Saturday, January 02, 2010

We're HERE - Wauchula, FL

We finally arrived at Little Charlie Creek RV Park, Wauchula, FL at 5:45pm.  The orange trees are loaded with oranges.  Will get pictures tomorrow. 
As I said yesterday, the staff at Camping World and Lazy Days couldn't have been nicer or more concerned about getting us out of there, but today seemed like a LOOOONG day.  After installing the new satellite antenna, we were unable to get a signal on the bedroom TV on Thursday, but we were able to watch the front TV which worked great.  So, the guys checked the cable, before it was passed through the roof to the bedroom, tested both receivers, and finally decided to change out the new antenna.  SUCCESS!!!  We have the latest Slimline DirecTV multi satellite antenna which sees all three DirecTV satellites.  We no longer have the pretty black dome on top of the motorhome, but when this antenna is stored, it is much lower than the old dome. 

So we left Camping World with 4 new house batteries; a revamped, cleaned and painted battery compartment; new battery isolater controller; new satellite antenna, 2 new DVR HD receivers; and testing of several systems which we had questions about, all of which checked out OK.  Just can't say enough about the guys who worked on our home.  They were great.  Should have gotten a picture of them.  Especially, Will and Gene, who worked on the TV issues, and Eric, who solved all our battery issues.  Seems that the original wiring was not REALLY done incorrectly, but was not done to maximize certain usages. 

Some things about the fulltiming lifestyle are just like living in a "sticks & brick", but we've learned to go with the flow.  We still don't have to scoop snow, mow grass, maintain a 2800 sq ft house, or go to W**K.  :)

Anyway, we are quite happy with Camping World in Seffner, FL and the staff at Lazy Days for the 2 days we stayed with them and then finding Kasey. 

We are really looking forward to meeting up with friends we met here last January.  But tomorrow is devoted to cleaning, as the motorhome hasn't had a good cleaning for several weeks. 

More later.....

Friday, January 01, 2010

Happy New Year - A detour, but almost to Wauchula, FL

Happy New Year to everyone. We are parked in the shop at Camping World/Lazy Days RV at Seffner, FL, just east of Tampa; having some much needed electrical upgrades to the motorhome, AND we changed out the old TV antenna for the lastest DirecTv HD antenna. Also have 2 new DVR HD receivers. NOOOO, there are not any HD TV's in our future, but we'll be prepared when we do decide to upgrade the TV's.

We did have a bit of a scare last night when Kasey ran away when firecrackers went off in the neighborhood. He was actually at the door, and I was about 10 feet behind him. He just raced away. This complex is about 20-25 acres, completely fenced with only 2 or 3 gates to enter. Most of the space is taken up with several hundred RV's for sale and an RV park. They have 24 hr security here and after looking for him for 2 hours, we finally went to bed hoping that the fireworks would end after midnight. The security people cover the whole area in golf carts. I gave Charlie some treats for Kasey and he said he woud call as soon as he found him. And he did; at 4:10 am. He was at the far north side under some bushes in a fence corner. One of the girls got down on the ground with a treat and he came to her. He wouldn't come out when they called his name. She picked him up and he licked her face. Typical Kasey. He has slept all day today. I'm sure his adrenalin level was really high last night since the fireworks continued for so long.

So thankful we didn't start the new year wihout him. He will always be on a leash now when we go out. Just can't trust him.

The techs still have some things to finish up tomorrow. We should be in Wauchula tomorrow evening or Sunday.

The staff at Camping World and Lazy Days have just been wonderful to us.  Not just with dealing with a lost dog, but they have been great with our motorhome issues.  We've had electrical problems for about the past year, and haven't been able to get things squared away.  Our lead tech, Rich, actually listened and took notes as we explained the battery problems we've been having.  These guys are all so competent and very willing to share what they are doing and being sure that we understand all they are doing. 

Several of Lazy Days security people have stopped by today to see how Kasey is doing after his "ordeal last night."  He has slept ALL day.  I baked Steph's monster cookies as a "thank you" for everyone's help. 

Otherwise, we've watched some TV and just hung out. 

Next post should be from Little Charlie Creek RV Park in Wauchula, FL where we'll be for the next two months.

More later.....