by

Feeling Closed in

If you enjoy the adventure part of the posts more than the day to day stuff please feel free to scroll down to the picture of the sunset and start there.  Don’t worry you won’t hurt my feelings 🙂

This week started a little rough.  I really like where we are staying. We are in Rainbow Village, Largo  a 55 plus community and it was by far the best of the choices we had.  The people are very friendly, the facilities are spotless, and I feel completely safe.  But I definitely miss my view and it’s much less fun working from the RV when you can’t step outside for a moment and look at something pretty.  We aren’t within walking distance of anything and it would be a stretch to drive to the beach on my lunch break so I am feeling a bit stuck here.  Lee is going to school everyday and getting out, but to be honest I am feeling a bit stir crazy.  Then, to prove things can get worse, the site next to ours (which has been empty most of the time we’ve been here) was filled by a huge motor home.  For some reason, their main slide-out with their dinette is facing our awning area and now I am staring right into their kitchen window.  I am trying not to, but I don’t really have anyplace else to look, I mean it is really right in front of us.  Can’t be much fun for them either since their windows open to us and now we can hear each others conversations.  Geez. (They’ve got the better end of the deal, our conversations are much more interesting than theirs.-Lee)

So I know we need to start getting away from our site more, but just like in a sticks and bricks it’s tough to come home from work, make dinner, then have time to do anything.  It’s odd really that here we are doing this crazy adventure and I am ending up being a more “traditional” wife than I have been in years.  To be completely clear, I have tremendous respect for anyone who fills that role in a marriage, that was just not who I was in our marriage…mainly because I worked farther away, traveled quite a bit, and wasn’t nearly as good at it as Lee was.  (Further evidence that I rock. She rocks in her own special way. – Lee) But things are different now, and as our life is evolving our roles and interactions with each other need to evolve as well.  

I know we are both experiencing situations where behaviors we have been totally fine with for years are no longer OK.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing.  This gives us an opportunity to “reset” as a couple and figure out not only who we want to be individually but as a couple.  (I want to be Benedict Cumberbatch. – Lee) One of the things you tend to do as a long-term couple with kids is divide and conquer.  So we are just not that used to doing this together.  I can count on one hand for example when we went to the grocery store together and now we are doing it every week.  That might seem like a simple thing going to the grocery store, but when you have $150 for the week and two different opinions on where to go and what to buy, something that was previously very simple suddenly becomes a conversation and in some cases a negotiation. Everyone says communicate, communicate, communicate to deal with the transitions of the full-timing lifestyle and conventional wisdom is absolutely correct, but what they don’t say is all that communicating is exhausting.  You’re working out “muscles” that you haven’t needed to use in a long time and sometimes it can be painful. (She’s right. Communicating with her is exhausting. I am more of a ray of light and joy in an otherwise grim world. – Lee) 

So what does that all have to do with where we are staying?  Well, the amazing views, moving about, and seeing cool new stuff for us makes those conversations briefer.  They still happen but you’re trying to get through it as quickly as possible so that you can go see the cool things. When you sit for awhile and are living more of a “regular” life those conversations happen more frequently and take longer.  Plus you are having them in a relatively small space and in our case we really need to be careful about how we have them.  You can’t go to separate corners, raising your voice is a bad idea since it’s really loud in your tin box, and arguing outside isn’t an option because you have tons of neighbors. So you not only have to talk about issues that have been resolved for years you may also need to do it in new ways. You don’t have to do any of this of course.  You could transplant your old roles into this new life but I wouldn’t recommend it.  I truly believe that all of this communication is a VERY good thing.  (She drinks. You should keep that in mind while reading her stuff.) Relationships can get stale and if nothing else this life is forcing us to reevaluate who we are with each other.  I would however recommend that you do all that with a really pretty view. (I don’t know what she’s talking about. I always have the prettiest view there is. – Lee)

I know I am a bit all over the place with this post, but all of these feelings seem to go hand in hand.  Frankly it’s too tough to be able to separate what’s a symptom and what’s the source at this point so I am working through all of them simultaneously the best I can.  Not the best scenario.  I also find myself missing having a dog.  Not Molly (the cavalier we gave to a friend before coming on the road) but just a dog in general.  (I have offered to lick her face to simulate having a dog, she seems uninterested. – Lee) Molly would have hated this lifestyle…she traveled terribly even short distances, but she was just one of many dogs I have owned in my life.  Plus ALL of our friends have at least one dog and even though we get the occaional envious comment about the freedom a “no-dog” life offers, they all seem pretty happy with their choice despite any limitations the dog might cause.  Cori/Greg and Gene/Eileen both have the same kind of dog (cavachon) and we love both of these dogs.  They are small, smart, active, and cute as a button. I mean seriously look at these pictures…how can you resist these dogs faces.

Hobi the wonder dog

Hobi  “The Wonder Dog”

Max the cutie patooty

Max  “The Cutie Patooty”

 

I know getting a dog is a long term commitment and should not be done on a whim.  I also know that our concerns regarding us living with a dog in this lifestyle have not changed.  But I really miss puppy kisses….don’t know what else to say.  (The offer still stands.) So I went on my lunch break to a nearby puppy store to check them out.  Let me say for all of my New England friends, I do know puppy stores are not the best place to get a dog. People feel so strongly about it there that I think I only saw one puppy store in the 13 years I lived there.  But in other parts of the country they are pretty common and if you’re not in a circumstance to locate a local breeder or adopt through the local humane society they are an option.    On a side note, my stepfather, who is 65, wanted to adopt a dog from the Columbus Human Society and because of his age they would only let him adopt a dog that was 8 years or older.  Seriously not cool.  People are living a lot longer and as much as I love dogs I definitely fall into the “they are animals and not people” group.  Anyway, there is a puppy store right around the corner that I have been dying to go into, so I I took a quick trip on my lunch break on Wednesday.  The place was very clean and they had tons of puppies…so lots and lots of puppy kisses and the staff was very nice and helpful.  They didn’t have any cavachons but  the trip certainly brightened my day.   After the visit I spent some time researching the cavachon breed and am more convinced than ever that when we do eventually get a dog again, this is a great breed (by temperament) for this lifestyle.  So I did some research and found a private home breeder in Sarasota and they had a white male puppy who was exactly what I was looking for.  Lee and I had a serious conversation about it, but in the end his common sense won out over my puppy fever.  We really don’t know what our life will look like (being here in Largo for 10 weeks is not an accurate representation) so the responsible thing to do is wait and see.  I hate being a responsible grownup.

Walt the puppy I found at a local breeder was perfect but the timing was not

Walt the puppy I found at a local breeder was perfect but the timing was not

So in order to combat the “closed in” feelings and  “no puppy” sadness,  I have planned a nature day for us on Saturday.  There are several wildlife parks/gardens in the area that are free or near free and I want to get out there with my camera and immerse myself in some wildlife.  Plus, my good friend Jo (who seems to have a sixth sense for these things) sent me a text and asked me to come down and visit her and Ben, Gene and Eileen, and Kelly and Bill on Martin Luther King day.  I totally forgot I have that day off and replied back with a huge enthusiastic YES!!!   Lee has school that day so I will go down on my own and it’s great to have friends where being half a couple if not an issue at all.   So this weekend is covered and I need to find something to do during the evenings and maybe on the occasional lunch to break up the day.

While I am talking about going to see Jo and Ben in Fort Meyers I wanted to mention the differences in weather.  Even though they are only 2 hours south there is a 10-15 degree swing when you travel there.  I think because Largo is in between Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico and surrounded by water on three sides it is cooler.  I don’t mind the cooler temps…I’ll take 50-60 over 10-12 degrees any day, but it is cloudy here.  Not the Florida I am used to where it rains a bit in the morning and then is sunny the rest of the day, but overcast most days until early afternoon and then a little bit of sunshine.  Again, waaay better than up north, but I could use some more sun as I think it would help improve my overall mood.  So excited about seeing the gang, not just for the company, but for a little dose of warmer weather.  It reminds me a bit of New Hampshire in that we could drive two hours into the Green Mountains in Vermont and get totally different weather.

This week we also spent some time dealing with some rig repair issues.   When we originally got our rig they did not have a Splendide and gave us another washer/dryer combo.  This never worked at all from the first day, so we made the dealer replace it with the Splendide we had ordered originally. Four months into use the Splendide just stopped working and locked tight with clothes and water inside it.  When we called our warranty folks they said it was still covered under the Splendide warranty and Lee then had to call them and they told him to call a local RV tech to do the work and they would pay for it. The first tech he called refused to do anything but replace it (which Splendide would not accept) so Splendide provided the name of another tech.  It took several days for the guy to call us back, another week to get on his schedule, and after waiting all day Monday for a no show he finally came on Tuesday.  The tech was very nice and I was grateful I finally got my clothes out of the washer, but he said the board was fried and would need a part.  We spent the rest of the week trying to get Flagg RV to send us some sort of paperwork that we could send to Splendide to prove it was under warranty.  Meanwhile, doing some research on the Open Range site I also discovered that there was a recall on our slideout switches.  Open Range Technical Service Bulletin 07092014 from Highland Ridge RV on July 09/2014:  “Highland Ridge RV has identified a potential issue regarding the function of the slide-out systems with the Open Range products. Models affected are new unsold models and models that currently under the limited 2 year warranty…Highland Ridge RV has determined that the slide-out in/out switches that were installed may not produce enough electric amps for the system to function correctly. Due to this there is a chance of slide-out motors, gears boxes and/or drive shafts failing.”  Other people on the forum stated they called their dealer and they either sent them new switches or scheduled a service visit. Our dealer (who has gone through four Service Managers in a one year period) didn’t notify me about the recall.  I asked them if they could just send the switches and we could replace them. This was really a good thing, because we noticed the motor was making a funny noise the last time we put the slideout out and hopefully this explains it.  I generally avoid the more technical discussions in the forum, but I have to say I am glad I stumbled across this as we could have had a much more serious problem down the road.

So enough of all of that not-fun stuff.  Friday’s weather was absolutely beautiful, so Lee and I drove to Indian Rocks Beach (about 15 minutes away) to watch the sunset.  Lee has gone a couple of times, but it was always too cold for me, but tonight was just perfect and we took the most beautiful pictures.  We also got to listen to taps being played when the sun goes down.  An older vet comes every night and plays his bugle as the sun falls beneath the waves.  Absolutely lovely moment and a very nice man.

