Living in 300 Square Feet

We figure the inside of the RV has about 300 square feet of living area.  So what is it like to live in 300 square feet for a week?  Not bad actually.  We still have “extra” storage room, though I began spreading out into almost every nook and cranny. We definitely have enough living and storage space to lose things!  The RV seems to “eat” can and wine openers, kindles, cats, and other miscellaneous items!  

Keeping the Segways in the truck freed up a large space underneath and they were much more convenient to use that way.  We also learned we must think ahead and get items out from under the slides before they come out, especially the grill!

Inside, we  have to talk loudly to be heard.  (Maybe this is a  component of our hearing!) The air conditioners (which were essential this trip!) are fairly loud and it’s hard to hear someone talking from room to room, even though its only a few feet.  When we are moving we use the walkie talkies.  As far as “modern conveniences” I miss, I think the only real item would be the dish washer.  My hand washing technique needs to improve.  I would have to rewash several items each time, noticing it when I went to put them away. 

The limited space really doesn’t bother us as we settle into activities whether its meals, watching TV, working on the blogs, planning the next day’s activities etc.  There is plenty of room for that.  When it does come into play, is when we move from one area to another.  Dave and I were never good dancers, and we would constantly get in each other’s way.  This will improve with time. Maybe we need to take more hints from Dancing with the Stars.  

 I really look forward to a trip to a cooler climate where we could use the outside space more.  We would set up the ground cloth and chairs, picnic table, etc.  But except for when we were grilling, we rarely used those areas as it was just too darn hot!  I think we ate outside once.   We would also meet more folks if we were outside more.  I think that was a disappointment.  We really only met a few people.  Again it was a component of the heat.  When we were in Melbourne the couple across from us reminded me of Don Deacon and when we got out the segways, I gave lessons to their kids.  We enjoyed the folks on the boat, and we chatted for a while with a newly empty-nest couple out on our segways in St. Augustine.  At the last park, the folks who ran it were friendly, but it was only ½ full and most folks  (including us!) stayed inside with their air conditioners.  I guess we are too acclimated to them!

This will probably be my last blog until we start planning our next trip.  We are working on a trip to New England for the leaves in the fall, and I keep hoping Teaching Strategies will send me somewhere fun in August.  I took a job in Marion this week for the end of August and turned down a few to Alabama either while we were at the beach or that next week (I do not want to do prep at the beach!).  I’m getting several offers a day, so right now I’m being “picky”.    If any of you reading this have ideas of where we should go, please send us your comments and ideas.

So what is it like to live in 300 square feet? !... Maybe I should visit IKEA and pay a little more attention!

Too Hot to Play

Dave and I had grand plans for the day.  Go down to the State Park at Amelia Island and ride around on our Segways, then check out the Ritz and Omni at the Resort and finally ride the Segways again around the Victorian neighborhoods in Ferdinandina.  BUT IT WAS TOO BLAME HOT!  We did enjoy the State Park, but by foot and truck.  The shops at the Resort just didn't have my name on them and by the time we ate a nice lunch down on the water (but inside) at Ferdinandina it was too hot to shop or segway.  We did ride around the Victorian neighborhood and found C. S. Lewis' house.  It is made of stucco made with oyster shells.

Tabby House built for C. S. Lewis

So we came back to the air conditioned RV about 4, and Dave puttered, fixed the door and the fan (so far!)!  He just can't be still! LOL  We've decided to drive back to NC tomorrow.

Email and Birthdays

Yesterday was Emily's birthday!  After a few technical glitches we were able to video call her. Technology can be both extremely annoying AND wonderful at the same time!  It is really great to keep in touch and to see and talk to Emily and her wonderful family. She is such a delight in our lives and we are constantly amazed by her creativity, technical expertice and superior parenting!  It is so great to see your child blossom... and to LIKE them along with loving them!

She has been very supportive and helpful with our blog.  She found a gadget we could add that would give you an email alert when we post.  If you would find that helpful, put your email address in the bar on the right.  You might also find it annoying, so its totally your choice!  LOL

St. Augustine is hot fun!

After finding Jack, (see previous post) we decided to head for a day trip to St. Augustine.  The first stop however was at Camping World where we got a replacement sewer hose (see ANOTHER previous post!) and a few essentials.  Now we are finding what we REALLY "need".

