Doing this with my phone. It will be short. We travelled to Leesburg, FL today, to visit Kathy's sister Nancy, 450 miles. Weather is beautiful. We just came back from a short walk. A long sleeve shirt was more than adequate. Tomorrow we go look at a motorhome that's for sale. LOTS of traffic both ways on I75.
God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours.
We went to Sunday School and church again at Fish River Baptist church. I went to the men's SS class and Kathy went to the ladies. There were good discussions in both classes. I like the music, Kathy not so much. The Pastor's message was good, but nothing to write home about.
We had lunch Saraceno's again. It was close to awesome again. It ain't fancy, just good ole boy food, and lots of it. There was a line of 25-35 people waiting to be seated the entire time we were there. Another observation about masks. I'm sure I watched over 100 people go through the line prior to being seated. the 6' rule was definitely not in effect, only one group of 3 people wore masks.
It was 32 degrees and windy when I got up this morning. I walked over to the clubhouse and had waffles, sausage, orange juice & coffee for breakfast at 7:30, cost $4.75. It is a half mile walk if you stay on the streets, which I did, and it was cool. After breakfast I took the long way home, 1.6 miles. It wasn't bad except when I was walking into the wind.
Later in the morning we went to the clubhouse to do laundry. All I did was carry the bags between the camper, car &laundry. We drove over and then I walked back home. When Kathy called I walked back to the laundry. I need a LOT of exercise. While she was doing laundry I dumped and flushed the black water tank, and did more research on a vehicle to two behind the motorhome.
Then it was out for lunch. We tried to order a Hunt Brothers pizza from a nearby gas station last night, but their oven is broken. We haven't had a pizza while we have been gone, so we tried the Mellow Mushroom in Foley, about a 20 minute drive.
Cool here last night and windy this morning. I stayed in the camper all morning. I did a little more online motorhome shopping. I also started researching vehicles that we might want to get to flat tow behind the motorhome. I've about convinced myself that a 2017-19 AWD Ford Flex is the best option/value. I talked to a lady at an insurance company about our buying a coach and being able to get an insurance binder with a phone call. She is supposed to call me back with a quote.
Kathy made potato soup for lunch, one of my favorite meals. After lunch she went grocery shopping and hitting a few other "junk" stores. I stayed home and took a 3 mile walk around the perimeter of the campground property. I had not done that this year. The only thing that was noticeably different was that there were a lot of trees around the perimeter of the property that had fallen and been cut up.
By mid afternoon it was nice enough to sit outside for awhile. It must have been pretty peaceful, I never heard Kathy come home. The Chrysler 300M rental is QUIET. She arrived home, carried in the few groceries she bought, and had been in the camper for over a half hour when I came in. I had been sitting behind the camper. I didn't know she was here until I walked around the corner of the camper and saw the car.
I talked to my Mom this afternoon. She was looking forward to eating fresh fish tomorrow. My brothers youngest grandson is staying with him and Mom thinks they will be out ice fishing. It was 17 degrees when I talked to her. The overnight low in Coldwater is forecast to be 4 with a high of 18 tomorrow.
My truck needed a new 'hydro-booster". Replacing that, replacing two suction hoses and changing the oil cost $1,250. Praise God that He has provided us with the resources to pay an unexpected bill like that without worrying about a roof over our head or having enough to eat.
God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours.
Today was a busy day. We dropped my truck off at the repair shop about 8:20 and then returned home for several hours.
Back at the camper I did more research on putting residential refrigerators in motorhomes. Many of the coaches we see advertised have made this modification, even ones that have an additional refrigerator/freezer in the basement. I texted the guy in FL asking a couple more questions about his refrigerator installation. It sounds to me like the RV place did a "poor man's" conversion. They did not upgrade the inverter and he can't run the refrigerator unless he is hooked up to shore power or his generator is running. As I understand it, the invertors that come in coaches are to small to adequately handle the additional load from a refrigerator and they don't provide "clean" enough power for residential refrigerators. He told me that they freeze water in plastic bottles while on shore power and then put them in the refrigerator to keep it cool while travelling. They also run the generator a lot while travelling so that they can run the rooftop AC units. I don't remember us running ours that much, but I don't remember a lot.