Sunset at Indian Rocks Beach in Largo Florida

Sunset at Indian Rocks Beach in Largo Florida

Gentleman who plays taps every night at Sunset beach

Gentleman who plays taps every night at Sunset beach

 

On Saturday we got up early and decided to check out one of the four local parks.  Pinellas County has a large park about 15 minutes away called The Florida Botanical Gardens.  We went there first because it’s so close to the house I could go on a lunch break and hang out.  We ended up spending several hours there because it was so amazing.  It is totally free and it is divided into multiple sections so we took a while to walk around.  They have the east and west gardens, a tropical section, wedding area, herb garden, butterfly garden, alligator area, and a wonderful historical village with over 25 buildings.  The buildings were largely left to the historical society in wills with enough funds to completely transport the building.  Then other members of the historical society fill it with antiques.  Very, very cool, completely free, and totally unexpected.   The historical area also has volunteers in several of the buildings who explain about the time period and the particular building they are in.  I spent quite some time talking to a woman about how quilting is done today versus how it was done in the 1800’s.  Really neat. 

Camellia

Camellia

I had no idea bananas had a large flower at the bottom. Reminded me a bit of the flower from Little Shop of Horrors

I had no idea bananas had a large flower at the bottom. Reminded me a bit of the flower from Little Shop of Horrors

My first alligator. The duck swimming close by didn't interest him at all

My first alligator. The duck swimming close by didn’t interest him at all

Turtles sunning themselves on the bank pretty near the gator but they seemed unconcerned

Turtles sunning themselves on the bank pretty near the gator but they seemed unconcerned

 

Center of the historical village

Center of the historical village

One of the volunteers was in the Grocery Store

One of the volunteers was in the Grocery Store

Village Garage

Village Garage

The garage was very cool

The garage was very cool

After such a great time at the gardens I really didn’t want to go anywhere else, so we will save those for another day.  We went back to the RV for lunch and then we puttered until 5pm when the RV Resort was having a pig roast.  Lee wasn’t terribly thrilled about going, but I thought it would be good to at least put in a short appearance, plus free food, so we walked down at 5pm.

On Sunday Lee went to a study session held by one of his fellow students who is a retired Air Force Colonel and a whiz at all things electrical, so I decided to go and visit the Sunken Garden.   After the great experience on Saturday, I almost didn’t go because I didn’t want to be disappointed, but the weather was beautiful so I drove the 20 minutes to St. Pete.  Sunken Garden’s claim to fame is that it is a 100-year-old garden and I really wanted to see plants that were that old.  The $8 admission threw me off though.  Not because $8 is a lot of money but because I have found the free or near free attractions are often better.  I was pleasantly surprised however and definitely felt I got my money’s worth.  Although it was a bit crowded (there was a line when it opened at noon on Sunday) and not as big as I would have liked (only took me 45 minutes to walk through), it was jam-packed with huge beautiful plants and there were many more flowers in bloom than I would have expected in January.  Also the gardens boast many plants from tropical regions around the world, so I got to see plants and flowers I had never seen before.  Definitely worth a trip, but I would recommend going during a weekday if you can manage it. 

The growth was huge and dense which makes the relatively small place feel bigger

The growth was huge and dense which makes the relatively small place feel bigger

Beautiful paths are cut at multiple levels so you could be very close to someone and not see them.

Beautiful paths are cut at multiple levels so you could be very close to someone and not see them.

I have never seen flowering vines this high in my life. They were like two stories tall and hanging from the tops of giant trees

I have never seen flowering vines this high in my life. They were like two stories tall and hanging from the tops of giant trees

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The limestone was excavated when the gardens were originally built

The limestone was excavated when the gardens were originally built

You sit on it and feel peace and serenity. IT was a really cool, smooth rock

You sit on it and feel peace and serenity. IT was a really cool, smooth rock

This was the view across from the growing stone which did make me feel peaceful

This was the view across from the growing stone which did make me feel peaceful

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful beautiful flowers

Beautiful beautiful flowers

Never seen one of these before

Never seen one of these before

 

I've never seen this flower either. Wish DeDe was with me she would have loved it.

I’ve never seen this flower either. Wish DeDe was with me she would have loved it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday was a holiday for me and it was great because when living in New England I thought it was a waste to have a holiday in January (no disrespect to Martin Luther King just wish it would be a different day), but down here it was amazing.  The day was absolutely gorgeous with temps in the high 70’s and sunny skies.  Lee had school unfortunately , but I was free so got up early and drove down to Fort Meyers to see my friends Jo and Ben, Kelly and Bill, and Eileen and Gene.  I had an absolutely wonderful time talking with my friends and we had a nice dinner (thank you so much Gene and Eileen for treating me…that was incredibly sweet) and I reluctantly left at 7:30pm to start the two-hour drive home.  It was a long day but absolutely what I needed to brush the last of those “closed in feelings” away.  I know I’ve said it before, but I absolutely love these people and they are the best support system in the world.  No matter how you are feeling, they are there for you and although the experience does vary from person to person, we are all absolutely committed to supporting each other as we transition to the full timing lifestyle.  There was lots of laughter, great advice, and some commiseration which is all a wonderful thing.  And most importantly it reaffirmed that I am not alone in this.  So thank you all so much for the wonderful day and I can’t wait until we are all together again.

From back left Tracy, Ben, Kelly, Bill, Jo, Gene, and Eileen

From back left
Tracy, Ben, Kelly, Bill, Jo, Gene, and Eileen

Lessons Learned

  • When you are feeling closed in get out and do something.  See friends, visit a nature park, go see an attraction.  
  • You can fill an entire weekend without spending much money (I spent $8 this weekend).
  • Be careful of making any big decisions when your feeling antsy or closed in.  Give it some time to pass.

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by

Football and Friends

It was a very busy week here in Largo, Florida and it was very interesting from a “what will our life look like?” perspective.  Lee started RV Tech school this week and I worked every day from the camper.  It was nice getting a break from each other all day and we also worked to get into some sort of a routine.  I should probably explain the break part.  As I have said before we have been married 25 years, have known each other since we were 14 and 16, and truly are best friends.  That being said I don’t think we have ever actually spent this much time together…certainly not in 400 square feet…and it’s a bit of an adjustment.  I keep running into feelings of being unsettled in my environment (mainly because everything hasn’t found its permanent home yet) and working through that is easier when it’s just me in the space.  So the break was good from that perspective and I actually had the chance to organize my side of the desk and get some housekeeping items done.

I also cooked every day this week and it’s been years since I cooked this much.  Lee had a great hot lunch every day (he said the other students were pretty jealous) and I found a couple more winners for my recipe list.  Really you can’t go wrong with cooking.  It’s cheaper, with two people there are plenty of leftovers for lunches, and it is fun when something you try for the first time goes completely right.  Don’t get me wrong I am not cooking every night forever, but I have tons of recipes I collected when we were waiting for the house to sell that I am dying to try. Plus while Lee’s in school it’s good if he is eating well.  If you’re curious, when meal planning I like to mix simple with the more complicated and new versus old recipes.  Here’s an example with next week’s menu plan although it may change without notice.

  • Saturday – Chili
  • Sunday – Sirloin Tips and Noodles, green beans, corn on the cob
  • Monday – Kentucky Fried Chicken, Cole Slaw, and Zippy Fries
  • Tuesday – Southern Fried Chicken Salad (using leftover chicken from Monday and making egg salad made for Lee’s lunch on Weds)
  • Weds – Pork Chops w/ Potato Casserole, baked beans
  • Thursday – Catfish, Stuffing, and frozen mixed vegetables

I also made a dentist appointment this week at Aspen Dental.  I am pretty crazy about clean teeth.  No matter how broke we were when I was a kid my mother always made sure I went to the dentist and as a consequence I have had zero adult cavities.  Plus, they have linked teeth problems to other issues such as cardiac problems later in life, so to me it is VERY important to get regular cleanings.   Bacteria can build up in your gums and it is a very short step to getting into your blood stream.  So when we decided to go on the road I was concerned about going to a dentist.  In the RV Dreams rally I asked the question, but no one really had a good answer and it has remained a concern of mine that is unresolved.  I tried going to my sister’s dentist in Rock Hill, but they wanted a first patient appt first and I realized I would have to get a first patient appointment every 6 month as I would always be in a different place.  Obviously that won’t work so my friend Cori asked if I had considered a national dental chain.  The cool thing about routine health care is even if you don’t have a local doctor you can go to an urgent care almost anywhere but there isn’t anything like that for dental.  Aspen Dental isn’t everywhere but they are a national chain and their computer systems are networked.  Their reps have said I would not need to get a new patient exam every time with them, just the first time so I am going to give them a shot while here in Largo.  I won’t really know how it works out until the second 6 months, but I am hoping they live up to the promise as this would be the perfect solution for those of us who travel a lot. My prescription is working just fine btw.  My doctor promised to prescribe for 2 years before I needed to come back to her and Walgreen’s has a great online app that allows me to order the prescription wherever I am.  So far no issues at all with that!!

So that’s what the week was like…work, school, errands…which is good.  Because this isn’t vacation, it is real life and those things all still need to be done.    A nice suprise early in the day is for the first time someone from RVillage reached out to me.  RVillage is a relatively new website that allows you to “check in” at your campsite and see if any other RVillagers are there. David and Kris reached out when they saw we had an Open Range because they are interested in buying one and wanted to hear about our experience. We love our open range and were happy to invite them over and give a little tour.  It also showed me that RVillage can work and it’s worth the time to keep checking into our sites.     As another surprise on Friday I got a call from a work friend of mine that she was in Tampa for work.  It was also Deb’s birthday and she invited me to meet two other work friends of ours and go out.  Lee was great about the last minute change in plans…I believe he was pleased with having some alone time in the rig…and I jumped in my car and went to Tampa.  We ended up meeting at this little pub called Mulligans Irish Pub and it was so great to see my friends in person.  Deb, Julie, and I worked a ton together up in New England two summers ago but Julie lives in Tampa and Deb in Fort Worth so we rarely get to see each other in person.  We had a great time talking and catching up although Deb has been reading my blog and knew much of what was happening.  They seemed really interested in the life and I had a great time talking about why it meant so much to me and what a great time I was having.  Also, the beer was great and they had a singer who was very good and was kind enough to sing Happy birthday for Deb. Julie’s husband was so funny.  I loved talking to him and because he worked in a video store his family owned for 8 years he is a walking movie encyclopedia.  Name any movie and he can tell you the year it was released, who starred in it, and the director.  I tested him with Fast Times at Ridgemont High and he completely got it right.  It was like a walking talking IMDB app!!   It was a really great night and when these serendipitous events happen I am truly grateful for what we are doing because there is a lot more chance running into people than I ever thought would happen.

