06/10/2019 Day 1 Raccoon Valley RV -TN

Today we drove to Raccoon Valley RV Park in Heiskell, TN near Knoxville. It’s an Escapees Park, reasonable rates & good for a night. When we checked in, I saw a fella who looked familiar up on top  of his rig. When Mr Charley came out of the office, he pointed down the way to fellow Ecapees, Jim & Nancy I had met at the Escapade up in VT. Mr Charley & Sherry had met them years back when they had traveled to a previous Escapade.  That’s the cool part of RVing, you meet all kinds of kindred spirits along the way.

Our ride here was thankfully very uneventful. The traffic was smooth, the weather was cloudy but limited rain & we made random stops to stretch & walk the girls. We made great time, checked in early afternoon, with plenty of time to rest. The only issue was our site has a tree at just the right place that Mr Charley can’t get his satellite. Luckily, he has plenty of movies to keep him occupied. I prefer listening to my audiobooks & either playing on my kindle or crocheting.

Tomorrow, we head to Grand Rivers, KY for a night , then into MO.

The girls are getting back into full time mode, but with all the gravel at this campground, I know they miss the grass yard & woods of SC.

As Mr Charley says “it’s an adventure”. Stay tuned, the fun is just beginning.

Here’s s couple of pics from our ride through the Smoky Mountains

06/09/2019 Day 0 Barnyard RV Park -SC

Although we haven’t “officially “ left SC, we  have left Mr Charley’s “home base” in Blythewood , SC & checked in to Barnyard RV Park in West Columbia, SC. This is the final steps before we hit the road in the morning, mainly to check that the satellite system will work for Mr Charley’s TV (🙏🙏) and also a test run for tear down & landing to be sure we have it down pat.

We did pretty good with both, no major issues other than the remote for jacks & slides needs a new battery. Fortunately, we can use manual override buttons & all worked well. (Thank You, Lord).

But........when we landed, the satellite didn’t work. Mr Charley called the DirectTV guy that set him up at home & thank God he agreed to come over & help get it fixed. We waited most of the day &
although the campground has cable, we didn’t really need it since Mr Charley’s daughter, Stacy & her family came by & hung out with us; and Grandson Jed also came by for one more “bye hug”.

The rains came & luckily so did the DirectTV guy. & got it working ! Mr Charley is so relieved, and so am I! (Men & their TVs 🤦🏻‍♀️). Finally relaxing & confident tomorrow’s ride is going to be a great beginning to our new adventure!

“The girls” (Cheyenne & Sadie) are going to miss being off the lease, running after those squirrels, but they know when Daddy hitched up, its time to hit the road.

Pray for us, as we head to our first stop, Raccoon Valley RV Park in Knoxville, TN on the official Day 1 of our “Greater Adventure”.

The Greater Adventure 2019

Back in 2015, Mr Charley & I headed out for my first “Great Adventure”. We went out West including CO, SD, MT, WY, UT, AZ, NV, TX, LA & saw so many sights I can’t begin to list here.
(You can view my photos on Facebook )

In 2016, I had bought my Class C & we took my “Maiden Voyage” up to New England. It was an adventure !
(You can view these pics on Facebook, as well)

In 2017, we took the “Grand Adventure” riding to Alaska. We went over 16,000 miles round trip out west, through numerous Canadian Provinces into Alaska. It too, was an adventure!
(This trip is when I started this blog)

We took 2018 off as I settled in to my new Destination Model in Fl.

Now, it’s 2019 & we’re getting an “itch in our hitch” as we get ready for our “Greater Adventure” out West as we head to OR & WA.

I don’t know the whole route yet (Mr Charley has the gift of changing his mind) but the plan is to head out Monday, 06/10; to TN, KY, MO landing in CO by 06/16; and Cody, WY by 06/24.

I’ll try to keep the blog going, but will no doubt post pics on Facebook as well.

So, stay tuned & get ready to ride!

