Time marches on, but we let it pass

Plus side to retirement and living in an RV fulltime: no set plans.

Case in point, when asked earlier this year where we were going, our answer was: Halloween in VA, Thanksgiving in FL, Christmas in TX. Truth is Halloween was in MA where we stayed until mid-November. Our intended Halloween destination became our Thanksgiving location - we spent the week leading up to turkey day visiting family in the Annapolis/DC area, pulling in to our favorite Williamsburg RV park (American Heritage) on the 24th. We spent a week there and headed towards Florida. On the way to Leesburg, we found an amazing quiet RV park just off of I-95 in George (Lake Harmony RV Park) and stayed for 3 nights instead of our planned single.

Most recently, we landed at our planned location in Leesburg FL (Holiday Travel Resort) in early December (a month later than we first thought). Partially because the weather is so mild, partially because time has passed so quickly and we haven't done what we wanted and partially because we can, we've decided to extend our stay for another month.

Another day to just enjoy whatever happens when it happens

Stormy Weather

Although we’ve only been full-timing in our RV for 6 months, we’ve weathered (no pun intended) two potentially serious weather occurrences; Hurricane Irene and a pre-Halloween snow fall.

Because many of the RVers at the campground we were at when Hurricane Irene headed towards New England were frequent travelers to Florida during bad weather times, we received some really good advice from them. Everyone knew to pick up their small decorations and chairs from around their campsites, thus eliminating wind blown items. Those with screen houses either dismantled their units

or secured them with extra weights (btw, that one collapsed).

One couple stopped by our unit and reminded us to fill our fresh water holding tank. This way, if the campground lost electrical power and their pumps stopped working, we would still have access to drinking water. (Our RV holds 84 gallons of fresh, enough to last several days). They also said to make sure our propane tanks were full (cooking and possible heat should it get cold), and finally, since we have a generator, to make sure we had extra gasoline. Those 2 were common sense to us, but still good to hear from a more experienced RVer.

Another camper suggested that if the electricity did go out, to plug a radio, fan or light into the power post and to turn it on. That way, when the power did come back on, we’d have some indication and could discontinue the use of the generator.

Hurricane Irene was downgraded to a Tropical Storm by the time it reached our area. We only had 1/2” rain, but the winds were rather strong. The area did lose power for several hours. We were very comfortable in our rig and had no issues with this storm.

On to Halloween; at a different campground and several days advance prediction of a snow storm. Most of the people at this campground were in just for the weekend activities, and although there was a prediction of up to 6” snow, we were amazed at the number of folks who arrived the day before the storm with plans to stay 2 nights.

As with the Hurricane, we made sure we were prepared with the full water tank as well as propane and gasoline. Saturday the rains started around noon and by 6pm the temperature had dropped and a light film of snow had fallen. Around 8:30, the campground lost power: we just hunkered down for the night while other campers around us rushed to pack up and leave.

Sunday morning we were still without power at the campground and about 4” of snow. Chuck got out a broom and climbed on to the RV to clear it. We walked about in the winter wonderland with the pups and were amazed at the amount of tree damage in the park. This RV park was in the forest, many maples and lots of oaks which all still had leaves. We saw several large branches down across RV units and heard of one family that had a branch crash right into their unit, thru the roof and in to the refrigerator.

We put a light on to our electric box and waited for it to relight, signally us that power was back. In the meantime, we cranked up the generator and pulled out the cribbage board. Wednesday evening, we noticed the light on outside the RV. The campground was back on the power grid.

So one strong wind storm and one adequate snow in the first six months. We feel they were both good tests for us and feel that we’ll be able to deal with Mother Nature.

Migratory Routes

Now that Thanksgiving is over, I’m noticing a lot more movement towards southern states. We’re traveling along I-95, spending the past few days between Williamsburg VA and coastal Georgia. A lot of the movement seems to be from Quebec and Ontario, although other representatives of the northeast region are frequently seen.

