Full Day....

Today Linda and I drove to Clearwater to go to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium
. This is a Rescue, Rehab and Release aquarium for dolphins, turtles, otters and other marine animals. I had found this facility many years ago when I researched animal rescue facilities throughout the US and marked the locations of the facilities on a US atlas. Linda saw my notation and decided it was a good place to go for a day trip, while in Florida...she was right. One of the residents at CMA is "Winter", a bottlenose dolphin who came to the facility when she was very young and was found entangled in a crab trap. Hear about Winter's story here. What an amazing animal and a true inspiration to everyone. Linda and I took the behind the scenes tour of the facility so we got to see where they prep the food for the animals, where they do surgery on them, the new holding tank area that is under construction and we went inside the vehicle used for strandings to see what they do when they go to rescue a turtle or dolphin. It was very interesting to hear and see what goes on behind the scenes.

This turtle was put in the tank with the first dolphin brought to CMA
for art therapy. "Sunset Sam" did a great job painting this guy !


Today's menu for the residents...sounds yummy !


This little guy is blind so he has to be hand fed....he also likes the body rubs.


Time to play and exercise..


Saying hello....


View from the aquariums' parking lot....

As if that wasn't great enough, we also went to the bird sanctuary a little ways from the aquarium....more on that tomorrow.

Spa Day.....

Yesterday was a leisurely day for us. Linda had researched on-line and discovered that there was a Massage Envy spa in nearby Wesley Chapel. This is a national chain for massage but we haven't had a chance to try them out. We called yesterday morning and booked an appointment for both of us at noon. They have a great introductory rate of $39 for an hour or $57 for a ninety minute massage. Well, we couldn't resist the ninety minute deal so that's what we got. Can you say "butta"...that is what Linda and I felt like when we left there. Each of the therapists found little knots that we weren't aware even existed. Got the kinks out and today I feel like my momma had taken her "board of education" to my back. No pain - no gain, right ? Well worth it. Great environment and a great deal if you like massages.

Ruckus Among Residents...

There's a pair of whooping cranes in the park that tend to hang out over in the middle of the park. Linda, Boomer and I went for a walk and as we got back to our rig, I noticed that the "klackers" (my name for the cranes based on the noise they make)were hanging out near our rig. I went out with the camera to get some pics and followed them as they walked over between a couple of rigs. It was then that the pair of cranes started going crazy. At first I couldn't figure out what was agitating them but then it hit me. They were standing in front of a Class C with a really shiny chrome bumper and they could see their reflections in it. Thought they had some competition and it took them quite a while to figure out that they were just looking at themselves. It was pretty comical (and noisy)!

Posh Pad....

There was an interesting article in yesterday's newspaper about the new estate that Lazy Days' founder Don Wallace is having built in a nearby community. Just a small abode...27,008 square feet. Two pools, sauna and steam rooms, elevator, bar, billiard room, bowling alley, gym, game room , men's lounge, etc. In total, 40,000 sq. feet....the 27,000 number is just the heated portion. Their current home, of 13,000 sq ft. doesn't give them enough space for their young children to play...hence the need for a new house.

What a great rag to riches story Mr. Wallace's is. He started Lazy Days in 1976 with $500, a mobile home and two travel trailers. The business grew to a company with annual sales of $800 million and its 126 acre complex in Seffner became the largest single site RV center in the country. The economy has put a hurting on the company though. The company laid off more than 200 employees (maybe Mr. Wallace would like to invite them to his new house for a BBQ). In September the CEO of the company struck a deal with bondholders to eliminate its $137 million debt through a prepackaged Chapter 11 reorganization. Mr Wallace sold portions of the company inn 1999 and 2004 but remains a primary stockholder.

Construction is expected to continue another 2.5 to 3 years before the project is complete.

Quiet Day...

Storms overnight gave the campground a good dousing. By the time I got up, the sun was peeking through and it started out as a pretty day. Wasn't quite as warm as yesterday but still shorts and tank top weather. I organized the basement of the rig as it tends to get a bit messy when I'm shoving items in and hauling them out while we are working at a site. Many times a particular location won't have the tools I need to get the job done so I go out to the truck or rig and get my tools out. Thus starts the disorganization and mess....Linda worked inside the rig, sorting through things and setting some items aside to put in this weekend's yard sale that will take place here in the Escapees park.

