Living Our Dream

Winding Down and Winding Up

Bushnell, FL

Our time here in Bushnell is rapidly winding down. Soon we'll be getting ready to wind up to begin our spring and summer travels. We'll be heading to South Dakota this year to renew our drivers licenses, but we'll be taking our time getting there so we'll be sure it will be warm. After South Dakota, we are tentatively planning to go back to Santa Fe by way o Denver and southern Colorado before meandering back east for doctor appointments in the Pittsburgh area in the fall.

In a few more days we'll be joining flocks of snowbirds heading north out of Florida, and we expect the roads to be somewhat crowded. Blueberry Hill is starting to look empty because quite a few people have headed north already. Except for the first week or two of March when there were numerous retirees, families, and several rallies here on spring break, Blueberry Hill was never very full this year. Now as we approach the end of March, we're really getting lonesome.

Although we got to do some sightseeing this winter, we had intended to do a little more. One reason we didn't was because after a fairly hectic summer of travel again last year, we just didn't feel like going out too often. The other reason is we were spending a good bit of time working on putting the third year of our online blog into book form. We finished that up and got the hard copies last week. We're real pleased with the results.

We explained how we published our books is a post last year, but we thought we would touch on it again. We use blurb.com that provides free software called BookSmart that makes it possible to extract the text and photos from most of the popular blog-hosting sites. You can use one of their templates or customize the layout to suit your individual needs and desires. Of course, getting the content downloaded is the easy part. Formatting the text and photos for a custom layout, which is what we do, takes a lot of time. BookSmart can be used to create many kinds and sizes of books. The next photo shows a page layout for of one of our books.

And the next photo is a screen shot taken during a page edit and shows the custom layout process. Boxes are created for text and photos, then sized to fit with each other on the page.

Laying out the book for our third year of travel took longer than the books for our first and second years because we did such extensive traveling and sightseeing our third year, our blog wouldn't all fit into one book. Not only that, but we also have been increasing the number of photos we put into the blog. We wanted to make the photos a nice size so we can see them better when our eyes get older, so we decided it would be necessary to expand to two books for our third year.

As soon as we uploaded our information to the blurb website and ordered the two books for our third year of travel, they sent us a digital coupon for 20% off any future purchase. Since we only order one copy of each book, the books are fairly expensive. (The more copies you order, the less expensive they are per copy.) Therefore, we decided to try to finish the book for our fourth year before the coupon ran out on April 4, especially since we knew the book for our fourth year would also have to be expanded to two books. Margery is working hard doing the main layouts, and Paul with his engineer's eye is making sure all the edges of the text boxes and photos are lined up and straight. So far, we finished Year 4 Part 1, and we're making good progress on Part 2 so we think we'll make it.

The next photo shows the custom-designed cover for one of our Year 4 books.

With the weather warming up (it's been in the mid-80s), Margery decided she needed some new sleeveless lops, and she did some shopping at Kohl's online. Unfortunately, when the tops arrived, some of them were too big. When she went online to order them in a smaller size, they were out of stock already. Therefore, she decided we needed to take time off from working on the book long enough to run up to Kohl's in The Villages to make returns and to see what they had in stock in the store.

Since we have been slaving over a hot computer much of the day recently, we decided taking time off to go to Kohl's would also be a good excuse to go out to eat. We were both hungry for Chinese food, so Margery found good reviews for China Gourmet III. China Gourmet has three locations, one of which is in a strip mall in The Villages near Kohl's.

Like the new Hong Kong Chinese Restaurant near the Walmart in Bushnell that we tried last year, China Gourmet specializes in take out, although they do have a several tables inside. You order from the extensive menu at the counter.

China Gourmet has a lunch special from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM for $5.25 that includes an entree, soup, and fried rice. Margery had egg drop soup, and Paul had wonton soup for starters.

We both love General Tso's chicken, so that's what we both had for our entree. We also ordered egg rolls which were excellent.

The restaurant is nothing fancy (food is served on plastic plates and in styrofoam cups with plastic tableware and on plastic table cloths); but the food is good, especially for the price, and there's plenty of it. We almost couldn't finish our meals.

With a moderately successful shopping trip to Kohl's and having had a good meal, we headed back to the motor home. We got back just as the rain started, and just as the weather radio went off. That was the start of 24 hours of wind (45 mph gusts), rain (over 7") and weather alerts (severe thunderstorm and tornado watches and warnings). There was some wind damaage (possibly from a tornado) in the area (especially farther south toward Tampa), but we fared well.

