Today, the first day of winter, we had temps in the low 80’s. We passed a Lazy Boy Store and their moving marquee said “Today is the first day of winter a good time to buy a Lazy Boy Recliner and snuggle.” Hmm, I can see doing that when the temps reflect what winter is like in most parts of the country.
We’ve been here almost two months and aside from the normal everyday activities we all do, we did manage to see and do.
We went with friends to Mt. Dora, a little town, with many small shops.
I went up to Ocala to visit my brother for his birthday and see the changes he made to his new home. He did a nice job and the home now incorporates memories of my parents as well as his personality.
Dale and I spent a day checking out other campsites near here and were not very impressed.
We still have time left on our Sea World Passes and spent a day there and checked out their “Polar Express” exhibit.
I finally got a new cell phone, the Galaxy Nexus. Now I know what a true smart phone is like. It works like a charm and responds to my touch, not like my old one that worked when it felt like it.
Last weekend I drove down to Ft. Lauderdale area to spend time with my good friend Rich who flew down to see his brother. We had a wonderful time.
Max continues to worm his way into our hearts and is growing in leaps and bounds.
The other day he managed to lift up a mat and push his toy under the mat and had a good time chasing the ball (see video).
Yesterday we had company and he jumped up next to her and decided to sit on his rump just like a human being.
Last night we had invited our friends Bob and Judy for a Chanukah dinner of brisket, latkes and jelly donuts for dessert. We all had a great time. Sunday we will be going to their RV park where there will be a catered Christmas dinner. We are looking forward to it.
Today Max had his surgery and he is now neutered and micro-chipped. The staff there just adored him and didn’t want to give him up. Part of the post surgical instructions are to keep him from jumping. Well, that is like keeping an alcoholic away from a class of booze; it is almost impossible to keep him down. We do have some pain medication to give him and were told that it will make him sleepy. We’ll have to see.
Well, that is all from here. Dale and I wish all of you a very HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON and a HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR!!!
Don’t forget to click below and see Max!
Max Having Fun
Just to let everyone know we are enjoying our stay in Kissimmee. The weather has been great, temps in the 80′s and 70′s during the day and nights in the 60′s.
Max is getting sooo big. He weighs in at 5.5 lbs. He seems to be enjoying life in the RV. He jumps and runs all over the place. One of his favorite activities is playing cat and mouse with me. He chases me and jumps up my leg and I chase him and tickle him. He seems to have a nose fetish. He can’t seem to get enough of licking my nose. It would feel great except for his sandpaper tongue. Next month it’s off to the Vet to get him neutered and computer chipped. (Poor Max)
We would like to wish all our friends a great Turkey Day. Please keep in touch. We love hearing from you.
We’re home in Kissimmee. We arrived on Tuesday and it only took a short time to get everything set up. We did have an issue with our hot water heater and after tracking down difficult solutions, it turned out that it was the circuit breaker.
Wednesday we took Max to the Vet and he charmed all the ladies there. I think it’s his blue eyes. He now weighs in at 4.6 lbs. He got his rabies and booster shots, a flea preventative treatment and he had his little rear end rotor rooted for a stool sample. Everything is good and at the end of the year we bring him back for neutering and microchipping.
Here are a couple of pictures of Max and me:
Thursday our friends Bob and Judy came over to our RV. Judy needed her “Max” fix and we had told them about a new Chinese Buffet that had opened up across the street from us while we were gone. We went there for dinner and it was one of the better buffets we’ve been too. I know we will be eating there a few more times before we leave.
We got our mail box number for the time we will be here and for those who might want to know our address till April it is:
5300 W. Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy.
Box 309
Kissimmee Fl. 34746
Dale started her line dancing and is enjoying it. I had a chance to get on my bike and made my tour of the clubs (two Sams and one Costco). Would you believe most of the Sample workers were still working there and all of them greeted me and said “you’re back.” It was nice to know I was missed and they were happy to see me once again.
