West coast …geocache….

We are still here….

on the west coast of Florida…the news is that dads house is still standing just a minor board of on the back sofit…i will do a post when i get back and take some pix….in the mean time Pheebe and i finally got out & about around the Crystal River area and did some exploring and geochacheing…

 

Nice little neighboring town

On Thurs. was a nervous wreck waiting on Matt….it was pretty nice here but i could not bring myself to get out and about…waiting on something like that is not anyting i want to do again…i had no TV …i depended on my friend Margie for info she would text me tell me what was going on…news stations had non stop coverage…

First cache we found

Late Thurs. found out from friends & neighbors that the house was still standing and with-stood Matt….some in the hood were not so lucky with house damage and there were many many trees down…was told it was very sad to look at…

Where the second cache was hid…

We went to a nice little town that had some Geocaches in a park that looked kind of easy to find…Beverly Hills….the above pic is of the second one we found there were 2 of these along a 2 lane road…not a highway but road in the development the park was in…so had easy parking to find them…there were more but it was raining…i didnt mind the rain but wanted to find a few more that were not like these i can come back and pick the rest off…

Second cache…

The pic above is the cache hid at the bottom of the sign…easy peasy…in side the small tube is a log to sign…

Fourth one found…

The forth one found was a magnet box like a key keeper….inside log in a zip mini bag to keep it dry…

The other sign cache with diff. container

Everytime i got a cache in the RT Pheebe had to sniff and check it out…but in the pic below i had stopped at McD for a sauage muffin and she like that better than the caches…. too cute…

Pheebe more interested in a bite of sauage muffin than in a cache…

I am writing this Sat. afternoon…getting my stuff togeather to head back to Melbourne in the morning….it will be Sunday so am hoping that the traffic will be light..but with the weather happening who knows…but i really dont mind I love driving my RT! This is really the first time i have been able to spend time using it…did not sleep in it but was out & about and driving …was great…i know i am going to love camping in it…thanks for looking and come back soon …blessings GM&P

We are out of here…...

Pheebe and i headed out…

we evacuated Melbourne yesterday moring to get out of the way of hurricae matt….sso glad we did…buy whaat i am hearing from my friend Margie ( i have no TV here no news source)it is going to be a very very bad storm…you all can see it on CNN and other news stations…

my co-pilot

We left Melbourne headed to the north west coast of Florida…Crystal River area…i was alone there at the house and after thinking and weighing everything decided i had to leave..dads friend came today and put up the hurricane shutters…and i put evevythig i could away…and now hoping for the best……...

 

stopped along the way

I have no idea when  i will be able to get back to Melbourne…they are saying be prepared to go days or weeks with out power…and that would be one of the reasons i will not alowed back in to the community or even Melbourne…that was one reason my dad never wanted to leave..afraid he could not get back to take care of the house…

breakfast at McD’s this morning

When i got here figured out i did not bring enough food or clothes so off to WaMart this morning …i am scared silly being here alone we are to get tropical storm wind and storms even this far away…but also about Melboure and the house the neighbors and everything involved…they said if you dont get a way from the beach area you will not make it…there has been alot of mandatory evacuation all along the coast…there is so much more going on and involved with this storm…but i just can write about it now…pray for Florida people and all the south east coast…thanks for looking and come back soon ..Blessing GM&P

Sad Happenings….

Pic of dad on 90th Birthday 2 years…

There has been a lot going on…sorry have not had time to post much…On Sept 16 my dad past to Heaven….after suffering a stroke 3 weekes before…it has been a trying time to say the least…he would have been 92 on Nov. 5….it is a sad time….

Sun rise at the home park…

I now have a lot to do…first i have to get my “stuff” all my wordly goods pack …purged and put in to a storage unit…then will have an estate sale for my dads house hold and then list the house for sale…in these few words it doesnt sound like much …but believe me it is a job…at first i was overwhelmed but after working on getting my stuff ready i can see progress…at first it seams like you have to make a big mess …then you see the progress…i dont see the light at the end of the tunnel yet but progress is good..so i guess i will be homeless in a few months….but i do have my home on wheels…that is a good thing….

The beach…

And now we are watching a hurricane that will be coming up the coast…hope it stays off shore like the modles are showing…

Soon to be home on wheels..

