Temporary Change of Dwelling

It's been a long time since I've posted. From February to the 18^th of August, 2011 we did a lot of traveling and absolutely loved living in the 5^th wheel full time. It was wonderful being able to stop whenever we liked to spend a few days exploring an area. (I haven't posted about our time in British Columbia in August but will do so soon.)  Below is a map showing our travels for 2011.  (You can click on it and make it bigger.)  We covered a lot of ground!

But......

On August 18^th we landed in Coffeyville, KS where Mike had gotten a seasonal workamping job with Amazon.com at their 1,000,000 sq. ft. warehouse there. Amazon gave us a great deal – paid for our site and all utilities except propane as well as a good wage.

Mike looked forward to being busy and bringing in supplemental income – and I understood that – but I still drug my feet all the way from British Columbia. I knew it was going to be horribly hot where we were going, flat, windy (think lots of dust), and no family around. We have friends in the Joplin and Tulsa areas but all were over 1 hour away. When you're driving a diesel truck that gets low mileage and you're on a fixed income, you think long and hard about the trips you're going to make and what you're going to accomplish on those trips.

Sure enough, when we got to Coffeyville, the temp was over 100° with high humidity for almost a solid month. (Locals told us we missed the really bad heat; it had been as high as 117°!) The air conditioner on the RV decided to go on the fritz and there was no shade anywhere to park under. Then the refrigerator stopped keeping things cold. (We ended up replacing the fridge with a household-type fridge.) In the middle of all that my allergies kicked up big time. I haven't had so many problems in years! I am allergic to all sorts of farm 'dust' - wheat, corn, hay, etc. There we were in a newish campground in farm country. Up until a year ago, that campground had been a hayfield. After the RV hook-ups were installed, they just let the hayfield grow back.  I learned very quickly when they were mowing the campground to get away from there for several hours!

By the middle of October the campground was completely full – 133 RV's. Mike and I are country people; we like our seclusion and privacy. That full campground was like living in RV suburbia! Not our cup of tea.  The neighbors were nice but there were just too many of them.

This picture was taken 2 weeks before the whole park filled up.  It was solid

RV's no matter where you looked.

Mike enjoyed the people at Amazon and they liked his work; they very quickly put him in charge of a crew. But spending 10+ hours 4 days a week walking on concrete floors with lots of up and down bending made an old back injury flare up and affected his knees. As time went on, there were evenings when he'd open the door to the camper and just stand there mentally preparing himself to climb the 3 steps into it. Then Amazon announced they were going to make a 5th 10-hour day mandatory.  As it was, Mike needed 3 full days off to recuperate.  No way was he going to be able to handle 5 long days and only 2 off.

Add to that that I was miserable from the heat and allergies; plus we were both missing family.

Our joy at being full timers came to a screeching halt!

We were trying to figure out where we were going to spend the Winter because our 5^th wheel didn't have an arctic package so we couldn't go north. Neither one of us likes the south.

To make a long story short, we put the 5^th wheel in storage in the Joplin, MO area and came 'home' to New England for the Winter. We're in a Winter rental cottage that is adorable.  Lots of other houses around but they're mostly summer places.  Plus there's so many trees that everyone is pretty secluded.  

Are we seeing snow? Sadly, no. (I love snow.) But we are back in the trees of New England, very near a saltwater pond (Quonochontaug) and the Atlantic Ocean. Two of our children live nearby as well as some of our grandchildren. And lots of friends. It is wonderful being here and we treasure every day.

We're hoping to go back to Joplin to pick up the 5^th wheel the end of April then go back up to BC to our other son. It's all in God's hands; we'll see what happens.

Til Next Time,

Gloria - The Internet GADabout

Pictures

I realized today that not only have I not posted in a while but I have put up very few pictures. Time to rectify that!  These are a selection of pictures from our stay here in RI this Spring.

These first pictures are of a Class A RV that was near the entrance to our campground. Our jaws literally dropped when we spotted this. Talk about tight spots! Mike is hoping that we never have to park in a situation like that. These people are all settled in for the summer and have fixed up their site really cute since these pictures were taken the end of April. Hope those trees don't grow much though or they'll never get out of there.

It's hard to see in this photo but the front end of the RV is 

hanging out over the brook. The back end is nearly on the ground.

Notice how close the trees are? Think they had to oil the sides of the rig to get it in there. 

If a tire goes flat, that back end will definitely be on the ground. Wow! 

I thought it would be fun to show how our camping area changed over the 2 months we were at Whispering Pines. The first 2 pictures were taken April 26th from our campsite:

Looking North from our campsite. We could look out the picture window 

on the rear of our rig and watch the kids come home on the school bus on a distant hill.

Looking across pond from front of our rig. There were only 

6 camping sites on our side of the pond. Usually there were only 

4 of us down there. It was lovely and peaceful!

The next 2 pictures show approximately the same views exactly 1 month later. It was a rare, sunny day when I took these pictures. Most of the time we were at the campground it was overcast and/or raining.
Everything was so green and lush!

This is a slightly different view of the brook but only by a few feet. We could no 

longer watch the school bus up on the hill but that was ok. The sounds of 

all the birds, bullfrogs, etc., was well worth it!

Almost identical to the pond picture above. What a difference a month makes!

Finally, we got our hummingbird feeders put up on our back windows. The very first day, the little hummers started visiting. We thoroughly enjoyed watching them.

This was the feeder we put on the back window. Loved it because it didn't 

have that center tube that would have blocked our view of some of the hummers.

This was a regular hummingbird feeder on a side window. It had a hanger that 

attached to the window with suction cups. In actual fact, we think the bird

 preferred this feeder because of the combination of red with yellow feeding ports. 

It was more difficult to see the birds though.

We are no longer at the campground as our 2 month stay ended on June 14. We are now staying at Mike's sister's place (still in RI) watching over his elderly mother while his sister and family are away. Yesterday we drove the 5 miles to the section of Westerly called Weekapoug. There is a space there that isn't part of the regular beaches where you can just park your vehicle and go sit on the rocks and watch the ocean. Why we hadn't done this earlier I'll never know, because we realized yesterday how very much we've missed the sounds and smell of the ocean. Will have to try and get down there some more the next couple of weeks because we plan to leave soon and head west. My, how the time has flown!

Yep, that's the Atlantic Ocean. Usually you can see Fishers Island, NY 

and Block Island, RI from here. Just depends on the day.

There were a couple of fishing boats out yesterday morning 

as well as some speed boats but only this one sail boat."

