Places We Have Called Home In 2020

Oct 24, 2020

Temperature 84 Degrees, Humidity 61%

Around the Park

A Royal Flush

The days are slowly passing and as they do we find ourselves slowly getting more used to a settled life.  It’s nice being here since we know the area and so we know where stores, restaurants, etc are.   The unforunate thing is, there is not much sightseeing to do.  Ah well, you can’t have everything.

I continue to try and get a bike ride done each day.  Did I tell you I’ve made the full two mile loop around the park?  The path in the beginning is not bad.  However, in the back it is really rough.  I would imagine not too many go back there.

I took my camera with me on my ride yesterday.

Small but tasteful.

There are as many different types of golf carts here as there are rigs.  No two are ever alike.

Here and there you will find halloween decorations.

Potted plants are also a big ticket item in this park.  They range in size from these small ones to others which are as tall or taller than I am.

I’m not sure what this is meant to be or even what it is made of.  I do find it interesting and unique.

A colorful addition to a patio awning.

A unique name sign in front of one site.  I’m on the lookout for others now.

Rock piles such as this are here, there and everywhere throughout the park.

As I ride around the park I’m pleasantly amazed at how friendly people are.  Everyone waves, some holler out a greeting, some want you to stop and talk a bit.

In terms of maintenance for Elvira,  today it was a royal flush, meaning

the ball seal on the toilet needed to be replaced.  This one is real easy to do.  You turn the water off, open the ball valve, and pull the old seal out.  Close the ball valve and you then press the new seal into place.  This is a lot easier than having to take the toilet out and separate the two halves.

Obtaining the seal was the only interesting thing in the whole story.  I figured the one place that would have it would be Camping World.  Inasmuch as it was only about thirty minutes away off we went.  Guess what?  Of course they didn’t have it.  Are you kdding me!

Once back home Ms Barbara had one of those lightbulb moments of inspiration.  How about the local RV shop around the corner?  Really?  You just thought of it?  Yup, they had it and they are only ten minutes from home.  Now how about that.  I’m glad she though of it, if a bit late.  Oh, OK, I know I could have thought of it earlier myself.

That was our day on The Road of Retirement.  We did a litte bit of this, and a little bit of that.  I did a bit more route planning for next year.  That which needed fixing got fixed.  We tried some new Veggie Burgers for lunch.  OK, they weren’t that bad but I remain a meat and potato man.  Life is good.

Thanks for checking in with us from time to time.  We always appreciate your company as well as your comments and suggestions. Keep safe, keep healthy, enjoy the days that God gives you.

These are the voyages of  Elvira and her two intrepid travelers.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have never been before.

See you on down the road!

Places We Have Called Home In 2020

October 22, 2020

Temperature 84

Getting Caught Up

This past Sunday we again attended worship at our home church in Colts Neck, New Jersey.  I was asked once again to offer the pastoral prayer.  I was pleased to do so.  It is always an honor for me when I am asked to join in.

Ms. Barbara’s surgey is on hold for now.  She went for blood work a week ago and it came back with some wonky numbers.  She went again today for a retest but we don’t have those results yet so we don’t know if surgery will be back on.  So, we are marking time.

We continue to make the rounds of doctors here, there, and everywhere.  Most of the visits at this time are for Ms. Barbara as I haven’t really gotten started yet.  I went for my blood work yesterday and I’ll know the results next week when I see the doctor at the VA Clinic.

I continue to make plans for next year.  Our route is sort of established but that can change at any time.  We’ll be going up the East coast.  Across Pennsylvania and Ohio.  Throught the upper peninsula of Michigan.  On to Mt Rushmore and Yellowstone.  Eventunally down to Yuma and Congress.  One item I am paying much more attention to this time are the cancellation policies of each park that I make a reservation with.  If everything comes together as I envision we’ll have a fantastic year.  And if it doesn’t, well then we’ll just have to make it a fantastic year.

I continue to schedule time in the shop for Elvira.  The way I look at it, now is the time to get as much done as possible.  I want to leave here with our rig in the best shape possibe.  To that end I’ll have regular year end maintenance done; air bags replaced; all new awnings and slide toppers installed; the belt line will be completely recaulked; and, finally all the stripes that are checked and look absolutely horrible will be repained.

In step with others who have gone before me, I also cleaned our floors from front to back.  I used our new steam cleaner.  I’ll give it a B but no more.  I need to now find a way to polish the floor.  Not a lot so that we end up on our butts, but I would at leat like to get somewhat of a shine to it.  Still looking for an answer.

I’m more or less comfortable, now, with the fact that we are going to be here six months.  We have more than enough to do and we’ll be off site probably at least once each month.  So my hitch itch will be relieved to some extent.  At least I hope so.

A bigger question and one that can only be answered around January of next year will be where will we  be next winter.  As of now it remains Yuma but if my sweetheart has to come back, well then we’ll be back in Florida.  It is truely a fluid situation.

That is where we are on The Road of Retirement.  The weather remains unseasonably warm but that’s OK with us.  We’ve had a few rain showers but nothing major.  Ms. Barbara continues to make some absolutely magnificent meals.  The other day she made me a big crock pot full of home made Manhattan Claim Chowder.  It was a winner.  She said is going to try next to make either New England Clam Chowder or jambalaya.

Thanks for checking in with us from time to time.  We always appreciate your company as well as your comments and suggestions. Keep safe, keep healthy, enjoy the days that God gives you.

