Places We Have Called Home In 2020

October 7, 2020

Temperature 92 Degrees With Humidity Feels Like 102

So Much For the Days Of Open Windows

Getting Caught Up

It was nice while it lasted but alas it is no more for the time being.  I’m talking about the days in the 70’s when we could keep the AC off and the windows open.  As of now we’re looking at temperatures in the high 80’s and low 90’s.  Yes, I know soon enough those comfortable days will be back.  We sure look forward to them

Ms Barbara begins her rounds of pre-op tests tomorrow.  This first of many will last about two to three hours.  There are many more to come after this.  The big day still remains November 2nd.  Understandably, she is definitely having mixed emotions about it all.  On the one hand she looks forward to being able to walk pain free.  On the other hand she is anxious about what is to come, especially in terms of rehabilitation.  My money is definitely on her and her ability to successfully handle what is in store for her.

We decided to do pickup at Walmart rather than going in person.  There are just too many people in this state who really don’t care about anyone else except themselves.  This is shown in their refusal to wear a mask when they go shopping.  My heart breaks when I think about what our once wonderful country has come to.  Today all too many believe it is all about them and no one else.  Such a shame.  Unfortunately, though, when such a selfish attitude is modelled by our leaders what can one expect.

We also received another order from Amazon today.  We held off on ordering so many items we really needed until we were in one place for a lenght of time.  Now is that time.

This is one item I was really looking forward to.  Now that it is here, once the hitch is installed tomorow I’ll be able shortly thereafter to go get my bike.  Yipee!

We also had all our pending mail forwarded to us.  The two most important pieces of mail we received were our official ballots.  You can bet we are going to fill them out immediately and make sure they get sent in.

That is what we’ve been up to on The Road of Retirement.  We’re slowly but surely making the transition from traveller to rooted for the time being.  But we’re still constantly making plans to hit the road again in 2021.  Will our plans come to pass next year?  Only time will tell.  If everything falls apart again it is going to be a hard pill to swallow.  Day by day I read of more and more full timers like us coming off the road for good.  However, for now we have absolutely no plans of doing so ourselves.  We have too many miles to go and too many places we want to see.

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

Home Is Where We Park It:  Paradise Oaks RV Resort, Bushnell, Florida

October 5, 2020

Rain, Rain, Rain And Even More Rain

Worship At Our Home Church, The Colts Neck Reformed Church

New Neighbors

The Order Is In

Self Imposed Exile

To say that it is damp around here is the understatement of the year.

This is the daily view out our front window.  With a new tropical disturbance moving into the Gulf of Mexico it is driving continuious bands of rain before it into central Florida.  There is not a day this week that does not have rain in the forecast.  If this keeps up I’m going to start looking for water wings for Elvira.

Yesterday being Sunday we began our day with worship at our home church in Colts Neck, New Jersey.

Since it was World Wide Communion Sunday our service begain with various members of the congregation reciting Psalm 117 in various languages.  For instance, some of the languages included were:  English, Hebrew, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, French, German and Czech.

Our opening song.

Later, during communion Pastor Scott mentioned that the stole he was wearing was given to him by a church in Chile where he once worked as a volunteer.  Again, a reminder that the church is truly world wide and universal.

Also on the home front. . . .

Meet our new neighbors!  These are two of just several who are right across the way from us.  We see them early every morning but by afternoon they are gone to who knows where.  I don’t know what it is but everytime I see them I can’t help but think about the Texas Longhorn Steak House!

Speaking of new neighbors, two by two they are coming into the park.  A good many of the pull through spots in the front are occupied.  Several sites around us also now have snowbirds occuping them.  It’s beginning to happen.

In terms of errands . . . .

We made a trip to the above two five star companies that are just thirty minutes from our winter home.  Stone Vos manufactors slide toppers, awnings, etc.  Talin installs the same.

After much discussion we placed our order for our new patio and door awning.  We’re going to go with all new arms as well as new fabric.

We also discussed, viewed samples and then ordered new slide toppers.  The current ones are frayed and full of holes.  The jury is out as to whether we also replace the window awning.

Now we wait.   It takes about six to eight weeks after you place the order before anything arrives.  Once everything is in we’ll move to Talin’s shop where everything will be installed.  They were willing to come to us, but this gives me a good excuse to take Elvira out on the road after sitting for a month or two.

As to having to wait that is fine by us.  Until Ms Barbara has her surgery we’re going into self imposed exile.  We both believe it is just too dangerous to be out and about in Florida.  We’ll limit our time out to absolutely necessary trips, such as grocery shopping but not much more.  We just don’t want to take any chances of something derailing her chance to have her knees taken care of.

When we arrived back home. . . .

We had a package from Amazon waiting for us.  It is hard to believe but this is the first time in over five months that we have ordered anything from them.  A few more items should be coming this week and then that will be it for another several months.

That is it for now on The Road of Retirement.  Slowly, but surely we’re getting Elvira fit as a fiddle and good to go for many years of trouble free touring.  Same with Ms. Barbara.  Once we leave here she will also be fit as a fiddle and good to go for many years of trouble free walking.  Oh yes, we have a plan and we’re sticking to 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

Home Is Where We Park It:  Paradise Oaks RV Resort, Bushnell, Florida

October 3, 2020

Settling In

It seems odd to think that we will actually be here for the next six months.  I wonder if I can actually sit still for that long.  However, I guess I’m going to have to.  Ms Barbara is having surgery in November and if all goes well probably again in January or February.

It all seems so odd not to be at the Escapees Park.  We were looking to being with friends and making new ones while we were there.  We’re going to miss our time there but such is life.  As we’ve discovered this past year, seldom do things go according to plan.

