Well I did it

I think I previously posted that I sold my Class C & bought a Cedar Creek Cottage Destination Trailer. This is built sturdier than a “travel trailer”, but it can still be pulled down the road if I want to move it. I probably should’ve gotten a 5th wheel, but this will serve it’s purpose for now.

This is what it looks like:

These are some of the reasons why I decided to “park” it here (for now):

             Backyard Sunsets at Paradise Oaks

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     Front yard view of Sunrises at Paradise Oaks 

                     

I’m still trying to figure it all out, but until Mr. Charley & I plan another road trip, I’ll just hang here for awhile. Once I get it set up I’ll post more pics.

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

RV Riding is loving the lifestyle and parking it for a while too

Greetings from Florida

Well it's been a while since I've posted anything, but there really hasn't been much to post. I mean after the Grand Adventure to Alaska, what else can you post?
Mr. Charley & I got back from Alaska & went our separate ways visiting our babies & getting through the holidays. I spent some time in SC, FL, GA, a month in Myrtle Beach just freezing to death until it was time to come down to Paradise Oaks in Bushnell, Fl to get through the winter months.
I threw a wrench in our plans this year by bringing my rig down, too. I've decided I'm going to stay down here until we plan our next trip next year.  I traded in my Class C & bought a Forest River Cedar Creek Cottage Destination model trailer. I'm not 100% happy with it, but I couldn't keep my motorhome sitting much longer or I would have more problems than I need. So now I can get rid of this Ford & get my Subaru to ride the roads between here & SC. Maybe one day I'll figure out what I'm supposed to be when I grow up, but until then I'm just gonna hang on & enjoy the ride.

Mr. Charley's dad was having some health problems and passed away 1 month shy of his 101st birthday, so he's been riding the roads back & forth to SC. Once he got back, he got sick & is just now getting over the flu. He's much better now & finally eating good so hopefully will gain some of that weight he's lost. (I think I'm finding it instead of him 😏)  Since we were double dipping with separate lots, once I got my new rig delivered & set up we moved some of his stuff over so he can put his in storage, since it's relatively cheap & now we can split the rent until he leaves in April.

Mr. Charley must be feeling better he's starting to get an "itch in his hitch" & talking about a trip out west again, but who knows.

That's it for now, I'll try to get back in the swing of writing again & let you know what's going on down here. In the meantime, stay safe, warm & healthy everyone, we're sure trying to.

RV Riding is parking it for awhile until the next ride comes along

Silver Springs

Today we drove over to Silver Springs with some of our Paradise Oaks friends and took the glass bottom boat tour. It was a beautiful day, and although we didn’t see any of the wild rhesus monkeys; we did see lots of alligators, turtles and fish. It wasn’t as awesome as drifting down the Santa Fe River with my brothers,  but it was a nice ride anyway.

Silver Springs State Park is one of the last uninhabited spring runs in the state. The glass bottom boat tours have been offered for the last 100 years. The springs and fish are beautiful and of course the calm ride down the river looking for wildlife is relaxing.

Here’s some pics:

 

       

check out the roots on those trees

   

Yep, that’s a gator and there’s her babies

  

Check out how this tree has grown!

It was a good day on the water, but we were ready to get off & eat, so we stopped at Zaxby’s on the way back. The “girls” were happy to see us when we got back & “ patiently” waited for their treat.

That’s it for now, have a good one everybody, we’re sure trying to.

RV Riding is seeing all kinds of old stuff like new

The Freezer

The weather here has been beautiful, lows in the 60’s, high in the 80’s with that gentle FL breeze, so we’ve been getting out a little more. We’ve also met some wonderful new friends as well as catch up with our old friends.

Today we went to lunch with some of our buddies, to The Freezer Tiki Bar in Homosassa, FL. We had a great time, ate some awesome shrimp & got to know our friends a little better. I was so happy to see Mr. Charley eating so much. I think he ate almost 2 pounds of the 2 1/2 pound basket we shared. He lost around 13 pounds in the week he had the flu, so it does our heart good to see him enjoy food again. It was a long ride there & back and we were pretty tired but well worth the trip.

We’re both finally able to relax and enjoy our time here, as we both gain our strength back. (Him from being sick and me from “nursing” him and disinfecting everything)

That’s about it for now, tomorrow we’re supposed to go to Silver Springs with some other friends. We’re so blessed to hang with the some great folks here.

Have a good one everyone, we’re sure trying to (finally).

RV Riding is hanging with old friends and catching up

The Grand Adventure was “an adventure”

We’re back in SC (a little earlier than we planned), but thankful we’re back.


Mr. Charley & I have traveled over 16,000 miles on this “Grand Adventure” from SC to Alaska and back.


We used over 1,500 gallons of diesel fuel, averaging 10.6 mpg.


We crossed the U.S./Canada border numerous times.


We had numerous trials with the RV, battled bugs, road construction, chipped/broken windshields, smaller than average RV sites, strange fuel stations, and Lord knows what else.


We also saw so many new and wonderful sights, met some awesome people, made wonderful new friends and realized how truly blessed we are.