Dave found a website about things to do in St. Augustine and it said to start at the Lightner Museum.  We really enjoyed it.  It is in the old Alacazar Hotel.  The architecture was amazing.  Check it out at:  www.lightnermuseum.org.  The very best was the mechanical musical room where we had a demonstration of the instruments.  Dave took a video:

I had never seen a mechanical violin before!!!!

Here are some more pictures from the museum.  Of course none of our in-laws (on either side!) would need this rug!



Of course we liked the glass and Tiffany Room

Then we broke out the Segways and went around the historic part of the city.  We really had fun exploring the art galleries, admiring the historical houses and the San Sabastian Winery at least got us out of the heat!

For most of you reading this blog... THIS is your gift from St. Augustine.  Your gift is that we did NOT buy this  T-Shirt for you!!!  LOL... Tho' we were tempted!!  When we got back to camp, Jack was STILL in the window!

 

The Parable of the Lost Coin..errr.. Cat!

Jack was AWOL this morning, but when I shook his food he came out from the driver's side seat. Dave and I continue to have a leisurely morning drinking coffee and reading the Observer on line (LOVE their e-edition!) A little while later I go to give him my left over yogurt (he usually begs for it!) and he's no where to be found. I figure he's just hiding somewhere, and am not worried. He has not wanted to go out AT ALL even when the door has been left open. Dave gets up and begins to look for him. Of course I had gone out of the door once, so the possibility of him getting out is there. He looks all around and declares he's not in the RV. We start looking outside. I finally go to the RV office and ask if they have seen him. (They were sitting out in rockers on the porch with a clear view of our RV). Nope. Go back in and look some more. Now I am doing the commando crawl, on my belly with the flashlight looking under everything! (And my new knee is good, but not THAT good! But Jack is worth the pain!)... we decide we can't go anywhere until he "comes home". As we are making one more pass around the campground, I look up and there he is... on the dash between the curtain and the window, looking at us like he's laughing at our antics!

Breaking Camp is a B#tch!

We decided to move on and have landed not very far from Amelia Island. We wanted to get into the State Park there but they were full (glad we called ahead). I think we will have fun exploring this area the next few days, but getting here wasn't much fun. Securing everything and breaking up camp took FOREVER and just as we were pulling off, the step broke. Poor David had to get on his back and disconnect everything underneath the RV and bungee cord the step to the carriage! I'm glad I married a handyman! I would have called Good Sam or AAA!

The campground, Country Oaks is nice. We decided to go over to the Island for supper and ran into a terrible thunderstorm. The food was awesome! Dave wrote alot more on his blog about our technical troubles. Let's just say the "fix-it" list is growing long. Check him out at

www.davesddd.blogspot.com

Hot, Quiet, Day, The Vapor Trail, and DAVE'S BLOG

It was too hot today to do very much. We had planned to go to Manatee Park, but opted for the cool of the movie house instead. Larry Crowne was fun, not Oscar material, but fun none the less. We then did some RV shopping at a shopping center getting odds and ends for the RV.

Here is a picture of the vapor trail I wrote about yesterday. You know, preschool people always find each other and I made a friend Robin on the boat. We agreed to share pictures and she had the best one of the vapor trail. We all continued to watch it as we went back into port. You really did not want it to disapate so that we could continue what we saw....

David has been working diligently on his blog. It serves as a real counterpoint to my writing, filling in details and giving the other perspective. He was determined to get everything "right" and in the right order. You might want to start at the bottom and read to the top to get the chronological order. I did not know my husband was such a good writer! I am impressed and I think you will be too! The link is:
davesddd.blogspot.com

BLAST OFF!!!

Dave and I both woke up well before the alarm this am, excited about the launch. The skies looked dreary and we left the campsite about 7, expecting to go over to Port Canaveral and hear that the launch had been scrubbed. We figured we'd go out for a nice breakfast and be back by 9. But patches of blue began to sprinkle the sky by 9 and we were out in the bay with only partly cloudy skies by 10:30.

Going out along the causeway we saw thousands of people who had camped out in the rain, however there were still random parking places at 7:45. After checking in on the boat, we did walk down to the 1 restaurant open for breakfast.
The wind that parted the clouds also provided those of us on fishing boats with a wild rollercoaster ride! The bay was VERY CHOPPY. We were on the bow of the boat so we caught all of the sea spray and waves.

