Thursday, November 29, 2012

Whew!!!

DeBary, FL.

51 deg. clear, N. breeze @ 3 mph.

Forecast = Partly cloudy. High of 73F. Winds from the NE at 10 to 15 mph.


Whew!!! Jim and Linda didn't win that Power Ball thing that everyone has been talking about!!! You see, I'm sure if they had won it, they would have had many changes in their lives and one of them, especially with that kind of money, probably would have been to purchase a new Motor Home that has all the latest and greatest  gadgets on it. And, you know where that would have left me,  ,  ,  ,  sitting in an RV lot somewhere waiting for someone to come along and buy me!!!!! : (

Penny came to visit me again. Laura brought her out here to the park for about an hour yesterday morning. At one point while Jim , Linda and Laura were sitting outside under my awning, she tried to get under me, but Laura pulled her back out with the leash that she had attached to her harness. Laura said that it probably wouldn't be good for her to be under me because she'd probably get really dirty. ; )

After lunch, Jim and Linda headed over to the Mall area in Sanford and did some more Christmas shopping. The way it sounds, they found most of what they were looking for and now they only have a few more gifts to buy.

Oh, while Laura and Penny were here, I heard Jim ask Laura if she though that she would have time to come over sometime to help decorate me for Christmas. She said that she thought she would and would let Jim and Linda know when she could come. I really don't have too many decorations, but it has become kind if a tradition for Laura, and sometimes one or both of the girls, to help decorate. It's just kind of a fun thing that they've enjoyed over the years. ; )

Don't know what's happening today. I do know that CLT needs a drink of 87 octane real soon and Jim wants to go back to the DeLand Truck Center to see if those tire valve stem extensions have come in yet. Linda bought some sewing stuff when they were out shopping yesterday, so she'll be wanting to get started on those projects because they involve the Christmas presents.

A Point to Ponder : People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.


Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Short Update

DeBary, FL.

57 deg. clear, NW breeze at 3 mph.

Forecast = Partly cloudy. Fog early. High of 73F. Winds from the North at 5 to 15 mph.


Not a whole lot to report on this morning. Sunday was mostly a TV/Computer day here. The weather was nice, but Jim didn't go outside much, he just watched some of the football games instead.

Linda's still working on her Family Tree program. You see, when we were back in Illinois and she had free wi-fi, she downloaded and saved a whole bunch of files and census reports off of the Internet and now she's pouring through them and gleaning a whole bunch of information.

Jim called his son, Jeff, (who lives out in Portland OR. ),  in the afternoon. It sounds like he and Heather are doing well and had a very nice Thanksgiving with Heather's family. I don't really know what Jim and Jeff talked about, but they were on the phone for about an hour!  ; )

Monday, Jim and Linda took CLT (Cute Little Truck), and went Christmas shopping. They came back with 3 bags of gifts, so I presume they had pretty good luck finding what they wanted to buy.

Yesterday, (Tuesday), most of the day was spent just doing odd jobs around here. Nothing of great importance.

So, as you can see, not much happening, just doing normal things.

Laura called last night and she's planning on coming here to the park this morning. Don't know just when, but she said she'd call before she came. Then sometime today, Jim will probably dump my tanks.

Jim and Linda have more Christmas Shopping to do and I think they're planning on doing that tomorrow.

So, that's what has been happening. Not much, but I thought I'd give you a short update.

A Point to Ponder : Don't worry about what people think, they don't do it very often.




Sunday, November 25, 2012

Penny!! knock knock knock, Penny!! knock knock knock, Penny!! knock knock knock

DeBary, FL

41 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Clear. High of 70F. Winds from the North at 5 to 10 mph.  


Let me introduce you to Penny!!! Penny is a puppy that Ashley and Travis, (Ashley's friend), just adopted from an animal shelter.

They got her just before Thanksgiving and when they found her, she was less than a day away from being euthanized, as she had been at the pound for a long time. 

She had been found wandering around in a farmers field and was very thin and sick. She's still pretty thin but Ashley says that she's gaining weight every day. They also have medications that they give her every day to cure her other health problems.

She seems like a very nice dog. She's not wild and crazy like some pups are, and she's already learned to sit on command. : )

I don't know if Penny was aware of Thanksgiving, but if she was, I'll bet she's really thankful that Travis and Ashley found her and adopted her. : )

Linda is doing fine. The "bug" she had only lasted that one day, and it doesn't look like she passed it on to anyone else. Yesterday evening, she ate a normal meal and said that everything tasted good.

