Living Our Dream

Bushnell, FL to Pine Mountain, GA

Pine Mountain, GA - Events of Tuesday, March 27 to Wednesday, March 28, 2012

On Tuesday morning we planned to hit the road about 9:30 AM and head north, but by the time we got everything packed up and said good-bye to our neighbors, we didn't get out of Blueberry Hill until after 10:00. Northbound traffic on I-75 was heavy, but not heavy enough to cause any delays or slow-downs.

It was about a 4-hour drive plus a fuel stop plus an extra potty stop for Freeway, so we didn't pull into our overnight stop at Wanee Lake Golf and RV Resort in Ashburn, GA until after 2:30 PM. We are usually set up by 1:30 at the latest, so that is fairly late for us.

Wanee Lake has about 25 or 30 sites, all of which are long pull-throughs and all of which have full hookups with 30/50-amp electric. The roads are gravel, and the pads are a mixture of dirt, grass and gravel. The grassy sites are fairly widely spaced.

Our site at Wanee Lake Golf & RV

The campground wasn't very full when we were at Wanee Lake.

The campground is about 5 miles off I-75, which is not far enough to be inconvenient, but far enough that there is no interstate noise. The traffic on the two lane road that passes the campground was light, and there are also no trains. Therefore, the campground was nice and quiet, especially at night.

The web site for Wanee Lake RV says they have free Wi-fi, but it didn't show up on our computer's list of wireless networks. Maybe it is only available in the vicinity of the clubhouse, or maybe it was down when we were there. We did have a strong Verizon 3G signal.

Wanee Lake is a country club, and there is also a golf course, driving range, swimming pool and tennis court. Our site was near the first tee of the golf course. The golf course was surprisingly busy in the evening given the fact Ashburn is the only town close by and it is relatively small.

First tee of Wanee Lake Golf Course from our window

Wanee Lake RV is a nice campground, especially for the Passport America rate of $15 per night plus tax. Unfortunately, there isn't much to do in the area unless you golf. Wanee Lake is a membership country club, but campers at the RV park can golf at members' rates.

We got an earlier start at about 9:30 the following morning for the next leg of our journey. Since we had a drive of a little over three hours, we arrived at F.D. Roosevelt State Park in Pine Mountain, GA shortly after 12:30. We wanted to arrive early because, although we had a reservation, the reservations at Georgia state parks are not site specific. Since the selection of the actual site is on a first-come, first-served basis, we hoped arriving earlier in the day would provide us with a better selection of sites.

F.D. Roosevelt State Park has about 140 RV and tent campsites with water and electricity. Some sites have 20/30 amps and some have 20/30/50 amps. Many of the sites are relatively close together for a state park. The campground is heavily wooded, but now that we have Verizon Broadband, we don't have to rely on our rooftop dish for satellite internet. Therefore, we can go to a more wooded campground and use a tripod for satellite TV.

Pads and patios at F.D. Roosevelt are gravel, and the all the roads in the campground except two small side loops are paved. However, most of the roads are quite narrow with some sharp turns and with trees close to the pavement in some places and drop-offs a foot or more deep on one or both sides of the road in other places. We saw a phone number for a towing service posted on one of the bulletin boards, so it's probably not uncommon for people to get stuck.

Although we wouldn't call F.D. Roosevelt State Park campground big-rig friendly, you can get around in a larger RV if you're careful to watch for the trees, drop-offs, tight turns and low branches. About one quarter of the sites will accommodate big rigs, but we wouldn't advise arriving late on a Friday night in summer with a 40' motor home and expect to find a site. Big rigs can't fit in a smaller site, but smaller rigs can and do take the bigger sites. We saw tent trailers, Class B van campers and even tents on 50 or 60' long, 50-amp sites. Also, many of the sites slope front to back. That may be OK for a trailer or 5th wheel, but not for a motor home.

There were a good many sites that would have fit our rig when we arrived on Wednesday. We found a long, level pull-through with some shade and with a hole through the tree branches big enough that we could still use our rooftop dish for TV. Not only that, but we had a view of the lake from the front window. Unfortunately, the site we found didn't have 50-amp electric, but it was only supposed in the low 80s while we were there. We figured the partial shade we had would help keep the rig cool enough we probably wouldn't need to run the air conditioner, and we almost certainly wouldn't need both air conditioners.

Our site at F.D. Roosevelt State Park

Distant view of our site showing some of the neighboring sites

View of small, lake-front sites across from our site

Lake-front tent site

The campground was nice and peaceful when we first arrived, but it started filling up on the weekend. On Sunday afternoon, a lot of people left. However, the local schools must have been closed since it was the week before Easter, and a bunch of new people arrived so the campground stayed pretty full.

We're happy to report the new residential refrigerator traveled well. The doors all stayed shut, nothing spilled inside, and the fridge didn't break free from its mounting bolts when we hit bumps or stopped short. The Samsung refrigerator is pretty energy efficient, so the motor home's alternator had no problem keeping the batteries charged while the inverter powered the fridge as we drove down the road.

Freeway is an excellent traveler. He is content to be in his crate and nap when we're driving. He can also go a relatively long time between potty breaks, especially considering he is only about 5 months old. And we sure are happy he doesn't get car sick.

Pine Mountain, GA is the home of Callaway Gardens, and that will be our main interest for the next several days. We'll tell you all about it in our next few posts.

Florida Wrap-up

Bushnell, FL - Events of Friday, March 23 to Monday, March 26, 2012

Staying in one spot for three or four months has its advantages and its disadvantages. The advantages are that it provides some down time when we can relax from our busy summer schedule of travel and sightseeing. It also provides time to work on projects. The disadvantage is we (Paul especially) start to grow roots. This year was especially bad for Paul. All the woodworking he had to do to install the residential refrigerator made him long for a workshop. Also, the winter was mild even for Florida, and there seemed to be more flowers blooming everywhere. That made Paul wish he had a garden. However, once we begin planning the details of the routes to our first couple of stops and thinking about new adventures, and once we start thinking of some of our old, favorite places, we begin to get excited again about hitting the road.

As we spent our last few days in Bushnell, we began preparing for our departure. On Friday, we started putting things away inside the motor home and got rid of a few items from our storage compartments we weren't using anymore. Paul checked the oil in the car and motor home, checked the air pressures in the tires and cleaned the windshield on Saturday. Margery caught up on laundry on Monday.

Another thing we did over the weekend was to make a final check of the travel latches we plan to use for the new residential refrigerator. When he finished the installation, Paul had a couple of different methods in mind to hold the doors closed while we were in transit. The method we decided on was a pair of child-proof locks on the bottom drawer to hold the freezer closed and Velcro around the handles to hold the refrigerator doors closed. We also got some spring curtain rods to use inside the refrigerator to keep the contents from shifting.

We found nice child-proof locks at Walmart that can be disabled by pressing the red button to keep the lock in the open position. Since we don't have kids to worry about, we'll be able to keep them disabled while we're parked so we won't have to remember to press the latches every time we want to open the freezer.

Child-proof latches to hold the freezer drawer closed while in transit

Velcro for the refrigerator doors

The child-proof locks got mixed reviews in evaluations that were available online. Most of the complaints were with the locks breaking or coming off (they are held on with double-sided adhesive), but most of the problems seemed to come when household members forget about the locks or when guests don't know how the locks work try to rip the refrigerator open. Since we'll only be using the locks while we're in transit, we hope we don't have that problem.

On Sunday, Pat and Mike invited us to a farewell dinner at their rig. We had a delicious dinner of Mexican lasagna and plenty of good conversation. After dinner, we all went for a walk around the campground.

Dinner with Pat and Mike

Monday was our last full day in Bushnell, and we finished up a few odds and ends in the morning, then went to The Villages for a late lunch at OakWood Grill. OakWood has delicious ribs and smoked pulled pork, beef and turkey.

OakWood Grill

Margery had a half rack of ribs with slaw and fries ($9.95), and Paul had a smoked turkey lunch platter with slaw and lima beans ($7.99).

Paul is ready to dig in.

Ribs and smoked turkey

The ribs were fall-off-the-bone tender with just the right amount of sweet barbecue sauce, and the turkey was tender and moist. There are hot and mild barbecue sauces on the table, but Paul likes the sweet, smokey flavor of the turkey so much, he doesn't think it needs sauce.

In spite of eating out a good bit lately, we are both doing well with our diets. In fact, after following the Belly Fat Cure Diet for about 6 months, we have both reached our target weights. Paul has lost over 30 pounds, and Margery has lost almost 20. However, Margery is considering a new, lower target.

Now that we have reached our targets, we have begun to replace some of our baggy shorts and jeans and over-sized tops and T-shirts with clothes that fit better. We can't afford to replace everything all at once, so we're doing it a little at a time.

Margery and Paul with new wardrobe

On Monday evening, we took a walk past Pat and Mike's 5th wheel to say our final good-byes. We had a good time getting to know them better and having our friendship grow. We will stay in touch and maybe cross paths with them again during the summer before we all return to Florida in December.

On Tuesday morning we pulled out of Blueberry Hill heading for points north. We'll have an update in our next post.

Motor Home Project: Install a New Residential Refrigerator

 Part 4 - In Goes the New

Bushnell, FL - Events of Friday, Feb. 3 to Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012

In our last post, Paul had finished cutting all the maple lumber for the new face frame for our refrigerator cabinet. After test fitting the parts, Paul began the assembly. The face frames of most RV cabinets are assembled with pocket screws. With this technique, holes are drilled at an angle in the back of one piece of wood to accept screws that fasten to the adjoining piece of wood. This joint is not as strong as some cabinet joints; but it is strong enough, and it is easy to do (especially with the dedicated pocket screw equipment the RV manufacturers use).

Since Paul doesn't have access to fancy, dedicated pocket screw machines, he bought a Kreg Jig Mini at Lowe's that is designed to be used with a hand drill. There are also more elaborate versions of pocket screw jigs available that simplify the setup and clamping to the workpiece; but at $20, this basic version is the least expensive. Since this is a tool Paul is not likely to use much in the future and there weren't that many joints to make, Paul was willing to take the extra time to set up the basic version of the jig for each joint to save a little money.

The jig is plastic so it will not mar the wood, and it has a metal insert to guide the drill bit. The jig is firmly clamped to the workpiece at the proper distance back from the edge according to the thickness of the wood being joined, then the pocket hole is drilled with the special drill bit provided in the kit. The position of the stop collar on the drill bit is also determined by the thickness of the wood.

Paul was impressed by the professional-looking results.

After assembly of the face frame, there was another test fitting. In spite of the fact the joints fastened together only with screws and have no glue, the joints stayed tight while Paul maneuvered the rather large, awkward frame into the motor home. Pocket screw joints are typically assembled without glue, but glue could be used along with the screws for maximum strength. However, Paul chose not to use glue in case modifications to the frame were required now or at a later date.

After Paul was sure the new frame fit properly, he sanded it and applied three coats of Minwax Wipe-On Poly finish.

With the new face frame for the refrigerator cabinet complete, Paul removed the false floor that he had temporarily installed so he could put in the modified support for the new drawer that is going under the false floor. This step had to wait for the new frame because the sides of the support attach to the frame.

Throughout the process there were a number of components that had to be installed in order for other parts to be fit, then the first components had to be removed in order to work on something else. Sometimes, the same components had to be installed and removed several times.

Paul devised a way to attach the face frame to the cabinet after the new fridge was set into place by using screwing blocks along the inside edges of the frame. Installing the frame after setting the new fridge into place would prevent any possible damage to the frame when lifting the tall, heavy refrigerator in the narrow hallway. Therefore, the face frame had to be removed again. Then Paul re-installed the false floor for what was to be the final time.

There were a few more details to tend to such as reducing the height of the water line and installing an in-line water filter for the ice maker.

Paul used a Shark Bite ball valve to connect to the existing PEX water pipe. The valve he bought has a Shark Bite connector on the inlet to connect to the existing PEX tubing and ½" female pipe thread on the outlet to connect a threaded adapter for ¼" tubing for the ice maker filter. Shark Bite is a brand name of push-on plumbing fittings. The same fitting will work copper, PVC and PEX tubing (or any combination thereof). The fittings are a little expensive, but they make plumbing a breeze. Just push them on and you're done. There is no soldering, no threads to tighten, no glue, or no crimping. And there were no leaks on the first try!

Then it was finally time to shut down the new Samsung and move it into position in the cabinet opening. We unloaded the food from the Samsung and put it into our own and into several borrowed coolers. After Paul removed the doors and the freezer drawer, Gary and Leroy came over to help with the lifting. Surprisingly, the Samsung with the doors removed seemed a good bit lighter than the old Norcold without its doors.

The next photo shows the Samsung in place. Notice the temporary support under the center of the false floor in front. This was to hold the false floor at the proper level until Paul could get the face frame into place. The frame has a piece of angle iron running across the front to support the floor.

After the new refrigerator was in place, Paul installed the maple frame on the cabinet. Then he re-installed the refrigerator doors. This was a little tricky because with the top of the fridge almost all the way up to the ceiling, it was impossible to get a screwdriver in to install the top screws. Paul tilted the top of the fridge forward while Margery steadied it so he could reach the screws.

We then plugged the fridge back in, started it up and loaded the food back in. In the following few days, Paul hooked up the ice maker, bolted the refrigerator to the floor and made some spacers for inside the cabinet to reduce any tendency of the refrigerator to want to tip as we are making a turn while driving.

With the new refrigerator securely fastened down and operational, Paul went to work finishing the new drawer underneath. During this entire project, Paul missed his table saw so much, he built a make-shift table saw by drilling some small holes in the base plate of his 7¼" circular saw and using some flat-head screws to mount the saw upside down with the blade sticking up through a piece of ½" plywood. He set the plywood on the saw horses he bought and clamped a straight piece of 1 x 4 to the plywood to use for a fence to guide the work piece. It doesn't have near the precision of a good quality table saw (or even an inexpensive table saw for that matter), and the setup for each cut was a bit tedious, but the cuts were more accurate and more repeatable than they would have been holding the circular saw by hand.

The home made table saw was invaluable for making the pieces for the drawer because for the drawer to fit together properly and to operate smoothly, the cuts had to be fairly accurate. The next photo shows Paul in action with his home made table saw getting ready to make a dado cut in one of the drawer side pieces where the drawer bottom will fit. That was something he couldn't even attempt to do with a hand-held saw.

In addition to finishing the drawer, Paul re-installed the furnace vent below the fridge and installed the plastic trim piece at the bottom of the fridge. The next photo shows the completed job.

The installation was a lot of work, but we are very pleased with our new residential refrigerator. One of the best things is the Samsung makes ice much faster than we can use it. We haven't tried ice cream yet, but the frozen food is hard as a rock. Another good thing about the Samsung is it only weighs about 20 pounds more than our old Norcold. Of course, the Samsung will hold a lot more food, so we'll have to be careful not to overload the fridge when we're on the move. Even when the Samsung is relatively full, everything is easy to find. Margery LOVES the deep vegetable fresheners since we always have plenty greens on hand for salads.

