'22/#28 Happy Thanksgiving

 It is that time of year again. The holidays are here and we will be getting together with family and friends. And on this day that starts the holiday season we would like to look at all the good things in our life and give thanks.

This summer started off a little rough but turned into an adventure to look back on. We saw good friends in Pennsylvania and New York and made new friends in Maine as the summer went by. After leaving Maine our travels south took us near friends in North and South Carolina that we had not seen in a while and got chance to catch up. Even the actual trip down so late in the season was challenging with so many RV parks closed for the winter but, we were able to take advantage of the perks from our summer job and turn the trip into another adventure. All of this we look back on and agree that we have much to be thankful for.

Once in Florida we have seen the kids and grandkids, seen many of our friends, and have made plans to see more of them this winter. These family members and all of our friends are all part of our extended family and we consider ourselves very fortunate to have all of them in our lives. And the thing we are most greatful for is to have each other to share the adventures, the troubles, the family, the friends, and all that makes this life uniquely ours.

As usual we will have a Thanksgiving Day dinner with all the trimmings scaled down for two in our home in Zephyrhills because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'22/#27 Home Again

 We are back in Florida after our seven month adventure. We are getting settled in after a long trip that took  us through ten states (some more than once) and almost five thousand miles. Another successful summer adventure. I know that I always say home is where we park it and that is usually the case. As I mentioned this trip south was going to be different. Hotels all the way from Bar Harbor to Zephyrhills with the Hampton Inn employee discount meant a full week of not staying in the RV. It just didn't feel like home.

Now that we are back at our winter location and also back in the RV it is home again, both in our home on wheels and near friends and family that make it feel like home.So home again it is, times two! Traveling without staying in the RV had it's challenges and we don't want to do it again. RVs are meant to be used or stored properly until the next trip. We did neither, therefore we had a few issues. 

The house battery went dead and we lost most of the food in the refridgerator. Fortunately we weren't planning on eating in the RV and didn't have to throw away too much. The battery also operates everything in the RV when not plugged in or on a generator. We have a generator but that needs the battery to start so that had to be jumped before we could use it. We let the generator run while we were on the road to charge  the battery but the damage was done. Lesson learned.

On top of all that we are welcomed back to Florida by Nicole. The hurricane season should be over by now but Mother Nature wanted to give us a big old Florida welcome with a late season hurricane. The storm wasn't too bad by the time it reached Zephyrhills but it was a good day to stay inside and just rest up from our travels.

Well I will sign off now from our home near those that make it feel like home because....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'22/#26 A New Twist On The RV Life

 We are four days from leaving Bar Harbor Maine and it is definitely time to leave. We have had a great time this summer even with the issues in New York. We still spent time with our friends at Darien Lake and then got to make new ones here in Maine. We have exchanged info with locals, transient workers, and the J-1s and are keeping in touch with those who have left already. 

Now the new twist I mentioned. This is the latest we have stayed at a summer job in our workcamping career and have decided it won't happen again. We had planned a tentative route south but now is the time to nail down the particulars such as overnight stops, miles per day, fueling stations, etc. Well we were surprised by how many RV parks and campgrounds had already shut down for the winter. They do need to clean up after the tourist/camping season and winterize the facilities in preparation for the opening of the 2023 season and all this takes time. There were not many options for us until we reached the Carolina's. It just never dawned on us that we wouldn't find places to stop, but that is the case. If a park is open they are charging some steep rates due to supply and demand. But we have a solution.

Working at the Hampton Inn, which is part of the Hilton Hotel family, we are eligible for an employee discount. We can pay as little as $40 dollars a night at most Hilton/Hampton hotels. The big question, and the emphasis is on big, is can we park our RV in the parking lot of the hotel? Hotels don't usually have 60' parking spots but a big enough lot will allow us to park away from the building. 

Well our plans are made, all the reservation are in place, and we will be staying in hotels all the way to Florida while our RV sits in the parking lot. Forty bucks a night, no hooking up, and free breakfast? I will never again laugh at people who are at a hotel with a perfectly good RV sitting in the parking lot. I'm sure each situation is different but everyone has their reasons.

Yesterday, today, and tomorrow we will be getting everything in and around the rig ready to travel. We will work until November 1st and hit the road the next day on the strangest RV trip we have ever taken. I will end this blog to start those preparations to our home in Bar Harbor because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'22/#25 Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock

 No, it's not the croc from Peter Pan. It is the clock counting down the time we have left in Maine. On the calendar it is just three more weeks. On Mary's calendar it is just twelve more work days. In my mind I am already on the road. Hitch-itch is settling in, and one form or another is running rampant through the hotel. It is almost, dare I say it?, an epidemic! The hotel shuts down for the winter on November 1st and everyone is looking forward to heading out on their next adventure. Some are going home, some are going to other jobs, and some are just traveling before another leg of their journey through life.