Well my new to me Roadtrek has been sitting in camp drive way most of the time…not been out ….after thinking about the weather…i know if a bad hurricane is on the way i am leaving the coast…anyway thinking that i need to get it ready to roll at any given moment in time…just in case…so this weekend inbetween working on packing & purging i will getting the RT ready to roll…i do not like being here alone in a bad storm let alone a herricane…we had a bad one a few days ago Pheebe and i was standing in the door way when lightning struck some place close …i jumped and i think  Pheebe jumpe 4 ft straight up in the air….

Pheebe is growing up…..

Pheebe girl is growing up and is behaving a lot better…but in some areas she has a lot to learn yet…i am planning on taking her to some classes to help her along…will let you know how that goes…just heard on the news hurricane is now a cat 4…ugh…i do have a couple camping trips coming up and will tell about then as time goes on…hope now i can be more on the ball with my posting…so will go now..thanks for looking and come back soon …blessings to all GM&P

WICKHAM SHAKE DOWN….

 

A shake down at Wickham…

Even tho it was boiling hot ….did a shake down camp at Wickham …My RV friend from NC was spending some time over by Lake Wales FL…called me one Friday and ask if i wanted to camp out at Wickham for a couple nites…I said yes anything to get out of camp driveway…We did not set up outside except for a couple chairs…we could only spend time out early in the moring and sometimes early evening…

We put the chairs up beind my rig in the shade…and on Sat morning i used my microwave/convection oven for the first time…made blue berry  muffins….i think then needed a couple more min. in order to brown up a little better…had that and some fruit…

We had to make a trip to the $ store to buy some playing cards…because it was to hot to explore or be outside…that was a chance for me to test out the generator with the A/C to keep Pheebe cool worked great…we spent the rest of the day & evening playing card game  Hand & Foot…a new game i learned to play at Hardy Lakes ..love it but never get a chance to play except with RV buddies…

When we got back from the $ store we noticed that we had company..kind of hard to miss he was so big…he was munching on the brush behind the rigs…

Here he is hot footing it across the camp site…i have to say turtles move along a lot faster than one would think…it was at this point Pheebe noticed him…she didnt bark at first just kept looking & looking…then she let lose…lol…i think he is a box turtle…

And the rest of the story….

As far as the shake down goes…i really did not make any head way about what to do or how to do it as to the organizing  …i have figure out the basics like on most RV’s…one thing that i was leary about emptying the tanks with a macerator and not the gravity flow dump…but it worked out good…there are a couple buttons i need to identify…and try and figure out why my back door will not open from the inside…i turn the key lock outside and it is open…but the leaver inside does not budge…anyone reading this and has an idea please commet…now i have to figure out what to put in for trips …and how to organize it…this will take some time…you really need to do things and arrange different in a RT…or class B like RV…Well all for now thanks for looking and come back soon…blessings GM&P

FLEA MARKET….

 

While in Mt. Dora we went ….

to the famous Renninger’s Flea Market…they hold an Antique Market there a couple times a year also and people from all over the US come to sell their wares…i have know about this flea and wanted to come for years…now i am here and cant buy anything…no longer have a store…but it still fun to look..it is in my blood lol…Me & Pheebe…at a doggie store …we looked at all the goodies..and tried on doggie clothes…

Below is a pic of Pheebe in her buggy…i was supprised that she took to it right away…and is very good as long as no one gets to close and tries to talk to her…she has this cute little hat we were trying on…i could have been a little bigger because of her ears…i am going to try & make one…

And here is little Annie trying on her pretty in pink dress…both doggies seemed to like getting dressed up even Pheebe that was a big suprise to me…We got a lot of attention in that ladies booth…everyone with a dog stopped to check it and us out…there were a couple women there from England they kept taking pics ….also they were waiting for Margie to put the pink dress down they wanted it..but in the end Annie went home with the dress…. not only were people taking pix but they all were showing pix of their doggies…In Dec. we are planning a trip to Daytona Beach to a dog parade …this time i will enter Pheebe…i need to make a post about taking the doggies to a show/gathering we went to in the spring …i thought i did but dont see it…see how bad i am about getting the blog posting done…

