You just gotta love South Florida in a winter like this!

Sunday January 23 2017

We have been in south Florida for almost 3 weeks and I have nothing blog-worthy to write about. This is odd and somewhat troubling because while I’m not an eloquent or skilled orator, Millie says when I write I can turn driving directions into a chapter of “Gullivers travels!”

As I’ve said many times here on the blog, there is not a much in south Florida except good weather. Just like the rest of the continental US it has been cooler than normal here, 50’s at night and barely breaking low 70’s during the day. That cold snap appears to have broken and we are experiencing warm nights and day time 80’s. I hope the polar vortex will continue to swing north for you folks as well. 

YMCA

Millie and I continue our gym routine, but have dropped Planet Fitness and just go to the Y. We started going to PF on Mondays and Fridays for exercise. On Tuesdays and Thursdays we went to the Y where Millie did Yoga or aerobics classes and I did my gym regiment on the machines and weights. We can do it all at the Y and it’s a lot closer to the campground.

I got to spend a couple hours in heaven last Saturday, no I didn’t have a near death experience, I went to the Miami Gun show. I bought a couple accessories and got a good deal on some reloaded ammo. I can burn thru some ammunition at the gun range and the next time my son comes to town we will shoot the mini 14. It will really spit out the brass, so I took advantage of the sale and stocked up.

As far as projects go; I have waxed my truck and installed a tile back-splash in the kitchen of the motorhome. I am planning on waxing the motorhome but can’t seem to get started on that. Millie is working on a quilting project, she has the material cut and is ready to start stitching it all together.

We watch old DVD movies most every night, Netflix or Prime movies burns thru our Verizon data plan and the campground Wifi is overburdened and slow. We buy the DVD’s at flea markets and thrift stores, usually for a dollar or two, three is the most I will pay.

If there is one thing I miss about home, its cable internet. We rarely watch network TV at home, instead we watch Netflix or Prime. We like British TV shows, especially the detective shows, PBS specials, and movies. 

Here’s a strange TV ritual Millie and I have, at home the last thing we watch every night is a Youtube video of Merle Haggard’s two son’s Ben and Noah performing one of his hit’s, “The running kind.”

That’s all for now, just wanted to let you know we are alive and well!

Our winter home

Orlando TT to Southern Comfort RV Park

We’ve settled in at Southern Comfort RV Park in Florida City. This is the third winter we will spend time this far south in Florida, we will stay here for January and February this year. Florida City is as far south as you can go on mainland Florida, pass our campground and you will be on the causeway leading to the keys.

Just between you and me, the Florida Keys are way over rated. Monthly rates for RV sites are four and five times what we are paying in Florida City. That’s not to say you shouldn’t go there once, everyone should explore this wonderful country of ours. So belly up to the bar at Sloppy Joes, watch the sunset at Mallory Square, swim in the clear water, tell them Larry sent you!

Southern Comfort looks the same as last year; they had very little damage from Hurricane Irma that I can see. We were concerned about the new gambling establishment that has been built in the field behind our site. We haven’t been bothered by any noise yet and they have installed a fence between us. We will miss being able to park our truck behind the motorhome and walking Maggie in the field, but that’s the way it is. We have the same Canadian neighbors we’ve parked next to three years running, we’ve also seen several other snowbirds from previous years here.

Jai alai court behind our campsite in Florida City

Today was our first Saturday in south Florida and we went to the Spanish Market in Redland. I don’t really know what the proper name is; I think it might be the Redland Market. We call it the Spanish market because that is the predominate language spoken there. It is all open air with vegetable stands, flea market with new and used item vendors and outdoor cafes, all offering Hispanic foods.

On the way home from the market we had an early dinner at a Mexican Restaurant we saw earlier. The El Santo Coyote is in a tired looking walled complex, the area inside the wall obviously used for music venues with café seating; it didn’t appear to have been used in a while.  The restaurant was decorated with the typical Mexican theme, tile floors, Hispanic art, brightly painted wooden tables and chairs, like the courtyard it looked a little worn and we thought we night have made a mistake, but we ordered anyhow.