The Tiffin coach in TX also had a residential refrigerator. The guy there had an upgraded inverter (wouldn't be shocked if it cost him nearly as much as the fridge) and he upgraded to top of the line house batteries. He said most of their travels were during hot weather, so they ran their generator a lot for the AC.
The attorney in MT who is setting up our LLC asked for some more information and I got that sent to him. I emailed a place to get the ball rolling so that when we buy a coach I will be able to bind insurance with just a phone call.
After lunch at home we headed for the beach. Temps were in the low 60's, but it was a little windy. If it was 10 degrees warmer, or less windy, Kathy could set at the beach for HOURS.
I walked over to the clubhouse this morning to have coffee. The temperature was in the low 40's but there was a strong wind. My ears and fingers were really cold by the time I arrived at the clubhouse (about 3/8 mile). There were about a dozen people having coffee this morning.
Morning discussion topics were: 1. A speakerphone call to a guy who had to leave and head back to Michigan because of his wife's health problems. They arrived at their MI home late last night. They lived in one of the houses behind the campground. It is now for sale. 2. A lady, who has been a widow for some years, showed up for coffee for the first time. I'm guessing she is in her 60's. She is new to RV living and this campground. Her RV is a 26' Jayflight travel trailer. She is from Michigan, like so many of the folks down here, and first went to AZ to visit a friend prior to heading east and ending up here. She is WORN out from travelling to far in to short a time. She would like to stay here for a month to rest but will have to move somewhere because the campground is now full. She had some interesting stories about her first days of RV living. 3. A brief discussion about guns. The guy who wears the Let's Go Brandon hat has the most, by far. One of the guys called a lady who lives in one of the houses behind the campground to check if she wanted to rent a space on her lot to this lady. She didn't. It wouldn't surprise me that if by tomorrow morning they have found someone who will rent her a space. 4. Which local place has the best sub sandwiches. I left after about an hour. I had soaked up all the wisdom possible by then.😀
After I left I walked the loop around the campground, 2.0 miles. When I got back home I started Class A shopping again. Last week I had ruled out a 40' 2009 Dutch Star because I didn't think it had enough cargo capacity left over once all the optional equipment was considered. The more I have looked the more apparent it has become that "premium" Class A's are heavy, especially after some extras are added. The GVWR of this coach, without options, is 1,400# more than our previous coach. It does have a few more options, but not 1,400# more options. I talked to the current owner some more and we plan on driving to Leesburg, FL next week to look at it, about 500 miles. One of Kathy's sisters spends the winter near Leesburg so it will give us a chance to see her while we are down here.
We ran some errands before lunch. I dropped off the 2nd of our 30# propane cylinders to get it requalified and refilled, should be able to pick it up tomorrow. Had to pick up a General Delivery letter my brother sent me, something that needed my notarized signature. I walked it over to the bank next door to the post office, had it notarized, stuffed it in a new envelope and stuck it in the mail back to him. Then we went down to Kathy's favorite Chinese restaurant for lunch.
Back at the campground excitement abounded. There was an ambulance, another first responder Fire Department truck and a helicopter in the field next to the campground entrance.
They were transporting a 92 year old lady who lives a couple of miles from the campground. They thought she had a stroke. Once before when we were here a helicopter landed in the same place to pick up a person injured in an auto accident. Look at the beautiful sunny sky.
In the afternoon we picked up a rental car. We drop my truck off in the morning to get the power steering leak fixed. I paid to rent a VW Jetta, or equivalent, Enterprise gave us a Chrysler 300M. I may have never ridden in a car as quiet as it is. If the repairs to my truck aren't completed by tomorrow afternoon I may tell Enterprise to extend my rental to a week, I think you basically pay for 6 days, so that we can drive it to FL.
We didn't accomplish much today. Kathy never left the campground. My only excursion was to go over to a local Auto & RV repair place, to make an appointment to have them fix the leak in the power steering unit on my truck. I take it in Thursday morning. Since I'm not sure what they will find, or how long it will take we are picking up a rental car tomorrow afternoon.