The forecast is calling for clearing weather which is what we need to be able to check tire pressures, check oil, and put things away in preparation for our departure. We'll let you know where we end up in our next post.

Florida Carriage Museum

Bushnell, FL

On our way to OakWood Grill to eat out while waiting for the part to come in to get our refrigerator repaired, we decided to visit the Florida Carriage Museum and Resort. The Florida Carriage Museum is located in Weirsdale, FL, which is right near The Villages and the OakWood Grill.

The museum is on over 400 acres and also includes a resort with guest rooms and horse barns that make the resort an equine bed and breakfast. There are also many areas where horse owners can ride their horses and drive carriages.

In addition to the museum, there are trail rides, carriage rides, riding and driving lessons, stable tours and farm tours available. Entry into the museum costs $10 per person, and there is an additional charge for the other activities. With the exception of the museum and stable tour, the other activities require advance reservations.

The grounds are well groomed and include several lakes and ponds.

With over 160 meticulously-restored vehicles, the museum has one of the largest private collections of carriages in the world. The photo below shows the main part of the museum complex.

The oldest vehicle is represented by a reproduction of the horse-drawn chariot that was found in King Tut's tomb in 1922. King Tut reigned in Egypt from 1334 to 1325 BC. The chariot, which was pulled by two horses, was built for speed and would have been used for hunting and sport. This reproduction was originally made for the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI.

The carriage in the photo below came from Switzerland and was made in the late 1700s. The seat is mounted transversely so the width of the carriage could be reduced to better navigate the narrow village streets. There is no driver's seat, so the horse and carriage were probably led through the streets by an attendant.

The most extravagant carriage is a dress carriage from the 1840s once owned by Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria. This vehicle was used by the royal family to tour Vienna to greet their subjects and for ceremonial purposes. Footmen would have stood on a platform on the rear or would have walked beside the coach to be available to assist the royals. An interesting fact is there are no handles on the insides of the doors. The royals would have not been expected to open the doors themselves.

Contrast the way the restored carriage looks today with the photo below of the way the carriage looked in 1998 before it was restored.

Another interesting conveyance was a horse-drawn, double-decker omnibus built in England in 1874. This omnibus can carry up to 28 passengers.

Early fire engines were horse-drawn. The photo below shows a pumper from the late 1800s. It included a water tank so firemen would not have to hunt for a water source when they arrived at the scene of the fire. This pumper was pumped manually. Horse-drawn pumpers built later had steam-powered pumps.

The American wing of the museum contained quite a few buggies and carriages reminiscent of the Old West. One row had a life-size, cardboard cutout of Roy Rogers. Although Paul was more a fan of Gene Autry, he remembers Roy Rogers and Dale Evans quite well.

Speaking of the Old West, what could more emblematic than a stagecoach, also known as a Concord Coach. Concord Coaches were built in Concord, NH, in the 1800s by the Abbot Downing Company. Concord Coaches were offered in 6, 9, and 12-passenger sizes and were sold throughout the United States, South America, Australia and Africa. Over 700 were built by the original Abbot Downing Company before the company disbanded in 1847. The founders of the original company and their sons formed several other partnerships after that time, and a total of over 3,000 Concord Coaches were built by the various partnerships.

The horse-drawn oil wagon in the next photo delivered kerosene and oil to homes for use in lamps and stoves in the early 1900s. It had three separate compartments in the tank for different types of oil. It also delivered axle grease for vehicles and machinery. The petroleum age had begun.

We enjoyed reading the descriptions of the carriages. Each one had a plaque that included the name of the carriage, a description, and information on when and where it was made.

The most unusual carriage in the museum was this Hummer. During the Great Depression, car owners who couldn't afford to buy gas converted their automobiles to horse-drawn vehicles. These conveyances, which became known as "Hoover Carts," inspired artist and filmmaker Jeremy Dean to create this "CEO Stagecoach" using a 2010 Hummer. The engine has been removed, so this is strictly a horse-drawn vehicle. The driver's seat has been separated from the enclosed passenger compartment and has been raised so the driver can see over the horses. The CEO Stagecoach is a modern version of Concord coach shown earlier.

After we visited the museum, we toured the grounds. You can walk or drive; but if you drive, they ask you to pull over to yield the right of way to any carriage that might approach.