Talking with some of the locals along our way, it seems there’s a bit of a push south now but the heavier migration takes place right at the turn of the year. The most interesting occurrence I saw thus far was the car carrier with 8 or 10 vehicles, and all with license plates from Canadian Provinces. Guessing those snow birds really will fly south for the winter.

Halloween snow

What a difference a day makes - Friday morning there were perhaps 50 units in the campgound. All day long folks came in and there were about 25 open spaces at 9 pm (campground has about 400 sites). Folks were decorating like made all night for the Halloween party pm Saturday. 12 hours later, and we're watching them scurry as some dismantle their efforts and pack up to leave before the storm. Where's their sense of adventure? Or were they just smart enough to decide to go back home to weather the snow in October. We don't have much choice and will let you know how it goes...

If the day goes as planned for the campground, there are Halloween activities for kids from noon to 3, and then tonight is the adults' party. But Mother Nature plans to have 1 to 3 inches of rain falling this afternoon / evening, followed by the snowfall of upwards to 6" during the overnight and morning.

We had fun with the dusting of snow from the other day - Chuck made a mini snowman. But now that there's a considerable amount predicted, things are a bit different. We did keep a snow shovel, windshield scrapers, snow boots and the like when we sold the house last spring. And many times this summer we joked how we thought we were done with snow. Guess the jokes on us...

My biggest consolation is: if I were still working the cruise ships in Bar Harbor, and this was next year...

Road Trip ReCap

I’ve been retired for exactly one week and we’ve been living in an RV full-time for 6 months now. This blog is a quick recap of our travels.

Back in mid-April we moved out of our house and in to the 5th wheel and camped in our driveway for 2 weeks before heading towards Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. From April 29 thru Oct 13, we were parked at the Narrows Too Campground in Trenton, ME. We’ve stayed at Narrows Too the previous two years I did seasonal work on Mount Desert Island and knew it would fit our needs.

In late May we took delivery of our new 5th wheel, a Cameo by Carriage. Although we had to sort through all our belongings when we sold the home, we still had quite a bit to re-sort as we switched RV units.

Last week we finally started the “real” journey of full-timing. We packed up all our goods, once again getting rid of a few more items we decided we didn’t need - many items were repurposed with other seasonal RV friends at the campground.

Our first trip was rather short, less than 100 miles, but was necessary as we needed to stop to see family and friends as we left the area. The first night we boondocked at the WalMart in Rockland, ME. Their primary parking lot is sloped, but there was a smaller lot closer to Rt. 1 that was fairly level. Being after “the season”, ie after Columbus Day, we were the only RV in the lot for the night. Not wanting to take advantage of free camping and to keep with the concept of boondocking, we moved across town to the Lowes in Thomaston (4 miles) for our second night, allowing us another 24 hours to visit people in the area.

Day 3 put us back on the road again, and another short trip of under 100 miles to Portland, ME. We boondocked at Cabela’s in Scarboro as they have designated RV / truck parking as well as a sewer dump station. This night we were not alone, there were several truck campers and tractor trailer trucks utilizing the lot as well. While in the area we visited the “mothership” (our nickname for the L.L. Bean Flagship Store), had dinner with friends and brought the truck to the dealership for standard service.

Our next portion of the trip was the longest yet - a whopping 130 miles, landing us in West Boylston, MA where we camped out in front of my parents’ home for a few nights. We’ll be here another night or two and then will continue our journey, going where the road may lead us.

Cel-a-brate Good Times, Come On

This has been a week of celebrations, both in the U.S., as well as Canada. Today is the Fourth of July, a time for Americans to remember and honor the freedoms so many worked hard for us to have. Because we're traveling in the Canadian Maritime region, the 4th is being recognized to some degree, but mostly as a bookend to a long weekend.