So we’re settling in.  We’ve made our first trip to Wally World.  We picked up Chinese food from one of our favorite restaurants in the area.  A bonus, we have our train!  We never really feel at home unless we can hear a train on occassion.  This one is toward the front of the park and across from it.  Yup, you can sure hear it when it comes rumbling through with that old horn blaring for all the world to hear.  We’ve already learned to tune it out and sleep right through it at night.

Ms Barbara continues to make arrangements for all the tests she needs to take prior to surgery.  I’m doing the same with the VA.

I’m still making arrangements to get additional work done on Elvira.  I have to find a place to get our annual maintenance done.  I’ll probably make arrangements with Cummins Coach Care in Ocala.

We’ll go back to Josam and have them change the air bags and put new springs on the leveling jacks.  The last couple of times I had a really hard time getting the jacks to come back up.  The old springs that are on there just aren’t up to the task.

Next week we’re going to have a leak test done and the ripped slide seal on the front passenger slide will be replaced.

Sometime in the next couple of months the patio awning will be replaced as well as the slide topers.

 Just before we leave next year we’ll have all the stripes repainted.  The dark colors are badly checked and getting worse.

I’m doing odds and ends as necessary.  I just have to keep telling myself that I don’t have to get it all done in one day.

To date I’ve replaced the articulating arm on the entrance door and repaired one lock on an outside locker.  About the articulating arm, they replaced the old style that had a cable attached to it that snaked down through the door  to the handle with a much simpler one.  I’m sure glad they did.  Putting the new one on was just a matter of measuring where each plate went, drilling a few holes and inserting self tapping screws.  Of course writing about it was much easier than actually doing it.  Isn’t it always the way.  It’s done and that’s all that counts.

That is where we are at on The Road of Retirement.  The weather has been nice.  High 70’s to mid 80’s which allows us to keep the AC off and enjoy some fresh air.  We have all our TV channels so we can watch our favorite shows.  The park offers free secure internet so we no longer have to use our hotspot.  Life is good.  Indeed, God has definitely been good to us this whole year.

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

(We Added A New Stop To Our Link)

Home Is Where We Park It:  Paradise Oaks RV Resort, Bushnell, Florida

October 1, 2020

Travel Day

We’re Home For The Winter

Boy oh boy, another really early morning for us.  We needed to be up no later than 6:30 am so we could move and they could use the bay we were parked in front of.  Our experience here has been nothing sort of fantastic.  They have treated us like royalty.  They finished the work yesterday around 3 pm but not wanting to drive in rush hour traffic we asked if we could stay one more night.  Not a problem they said.  We’ll just need you to move by 7 am tomorrow morning so we could use the bay.  So we were up early, hooked up by 8 am and on the road.

The first thing I noticed once we were on the road was how much better Elvira handled. The ride is really tight and precise.  Take your hands off the wheel and it tracks as straight as an arrow.  I’m really impressed.  A big bonus was that the actual price we paid was substantially less than what we were first quoted.  Honestly, I can’t say enough good things about Josam.  We’ll go back sometime later to have the air bags changed before we leave Florida.

The ride today was an easy one hour ride.  Traffic was light and there was nothing to slow us down all along the way.

Now, as to where we were headed that was the Sixty Four Thousand Dollar Question.  We really wanted to spend the winter at the Escapees Park in Bushnell but that was now out of the question.  We had been assured several months ago that we would have no issues getting a satellite signal in the site we had been assigned to.  Guess what?  Getting a satellite signal was totally out of the question.  Not to mention when we checked on the site on Tuesday it was a muddy mess.  To top it off, we found a large gathering of people at some type of function, no social distancing, and not a one wearing a mask.  We needed to find a new home.

 Since the Canadians aren’t coming this year two parks in the area had openings.  The one park we dismissed immediately.  It was nothing more than a huge parking lot right next to Walmart.

The second one, though, instantly became our favorite pick for our new winter home.

This is the park we picked.  It is absolutely beautiful.  Customer service is above and beyond a ten.

The magic gate that opens to let you in.  All the roads in the park are paved, wide, and so easy to navigate.

This is the registration office.  When we entered we were just interested in getting a site for the winter.  Instead, they offered us several in various price ranges.  Then, we were taken on a tour of each site and next we were taken for a tour of the complete park.

There are four hundred sites here, trails galore, a fitness room, a pool, a library, and the list goes one and on.  With all the trails I just can’t wait to get my bike over here.  We are in one of the purple sites straight down from the words Happy RV’ing.  We are far enough back that we can just barely here the train that is across the highway from the park.

They even have golf carts for rent.

The fountain that marks the beginning of our block.

Our block.  Empty now but we were assured by the end of the month it will be full.  Point of fact, we were just one of thirty four that came in today.

Here we are at our new winter home.  We’re on grass, the site is dead level, unfortunately there is no shade but we do have all three of our satellites.  We have a concrete patio and great spacing between our site and our neighbor.  It costs a bit more than we were planning to spend but we’ll tighten up in other areas and be all right.

This is a small park like place right across from us.

We’re home.  Now the running around begins to all kinds of doctors.  In addition, we have some more work to get done on Elvira.  Some work will be done here, other work we’ll have to go various places for.  All of a sudden life is getting hectic.

That was our day on The Road of Retirement.  Who would have ever thought that at the last minute we would have been able to find such a wonderful winter home in the sunshine state.  We, as I’ve said before, we are two of the most blessed and fortunate people on the face of the earth.  We’ll spend the next couple of days getting settled in.  I have a few projects that need attention.  Ms Barbara also has some projects that need attention.  We’ll definitely keep ourselves occupied.  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!