December 7 - 10
We now have moved from once coast of Florida to the other. A
bit over 4 hours to get here with stops for diesel, propane and lunch. This is
a nice campground with few amenities (we have 50 amp power, sewer & Water
hookups) but lots of nature and inexpensive. ($28 per night) They do have kayak
and canoe rentals for $5.00 per hour. We would have loved to have done that
this afternoon, but Greg is under the weather with a cold. Today will be our
last really nice day before a cold front comes through. It was in the 80's today and soon it will be lows in the 40's and highs in the 50's or 60's.
We are here until December 19 and then we go to Silver Palms
Resort in Okeechobee, FL
We took a couple of walks today around the park and
unfortunately all the hiking trails and the observation tower are closed. Still
a lot of nature to see from the ponds. When we were setting up yesterday the
guy next to us yells to his wife, “want to see an 8 foot gator?” We have a “toy
hauler” on one side of us and a small trailer on the other. It’s peaceful here
despite the trains that seem to go late at night and early in the morning.
view behind our coach
our spot
On our morning walk this guy asked if we’d take a photo of
him and his dog Dakota.
Tri-colored Heron with a small fish
Limpkin
Canoe & Kayak rental
Common Gallinule
White Ibis & Little Blue Heron
the office
male Kestrel
Palm Warbler
Little Blue Heron
security onsite
Great Blue Heron
Killdeer
Loggerhead Shrike
Great Blue Heron
Loggerhead Shrike
Little Blue Heron
male Kestrel
Little Blue Heron
male Kestrel (several around here)
In the afternoon there was a guy with a Blue & Gold
Macaw. It was just sitting on a picnic table and I figured it was stuffed or a
statue. Nope!
nice long tail
White Ibis
Snowy Egret
small alligator
Tortoise going into its' hole
Grackles
Mourning Dove
Well, the cold front came through with a bang. We woke
around 6:00 not to the usual train horn, but to loud thunder and pelting rain
& wind. The grass area across the road in front of our coach had some low
areas that turned into ponds. A duck came waddling up and went for a swim in
one. A pair of Sandhill Cranes spent most of the day there as well as a Little
Blue Heron.
Sandhills in the puddle through the windshield of the coach - it was pouring rain
pretty sunset with the Sandhill Cranes in the puddle
This morning we woke to around 40*. Burrrrrrr……… At least it
is sunny today! We went for a short walk out. A bit too cool and windy for our taste, but out of the wind it wasn't too bad. We walked past a lady sunbathing out of the wind. I was in 2 sweatshirts!
sleeping Sandhill Cranes
Common Gallinule
the side of our coach
Tomorrow I have a routine Dr. appt with my new doctor.
(welcome to Medicare visit) and haircuts and
we need to spend some time organizing the storage space.
Tuesday we take the coach in with the list of things that
need to be fixed and some routine maintenance. So, we will spend an unknown
amount of time in a hotel. It could be 2 to 3 days or who knows……
On the drive here from Sarasota Greg said he really wants to
do the 2019 World Cruise, but he wants to sell the RV right before going. He
says he just doesn’t have the personality for RVing. He can retire, but he
can’t retire his mind from being an engineer. (anal and everything has to be
done a certain way) Uh, you didn’t hear that from me.....
Most of the work falls on him. I’d like to help, but of
course I wouldn’t “do it right”. He says he spends all his time maintaining
this thing, planning the next route and selecting the next site. He said he
just didn’t feel confident taking this to Alaska. We definitely prefer
cruising and we both miss the laidback lifestyle that Panama has. This RV thing
should be relaxing, but for Greg it isn’t. It’s stressful. I don’t handle the
cold well and though this provides way more protection than tents or trailers,
these tile floors (and the toilet seat) can be freezing cold. So, making the
trek across Canada to get to Alaska would be beautiful, but I would be
complaining about the cold the whole way.
I think when we were researching RVing we were focused on
the small space and we knew we would be fine with that. Truth is a motor coach
is a lot of work. (a trailer would have been less in hindsight and they store
easier) We didn’t start off well with all of the issues we had with it new off
the showroom floor. We debated selling it then, but wanted to give it a fair
try. We have learned that nothing is easy to fix in an RV. A simple
refrigerator or washer & dryer repair, means not a simple visit from a
repairman, but a trip to the RV dealership to have those things uninstalled and
then the repairman goes there and the RV place reinstalls it. (time consuming
and costly and you never know how many days it will take)
All things we can deal with, but for someone that wants a
less stressful life it’s probably not a good thing. The thought of having to
set up or leave while it’s pouring rain, cold or snowing (or just routine dumping
of the gray and black tanks in that weather) isn’t appealing either. While in Sarasota we had
the power go out and once we determined it was just our site we called the
office and they came and fixed it. We also had the water go out. All things
that can happen in a house, but with so many things that have gone wrong with
this thing, it’s just one more thing. Again, we remember how “stress free”
living in Panama was. We were lucky there to have Jill & Sharon as our
apartment managers as they were responsive and took care of things quickly.
(Plus, we rented so it wasn’t our stress) So, I guess we just aren’t RV people.
Road trips and hotels are sounding better and better. And cruising of course!
So, we will RV next year after we return from South America
and then sell it right before going on the World Cruise. We are still working
out the itinerary for 2018 RVing. When we return from the WC in 2019 we’ll rent some place in
South Florida until we find a small place to either rent or buy. (once we
decide what area we prefer) We both would like to do the Trans-Siberian train
from Shanghai to Moscow via Mongolia, the train across Canada, some River
cruises and of course other long cruises depending on itinerary. So, again we
feel the need to move on to something new. So far, we don’t tire of cruises. We
have always said we have never been on a bad cruise. Some are better than
others, but they are all good!
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