Julie, me, Deb, and Denise

Julie, me, Deb, and Denise

 

 

 

 

 

 

I watched the Patriots game on Saturday (wow what a nail biter) and then Lee and I watched some Doctor Who in the evening.  Lee and I have this deal going where we trade a Buffy the Vampire Slayer for a Doctor Who.  I want him to watch Buffy and he’s trying to get me into Who.  Since I was watching so much football I declared it a Buffy free weekend and we watched a two-part Doctor Who instead.  You think you will be out running around all the time and never watch TV, but it does get dark pretty early and more importantly all that running around is tiring and sometimes you just want to sit and watch some TV.  I was starting to feel like a bit of a couch potato though and thankfully we had made lunch plans with our good Dreamer  friends Gene and Eileen who are staying about 1 hour south in Bradenton. Gene and Eileen were having a terrific time on the road (take a look at their blog Newhallin) and took a break to rent a condo and have Gene’s mother come and stay with them for a few months.  I decided on lunch because I like to eat out as much as the next person, but lunch is 30%-50% cheaper than a dinner  so you get the experience without the sticker shock.

We met at a cool place right on the beach called Gulf Drive Cafe.  Amazing location it really is right on the beach and the menu was great with breakfast, lunch, and dinner items.  Eileen did the sweetest thing and gave us a present she had bought for all of our friends.  We were the last ones she had seen and I really appreciated the gift as it does more than one thing!!  We had a wonderful time catching up since we hadn’t seen each other since Pennsylvania and the conversation was easy and comfortable.  The only down side was the service in the restaurant.  Gene warned us the service wasn’t that great in this particular place but the view was amazing so people put up with it.  He was right the service was absolutely terrible and as a former server and restaurant manager it is very difficult for me to not say something in those situations.  But when your with friends you don’t want to make a fuss, but it was distracting to me and I found myself not enjoying the experience as much as I should have.  Lee says I just need to get over this and I know he’s right, but when the waitress brought Lee a cup of coffee with no sugar or cream and had an attitude when he asked for some that was the last straw for me.   So I did something I rarely do and left a 10% tip along with a note on the check.  It said, “I routinely tip 25% but  in this case I  could not do that.  A beautiful view does not make up for a job poorly done.”  Those who have worked in the restaurant industry will probably cheer the act and those who have not will deplore it, but as I stated I rarely tip less than 20% and if I was her I would have wanted to know why.  For the record it wasn’t that they were busy or disorganized it was that she never picked up the pace to compensate.  Made me nuts.  After the lunch though we walked right out onto the beach and it was beautiful then we went back to Eileen and Gene’s condo and got caught up with each other.  It was a wonderful visit and I loved every minute of it…bad service aside. 

Gulf Drive Cafe in Bradenton Beach

Gulf Drive Cafe in Bradenton Beach

Eileen and Gene

Eileen and Gene

Fishing line strung over the tables to stop seagulls from dive bombing the restaurant and stealing food

Fishing line strung over the tables to stop seagulls from dive bombing the restaurant and stealing food

Gift from Eileen ...it's does way more than one thing

Gift from Eileen …it’s does way more than one thing

Gene and Lee ignoring the beautiful view to compare phone apps...geez

Gene and Lee ignoring the beautiful view to compare phone apps…geez

 

 

 

We got home in time to watch the Denver/Colts game (not nearly as good as I expected) and the the Golden Globes.  It was a very full week,  but I am looking forward to checking some things off our Tampa list next Saturday.

Tomatoes Vinaigrette

This was delicious.  Even Lee who is not a huge tomato fan liked them

  • Italian Salad Dressing (I use Good Seasons)
  • 4 very thick tomato slices
  • Minced onion (instant, chopped red or yellow)
  • Parsley flakes
  1. Slice tomatoes and arrange in square pan
  2. Cover with salad dressing
  3. Sprinkle with onion and parsley
  4. Cover and refrigerate 3 hours basting occasionally (don’t go much beyond the 3 hours or tomatoes will be over ripe)
  5. Serve

 

Tomatoes Viniagrette

Tomatoes Viniagrette

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tracy’s Sirloin Tips and Noodles

  • 2 # of any grilling steak (london broil to ribeye it all works)
  • 1/4 -1/2 cup butter
  • 1 12oz package wide egg noodles
  • garlic salt
  • 1 large can mushrooms
  1. Broil, grill, or pan fry steak to rare temperature
  2. Cut into bite size pieces and set aside
  3. Boil egg noodles using package description the drain and set aside
  4. Place mushrooms and 1/4 cup butter in pan, sprinkler with garlic salt, and cook on medium low heat until mushrooms are browned
  5. Place steak with browned mushrooms, add additional butter and garlic salt as desired.  Cook until steak  is desired doneness
  6. Combine noodles, steak, mushrooms and butter sauce in a pot and heat for a few minutes on medium low until all ingredients are hot
  7. Serve

Easy Peasy Green Beans

  • 2 cans french cut green beans
  • Butter
  • Garlic Salt
  1. Drain Green Beans from Can
  2. Place in skillet with 1/4 cup butter
  3. Sprinkler with garlic salt to taste
  4. Cook on medium heat stirring occasionally 15-20 minutes
  5. Serve
Sirloin Tips and Noodles with Easy Peasy Green Beans

Sirloin Tips and Noodles with Easy Peasy Green Beans

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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First Time in Clearwater

I have been to Florida many times in my life including several summers spent on Singer Island, but I have never lived in Florida before.  I have to say, I finally get why people are snowbirds.  The weather is absolutely wonderful.  It’s been in the low 80’s almost every day and although it does rain frequently, it is usually those quick showers that are over in no time.  It’s also very breezy and I am enjoying very much the sun on my face especially when I see that New Hampshire is experiencing ice storms and weather in the teens.  I know, I am sorry, I certainly don’t mean to rub it in, but part of me is wondering why I didn’t do this a long time ago.  Yes, I am sure I would find the summers miserable, but I won’t be here in the summer, and for right now this weather is absolutely amazing. (I have no such qualms. New England weather sucks in the winter, even people who have lived there their entire lives think so. – Lee)

It’s been a busy week…as you know my grandmother passed away, and I spent Monday, Tuesday, and part of Wednesday with my mother, grandfather, and aunts and uncle in North Palm.  I’d like to talk about what I did on the other days though.  When we pulled into the site, we were a little taken aback that our site number had been changed at the last minute.  I made these reservations months ago, but I have to say I am glad our site changed.  We are staying for 10 weeks (while Lee goes to RV Tech school) at the Rainbow Village Largo 55+ RV community. Yes, I know we are not 55+, but they are allowed a certain amount of guests who are under that age and we got an exemption which cracks me up.  (Trace is so close to 55 as to make no difference, but we’re calling it an “exception.” I’m considerably younger, but since we’re married they had to let me in as well. – Lee) We had pretty low expectations coming in.  Just a reasonable place to stay close to the school, but I really like it.  Our new site was pretty tough to get into, but once there, we are in a nice spot.  So far no one is in the site we face so it’s like being on a double lot.  We are also surrounded by a group of French Canadians and it’s nice hearing them speak in French all the time.  Adds to the atmosphere.  (In addition, there’s something really nice about not being able to understand conversations that you can’t help but overhear. It just turns into background noise. At our previous seasonal site in Swanzey, people were so loud, it was almost impossible not to just start participating. Sometimes I did, quietly enough so they couldn’t hear me, which is a shame, in retrospect. I often had compelling things to add. Also, everyone here thinks I’m Canadian, and they keep speaking to me in French. I keep apologizing for not being Canadian, but that seems to just reinforce their idea that I’m Canadian. It’s a vicious circle, with no end in sight. C’est une honte. – Lee)

So far people are friendly but have largely left us alone which is nice and if we do want to get to know folks there are plenty of opportunities with a daily calendar that has 3-5 free activities a day.  It’s clean, neat, and I feel completely safe as we are gated in and surrounded by our own security force of older people who are paying attention to what’s going on!!  Plus 65% of the structures are permanent so it feels like a little community more than a trailer park which was a concern of mine.

Right outside our camper in Rainbow Village, Largo Fl

Right outside our camper in Rainbow Village, Largo Fl

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even though we aren’t on the water or really near anything cool there are many things to see and do within a half hour drive.  The beach is 15-20 minutes away (depending on traffic) and Tampa, Clearwater, St. Petersburg, and Tarpon Springs are all within easy driving distance.  It’s quite a bit cooler here than even two hours south, and since we are still getting acclimated to the weather appreciate that.  Lee really wanted to see the sun set on the ocean since he hadn’t had the opportunity since the mid-90’s, so on New Years Day we went to Clearwater Beach which is considered one of the best beaches in the US.  The beach is beautiful with tons of white sand, but it was a bit crowded for my taste and after checking out Pier 60 (which has vendors and restaurants) we moved down to Sand Key Park which I liked much better.  It was $5 for an all day parking pass at Sand Key (versus $3 an hour at the Hilton on the Clearwater beach) and much less crowded.  We stayed for quite awhile looking for shells, watching birds, and eventually seeing the sunset and it was a very nice experience.

