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.....
Showing posts with label motorhome. Show all posts
Showing posts with label motorhome. Show all posts
Saturday, January 02, 2010
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.....
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.....
Friday, January 23, 2009
Almost Ready to Go South! YEAH!!!
Plans are to leave Sunday for warmer weather.
We spent Thursday in Rochester doing some maintanence on the motorhome, and getting haircuts. We took some of the stuff we've accumulated here at the Beever's back to the motorhome. Still have to take our clothes and a few personal items on Sunday morning. Didn't realize how much stuff we had brought into the house until I started gathering it all up.
Dan had a loading ramp installed in the bed of the pickup truck to load the motorcycle, but was having some issues with the battery and getting it to work correctly. So he went back today and the good guys at Trailer Masters were able to get things in proper working order and even threw in some free parts. Dan has always had a lot of confidence in their work and they sure came through again. And the local propane dealer came to the motorhome and filled the propane tank. We'll fill the water tank about 1/2 full Sunday morning, just so we have some water on board. Don't want to run the risk of freezing before we get out of Illinois.
Plan to stop at Walmart or Sam's Club at Clarksville, TN (near Fort Campbell) Sunday night, then try to get to southern Georgia on Monday. I'm looking forward to staying about a week in one place, just to unwind and get the motorhome all cleaned up on the inside. It was washed when Dan had the oil changed a couple of weeks ago, but the inside is really a mess. What with being on the farm and the wind, the inside is really dusty and then we moved it back to Rochester. Even if it had been here at the Beever's, it's been to cold and messy to leave the slides out to clean.
Dan's brothers are headed to Florida, so we'll meet up with them sometime in the next few weeks. And we'll be going to the Daytona 500!!! YEAH, first Nascar race this year.
I'm sure there'll be some tears when we leave here, but it's time to get back on the road and resume this lifestyle. Changing backyards, open sky, beautiful sunrises and sunsets, meeting new people, visiting new places and just enjoying each new day.
See you down the road
We spent Thursday in Rochester doing some maintanence on the motorhome, and getting haircuts. We took some of the stuff we've accumulated here at the Beever's back to the motorhome. Still have to take our clothes and a few personal items on Sunday morning. Didn't realize how much stuff we had brought into the house until I started gathering it all up.
Dan had a loading ramp installed in the bed of the pickup truck to load the motorcycle, but was having some issues with the battery and getting it to work correctly. So he went back today and the good guys at Trailer Masters were able to get things in proper working order and even threw in some free parts. Dan has always had a lot of confidence in their work and they sure came through again. And the local propane dealer came to the motorhome and filled the propane tank. We'll fill the water tank about 1/2 full Sunday morning, just so we have some water on board. Don't want to run the risk of freezing before we get out of Illinois.
Plan to stop at Walmart or Sam's Club at Clarksville, TN (near Fort Campbell) Sunday night, then try to get to southern Georgia on Monday. I'm looking forward to staying about a week in one place, just to unwind and get the motorhome all cleaned up on the inside. It was washed when Dan had the oil changed a couple of weeks ago, but the inside is really a mess. What with being on the farm and the wind, the inside is really dusty and then we moved it back to Rochester. Even if it had been here at the Beever's, it's been to cold and messy to leave the slides out to clean.
Dan's brothers are headed to Florida, so we'll meet up with them sometime in the next few weeks. And we'll be going to the Daytona 500!!! YEAH, first Nascar race this year.
I'm sure there'll be some tears when we leave here, but it's time to get back on the road and resume this lifestyle. Changing backyards, open sky, beautiful sunrises and sunsets, meeting new people, visiting new places and just enjoying each new day.
See you down the road
Thursday, August 21, 2008
House Sitting, Dog Sitting and Just Hanging Out in Seattle
I realized it's been a over a week since I last posted. A lot has happened since then.