Did you know that in the United States there is no government run organization that provides oversight or regulation of the various shelters on a national basis? However, many individual states do regulate shelters within their jurisdiction. One of the earliest comprehensive measures was the Georgia Animal Protection Act of 1986. The law was enacted in response to the inhumane treatment of companion animals by a pet store chain in Atlanta



Saturday, November 24, 2012

Thanksgiving Update

DeBary, FL

46 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Partly cloudy. Fog early. High of 72F. Winds from the NW at 10 to 15 mph.


About 1:30 Thanksgiving morning, Jim and Linda took CLT and headed over to Marv and Inez's house. Ashley, her friend Travis and Anna were already there and soon the rest of the family came. Before they ate, Jim got this photo of Lindsey, Laura, Ashley and Anna goofing around out on the deck behind the house.

As you can see, the weather was almost prefect with the temperatures in the mid 70's and plenty of sunshine.



a By a little after noon, everyone was enjoying a great Thanksgiving dinner with turkey, ham and all the trimmings. ; )

After they sat and talked for awhile, Linda started feeling like she had an upset stomach. Soon it was decided that she and Jim would head back here as she wasn't feeling any better. By the time they returned here to the park she was quite sick and spent a good part of the rest of the day in my bathroom.

Of course the first thing that comes to mind was food poison, but no one else got sick and she was running a fever, which probably means that she picked up a "bug" someplace. : (

Anyway, by Friday morning, she was feeling better and spent a good part of the day sleeping. So far, Jim has been feeling fine and it looks like he may have dodged the bullet.

Nothing much happened yesterday. Linda was recuperating so Jim spent some time outside, but stayed pretty close in case she needed something. 

So, the holiday was sort of a "mixed bag". A great meal with great people but ending with Linda getting sick. Jim and Linda had to leave Marv and Inez's pretty quick but want them to know that they really enjoyed the meal the the time that they were able to be there with them.

Thank you so much!!!!

Did you know that the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade began in 1924 with 400 employees marching off from Convent Avenue and 145th Street in New York City? During this time the parade was accompanied not with the oversized balloons of our favorite cartoon characters, but with live animals borrowed from the Central Park Zoo -- from camels to elephants.




Thursday, November 22, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving From Florida

DeBary, FL

49 deg clear, no wind.

Forecast = Clear. High of 70F. Breezy. Winds from the North at 15 to 20 mph with gusts to 30 mph.

Jim, Linda, CLT and I would like to wish all of you a safe and happy Thanksgiving!!!!  Hope all of you have a great day!!! : )

Jim and Linda are again invited to Marv and Inez's, (Lindsey's parents), house in DeLand for a Thanksgiving dinner today. They'll be leaving here around 10:30 so they have plenty of time to get there to visit for awhile and help out in any way they can before the dinner is ready at about noon.

It's so nice of Marv and Inez to include Jim and Linda. They'll already have a full house with all of their family  but they insist that Jim and Linda come for both the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays.

There hasn't been a whole lot happening here at the park. People are getting ready for the Holidays and are pretty busy. Today, they're having a Thanksgiving potluck dinner over at the Clubhouse for those who don't have family in the area. The park furnishes the turkey and ham and then everyone who attends brings "a dish to pass".

I'm sure they'll have a good turnout as many of the folks here in the park are far away from their families.

Did you know that an estimated 46 million turkeys are eaten on Thanksgiving?


Monday, November 19, 2012

Full-Timing? Continued

DeBary, FL

56 deg. overcast, N. wind @ 5 mph.

Forecast = Partly cloudy. High of 72F. Breezy. Winds from the NNW at 15 to 20 mph shifting to the West in the afternoon.


Welcome back!


Have you been thinking about yesterday's blog? Good!!!! That was one of the main reasons I wrote it.

If your a seasoned Full-Timer, (more than a couple years), you probably have come across most of the people I talked about. You've also pretty much learned the ropes and have decided if it's the lifestyle you want to live for a long time.

If you're new to full-timing, or in the planning stages, no matter how much you think you know about the lifestyle, you still have a lot to learn!!  Here are a few things you will learn.

Full-Timing is not for everyone!!

Many people must have a place to come back to that they call home. Some can't be away from family for long periods of time and some find out that it's just not for them.

Full-Timing is not like being on vacation 365 days a year!!

If you try to travel and sight-see like you did when you were on vacation, you will definitely "burn out"!! You will also wear out that RV, dashing from one place to another, and burn a whole lot of fuel and spend a bunch of money in the process. It takes awhile to get used to the slower pace of full-timing and some people never manage to slow down. Jim had a lot of problems keeping his speed down when traveling, so he finally set the cruise control for 5 mph under the speed limit and forced himself to keep his foot off of the accelerator.

RVs don't last forever!!

Even though you take very good care of your RV, doing all the maintenance required, keeping it clean and keeping it in good working order, it will finally wear out. RVs are very durable, but they really take a beating on some of our Nations roads. Appliances start to fail, (some of them are very expensive) awnings wear out, furnace heat exchangers crack and sometime or other, you will have a water leak that does some damage. In  the end, you will consider buying a different RV.