These are the voyages of  Elvira and her two intrepid travelers.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have never been before.

See you on down the road!

 

 

Places We Have Called Home In 2020

October 19, 2020

Temperature 86

What If

As I’ve been riding my bike around the park delighting in the world around me I find myself asking the question  What If?

We are living in turbulent and unsettled times right now.  The winter flu season is right around the corner.  COVID-19 cases are increasing rapidly once again and experts are telling us to prepare for the worse in the coming months.  There is also the upcoming election.  No matter which way it goes we all know that we are in for a rough ride.  You can add to that a whole new mess of concerns regarding the economy, the enviroment, wildfires and massive storms.

During my daily bike rides I keep thinking about all of this and wondering How will it all play out.  How will we manage the winter?  When will things get back to normal whatever that may be?

Then the other day I had a radical and different switch in thinking.  What if real peace, joy and happiness is to be found in accepting the present situation?

When things are going well and all is right with the world it is an effortless thing to do.  When we’re able to move about as we wish; when we’re able whenever we want to visit with family and friends; when we are able to go out on a Friday night to our favorite restaurant – when life is like this it is easy to find inner peace and joy and happiness.

But when the bottom drops out of our life, when our world is turned upside down – which is in essence the story of 2020, what then?

I’m convinced the answer lies within.

Like it or not the world we’re living in now is the real world.  This is our life now.

So What If

We concentrate our rebuilding from within, we accept the situation as it is, letting go of what was before so that we can find new norms and a new way forward.  This does not mean that we give up on our hopes and dreams for the future, but that we simply let go of our nostalgia for the past so that we can move forward with hope.

This is life now so let’s make the most of it.

Thanks for checking in with us today.  We always appreciate your company as well as your comments and suggestions. Keep safe, keep healthy, enjoy the days that God gives you.

These are the voyages of  Elvira and her two intrepid travelers.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have never been before.

See you on down the road!

Places We Have Called Home In 2020

October 17, 2020

Temperature 89

Richloam General Store

Once we knew we were headed back to Florida for the winter this store was definitely on our must visit again list.  We had been here before and could not wait to return.

This is the only remaining building in what once was a thriving community.  However, once the Great Depression hit, and the railroad departed the town quickly faded away.  In 2017 this general store was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

A recreation of the original post office.

Anyone remember a phone like this at home?

Have a hankering for a cup of coffee?  You’re going to have to both grind and make your own.

A little internet research uncovers the following: There’s nothing like a good cup of coffee, and how it’s ground makes all the difference. Unlike today, stores in the 19th and early 20th centuries sold only coffee as beans, freshly ground in the store. Originally, all general stores had some sort of coffee grinder sitting on the counter. The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, better known as A&P, always sold its coffee as beans which could be custom ground according to the customer’s preference.

The Enterprise Manufacturing Company, founded by John Gulick Baker in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1864 near Independence Hall, was one of the leading makers of both large and small coffee grinders.

General store owners used the Enterprise Model No. 12-1/2 coffee mill for grinding larger amounts of coffee. Manufactured between 1886 and 1898, it stood 42 inches high, had 25-inch diameter wheels and weighed about 140 pounds. It’s main components were of cast iron. Such mills became status symbols for those general store owners who could afford them.

Then again maybe you only want a cool bottle of pop.  There is a full shelf of everything you can think of.

Many people have told me that boiled peanuts are really tasty.  I’m here to say it must be an acquired taste.

For those who have a sweet tooth you’ll not be disappointed.

Toys for the kids – but really an ant farm?  If that is your thing, come see me and I’ll give you a few for free that you can use to start your own ant farm.

Jams, Jelly, and all other kinds of canned fruit.

 

This cute little guy was for sale as were various quilts all made . . .

in house on this very sewing machine.

But this is what we came for.  The two on the left are favorites of Ms. Barbara; the two on the right are on my favorite list.  The Hot Pepper Jam is really great on an English muffin in the morning.  Big John’s Barbecue Sauce is good on ribs, chicken and all other kinds of meats.  You can bet that before we leave this area we’ll be stocking up on several of these items.

An added bonus today was this gentleman who was playing some good old fashioned tunes from days gone by.  I could have sat and listened to him for hours but we had another errand to run.

After we left the general store, we made another run to Wally World for a grocery pickup.  This is Trish who has a smile behind that mask that is a country mile wide.

Now to put it all away!  Our inside cupboards are now full as are the outside storage bins.  We also now have a fully stocked freezer.  Ms. Barbara will tell you it is so nice to have a full size residential refrigerator and freezer.

Once the groceries were away we put our brand new sheets on our bed.

Next, I put together our new floor steamer.  We have tried everything to get our tile floors clean to no avail.  Someone mentoned that a steam cleaner would do the job.  Stayed tuned and I’ll let you know.

And to round off the day I put a new and comfy seat on my bike.  First ride tells me I’m going to be much, much more comfortable peddaling myself around the park.

That was our day on The Road of Retirement.  We had a delightful time at the general store.  We were able to get out and about for a few hours.  We got some chores done at home.  What better day could there be.  Life is good.

Thanks for checking in with us today.  We always appreciate your company as well as your comments and suggestions. Keep safe, keep healthy, enjoy the days that God gives you.

These are the voyages of  Elvira and her two intrepid travelers.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have never been before.

See you on down the road!