Currently, Dan and I are "home alone" with three dogs. Erin's mom came and took her home and Rodney, Gretchen and Lucy have gone to Florida for Rodney's brother's 40th birthday. So it's just us and Murphy, Jack and Kasey. Gretchen adopted Murphy not too long after she moved to Seattle. He is a German Shepherd/Golden Retriever mix and is about 10 years old. He had been abused and Gretchen spent a lot of time and effort to rehab him. Murphy and Lucy get along really well. She climbs all over him and loves to take him for walks. He is a big dog, but never pulls on the leash with Lucy and if she stops, he does too.
Not sure what breed Jack is, but Rodney adopted him shortly after starting college. Jack is about sixteen years old and is in failing health. He has a large growth on his side, is deaf and partially blind and has mobility issues. He has lost his peripheral vision and doesn't like being surprised from the side. But he has been trotting out to see me when I come into the back yard. Gretchen and Rodney have taught Lucy not to bother Jack and she really does leave him alone.
And of course, Kasey is in the middle of everything. He is four years old and would like to play, but the senior citizen dogs would rather just take it easy.
So we're caring for the dogs, sitting out in the yard (when it's not raining - it's rained quite a bit the past few days, but was sunny today), watching the Olympics, picking zucchini, playing with the dogs, watching the Olympics, ....... You get the picture.
So, what were we doing before everyone left? Stephanie arrived on Wednesday, August 13th. Erin was really glad to see her mom. They both left this Wednesday. Erin's first day of school as a sixth grader was today. We really enjoyed having her with us this summer. And we all enjoyed our time with Stephanie and Erin this past week. They stayed in the motorhome with us, and enjoyed having breakfast with Lucy every day and just hanging out with family. We did go to Pike's Market one day and Stephanie and Dan did a four-hour hike up Mount Si another day.
And Stephanie made a wonderful blackberry cobbler with blackberries picked from the blackberry patch just across the street. Blackberries grow wild all over Seattle and most people don't even pick them. You can see by the pictures just how difficult it is to pick them. And the big ones are always just out of reach. :)
But just see the results of all that hard work. And they picked enough to freeze some too.
As I mentioned earlier, the O'Byrne's are in Florida. They'll be back Sunday morning. We took them to the airport Tuesday evening and they flew nonstop from Seattle to Miami, arriving in Miami about 3:00am. Then Wednesday morning, at 6:15, we took Erin and her mom to the airport. And we will pick up some friends of Gretchen's on Friday morning when they return from vacation. (Gail took them to the airport on Monday last week). We could probably drive to the airport blindfolded. :)
Yesterday, Dan and I drove to Everett, north of Seattle, and visited the Boeing assembly plant. We weren't allowed to take any pictures, but we did see the most recent plane in production, the 787, Dreamliner. Dan always enjoys visiting any airplane facility. He spent four years in the Air Force, but had nothing to do with planes.
And today we attended the fall RV show at Qwest Center in Seattle. It's always fun to check out the newest RV's and see the changes. We have no plans to trade our motorhome. We are very happy with it even though we do have some issues to be addressed this fall with the manufacturer. But our Mandalay came with a three year warranty and the manufacturer has honored that warranty as we've had some things fixed. And they allowed us to get most of the work done in Springfield, IL at a local RV dealer before we started fulltiming. However, we wanted to take it back to the manufacturer before the warranty expires in November for a couple of issues and some minor things which we've found since we began fulltiming in June. So we'll be in Elkhart, IN toward the end of October. We may have to leave the motorhome there for several days since some part of the work may not allow for us to stay in it while they work on it. If so, we may just stay in Monticello with the Beever's (Erin's family). Sure don't need to decide that now.
So, we are enjoying a little down time as we house sit and take care of the dogs. And we've started thinking about where to head to when we leave here next week. We know we'll be going east, but haven't settled on anything else. We've talked about stopping off in Carbondale, CO to visit Tim, Karen, Elijah and Isaac for a few days. We sure do want to see those boys again.
