding the wood storks hot dogs and they are almost as tame as dogs coming right to his hand to take the hot dogs.  Yes I know it’s terrible for them, but damn it was cool and I had never seen a wood stork before let alone many and that close up.  Plus whose going to argue with him…I’m not!!

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Kelly and her dad Joe

Kelly and her dad Joe

Never seen a stork kneel this way before

Never seen a bird kneel this way before

Big crowd of birds waiting their turn

Big crowd of birds waiting their turn

I have serious lens envy for Ben's camera

I have serious lens envy for Ben’s camera

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the storks (you can see more bird pictures on my bird page), we drove to Tarpon Springs to the marina.  We arrived at 2pm and the captain told us he was worried that there might be a small craft warning on the water and if that happened we would have to return immediately with no refund.  His previous cruise had experienced very high waves.  He also couldn’t really leave early because captains have to submit a float plan, similar to pilots and their flight plan and they aren’t supposed to deviate from them.  We talked to each other and decided unless it looked absolutely terrible we would give it a try.  We paid for this earlier in the month and knew we wouldn’t have another opportunity to all be together so to me it was worth it even if the cruise was cut short.  It turned out to be an absolutely amazing day.  The wind actually dropped significantly and when we went out the sea was very calm…we were sailing at about 4-5 knots.  I don’t know much about sailing, but I know what I like and there was enough breeze for some movement but not enough to make things rocky.  The ship is called the Atlantis V and was captained by Joseph and his mate Austin.  The boat is run by a non-profit and all proceeds go to Foundations Youth sailing program for disadvantaged kids.  The first mate Austin was 20 and he was learning how to be a sailor.  The kid lived on a small dairy farm in Wisconsin his entire life (high school graduating class had 5 people in it) and last year he moved to Florida all by himself to pursue his dream of making a living on the ocean.  Gutsy, gutsy move…and the mate and captain were very pleasant during the entire sail.  It is very informal…we were allowed to bring our own food and drinks on board and the boat will go out with a minimum of 6 people.  If you are in the area check out groupon which had a $32 per person deal which couldn’t be beat.  We were out over 3 hours so it was less than $10 per hour per person…a steal.  My favorite part of the boat ride was the three times we saw dolphins.  Initially they were far away, but on the way back they sailed along side the boat under it, and along both sides playing in the wake for at least 15 minutes.  Never seen anything like that and the experience was absolutely magical.

Our sailboat the Atlantis V

Our sailboat the Atlantis V

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Bill

 

 

Bill and Capt. Joe

Bill and Capt. Joe

Austin...isn't he a cutie

Austin…isn’t he a cutie

I adore this picture of my husband...he loves boats and had such a good time

I adore this picture of my husband…he loves boats and had such a good time

The boat had the coolest bean bag chairs you could lounge on ...really really comfortable

The boat had the coolest bean bag chairs you could lounge on …really really comfortable

One of my favorite all time pics of Joe

One of my favorite all time pics of Joe

I think Bill looks like Magnum PI in this picture :)

I think Bill looks like Magnum PI in this picture 🙂

Jo, Ben, Bill, Kelly, me, and Lee

Jo, Ben, Bill, Kelly, me, and Lee

Bill and Kelly

Bill  our Bartender and Kelly our Cruise Director

Our first dolphin sighting

Our first dolphin sighting

Lee's picture

Lee’s picture

My dolphin shot!!!

My dolphin shot…not bad for a newbie

Y721

The girls

Love this picture of Ben he was totally in his element

Love this picture of Ben.. he was totally in his element

Sunset from the sailboat

Sunset from the sailboat

Anclote Key Lighthouse. The 2nd oldest continuing working

Anclote Key Lighthouse. The 2nd oldest continuing working lighthouse in the US

What captain Joseph called the "money shot"

