Monday, January 28, 2008

Propane Day [Updated With Photos]

[See end of Blog for new Photos]

No matter how it may be represented, propane is a pretty essential ingredient of the RVer's lifestyle. It may be used to heat your unit, heat your water, run your refrigerator, cook your food or, in some cases, even run your generator. Running out of propane is not an option so when the tank gets low, it is time to correct the situation. Now for those in 5th Wheel and Trailer type RV's, this is really not too much of an issue since it is simply a matter of taking your tank(s) to have them filled; however, with a Motorhome, the tank is usually an integral part of the coach and (in most states) this means taking the entire coach to have the tank filled. Well, not a big deal you say, the coach is on wheels & you can simply drive it wherever you need to. True - and while we are traveling down the road on a routine basis, this is nothing more complicated than stopping for gasoline; however, when you've set yourself up in a location where you plan to stay for an extended period, you now have a horse of a different color. When driving down the road day after day, much of what you take with you is neatly packed away and secured, but when you're staying for more than just a day or two in one spot, the photographs are on display, appliances and cooking utensils are on counter tops or otherwise readily availble, computers are hooked up and running, awnings are out, tires are covered to prevent sun damage, there's a tow dolly to be removed (in our case), outdoor furniture to be moved, and the list goes on.


Today was propane day. A couple of hours in preparation to move the 'rig' and another couple of hours to get everything back in place upon our return - all for a 13 mile trip down the road and back (less than an hour door to door). Ah, but then we are not complaining. We did it all on a bright and sunshiny day with the temp in the 60's and we have all the time in the world. It was great to be on the road with our motorhome, for even the short trip to near Bagdad and back and upon our return, our nice neighbors, Karen and Roger from Tennessee, were kind enough to invite us for a dinner of BBQ ribs and homemade baked beans which we were quite pleased to enjoy outdoors on their picnic table [just picture that on the 28th of January].

While it may not be something that we'd want to do every day...Propane Day was really not a bad day after all!

Thanx to Candy - Photos from Propane Day: http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=1443i1v0.g5bpugo&Uy=-o9d7yr&Ux=0

Saturday, January 26, 2008

A Rainy Saturday in Florida

New Addition:25-Pint Whirlpool Dehumidifier ENERGY STAR®

Don't get the wrong idea from the title of this entry to our blog, we are still quite happy to be spending rainy days here, even with the high temp for the day hovering around only 50 degrees, as opposed to facing a possibility of snow and such for the afternoon and evening in PA! After all, the current forecast for Sunday and Monday here is temps reaching the upper 60's to lower 70's with sunshine.

So what to with a rainy day? For openers, we jump in the car, head to Interstate 10 and take the 10 mile trip East to Crestview and go shopping at Lowe's - our mission: the purchase of a dehumidifier. In all the cool days we've been experiencing (along with running heat in the RV), we've been seeing quite a bit of condensation, particularly in the front area of the coach (windshield, windows and storage compartments around the driver's and passenger's seats). After a number of discussions with some other motorhome owners, some notes Deb found in the owners' manual and some investigation on the web, we decided it would be in our best interest to do something to reduce the humidity; a major concern being not so much what we were observing on the windshield, etc., but what condensation may exist in places where we can't see it. We checked around a bit (mostly on the web) and found a unit that seemed to be best suited to our needs - hence the trip to Lowe's. We have the unit up and running and we'll be sure to report on the effectiveness we observe going forward for those of you who may be interested or have similar concerns.
The rest of the rainy day was spent mostly in a movie marathon. Deb and Candy (from the Monaco two doors down) spent the afternoon with "Steel Magnolias" and Deb and I spent the evening with "Don't Say a Word" and "Rules of Engagement" until SNL came on (as usual, not a very good show).
As I finish this entry (Sunday morning), the sun is now shining brightly and it promises to be quite a nice day. Oh, and it appears that the dehumidifier is doing a great job, there was almost no condensation on the windshield this morning and I could not find any in the other locations.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Trailers, Temps and Trips