Til next time,

Gloria - The Internet GADabout

Milestones & Improvement

Today is a milestone day...Our twin grandchildren, Michael & Rachel, in British Columbia are 1 year old today. So hoping to see them in August. Jed & Alycia are good about sending pictures or short videos periodically but we still feel like we've missed out on so much! It's hard being long distance grandparents. Having a really good time with the 3 girls here (9, 6, and 3) of Sarah's and Seth's little Lauren, who is 4.

I am finally improving from whatever I had. I still tire easily and the cough is still lurking around. Still didn't feel well enough over the weekend to go out but got messages from our son and daughter wishing me a Happy Mother's Day. Then in the evening, our daughter and family showed up with dinner and cake and ice cream. It was lovely!

Monday morning for the first time in over a week, I realized my chest didn't feel pressure or hurt anymore. That was a HUGE step! Also, for the first time in over a week, I stepped outside this 5th wheel. It was wonderful. Bright, warm, sunny day with brook babbling away and just enough breeze to make all the pine trees 'hum' as I call it. (The campground is actually called Whispering Pines). I love that sound. 20+ years ago we owned an old farmhouse in Jaffrey, NH. Behind the house outside our bedroom window was a row of tall pine trees. Loved the sound the wind made going through them at night.

We went to Seth's to do laundry. I got the first load started, then put Mike in charge while I went off for a bit to do a couple of errands. Yee Haw! I was alone in the car (we've borrowed a small car from family while we're in the area so we don't have to keep filling up the diesel truck) and able to go where I wanted!

First stop.....

The local quilting shop. When I left for Missouri 2-1/2 years ago they were just moving into their present location from another spot. I was really saddened to see signs in the window Monday saying everything was 20-50% off because they were closing June 1. It's a lovely shop and the owner is so nice. But she's older and her husband isn't doing well so she's decided it's time to retire and stay home to help him. Sad on many levels...one of which being that there's not another fabric store of any kind within 20 miles of this area. It just seems that there are less and less quality fabric places around - and yet I keep hearing that sewing is starting to make a comeback - not just quilting. I certainly hope so because people are going to need basic skills if the economy does as predicted.

Yes, I did get some fabric. Bought enough fabric to bind a quilt my mother started many years ago. I also picked up a 1/4 yard of 2 other fabrics that were giving me color inspiration for a Lone Star quilt I'm planning.

From there I went to Walmart and bought a little gas grill we'd been wanting, a DVD player, and a universal remote because the TV was missing its remote. Had already made arrangements with Seth to come out today to hook up everything.

I was gone between 1-1/2 to 2 hours and was completely drained when I got back to Seth's. There was one load of laundry left to do so I threw in the quilt fabric with it and then melted into a chair with my laptop until it was finished. I went to bed early last night cause I kept falling asleep in my recliner - something I just never do.

Seth was here early this afternoon and got everything hooked up and working. We had watched "The King's Speech" on one of our laptops but decided to watch it again this afternoon. So much better on a 27" screen with the audio coming out of the stereo speakers in the ceiling!

Tomorrow we head to Providence to pick up a rental car for Mike. He has to go back to Missouri for some paperwork and neither of us were keen on him flying. I will stay here alone while he's gone. Hopefully, I'm going to get major Spring cleaning done and cupboards/storage sites rearranged. He was commenting over the weekend that he's finally figured out where things are. I burst out laughing and told him not to get too used to it cause I was going to change everything while he's gone. :)

One of the things neither one of us like about this unit are the mini-blinds in the windows. Have never liked mini-blinds and these aren't in great shape. I think I have a plan that we both like. Austrian shades made out of a semi-sheer batiste. We know from experience that semi-sheers (vs sheers) have enough opacity at night to provide some privacy AND they provide a little insulation to reduce cold and heat entering through non-thermal windows. Someone mentioned doing Roman shades instead but the Austrian shades' fullness would add a little more insulating factor, I think. I've found a place where I can get 118" width fabric for a little over $5/yd. Just need to get window measurements so I can figure how much I need. Thinking I will go with something else in the 2 bedroom windows. Mike doesn't like ANY light at night coming in through the windows.

So, I have the potential of being very busy soon. But it will be a good busy and not have deadlines. No pressure! Like those kind of projects; they go much smoother.

We finally have a firm date for the repair of the slide out. We're leaving the campground June 14th to go stay at Mike's sister's for a couple of weeks and take care of his mother while they are gone to South Africa. We looked at each other yesterday and said, "Duh! Why don't we just make arrangements for the rig to go in then for repairs since we'll not be staying in it those 2 weeks anyway?" The repair shop agreed so everything is working out fine.

Til next time,

Gloria - The Internet GADabout

I'm Officially Retired!

It's been a week and a half since I've made an entry. Lots happened and then everything came to a coughing halt!

We're slowly figuring out how to use and/or fix things on this 5th wheel. We're also thinking more seriously about the changes we want to make. There are places where there was plenty of room to put in another drawer but instead there's just a blank piece of wood. Mike is going to rectify that. Will certainly welcome more drawer space.

Our biggest problem has been the black water tank valve. Suddenly, it wouldn't work. We weren't sure if it was just stuck or broken but the 'honey' wagon here at the park wouldn't come empty our tanks until it was fixed. That meant we had to hitch up and tow the rig to the dump station. It's not that far but it gets annoying to have to get everything ready for travel for such a short distance and time. Mike has been researching what it was going to take to fix it.

Thursday was a fun day. Our 3 yo granddaughter, Lydia, came to spend the day with us here at the campground. She liked it here so much that she asked me where my toothbrush was cause she needed to borrow it. I explained that one didn't use someone else's toothbrush and asked why she needed one. "Because I'm going to stay here with you and Grampa and I forgot my own toothbrush." Gotta love kids!

Friday, I officially 'retired' by applying for Social Security. I was pleasantly surprised on Monday to find out that I made too much money over the years to qualify for spousal benefits and would get SS based on my own earnings. Should see my first payment in June.

Saturday we did laundry, opened a new bank account (needed a bank that was nationwide), I practiced the piano to play at Meeting on Sunday, then visited Mike's mother and took her out to dinner. I was really, really tired when we got home but didn't think too much of it until I woke up at 3 AM sick with a cold/flu virus. It hit me like a ton of bricks and everything we were planning on doing around here came to a screeching halt. It is now Wednesday and I'm improved some but still not totally over it. Had to sleep in my recliner last night so I didn't cough all night long.

But because we couldn't do other things, Mike had time to research and figured out how to easily put a new valve in the black water pipe. Yesterday, I dragged myself out of bed long enough to guide him in hitching up and getting over to the dump station. Once the black water tank was empty, he was able to install the new valve and now everything works great! We won't have to hitch up to go to the dump station any more.  The Honey Wagon will come to us.