PIer 60 in Clearwater

PIer 60 in Clearwater

Clearwater beach

Clearwater beach

Sand Key State Park

Sand Key State Park (Totally different ocean than Pier 60. It’s not even on the same side. This one is on the right, and the other one is on the left, as the pictures show. – Lee)

Message I wrote to Lee on the beach

Message I wrote to Lee on the beach (Never trust anyone who writes an I.O.U. in something as temporary as sand.- Lee)

 

Thursday and Friday we spent the time getting acclimated to the area.  I was nervous about my first haircut here, since I had heard horror stories from people about changing hairdressers and had the same person cutting my hair for over 10 years, but we found a Super Cuts and Lindsey did a great job.  We also tried out one of the three local grocery stores. We’re going to try them all and see which one we like best. I am finding those types of things to be unsettling..not knowing which grocery store to go to, or where to get my hair cut, but as I knock each one off my list I am finding it’s much easier than I thought it would be.  I am overdue on a teeth cleaning as well, so calling Aspen Dental soon which Cori recommended to me because they are a national chain, so I will tell you how that went after the appointment. I also started cooking again, something I have kind of gotten away from with all the traveling and actually menu planned and shopped for all next week.  My first couple of attempts; Individual Beef Wellington and Chicken Parmesan were not that great (meat overcooked and undercooked respectively), but Lee appreciated the effort and since he only has 1/2 hour for lunch at the school every day it’s important I get back into the habit.  Plus we are absolutely committed to living within our budget this month.  Originally my intention was to start posting budget numbers last month, but things were so crazy with the moves and unexpected startup costs, I decided to start fresh this month.  I’ll be completely honest, we did not do as well as I would have hoped but we also didn’t completely blow the bank either.  My advice is expect to plan to spend extra that first month, just like you would if you bought a new home or moved into a new apartment.

Saturday we drove down to Fort Meyers to see Jo and Ben.  One of the best things about being here is so many of our friends are close by.  We saw Kelly and Bill and the night we came in (they made us a terrific dinner) and we hadn’t seen Jo and Ben since they left Maine.  Ben took a six month contract with the Fort Meyers hospital which he likes very much and Jo is working on call for 3 different hospice companies.  Plus they really really like their site which sits right on a canal and they have their own little private boat dock which goes to a river which has tons of manatees in it.  (That is utter nonsense. There is tons of water, tons of birds, tons of mangrove trees. There are not tons of manatees. Not even a few pounds of manatees. We saw no manatees. We were there, we were in the river, we looked. No manatees. I think it’s all a big marketing ploy. Just like in New Hampshire with their alleged “moose”. I lived there over 13 years, never saw any “moose”. Don’t believe the lies about the moose, and the manatees. – Lee) After tons of hugs, talking a bit, and eating a quick lunch we set out on their boat.  Ben took us up to the power plant which dumps hot water into the river and is a favorite hanging out spot of the manatees.  (Suuuuure. – Lee) It was a glorious day and although we didn’t see any manatees we did see lots of birds and some very cool mangroves.  We had a terrific time and I am so glad we are close to our good friends again.

Ben and Lee on the boat

Ben and Lee on the boat (You see how Jo and Ben are almost gleeful in their laughter about how we feel for the “manatee” story? – Lee)

Lee and Jo

Lee and Jo

Loved the pelicans just hanging out.

Loved the pelicans just hanging out. (Those aren’t real. They’re sophisticated animatronic pelican statues. – Lee)

 

Lessons Learned

  • Budget extra money for the first month or so…you’ll need it
  • Getting a hair cut in a new place doesn’t have to be traumatic…BUT be prepared to describe exactly how you want it.  Your former hairdresser can write down important information like color, type of cut, length etc for you before you go on the road.

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Camper Chronicles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.  Search Amazon.com here

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For my Grandmother

The same day we made it to Florida I received a phone call that my grandmother had passed away.  She had a relatively minor procedure to unclog an artery (the first time she had been in the hospital since her youngest son was born) and she was back home recovering when she unexpectedly passed.  She just fell asleep in her chair with her husband and her son close by…and was gone.  That was my grandmother in a nutshell: no fuss.  Everything she did she did with no fuss, and she died the same way.  It was very unexpected though (she was only 83 and in fair health) so I was glad I was only 3 hours away and could get there quickly to be with my grandfather and aunts and uncles as they made arrangements to transport her back to Ohio, where she was from, for the funeral.  Since she is a huge part of the reason I am living on the road, I thought I would write a little about her life.  I admired her tremendously and maybe writing will help deal with the sadness some.

Grandma Pat was born in Akron, Ohio but lived in Newport, RI after her parents divorced.  I lived and worked near Newport and had the opportunity to visit one of the cottages where she spent time as a child.  I don’t know much about her early years, but they were tough, and she left high school in the 11th grade to marry my grandfather.  She had my mother at 15 and went on to have 3 more children with him.  So you would think she had everything against her…kids at a young age, no high school education, but not my grandmother.  She was tough.

Grandpa became a very successful brick layer and they flipped houses back before flipping houses was even a thing.  They would buy a house, and he would fix up the structure, and she was a brilliant and creative interior designer and would completely redo the inside. Then they would sell it for more money than they bought it for, and move on.  I don’t know how many houses they bought and sold over the years but she had a knack for picking a property that would increase in value, and the talent to show it to its best advantage.  They had a place in Florida for many years right on the beach at Singer Island and we spent quite a few summers with them when I was a kid.  I have to say it spoiled me quite a bit because I grew up walking the beach a few yards from where we were staying and few vacations I have ever taken since then have compared to those childhood experiences.

She also owned her own beauty salon when I was small.  She taught herself to do hair, had a salon in one of her homes, and then bought her own little place in downtown Grove City, Ohio called Patrice Salon.  She was very very good with hair and most of my early haircuts came from her.  The other really impressive thing she did was teach herself the stock market.  She was a whiz at math and through research she learned how the market worked.  For years she managed their investments and did very well for them until the dot-com burst in the 90’s when they (along with most people people) lost quite a bit.  She was never bitter though.  She looked me right in the eye and told me the stock market was no different than gambling, and to never let anyone tell me different.  That was my grandma.  She didn’t give much advice, but when she did it mattered, and I learned to pay attention.

She was the most proper person I have ever met in my life.  Not prim or prissy, just proper.  Mom told me this week that GranmaPat bought a book of manners and used that book to live her life.  I never saw her rumpled or messy, she was always neat and orderly.  She was very reserved, but I never found her unapproachable.  My cousin Troy and I spent the most time with her as the oldest grandchildren and she was very good to us, but no-nonsense.  I really think my brutal practicality comes from her…along with my hair.  (Mom used to despair when I was a kid that I got my grandma’s hair because it never did what it was supposed to.)  That practicality was balanced with amazing creativity though.  Later in life, she taught herself to paint watching the guy from PBS and she worked at it until she got pretty good. Her initials are P.A.P and she called those paintings her PAP smears…which was funny because it was the closest to inappropriate I ever saw my grandmother get.

Grandma Pat's pictures

Grandma Pat’s picture

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grandma Pat's pictures

Grandma Pat’s picture

When Grandpa was 55 he hurt his back and had enough years in the brick layers union to retire.  At some point they decided to see the country, and they bought a Class A motor coach and started traveling. Again, they were ahead of their time.  I didn’t even know that was something people did, but it made a huge impression on me and I always thought one day I would want to do the same thing.  They traveled all over the US and Canada in a Class A and then a Class C.  A year ago when Lee and I were thinking about starting to full time, I called Grandma and asked her what she thought, and she said she had a wonderful time those three years.  She met so many great people and they saw so many wonderful things.  I asked her why she stopped, and she paused and said, “Because we saw everything we wanted to see, Tracy.”  As if it were obvious, which I supposed it was.  That was my grandmother; she didn’t suffer fools.  She loved deeply though, I always knew she loved me, she just had a tough time showing it.  It never bothered me though because I always knew.  I also have to say she is the only person I know who could stop my mother in her tracks with a look or a word.  My mom is a very strong person, but grandma, in her quiet way, trumped her.  Mothers and daughters..every woman on the planet understands.

So I will miss her very much, but I carry in me many things I learned from her: my tendency to be still in conflict, my need for some order in chaos, my “properness”.  My sister Wendy seems to have inherited most of her creativity, but I hope to discover I have some of that in me waiting to blossom.  Mostly though, my desire to create my own path I truly believe comes from her and her example.  It is at war with the desire for conformity in me, but I think in the end that quiet independent spirit will win out.  I often think of her and all the things she accomplished with every disadvantage in her life and have no patience for any excuses on my own part since I had so many more advantages starting out.  I love her and I admire her, and I wish I could have told her that one last time.  But I also know she would have no patience with me dwelling on it.

She would say, “That’s enough Tracy.  Get on with it. ”

So I will Grandma, and thank you.

 

Grandma Pat

Grandma Pat

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First Time on Jekyll Island

The day after Christmas we were excited to get on the road and hopefully into some warmer weather, but it took us a little longer than expected to finish packing in the morning.  I guess we were out of practice being in one place for so long.  (For someone with a master’s degree, she’s not very good at spelling “slept in and then lay around all morning like a slacker”. – Lee) We left around 9:50am but thought it would be fine since it was only a 5 hour travel day.  Also we made Cori’s Traveling Day Shredded Pork (which is yummy and convenient as an “on the road lunch item”…see below for the recipe) so we were all set.  Unfortunately I guess it was a travel day for a lot of other people because the traffic was terrible.  I was really really surprised, because it was a Friday I thought for sure the roads would be light, but every time we got near a major city…Columbia, Charleston, and Savannah traffic really slowed down.  We also saw several accidents…not due to weather as it was a gorgeous sunny day, just folks not paying attention I suppose.  They were not minor accidents either as we saw two people put on stretchers.  Anyway it took much much longer than expected to get to our campground in Brunswick, GA so we rolled in around 5pm.  Yikes!!  Long travel day but at least we had just enough time to get into the site before it got dark.

We are staying at the Golden Isles RV Park  for a couple of nights because I wanted to see Jekyll Island.  It’s not a great park, but it’s Passport America and only cost $17 a night plus it is close to everything we wanted to see.  It’s not awful or anything, but it doesn’t have much in the way of redeeming qualities and the entire campground has this funky marsh smell.  (This entire area has a funky marsh smell. Somewhere between rotten eggs and sewage. It’s really gross. – Lee) I thought it was the entire area, but once we get a little closer to the water the smell dissipates.  (Her nose just got used to it.-Lee) Anyway, like I said, not a place I would stay for a week or anything but fine for a couple of cheap nights. (Fine for a couple of cheap nights. That’s how she ended up with me. Thank you, I’m here all weekend. Try the veal. –  Lee)

We got up in the morning and went over to Jekyll Island.  The Island is a State Park and survives mainly on self funding.  It cost $6 per car for a day pass to get into the park which took us back a little, but it was absolutely worth it.  There were minimal crowds and I really loved the island.  Beautiful marsh areas and amazing huge beaches that we spent some time walking on.  There are also some nice neighborhoods with normal houses in them (as opposed to mini-mansions) and there are beautiful bike paths absolutely everywhere.   The first stop was the beach and we found a nice little access spot down near the soccer camp on the east side of the island.  Posted signs reminded you it was a nesting area and asked to stay off the dunes which of course we did.  It was absolutely beautiful and we took a lovely walk with some great pictures.

