Old Florida

Old Florida lives! I found it recently at Lochloosa Harbor Fish Camp. It's located about 30 minutes southeast of Gainesville along US 301. It's a quiet, laid-back kind of place where everyone says "yes, ma'am" and "no, ma'am" and all are welcome.

Inside the general store you can buy fishing lures and other gear or get one of Laurie's (the owner) homemade Italian subs.

You can sit outside with a beverage of your choice and solve world problems with other visitors and residents.

They have a great little RV park with sites right on Lochloosa Lake.

If you don't have an RV, you can rent one of the cabins that include air conditioning and a screened-in porch with a great view of the lake and the beautiful sunsets.

And of course, you can fish, either from your own boat or one of their rentals.

This was definitely one of my more relaxing weekend getaways and I can't wait to go back. Next time I'm bringing my hammock :)

Armadillo Killer

Well, I'm okay, and the RV has been repaired (it could have been a lot worse), but I'm not sure the armadillo lived to tell about it. Last Sunday morning, on a dark, wet drive home from work, I came upon an armadillo smack dab in the middle of the road. I knew I couldn't avoid him completely, but I did try to at least straddle him. Apparently, when frightened these little devils jump up and that seems to be what he did because I heard a horrible thunk. I figured I must have glanced off him with a tire and since nothing seemed to be affected in the driving of the van, I continued on home. At home I did an exterior inspection and found no damage to the body, but when I went to hook up my sewage line, I discovered both valves were open and, upon further inspection, saw that the gray water pipe underneath the van was completely broken apart at the Y that joins the gray pipe from the kitchen sink and the gray pipe from the bathroom sink. My heart just sunk. I called over my neighbor Ken, who happens to be a certified RV technician, and had a complete meltdown in front of him. Being the great guy that he is, he recognized a tired night shift worker and told me to go to bed and get some sleep, we'd be able to fix it.

The next day, Kenny and I tracked down the parts and supplies needed to make the repairs and Thursday we got at it. As it turned out, the gray pipe at the kitchen tank was also busted and I could see exactly where the armadillo had hit that part of the pipe. How that section of pipe broke away completely without also destroying the gray tank itself is beyond me. Suffice to say it could have been a whole lot worse.

Four hours later I was back in business all for right around $300 parts and labor. The next time I see one of those little armored bowling balls in the road, you can bet I'll do everything I can to stop before I hit him. 

Work, Sleep, Repeat

I'm a registered nurse and I used to be on the float team at a large hospital in Tampa. The parking situation for an RV wasn't ideal and it was only 11 miles from my homesite so I drove my car back and forth each day. Earlier this year, our newer, smaller hospital (same corporation) decided to start a float team and offered me the job (they only have one float nurse per shift and I'm it at night). This hospital is only about 15 miles from my homesite, but because the drive is through more rural areas, it can take me 30 minutes each way. That's an additional hour each day to my already long 13-hour days (nights). When the weather finally cooled off, I asked our head of security if I could park my RV in the parking lot during the day and sleep, then just come in to work at night. He did me one better and told me the perfect place to park during the days - in a quiet section of the parking lot next to the retention pond. So at night I park in the gated, patrolled employee parking lot and during the day I drive around the hospital to the back and spend the day there. It's actually quieter there than at my homesite: no talking people or barking dogs around during the day, interrupting my sleep.

Places for Stuff

The electric sofa in the back of my Pleasure-Way Plateau TS can be made into a single bed, two twin beds, or one king bed. I just fold it out to single bed size since that's all I need, and I still sleep in my Travasak, which I discussed in an earlier post. In the picture below you can see the sofa and the two side seats that can be used to make twin beds or a king bed and that I have repurposed for my own needs.

In the next picture, you can see how I have turned the removable table top upside down and placed it on the side seat on the passenger side of the van to use as a bedside table. That metal piece in the center is the part that gets screwed into a table leg. When the sofa is folded out to bed formation, the sofa seat butts right up to that side seat.

On the side seat on the driver side of the van, you can see in the picture below that I have put two stackable wicker drawer units. On top of those two units I have a tray that holds my Altec Lansing iPod speaker and a clock. Behind the speaker is a power strip for all the electronics and also my DSL box. The clothespins you see around the curtain are holding a sunscreen that I use to keep out sunlight when I'm parked at work and trying to sleep during the day (more on that in a later post :).