With the big job of installing the new refrigerator done, we're looking forward to some relaxation and recreation. We still have to devise a way to hold the refrigerator doors and freezer drawer closed while we're driving; but we have an idea for that, and it can be done later at a more leisurely pace. Enough work for now.

Motor Home Project: Install a Residential Refrigerator

Part 3 - Making Modifications

Bushnell, FL - Events of Sunday, Jan. 29 to Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012

There were a lot of details to tend to before Paul could install the new Samsung residential refrigerator. The first thing he tackled after removing the Norcold was to run a new electric line from the inverter.

We only have two 6-volt house batteries, so we won't be able to run the refrigerator for very long on the inverter, but that isn't a big concern since we don't boondock anymore. However, with the alternator of the motor home charging the house batteries, we're hoping to be able to run the refrigerator while we're driving. If it turns out we can't, it's not that big a deal because we usually only travel less than 4 hours a day. We'll just leave the fridge off because it won't warm up very much in that amount of time. If we have a longer drive, we can always run the generator for a while to make sure the fridge stays cool. Even if we end up not running the fridge while we're driving, Paul still wanted to run the wire from the inverter now while he had easy access to the area behind the fridge because there is also the possibility of adding a second pair of batteries sometime in the future if we decide we want to do that.

There is a receptacle connected to the inverter below the dash. This was a very convenient location to connect a wire to run to the refrigerator area because Paul found a small opening in the firewall right behind that outlet that was sealed by foam. He tapped into the inverter outlet, ran the wire out the opening and under the floor of the motor home along side several other wires. He then found a place where a furnace duct ran up through the floor under the kitchen sink and pushed the wire up along side the furnace duct. Once the wire was under the sink, it was fairly easy to run it behind the cabinet to the refrigerator area.

After he got the wire in position, Paul climbed back under the motor home to zip-tie it into place so it wouldn't sag or rub on anything.

The next job Paul took on was to close off the old refrigerator vents. The back of Norcold needed to be open to the outside air because of the cooling requirements for the coils and because of the fact is has the capability of running on LP gas. The inside face of Norcold was sealed to the cabinetry with weatherstripping to prevent hot or cold outside air from infiltrating into the RV.

Residential refrigerators have cooling fans that draw room air over their coils for cooling and don't require outside ventilation. Leaving the old vents open would have allowed outside air into the motor home since the Samsung would have air space around it and would not be sealed to the cabinetry, so Paul closed the vents off by constructing a box from foam insulation board and foil tape. He attached the box to the inside of the access cover.

The next photo is a view of the cover in place from the inside. Paul later added weatherstripping to cover the small gap around the perimeter of the cover. This arrangement will allow easy access to the plugs and water connection behind the refrigerator from the outside. Also visible to the right in the next photo are the new inverter/shore power electrical outlet (bottom) and the relocated outlet that is for shore power only.

Paul covered the inside opening of the roof vent with another piece of foam board.

Just to be absolutely sure no rain could blow in under the vent cover up on the roof and leak inside, he fashioned a cap out of aluminum flashing to put right over outside of the vent opening. The photo below shows the roof vent with the cover removed.

And the next photo shows the aluminum cap. The cover went back on over the cap.

While we're on the subject of closing up holes, Paul noticed when he was removing the LP gas line that the opening in the floor that the line passed through had not been completely sealed up at the factory. There were several air gaps in the foam sealant down to the storage compartments below. Paul bought a can of spray foam insulation to closed off those gaps. He also used the foam to seal the opening beside the furnace duct and the hole in the firewall where he had run the new electric line from the inverter.

With most of the secondary work done. it was time to determine the exact location for the false floor that the Samsung would sit on. The location is critical because not only did the new refrigerator have to fit properly in the space above the floor, we wanted to maximize the height of the storage drawer below the refrigerator. After many measurements, a lot of calculations and numerous sketches, Paul put in the supports for the new floor.

The old floor was made from treated plywood to resist rot from possible water leaks either from the water line to the ice maker or from an overflowing condensate pan. Paul liked the idea of using treated plywood, so he bought a new piece because the old one was covered with unsightly black adhesive and sealant. The old one was also a little warped. Paul cut the plywood to size and temporarily screwed it into place.

Once the location for the floor was established, Paul could get to work on the new face frame for the refrigerator cabinet. We picked up some maple lumber a few weeks ago at Hardwood Lumber & Millwork down in Lakeland, FL. That was the day we had the brake problem, and the owner of the lumber store even stayed a few minutes late so we could get back to pick up our lumber after getting our brakes repaired.

Hardwood Lumber & Millwork has a fairly large warehouse full of cabinet-grade hardwoods in various thicknesses. They also make custom millwork. There aren't many sources for hardwood lumber in central Florida, and if you need some, Hardwood Lumber & Millwork is a good place to go.

Since picnic tables aren't provided at Blueberry Hill, Paul needed something for a work table so he purchased a pair of inexpensive, lightweight saw horses and used the piece of plywood he bought for the false floor as a table top. The photo below shows Paul setting up to make a cut...

...and actually making the cut.

This is the type of project that causes Paul to really miss his workshop, especially his table saw. He bought a new, carbide-tipped blade with finer teeth for his 7¼" circular saw. The new blade helped make smoother cuts, but doing finish cabinet work with a hand-held 7¼" circular saw still requires a lot of extra sanding and other hand work.

After all the pieces of maple for the face frame were cut, Paul took them inside for a test fit. After some adjustments, the parts were ready for assembly. We'll cover the assembly of the face frame and the installation of the new refrigerator in the next post.

Motor Home Project: Install a Residential Refrigerator

Part 2 - Out with the Old

Bushnell, FL - Events of Friday, Jan. 27 to Saturday, Jan 28, 2012

The morning after the Samsung arrived, Paul began the process of removing the Norcold. The first step was to remove the doors. Not only did this make the refrigerator lighter, but it was necessary so the Norcold would fit out the door of the motor home.

It was raining earlier in the morning, but fortunately it let up enough so Paul could go outside and unhook the water, gas and electric from the back of the refrigerator. Not only did Paul disconnect the LP gas line from the refrigerator, he disconnected the hose from the manifold in the outside storage bay below the refrigerator. He plugged the outlet and tested for leaks with a solution of dish detergent. The disconnected hose was later removed entirely.

There were also a couple of screws in back of the Norcold holding it down. After taking those out, Paul removed the trim and retaining screws from the top and bottom of the refrigerator on the inside. Watching the technician remove the refrigerator last year to replace our cooling unit was a big help.

With the Norcold unhooked and all the screws out, Paul was then able to begin prying the old refrigerator out. He checked the weather online, and since there were no more showers on the radar, he continued sliding the Norcold forward. Once it was sticking out several inches from the wall, it was time to look for some help. We rounded up Mike, Ken and Drew.

The work had to be done in tight quarters, especially with the new refrigerator sitting right nearby.

But we managed to wrestle the Norcold to the door and maneuver it down the steps. The fit was tight, but not as bad as the Samsung was going in. The Norcold is only 24" deep without the doors, and our motor home door opening is 24 5/8".

We are going to try to sell the Norcold. After all, it is a working RV refrigerator with a cooling unit that is less than a year old. The cooling unit alone costs about $1300 just for the part itself.

Rather than clutter up our site with a refrigerator wrapped in a tarp, we decided to rent a small storage unit down the road from the campground for a month to store the Norcold while we try to sell it. Mike had volunteered his truck to haul the Norcold to storage. We hoisted the Norcold into the bed, tied it down and hauled it away.

When we got back, Paul got to work. The next photo shows the empty space.

There was foam weatherstripping on the sides and a baffle at the back that was used to direct the air flow over the Norcold's coils that had to be removed. The false floor that the Norcold sat on had to be removed in order to lower it to accommodate the taller Samsung. Tiffin used a very tough sealant all around the floor. This had to be cut before the floor could be removed.

After the screws holding the false floor in place were gone, Paul could begin to pry the floor out.

Removing the floor revealed the tangle of wiring and plumbing that runs through this compartment behind the drawer that was below the refrigerator.

One option for installing the Samsung was to eliminate the drawer below the refrigerator entirely, sit the Samsung on the floor, and install a filler strip above. While this would have been easier, the presence of all that wiring and plumbing precluded sitting the Samsung on the floor. Besides, we need all the storage space we can get, so Paul will lower the false floor and build a new drawer that is lower and wider.

The next step was to remove the wood strips from the side walls that supported the false floor and to remove the old drawer supports. Then Paul removed the face frame around the cabinet opening. It was screwed to wooden frames inside the walls from the inside out. In other words, the face frame was installed before the wall panels were attached, and the heads for the screws that held the face frame were inside the walls. That meant Paul had to pry the face frame off and rip the screws out. Since he was going to replace the entire face frame anyway, it didn't matter if the face frame got damaged, which it did. Fortunately, he managed to get the face frame off without damaging the side walls. The next photo shows one of the screws that held the face frame in place...

...and the next photo shows the refrigerator opening with the face frame and everything inside the opening removed that has to be removed.

Pulling out the old Norcold and the demo work on the cabinet took two days. From here, things will slow down a bit as Paul measures, plans and builds all the new parts required to finish the cabinet and get the new Samsung installed. We'll update the progress in our next post.

Motor Home Project: Install a Residential Refrigerator

Part 1 - The New Fridge Arrives

Bushnell, FL - Events of Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012

RV refrigerators are gas absorption type while most refrigerators used in homes operate by means of a compressor. We won't get into the mechanics of how each type of refrigerator works, but gas absorption RV refrigerators, especially the larger ones, are notorious for not cooling well. The reason gas absorption refrigerators are used in RVs in the first place is they can operate on either 120V electric or LP gas (some models also operate on 12V electric) whereas standard residential refrigerators in the U. S. require 120V alternating current.

Our motor home came equipped with a 12 cubic foot, 4-door Norcold RV refrigerator.

Some newer motor homes offer residential refrigerators as either standard equipment or as an option. Because of all the problems with RV refrigerators, many owners of RVs that originally came with an RV refrigerator are replacing them with a residential model. Over the past year, several of the RV forums in which Paul participates have had topics on the subject of replacing an RV refrigerator with a residential refrigerator.

We have not been happy with the cooling of our Norcold ever since it was new. It was slow to make ice, and it never kept ice cream hard. The shelves inside were close together making it hard to find anything. As we found out last spring when our cooling unit failed, RV refrigerators are expensive to repair.

Norcold has also had a good bit of trouble with their 12 cubic foot RV refrigerators. There have been several recalls over the past few years because of fires. The new cooling unit we had installed last spring came equipped from the factory with the latest recall sensor already installed, but the control box for the sensor failed after only about a month, so we had to have the box replaced.

Even though we installed a new cooling unit less than a year ago and even though our Norcold was protected by the latest fire-prevention recall device, we finally made the decision to replace our 12 cubic foot, 4-door Norcold with an 18 cubic foot, French-door Samsung RF197 residential refrigerator. Because our refrigerator is located in the hallway, we needed either a French-door or a side-by-side model so we could open the doors fully.

We chose the Samsung for several reasons. First and foremost, it is a counter-depth model that we calculated would fit through the door of the motor home with the doors of the refrigerator removed. Every other model we found would require the removal of a side window or even the windshield to get the refrigerator inside.

The second reason for choosing the Samsung is it would fit into the same space where our Norcold was located. The Samsung is 6½ inches taller than the Norcold, so the height of the space had to be increased, but we determined the width and depth of the Samsung would fit quite easily. Also, because the Samsung it is counter-depth model, it would not intrude as far into the hallway as some of the other models would.

We don't boondock anymore so we don't really need to run the refrigerator on the inverter, at least for long periods of time. However, it would be nice to run the refrigerator on the inverter for short periods if we wanted to. The Samsung will operate on a modified sine wave inverter, which is the type of inverter our motor home came equipped with; and that is the third reason we went with a Samsung. Without getting into a lot of technical details about different types of inverters, let's just say most other residential refrigerators would have required us to replace our modified sine wave inverter with a pure sine wave inverter in order for us to have the ability to be able to operate the refrigerator on the inverter even for short periods.

We ordered the Samsung RF197 from Lowe's near The Villages right after after New Year's. We chose the silver platinum version (simulated stainless steel finish) over real stainless because the simulated stainless shows fewer fingerprints. The original delivery was estimated at about 5 weeks, but it arrived in about 3½ weeks. Waiting for the refrigerator to arrive and doing some of the prep work for the installation is the reason we have been just hangin' around so much lately.

We got a call on Wednesday scheduling our delivery between 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM on Thursday. The truck showed up around 2:00. The delivery guys knew the delivery was to an RV park, but they were apparently hoping it was going into a park model or mobile home. They were a little chagrined they were going to have to squeeze the fridge into a motor home.

The first thing they did was measure the motor home door. After they measured the fridge, one of them announced it wouldn't fit. Our door is 24 5/8" wide, and the Lowe's web site said the refrigerator was 24½" with the doors removed, so Paul knew it would be tight. However, on the back of the refrigerator there was a plastic box covering the water connection for the ice maker and a metal grill that provides access to the coils and compressor that stuck out an additional ¼" from the back of the refrigerator making the total depth 24¾. Uh oh.

Paul tried to convince the workers the fridge would fit if they would remove the plastic cover and metal grill from the back. More measuring and much discussion took place.

Paul watched patiently from the tailgate until they finally decided removing the rear covers was worth a try since they had driven so far to deliver the fridge in the first place.

They removed the covers from the back, rechecked the dimensions, then unloaded the fridge and began removing the doors.

We were all hopeful as we carried all the doors and bins inside and stacked them around the motor home.

With the doors off, the workers wheeled the fridge over to the motor home on a dolly and got it lined up with the door opening.

In it goes. We're committed now!

Almost in.

Phew, they made it!

Even with the covers taken off the back of the refrigerator and the doors removed it was still a tight fit. There were little plastic clips on the front that hold the bottom grill in place that got hung up on the door frame just as they got the fridge almost all the way in. The lesson learned is to check the dimensions of the refrigerator yourself (including any clips, covers or extra projections) before ordering if possible. The problem was this model is a special order and is not stocked anywhere, and since we had to go by the dimensions provided, we almost cut it a little too close.

Fortunately, the delivery guys didn't give up, and they eventually made it work. If it hadn't fit, Paul would have probably had the guys leave the fridge anyway. He then would have had to pull out the side window and get several of our neighbors to lift the refrigerator onto the back of someone's truck. We then would have had to slide the refrigerator in through the window.

Once the guys got the fridge in, they removed the tape and packing materials from inside and put the doors back on.

After the delivery guys left, we plugged the refrigerator in. While we waited for it to cool, Paul checked the current draw with his Kill-a-Watt meter (a Kill-a-Watt meter is an electrical meter that measures electrical current and electricity usage, among other things) and found the maximum reading of about 3.5 watts when the compressor started and less than 2 watts while the compressor was running. He also disconnected the motor home from shore power and plugged the refrigerator into an electrical outlet supplied by our 1000 watt inverter. He was pleased to find the inverter had enough output to start the refrigerator compressor and continue to run the refrigerator even while the inverter was powering the TV, DVR and computer at the same time.

The refrigerator is quite large standing there in the middle of the motor home. It will be a little inconvenient, but we'll have to work around it until Paul gets the old Norcold out and gets the cabinet modified so the Samsung will fit in.