Kathy walked over to the clubhouse and worked on the big (1,500 pieces?) puzzle this afternoon. This evening we went to the clubhouse for supper, the main course was some type of stuffed pasta. It was good. After supper we both worked on the puzzle for awhile. It is a BEAR!
I spent 3-4 hours online shopping for Class A's. I talked to a guy in Texas about his 42' 2006 Tiffin Allegro Bus. It appears to have been reasonably well taken care of and the price seems reasonable.
I'd still like to find a 40' unit that I felt comfortable had enough cargo capacity so that we wouldn't overload it. They all look like they have a lot of capacity until you start subtracting of 1,050# for 150 gal of diesel, 800# for 100 gal of fresh water (there easily could be times when I want to have the tank full so that we don't have to rely on campgrounds every night), 120# of propane, another 80# for the water in the 10 gal water heater, etc. The allowable cargo weights in the brochures are for coaches with standard equipment. Once you start adding options (larger refrigerator, washer/dryer, more or larger TV's, etc.) it reduces the cargo capacity. I've inquired about several coaches and asked specifically that the current owner take a photo of the sticker, typically in one of the kitchen cabinets, that shows the weight of the coach as it went out the door, with all the factory options. No one has provided me with that information.
God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours.
Temperature climbed from an overnight low in the low 30's to the mid 50's by mid-day. I sat outside and enjoyed the sun for at least a half hour before lunch.
I didn't leave the campground today. Kathy went out to buy some groceries and do some "junking". She came back with groceries but no junk 😀.
In the morning I played with our fresh water system and pump trying to figure out why we were getting some air in the lines when we run the pump. It isn't horrible, just shouldn't be that way. I didn't find any place that looked like it might be sucking air on the suction side of the pump, but I can't see/feel where the line connects to the freshwater tank.
By the time I took my afternoon walk (which occurred after I took a nice afternoon nap) it had clouded up and a light breeze was blowing. It was supposed to be raining by now but so far it hasn't started.
This afternoon I did some more online shopping for motorhomes. I found a couple of Tiffins that looked interesting, one in particular. I sent some questions to the owners.
During Sunday School we discussed Genesis 37:1-32, the beginning of the story of Joseph. When I had read the story in the past I had focused on the jealously of the brothers and the "unfair" treatment of Joseph. As we discussed the story, and God's sovereignty, a new thought crept into my consciousness, I wonder if Joseph wasn't a spoiled, arrogant brat in his youth. Perhaps it took this type of experience to turn him into the man whose godly wisdom would save his family from starvation. Bad things happen because we live in a sinful world, but perhaps God can, and will if we let Him, use each bad thing to teach and mature us.
God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours.
Last nights low temperature, 25 degrees, matched the lowest we have experienced in the 3 or 4 years we have been at the campground during portions of the winter months. We had no problems.
This morning we went back to Fish River Baptist church. We went to Sunday School, 9:45, and then church at 11:00. The Pastor was back, after being out with COVID last week. There were 5 old guys, including me, in the Sunday School class I attended. There were 4 old ladies, including her, in the class she attended. I enjoyed visiting with the guys but the "teaching" time was just OK. Kathy's class was led by a lady who lives in one of the houses behind the campground. She really enjoyed the lady's teaching. The Pastor's message, Mt 7:24-29, about choosing where you put the "foundation" of your life. He did OK.
The guy who taught the class I was in mentioned that he had been attending the church for 35 years. Today I think there were 30-35 people in attendance. They could seat at least 200 in the sanctuary. They have LOTS of Sunday School rooms. Sadly just no people, especially young people. The pew where my Sunday School teacher sat looked like there were probably 3 generations of his family in the pew. They were the only ones less than 55, maybe less than 65. We have been told that a lot of their people are afraid of COVID and are not attending. My guess is that most of those folks are also in the 55-65+ age group.
