NEW to us Motorhome

We spent two days looking at new to us RV's at Lazy Days in Tampa, and we found one that was close to what we wanted. It was close enough we put a deposit on it and all we needed to do was work out the $$. Well this AM we didn't get the $$ worked out and we had be out of the RV Park because of a Rally they are having so we left and drove to Wauchula.

There was a 2006 Newmar Kountry Star model 3509 that we had seen on CraigsList a couple weeks ago and it was close to Wauchula so we e-mailed the couple to see if we could come and look at it. We drove the 20 miles and pulled up in front of it and I knew I was sold on it. BUT the boss had not looked inside and she had not said yes.

She looked around inside and I just watched, looking for an expression of approval or denial. I could tell she liked it, but did she like it enough? The 130 watt solar panel, and the little 15 watt trickle charger solar panel, along with the shiny brown outside had me sold. And when Heinz started showing me the storage underneath I had to hold my tongue because the BOSS hadn't said yea or nay yet.

As the four of us sat under the automatic awning I couldn't wait any longer and had to ask Marcia if this was something she could live in. When she answered and I saw her face I turned to Heinz and said you have just sold an RV.

There are a couple problems, or catches, one is they need it until Feb 1 because that is when they move into their new park model, and the second is it has a Canadian title. I really think the title will cause a few extra papers to be filled out, but don't see it as a major obstacle.

Here is a picture of it, I will post other pictures later tonight, but BINGO starts in a few minuets so until after bingo..............



Bingo was good to us tonight, I won once, and Marcia the bingo queen won three times. And the total winnings after deducting the cost to play was $25, yea, now I can eat lunch tomorrow.
Here are some pictures of the rig we are buying.

DECISIONS........ DECISIONS

We left Sumter Oaks Monday morning and drove the 50-60 miles to Lazy Days near Tampa. We had to stop to get gas and a Flying J was on the way so we pulled in, and that was my first mistake. It was so crowded that when I pulled in all the pumps were in use, and people were waiting. Us being as long as we are with the tracker behind the rig I was keeping anyone else from coming in, and had some cars stuck in the oncoming lane of traffic.

While waiting to get to the pumps a lady from KY cut in front of us and a pickup pulling a trailer. Another lady walked from her car to the store several times with a cell phone stuck in her ear, while her car had two sets of pumps blocked. She finally got her gas and then left the car there while she went in to pay. I was really glad to get out of that place.

The first RVing couple we met, (Walt and Donna) after we moved the mattress from the house into the RV are at Lazy Days. They finally made the plunge and went FT back in November, but doctors have kept them from crossing the country like they had planned. It was really great to see them again, and we hope the doctors figure out Donna's problem so they can put some miles on that Allegro Bus.

When we parked the rig to go in and register at Lazy days RV Park, (used to be Rally Park) we got out and started in to the office. As we walked away from the rig someone yelled at me. My first thoughts were the Flying J, and wandered if someone had followed us. I was ready to relieve some tension, but it was a friend that we had spent part of last winter with.

After saying hi to Rich, (of Rich and Mary) we got signed in and parked the rig close to Walt and Donna. Walt and Donna called their salesman and ask him to come show us some rigs, and get us set up for someone to check out our roof. We spent the afternoon looking at some of the used motorhomes Lazy days has for sale. One had potential, but most of them was a no no for one reason or another.

We left the salesman with the intent on getting back together with him tomorrow to look at some more rigs. I found it interesting that a lot of the used MHs has sold signs in them, but the salesman would tell us that he knew that one wasn't really sold after looking at his list. Is that a way they try to get you to maybe buy quicker? to make you think you had better hurry and decide on one before it is sold while your trying to decide?

I know every dealer has their gimmicks, and with the economy the way it is I expect to get a really good deal or we will keep the Santara. I can do a lot of upgrades to it with the $$ we will be spending on a new to us rig. Besides the insurance company will be putting another brand new roof on it, and new ceilings in it, so it should be in pretty good shape that way.

Later Marcia and Donna decided we were going to Cracker Barrel to eat and we called Rich and Mary and ask them if they would join us. All 6 of us, Rich, Mary, Walt, Donna, Marcia, and myself met at Cracker Barrel and had a wonderful meal, and the company was just outstanding.

Later on Marcia and I took advantage of the hot tub here, and then started doing research on rigs and prices of rigs. This is where the headaches come in, which one will be the best deal, which one will we be satisfied with, should we wait until we get to Naples? Too many decisions to make. I will be glad when we are back to trying to decide which way to turn at the next stop light..............