The resort periodically has time trials for carriages where the drivers navigate through numbered pairs of cones much like the sports car autocrosses we drove when we were young. On the day we were there, there were several people out in one of the fields practicing.

As we said earlier, the grounds include several lakes and ponds. Paul paused for a photo on the bridge to the observation island at the koi pond.

The pond contains several dozen large koi, some of which measure over 2 feet long. They must have seen our silhouettes approaching because they all started swimming over to where we were standing. They were undoubtedly expecting to be fed, but we didn't have anything for them.

The next photo shows us at with one of the larger lakes in the background.

The resort also has the Qin Dynasty Garden that has several figures from the Terracotta Army. The Terracotta Army was discovered in 1974 in China and depicts the army of the first emperor of China. There are over 8,000 terracotta clay soldiers and about 670 horses that were buried with the emperor. The originals date back to 210 BC, and they're treasured Chinese historical artifacts, so we're guessing these are copies.

Reading the plaques about all the antique carriages and seeing the variety of carriages that have been built over the years was very interesting and educational. Touring the grounds watching the carriages and koi was also a lot of fun. It was approaching 4:00 PM, and we were getting hungry, so we headed on over to the OakWood Smokehouse and Grill that we wrote about in our last post for an early dinner.

We only have a couple of weeks left here in Florida, but we still want to squeeze in a couple more things before we leave, so look for our next post.

Good Excuse to Eat Out

Bushnell, FL

Last Tuesday Morning, Paul was up early working on the computer when he was startled by the sound of our LP alarm going off. If you think he was startled, the alarm is under the bed, and Margery was asleep! Paul ran back to the bedroom to find Margery beating her alarm clock mumbling something about not knowing how to turn it off. Alarm clocks aren't used much around here since retirement! (LOL) In any case, he couldn't smell any evidence of a gas leak. He checked around the furnace and the front of the fridge - still nothing. He pulled the fuse to get the darned alarm to shut up, then went outside to check the propane tank and some of the storage bays that the gas lines ran through - nothing.

Meanwhile, Margery got up and noticed an unusual smell in the bathroom. Paul checked it out. It was ammonia, and it took Paul a minute to realize that it was from a leak in the cooling unit of our refrigerator. The refrigerator is next to the bathroom, so that's why there was a lot of ammonia ammonia smell in there. Unlike home refrigerators that operate with a compressor and fluorocarbon refrigerant, most RV refrigerators are gas absorption type that use ammonia as a refrigerant.

Paul took off the outside access cover to the back of the refrigerator; and sure enough, there was a strong ammonia smell and a hissing sound.

We have 4-door Norcold refrigerator, and there have been a series of fires associated with those models. Apparently, if coolant leaks out, the cooling unit can overheat and cause a fire. There have been several recalls; and last fall, there was another one that included essentially all Norcold 4-door refrigerators. For the latest recall, a temperature sensor was installed on the heat stack. If the sensor detects excessive temperature, there is a switch that irreversibly shuts down the fridge. We had the recall done when we were in Summerdale, and we're glad we did. We can report that it worked. The red light on the switch was on indicating that there was an alarm condition and that the switch had shut the cooling unit down before it could overheat.

If you haven't had the latest Norcold recall done on your 4-door Norcold, or if you're not sure if yours is included, contact Norcold or an RV repair shop right away.

The refrigerator was still cool inside, so there was no rush to try to find someplace to put our food. Our first order of business was to try to find someone who had a new cooling unit in stock (not likely since they're so expensive), or find someone who could get one quickly. Paul called several RV places we knew about while Margery searched the internet for more names. Most people said it would take two weeks to get a cooling unit in, but two RV repair shops said they would call around to look for one and call us back.

ProTech RV in Clermont, FL, which was one of the names Margery found on the 'net, called back within 20 or 30 minutes and said they could get a cooling unit in by the next day and come out to our site to install it the following day. Sold!

The next order of business was to try to save as much of our food as possible before the fridge warmed up. Paul went to Walmart to buy a cooler and some ice. Meanwhile, Margery called the campground office, and they said we could put our frozen food into one of the freezers in the kitchen in the clubhouse for a couple of days.

The photo below shows our stack of coolers. Paul bought the red one first, and we had the small one. When everything didn't fit, he went back for the cheap styrofoam cooler and more ice.

Since we had to clean out the fridge, we found a few "science projects" that we didn't know were in there. While it was empty, it was a good time for Margery to wipe down all the shelves and food bins. Paul got the job of mopping out the melted ice from the freezer.