It took the refrigerator about 2½ hours to cool down to the temperatures recommended by Samsung (38º for the fridge and -2º for the freezer). After dinner we transferred the food from the Norcold to the Samsung.

The next step will be to get the Norcold out and to begin modifying the cabinet. We'll tell you how that went in our next post.

How We  Became Publishers
As many RVers do, we started blogging about our travels as a way to help our friends and family back home follow along in our new adventure. Neither one of us are into writing stream of conscience so it was predictable that over the past four years, the blog has morphed into a travelogue. It is always nice to hear from other travelers about good campgrounds, food, festivals, and sights to see. Therefore, we like to include that kind information along with some 'home improvement projects' and personal news.

We started publishing our blog using Typepad because we thought we would be able to copy the blog to a CD. Not sure where Margery read that, but about a year into blog writing, we found out that was not true.

However, we did find out that it was possible to 'slurp' our blog into a book format and have as many or as few books published as we wanted. That was when we decided to publish a book for each year's of travel. 

Blurb provides a high-quality bookmaking and publishing services for the beginner or the pro. The professional software is a free download, and there is no charge until you're ready to publish your book. Books are published in 7-10 days and start as low as $4.95 in professional, bookstore-quality, printing, binding, and covers.

Full color books are available in five sizes. You can use one of their 12 templates with step-by-step guidance, or you can skip the BookSmart guidance and design your own. Some of the templates include books featuring photos, recipes, poetry, yearbooks, and of course blogs to book.

There many ways to customize the look of your book. For instance, we chose a slightly larger print for the copy so that it'll be easy to read as we get older. You also have a variety of fonts, backgrounds, and themes to use, if you wish. The photo below gives you an idea of how your book would look while you are creating/ editing your book. You can also view a single page or as a two-page spread.

This past week our published book of our first year arrived, and we found it stunning!

With all the blog entries and pictures, it was 204 pages. We chose a hardcover with a book jacket which we designed.

Although we do not expect anyone to purchase it, we did make it public so that it can be previewed at the Blurb Bookstore. On the right sidebar of the bookstore page, there are a variety of categories of books that you can peruse. It's a hotbed of ideas for designing your own book.

Because our book is public, we had the opportunity to write something about the book. Here's our description: 

How did a couple of stick-in-the-muds make the decision to disengage from their lives as they knew it and begin to explore our great country as full-time RVers?

There were a lot of things to consider and a dizzying number of decisions that had to be made... and that didn't even include where we wanted to go first!

This book includes blog entries describing our experiences accompanied by a lot of photos of our travels. It concludes with an honest assessment of our first year of life on the road and the decisions we made.

We both feel that publishing our book has been worth the time, effort, and cost. Some day we'll be rockin' away browsing through our books re-living this wonderful time in our lives. Margery has begun editing book two, but it will take a while.

Before we left Bushnell, we stopped back at Coyote Rojo Mexican restaurant. This time Margery had a fajita steak taco salad, and Paul had a fajita steak burrito. Both were delish!

We were scheduled to leave Bushnell Wednesday morning. However, when we got up we realized that our English Springer Spaniel, Molly, was not doing well. We had noticed a distinct deterioration in her quality of life the past couple of weeks, but the past two days she had worsened. After an emergency visit to a local vet, we decided it was time to let her go peacefully. We loved on her while the sedative took effect, and she was no longer aware we were there.

We had almost 16 years with her. She was a great traveler and  loved going with her pack wherever we went. She particularly loved all the smells she encountered on our travels the past four years. She was a great companion with her unique quirks, and she will be sorely missed. Margery has posted some of our favorite pictures in a Facebook photo album.

We delayed our departure, and will now pull out on Thursday for points west. We look forward to sharing with you what we discover.

Still Hangin' Around Blueberry Hill

Well, we were really wanting to get out and do some sightseeing, but the weather isn't cooperating. It seems we can have the weather cool and sunny or warm and cloudy, but not warm and sunny. But at least the cool days aren't as cold or as frequent as they were a few weeks ago. The redbuds are blooming, the deciduous trees are starting to leaf out, and the grass is starting to green up so we're hoping the weather will continue to improve.

We occasionally run some errands, but mostly we are continuing to hang around the motor home due to the "iffy" weather. We are spending time watching the Olympics, but we're also taking advantage of our down time to take care of some maintenance items. We had new tires put on the Saturn, and Paul installed new brakes. The campground discourages mechanical work on vehicles; but the brakes are pretty easy to change, it doesn't make any noise, and there's no mess so Paul went ahead and did the work himself.

In the motor home, we noticed the seam binding on the edge of the carpet along the living room slide was coming loose, so Paul got out a needle and some thread and sewed it back on. Molly supervised.

 

When we first got the Saturn Vue for use as a toad, we bought a Protect-a-Tow shield, which is a skirt that goes between the motor home and the car to help protect the car from road debris when towing. The Protect-a-Tow worked fairly well, but it was a little too short for the length of our tow bar setup. Also, because of the long overhang at the back or the motor home, the hitch sometimes drags on uneven pavement such as driveway entrances. When that happens, the pavement puts tears in the fabric of the tow shield. Over the years, the tears had gotten to be pretty plentiful, so last year we decided it was time to replace the tow shield.

We got a remnant of 80% shade cloth (blocks 80% of the light) last year at Beasley Manufacturing in nearby Center Hill, FL, and we made a replacement fabric skirt for our Protect-a-Tow. Beasley sells shade cloth remnants at very reasonable prices. We were able to make the shield a little bigger to better suit our tow bar setup, and we were able to reuse most of the mounting hardware that came with the original Protect-a-Tow.

Unfortunately, over the course of the past year we found the 80% shade fabric for the tow shield was a little too porous, and we also seemed to get a lot more tears in the fabric. Therefore, we picked up some 90% shade cloth at Beasley when we got to Bushnell this year in order to sew up another new skirt.

On one of those warm, but cloudy days we got out Margery's Singer Feather Weight sewing machine and started on the new shield. The 90% cloth is denser and stiffer, and it was a lot more difficult to sew than the 80% fabric we used last year. As you can see, Margery had to hold her mouth just right.

 

Margery's sewing machine had to work its little heart out to get the job done, especially at the corners where we had four overlapping layers, but it handled the job well. Getting the tension adjusted properly for heavier fabric is always difficult, but Margery persevered.

Margery has put the time hanging around the motor home to good use by spending many hours researching our summer travels. A lot of people travel by the seat of their pants heading in a general direction and moving at will. However, that is not the Zeller way. Our motto is, "if you plan for nothing, you achieve nothing."

The other reason we feel the necessity to plan is when we want to stay in more crowded tourist areas or over holiday weekends. For example, we wanted to return to Trailer Village at the Grand Canyon this year which requires reservations made fairly far in advance. As we have said before, we don't like to be tied down by reservations, but we dislike being inconvenienced by not having a place to stay even more.

Using our mapping software, Margery maps a route to our farthest destination and then back to our planned stop in the east placing via points as we decide where we want to visit on our way. This gives us an idea of the mileage and number of four-hour traveling days we'll need. By dividing the total number of days in the travel period by the number of travel days needed, we get an average number of days we have per stop. This gives us an idea of whether our plans are doable.

Here's a map of our anticipated 2010 travels, God-willing.

Then, Margery begins extensive research evaluating campgrounds along our route as well as things to do and see in the areas through which we will be passing. This enables us to have a better sense of how much time we will need in any one area also allowing 'down' time to catch up on laundry, shopping and relaxing.

At this point, we make reservations only at the places we know for sure we want to visit and where getting a site could be problematic. We have now made broad brush strokes on our travel canvas. Here is where our flexibility kicks in. We try to leave as much wiggle room between our reservation stops as we can so we can make schedule adjustments as we go. Margery is currently researching the leg between Kansas City and the Dayton area where we plan to spend Labor Day Weekend.

Our other project has been doing the final editing on a book of our first year of Living Our Dream blog. There is no way to back up our blog so 'slurping' it into book form will be our backup as well a memory book in hard-copy form so we'll be able to browse through in the years ahead.

So that's about it...not much sightseeing but we're getting a lot of other things done. We have friends visiting us here next week, so we'll be sightseeing rain or shine. We'll let you know where we go.

Motor Home Project: Replace Day/Night Shades

Are you noticing a common topic for our posts lately? It seems like we had a bunch of motor home improvement projects planned during our winter stopover in Florida. Our motor home is approaching five years old; and while it's still in good shape and we're not ready to replace it yet, we still like to stop in Red Bay, AL, to tour the Tiffin plant and to occasionally visit an RV dealer or an RV show. This lets us see some of the improvements that have been incorporated into newer RVs. Since we'll probably be hanging onto our motor home for at least several more years, we decided it would be a good time to make some upgrades.

Replacing our old tube-type TVs with LCD TVs was first on our list, and we're enjoying our new TVs very much. As we said, most of our viewing is still in standard-def, but we did appreciate watching over-the-air broadcasts of the Super Bowl, the NASCAR Bud Shootout and the Daytona 500 in hi-def.

Another improvement we noticed a few years ago in Tiffin motor homes is an upgraded type of day/night shade. Almost everyone complains about traditional day/night shades. While the idea of having a sheer privacy shade to let light in during the day combined into one unit with an opaque shade for night is good, the old-style day/night shades are troublesome. The strings are constantly breaking. Paul has re-strung all of our shades at least once, and some four or five times. We buy the string in 300 foot spools, and we're on our second spool. The traditional shades require two hands to raise and lower, and they are difficult to keep clean. The photo below shows one of our original day/night shades.

The new shades we started seeing a few years ago were made by MCD Innovations. American Duo shades by MCD are roll-up shades that can be raised and lowered with one hand. The American Duo shades combine a shade for day that makes it easy to see out (but hard to see in) with an opaque shade for night. The American Solo shade is available with a single shade for either day or night. The shades are also available in motorized versions that are controlled either by push button or optional wireless remote.

The roll-up speed of the MCD shades is slow and controlled, and the speed can be adjusted. To raise the manual shade, just give it a tug and let go, and it will raise by itself. The stop can also be adjusted so they won't roll up too far and disappear behind the valance.

We placed our order shortly after visiting the MCD booth at the Tampa RV show back in January. All MCD shades are custom made, and our order took about three weeks to arrive. MCD has representatives in various locations around the country that will do the measuring and installation for you, or you can go to the factory in McKinney, TX, to have the installation done. Since Paul has removed all the valences and original day/night shades to repair them in the past, he was comfortable doing the installation of the new shades himself.

The installation is straightforward provided your valences are at least 2" deep. If they are less than that, some modification will be required to accommodate the shades. Fortunately, our valences are deep enough, so we were good to go.

Both the old and new shades are held in place with clips. Once Paul removed the valences with the old shades attached, all he had to do was remove the old shades and clips, screw the new clips in place and snap in the new shades. The next photo shows the old shade ready to be removed.

Installation of the valences with the new shades was a little harder than the removal because the new shades take up more space inside the top of the valence so some of the clearances were a little tight to see and reach the screws that hold the valences in place. Paul needed a flashlight and a long screwdriver, and he still had to stand on his head to reach some of them.

 

One risk of doing the measuring and installation yourself is the custom-made shades are non-returnable, so if you make a mistake measuring, you will have to bear the cost of correcting the error. There is an exception if there is a defect or error on the part of MCD, but given the level of quality we see in this product we're guessing an MCD error or defect is pretty rare. Fortunately, Paul measured and checked each valence several times, and all the blinds fit. There was one that was a little snug because the cloth covering the valence was bunched up inside the valence, but Paul removed some of the excess cloth and made it work.

The photo below shows the same window as above with the MCD shades installed. Left to right: both shades open, day shade down, night shade drawn.

We are very pleased with our new MCD shades. They are much easier to raise and lower than our original day/night shades, and the appearance is neat and clean. One thing we especially like is how much more open it makes the motor home feel. The MCD shades raise to a higher level than the old day/night shades which results in more open window area. That will take a little getting used to because we feel somewhat exposed with all the blinds wide open, but all we have to do is pull the day shades, and it's just about impossible to see in unless it's almost totally dark outside and the lights are on inside.

Valentine's Day is pretty low key for us. Margery regrets that we did not keep the cards we sent to each other our first Valentine's Day...we had sent the same one to each other. We kept those cards for a few years and sent them back and forth to each other, but then they were put away and eventually became victims to downsizing. E-cards have made card giving much easier. We no longer stand at the greeting card display picking out each other's card, giving it to each other to read, then putting them back. LOL

Paul's tradition of giving Margery a single red rose for Valentine's Daywent by the wayside once we went on the road, so you can imagine her delight when flowers were delivered to the motor home this past weekend. For Margery, fresh flowers NEVER grow old.

You've got to love these on-line flower sites like From You Flowers that make it easy to spread a little cheer.

Another thing we have been doing while hanging around the motor home is planning our summer travels. While gas prices remain stable, we want to travel out west as much as possible. Because our first visit to Zion and Bryce in southern Utah was when Margery's knees prevented her from hiking, she wanted to return. Paul regretted we didn't stop in Salt Lake City two years ago, so this year our farthest point will be Utah.

In the past, we have purchased travel books published by Moon. However, friends of ours put us on to the AAA travel books which seemed to be better suited for our needs. Just a couple of Moon books can cost $50, so this year we invested our money in a AAA membership instead. We'll be able to get whatever travel books we want at any AAA office. Here's Margery after picking up tour books at the AAA office in The Villages on one of our rarer sunny days this winter.

For those who enjoy solving jigsaw puzzles and are looking for a momentary distraction, we've included the picture below. Just click the arrow, and you will be taken to the Jig Zone web site where you will be able to reassemble the picture with your mouse. You can even change the shape and number of pieces. We tried the puzzle with a picture of a fishing boat in Tarpon Springs, and several people liked the idea so we thought we would do it again. Your comments are welcomed.

Our travels this year will include spending sightseeing time in at least 13 states. We'll be taking a southern route out across Louisiana, Texas, and New Mexico before we stop in Tucson then head north toward Utah. Our return route will be a northern route across Wyoming and Nebraska to hit the Escapade (Escapees RV Club rally) in Indiana and then go on to Pittsburgh in the fall. It sounds like a lot of traveling, but it will be a much slower pace than we had going to the Pacific Northwest last year.

With all the projects we have done so far this winter we are looking forward to some sightseeing, but will the weather cooperate? Like the rest of the country, we've had lots more cold, rainy and cloudy weather than we've come to expect when wintering in Florida, but we're grateful our precipitation doesn't need to be shoveled, and we're hoping for an improvement.

Motor Home Project: Replace Rear TV

Although we made the decision to replace the front TV a couple of months ago, we didn't actually buy the new TV until after we returned from our trip to Pittsburgh for Christmas. When we first made the decision, we weren't sure if we wanted to replace the rear TV as well; but once we went to Best Buy to pick up the new TV for the front and took another look at the sleek, flat panel TVs on display, we decided to go ahead and replace the rear TV, too.