Our next project is to get the front power jacks working again. 2 weeks ago they just suddenly stopped working. Mike has checked fuses and not found anything wrong but a forum we're on made some other suggestions. Think he's going to work on that tomorrow. Don't want to have to pay someone to fix them but using the hand crank method gets tiresome really fast.

Since I've spent the last few days up in the bedroom in my 'nest' as I've started calling it, I've been thinking about quilting and knitting projects to get working on. Will be really glad when I feel well enough to get started on something.

Hoping tonight will be the last of the worst of this bug. Before going to bed I have been putting Vicks Vaporub on the soles of my feet and then wearing socks. I know that sounds strange but it's an old-timers' trick that really works. The soles of your feet absorb the Vicks really fast and you don't have that stinky smell up by your face. Hopefully, this will be the last night I have to do that.

Til next time

Gloria - The Internet GADabout

Bumpity, Bump, Bump, Bang

We are in Rhode Island at a campground in Hope Valley. In front of our 5th wheel is a small, quiet pond. I have seen a mamma and poppa duck in the pond so assume there are eggs nearby - or soon will be. Behind us, down a bank but within view, is a babbling brook. The sun is streaming through the forest of trees around us and there's a gentle breeze blowing through our open windows. Finally, a peaceful afternoon to enjoy our calm and quiet surroundings and reflect on God's beauty away from the all the hustle and bustle we've experienced this week.

Lots of bumps and bangs!

Where to begin? I guess where I left off last Sunday evening. Mike had a couple of last minute details come up that he had to take care of Monday morning (one of which was to get a part for the leaking water heater. All fixed now.) We were on the road around 11 am, headed northeast to St. Louis. We stopped in St. Louis at a grocery store called Dierbergs and loved it! Similar to a Whole Foods but the prices were cheaper. Fantastic store! They only seem to be in the St. Louis/St. Charles, MO area but I did see a couple of stores located not too far away in IL on their store location map. Definitely will go back there when we're in the area. After 2 years of living in SW MO and not being able to find really good produce anywhere - or at good prices - this store was like a breath of fresh air. We were like 2 kids exploring the store and hated to leave. :)

Also, went next door to a Wild Bird Store and got a hummingbird feeder with suction cups. Little early to put it up yet here in the northeast but soon.

We spent the night about halfway across Illinois. Boondocked in a Walmart parking lot with about 10 other RVers and a dozen semi's. Much, much quieter than that rest area we stayed at in Florida on our way to Louisiana a couple of weeks earlier. This boondocking thing is a great deal if you're in a hurry to go somewhere and don't want to take the time to go to a campground. Saves money, too!

Tuesday was stupendous! It was my 62nd birthday. Yep, I can't tease Mike anymore that he's older than me. We go through this every year because his birthday is in January; it's become a running joke. Woke up that morning to cold enough temps that we had to turn on the furnace for a few minutes. Fantastic! So much better than 80 degree weather with high humidity!

Mid-morning we stopped at a rest area in Indiana and I practically skipped all over the parking lot. It was a beautiful, sunny day, still a bit of chill in the air and a light breeze; the grass was bright green; the dandelions were blooming everywhere; the trees were budding but hadn't popped yet with leaves. Just the kind of day I remember most of my birthdays being growing up on a farm in SW Iowa. Just made me so happy; I considered it a wonderful birthday present. Much better than 'things'. Mike took me to Cracker Barrel for my birthday dinner and I got phone calls from 2 of my children. All in all a lovely day! Boondocked again in another Walmart parking lot with about the same size group as the night before.

But, oh, the highways in Indiana. Very, very rough and bumpy for miles and miles and miles. (Bumpity, bump, bump.)

Wednesday morning we got a good, early-ish start and realized that if we timed things right, we could be here at the campground in Rhode Island late Wednesday evening. Yay! Our oldest son, Seth, and his wife, Corinne, were moving on Friday and we wanted to help but were looking forward to a day to rest up first. (The roads got blissfully smooth when we crossed the Ohio line.) 120 miles later all those plans flew out the window. We started hearing a funny 'tickata-tickata' sound and the steering starting having a lot of vibration. Mike pulled over and discovered that the right front tire on the truck - although still inflated - had blown its steel core. (Bumpity, bump, bump) The visible outside part of the tire and the tread looked terrific. What we couldn't see until it was off the axle was that the inside of the tire was very worn and cracked. Sigh. We weren't going anywhere on that tire. Thankfully, we have Good Sam's Emergency Roadside Service. They sent someone out to change the tire but we didn't want to travel far on the spare. Went to the next exit to a truck stop and started researching where to get a new tire. It needed to match the one on the left side that we had bought to match the one on the right side just before we went to Florida.

Confused? Well, when we bought the truck the end of January, one of the things we thought we had checked carefully was the condition of all 6 tires. We didn't want to have to replace all those big tires right off the bat. But, on the way back to MO from TX where we bought the truck, the left front tire went flat suddenly - got a nail or something in it. Because of where we were on the highway, Mike had to keep driving on the flat tire until he came to a place he could pull off. End of that tire! Drove the rest of the way home on the spare and bought the new tire to match the existing right tire back in Joplin.

So now we needed to match a brand new tire on the right side to the new tire on the left. Either no one had it or couldn't get it until late the next day and/or their price was going to be astronomical. Mike finally called the manufacturer who referred us to the area distributor who referred us to a dealer about 10 miles away. Bellino's True Tread Tires in Canfield, OH. They said that yes, they could get the tire by noon the next day. Oh, by the way, you're welcome to park your 5th wheel here for the night if you want in our back lot. Perfect! Off we went and they got the tire ordered.

The next morning we noticed a delivery truck of tires come in about 8:30. Around 9, one of the workers came and knocked on our door. Our tire was ready to put back on the truck. They had requested to the distributor that they be the first delivery so that we could get on our way. Plus they checked all the other tires to make sure they didn't have any issues we hadn't seen AND put air in all the trailer tires to bring them back up to the right pressure before we left. What a fantastic dealership! If you're ever in Canfield, OH, just outside Youngstown and need tires, we can't recommend Bellino's enough. They were wonderful!

Did I mention that their price was $30 to $50 less than any other dealer we called - for the exact same tire? Thank you!


We had a good laugh over this sign on one of their doors. Talk about an oxymoron! They explained that it was an entrance door but was to only be used by employees. Guess you're supposed to know that by reading between the lines. LOL

We were back on the road before 10:30. This time we WERE going to make it to Rhode Island - we hoped. Seth and Corinne needed all the help they could get to move since it was a week day. We had told them Wednesday evening we might not make it after all and they were so disappointed. We ended up calling them Thursday evening when we crossed over into Connecticut from New York to tell them that we were going to make it after all. We were all happy.