We went to Saraceno's for lunch, just down the road from the church. It is a casual buffet place. Lots of good tasting fried stuff. Only $12.50/person for all you can eat, including drinks. One sign encourage diners to go back for "seconds, thirds & fourths". I'd be happy to go back next Sunday after church if Kathy doesn't want to try a new place.
By the time we got out of church it was 45 degrees and sunny. Today's high was a little over 50. After lunch we headed back to the campground for a nap during the 1st football playoff game. Actually we both also took walks during the game. I managed 2.5 miles. I had to do a lot of tweaking before I got CBS working on our TV, but we finally were able to watch the Chiefs win.
The good news is that it isn't supposed to get below freezing tonight, so I don't have to fool around with unhooking the water hose tonight.
God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours.
Temps dipped below freezing last night, it was 30 when I got up this morning. High was a mostly sunny 50, with an occasional light breeze. It was nice enough that both of us spent time sitting outside enjoying the sun.
I went over to the clubhouse for breakfast. Today's menu was homemade biscuits and gravy. $4.25 included all the coffee you can drink. I missed out on the biscuits because I didn't get over there until around 8:10, I think they start serving at 7:30. I ended up with Texas toast and gravy, which was still good. The cook can really make sausage gravy. Quite a few folks, who came in after I did, also missed out on the biscuits. I was there until around 9:30, chatting with our campground neighbor. He and his wife are snowbirds from Terre Haute, IN. He is a retired construction worker.
After breakfast I did a campground walkabout, 2 miles. Kathy was getting dirty clothes sorted for the laundry when I get back. I took her to the campground laundromat after we had lunch. She can wrestle the bags full of clothes around but no need for her to do it. She stayed at the laundromat and I came home until she texted me that she was ready to be picked up.
We had to unhook the water house last night, because of the freezing temperatures so I topped off the water tank so that we would have plenty of waters for showers this evening (23 forecast for tonights low, the coldest it has ever been while we have been here).
For some reason we can't use all the water in our tank, the pump won't pick it up. Last fall I changed the water inlet and realized that the vent on the tank was plugged. I wonder if pump suction imploded the tank. I can't see the tank because the underside of the camper is insulated. I have a small air compressor with me. I may see if I can pop it back out with a little air pressure. Maybe that's not the problem. I have to see what I can see of the suction line from the pump to the tank. It's something to put on my list of "things to do/fix" before putting the camper up for sale.
I also checked the status of our propane. My vision and the sight glass on the propane switchover unit are not compatible. The only way I'm sure of how much propane is left in a tank is to take if off and weigh it. The tank I had recertified is still full but the other one is nearly empty. I will take it off next week to get it recertified and refilled.
This afternoon I talked to a salesman in Nacogdoches, TX about a coach at a dealer there. He sent me an email with more information, but I haven't looked at it yet. We haven't received any of the additional information that I requested on the coach in Haslet, TX. The shopping continues.
I just returned from my evening walk, 3.47 miles total for the day. 23 minutes of cardio heart rate, I'm happy with that, just wished I had the gumption to do that much every day.
God is good. I pray He blesses you and yours.
It was cold here overnight, and going to be cold again tonight and tomorrow night. It was 32 at 6:30AM, Today's high was 38. Forecast is for 31 tonight, 49 for tomorrows high and then 27 for tomorrow nights low. It has been misting rain on and off during the night and today. The dampness and wind make it feel really cold. People are bundled up in big coats, stocking caps, etc.
Kathy likes checking out Buc-ee's stores so we went over to one about 20 miles from us. They are a cross between a roadside convenience store and a Wal-Mart.
Then it was off to Sam's to pick up a few things and get some exercise, walking around the store. I needed to walk a lot more than I did, to burn off the calories from all the junk food I bought.
On the way home from Sam's we stopped at a Farmer's Market type store and bought some peppers, celery, pecans, and I'm not sure what else.
Then it was back home to put water in the tank and unhook the water hose before tonight. The campground sent everyone texts asking that hoses be unhooked to prevent potential freeze damage to their hydrants.