Happy New Year 2019

It’s a new year & time of reflection. As I look back at last year, although we didn’t do much traveling, we both spent time on the road back & forth to SC for family duties & visits.
Mr Charley’s dad passed last January, 1 month shy of his 101st birthday. His Walhalla, SC hometown  firefighters gave a grand send off to the towns first chief. Then, a few more trips back to get his house ready to sell. True character shows when a loved one dies & the family rallies together to handle things, so hats off to Mr Charley & his brother, Bob for taking care of business. Also, Mr Charley’s #1 grandson graduated & went to work in Hawaii for a few months.

As for me, I made a few trips back to help my #1 granddaughter get moved into her first apartment. I’m so proud of her. A single mom,  working & going to college, she has really grown up this past year & getting her settled in was a great time for both me & my daughter. There’s nothing like the pride & joy you feel when your babies leave the nest. You still worry about & pray for them, but setting them up on their feet the best you can, you know you’ve done all you can. And, it gives them the confidence to know it’s up to them now, no excuses. After getting her settled, I made another trip back helping her mama get her house painted & back in order.
The true blessing was having our family Christmas together at my granddaughters apartment. It’s good to pass the torch, sometimes.

My #2 daughter & granddaughter hosted me Christmas Day, cutting that long 7 hour drive back home.  We had some good one on one family time that made my Christmas the best ever. Playing games, showing her how to crochet & just laughing & catching up with my babies.

I love my babies & am so proud of them, I just can’t believe how awesome they’ve turned out. I am blessed.

The main thing that’s happened in 2018 is dealing with Forest River Cedar Creek trying to get my Cottage fixed. They picked it up back in July, brought it back to the factory in Indiana & “fixed” the side rain gutters. When I had my annual inspection in October, the RV Tech said they didn’t fix it right, which explained why there was always water dripping when you walk in the door. Well, my Miami Italian came out a bit & I let them know they better pick this thing up, tote it back to Indiana & fix it right or they can just keep it. They picked it up right before Thanksgiving & will be returning it this Thursday 01/03/19. Thankfully, Mr Charley has his  fifth wheel in storage & were able to swap out & not be homeless. It sure was something to figure out how to “winterize” my Cottage for the trip back to Indiana. Luckily, there’s a few guys here that knew what to do, so we did some early morning scrambling to get it done before the transport guy got here. I’m truly blessed to have such a great community of people who jump in to help out in time of need.
Forest River has assured me its fixed properly this time, so we’ll see.

(Update: since it’s taken so long for me to post this, my Cottage is back & everything is fixed!)

It’s been good to have this year off after that long Alaska ride, but we’re both getting excited for this years adventure back out West to see Washington & Oregon since we didn’t get there on our way home last year. My grandson graduates this year, so we won’t be leaving until June. Mr Charley’s granddaughter will be riding with us this trip, let the adventures begin!

That’s our 2018 highlights, spending good family time & getting better acquainted with our fellow camping neighbors. We’re blessed to have both.

Happy New Year everyone! May this year bring our country together so we can all enjoy the beauty & wonders afforded us in the USA. May we stay healthy & strong & may our families continue to blossom & grow.





RV Riding is a blessing to look back on & forward to

Finally enjoying my place

One of the main reasons we keep coming back down here to Paradise Oaks in Bushnell is because of the people. We have met so many good friends here we can call on for just about anything. Such a variety of people from a variety of places. Our favorite Yankees & Canadians of course; and folks from Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland , Tennessee and just about every state in between.


We’ve had Happy Hour with our "crazy crew"  and coffee and cake with our "calmer crew", hanging out under the gazebo watching that beautiful view , turning on the fire pit when the sun went down and closing up the "walls" when it got too cold. We have dinner buddies, early morning coffee buddies, golf buddies, shopping buddies, and just stop in & shoot the breeze buddies here. They’ve all had a hand in helping me get settled in and although I’ll never be able to repay them for all they’ve done, I’m thankful we’ve been able to have them over and share some good times before everyone heads out in the coming weeks.


I would love to post pics so you can meet them all, but I’m very protective about people’s privacy and would never name drop or post pics without their consent. I do have some cute pics, though!


 Like when we went out to dinner one night and all 3 guys had on some type of orange shirt! Of course, Mr. Charley’s was Clemson & the others weren’t, but we still had a good laugh. Or, the videos of them putting up the gazebo; or, the night we were hanging out in the gazebo laughing so hard with all their crazy jokes, I thought Mr. Charley was going to fall out of his chair!