A 26" LCD TV would fit just fine in place of the old 21" TV in the rear; but unfortunately, Best Buy quit carrying the 26" Panasonic LCD TVs sometime during or right after the holidays. They had other brands available in 26", but we wanted the TVs to match. That way, not only would they look the same, but the remotes would be interchangeable. Margery's research turned up several online sources. We picked Electronics Expo, which had a good price and good customer reviews. We received the new TV about one week after placing the order.

After Paul finished installing the new front TV, and after a little time off to relax and catch up on regular chores and errands, he went to work on the TV for the rear. The next photo shows the setup with the old TV.

After removing the wood trim and a couple of retainer blocks, the old TV came right out.

While we were able to box in the existing cabinet in the front of the motor home and surface-mount the new TV without it sticking out too far, doing the same thing with the rear TV would have caused it to extend beyond the corner of the wall, and we would have had to be careful not to run into the TV every time we walked into the bedroom. Paul could have easily recessed the new TV into the existing cabinet at the rear, but doing so would have prevented us from reaching the manual control buttons on the side of the TV. Therefore, Paul needed to come up with a way to cut back the cabinet so the new TV didn't stick out to far.

Paul decided the best way to cut back the cabinet was to remove it and take it outside. Since the cabinet is angled, trying to cut it in place would not only have been messy with sawdust flying everywhere, it would have been difficult to make the angled cuts accurately. The cabinet was screwed into place from all sides, and the only way to get it out was in pieces. Some of the screw heads were hidden, so the screws has to be cut instead of being removed. Fortunately, Paul was able to get the cabinet taken apart and removed without any damage. The next photo shows the space where the cabinet was.

Paul didn't want to make a mistake when modifying the cabinet. He wanted to cut it back the maximum amount, but not too much because the bottom of the TV cabinet forms the top of the cabinet below. The sides would be cut separately, but the edges all needed to align when the cabinet was reassembled. Therefore, he spent a lot of time sitting and staring at the empty space rolling various options over in his mind. (Actually, Margery says that's a common pose for Paul when he's working on a project. LOL) How much should be cut? What angle? How will it look? How will it fit?

He also spent a lot of time measuring and calculating.

Paul finally came up with a plan he was happy with and proceeded with the cutting. All that planning, measuring and calculating paid off because when he brought the pieces back inside and reinstalled them, everything lined up and fit perfectly - the first time! The next photo shows the cut-down cabinet back in place. The 2 x 4 support for the TV and furring strips around the perimeter are similar to what Paul used for the front TV replacement.

Working without a proper workshop and with minimal power tools was a real challenge. Paul had to do most of the work on the ground. He's getting a little old for that, but there aren't any picnic tables at Blueberry Hill, and our small folding table wasn't quite sturdy enough. In the next photo Paul is trimming the cabinet frame for a good fit.

 

Without a router, Paul had to radius the edges of the frame with a block plane. That method worked OK, but it was slow and required extra sanding.

The next photo shows the finished plywood cover, trim, rubber bumpers and rear half of the mounting bracket in place...

...and the next photo shows the finished cabinet with the new TV installed. As you can see, it doesn't protrude beyond the corner of the wall.

As with the front TV, there was also some weight savings with the new rear TV, but not as much. The old rear TV weighed 49 pounds, and the new one weighs 22 1/2 pounds. Cutting back the cabinet canceled out the additional weight of the 2 x 4 for the TV support and plywood trim. Adding a little weight for the mounting bracket yields an estimated weight savings of about 26 pounds. That is a total savings of about 64 pounds for both TVs.

We put an ad on the bulletin board in the clubhouse for two free, tube-type TVs. We got a call from someone whose TV was acting up, and he said he would take both our old TVs. With everything going digital, there isn't much of a market for the old-style TVs, so we're happy we found someone who could make good use of them.

Replacing both TVs was a lot of work, but we're happy with the results. Stay tuned for our next post to see what else we're up to.

Motor Home Project: Replace Front TV

Ever since the country switched over to digital TV broadcasts last year, Paul has been eyeing flat panel TVs. Even though we have satellite TV and don't have to worry about digital vs. analog, the more modern-looking, larger flat-panel TVs are very attractive. Besides, replacing our old TV with a new LCD TV would be a good way to save weight. More about that later.

A few months ago, we began researching LCD TVs, and we decided on a 32" Panasonic, which is the same brand used in new Tiffin motor homes.The old TVs in the motor home were Panasonic, and we had a Panasonic TV and a Panasonic DVD player in our stick house. The Panasonic LCD TVs got good reviews on several web sites we visited, and we have been happy with every Panasonic product we have ever owned.

We waited until we got to our winter stopover in Florida and until we got back from our trek north for Christmas to make our purchase. The only problem with waiting until we returned after Christmas was the model we wanted was out of stock at most Best Buy stores by that time. HDTVs must have been popular for the holidays. We ended up having to drive about 80 miles to Davenport, FL to find one.

As soon as we got back to the motor home after picking up the TV, Paul made a temporary setup for the new TV on the shelf on the dash so we would have something to watch while the work progressed.

With the new TV operational, Paul went to work removing the old TV. Paul had some ideas of how to mount the new TV, but he wasn't sure exactly what he would find behind the old TV. After removing the trim and several blocks of wood retaining the old TV, out it came. With a full view of the empty cavern, Paul was finally able to begin planning exactly how the new TV was going to be mounted.

 

The upper part of the front of the outside of the motor home is painted a relatively dark color; and when we park facing the sun, the upper compartments containing our electronic gear get very hot. Even though Paul installed a cooling fan in the back of the compartment where our satellite TV receiver is located, the receiver sometimes shuts itself down to cool off. So the first order of business was to install several layers of aluminized bubble insulation behind the top of the front cap. Paul insulated the center section and slid layers of insulation behind the side compartments, too.

Although Paul would have probably rebuilt the entire front cabinet if he had all the tools he had back when we were in our stick house, he decided to just close off the existing cabinet and surface mount the TV. In addition to his cordless drill, the only power tools Paul has are a 7 1/4" hand-held circular saw, a saber saw and a palm sander, so he had to make things as simple as possible.

With the insulation in place, Paul installed a vertical 2 x 4 as the main support for the TV.

Metal brackets reinforce the attachment of the 2 x 4 to the top and bottom of the cabinet.

 

Paul added some furring strips around the inside perimeter of the cabinet, then cut a piece of 1/2" birch plywood to fit the opening. The next photo shows the plywood screwed to the furring strips. The back half of the TV mounting bracket has also been firmly screwed to the 2 x 4 with 3" lag screws.

A couple of months ago when we first decided to replace the TV, Paul knew he would need some maple hardwood to make the trim. Margery did some online research and found a supplier of hardwood in a town near where we stayed at Ortona Locks back in December. At that time, Paul wasn't exactly sure what the trim was going to look like, so he bought plenty of wood. It turned out all he had to do was replace the bottom strip of the old trim frame, so he has plenty of wood left over.

The photo below shows the plywood and modified frame after final installation. The four bumpers help support the corners of the TV to keep it from bouncing as we drive down the road. The black rectangle at the bottom is for the center speaker for our home entertainment system. When watching a DVD, the center speaker carries the main part of the dialog. Tiffin originally installed the center speaker down below the dash by the passenger's feet. This sometimes made the dialog a little muffled, and the sound didn't always seem like it was coming from the characters on the screen. Since there was so much room in the now-empty TV cabinet, Paul decided to relocate the center speaker so the sound would come out from under the TV instead of out from under the passenger seat.

With the plywood and trim installed, all that remained was to hang the TV on the mounting bracket, attach the wires and cables to the TV, put the locking screw into the bracket and remove the protective film from the high-gloss frame of the TV.

Earlier, we mentioned saving weight with the new TV. According to our scale, the old TV weighed 69 pounds, and the new TV weighs 28 pounds. Add a few pounds for the new mounting bracket (it's quite heavy for its size) and the additional wood support and trim, and we figure we saved at least 38 pounds.

We are enjoying our new TV. We aren't planning a complete switch to HDTV just yet because DirecTV requires a very large dish to receive hi-def via satellite, and we don't have room on the roof with the internet dish up there. We'll still be able to receive over-the-air hi-def broadcasts, but the problem with over-the-air broadcasts is we won't be able to record them on our DVR. Standard-def still looks quite good on the new TV, so that's probably what we'll watch the most.

We have more projects and sightseeing planned, so look for our next post.

Motor Home Project: New Tow Shield

Between sightseeing excursions and relaxing, we undertook another motor home project. We decided to replace the fabric of the tow shield that goes between the motor home and the toad.

We bought our Saturn Vue for use as a toad before we went full-time back in December, 2005. We also bought a Protect-a-Tow tow shield the following spring. The Protect-a-Tow is a perforated cloth skirt that stretches between the motor home and toad to help deflect road debris and keep it from damaging the front of the toad. The photo below shows the Protect-a-Tow in place under the tow bar.

Because our tow bar set-up requires an extra component called a drop receiver to lower the height of the tow bar at the motor home end, the Protect-a-tow was just a little too short. There was always a gap at each end as you can see in the photo above.

In spite of the gaps, our Protect-a-Tow served us fairly well for almost three years. However, now it was getting frayed and worn. You can see in the photo below there are holes in the upper left and there are light-colored, abraded spots to the lower right. All the corners are also frayed and are starting to tear.

We picked up a piece of high porosity shade cloth at Beasley Manufacturing in Center Hill, FL, where we got the material for the new sunscreens for the windshield of the motor home. The plan was to reuse the original Protect-a-Tow hardware and make a new fabric skirt a little longer and a little wider than the original.

After carefully measuring the width of the car, the width of the motor home, and the distance from the motor home to the car with the tow bar hooked up, Paul marked up the new fabric and began cutting.

The next step was for Margery to fold over and sew a 2 inch hem all around the outside edge. After Margery did some fiddling to get the thread tension right for the relatively heavy shade cloth, her little Singer Featherweight did an admirable job.

The next step in making the new skirt was to fish bungee cord material through the hem that ran around the outside perimeter of the skirt. We found a company on the internet called HTB Bungee down near Tampa that sold bungee cord by the foot. Although we could have had the material shipped, Paul wanted to pick the material up in person to make sure it was the right thing. HTB Bungee does not have a store (it is operated out of someone's home), but the owner was very accommodating and arranged to meet us so we could pick up the material in person on one of our trips down that way. Since the bungee cord is fairly stiff, it wasn't too difficult to get it through the hem.

The Protect-a-Tow has a spreader made from plastic conduit that sits on top of the tow bar, spreads the edges of the skirt, and helps support the middle of the skirt. Because the new skirt is a little longer and wider than the old one, the spreader needed to be a little longer, too. In the photo below, Paul is cutting a new piece of conduit for the spreader. He was able to reuse the hooks from the ends of the old spreader.

Our neighbors behind us graciously allowed us to pull our car through their site to try out the new tow shield. The next photo shows Paul snapping the spreader into place and checking the final fit of the new skirt. Perfect! Notice how the new skirt extends a little farther under the both the back of the motor home and the front of the car.

 

Since we were able to reuse most of the hardware from our old tow shield and because we were able to get suitable fabric for $1.50 a yard, the new tow shield was the fraction of the cost of a new one. The hardest thing to find was bungee cord by the foot, but we found several sources on the internet, and one of those sources was nearby. We were also able to customize the size of the skirt for an optimum fit for our tow bar set-up.

We'll be here in Florida for several more weeks, so it will be a while before we actually get to try out the new tow shield on the road. We still have some maintenance items to tend to and some small projects to do (like hooking up our digital TV converter box, but there's no hurry since the government postponed the switchover until June 12), but we'll be ready to hit the road when the time comes. In the meantime, we'll continue to enjoy our time here.

Withlacoochee Bike Trail

At a length of 46 miles, the Withlacoochee Bike Trail is the longest paved rail-trail in Florida. Cyclists, skaters, joggers, and walkers are all welcome. There is even a bridle path for horses that follows alongside the paved trail in some areas. The trail runs from Gulf Junction near Dunnellon, FL, southward through Inverness and Floral City, to Owensboro Junction 6 miles north of Dade City, FL. The trail passes through small towns, residential areas, and rural farms and ranches. The terrain is generally flat with very gentle rises and drops.

There are at least half a dozen main trail heads along the route with ample parking. There are also several more remote locations along back roads where there are places to park for the bike trail, but most of the main trail heads have bike shops, rest rooms, picnic areas, and places to get food and drink that don't exist at the remote locations.

Floral City is only a few miles from where we are staying in Bushnell, so we decided to start our trek there. In the photo below, we are just about ready to head on down the trail. As you can see, the parking lot was almost empty on that weekday afternoon.



In the late 1800s, Henry Plant built numerous rail lines in Florida. The railroads underwent mergers over the years, with the Plant System of railroads eventually becoming part of CSX Transportation. In 1989, CSX sold the 46-mile right of way between Gulf Junction and Owensboro Junction to the State of Florida. This was one of the first purchases of the Florida rails-to-trails program.

The Withlacoochee State Trail takes its name from the Withlacoochee River. The river, the bike trail, and U. S. Route 41 all run roughly parallel in a north-south direction. The northern end of the trail is closer to busy Route 41, so we headed south from Floral City. In the photo below, Paul is warming up for the start of our ride.

After about a mile, the trail started to veer away from the highway. As the traffic noise faded, we could hear more birds. Along the trail, there are a number of benches and a few drinking fountains. The Withlacoochee Trail is one of the widest bike trails we have ever seen. Although it wasn't very crowded when we were there during the week, the width would make riding on crowded weekends much more pleasurable.

After we had ridden a few miles, we noticed the lone rider who was several hundred yards ahead of us steer off to the left side of the trail. We thought he was stopping for a rest, but he only slowed briefly and then continued on. 

Now Margery was just tooling along listening to the singing birds, gawking at the tranquil scenery thinking it doesn't get any better than this and NOT looking at the path ahead of her. All of a sudden Paul says, "Watch out!" It was then that we saw the reason the lone biker went off the trail. Although the 6-foot eastern diamondback rattlesnake was almost off the trail by the time we got there, he was right in the middle when the rider ahead of us passed by. Paul gave the rattlesnake a wide berth while taking the photo below, and the snake kept a wary eye on Paul as well.



A little farther along, we came to an unusual sight. This Arabian camel (or more properly called a dromedary - it's the Bactrian camel that has two humps) was in a pasture across the rural road that ran parallel to the trail for a short distance.

 

The next photo is our turn-around point which was about 5.3 miles from the start. We enjoyed a granola bar and some cool water at a covered picnic table before heading back to the car.

 

On our return trip, Paul noticed dozens of burrows along the bank in one area of the trail. Being from Pennsylvania, Paul's first thought was it might be groundhogs, but Florida is a little too far south for groundhogs. Being a former avid gardener, he is all too familiar with groundhogs and the way they can eat their way through your flowers and vegetables. Then Paul saw this gopher tortoise sitting at the mouth of its burrow and had the answer to what was doing all the digging.

 

Although there weren't many people out the day we were there, we saw quite a high percentage of recumbent bikes as we rode down the trail and back. Recumbents place the rider in a reclining position rather than upright. This has several advantages. It spreads the rider's weight out over a larger area to make the ride more comfortable. Recumbent bikes have very large seats with back rests. The reclining position also provides good leverage against the pedals and it reduces wind resistance.

