About Our Home

    I’ve been asked about living as a full time RVer. Things like “Do you still like it?”, “How can you stand not having a house to come ‘home’ to?”, and “What’s it like living in your RV?”. So I thought that I would take this blog to answer these questions. 

    First of all, yes we still love our lifestyle. We have met some of the nicest people and seen some memorable sights since embarking on this adventure. The relaxed pace of life now is wonderful and I don’t miss the stresses and demands of a daily job. 

    “Are we ever bored?” There are times when I feel that I should be out “tinkering” or doing something, but I can’t say we’ve ever felt bored. There’s always something going on in the campground or around the various areas that we have stayed. We have access to internet and satellite TV, so we don’t feel like we’re missing out on anything. We do miss friends and family, but there’s this thing called Skype for the computer that lets us video conference with them and keeps us in touch. 

    Neither of us really misses our “stick and brick” house. While we really liked the “farm”, it took a lot of TLC. Living in a 40’ motorhome significantly reduces the amount of TLC that has to be applied. Housecleaning is a snap and doesn’t take all that long. You don’t have a yard to maintain and care for. Not to mention the difference in the hit to my wallet for taxes and such. 

    Which leads me to the last question. “What’s it like living in a motorhome?”. My first reply is, no different than in any other home. We have a living room, dining room, kitchen, bath, and bedroom just like a stick house. Our house just has the option of driving away if we so choose to. Our coach is 40’ long (outside measurements) and is about 8 1/2’ wide when folded in for travel. This leaves a narrow hallway between the drivers cockpit and the back bedroom. During travel, the passenger can get up and get something from the kitchen or go to the bathroom. For lunch, a quick stop at a truck stop or rest stop along the highway lets the driver get up and stretch. Fire up the onboard generator and you can run any appliance in the coach. This includes the heater or AC (depending on what time of year it is and where we are), the convection oven/microwave, and TV’s (We have an ‘in motion” satellite dish which technically means that passengers can watch TV while the coach moves down the road. For obvious safety reasons, the front TV is inoperable when the coach is in motion.) When we get to a campground, we have self leveling hydraulic jacks that level the coach and we have four slide outs; two in the front and two in the back bedroom. When these go out, we are about 15’ wide. This allows us to be very comfortable in what amounts to a small apartment. Hook up water, electricity, and the waste water system and you have a very comfortable home. 

    The view from mid-coach forward. The big TV is mounted up front. There is a DVD player up front that can play in any TV in the coach. There are opaque shades that can be drawn to reduce bright sun or for nighttime. As you can see from above, the shades even cover the front windshield. 

    Turning around on the passenger side of the coach is the kitchen. The four drawers in the foreground all pull forward to reveal an extension to the countertop. Along the wall, at the center of the picture is the mid-coach TV. It is smaller than the front TV but is the unit connected to the surround sound system. Not sure why Tiffin did it this way, but they didn’t ask me my opinion. The floor is ceramic tile, very easy to clean and care for after the dog comes in from her walk. 

Across from the kitchen is the dining area. The refrigerator is a residential style unit. In other words, it is just like you would have in a stick home, with an ice maker and cold, filtered water. Tiffin added two batteries in the coach just to run the fridge while traveling. The dining room table doubles as a computer station and has drawers that hold the printer and outlets for the computers. The table can actually pull out and we have two more chairs that we can put out for guests. The couch to the right fold out to a full sized queen bed. 

Behind the kitchen is the bathroom. On one side is a sink and the shower (with the curved glass surround). Above the shower is a skylight that can be opened or closed depending on your mood or need for light. 

    Immediately across from the shower is the toilet. Here, there is another sink and cabinets for storage. The window is frosted and lets in quite a bit of light. 

    The bedroom includes a queen “Sleep Number” bed. The closet is behind the mirrored sliding doors and holds our hang up clothing You can see the bedroom ceiling fan reflected in the mirror. 