Entrance to Jekyll Island

Entrance to Jekyll Island

Trees were growing out of the beach very cool

Trees were growing out of the beach very cool

My sweetie pie

My sweetie pie. (Day 39, the seagulls still think I’m a seagull. They suspect nothing. – Lee)

 

 

 

 

After the beach we drove around the island a bit and stopped the Georgia Sea Turtle Research Center.  I have loved sea turtles ever since getting to swim with one while scuba diving in Honduras and was thrilled to stumble across the research center.  It was $7 per person, a very reasonable price,  and had educational areas and the hospice area where the recuperating turtles live.  (This is Georgia math, mind you. The sign said $7 per person, and they charged me $13.98. – Lee) Each turtle has an information sheet that says in detail what happened to it,and the plan for either its release into the wild or its permanent placement with an aquarium.  They also have baby turtles and they watch nests and breeding areas closely in the summer months.  I was happy to pay my $7 ($6.99 – Lee) to such a worthy cause and more than felt I got my money’s worth.  The gift shop is evil though, with waaaay too many cute turtle things to buy. (If she had read all the little information plaques, she would have learned that sea turtles are rabid capitalists. – Lee) 

Me at the sign

Me at the sign

Skeleton of a prehistoric turtle very cool

Skeleton of a giant turtle very cool

The research assistants were very serious about their turtles

The research assistants were very serious about their turtles

The babies were marked and were being weighed when we were there

The babies were marked and were being weighed when we were there

 

This one was called the pumpkin king which cracked me up. He's almost ready to be released.

This one was called the Pumpkin King which cracked me up. He’s almost ready to be released.

This poor little girl had her flipper caught in wire and had to have it amputated. She swims pretty good with three though. She was brought from Florida

This poor little girl had her flipper caught in wire and had to have it amputated. She swims pretty good with three though. She was brought from Florida. (I had some funny stuff to say about a three-flippered sea turtle, but it seemed cruel, so I’m keeping it to myself. – Lee)

I bought this shirt because it made me think of DeDe my mother-in-law

I bought this shirt because it made me think of DeDe, my mother-in-law

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the institute we went to the campground to check it out.  Jekyll Island campground is in a terrific location, but unfortunately the sites are right on top of each other.  It’s in a terrific location with bike paths that lead to absolutely everywhere on the island.   The campsites cost $38 a night plus a $6 daily fee for parking which goes to the State Park. The monthly rates were much better at $550 a month off-season and $650 a month high season. I would definitely recommend  the larger pull throughs D5, D6, and G21, G22, G23.  I say larger but they are still very close to your neighbor.  The campground has its own fenced in bird watching area though that I absolutely loved and again the location cannot be beat. (We cannot stress enough how close together these sites are. There were several places where the awning of one RV was within a few inches of the neighbor’s RV. For that kind of money, there should be some more separation. It’s a campground, not an airline.- Lee)

The bird watching area at the Jekyll Island campground. More campgrounds should have these...VERY cool

The bird watching area at the Jekyll Island campground. More campgrounds should have these…VERY cool. Then we went over to the historic part of the island and saw the Jekyll Island Club Hotel.  From the late 1800’s to 1950 it was a private island owned by the club and you could only enter through one set of docks.  There are lots of old “cottages” and a grand hotel and it was still decorated for Christmas.  The Hotel was beautiful from the outside and we took more great pictures.

Jekyll Island Club Hotel

Jekyll Island Club Hotel

One of the many "cottages"

One of the many “cottages”

Waterfront

Waterfront

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We talked about having lunch at the pier, but were good (Another typo. She misspelled broke and over-budget. – Lee) and drove back to the camper and had lunch there.  After a quick break we went to St. Simons island which was MUCH more crowded and touristy.  I preferred Jekyll’s Island but we did find two things from my Roadside America App .  We found a bulldog covered with pennies promoting the local ASPCA and these wonderful carvings in trees which are supposed to be the spirits of dead sailors.  The carvings were tough to find, but led us into a lovely little neighborhood tucked back in a corner.

Bull Dog covered with pennies for the Humane Society

Bull Dog covered with pennies for the Humane Society

Carvings in trees are throughout St. Simons island but hard to find

Carvings in trees are throughout St. Simons island but hard to find

Sailor's spirit carving in tree

Sailor’s spirit carving in tree

Sailor's spirit ...this one was a bit creepy

Sailor’s spirit …this one was a bit creepy

One of the "cottages" tucked back in this neighborhood we found

One of the “cottages” tucked back in this neighborhood we found

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally we went and saw the St. Simon’s Lighthouse and spent a few quiet moments on a side street pier.

Saint Simon's Lighthouse

Saint Simon’s Lighthouse

Taking a few quiet moments by the ocean

Taking a few quiet moments by the ocean

 

 

 

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(I felt compelled to add this picture of the stairs that Trace is sitting at the top of. These stairs literally go down into the water. That seems odd to me. Georgia is a weird place that smells weird. I don’t like it. I’m going to Florida tomorrow. – Lee)

It was an absolutely beautiful day…sunny and 73 degrees, but I was a bit tired so we decided to come back to the camper.  I would definitely like to come back to Jekyll Isle sometime later in our travels, but am looking forward to getting to Clearwater tomorrow and seeing our friends Kelly and Bill.  Kelly is making dinner for us and she is an outstanding cook…so I can’t wait!!! (Also, we’ll be in Clearwater for like, 10 weeks, so if you are in the area, and aren’t weird, and don’t smell weird, send us a message. We’ll do a quick background check and see if we want you to take us to dinner or something in a very well lit, public place with lots of witnesses. – Lee)

P.S. Here’s Lee’s great egret pic.  He got a little pouty that it didn’t make the blog and was only on the bird page 🙂

Great Egret

Great Egret

 

Cori’s Traveling Day Shredded Pork 

  • 3-4 lbs of pork 
  • 1-2 bottles BBQ sauce
  • Water

1.  Put pork in a crock pot with some water and 1/3 bottle BBQ sauce for 4-5 hours

2.  Drain grease

3.  Shred pork and add remainder of one bottle of sauce.  Add additional to consistency desired

4.  Cook additional time as needed to soften pork

5.  Serve on buns.   Freezes well and heats very well in microwave.

y003

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Camper Chronicles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.  Search Amazon.com here

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First Christmas on the Road

Our first Christmas on the road was a bit of a mixed bag.  It was really wonderful being with my sister and her kids, but we both really missed our girls.  Not only was it our first on the road experience but it was also our first Christmas in 25 years without having at least one kid there. My nephew Alec’s 11th birthday was Tuesday, which was fun, but we were both pretty depressed on Christmas Eve.  We didn’t make plans with ourselves or anyone else and in retrospect this would have been the perfect time to start a new tradition.  But we just watched TV all day and generally felt glum.  Not such a great plan.  Christmas day was much better because we got to speak with the girls and our parents…plus we had a terrific time watching Wendy’s kids open their presents and seeing Abrams first ever Christmas was really special. Wendy and Josh also made a fantastic big ole country breakfast which was amazing!! Lee got his sausage biscuits and gravy which are his favorite Christmas morning tradition since my mother started it many years ago.

Alec and Bryce and the pile of present

Alec and Bryce and the pile of presents

Alec with one of the soccer goals. It was a soccer themed Christmas

Alec with one of the soccer goals. It was a soccer themed Christmas!

Bryce

Bryce

Bailey was happy about her Uggs

Bailey was happy about her Uggs

Loved Wendy's face when she got a Pandora bead from Josh with Abrams birth stone

Loved Wendy’s face when she got a Pandora bead from Josh with Abrams birth stone

Abram loved the tissue paper the best.

Abram loved the tissue paper the best.

I put a lot of thought into their gifts since they have been getting gift cards from me for years and it was really nice to see their faces when they opened their presents.  Bailey was the hardest to buy for but I think I scored with the Ulta giftcard!! After breakfast the boys went outside and played soccer which was really fun to watch and Wendy put Abram in his new little Tikes swing which he loved.  One thing about Christmas in Ohio or New Hampshire- not much outside time, but it was a beautiful day in South Carolina and almost everyone in the neighborhood was outside for a little while.

Loved watching the boys play soccer on Christmas day...never seen that before

Loved watching the boys play soccer on Christmas day…never seen that before

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We went back to the camper and started packing up for our departure the next day, and then we went and met the family for Chinese Christmas dinner.  This has always been their tradition and it was a lot of fun eating chinese for dinner but I am glad we went early because the place was packed by 6pm.  Afterwards Wendy really wanted to see the final Hobbit movie and Lee and I went with her.   The movie was good although the fight scene was like an hour and a half, but it was nice hanging out and I was really grateful that I got to share my first two holidays on the road with her and her family.

Oh and by the way, if anyone was wondering how the birds and squirrels liked their edible Christmas tree I think this picture speaks for itself.

They devoured the "tree"

They devoured the “tree”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So it’s been a great 6 weeks in Rock Hill and we loved Ebenezer State Park Campground, but it’s definitely time to move on, so Florida here we come!

 

Ebenezer State Park Campground   4490 Boatshore Rd. Rock Hill, SC   5 out of 5 pinecones

Ebenezer State Park is a terrific campground.  The price for out-of-state residents is only $28 a night and they have some beautiful waterfront sites.  In addition they have excellent boat access, free wifi, (lies, lies, lies. The wifi is nonexistent, and when it’s working, it’s slow-Lee) and the TV signal through antenna is very good for the major networks.   We stayed for six weeks and although their rule is you have to move every two weeks, we enjoyed all of the sites we stayed in (#30, #23, and #8). They do book fast however, so reserving in advance on the web or over the phone is a good idea.  Off season there was plenty of spaces but they are pretty crowded in season and do require a day off property every two weeks to give other campers a chance.  About half their sites are first come first serve and the others are reserveable, but once you get used to the system staying for an extended period is not a problem.  They have many 50 amp sites and the water is from the city and tastes as good as bottled.  Overall we were very very happy staying here and I give it my highest recommendation.