The J-1's from overseas have already left and are seeing some of America before their visas send them home. We got to know them pretty well and are staying in touch.  It is good to see them having fun at a lot of the places we've been to and some that are still on our list. We miss them and they miss us also but our adventures continue and usually on different paths. Maybe we will see some of them in the future but we will have social media to keep in contact.

Around the rig we are getting things cleaned up and stored for travel. Mary is also cooking and freezing meals for the road. If we start now we will be ready on D-Day. "D" is for departure! 

Well that is enough for now from our home in Bar Harbor because....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'22/#24 So Soon?

 Second blog of the day! First a month between blogs now only hours. Anyway....

It has come to my attention that today is an anniversary of sorts.  Just a short seventeen years ago we started this adventure with our first full time RV.

Two trailers, two trucks, thousands of miles, millions of adventures, and more new friends than we can count. It IS a wonderful life! Hopefully another seventeen years in our home on wheels? 

From our home somewhere across America because home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'22/#23 Short Time-itis

 With just a little over a month left here in Bar Harbor we are starting to look forward to our travels south. That is only eighteen more work days at the hotel. But who's counting? HAHA! As much as we have enjoyed our time in Maine it is time to move on. After all our house is on wheels and wheels are meant to roll.

This past Friday was the last day we would be working with the international kids. Their J-1 visas are expiring and they only have so much time after they are done working to head home. All of them have travel plans to see more of the United States than Maine with some of them having itineraries that make us jealous. Portland, Boston, New York, Las Vegas, Orlando, Miami as well as the Grand Canyon, Utah, and Hawaii are just part of  the list of places they will see. 

With our travel experience we were able to help them plan to get the most out of their travels. Having been to many of the places they are going and knowing people in those areas we have given them a head start prior to their arrival. To all our friends and family who gave us information to pass on, thank you from us as well as our J-1 friends. 

Yes, they have become friends even though we are old enough to be parents and sometimes grandparents to all of them. Many have exchanged contact information with us. If our past experience with J-1s is any indication I am sure we will keep in touch. We consider ourselves very fortunate to have friends not only across the country but also around the world!

Just some of our new friends!

To these young people all I wish for them is to have a wonderful and safe adventure and maybe think of us on occasion and smile. Today we will try and catch up with a few that we did not say our goodbyes to before they leave on Tuesday morning.

I will sign off now, having checked and double checked the calendar, from or now short term home in Bar Harbor because....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'22/#22 Catching Up-Part Two

 Ok, where did I leave off? We got sick, got well, back to work, chores, lighthouse, lobster, and continuing....

There was a local fair about an hour away and the kids we work with were going. They all were asking us to go along so we did. I don't know what they mean, but they keep saying we aren't like most old people. Maybe it's because we don't treat them like kids, we treat them like people. They are our coworkers after all. We didn't stay as late as they did but everyone had a great time.

On our day off we decided to go into Acadia National Park. We had simultanious brain farts. Who goes into a national park on Labor Day? EVERYBODY! We got out of the traffic jam going in and headed home to do some tasks that needed to be done around the rig.

Later in the week the temperatures started dropping, the rain moved in, and decided to stick around. Lots of rain and lots of rest. Sometimes Mother Nature needs to tell us to recharge.

The following week we took advantage of the Hilton employee discount program and booked a night in Portland Maine. It was nice to get away for a little bit and we bagged three more lighthouses on Mary's list. Then it was back to Bar Harbor and the laundry room.

Mary has been keeping track and announced that we only have 21 work days left before we hit the road. That is just about five weeks on the calander. The international kids are leaving in the next week to ten days. Needless to say with us looking forward to heading south and the kids doing some traveling before heading home there is an epidemic of short-time-itis at the hotel. We will miss them and hope that they also have fond memories of their time with us.

Well I think I am all caught up. The weather is turning chilly and rainy again and we are enjoying our fireplace and just relaxing. So I will put myself in the recliner in front of the electric fire and sign off from our home in Bar Harbor because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'22/#21 Catching Up

 It has been almost a month since the last blog, so let's catch up. In that time Mary and I both caught covid. Thanks to being fully vaccinated the symptoms were minor and didn't last long. The worst part was being locked down for the isolation period. All is well now. It seems that covid is here to stay, just like the flu, and will have to be dealt with.

After we went back to work we still felt a little run down so lots of sleep over the next two weeks. Then it was back to our regular routine of work for four days, chores for one or two days, and exploring the rest of the time. It was still family tourist season so Acadia is crowded. Instead we headed out to Bass Harbor Lighthouse since Mary was "jonesing" for a lighthouse fix.