As I write this in space traffic, I still have wet panties 2 hr later! Sharon, my sister called right as we were dropping anchor. And though we lost cell phone coverage for a while, we were back on the phone during the blast off. We thought the boat would have a radio with a live feed, but it didn’t and Sharon helped everyone on the boat with the countdown!!

I’m sure those of you who watched it on TV had better views, but WE SAW IT and heard it several seconds later and cherished the vapor trail all the way back into Port Canaveral. It was definitely worth the 2 long drives and all the waves and sea spray! Never underestimate what a 30% chance can provide!
We came back to the camper tired, DIRTY and awestruck!!

How to Gas Up an RV

First you must understand the criteria: you want to get gas at just the ¼ full mark so that you can put exactly 50 gallons in to calculate the gas mileage. Next of course, comes the cost factor. Last night we learned that gas is cheaper in Florida than Georgia, so we are hoping the ¼ mark doesn’t come before the state line! Lastly there is the configuration of the selected gas station. It must accommodate what basically counts as an 18 wheeler in length at the gas (not diesel) pump and have room for us to enter and exit.
Next you have to understand all of the equipment involved. There is:
• Dave’s Gas Buddy APP on his phone that tells us how much the gas cost and SOMETIMES will give you directions.
• The GPS… or Nuvi or Myrtle as she is irreverently called.
• Deb’s cell phone which will give you directions and info too, but is 3G not 4
• The Walkie Talkies
• And don’t forget the 2 sets of eyes trying to watch both the road, relevant signs, and all these devices.
So here’s how it shakes out: As we hit the Florida state line we see Jacksonville in the distance, and Dave decides it would be easier to stop on the other side of the city, traffic and road wise. We start noticing gas bill boards and they aren’t much cheaper than the ones in Georgia. So much for research! Deb goes on Gas Buddy and confirms that the cost of gas near Jacksonville is very similar to Georgia. Dave declares that it would be worth a few pennies/gallon to have easy drive in and outs. We get past the center city. Dave notices an exit with multiple gas station signs so we take the exit. All of the gas stations are very small and would not accommodate our rig. Meanwhile Deb has put “truck stops near Jacksonville” into Google on her phone and identifies 2 south of us on I-95. Dave has to confirm this with the Nuvi (he “almost” successfully completes this maneuver at a stop light). Myrtle does get us back to the interstate and billboards confirm the truck stop is not very far down the way. As we get off at the designated exit, there are 2 truck stops both with gas at the same price. We drive into the TA TravelAssist and discover that the truck lane which is easy to drive into only has diesel gas. I suggest we try the Pilot next door but Dave thinks he can fit at the gas pumps. He makes the tight turns as Deb holds her breath and we pull up to the pump. Deb grabs the walkie talkie and jumps out to see if the 4th pump down lines up with the tank. So now we have tied up 4 pumps. Luckily there isn’t a line to use them! It lines up perfectly on the first pass (Dave is an excellent driver). Once he’s settled, Deb heads across the street to the Florida Fruit Stand and Souvenir Shop where she buys boiled peanuts (hooray for the South!), 4 post cards and 1 grapefruit. She would have bought tomatoes but you had to buy a peck. As she is returning, she notices Dave on the phone talking to his credit card company. The pump will only let him get $75 at a time and then it rejects his card. Hearing the expletives deleted, Deb retreats to check on Jack. He is under the fitted sheet on our bed! After critical negotiations between the clerk, credit card company, and Dave, the tank is full and we are on our way. Dave figures we got 8+ miles per gallon (which sadly is an improvement from Hilton Head!). As we pull out he says, “Another data base app to put on my phone!!!”

AND WE'RE OFF.....