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First Time in Charleston, SC

Charleston has always been on my places to visit bucket list.  Ever since I read the Prince of Tides when I was in my 20’s I have wanted to visit the magical city that Pat Conroy wrote about.  Pat is one of my favorite authors and he writes so beautifully of the southern places of his young adulthood that you feel as if you have been there.  One of my favorite books, South of Broad , tells the story of the families who live in the giant mansions south of Broad street (and those who do not).  Because of his books, I have always wanted to see the mansions, the town, and the nearby islands, and finally  I had the opportunity.   I cashed in some Marriott points and got a free hotel room near the college and within walking distance to the historic part of the City.  On Saturday morning Lee and I got up very early and drove the three hours down to Charleston.

Some things in life don’t live up to their press.  Let’s face it… most things do not, but I loved every part of Charleston, and the city absolutely delivered on the promise made to me by Mr. Conroy and his books.  In order to truly experience this city you really need to walk its cobblestone streets, but I will share my experience the best that I can.  For those who have been to San Francisco (another of my favorite cities), it is similar in the mixture of history, water, and beautiful gardens.  For those who have been Boston or Philadelphia you will understand how amazing it can be to put your hand on the brick wall of a structure built in the 1700’s.  I have been to those places, but have never experienced one city that provided history, culture, nature, and style all in one package.  Charleston is “southern old”.  The colony was started in 1670 by a group of settlers with a grant from Charles II and they were largely left to their own devices.  In order to survive they built a wall around their town and used the ocean as their main means of transportation.  The historic part of Charleston exists within the boundaries of those long gone original walls, and a tremendous amount is within that relatively small space.  The buildings are close together, and the alleyways are tight, which gives the city a very European feel.

The city is also home to a very old military college called The Citadel.  Founded in 1842, the Citadel is a truly southern institution and since Pat Conroy was a graduate I just had to visit it first.  It was way too early to check into our hotel when we made it to Charleston so the Citadel was our first stop.  Visitors are welcome and because it was Christmas break the campus was almost completely empty.  We read that every Friday people come to see the weekly military parade of the students, but we enjoyed wandering with no crowds and took some great pictures while we were there.  The gift shop was open and I couldn’t help myself.  I had to buy a copy of the Lords of Discipline  while I was standing on the grounds.  

The Citadel

The Citadel

The Citadel

The Citadel

After the Citadel, we drove downtown and were pleased to see that the weather (slightly rainy) was keeping the crowds away.  As we were driving through we saw the restaurant where my sister said she had the best meal of her life and decided we had to stop and have lunch there.  We parked next door (free parking if you eat at the restaurant) and took a little walk until they opened their doors at 11:30.

"Trolley" bus provide transportation downtown

“Trolley” busses provide free transportation downtown

Tree lined cobblestone walkways..so beautiful

Tree lined cobblestone walkways..so beautiful

 

Really neat fountain that people are allowed to play in

Really neat fountain that people are allowed to play in

I couldn't resist even though it was pretty chilly

I couldn’t resist even though it was pretty chilly

 

 

Apartments facing Waterfront Park

Apartments facing Waterfront Park

I could totally live in one of these apartments facing the park and then the ocean

I could totally live in one of these apartments facing the park and then the ocean

My favorite part of Waterfront Park is the Pineapple Fountain. I have read about this but it was so much better in person. It's very large and people are allowed to play in it.

My favorite part of Waterfront Park is the Pineapple Fountain. I have read about this but it was so much better in person. It’s very large and people are allowed to play in it.

 

 

Magnolias Restaurant in the Historic District

Magnolias Restaurant in the Historic District

It was a very pleasant walk despite the weather and I definitely worked up an appetite for Magnolia’s.  Magnolias is a white table-cloth restaurant and one I normally wouldn’t try, but my sister and her husband know their food and I wanted the experience.  The service was absolutely amazing, I mean truly amazing, and we had a great seat by the window so we could watch the people walk by.  The food was a mixed bag.  Lee’s fish was according to him in the Top 10 fish meals he had ever eaten.  My tomato basil soup was good, raspberry sorbet was terrific, but the fried green tomatoes were only so-so.   In general I prefer diners, and a $58 dollar lunch is a bit steep for me, but I did enjoy the overall experience.   After lunch we walked over to the market which has tons of local vendors selling their wares in a series of long brick building (think Faneuil Hall) and we explored some of the narrow cobblestone alleyways.

Narrow alleyways where only a compact car can drive down

Narrow alleyways where only a very compact car can drive

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next we drove to the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon to take a tour of one of the oldest and most historic buildings in the city.  This building was interesting to me because the Constitution was ratified here.  According to a poster it was one of the three main building used during this time period and by seeing it we had completed the trifecta. (Independence Hall, Fanueil Hall, and the Old Exchange)  Since I am a bit of a history nerd that was pretty exciting to me. We also had a tour of the dungeon area and saw part of the original 1600’s wall which the Exchange was built on and was excavated only 50 years ago.  Seeing a wall that had stood for that long was really amazing and along with the other historical facts made the $9 entrance fee a bargain for me.

 

Model of the original walled city

Model of the original walled city

A model of the original Exchange

A model of the original Exchange

 

The 1600's wall. Four hundred years ago the sea came up to this point but over time has receded and is now two blocks away

The 1600’s wall. Four hundred years ago the sea came up to this point but over time has receded and is now two blocks away

During the revolutionary war the building was occupied by the British but the rebels stored 4,000 kegs of gunpowder in this room and sealed it up so the British never found it

During the revolutionary war the building was occupied by the British but the rebels stored 4,000 kegs of gunpowder in this room and sealed it up so the British never found it

 

After our history lessons it had cleared up enough for us to take a walk along Battery Park which has its own rich history since this is where the cannons were stationed that defended the port.  It is also where the old mansions are and we spent a couple of hours walking the streets and the park.  One of the best moments was when we came across a wedding in the gazebo in the park and got to watch the couple dance to Etta James’s “At Last” as their first song.  It was an amazingly romantic moment and one of my favorites of the weekend.

Beautiful Oak Trees in the Park

Beautiful Oak Trees in the Park

Couple getting married and dancing to Etta James's At Last

Couple getting married and dancing to Etta James’s At Last

 

Memorial to the defenders of Fort Moultrie. I loved the inscription

Memorial to the defenders of Fort Moultrie. I loved the inscription

Where the pirate Bonnet and his men were captured

Where the pirate Bonnet and his men were captured

 

 

Revolutionary War Statue

Revolutionary War Statue

Civil War Statue

Civil War Statue

 

184 181 178 177

Carriage Tour on the main street

Carriage Tour on the main street

His puppy rides with him

His puppy rides with him

 

One of the few decorated for the holidays

One of the few decorated for the holidays

My favorite was The Roper House which has a beautiful view of the sea

My favorite was The Roper House which has a beautiful view of the sea

 

 

 

After walking the sea wall and viewing the houses I was getting a little cold, so we jumped in the car and drove the many side streets, stopping on occasion to get a closer look at one of the houses.  The houses in this area cost between $3M – $8M and they are mostly on tiny lots, but the interior houses have made the most of the space with the most beautiful gardens.  One of the houses was open for a tour, but I was more interested in the gardens which were free to walk.  Absolutely amazing.

 

This house is available to tour

This house is available to tour

Side garden

Side garden

 

 

 

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Loved the three fountains

Loved the three fountains

Really cool stone bird house

Really cool stone bird house

They make so much out of a tiny space

They make so much out of a tiny space

 

 

 

Beautiful vine arch frames the fountain

Beautiful vine arch frames the fountain

Real Gas Lights were everywhere in historic Charleston. Very cool

Gas Lights were everywhere in historic Charleston. Very cool

After walking  the homes we decided to take advantage of the remaining light and visit the Angel Oak tree on Johns Island.  When my sister found out how much I loved trees she recommended it and it was a very very special moment for both of us.  The tree is between 300 – 400 years old and is absolutely massive.  Admission is free but they have a small gift shop and a donation box if you would like to contribute something and I absolutely loved touching the old bark.  Amazing and absolutely worth the trip.

Angel Oak

Angel Oak

Angel Oak

Angel Oak

While making our way to John’s island we kept seeing signs for the Festival of Lights on James Island so we thought we would check it out.  Our friends Deb and Steve had stayed in the campground there and liked it, and since it was so close we thought “why not?”.  What an absolutely wonderful surprise.  For $15 ($10 if you bring a can of food) you can drive through the park and see all of the company sponsored lights and there were over 100 displays.    In addition, the park center has a great stopping place where you can walk a section of lights, shop, roast a marshmallow, or have a cup of hot chocolate. We absolutely loved it.  Almost all of the lights blink and show some kind of motion and they are very creative.  We took many pictures but here are a few to give you the feel of the experience

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Fire Pits. They sold huge marshmallows on a stick for $3...genuis

Fire Pits. They sold huge marsh mellows on a stick for $3…genuis

The Winter Wonderland

The Winter Wonderland

Cool hummingbird hanging from a tree

Cool hummingbird hanging from a tree

 

So cute

So cute

The annual winner the penguin slides down the ice

The annual winner the penguin slides down the ice

 

After the light show we drove back to the hotel and I think we were asleep by 9:30pm.  It was a very long day and we still had a full list left for the following morning.   I really wanted to eat at a french bakery the next morning but unfortunately all they had nearby was a little restaurant called Another Broken Egg. It started out great, totally cute brick building with friendly servers and the breakfasts themselves were reasonably priced.  But when the bill came it was $32 before tip.  Apparently the coffee was $3 a cup and Lee’s orange juice cost $4!!!  With tip that was a $38 dollar breakfast and trust me it was not that good.  One positive thing that came from the meal though was a serious conversation about money and eating out.  We will discuss whether or not to spend $40 on an attraction, but when it comes to food we often do the most expedient and invariably pay for it. So we decided that food for us would hence forward come in two categories: Fuel and an Experience.  We were definitely willing to pay more for an experience but if it was just fuel we would start searching out more reasonably priced alternatives.  With that conversation out-of-the-way we came to Sullivan’s Island.  Sullivan’s Island is only 3.3 miles long and has some of the highest per capita real estate prices in the country.  Since it was early Sunday morning and another chilly day hardly anyone was out and we had a great time driving through the neighborhoods and seeing the beautiful homes.  We also saw Sullivans lighthouse and stumbled across this really great public walkway to the beach.  I love the ocean and this beach was a very nice one.

