We're On The Move!

It’s hard to know even where to begin.  As you know from previous entries, we’ve been living in the coach since mid October.  There were all kinds of repairs, delays, appointments with Cummins and Freightliner, all in order to get the coach ready for us to drive away. We got our Exit Pass on Monday November 9 so we could drive the coach off the lot, finally.

       The next morning a tech came to show us how to hitch up the car

and we were on our way!  Our delivery specialist Marroe made it all happen by annotating and scheduling all the repairs, appointments with Cummins and Freightliner, coordinating all aspects of the coach to get it ready for us to take it off the lot.

We finally took off around 10:30 am on November 10, 2015 while the tech watched us go.

 I nearly cried as we drove off the lot and out into the world to meet our future. We waited more than a year for this moment to arrive.  So much preparation, so much work, selling, storing, giving away, all with this goal in mind.  

                            

On our way out of the park, we just handed our ExitPass to the gate.

                                 And we are out and on our way.  We're finally freebirds!

So long Lazydays.  You treated us well.

We can even watch our car.  If we don't see it, we're in BIG trouble!

                                                 Our first rest stop to water the dogs.

We decided to take 2 days to the campground at Topsail Hill Preserve State Park so we stopped at Loves Truck Stop in Lee FL. 

Since there are no hookups, we used our generator to keep the lights and air conditioners on.  Not a big deal, but taking the dogs out at night was a challenge, dodging 18 wheelers, going in between them hoping not to be crushed, and watching out for snakes and alligators in the field.  Can’t be too careful! Boondocking our first night out, priceless. Parking without putting out the slides, double priceless.  End of Day 1!

We finally arrived at Topsail Hill State Park around 2pm. We didn’t realize we crossed a time zone, so we arrived an hour early.  

Getting closer and closer...











The campground didn’t seem to mind we were an hour early, so check-in was a breeze.  We managed to unhook our car without looking like fools and proceeded to our campsite after I, driving the car, got us lost for a bit.  But we made it and while I was parking the car, Shelly didn’t even bother to wait for me and proceeded to back the rig into the site.  Piece of cake.

And once again, we didn’t look like idiots.  We auto leveled the coach, put out the slides, hooked up the electric and water.  When it’s time to dump the gray and black tanks, we’ll get out the new sewer hose and figure out how that works!  We were too tired too tired to cook by then so we ordered the worst pizza ever.  End of Day 2 accomplished.

Yesterday (Thursday) we pretty much got settled, opened the awnings, got out the chairs, went shopping for food and other necessities and hung around outside in the evening.  I bought a lantern and tablecloth for the picnic table, so it looks quite homey already! 

Santa Rosa Beach is about 7/10^th of a mile from here and I started to walk down, but it was almost 4pm so I stopped at a bench to send a text and lo and behold, a ranger went by and picked me up.  I met another couple who aren’t sure where they’ll go next.  They are full timers and we’re just starting out but I think we’re going to like this lifestyle...Til next time...

tomorrow

Well, tomorrow the saga at Lazydays ends and our future begins. We stayed in the bays last 2 nights while the tile in front of the fridge set.  It rained most of the afternoon, so we shopped for a few things for dinner this afternoon. I bought honey and lemon juice to make Bees Knees , thanks to Tom (and Nina) for the recipe: 2 oz gin, 3/4  oz honey, 1/2 oz honey.  Mix FIRST, then shake with ice and strain into a martini glass. Don't be like me and fill the cup with ice first. The honey solidified, so don't do it...

Lucky deal -the tile that was replaced didn't get scratched when the slide was closed.  Glory day!  Winnebago is known for this problem so they started replacing the tile with carpet.  So we're good.

So we have our Exit Pass.  This is really it, the end.

We'll be back in a few weeks to have a window replaced so we'll be staying at Topsail Preserve RV Park near Tallahassee for 10 days at Santa Rosa beach. 

wish us luck tomorrow!

What We've Been Doing

Well we soon may be on our way, but I'll recap what we've been up to this past week to while away the time.  The coach was at Freightliner for a few days to work on the cruise control, so Lazydays put us up at the Comfort Inn and Suites for 2 days.  It was nice to live in luxury for a couple days, but we were glad to get back "home".