We called the campground to tell them we were going to be there that day after all but not until late evening. The owner said she wouldn't be there by then but not to worry. Our spot was P5 down by the pond. Just go ahead and park and we'd settle up later.

We should have just boondocked in another parking lot until daylight. It was after 10 when we got here and really dark. Once you're inside the park, the paved road ends and the roads become very rough and rocky, holes, with big trees on either side, stumps, posts, implements, etc. We finally found a map so we could figure out how to get down to the pond but the last turn was just nearly impossible to make so we gave up and left the rig in the road for the night and went to bed. There are a lot of trailers/campers here but most looked like they were left here year round and weren't occupied.

The next morning we went out to move some of those implements, picnic tables, etc., that were making it difficult to maneuver the turn. We were shocked to discover some major damage to our 5th wheel. We'd heard a popping sound the night before but honestly thought we'd just run over some sticks on the ground. The bottom front corner of the driver's side slide out had some major damage and the skin had been ripped away. It must have caught on either a stump or post. (There's the 'BANG'.) We are just sick over it!

We were afraid to open that slide, thinking it might just make the damage worse. So we just got it parked and leveled and took off for the moving day.

I was delegated to go sit at the new house and wait for utility people to come turn things on. I spent the time connecting with our insurance company, GMAC. So far, they have been so polite and helpful. Within half an hour of reporting the claim, our claim manager called. An hour after that the claim adjuster called and set an appointment to meet me back here at the campground to get the ball rolling. He wanted to know if we had a preference where the work is done. I mentioned that the only place we knew of was in East Greenwich. He said that yes, they were very good but it might be a problem getting the work done this time of year as the season was starting and everyone was really busy. But, because we were full-timers, they might put us at the head of the list.

He and I met out here around 3:30. He gave me an estimate, said it would definitely end up being higher than that (we only have to pay the deductible) and had already talked to another repair place that GMAC has worked with several times in the past that does excellent work. They could do the work right away but need to see it first to see what's needed. We're all concerned about this being truly fixable because this is an older trailer and might have some dry rot that we hadn't seen when we inspected it before buying it. Sigh. Wouldn't surprise me; Murphy S. Law is alive and well still.

We have to take the trailer there tomorrow - it's 50 miles away. So we have to leave our peaceful surroundings and drive through Providence tomorrow. UGH. Hopefully, this will all be fixable. Life and its hiccups!

Spent yesterday and this morning at a Bible Study Day and last night we finally saw our daughter, Sarah, DSIL, Art, and our 3 granddaughters! It was wonderful! We've missed them all very much; it was so great to get lots and lots of hugs from everyone.

So, here we are in limbo again wondering what's going to happen next. We have faith that whatever happens, God is watching over us and will see us through this. Stay tuned.

Gloria - The Internet GADabout

Our Adventure has Begun!

Friday morning we got our rig back over to the Service Center by 8 am. It was 9 before they actually took it to do the work. They still didn't have electricity or computers and were running on generator power but were determined to get the people serviced that should have been done the previous afternoon. It took better than 3 hours to get the damaged seals off, old glues removed, and the new seals put in place but we now have seals everywhere they're needed on those slide outs. And the tanks were dumped and cleaned. Mike was able to watch them do that so he feels more comfortable about doing it himself when the time comes.

While they were working on the rig, we picked up a few things we knew we needed for our adventure. By 1 we were officially on the road. Yay!!! We didn't make it out of Florida that first night but stayed in a rest area about 200 miles east of Pensacola. THAT was an adventure in itself. Most of the Florida rest areas have night time security so we weren't too concerned about our safety but it was NOISY! At midnight the semi next to us (a huge monster) started up to leave. It was so extra big and loud, I think Mike and I hit the ceiling when it woke us up!

Note to ourselves - If we're going to boondock while traveling, find a Walmart or Bass Pro or some other off the road place that's quieter. If we have to stay in a rest area, don't pull in between a bunch of semi's if we can help it. It may make us feel safer, but the noise isn't worth it.

Mike had unhooked the power/brake connection cord between the truck and 5th wheel before we settled in for the night. He was concerned that the batteries in the 5th wheel might go dead and the unit would start pulling power from the truck batteries instead. (Remember, we're very new at this.) When we got ready to leave the next morning, he hooked the cord back up in the bed of the truck where the dealership had put in the new receptacle. It didn't work. No brakes lights, running lights, nothing. We were not happy! He went over it and over it and couldn't not find the problem. Finally he crawled under the truck to see if he could find a loose wire and discovered the original 7-prong receptacle that the dealership said we didn't have. It worked fine although the cord had to go over the outside back of the truck bed to plug in. I have contacted the dealership in Florida about this problem (a Camping World) as we assume this plug is under warranty. We're hoping another Camping World can do the repair.

Saturday - did you hear the cheers? We were both yelling "Good-Bye!" as we rolled over the Florida line into Alabama. Although we do like the panhandle of Florida better than the rest of it, we don't plan on ever going back to Florida. It's just not our 'cup of tea'.

In Mobile we turned north on highway 98 and in Haittesville picked up highway 49 to Jackson. Just outside Jackson the highway turned into a total washboard. We were getting violently bounced and jostled all over the place and we knew this couldn't be good on the hitch and 5th wheel. We figured it would quit when we got on I-20 but it lasted another 5 miles West after that! Horrendous! If we're ever down this way again, we know to avoid those roads.

We rolled into our friends' place in Forest, LA about 5:30. They have a truly beautiful home filled with Southern Hospitality. We've had wonderful Scriptural discussions and lots of just good 'talk'. Drove us around on a tour of the area yesterday. Mike and Daniel have been on a few walks around the property but I declined when Daniel went and got his handgun and some bullets in case they encountered snakes. WHAT??!! There's lots of brown-back rattlers and cotton mouths around here. In fact they were telling us about an area not far from here where a bunch of men/boys found 200 of the critters and removed them. When they went back the next day, they found another 200. Jenny and I stayed here and just relaxed. :)

They were hoping we'd stay a week but we need to get back to the Joplin area and get things sorted out in the 5th wheel. We did decide to stay an extra day though. There's a storm headed this way from the Joplin area that sounds like it's very similar to what we experienced last Thursday in Florida. We would have been driving through it all the way up to Joplin. So we're spending an extra day here. Nice being retired....we can adjust our schedule as needed without a lot of problems.

Next stop.....the storage unit. Really looking forward to getting the 5th wheel organized and stocked.

Gloria - The Internet GADabout

Our Adventure Almost Began Today.....

Today was THE day, the day our adventure was supposed to begin.