We went early to the fleamarket and most of the booths outside were not open yet…but the ones that were open had some really neat stuff..click on pix to see detail…

In another day & time in my life i would have been drooling over all the neat stuff…it was right up my alley having owned and operated a vintage/antique store…i was always looking for this stuff for my store…it is still in my blood  because everytime i see this and  or go to places like this and even yard sales i see all the potential sitting waiting for a new life..but in the end i know i cant do it…it is a lot of hard physical work i can no longer do…but sometimes i sure want to…

And Margie met this giant walking down one of the aisls…they had anything & everything there …and we did not get to see it all…i know i would like to go back sometime…now that i have the Roadtrek i feel more confident in going places and not have to worry about where & how to park..so maybe a few more trips there are in my future….even an over night get away…

And we also ran across this guy named Jack…he seems very content to just lay in is dog house and people watch…this was a T-shirt booth we got a couple cute lonnnng shirts to use and bath house apparel….needless to say this was another adventure we enjoyed very much while visiting Mt. Dora….

And the rest of the story…..

seems to me the weather …all over the country just not in the boiling hot south …Florida is just almost to hot to breathe when you go out side…we are stuck in camp drive way most of the time…but last weekend my friend Carol called and ask if i wanted do a mini GTG at Wickham so that is what we did… she drove over from Lake Wales area to meet me..i will make a post soon…Pheebe is cooped up in the bedroom in the house way to much..but even she does not want to stay out…she does her business and runs right back in…and i know i am cooped up way to much also..Pheebe & i had a melt down last week …but i think we worked it out …she is doing much better about minding me while we are walking…and the dog/car & people chasing ….well  all for now thanks for looking and come back soon…blessings GM&P

TRIMBLE CAMPING…

Margie, Annie, Pheebe & me….

Took a camping trip to MT. Dora Fl. and stayed at a county park campgroung in Orange County…What a wonderful little CG only 15 sites and everone of them is a good one…below Margie on the left and me on the right…nice big & level…The name of the CG is Trimble Park Campground…it is always booked solid Nov, thu April….the CG is only about 2 miles from MD…if i remember right it is two week limit stay…

This is a pic of my site…all sites have the same = picnic table ,paved patio. BBQ grill, fire pit with two benches and a latern hook…beside the paved patio

The fire pit area was great with two permanent benches…fire pit on a cement paver…these are some of the nicest sites i have ever seen…i liked camping in my class C but it is no more…

The CG is on Lake Beauclair next to Lake Dora…This is a pic of the CG dock…one of the things i like about this park is it looks like old Florida… but is in the middle of cities…

You seen the back in sites …here is a pull thru…think they have two..again nice & level…it was warm while we were there…not the heat wave that we now have going now…but warm enough..but in the woods setting it was not cool but nice…a few times durning the hot part of the day we spent in rigs with A/C…but again it was June in Florida…

And here is Margie happy as a clam in her Clam outside screen room..She had just got this screen room and we wanted to try it out..it worked out great …we had a couple chairs, two doggie buggies, and a couple other things and we had plenty of room …room for more people and chairs…we put it up in a couple min. might have taken us a little longer because it was new to a couple  old ladies…but it is easy up & down one person can do it…i am going to get one…will be great using with the RT …extra room…you could  also put it over a picnic table..see little Annie peaking out of the Clam?…

And the rest of the story…..

We had a great time at Trimble…but have not been able to take any more trips…we wanted to do at least one every month this summer but July has been just to hot…We have plans for the end of Aug … i have been going thru all the boxes filled with stuff from the Itasca …it is way to hot and i can only do it a couple hrs. early in the moring..i have things in the RT but just sitting around not in their home…need to figure out what goes where…not putting everything back in…just the basic then will put in what i need with each trip..not much more going on…Pheebe and i take our morning walk at the home park…it is easy to go down there early about 6am and walk around before people start coming…usually only a couple fishermen that come before  sunrise and leave soon after and usually one or two boats coming to launch,..not to many distractions for Pheebe…we try and walk for 30 min. and take our sunrise pic for FB each morning…well thats what i have been doing not much of anything…so will end it here…thanks for looking and come back soon…blessings GM&P

ROADTREK TIME….

Well if any of you are on FB….