We'll head east on I-90 about next Wednesday and see where we end up. It's sure great to have so many choices in this lifestyle, and to know that the only big decision we have to make is where we'll park for the night. There may be a few others, but I can't think of them right now.
More later.......
Currently, Dan and I are "home alone" with three dogs. Erin's mom came and took her home and Rodney, Gretchen and Lucy have gone to Florida for Rodney's brother's 40th birthday. So it's just us and Murphy, Jack and Kasey. Gretchen adopted Murphy not too long after she moved to Seattle. He is a German Shepherd/Golden Retriever mix and is about 10 years old. He had been abused and Gretchen spent a lot of time and effort to rehab him. Murphy and Lucy get along really well. She climbs all over him and loves to take him for walks. He is a big dog, but never pulls on the leash with Lucy and if she stops, he does too.
Not sure what breed Jack is, but Rodney adopted him shortly after starting college. Jack is about sixteen years old and is in failing health. He has a large growth on his side, is deaf and partially blind and has mobility issues. He has lost his peripheral vision and doesn't like being surprised from the side. But he has been trotting out to see me when I come into the back yard. Gretchen and Rodney have taught Lucy not to bother Jack and she really does leave him alone.
And of course, Kasey is in the middle of everything. He is four years old and would like to play, but the senior citizen dogs would rather just take it easy.
So we're caring for the dogs, sitting out in the yard (when it's not raining - it's rained quite a bit the past few days, but was sunny today), watching the Olympics, picking zucchini, playing with the dogs, watching the Olympics, ....... You get the picture.
So, what were we doing before everyone left? Stephanie arrived on Wednesday, August 13th. Erin was really glad to see her mom. They both left this Wednesday. Erin's first day of school as a sixth grader was today. We really enjoyed having her with us this summer. And we all enjoyed our time with Stephanie and Erin this past week. They stayed in the motorhome with us, and enjoyed having breakfast with Lucy every day and just hanging out with family. We did go to Pike's Market one day and Stephanie and Dan did a four-hour hike up Mount Si another day.
And Stephanie made a wonderful blackberry cobbler with blackberries picked from the blackberry patch just across the street. Blackberries grow wild all over Seattle and most people don't even pick them. You can see by the pictures just how difficult it is to pick them. And the big ones are always just out of reach. :)
But just see the results of all that hard work. And they picked enough to freeze some too.
As I mentioned earlier, the O'Byrne's are in Florida. They'll be back Sunday morning. We took them to the airport Tuesday evening and they flew nonstop from Seattle to Miami, arriving in Miami about 3:00am. Then Wednesday morning, at 6:15, we took Erin and her mom to the airport. And we will pick up some friends of Gretchen's on Friday morning when they return from vacation. (Gail took them to the airport on Monday last week). We could probably drive to the airport blindfolded. :)
Yesterday, Dan and I drove to Everett, north of Seattle, and visited the Boeing assembly plant. We weren't allowed to take any pictures, but we did see the most recent plane in production, the 787, Dreamliner. Dan always enjoys visiting any airplane facility. He spent four years in the Air Force, but had nothing to do with planes.
And today we attended the fall RV show at Qwest Center in Seattle. It's always fun to check out the newest RV's and see the changes. We have no plans to trade our motorhome. We are very happy with it even though we do have some issues to be addressed this fall with the manufacturer. But our Mandalay came with a three year warranty and the manufacturer has honored that warranty as we've had some things fixed. And they allowed us to get most of the work done in Springfield, IL at a local RV dealer before we started fulltiming. However, we wanted to take it back to the manufacturer before the warranty expires in November for a couple of issues and some minor things which we've found since we began fulltiming in June. So we'll be in Elkhart, IN toward the end of October. We may have to leave the motorhome there for several days since some part of the work may not allow for us to stay in it while they work on it. If so, we may just stay in Monticello with the Beever's (Erin's family). Sure don't need to decide that now.