You will break down on the road!!

You may full-time for many years without serious problems, but sooner or later, you will need that roadside assistance you've been paying for all those years.

You will have an accident!!

Yep, no matter how careful you are, you will have an accident. It may not be your fault, but the odds are that  sometime, your RV will get damaged.

More than likely, you will not full-time forever.

I don't remember where I read it and I don't have any figures to back it up, but at one time I read that most people who go full-timing will go back to living in a stix and brix house within 4 years. Jim says that he believes that is the case because most of the full-timers he and Linda have met throughout the years have gone back to having a house as their main residence.

Now, I'm not telling you this to discourage you from going full-timing. Full-Timing can be one of the most wonderful lifestyles that you could ever imagine!!!!

First of all, there's the freedom!!!

Once you get rid of all that excess "stuff" and move into your RV, there is a great feeling of a huge load being lifted off of your shoulders. It may take awhile, but eventually you'll realize that you're not accountable to anyone but yourself. You can go where you want, when you want, you don't have to be on any kind of schedule if you don't want to be, and, if you so choose, you don't even have to tell anyone where your are!!

If you take your time, you'll see some of the most amazing sights. The beautiful rocky shores of the NE, the "keys" of Florida, the white sands of the gulf, the Smoky and Rocky mountains, the deserts in the SW, the Pacific Ocean coastline and the forests of the NW. And, if your real adventurous, the indescribable sights of Alaska!!

All of the National Parks are worth visiting. Death Valley, Yosemite, Yellowstone, The Grand Canyon, Arches, The Great Smoky Mountain or the Rocky Mountain National Parks, just to name a few that come to mind.

You can follow US 1 from Canada to Florida, the Mighty Mississippi from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico, US 50 from the the East Coast to the West Coast, or just wander wherever the road your on takes you.  

 Or, you can just find a CG or RV Park that you like and stay there as long as you want. ; )

If you pick your Campgrounds carefully and don't have any major breakdowns, you can Full-Time for less money that it would cost you to live in a stix and brix home. Even with the high price of gas and diesel you can still travel a lot and maintain a budget.

So, is Full-Timing right for you??? Only you can determine that, and you may not know until you've actually tried it. If you're traveling with someone else, both of you have to really want to do it.

You have to really "like" the person that your living with. Many times you will be with them in your RV 24/7 for long periods of time. If you don't get along now, it won't change when you hit the road!!

Everything will not be "peaches and cream"!!! There will be problems and you can't run away from any problems you had when living in a house. They will follow you.

If Full Timing is something you really think you would like to do, go for it!!!! If you don't, you'll always have regrets and wonder what you've missed. Full-timing is not permanent, you can go back.

I guess the main reason that I'm telling you this is because throughout the years, both Jim and Linda have met folks who are planning on going full-time but have no idea what they're getting into. They think their RV will go on forever without problems, they don't seem to realize that every day is not exciting and many days will be spent just sitting in an RV Park or Campground and just doing normal day to day things. And, even though your house will have wheels, you can't always be where the weather is perfect.

Did you know that there is no evidence that turkey was eaten at the first Thanksgiving, a three-day meal shared between the pilgrims and Wamponoag tribe in 1621? It is more likely that they ate venison and a lot of seafood.










Sunday, November 18, 2012

Full-Timing?

DeBary, FL.

61 deg. overcast, NW wind @ 10 mph.

Forecast = Partly cloudy. High of 72F. Winds from the West at 10 to 15 mph shifting to the North in the afternoon.



I know that some of you reading this blog are full-timers like Jim and Linda are. Some of you want to go full-timing in the future and are working your way towards that dream. Others are thinking about the lifestyle and a few of you would never think about giving most of your possessions away, selling your house and moving into an RV.

So, what possesses people to get rid of almost everything that they've worked so hard to accumulate throughout their lives, move into a little box on wheels, say good-bye to family and friends that they've had for years and go full-timing?

I'm sure the answer is different for everyone, but here's a few of the reasons.

Some people are wanderers and just can't stay in one place for any length of time. It's easy to understand why they would want to go full-timing. Others are just plain fed up with the "rat race" they've been living and have decided that there just has to be a better way to live. Some have children who have grown up and moved to different parts of the country so the full-timing lifestyle is a good way to travel to different locations to see them.  And, I think some people have always wanted to travel and see the country and have decided that full-timing would be a good way to do it. There are also a few that are trying to run away from problems that they are having while living in a stix and brix house.

Now, "on the other side of the coin",  ,  ,  ,  Why don't some people feel that they can or want to full-time?