Speaking of organization.....just before we left New Jersey we bought a cupboard that would fit in our washer/dryer area. We did have a 5 drawer storage unit in there but the drawers would sometimes fall down onto the drawer below it if you put too much weight in the drawer plus it didn't organize all of the space in the closet to the fullest potential. I looked on-line for something that would fit inside the closet and utilize the space to its fullest but it seemed that either cupboards were either too wide or too tall. Then I found a Sterilite 5 shelf unit that we had planned on having sent to a Wal-Mart once we got down here. Just before leaving NJ we went down to Linda's brother's house to drop off our car and we stopped at the Target store near their house. We found that they had the shelf in stock so we got one. It is perfect !! A perfect fit for the space - no side to side movement. We were concerned about how we'd get it inside the closet once we put it together; not sure if we could get it squared up once inside the door frame but the whole thing could be assembled inside the closet. It was just what we'd been looking for. It utilizes every square inch of the closet for storage and we were still able to use the closet rod and put two coats next to the cupboard since there is a couple inches where the side wall of the closet is offset. We put non-skid liner on the shelves and not an item moved during our trip from NJ to Florida....doesn't get any better than that ! The shelves are adjustable too and the doors latch tightly. We are really pleased with this little project.

Tomorrow we're off to the Webster Flea Market It's listed as one of the "Top Ten" attractions in Florida and covers 40 acres...Can't wait to see what fruits and veggies we can get.

Tampa RV Show....

Yesterday Linda and I went to the Tampa RV show, which is supposed to be the country's largest display of RV's. We wanted to see the vendors, as there are a couple of products that I use that I was hoping to find. One item I was hoping to find is Envy, a waterless wax for the rig. I had never heard of this item but when we were at the Escapees park in Livingston, Texas a couple years ago Linda won a whole bunch of these items at a get together they had. There is a metal polish, wet look for tires, etc. I love the wax....quick and easy for touching up the rig, without hauling out a bucket and brush. Didn't find it at the show...

The other item is 303. I use this on all the rubber gaskets around the lights on the RV, on the door handles, plastic recept. covers, tires, dashboards, RV decals, etc. I think it does a great job of protecting these items from yellowing, fading, etc. Helps this three year old rig keep her youthful look ! Didn't see this anywhere either...Was hoping to save the shipping/handling by buying it there but no cigar....time to do some on-line shopping.

We looked at Class A motorhomes at the show. Not the multi-million rigs that required "no shoes" and a hands off approach to going through their rigs. There were many of them....we walked by several that displayed a 2 million dollar+ price tag but they are are so glitzy that they appear to be more of a showplace than a "home", which is what ours would need to be. We looked at all the major manufacturers and initially I liked the looks of a Four Winds Magellan motorhome Seems to be the big thing is 1.5 baths to 2 baths now. This one had a 1/2 bath behind the kitchen and then a full bath in the rear of the coach. I liked the modern styling of the cabinets with contemporary door handles but on my second trip through the coach noticed things that seemed a little on the chintzy side. The friese style carpeting is too much like "shag" carpeting. I installed this type of carpeting in my house when I had it on the market and it was all the rage but don't want it in our traveling house. I did like the other flooring though...was a totally different look from anything else I've seen in other motorhomes.

After looking at everything there and pondering on it, we both came to the conclusion that we like our 5th wheel and there wasn't anything else out there that would serve us any better than what we currently have. We've gotten all the major things fixed or "tweaked" and as long as we can get in or out of a work location, we're OK. We want to wait to see how long we keep doing this type of work before we decide on anything different. It's fun (and exhausting) to look but in the end we are both very practical about our needs.

Tomorrow we'll relax around here...do some laundry....Watch some football. Still waiting to hear from the RV doctor for our appt. Will call Monday if they don't call first. Was 70 degrees today...supposed to be warmer tomorrow but with thunderstorms. I think tomorrow might be a good day to check out the indoor heated pool.... :)

Warming Up.....

