Dang RV

Silver Springs, next to the Ocala National Forest, is the home of Silver Springs Theme Park where numerous commercials and movies have been shot due to its crystal clear 99% pure spring water. The Tarzan series of movies with Johnny Weismuller, Sea Hunt with Lloyd Bridges, Legend with Tom Cruise, one of the 007 James Bond movies, the commercial of a family living and eating underwater, etc. were filmed there. It is also an animal rehab and sanctuary as well as an excellent concert venue. The glass bottom boats and concerts are what  brought me to stay for 5 weeks at Wilderness RV Park nearby.

Wilderness RV Park has been very nice with all the amenities including a pool, hot tub, exercise room, laundry, propane, a lodge and meeting hall for nightly activities, lots of planned activities, river access with kayak and canoe rentals, etc. The sites are wide open so no issue with my satellite TV though they do also provide cable TV free. My site was level on grass while some sites have a concrete pad. I highly recommend using a water filter on the incoming line. The water is loaded with both sulfur and chlorine so it smells pretty bad.

I had no problem finding things to do and entertainment in camp. I got on a treadmill for the first time and found I can actually do it despite my health issues and with no pain whatsoever. It is wonderful to do at night wih a TV available to watch while working out and a chair to sit in afterward to cool down and get over the dizziness it causes. There is also a sauna and shower provided while the bathhouse is right next door. The pool is unheated at this time but some folks still refresh in it on hot days. I gave the hot tub a whirl. I managed get in on a group campfire, a spaghetti dinner, Mardi Gras parade, a Space Shuttle launch, a corned beef and cabbage dinner for St. Patrick’s Day,  several games of cards with very nice folks, wii bowling, and gator races (no kidding!). I loved game night with the bowling and races. I lost 75 cents betting  on the gators but I also won twice and I ate at least that much in free nachos with tons of cheese and piquante sauce along with lime punch.

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King George RV Resort is a park that serves a particular need and should be taken that way. It is hardly a resort. The spaces are very close together, the pool is small, the “clubhouse” is closed during the evening, no campfires are allowed, and it is not the sort of place that engenders the usual RVer walk, stop, and chat. They lock the gates at 6pm so be sure you arrive before that. They provide the lock combination during check-in so you can get in and out while staying there.

What the park is, is an extremely convenient place to stop overnight on the way in and out of Florida and a good place to stay to visit both Okefenokee Swamp and Cumberland Island National Seashore. It is very easy to find this park just off the I95, there is a gas station very close, Walmart Supercenter is only about 8 miles away, the seashore is about 12 miles and the swamp about 35 miles. It accepts nearly all discount clubs including RPI, Good Sam,  and Passport America so there is no reason for anyone to pay full price.

The prospect of seeing wild horses led me to St. Marys, Georgia to grab the ferry to Cumberland Island and National Seashore. There are currently no bathroom facilities or food sellers on the island so you should use facilities at St. Marys before leaving, bring water and a sack lunch. An expensive sack lunch and water can be purchased at a store nearby to the ferry dock. Consider also bringing a plastic poncho in case of rain, sun block, a heavy coat, hat and sunglasses. It can get very cold on the ferry and island with lots of wind. To park for this all day excursion, you must park down the street near the beige building rather than in front of the park and ferry dock. They make an exception for those with a handicapped tag displayed. Tickets for the ferry can be purchased in the Cumberland Island National Seashore Visitor’s Center.

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Ahhh. My very first rally. I have heard about these for years but this is the first one I attended. I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was hoping it wasn’t just another RV show as I have attended numerous of those and I truly love living in my current trailer with no desire to change. Happily it wasn’t.

First thing I learned was that when they say just follow the signs, don’t count on it. They did have signs at the freeway exits and turns from there but if you come in another way, no signs at all. I managed to find my way in any way. Muwahaha.

Registration was very well laid out and handled. I got my packet full of goodies and a new lanyard to keep with a badge hanging from it that tells everyone my name, state, and emergency info if I decided to drop dead while walking around the enormous fairgrounds. They also had free open computer terminals setup in there if you needed to check your email or browse something. For fun, another station was giving out stackable ribbons to add to your badge to show what groups you belong so such as Good Sam, Coast to Coast, Camping World President’s Club, Trailer Life Magazine, etc. They made it pretty easy to get to know one another fast.

They had seminars scheduled all day every day which is what I was looking for. Experts, including people who have been full-timing for 45 years, came in to teach us the basics like maintaining tires and tank systems and how to handle banking and mail on the road as well as more interesting subjects such as how to travel Canada and Alaska and what to expect, what Tracks tours are like, and so on. I believe I saw an RV cooking class and arts and crafts class on the schedule as well. The speakers were excellent and backed up their presentations with books (many of which they had written) and DVDs which you could purchase afterward.

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It was a lovely week in Ohio but that was only a pitstop. Back on the road again, I headed out through West Virginia. Lots of trees and mountains but not much else.

I hit a toll road unexpectedly and of course my purse was forgotten and still inside the trailer. Lucky for me, I don’t smoke so I use the ashtray to hold change and a spare dollar “just in case”.

