Back to Tampa then off to Myakka State Park FL

September 7 - 14, 2016 - Lazy Days, Tampa FLSeptember 14 - 22, 2016 - Myakka State Park, FL

This time, we are in the bays for about a week to change out the braking system and at the same time, decided to have our yearly maintenance done.  Once we had the correct braking system installed, we've been trouble-free.  

It was pretty uneventful.  We walked the dogs...

Then we set off to Myakka State Park for a week..

Watch our for snakes and alligators!

and Buzzards who will peck your tires

Canopy Walk

I went on the Canopy Walk which is a bit scary as I'm not a fan of heights. I walked the bridge holding on to both sides but obviously did not climb to the top of the tower.  This walkway, completed in 2000, is the first treetop walkway in North America.  It is suspended 25 feet above the ground and extends 100 feet and the tower soars 74 feet tall.

  

The tower.

Bird Walk

Another day I went to look at water birds...

Sarasota Beaches

Some scenes around the park...

I visited my friend Jill in Nokomis FL one afternoon and it was so good to see an old friend after  so many years.  We connected as if we'd never been apart and she and her husband Gus had dinner with us at the campsite before we left.  He is an artist and now tattoos to express his creativity.  We also connected with him right away - such an interesting person!  They have the most awesome trailer that has everything you need.  It's smaller but  I never felt claustrophobic in the least and I hope they can use it real soon and meet up with us on the road! We also invited our neighbors over for home-made crab cakes and I think everyone had a great time.  I really fell down on the job and wish I had taken some pictures but for some reason, I didn't.  My only regret, sadly.  

So long Myakka, it's been real.

Next stop - Ocala Park again 

then on to Pensacola RV Park..

Seffner FL - finally!

June 3, 2016

We picked up the car and stayed a few more days at Lakeside RV Park in Livingston LA.  It was a quiet and relaxing few days because the next few weeks would be plenty busy.

So once again headed toward Seffner FL, fingers crossed that nothing else would hinder our travels.

We arrived at Lazydays on Friday June 3 and parked our motorhome in their parking lot and went to a motel for a few days.  On Saturday, our 2 beagles and cat went to the kennel PartOfTheFamilyKennels.com so we could give our full attention to our consultant on Monday.  They were so excited they didn't even say goodbye!  Meanwhile, we found out that our RV refrigerator was not working on propane, so we emptied it out and packed the fridge at the motel and a cooler for the rest.  And added the fridge to the list of repairs.  

We spent time at the campground  

And the repair bays  

Endured lots of rain

 

We waited for the warranty company came out to inspect the coach and they approved of almost everything.  So we waited while parts were ordered and the work completed.  From the Repair Shop to Chassis Shop and Cabinetry Shop, everyone did a great job.

We saw this:

I was curious so I looked it up.  Turns out it's a mobile eyeglass lab run by the Glazer Family Foundation which was created by Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Malcolm Glazer.

On July 11, we were finally off to 

Whitney Point NY.

See You Soon!

We're Still Here

We are still waiting to take off on our adventures, but it seems that one thing or another is delaying our exit. Lazydays is doing everything they can, but geting appointments for off-site work at Cummins and Freightliner is causing some delays.  The work is minor, so everything should be in perfect working order once we are off.  We will head on out of Florida and head west until spring.  Luckily we have no schedule and our stay is free.  They gave us a rental one day and also put us up at Country Inns one night.  Right now we're waiting for an appt with Freightliner so they can fix the cruise control.  Since we have no where to go while it's being repaired, I hope we can stay at Country Inn again - it was really nice!

In the meantime we had time to take the dogs to a pet-friendly beach in Ponce Inlet.  Wilbur and Louise had never seen the ocean.  Ken took them in the water, but they seemed more interested in the surrounding vegetation.

When we first arrived in Tampa, we took some time to take a drive and see the Gulf.  The beach and park were deserted so it was all ours to explore.  I wasn't used to the heat and the wind, but it felt good.  I HATE being cold, so I can get used to this. 

My brother Ken also took us to Ponce Inlet for dinner at Inlet Harbor. What a gorgeous breezy evening on the water.  This is not a vacation, we don't have an agenda, and we don't have to go home because we don't have one!  We're home wherever we park - and that is how we planned it all this time - how great is that??

The other day, we went to the tax collector's office in Tampa to get our car registered and driver's licenses. What a zoo but at least that's done, because we have no idea when we'll be able to take care of it otherwise.








Yesterday we put the pets in daycare and drove over to Daytona Beach to pick up the rest of our boxes that we had shipped down here in September.

We spent most of today unpacking and putting everything away and believe it or not, we still have lots of storage.  I guess we did a pretty good job of getting rid of everything we don't need.  Our life is in these 25 boxes. We shipped our clothes, Christmas decorations, kitchen items (I even bought the pasta maker), towels, coffee maker, radio, office supplies, files, who knows what else.

I did have to buy sheets because we didn't know what size bed we'd get (it's an RV King, narrower than a regular King and had to be ordered), but see how much storage is underneath?  The bed was loaded with decor pillows and bedspread, plus the pillows I bought, so they all went under the bed.






We also bought lots of RV supplies like hoses and such, lounge and recliner chairs (I had to have both, cause you never know).  And today we roasted a chicken in the slow cooker.  No tricks, just place seasoned chicken over vegetables and cook on high a couple hours - perfect every time.

I think we are finally done spending.  Now we're just waiting for an appointment with Freightliner so they can fix the cruise control.  It might be a few weeks before it gets in, but we're in no hurry and they're letting us stay for free, so we'll make the best of it until we're on the road. And our dogs approve.