Boy, were we pleasantly surprised, complimentary chips and salsa was delivered to our table but our waitress created the salsa right at our table. She mixed all the fresh ingredients in a mortar and pedestal, both the implements made from volcanic rock.  She quizzed us about any questionable ingredients to find out if they would be to our liking. The result which was served in the rock bowel was a perfect medium heat. It was the perfect appetizer to our burrito and enchilada meals.

Dave and RaeAnne, we also got a side serving of the chef’s hot sauce that was pretty near Horseman’s Haven HOT!

During our meal Millie was serenaded by a singing guitarrista. I think he was Cuban but he sang a Mexican song because it was our first time in the restaurant. I think that’s what he said anyhow. His performance was most entertaining; he actually was a polished professional. I don’t know how they talk and roll the R’s off the side of their tongue, let alone sing and do it! 

Cantante y Guitarrista Melanio Benitez

Florida bound

Brown line=Day one, orange line=day two

We left home at our usual 9am on the morning of December 17^th. It was a little faster getting out of town now that we live on the south end. We took our preferred leisurely route down rt 17, used the bypass around Charleston and continued on rt 17 to 1-95 just a ways up from the Georgia line.

We took I-95 thru Georgia, stopping once at flying J for fuel. It was a Sunday so traffic was light as we took the beltway west away from Jacksonville. Exiting onto I-10 west for a few miles and then 301 south to Starke Florida. We like to stay at the KOA there because it is right on our route and has long pull thru sites. We can park leaving the truck hooked up behind the motorhome, do a minimal setup and we’re in for the night. In the morning we can be on the road in minutes, but it’s always 9am when we get going, don’t ask me why, it’s just always 9am?

We driven the center of the state on local roads many times to get to our timeshare campground near Orlando and always enjoyed the more relaxed pace. The last few years it seems there are an ever increasing number of traffic signals and congestion. I’ve started bypassing Ocala, the villages and all the smaller towns further down in favor of I-75 and the Florida Turnpike. We rejoin highway 27 a little ways north of Clermont and it’s a short drive to the Thousand Trails RV Resort, Maggie and I will stay here till New Years Day. 

Our campsite for two weeks at Thousand Trails CG.

The family was together the first week, Millie and I just taking it easy while Maggie rejoiced in being able to swim in her pool again in warm sunny Florida! On Friday I delivered Millie to the Orlando airport. As many times as we’ve done this we still don’t like being apart, but her daughter and grandkids are in New Mexico and it’s Christmas, so fly she must. 

On her way to New Mexico

I usually have a project or two to keep me busy for the week but after the busy summer and fall, I didn’t do much of anything all week. That is other than my main job of entertaining one very spoiled Dachshund, she’s nine years old and still acts like a puppy, chasing tennis balls, destroying stuffed toys and of course swimming in her pool.

The campground survived hurricane Irma pretty well, the big issue was water intrusion at the Recreation center. It was closed and not expected to open until some time in January. Maggie and I rode the bike around the sprawling 800 site campground every afternoon and only saw one person we knew. Ed Bibey is a retired electrician from Chrysler, he and his wife spend their winters at the Thousand Trails Resort. Funny, at this point in our lives, we mostly talk about people we know who have died or are sick.

Maggies new basket on my bike

The week went by fairly quickly and soon I was at the airport retrieving my wife. We got back to the motorhome about eleven at night and you’ve never seen such an excited little dog. Maggie went through her “happy to see you” dance for several minutes after seeing her mom!

We spent the next couple days doing routine stuff and getting ready for the next leg of our winter journey.