Captain Joe stopped so we could get the perfect shot

After the sunset colors were amazing

After the sunset colors were even more amazing

lighthouse in the country

The wave was from a boat that passed us…love the effect

We had such a good time, it truly was a perfect day so we gave Captain Joe a $20 tip per couple (he was worth every bit of that tip) and headed out to the Greek restaurant, Dimitri’s on the Water  that the Captain  recommended.   Kelly has been wanting lamb from a Greek restaurant for a really long time, so we knew we definitely were going to have dinner.  Problem though we  had really stressed the dining out budget in February so we needed the price to be reasonable.  This btw is the first place we have eaten in with tablecloths for a really long time and normally that is not kind on your budget.  We managed though and had dinner for $25!!  I had a salad with 4 shrimp…why 4 you say, well because the menu said market price so I asked.  The waiter must never get asked that and he had to talk to the kitchen and they were $2 a piece…so I got 4.  Lee got a Greek burger and we both drank water.   Kelly really enjoyed her lamb, the company was great, and the service was absolutely outstanding.  We actually tipped the waiter $7 on our $25 because he was so good.  My thought was he shouldn’t have to suffer because we were on a budget.  I bring all this up I guess to show you can eat in a nice restaurant on a budget, you just need to be really careful about what you order.  Did I have to grit my teeth a little to ask the question about how much the shrimp cost?…sure.  For a long time, I just plunked down the money, often regretting the cost versus value at the end of the meal.  Understand we are not averse to $80 dinners, but we are trying to adhere to a budget and the more frequently we dine out in a month, the lower the checks need to be…it’s just math, not a statement about my value as human being or a my social status…at least that’s what I keep telling myself, but it truly is a very different mindset.  Lee and I actually fist bumped when we got the check…that’s the first time that’s ever happened 🙂  Oh and I really appreciate my friends being so supportive as we work through it!!

Kelly, Ben, Jo, Lee, me, and Bill

Kelly, Ben, Jo, Lee, me, and Bill

 

So that was our week…we did more on Sunday, but I am going to use that for next week 🙂  I honestly can’t remember the last non vacation week in my life that was packed with so much activity.  When we started this I told my boss I was tired of living my life on the weekends (which he totally got since he is a very cool guy) and in our sticks and bricks I feel like that is all we ever did.  This week absolutely proved I can “live” during the weeks and still work which is nice.  I’m tired, but it’s a nice tired and look at all the cool stuff we got to do.  Can’t beat it.

Recipes

Mrs Gregg’s Baked Beans 

This recipe was passed to me by my grandmother Betty, but she got it from Mike Greg’s mom who according to grandma made it as a meal when they were all poor.  It is absolutely best 1-2 days old and I like it cold but it warms up just fine for those who like their beans hot. 

  • Four 16oz cans of regular pork and beans (I like Campbell but dealers choice)
  • 1-1/2 cups of brown sugar
  • 2 TBL Mustard
  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 8-10 slices of bacon
  • Onion Salt
  1. Place beans in a large pot
  2. Add brown sugar, mustard, and ketchup and mix
  3. In a large pan cook bacon cut into quarters.  DO NOT cook until crisp.
  4. Pour bacon and grease into bean pot and stir well
  5. Sprinkle lightly with onion salt
  6. Heat beans slowly to boiling; reduce to a simmer and simmer for 1-2 hours stirring occasionally; taste and add more onion salt if needed
  7. Let sit overnight on the stove
  8. Refrigerate the next morning
  9. Heat and serve or serve cold at your next group function.

Y008

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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by

Pondering Friendships on the Road

I started this blog to write about things that mattered to me.  It was part therapy ( well, mostly therapy) and a way to work through feelings I was having about the big change.  I’ve found that the more honest I am the more it helps me, and hopefully the more it helps other people who might read it.  Then along the way, I got some readers and you find there is some pressure (don’t know how else to explain it) to censor yourself.  Let’s face it: no one wants to look like an idiot, and I don’t want to inadvertently upset anyone, but if I censor too much I lose the point of the whole thing.  So I want/need to write about friendships on the road, but I do it with heavy trepidation as these relationships are very precious to me and I don’t want people to stop being friends with me because they are worried about what I might say…actually that is the very last thing I want.  But, it’s 3am and I can’t sleep, and sometimes I just need to write. So please keep in mind these are my truths and my issues and I absolutely don’t speak for anyone else.  Well, Lee gets a final edit, but I don’t speak for him either.