It was a beautiful day to enjoy the coastal scenery and do a little mountain goating on the rocks at the base of the lighthouse. On the way home we stopped at a local (off the beaten path) lobster pound and satisfied Mary's urge for lobster. It was the best tasting and biggest lobster roll we have had yet!

Most of our shopping is done in Ellsworth, just 20 minutes away, but sometimes we travel an hour into Bangor for things we can't get near us. There are very few national chains in Maine's smaller cities. Some of the small towns actually ban national fast food chains in their city limits. We did a little sight seeing in Bangor, hit the BJ's there, and replaced a battery in the truck at the Ford dealer. With a few other things taken care of we headed back to Bar Harbor.

I'll cut this off now since the blog is getting longer than I planned and today is laundry day for us. So the washing machines are calling. I will finish the blog later from our home "downeast", as Mainers call the coastal areas, because....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'22/#20 Twelve Years Later

 We are still in Bar Harbor and if you have followed us from the begining you know that we were here once before. That was before we hit the road full time. Our stay in Bar harbor was just a week but we still had an amazing time. That is one of the reasons we were so looking forward to this trip. The last time we planned on doing the lighthouse and puffin boat trip but were so enamored with Acadia National Park we never got on the boat, so just twelve short years later here we are.

The day couldn't have been more perfect. The water was calm, the views of the lighthouses were clear, we spotted seals and sea lions and harbor dolphins, and yes even a few puffins. It is the end of the puffin season and most have migrated north but as with any migration there will be a few stragglers. 

On the way back we passed the mouth of Winter Harbor and caught a few of the heats of the Annual Lobster Boat Races. Yes they were racing lobster boats! One of them had been clocked at 71 mph! I don' think they can harvest lobster traps that fast but they can get them to market in a hurry. 

As with many tourist areas the local businesses support each other and we took advantage. A local lobster "pound'' offered a discount with our tickets from the boat ride. It was a restaurant we wanted to try so it seemed like a perfect time.

You can see we ordered a variety of food, from seafood dip to steamed shrimp and a platter of shrimp, scallops, whole belly clams, and haddock.

You can also see that we made short work of it all. With our bellys full and all the sea air it is time for a nap. What is on the agenda for next week? We have all week to figure that out.

So I will sign off now from our home in Maine because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

 

'22/#19 The Reason To Roam

 It's been two weeks since we arrived here in Bar Harbor and we are settled in. We have the lay of the land (sort of), have got our job down down pat (almost), know all the people we work with (names?), and are getting down to business. That is the business of enjoying our nomad lifestyle.

Yesterday we were pure tourists. Bar Harbor is an old northeast coastal town with the streets layed out before cars were common and big trucks like ours were unheard of. So driving the streets and finding parking with our beast is at best, challenging. We decided to park the truck at the hotel where we work and take our scooters into town. With the wide walking path leading into town and the slow traffic in and about town the scoots were ideal transportation.

Since our timing put us in Bar Harbor at low tide we decided to take the land bridge to Bar island. The island is uninhabited and the only way to get there is by boat, unless it is low tide. At low tide a sand bar that is mostly gravel, sand , and rocks emerges from the water and is a nice stroll out to the island. Beware of the time because if you are on the island when the tide comes in it is either swim or call the local cruise company for a water taxi that will set you back $150. The land bridge is about a half mile across and the water is cold, so it is imperative to pay attention, or wait the 10 - 12 hours before the next low tide.

Low tide

High tide. Island in the sea fog.

Then we just tooled around town looking for places to eat and shops to browse and just enjoy the day. The locals have complained about the heat since we arrived but except for a few days in the low 90's it has been beautiful summer days with highs in the high 70's to mid 80's. Then it was back home to relax.

In the evening we went back into town with the truck. With the shops closing and the tourists calling it a day is was a little easier to find a parking spot. After great dinner at a local pizzaria and a walk around town checking the stores that were still open we did more of the tourist thing. Spent a little money and stopped for desert at a little ice cream shop. We enjoyed our desert on a bench in the Village Green park while people around us walked, and talked as the sun went down. Small town America at it's finest.

Well that was yesterday. Today we get back to real life. There is laundry to do and some cleaning around the house is in order because as I have said in the past, this is not a vacation. This a lifestyle. Yesterday was as close to a perfect a day as we could have and that is the reason we live this gypsy life. So I will sign off now with a special day in my memory and chores in my future from our home in Maine because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'22/#18 "Oh Give Me A Home With Wheels To Roam....

...and Buffalo is so far away!" That's Buffalo, NY if you didn't get it.  I'll have to work on the rest of the lyrics!

Yes the RV has been on the road and we are in our old home at our new home in Bar Harbor Maine. On the way from Corfu to Bar Harbor we made a point of stopping in and seeing an old friend of mine. I'm not going to say how old we are but we've known each other since we were two years old! It is always good to see friends along the way when we can and especially long time friends. That's another perk of the nomad lifestyle. We never know when we may be passing near and having the opportunity to visit friends or family. That wouldn't be possible without the traveling we do as full time Rvers.

