Sunrise Morning

Early in the morning...

Here's the view from our RV front window for one of those beautiful sunrises.  I love this view!

Let me "Light" the way

What do you need to "light your way" in life?  Does it take a BIG and BRIGHT light?  For some of us…YES!

Some would say that the captains of the sea had the best method for lighting their way…the lighthouses that spatter the coastline of the United States.

We all need a method of keeping ourselves on track and helping to show us the path to take…sometimes the path less traveled.  The lighthouses are usually located along this path less traveled or at least you have to travel a road less traveled to get to them.

On a recent trip to Key West, we had the awesome experience of seeing several lighthouses along the drive home: Key West, American Shoal (off Sugarloaf Key), Jupiter Inlet, Alligator Reef (off the coast of Islamorada) and Hillsboro Inlet (near Pompano).  While I wish we could have seen all of the lighthouses along this route, but the one in Miami (Biscayne Key) had too much road traffic for us to make the trip out!  Being in Miami on a Friday afternoon…craziness for sure.

While we only took pictures of a few of these lighthouses (some were too far off shore to get a photo of and the parking for Hillsboro Inlet was awful--small parking lot with 4 hours limits and no empty slots in sight).  However, we did drive by close enough to see…but again NO photo :(

Two of the most beautiful lighthouses were the Jupiter Inlet and Key West.  While we didn't take the "tours" of the lighthouses, we do enjoy the view!  The tours all seem to be about the same…climb some winding stairs, look out at the great view and then come down (kind of reminds me of the Leaning Tower of Pisa tour).

However, these lighthouses were (are) an important part of the American landscape.  

Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse

Key West Lighthouse (taken with Instagram…which allows for the editing)

Hopefully, we'll see (and take pictures of) more East Coast lighthouses on our travels this year!

Tuesday's Travel Take

“ All travel has its advantages.  If the passenger visits better countries, he may learn to improve his own.  And if fortune carries him to worse, he may learn to enjoy it.”  Samuel Johnson

I traveled with Dave Powell, an Australian friend,  back in the day and he educated me many times over on the way AMERICANS think.  We, Americans, think we got the best…but let me tell you this, you will a lot worse and a lot better when you travel the globe.

Christtmas Tree RV

RVs...we've see them all.  During our trip to the Tampa RV show, we saw all of the NEW fangled RVs and all they have to offer.  

So what happened to the OLD RV lifestyle or how RVing began.  In fact, RVing started when some ingenious people decided to BUILD their RVs to make their camping experience more enjoyable.  Some were trailers (like the teardrops) while others were conversion vans or busses.  

In today's RV world, I was told there are basically 5 types personalities in the camping world.  Below is how it was explained to me (and I tend to agree)

- Class A - Upper class level of people (white collar) who tend to keep to themselves and stay inside their RV more than they come outside (since they have all of the amenities of HOME)

- Class C - Middle class people who want more amenities, but still want to be "camping".  These folks are friendly and you see them outside their RV (probably because of the smaller space inside).  But they are always helpful to other campers.

- 5ers - The uppercrust of pull behinds.  These folks are VERY friendly since most of them have moved up from a travel trailer.  

- Travel Trailers - Some of the best campers out there and they are the MOST friendliest campers.  They spend a lot of time outside their campers around fire pits enjoying the outdoors.

- Tent Campers - These are the TRUE RUSTIC campers.  Living in a tent and enjoying it.  Even if it rains, they seem to be having fun :)

Below is a photo of one of our neighbors!  They have taken a pickup truck bed camper and put wheels on it.  It seems to work well for him.  He is also adding A/C (one is in a box next to the camper).   Gotta love this rig...homemade and beautiful!

Orange you having FUN!

When you travel the scenic byways of the United States, you find yourself coming across many "interesting" items.  I guess this is what makes America...just that AMERICA!

While today, you don't find many builders or company's using unique architecture to draw attention to their offerings.  In fact, many communities would frown (or have passed laws to forbid such buildings) upon having buildings that are UNIQUE.  However, once upon a time…unique was GOOD!

For Florida, you'd think an Orange would surely come into play when you want to make a statement.   And sure enough...

Along US192 in Kissimmee Florida, you'll find the following Eye Full selling oranges and orange memorabilia.   If you are "seeing America", you have to stop and see places like this.  While it IS a tourist trap...it's worth a stop and a photo.

Tuesday's Travel Take

“Your true traveler finds boredom rather agreeable than painful.  It is the symbol of his liberty-his excessive freedom.  He accepts his boredom, when it comes, not merely philosophically, but almost pleasure.”  Aldous Huxley 

#travel

#freedom

Re-Org Basement

Are you organized...I mean really organized?  It helps in life and the daily activities to be organized, but I'm not sure being OVER organized is the way to go.

As most RVers know, you only have so much space (read this as weight) in the RV and that space is very precious.  In fact, you have to find a way to get everything you want into the motorhome and still make it accessible.  Accessible means...you can get to it withOUT having to take everything else out to get to it.  

Some people use plastic totes or other similar items to pack items into and to keep them organized.  However, not all of the the spaces are perfect dimensions to fit the plastic tubes without waisting space.  

When we started this RV adventure over a year ago, we spent 3 months packing, unpacking and repacking the RV so that we would only be carrying the clothes and toys we wanted (or NEEDED).  We packed away many of our off season clothes in the basement so that if we ran into weather...we'd be able to go below and get them out.