A cozy little beach cottage lol

A cozy little beach cottage lol

Sullivan's Island beach house

Sullivan’s Island beach house

 

Sullivan's Lighthouse

Sullivan’s Lighthouse

Walkway to Sullivan's Island beach

Walkway to Sullivan’s Island beach

 

The ocean!!

The ocean!!

Great beach at Sullivan's Island

Great beach at Sullivan’s Island

 

After Sullivan’s Island we drove to Patriot’s Point to tour the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier.  For $20 a person (a bargain) we got to explore an aircraft carrier, a submarine, and a destroyer.  The carrier alone had 5 self-guided tours and took us several hours to complete.  The entire day was amazing and I haven’t seen Lee so excited in a long time.  Even though I am not a military buff, I was fascinated by how they fed and clothed so many people at sea.  It is not unlike today’s cruise ships in that respect.  But it is a TON of walking up and down stairs so be prepared for your workout if you go!  I was definitely tired by the time we were done.

USS Yorktown

USS Yorktown

Destroyer

Destroyer

 

Submarine

Submarine

Carrier deck, we were allowed to walk around on it. VERY cool

Carrier deck, we were allowed to walk around on it. VERY cool

 

One of the many planes on the flight deck

One of the many planes on the flight deck

Flight room just like in the movies

Flight room just like in the movies

 

Crew galley

Crew galley

The amount of supplies it takes to make 10,000 chocolate chip cookies. They posted an actual recipe also

The amount of supplies it takes to make 10,000 chocolate chip cookies. They posted an actual recipe also.

Dentist...which I thought was pretty cool

Dentist…which I thought was pretty cool

Optometrist

Optometrist

Crew quarters. The hanging beds would have freaked me out

Crew quarters. The hanging beds would have freaked me out

A shirt folding machine. Lee got pretty excited :)

A shirt folding machine. Lee got pretty excited 🙂

 

Engine Room was really cool

Engine Room was really cool

The brig ...tiny and three to a cell

The brig …tiny and three to a cell

The bridge. Can you tell Lee is having a good time

The bridge. Can you tell Lee is having a good time

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Patriots Place is an absolute must see in our opinion especially if you have any interest in World War II, the military or have ever played Call of Duty!!  We had a wonderful time, but I was definitely wore out so we started our way back to Rock Hill.  As I said when I started this blog it was one of the best weekends of my life and I would definitely return when we had more time. Bucket list item; CHECK!!

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First Time Decorating the RV for Christmas

I was a person that had an attic full of Christmas stuff.  I love Christmas and when the kids were small the house was so full of Christmas things I had to rotate out my regular decorations each year just to make room for it all.  When we decided to downsize our stuff, I made the conscious decision to give away my Christmas items just like everything else.  The girls had a good time arguing over who got which ornament and several of the items were hotly contested.   All I kept was a small ceramic light up tree I made years ago in a class with my mom and sister, a small nativity scene my Aunt Susie made, and a little light up choir boy I had in my bedroom as a child.  Those items were supposed to come with us and in the spirit of a new simpler life would be all the Christmas decorating I did.  Unfortunately we discovered the Christmas tub was put into storage instead of going into the camper and although Lee offered to have Kyrston ship it, I didn’t want to run the risk of it being broken.  So here we were, with no Christmas decorations.

One thing I knew I did want to do was make edible Christmas decorations for the outside.  A year ago as I was reading Howard and Linda’s blog RV-Dreams I saw that Linda had made outside ornaments her first year on the road and I loved the idea of completely changing things up.  New life …new traditions.  But as I saw pictures of my other friends decorating their rig, I did start to feel a little nostalgic, but it didn’t make sense to buy Christmas stuff and I really didn’t have anything with sentimental attachment.    On my trip to Columbus last week I spent some time with my in-laws and they gave me a gift.  My first “on the road” Christmas ornament.  Well that decided it!!  I needed to go get some cheapie materials for my outdoor tree.  While I was at Dollar General (fantastic place to shop for this kind of stuff btw) I picked up a few small items for the camper.

The coolest Christmas ornament and my $3.50 Christmas tree

The coolest Christmas ornament and my $3.50 Christmas tree

 

 

Some tiny lights for our railing.

Some tiny lights for our railing

Some Christmas stockings for our fire place!!

Some Christmas stockings for our fire-place!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then Lee found some of my Christmas items in a box in the camper…not the tree but the nativity scene and my little choir boy who I promptly put out.  And I felt quite a bit better.  My friend Jo and I were talking and she said a friend of hers said, “When you are experiencing this much change…continuity is important.”  I thought that was very wise and certainly for me having a small amount of Christmas continuity was a really great thing.  The new with the old is part of this lifestyle and it was nice to have a bit of both.

My little choir boy...I have had this as long as I can remember

My little choir boy…I have had this as long as I can remember

Nativity scene made by my Aunt Susie

Nativity scene made by my Aunt Susie

 

 

 

So once the inside was done I started working on my edible Christmas tree ornaments.  Let me say this took a chunk of time this weekend, but it was really fun and it’s the kind of work you can combine with watching TV or listening to music.  I don’t consider myself particularly crafty (although I hope that changes in the future) so all of these items are pretty simple to do.

Pine Cones Rolled in Birdseed

  1. Gather fallen pine cones around the camp site
  2. Make a mixture of 1/3 lard to 2/3 peanut butter (the peanut butter alone is too difficult for the birds digestion)
  3. Roll pine cone in lard mixture
  4. Roll pine cone in bird seed or oatmeal first then bird seed
  5. Tie loop to the top of pine cone with biodegradable twine

 

Had my assembly line going

Had my assembly line going

Roll pine cone in lard/PB misture

Roll pine cone in lard/PB mixture

Roll in birdseed

Roll in birdseed

Tie a loop to top of finished cone

Tie a loop to top of finished cone

Pretty easy...hence the big smile

Pretty easy…hence the big smile

 

Garland

  1. Purchase Cheerio’s , Dried Fruit, and cheese crackers
  2. Cut lengths of biodegradable twine and quadrupled cotton thread.  Tie large knot in the bottom of each length.
  3. For Cheerios only you can thread twine through the holes to make garland
  4. For  fruit and cheese crackers use thread and a needle to pierce the fruit or holes
  5. Get creative!!
Garland

Garland

Strung crackers and strung plums dipped in oatmeal are on left

Strung crackers and strung plums dipped in oatmeal are on left

 

 

Well we had tons of ornaments ready to go but Sunday we were moving to our last and final site here in South Carolina.  We have stayed in 30, 7, and 23 and all have been very nice.  I was happy to get back my water view but unfortunately there were no handy trees to put my ornaments on that would have a good view from my desk window.  So Lee and I went to Goodwill to see what we could find, and for $2.99 found a metal CD rack.  It actually comes apart into two pieces and Lee sawed off the lowest rung so we could plant it into the ground outside the camper.  I also bought some Christmas napkins to put on the bottom in the hopes of stopping the squirrels from completely demolishing it the first night.

Lee with the "Christmas Tree"

Lee with the “Christmas Tree”

Decorating the tree

Decorating the tree

Garland, Pine Cones,

Garland, Pine Cones,

Decorated "tree"

Decorated “tree”

Sprinkling "snow" made of leftovers and oatmeal

Sprinkling “snow” made of leftovers and oatmeal

Our first brave bird checking it out

Our first brave bird checking it out

 

Overall it was more work than I thought but a ton of fun and I love that we got creative on a budget and put something like this together!!

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First Time in Asheville, NC and Pisgah National Forest

Before I jump in and tell you about my week, I wanted to follow-up on an item from a couple of weeks ago; we ended up sending back all of the DISH equipment.  After numerous software downloads and time on the phone with their not-so-hot line, we determined something wasn’t working right and since we had a 30 day warranty with Amazon we just sent it all back.  I have to give AMEX and Amazon huge credit here.  We had our credit in less than 24 hours and I feel much better knowing we didn’t lose $700 for a product that does not do what was advertised.  It was numerous factors but two things were deal breakers for us.  One we could not consistently get the HD channels to come in and secondly I was watching a show in the bedroom and Lee was watching a movie in the living room.  When the movie was done he changed the channel and bam! my show went off.  Apparently if you watch two shows at the same time they have to be on the same satellite signal (which makes sense), BUT there is no way to tell which channel is on what satellite.  When we talked to the “help” desk about it the direct quote was “You’ll figure it out.”  Yeah, that was it for me.  Anyway, we decided to take advantage of AT&T’s current double data promotion, and double our cellular data instead and now have 80 GB.  Because the double data deal is still going on we got 80 GB for the price of 40 GB and we will be watching antenna TV, streaming shows, and using Netflix.  It’s not the perfect solution, but we are both MUCH happier with this use of our money and the bill is still within our total budget for internet/phone/cable.

Alright, so enough of that..now on to the fun stuff.  I traveled to NYC (well actually Secaucus, NJ) (I don’t blame her for not being willing to admit to being in NJ. I’ve been there. No offense to any friends of ours who are from there, or legitimate businessmen who are from there. – Lee) this week and have to say I missed my nature.  The only animal I saw all week was a stray cat and the taxi drivers were routinely displeased by my driving. Work was fine and the people were very nice, but it was a stark contrast to what we have been experiencing in South Carolina.  Next week is Columbus, Ohio but that is my hometown and I get to see family, so that should be a lot more fun. I got home on Friday and was pretty tired and then Saturday it rained all day.  When you only have the weekend to explore, bad weather is not so fun, but Lee was nice enough to drive me around shopping and we picked up our Christmas gifts for Wendy’s kids. For years we’ve been in separate states at Christmas and since we will be together I wanted to buy actual presents this year (instead of money or gift cards).  Buying for the baby was super fun…buying for my 16 year old niece, not so much.  16 year old girls are the worst to buy presents for.  I can say this with authority because I have raised three teenage girls!!!  (It’s true. They hate everything. – Lee) After shopping we stopped by Wendy’s and saw Bailey, Bryce, and Abram then came back to the camper and got caught up on some TV and just relaxed.  I had some serious cabin fever though, mainly because I haven’t seen much of this area so was very excited about the forecasted good weather on Sunday and a trip to Asheville.