It only took us an hour to get everything secure at Clay’s before we finally took off. Hopefully this will get faster! Here are a few insights about our first two real days “on the road.”
• We had a checklist of at least 5 things that we had either forgotten or realized we weren’t sure we had packed before we got to Carowinds. The list continued to grow, but luckily with nothing critical.
• A true sign you are getting old: you break out the binoculars to check the license plates for our tally (19)!! Actually my eyesight is pretty good, but we are going the speed limit, so cars whizz by and get truly far, fast!!
• We pulled into the Welcome Center at South Carolina, just to check all the towing connections, and one of the truckers said, “That makes for a long rig.” And David realized we are as long as the big rigs! I am not driving yet. I told Dave I would do it on the interstate where I only had to pull off on the shoulder to switch and probably just have to infrequently change lanes, but he said HE would be too nervous. We had planned to practice in the empty Walmart parking lot near Clay’s, but never “got around to it”. This might move higher up on the “to do” list!
• My project while riding was to read through our RV Magazines and cut out articles that had places we might want to go and put them in our “Bucket List” notebook.
• While reading an article aloud to David entitled, “This Year’s Top Ten Bloopers”, a car pulled up beside us and told us we were dragging a hose (this was #6 on the blooper list!). After securing the hose, and finishing the article, we realized we had already committed 2 off the 10, and if we are really honest, maybe 4!!
• The campground we stayed at, Coastal Georgia RV Resort, in

Brunswick GA, was fairly stark (no trees) but it was close to I-95. It was fairly new and had everything we needed: sewer, water, 50 amp, internet, cable, etc. We did not set up a “full camp”… ie. No awnings and chairs outside etc.. IT WAS HOT and their pool felt great after getting hot setting up even the minimal connections.
• We met 2 families at the pool from Jessup and Waycross GA. They were multi-generational and staying there for a week. I couldn’t quite see the attraction for such a lengthy stay. The place only had a pool and a small fishing pond, and Brunswick isn’t exactly a tourist attraction. But as I thought about it, at $36/day, I guess it is a pretty cheap vacation, and the grandparents were definitely enjoying their grandchildren! Grandchildren and a pool, what else do you need! (And the just turned 3 year old could dive like the big kids, but with swimmys on!)
• After cooling off, we took the truck into Brunswick to eat supper and do our bit for the local economy (and China’s!) at Walmart. We are now loaded with fruits, veggies, better notebook supplies, and paint pens for my beach project (watch out Emily and Tracy!). Dave couldn’t find the battery chargers and connections he wanted there, so we will try to find a Sam’s Club or Best Buy later.
• Jack was NOT a happy camper while we were moving. The back of the camper gets hot and he hid and panted most of the way. But after we parked, he began to explore. Hopefully he will settle in soon. At least he wasn’t “vocal” about it!!
• Breaking camp in the morning was fairly painless, and as we were eating breakfast we noticed on the internet that the tropical storm down in Mexico is predicted to scrub the launch by 70%. As we drive into Florida (see next post about gas!) we hit several deluges!! We have a window to the launch until Monday and then they put it off til the 16th. Deb has to leave for ALA on the 19th, so she really needs to be back in CLT on the 18th, so that is a short window. Just pray they don’t scrub tomorrow AFTER we get on the boat. Then we don’t get a refund!! The weather looks better on Saturday and Sunday, so keep your fingers crossed!
• Luckily, the rain slowed to a drizzle while we set up camp. We are at Wickham Park in Melbourne, south of the Cape. It is a County Park and “semi-primitive”. We decide that the difference between it, at $21/night, and the swankier $50/night parks are, we have trees and they don’t, and they have cable TV but we are getting 17 channels on our antennae. We do have to use Dave’s phone as a hot-spot for internet.
• As we settle in, we decide that the Walkie Talkies are one of our best investments/ideas. When Dave drives off with the truck keys I can call him to turn around. But so far, the video camera in the truck doesne’t works. A trip to Best Buy and some more $$ should correct this!
• Dave has gotten the writing bug too and he will be posting his own blog. He complained that I wasn’t giving him enough room! LOL I’ll post a link here when he gets it together!

The Shake Down Cruise

The renovations were about 90% complete. One day we were out to brunch and decided we needed a shake down cruise. We took a map and drew a 2 hour circle, and decided to go to Hilton Head. While Dave built the wine rack, I worked on Ella’s quilt outside on the picnic table. It was so warm in February that we rode throughout the island on our segways. Everything worked well and we began to get used to how to find and operate everything!

The RV: Before and After

Dave and I bought a 1999 Damon Intruder in July, 2010 and spent a year renovating it. (After renovating the house in 2008, Deb was in renovation withdrawal!) Here is a before and after slideshow: