Dang RV

Off to my home park, Breckenridge Lake Resort, in Crossville, TN off I40. In order to join Coast to Coast,  RPI or other clubs, you must buy into a home park first. This can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars and there are different levels. The cost depends on many things such as location, amenities, closeness to major tourist meccas, etc. I bought my home park membership on Ebay. The buy in was low and the yearly maintenance fee is low (watch out for those) so it is perfect for me. I don’t need a bunch of amenities either. I like the location which, while not near my home area, is a very nice place to play and relax with a warm lake nearby, waterfalls, great food at the state park restaurant, a Mennonite community, the home and grave of Sgt. Alvin York nearby, the famous Cumberland Playhouse, and more. If you love the 4th of July and fireworks, these guys are fireworks crazy! The park is plain jane average but it does have full hookups, excellent wifi, a clubhouse, a pavilion, laundry room, and a group fire ring. I can definitely recommend the laundry room which is inexpensive and has dryers that actually dry in one pass. Best of all, it costs only $2 a night to stay here for up to 3 weeks as a member. If you leave for a week, you can come back for 3 more weeks.

I headed in toward town and stopped at The Tower. It was built to house government offices and a water tower during FDR’s New Deal when he opened a homestead project here. These were not your average homesteads. The government did not just give them land and homes. Out of many applications, able bodied men were given a chance to learn a good trade such as carpentry, plumbing, electrical, masonry, etc. and use those skills to build barns and homes. They earned credits toward the purchase of their own homes for their families. Families lived in the barns at first while the homes were being built. While the government called the project a failure due to cost overruns, bickering, many who left for good jobs rather than buy a home, etc., to those families that stayed it was a major success and a godsend. Many of their children’s children still live in the homes they built.

Read the rest of this entry »

I just needed a place on the way to Tennessee to rest up a while so a  park in West Virginia seemed just right. The drive all the way down through the state to the bottom on I79 was remarkably easy even though it is solid mountains. The highway is laid out well without steep ups and downs. I arrived at Jim’s Campground with a choice of partial hookups with grass right down by the river or full hookups above on a gravel plateau. I checked out the cheaper river area first but quickly found there would be no hope of using my satellite dish down there. That was somewhat contradictory to the idea of resting to me and I discovered their weekly rates are very very affordable even for full hookups so I moved up to the plateau quickly. As a bonus, the plateau is closer to the wifi antenna so it gets better signal (not that it was bad down by the river). The plateau also has cement patios with tie downs built into them and some new picnic tables.

It was so hot and muggy, I put out my awning, both for me and for my refrigerator. I had used some WD40 on the roller mechanism in DC so it came out much easier than usual. I may use it more often now! The tie downs were nice to use and a great idea in a gravel area like that. There’s no pool and I didn’t see anyone in the river.

Read the rest of this entry »

Another trip into Pittsburgh to see my aunt before I head back west, as promised.  My aunt and Pittsburgh are both like potato chips. One week was just not enough. I ended up staying 3 weeks again and still we came up with ideas for more things to do when I eventually get back. Sheesh.

It started out with me coming in wore out from Washington DC. I was exhausted. I had to stop at the welcome center/rest area at the border of Maryland and West Virginia for a 2 hour nap just to get to Pittsburgh. I love having my home and bed with me everywhere I go! We continued on and happily had no problem whipping the trailer into her driveway again. Again, I stayed in her house and ran the trailer refrigerator off propane and batteries with a plugin to recharge once.

My aunt, cousin, and I went into town to see a broadway play called Spring Awakening at Heinz Hall. It won 8 tony awards and had at least some of the broadway cast members. The play was written in 1891 and is set in Germany. It is about teenage awakening. It was so racy that it was not allowed to be performed in english on the stage for 100 years. Not only did we see naked butt and a couple sex scenes, but their best songs are “Life is a Bitch” and “Totally Fucked”. Everyone roared with laughter when they broke into the latter song. I rather enjoyed the “blah blah blah” lyrics myself which so sound like teenagers. It was both shocking and highly entertaining. We had great seats for it too. The ending of the play is not at all happy so be prepared.

Read the rest of this entry »

The weather, as predicted, got pretty bad on departure day and was even worse where I was heading so I decided to take a week out nearby to go say hey to my friends in Bushnell again and also check out Breezy Oaks which is next door to the Escapees park I usually stay at. I found it odd that it is so popular that it is always full every winter since it is right next to I75 which means lots of noise and there is more to do in the Escapees park. However, the monthly rate and daily Passport America rate do make it much cheaper to stay at. It also has pretty good Verizon aircard signal and wifi is available. The pool is heated, large and very very nice. Every night someone is playing cards in the clubhouse. I hear they have lots going on during the season which seemed to end around April 1st when all the snowbirds started winging their way home again. The great migration back north actually seems to start the last week of March but the biggest group leaves the next week and the parks suddenly become empty.

I stopped in next door at my favorite Escapees park a couple nights. I put most of a puzzle together one night. They invited me over for Easter dinner. I also got an invite from the folks at Breezy Oaks. It’s nice to be wanted.   I was tempted to go for the Breezy Oaks dinner where I knew someone was bringing KFC cole slaw but in the end chose the Escapees at Sumter Oaks and was not disappointed. They had shrimp platter and deviled egg appetizers, ham, chicken, my baked beans, green bean casserole, salads, potatoes, and lots of cheese cake. Woohoo!

I got some great tips from fellow RVers there. One in particular to pass on is http://rvdirections.com which has tons of GPS waypoints and info for RVers that can be loaded into both a Garmin GPS device and computer programs “Streets and Trips” and “Street Atlas”. It is a wonderful source of waypoints for the discount camping club parks like Passport America, Coast to Coast, Good Sam, Escapees, etc. It also has rest areas, dumps, walmarts, super walmarts, etc. The info that comes with each waypoint can be invaluable with prices, descriptions, ratings, etc.