    Across from the bed is yet another TV and dresser drawers The big closet on the right can hold an RV washer/dryer but we chose to put shelves in it and use it for more storage. The dog sleeps in her crate in the lower left. 

    And if 3 TVs are not enough, there’s a fourth one built in to the side of the coach on the outside (great for watching the races!). There’s also a large awning to protect you from the elements. 

    So, all in all, not a bad way to see the country. 

Same Stuff, Different Day

    Happy St. Patrick’s Day! It’s been a while since I’ve had anything to really write about. Since the kids left, it’s been positively quiet. The weather’s been predictable and very enjoyable. We spent a week or so in the Tampa area at Lazydays RV dealer and campground. This is one monstrously huge RV dealer. They have a Flying J gas station, Cracker Barrel restaurant, Holiday Inn Express, 300 site RV Park with full hook ups, and one of the largest RV dealerships that I have ever seen. They handle all manner of RV’s, from 45’ long high end coaches to fifth wheels and travel trailers. Our coach, made by Tiffin, is one of the lines that they carry and service. In fact, they are the largest dealer of Tiffin products in the country. Those that own certain coaches are members of the Crown Club. These folks have their own set of service bays, separate area to park while getting their coach serviced, and the Crown Club facilities. These facilities include a heated pool, large lounge areas with big screen TVs and wireless internet, and complimentary breakfast, lunch, and happy hour (all three prepared by a professional chef on site!). Helps ease the pain and trouble of having service work done. They also offer a full range of RV related classes in a spacious classroom. The hottest class offered is the Drivers Confidence course. Here you go through a morning of classroom instruction followed by an afternoon session of driving a full size motorhome. We took the course and it was great! I’ve logged thousands of miles in various motorhomes over the years and I learned quite a bit. The upside also is that our insurance company now will give us a discount for taking the course! 

    After Tampa, we motored over to Davenport, FL. This is a little community just south of Orlando. We chose to stay in a CareFree RV park there because we will be working for the CareFree organization this summer in New Jersey. This was an opportunity to see how they run their parks and also we got a good price for a month stay. We’ve met several folks here that work at Disneyworld (it’s only a short 15 miles away). We’re tossing around the idea of applying to see if they need some help later this fall. We’ve also met a very nice lady from Bella Terra Resort in Gulf Shores, AL. We’ve seen this place and really like it and its location. She says they are interested in work campers and took our information. We may be there next winter. Who knows? That’s the beauty of the lifestyle. You can be flexible and go with the flow. 

    Our next big adventure comes later this coming week. We’re going to fold up the motorhome, board the dog, and take off for a week in Ireland. We got a really good package deal out of Orlando (hence, another reason we ended up here in Davenport for a month!). We fly in to Dublin, rent a car, then drive around the country for a week. We’ll stay in beds and breakfasts up until the next to last night when we will stay in Ashford Castle. Then back to Dublin for the return home. We’ll take plenty of photos and write about it in a later blog. 

Disney Dreams

   Well, we’ve had a great time! As alluded to in the last posting, we headed to Sanford in preparation of the kids’ arrival. We spent some of our time there cleaning up and getting ready for feeding and housing 6 more people for a week. On the appointed day, we broke camp and headed to the campground on Disney property, Fort Wilderness. 

    Luckily, in our week prior, we took a trip to the campground and scoped it out. We looked for sites that gave us the most room, yet were near the showers and bus stops. Armed with our list, we were able to suggest a few campsites upon check-in and we got our first pick! 

    The Disney sites are all paved roads with large concrete pads. As you can see from above, they were big enough for the rig and the Jeep, and still had room behind for a picnic table and tent. Full hook-ups for the coach and lots of trees for shade. We set up camp and had just sat down to relax, when the kids arrived on the Disney shuttle. We took the rest of the day to get everyone settled in and then to bed early for a very early morning wake up. Off to Magic Kingdom. The neat thing about staying on Disney property, is that you can park your car and take advantage of Disney transportation. You can get anywhere on Disney using the Transportation Center (and not have to pay $14 per car per day in the parking lots!!).  From Fort Wilderness, you can get on the boats and cross the lake to Magic Kingdom. We did just that. A few in our party had never been to Disney, so the excitement was contagious. Tori, the five year old, was probably the most excited and didn’t really know what to expect. 