Additionally, we had to find a place for the outdoor cooking items (grill and stove).  These are a little odd in shape so they only fit in a few places.  The grill fits in the basement by the door and in the slide on the of the RV...much too far away since we try to cookout often.  So after several back and forth movements, we decided on the living side of the RV...ready to pull out and use when needed.

However, after spending the last few months in Florida, I took another look at our basement area.  The real drive was because I want to install a TV in the basement for our outdoor viewing pleasure.  Therefore, I had to pull everything out to see how I could make it work.  There are several TV mounts available to make this happen, but some of them are EXPENSIVE...and on a fixed income, you need to consider all options.   Since we are in the beginning stages of putting a TV in the basement, I find myself pondering the BEST solution.

For now, we'll just move a few things around until I can figure out a way to install the TV so that it takes up the least amount of space.

Roof Work

I once again find myself climbing up the lofty ladder at the rear of the RV.  I've made these steps MANY times over the past year.  Sometimes the trip is just to wash the roof or check on some various parts making sure everything is in order.

However, this trip to the roof was to do a little preventative maintenance.  You see, the roof is a VERY important part of the RV.  AND the owner needs to ensure it keeps working correctly OR I could find myself with some expensive water damage.  

This is a followup work to some previous work I did on the roof about 9 months ago.  In fact, I'm not too happy I have to REDO my work, but again...keeping the water out of the RV is a TOP priority for me and it should be for any owner.

Today's RV Mx is to reseal where the roof meets the sidewalls of the RV.  When I did this work last year, I was in LA and Bayou Outdoor (Jeff in the Parts Store) was very helpful in determining the RIGHT caulk to use.  While MOST RV centers use the standard DiCor Lap Sealant, Jeff recommended Silaprene.  

So...being a new RV owner, I went with his vast years of experience and bought a few tubes of the caulk.  NOTE:  Please look over the product to ensure you get the SAME caulk as the one you have.  I picked up a few tubes of CLEAR caulk this time and only found out when I was beginning the job.  The last tubes I had purchased were of the WHITE variety...clear and white are NOT the same :)

First, you have to CLEAN the area that the caulk is going to be used on.  Some call for Denatured Alcohol, but you can only purchase this in larger than needed quantities from the Big Box Stores, so I chose to use  Isopropyl alcohol.    I had this "on hand" and figured that if it's good enough to clean the skin when you get a shot, then it should be good enough for the RV skin.  It worked fine and really cleaned up the area to be caulked to get a good contact.  

However, since I didn't have enough clear caulk to do the entire roof seams, I did one side of the RV and will have to wait until I get some more Silaprene.

However, I only had 2 tubes to do both sides of the RV so I began looking around and couldn't find a local distributor in Central Florida.  I've been in contact with the Silaprene District Rep, but it's been a week since I've last heard from him via email (we have been playing a dance of short quick emails about what my needs are).  I think that since I only need a few tubes (6 - 2 clear and 4 white...to have on had after the job is complete).  I'll wait a little while longer before I give Jeff at Bayou Outdoor a call and see if he can send me a few tubes.

Tuesday's Travel Take

  “No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.”  Lin Yutang

#travel

#home

#pillow 

Twisted Treat

When we chose to live the dream over the road (RV Full Timing), we knew that we'd have to cinch the belt a little.  Since our income has decreased "SIGNIFICANTLY" since retirement began, we know that "treats" are a little farther between times.  It's not that we can't have treats, but we are trying to ensure the our $$$$ goes the farthest.

When I see that NEW commercial on the TV of late, it asks "how much money do you need during retirement?"  and then they have people pull a yellow ribbon out...which correlates to the number of years that amount of money equates to.   Some had only planned until 75 while others have planned to over 100 years old! 

So...as we continue this adventure in the RV, we know that every penny counts and if you know where your pennies are, you know where your dollars are.  Check out our budget (Bettina has went to the extreme to ensure our money outlasts our travels!!! and here is her (our) budget).

Here's a twisted treat we had at...Auntie Anne's...

New TV

I just hate it when I'm trying to watch TV and the TV STOPS working!   So when the TV in the bedroom started to "go blank" at various times, I was not a Happy Camper!

I did a little research on what TV I should get as a replacement.  At first I was looking for the biggest TV I could find, but since we are planning on BookDocking a little over the next year, I wanted to ensure I didn't get a HDTV that would pull a large load.  So....the 32" HDTV was out!  I settled on a 24" Insigna that WILL take a 12VDC input.  This way I don't have to use the inverter to power the TV and can get a 12 volts directly from the batteries.  

Hooking up the NEW TV up front!

Relocating the Front TV to the Bedroom

Here's Bettina helping me install the TV...she did the HEAVY lifting. 

Tuesday's Travel Take

“A journey is like marriage.  The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.”  John Steinbeck

#travel

#marriage

Call Me a LIFER

Well, I can finally say I'm a LIFER! When I said this to Bettina, she said...”that doesn't sound right! It sounds like you are an Inmate with a lifetime sentence!” So I guess I really need to rethink how I identify myself!


What I mean by this is...we made the big step (not really that big) to become a Life Time Member of the Good Sam's Club! It really wasn't that big of a deal, since being a Veteran (yes, this is one of those cool benefits no one ever tells you about), we were able to become life members for a very reasonable price ($150!). And after having a membership with the Good Sam Club as an active duty military member (which is FREE), I couldn't pass up the Lifetime Membership!

BTW: I do have a LIFE sentence too...I get spend a LIFETIME with the woman I love :)