A comment on people wearing masks. My guess is that less than 10% of non-employees wear masks. It seemed like more people in Pensacola were wearing masks, but certainly no more than 15%. Today it seemed like we saw more people (Buc-ees & Sam's) wearing masks, but again, no more than 10%. I don't know if Camping World made their sales people get vaccinated but I noticed that at least one of the sales cubicles had a "I've Been Vaccinated" sign on the wall. One of the guys who we talked to was wearing a mask. Once we got out of the building, and into the coach, he asked us if we minded if he took it off. Since we weren't wearing masks we didn't care.
Found a 2010 Dutch Aire 4304 online, at a dealer in Nacogdoches, TX. Sent them a few questions. It's a couple of feet longer than what we want but I like the extra cargo capacity provided by the tag axle.
God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours.
I don't think either of us accomplished much today. I traded emails with the salesman for the coach in Haslet, TX. My grandmother used to say if you can't say something good about someone don't say anything at all, nuff said. I contacted another sales person at the place and am trying to work with her. I'm hoping that she will provide me with some of information I've requested on the coach.
Logan, the nearby Camping World salesman, contacted us and told us the coach they had out getting new tires installed was back on the lot and ready for us to see. It is more coach than we want but the price was good (for a more expensive coach that we have in our plans), and we wanted to actually look at one with a full bath in the rear.
It's a 2012 Dutch Star 4346, 42'9" long, 23" longer than the one we used to have. Below are some photos from their website.
Weather was beautiful today. At 10AM we had several windows and the roof vents open before leaving for Pensacola. I wore shorts and a tee shirt, but threw a hoodie in the truck. I put on the hoodie when we were walking out by the Gulf.
Our first stop was Joe Patti's Seafood. Kathy is getting us beignets, actually this is on the way out. This is at least our 3rd trip to Joe Patti's for beignets. We didn't buy any fish but she did buy a small container of some type of crab dip.
We spent an enjoyable day today without ever leaving the campground. It was cool, 30 degrees, when we got up this morning but the brilliant sun warmed temperatures up into the mid/high 50's. With the sun out and very little wind it felt warmer.
After breakfast I went to the clubhouse and had coffee with folks. Drinking coffee is a time consuming activity. Actually discussing how the US is sliding downhill, and suggestions for stopping the decline, take a lot of time. Morning coffee time starts at 8 and the people at the table where I sat finally left around 9:30.
After coffee I walked the "big loop" around the campground, about 2 miles, and then I wasted over an hour on the phone with another of T-Mobile's disabled "customer service" representatives. At the end of today's discussions the guy claimed that T-Mobile's service isn't compatible with the ESIM in Google phones. This revelation came to him right after I told him I wanted to be transferred to a higher level of Tech Support, because it was obvious that he was not going to be able to solve the issue. Kathy suggested that he was just blowing me off so that his "record" didn't have to show that he couldn't solve the problem. The guy I talked to today had an Indian (Asian) accent that was only slightly more understandable than yesterday's Oriental lady.
In the afternoon I changed into shorts and a tee shirt and washed my truck. When clean she looks pretty good for a 17 year old pickup.
We did some reading and I took a nap in the afternoon. In the evening we went to the clubhouse for supper. Tonight's offering was minestrone soup and English muffins with pizza sauce and cheese on them. The soup was OK but the English muffins would have been far better if they had just toasted and buttered them.
We visited with a couple, from the Crown Point, IN area, who have been spending winters (4 months) in the Pensacola/Gulf Shores area for the past 12 years. When they first started coming down they stayed in the Pensacola area. H was a vet and the area has some great perks for vets. Then they moved to campgrounds in Gulf Shores area and finally last year and this year they came to Rainbow. They said that the campgrounds out near the Gulf are now charging $1,000 per month, as opposed to the $395 Rainbow charges.
God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours.
A lot of today was frustrating. I think I have mentioned that the campground doesn't have WIFI, which we knew, and that once down here we learned that AT&T's cell signal at the campground is poor. It's barely OK for phone calls and a slow internet connection. Forget about trying to stream anything. A couple of guys in the campground office mentioned that they have T-Mobile and that the signal is good. One of them streams Netflix without problem.