We made do with leftovers that first night, but it is really a pain to have to search through the coolers for things to eat without letting too much warm air in. Not only that, all our frozen food was up at the clubhouse, and we didn't want to have to bug the people in the office to get things out of the freezer. So, the next day while we were waiting for the new cooling unit to arrive so they could come and install it, we went out to eat.

OakWood Smokehouse and Grill, where we went a week or so ago for the smoked beef sandwiches, had an internet coupon special for a full rack of ribs and two sides for $9.99 (regular $14.99), and this was the last day of the special. Not only that, but there was some sightseeing we wanted to do near The Villages where OakWood is located. We'll tell you about the sightseeing in our next post, but we want to finish the refrigerator story first.

Back to our dinner. We arrived a little before 4:00 PM, and they were already crowded. We retirees like to eat early when we eat out. They told us there would be a 30 minute wait, but it turned out to only be about 20 minutes.

Paul hated lima beans as a kid, but now he likes them. Margery still hates them, so since Paul never gets them, he ordered them with his ribs. He also had sweet potato fries.

Margery had a baked potato and onion rings with her ribs.

Everything was delish, especially Paul's lima beans. They were served with butter sauce and ham chunks. OakWood Smokehouse and Grill quickly became one of our favorite restaurants. We've both been there twice within a week, and Margery has been there three times in about 10 days...and it won't be soon enough to go back.

The following day, Rick, the ProTech RV Repair technician, showed up a little after lunch with our new cooling unit in the back of his truck.

Paul was surprised they only sent one guy because he knew the refrigerator would have to be removed to replace the cooling unit; and he knew the refrigerator weighs over 100 pounds - even with the doors removed. Although Rick insisted he could get the fridge out by himself, he gratefully accepted Paul's offer to help. After they got it down to the floor, Rick wrestled it into position in the middle of the floor onto a piece of old carpet he brought with him.

Since the fridge is too big to fit through most RV doors, they work on them inside. In the next photo, the old cooling unit has been removed, and the new one has been put into place ready to be fastened down.

After everything was tightened down and rewired, Paul helped Rick put the fridge back into place. Not only was it heavy, but there was barely clearance for it in the hallway.

After Rick hooked everything back up outside, he turned the fridge on, checked the operation on both LP gas and AC electric, and gave it a thumbs up. The next photo shows Rick after all the work was done.

We were very pleased with ProTech RV. They asked the right questions when Paul first called to make sure they could get the right part, they were very professional, and they did what they said they would do. Pro-Tech RV has RV sales, service, parts, and mobile service. In addition, Rick was a real gem. He was considerate, conscientious, thorough, efficient, and an all around nice guy.

We let the fridge run overnight to cool off again before transferring our food from the coolers. Gas absorption refrigerators are notoriously slow to cool and slow to recover if you leave the door open for an extended period. It took almost 36 hours to start cooling fully, but now it's back to where it was.

We mentioned we did some sightseeing when we went out to the OakWood Grill for dinner, and we'll tell you about it in our next post.

Coyote Rojo

Bushnell, FL

We're still hanging around the motor home most days working on transferring our blog for our third year of full-timing into book form. We're also working on the computer and reading our AAA Guide Books investigating places we may want to visit this summer. Paul also did some minor maintenance items around the motor home like polishing the aluminum wheels and draining the hot water tank to flush it out and to check the anode rod. On most afternoons we ride our bikes around the campground and sometimes over to Walmart to pickup a few grocery items. In the evenings, we usually play Wii and then watch TV.

We had planned to take our bikes to the Withlacoochee Bike Trail on two different occasions for a change of scenery for our bike riding this past week. Unfortunately, the first time we planned to do that, it was very windy and cloudy when we got up in the morning; and the second time, the weather turned out to be windy and cool, so we decided not to go on both occasions.

We also planned to stop for a late lunch on our way back from bike riding to reward ourselves for all that exercise. Even though we didn't go to the bike trail, we decided to go out to eat anyway. We ran over to the new Mexican restaurant that opened last year across the main road from where the entrance to campground is located. The restaurant is called Coyote Rojo (Red Coyote). We arrived about 3:30 P. M. Although we had the place to ourselves for most of our meal, several other groups arrived just as we were finishing up.

