A New Toy
Wauchula, FL - Events of December 31, 2019 to January 31, 2020
We ended our last post with our having returned home from Pittsburgh on Sunday, December 29, after visiting with family for Christmas. For the first time in several years we returned home without colds. A quick trip to the little Walmart in Wauchula on Monday enabled us to restock our fridge with some basics.
Gardening is something Paul enjoys. He does weeding, fertilizing, watering, pruning, and insect control, not only for our own plants, but also for many of the plants here at the SKP Florida Resort. Paul was spoiled by having friends loan us their golf cart for the past two summers when they were not here because having a golf cart makes it easy to haul shovels, hoses, buckets, insecticide sprayers, etc. Without the use of a golf cart, Paul had to either walk or strap tools to his bicycle, which is not the safest practice, especially in the case of a tool like a long-handled pitch fork.
Paul strapping a pitch fork to his bicycle
When our friends returned last fall and reclaimed their golf cart, we started thinking seriously about getting our own. Paul began doing research.
Golf courses usually lease their golf carts for a period of three years. When the lease is up, they turn in the carts in and get a new batch. There are a lot of RV parks, mobile home parks, and planned communities in Florida, and most of the smaller ones like ours have private roads that permit golf carts. Many larger communities like The Villages have special cart paths.
With all the planned communities and RV parks creating a demand and all the golf courses with leased golf carts as a source of supply, there is a booming business in Florida selling used golf carts. Some are sold as-is, fresh off the golf course, and others are refurbished with varying lists of options. There are also plenty of used golf carts for sale by private parties on Facebook and Craig's List.
Over a period of a few weeks late last fall, we visited several golf cart dealers and ended up at A2Z Golf Custom Carts in Sebring. A2Z tears the carts down, rebuilds them, and installs a brand new set of batteries (one of the most expensive parts of the cart). Their standard build includes the most popular options that are not excessively expensive. We also liked the fact the carts from A2Z come with a one-year warranty. Many other dealers only give a 30-day warranty.
We drove over to Sebring on New Year's Eve to order our golf cart. Each cart sold by A2Z is custom built, so we had to wait almost three weeks. It was delivered January 18th.
Paul taking the new golf cart for a test drive
Freeway loves riding in the golf cart. One day when we all went for a ride, we stopped and got out to talk to some friends. Although we were standing pretty far away from the cart for a fairly long period of time, Freeway was content to just lie there on the seat and wait for us.
Freeway waiting patiently in the golf cart while we talked to friends
Although the golf cart came with a good many options like a rear seat that folds over to create a cargo area, a new windshield, a light kit, and rear view mirrors, there were still a few additional accessories Paul wanted to install himself.
We titled this post "A New Toy," but maybe we should have called it "A New Tool" because the cart will be used much of the time for work. Therefore, one necessary addition was a hitch on the back to use to pull the small utility trailer owned by the Resort so Paul can haul larger items. Hitch kits for golf carts are readily available. They bolt right up to holes provided for that purpose in the rear seat foot rest.
Paul also wanted a horn. Newer electric golf carts run on 48 volts, which is supplied by six 8-volt batteries. Since most electrical accessories like the horn run on 12 volts, Paul needed to install a voltage reducer. The output from the voltage reducer feeds a fuse block to which he then wired the horn.
Voltage reducer (with the fins to the right) and fuse block
Another addition was a volt meter so Paul can monitor the state of charge of the batteries. Drawing the batteries down too far before recharging can seriously shorten the life of the battery pack, and the volt meter will alert Paul when the batteries start to get a little too low.
In addition to work Margery was doing on the newsletter, sign-up sheets, and posters for the Resort and Paul taking care of plants and modifying the golf cart, we had our usual errands to run. We frequently combine eating out with errands, and that was the case one day a couple of weeks ago. After stopping to order Paul a new pair of shoes over in Sebring, we went to Dimitri's Restaurant and both had grouper finger baskets for lupper. Afterward, we decided to stop at Maxwell's Groves in Avon Park on our way home for some of their delicious orange ice cream.
As we walked away from the counter with our ice cream, Paul heard his name being called out by someone behind us. The couple, Marc and Grace Miller from Kolona, Iowa, introduced themselves as blog readers. They were staying over in the St. Petersburg area for a couple of weeks this winter, and they drove all the way to Wauchula to eat lunch at the Wauchula Family Restaurant and then drove to Avon Park to have some of the orange ice cream at Maxwell's because they read about both places in our blog. Our crossing paths was serendipitous, and we very much enjoyed chatting with them.
Blog readers we met at Maxwell's Groves
So those are some of the things keeping us busy since Christmas. Stay tuned for our next update.
What a wonderful post.
You guys are going to love the golf cart. Told Dave yesterday that I would be glad when the weather warms up again, so we can go for our afternoon golf cart rides.
As we know, meeting blogger friends is the best. Glad they realized you were there, and that you got to meet up.
Posted by: Janice Evans | February 12, 2020 at 08:18 AM
I love your new golf cart!! I am sure it will not only come in handy as Paul takes care of the plants but it will give you all and Freeway a nice ride around the park!!
The orange ice cream sounds delicious!!
Posted by: Mike and Gerri Jones | February 12, 2020 at 08:30 PM
Cool new toy ... oops I mean tool!
Posted by: Mike Evringham | February 14, 2020 at 10:11 PM
Hahaha...you got it right the first time, Mike!
Posted by: Margery | February 15, 2020 at 01:27 PM