That's a pretty sterilized picture of that area. Here's what it usually looks like:

Sitting Pretty

One of the things I really like about my new Pleasure Way Plateau TS is the electric sofa. It's in the back of the van and sits across the width of the van. With the press of a button the seat moves forward, the back folds down and I can go from having a seating area to a bed and back again. In my old RV, the sofa was NOT electric and I just kept it folded out permanently into a twin-sized bed. With this electric sofa, I have a bed when I want to sleep and a seating area when I want to sit.

The table in front of the sofa is removable, of course, and I do not use it where it is in the above picture. Instead, I turn the tabletop upside down and keep it on the seat next to the sofa, as it is in the picture below. That way it becomes a bedside table and isn't in the way.

The upholstery is ivory ultra leather and while it is beautiful, I knew it wouldn't stay beautiful unless I covered it. So when I have it in sofa position, I keep a pretty bed quilt over it as a slipcover. I think it looks nice and because the quilt is cotton, it's comfortable to sit on.

Some Basics

First of all, I love living in my RV. I love the small space, the challenges of making it all work, the freedom of unplugging and going wherever I want and then having a home site to come back to. And I do love my home site. It's in a lovely gated RV resort in Tampa, I have great neighbors, and my site has a nice shade tree.

I am also one of the many fans of the Pleasure Way Class B RV. My first RV was a Pleasure Way and the quality and service are above and beyond, up there with Born Free and other very high-end manufacturers. At first I wasn't sure I wanted an RV on the Mercedes Sprinter chassis, but the more I looked at them and thought about it, the more I was swayed in that direction. And now that I have one, I am so pleased with my decision.

My RV is 23 feet long and eight feet wide. It drives like a dream and I get about 18 mpg on diesel fuel. Although this van doesn't have the same amount of outdoor storage I had on the Dodge van, believe you me I carry plenty of stuff in the under-sofa storage accessible via the back doors. I keep dirty outdoor items, like the power cord, in a plastic storage bin. The storage stretches toward the front, with access via a drop door under the sofa, so I can keep indoor items, like papers, videos, etc. under there, as well.

New RV

Although I loved my 1998 Pleasure Way Excel RL and lived in it full-time for over three years, I finally bit the bullet this year and traded it in for a brand new RV. I now am the proud owner of a 2013 Pleasure Way Plateau TS and I love it. The old RV, named My Way, was like my first apartment after college. I wasn't overly concerned when putting pictures up on the walls or cramming things into various nooks and crannies to keep them handy. This new one, and I admit I haven't come up with a name for her yet, is like a contemporary urban loft. I like to keep things stowed away so it stays nice and neat inside. It's sleek, shiny, and so much more updated (naturally) than the old gal. I love it even more than I thought I would. Over the next few weeks, I'd like to introduce her to you via this blog. I hope you'll see why I just love living full time in my RV.

Fun Stuff at Disney

When I visit Walt Disney World, I see and do things I just don't see and do anywhere else. Here's some of the things I saw and did this week:

This electric power transmission pole is on I-4 just outside Disney property, on the way to Tampa. Are we in Mouse Central or what?

I look at this teapot every time I go to EPCOT. It's in The Tea Caddy in the United Kingdom Pavilion, along with some other Alice In Wonderland tea items. I want it, but I'm not sure I want it enough to make room for it in My Way. I have a tea pot already, so I'd have to replace that one with this one. I'm just not sure I want to commit to ONLY having this Alice teapot and I only have room for one. So I just visit it every time I go.

Spaceship Earth is the ride inside the iconic sphere at the entrance of EPCOT and it's an educational and fun ride. It's been upgraded to include interactive elements and this picture is supposedly me in the future exploring the undersea world of Earth. You'll notice my exploring partner has no head. That's because I generally go to WDW by myself and end up riding the rides by myself. Don't feel bad for me. I do this by choice and enjoy my own company. I always talk to myself and sometimes it's the only intelligent conversation I have all day.

Wonder what I'll see and do next month...

Happiest Place on Earth

Last year I visited Walt Disney World for the first time in many, many years (like, the early 80's). I had forgotten how wonderful the Disney experience is and I enjoyed it so much I bought a Florida Resident Weekday Only Annual Pass. It cost $190 and I can go to any of the four parks (Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom) any Monday through Friday excluding certain holiday blackout periods. Since I work primarily weekends and don't particularly want to go to WDW during busy holiday periods, this passport fits my lifestyle perfectly.