We awoke this morning to find the temperature hovering just above the freezing point and there was evidence that it was well below that over night - frozen puddles and the like. This is not at all 'normal' for this area, but it is known to happen from time to time and although we expect another refrigerator night tonight, we should be returning to more seasonal temps after that. That being said, we still expect a high today that will be around 25 degrees warmer than what is being expected in PA and I heard a blurb on TV yesterday about some areas in the North/Central part of the US that will be going through about a week where the high temp of the day will be sub-zero. I guess we will not complain too much, especially since there was snow in parts of Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia yesterday. In our previous blog entry we shared some photos of our neighbors' rigs here in Holt and one of our readers questioned why there were no trailers among them. It just happens that most of the folks that we chat with here on a regular basis have either motorhomes or 5th wheels (and these types of RV's probably constitute around 75 or 80% of the unit population here). This seems to be the same as the general population of what we've seen on the road and other RV parks. Pictured in today's album (below) are some shots of about 1/2 of the population of trailers that are currently located here - a variety of types (see photo captions). I do believe that there is not a day that goes by that we don't see the name of a model or an RV manufacturer that we've never seen before. We've mentioned our trips to Biloxi, MS before and included in today's album are some exterior shots of the Beau Rivage casino/hotel that we've visited several times. As is frequently the case, these are photos taken through the window, while moving since it seems that no matter our original intent to take some time to look around the area and perhaps visit some other locations while in Biloxi, we get inside the casino and the next time we see the outdoors is when we're heading back home (except for those few moments when we may look out the window of our room, or the front entrance door near the lobby). Photos: http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=1443i1v0.7lsvzpk&Uy=8uuhfr&Ux=0

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Eagle's Landing RV Park - The Neighbors [Updated]

[ Chris Has a Solution - See Comments]
We've been here for well over a month now and decided it was high time that we took some shots around the park to give you a better sense of things, at least in terms of our neighbors/contacts here, but since you've already seen some of our neighbors via the recent 'Campfire' entry in this blog, today we treat you to shots of their rigs. While each of us has our own particular reasons for selecting the type and size of our RV's, it is an interesting experience to hear about what other folks think and sometimes we'll tuck away a thought or two that may be applied to our own RV, either immediately or for some future consideration.

Why is Eagle's Landing an RV Park? Thanks to a conversation with Judie and Dick, owners of this park [and Recreation USA Camping Club], there are three primary types of places to stay with your RV. An RV Park like this (and our preferred type) is a property with sites that are pretty much open (not filled with trees). There are some, not many, recreation facilities such as perhaps horseshoes and a clubhouse (like here), laundry, showers and usually a communal campfire location. This is also the type of place that we stayed at in Folkston, GA. Another type, like where we stayed in White Springs, is referred to as an RV Campground. These are generally heavily wooded, have campfire rings at each site and are frequently located at more remote locations. Finally, there is the RV Resort that will frequently include such things as pools, a host of organized activities, etc. As I said, so far the RV Park seems best to suit our needs since we're not real big on acorns dropping on our roof through the night, we prefer beaches over pools and we're not all that fond of bingo.

Time for a new challenge? You've seen Crestview mentioned in some earlier blog entries. Between here and Crestview and a bit to the North lies a community that is not large enough to support a bank but has a school, a pharmacy, a couple of eating establishments, a grocery store, a feed store and a museum. If you choose to accept it, your challenge today is to name the town, the museum and tell a bit about the contents of the museum. BTW...there was NO response to the most recent question so it is possible for someone to score twice in one day!

Unlike most of the photos we've sent your way on earlier blog entries, each of these photos has some sort of caption associated with it - usually the names that belong with the rigs.
You'll find the photos at:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=1443i1v0.ngcdpt4&Uy=63715f&Ux=0

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Campfire

Deb Tends the Fire
One of the neat things about the RV lifestyle is meeting other folks from all over the US and CA who, like us, have chosen to explore and enjoy all there is to be seen and done via living as nomads. We are, in a sense, very much like many of the American Indians of centuries gone by, the gypsies of 'old' central and Eastern Europe, or even the Huns, etc., in that we may stay in a given location for a period of time according to any or all of the weather conditions, the things there are to do and see, how much we like our neighbors, or we may simply become restless and ready to move on. I doubt that a motivation to move would ever be that the Buffalo have become scarce in the area, but y' never know!


Back to my initial point, meeting and chatting with people from other places and sharing life experiences is certainly a nice part of the experience. Sometimes it is just a short converstation with someone who is on the move and will be staying for only the night, while other times it is a series of visits over time as we walk around the park or sit around a campfire.


Monday, January 7, 2008

A Day in Destin, Florida

As We Like It!
This was our first trip with our new companion, Ms TomTom. Not having an exact destination to program into the GPS device, we entered a 'Point of Interest' that we knew about that was located along the direction we planned to explore today. The device performed flawlessly in guiding us from Eagle's Landing RV Park in Holt to the Okinawa Japanese Steak, Seafood House and Sushi Bar in Fort Walton Beach. Although we were frequently startled by the voice instructions, we were pretty amazed by the precision of the information that was provided along the way. What I have not seen as a highlight in any of the advertising for the device is the 'home' feature. After turning off the device and just wandering about for most of the afternoon, when we were ready to return to Holt at the end of the day Deb simply pressed the HOME button on the screen and we were guided through the best route for our return. At one point along the way, we decided to make a short stop at one of the National Seashore locations in this area and when we were leaving the parking lot, the GPS picked up on our sidetrack location and proceeded to guide us out of the park and back to the route home.