I had read that Consumer Cellular plans allow you to access either AT&T or T-Mobile towers. This morning I contacted them and found out that they no longer have access to T-Mobile. Next I contacted T-Mobile to sign up for their unlimited data prepaid plan. During my initial contact with them I clearly told them I wanted a new line activated on the ESIM in my phone. After wasting at least a half hour I was told that they could only activate postpaid plans on an ESIM. I then called T-Mobile to activate a postpaid plan. About a half hour later I was told that everything was set up and that I should have T-Mobile service within a few minutes. 4 hours later still no service. I called T-Mobile customer service. After 67 minutes I finally was able to talk to a real person. Her Asian accent was so bad, combined with my poor hearing, that I had to ask her to repeat everything she said 2-3 times. She wanted an EID(?) number from my phone. I asked her to tell me where it was, she couldn't. After 15-20 minutes of her not being able to do anything positive she told me it was to early to expect the account to be activated. She told me that it can take up to 24 hours. We will see.
Between those frustrating encounters we drove over to Fairhope, AL, about a 15 minute drive, to have lunch, get some groceries at Publix and pick up a couple of miscellaneous items from Walmart.
Lunch at the Agave Mexican restaurant was good. We had enough leftovers that it met our needs for supper. (Once again it is easy to see my lack of photography skills.)
After the afternoon experience with T-Mobile I took a 2.5 mile walk around the campground to burn off some frustration. The temperature was in the 50's. It got dark while I was walking. The moon over the clubhouse was beautiful.
Even when you have to deal with T-Moble, God is still good <grin>. I pray that He blesses you and yours.
Dick, one of the guys at the campground said we should try out Fish River Baptist church, we did this morning. There were only around 20 people in the service. The Pastor was home sick with COVID and we were told that most of their attenders are old people, afraid to get out because of COVID. The church live streams the service for them.
I felt the Spirit working as soon as the service started. I liked the music, mostly older hymns. Yesterday morning the Pastor asked the guy who leads the music to come up with a sermon. He did a pretty job.
Dick wasn't there, he and his wife, are on their way back to Michigan. They are moving back to MI because of their failing health. Before the service started Joan, a lady who lives in one of the houses in the residential area behind the campground, came up and introduced herself and her husband. We had not met her nor her husband. They bought a house down here 5 years ago and Dick soon had them attending Fish River Baptist.
Weather was bleak today. The overnight low was 34 and the high was a cloudy, windy 43. Other than my taking a walk, only 2 miles today, we stayed in the camper.
I did more online motorhome shopping. We had seen an ad for a 2009 Dutch Star 4 slide, 40 footer. I contacted the guy to ask him a lot of questions. The coach had a lot of options. The couple bought it 4 years ago for travel and a place to live while they were having a new home built in Lakeland, FL, where the coach is located. (They are selling it because their house is done. Also when they go north they visit family in New Hampshire. It is 40 miles from their family to the closest campground that can handle 40 footers. They are downsizing to a Class C.) They have invested over $15,000 in repairs and upgrades. New tires and coach batteries were the only non-accessory items. The coach has so many options (hydronic heating, residential refrigerator, freezer in the basement, and much more) that the net Carrying Capacity was only 3,100#. (With a full load of fuel, fresh water & propane you can only have 3,100# of additional stuff before overloading the vehicle.) I won't buy a coach for full-timing that has a net Carrying Capacity of less than 4,000#. Another BIG blackmark against the coach was when I asked the guy if he had maintenance records. He hesitated before telling me that he had not serviced the engine/transmission nor the generator while he has had the coach, 4 years and 14,000 miles. We will keep shopping.
How nasty is it down here? It is so nasty that we didn't even go to the Sunday evening Ice Cream Social at the clubhouse.
God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours.
This morning I went to the clubhouse for breakfast. The food was fine and the visiting even better. I continue to be amazed at the number of people who are here from Michigan. Kathy isn't much of a breakfast person so she stayed at the camper. I did spend a little time sitting outside this morning, knowing that rain was forecast for this afternoon. There was still some clear sky early this AM.