Well, here again, there are are all kinds of reasons but a couple of the reasons I hear the most is "I don't want to be away from my family", or "I couldn't possibly get rid of all of my "stuff" and move into an RV."
Some folks say they would "love" to go full-timing but come up with all kinds of reasons why they can't. They feel that they don't have enough money, they don't want to be "homeless", they can't because of health reasons, or they say that they're afraid to make such a big change in their lives.

Of course there are many more reasons on "both sides of the coin" but these seem to be the main ones.

So, where am I going with this?

Well, being that this post is getting pretty long already, you'll just have to wait for my next post to find out!!! : )

I promise that I won't keep you in suspense too long. ; )

A Point to Ponder :   The 50-50-90 rule: Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90% probability you'll get it wrong.


Saturday, November 17, 2012

I'm Still Here and Some Ranting

DeBary, FL.

58 deg. overcast, N. wind @ 3 mph.

Forecast = Mostly cloudy with a chance of rain. High of 77F. Winds from the NNE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.


I'm still here!!!! Just nothing much to write about.

The weather has been OK, but we've had a few drizzly days where the sun didn't shine and it was almost foggy a good part of the day. The temperature has only been in the 60's, so along with the dampness, it felt pretty chilly. 

Jim has been able to get a short ride in on his bike every day and he says that his legs are getting more used to the peddling. Linda has been working on some embroidery projects and entering data into the Family Tree program. Thursday, Jim and Linda took CLT and headed to DeLand Truck Center to see if they had some tire valve stem extensions to use on my inside dual tires.

They didn't have any, but have some on order, so he'll go back in a week or so to see if they've got anything he can use to make checking and inflating my tires easier.

On the way back here, they stopped at Auto Zone to pick up some new wiper blades for CLT, and then stopped at Gram's Kitchen for breakfast. : )

Yesterday afternoon, Laura and Lindsey stopped by for awhile. The weather was pretty decent so Jim and Lindsey sat outside and talked while Laura and Linda spent time together inside.

Have any of you been bothered by all the Christmas adds that they've had on TV already? They've been running them in this area since before Halloween!! They don't seem to have bothered Linda much, but both Jim and I don't like them this early.

Also, how about some of the major department stores plans to be open on Thanksgiving Day!!!! Some of the store spokespeople are saying that the customers are demanding that they are open so that they can get an early start!!!!

Baloney!!!!! They're just trying to justify opening on a holiday so they can make more money!!! Some of the employees are raising a fuss about working on Thanksgiving and I don't blame them, they want to be home with their families!!!! It's bad enough that the great folks who are Firemen, Policemen, Health Care Providers and others who provide essential services have to work, but they knew that they'd have to work the holidays when they applied for the job.

Well, I guess that's enough Ranting for today. I'll quit before I get myself into too much trouble. ; )

Did you know that on this date in 1913, the steamship Louise became the first ship to travel through the Panama Canal? 


Tuesday, November 13, 2012

A Few CG Photos, Ashley And Anna and Gram's

DeBary, FL.

Sunday, 11-11-12

Sunday was a really nice day with temperatures in the mid- 70's, fairly low humidity and just enough wind to keep the mosquitoes away. Since it was so nice, Jim took a few short rides on his bike and on one of those rides, he took his camera along and took a few photos of the park.

This first on is of the entrance to the park as you turn off of Highbanks Rd. Remember, you can click on these photos to enlarge them if you want to.

As you come through the entrance, you'll see the office off to your right. There was a 5th wheel sitting in front of the office when Jim took this photo, so he didn't get a real good photo of it.

A little past the office, you come to a small bridge. This photo is of the lake off to your right from the bridge. It's strictly catch and release and kids have a good time fishing here.

This is a view of the park just after crossing the bridge. There are many "park" model homes here and quite a  a few travel trailers that have been permanently placed on the sites with screen rooms or car ports built onto the sides of them.

From what I understand, Jim and Linda first stayed here about 15 years ago, and at that time there were a lot of junky RVs in the park, the park was run down, the staff couldn't care less about the campers and was not a good place to stay.

Since then, there have been many improvements. The junky units were removed from the park, the electricity has been up-graded, the sewer system revamped the management changed and 24 hour security people employed.

It's still an old park and the sites are quite small, but in general, is a very nice and friendly park to stay at. And, with security people roaming the park on golf carts 24 hours a day, it's very safe too.

OK, back to the photos.

As you travel down the street shown in the above photo you'll come to the very nice Clubhouse on the right. It's very nice and they have all kinds of activities there including potluck dinners, breakfasts, ice cream socials and holiday dinners. There's also a game room in the clubhouse and a very nice laundry.