Now Bar Harbor is our home for the next three months. We have jobs at the Hampton Inn in Bar Harbor and are looking forward to making new friends, seeing the area, and of course eating "lobstah"! I've fallen down on he job. We were here for 24 hours before I got  Mary her first lobster roll and I'm sure it will be the first of many. Most of the menus we have seen serve a variety of food but can almost always be ordered with a side of lobster. Who would have thought of lobster as a "side"?

Right now our job at the hotel is in the laundry. Bedding in the washer then in the dryer then fold and send out to the room staff..... aaaand repeat. Not difficult or exciting but it is never ending. It will be easier when we get our own rhythm as the laundry comes and goes. Everyone we have met is very friendly and we will get to know them better as time goes on. There are a number of exchange students from a variety of countries but we have worked with these types of young people before and always enjoyed their company.

We only have one day off this week as they blend us into the schedule so we took advantage of this day off to do our own laundry. Not that we had a problem before, but we look at folding our own bedding with a different point of view. At least ours has a design on it to look at instead of white, white , and more white.

Well we are now in Bar Harbor and I will keep posting from our home here in Maine because....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'22/#17 I Hear The Road Calling

 ..... and Mary hears it in a lobster voice! Wink, wink? Today is our last day in Darien Lakes. The past week we have been getting the RV cleaned up, things stowed away, and plans made. Today we put all our hoses away and are living off our holding tanks. Tomorrow can't get here quick enough.

Well, yes and no. We do want to get on the road and we also don't want to work here anymore but we still made some good friends that we will miss. Apparently they will miss us also. There was a cake and a card, and that was with us leaving in mid-season. They all understand. Even the big supervisor understands and appreciates that we gave them notice instead of leaving in the middle of the night like some workcampers will do. We are not built that way. Besides, you know what they say about burning your bridges behind you.

Well it was a busy morning so we will rest for a couple of hours before we start our last shift. This is goodbye for the last time from our home in Darien Lakes because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'22/#16 Jello Shots? No, Jello Melts!

 As much as we like it here in Darien Lakes it is time to move on. Yes it is the middle of the season and we like to finish our commitment but the Jello strikes again! There are several reasons for us picking up and leaving. Some is our doing while some fall in the laps of others.

First let me say that our decision to return here was not the best idea. We tell all of our employers that we are a "one and done" workcamping couple. We almost never come back to the same place twice. Once we have seen the area we like to move on to new adventures. We also feel that coming back to the same place is too much like having a regular job. We are retired and this is not a regular job, but a means to an end. That being said the shine of a new experience was not there and the job just became the routine, daily grind, hum drum life we retired from. Our bad!

Second let me say that working for Six Flags Amusement is like working for any other large corporation. The bottomline is that it is all about the bottom line. Where we worked the A/C has not worked all season. With temperatures outside reaching the mid 90's and having to keep the doors to the store shut because of food prep the inside temeratures were getting close to 100 degrees. The Hershey bars all turned to Hershey syrup in an envelope! On top of being miserable the heat was aggravating some of our health issues. Does the company care? NO! The A/C is not in the budget this year. The A/C didn't work very much last year! Oh did I say we shouldn't have come back for a second season? Now of course the A/C is working somewhat (???) but who knows for how long? I am starting to sound like a career employee instead of a workcamper. It is time to move on.

While all this was going on we put out some feelers to see if anyone was looking for mid season workcampers. An opportunity came up in Maine and all Mary heard was "LOBSTER"! The weather is cooler and we will be working at a hotel that will assuredly keep the A/C working for their guests so we accepted the positions. 

We leave in just over a week. Like any job we always try to give at least a weeks notice. No sense burning bridges that may be of use later on. There will be an overnight stop to see a good friend or two along the way. We should arrive and have a little time to scout out the area before we start working. And I am sure Mary will mark all the lobster "pounds" on the map.

Well, we still have work to do here so I will close this blog from our home in Corfu, New York because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'22/#15 Older, Longer, Harder......

 Sounds like the old PF Flyers commercial for those of you who are old enough to remember PF Flyers. For those who aren't, they were sneakers back in the '60's. But I am not talking about athletic shoes right now.  I am talking about the march of  time. As we get older things take longer, become harder to do, and are more difficult to rebound from. This is weekend number three for us and it is taking longer to get into the swing of things than we expected. Getting older ain't for sissies.

 My back and knee are telling me that I am not 25 years old any more. Mary over worked a muscle in her hip that started spasming right on her sciatic nerve. After two weeks of  pain  I took her protestingly to the doctor. Once diagnosed and prescribed muscle relaxers and stretching excersizes she is getting better. Oh did I forget to say she needed to get some rest? Needless to say with the muscle relaxers getting rest is not a problem. Waking her now takes a little longer than usual, but who cares? We are retired. 