So, we are enjoying a little down time as we house sit and take care of the dogs. And we've started thinking about where to head to when we leave here next week. We know we'll be going east, but haven't settled on anything else. We've talked about stopping off in Carbondale, CO to visit Tim, Karen, Elijah and Isaac for a few days. We sure do want to see those boys again.
We'll head east on I-90 about next Wednesday and see where we end up. It's sure great to have so many choices in this lifestyle, and to know that the only big decision we have to make is where we'll park for the night. There may be a few others, but I can't think of them right now.
More later.......
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Parked at Lucy's House, Playhouse, Birthday Party
Thought you might like to see our 40' motorhome parked behind Lucy's house (and the neighbor's house).
Dan drove down the alley and parallel parked between Gretchen & Rodney's blue garage and the neighbor's brother's small travel trailer. And there is a chain link/wooden fence on the other side of the motorhome. Several times he has commented, "I don't know how I did that."
Just another view of the narrow alley and the local "campground".
We are really enjoying being right in the kids back yard. Lucy and her mom have had breakfast with us and it is so nice to be able to go back and forth between houses. Makes it a lot easier to prepare meals and share food. We've enjoyed playing table games at our house after Lucy has gone to bed (with the baby monitor on); and it's nice to have our own space to retreat to without having to drive to a campground. Plus we get to sleep in our own bed every night. :) And it feels more like family time rather than just visiting. Erin has really enjoyed playing with Lucy and is earning some babysitting money.
Grandpa has been building Lucy's playhouse, so I've included some pictures. It now has a roof. The back wall is not on yet, and the door will probably be installed tomorrow or Saturday. Grandpa has been visiting the shipyard to see a fleet of ships that came in this week; and the Blue Angels are at the airport. So for those of you who may not know, Dan has a real interest in ships and airplanes, so he gets time off for some fun.
We celebrated Lucy's second birthday yesterday. The Adams family, Frank, Maggie, Bridget, Nick and Matthew came to supper along with Ella and her mom and dad, Pauline and Bill. More pictures of the birthday girl and her friends.
Notice the "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" on the side of the playhouse for Lucy's birthday party.
Terri, the neighbor who is sharing her backyard with a motorhome, gave us some bing cherries from her tree. Erin pitted them, with the cherry pitter, and Rodney showed Lucy how to put them on her fingers. Of course she now has to put her cherries on her fingers before eating them.
We are really enjoying this time in Seattle with our family.
More later......
Dan drove down the alley and parallel parked between Gretchen & Rodney's blue garage and the neighbor's brother's small travel trailer. And there is a chain link/wooden fence on the other side of the motorhome. Several times he has commented, "I don't know how I did that."
Just another view of the narrow alley and the local "campground".
We are really enjoying being right in the kids back yard. Lucy and her mom have had breakfast with us and it is so nice to be able to go back and forth between houses. Makes it a lot easier to prepare meals and share food. We've enjoyed playing table games at our house after Lucy has gone to bed (with the baby monitor on); and it's nice to have our own space to retreat to without having to drive to a campground. Plus we get to sleep in our own bed every night. :) And it feels more like family time rather than just visiting. Erin has really enjoyed playing with Lucy and is earning some babysitting money.
Grandpa has been building Lucy's playhouse, so I've included some pictures. It now has a roof. The back wall is not on yet, and the door will probably be installed tomorrow or Saturday. Grandpa has been visiting the shipyard to see a fleet of ships that came in this week; and the Blue Angels are at the airport. So for those of you who may not know, Dan has a real interest in ships and airplanes, so he gets time off for some fun.
We celebrated Lucy's second birthday yesterday. The Adams family, Frank, Maggie, Bridget, Nick and Matthew came to supper along with Ella and her mom and dad, Pauline and Bill. More pictures of the birthday girl and her friends.