We got most stuff packed up at the house yesterday and spent last evening supervising Mom & Dad's packing. Mom wanted to take so many books (paperbacks) home with her on the plane that there wasn't going to be room for clothes in her little bag. I assured her that we would be in New England in 2 weeks so we would bring up all the extra books (2 grocery bags full). She picked 2 besides the one she was reading to take with her but when I next checked, she'd pulled out 2 more and the next time I checked there was a third one that was a large hard cover. When she wasn't looking, I quietly grabbed those last 3 books and put them with what we were bringing up. She never missed them. :)

Our bigger problem was Dad. I had a very straightforward, serious talk with him about wearing clean clothes on the plane. He'd already packed everything so together he and I picked out what he would wear. He's always cold - even when everyone else is sweltering - and planes can be cold. So we picked out a short-sleeved shirt, a lightweight pullover sweater, slacks, even his underwear and socksl. Then I pulled out his lightweight, zip-up jacket and put it with the pile of clean clothes and told him not to wear it to breakfast in the morning cause he'd get food all over it. He assured me he would put all those clothes on in the morning. I wasn't so sure.

When I got up this morning, he had yesterday's clothes on again and had packed the pile of clean clothes in a box to take on the plane. I dug out the clothes, put my arm around him and said, "Dad, you're getting on a plane today to go home to New England. You need to take a shower, shave, and put on these clothes so you'll be nice and clean for your trip." He said, "Oh, ok" and actually went off without further urging to take his shower. I don't know if he shaved or not but it was so hectic around there I decided that just being clean was satisfactory. He did not put on the short-sleeved shirt but did put on the sweater and everything else clean. Except his socks had disappeared. 4 different times he came up to me and wanted to know if he was dressed ok and how did I like his fancy shoes? We'd joke around a little and then I'd ask him what color socks he had on. Each time it happened, he'd pull up his pant legs, see his bare feet in the shoes and go, "Uh Oh" or "Oops" then head off to find some socks. Always with an impish grin. Finally, the 4th time he came and proudly showed me the socks he had on. Yay!

But his jacket kept disappearing. Finally, when he was outside helping Mike, I dug it out of the bottom of one of his suitcases - again - and gave it to Mom with the understanding that she was not to let it out of her sight! That was her job. Problem solved.

On the way to Tampa he said 3 or 4 times that he didn't want to go and wanted to go back to the house and stay with us. We assured him it would be fine and he finally quieted down for the ride.

Why am I telling you all this? Because all of this going on while trying to get the truck and 5th wheel loaded up with everyone's stuff from the house was a factor in our safety today.

We were half an hour late leaving the house because of the above situation. As we were driving up I-75 from Sarasota to Tampa, the sky was getting darker and darker and darker. We got some light rain on the way up but nothing serious. Then it quit completely. But when we pulled into Olive Garden's parking lot and were waiting on Brad and Ashley to show up, it got so dark you'd have thought it was 8 pm - not 11:30 am. About 15 minutes before Brad showed up everything let loose. The rain came down so hard for a while you couldn't see 10 feet in front of you. The wind was blowing so hard that the trees around the parking lot were literally doubling over! It was wild! There were moments when we could feel our big truck and the 5th wheel being 'lifted' - not a nice feeling.

Mom spoke up at that point and said she'd had it.....Would we please take them back to the house where it was safer cause she really didn't want to go north anyway - especially on a plane! We told her it wouldn't last and all would be well.

Brad and Ashley showed up and parked in front of us so we could see each other but no way were any of us getting out of our vehicles in that downpour! Finally, it started to show signs of letting up slightly and Brad and Mike decided via cell phones that we would try to find a gas station with overheads so we could get Mom & Dad and their luggage to his car without everything & everyone drowning. As we were pulling out of the parking lot, it suddenly let up to just a normal rain so we drove across the street and made the transfer.

We took off East to Bartow - about an hour's drive on a 4-lane highway. Partly through city; mostly in the country. There were a few times when we had to really slow down because a tree had come down and was blocking the right lane of our side of the highway. Another time we saw a pickup stuck in the water-filled ditch between the lanes. There were skid marks in the road and it's my suspicion that he was blown off the road.

Mike was doing a good job of driving in all this but I could tell he was getting tense. He did finally admit that he was glad we were nearly there because he was about ready to just pull over and stop if we'd had to go much further.

We pulled into the dealership's lot and stopped cold. There's a chain link fence around the property with lots of new and used RV's - trailers, pop-ups, 5th wheels, class A's, etc. In front of us was a section of the chain link fence bent out of shape because a trailer had blown into it. 5 or 6 trailers had bashed into each other (I'm sure their slide-outs are ruined; they were open), and one trailer was on its side up against another trailer. We had missed a small tornado by about 30 minutes! WOW!

There was lots of other damage but this was the most dramatic.

If we hadn't been late leaving the house, if we hadn't had to wait for the rain to let up in Tampa, we would have been there when that tornado hit. So thankful that things worked out the way they did.

Because of the tornado, we couldn't get our work done on the 5th wheel today. The Service Manager kept apologizing but we told him we completely understood. So we are in their little camping area for the night. Our first night in our little condo on wheels. We are to be over to their service department at 8 in the morning to get our work done. Hopefully, no later than noon we'll finally be on the road.

Mike has been napping since we got settled; neither of us slept well last night. I woke up about 2:45 in pain all over my body - which happens when I'm under a lot of stress. When I woke up this morning, I had some kind of bite that was stinging/burning on my thumb. I figure it was probably a spider and that's what had set everything off during the night. Put some Neosporon on it and it's much improved. Now to just get rid of the aches.

Oh, and Mom and Dad? Brad called a little bit ago to make sure we were alright. Mom and Dad's flight got postponed a few times. Finally, Brad said enough and booked them on a flight tomorrow morning; they will spend the night at his place. Understandable but poor Dad must be so confused. We learned that if he has quiet consistency, he does much better. Yesterday would have been very traumatic for him!

So, although we had an adventure today, I'm not calling it the beginning of THE adventure. Tomorrow we'll be like Mike's grandmother and shout, "We're off the Captain shouted as he waved his wooden leg!" as we take off north out of Florida.

Stay tuned!

Gloria - The Internet GADabout

Our 'Home' is home

Friday, the 25th, we picked up our 5th wheel. What a totally frustrating day it was!

Our appointment was at 11 am. We'd gotten Mike's youngest brother, who lives not far from us, to come stay with Mom & Dad for the day because we knew it was going to be a long day. 1-1/2 hour drive to the dealership, 2 to 3 hours work on the truck, walk-through of the 5th wheel, etc., etc. 1-1/2 hour drive back to the house with the 5th wheel.