Another good tip if you are in the area is you can fill your propane tank for $15 flat fee at a propane place just up the road from Walmart on the left side. Much cheaper than at the RV parks. They are open M-F.

Time to settle down for a few weeks and recover from the cold I got in Big Cypress. I headed for the Wauchula SKP Resort owned by my Escapees camping club. The rates are cheap, amenities great, and people are always very friendly in Escapee parks. I love staying in them. It is also in the heart of Florida’s orange grove country.

The sites are level and provide cement patios as well as full utilities and wide paved roads. The entrance is easy to spot, very wide, and the 2 lane 60 MPH road opens up with a very long left turn lane to make it easy to slow down with a large RV to turn. The pool is heated and well used as is the clubhouse and the bike racks. The laundry room is very clean and inexpensive. WIFI is excellent all  through the park! They have local brochures available.  Super Walmart is nearby as well as plenty of restaurants. It was great to get back to a clubhouse with puzzles again. I have gotten my jollies with several puzzles since arriving.

Since I planned to be staying a while, I had some fun putting out some of my trailer decorations. I even had time to wash the Maine mud off the front and I washed the windows with my new collapsible bucket. The collapsible buckets are great! They do work and store neatly out of the way in their own pouch. Did some other annual maintenance too.

Read the rest of this entry »

A little checking around quickly told me that I was about to miss a window of opportunity if I didn’t move fast. Florida is a major haven for snowbirds (people running away from Northern winters) from December through April. They know it and cater to snowbirds while also adjusting prices for RV parks according to the season. My best chance to see the Keys was now before December 1st when prices double. EEK! No way am I going to pay $60-80 a night for a piece of ground to park my trailer on. The state parks don’t change their prices but that is why they are usually booked up a year in advance for the season. I did check them and found 1-3 days available here and there in them but since the Keys are so long and have so much to do, that is not nearly enough time for a visit.

The drive out through the Keys on the Overland Parkway is lots of fun. The speed limits are low but the water and scenery are so beautiful who cares. It is very surprising to see so many well known stores, restaurants, and even schools out there in an area so well known to be hit by hurricanes and only 3 feet above sea level. All the fast food joints are there as well as the usual grocery stores and pharmacies. Even the fancier restaurants are there. Be careful of your speed. It is strictly enforced there, particularly near the deer preserve.

I got lucky once again and found a Passport America park in Marathon, FL on Grassy Key, Jolly Roger Travel Park. I got 5 days at the discount rate and paid for 2 more at the off-season rate to get a whole week to explore. The PA section is close to the road with lots of noise of course but I didn’t mind. I had no problem sleeping there despite the noise. No pool or clubhouse but it is very nice looking and has a great view. If you want to swim with dolphins, the Dolphin Research Center is very close (very expensive too).

Read the rest of this entry »

Now I know some of you are going to say, “What the heck does that have to do with RVing?”. Well, I have met several Ebayers in RV parks I have stayed at. Being an Ebay seller or running an Internet store are two ways to support your RV lifestyle. It only requires a computer, an Internet connection, basic shipping supplies, and items that can either be drop-shipped or that are small enough and light enough to store and sell from an RV. If you have a a home-base such as a leased pad or house, you likely have storage there for more product which can be shipped to you or picked up when you are in the area.

Selling successfully on Ebay requires good product pictures. People want to see what they are buying. You can get a good picture with just your camera and a table, couch, floor etc. A better picture might be on a sheet or fabric background of a solid color. If you want really detailed professional pictures, you need a light box. I have had the plans to build one for some time but I didn’t like the folded down size or weight in my RV so hadn’t made it yet. Tada! In comes Digital Concepts with a truly light, portable, and professional light box you can purchase at Walmart.

It looks like an artist’s folio at first look. Open it up and it forms a 16″x16″x16″ light box with non-reflective translucent walls you can shine the 2 included freestanding high output photo lights through for backlighting, a reversible non-reflective background of blue and gray, and a tripod for your camera. The folio has pockets on the outside for the lights and tripod and folds up easily into a very decent size to store easily in any closet or under the bed. Cost is $49.95 which is well worth it if you do a lot of Ebay selling. It is also useful for online stores to add new products. Crafters selling online can look very professional with this.

Got some great tips I thought I would pass on.

1. Use the sides of the overhead microwave and the overhead stove vent if available to hang things like measuring spoons on stick-on hooks. The little plastic sticky hooks by 3M and others work very well on those, the items will be within easy reach when needed, and will generally stay in place while traveling.

2. Anyone who has cooked in a small RV propane oven knows how the food tends to burn on the bottom. Buy 4 six-inch unglazed ceramic tiles and put them on the solid metal shelf just above the burner to evenly distribute the heat throughout the oven. They must be unglazed and be able to handle high temps so you likely won’t find them at Home Depot type stores. Look for tile dealers.

3. If your rear RV bumper has rusted or does not have enough room for all your sewer hoses, you can buy plastic hose containers from Camping World or you can make your own! I bought one 10 foot white plastic sewer pipe at Lowes hardware store along with additional caps, etc. and made 2 of these for less than the price of one pre-fabbed. Mine don’t have mounting feet but I can still strap them under my trailer, on the rear bumper, or in my case, to the rear ladder. They were very easy to make with just a regular saw needed to cut the pipe and a knife to trim the burrs.

If you have the room in one of your storage bays, coiling sewer hoses and cords up in Tupperware was also suggested to me

Read the rest of this entry »