Cold Fronts

Everyone knows that I am not a fan of cold fronts, and really try to escape them at almost any cost. Well the cold front that is dipping into FL now has caught me off guard. Although we will be headed deeper into the Sunshine state tomorrow, today and yesterday has been one of those days for me.

Yesterday we went to look at a new to us rig, other wise I would have stayed in bed. After we saw the MH, a 2003 Allegro Bus, I was wishing that I had stayed home in bed. We drove to Clermont and found the place the bus was being stored, it was an RV sales/service shop where they store peoples motorhomes so it looks like they have a large inventory.

The couple that had it was very nice, but I really don't think they want to sell the bus. They had not cleaned it up any, in fact I think they parked it there when they arrived in FL for the winter and had done nothing to it since. The 3-M protective mask on the front of the bus had started pealing and turning black, they had things scattered all around the MH, and they told us about all the bad things that has happened to it since they bought it a few years ago. So needless to say we elected to pass on this one.

We are still looking, and tomorrow we are going to one of the largest RV dealers in FL to see what they have to offer. We will be staying in their campground so it will be convenient plus we have some friends there that we want to see, and I'm pretty sure some other friends will be coming there this week too. Hopefully we will get to visit with all our friends and be ready to dive deeper into the Sunshine state before the New Year comes in.

Right now our plans are to spend some time near Naples FL. Looking at the weather today Naples will be 20+ degrees warmer than Bushnell is or is going to be. I really like the sound of 20 degrees warmer! We will pay for one month there but I really doubt that we will be there that long before heading down into the Keys, but it will be cheaper to pay by the month and leave early than it would be to just pay weekly, or daily.

Today Paul and Connie came down to visit, and the girls put a wooping on us guys in hoof and mouth, (but then we just let them to make them feel good) LOL. we then went to check out a new Mexican Restaurant in Bushnell. (it was pretty good, and not too costly). It has been good to see our friends here at the park along with others we have seen the past few days.

When you travel around the country in an RV meeting people along the way, it is always good when you meet up with them again and again. We always have interesting stories to tell, some we wouldn't want to tell just anybody, but other RV'ers have deeper respect for the good and the bad of each story.

We are so looking forward to maybe finding out something about our roof, and seeing other RV friends this week, and most importantly we will be headed to WARMER weather..............

Back in the SUNSHINE STATE

We left the RGV last week because the weather really stunk the 3+ weeks we were there. I knew I wanted and needed warmer weather with less rain, and thought that if the bad weather down there was because we were there we would leave so our friends down there could enjoy better weather.

We waited until we saw a break in the weather to where we thought we could make it to FL without getting caught in any sn**, (I just hate even typing that word). And it worked out really well for us. We had pretty good weather all the way, and wit rain forecast for today in AL, we left yesterday.

We are now sitting in the SKP Park near Bushnell FL where we spent much of last winter. The good part about being here is that Marcia doesn't have to work, and we can move the rig further south when those nasty cold fronts drop down this low.

We will spend tomorrow with friends in Ocalla, and Saturday we go look at a "new to us" motorcoach. It is a 40 footer with three slides. If we like it and can negotiate the right deal we will buy it and switch everything from this one to that one while we are here.

If we don't work out a deal we may still fly to Nashville to look at one up there. Although the one here is made by a company in AL that stayed in business throughout the hardest times in the RV industry, so I really like that, and the costumer service with this manufacturer is outstanding.

I will have to start dealing with our insurance company again about the roof on the Santara, and I'm really not looking forward to that. We really hope the insurance company decides the cost to repair this one is too much, and they will buy it from us.

We are hoping we can get everything lined out and we can spend some time in Key West FL. I really want to be down there when the next cold front rolls through, or at least by my birthday. I will keep you posted as to what happens with the insurance company, and to where we are. Until the next time, be safe and ENJOY......

Winter has set in all over the USA

We left the RGV looking for those allusive seventies, and we haven't found them. We wanted to stop off in Houston TX to visit Susan, (Marcia's high school classmate) but couldn't get in touch with her so we pushed on. I was so happy to get out of TEXAS, I scared Leo when we crossed into LA when I screamed "get the hell out of Texas".

We were going to stop at the LA welcome center on I-10 and spend the night, but it was closed for construction, so we wound up at exit 4 where we found several casinos. Yesterday morning when we crawled out of bed I realized we were just a few miles from Nibblets Bluff Park. We had stayed there back in March when we were headed to the class of 07 reunion.