This was our first experience actually “Boondocking.” Boondocking is when you camp without electric, water or sewer hookups. You are completely on your own. You have water stored in the fresh water tank and you become frugal when using it. The sewage tanks are large enough that we can go for about a week before they fill up. Electric is another story. You need to survive on batteries. When we bought the RV we had them install solar panels to charge the batteries. We had two purposes for this trip: one to check to make sure our Solar Panel System is working properly and the second was to install a Surge Protector.
Before arriving here we had some idea as to how to use our Solar, but John Palmer really walked us through it and we discovered how to conserve even more electricity, e.g. by closing one of the breakers that feeds power to all the components of our entertainment center. As most of us know, even if the components are off they draw some power. When living off one’s batteries even that little bit can drain several hours of usable power.
Our first night we were very frugal and discovered that we could have watched our TV in the bedroom for several more hours.
This morning we discovered that the solar panels don’t always charge fast enough to have enough electricity. Other than summer, the sun is not right above so the panels do not get as much sunlight. It also was a somewhat cloudy day and there were trees blocking most of the sun’s rays. If the batteries do not charge there is little or no power to do the things that require electricity. John brought over his 2000 watt Honda Generator and we plugged into that. After a few hours our batteries were fully charged. We also discovered that while running the generator we could use the microwave and other appliances as well, just not the A/C, without any battery drain. After much discussion Dale and I decided that we should get one. This way if we get into a situation where there is no power available we will be able to have all the electric we need.
John checked out our system and everything is working fine. He did tell us that the system that was put in is not the most efficient and there is a much better one out there that would almost double the effectiveness of our panels but $2,100 was not something we were willing and able to spend. We bought the generator instead.
He also installed the Surge Protector. In our opinion as well as others, this is a vital piece of equipment. It protects the RV from any issues caused by bad electric pedestals that are in some RV parks. We now feel more secure and safer after our trip here.
John’s place is located in Branford, FL – cattle country. The area is sparsely populated and the scenery is stunning. The property is located next to the Suwannee River and is very peaceful. He took us along long and winding trails which he cleared out on the property. This was truly a wonderful place for our first boondocking experience.
Tomorrow morning we are off to our winter home in Kissimmee.
I did take a few pictures of our stay here. Click below.
Branford fl John Palmer
It’s been awhile since we posted.
We are in Bushnell enjoying our NHOG (New Horizons Owners Group) rally. There are 17 other rigs here. New Horizons is a small company and they have not manufactured very many fifth wheels, so it is very strange seeing so many in one place.
We did spend a relaxing week in Orlando and Dale had her teeth checked out by the oral surgeon and he felt it was not an implant issue so Dale made an appointment with the dentist for the beginning of November. I did get a chance to do some cycling (finally).
I also brought the truck into Freightliner to address some minor issues. While there it appears that there may be a problem brewing in the future. Oh well. I think a Ford 550 might be in the future.
Max is getting bigger and bigger. He is outgrowing the “kitty” stage and is transitioning into becoming a cat. We have been getting him used to being outside with us and have carried him around the campground here. We have taken him into other RV’s and he enjoys exploring new territory. We have had many people stop in and Max loved all the attention he got.
In our RV he is getting strong enough to leap up to higher areas and a whole new world of places to explore have opened up to him. Closets and cabinets are especially intriguing and he has learned to open up the sliding doors in our bedroom. He is sleeping with us on a more or less regular basis and has discovered how nice it is to snuggle under the covers.
What is a rally and what do people do there?
A rally is any gathering of people with similar interests. In our case, everyone here owns a New Horizons RV.
What do they do? EAT. All kidding aside, there are talks, seminars, and a chance for people to sit down and share their experiences. We had a really good time here, learned some good things, and met really nice people.
I learned how to adjust my slides and do some preventive maintenance. Dale learned how to restring our shades.