I've used the passport at least 10 times since I've bought it, including going to EPCOT's Food & Wine Festival last October. I had planned on going to that three days in a row, but I ate and drank so much the first two days that I threw in the towel and came home one day early. Too much really is too much.

This week I drove over late Monday afternoon and went to Ft. Wilderness for dinner at the Trail's End Restaurant in Ft. Wilderness. It's a buffet, so again I ate way too much, but it's so good. Then I took the boat over to the Transportation & Ticket Center where I picked up a monorail to EPCOT. I had a sangria at Cava Del Tequila in the Mexico Pavilion then proceeded to walk off some of my dinner by circling around World Showcase. I'd forgotten how pretty EPCOT is at night, with all the lights around the various country pavilions.

I stayed to watch Illuminations, the fireworks show at 9 pm, then took a bus back to Ft. Wilderness. Although I've camped at Ft. Wilderness before and it's very nice, it is pretty pricey for someone like me who just needs a place to park and sleep for the night. So off to Cracker Barrel I went to park for the night.

The next morning I was up before 0600 and off to the EPCOT parking lot. I parked in my usual spot in the RV lot, right in up front, and took a shower before catching a bus to Hollywood Studios. I like to get there right when they open so I can get onto the Tower of Terror before the line gets too long. I rode that, then jumped on the Rock N' Roller Coaster before walking around a bit. I thought about eating at the Brown Derby, which I've done before, but decided to wait and try out the Tangerine Cafe in the Morocco Pavilion back at EPCOT instead.

I took the boat ride from Hollywood Studios back to EPCOT and got to Morocco right before noon. Upon a recommendation from a cast member I tried the chicken and lamb platter. It wasn't horrible, but I regretted not eating at the Brown Derby. The price was comparable and I already knew I liked the food at the Brown Derby. Oh, well, next time. I did, however, not miss the chocolate mousse at the Boulangerie Patisserie in the France Pavilion. That dessert, to me, is the best thing going in all of EPCOT. Talk about death by chocolate.

I stayed in France and watched the 20-minute movie showing beautiful scenes from the country. It was good, but I was starting to doze in my seat, so I went back to My Way for a little nap before heading back into the park for the evening. I had a late dinner of the Teriyaki Chicken Bowl in Japan, then sat and enjoyed the warm evening air and people-watching. I considered staying for the fireworks show, but decided instead to head on home to Tampa. I'd seen (and eaten) enough for one trip. I'll probably go back again next month.

There's Been A Horrible Accident!

My good friend Lynnette was born without a left arm below the elbow. She believes her mother took Thalidomide, a sedative used by pregnant women in the 1950's to treat morning sickness that was later blamed on birth defects such as Lynnette's. Having never known what it's like to have two arms or hands, Lynnette does everything any two-armed person can do. One of her many hobbies is to buy and refurbish old Scamp-type campers. I tell her she's always "busy as a one-armed camper restorer. Oh, that's right, you ARE a one-armed camper restorer!"

A couple weeks ago we were at an RVing Women Rally at Highlands Hammock State Park and she was showing me that her clock had broken. I took a picture of it and sent a text to a mutual friend saying, "There's been a horrible accident! Lynnette lost her second hand!" While our friend was initially panicked at reading the text, she laughed when she saw the picture. Technically, though, it wouldn't have been Lynnie's "second" hand, since she's only ever had one. She says if she talks to you in sign language, you only get half the story.

Attitude is everything.

Always Doing It My Way

When I bought my Pleasure-Way RV in July, 2009 I knew right away what I wanted to name her: My Way. It's a play on the brand name plus a nod to the song of the same name. I've always liked that song because it pretty much is "me". Right or wrong, good or bad, like it or not, everyone who knows me knows I live my life my way, exactly the way the song says. And yes, just as the song says, I've made mistakes along the way, but they have been (and continue to be) MY mistakes and I'll own up to them every time.

I've wanted to get a name tag for the front of the van for a long time, but never quite got around to it. Last weekend I was at the flea market and found a booth that made the tags, so I finally got one. I think it looks pretty sharp.

Cool It!

In my eternal quest to find products that suit my RV living, I am happy to report I have found yet another handy item.

