Another Busy Week

Richard

Mary

Labor Day Pot-Luck

It's been another busy week here at Kelly's RV Park in White Springs, FL. We still need more rain, but the nights are now cooling down to consistently comfortable levels. After the very hot summer, the cooler temperatures are making it easier to stay motivated for getting things done.

Most of last week we helped other volunteers clean and paint the clubhouse kitchen. It was a big job for a relatively small room, but worth the effort. Now the entire clubhouse is in great shape for the snowbirds who start arriving this month. By mid-November the entire park will be filled to capacity and, from what other residents have told us, the clubhouse will be buzzing with activities almost every day.

Yesterday there was a Labor Day pot-luck in the clubhouse attended by most of the year-round residents. Everyone enjoyed plenty of good food and fun conversations. The pictures above show part of the attendees along with Mary & Richard, our gracious hosts here at Kelly's. It was a nice way to spend the holiday.

We also spent a few days last week nursing our newest family member, Quincy, through the after -effects of heart worm medication. During a follow-up visit to the vet after his respiratory infection, we discovered that he has a mild heart worm condition and, surprisingly, a small b-b lodged in the skin under his throat. The vet said it's best to leave the b-b in place as it will cause no long-term problems, but know we have a better idea of why he is so afraid of certain noises and children. He's doing great and looks forward to long walks everyday.

It's amazing to think we have been here for over four months already. What was booked as a one month stay has proven to be a place we are in no hurry to leave. But, as I've written before, that's what happened with most of the long-term residents here at Kelly's. When you find yourselves in a beautiful area surround by great people it's something to be treasured. After our hectic travels of last year, it feels good to slow down and really get to know an area and the people in deeper ways than we could have before. Besides, it gives our trusty, old RV Howie (House On Wheels Is Excellent) a chance to take a rest for awhile.

Until next time, Happy Trails, everyone!


Copyright 2009-2010 Lane A Geyer
Photos by Deb

Disconnected

It's been too long since my last post due to a problem with the WiFi signal here at Kelly's RV Park in White Springs, FL. What began as a minor upgrade to the system ended up being a major fiasco due to two totally incompetent contractors. A job that should have taken no more than two days became a comedy of errors that left everyone around the park very frustrated. There was no excuse for the problem other than companies that over-promised and under-delivered. Given the current state of the economy, it's hard to believe that good service is still hard to find.

The one thing this problem brought to light was how much in our lives is now dependent on an Internet connection. It's amazing that in a relatively short amount of time the Internet has become such a vital source for people on so many levels. Let's just hope there is never a long-term problem with the Web because much of life as we currently know it would abruptly change. For those of us who grew-up without a computer or cell phones, adapting to no Internet connections would be a hassle that could be tolerated. But for younger generations who have never known life without cruising the Web and sending Tweets it would be, like, totally devastating.

Even with the WiFi problem it has been a busy two weeks. We joined several other volunteers from around the park to help paint the clubhouse interior in preparation for the coming months when the snowbirds arrive. Deb has taken trips with other women to a flea-market in Lake City and a day of shopping in Jacksonville. I have been helping the owner, Richard, with the WiFi system and we've made our regular runs to WalMart for supplies.

Our biggest activity over the past week has been welcoming a new addition to our traveling family. Quincy (pictured above) is a male, Corgi/Pomeranian mix that we adopted from a shelter in Lake City. He is three years old, a bundle of loving energy and, weighing only nine pounds, fits well into our limited RV space. Other than a nasty respiratory infection he aquired while in the shelter, he is in excellent health, well-trained and rarely barks unless provoked. Because Deb lived in Quincy, MA for thirty years, we have accepted it was a simple matter of fate that he is here with us now.

The other thing we have been dealing with is a continuation of brutal heat, high humidity and lack of rain. There has been no break from these conditions all Summer and everyone here is over it. If anyone can spare some rain and cooler temperatures, please send them our way. It would be greatly appreciated.

Until next time, Happy Trails everyone.

Copyright 2009-2010 Lane A Geyer
Photos by Deb

Random Thoughts

A few random thoughts that have been bouncing around my head recently:

Bad Neighbors - Just like living in any type of house, the full-time RV life also includes dealing with bad neighbors on occasion. We have some now that leads me to believe there should be some kind of screening process before people are trusted with the care and transport of any type of RV.

First, to their credit, they are very friendly people who are only here at the Flower Mill RV Park (at least right now) during weekends. But they have exhibited the same behaviors we have seen in many other places that make us shake our heads in disbelieve.

The first sign of pending concerns was when they arrived several weeks ago. They have a 20 foot tow-behind trailer that was being pulled by a truck way too small for the job. As they made their way to a site, it was obvious they had no clue how to adjust the settings on the braking system. Every time the driver hit the brakes in the truck, the trailer brakes totally locked up causing it to skid wildly. On top of this, the brake lights on the trailer were not working. Given that they drove here from middle Tennessee, I had to wonder how many potential accidents could have happened along the way.

This is only one example of too many RV owners we have seen throughout our travels who have no idea how to safely operate their equipment on the open road. It's bad that those of us who drive large motor homes have to be constantly on guard for aggressive or unsafe drivers. If some idiot hits me I have a major concern about the amount of LP and gas inboard, but the impact to this 6 ton behemoth will be minor compared to that of a smaller vehicle. However, if I drive stupidly or do not know how to handle this same 6 tons safely, I have a very good chance of quickly killing someone. If you have not had previous experience or training in driving large vehicles or towing extended tonnage behind you, please do not assume it's easy. It's not; and knowing that could save a life.

The other thing they have done is constantly left burning campfires unattended. On more than one occasion it has been necessary to drag my hose to their fire ring to douse smoldering embers after they had gone elsewhere. The last time was a few mornings ago when wind gusts of 25 mph+ threw red embers from their smoldering fire over three different sites. How stupid (and inconsiderate) can one be? If you've never seen how quickly an RV can burn, go to UTube and enter a video search for RV On Fire. It's scary. It takes, on average, only 10 minutes for an RV of any type to completely burn to the ground.

One last thought on this topic. There is a very good reason that most RV parks have posted speed limits of 5 mph. Besides safety for the children who are usually present, lower speeds reduce noise, dust and freak accidents. There are too many people who want to drive their RVs through parks at the same speeds normally found on Interstate highways.

The one upside of having bad neighbors in the full-time RV lifestyle is that you can quickly move your house at any time to get away from them.

Gas Prices - We own a home-on-wheels that has an 80 gallon gas tank and can get 8-10 miles per gallon under the best of conditions. There have been times, like when we where driving through the steep grades of the Allegheny mountains, that our fuel average dropped to 3-4 mpg. Needless to say, we have to keep a very close eye on gas prices. I track the crude oil prices almost daily to try and stay ahead of the fluctuations at the pump.

The thing that burns my butt over the current average of $3.00 per gallon is that it has not been driven by supply and demand. It has only happened because of investment speculators in the commodities markets. Without their influences over the past several months, most experts state that gas prices would still be in the same ranges as a year ago.

Aside from the extra money current gas prices are costing us, my biggest concern is that there is no way for our economy to recover if these trends continue. Gas prices affect everything from shipping costs to manufacturing, which keeps consumer prices high and expansion stifled. We all need some kind of relieve from the overbearing influences that gas prices have on our lives.

The Continued Media Fascination With Lady Gaga - What's up with that? Enough of just another no-talent freak show!

copyright 2009-2010 Lane A Geyer

photo by Deb

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