We tried Coyote Rojo last year, and we really liked it. Our favorite Mexican restaurant remains Cozumel in Greensburg, PA, near our old hometown of Pittsburgh; but Coyote Rojo is surprisingly good for a little town like Bushnell. The meal started out with the traditional corn chips and salsa. The corn chips were served warm, and the salsa was loaded with fresh cilantro.

Prices at Coyote Rojo are very reasonable. Combo dinners run around $6.50 to $8.00. There are specials on Mondays and Fridays. We went on a Friday, and the specials were fajitas for $7.99 or a "pick 2" combo for $5.99. We both had a chili relleno and a burrito (Margery had ground beef and Paul had chicken) for the "pick 2" special. The combo dinners are also served with the traditional Mexican rice and refried beans.

That really hit the spot. We went to Coyote Rojo when we first got to Bushnell last December, and we were both hungry for Mexican food again. We still want to try to hit the bike trail and a couple of other places, so stay tuned.

 

OakWood Grill

Bushnell, FL

The weather here in Florida has been beautiful. It's been mostly sunny with highs in the 70s and 80s and lows in the 50s and 60s. Once in a while, we get a few cooler, windy days with clouds, but it usually clears out and warms up again fairly quickly. We've probably had the best weather of the four winters we have spent in Florida.

Even with the nicer weather, we have been staying around the motor home to spend time working on transferring our online blog for our third year of full-timing into book form. We did that with our blog for years one and two, and we were very pleased with the results. We're trying to get the layout done so we can get the book on order in time to receive it before we leave Blueberry Hill.

It seems our campground neighbors this year are more active than ever...a lot of socializing and comings and goings at all hours...and a sharp contrast to how we spend our time here. Many, if not most, residents of the park are snowbirds who leave their northern nests for the winter returning to their homes after 3-4 months of a Florida vacation. They are looking for activities and togetherness. We, on the other hand, travel 9 months out of the year. Therefore, our 3 months at the park are considered 'down' time for us to get some projects done and to cool our heels before we begin our sightseeing travels in earnest. That's the beauty of retirement...flexibility to do whatever floats your boat.

About a week ago, Margery took time off from working on the book to go to lunch with one of her friends from our old church back in Pittsburgh. Margery's friend and her husband retired to The Villages several years ago. The girls met at a restaurant near The Villages called OakWood Smokehouse and Grill. Margery brought part of her sandwich back for Paul to try, and we both agreed it was so good we both wanted to go back ASAP.

A couple of days later we went up to the OakWood Grill in The Villages for an early dinner.

As the name suggests, the OakWood Smokehouse and Grill specializes in smoked meats - beef, pork, turkey and sausage. They have a special every day until 4:00 PM that includes a sandwich (beef, turkey or pork), one side and a large drink for only $6.49. Margery had a beef sandwich when she was there with her friend, and it was delicioius. OakWood also has a blackened blue burger (a burger grilled with blackening spices topped with blue cheese, lettuce and tomato) that also sounded delicious. Since we couldn't decide between the beef sandwich and the blackened blue burger, we decided to get one of each and share them. The photo below shows the blackened blue burger with a side of onion rings...

...and the next photo shows the beef sandwich with au jus and a side of slaw. Notice the pink smoke rings on the outside edges of the beef slices.

Paul couldn't wait to dig in.

The sandwiches were both great as were the sides. We definitely put the OakWood Grill on our list of favorite restaurants.

As we mentioned in our last post, we noticed snowbirds starting to leave the campground around the end of February. The campground never did fill up this year - the back section was never more than 40% full and the front section was usually only 10 or 15% filled. Then a few days into March, something strange began to happen - new people began to show up. In previous years there were always some people who arrived in early March, but not as many as this year. When we rode our bikes around the campground, we noticed the back is now about 75% filled and the front is over 90%.

In the past, most of the March arrivals were younger people who were still working and who had kids that were out of school on spring break. This year, the new arrivals also include lots of people who look like they could be retired. We're not sure what's going on, but maybe some people didn't make reservations like they had done in the past because of the uncertainty of the economy. Then, with all the snow up north, they decided to head south at the last minute for a few weeks. On the other hand, Blueberry Hill did reduce their rates back to 2009 levels this year to try to encourage business since they were so empty. Maybe it's working already.

We still have a couple of other restaurants we want visit before we hit the road for spring. We also have a little more sightseeing we want to squeeze in while we continue to work on our book the next few weeks. We'll tell you what else we found to do in our next post.