This past Friday was Canada Day, or as it use to be called, Confederation Day - when several regions decided to become joined with others. We experienced lots of patriotism on that side of the border, very much like one finds in the U.S. - parades, flags, cookouts and fireworks.

The biggest celebration for me actually occurred over a week ago. I reached a mile stone birthday - my 50th. Like so many others, to me it's only a number, and an incorrect one at that. I honestly feel that I look and act much younger (for some reason I think I'm in my 30's).

To celebrate that momentous event I've opted to do my celebration with others, but without presents. My "party" was a reverse surprise party. I was one of the key organizers of a pot luck dinner at the campground and we didn't tell anyone it was a party until they arrived. We thanked them for coming and that the surprise was they didn't know it was a birthday party. The potluck was a blast.

Later this month I'll finish my birthmonth celebration with the opportunity to give to others by participating in a Mission Trip with the church, doing Housing Repair Ministry for folks in the Cherryfield, Maine area. We're still waiting to hear what work our group will be doing. I'm excited to be part of this wonderful project and wish I had done something like this sooner.

International Travel and trials

Having some free time between assignments in Bar Harbor, we decided to take our "home" and dogs across the border into New Brunswick, Canada. We've crossed the border in Calais / St. Stephen many times in the past 8 years and were ready for a quick, easy passage.

This trip across, they asked to inspect the camper and truck - we think they liked our Cameo and wanted to see one up close and personal. Inspection went very smoothly - Customs opened and closed every closet and drawer and moved on to the next -fortunately the inspector knew enough to keep her hand over the opening of the upper doors to prevent things from tumbling down as items shift in transit.

Our favorite place in New Brunswick is the quaint community of St. Andrews By The Sea. When we first came to the town, we'd stay at the Windsor House Inn, a beautiful property right on the main drag through town. Moneypenny gave them a full four paws on her visit - they spoiled her royally. A few years back we bought our first RV and stayed at the Kiwanis Campground out on the point in the town. We enjoyed our visit at the campground and returned 2 other years before this year. Prior to this year's trip, our visits to St. Andrews have been during "low season", i.e., not during July and August.

We phoned the campground to see if they'd have room for us for 2 nights and they managed to find us some space. We asked about staying 1 more night, so we'd be in town for Canada Day, but they are so full already, there are people "dry camping" or boondocking in the field in front of the rows of RVs. If you have an RV with slides and awnings, you want to put them out as soon as you get on your site so the next unit to pull in beside you knows how much room you need. We saw 2 units so close to each other, they were sharing the shade from 1 awning.

Later today we'll head out and return to a very small, quite campground in Hawkshaw, NB that we stayed at 2 years ago. The view from the campground is wonderful as they've terraced their sites and you look on to the St. John River. Not much to see or do there, but that's what vacations are all about. And we'll want a few quite days after yesterday's trial.

We had taken Rugby out for a walk and a chance to chase his ball. Moneypenny hadn't seemed interested in a walk at that time, so she was left behind in the camper. While playing ball, we noticed a deer feeding along the road and it seemed to be intrigued by our 4 legged creature as it moved in the same direction as us. After the deer left, we headed back to the campground down a trail blazed through the woods behind the campground. After crossing a small wooden bridge, Rugby started acting extremely weird - whimpering, shaking paws, trying to lick them, kicking out in a spasm twitch. We quickly felt his pads for burrs, thorns or rocks but found nothing.

We got back to the camper as quickly as we could and tried to calm Rugby down. He raced about like a crazed creature and wouldn't let us touch his paws. Because we had no idea of what was going on, we got on the internet and found the number for a local vet. We were blessed that there was a vet in the town, and although it was 4:47pm on the day before a major holiday weekend, the vet would be in and we could come by - only a 5 minute drive. As we headed towards the vet, we were trying to remember exactly where we were and what happened when I remembered seeing small ants on the bridge when we had crossed it earlier in the day - could they have been fire ants I wondered? (I thought they were in the southern U.S., but perhaps they were in the Canadian Maritime region.