Ken came to visit this past Friday and stayed over until Saturday. We've been over to Daytona Beach 3 times so we plan to head north when we leave.  We had dinner at Exit 10 in the campground next door...

It's decorated like an RV and their food is pretty good!

We took the pups to a local dog park that is huge!  They've never been to a dog park so I thought the dogs would just run their hearts out but no.  They mosied along with their noses to the ground until they were as far away as they could get.  There was 1 other dog there and it turns out his owner is from upstate NY and moved down here last February. 

Another day I decided to use our crockpot to cook a chicken and vegetables. It made the coach smell wonderful, like home.  Isn't that the point? 

The dogs are lovey dovey and seem to enjoy being in the coach.  They are always excited to go out for a walk in new places!

We are in the bay for a couple days while the tile by the fridge sets.  There doesn't seem to be anyone else here and it's quite silent because it's Sunday.  We had gin and tonics with a twist of lime while we watched the rain outside (a rarity around here).

The view from our coach.  Just a bunch of bays with coaches, 5th wheels and trailers being worked on.  No one is here on Sunday, so it's very quiet. 

We've been told we can leave tomorrow.  We made a reservation for 7 days at Topsail Hill Preserve on Tuesday. We'll stay at a truck stop for the night and go the rest of the way on Tuesday.  We'll see how it works out and let you know!   

We hope to be on our way so we can document our journey!

  

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.

Perpetual vacation

Much has happened in the past few years, but the short story is we decided to travel fulltime in a motorhome more than a year ago.  It was a long and arduous journey - selling, storing important items, shipping everything for the motorhome to Florida so I'm sure my brother may never speak to me ever again, and getting rid of the rest via donation, selling or letting the picker take the rest.

                Let me give you the short version.  Last summer we decided to get the house ready to sell.  We had already put in a new tankless water heater and new Rinnai boiler that also hangs on the wall, very state of the art.  We had the landscaping redone and steps to the backyard rebuilt.

We hired another contractor came in and cleaned out the pond, added a fountain to aerate it, then we added 6 Koi last year and 4 big ones this summer.

They all seem to be thriving, and once we fished out about 3 dozen catfish, the goldfish started growing and propagating.  We also had the decks and most of the inside repainted, insulation added, driveway resealed, and many other upgrades

When all the work was finished,  we finally put up the house for sale in August 2014 just before Labor Day.  Not a good time and the only potential buyer was turned off by the smell of smoke, so we took it off the market for the winter.

I had my left hip replaced on March 17 2015 and told my family to destroy any ashtrays and cigarettes, so I have been smoke free since.  Think of the money I've saved, my health restored, and the house smelling fresh and smoke-free! But it's ironic that the buyers both smoke.

We have also shipped 25 boxes to my brother in Florida which will get when we have a home.  We'll go shopping when we get there to find a Class A RV for our home for the next few years.

After the picker came and took away all the books and much more...

Empty spaces, everything gone.

Mementos are now in storage...

an empty house symbolized by an empty closet.

The car is packed for the trip to Florida.  Can you see one of the dogs in the picture?  Don't worry, they had plenty of room on their plush dog beds behind the front seats and the cat ran free.








And.....off we go to greet our future!

9/11

I have no photographs, they are on a locked external hard drive  that cannot be opened.  I have pictures of the WTC site, the trees being delivered to the Winter Garden after it was destroyed, views of the Hudson River from my apt in Battery Park City where I lived.  I have many photos of the memorials hung on the fence at St. Paul Chapel from all over the world, all gone.  But memories linger, never forgotten.

 

So let me tell you my story.  In the spring of 2001, we decided to move to NYC to give Carla opportunities to pursue her dream of singing and acting, but decided not to make the move until my other daughter Nina graduated from HS in June 2002, so we had a year to plan.  My father has passed away on Christmas day 2000, so we had no reason to stay in Chambersburg PA - no family, few friends.  We decided to finish work on the house we had purchased to make more living space before putting the house up for sale and moving to NYC. 