While she is "resting" I don't know what is going on. I wake up freezing and Mary is out from under the covers but, and here is the big BUT, Mary has stolen all the covers and is lying ON TOP of them. I guess in her sleep state if she doesn't need the covers then neither do I. Oh well, she is feeling better and I can usually get enough of the covers to cover my feet. This is the result of over 30 years of marriage.

Well I have been busy this morning with all things RV related to do and waking my lovely bride from her drug induced sleep. She wants to cook dinner before work and I have another project to work on so I will sign off now from our home here in upstate New York because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'22/#14 Ow, Ow, Ow.....

 It's been two days of work here at Darien Lakes and we are feeling it. Between a month of travel (sitting in the truck) and visiting friends (sitting in restaurants) we have not been getting too much exercise. So the old muscles are getting a work out. Add to that our age which I have come to accept but Mary is fightimg to the bitter end. Today is day three and then we have four days to rest the aching bones. 

Resting will involve some work on the truck, laundry, shopping, and the whole list of chores that need  to be done around the RV. Next week we go to two days a week until the first of July. YAY! Starting that weekend the park will be open six days a week and we start our four day schedule. By then we should be back in the swing of things,

Right now I am just sitting here blogging and watching the clock get closer to the time to go to work. So I will sign off and rest in our home in Corfu because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'22/#13 D-Day

 Well tomorrow is D-Day for us. That is "D" for Darien Lakes. A quick trip to the Post Office and a stop in at our work place to see if there is anything special we need to know  for day #1 of the 2022 season. The rest of the day we will be resting because once the fun starts we will be off and running. Right now it is only three days a week so that gives us four days to recuperate and have some fun of our own.

Now to blog specific tech support. That's funny, me talking about tech support. I mean I can play a mean game of solitare and feel like I am a computer genius. Anyway I can talk a little about my blog. First thank you to everyone who reads the blog and follows our adventures. Most will connect through the Facebook post anouncing a new blog post. For ready access to the blog go to Google, type in "postalpairretired.blogspot.com", add to home screen, and VOILA! One click service to the blog. 

I see and hear a lot from Mary about comments people leave on Facebook. I would love to see your comments right on the blog in the comment section. It is easier than it used to be. Just click on the comment box and there is a place to comment then click publish. Easy as that. I would also like to know who you are. Click the pull down next to "anonymous", click "name/URL" and type in your name and click continue. First names are all I need. I can figure it out from my short list of friends and Mary's much longer list and the content of the comment.

Now remember this is all based on my limited skills using an Android device. I have zero knowledge on I-phones or any other Apple device. Well that is the end off my tech tutorial so I will sign off now. Keep your fingers crossed that we have a good day tomorrow and another great summer in our home in Darien Lakes because.....

Home is where we park it,

Fran and Mary

'22/#12 On Your Mark, Get Ready, ........

 Today and tomorrow are our last days before we start work here at Darien Lakes Six Flags Amusement Park. Our work papers are all filled out, we have seen all the orientation as well as the safety movies, and have our uniforms. Today we take care of some last minute errands in town. A hair cut is needed, a stop at the Post Office, and some last minute shopping for lunch items for our work days.

Friday we start off all bright eyed and bushy tailed for the 2022 season. This year will be different. With eased covid restrictions we will now have Canadians in the park. With the border a mere 45 minutes away we are told that the Canadians will come in droves. There is also a church group that didn't come last year because of covid restrictions but are expected this year. They take over the whole campground and fill the amusement park. 

Relaxed covid restrictions have also allowed a larger number of international students to come here and work for the summer. This will help accomodate the larger crowds and hopefully let the park open all the rides this year.  This year the park will be closed completely on Tuesdays all summer long. In spite of this the word is that we are still short staffed by anything between a few hundred to a thousand employees. Everyday more work campers show up and more international students arrive so with any luck staffing will not be too much of an issue. 

Our store will have all the same employees showing up this year as last, so General Store staffing won't be a problem. We no longer have to run the deli counter since Subway has taken over that responsibility, but we do have more golf carts to rent this year. With more golf carts comes more and new maintenence procedures. This will easily take up the hours that formerly were spent in the deli, not to mention more guests in the store than last year. 

Yes, this is the same job we had last year but it will be different this year. At least we know we will be working with a good crew based on 2021's experience. As they say, the only thing that stays the same is the fact that things will change. Bring on the Summer of Fun 2022!

Signing off now to get started on those errands from our home in Darien Lakes campground because...... 

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'22/#11 Home!