The vet saw us immediately on arrival and when we made the comment about ants, confirmed that there were indeed fire ants in the region and combined with our description of Rugby's actions, felt it was indeed the reason for his behavior. Dr. Sandra Holdway, DVM quickly checked Rugby over and then gave him an injection. The entire time time we were at the vet, I was thinking in my mind about how much an after hours, holiday weekend, emergency visit was going to cost. The emergency call portion of the bill was only $90 Cdn. Total bill was $200 Cdn. A major relief for us. And hopefully the pet insurance we have will cover a portion of this.

Rugby rested well all night and seems none the worse for wear this morning. Maybe Moneypenny skipped that walk intentionally.

Time to get the camper ready for the road. Happy Canada Day from us in Canada and Happy Fourth of July for the U S - bookends for the weekend. May the only fireworks you experience be in the skies at night.

Summertime - And the living is easy

We've been in the new RV for just 2 weeks now and I'm amazed to realize it's only been that short an amount of time. It really feels so comfortable and natural. We are still playing hide and seek with things we packed months ago as we prepared for this new chapter in our lives, and many days it's like Christmas as we find items we had forgotten about.

The words from Porgy & Bess which gave me this blog's title are so true for me right now. After a month of fog, wet and cold weather, June is showing her beauty and warming us both from the outside with the warmth of the sun as well as inside as the greens of the fields and forests develop.

Because we're able to enjoy our time in the trailer and settle in to a life, we've unpacked the bicycles, kayaks and motorcycles and have taken advantage of the beauty Acadia and Downeast Maine have to offer. Today was a 50 mile motorcycle ride to Blue Hill Maine and back. I loved feeling the wind as we drove along and there were a few times I could smell wood fires. And at one cove, the salt air smelled heavenly.

The bicycles we're just riding around the campground - it's a mile loop around and we do several passes. Once we get our stamina up we're heading into Acadia National Park to take advantage of biking some of the carriage roads. The other afternoon we loaded the kayaks and went to Echo Lake for an hour's paddle.

I didn't get out on the kayak or biking last year because of my broken wrist, so I'm really enjoying doing those again. However, I've found my next toy to try. A couple at the campground have Hobie kayaks with pedals and sails. How cool is that to kayak and then pedal boat and then sail, all without getting out of your watercraft. (see photo) Where we're still just starting out on the new lifestyle of fulltime RVing, this will have to wait.

The dogs are enjoying this new life style. Moneypenny is forever dancing at the invitation to "go for a walk" because she knows she'll get to see and possibly play with other dogs in the campground. Rugby has been a rockstar (I still think a punk at times, but he's really come around from 3 years ago). His favorite thing to do is fetch - we have a "Chuck-It" stick and ball which allows us to throw the ball a good distance and then allow Rugby to retrieve it. The other day, Chuck took his golf club and a ball to the field and Rugby took to retrieving the golf ball - Chuck thought he might have to walk back and forth in the field retrieving his own ball - he's very proud of his golf ball retriever.

A side note about my title, a facebook friend had posted a YouTube of this song on their page and seeing the song title brought me back to Choir Camp in the mid to late 1970's. The rule at camp was if you were late for a meal, you had to sing for admittance to the dining hall. I remember one lunch, my friend was late for mealtime and chose to sing Summertime. Her voice was so rich and full and this song sounded like it was meant for her voice. I had never seen the musical Porgy & Bess, nor had I heard Summertime before, but for over 30 years, that song has been deeply imbedded in my heart and mind.

Anticipation

We learned Saturday evening that our new RV has finally made it's way across the US from Elkhart IN to Merrimack NH. Today we received word on when we're scheduled to take delivery and ownership of it - a week from Friday. The dealership says they won't be able to have it prepped and ready for us before then because they're really busy with other deliveries.