Last summer as we were preparing for the transition  Lee and I realized that in order to be OK as a couple we first needed to be OK individually with what we were doing.  It seems self-evident in retrospect, but it was a pretty big breakthrough for us at the time and the acknowledgement that we each individually had to be responsible for managing all the emotions we were dealing with was a big deal.  Once you get yourself solid (the best you can) then you start to deal with it as a couple.  Let me give you an example.  I have some issues with claustrophobia.  That is 100% a me issue and has nothing to do with Lee…so I had to decide whether or not I could live in a space this small, whether it was worth it to occasionally feel closed in, etc.   Once I dealt with that, then Lee and I as a couple had to talk about what he could do to make this better.  He’s a very touchy person (which I love) but sometimes in the small space it makes me feel more claustrophobic.  So I had to communicate that in a way that wouldn’t hurt his feelings and make sure he understood I was asking for help with a “me” problem.  Long story short, in order to make sure he didn’t feel rejected when I moved away from him or put a hand up, I needed to say the words out loud so he understood.  Again, it sounds simple, but it wasn’t…at least not for us, and working through that one thing was a bit of a breakthrough.  There have been many things like that, and I assume there will be many more.

So you are working though the changes individually, then working through them as a couple, then adding more people.  There are lots of dynamics going.  Everyone has their own stuff…then they have their couple stuff…and that couple has their individual stuff and couple stuff and there’s a lot of emotions flying around. What’s interesting is on the right day with the right group all of those individuals can make magic, but not always of course, because we are people and we have bad days and frankly we are all dealing with a lot of stuff.  Wow, this is vaguish… OK I will give you an example; My mom left her hometown and went to Philadelphia with my dad and me while Dad went to medical School.  Some of the wives in that group bonded in a way that they would not have under normal circumstances, because despite their differences they were all going through this huge thing together.  They needed each other, they helped each other, and formed a support system that is still in place over 30 years later.  I watched that happen as a child, and now going through something similar myself I can see the similarities.

The people I have met in this lifestyle are all very different.  We have different religious backgrounds, different politics,  and in general different life experiences.  What we have in common is a willingness to color outside the lines, a desire for a high level of freedom, and an attraction to the wide open spaces. And I don’t know if this is just dumb luck or representative of full-timers in general, but the people we have become close with are all very intelligent and have a great sense of humor. So, it’s perfect right?…well, no, of course not.  First and foremost we are dealing with long distance relationships here, which are complicated under the best of circumstances.  And don’t forget we are all dealing with our individual stuff, then our couple stuff.  So it’s complicated.  Plus (and this is where I am totally speaking for myself), I am not so great at friendships.  I spent the last 15 years having work relationships (which can be very meaningful and special) but are different from friendships in outside life.  Work people come and go in each other’s lives and generally there are rules that govern those relationships.  People don’t cross certain lines (at least I didn’t) because you could impact your livelihood and possibly end up in HR.  Those were cleaner in a way and easier because you always had something to talk about that was impersonal.  Not to generalize, but it’s like guys and sports.  They can talk forever about sports and never delve too deeply into their emotional connection.  Not that they don’t care about each other, but well, you know…

Wow,  I really am taking the long way around here.  And it’s largely I don’t want to say this wrong, but let me just jump in…thankfully Lee will tell me if I am over thinking all this.  So here I am, woefully ill-equipped to manage friendships and for the first time since college finding myself with an embarrassment of riches in this area.  Add to that the fact that I am not necessarily at my best due to all the individual pressure and couple pressure and whew, it’s tough for me.  Now at this point I am sure many of you are thinking…man she is wound tight…and you would be absolutely correct.  That’s a big part of why I decided to do this…to loosen up and let go and these friendships are an excellent way to do just that.  Believe it or not I am slow to trust, yet I find myself jumping into the deep end of the emotional pool with people I barely know.  Frankly it’s scary as hell, but if I continue my old ways in this new life…then really, what’s the point? It’s just a change in geography rather than an opportunity to grow as a human being.