Talking to a friend of ours, Bob Emerson, I learned of another place that does Ford conversions and they get their Fords from the factory so it may be a little cheaper to get a new truck. This company will take my truck as a trade in and are seriously considering trading in the Sportschassis for a new Ford 550. Except for the monthly payments, it seems to be a win-win situation. Dale will be able to drive again since the pedals as well as the seats are adjustable; the fuel mileage is much better, almost double; it comes with a 3 year bumper to bumper warranty and 5 year engine and transmission coverage; and it is more powerful and will do the hills faster than 30 mph. We will be seeing the owner of the company at the Tampa RV show in January and we will see how the numbers work out with trading in my truck and the cost of the new truck.
At the rally, one of the seminars was on solar panels and the electrical system in the RV. From what the rally master says the instructor is an expert in this area. Since I’ve been having issues with the electric, we will be visiting him in Bradford, Fl. about 170 miles north of here on Sunday. We will be boondocking for a couple of days while he checks out the solar panel installation, our inverter, and installs a surge protector for the whole RV. Tuesday we will leave there and head to Kissimmee for the winter.
We were pleased to be asked to join others to help organize the 2013 NHOG rally.
The Rally Masters, Mike and Sharon posted more information and pictures of the rally and if you would like to know more just click the link below:
Mike & Sharon\'s Blog
For our pictures click the NHOG2011blog link below:
NHOG2011blog
Just heard about the October snow storm for the North East. I’ll be honest, we do not miss it.
We have been in Venice Florida since Friday afternoon. Max was a good traveler. He meowed a little in the beginning but then settled down for the 4 hour ride. By the time we got here and put him in the little carrier we have for him, he had run out of patience and let us know.
Saturday evening Joanne arrived at our RV with her uncle Paul. It was so great to see her after two years, two months (her statistic). She was very impressed with our rig. Max went ballistic with pleasure when they came in. He meowed and jumped all over them. He was as excited as he was when he saw Amy the night before we left Lion Safari in West Palm Beach.
We were most fortunate as we were invited to her Uncle Paul’s house for dinner. They were celebrating his 85th birthday and we were very honored to be included in their family celebration. Paul is a published author and his wife, Vera, is an excellent artist/illustrator who is also published. The walls in their home are adorned with her work. Not only is Paul an author but his talents extend into the kitchen. His lasagna dinner was better than those we have eaten in Italian restaurants and his carrot cake was superb (and the best we’ve had).
Monday afternoon we met up with Joanne and her sister Loretta in Venice and walked through some of the stores along Main Street. Unfortunately we started out around 4:30 and most of the shops closed around 5 or 5:30 but we did have a good time. Good things come to an end and all too soon it was time to say our goodbyes. Hopefully it will not be so long till we meet again.
Tuesday we traveled to the Tervis factory outlet store in Osprey, Florida which is located about 15 miles north of here. Tervis is a U.S. company that makes excellent thermal glasses and mugs. From there we traveled a few more miles north to south Sarasota and had lun-din at Sweet Tomato, one of our favorite restaurants.
We stopped to get gas and for the first time our mileage broke 9 mpg, 9.3 to be exact. Driving at an average of 55mph is definitely making a big difference. Why is 1 or 2 miles more a gallon a big difference? Every 1 mile more per gallon means a savings of about $40 per fill up. Since we are usually not in a rush, going slow is not soooo bad, but to be truly honest I miss driving at speed limit.
Joanne left today and we had sunny and warm weather. I feel bad, while she was here the weather was not the greatest and going back to LI the weather forecast is for showers.
While here, Max started breaking out of his shell and has warmed up to us and his home. He plays with his toys, comes to us and all in all acts like he’s at home. The first few times he tried to climb up our table he had trouble. During one of his attempts he tried jumping up by my laptop and slipped. On the way down his paws ripped out three of the keys from the keyboard. My “?/” key will never work the same (good thing I don’t use it too often). The other two keys I was able to pop back into place. At night he has taken up sleeping in our bed. The first night he even slept on my face .
We bought him a new scratching post (this one has carpet and sisal) with a top perch and some hanging toys and he loves it.