Asheville is one of the towns I really wanted to explore in this area and since it’s only about two hours away we decided to take a day trip.  As a bonus we got to stop at a Roadside Attraction that my sister Wendy recommended.  There is a water tower in Gaffney, SC that is painted like a giant peach.  Unfortunately from certain angles it also looks like a giant butt which is hysterical.  When we got there we pulled over and we also got to see a man climbing on the peach butt and working on it.  Ok seriously, insert your own joke here, because they just write themselves. (I’m not sure what that weird little nubbin is hanging from the bottom of the butt, but they should probably get it lanced or something. – Lee) 

Giant peach butt

Giant peach butt

Giant peach butt with worker

Giant peach butt with worker

 

So that was fun!!  The next roadside attraction was a small restaurant called Harry’s Grill and Piggy’s Ice (you can’t make this stuff up)  that has “rescued” advertising statues from other restaurants and has them all outside.  It’s in Hendersonville and is well worth the stop.  I love the silly and this place was chock full of it.  We went on a Sunday (when it was closed) which was actually better because it was easy to take pictures.

 

Harry's Grill and Piggy's Ice Hendersonville, NC

Harry’s Grill and Piggy’s Ice Hendersonville, NC

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The hamburgerlar

Remember Officer Big Mac???

Hooterville Jail

Hooterville Jail

Yogi and BooBoo

Yogi and BooBoo

Big Boy

Big Boy

I think the pink elephants were my favorites

I think the pink elephants were my favorites

 

I think this is Harry

I think this is Harry

Big cow head

Big cow head

They had lots of old signs like this one too

They had lots of old signs like this one too

Lee loved the dinosaur...reminded him of out west

Lee loved the dinosaur…reminded him of out west

They had a board to sign your name

They had a board to sign your name

Another of my favorites a big pig with an apple in his mouth

Another of my favorites a big pig with an apple in his mouth

Me hanging with the tiger

Me hanging with the tiger

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the ringmaster

And the ringmaster

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So the place was really fun and waaay coooler than we thought it would be.  Plus we needed gas anyways, and it was right off the freeway so just a short detour for tons of fun.  We finally made it to Asheville, but I have to say I was pretty underwhelmed.  It is a hipster kind of place, but coming from the New England area, it looks like tons of small ski villages all throughout Vermont.  There are some neat artsy stores, but the prices are pretty high and really it wasn’t that pretty to walk around.  We did have an excellent lunch though at a noodle place which was VERY good and had outstanding service.  And there was a neat wall right next door where people wrote the things they wanted to do before they died.  The answers ranged from “Be on Ellen” to “Be Heard.”  I put “see Mount Rushmore and Alaska.”

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I wrote see Mt. Rushmore and Alaska

I wrote see Mt. Rushmore and Alaska

Very good noodle house where we ate lunch

Very good noodle house where we ate lunch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We saw another roadside attraction in Asheville, a giant iron.  Usually I am a sucker for really big common things but this was just so-so.  The best part of the whole town really was a London double-decker bus which was converted into a small coffee shop with tables setup on the top of the bus.  It was really really neat and Lee loved it.  Plus his coffee and my hot chocolate were excellent. Absolutely recommend it, but bring cash as they don’t take credit cards.

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Double Decker bus converted into a coffee shop

Double Decker bus converted into a coffee shop

Me in the bottom part of the bus where you order

Me in the bottom part of the bus where you order

Lee eating at a booth in the top part of the bus

Lee eating at a booth in the top part of the bus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After Asheville, we still had plenty of time and Lee wanted to drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  The views are absolutely amazing and even though it was probably the least pretty time of year I still found it very compelling.  We took tons of pics, so I’ll just share a few of my favorites to give you a feel for the views, but if you are near here in the summer or fall I definitely wouldn’t miss it.

Blue Ridge Parkway

Blue Ridge Parkway

 

Blue Ridge Parkway

Blue Ridge Parkway

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blue Ridge Parkway

Blue Ridge Parkway

Blue Ridge Parkway

Blue Ridge Parkway

 

The Parkway goes for 469 miles, so we couldn’t drive the whole thing, so we got off after a while and drove through part of Pisgah National Forest.  I was excited because I had also wanted to see the Forest and the route was perfect.  We stopped along the way at a couple of places to see the stream running through and then turned a corner and found the Looking Glass Waterfall.  I absolutely love love waterfalls and this one was one of the best I have ever seen and it is right off the road.  We got some fantastic pictures and I was so grateful we stumbled across this.  Truly what this life is about for us and I feel very blessed by the day we had.

Stream in Pisgah State Park

Stream in Pisgah State Park

Really liked this shot with the stream and old bridge

Really liked this shot with the stream and old bridge

 

Me and Lee in front of Looking Glass Waterfall

Me and Lee in front of Looking Glass Waterfall

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Looking Glass Waterfall

Looking Glass Waterfall

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Camper Chronicles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.  Search Amazon.com here

 

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First Thanksgiving on the Road

We intentionally scheduled our first trip to be near my sister and knew we would get to spend our first on the road Thanksgiving with her family.  She also invited my Dad, his wife Carol, and Jake down to visit as well.  Plus we got to spend tons of time with the new baby Wendy is adopting which was so much fun.  My sister and her husband met in cooking school, and even though she is a nurse and he is a banker now…wow can they cook.  Since I didn’t want to suffer by comparison I made Lee’s favorite deviled eggs (recipe below) and a celery tray. It was fun cooking in the rig and I didn’t have any stress from worrying about the rest of the meal.  It was a little sad, since it was our first Thanksgiving in years without at least one of our daughters, but Wendy’s rowdy bunch more than made up for it and we had tons of great food and fun.

Lee's face after eating one of my deviled eggs

Lee’s face after eating one of my deviled eggs

Lee feeding Abram. He loved the sweet potatoes. Can't show any pics of his face on social media until the adoption is complete

Lee feeding Abram. He loved the sweet potatoes. Can’t show any pics of his face on social media until the adoption is complete

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My sister Wendy and her son Bryce

My niece Bailey hugging her brother..he's thrilled :)

My niece Bailey hugging her brother..he’s thrilled 🙂

My step-mom Carol

My step-mom Carol

Jake towers over the baby :)

Jake towers over the baby 🙂

Lee and my brother-in-law Josh

Lee and my brother-in-law Josh

My nephew Alex is a very energetic 10 year old.

My nephew Alex is a very energetic 10-year-old.

Wendy had it all under control. It was fun not having to be the chef!!

Wendy had it all under control. It was fun not having to be the chef!!

After dinner Wendy, Carol and Bailey all went shopping, but since we just spent months getting rid of all our stuff that was the last thing I wanted (or needed to do) so no Black Friday shopping for me…which was actually awesome.  I didn’t miss the craziness at all.  Friday Dad came over and checked out Lake Wylie with the boys and then we all went to Captain Steve’s, a local fish restaurant.  It was reasonably priced ($30 for two of us) but the food wasn’t that great.  Lee said the catfish at Anna J’s was way better.  The company was good though and we took up a long table in the restaurant.

Dad and Carol

Dad and Carol

I love this picture of Josh as the long -suffering parent with his kids lol. He's a really good dad

I love this picture of Josh as the long suffering parent with his kids lol. He’s a really good dad

Saturday was the Ohio State – Michigan football game and as every person in my family went to Ohio State at some point or another we are all big fans.  I loved being with them for the big game and although there were some tough moments, Ohio State was of course victorious!!

Dad and Bryce

Dad and Bryce

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lee who is not a football fan decided to go to visit a Roadside attraction that is right near Wendy’s house.  I have talked before about this great app I love called Roadside America .  Every where we go I look the area up and I am so glad I did because there is a TARDIS in a person’s backyard right near Wendy’s house.  The Tardis is a London phone booth which acts as the Time Machine for Doctor Who.  Lee, Kay, and Kat all love that show and he was beyond excited someone had one in Rock Hill, SC.  Turns out the folks are huge Dr. Who fans and their TARDIS is actually a chicken coop.  So funny.

 

Lee and the Tardis

Lee and the Tardis

Inside is a chicken coop

Inside is a chicken coop

The back has the exit for the chickens

The back has the exit for the chickens

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So Lee had a great time and I got to watch the big game with my family.  We had so much fun and although I did miss the girls, I was so glad we got to spend our first Thanksgiving at Wendy’s house.

I will be traveling for work the next couple of weeks, so not sure how much blogging I will do, but Lee and I will try to get out some on the weekends.  I think Lee is excited about the alone time because he can finally get things organized without me being in the way.  We are staying here through  Alec’s birthday and for Abram’s first Christmas so we will definitely have time to explore.

 Lee’s Favorite Deviled Eggs

I usually make some plain, some with paprika, and some with olives so everyone is happy. Lee is incredibly picky about his deviled eggs and this is the recipe he likes the best.  I always have him taste test one before I start stuffing.  He really is a deviled egg aficionado. 

  • 2 dozen eggs
  • 1/4 tsp onion salt
  • 1/4 tsp celery salt
  • 1/4 tsp garlic salt
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 6 squirts yellow mustard
  • paprika (optional)
  • Green olives (optional)
  1. Boil Eggs
  2. Run cold water over eggs, then place in refrigerator until chilled
  3. Peel eggs
  4. Slice eggs in half longways
  5. Remove yolks and place in bowl
  6. Using a fork break yolks into very small pieces
  7. Add mayonnaise, mustard, garlic, celery, and onion salt
  8. Mix very well with a fork
  9. Using a small spoon place egg mixture into the center of the egg whites
  10. Sprinkle with paprika (if desired)
  11. Cut olives and place a slice (without pimento) on each egg (if desired)
Lee's Favorite Deviled Eggs

Lee’s Favorite Deviled Eggs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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