But as you know, growth can be painful.  You screw up, you get hurt, you hurt others and it can be supremely uncomfortable.  So why do it?  It’s a good question.  Lee has been my best friend for over 30 years and generally we do just fine with just the two of us.  For me, having one person who truly gets me and one person who unconditionally supports me has always been enough.  So I know I don’t have to have it.  Lee and I could wander around the country together and be just fine. I choose to have more people in my life, and by making that choice for myself I am also making it for Lee.  And let’s face it, life is more complicated with other people in it.  I need to invest in these relationships to keep them going.  I need to make sure I give more than I take.  I need to be on guard against emotional vampires who take and take and take.  I need to lighten the hell up.  And while I am doing all this, Lee needs to do it as well.  Because these friendships come in pairs and it’s not just about me and what I want and need, but also about him and what he is comfortable with.

So why do it? Because I love these people.  Really love them, which is odd because truly I am not that quick to love. Is it situational?…sure.  (The same way you may have bonded deeply and quickly with people in high school, college or the military) Will it last?…I have absolutely no idea.  I imagine some friendships will deepen, others will trail off and become nice memories, and still others will explode in a fiery blaze.  Because that is life, and people are people, and not everyone gets along with everyone no matter how much you want it.  The important thing I realize as I write this for me is to try.  Be willing to risk myself and accept the outcome.  Be who I am and allow others the same courtesy.  And to some extent it will be what it will be. Dr. Jo is probably really proud of me right now 🙂

I did want to say, that I had a chance to talk to Linda briefly about this at the rally.  She’s been on the road over 8 years now and as much as an expert in this lifestyle as I know.  I asked her about how hard it was to go months maybe years without seeing people, and she smiled at me and said not to worry (she says that to me a lot..lol), when we met up with people we hadn’t seen in a long time down the road it would be like we had seen them yesterday.  To a large extent we would pick up right where we left off.  I find comfort in that.

I feel better writing this…there is power in saying something out loud (metaphorically speaking).  I would just like to add to my friends…you matter to me.   I would ask that you would forgive my craziness the best you can.  I am really not that good at this, but I am trying.  To the rest of you, thanks for listening.

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We very much appreciate your support of our blog.

  • As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.  Search Amazon Here
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  • You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperback version on Amazon or buy the Apple version on Itunes.

 

by

Loving my Snow Free Life

This is a bit of a catch up blog, so forgive me if it’s a bit all over the place.  It’s been a busy few weeks and I have some things that I didn’t get the chance to write about and  I want to make sure I don’t forget about them.  All this sunshine can make you forget things! (For our friends up north: sun·shine:ˈsənˌSHīn/: direct sunlight unbroken by cloud, especially over a comparatively large area, ie; “we walked in the warm sunshine” – Lee)

First, I have to take a moment and say how happy I am that we sold the house and got out before this winter.  If I picture myself sitting in the house waiting for it to sell, I get the shudders.  Seriously, thank God we took what was offered and sold.  They have had four named storms in the northeast in two weeks. They only name storms when the snow comes in multiple feet.  Twice I have tried to travel for work and the flights have been cancelled.  We dealt with that snow for 13 years, but this appears to be a whole new level and every time I see the weather, or look at pictures posted by my northern Facebook friends it reinforces the decision we made.  It was not lost on me that instead of dealing with the piles of snow last weekend I was sitting in a kayak taking bird pictures.   I hope I never take these moments for granted.

 

Cori asked me a question this week and it’s been rattling around in my head so I thought I would answer it here.  She said “What will your blog theme be once you run out of firsts and aren’t newbies anymore.?”  It was a good question.  I think my answer for now is that if I am doing this right I will have enough firsts to last me awhile.  There are so many places I want to see and experiences to try, that I will consider this a success if we are out there doing them.  That being said, seconds of a really good thing aren’t bad either. As far as being a newbie, I don’t know at what point I will stop thinking of myself as one.  Part of that is we had no real camping experience before trying this life, so many basic camping things that others take for granted we are totally clueless about.  Add onto that full timing, which no one can truly prepare for, and that is a whole lot of new.  At some point I suppose I will wake up and take the newbie off my tagline, but I think that moment will come when it comes.  It will be interesting to see how long it takes .

