What’s Better Than Meeting Friends

No one could have told us when we started in this lifestyle, that we would meet so many great friends.. How funny is it, that you read and correspond with folks that you never have met face to face.  You feel like you know so much about them, like you have known them for years, just by following their blog.  Well this is true of the friends we got to meet today. Donna & Ralph, Our Adventures with Tassie are parked just down the road from us but have been away, so we just now got the chance to meet them.  Elaine and Rick, E & R's Travels,  are staying a few towns away, and decided to come for a visit.   I met Elaine and Rick, quickly last month, while visiting with Dee and Jim, in Avon Park!!  We first did our visiting for quite awhile at Donna & Ralph’s.  Then we all headed to our place for a bit more.

Elaine is closest and Donna sitting at the table…

Kevin, Ralph and Rick…

What fun…Thanks so much for the visit. Hopefully we can do it again some day.   They made a last minute decision to have dinner next door at  the Southern Buffet, but we opted out. I already had dinner planned and we had just been there this past week.  Also, my allergy’s are kicking me in the butt!

Problems but Still Having Fun

You can’t let problems get you down. We sure have had our share.

We arrived in Largo, Fl for our month’s stay on the 1st of Feb.  We had a plan. We were flying to Houston the next day to visit at our daughter and family.  Every year they have a big Super Bowl Party, we decided that since our NE Patriots were part of it this year, then we would like to be there. Another plus was that our son Kevin from NH was there also, doing some painting for them.  Of course spending some time with three of our grandsons would be great too.  We helped get the house ready for the crowd and although the Patriots didn’t win the game, we all enjoyed. Smaller crowd this year. I am estimating around 60 people. The forecast had been for rain but although cool,  it didn’t rain, thank goodness. They set up a super big blowup screen outside by the pool and lots of folks gather outside and of course more inside.

The day after the super bowl was my birthday.  The guys golfed during the day, while Kim & I just chilled out. That evening we all went out for mexican food and back to the house for cake and ice cream.  Loved having both my kids with me for my birthday!

We left Houston Wednesday night and arrived quite late back in Tampa. Flying standby, we just have to go with the best flight. When we returned, I turned on my bedroom tv. No picture and I smelled a burning smell. I immediately unplugged it. Now we were concerned. The prior month, while in Ga, our microwave did the same thing.  We had figured it was just a fluke that we lost that, but now with a second appliance burning out, something must be wrong.

Thursday we headed down the street to an RV place and explained our story. They were concerned too and although busy they sent someone out that afternoon. The guy was quite pleasant and checked many things out. Our voltage was good coming into the RV and at the breakers but the outlets that he checked were real low. He just didn’t know what to do. He isn’t a licensed electrician and didn’t feel comfortable fooling with wiring. The bad part, we had to pay him $40 for the service call and $100 for the hour of work it took to check things out. Yikes.  We have Good Sam but can’t put a claim in, when we don’t know what the problem is.  I spent quite a long time that night chatting with an RV friend Elaine, while she was relating to her husband the problems. He is an electrician and we tried several things, with no results. We appreciate the help.

Friday we were referred to a guy in the park, that does alot of work for people. He came over and checked things out. He looked to see if the breakers were tight and secure. Yes they were. He did flip the main breaker and reset it, just for yucks.  When he checked out our voltage in our outlets, they were ALL Good.  He was real interested in our Progressive hard wired surge protector.  He took the book home to read it and understand it a bit more. He seemed to think that it should have showed a problem. Come to find out, it only works if the problem comes from the outside. Such as low pedestal or storm.  So we know that the problem is on the inside.  We have been getting so many suggestions. This guy isn’t  licensed so he would be glad to look further but I want it to be covered by our warranty. So the decision was made that we need to find someone else.  After asking for suggestions, we have made an appointment when we leave here on the 2nd and take it to Camping Connection, near Clermont. They will deal with Good Sam and hopefully find the problem and get our replacement appliances. Fingers Crossed!!!