Wednesday morning we leave to go to a KOA in Apopka which is a few miles north of Orlando. We hope Max will do as well on this trip as he did on the last one.
Dale will visit Scott, our oral surgeon, and have him check out the problem with her gums.
Click Venice Florida for pictures:
Venice Florida
Just a quick update. We have been at the KOA in Loxahatchee Fl which is near West Palm Beach since Friday. On Sunday we picked up Max. It is taking a while for him to adjust to his new environment. He decided a “safe haven” is under our recliners. For the first couple of days when he was out of his carrier he would hide there. Once in a while he would pop out but as soon as he saw either one of us he would scoot right back under. Tuesday night he and I had a marathon session till 2am. He loves sneaker laces and I would lure him out with them and gradually had him come closer and get use to me. He is still leery when he sees us but at least he has been coming out more, exploring the rv, playing with his toys and doing what kittens should be doing. He also discovered how to pull off his collar and then push it all over the floor. What a great game!!! When we manage to catch him and hold him he loves the petting and attention but as soon as we put him down he scoots away. He still hides more often than not, especially when we walk past him he heads to the back of the recliners but over time this will get better.
Friday we pull out of here and head towards Tampa to meet up with Joanne. It has been over two years since we have seen each other and we can’t wait to spend time together.
Pictures Please click
Pictures of Max
P.S. Amy (the breeder who we bought Max from) just stopped by to see us and Max. As soon as Amy started talking he was all over her. He chatted away, went on her shoulders, nuzzled and couldn’t contain his excitement and happiness. He really missed her. She said that once he gets used to being here, he will be doing the same with us. We can’t wait.
We arrived at St. Augustine after a fairly short and uneventful trip from Savannah. Did you know that St. Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United States? It was founded in 1565 making it 446 years old.
After we set up and settled down we went for a walk. We found out that the beach was only a couple of blocks away. It has been several years since we’ve been to a beach and it was really great. This was one of those drive-on beaches and we saw many cars and trucks parked on the sand and several driving by us. We went back several times.
The tour company that we used in Savannah operates here in St Augustine as well. We once again traveled the tour through from the beginning to the end to see what we wanted to see. This place is one gigantic tourist attraction with lots of things to see. I guess if we were a little younger, more naïve, and/or had kids with us we might have taken part in more of the tourist traps but, being somewhat more seasoned travelers, we avoided most. So what did we see and do? There was a small museum at the first trolley stop and for free it was okay. They had several artifacts from the 1500s which were interesting as well as a canoe from about 1,000 years ago. From there we hopped back onto the Trolley and got off at the shopping and eating area. We walked in and out of the stores and shops and passed a pizzeria called “Pizza Time.” It looked okay and I bought a corner Sicilian. Wow. For the first time since we hit the road I bit into a pizza that tasted just as good as the ones on Long Island. We went back every day we were here and the last day we bought a whole pie to take with us. Yummy. We toured Castillo de San Marcos, a National Memorial. It is a fort built by the Spanish and the views from the top of the fort were stunning. If you are over 62 you can get a Senior Pass which is good at all National Parks and lets you and a guest in for a much lower fee. I told the Ranger that I will be 62 in a week and asked if it would be possible to get one a little earlier. After making me swear I would not go to another National Park till I actually turned 62 he gave me one. I know he was kidding around but he really did not have to issue one. We also went to the oldest wooden school house in the country which was built before 1793. The teacher lived upstairs from the school room and there was a separate kitchen facility for the teacher behind the school building.
One of the nicest streets is called Magnolia Ave. It is a short stretch where the trees (oaks) from either side of the street grow over and make a canopy over the road, very unusual for this part of the country. (The trees are about 120 years old.)
We stopped and toured the St. Augustine Light House. We climbed the 219 stairs up to the top. What a view!! We also toured the San Sebastian Winery and Dale enjoyed the wine samples. We had intended on touring the Whetstone Chocolate Factory but we felt $7.00 apiece was a rip off as we have toured similar places for free. The other factory tours made their money after the tours when people bought their product (like in the winery).