On a completely different note,  I’ve tried out all of the local grocery stores (Publix, Winn Dixie etc) and have settled on Walmart Neighborhood Market.  Walmart prices are tough to beat, but I find the super centers to be incredibly chaotic and shopping there was something to be endured.  So I was pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere in the Walmart Neighborhood Market.  They only carry food and limited non food items (think of IGA’s from our childhood), and are small and very friendly. Because they are less crowded the pace is slower and you can really take your time, and the prices seem to be exactly the same as the bigger super centers.   I’m a big fan…and this is coming from someone who went out of her way to avoid Walmart for many years.  If you haven’t been to one yet, you should definitely check it out.  I went this week and my grocery bill was only $119…can’t beat that.  Oh and I got the best advice from my friend Craig.  He said to spend the extra dollar on organic milk because it is actually more cost-effective than buying regular milk and throwing part of it away because it expires before you can use it.  He’s absolutely right.  The organic milk lasts much longer and as an added benefit tastes delicious!!

I also wanted to mention that since I have started walking more, I have been having some problems with my feet and back.  I got a pretty nasty callous next to my little toe on my right foot and my back has been killing me.  I thought I was just out of shape, but finally I broke down and saw a podiatrist for the first time in my life.  Dr. Levy in Largo was great.  He removed my callous, checked my walk, and made some suggestions for new shoes.  I loved his no nonsense approach and his staff was extremely courteous.  It was by far the most pleasant medical experience I have had since I came on the road.  After the podiatrist, I went to Foot Solutions   (which is a national chain) and they spent over an hour measuring my foot, checking my walk, and trying on various shoes with me.  It turns out my foot has gotten larger (I went from a 7/12 W to a 8D) which was causing a lot of my callous problems.  That coupled with a high arch was making me walk funny to compensate, hence the back pain.  Yes, I spent $129 on a pair of Brooks shoes (which Lee was not so thrilled about), but really can you put a price on walking without pain???  I think not!

What else?  Well, I got my quotes for insurance from a couple different places and decided on going with Miller RV Insurance. When you’re living full-time in your RV you need to get different insurance because most standard policies will not cover you if you’re living in the RV.  Miller Insurance specializes in Full Timers and the agent I talked to, Stevia, (not a misspell) was absolutely fantastic.  Our policy is underwritten by Nationwide insurance (the actual policy is offered by Allied Insurance) which gives me a good feeling especially since Nationwide is a reputable company and also based in my hometown of Columbus.  One thing I want to mention here is the basic policy only came with $2K in personal property insurance.  After significant discussion we ended up getting $30K in personal property.  Lee felt very strongly that if something catastrophic did happen we would be able to replace everything.  So think about that when signing up…computers, Ipads, phones etc alone are way more than $2K.  The premiums went up a bit but it wasn’t too terribly crazy.  

Finally, we are receiving mail at the new “home” address and we have the proof required to establish residency.  Now we need to find the time to go to the DMV and get everything changed.  With Lee’s school schedule it’s not that easy, so we may need to go once school is done.  The main point I want to make here is it was WAAAY more time-consuming than I originally thought, both in hours spent on the task and the time delay to get things mailed to prove residency.  If you’re planning on popping in and out of an area to establish residency you really need to do your homework and get everything done in advance.  Luckily, we do have plenty of time, but it’s still been a pretty stressful process.