One street past the clubhouse, you'll come to the side street that I'm on. There's a permanent unit on the corner and I'm right next to it. As I said, the sites here are quite small, but Mike and Anne. (Mike is one of the security people), who live in the permanent unit are very nice and the folks in the 5th wheel to my right are also nice

It a quiet park with quite a few activities. Most of the people are very friendly and have been coming here for years. Some stay here year round but I'd guess that probably about 75% of the people just spend the winter months here.

After dinner Sunday evening, Laura, Ashley and Anna stopped by for awhile. It sure was good to see them again. They stayed and visited for a couple hours and then headed back Laura's as both Laura and Ashley had to work on Monday.

Monday, 11-12-13

Not a whole lot happened yesterday. Linda did some embroidery work and worked on her Family Tree Program, Linda has some sewing projects she wants to complete for Christmas presents so Jim got out the extra leaf for my kitchen table and after cleaning it and the table, installed the leaf so that Linda will have a larger work space for her sewing machine. Jim also took a few short rides on his bike, talked to the neighbors and took a nap in the afternoon. ; )

For dinner they headed over to Gram's Kitchen in Orange City. Both Jim and Linda said that it felt just like they had just been there a week or so ago instead of about 9 months. The same waitress waited on them and the food was excellent as usual. : )  

Did you know that November is "National Pomegranate Month"?






Sunday, November 11, 2012

Veterans Day, Groceries, More Set-UP, Laura And Lindsey

DeBary, FL

 Sunday, 11-11-12

57 deg. mostly cloudy, no wind

Forecast = Partly cloudy. High of 81F. Breezy. Winds from the NNW at 10 to 20 mph shifting to the South in the afternoon.


Please take a moment today to honor all the veterans, past and present. If it wasn't for them, our lives would be so much different.

Below you'll find a quick summary of what's been happening since I last posted. Jim and Linda are slowly settling down into normal day to day living, and I'm sure after we've been here even longer, there'll be less and less to write about.

I'm also sure some of what I'll be writing about in the next few months will be very boring, but they want me to keep posting as much as possible so that in the future, they can go back and see what happened while we were here.  

Today, we're looking forward to seeing Ashley and Anna. Anna is here in DeBary for a few days, (She works and lives over by Jacksonville), and yesterday, Laura told Linda that they want to stop by for a little while.

I'm really looking forward to their visit! : )
______________

Thursday, 11/8/12

About the only thing worth mentioning on Thursday was that as soon as Linda got up and had her breakfast, she and Jim took CLT and headed to the Winn Dixie Grocery store which is only about a mile from here. They were gone for quite awhile so I figured that they were buying a lot of groceries, and I was right, they brought back all kinds of groceries!!!!  : O

They did get them all stashed away inside of me though, so I guess it's OK. ; )
____________

Friday, 11/9/12

Friday, as soon as it warmed up, (it was 41 degrees at 7:00 AM), Jim went outside and got his bike out of the back of CLT. Then, he put out my awnings and tied the main awning down with the straps and bungee cords. When he was finished with that, he removed the tow bar off of the front of CLT and put it underneath me on some small boards, so it doesn't sit right on the ground.

While he was doing that, Linda was doing laundry and working on her Family Tree Program.

You've probably noticed that I haven't mentioned anything about Laura and Lindsey since we've been here. Well, until Monday, they didn't know that we would be arriving a week earlier than planned, and they had already planned a camping trip for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. So, until Friday afternoon, they were on their camping trip, (with their pop-up trailer), at one of Florida's State Parks.

Friday afternoon, they called and said that they were on their way back home and wanted to know if it would be OK for them to come over around 5:00. They also said that they'd stop by and pick up a pizza for dinner on their way out here to the RV Park.

Well, of course Linda and Jim said that the plan sounded great and told them to come on out here as soon as they could.

So, around 5:00 they pulled up in front of me and then after h and h (hugs and handshakes), they all sat down, enjoyed a very good pizza and talked and talked until around 8:00.

It sure was good to see Laura and Lindsey again. It's been almost a year since we've seen them and a lot of things have happened since then.
_____________

Saturday 11-10-12

After airing his bicycle tires up, Jim took a ride around the park. He hasn't ridden it since we were in Rantoul in September, so he didn't go too far on the first day. He says that he's going to gradually increase the distance to get his legs back in shape again.

In the afternoon, Laura stopped by again. Didn't want anything, just stopped by to chat for awhile. I think she misses her mom.  ; )

For dinner, Jim cooked a couple pork chops on the grill and Linda cooked some cauliflower on my stove. 

A Quick Fact. : Veterans Day is not to be confused with Memorial Day; Veterans Day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans, while Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving.


Thursday, November 8, 2012

Shopping, A New Friend and Highbanks

DeBary, FL.

42 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Clear. High of 70F. Winds from the NNW at 10 to 15 mph shifting to the East in the afternoon.