 

Back in Floral City near where we parked the car, we stopped by Hampton's Edge Trailside Bicycles. Paul has been wanting a rearview mirror for his bike for a long time. Hampton's had many to choose from. This mirror that attaches to the end of the handlebar and adjusts very easily is not your Walmart cheapo. We both ended up with one. :)

Hampton's Edge specializes in recumbent bicycles, so we took a look at one. We can see why people like recumbents. They wouldn't be very good for off-road use because when riding off-road, you frequently need to shift your weight rapidly to maintain balance on uneven terrain or to stand to pedal up a steep rise; but recumbents seem to be very comfortable for use on level pavement. Unfortunately, most recumbent bicycles have long wheelbases which makes them difficult to transport in an RV. Our Dahon folding bikes meet our needs very well for transportation and storage. Recumbents are also a bit expensive, so there probably won't be one in our foreseeable future.

We also found out the people who run the bike shop are fellow members of the Escapees RV Club. They have a 5th wheel and plan to begin their full-timing in two years; but for now, they can only get away for two months in the summer.

After our 10+ mile bike ride, it was mid-afternoon; and we were hungry. Taking a took a short detour on our way back to the motor home through Lake Panasoffkee, we stopped at Catfish Johnny's Restaurant for a late lunch to reward ourselves for the sacrifice of all that exercise.

 

Catfish Johnny is a local musician who started a restaurant a few miles west of Interstate 75, Exit 321. The restaurant specializes in Southern-style dishes like catfish, alligator, frog legs, as well as shrimp and other seafood. They have several all-you-can-eat specials on various nights and a jam session on Tuesdays. We had catfish finger baskets. Of course, catfish don't have fingers, but that's what they call the battered, deep-fried catfish strips. The baskets are served with a generous helping of catfish strips, French fries, cole slaw, and two hush puppies for $5.99.

A few days after our bike ride, we had the privilege to witness our third live space shuttle launch. We saw the first one from a few miles south of where we are staying now in Dec., 2006, and we saw the second this past November when we were staying in New Smyrna Beach.

The first launch was a night launch, and the shuttle was just a bright light in the sky because we were about 90 miles away; but for the second launch, which was also a night launch, the shuttle really lit up the sky because we were only about 35 miles away.

Even though we were about 90 miles away again for the the third launch, it was the most spectacular by far because of the time of day. This time, the shuttle Discovery lifted off at 7:43 PM, which was less than 15 minutes after sunset. The sky was dark enough to see the bright flames from the solid-fuel booster rockets as the shuttle came up over the trees, but the sky was also light enough to see the smoke trail, especially as the shuttle got higher in the sky. As Discovery rose above the curve of the earth, the smoke trail was illuminated orange by the setting sun. The upper parts of the smoke trail were illuminated yellow then bright white.

 

We saw the solid-fuel booster rockets fall away as two, distinct dots shining in the bright sun at high altitude. Soon afterward, the shuttle itself went out of sight, but the bright orange and yellow smoke trail lingered for quite a while. We went inside and followed the launch coverage for a few minutes on the NASA Channel then settled in for some regular TV.

We're working on our summer travel plans as well as some local sightseeing plans for the coming weeks. We'll be meeting some friends, so we'll definitely be in tourist mode. Stop back to see what we discover.

Hangin' Around Bushnell, FL

We enjoyed watching the Steelers squeak out a last-minute victory in Super Bowl XLIII. This game was not for the faint of heart. Paul thinks a good game is when the opposing team is blown out of the water. Margery likes a close game when the Steelers pull it out of the hat. Paul just about gave up when the Cardinals pulled into the lead. Margery suggested he take a walk if he couldn't bear to watch because THIS time, we were leaving the game on until the end...and we weren't disappointed!

The commercials that the Super Bowl is so famous for are also a lot of fun. We usually stick around for them and take snack and bathroom breaks during the game. This year, since the Steelers were playing, it was a lot harder to take breaks.

During the game, we saw a commercial for Denny's restaurants that said they were giving away free Grand Slam breakfasts (a $5.99 value) to anyone who showed up on the Tuesday after the game between 6:00 AM and 2:00 PM. Since we didn't have anything planned during the cool weather and since there was a Denny's restaurant nearby, we thought we would stop by to see how crowded they were.

We intentionally scheduled our arrival for around 10:00 AM hoping the crowds would be a little smaller between breakfast and lunch. The number of people waiting outside didn't look too bad, so we pulled in and parked. The photo below shows Margery waiting for them to call our name. As you can see, everyone is wearing jackets. The air was cool; but thankfully, the sun was warm.

While we were waiting, they had a clown who was passing out small stuffed animals to the kids (and a few of the adults).

They also handed out Pancake Puppies to those who were waiting. Pancake Puppies are deep-fried balls of pancake batter that are similar to hush puppies.

We were amazed at how smoothly everything ran. It turned out we only had to wait about 35 minutes to get a table. The restaurant staff was hustling, but they were not frantic. Service was fairly quick and the food was good. The Grand Slam breakfast consists of two eggs, two slices of bacon, two sausage links, and two pancakes. We're both trying to watch our weight, fat, and cholesterol, so it's not something we could eat all the time; but hey, we can bend our rules a little for free food.

For the past two weeks or so we just couldn't seem to shake the cold weather. We had a few warmer days (with clouds and rain on a couple of them), then it was back to the 50s - still better than up north, but cold for Florida. We remember a few cold days and nights last year, but not this many. A lot of landscape plants around the campground and elsewhere have turned brown because of repeated freezing. Hopefully, it's just the leaves that were lost and the plants themselves will survive.

So far, we have had a total of four nights in the low 20s. Last year we only remember one or two nights that were in the mid-20s. We're glad we have our new Vornado electric heater. It's really working well.

We are in what used to be the heart of citrus country. Most big, commercial orange growers moved farther south after a freeze in the 1980s, but there are still quite a few smaller groves around where we are staying. If overnight temperatures drop below 28 degrees for more than about four hours, oranges can be damaged. If the crop can be sent to a processor right away, they can be used for juice; but when there is a wide-spread freeze, the processors can't squeeze all the oranges fast enough, and the oranges quickly turn to mush and are useless. The other problem is many groves in this area grow oranges and grapefruit for eating, not for juice. Many of the eating varieties don't produce much juice. Our favorite produce stand where we buy fresh-squeezed juice also grows a lot of specialty eating oranges. They have had a lot of loss, not just of their orange crop, but also the trees themselves.

We keep postponing our sightseeing waiting for the weather to warm up. Other than going out to Denny's for free breakfast and running a few errands, we didn't do much except hang around the motor home.

Margery took advantage of the fact we had her sewing machine out of the storage bay to sew the Velcro onto the sunscreens we reported on in our last post. She completed a few alterations to a couple of pieces of clothing.

Hanging around the motor home was also a good excuse to bake some gingerbread cookies. Lora and J. Michael gave us some gingerbread mix they got during a visit to Williamsburg last summer. The gingerbread cookies sold at the Raleigh Tavern Bakery are a "must have" whenever we visit there. Baking in the motor home without much counter space is a challenge. The dough was quite sticky; and without a cookie cutter, some of the cookies were somewhat misshapen.

But the final results looked good and tasted even better.

 

It finally warmed up toward the weekend. We are anxious to get to some of our sightseeing plans, but we seldom go sightseeing on weekends if we don't have to. Therefore, we decided to stick around the motor home some more. After we finished our weekly cleaning inside, Paul decided take advantage of the warmer, sunny weather to get some outside chores done. He decided to polish the aluminum wheels on the motor home.

While adding air to our bike tires for a ride over to WalMart, Paul noticed the sidewalls of all the tires were brittle and starting to crack. We needed to replace them before one of us took a header because of a blowout.

We love having internet access with with our satellite dish. Margery researched bicycle tires online and found Bike Tires Direct that carries everything for cycling including the tires at a good price. However, a call up to Santos Trailhead Bike Shop in the Villages confirmed they had tires to fit our bikes at a surprisingly good price, too, so we  picked them up there. Cost was a wash figuring in shipping. The photo below shows Paul installing the new bike tires.

The ten-day forecast is looking more favorable and is calling for temperatures in the 70s and lower 80s all the way through. Sounds like we will finally get a chance to see some new sights.

Motor Home Project: New Inside Sun Shades

The cold spell finally ended and temperatures returned to the 70s and low 80s. We had planned some sightseeing when the weather finally warmed, but we got sidetracked by a motor home project that got its start during the cold spell.

One of the things we did during the cold weather was run errands, and one of the stops we made while running errands was at Beasley Manufacturing in the nearby town of Center Hill.

Beasley Manufacturing makes sun shades that mount to your RV awning. That's all they make (no windshield shades, no custom sewing), but the biggest part of their business is that they sell shade cloth by the foot for do-it-yourself shade projects of all types - for your RV or for your patio or Florida room in your stick house. The shade cloth they sell are remnants and short ends they buy from various sources. Beasley also sells suction cups, snaps, turn buttons, bungees, and other accessories needed to install the sunscreens.

We originally went to Beasley looking for a small piece of shade cloth to use for making a shade for the skylight in the shower. There is a surprising amount of heat that comes in from the skylight, especially in the desert where the sky is very clear. However, when we saw how inexpensive Beasley's fabric was, we started to think about other projects. Prices for shade cloth at Beasley range from $1 to $2 per linear foot, depending on whether the cloth is first or second quality and depending on fabric width. Widths run from 3 to 8 feet. They also have small pieces of left-overs for as little as fifty cents. The photo below shows Paul checking out their fabric.

When we first bought the motor home, we bought sunscreens for the windshield and front side windows from Prompt RV Sunscreen. The sunscreens not only block a lot of heat from the sun coming through the immense windshield, they provide privacy during the day. With the screens in place, you can see out, but those on the outside can't see in.

The advantage to the screens from Prompt is they mount with rubber straps and suction cups and don't require drilling holes in the motor home for mounting. They can also be put up without a ladder, although we do use a one-step stool since neither one of us is very tall. Most other brands of sunscreens use snaps or turn buttons for mounting, which require drilling holes in the fiberglass skin of the RV, and they require a ladder to put up.

Although we have been very pleased with our Prompt RV Sunscreens, newer Tiffin motor homes have powered shades mounted inside the motor home. While it's not practical for us to retrofit our motor home with the power shades because there's not enough room between the windshield and the bulkhead behind the windshield and because of cost, we do like the idea of inside-mounted sunscreens. The disadvantages to outside screens are we sometimes have to wait until the rain stops to put them up, we need a step stool, we frequently have to take time to clean a bug-splattered windshield before we put the screens up, and the side screens that are held up by suction cups sometimes fall down.

RV Quick Shades sells sunscreens that mount to the inside of the windshield by means of suction cups. These shades provide the conveniences of inside-mounted screens without the expense and space requirements of the power shades. Even though our existing sunscreens are in good condition, we started thinking of making our own inside screens similar to the ones sold by RV Quick Shades because of the very reasonable price of fabric at Beasley.

One thing that makes the shades easy to make is the fabric doesn't need to be hemmed. The fabric is woven, then it is vinyl coated which prevents it from fraying.

We left Beasley and went back to the motor home to do some measuring.

From Paul's calculations, we figured we could make inside sunscreens for the windshield, both side windows in the front, plus the big side windows behind the couch and by the dinette for under $75 (including all the hardware), which is about one third the cost of new shades for the windshield and front windows alone from RV Quick Shades.

With measurements in hand, we went back to Beasley and picked up enough fabric to do the job, plus a little extra. Since the fabrics they sell are remnants, the material you want may not be there when you go back if you didn't get enough. However, black and white are very popular and they have those colors pretty much all the time. We chose black for the window sun screens because black scatters less light and makes it easier to see out. We also picked up a small piece of light tan (to match the ceiling) for the shower skylight.

We decided to do the windshield in two panels (one for each half) to make it easier to handle and put up. The photo below shows Paul laying out fabric for one of the windshield panels.

In the next photo, Paul is trimming one of the windshield panels to size.

 

Most of the time that Paul is doing something on his knees, he crosses his legs at the ankles.

Maregey never knew anyone who did this until she met Paul. However, it must be a Zeller gene since Lora did it, too!

The windshield sunscreens are held in place by suction cups. Snaps would have been more secure, but there is no place around the windshield for the screws needed to hold the snaps in place. Paul started by putting two or three suction cups across the top of the first panel, then added a few more suction cups at the top and some at the bottom to get the screen to hang relatively straight. He ended up with five along the top and three along the bottom. The suction cups need to be a little closer together toward the outside edges of the windshield where it has a little more curve.

Paul used snaps for the screens on the side windows because the snaps are lower profile than the suction cups and because the snaps are more secure and allow the shades to be more taut. The snaps are held to the aluminum window frame by short screws. The photo below shows the final fitting of the passenger-side screen.

 

From the material left over from the windshield panels plus a little additional fabric, we were able to make sunscreens for the two, large side windows - the one behind the couch and the one by the dinette. Paul would have preferred to use snaps to secure these shades, but we ended up with a combination of Velcro along the top and snaps on the bottom because there isn't enough room at the top to get your hand between the existing day/night shade and the window frame to grab the snaps to unfasten them.

Margery got out her Singer Featherweight sewing machine to sew the Velcro to the shades. She was very creative in maneuvering the shades in the small workspace on the dinette table.

The next photo shows Paul fitting the shade behind the couch. You can see how much brighter it is in the upper corner of the window where the shade hasn't been attached yet.

The next project was the cover for the skylight in the shower. Laying out the cover was a little easier since it is a lot smaller than the window screens.

 

The next photo shows the shower without the screen on the left and with the screen in place on the right.

Since Paul had to use a flash, the photos don't really show how much darker the skylight cover makes the shower, but you can see there is a lot more glare without the cover. More importantly, since we have a walk-through bathroom, the cover also makes the bedroom much darker and cooler.

We're pleased with the way the shade screen project turned out. The driver's side windshield screen is a little tricky to put up because it's hard to reach way up behind the bulkhead to fasten the suction cups since the steering wheel is in the way; but overall, we think the inside screens will be more convenient than our old ones.

We can hardly believe our time here in Florida is almost half over. We have been pretty busy, so time has flown by. We still have a lot we want to do, so stay tuned.

Webster Flea Market

The cold spell continued in Florida for well over a week. After several cool days, temperatures moderated slightly for a day or two with highs straining to finally get up to 65-70 degrees. Then the daytime highs dropped back down to the 50s and low 60s for several more days with overnight lows in the 20s. That's still a lot better than the north, but we were used to 70s and 80s, so it felt pretty cold to us.

As we headed out one morning to run some errands, we saw this fence and nursery that looked like it had been toilet-papered. However, on closer examination we realized it was ice. It was the morning after the temperatures had been in the low 20s. They placed the plants on their sides to get them closer to the ground, then turned on the sprinklers overnight. By the time we drove by, much of the ice had melted; but you can see it still clinging to the fence and in the grass in the foreground.