With Pennsylvania behind us and memories from the road with good friends we are now home. Yes, I said home and I mean home in several ways. First and foremost, as I always sign off on this blog, home is where we park it. Secondly, we have arrived at our destination and home for the next four to five months.  Our third level of being "home" was apparent as we got near our final exit on the interstate. We had driven this stretch of road many times last year and it had that familiarity of being home. We know the roads, the landmarks, the shortcuts, and everything that makes one comfortable upon returning home. 

The last and maybe most important way that we knew we were home is....well let me just say Penny and Kim. Both of them gave us a welcome back that is only given to family and the best of friends. Even Mr. B, one of the company vice-presidents spotted us and had to come and give us a welcome back that made us feel right at home. I've said before that in our travels we see so many wonderful and awesome things but what stays with us and means the most are the people we meet.

The next few days will be busy getting our work documents in order, restocking the fridge, getting our home set up for the long stay, and a whole list of things that need to be done after a long and successful journey. It is chillier than we are used to and the weather could be nicer but to paraphrase the saying literally, a little rain must fall. 

I will end this blog having a list of things that need attention in front of me and will sign off as usual from our home in Curfu, New York because.....

Home is where we park itt,

Frank and Mary

'22/#10 A Time To Remember And Reflect

 We are spending a few days in Pennsylvania before the last leg of our trek north. While here we wanted to go see the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville to pay our respects to those who died fighting back against terrorism on September 11, 2001. 

The site is not only a memorial to those who died but is now part of the National Park System to insure that the events of that day will always be remembered. The park is ultimately a cemetery, a mass grave for the passengers on Flight 93, therefore it is a somber atmosphere. It is a place to remember and reflect on how that day changed the world.

There are lots of emotions felt while visiting this site. For me, I am sad for those who died and the families who lost loved ones, I am sad at how the changes stemming from that day have affected all our lives. But mostly I am angry at how it represents mankind's attitude toward mankind. I understand we are all different and have differing opinions on everything, but I don't understand how people could do so much harm to each other over those differences. We should embrace our differences and respect each others differences and make every effort to not hurt or offend each other over these differences.

This is not directed at the terrorists from 9/11 only. I am talking about differences in race, religious, social and economic status, and tasts and opinions of all kinds. Our differences are what make us uniquely human and allowed us to develop and share ideas since the beginning of time. We need to share and nurture these differences to ensure that humankind can continue to grow and evolve.

This was not a light hearted blog by any stretch, but it is my forum to speak my mind. I don't want to start a debate here in the blog. I just want to share my opinion and give you something to think about. Just a thought.....maybe just be kind to each other. 

From our home in Pennsylvania because....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and mary

'22/#9 Quick Stop, Quick Blog

 We are just outside of Bristol Tennesee for a one night stay. We don't do 500 mile days anymore so this breaks up a too long drive in an RV. Besides we are retired so, on time is when we get there! 

Leaving Cherokee and our friend Melissa behind we hit the road around 10am for our short trip. As I am prone to do, I forgot to reset the GPS for RV travel. Luckily before it was too late I realized that the directions were taking me over the mountains and through the woods, not to Grandmother's house, but on a recommended scenic motorcycle route. This route was not RV friendly, and certainly not good for a truck/trailer combo 57 feet in length. A reroute and an extra turn or two and we were on our way.

Some steep mountains, both up hill and down hill, but the truck handled it all just fine. We left the trailer to find a small local fuel station that saved us 30 cents per gallon but still set us back almost $150! Ouch!! Oh well, that is the cost of living the RV Lifestyle.

Tomorrow is our longest day of our trek north so I am going to sign off now, have  some dinner, and call it an early night from our home in Tennesee because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank andMary

'22/#8 Ahhhhhhhhh!

 It is raining today so we are not doing much of anything. Today is our day of rest. Two days from now that will change. We will be back on the road north. Mother's Day will be a travel day so today I made my famous (at least in our family) french toast as an early Mother's Day breakfast. Later we will do some laundry and for dinner, eh? Who knows?

Saturday will be all about getting ready for the road. Holding tanks will be dumped, hoses put away, and things inside will be secured for travel. We like to get on the road early so we can check into the next campground and relax before dinner and a good nights rest. One night near the Tennessee/Virginia border and then on into Virginia for a short stay to visit more friends. We seem to have friends everywhere we go.

Mary is in the kitchen and it looks like chicken for dinner. I will get into the shower and get the laundry together. Life on the road is all about the excitement. NOT! It is a lifestyle and the hum drum everyday chores still need to be taken care of. So I will sign off from our home in Cherokee NC because......

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'22/#7 Northward HO!