    Now, I’ve been to Disneyworld more times than I can count and, frankly, the excitement had dimmed a bit for me. If you are in that position, I highly suggest that you go see it with a first timer five year old! We held hands as we entered the gates and the look on her face as she got her first glimpse of Cinderella’s Castle actually gave me goosebumps. The wide eyes and open mouth betrayed her sheer joy with the sights around her. As we walked down Main Street, she pointed right and left highlighting the characters she saw or the things in the windows. I couldn’t get a word in edgewise. 

    Everybody knows that one of the main goals during your first trek to Disney is to see the characters and get their autograph. We were no exception. Armed with a series of pre-cut papers, we set out to see who we could find. 

    With an early morning wake-up and all of the energy we were expending, some of us had to take a break. 

    But while Belle napped, Tori caught up with Jessie from Toy Story. This is one of her favorite characters. 

    After the nap, Belle was refreshed and we took on “It’s a Small World”--the ride with the theme that sticks in your head like glue. Belle was fascinated with all of the motion and colorful figures. 

    She was even pretty good while standing in the inevitable lines.

    During the afternoon parade, Chip (or is it Dale?) came off the float and convinced Belle to show her best dance moves. 

    Both Tori and Belle got to go to a character lunch. I was a little afraid that Belle would be afraid of the characters, but I needn’t of worried. She loved them all!

    As night fell on the Magic Kingdom, the moon rose over Space Mountain.

    After their first full day, both girls were worn out, but mom and dad kept smilin’.

    Next morning, it was off to a Breakfast with the Princesses! Tori and Belle were decked out in their finest. 

    Among those she met were Belle, from Beauty and the Beast. 

    Not to be outdone, Shawn said “Hi!” to Snow White. 

    Later we visited with Tinkerbell and some of her friends. 

    Then, of course, what’s a visit to Disney without visiting with Mickey and Minnie??

    Whatcha going to do on a hot afternoon??

   After a week in Disney, while Barb and I moved to a new campground, the kids went to Daytona and visited the beach. Beats the cold Kansas weather!

    We finished up our Florida adventure with a drive to Crystal River to share our enjoyment of swimming with the manatees. Unfortunately, the waters had warmed a bit since I was last there in January and all but two of the manatees had left. The kids were a bit disappointed but made the best of the trip.  We then had lunch at “the World’s Largest McDonalds”.  Then it was up early the next morning as everyone headed home, tired but happy having experienced the magic of Disney!

Vacation from our "Retirement"

    After months of driving from place to place, touring Battlefields, and sampling local cuisine, one needs to take a break (lol!). So, we met up in Miami with our world traveling friends, Geoff and Brenda, and boarded the Norwegian Cruise Line’s newest ship, the Epic, for a 7 day Caribbean cruise. The ports of call for this trip were St. Maarten, St. Thomas, and Nassau. Now the Epic is the largest cruise ship that I have ever sailed on. Rated for 4,100 passengers, 1,081 feet long and weighing in at 155,873 tons. I’m still not sure that I ever really knew where everything was on the ship, even after 7 days. It was, however, the most interactive ship that I’ve ever been on. All over the ship there were TV touch screens where you could enter a room number or location that you wanted to find (like a specific restaurant or theater) and it would give you a map as to how to get there. Kind of onboard GPS. The other interesting thing about sailing with NCL is what they call “Freestyle Cruising”. That means that you can eat whenever and wherever you wish. No set dining room or time. The downside is that they are trying something new with the Epic. There is the ever-present Buffet, but only a couple of free “formal” dining rooms. There are many specialty restaurants that offer meals for a charge. They also require a reservation. They have an Ice Bar onboard. Everything is made of ice! They give you a parka to put on when you go in. Again, there is a charge and reservation required. With your $20 fee, you get two drinks, but only 30 minutes to consume them. Then you’re out and the next group comes in. The entertainment varies each night, but the big draw was the Blue Man Group!! It is the real thing! Reservations required of course, but the show is free. We saw them on the first night out and the show was fantastic! Afterwards the Blue guys came out for a meet and greet. Still in character, they don’t smile or speak, but they can say a lot with their eyes.