We elected to just drive the few miles north of I-10 (off of exit 4) to the caution light where we would turn west and drive the couple miles to Nibblets Bluff Park and spend the day. For $13 we get water and electric and a beautiful park right on the river. We enjoyed the park with one other camper, (but they were gone), so it was pretty much ours alone.

Today we will continue east, looking at the weather map it is pretty depressing. COLD has set in all over the USA and as our luck would have it Brownsville TX (where we just left) has the warmest temperature in the USA.



But then I knew it would be that way before we left.

We will be stopping at the MS Sandhill crane wildlife refuge to visit Ron and Linda and then Summerdale AL for a day or two, and then into FL where we hope to find those allusive SEVENTIES................

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SCOTT

Today is my baby brothers 44th birthday, so I want to make sure I wish him a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Scott has had a rough go of things this past year, his third motorcycle crash messed up his leg again, and a few other things, but he is strong, and my brother so I know he will pull through A O K.

Back in Texas we were delayed from leaving Donna this morning because of nasty weather. Yahoo said it was raining this morning, (even though it wasn't raining where we were) so we chose to stick around another day. Living full time in a motorhome gives us that flexibility.

We went to have pizza with the Carters, and they showed us the place they bought in Southern Comfort RV Park. It is near here in the larger town of Weslaco. Jay really needs a place to recover from any surgeries he might have to have. The agent orange is really eating at his joints so his thoughts are "better safe than sorry".

Marcia and Fay took our cars to have them detailed, $12 for a wash inside and out was a pretty good deal I thought. That gave me time to dry some things out since the sun did come out after 2 PM. It really turned out to be a decent day after the fog and clouds lifted, I was even walking around in a tee shirt.

If the weather forecast is right we will pull out tomorrow as soon as the fog lifts. We are both getting excited about another MH we have been looking at on-line. It is in Nashville TN, and we have already decided to switch our domicile to TN since I now get the disabled veterans benefits. Our daughter will be our mail forwarding service, she can open and sort all our mail for us so we won't miss some of the important stuff.

Once we get to Summerdale AL we will leave the Santara at the SKP Park and drive the tracker to TN to get things switched over. That is if we do decide to buy the MH in Nashville.............

Time to move on

Tomorrow we will be leaving our friends here in the RGV (south Texas) looking for warmer temperatures. I really don't expect it to be any warmer until we drop back down into FL in a few weeks.

We have enjoyed the company of our friends here in the RGV despite the crappy weather we have had since we arrived here several weeks ago. It seams like everywhere we go they are setting records in the weather. One small town near here gets an average of .23 inches of rain in the month of Dec, (that is POINT 23 inches) and yesterday they got 2.(point)23 inches of rain, and it has rained almost everyday since we have been here.

It was kind of sad seeing some of our full timing friends buy permanent homes here, but I know we all must do what we must do. I know they won't quit traveling, and now they will have a place to call home. I guess the saddest part about it is knowing that the day will come when we decide to "grow roots" again and will buy something to call home.

Today we made our last trip into Mexico for awhile, we bought a few little items to give our daughters, (all three of them), (daughter, daughter-in-law, and grand) and we stocked up on triple sec for the MARGARATOR. Progresso Mexico isn't as fun as Algadones, and Texas ruins the cheap cigarettes with their $15 per carton tax, but it is still an awesome experience.

I will miss walking down the streets having everyone ask if we are looking for optical, dental, or a pharmacy. I will miss the cheap liquor prices, and the cheap food, but we will return one day. It was neat seeing the Mexican Army posted at the gate watching over things. And their all terrain vehicle was really cool, especially the little propeller on the rear bottom.

Jay and Fay will remain here until spring time, and they will be moving into their new to them park home. Andy and Brenda will be moving into their new park model soon, and they will be here until spring also. Greg and Jean just got down here in their new rig, and will spend the winter in their new to them park model in Mission TX, and John and Lora will be here working until sometime in the spring. Leland and Cathy have already moved their rig north to San Antonio where they parked it while they take the car back to MT for the holidays. (I hope they don't freeze)

Joe and Marcia will move on down, (up) the road looking for more sights to see before winding up in the southern most point in the continental United States, KEY WEST FL sometime this winter.................