So enough of all the catch-up, now I can tell you about our week!!  Linda and Howard of RV-Dreams were kind enough to allow us to crash their boon docking rally on Valentines day so we met up with Jo and Ben and all got there around 10 am.  It was so fun having such a large group of the Class of 2014 together in one place.  One of the coolest things was getting to meet Jim and Barb in person.  We felt like we knew Jim and Barb because Deb and Steve had hung out with them and they knew all about us as well.  They have a puggle Daisy May who is such a cutie patooty and a really great blog if you want to check it out. (As an added bonus, Daisy is a very, very quiet dog. Couldn’t get a word out of her. – Lee)

Jim and Barb

Jim and Barb

Miss Jo in front with Jo, Kelly, me, and Cori behind

Miss Jo in front with Dr. Jo, Kelly, me, and CoriThe RV-Dreams Boondocker Rally

The RV-Dreams Boondocker Rally

Linda telling everyone to eat more cupcakes

Linda telling everyone to eat more cupcakes

Cori and Greg...shocking the Amazon Queen is on the computer :)

Cori and Greg…shocking the Amazon Queen is on the computer 🙂

Kelly and Cori

Kelly and Cori

 

Craig and Miss Jo

Craig and Miss Jo

 

Cori taking a picture of me taking a picture of her

Cori taking a picture of me taking a picture of her

We had a wonderful time reconnecting with old friends and making new ones.  I have taken Monday and Tuesday off to spend more time with folks before they leave, and Kelly and Bill are staying in our campground all next week…hooray!!!  So because I have to stop this entry at some point, I will pause here, but there is definitely more to come!

Recipes 

Neither of these recipes is what I could consider easy but they are so good  for me it’s worth the extra effort.  Plus both heat up well the next day

Chicken Pot Pie in Phyllo

  • 8 TBL (1 stick) butter divided
  • 1 medium onion finely chopped
  • 2 celery sticks finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped carrot
  • 2 TBL flour
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 2 cups cooked, chopped chicken
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 2 TBL parsley
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 12 phyllo sheets  (makes two large servings)
  1. Prepare all your ingredients in advance as several of the steps happen quickly
  2. In a large skillet melt 4 TBL butter over medium heat
  3. Add celery, onion, and carrot and cook until onion is tender approximately 2 minutes
  4. Stir in flour and cook 1 minute without browning
  5. Gradually whisk in broth
  6. Cook stirring constantly until mixture is thickened and smooth
  7. Add chicken, salt, nutmeg, and parsley and stir
  8. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes
  9. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  10. Melt remaining butter
  11. Stack 6 phyllo sheets per packet, brushing each sheet with butter as stacked
  12. Place half chicken mixture on each stack
  13. Make packet by folding ends in
  14. Place on lightly buttered cooking sheet seam sides down
  15. Cook 30 minutes until golden brown
  16. Serve

 

Chicken Pot Pie in Phyllo

Chicken Pot Pie in Phyllo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daddy’s Special Chicken

This is Lee’s special recipe and the girls always called it Daddy’s Special Chicken.  It takes awhile but so yummy.  I asked him to write down his recipe hence the extra steps 🙂

  • Chicken breasts or thighs (boneless/skinless)
  • Butter
  • Lemon Juice
  • Flour
  • Garlic salt and pepper
  1. Cut the chicken into small portions, about 3″ square
  2. Pound it as thin as you can get it. The thinner the better. It helps to pound them between sheets of plastic wrap.
  3. In a frying pan, melt butter and get the pan as hot as you can without the butter smoking
  4. Dredge damp chicken in flour
  5. Fry the chicken for only as long as it takes to crisp up each side. Sprinkle it with Garlic salt, pepper, lemon juice on each side
  6. Turn only once
  7. Once they’re cooked, keep them warm in the oven
  8. Eat as many as you can before other people can get any!
  9. Make someone else clean up the mess.
Daddy's Special Chicken

Daddy’s Special Chicken

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Supporting our Blog

We very much appreciate your support of our blog.

  • As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.  Search Amazon Here
  • You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
  • You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperback version on Amazon or buy the Apple version on Itunes.

 

 

by

Cori and Greg are Here!