As soon as Linda got up and had her breakfast Tuesday morning, Jim and Linda took CLT (Cute Little Truck), and headed for Jacksonville. You see, by accident, quite a few years ago, they had found a shoe store in a shopping center on the North side of Jacksonville.  It's called Rack Room Shoes and they sell all kinds of shoes.

And, they carry shoes in Jim's size, (14). : )

The soles of one of Jim's pair of shoes had split.  So being that we were in the area, they headed over there and ended up buying Jim 2 pair, since the second pair was 1/2 price.  : )

By about 12:30 they were back to the CG.

Oh, I want you to see my new little buddy that came into Kelly's Monday evening.


He's brand new and lives up in the central part of Pennsylvania. His owners brought him  down to Florida to visit family and friends and now he's on his way back home. I wished him a safe journey as he pulled out of the campground yesterday morning.

Speaking of yesterday morning,  it was about 9:50 when we pulled out of Kelly's. Once back on US 301, we retraced our route back to Callahan and then followed US 1 down to I-295. 295 took us around the west side of Jacksonville and joined back up with I-95 on the South side of the city. Once back on 95 we took it South to exit 329 where Jim pulled me into a T/A Truck Stop and topped off my tank with some of that good old #2 diesel fuel.

You see, since I'll be setting in a RV Park for at least 2 months, Jim wanted to get my tank as full as possible so there's not so much chance of condensation. My furnace also uses diesel fuel when it gets colder, so that was another reason to stop and fill up.

From the Truck Stop, we continued South on 95 and followed it down to Daytona Beach, where we turned SW on I-4. I-4 then brought us down here to DeBary and the Highbanks Marina & Camp Resort, where I'll be spending the next 2 or 3 months.

It was 12:50 when we pulled up in front of the office, so it took us exactly 3 hours to stop to top off my tank and travel the 147 miles down here.

After going into the office and talking to the nice ladies inside, Jim came out and unhooked CLT from the back of me and parked him across the road in a parking area. Then, the park manager led me into the park and to my site. By about 1:15 I was backed into my site, (the same site I was in last year, #198), and Jim was getting a ride in one of the workers golf carts, back up to the office area, to retrieve CLT and pay for my site.

I've only been here once before, but Jim and Linda have been here often enough that many of the folks in the park wave and welcome them back, as was the case as we drove through the park to get to my site. In fact, Jim and Linda both made the comment that it was good to be back in this park and this year especially, it kind of felt like they were coming back home.

Much of the afternoon was spent getting me set up for the long term. Extra attention was paid to getting me real level and getting all the utilities hooked up and looking as neat as possible. Then, because they were both tired and didn't want to cook, they headed over to the Steak & Shake Restaurant for dinner.

So,  ,  ,  ,  ,  this is where I'll be for quite awhile. There'll be many days where there's nothing to post about, so I won't be posting near as often. But, you can be assured that I'll let you know when there's anything new happening.

Did you know that DeBary Hall Historic Site is the restored winter home of Samuel Frederick de Bary, the first settler in this region? Built in 1871, the 8,000 sq. ft. Italianate architectural style mansion is open to the public with artists. displays, multimedia programs, and docent-led tours. DeBary Hall Historic Site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 24, 1972.




Tuesday, November 6, 2012

SC To FL and Kelly's

Callahan, FL.

54 deg. cloudy, light rain showers, no wind.

Forecast = Overcast with a chance of a thunderstorm and rain showers. High of 68F. Winds from the NNE at 5 to 10 mph shifting to the East in the afternoon.


We got an early start yesterday morning, so it was only 9:10 when we pulled out of the New Green Acres Park. Being that we knew of a gas station/truck stop in Walterboro, we headed to it to buy me a nice big drink of that good old #2 diesel fuel. After filling me up, at the lowest price I've seen for diesel in a long time,  ($3.77 per gallon), we headed to southbound I-95 and followed it all the way down here to Florida, with only a quick "pit stop", at a rest area in Georgia. After traveling a short distance into Florida, we turned West onto Rt A1A and followed it over to Callahan. In Callahan, we turned North on US 301 and followed it up here to Kelly's Countryside RV Park.

It was 12:45 when we pulled into Kelly's so it took us 3 hours and 35 minutes to travel 190 miles and get my drink.

Jim and Linda have been stopping at Kelly's for years. In fact, one year they even spent a month here. It's a nice park with friendly people staying here, and very friendly people running the park. They have a few nice long pull-through, full hook-up sites that they save for people who are staying just a night or two, and both shaded and open back-in sites for the folks who decide to stay longer.

We'll be here one more night before heading to our destination in DeBary on Wednesday.