Using sprinklers to deliberately allow ice to form on the plants is a method typically used by nurseries and citrus growers to protect the plants when there is a hard freeze. The ice actually insulates the plants and helps limit damage from the cold. Nurseries and citrus groves in our area and even vegetable growers much farther south in Florida were all hit by the freeze. It will take several days or even weeks to assess how much damage there was. Oranges that have been frozen can still be used for juice, but they have to get them to the processor within a week or so. The processors will not be able to handle everyone at the same time, so those orange groves that experienced freezing and who can't get scheduled at the processor quickly enough may suffer some losses.

Some time ago, we had seen on another full-time RVer's blog (From Darrell's Chair) where they purchased a Vornado electric heater. Vornado heaters are significantly more expensive than standard electric heaters, but they are much quieter and are designed to distribute heat more evenly by using vortex air flow.

Since the price of propane hasn't come down like the price of gasoline, we are using the electric heater to take the chill off the motor home more than the furnace during this cold spell. Campgrounds sometimes have a separate charge for actual electricity usage, especially with monthly rates, and that's the case here at Blueberry Hill. Since we are paying extra for electricity and with the price of propane still quite high, the cold snap prompted us to take a more serious look at the Vornado heaters. We decided it might be a good time to spring for a heater that was more efficient at distributing the heat.

We weren't able to find the model we wanted locally (Model DVTH) which wasn't a surprise. How often do you need a heater in Florida? Anyway, we ordered the model we wanted from Ace Hardware online. The heater arrived toward the end of the cold spell, but we were able to try it out on a couple of cold nights that got down to about 30 degrees. The photo below shows our new Vornado heater.

One reason we bought Model DVTH is that it has digital controls, as shown in the next photo. The controls allow us to set the temperature we want to maintain.

Another reason we bought Model DVTH is that it has a variable speed fan and variable power to the heating elements. It will run on full power until the room warms up to near the set point, then it will reduce the power and fan speed to maintain the temperature. This eliminates warm and cool periods that occur when a standard heater cycles off and on.

The Vornado heater is fantastic and does an excellent job of warming the whole motor home. The fan is extremely quiet, but still manages to move an amazing volume of air.

One of the days when the temperatures moderated in the middle of the cold spell happened to fall on a Monday, which is the day the Webster Flea Market is open. Webster is only about 15 minutes from Bushnell, so we decided to head on over. It also happened to be Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. We figured the holiday would mean a good turnout of customers, which meant there would also be a good turnout of vendors.

The flea market is huge, and we were right about the big turnout. We were there on MLK Day last year, and it was nowhere near as crowded as this year, probably because it was sunnier this year. An announcement on the PA system said the crowd was estimated at about 60-70,000. There were so many vendors, a bunch of them had to set up in an overflow area in the parking lot across the street.

The good news is we got there mid-morning, which was late enough that some shoppers were already leaving. We got an excellent parking place right near an entrance. Sometimes a lot of vendors are leaving by that time as well, but not this day. The crowds were too big, and the vendors couldn't have gotten out if they wanted to. The photo below shows just a small portion of the market.

 

There is something at Webster Flea Market for almost everyone. There are crafts, antiques, new items, used items, food, produce, and you name it. The photo below shows some beautiful panels made by a stained glass artist.

 

In the next photo, Margery is taking a nostalgic look through some old phonograph records.

 

And speaking of nostalgia, Paul found an old toy truck from the '50s exactly like one he used to have when he was a kid. This one was in excellent condition. Not so for Paul's. His pet rabbit ate big chunks out of the rubber tires on the one he had.

 

At the far eastern side of the market is the produce area. There were peppers, lettuce, eggplant, squash, cabbage, cucumbers, and more. The tomatoes all looked delicious, not at all like the pink, plastic-looking ones you find in the grocery stores.

There were also a lot of people selling different varieties of citrus fruit. The 7 to 8-inch diameter fruit in the photo below were labeled "Small Pumelo" (also sometimes spelled pummelo), which is a variety of grapefruit native to Asia.

The folks in the next photo had the fairly large utility trailer in the background filled with carrots. The carrots were $1.00 a bag. Each bag had to contain at least 3 to 4 pounds of carrots.

We picked up a few lemons and a couple of sweet onions, then threaded our way back to the car. We were at the market almost three hours and probably only saw about half of it.

On our way back to the car, we ran into the fellow from the campground who bought Margery's scooter. He said it was really working well for him, and he even got a lift to carry the scooter mounted to the back of his car. We're so glad it's helping him get around, and we're even happier Margery doesn't need it anymore.

Since the temperatures only moderated for a day or two then dropped back down to the 50s, we decided to hold off on any further sightseeing until it warms up again. We'll just chilled out (literally) around the motor home and ran a few errands. 

Tampa RV Show

As we mentioned in our last post, one of the things we have been doing here in Florida is riding our bikes around the campground. As we ride, we like to look at license plates to see where people in the campground are from. If we go up and down all the roads, it's about 2.5 miles. The roads are nice and wide, they are level, and they are all paved so it's easy riding; but it does get us moving and provides some exercise.

We love our Dahon Espresso Folding Bikes, but one of the things Margery found very uncomfortable about our bikes was the low handlebars. Serious cyclists say handlebars should be lower to allow better leverage for pedaling and for less wind resistance. We're certainly not racers, and most of our cycling is on relatively level ground, so we really don't need to have maximum pedaling power. The low riding position hurt Margery's neck and made her feel she was off balance and didn't have good control of the bike.

While driving through The Villages one day, we passed Santos Bike Shop and stopped to see if they might have replacement handlebars with a higher rise that would provide a more upright riding position. They recommended an extender for the stem (the part that holds the handlebars) as an easier way to increase the height. We took Margery's bike back to the bike shop with us on our next trip to The Villages, and they had the stem extender installed in about 5 minutes. Margery was thrilled with the results.

The photo below shows Margery's riding position without the extender...

 

...and the next photo shows her more upright position with the extender. Who knew raising the handlebars only about four inches would make so much difference?

Paul liked the new riding position so well, he asked Santos Bike Shop to order him an extender, too, since Margery got their last one. There are a couple of bike trails in the area, and now that we will both have more comfortable bikes, we plan to go try them out.

Santos is a full-service bike shop that caters to all types of bikers, from racers to mountain bikers to the active older adult who feels more secure with three wheelers or a cruiser that has a very low center bar that enables someone with bad knees get on the bike easily. We were very impressed with the customer service; and with Mike, the technician, who helped us find the right solution for Margery's bike. His comment was, "There's not a bike that we can't customize for someone's comfort." We also found out the store manager was former Pittsburgher.

For those not familiar with The Villages, it is a planned retirement community about 30 minutes northeast of Bushnell that caters to active retirees. There are numerous "neighborhoods" in The Villages, and there are different types of housing in many different price ranges. There are integrated shopping areas, health care, golf courses, swimming pools, and activity centers. They have many educational, sports, cultural, and social activities.

There are a lot of bicyclists in The Villages. There is a club of more serious cyclists with 250 members. There are bike trails in the area, marked bike lanes along many of the roads, and The Villages has miles and miles of golf cart paths that can also be used for cycling. You can get from almost anywhere in The Villages to almost anywhere else using the golf cart paths. They even have tunnels where the paths cross major roads so you don't have to contend with heavy traffic.

In The Villages, golf carts almost outnumber cars. Many people use the carts for golfing, but The Villages was designed specifically for residents to use them for local transportation. We both think it would be a fun way to get around, and it would certainly save on gas! The photo below shows one of the shopping areas of The Villages called Lake Sumter Landing. There are some cars parked on the left; but, except for one car, the entire right side of the street is parked with golf carts.

 

After being back in Bushnell about two weeks, we sold Margery's scooter. There was a fellow who had just come into the campground who had lung surgery and who has difficulty breathing. He can hardly walk anywhere without getting winded. In fact, he would cough and wheeze just standing there. One of the campground employees who escorted him to his campsite and who helped him hook up remembered we had a scooter for sale and brought him by our site. The man was only eligible for partial payment for a new scooter under Medicare, so he was in the market for a used one. He took a quick look, asked a few questions, and said, "I'll take it." We're glad the scooter has a new home with someone who can make good use of it.

Last year we went to the big RV show in Tampa. Although we are still not in the market for a new RV, we went to the show again this year since it is less than an hour from where we are staying. Paul likes to see what is new in motor homes. With all the changes going on in the RV industry because of the high fuel prices last summer and the economic problems going on now, he was curious as to what kind of changes were being made to RVs.

Workhorse (the company that manufactured the chassis on our motor home) has several new, somewhat smaller chassis that are powered by a front diesel engine. The diesel engine is supposed to give better fuel economy. The large, 8.1 liter (496 cu. in.) V-8 gas engine we have in our motor home will only be available for another year or so, so it's only logical that it would be replaced by a front-mounted diesel engine. The photo below shows Paul checking out the new Workhorse W20D chassis with 20,000 lb. gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR).

 

With the high oil prices of last year, there was a definite emphasis on downsizing at the show this year, especially in motor homes. The photo below shows a 32' Damon Avanti motor home on the new Workhorse W16D front-diesel chassis. The W16D chassis is similar to the W20D shown above except it has a 16,000 lb. GVWR and a slightly smaller engine. They are claiming over 14 mpg for this coach, which is unheard of for a Class A motor home. We felt the Avanti was too small for full-timing, we didn't care for the Euro-style interior, and we thought the price was a little high for what you got; but it looks like motor homes like this may become more popular in the future, especially if fuel prices rise again.

 

Although there were plenty of full-size Class A motor homes and 5th wheels on display, we also noticed there were many, many smaller Class C and Class B (van campers) at the show this year. The photo below shows just some of them lining both sides of the aisle.

 

Tiffin has a new Allegro diesel pusher motor home that was very interesting. The Allegro is Tiffin's entry-level model; but with amenities like full body paint and solid-surface counter tops, it is nicer than a lot of manufacturers' higher-priced models. The Allegro had been available only as a front-engine model, but Tiffin now has one floor plan available as a diesel pusher.

It looks like Tiffin is trying to make their diesel pushers a little more affordable. The new Allegro Open Road diesel pusher is a very nice coach for the price. It has air bag suspension, four slides, huge pass-through storage bays, and a decent cargo carrying capacity. There were lots of people looking at it and we're guessing that particular coach would be sold before the end of the show. The photo below shows Margery coming out of the Allegro pusher.

After visiting Workhorse, Tiffin, and taking a quick look at the Damon Avanti, we walked around the indoor vendors who were selling accessories and promoting campgrounds and resorts. At the end of one building was a sand sculpture in the shape of a map of the United States including Alaska, Hawaii, and the Florida Keys with the 7-mile bridge. There were little sculptures on the map representing various parts of the country. If you look closely at the photo below, you may be able to see sun glasses in South Florida (in the foreground), the space shuttle farther to the north, a peach in Georgia, the Capital Building, the Liberty Bell in Pennsylvania, the Statue of Liberty in New York, Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, an oil well in Texas, etc.

 

In spite of all the dire economic news, there seemed to be a good turnout for the RV show. The crowds were bigger this year than we remember them being last year, although the fact the weather was sunnier on the day we went this year may have had something to do with it.

It was sunny the day we went to the RV show, but it was a little cool; and it got even cooler in the days afterward. High temperatures were only in the 50s and low 60s with lows all the way down to the upper 20s. It was still better than most areas in the north where temperatures were in the single digits or even below zero in some places. Several areas of the country broke decade-old records for low temperatures.

We experienced a few cool days last year in Florida, but the cool spells only lasted a day or two at a time. This cold snap is predicted to go on for at least a week. They (whoever "they" are) say it's because of global warming. Let's see, if it's warmer than normal, it's due to global warming; and if it's colder than normal, it's also due to global warming...hmmm.

We found some interesting things to see and do within a day's drive of where we are staying, but we'll have to wait to see what the weather does before we decide what we are going to do next. Even though the air temperatures are cool, the sun is out most days. The sun makes it feel much warmer, so we are hoping to get out for some sightseeing soon.

Back in Bushnell

When we left Bluebberry Hill for our holiday trip to Pittsburgh, the front section of the campground had only a few RVs in it and the back was about 60-70% filled. Now, after New Years, the front is about 50% full (although this section is more transient, and RVs come and go), and the back section is about 80-90% filled as more Snowbirds arrive every day. Interstate-75 is filled with southbound RV's now. There's a steady stream, but the occupancy of Blueberry Hill seems to be running a little behind what it was at this time last year. Maybe the economy has brought about some cancellations, or at least some reduced lengths of stay.

When we went to Pittsburgh last spring, we dropped off Margery's mobility scooter to store for a while. Now that her knees are doing so well, we picked up the scooter during our Christmas trip and brought it back with us to try to sell rather than just leave it in storage for the batteries to deteriorate. When we got back, Paul cleaned it up, made a "For Sale" sign, and parked the scooter in front of our site. We'll see how it goes. The scooter served us well, and now we're hoping it will provide mobility for someone else with difficulty walking.

During our Christmas visit with Lora and J. Michael, we got to sleep on our old mattress. Lora and J. Michael took some of our furniture when we went on the road; and, since the mattress wasn't very old, they have it on the bed in their spare bedroom. The mattress in the motor home was always a little soft for us; and now that it was over three years old, we knew it was getting a little too mushy. However, we didn't realize how mushy until we spent a week on our old, very firm mattress back in Pittsburgh. Ahhhhh.

That prompted us to go mattress shopping when we got back to Florida. A lot of RVs have what are called "short queen" mattresses. These are standard width, but are 4 to 6 inches shorter than a standard queen mattress. Although the shorter length allows more walking space in the RV, it limits the choices for replacement mattresses, and it can also be uncomfortable if you're taller. Sometimes you can replace a short queen mattress with a standard one; but if the bed is part of the slide-out and the slide-out was designed for a short mattress, there probably won't be room for a longer mattress when the slide is in for traveling.

We have a standard queen mattress, so we were able to shop at a regular bedding store. It was a good time to shop - seems there were New Year's mattress sales everywhere. We found a nice, firm, Simmons Beautyrest on sale for a good price at the Mattress Giant store up near the Villages. It was delivered to our motor home first thing the next morning. Wow, what a difference! We have always liked a firm mattress to help eliminate back pain. We both slept comfortably the first night.

We do most of our grocery shopping at Wal-Mart because we feel they generally have the best prices. Here at Blueberry Hill, that is really easy since there is a Wal-Mart right next door. However, Wal-Mart doesn't carry a full selection of grocery items, and we sometimes need to stop at another grocery store for special items. One of these items is chicken hot sausage that Publix Markets usually carry. We took a half-hour drive to the Publix in Inverness, FL. We were able to stock up on the sausage plus a couple of other items. Low-fat products are not abundant in Florida or anywhere else in the south, so we're always happy to find some of our favorites.

The route to Inverness passes through Floral City, which was founded in 1883. Although it only has a population of around 5,000 people today, Floral City was once the largest city in Florida because of phosphate mining in the surrounding area. Henry Flagler started building his hotels and railway on the east coast of Florida about the same time, but Floral City grew faster in those early years because of the mining. The mining was shut down during WWI and was relocated farther south near Tampa after the war.