Outside the Ripley’s Believe it Or Not Museum was a real log cabin house. It was built in 1938. A log from a 1900 year old tree was used. The house measures 33 feet long, 8 ft tall, and 14 feet wide. It kind of reminded us of our Fifth Wheel. Also outside of Ripley’s Museum is a statue of “David which was sculptured in Florence, Italy and is an exact reproduction of Michelangelo’s “David” (one of only two in the world). It is 17′ high and weighs 10 tons and is made from one piece of Carrara margle which was excavated from the same quarry as the original “David” statue. This statue was displayed at the 1963 World’s Fair and was purchased by Ripley’s. When the City council saw the statue they insisted it could not be openly displayed (editorial comment: What a bunch of prudes) and that is why there is a high hedge around the statue (and this occurred about 4 years ago).
The city of St Augustine at one time was surrounded by a stone wall and the only part left is the City Gate. In 1739 it was the only access into and out of the Spanish St. Augustine through the defense line on the north side.
We saw “The Old Senator” which is a 600 year old LIVE OAK tree. We also walked around the grounds of Nombre de Dios Mission and saw where the Spanish first came to land in Florida in 1565. The “Great Cross” which is the tallest free standing cross in America was erected here to mark the spot. The 208′ cross was erected in 1966.
On Friday we head to Loxahatchee Fl (about 250 miles from here) to pick up Max on Sunday.
To see our pictures click St. Augustine below:
St Augustine
We arrived in Savannah after a seven hour trip which included rush hour outside of Charlotte, NC. It was our first experience with stop and go traffic in a very long time and we were tied up for about 40 minutes. It rained off and on during our trip but when we arrived we were in luck, the rain had stopped although the area showed signs of heavy rain recently. The first day we just hung around the campground, caught up on doing the wash, and took a walk to do a little food shopping.
We discovered that there is a bus shuttle from the campground that is run by Old Town Trolley which runs on/off sightseeing tours in the historic district of Savannah (and also has operations in many other major cities). We signed up for a two day ticket, (the second day was about a third of the full first day fare). With the price of gas, parking, and fees to the exhibits (we also were able to purchase discount tickets through the tour as we had purchased their trolley tour), it was a no brainer to take the tour (and let the company shuttle us back and forth into the city at no extra charge). The first day we took the hour and half tour around the historic section of Savannah, learning about the HISTORY of the town. It is clear that the folks here are very proud of their town as well as their history. Along the way we learned that in the early days of Savannah the town planners built houses around SQUARES. They started with four squares and eventually ended up with 26 distinct squares. Each square honored either a distinguished local person or a distinguished national figure. A bit of history that the driver shared was the many FIRES that Savannah had in its early days, especially the one in 1820 that burned down most of the city. Before the city expanded to 26 squares they had a bell that was rung when there was a fire, one ring for square one, two for square two, etc. That worked until they got up into the higher numbers because by the time they rang the bell for that high numbered square, the fire was too far gone to put it out.
In the mid 50’s one of the squares was razed and a parking lot was built over it. This enraged many of the local people and the town was petitioned to get rid of the garage and let the area return to just being a square; unfortunately the owners had a 50 year lease. Once the lease was up, it was turned back to a square; however the city needed parking so they dug 40 feet below and built a garage under the square.
In the course of the city’s development several grave sites were built over, either with roads, parking lots or buildings. As a result, people here believe that many places are HAUNTED. The TV program Ghost Hunters did a feature story here.
After the tour we did a little walking. The founder of the Girl Scouts, Juliette Gordon Low, was born and raised in Savannah. Dale took a tour of her home but I was just not in the mood to see another house museum. Dale really enjoyed the guided tour and said the house was beautifully done. We also decided to check out the Savannah History Museum by the Visitor Center. We were very disappointed. We saw better exhibits in some of the free museums than we saw here. The only unique exhibit was the bench used in the movie Forest Gump.