After getting me hooked up to the utilities, Jim took a little nap while Linda took advantage of the free wi-fi here at the park. Then for dinner, they took CLT and headed into Callahan and to the Cedar River Seafood  Restaurant,

Cedar River is a restaurant that Mr. Kelly told Jim about years ago, and Jim and Linda have been going there every time they've stayed here at Kelly's since then. They've always had very good seafood, good service and it's become kind of a tradition to go there. ; )

Did you know that on this date in 1923, Jacob Schick was granted a patent for the electric shaver?






Monday, November 5, 2012

NC To SC and Plan R

Walterboro, SC.

48 deg. Mostly cloudy, NE wind @ 5 mph.

Forecast = Partly cloudy. High of 66F. Winds from the NNE at 5 to 10 mph.


Yesterday, with the time change, Jim was up earlier than normal, so it wasn't too surprising that he was ready to leave earlier than normal. He also knew by this time, that he wanted to get well down into South Carolina and that meant a fairly long travel day, so he woke Linda up earlier than normal. ; )

So, by 9:15, CLT was hooked up behind me and we were pulling out of the Campers Lodge Campground and heading South on US 301. 301 took us down to Kenly, NC. where we got back on I-95 and followed it down into South Carolina and here to Walterboro.

The only stop we made was at the SC Welcome Center for a "pit stop" and to check tires and CLT's tow bar. Traffic wasn't too bad and for the most part, the roads were in good condition, so we moved right along. In fact, the trip went so well, that, including the "pit stop", we drove the 265 miles down here in only 4 1/2 hours!!!

Hey!!! What can I say??? I don't mess around when you turn me loose on an Interstate Highway!!!! ; )

I'm now parked in the New Green Acres RV Park here in Walterboro, where Jim and Linda have stopped many times in the past. It's kind of a neat park with very tall pine trees and almost all pull-through sites. In fact, they advertise as having "The longest and widest pull thrus east of the Mississippi"!!

The plan is to leave here this morning and head down into Florida, and that brings us to "Plan R"!!!!

Yep, you read that right!!! "Plan R"!!!!!

You see, when Jim called and made reservations for me at the Highbanks Marina and Camp Resort in DeBary for the winter, he told the lady at the park that we would be arriving on the 14th of November. Well, we seem to be ahead of schedule so yesterday, after we arrived here in Walterboro, he called the park and asked if it would be OK if we came in a week early!! The lady checked and said that they had a site avilable and to come on in!!!

So,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , now the plan is to get to Highbanks on the 7th of November and stay for at least 2 months and probably 3.

Did you know that before being known as the Palmetto State, South Carolina was known as, and had emblazoned on their license plates, the Iodine State?




Saturday, November 3, 2012

Change Q?

Wilson, NC

34 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Clear. High of 57F. Winds from the WNW at 5 to 10 mph.


I give up!!!!!! Not 2 hours after I posted yesterday's blog, Jim and Linda decided to stay here at the Kampers Lodge Campground for 2 more nights!!!!! Since we've left Rantoul back in September, there's been so many changes to this trip that I've lost count, so I'm calling this change, change Q!!!!!

It may actually be change J or change R, but who really knows?  I don't think even Jim or Linda know!!

So,  ,  ,  ,  , why did this change take place? Well, as far as I can tell, it was decided because the rates here in this park are very good, (Passport America, remember?), it's nice and quiet here, all amenities work very well, and the people running the park are supper nice.

Besides, we have some days to "kill" before we're scheduled to get to our winter destination, down in Florida. : )

So, what did Jim and Linda do yesterday?  Not much.

Jim walked to the office and paid for 2 more nights, surfed the Internet, took a nap, watched some TV and cooked a steak on the grill for him and Linda to sharel.

Linda worked most of the day on her Family Tree program. Online, she has found a whole bunch of information on Jim's side of the family that she didn't have. She also watched some TV, cooked some cauliflower and got out bread and other things to have with the steak.

I don't think that there's any big plans for today, probably just more of the same. Then tomorrow we should be heading farther South, but who knows? We may have change "R" !!!!!!

Did you know that today is Sadie Hawkins Day?

OH, Don't forget to turn all your clocks back tonight!!!!

Friday, November 2, 2012

A Kick-Back Day and CG Photos

Wilson, NC

34 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Partly cloudy. High of 57F. Winds from the West at 5 to 15 mph.

Not a whole lot to write about. Jim dumped my tanks, put some additional water in my fresh water tank and checked me over in the afternoon yesterday. Then for dinner, he cooked a couple burgers on the grill.

Meanwhile, Linda was doing laundry, taking advantage of the free wi-fi here at the park and putting together the rest of the dinner.

Jim did take his camera and get some photos of this CG, so I thought I'd post a few.


This is the CG sign out by the road.

Just a few of the great Halloween decorations by the office.