A beautiful feature of Floral City are the Spanish-moss draped live oak trees that line both sides of County Road 48 heading toward the main intersection in town. The trees run for about half a mile.

 

We gave Molly a bath before our trip to Pittsburgh, but we thought we'd leave her coat a little longer for the cold weather and save grooming her until we got back to Bushnell. Soon after our return, we went about the task of grooming. As you can see from the photo below, she wasn't too happy about it and tried to hide in the bedroom.

 

Trying to hide is typical, but once we start grooming, she is usually pretty good and only gets a little impatient toward the end. She has been getting groomed every few months since she was about a year old, so she's used to it. But for some reason, she really put up a fuss this time. She wouldn't stand still and kept trying to sit and lie down. However, we eventually got the job done (more or less) - she's still a little shaggy in a couple of spots, but we'll fix that next time. The photo below shows Molly in a little better humor after the grooming.

 

We took it easy during our first week or so back to Florida. We got caught up on grocery shopping and a few chores like doing laundry and grooming Molly. We also got a new mattress, rode our bikes around the campground numerous times to try to work off some of those Christmas goodies, and played a few games of pool. We're also investigating interesting things to do and see in the coming weeks. Check back soon to see what we come up with.

Home for the Holidays

It was about a two and a half hour drive from the Florida SKP Resort in Zolfo Springs to Blueberry Hill RV Resort in Bushnell, FL. We made this year's reservations for Blueberry Hill last year to take advantage of a 10% pay-in-advance discount.

Blueberry Hill RV Resort has several hundred RV sites. The sites in front are paved pull-throughs, and the ones in back are grassy back-ins. The sites in front are usually given to those staying less than three months. We like the ones in the back because they are very spacious. The photo below shows our site at Blueberry Hill.

Blueberry has full hookups with 50 amp electric and Wi-Fi. They have plenty of activities if you want them, but there isn't a lot of pressure to join in. There is a pool, shuffleboard courts, bocce, horseshoes and pool tables. There are weekly lunches followed by a bluegrass jam session with Snowbird musicians from all around the area. They also have craft classes, occasional bus trips, and various types of exercise classes.

We were anxious to get settled because we had a lot to do. For the first time since we went on the road in 2006, we planned to go home for Christmas. We would be driving north in the car and staying with our daughter, Lora, and our son-in-law, J. Michael. This would also be the first time in two and a half years we would be traveling without the motor home. We are used to having everything with us, but now we needed to try to think in 70 degree weather of everything we might need to take with us for 20 degree weather. We began by making lists. Then we got our winter clothes out of storage, cleaned out the car, and eventually started to put things into piles so we could figure out how we were going to pack with the minimal luggage we had kept.

Even with all we had to do in preparation for our trip to the Pittsburgh area, there was still time to do some holiday decorating. We did our usual, simple adornment of the motor home - a task that only takes a few minutes. This year, since we would be spending a lot of time in the car, Margery wanted to decorate it as well. We bought a few materials at the craft store and put together a wreath to hang on the grill.

One other thing we wanted to get out of the way before the end of the year was the one-year checkup with the surgeon on Margery's knees. After viewing the X-rays, the doctor said her knees were "magnifico" and she won't need to come back for the next checkup for two years. Margery is also very pleased with the outcome of the partial knee replacements.

We decided to try to see if we could make the drive from Bushnell to Pittsburgh all in one shot, so we went to bed early the Saturday before Christmas and set the alarm for 2:00 AM. This was quite a departure from our usual method of traveling only four hours a day, but we thought with two drivers and being able to make better time in the car, we should be able to make it.

We threw the last minute items into the car, disconnected the water from the motor home, stowed the satellite dish, pulled in the slides to protect the slide-topper awnings in case there was a storm while we were gone, and hit the road by 3:15 AM. Traffic was very light until about sunrise, and we made good time - even on the 2 and 4-lane, non-limited access roads.

As the day went on, traffic picked up. There were lots of Florida license plates heading north and lots of cars and RVs heading south. Traffic was heavy all day, but it was moving steadily and there were no delays.

One of the things Margery pondered as we passed Santas decorating yards was how out of place Santas are in the south. Think about it...the heavy, fur-trimmed coat worn by Santa is way too warm for the south, the sleigh meant to travel on snow is seriously hampered by the lack thereof in the south, the reindeer who pull the sleigh are not indigenous to the south, and Santa coming in through the chimney is not practical in a region where there are few, if any, fireplaces. Hmmm. People don't seem to be very logical when it comes to traditions.

It took us only a little over 15 hours to travel about 1,000 miles. It was a long day, and we were tired when we arrived in Pittsburgh; but making the drive all in one shot wasn't as bad as we had thought it might be.

Since we arrived a few days before Christmas, Margery helped Lora do some cooking in preparation for the holidays. Here they are working on mushroom rolls for snacking.  :)

We went to church with Lora and J. Michael on Christmas Eve, then went to visit with J. Michael's family at his brother's house. We got to spend Christmas morning with Lora and J. Michael. The photo below shows Margery getting ready to enjoy some hot chocolate before we started opening gifts.

The next photo shows J. Michael and Lora in their Santa hats.

Brutus is J. Michael and Lora's boxer. He is having difficulty getting around in his old age, but he still enjoyed opening his gift of doggie treats.

Using the Octapod mini camera tripod, we were able to get a picture of all of us.

Among other things, Lora and J. Michael got us a Pantouch digital photo frame. It will be great to display pictures of family and of places we have been. We have a bulletin board in the motor home, but can only display a limited number of photos at a time. Plus, we have to go to the trouble of printing the photos before we can display them. The digital frame will hold up to 8,000 photos and we can download them directly from the camera or from our computer.

On Christmas afternoon, we went to J. Michael's mom's house for dinner. The photo below shows some of the family just beginning to gather around the table. J. Michael's family is great, and they are fun to be with. We are gratified they are always willing to include us in their activities.

 

On the day after Christmas, Margery and Lora hit a couple of stores to make some exchanges and to look for bargains. Summer tops aren't in high demand in Pittsburgh in the winter, and Margery was thrilled to be able to get a few for $1.40 each.  Over the next few days, we played some games, watched a movie on DVD, went out to a movie, and visited with Margery's dad and Paul's step-mom.

Lora and J. Michael have a Garmin Nuvi 260W GPS unit, and they took it along on most of our outings. We were amazed at how well it worked, so we started investigating GPS units ourselves. We have a GPS receiver that we can use with our DeLorme mapping software on our laptop, but we feel the computer is too big to leave open in the motor home as we travel. The computer takes up almost the whole passenger side in the car. Therefore, although we sometimes use the computer for the mapping software as we travel (even in the car), we seldom use the GPS.

We found the price of portable GPS units rapidly falling, and we found a Garmin Nuvi 750 for an excellent price at Sam's Club. It is similar to the 260W Lora has so she was able to teach us how to use it fairly quickly. The name of the voice we chose to use is Jill, but we renamed her Grace because she is so amazing and hopefully we'll be reminded to have "grace under fire" when needed. The photo below shows Grace as she helps us navigate on our way back to Bushnell.

Garmin also has a series of GPS units called Street Pilot which are geared toward bigger vehicles like trucks and RVs, but there seems to only be one model of Street Pilot currently being made by Garmin. The Street Pilot is also considerably more expensive than the Nuvi series (except for the newest, high-end Nuvi models). We'll just have to be careful about reviewing in advance the routes Grace plans for us when we are in the motor home.

We planned our return to Bushnell for Monday hoping the traffic would be a little lighter after the weekend. By the time we packed up and said our good-byes, we didn't get on the road until about 8:45 AM. Traffic was heavy most of the way - especially for the 200+ mile portion that traverses I-95 through part of South Carolina, Georgia, and northern Florida. There were several unexplained backups on I-95 in South Carolina, and there was also a lot of construction on I-95 through most of Georgia. Although there wasn't any work going on at night, it did make the driving more difficult with narrow lanes and reduced speed limits.

There were lots of southerners returning south and, surprisingly, more RV's returning north than Snowbirds heading south.

We finally made it back to Bushnell about 12:30 AM. Being with family for the holidays and seeing Lora and J. Michael again was great, but It was also good to be back "home."

As we approached the end of the year, we took a little time to reflect. It was a very good year for us, and we were blessed in our full-timing lifestyle in so many ways. Most importantly, we have a terrific, supportive family back home in Pittsburgh. We are happy to have been able to see them several times this year. Lora and J. Michael go out of their way to make us feel at home when we visit.

We started out the year with Margery's knee surgery. Her recovery was a little slow at the start. By mid-year, she was doing well; and now at the end of a year, she is doing great. Her knees are almost as good as they were when she was younger, and they are waaaay better than they were before the surgery. Even the many steps at Lora and J. Michael's two-story house during our Christmas visit weren't bothersome.

We weathered the storm of sky-high gasoline prices of 2008 by slowing our rate of travel a little. We're trusting we will also make it through the current economic crisis.

We got to see so many of God's astounding creations in 2008 - the plains and farmland of Iowa, the mighty Mississippi, the geothermal features of Yellowstone, the Tetons as well as the mountains of Montana and Colorado, the azure blue skies of New Mexico, and South Florida and the Keys. We also got to see our first in-person NASCAR race. And we have met some nice people and made some new friends along the way.

We used to party on New Year's Eve when we were younger. In recent years, however, we just spend a quiet evening at home watching a bunch of rented movies. We struggle to stay awake until it is time to see the ball drop in Times Square on TV. Then we wish each other a Happy New Year and shuffle off to bed. This year was no different; but with our 15-hour drive in from Pittsburgh just two nights prior, it was a little more difficult than normal staying up until midnight.

We are looking forward to our time here in Bushnell. Last year, we got to do some sightseeing; but we spent much of our time with Margery recovering from knee surgery. This year, we plan not only a time of relaxation, but also some new adventures.

With a minor interruption to review our first year full-timing, we pick up our travels back in Moab, Utah. Utah deserves more than a pass-through, so we will be returning in the future to enjoy this rugged, beautiful state. For now, though, it was time to head east. We planned to be in Pittsburgh the beginning of August for doctor appointments and to help with some projects around Lora and J. Michael's new house. Paul can hardly wait to get his hands on his tablesaw again! We've already been to Home Depot and Lowe's in various ports of call for him to reconnoiter what he'll need for some of the projects on the kids' list.

From Moab, we drove north to I-70, then started east. We stopped for the night at Rifle Gap State Park in Rifle, CO just at the western edge of the Rockies. Rifle Gap State Park has a newly renovated campground complete with large, level concrete pads and gravel patios. Many sites have beautiful views of the small lake, which is a reservoir for the town of Rifle.

The next morning, we started out across the Rockies on I-70. The Rockies were a struggle for our fully-loaded motor home with the Saturn Vue in tow. There were several grades where we were only able to do 20-25 mph. We were, however, able to actually pass two 18-wheelers hauling construction equipment on the slow climb up! From the interstate we could see the major ski resorts - Aspen, Breckenridge, Steamboat Springs, plus some lesser-known resorts. There were many views like the one below that reminded us of Switzerland.

After finally making it over the last peak, we descended toward Denver, turned south, and rolled into Colorado Springs, CO where our home for the next week would be Garden of the Gods Campground. We chose Garden of the Gods Campground because of its convenient location even though that would mean we would be closer to the city than we usually like to stay. The campground is about 5 minutes from Garden of the Gods. Manitou Springs is about 6 minutes down the road to the right of the campground and historic Colorado City, which is now a quaint shopping district, is a short distance in the opposite direction. Although the campground has many mature trees, the management was very accommodating in giving us one of the few sites that has a clear view of the southern sky for our satellite dish. Unfortunately, our door faced the main road in the campground near the activity center, which resulted in a little more noise than we like from vehicular traffic, people walking to and from the activity center and the pool, kids on bikes yelling to their friends, and from the activity center itself. This is why we usually don't go to campgrounds with a lot of planned activities; but if you are one of the many who likes the campground to provide things to do, this is the place for you. They have something every night during the summer including a barbecue dinner, an ice cream social, and live entertainment twice a week. Some of the sites (including ours) were a little close to the neighbors and some (including ours) had back to back hookups. The cost was over $39 a night at the weekly rate (including tax, but excluding the extra charge for Wi-Fi).

One of the main reasons we stopped in Colorado Springs was to visit Garden of the Gods. Garden of the Gods is a unique red-rock formation at the base of Pikes Peak and is a city park operated by Colorado Springs. Although there are nominal fees for an excellent movie on the origin of the rocks and for a guided bus tour, public access to the park itself is free. There are several paved roads through the park with numerous pull-offs and parking lots as well as numerous paved walking trails. The photo below shows the view from the visitor center. The rock formations look massive...

...but in reality they are thin slabs.

Horizontal, sedimentary layers here at the edge of the Rockies were pushed upward during the formation of the mountains. As the surrounding layers were eroded away, harder layers of previously horizontal rock were left standing vertically and at crazy angles. The photo below shows smaller rocks leaning at a precarious angle.

For more photos and information about Garden of the Gods, please see Photo Album 022: Colorado Springs and Points East.

In the photo of Garden of the Gods from the visitor center above, you can see Pikes Peak in the background. Pikes Peak was named for Lt. Zebulon Pike, who was sent to explore the Louisiana Purchase in 1806. Lt. Pike and his party attempted to scale the mountain in Nov., 1806, but were turned back by waist-deep snow.

Colorado has 54 mountains that exceed 14,000 ft. At a height above sea level of 14,110 ft., Pikes Peak is only number 31 of these 54 mountains. Why then is it so famous? It is so well known because of its location. It is on the front range of the Rockies and can be seen from a great distance. It reportedly could be seen by early settlers as they crossed Kansas.

There are three ways to get to the top of Pikes Peak - you can hike (not an option for us), you can drive (19 miles one-way starting in the nearby town of Cascade), or you can take the Manatou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway. We chose the railway.

In 1883, James Kerr proposed an aerial tram as a better way than the existing roads and trails for visitors to reach the summit to enjoy the spectacular views. When that proposal ran into problems, Kerr began planning a narrow-gauge railway. When Kerr lost all the money set aside for the railway in a bank failure, one of his investors organized his own company and began plans for a cog railway. The cog railway was designed by a Swiss engineer and is 8.9 miles long. In several places, it has grades of 25% (25 ft. of rise for every 100 ft. of forward travel). A standard railway usually has grades of no more than 2% and highways usually don't exceed 8 or 9%. In the view below, the camera is straight. It's the train that is climbing at such a steep angle.

Construction of the railway was started in April, 1889. Trains began trips to Half-Way House in August, 1890 and the first passenger train reached the summit on June 30, 1891. The early trains consisted of passenger coaches pushed by small, cog-driven steam locomotives built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia. The railway currently uses Swiss-built, self-propelled, streamlined passenger rail cars.

The rail trip to the top of Pikes Peak begins in Manitou Springs, which is named for its mineral springs. Today, the town is a quaint tourist town with Victorian buildings containing shops and cafes lining the main street. The train depot, shown in the photo below, is off the main street at the base of the mountain. You can see the cogs between the rails in the foreground.

At several places on the way up the mountain and especially at the summit, the views are spectacular.