Progresso Mexico

Yesterday was a dreary day here in the RGV, it was raining and cold, but we didn't allow that to stop us from taking a trip to Mexico with our friends Leland and Cathy. We saw a guy on the street painting spoons, he takes a table spoon and bends it so it will stand on its own and paints scenes on it. No biggie until I tell you he does these paintings using his finger.
Here is a picture of him and some of the regular "finger" paintings he has done.

Here he is with a sortment of spoons he has painted.


We walked through many of the shops looking around, and then we ate lunch above the Canada Store. After eating Marcia had her eyes brows waxed, or something, and then we walked back across the bridge to the USA.

Friday night we met 6 other couples (5 from the class of 07) at Monte Carlo Cafe for a class of 07 dinner. It was a great meal and a good time with friends from all over the USA.

Now we are waiting for the weather to warm up, it should be back in the 70's and even in the 80's this week. We will be watching the weather to see when we want to start our trip around the gulf coast...........

Friends in the Valley

We are still in Donna Texas, which is in the middle of the Rio Grand Valley. We have been here almost three weeks and the weather has not been near as nice as it is most years. I guess it might just be us, because it seems like we have record set where ever we are.

We have been enjoying the company of Jay, Fay, Andy, Brenda, John, Lora Leland and Cathy. I am pretty sure we all gave up the American Dream, (owning and living in a house) to live the life style of a full time RV'er in 2007. Today we got a call from Greg and Jean, (also class of 07 full timers)and they made it to Mission Texas a few miles west of us. Tomorrow night we will all gather at a small restaurant in Donna to catch up and swap stories about the summer.

I'm thinking we will start our trip up the Texas coast late next week, working our way around the coast until we make it to Key West FL. It will take us several weeks, maybe even more than a month to get to the Keys, but we will be having fun all the way.......

Cold in Texas

When we sold our house and moved into the RV we were expecting to "chase the 70's", but it is really hard to figure out where those illusive 70's are. Like today, the only place the temps are above 70 is way down in Miami.



But we do have heaters in the rig, so we will not freeze, although I feel like I'm already frozen. I really feel a lot better if the temperatures are between 70-90 degrees. The main reason we sold the house is so I wouldn't have to sit in the house when it got cold, and by having the "house on wheels" I don't have to near as much as I would if we still lived in KY, so please don't take it too hard when I complain about it being cold where we are.

A few days ago Marcia paid our "camping fees", (or the lot rent here) for three more weeks, which was good until we got a call from our son Corey telling us dad had had another heart attack and they were flying him to Knoxville. I started checking on flights to get us back to KY, and figuring how long it would take us to drive back.

The good news came a few hours later, they were able to put a stint in dad to open up the blockage that was causing the heart attack. God was looking after dad, because dad let Scott take him to the hospital in the first place, and the hospital in Middlesboro was quick enough to send him on to Knoxville, and the doctors in Knoxville was able to get the blockage opened up.

So all turned out OK, dad will be going home today and we will stick around the RGV for a few more weeks. However we will be heading on to FL and not spending as much time in the RGV as we had planned. I can get a flight out of FL a lot easier than TX, a lot cheaper too, and hopefully the weather we be warmer in FL.

So we will just suck it up and sit inside where it is nice and warm until it warms up here next week............

A week in Mission Texas

It is hard to believe it has already been a week since we arrived here in Mission Tx. We have enjoyed our time here with Jay and Fay, we met Andy and Brenda, a couple Jay and Fay volunteered with last year.

The Carters' have been showing us around the area, they feed us all the other night with a hamburger cookout. We were glad J&L (John and Lora) came to be with us all. It was a nice evening except I had to leave early to watch Kentucky play round ball.

Tomorrow is check out for us, but it is raining, and I'm not interested in driving in the rain so I'm thinking we might just stick around here at Bit-O-Heaven for another week, or month. We were thinking about hitting some other parks in the RGV but since this park is located close to anything we may just stick around.

Sunday we went to South Padre Island to look around, and we would drive the rig over and spend a few days, except something about the red tide has the beach full of dead fish. The smell when we hit the county park on South Padre Island was terrible. I was shocked to see adults playing on the beach and in the water with all the dead fish lying around. It was even worse to see they were allowing their kids to play there.




Bit-O-Heaven is a lot larger than I like a park, but it does have a lot to offer, and we take full advantage of the hot tub almost every night. Marcia has plenty of places to play bingo, (and I can stay home) so except for the rain and cold spell the RGV isn't a bad place to spend the winter. I really don't think it is better than FL, or cheaper than FL, but Mexico is only a few miles away.

I'll let everyone know what we decide on as for where we will be the next few weeks.....