Looking into the park from a little past the office area.

My site. # H4.

Yesterday the weather was quite nice, but as you can see above, it's now 34 degrees and they're forecasting more cold temps for this area again tonight.

But, we won't be here tonight. Today, we'll head farther South and hopefully it'll be a little warmer. : )  I don't know just how far we'll get, Jim has 3 different parks picked out along our planned route, so it'll just depend on how far he feels like driving.

Oh, a little more about the Kampers Lodge Park here in Wilson. For the money, (Passport America rate), it's a great park with great folks running it. The new owners are working hard to make improvements, and from talking to some of the other people here in the park, Jim says that it sounds like they're doing a fine job.

So,  ,  ,  ,  , if you're traveling through the area and need a friendly, quiet place for the night, or even longer, stop by. These folks are trying hard to make your stay as pleasant as possible.

Did you know that November is "National Peanut Butter Lovers Month"?


Thursday, November 1, 2012

VA To NC and A Run-A-Way Fan

Wilson, NC.

38 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Partly cloudy. High of 57F. Winds from the West at 5 to 10 mph.


Most of Tuesday was spent getting me ready to travel, at least until about 4:30 when Jim and Linda took CLT and headed over to Joe and Nancy's house. Again, Nancy put together a great meal that everyone thoroughly enjoyed.

Of course the main reason for going there was to see Joe, Nancy, Sami and Amber one last time before we left the area.

So, after a very nice evening of visiting there were h and h (hugs and handshakes), and final good-bye's before Jim and Linda headed back to the RV Park, about 9:00.

Yesterday morning, everything went smoothly and by 9:45 we were pulling out of the Holiday Trav-L-Park and making our way back to I-264. 264 brought us back to I-64, which we followed around  to the South and then picked up US 58, and headed West on it. 58 brought us back to I-95 where we turned South and followed it down into North Carolina.

By this time it was time for a "pit stop", so Jim pulled me into the NC welcome center rest area. It was at this time that Jim discovered that my vent fan in the "little room", (the room with the toilet), was open and running full blast!!! The problem was that all of the switches that control the fan were turned off and there was no reason for the fan to be open and running.

So, being that we were in the rest area and not out on the road someplace, Jim got some tools and proceeded to dismantle the fan from the inside. I still don't know what happened, but the little gears that raise and lower the fan were broken and wouldn't let Jim manually lower the lid, so that part had to be removed and the lid fastened down with mini bungee cords to stop it from flopping around as we traveled.

I still don't know why the fan was open in the first place, because like I said, all the switches were turned off. This may be a problem best solved by my mechanic down in Florida.

It took about 1/2 hour for Jim to take the fan apart and get everything secured. After he was finished we continued South on I-95, down to US 64 at Rocky Mount. Turning East on 64 for a few miles brought us to US 301 where we turned South and followed 301 for about 17 miles to the Kampers Lodge RV Park.  Jim had heard good things about this park and being that it's also a Passport America park, he had decided to try it.

It was about 1:45 when we pulled up to the office, so it took us almost exactly 4 hours to travel 173 miles and work on my vent fan.

Well, we're not disappointed with this Campground. I have a pull-through, full hook-up site with 50 amp electric and cable TV, all for $20 per night. The site is long enough for both myself and CLT , but being that Jim parked me more in the center of the site, CLT is parked along side of me. The people in the office were great and the lady led me to my site with a golf cart. The cable TV hasn't been installed on my site yet, so a man brought a long length of TV cable and ran it from a site up the row to my site.

He then waited until Jim tuned on the TV to make sure everything was working before he left.

After getting me set up, Jim took a nap and Linda worked on her Family Tree program, using the free and very strong wi-fi, here in the park. Then, about 5:30 Jim and Linda took CLT and, after stopping at the office to ask for suggestions, headed into Wilson and to Parkers Restaurant for dinner.

Parkers is mainly a barbecue place but they have chicken and seafood also. Linda had the chicken, which was very good, and Jim had a fish dinner, which he said, wasn't the greatest.

After dinner, they came back here and watched TV, worked/played with the computers until bedtime.

Jim and Linda have paid for 2 nights at this CG. Then, the plan is to leave here tomorrow and continue wandering South. We'll stop at one more CG before we get down to the Jacksonville area, where Linda and Jim are hoping to be able to stop and see Linda's grand daughter, Anna.

I hope all of you had a good Halloween. They've got all kinds of decorations here in and around the CG office, but not many RVs have decorations.

I also hope that any of you who were in Hurricane Sandy's path are OK and you don't have too much damage. This far inland, we haven't seen any effects of the storm.

Did you know that Halloween is one of the oldest celebrations in the world, dating back over 2000 years to the time of the Celts who lived in Britain?