We have been busy keeping our mind off the problems.  We had dinner last Friday with RV friends Gale and Anna. I had met Anna a few years ago in the Valley but had never met Gale. We had a great night eating and chatting.

Saturday, Kevin and his long time buddy Don from school days, went golfing.   I had a girls day out with my two good girl friends. We did lunch, movie and a bit of shopping in downtown St. Pete. We all met back at Don & Patti’s for a fabulous steak dinner.

The week has flown by. I had another girls day with several friends from my support group (when we lived here).  We have stayed in touch and always get together when I am in town.  It was fun and we have another one planned. . Kevin and I spent Valentines Day going to the beach. It is great being back to familiar places.

 

We also went to our favorite Italian place for early dinner.  He has golfed again and I have been back to the beach. Yesterday was a lazy day. I did get to the pool and enjoyed a nice soak. 

We also got some work done. We went to CW and bought a new  ozygenic shower head and hose. Put that on, and enjoying our nice showers.  While in Ga, our dryer hose broke from water that had been leaking from our outside vent. We didn’t know how to get at the dryer from behind, but we finally replaced it from the outside in. I can do laundry again! Our bathroom sink faucet had broken, so we bought a nice newer one and had that replaced.  Also, our awning is acting up, we will have that checked out in Clermont while there.  Hope that will be it….

Today I am just not feeling all that great. My allergy’s have been bad. I am hoping that is all it is. I was suppose to have another lunch out with friends, but the weather is overcast and I just don’t feel well enough, so I cancelled. Kevin is out visiting.

Wow, as I read over this blog, we have had a busy week. Have I mentioned that I Love This Life!!

Visiting RV Dreamers

It was a last minute plan.  Dee, a regular in our RV chat room was just 1.5 hrs from us. She suggested she and her husband Jim travel to visit with us  here in Clermont the next day. After some back and forth, it was decided that we would make the trip to their place. We are currently set up at TT,  just for 5 nights, while waiting to head to Largo for the month of  February. Although this site is scenic,  it is dirt. The soft sandy kind that you sink into..yuck!    We didn’t even do a full set up inside or out. It is also a membership park and they charge visitors $5 to park.  So Monday morning we headed to Avon Park. It was just a straight shoot up Rte 27.  We arrived a little after 11am and joined Dee & Jim inside their beautiful Cameo 5th wheel for some catching up.

                       

After some chatter, we headed out to lunch at the Blue Lagoon. It was loud but the food was good.  When we finished, we had another stop to make for Orange Ice Cream!  The Maxell Groves, is just a joint set up on their orange groves.  They sell all kinds of jellies, sauces  and everything made out of oranges…including their famous ice cream, yum. I bought some fresh squeezed oj, which I may pay for in a few days. I love it,  but it can bother my acid reflex..  I am willing to give it a try. Nothing like fresh squeezed….

When we got back to the park. Kevin & Jim stayed at the rig, while Dee and I walked over to the clubhouse.  It is really lovely. In fact this park is spotless. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a park so clean and manicured.  They are really happy here.  

I knew Kevin was anxious to get back on the road to avoid any traffic, but I had to meet another RV Dreams couple. Rick and Elaine were in the park for the month.

 

I have met Elaine in the chat room but never in person. So much fun to finally meet in person!  It was short but sweet, and we hope to meet up again, perhaps in the next month..

We ended our visit with hugs, and on our drive home talked once again about how cool this RVing life style really is.  What wonderful friends we have made.  We feel so fortunate to be living this life!