We were 20 minutes late getting there. We left in plenty of time but there was a truck carrying a HUGE wide-load on one of the two-lane highways we had to take. It was so wide that there were 3 escort vehicles in the front and 3 in the back. Vehicles coming from the opposite direction had to pull completely off the highway onto the sloped shoulder and wait for this huge thing to pass. There was no possible way to pass. Finally, they pulled off onto another highway - which we should have taken as well but we opted to keep going.

We called our sales rep at the dealership and let him know what was going on and that we'd be a little late. He let the Service Department know. When we arrived, we had to wait 1/2 an hour while the people at the service desk figured out where our parts were. Finally, it came out they hadn't come in yet! What?!! They'd known we were coming in for the hitch work for 2 weeks and they knew we were coming from 1-1/2 hours away AND had to get someone to watch Mike's parents. They thought the parts would be in via UPS over the lunch hour so we got back in our truck and went out to lunch.

When we returned an hour later, the parts had arrived, thankfully. The mechanics took the truck to start the hitch work while one of the RV techs took us out to go through the 5th wheel. We went over it inch by inch and made notes of things we needed to repair - remember we bought it 'As-Is'. We discovered that all 3 slide-outs had pieces of the seals missing on both the interior and exterior parts of the slide - something we hadn't noticed when we bought it. Made a note that we'd have to get some 1" bubble gasket to fix those areas that were missing it; don't want the weather getting in.

It was also noted that the gray-water tank was half full and the black-water tank was completely full. The tech made a note to make sure those were dumped before we took possession and drove away.

We spent the rest of the afternoon signing papers and twiddling our thumbs. Did pick up a few things we knew we'd need in the 5th wheel but other than that we were just waiting.

Finally, around 4:30 we were shown how to hitch/unhitch the unit and at 5 were told we could leave, We were exhausted! We had expected the truck to ride differently with the 5th wheel attached but I think we were both surprised at what a huge difference there was!

After we got home and it was finally parked in the right spot of the driveway, I looked at Mike and said, "Don't forget to lock it up." He looked at me with a blank look on his face and said, "How? I don't have any keys." Joy.

Saturday morning he took his Dad out to show him things in the camper and discovered that the holding tanks had NOT been emptied. That was the last straw. I called and asked to speak to the General Manager, whom we had met when we signed the sales agreement 2 weeks earlier. He was at another of their facilities in Meetings so I asked for his email. I shot off a letter to him explaining our major problems and stating that although everyone had been very friendly, their service department was highly disorganized.

The GM wrote back almost instantly, apologizing and asking for a conference call on Monday between him, us, and the Service Department manager. I responded that Tuesday would be better because we hoped to be getting the parts we needed for repairs on Monday and would be running around. No response.

This morning Mike went out to do some measuring before he went out to buy the seals (we'd found a local source). The battery had gone dead and he couldn't operate the slides so couldn't measure everything to see how much of the seal he needed. He wanted to check the battery (which is new) but couldn't open any of the bay doors because we didn't have any keys. He was so disgusted! He called the GM but had to leave a voice mail. After an hour, I emailed the GM again. No response.

Finally, 2 hours later, Mike called the company directly. The GM had just left the receptionist's desk so she was able to get his attention. He said to transfer Mike to the Service Manager. That man had copies of all the emails and apologized profusely for all the problems on Friday. I knew he'd offered to replace the seals for us by the way Mike was responding and saying, "No, we bought it As-Is, we should do the work." I was across the room going "What is that man thinking?"

I spoke up and said, "You know, we could go there on Thursday on our way out of Florida and let them do the work." Light bulbs went off in Mike's head and he changed his response. We are now going to get Mike's brother to get Mom & Dad on their plane to New England while we head back to the dealer for the work. They're also going to dump and clean the tanks AND give us a free night at their connecting campground.

So, it pays to complain when things don't go right. You just have to be sure you do it right. State the facts and what you had expected without going into a tirade. 9 times out of 10 you will get a positive response. The GM was made aware of problems that they are working on to fix; the Service Department is going to try and stay on top of things better, and we get work done for free that we thought we'd be having to do ourselves. A win/win situation.

We will be leaving Florida one day later than planned which means we'll be a day later getting to our friends in Louisiana but, hey, we're retired now and can be more flexible! We still should be able to be in New England by April 14th which was the original plan.

On the plus side, we were pleased to see that when all the slides are in, we can still walk down the middle of the 5th wheel and get to the kitchen area without any problems. That means we can easily stop at rest areas and fix lunch or boondock for a night when traveling.

Anxious to get the bed set up. We love the 4" mattress topper I purchased last week. Just need to get the upholstery foam to make the extension for the head of the bed.

Stay tuned for phase 2 with the 5th wheel.

Gloria - The Internet GADabout

Finding Frugal Deals

In anticipation of picking up our 5th wheel, we've done some research and talked to experienced full-timers.

Our unit is a 2000 and the outside is faded, chalky-looking, and has some black streaks (we're told the fading, chalky appearance can happen in 1 day here in the sun in Florida. LOL). We've been told by RVers around the country that we can clean up the outside. That we'll be totally amazed at the difference once we're done. So, per advice, we've been to Dollar Tree and bought Awesome Cleaner (for some reason you can only find it at Dollar Tree) for $1/bottle. You dilute it to 25% and use it to clean the outside. We were told it would remove any black streaks easily. Mike has already used it on the truck and was extremely happy with how well it cleaned it up. (I'm told this same company makes a spot remover and laundry detergent that are fantastic. Haven't found them yet though.)

Next I found a buffer/polisher on Craigslist for $20. Practically brand new. Now Mike just needs to pick up the waxes, etc., and we'll be ready to go.

We were also advised to get a CB radio if we were going to do much traveling as it's the best way to check on road, traffic and weather conditions. I looked at them online to get an idea of pricing - over $100 for a hand held one (doesn't require a license) with an external, magnetized antenna to go on the roof of the truck cab. Checked on Craigslist and found a nearly brand new one WITH the antenna we wanted - all for $50. Very pleased with our deals.

Over the course of 3 days, I got several quotes for insurance. We've been with Allstate for years and had found them to be cheaper than other insurance companies with great service. However, we were floored at what they charged us for insurance on the truck when we got it in January - $1600/year! We were told they could insure the 5th wheel but it turns out they would only insure it as a trailer - not as a full-time living space - with no insurance on contents & no liability insurance if someone should get hurt in it, etc. $408/year for insuring it just for replacement cost. So a total for both vehicles of just over $2000/year with Allstate - without the type of coverage we required.

We belong to Good Sam's RV Club so checked on their insurance through GMAC. We were given a full-timers' quote for the truck and 5th wheel combined with better coverage than Allstate for just over $1400. WOW! Then I checked with Miller RV Insurance out of Oregon. They had been recommended by a bunch of other full-timers and are licensed nationwide. They quoted with a few different companies and different ways (one option was to insure the truck through GMAC (just over $700) and the 5th wheel through a different company $400+).