We both agree it wasn’t quite the trip we thought, the sights were great, but sometimes disappointing. But the adventure itself was something that we were blessed to be able to have.


It was a great ride, not sure if we’d do it again, but…….so thankful we got to go.
(I guess that's where the saying “it’s not the destination, it’s the journey” comes from).


Now it's time to go our separate ways & spend quality time with our babies.
 Next adventure is "wintering in Florida" for some fun, sun, and much needed relaxation.


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




RV Riding is picking out a place to go and finding out it may not be what you thought in the end, but so thankful you were able to go. 

Looks like we dodged the worse of it

Heritage Acres RV Park Tuscumbia, AL

We landed here Monday, in hopes of getting a little closer to home,  but also,  tomorrow we take a factory tour of the Tiffin Vanleigh Vilano 5th Wheel located in Burnsville, MS, not far up the road.
The tour was good, we learned a lot and saw the quality of work that Tiffin has built it’s high reputation on. I think Mr.Charley was impressed and has his sights set on a new rig in the coming months.
We also had a tour setup for today at the new Tiffin Wayfarer Class C factory located in Winfield, AL. The tour here was very good! Our guide was very knowledgeable, took his time explaining details and answered any and all questions. Again, you can see the high quality Tiffin standards built into this rig. It’s very nice and impressive, and maybe in a couple of years they will have a little bigger rig that I could feel comfortable full-timing in, since the storage on this 24 foot rig is considerably less than my Four Winds.
All in all, it’s been a good couple of days here.
Now for a few tidbits of info about the MS-AL area.

• Did you know that Tuscumbia, AL is the birthplace of Helen Keller and Ivy Green is the name of her childhood home? The house was built in 1820, and the actual well pump where Helen Keller first communicated with Anne Sullivan is still there. This place is a US National Historic Landmark, and is listed in the US National Register of Historic Places.

 

• Did you know that Cherokee, AL is home to the Coon Dog Cemetery (made famous in the movie “Sweet Home Alabama”. Established in 1937, Mr. Key Underwood buried his faithful coondog, Troop. On that dreary Labor Day of 1937, Underwood said goodbye to his legendary coonhound. More than 185 hounds from all across the US are buried there. To qualify for burial,certain requirements must be met. “We have stipulations on this thing",” said the late O’Neal Bolton, former caretaker of the Graveyard. “A dog can’t run no deer, possum – nothing like that. He’s got to be a straight coon dog, and he’s got to be full hound. Couldn’t be a mixed up breed dog, a house dog.” Each Labor Day, Friends of the Coondog Cemetery host a celebration there.

              
                 (Gotta love the South)

• Did you know The Natchez Trace is right down the road from here. Established in 1938, this historic forest trail extends 440 miles from Natchez, MS to Nashville, TN.

       (I know someone that wanted to ride his Harley on this)
             

• Did you know there is a town called Bear Creek, AL was once called Allen’s Factory, named for the first settlers who built a cotton factory which was burned during the War. The town is still there (barely), but there is sign marking “Factory Cemetery” Circa 1850 and a large rebel flag flies in the middle of this unfenced area.

             

• Did you know there is a town called Phil Campbell,AL named after a railroad work crew leader and engineer named Phillip Campbell? It’s a pretty cool story,  but this is the only town in AL given both first and last name of an individual.

               

• Did you know Muscle Shoals, AL is the largest city in Colbert County? Look up the history of this place.

               
As my baby girl, Melanie would say “a plethora of information.” I hope these little tidbits entice you to lookup and learn about this awesome country we are blessed to live in.
I leave you with this sign posted at the Wayfarer break room wall:
        

Please continue to keep our country in your thoughts and prayers from the Wildfires out West, to the floods and recovery from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
Tomorrow we head to Covington, GA (sending hugs and love to my cousins)  then home to SC on Friday (Lord willing)

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

          RV Riding is learning about all kinds of stuff as you ride by (thanks to Google)

     
     

Southaven, MS

Heritage Acres RV Southaven, MS

Today we landed in Southaven, MS which is right over the Memphis, TN border. This is a pretty nice place and there’s a Columbia store in the Tanger Outlets right across the street, so Mr. Charley is happy. We go in pretty early and had time for a nap! Win-Win!
Since we’re only here 1 night, we didn’t do a lot of sightseeing, we’re both pretty anxious about Hurricane Irma and how she will affect our loved ones.
I did take a few pics along the way:
            
I think it’s funny that Arkansas has “Daisy Queen” and Mississippi has “Dixie Queen” (LOL!)
So, today we hit 4 states (MO, AR, TN & MS). God Bless America!
Continue to pray for FL and now GA & SC. Tomorrow we head to Tuscumbia, AL, which is the middle ground between the Vilano factory in Burnsville, MS and the Wayfarer factory in Winfield, AL. Vilano is the new 5th Wheel made by Tiffin that Mr. Charley is interested in; Wayfarer is the new Class C made by Tiffin.
Have a good one everybody, we’re sure trying to.
RV Riding is taking the time to see hot air balloons flying in the distance