Of course when we heard "Friday", somehow I got it in my mind that it was THIS Friday, not a week from Friday. And I was sitting right next to the calendar as Mark our salesman was saying Friday the 27th.

I'm just getting very anxious for this unit. Whether that's because it's new and exciting to order a unit to our specifications, or if I'm tired of looking at storage tubs in the middle of the living space in our current trailer, or even a combination of both, I don't know. I just know that by nightfall on the 27th, my new home will be our Cameo Carriage (35sb3). There is a lot more storage area to fit those things we just weren't able to part with when we sold our home.

I only packed a limited number of shirts and pants in the RV, leaving the rest in storage boxes with the hope I'd be able to say "what should I wear today" within 2 or 3 weeks. That was 4 weeks ago and I've got one more week to go. And like a typical woman, there is clothing I've got in the RV that I haven't worn, and don't expect to between now and next weekend. I've got nothing to wear!

Add to the clothes dilemma are my knitting supplies are packed away. The weather has been on the colder side and wet. Lots of damp dreary days without sunlight which makes one want to knit (at least me). But the needles and yarn are in storage boxes in the "basement" of the RV or in the utility trailer. Although the box is marked, to get to it will mean moving other boxes about and I'm not about to move 10 to 15 little items that are out of boxes to get to the box for one or two items and then have to put it all back.

One of the throw pillows on my bed sums up my thoughts about getting in to the new RV - it says "God give me patience - but please hurry"

Let the fun begin....

A day about Birds and Bees

No, not a lesson that will make our grandparents' blush. Today was one of those beautiful spring days when we saw and heard lots of bumble and honey bees buzzing around. And we saw some beautiful birds soaring in the skies.

The bees are everywhere right now. We had 3 days with rain at the campground and today, with the sun out bright, the dandelions are in full bloom, dotting the grassy field where we take the dogs to run. Naturally the bees are out collecting pollen from these and other flowers in bloom.

Earlier today we went to some box home ware stores and looked at the various plants and flowers they had for sale. On some Heather plants we saw several interesting bees. There were lots of yellow and black bumblebees, but these bees had an orange strip across their bodies. Nothing either of us had seen before. In looking up what this was, we discovered it's a tricolor bumble bee. Neat.

As for the birds, although we didn't see it today, we heard the knocking of a pileated woodpecker that lives in the woods around the campground. The only times I can recall seeing a pileated woodpecker has been while in Maine.

This afternoon, while sitting near our fire pit, we heard the scolding of a crow and noticed a bird with a white tail circling over the trees. The crow kept darting towards this bird, and as the soaring bird turned, we realized it was indeed a Bald Eagle. After watching it for a few minutes we decided to grab the binoculars - sure enough, by the time we had them in hand, the eagle had moved on.

An hour later we saw an Osprey flying over the campground. These sites and sound are reinforcing for us our decision to become full-time RVers. We are truly happy campers.

Day 2 Ramblings

We finally have started our full-time RVing experience. The original plan was to be out of our house on Thursday (we stopped calling it a home back in February when we put it on the market). Tuesday both of us were feeling very stressed about how much we still had to sort through and clear out. That night we accepted that we didn't really have to be out on Thursday and that if it took an additional 2 days, that would be find.

The goal of Thursday was originally planned for as I was scheduled to work in Bar Harbor on Friday. We decided I would go to Bar Harbor Thursday evening, spend the night and work Friday. When I finished working, I'd drive back to SoPortland and we'd finish up clearing out. A new departure goal of Saturday morning was set.

By 9am on Saturday we still weren't quite there. It was 4:30 when we pulled away from the house that had been our home for 10 1/2 years. I wanted to cry about the potential of lost friendships and acquaintances, but I also didn't feel this was the final time I'd see some of those folks, and I had a 180 mile journey ahead that I needed to stay focused on to drive. We arrived at the campground a bit after 8 pm and took a pull-through site for the night, awaiting morning to pull in to the site we had selected last fall. As we went to sleep, the tears finally overtook me.