Notice the "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" on the side of the playhouse for Lucy's birthday party.
Terri, the neighbor who is sharing her backyard with a motorhome, gave us some bing cherries from her tree. Erin pitted them, with the cherry pitter, and Rodney showed Lucy how to put them on her fingers. Of course she now has to put her cherries on her fingers before eating them.
We are really enjoying this time in Seattle with our family.
More later......
Saturday, July 26, 2008
We're in Seattle :-)
Hip, Hip, Hooray!!!! We arrived at Lucy's house (our soon-to-be 2-year-old granddaughter) about 1:30 this afternoon. So glad to be here. Grandpa drove down the alley behind their house and backed the motorhome into the space behind their backyard. I'll post some pictures tomorrow to give you a sense of the space he had to work with. Gretchen & Rodney's neighbor's brother has a small trailer parked next to us, so we have our own little campground.
Walked to the park about three blocks away with Lucy and Gretchen so Lucy could play in the wading pool.
Dan and Rodney are going to an air show at King airfield on Saturday. Nothing else planned for the weekend.
Just relaxing.
More later.........
Walked to the park about three blocks away with Lucy and Gretchen so Lucy could play in the wading pool.
Dan and Rodney are going to an air show at King airfield on Saturday. Nothing else planned for the weekend.
Just relaxing.
More later.........
Monday, February 25, 2008
Good News, Inverter OK
Guess we're still in the learning curve with the motorhome. After 2 1/2 years!!! But, the inverter is just fine according to the service guys at Coleman Country Campers. Not only are there breakers and fuses at the foot of the bed (which I checked), but there also is a breaker on the inverter itself. And, it's right on the front of inverter as you look at it in the basement bay. But, get this; it is about the size of and looks like the end of a white pencil, not like the regular breaker switches in your regular breaker panel. It just needed to be pushed back in. Soooo, one more thing to add to the list of things we now know about this motorhome. But what a relief to know we didn't ruin the inverter. It actually worked like it was supposed to.
We should be getting the motorhome back this week and then it's off to Freightliner to see if they can figure out why the windshield wipers aren't working. The motors have been replaced twice, but the wipers still just do their own thing. LITERALLY!!! They stop and start when they want to and currently won't operate at all. The wiper controls are on the steering wheel. It's called a SMARTWHEEL and is a Freightliner product. Ha Ha We've thought for sometime that the problem was in the Smartwheel, but Mandalay insisted on changing out the motors, but they've now agreed to look further. It's just not safe to drive in rain without wipers!!! Not that we do too much of that, but sometimes we do travel on a rainy day, just as long as there is just rain and not storms.
Today brings more sorting. It really is satisfying to sort through a drawer or closet and make decisions about the "stuff". I'm only working on Tuesday this week, so hope to get a lot done at home. Two-four inches of snow is expected tonight, which just motivates me even more to get this sorting down, so we can finish getting the house ready to sell and get on the road.
Better get busy. More later....
We should be getting the motorhome back this week and then it's off to Freightliner to see if they can figure out why the windshield wipers aren't working. The motors have been replaced twice, but the wipers still just do their own thing. LITERALLY!!! They stop and start when they want to and currently won't operate at all. The wiper controls are on the steering wheel. It's called a SMARTWHEEL and is a Freightliner product. Ha Ha We've thought for sometime that the problem was in the Smartwheel, but Mandalay insisted on changing out the motors, but they've now agreed to look further. It's just not safe to drive in rain without wipers!!! Not that we do too much of that, but sometimes we do travel on a rainy day, just as long as there is just rain and not storms.
Today brings more sorting. It really is satisfying to sort through a drawer or closet and make decisions about the "stuff". I'm only working on Tuesday this week, so hope to get a lot done at home. Two-four inches of snow is expected tonight, which just motivates me even more to get this sorting down, so we can finish getting the house ready to sell and get on the road.
Better get busy. More later....
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