You know by now that i traded the “lemon” in on a 2006 Roadtrek 210 Poplar…pic below at camp driveway…

She is 21 ft long just the right size…See that spare tire?? that is a problem for me…it weighs about 70lbs…and you need to let it down in order to open the other back door…to heavy so i will have to try and work around it…I seen on FB an add for a “lift”for the tire..at a price of over $300.00 …i will work around it..other than that the water is a little hard for me to hook up but i can do it…

In side the cockpit is same as any other Chevy or GMC for that matter…my GMC  Savanah had the exact samething as was the Lemon..nice and clean all around…no ware on the seats either…

Pic below looking back …twin beds…one bed and on sofa…or double bed….i like the one bed sofa idea…but having problems convincing Mz. Pheebe….the table that goes between beds/sofa is leaning on the right…at this time i will store it…as i dont see me using it…There is a third seat to the left by the side door…i have seen some that have been removed in favor of storage…but for now i will keep it…there is storage under it and i like to sit there with the door open….

Looking form the back to front …fridg on the left and bathroom/toilet closet on the right…and storage closet…tv on left lay in bed and watch tv…one reason i would like twin…

And below is the kitchen area…nice sink the counter space is more than i had in the Lemon….the two buner stove top is coverd on the left of sink…with stainless steel around the burner…lot of drawer space and cabnit…so far i like the storage better but i will miss my back bay…

Right now i have the bed made up to a 1/2 bed..i need a litte room to move around back there and if it is made to full then no room …either way this or twin..i have some ideas for more storage…

On a funny note…when i was taking the Lemon to pick up the RT…i left dads and stopped at WM …got out to go in and looked back and what did i see a hitch hiker bottle of windex riding on the bumper…the 2 mile trip is not with out bouncing and such…but there it sits…lol…our last trip to WM…

And the rest of the story….

What brought on this turn of events…well i have not been happy for the last 2 years driving the bigger class C…going to PA and over the mountains made me change most of my rt to I-95 that i hate also…and down here in Florida with all the heavy zooming traffic was getting nerve-wracking driving it here…5 years ago i had no problem driving it…turned 70 and that changed with a few other things….the big problem with all the leaking was getting worse by the week…other little things kept popping up and the boo-boo i did and then finding all the mess under the boo-boo but was not caused by it..then i started to have electrical problems…the lates being that a wire got burnd off in a junction box…got that fixed by the dealer that had the RT…then i was afraid to plug it in and i think i let my house battery get to low and killed it..not sure it is dead but i could not get it to charge up…but then what do i know…i totaly for got that i needed to turn battery off if not going to be charging…anyway to the RT…i seen this rig everytime i went down Wickham Rd at a small mom & pop type dealer…one day i pulled in to take a look…then went back about 10 times over next month ….hanging out in side with Pheebe to make sure it was campatible with us…and asking a million questions…by the end of the month i think they were getting tired of me…lol…but really nice peeps…so  i figured i better get rid of the Lemon while i had the chance …dealer checked it over twice knew all the repairs needed and still gave me a good deal… the trade in was what i paid for it when i bought it…so i took the deal…there were a couple things that popped up that needed attention on the RT…and even tho it was sold as is he fixed everthing…rebuilt the geny even with new carbarator the whole ball of wax…i could smell propane around the tankk when turned on..one tech could smell the other said no…anyway said i could not take it like that …so they worked on it and found many leaks …and put in all new fitting and gauges…i also made sure everything else was working…i took it for two test drives and thought i heard some noise…anyway over the month i forgot about it…then after i traded and took it home the more i drove it the more noise it made…so took it back over …remember this “as is” we took it for a test they heard noise….so what was needed was bushings on the sway bar…they got them and fixed it…and i was good to go…i would send anyone to this dealer and would deal with them again…this was the short story lol…took me a lot of yes i am going to do it..then no i better not…could not make up my mind…i give thanks to my friend Margie…she was with me on this the whole time and and good advice and in put…the same Margie i went to MT Dora with and other road trips and more to come…i am now very excited with the RT and cant wait to camp …but it is way to hot here in Florida right now…i did take it on a day trip will plost later about it…enought for now…thanks for looking and come backsoon…blessings GM&P