We arrived at the campground around 2:45 yesterday (Tuesday). They assigned a site to us but after looking/attempting to back in we decided on another site just down a few that we could easily pull in to. Got set up and had a relaxing evening. The setting sun was warm on our open door and Boomer was having a ball watching out the screen door until it came time to close it. It did get cold overnight....woke up to a light frost on the ground.

Today we headed out to the flea market....for some reason we thought it was on Wednesdays and couldn't figure out why there wasn't the usual stream of traffic going to/from the site until we got there and realized that it clearly must not be on Wednesdays. It's on Mondays and as luck would have it we don't have any plans on Monday.

From there we headed out to see our friend Jan, in Inverness. Was so great to see her ! We took her to an appointment, to Wal-Mart for some groceries and then had a great lunch. It was a wonderful day with our friend. On our way back to the campground we stopped at Par-Gas and got our propane tank filled. $17 to fill our tank....compare that to the $33 we've been paying the last four months in New Jersey. The guy told me the price had been $15 up until last week and then they needed to raise the price. Thank goodness we got reimbursed for the fill-ups the last four months by our employer. We didn't realize how exorbitant the price was, even though it was really convenient being that it was only a couple blocks away.

Temps have been slowly warming up each day. Today it got to 60 degrees. Tomorrow it's forecasted to be upper 60's....70's on Friday. Possible thunderstorms this weekend. Tomorrow we are going to the Tampa RV show....we're excited to check that out.

Oh yeah, we called the RV doctor this morning to schedule the work on the rig. Seems the cold snap has bombarded them with furnace problems so they are really backed up right now. Won't be able to get to us for a week to week and a half. Hmmmm...good thing we're not in any hurry.

Walterboro,SC

We covered about 400 miles today...from Virgina Beach, VA to Walterboro, SC. We're staying at a campground that is right off I-95. We're plugged in, tanks dumped, furnace running. Ahhh...the simple pleasures. The sites here at Green Acres RV park are big pull throughs and the price was right at $28. We are even watching HGTV right now....a treat after only having limited antennae channels for the last four months. We'll get on the road in the morning so we can get to the Escapees park in Bushnell before dark. Temps have steadily gotten warmer the further south we've driven. Not warm by any stretch but warmer than NJ. Can't wait till the end of the week when the temps in Florida will be back to normal.

Driving....

We're on the road....left Virginia Beach around 7:30. Decided to stay at Linda's daughter's house because our batteries just can't keep up with needing to run the furnace so much and we get the "low DC" message. Took all the juice in the batteries I could muster last night to pull in the slideout in the kitchen so I shut everything off, put some windshield washer fluid down the drains and we went to sleep in a warm bed for the night. We are currently in North Carolina. Will find a campground when we're ready to stop for the night so we can plug in and keep everything charged up and more importantly...keep us warm. Will post more info and pictures later..

The Best View...

The Best View is the one in your rear view mirror when you have hitch itch and can't wait to git goin'. That is how we felt at 6:30 when the new managers finished closing and we hit the road. It got so cold this afternoon. Made it challenging to be outside for long...gathering up hoses, etc. to get ready to leave. We had the slides all pulled in and the truck hooked on around 4:30. Then at 5:30 we started the truck so all the fluids would be warmed up and ready to go when it came time to leave....plus the cab got nice and toasty too. It was so easy getting out of there. Linda drove straight out the back gate...across the street and into the church parking lot and then out the other side onto the street leading to Route 1. We'd been fretting about how we were going to get out...could we make it around the corner of the building to go that way or could we turn left onto the street outside of rear gate. I scoped it out and decided we'd go out and through the church lot...it was a piece of cake ! No fuss, no muss. We are now at a service area, down by the Delaware Memorial bridge...off the turnpike. Just had something to eat....getting ready for bed and then up at at 'em bright and early to drive to Virginia Beach. Still sounding like it's going to be cold for another day of so of driving and then look out....60 and 70 degree days ! Yeeha !!
Anyways, after 4 months+1 day in Rahway...the best view was the one out our rear view mirror as we left town !!