 Our trek north is well on it's way. We are now in North Carolina at the Cherokee KOA. This destination will serve as a multi purpose home base. First we get to see our KOA sister from Petaluma California. After we left California, Melissa decided to follow in our footsteps or should I say tire tracks. She now is workcamping for KOA around the country and is spending this summer here in Cherokee. Like us she is enjoying seeing the country but is really enjoying the people she meets. Welcome to the workcamper lifestyle.

While we are here we will also be just on the other side of the Smoky Mountain National park from Pigeon Forge. If you follow us you know that is where we spent a summer working at Dollywood. We made many friends that we have kept in touch with and will try to see them while we are here.

On top of that one of our coworkers from the post office has settled up here in the Sevierville area and we will see him and his wife also. All of this will fill our time here in the Smokies before we continue north towards our summer destination. 

For now the trailer will sit still and Cherokee will be our home for the next five days because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'22/#6 Stretching Before A Workout

 It's always good to stretch before a workout and it appears to be good advice when RVing. We have been stationary for 6 months and are now on the move. Our first leg of the journey was only 150 miles. It got us back into RV mode as far as dealing with traffic, checking maps, rest stops, and anything else the road can throw our way all while pulling a '41 trailer. Our minds are now fully into RV mode.

Our first stop was at the Gallardo Family Campground in north Florida. The owners and operators af this "one site" campground are folks we worked with in the Post Office. We haven't seen them in 15 years and it was like yesterday when we finally got togther. They are part of our postal family hence the family designation to the campground/driveway. Please don't try to find this campground anywhere on the internet. It is very, very exclusive and we consider ourselves very fortunate to be members.

We went to dinner with these fine folks and also with Debbie and John. John was also a member of our postal family and once we started talking about names and events it felt like old times. We will be here a couple of days before we continue on the Adventure 2022 Tour. 

With promises to keep in touch and get together again when we are all back in Florida I will sign off so that we can enjoy our stay in our home in the driveway of our friend's home in north Florida because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'22/#5 No Calendar, No Clock, Just An Egg Timer

 The pages on the calendar are gone and the clock is down to the the last minute. We are leaving Zephyrhills in 5 days and our list of things to do is dwindling but is not yet complete. We are under the gun so to speak and it seems that our schedule is set by an egg timer or stop watch. Not to worry, we will leave on time. There are always things to do do right up until the wheels start rolling.

If you follow us here on the blog or on Facebook you know we are headed back to upstate New York again this year. This is a rare return to a previous destination, but we have our reasons. We are closely watching the weather because of he unseasonable winter storms they have had recently. We do not like the cold and we HATE to drive in snow with the RV. Flexability is one of the most used tools in our RV tool box, so we shall see what happens.

It was great to get together with friends while we were here in Florida, but I know that there were some we didn't get to see. Not to worry, we will be back next winter with the rest of the 2022/2023 snow birds. Just remember that our calendar fills quickly so let's start making plans as soon as we get back. This year we may be back as early as mid October. Keep following for future developments.

As is our usual travel plans we will not be rushing to our summer destination. We will stop to "smell the roses" as they say. The metaphorical roses I speak of are friends along our route. Having traveled around a lot of this country and worked with many people we have also made a lot of friends. Some we have not seen in quite a few years and some we have seen within the past year. Either way we hope they are looking forward to getting together as much as we are.

Well the list is not going to get done with me sitting here so I will sign off from our home for the next 5 days here in Zephyrhills because....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'22/#4 It's Time For Jello!

 Well here it is, the first of April and the Jello still hasn't set. What does that mean? It means that we have no plans made for travel in the near future. Not that we don't want to hit the road nor do we want to leave friends and family. It is just that time of year when our travel adventure usually takes us north. Right now there are too many things swirling around in the Jello to let it set.

First thing is our summer job in New York. We are planning on returning to Darien Lake for a second year. The only problem is the weather up there hasn't allowed maintenance to work on the campground to give us an arrival date. That messes with our departure date and travel itinerary. The second thing is our work here in Florida. We have a few things that need to be completed before we leave so that will fill time between now and "D" (departure) Day.

 Thirdly we have both been under the weather for about five days putting everything behind schedule. Not to worry, we have tested negative for Covid. With all the pollen and congestion, we have an environment in our heads that is homey for the virus that causes sinus infections. We are getting better and hope to soon be out and about taking care of business.

Wait, there is more! What is that? Number four? Yep, number four. We finally found the satellite reciever we wanted. Yay! Now we have to get it installed and that needs to be put on the installers schedule. Is there more? You betcha! We still have people to see before we go, so that would be number five, again delayed by number three. And finally number????? Let me swich hands...that would be number six, the RV check list. That list of things that every RVer should be doing in preparation for hitting the road. We started on it early and are we glad we did!

Well I need to take a shower because I....phew! I can smell me and so can Mary. So that means a sense of smell and no Covid! Yeah! So I will sign off and start to feel better and smell better here in our home in Zephyrhills because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

22/#3 The List

 It is that time of year again. This is the bi-annual check-list season. When we get ready to travel we make a list of everything we want and need to get done before the wheels start rolling. Up until a few years ago we jumped on that list two to three weeks prior to departure. As we have gotten older and smarter and slower and smarter we now start a lot earlier. Yes I said smarter twice because it is impotant to realize that it took us this long to figure out that we have a much easier time getting ready if we give ourseves more time.

Like any list, it ebbs and flows as we get things done and think of more to do. Some things are directly related to travel while others are projects around our home as well as people and places we need to see. All of this while we are still workcamping here in the RV park. There is nothing more satisfying than crossing things off a list. I know that if I do something that is not planned I will add it to the list just to cross it off so I can see how much we have accomplished.

Yesterday I got a big item off the list. I finally got around to doing our taxes. This is the latest that I have ever been doing our taxes. Between waiting for our tax documents, getting new phones and tablet, staying busy with "the list", and just running short on calendar I am about a month later than usual. Yesterday was cleared from the schedule and dedicated to taxes only. As workcampers our taxes are a little different because of all the places we work. Every state has their own tax codes and require different forms or documents. Fortunately this year it was New York State. New York tax forms are basically replicated federal forms and it is easy to transfer information from one to the other once the first ones are filled out. California on the other hand is so screwed up that their tax forms are in comprehensible. We will never work in California again!

I was going to blog yesterday after the dreaded taxes were done but my head hurt after four hours of screen time, so today is blog day. We have people to see, places to go, and things to do so I will sign off now from our home in Zephyrhills because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'22/#2 Time Does Fly

 I don't know where the time has gone. Here it is, almost the end of February, and I am just getting to my second blog of the year. I've said in the past that sometimes there just isn't material that is "blog worthy" but that really is no excuse. It's not like nothing has been going on but some times it just doesn't seem like it would be of interest to anyone else. But here goes.

Since the last blog the weather has been, shall we say, erratic? Highs in the upper 80's then lows in the mid 40's? I shouldn't complain because we have friends up north who are dealing with snow that is measured in feet, not inches, but still....40's in Florida?!?!? And just to add to the fun during one of the more severe cold spells our furnace dies! Fortunately we have alternate heat sources to use in case of emergency and we survived until the tech could fix the problem. 

On our trip south from New York I too our rig to the truck scales just to see where we were weight wise. Sadly we were overweight by more than we were comfortable with and knew we would have to do something about it. The last weekend in January there was a park wide yard sale followed two weeks later by a park wide yard sale in our sister park next door. We took advantage of both salea and sold as much as we could that we decided we didn't really need. That reduced weight, cleared out some space, and put a couple of dollars in our pocket. When we leave Florida to head north I will stop at the truck scale and see how well we did reducing weight.

During this whole time we were still working in the park getting projects done that the managers wanted. The are working hard to clean up this older park and make it some place that people would like to visit and stay. We also have been trying to get together with as many friends as we can before we head out on the road so all in all our calender is filling up. The last few weeks of our stay will be spent preping for the trek north.

I've finished my coffee and it is time to start moving so I will sign off from our home in Zephyrhills because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'22/#1 Just In Time

 The post holiday season is not a bad time nor a sad time, but it is sometimes a down time. The rushing around, shopping, cooking, meeting people, and generally celebrating all that this time of year means is over and it seems to quiet down. We relax and recuperate from the go, go, go of the last month or so of the year. I also became lax about my blog and kept putting it off until "tomorrow" and "tomorrow" kind of got away from me. So before January is gone(where did it go?) here is my first blog of 2022.

We are still working here in our park and have a list of jobs that need to be done before we leave for points north in the spring. On top of that we worked at the RV Super Show in Tampa for a couple of days for  Six Flags-Darien Lake where we spent last summer. We also had to check out all the RVs and vendors at the show. We never miss this show if we are in Florida and this year was no exception. There was lots to see but we are very satisfied with everything we have. That didn't stop us from spending a little money on a few things that will make our lives easier in the RV.

As anyone who lives in Florida or pays attention to the weather here knows that this winter has been unseasonably cold. Well this morning it was down right frigid! Overnight low in Zephyrhills was 24 degrees! This is the land of coats and scarves if the temperature gets below 50 degrees! We haven't had to prepare our water hoses for freezing temperatures since the fall that we were in West Yellowstone Montana. In an RV that means having water in your fresh water tank and disconnecting your hose from the water supply. Mobile home owners know to leave a faucet running slowly when the temps are below freezing. That would work in an RV also just remember to open the gray water holding tank or there will be a flood in the morning when the tank fills up!

Again this blog was well over due and until it warms up, this morning is a good time to catch up.  So I will sign off now from our toasty warm home in frigid Zephyrhills Florida because.......

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary