Timing

With the rental agency lined up and packing in full swing the timing of things over the next few weeks is important.  We found some minor things wrong with the RV and need to take it in for an oil change and to get the items fixed.  I called the dealer and have an appointment for April 11 to drop it off then they need it for about 10 days.  This is not the time table we had in mind but fine.  They are very backed up because it is spring and everyone wants their RV, 5th wheel, or camper serviced and ready...now!  So We get the RV back on or after the 21st.  In that time we will finish packing and move that stuff to storage.  We have an agent from an estate sale company coming on the 8th.  So we need to have the stuff we want stored out by then. The agent will determine if there are enough items of enough value to have a sale and when that sale will be.  She will hold a 3 day sale we hope the weekend of April 19th.  If that works out we may be homeless for a few days.  Now is when you test friendships!  Assuming the sale happens and everything is out of the house we begin painting, cleaning and stretching carpets and getting the house ready to rent.  So the next few weeks are tight but doable.  If it all works out we will be living in the RV as soon as we get it back from the dealer.  We also may be on the road soon after that. If the estate sale lady says she can't hold the sale then or there is not enough to hold a sale we go to plan B which is to panic and develop plan C.  I'll keep you posted.

Great trip

What a great trip!  We learned so much about the RV and if we are going to like it full time.  We are!  We had wonderful visits with Marge and David, Colin and Joyce, Marsh and Carol and Dale and Christy.  We saw some really good spring training baseball and some really bad spring training baseball.  We saw the Minnesota Twins 4 times and Bob thinks they will end up about .500 for the year and not be a factor in their division.  We'll see.

I took some pics for this writing but somehow they have disappeared.  Sorry.  Our last night on the road we stayed in a Walmart parking lot.(imagine a picture here)  We learned that they are not quiet places.  The one we stayed at was closed from midnight to 6 AM but even so there was traffic throughout the night.  It worked out fine but I doubt we will do it often.  But it is nice to know it is an option.

Once home we had to bring a lot of the stuff in the RV back into the house so we could live in there again.  We spent most of the afternoon and part of the next day unpacking and organizing.  All this stuff has to go back in when we go full time so we are trying to keep in separate from other stuff.

We have signed a contract wit a rental agency to rent the house.  They hope to have it rented in mid-May or early June.  In the mean time we have begun packing in earnest.  Diana has been taking pictures of everything, packing it and logging it into an inventory on the computer.  A slow process but she is making great progress.  I have working the crawl space, the storage shed and the garage.  Mostly determining what tools get stored and what tools get sold.  We have had several neighbors over to look at item they may want to buy.  I took apart the stereo cabinet and all the components yesterday.  The house is really quite torn up but there is some organization to the ciaos.

Today is Easter 2013.  We when to the 6 AM sunrise service at church then out to breakfast.  We came home and went back to church for the 9 AM service.  Then home and both took naps!

Twins Win in 10

Monday night we went to Port Charlotte to see the Tampa Bay Rays host the Twins.  This was that last of the Florida spring training facilities for us to see.  It is a nice stadium and hosts a minor league team after spring training.  What a great game!  It was tied most of the game with the Twins taking the lead in the top of the 9th.  The Rays tied it in the bottom of the 9th.  Then the Twins picked up 2 runs in the top of the 10th and held on to win 6 - 4.  Very nice.

Last night we had dinner here in Fort Myers with our friends Colon and Joyce Rowe from the Brandermill church.  They have a very nice place here and come for the winter.  We had a great visit and excellent food.

Been awhile

It has been awhile since we posted.  Mostly due to not having WiFi access.  So we are using our phone data plan hot spot and decided to not update until we had WiFi.  Sorry.  We did have to upgrade our data plan a few days ago.

The visit with Marge and David in Port Orange was great.  We went to see the Washington National host the St. Louis Cardinals spring training game.  Good game that the Nats won in the bottom of the 9th.  Nice.