We had intended to spend some time on the beach today, but although the temperature and sunshine were cooperating just fine, the sea breeze was much too strong to make it comfortable and we left the beach after only about 1/2 hour; however, nothing lost - we spent the rest of the afternoon exploring Destin which is located just to the East of Fort Walton Beach. Destin is a beautiful community of streets lined with palm trees, but also highways lined with strip malls and beaches lined with condos and hotels. We managed to find some nice quiet spots here and there and Deb had the opportunity to get many shots of a cooperative Great Blue Heron and some other shore birds. We were very pleased to have had the chance to explore and enjoy Destin, but we can't imagine what a busy place this must be 'in season' with the many thousands of people that could be occupying all the huge facilities in the area, not to mention what the traffic must be like at that time.

Saturday, January 5, 2008

A Return to Milton [Update]

[The Blimp Mystery may have been resolved. See Comments section at the end of the blog.]
We previously introduced you to Old Spanish Trail about a month ago. This time we got photos of the brick road, most of which is no longer in use but parallels US 90 for several miles in this area. Following this return trip to Milton, Florida, as we were leaving the town, Deb suggesting turning on to a side street where we might be able to approach the Eastern side of the Black Water River and to our surprise and delight we discovered a stretch of the old brick road that is still in use. It does not see a whole lot of traffic since there are very few dwellings in the area and only a small marina at the end of the road segment where there evidently was a bridge that is long since gone.
Before leaving Milton, we stopped again at the Veterans Memorial Plaza that sits on the West side of the river and we were again deeply moved by the experience, especially considering that Taps began to sound just as we were walking toward the plaza.
The photo below is just a very small portion of the bricks that surround and serve as walkways through the memorial. The bricks have names of contributors and/or memorials - thousands upon thousands of people who made contributions to the creation of the plaza. While it is not possible to read most of the inscriptions from the photo, it is quite impressive to stop and read some of these and realize the magnitude of the effort that it took to complete this memorial and the number of people that were involved.
Bricks of a Different Color:


To end our day, we were suprised to have a knock on the door of our RV. Roger, one of our neighbors, had spotted a blimp flying West above the tree line following what appeared to be the direcetion of US 90, just to the North of us. While seeing a blimp is not anything particularly unusual, I'm sure this is the first time I had ever seen one flying at night (other than on TV), all lighted up. It seemed to have a name in lights on the side, but it was a bit too distant to tell if it was Goodyear or something else.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Along the Road - First Day of 2008

Mystery Road.
A Stuckey's in Bagdad?
Tonight, all across the region, we are expecting record low temps...into the teens. It is the major news item of the day and it is already below freezing at 8pm. Ok, you folks in PA and other colder areas are not impressed, but here this is indeed a serious situation. People here are simply not prepared to deal with freezing temps for more than a couple of hours at a time (this includes us). According to the local news, there are dwellings that simply have no sort of heating system and there is also the matter of animals, plants, crops, etc. Certainly there are steps being taken to minimize the impact where possible, but there is a very real chance of some crops being damaged to the point of having an impact on some food prices all over the country. It has been at least four years since this region experienced anything approaching what we'll be seeing for the next couple of days...indeed it is suspected that we may see a new record.

On New Year's Day we took a drive to Missippippi for the second time since we've been located here in Florida and Deb managed to shoot a few pictures as we traveled West along Interstate 10. Along that journey, there are many large waterways to be crossed and one series of pictures shows a newly completed bridge that replaces one that was destroyed by Katrina and just to the North of the bridge is a (lower) railroad bridge that was essentially unaffected.
The Q&A items for 2007 have been completed and Vickie is hereby declared the victor! Congrats Vickie the Victor and best of luck to each of you as we begin the next series.
In the first photo above there is an arial shot of the tail end of a length of Interstate highway that is also pictured (more than once) in the following photos. Can you associate the arial shot with the ground level shot and identify the Interstate's numeric designation and location of this section of road?

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Happy New Year

Thomas Arrives in Coopersburg, PA (not Chester)
We returned to Florida a couple of days ago after spending some time in Pennsylvania for the Holidays. Although the outbound trip went pretty much without a hitch, the return was a horse of a different color. Between delays, then cancellations, then a new flight, then more delay, lost luggage, etc., we are so happy that most of our travel these days does not involve planes and airports.


We returned to a lot of rain (much needed in may areas around this region), followed by a beautiful day on New Year's Eve, but now to be followed by an unusually cold period of a few days which is forecast to include a couple of nights of 'hard freezes' before returning to the type of weather that attracted us to this area.


Christmastide in PA was very busy, but it was nice to have some time to visit with family and to see the twins celebrate their third birtday and enjoy Christmas for the first time that they really recognized what was going on.


We'll now be returning to our explorations and you can expect to see blog entries about all the things we discover.


Have a happy and prosperous 2008!