Just Hangin' Around

Bushnell, FL - Events of Friday, Jan. 13 to Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012

Since Paul finished repainting the front air conditioner cover, we've just been hangin' around and doing a little bit of this and that.

On the Friday after the RV show, we went for a late lunch with our friends, Pat and Mike, at OakWood Grill near the Villages. They had gone to the Tampa RV show the day after we did, and we were anxious to hear their impressions. They said they had a good time looking at RV accessories, and they had some questions about their rig for the factory reps from Open Range, which is who made their 5th wheel. They also spent time at the Open Range display talking to prospective customers and telling them how much they liked their Open Range 5th wheel.

A warning light came on in their truck on the way back from the Tampa show, and Pat and Mike had dropped the truck off at the nearby GMC dealer while we were at OakWood Grill. After a good meal (Pat and Mike had ribs, Margery had a blackened blue burger, and Paul had a smoked turkey sandwich) and plenty of great conversation, we dropped Pat and Mike off at the GMC dealer. The shop ran a 70-minute diagnostic program and couldn't find anything wrong with the truck, so they just reset the computer and told them to bring the truck back if it happened again.

On Saturday, Blueberry Hill RV Park had its annual yard sale. Anyone who has any items they want to get rid of can set up a table in front their site. We usually don't participate in the yard sale, but this year, we had a couple of larger items we wanted to get rid of plus a bunch of small items we had cleaned out of our cupboards and storage bays. We tend to accumulate way too much stuff, and it was time to eliminate some excess weight. The next photo shows Paul with our sale table.

It was a cool morning, but the sun was warm. There was a fairly good turnout, including several people who stopped who were from other campgrounds. We sold one of our large items (a propane heater) and quite a few of our smaller ones for a grand total of $39. That's not a lot of money, but it's not bad for things we would have given away anyway.

We have been having a lot of fun with our new puppy, Freeway. He is rambunctious as puppies usually are, and we have had to "puppy proof" the motor home.

He was 8 weeks old when we first picked him up, and we were very excited that he could make it to the bottom step of the motor home the first day. By 9 weeks of age, he was able to go up ALL the steps.

Freeway's favorite toy this week is his knotted rope. He likes to chew on the soft ends, and he also likes to play fetch. If we throw it down the hallway of the motor home, he will go get it and bring it back. He is fun to watch because the rope is almost as big as he is. If he grabs it near one end, he has to hold his head as high as he can so he doesn't trip over the other end of the rope.

A nap almost always follows Freeway's play time.

Freeway went to the vet a few days before we picked him up from the Royal Puppy Palace, so he was all up to date on his immunizations. However, we wanted to take him to the vet ourselves to get a baseline exam of our own. We also had a few questions about feeding, training, future immunizations and neutering, so we made an appointment for Sunday after church. Since the weather was perfect (not too hot and not too cold), we were able to leave Freeway in his canvas carrier in the car while we were at church.

When we had our previous dog, Molly, we discovered Banfield Pet Hospitals. Banfield has facilities all over the country (located mostly in PetSmart stores), and they can transfer records electronically between locations. This is ideal for full-time RVers like us, so we are going to take Freeway to Banfield as well. They also have wellness plans that are like pet health insurance that not only cover office visits, but also include things like immunizations for puppies and neutering, which we will be doing in a few months.

The closest Banfield to Bushnell is in the PetSmart in The Villages. The vet pronounced Freeway to be in good health, and he also answered our questions. We made an appointment for his next round of immunizations, then we looked around the PetSmart store.

Poor little Freeway has been shivering on cool mornings and evenings when we take him outside to go potty, so we wanted to get him a sweater or doggie coat. We tried on a sweater, but decided it would too hard to get it onto a squirming puppy if we were in a hurry to get him outside, so we ended up with a doggie coat with Velco on the straps. As with most males, Freeway wasn't too happy about trying on clothes.

The next photo shows gives you a better look at the coat.

The coat fits Freeway perfectly now; but at the rate he is growing, it will probably only last a month or so. He gained over 3/4 pound his first week. Unfortunately, the next larger size was way too big, so we're hoping there will be an end to the cool nights and mornings by the time he outgrows the coat.

We spent the rest of Sunday relaxing, at least what passes for relaxing for us now that we have a new puppy. Stay tuned for more from Bushnell.

Comments

[Marilyn]

Freeway is very handsome in his new coat. Love the idea of a garage sale for RV'ers.

[Darrell and Judy]

Cute Pup. Looks like a lot of mischief and fun. He will keep you young for sure.

[Marsha]

How nice of you two to pass the time with Pat and Mike while they waited for their truck. So glad nothing was wrong.
It must be that time of year in the warm weather states. Both the parks down here had their sales last Tuesday and Saturday. The items we sold we also were either giving them away or throwing them away. I was very good and bought NOTHING!
I bet you sold all that stuff because of Freeway. I see him sitting on Paul's lap. Did people just stop by to see that little one? I love the pictures. Don't they look like little angels....when they are sleeping...LOL

[Jackie]

Would love for Pat and Mike to do a review of their Open Range 5th wheel.