In 1893, Katherine Lee Bates made the trip up Pikes Peak by wagon. She was so inspired by the view, she wrote a poem to capture what she saw. Her poem, America the Beautiful, was later set to music and was once considered as a candidate for the National Anthem.

The average tree line in Colorado is 11,500 ft., so the summit of Pikes Peak is above the tree line. Because of the high altitude, cold temperatures, short growing season, and high winds, large plants such as trees simply cannot grow. As we approached the summit, we saw large patches of dirty snow. When the train stopped, Paul couldn't resist making a snowball in July...

...and Margery sat and relaxed during one of the brief sunny periods.

There are more photos of our train ride up Pikes Peak in Photo Album 022: Colorado Springs and Points East.

Although classes were not in session and the campus was quiet, it was so interesting to visit the U.S. Air Force Academy located just north of Colorado Springs. There was a very informative movie about Academy life presented in the visitors' center. The exhibit area featured displays regarding Academy history and cadet life as well as the four areas of cadet training: character development, academic, athletic, and military training. We were disappointed to learn that we arrived too late to attend church services in the uniquely-designed Air Force chapel. There is a Protestant and a Catholic service each Sunday even when cadets are not on campus. The Class of 2011 had arrived the weekend before and were off campus attending their five-week Basic Cadet Training. Our daughter's college roommate dated an Air Force cadet throughout their college years and married after graduation. Margery especially enjoyed learning about life at the Air Force Academy that prepares young men and women to "lead the United States Air Force in service to our nation."

Colorado Springs is also the home of Focus on the Family. Focus on the Family was founded by Dr. James Dobson and is committed to a Christian-based, common-sense approach to helping families thrive. From a simple beginning including a book on child discipline and a 25-minute weekly radio broadcast, Focus on the Family has grown over the years. Lora was just 4 years old when Margery began listening to Dr. Dobson's daily radio program and in many ways is a product of all that Margery learned about parenting, discipline, child development, and relationships. Today, the ministry addresses such things as life transitions, spiritual development for all ages, social issues which impact the family, and provides wholesome entertainment with life lessons for children. The Focus on the Family Welcome Center details the growth of the ministry and includes an art gallery of G. Harvey original paintings which are used for the Focus Christmas cards, and an extensive bookstore including a great collection of greeting cards. There was also a tribute to Dr. Dobson's father who was a Nazarene pastor. We were surprised to learn he was a graduate of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh before he went into ministry.

From Colorado Springs, we headed east for a one-night stop near Colby, KS at High Plains Camping. The campground has mostly pull-throughs, gravel roads and pads, and has side-by-side hookups. Fortunately, the campground wasn't full and they spaced the RVs out with at least one empty site between. High Plains Camping is convenient to the interstate, but highway noise isn't bad. It is fine for a one-night stop.

The next morning we left for Minooka Corps of Engineers Campground at Wilson Lake near Dorrance, KS. After about 6 weeks of fairly busy sightseeing, we were looking forward to staying here a few days with no real sightseeing and slowing the pace a little. Minooka Campground has huge sites with extra long pull-throughs and extra wide back-ins, many with a nice lake view. There are paved roads, gravel pads, grass, and a few trees. We stayed on "A" Loop, which was the farthest from the boat launch and swimming area. Therefore, it wasn't quite as overcrowded on the weekend.

This area of Kansas, known as Smokey Hills, is still in the shadows of the Rockies and gets little rainfall. For that reason, the trees are small and not very plentiful. The grass is prairie grass and the area is good for grazing cattle. Having few trees, early settlers ingeniously solved their fencing problem by quarrying local limestone to use as fence posts. They discovered a layer of limestone of a rather uniform thickness of 8 to 9 inches thick near the surface. This limestone is relatively easy to cut and shape when it is freshly quarried, but hardens somewhat and becomes more weather resistant after being exposed to the air for a time. The limestone was also used for many buildings. The limestone is commonly referred to as post rock and this area of Kansas is also known as Post Rock Country. The photo below shows typical stone fence posts.

Following a relaxing several-day stay at Minooka Campground, we moved farther east to Slough Creek Corps of Engineers Campground at Perry Lake near Perry, KS. Slough Creek has large back-in sites with plenty of grass and a few trees. Roads are paved and the sites are gravel.

The campground was relatively quiet when we arrived on Tuesday; but as can be expected on the weekend, it got very crowded. Posted rules sometimes set us up for disappointment since they are often not enforced. There were a lot of dogs running loose and lots of vehicles and boats parked on the grass between sites in spite of the fact that these things were prohibited. Quiet hours are also often a misnomer. Our neighbors carried on around their campfire with loud conversation, laughter, and a radio until 3:00 a.m. People just have no idea how sound travels. We have found many people camp to party rather than to enjoy the beauty and quiet of nature with bird songs as the only background noise. We are grateful that we can now enjoy these things during the week.

Slough Creek was also the site of our first experience with the emergence of millions of midges. There are numerous types of midges, but these were aquatic midges which don't bite. Unlike the small, black gnats that try to fly into your eyes and buzz in your ear, these midges just fly in swarms in huge numbers. They do get into your face, but probably more because there are so many of them rather than by intent. We had seen a few groups of them flying around under our awning on a couple of evenings; but we awoke one morning to thousands of them on the underside of the awning, on the side of the motor home, and swarming around the windows and doors. We couldn't get in or out of the motor home without at least a half a dozen midges finding their way in through the door. When you walked through the grass, clouds of them rose up. The next morning, the midges were largely gone. They either moved on or died off. What a relief!

Slough Creek was about an hour from Kansas City and the Circuit City where we were to pick up our new printer. Our HP All-In-One 2575 had broken the weekend before. We couldn't feel too badly because the paper jammed in it continuously...actually it was the plastic paper feed gear that broke on it. Since it broke in the middle of Kansas prairieland, it was great having satellite internet to research, evaluate, and price compare printers. We almost opted for another $100 model, but finally decided to spend a little more money for a model that got better reviews. We ended up with an HP All-In-One C5180. We liked it because the controls were on the front of the printer. Paul had built a shelf over the recliner to hold the old printer, but with the controls on top and in the back, it was very difficult to use. The other features we liked were individual color ink cartridges so you only need to replace what is empty and the fact it has two paper holders, 8 1/2 x 11 and 4 x 6 photo paper. Circuit City had it on sale so we ordered and paid for it online and arranged to pick it up at the closest store. Imagine our smiles when we found out at the time of pick up that it was on sale for another $5 off! We are very pleased with it to date. Pictures come out beautifully and we have yet to have a paper jam. :)

Our next stop was Ray Behrens Corps of Engineers Campground at Mark Twain Lake. Ray Behrens Campground has enormous sites, some with full hookups. The sites range from open grass with some trees to heavily wooded. They also have a good number of non-reservable sites, which makes it easier to make a last-minute stop.

Mark Twain Lake is about a half hour from Hannibal, MO, which is the home of Samuel Clemens who is best known by his pen name Mark Twain. While in Hannibal we took a ride on the Mark Twain Riverboat, which is 120' long, diesel-powered, 1964 reproduction of an 1800s stern wheeler. Although only an hour long, the cruise narrative is loaded with interesting information about Samuel Clemens, Hannibal, and the Mississippi River. As an added bonus, the stern wheeler Delta Queen was in port. As we were returning to our dock, we got to see the Delta Queen (shown in the photo below) depart for St. Louis, and we got to hear her caliope play as she headed downstream.

Hannibal is also the birthplace of Molly Brown of Titanic fame. Although the "unsinkable" Molly Brown had planned to return to Hannibal to visit her sister in the spring of 1912, the sudden illness of a grandchild caused her to to book passage at the last minute on the Titantic. The photo below shows the home as it exists today as a museum.

Check out Photo Album 022: Colorado Springs and Points East for more photos and information on Mark Twain and Hannibal, MO.

From Mark Twain Lake, we continued eastward to Lincoln Trail State Park in Marshall, IL. We had stayed at this campground on our way west last year, and we really liked it. Lincoln Trail State Park is located near the end of the 1,000-mile trail that Abraham Lincoln and his family traveled when they moved from Kentucky to Illinois in his early childhood. The park has two camping areas - Lakeside and Plainview. We stayed in Plainview, which has grassy sites with a fair amount of shade. Lakeside has HEAVILY wooded sites. All sites are large with gravel pads. There are a few fully-paved handicapped sites in both areas. Lincoln Trail does not accept reservations. All sites are on a first-come basis only. The campground was not full, even on the weekend, and it was nice and quiet.

The temperatures moderated, and we got out our bikes and were able to ride them every day. We also got to sit out and read every day and got to enjoy several campfires. Now, that's the kind of relaxation we've been looking for!

On Saturday we went to Terre Haute, IN, to a farmers market and got our first sweet corn in almost two years. Although it had been picked the night before and had been sitting in the sun, it was pretty good. I guess some might call us "corn snobs." If we could take the Coleman stove out to the field and bend the corn on stalk right into the water, we'd say, "Now that's GREAT corn!"

After several days, we moved east again to Caesar Creek State Park near Waynesville, OH. This has always been one of our favorite destinations. Being near Cincinnati and Dayton, Caesar Creek definitely fills up on weekends; but during the week, it is usually peaceful. The sites are very wide with plenty of grass and a few trees for shade. They raised their prices this year to $25 a night ($27 on holiday weekends), which is a little high for 30 amp electric and no water or sewer hookups. However, they accept Passport America for 50% off Sunday through Wednesday.

Our plans to stay here 8 days included taking Molly to a canine internist to try to get a definitive diagnosis and recommended treatment for her suspected health problem. We met with Dr. Lee Schrader of Suburban Veterinary Clinic. It was wonderful to meet with a specialist who could cut through all the rhetoric. After consultation, examination and an additional test, Dr. Schrader concluded that, although there may indeed be a problem, there are few if any symptoms and no treatment is recommended unless and until symptoms get to be a problem for either us or Molly. Molly, who is 13, is actually doing quite well for her age. During the visit, the vet did uncover a latent bladder infection. Molly had problems with several previous infections and it had apparently gone "underground." It was still there, but it was not active. The infection will require extended treatment with antibiotics and a follow-up test in about a month. We are so very pleased with Dr. Schrader...her kindness, thoroughness, and practicality. Since we'll be here again over Labor Day weekend with Lora and J. Michael, we've scheduled Molly's follow-up test for early September. We must say that almost every vet we saw across the country (11 over the past year) had identified a piece of the puzzle, but we can't say enough about seeking out a specialist when there's something going on internally. We even get to take Molly off the $45/bag dog food! She is happy to return to her standard Purina Senior. No more coaxing by covering the other dog food with broth!

Waynesville, OH is about 20 minutes away from Caesar Creek. Waynesville bills itself as the antiques capital of the midwest and antique shops line the main street. Waynesville is also the home of Der Dutchman, which is one of our favorite restaurants. They have four restaurants in Ohio and one in Indiana. Their breakfast buffet can't be beat and their Manhattans (hot roast beef, pork or turkey sandwich) with REAL mashed potatoes are exceptional, too.

Right at the exit 45 on I-71 is Caesar Creek Flea Market. There is a nice mix of new and used merchandise here and, even though we don't really need to do much shopping now that we are full-time RVers, we still enjoy looking. The Cincinnati/Dayton area also has several other flea markets, but since they are a little farther away, we skipped them for this trip.

We took one day to travel to the other side of Cincinnati to visit Jungle Jim's International Market. Here's a picture of Paul at the entrance.

Not only does it have American groceries, but products from the countries "across the pond" as well as Asian countries and India. From this picture, you can also see just some of the variety of produce that is shipped in from around the world. There are oranges from Australia, mangos from Haiti, several types of coconuts, and numerous varieties of bananas and melons from various locations.

At one point we said, "If they don't have it, it must not be made." However, they did NOT have Paul's favorite candy, ju-ju fish. This all-inclusive grocery store had more kinds of butter that you can imagine....from all over the world. It's the same for many other items. From this picture you can see the honey display.

In addition to all of the interesting displays and foods, the Jungle Jim bathrooms are one of five finalists in the America's best bathroom contest. We have to admit, we did hesitate before opening the door. :) The Porta-Potties are just a front and the restrooms inside are actually quite nice.

From Caesar Creek, it's on to Pittsburgh. With less sightseeing, the posts will probably be a little less frequent for the next several weeks. We are looking forward to spending time with family and working on some projects.

Our return to Lancaster was primarily to visit our favorite campground with this view from our seats by the campfire...

and to enjoy some of our favorite foods unique to the area i.e., wet-bottom shoofly pie from Dutch Haven; hot pretzels from Dutch Country Soft Pretzels; semi-sweet "buds" from Wilbur Chocolate in Litiz; a ham slice and apple-cured sweet bologna at the  Green Dragon Farmers Market in Ephrata, out-of-this-world homegrown pears from Kaufman's Market in Leola and the variety of nationality foods Central Market in downtown Lancaster. Of course, this is a result of years of research. :)

Our next stop was Williamsburg, VA, up to this point, one of our all-time favorite places to visit.

Although there have been many changes since our first visit in 1970, we never tire of visiting the restored area, sitting on a bench, and watching the world go by. This was our first fall visit. We were struck by how busy landscapers were. Pansies  were being planted and mulched all over the area, just like it was spring! Here is a sample in front of outdoor dining on November 1!

We added a new dimension to our stay when we began the sport of Geocaching. This is an outdoor treasure-hunting game in which the participants use a Global Positioning System receiver or other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers (called "geocaches" or "caches") anywhere in the world. A typical cache is a small waterproof container containing a logbook and "treasure", usually toys or trinkets of little monetary value. Not only do we enjoy the "hunt," but we discover places we never would have found otherwise. Check out the photo album for some of the places we discovered in Williamsburg.

Ten days in Williamsburg is the longest time we have ever spent there and with no other reservations or plans other than to head south, we got our first real taste of full-timing...."are we ready to hit the road or do you want to stay a few more days?"

We decided to stay so that we could explore Historic Jamestown where  Capt ain John Smith established the first permanent English settlement in North America. The drive to Jamestown takes you along the beautiful and peaceful Colonial Parkway.

Finally, the cold weather started moving in; and we decided to head south to try and get ahead of it. We headed for New Bern, NC. Anxious to see the North Carolina barrier islands, we spent a day traveling down the Crystal Coast consisting of narrow islands and miles and miles of beach houses, one more inviting than the next!

We stayed in an  out-of-the-way campground smack dab next to the Cherry  Point Marine Corps Air Station. The  whole motorhome shook when the  military jets flew over, but what a jolt of patriotism pulses through your veins! I am disappointed we did not get a picture.

In New Bern, we toured Tryon Palace, the first capitol of North Carolina and the home of the Royal Governor and his family, William Tryon. We were particularly delighted to see the vegetable gardens still producing on November 7!

We found out that the tomato plant is native to South America and probably came to Carolinas via the Caribbean where they were commonly grown. And here I thought they came from Italy!

Ready to hunt some warmer weather, we set out for Myrtle Beach. Soon after we left New Bern, we saw our first cotton field.

We're looking forward to exploring Myrtle Beach. What fun!