Thanks Dee and Jim…

Back in My Comfort Zone

Well, we made the decision to leave Georgia early, after spending one month there. Kevin was fine of course because of the golf, but I was miserable…Just nothing to do. As someone mentioned to me, that is why we live on wheels… We pulled out Thursday and spent the night in the rain,  just short of the Florida line.  Guess we brought that nasty weather with us. Friday we drove 200 miles to Thousand Trails Orlando, where we will stay until next Wednesday.  We have reservations for the month of February in Largo, Fl. Largo is next to St Petersburg, where we lived for four years. We have good friends in the area. We are really looking forward to spending some time with them. There are also many RVing friends in the surrounding area that we hope we can hook up with.

Those that know me well, know that I love Florida. Kevin does also. The only reason we ever left Florida was to be with our grandkids, and help out as each of them was born.  I really love being around the ocean,  but even here in Orlando area, I am happy.  I have found that I do not like being out in the middle of nowhere. I like the conveniences of city living.  I guess that is because I grew up a city girl. We have never lived anywhere that we could not do a skip, hop, or a jump to go or get what we needed close by.  It’s just my comfort zone!  

The weather is sunny today and temps 70ish. There is a slight breeze, so it does feel a little chilly.  My allergies are acting up though.  At least I think it’s allergy’s. Hopefully not another cold.  I am looking forward to some nice weather and  shorts and flip flops again. It’s been awhile..  I told Kevin to slap me if I complain of being too hot, lol….

When it Rains it Pours

Oh ya, it has been pouring ALOT!  The forecast for the next week has rain in it every day too…Lovely. This morning it is just damp and foggy with temp around 47.  Kevin went up to open the cart barn and told me to just stay put for awhile. Don’t think there will be many golfers this morning.  Not sure what this afternoon will bring.  We have already asked one of our other coworkers if he would close up for us today because we will be watching the PATRIOTS at 3pm.

Now, it isn’t just pouring rain outside.  This week  our microwave/conv/half time oven burnt out. I had baked potatoes in the conv oven and could smell a burning smell. We started looking everywhere, and turned out to be the oven. Inside the back wall is a bit black .  Won’t start, so we unplugged it.  Next was Kevin hurting his right arm, while golfing. I think he tried to smash the ball and pulled something. Looks like a muscle protruding from his arm and it hurts alot.   One morning I turned on the bathroom hot water faucet and the faucet came off in my hand. Cheap plastic parts broke…. If that wasn’t enough, last night I walked to our bedroom closet and the rug was soaking wet. Yup soaking…under the washer is dry but the rug in the bedroom very wet. I squeezed behind and felt the washer hoses and they seem dry, so not sure where it is coming from. Not sure what we will do about this, since Kevin’s arm is so sore, he can’t pull them out right now. Oh ya ,and I got out our little fan so I could dry the rug a bit and guess what?  The fan started and then went out. Doesn’t work!!!!!

Hope that is it…..    GO PATRIOT’S !!!!!! Hope you have better luck than us this week.

Weighing Our Options

This weather isn’t what I bargained for! Most nights we have had to keep our water dripping, to keep the hoses from freezing up, and we have gone through 3 tanks of propane. Even if the days warm up, it still has that dampness in the air. The temps haven’t kept  Kevin away from golfing.  Personally I think he is crazy…

Saturday’s excitement was watching the Patriots beat the heck out of Denver.. What an awesome game! I really do enjoy watching pro football. Now, I will be happier if the Pats can go all the way..

Sunday we were back to work.  It was real cold and Kevin told me to stay put for a few hours and he would cover the work. On the weekends they have several people working. It was so cold, but the sun did come out and by afternoon it felt pretty nice. I did not have to do all that much. There were not many folks golfing, of course football was on.  Now Monday was another story. We start work at 8am. I dressed well with layers. I had a turtleneck, my golf shirt, a sweatshirt and a jacket on.  We did have some help in the morning. Didn’t really need it then though, because the crowds showed up in the afternoon when we were working alone. They had Kevin out in the cart barn and me in the pro shop. That was until 2pm when they sent Kevin out to pick the range and me to the cart barn. It got crazy and a bit overwhelming.  It seemed like carts never stopped lining up for me to clean and store. It takes time. When Kevin finished the range, it was 4:30 and time to ride the course, lock all the bathrooms and range. I was left with the carts.  We ended up getting through at 6pm in the dark, setting the alarms and locking the gates.  We were both cranky, cold and my back was aching.