We ended up going with one of the Miller quotes - same exact policy as we were quoted through Good Sam but $150 cheaper. They are great people to work with and worked hard to find us the best deal. In time we may add an umbrella policy but in the meantime this will do nicely.

I'm also gearing up to improve the bed in the 5th wheel. I'm going to get some upholstery foam and make that extension to put at the head of the bed. I found a high-quality 4" memory foam mattress topper at half price to put on before the regular mattress pad and bedding. Will need a new bedspread but am thinking I will make a quilt with fabric I have back in storage that is the right colors for the decor that's already there.

If there's room, we're talking about building or buying a second hand small island with lockable wheels that will extend our storage/workspace in the kitchen. Will be better able to make a decision once we've got it here and can take our time considering things.

So, in another week our full-timing adventure begins. Are we excited? Yes! Are we nervous? Yes! Have we enjoyed our time with Mike's parents? Yes!

Am I ready to leave Florida? YES! On many levels! We are not 'city' people by any stretch of the word. The traffic here is horrendous - not as bad as Seattle but getting there. We hadn't been down here for several years and are amazed at how bad the traffic has gotten. And 80 degree temps with 90% humidity in March does not a happy, healthy Gloria make. (They've announced on TV that we're experiencing the highest pollen count they've had in over 10 years.) Mom and Dad are flying back to New England a week from today so we'll be hooking up the 5th wheel and heading north ourselves.

I rather imagine this will be our last visit to Florida. Looks like we'll have to be snowbirds for a year or 2 with the 5th wheel we bought but, hopefully, we won't be coming this far south. We'll see.

Til next time,

Gloria - The Internet GADabout

Buying an RV on a Frugal Budget

If you remember from my last post, we spent our first week here in Florida making Mom and Dad comfortable with us and recuperating from all the craziness during the month of February. We did do research online looking for a 5th wheel during that week. Didn't really find anything though which was probably a good thing as we had no energy to go look at something.

By that first weekend here in Florida though I was starting to get antsy about finding something in decent shape in our price range. So the beginning of our second week here, we got serious in our search. Friends had offered to come keep an eye on Mom & Dad while we were out looking so we started contacting dealers and private party sellers in earnest.

Monday, March 7th, we drove up to the Tampa area to a huge dealership that had been recommended to us. Mike had called first and was told by the salesman that, yes, they had quite a few good units in our price range. The place was gorgeous! 130 acres owned by the dealership which included RV's for sale, an RV park, a restaurant, a Campers World. The place just went on and on. There was even a security guard at the gate checking RV's that were coming and going.

When we met with our salesman though, disappointment started to set in. He wanted to spend a huge chunk of time 'selling the dealership' instead of showing us RVs. That got old quickly! Finally, he put us in a golf cart and started taking us on a tour of the RV's for sale - mostly Class A's - which isn't what we wanted. When we did finally get to the 5th wheels, he kept showing us things that either didn't have what we wanted - or were way over our budget. Finally he showed us one that he said they just wanted to move quickly and were willing to come down to meet our price. It was lovely. We went over it with a fine tooth comb then Mike made an offer.

Basically he laughed at us - and then we realized we'd been taken for a 'ride'. He thought by getting us in there, that he'd be able to get us to either raise our price range - or be willing to take out a loan. Nope, not going to happen! We don't have a lot of money, it's going to be our only place of residence, and we're trying to not run up debt! We're retired and on a fixed income now and have to make do with what we can afford on what we have. Period. The salesman was shocked - don't imagine he runs in to too many people who stand as firm as we did.

So nothing positive on Monday.

Tuesday and Wednesday were occupied doing more research and making a ton of phone calls. We were learning that when the cheaper units were advertised, you had to act fast cause they were snapped up quickly. Mike was able to get appointments to look at 3 on Thursday when some other friends were going to come parent-sit for us.

The first 2 were at another dealership. This salesman wasn't nearly as nice as the one on Monday - he was definitely a 'used-car-salesman' of the old school. It rained off and on that day and the first unit he showed us positively reeked of mold when we stepped into it. There was a huge puddle in the middle of the floor in the living area - and he acted so surprised! Bolted out of that one in a hurry. The second unit was much nicer and we saw no evidence of leaks but it had more than 1 dead mouse in it somewhere. Nope, not for us. If you can't stand to stay in it when you're just looking at it, why would you want to buy it? That salesman argued with us all the way back to our truck. Was so happy to get out of there.

The last appointment that day was a private seller. We'd seen 2 pictures of the outside and 1 of the inside in the listing. What we could see looked very nice. It was described as being in excellent, brand new condition (refurbished) and had all these nice things - including brand new wood floors (not laminate). It was a disgusting piece of junk! The thing had been stripped of all essentials (propane tanks, hoses, electric connection cord, etc., etc.) and ALL the furniture was missing. The 'new' wood floors were horrible. Stained and scarred up. Someone had put a very thick, uneven, fresh coat of polyurethane on them without sanding or re-staining them first - which just highlighted the blemishes even more. As we were getting in the car to leave, the guy offered to drop his price by about $1500. Nope, still not worth it. We wasted our time and gas to get there.

Needless to say, we were both getting a bit discouraged. Mike kept saying, "We've got a few weeks yet." which was true, but, being a woman, I needed to know that I was going to have a roof over my head that was 'ours' when March 31 came along. So we spent Thursday evening and Friday doing more research and making phone calls.

The problem was that all those great deals that we'd been seeing while we were still in MO had pretty much dried up because the season was ending here in FL. Timing is everything, isn't it?!

Friday, I took a break at lunch time & had a nice chat with Mom and Dad after lunch. Then Mike and Dad ran out to do an errand. About 2 I decided to check Craigslist one last time and up popped a new ad for a decent looking 5th wheel in our price range. At a dealership. I shot off an email asking questions and got a call back within 10 minutes from a salesman. He actually went out to the unit while we were talking so that he could answer any questions I had because we were 1-1/2 hours away and didn't want to waste another trip. He was extremely nice and very helpful.

Mike and Dad came back while I was still on the phone with him so Mike chatted with him for awhile, too. Next thing I knew, all 4 of us were in the truck on the way to Bartow, FL to look at the unit in person. We got there a little after 4 pm and by 6 pm papers were being drawn up for our purchase. It was 6:45 by the time we got out of there and Dad likes to eat at 6 on the dot. So the first thing we did was stop at a Perkins Restaurant for dinner. We'd had fun together driving up to Bartow because we took back highways and saw a lot more local scenery then we would have seen on the Interstate. Dad loved seeing all the cows & orange groves. But coming home it was dark and they just wanted to get home. Finally rolled into the driveway at 9 pm and they went straight to bed.