Sunday we awoke with new energy and brought the camper to the site we wanted. We unhitched and then decided we wanted to reposition the rig. That's when the fun began. The site we chose was a pull-in, better geared for bus campers. The ground under our truck hadn't been driven on and packed down, and there was still some frost in the ground. Although we have 4 wheel drive, we were spinning tires trying to get the truck back under the trailer.

After a bit of time between ourselves trying to get things moved and then calling in some of the workers at the campground, we were able to get the trailer moved - off the site. We then walked around the campground discussing the pros and cons of other potential sites for us to move in to. We ended up returning to the site we had used the previous year, but instead of pulling in (hook ups generally dictate which way you face) we backed in and are passing some of our cables under the rig to get our services.

Now that we're plugged in and settling in for the wait for the new trailer, we're walking about talking to each other about how great this site really is and how we should have turned the trailer around last year, the new positioning of the RV is so much better.

Two days down and things are going well. Of course, starting our adventures at a campground and in a community we already know is making the adjustment much easier.

What got us going RVing.

The big countdown is on. After discussing this option for over 18 months, we've decided to give full-time RVing a go. We are C&J, a mild manner couple with 2 standard poodles. We'll be traveling about in our 5th wheel camper. Some of you may want to know a bit of our back story into RVing; this blog will cover some of that.

It all started about 5 years ago, we took a mini-vacation back to a romantic B&B. While there, we got talking with another couple who were also guests of the property and learned that he was a sales rep for A-Liner campers. We spent an afternoon discussing the units with them. On our return home, we decided to try camping for our own and located a dealer who rented units. We brought the rental A-Liner home and parked it in the backyard to give it a try. Our plan was 3 days in the yard and 3 more days at a local campground.

While in the A-Liner we quickly learned what features were important to us - a walk around bed, and coffee pot were the 2 we learned in the first 24 hours. The 3 days at home were fun and we headed down to the campground. About an hour after checking in the heavens opened and we had 2 days of continuous rain. Another item we realized was important to us was an awning. All in all, it was fun and the RVing bug had bit.

We started looking at used units on the web and saw a 21' travel trailer by Forest River. We checked it out and made an offer on the spot. Needless to say our offer was accepted and we now owned a trailer. I should point out that at this time we only had 1 dog, so space wasn't so much of an issue then.

We used the 21' TT a lot that summer and fall and realized we found an activity that both of us enjoyed. Over the winter a job opportunity opened up nearly 200 miles from home. It was just a seasonal 2 month position but housing was not included. Before even starting that assignment we realized that our little 21 footer might not be big enough for more than weekend use and started shopping.

In the spring we found our next unit, a 26' travel trailer with a single 18" deep slide made by Homestead. It worked out rather nicely, except we got the 2nd dog and needed room for a dog crate. Fortunately the unit had 2 recliners, so we put one in the basement of our home to give us the room needed for the crate.

The following year the seasonal job was expanded from 2 months to nearly 6 months and the decision to once again get a larger RV was made. This time we opted to go with a fifth wheel by Open Range. We purchased a 34' 5er with triple slides (full 36" depths). Opposing slides in the living / dining area gave us a spacious 15' width. We learned a lot with our 5th wheel and I'll cover some of those at a later date.

With the decision to go full-time in the RV, we once again decided that a different unit was warranted. We spent the winter researching our options and in March of this year placed an order for our "new home", Cameo by Carriage. Our dealer phoned us today to say production on the RV actually starts this week and it should be completed in a week. Then some general inspections, delivery and such and we could be 3 weeks away from taking possession.

The timing is coming together well for us as we close on the house the first week of May and our new trailer will be ready the second week. A week or two living in our "old" 5th wheel will cover us in the meantime. Looking forward to sharing more of our adventures (good and bad) as we travel the roads of life.