On our second day we decided to skip the bus tour, once was enough, and walked the historic district. We first stopped at the City Market. Again, like in many other cities we have visited, it was filled with eateries and specialty shops. What was nice was the free samples of pralines that the various candy shops offered.
From there we walked to the River Side area. Again, there were many eateries and specialty shops. One was The Peanut Shop and they had lots and lots of samples. They offered over a dozen different varieties of peanuts, We decided to take advantage of the all the different types of flavored peanuts they offered, and had a lot of samples. After our nibbles, we decided to purchase three different flavored cans of nuts to share with friends.
We also walked past several of the squares that we went past yesterday on the tour. We stopped by the Cathedral of St. John Roman Catholic Church. We walked through the oldest cemetery in Savannah, that dates back to 1750. In 1850 the cemetery was considered full and was closed. We were told that many of the markers were no longer over the graves they belong to, and many were just uprooted. It seems that during the Civil War the Union Soldiers defiled many of the grave markers. From there we went to see Temple Mickve Israel, a reform synagogue that was nearby. Can you believe it was closed on Shabbat? (Not really – their tours were only offered Monday-Friday). By this time (early afternoon) services were over and we were disappointed that we could not go in. According to the historic plaque, it is the oldest Reform Temple in the country. We walked around some more and just enjoyed being in the Historic area.
Sunday we spent at the campground. They were predicting heavy showers but they did not arrive till the evening. Instead I spent a good part of the day being frustrated with my computer. It seemed it did not want to cooperate. Finally I just said to heck with it and went for a walk.
Monday morning we will close up. I’ll have to climb up and clean off the pine needles that fell on the slides. We only have a 170 mile trip so we can leave a little later and close up the same day.
It seems that keeping my speed down to 55 mph increases my gas mileage by almost 1 extra mile per gallon. This may not seem like a lot, but each extra mile I can get out of a gallon of gas saves me around $35 a fill up. Since we are not in a rush to get from point A to point B we are taking our time.
We wish everyone a Happy New Year. Shana Tova.
Click Below to view our pictures.
Savannah Blog
We arrived in Lexington, North Carolina Sunday afternoon around 2pm after leaving Cherry Hill at 7am. The trip was thankfully uneventful.
My brother Kenny came to the campground around 3pm and took us to see his new home. He had sent us pictures of his house when he bought it but the pictures did not do it justice. We walked in and said WOW. It looks really great. Many rooms are filled with many pleasant memories. When my aunt passed away he got most of her furniture and when we changed our bedroom furniture he had taken our old bedroom set as well and all of it now has a home in his house. It is an older home and the charm of the natural wood floors and wood kitchen cabinets added to the ambiance. His house has a real nice warm feeling and we immediately felt at home.
We had an extra treat when his good friend Melinda stopped by. We met her last year when we were here and she is a wonderful person. We spent several hours just talking. My brother is a great chef and he didn’t disappoint us with his culinary art when we sat down for dinner. I do have to be honest though. He cooked up something called “greens” which he thought I would love, and well that was one dish I tasted and had to pass on.
Monday he picked us up and we spent the day running errands and spending time together. One stop was the “Mighty Dollar Store” where everything is a dollar and I stocked up with Diet Coke for $1.00 each. Haven’t seen that price in a long time. We had dinner at the Golden Corral and Melinda came to join us. I unfortunately stuffed myself. Some Golden Corral restaurants are good and some are just so-so. This one was good.
Tuesday morning we started closing up the RV in preparation for our early Wednesday morning departure. They are predicting 30% showers and we wanted to close up just in case as we will not be in the RV all day. We ran some errands and then toured the museum in Lexington. The museum is not on the same level as some of the other small town museums but it did have some interesting things to see. We ended our stay with a Chinese dinner which was on par with the ones we were used to on Long Island. Our good-byes were not so sad because we will be up here again in November to celebrate Ken’s 50th birthday and Thanksgiving.
Kenny: thank you for everything. We had a great time.