It was fun having them with us to look at just one unit (don't think they - or us - could have handled a full day of looking at units together). Dad follows Mike around like a shadow and wants to help him with whatever he's doing so he was enjoying poking around the mechanics of the unit. Mom climbed up into it and gasped, "OH! If our camper had been like this, I wouldn't having minded spending the summers in it so much!" She really liked it!

So, what we bought on our frugal budget was.....a 2000 Fleetwood Prowler, model 32-5D. It's about 34' long and has 3 slide-outs. It does have a little damage in the back but Mike's pretty sure he can fix it. It doesn't have as much storage as we were hoping for but we've lucked out on the hitch situation. Our truck already has an in-the-bed gooseneck hitch. After 3 different guys and Mike crawled all over the truck at the dealership, we found out that we only need a gooseneck extension on the 5th wheel and we're all set! That frees up a ton of room in the bed of the truck for storing more stuff. We'll just have to get a cover to go over stuff and around the gooseneck.

We take possession next Friday, March 25th. That will give us almost a week to get it cleaned and polished on the outside, make some repairs in the back, and do some cleaning on the inside. The dealership is even going to get us temporary plates to get it back to MO. We are very impressed with this dealership and would recommend them. Dusty's RV (Camping World) in Bartow, FL. I think we met all the big muckity-mucks there as well as most of management in the service department and were very impressed. Very straightforward and down to earth.

I'm already thinking about little things we can do to get more storage inside but already I'm happy with the homey feel it has. A little nervous as we start this new adventure in our lives but also excited about getting on with it.

And, I have made a pledge of myself. We still have family and friends who think we're nuts for doing this - nuts to be full-timers, nuts to buy an older unit, etc., etc. I don't want to be rude with them - although it does really bug me when people think they have the right to tell you what to do when they haven't walked in your shoes. Anyway, I have decided that when any more negative comments or questions come up, I'm just going to smile sweetly and change the subject. Constantly, until they get the message that I'm not going to talk about it. We're not expecting to not have any problems...we're alive and breathing and have been so for 62 years. There's always problems around the corner. But there's also adventures and excitement as well as calm and contentment. We just do the best we can. :)

Oh, another good reason for buying an older, cheaper unit.....If in a year or 2 we decide full-timing isn't for us, we won't have invested a ton of money.

Next time I'll tell you about my two cheap finds and our insurance adventure.

Gloria - The Internet GADabout

RV Show in Kansas City

Mike and I went to the RV show on Thursday in Kansas City. It wasn't as big as we had hoped and not all brands of 5th wheels were there. But several of the major brands were there and we were able to climb in and out of 25 to 30 5th wheels.

It was very helpful for us to go and do this even though we're planning on buying used. We got a feel for quality - and just as importantly - what ones Mike wouldn't be comfortable in. Very helpful when we're looking at ads for used ones. We won't be wasting our time going to see ones that he can't live in. Some of them looked huge on the outside but were actually low on the inside - a few of them he could not even walk into the bedroom without putting his head down flat on his shoulder. We moved on.

We both fell in love with the Montana 3400RL (RL stands for Rear Living room). Not only was the main part set up very invitingly and the kitchen had plenty of cupboards/counter space but when you went up the steps to the bedroom area, Mike could still stand straight up without his hair brushing the ceiling. That was amazing!

The trick is going to be finding an older - but in good shape - Montana in our price range. I've seen a few listed around the country that were bank repos in our price range. Most of them needed minor work - like new carpeting or something. We could handle that. Of course, they've already sold but it gives me hope that we'll find something eventually. Just have to get our big ticket items sold and have patience that the right deal will come along.

We joined Good Sam (an RV club) at a discount while we were there. It's a great organization and membership gives you lots of perks and discounts - like 25% to 50% off at participating campgrounds. Huge help!

Because Verizon was there and offering special deals, we got our cell phone with an unlimited usage plan. Also, we solved our Internet problem while we were at the Verizon booth. They have what they call a Hot Spot Mifi unit. It's basically just a little black box that, once you've programmed it, can sit anywhere in the RV or truck and our Wifi laptops can access the Internet. It can be used by up to 9 wireless units. Hoping to get it set up tomorrow to see if we really like it. If not, we can return it during the first 14 days. Got a deal on it too - much, much, much cheaper than buying a satellite dish and service for the RV which is what we were afraid we'd have to do.

The Hot Spot will also come in handy in Florida while we're there in March. Wasn't sure how we were going to handle that because we wanted to be able to get online consistently without having to run to Mickey D's or a coffee shop for access and leave Mike's parents alone while we were 'working'. Nor did we want to pay for installation on regular cable Internet for only 1 month. This should solve our problem.

After 5-1/2 hours of walking around on concrete floors and climbing in and out of all those 5th wheels, both our backs had had it. Rather than spending the night at friends as we had planned, we got in the car and headed home to our own comfy bed. We stopped just south of Kansas City for a late dinner. Mike and I were talking as we pulled into the parking lot and I really wasn't paying attention to my surroundings until I got out of the car. There, right in front of me, was a pile of plowed snow about 4' high that the wind had blown enough that it looked like a snow drift. We've had maybe 3" or snow all Winter (and not all at once) so I just stood there mesmerized! You see, I LOVE snow! I love cold Winter days with the snow coming down and the wind blowing. Love sitting by a wood stove sipping tea or coffee and watching all that going on outside. And I love being out in the snow. If I hadn't been in so much pain from the concrete floor, I'd have dropped and rolled in that snow without a second thought. I wouldn't have even cared what onlookers thought. Can you tell I'm not a 'southern' gal? LOL

The weather here in SW MO has been really warm the last 2 days. Upper 60s and low 70s both days. Because it was so warm, we've had the windows and doors open in the house and heat turned off. We also, finally, got the stenciled business lettering off of our truck while enjoying the sunshine. What a difference!

But....There's hope in the air. The weather report says we've got a 90% chance of sleet and snow Monday night through Tuesday. I'll believe it when I see it but it's nice to have hope. :) Tuesday should be a good day to make my 'comfort food' turkey soup. Yum! Think I'll post the recipe.

Had an inquiry about the piano but the deal fell through. Disappointing but will keep trying. Took it out of the local Craigslist and put it in the next closest city Craigslist (that's where I finally got an inquiry). If I haven't gotten any more inquiries be the middle of next week, I think I'll pull it again and put it up in Kansas City's Craigslist. It's less than 2-1/2 hours from here and has a much larger reader base. I've also got it listed on Musicians Buy Line and have had 1 response from there. Eventually.

Til next time,

Gloria - The Internet GADabout