Oh, one last thing, here’s one of those “you gotta love it “moments. While Millie was gone, I was strolling thru the aisles in Lowes and found a good deal on a compression tool for PEC fittings. (PEX is the flexible plastic pipe used in all home construction nowadays, it is also used in Recreational Vehicles except they use threaded fittings. Of course I bought the tool, it was on sale and I may need one some day. Several days later a plastic fitting for the shower broke in the wall of our motorhome. Not able to find the threaded part at any of the local RV stores and not willing to wait for an ordered part, we went looking at a hardware store. I found the fitting made of brass, the angle was right and the mounting boss could be made to work. One end of the part had the needed ½ inch pipe thread and the other in PEX. But it was the residential crimp PEX fitting. Well Gee, who do you suppose just happens to have a tool for that behind the seat of his truck. Like I said, “You just gotta love when a plan comes together!”

The new old truck

December 16 2017, the house is ready, the motorhome is in the driveway and is also ready. The truck has our bicycles in their racks, all systems checked, all new towing modifications tested and ready to go.

"The Bus" and new towed truck

I almost forgot to tell you about the new to me old truck that used to be mine when it was brand new. I’ll keep the unraveling of that cryptic message short. I purchased the 2005 Dodge Ram pickup new and sold it to my brother when my dad gave me his chevy pickup, which by the way I had also purchased new, but that’s another story.

This past summer Dave told me when his wife Lois retired in August they were going to buy something new and would probably be selling the Dodge. As I was now a home owner again and making frequent trips to Lowes and Home Depot, I told him to keep me in mind as I might want to buy it back.

Dave had kept the Dodge in excellent condition and it needed nothing except some modifications before we could tow it behind the motorhome. I installed all the towing equipment myself, a lubricating pump system for the automatic transmission, the tow bar base plate, the braking unit and the necessary wiring for these components and the tail lights.

Base plate for tow bar

modified tail light wiring

Our old towed vehicle, the Jeep Grand Cherokee has a new job as personal vehicle for my daughter in Law Kristie. I'm sure she's glad she has it as rough as this winters been.

Getting in traveler mode

The summer of 2017 went by in a blur. Millie and I both had our list of things we wanted to do at the new house, plus we still had the condo and were preparing it to be sold. All too soon it was fall and we started thinking about our winter journey to Florida. There was never a doubt that we would go, we just had to decide which projects to finish up and which to postpone till spring. 

The house has redundant camera security systems, one wired and one wireless. Both have night vision, motion activation and record any incidents. We can go live with any of the cameras from anywhere we are and check out the house. The heating system is online so I can monitor and control it. The water is turned off, the new windows lock, the garage door is in hurricane lockdown, and I think everything is ready. The community gates are manned 24 hours by security guards and security cameras. We feel very comfortable leaving.

The second week of December found us switching from prepping the house for hibernation to revving up the motorhome for our trip south. 

The motorhome is sporting a new paint job; all systems have been serviced, checked, filled, lubed, etc. Our only worry is did we forget to pack something and yes we always forget something. I’m speaking mainly of favorite personal items we wouldn’t want to be without. We don’t worry about clothes or food, we’ve been doing this long enough to know what we will wear and we’re not pioneers, there will be grocery stores everywhere we go.

We're back!!!!!

We’re back! On the blog that is. In the next flew postings I will explain our absence and catch up on our travels. The short answer to our six month lapse in posting to the blog is….we bought a house.

I know, I know, we had the perfect plan, lock the door at the condo and just go; winters in Florida, summers exploring the USA and never having to worry about cutting grass, etc. It was a good plan and it worked right up until it didn’t.

We just outgrew the condo, Millie and I still have a variety of things we like to do and over time we filled the place with craft supplies, sewing materials, tools, metal detectors, etc. When we made the move to the house neither of us could believe all the stuff we had squirreled away.

Everyone who knows us was surprised when we purchased the house because we never discussed it with anyone. There wasn’t a lot of weighing the pros and cons of it, once we decided to do it, we just did it. We knew we wanted to stay near the beach and had a dollar amount we were comfortable spending. That narrowed the search area and it didn’t take us long to find our perfect house.

Our new to us home is on the south end of town just down the street from Myrtle Beach State Park, which will be our primary beach access. We now live in a golf course community, within its gated walls is a 191 acre Country Club. We don’t play golf but I enjoy riding my bike on the miles of golf cart path, usually in the afternoon after the last golfers play through.