I have to defrost the freezer in my tiny refrigerator every couple of months or so. It takes several hours to do this, between the actual defrosting and then the re-cooling of the fridge, so I have to put my food items on ice. Having a regular cooler, even a light styrofoam one, isn't a great solution because it takes up too much space when I'm not using it. I needed something large enough and sturdy enough to hold my food items, yet collapsible so it can be tucked out of the way when I'm done.

I found this Coleman Collapsible Cooler at Amazon and it works great. It's plenty large enough to hold all my food items plus a bag of ice to keep things cold. It has a collapsible insert that unfolds to support the bottom and sides. The cover zips closed with two zippers. It even has a hatch in the top with a velcro closing so I can access things inside without unzipping the whole cover. It was a bit pricey: just under $50 with shipping. But as we RVers all know, sometimes these specialty items are a bit more expensive, but can definitely be worth it. As it is, this cooler resides in the trunk of my car when I'm not using it. It folds flat so it takes up very little space and adds virtually no weight. It kept my food cold with minimal ice melting and no leakage whatsoever. It's a winner for me.

Waterfront Living

OMG, what a month this has been. My plans to sell the trailer I had been living in were squelched when the owner of that park sprung the news that I had to REMOVE that trailer from the park if I left. Nice, huh? The chances of finding someone who wanted to buy the trailer AND pay to move it were pretty slim (since I had paid less than $5000 for it just one year earlier), so I gave it to a neighbor who was able to remove it (at no cost to me) and use it himself for a hunting camp. Win-win. I chalked up my original cost of buying that trailer as still less than apartment rent for that year.

Then I move over to this new park and the manager starts making noises about my RV. She's concerned that it's too short (?), too old (it's a 1998), "is it self-contained?" she asks. This new park is under new ownership and the manager doesn't seem to have a clear picture of what they want. I'd like to think they want clean, quiet, employed people who will pay the rent in a timely fashion, but what do I know? After two weeks of not knowing if I could stay or not, I enlisted the assistance of one of the maintenance guys here who helped clarify things between the owner and the manager and now I have THE BEST SITE!

I am in "the ghetto", as they call it here. It's in the far back of the park, on a cul-de-sac, ON THE BAYOU (yeah, waterfront, baby), and pretty much all permanent renters here, versus older, retired snowbirds. We're all around the same age +/-, we all work, and we all like to hang out and just get along with each other. If there's a downside, it's that Hillsborough Avenue is within a few hundred yards of this section. After living off I-75, though, this highway is nothing. It has already become white noise.

I can launch my kayak right from my backyard. I can sit here and look at the water and I even heard we get manatees going by. Yes, this park and this site are a bit more expensive than my last place, but it's still less than $500 per month for site rent. The cost of electric for the first two weeks I've been here, in the dog days of summer with the a/c running? $20.

Long Time, No Blog

I am SO not into commitment. After one full year of living in a 26' travel trailer in an RV park in Wesley Chapel, I have decided to divorce the trailer, move back into My Way (my class B) and move to a different RV park on the far west side of Tampa (Westchase).

The park where I've lived for the past almost-two-years is becoming less "RV park" and more "trailer park", with an increase in questionable folks coming in and a decrease in budget on maintenance and staff. Maybe it's just a sign of the times, but I'm not happy with what the park is becoming ,so I'm getting out of here before it gets any worse.

The park I am moving to is at the top of Tampa Bay and I'll be able to put in my kayak right from the park and paddle the creek to Tampa Bay. The park is more spacious, less crowded, better staffed and cleaner than where I am now living. And yes, it is more expensive, but I'm willing to pay more to live in a nicer park. It's closer to my work, restaurants, shopping and to my friends and the beaches in Pinellas County.

My rent here is paid through mid-September and I'm going to start my lease at the new park on September 1, so I'll have time to transition. The first thing I need to do is get a shed on the new lot for storage. After that I'll be all ready to move.

So I'll be back to fulltiming it in the Class B. Actually, I've missed that and have really enjoyed the times I've taken off in it for several days at a time. I just love the simplicity of living in that really, REALLY, small space. Stay tuned.

Florida Longhorns

I suppose these are descendants of the famed Texas Longhorns, but these are right here in good, ol' FLA. Aren't they cute? But heed the sign, as I did.