The first people we stopped to visit when we went on the road were our friends Cori and Greg.  We stopped in Pennsylvania for the weekend before starting our new life, and had an amazing weekend.  Although Cori and I talk or text almost every day we have really missed them. Finally their vacation came and they headed to Florida for a boondocking rally put on by RV Dreams. We are not set up for boondocking, plus Lee is in school every day, but the rally is only an hour or so from where we are staying and we are hoping to come visit everyone on Saturday. (That should be especially exciting, because they will all have been sitting out in a field for a week in the hot Florida sun, with full gray and black tanks, and not having had real showers for several days. It will be like human soup out there. I can’t wait. I won’t be distributing many hugs that day. – Lee)   Needless to say we were super excited for a chance to see our friends in person. (1) They left Pennsylvania Thursday night and because they have a Class A and were super motivated, they managed to make it to Winter Haven, FL by late Friday night.  (2)  I was super excited.  (3) I felt like a kid at Christmas to be honest, and we got up bright and early and drove over to see them. (So much for “Christmas”. There were no presents, unless you count the bottle of Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey, which was mine to begin with, but I left it there back in November. – Lee) Sometimes when you see people you haven’t seen for a long time it can be a bit awkward, but with them we picked up right where we left off.  The funniest part to me was that Cori would be mid-sentence and then just sort of trail off and smile…she was sun deprived in PA and that Florida weather was working it’s magic.  (Or perhaps it was the booze. It’s hard to be sure. – Lee)  Hobie, their amazing cavachon, seemed to remember me (or at least my doggie treats) and we had a great morning catching up.  Then the day got even better.  Kelly and Bill drove over to see them and we also got to see Jo and Craig. We hadn’t seen Jo and Craig since the RV-Dreams rally in Tennessee last April and although I’ve been following her terrific blog (This Moment in Time), it was so great to see them in person again. Texas Jo is a hoot and Craig gives the best hugs on the planet. (I’m going to let that one slide for now. – Lee)  So the eight of us talked and ate and then had a wonderful bonfire (our first since coming to Florida).  The campground Cori and Greg are at (The Outpost) also has a really nice lake and I got to walk down and take some bird pictures. (We saw a Muscovy Duck which only has small populations in Southern Florida and Texas as it is largely a Mexican and South American bird so that was really a cool sighting.)   It’s also a brand new campground and the prices were super reasonable so if you’re looking for a place in the Winter Haven area I really recommend you check it out.  (4)  Cori broke out her new camera and she and Lee spent some time together taking pictures.  (It’s not a camera, it’s a Nikon. – Lee) He was really happy to help someone who actually listened to the finer points of photography…as opposed to me who just likes to point and shoot and doesn’t listen that well in general.

Craig's telling Hobie he has no more treats...Hobie is not buying it :)

Craig’s telling Hobie he has no more treats…Hobie is not buying it 🙂

Don't mess with Texas!!

Don’t mess with Texas!!

Lee and Cori playing with her new camera

Lee and Cori playing with her new camera. (It’s not a camera, it’s a Nikon. – Lee)

 

Cori is testing her camera out ...getting eye level with the ducks

Cori is testing her camera out …getting eye level with the ducks

What a beautiful lake

My picture of the lake

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cori's picture...I'm going to have to step up my game :)

Cori’s picture…I’m going to have to step up my game 🙂

White Ibis

White Ibis

 

Could not find it in my bird finder app

The Muscovy duck was pretty aggressive walked right up to us and I had to back up some.

 

Jo, Craig, Bill, Kelly, Cori, and Greg will all be at the RV-Dreams Boondocking Rally this week and Greg’s going to do a solar install while he is there.  Greg is an incredibly smart and experienced solar technician, so if you’re thinking about solar you should really check out his website RV Solar Solutions and give him a call.  We are absolutely going to get solar panels down the road, but are trying to be good and pay off our little bit of debt first.