We’ve had some great times here with some great folks. It’s good medicine for both of us.
I think that’s why I love the RV Lifestyle so much. We’ve met so many good hearted, wonderful, kind people. The amenities are nice, but the people make the park. As much as we plan on “doing it again next year”, none of us are guaranteed tomorrow, so we’ll cherish the time and treasure the memories each day we have here.


Have a good one everybody, we’re sure trying to.


RV Riding is parking it for awhile to share good times with some good folks

Finally got rid of that Ford!

Before I bought my Class C I owned a Subaru Outback. It was a GREAT SUV, but I couldn’t “Dinghy Tow” it behind my rig because it has all wheel drive, so I had to trade it for a Ford Focus (one of the few cars you can tow easily). I received a recall notice from Ford that the car had a transmission issue & I needed to bring it in to get fixed. I called FORD, made an appointment to get it fixed, got my daughter to follow me to drop it off & found out they “might” have it analyzed by 5:00 p.m.  That was back in Oct 2017. Needless to say I tried 4 other FORD service departments (2 more in SC, 1 in GA & 1 in FL) all with the same sorry results. The one dealer here in FL was at least honest enough to tell me even if the analysis shows I have the problem,(even though I knew it did since it was slipping and starting to make a loud noise) it would be at least a month to get the parts in!  That’s when I decided to get rid of it, but not before I told FORD I never had that kind of service with SUBARU!
So, I got a new 2018 Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited; Pearl White with Cream leather interior . It’s sweet, with too many bells & whistles, but at least I know I’m in a safe & dependable vehicle; and if I ever have any issues, their service is excellent.

          Here’s a couple of pics:

 

Now I can confidently ride the roads to see my babies without worry of breaking down. The FORD served it’s purpose; the Class C served it’s purpose, now it’s time to move on. Slowly, but surely; step by step; day by day, my new place & vehicle will serve it’s purpose.
 I’m blessed and so very thankful.


Have a good one everybody, we’re sure trying to.


RV Riding is riding the roads in a car sometimes too

Yea, I’m kinda crazy

Today is my #1 Grandson’s birthday, and like a good Meema, I set my calendar alert to remind in advance so I’ll have time to get a card in the mail. Since my sweet boy has gotten so big the last year or 2 with his wrestling & swimming, I just knew he was turning 18, so I got him a card, put a “special” bill in there & got it in the mail in plenty of time. Well, the day AFTER I mailed it, my #1 daughter called to chit chat & I told her I had Bryson’s birthday card in the mail.When she told me he was turning 17 & NOT 18 I started laughing & told her what I did. She said he’s going to have a good laugh, too!

I previously posted about my new place I’m settling in to, but I forgot to mention the number 1 reason I chose to settle here (for now). Mr.Charley & I have met some wonderful people down here these past few years we’ve been coming down. We have friends from all over the US and Canada. There’s our “core” group of friends that will help out in any situation, all I have to do is send an SOS text & they’ll be here (Thank God for them!). And, the beauty of this RV lifestyle is all you have to do is drive up with boxes on the back of the truck & everybody wants to help unload, put up & watch the progress of any project you may have. We’re so blessed to have these friends. Although Mr. Charley & I were able to put together the outdoor table & chairs set; thankfully the guys came by to install my new gazebo, fire pit &  shed.

We enjoyed a nice steak dinner outside after putting the table and chairs together

 

Here’s the table view

View of Gazebo screen house with fire pit  without the rug

 

View of Gazebo screen house with fire pit with the rug

(I need to get some new chairs)

 

Here’s my new shed

The last thing left to do is get my surge protector hard wired in.

When all the snowbirds head back home in the next few weeks; there will still be a few folks here I can count on if I need anything. It’s clean, safe and quiet here so I know I’ll be OK after Mr. Charley heads back home; and my babies can rest assured I’m OK.

Now it’s time to have some of those great folks over for some good times  before they all leave.

Thank You, Lord for taking such good care of me, in spite of me.

Have a good one everybody, we’re sure trying to.

RV Riding is settling in for a spell until the next ride