Lesson Learned

Last month I took a two-week RV road trip to Hershey, PA. On my way up I was on the road three nights, dry-camping each night at either a Walmart, Cracker Barrel or highway rest area. No problems, nice and quiet, nice level parking. When I finally arrived at the Hershey High Meadow Campground, I registered and paid and then discovered I had been assigned a site so angled and uneven that no number of lynx levelers would get My Way anywhere near level. I complained to the manager, who was nice enough to move me to a more level site for the same price, but it really taught me a lesson. Now, before I plunk down my credit card, I ask permission to check out the campground first. I look at my assigned site, I check out the bath facilities, and I even carry a volt meter so I can make sure the electric box to my site is properly wired and won't fry me or my rig. Overall I make sure it's a place I want to stay regardless of the price. Having spent many perfectly fine nights dry camping for free at different spots in the past year, I now expect quite a bit more from any campground that wants me to pay to stay.

Brand-New Antiques

I hate used antiques. So old and dusty and, well, used. Antique tables made daily. NOW you're talking.

First, I'd Wash My Hands

As we're coming into cold and flu season, I figure it's my duty as a nurse to talk a little about the number one thing you can do help keep yourself from catching something - wash your hands.

The first thing we learned in nursing school was how to wash our hands. It's the best way to keep from transmitting germs from one place to another, like from a doorknob to your eyes, nose or mouth. It's the first thing doctors and nurses should do when they enter a patient's room, before they touch the patient. It's also the last thing doctors and nurses should do when they are done touching a patient and are leaving the patient's room. Frankly, anyone coming into or leaving a patient's room should thoroughly wash their hands. If you are ever a patient, don't hesitate to remind anyone and everyone to please wash their hands.

The title of this post comes from the statement we made as student nurses when we were being checked off on the various practical skills we had learned. Because our classrooms usually didn't have sinks, we'd always start off by saying, "First, I'd wash my hands" and then proceed with demonstrating the rest of the skill.

I actually learned the way the state of Florida wants healthcare workers to wash their hands when I became a Certified Nursing Assistant. It's pretty involved, but it's the right way to do it. Basically you wet your hands, add soap, work up a lather and scrub both tops and palms of hands, scrub each hand's fingernails on the opposite palm, individually scrub around the thumb with the opposite hand, and scrub your wrists up to the width of your hand. Rinse your hands and wrists thoroughly. It should take 20 seconds or the length of time it takes you to sing your ABCs. Then you dry with a paper towel, use the paper towel to turn off the faucet and open the bathroom door (if you're in a public restroom). The thing to remember is that your hands are only as clean as the last thing they touched. Period.

New Closet Drawers

I've made a change in the clothes closet of My Way. I used to have one of those three-drawer plastic storage bins in there, but that left about a foot of space between the top of the unit and the shelf of the closet. I would store my toaster oven and George Foreman grill in that space, but every time I was underway those two items would crash against the closet door. I figured it was only a matter of time before I did some damage to something so I bought a taller, seven-drawer unit. It has the same three larger bottom drawers and four smaller upper drawers all in one unit. It was 41" tall, which was a bit too tall for the closet, so I took the top drawer section off and reattached the top cover (the whole thing comes apart and goes back together). I was actually able to use just that extra top drawer to store my spices and squeeze that drawer on top of the whole unit. For extra security I use a bungee cord to hold it all in place.

Now I've got a real junk drawer for things like my utility knife, duct tape, zip ties, etc. and two more drawers that I can use for miscellaneous papers and who knows what else. The toaster oven and George Foreman are now on the shelf with my coffee grinder and two cookbooks. The stuff that was on that shelf is packed into the old TV cabinet. Somehow, it all fits and much better so than it did before.

Best Iced Tea Ever

I'm an iced tea drinker. In our hot Florida weather nothing quenches my thirst like a tall glass of strong iced tea with a big ol' wedge of lemon. I tried making sun tea once and just ended up with moldy tea. For years I used one of the electric iced tea makers where you fill the pitcher with ice and then brew the tea over it. I didn't like how the tea was immediately diluted by the ice so I'd have to use more tea bags in the brewing process. Then I started leaving out the ice and just brewing a full pitcher of straight tea. I'd leave that cool down a bit, then put the pitcher in the fridge to complete the chilling process.

Last year I read an article about cold tea brewing and gave that a try. Turns out, you don't need any heat at all to brew tea, you just need time. Take a pitcher, fill it with fresh cold water, put in however many tea bags you need for the strength you want (this will be trial and error until you hit on the right number) and put it in the fridge over night. In the morning, remove the tea bags and voila, you have cold, clear, crisp iced tea to enjoy.