From there we went to Port St. Lucie for several nights.  The campground was filled with long term residents.  Most had been there several months.  Many from Quebec.  Our French is not so good but we found plenty of English speaking folks too.  Went and saw the Miami Marlins host the NY Mets one day.  They share the spring training sight so you are never sure who will be the home team.

From there we headed west to the Ft. Meyers area.  A very permanent set of residents in this campground.  Many of the trailers/campers have been added onto making them more like homes than travel trailers.   We are on a lake and get regular visits from the ducks.

Sunday we went to see the Twins host the Pirates.  Tonight is a night game with the Twins @ Tampa Bay Rays.  We'll let you know about that one.

Fill er up!

On our second day out, we had covered enough distance that we had to fill up with gas - twice.  As we are gas and not diesel, we need to use the regular pumps, not the trucker ones.  Most stations are just not laid out to easily get a 56 foot vehicle in and out and near to the pump!  First time we pulled in to one only to realize the gas tank is in the back (as we knew) but more to the drivers side.  We had pulled in on the passenger side so the hose wouldn't reach.  There was no way to maneuver around in that station, so we just pulled out and looked for another one.  Found one where you pull in parallel to to road and building (which is a definite plus).  Did you know that when you pay by credit card at the pump you are limited to $100?  Well three transactions (and $250+) later we are finally full.  At least now we know what to look for in a gas station layout so hopefully in the future it will be easier (on us, not the pocketbook).

We arrived at the second park in Port Orange, FL.  This is a back in spot, so something new for us to try.  We did great getting it positioned, but when we opened the door, it was over a bump in the ground and the stairs couldn't go all the way out.  We were able to easily get the RV door away from the bump and still be near the hookups.  Called Di's sister Marge and her husband to let them know we are in town.  They came over and we had drinks while they got the tour of the RV.  We will be spending the next few nights at their house.  Definitely will take advantage of the laundry there.

More to come once we are back on the road.

First road trip

Today is Saturday March 2, 2013.  After days of packing, fitting and trying various spots for things we finally hit the road on Wednesday...it's about time!  But first, (there is always a "but first") we sold Diana's car the night before so we needed to go to DMV and turn in the plates and go to the bank and deposit the check.  So after we get the Jeep hooked up to the RV off we go to DMV.  Sadly, their computer system is down...state wide so we can't turn in the plates.  OK, we'll do it when we get home. The bank was no problem.  While driving down I-95 Di called our insurance company to cancel the policy on her car.  They asked "have you turned in the plates?". We explained no and they explained that if we cancelled the policy before turning in the plate the state would fine us for having and uninsured vehicle.  Nice!  This means we need to carry insurance on a car we do not own for 3 more weeks.  We realized that there are other DMV location that maybe on our way.  Di pulled it up on her phone and sure enough there was one not too far off I-95 in Emporia plus it says wait time is only 6 minutes.  So we figured the computer issues were resolve and we set the GPS for our new destination.  We turned off 95 and as we were taking a secondary road we came upon a campground.  So we stopped and had them fill the propane tank.  Then to DMV.  We pulled into the DMV lot and I saw a sign to go straight ahead for CDL testing.  Well I don't need a CDL so I maneuvered into the parking lot.  While Di went in to return the plates I checked out how I was going to get us out of there.  You may recall we are 56 feet long with the RV and Jeep.  I actually drove out the wrong way through the CDL test area and got out with no problem.  I figured if I was not trying to get a CDL they could not fail me for going the wrong way.  Back to 95.

One thing we both learned while driving is that the wind dynamics around us really effect the vehicle.  Even if a small car passes on the left there is a push to the right as it approaches and a pull to the left as it passes by.  This dynamic is increased by the size of the vehicle passing us.  Buses seem to be the worst.  As each of us drove we learned how to adjust and maintain a steady path in our lane.  When we pass someone the dynamic is still present but it seemed less forceful.  We both have become more relaxed and knowledgeable with driving and I expect as we drive more it will become even easier.

We got to the campground and got hooked up ready for our first night in the RV.  More later.