I stopped at a rest area to retrieve my purse as soon as possible after getting on the toll road. I left the car running since I was only going to be a few minutes. When I got back, the quarter tank of gas I had now claimed to be empty on the gas gauge. Turning the car off and back on made no difference. Normally I would have been okay since I always carry a spare 5 gallon can but, unfortunately, I gave the gas the night before to two young ladies at 2am who had come to see some lads next to me in the campground and found they had missed the campfire and the lads were asleep. Knew I should have stopped and refilled it but I was in go go go mode. Aargh! Of course, it had to be a hot day as well and I have a cat in the car. So, I did the next best thing and called Good Sam Emergency Assistance on my cell phone for the first time. It took awhile to pinpoint where I was for the lady but someone showed up with gas 45 minutes later. The men were very nice and when the gas made no difference, they escorted me to the next gas station and gave me tips on how far I could go on a full tank with a broken gas gauge. Happily, once the tank was full, the gas gauge started to work again and has been working ever since. Go figure. Yes, I filled the gas can too. I highly recommend the Good Sam Emergency Assistance. They have kept me from worrying about these things this whole trip and then proved themselves. The incident cost me nothing.

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Next stop, Kieler Wisconsin. Why you might ask? Because it is right next to the Iowa state line and as close to Dyersville as I could get to go to the Field of Dreams and still have wifi for my work. In Kieler, I am staying at the Rustic Barn Campground. No sewer hookup here but strong wifi, excellent showers, lovely countryside views of surrounding farms complete with cows and corn, very nice owner, quiet with no trains or freeway noise for a change, good store and laundry, very nice “loafing” room in the barn and front porch with rocking chairs and chair swing. Lots of trees here and many cement patios though I chose a sunnier site for my satellite TV reception. Giving me directions in the first 5 minutes on what to do in case of tornado did make me a little nervous. Give me a good old fashioned earthquake instead anytime!

I went through Dubuque to the Field of Dreams in Dyersville yesterday. You have to have some clue where it is and watch closely for the signs since the owners do not want to commercialize it with big gaudy signs. First thing I did was buy a baseball to play with (they don’t supply equipment or organize anything for insurance reasons). I sat on the bleachers and watched fathers having a catch with sons and daughters or pitching to their little sluggers. Lots of giddy people, including myself, went out into the corn in the outfield to meditate which isn’t easy when a group of kids start talking about the movie, “Children of the Corn”. LOL.

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After a month in Osburn, Idaho, it was time to hit the road again. Pulled out Saturday, June 9th.

New backup camera worked very very well to hitch up. Definitely would be easier if the front of the trailer hitch wasn’t black so I will be painting or taping it yellow. Lining up dead on center sure was easy though.

New cat travel area in my GMC Yukon worked quite well with hanging see-through security curtain to keep her out of the front area. She was free to roam and had water, food, and a litter box which she did use. That area also has it’s own air conditioning zone and controls. She enjoyed looking out the windows. Of course, she still chose to whine quite a bit but I noticed she took naps during the long drive as well this time which was nice for me. She did not try to breech the curtain so I think this is going to work for the long haul.

We hit tons of contruction going on just over the Idaho-Montana border. Several different zones of it for miles which kept narrowing down the road and shoving us over onto the other side of the highway while they worked on ours. Still the drive through Montana was quite lovely. The curves near the border were a little rough with the trailer not quite tracking behind the car but once we got out on the flat straights, maintaining 65mph was easy with no sway and cruise control.

I crossed the Continental Divide a huge sign on top of a mountain announced. Woohoo! That made me glow. My Yukon seemed to be pretty proud of itself too.

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What a week in my RV life! Both equipment and personal breakdowns.

It started with my refrigerator dying. Darn thing would not stay on and when it was, it was not that cold. Lost a little food but not much. That necessitated putting my entire home in the RV repair place which is thankfully right next to the RV park. Yes, I was homeless for a day.

The upside was that I needed the annual repacking of the hub bearings done anyway and I wanted to add a Tornado black water tank cleaning system, so I got those all done at the same time. See, you can make lemonade from lemons. All seems to be working fine now. They did a great job.

The refrigerator repair is being paid by the Good Sam CSP warranty I bought right after I bought the trailer “just in case”. The shop called them with their diagnosis and got a quick authorization from them for the $1400 repairs. I just have to pay my deductible so that helps the sting. I guess I should state the shop was Broadmoor RV on St. Thomas Drive in Pasco, WA to throw them some free advertising here. I should also mention that I went back over to Broadmoor the next day and they had a free barbecue going on with barbecued spare ribs and beans. Yummy!

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If you are going to be a full-time RVer, this is a question you will have to answer sooner or later. As much as we would like to be gypsies and say our home is where our rig is, the realities of life, laws, insurance, taxes, etc. demand that we declare a particular address as our home. How you choose what state and address depends on a lot of different things and does involve state laws so what anyone tells you to do should be well investigated and should take your own specific situation into account. Seeing a lawyer wouldn’t hurt either.

If you are getting a pension from a job, be aware that changing your state of residence may have no affect on paying taxes on it. Also, if you plan to spend the bulk of your time in one state, you should check their residency and vehicle laws. They may be able to claim you as a resident and that may very well be OK by you if you don’t travel a lot. Each state has their own definition of what makes you a resident so be careful and know the law. Every state has their laws posted on their site on the Internet so Google away.

Most full-timers choose from 3 particular states to reside in; Texas, Florida, and South Dakota. Why those states out of so many others? Because those 3 have no state income tax. Why not Washington state which has no income tax? Because the other 3 have no income tax, no state inheritance tax, no personal property tax, reasonable sales taxes, low insurance rates, low vehicle registration fees, you can become a resident by mail (car tags, mailing services, *voting) and slight differences between them that will make at least one of them right for you.

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