We have since been discussing if this is the place for us. I actually started a pro and con list. The pros include free golf, no rent, nice people. The cons include, lousy weather (so far), nothing close by to do, work hours, iffy wifi and bad phone connection. Monday was just a sample of what is to come. We are told that it will start getting real busy in a few weeks, when the schools start golfing, 5 days a week. This is the only course in the county.  We were told we will probably be working 4 days a week in the afternoons and closing each of those days.  (One of the couples told me they will not work 4 days a week) After sampling the closing procedure, we are just not sure about this.

The hard part for me is commitment. I don’t like to commit to something and not finish it. However, they did tell us they have never had 5 rv’s here in the winter before. We also know if we leave early, we will lose our chance of working for a Ga SP again.

Anyway, we are just in the thinking stages…..we will give it another weekend of work and see how it goes.

Set Up For The Winter

We arrived  here in Georgia a week ago Friday. We took our time after leaving  Houston.  Our first stop was at Bay St Louis at the casino for two nights. I had a coupon, good for 2 free nights.  We enjoyed ourselves and unwound from Christmas.  Our next stop was a state park in Auburn Alabama.

When we arrived here at the golf course it was a little tricky getting down the hill, and into our spot, but Kevin managed to do a good job.

The hill going down to our campsite…Not alot of room to turn around down there..

This area is used for tournaments but we can use the bathroom, showers if we want.. Worked out well when our water froze up…

Some of our coworkers….

We have this little pavilion and firepit for us all to share…

Our site…. 

Looking up at the pro shop and cart barn from our site…

  

The next few days were spent checking out the area. Not a heck of alot to do around here. My first thought was how am I going to get through 3 months here! The town has the usual fast food food joints, two small grocery stores. I am told there is a good barbecue place and we found a good cafe for lunch, where I had the best tomato basil soup, yum.  The closest Walmart is 17 miles away. In the other direction, is Athens, about 30 miles,  where we drove to on New Years Eve to get chinese food. It wasn’t a bad drive but not worth it for this chinese food,lol..  There seemed to be quite a few restaurants in the area and also an outlet mall, so I am sure we will be back.

The folks here at the golf course are all real nice. They gave us a golf cart for use and we got our schedules. We are going to be working Sunday and Monday’s for the month of January. Our actual start date for work is tomorrow. Will let you know how it goes. We have use of the laundry at the cabin they rent out. It is quiet season, so nobody renting right now.

We got the cold spell that swept the south. We went from 60’s to freezing for several days. Our hose froze up one night and our water pump stopped working.  We went out and bought several gallons of water, just in case but things have been working fine since.  It has since gone back into the 60’s.  Kevin has been out golfing two days. From what I am told this is a very challenging  and beautiful course, with lots of hills. I will tour it tomorrow when we start work.  Until then, I have my computer, which got a bad virus.  Our friend John called me to help out, and I finally got rid of the virus, but couldn’t get into any of my programs. I finally got the name of a computer guy in the area and brought it in to get fixed up. He did a good job and I had it back in a few days. In the meantime, I had my little notebook.  Not understanding my connection speed though. At times, it is quick as a rabbit and other times so slow I can’t stand it. I did notice one day my air card was very hot. I unplugged it, let it cool for the night and seems to be fine for now. I did find a Verizon store next to Walmart and may have to pay them a visit. I am do for an upgrade, but was holding off until it was time to get a new phone, thinking I could do a package deal… Let me know if anyone has their new iphone…I am a bit interested in it.  My other new toy that has kept me busy is my kindle fire.. I love it. In fact, my neighbor told me to take it with me to work!!  Think I will do just that…..