Watch out if you ask for an autograph. You get to find out what it’s like to be “Blue”.

   WARNING: The remainder of this blog features images of warm sand beaches and people enjoying them. Those of you buried in snow up to your @$$ and cold temps may feel the urge to punch the computer screen...

    The upper deck mid ship, in addition to the usual swimming pools and hot tubs,  featured a climbing wall and a set of waterslide tubes. We had a great time using them while the ship was docked in Nassau. 

Lit up by night...

The center of the ship, in the Grand Atrium features a crystal chandelier that is white during the day and changes colors throughout the evening. 

In our first port of call we took a small boat out and snorkeled around the reefs. The waters were rough going out of the harbor, but soon smoothed out as we rounded the island. 

Barb bought a new underwater camera and this was the first chance to try it out. So far we’re pleased with its pictures. 

Part of the trip included a mud bath. We imagined a puddle of mud that you rolled around in but that was not the case. The dirt of the island consists of ground corals and other minerals. The environmental authorities on the island no longer allow wholesale “rolling” in them, but our Captain had a bucket of dirt that he mixed up into a mud solution. You then lathered it on, all over your body. It doesn’t stain and just feels a little gritty going on. The more you rub it in, the better the exfoliation effect. 

Next you go into the sea and wash it off. Its effects are amazing. Your skin feels smooth and soft, like you just bathed in lotion! We had a great time with this unique experience. 

    After another snorkel, we sped off to Pinel Island and laid out to enjoy the sun and warmth before returning to our ship. 

    Now anyone who has cruised know that your room stewards usually leave you a towel animal when they turn down the beds at night. Ours was no exception. (There was even a seminar on how to make towel animals and a $9.99 DVD you could buy for your future entertaining.) Here are just two of them. 

St. Thomas was our next stop. Here we took a Kayak tour of the Mangrove preserve. It included some interesting education on the Mangroves and their purpose in keeping the island clean and safe. Here’s our friends, Brenda and Geoff, setting off on their adventure. 

We were still held up in “traffic”. 

In addition to the snorkeling, we took a hike in the Cas Cay Wildlife Sanctuary. Didn’t see much wildlife, but did have some pretty great views. 

You could get remarkably close to the marine life...

This is not cloudy water, it is a humongous school of fish. All of them about an inch or two long. 

Then back to the ship for a two day sail to Nassau. While at sea, there was a unique seminar where you could meet the guys behind the Blue Man Group! Blue Men without the makeup. It was very informative and entertaining and they didn’t look anything like I thought that they would. The guy on the far left is one of the band members and the next three are the Blue Men. The guy on the far right is the one that is pictured with me at the top of this blog. 

We didn’t do much in Nassau as we’ve been there a few times. After a quick trip to the Straw Market in port, we took the opportunity of a relatively empty ship to use the water slide and hot tubs. We were moored next to Disney’s big ship, the Disney Dream. It is unique as it has some characters along the stern of the ship appearing to paint the logo. 

But, all too soon, the cruise was over. We came back to Miami and had to part ways with our friends. We took them to the Airport in West Palm Beach, picked up the dog from boarding, the motorhome from storage, and pressed on to Sanford (near Orlando). We’ll stay there a week or so getting ready for the next big adventure... DisneyWorld with the family.