 
Then 9/11 happened.  I was at work, and the nearby Army depot was closed for lockdown.  We kept refreshing our computer screens for the latest information and realized we were being attacked!  At home Lily was having kittens, so Shelly had no idea what was happening.  Our office closed, and I spent the rest of the day watching TV and for the next few days, weeks, stunned. 
We stopped, we evaluated, we pondered, then after a couple weeks decided to continue with our plans.  We finished the house, put it up for sale on Valentine's Day in 2002 and it sold within a week, not what we expected.  We ended up with 4 people cramped in a 2 room apt for 4 months in anticipation of moving to NY.  We finally moved in the spring of 2002 to a 1 BR apt in Battery Park City, across the street from the WTC site.  It was on the Hudson River Esplanade, with views of the river, marina and Winter Garden.  It doesn't get better than that - a doorman building with great neighbors that I will never forget. The front of the building where I lived was blown off from the collapse of the WTC buildings, but it was repaired by the time we moved in.   I got a transfer to the Social Security office in Midtown off Times Square and life was great.  But the stories of the residents and my co-workers will haunt me forever. 

 

 On the 1st anniversary of 9/11 attacks, our neighborhood was inundated with TV trucks parked everywhere, so we went to a local pub to have dinner.  The place was crammed with people, firefighters and police officers and everyone was having a riotous drunken time after the ceremonies, until a bagpipe group walked through.  I will never forget the tears of grown men that night.  I will never forget walking past the pit every day on the way to work.  I will never forget the streets being watered to keep the dust down, the sound of fire sirens when a body is found, the 24 hour lights as workers searched for remains and hauled debris. 

   

  The lights of the towers will forever haunt me.  I was there, and saw them and was awed to tears.  I walked past the pit every day on they way to work.  I saw the crowds of people who came downtown to see the pit.  I saw hawkers selling books, t-shirts and hats.  It was like a circus, but I sympathized with the tourists who came.  They needed to come.  Most of them.  I didn't mind that they invaded my neighborhood, blocking my way to work.  They needed to be there.  It was reverent. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can never forget those days.  

I don't have the pictures, 

but I have the memories.  

Peace.

gah, it's been sooo long!

Where has the time gone?  Why have I not posted here in a millenium?  Taxes.  That's it.  I started inventory the beginning of the year and have been plugging away in between orders ever since.  I finally submitted them last Thursday through TurboTax and will wait to be audited. 

So what else have I been up to?  We found out we needed to buy new tires soon and needed to replace damaged brake linings on the Kia Sportage.  Nice car, right?

So instead of buying tires and brake linings we have to save up for, what did we do?  We bought a new car instead!  Hey, isn't that the best solution?  Help the economy, that's #1. 

Well actually, it's a bigger car, more space for when I do shows and especially when I need to take my tent.  The payments are a little bit less, we got a great trade-in, so it's all good.  Not that I'm doing a lot of shows this year, but I do have a couple outdoor shows.  So that settles that. 

What else?  Orders have been coming in at a good clip this year, and it looks like this year is going to be even better than last year.  I've had a little bit of time to experiment and added a few unique fragrances to my line (Play Dough, for one.  I know, wierd, but I had to have it.)

I've developed a new design for larger diameter candles, the Endless Candle.  It involves a special technique so that a tea light can be placed in the center of the candle without burning the main candle.  I developed it because I cannot find a wick large enough for a 4" diameter candle to burn properly, but the process can also be used in a 3" diameter candle.    

I've also begun making 2-tone soy candles for Kim at http://www.weddingfavorsjustonline.com/unitycandles.html  She does stunning designs on some of the candles I make for her. 

I'll be getting ready for the Indie Garage Sale coming up this month in Utica NY  http://indiegaragesale.org/.  And I'll have lots of new fragrances and blends available, including the aforementioned Play Dough and designer fragrances.  Stop by and say hello!  Mention this blog and receive a 10% discount. 

Thanks for stopping by, and now that the holidays and taxes are finally behind me, I'll have more time to talk to you soon.

Happy spring!

marty