 

Greg doing a solar install

Greg doing a solar install

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Valentines Day  Lee and I, along with Dr.  Jo and Ben, drive over for the day to crash the party.  Then Jo, Craig, Cori, and Greg will be staying for a few days in Tampa and I took a couple of days off to spend time with them.  Excited about seeing Jo and Craig’s rig since they didn’t have it yet when we saw them last year, although Texas Jo is a super clean person so I am a little afraid Lee might have higher expectations after we see her place. (5. That’s 5 “supers” in one post. I need to get this wife of mine a cape, or a thesaurus. – Lee) 

Greg

Greg

Kelly and Bill

Kelly and Bill

Cocoa

Cocoa

Y095

 

Spanish Moss and Sky

Spanish Moss and Sky

Another Spanish Moss pic for Lee

Another Spanish Moss pic for Lee

 

In front: Lee, me, and Jo In back: Cori, Greg, Craig, Kelly, and Bill

In front: Lee, me, and Jo
In back: Cori, Greg, Craig, Kelly, and Bill

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If that wasn’t enough excitement for the weekend we got to go kayaking with Eileen and Gene.  The last time we were together I asked if they could help me get Lee into the water in the boat.  He is really concerned about kayaking in a rubber boat with alligators.  (To clarify, I’m not concerned about kayaking in a rubber boat WITH alligators, that would be foolhardy. I’m concerned about kayaking in a rubber boat while alligators are trying to sink/get into the boat. It’s a fine distinction, but a pretty important one. You can’t be too careful with these things. While there hasn’t been a fatal alligator attack in Florida since 2007, that also means that it’s long overdue. There have been over 20 major bites in the past five years, however.  That’s enough to warrant caution. If you don’t think so, go talk to one of those 20 people. They’re easy to spot, what with missing limbs and the like. Also, given that information, it begs the question why my wife is so keen to get me into a boat in rabid alligator infested waters. Food for thought. – Lee) Yes, I know it is unlikely it will be an issue, but as Lee says that is small comfort when you’re the one boat that an alligator attacks.  So to get us started Eileen recommended  Robinson Preserve because they didn’t see any alligators there.  (That’s not exactly an endorsement. Have they been LOOKING for them??? How recently was their eyesight checked? Are they in league with Tracy in her plot to get rid of me, and their role in the conspiracy is to be alligator deniers? This is all very suspicious. – Lee) I was so excited to get on the water, take some great pictures,  and hang out with Gene and Eileen!! Robinson Preserve is amazing.  It’s free and pet and kid friendly. (Alligators love kids and pets. – Lee) They have walking and biking paths throughout the preserve and easy waterway access to kayak or canoe. They also have a four-story wooden tower you can climb into and the views are amazing.   (The alligator problem is clearly so out of control they had to build a four-story tower to keep an eye on them. This is partially for viewing distance, but also to keep the more intrepid alligators from climbing up the tower to eat the watchers. They have very short legs, and would get tired and give up by the third story. – Lee) The bird watching was great and it turns out Eileen has an eagle eye when it comes to spotting birds.  (And yet, she’s never seen a single one of the thousands of alligators lying in wait. Am I the only one who sees a problem with all of this? – Lee) Seriously, from now on she’s going on all my nature hikes with me. We just had the best time.. and I am going to let the pictures speak for themselves…mainly because I am completely pooped out by all the fun we had this weekend. (We really did have a great time, Gene and Eileen are a lot of fun, and are so easy-going and friendly, despite their nefarious alligator connections. And even though I never saw a single alligator, that doesn’t mean they weren’t there. It just means that they’re even hungrier than they were before. We’re all living on borrowed time. Hug your loved ones before it’s too late. – Lee) 

Eileen and Gene

Eileen and Gene

Seriously jealous of the synchronized paddling

Seriously jealous of the synchronized paddling

I think I look a bit like Kelly in this hat :)

Are you digging my hat?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gene and I were celebrating the Patriots super bowl win since we are both fans

Gene and I were celebrating the Patriots super bowl win since we are both fans. (Or, he’s being held up by a gang of alligators. You be the judge. – Lee)

 

YIMG_0915

A nature sculpture

A nature sculpture

The views from the watch tower were amazing

The views from the watch tower were amazing. (That kid in the red kayak was never seen again. – Lee)

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Views from the watch tower

Views from the watch tower

 

White Ibis

White Ibis. (Many Ibis are known to be aerial spotters for lazy and/or clever alligators in their spare time, guiding them right to unsuspecting rubber kayaks. – Lee) 

Turkey Vulture in flight

Turkey Vulture in flight

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