#30 I'm Baaaaaaaaack!

Hey everyone! I'm still alive even though you couldn't tell by the activity(or non-activity) on the blog. Sorry to anyone who enjoyed it & missed it. I will tell you that I didn't feel real "bloggy" for quite a while & it may take a little while to get back into the swing of things. First thing, take it from me that back surgery is a BUMMER! And rehab is not much better. Thanks to everyone who asked & sent well wishes. Mary relayed all to me. Thanks again! My experience wasn't something that I really wanted to write about & I didn't think anyone wanted to hear me piss & moan. Hence the gap in my Blog.



I will tell you that my lifestyle has changed in accordance with my recent limitations. There are new activities on the calender that I never would have thought I would participate. The Snow Birds have me going to their Spaghetti Dinners, Pancake Breakfasts, Tuesday Dominoes, and
(I can't believe I am saying this) Friday Nite BINGO! I don't know what happened. I didn't age overnight but I am suddenly participating with the seniors. I am not naive. I know I am not in my 20's or 30's anymore, but when did I join the Bingo Bunch? The craziest part is I am enjoying it!!!!!! We are trying to do mornings more(8AM not 6AM) which has me walking with the ladies. It is good for my rehab but it also shows me how out of shape I am. These ladies are all older than me yet I still feel like they could walk me into the ground. I think next week I am signed up for shuffleboard. OH MY GOD, I think I am looking forward it. Well the retirement calender is pretty full until we hit the road again in April.



Part of my rehab is to get me back on the motorcycle. We have big plans for the Americade in Lake George NY. Yes, this is the same motorcycle rally we have been trying to get to for 3 years. I am going this year even if it means riding a motorized wheel chair! A Hoveround & some riding leathers & I'm good to go, but I should be on my Kawasaki soon. This year we are planning to visit the East coast again & then head up to upstate NY. First there will be a stop in NYC for the best NY cheese cake in the world & then Lake George NY. After that we have no specific plans. I told Mary "let's just spend the summer in New England". All she heard is "blah blah blah lobster", and she was sold. I think her mission is to eat every lobster in the New England area. Well, everyone's got to have a goal!



I've got to go now so until next time, from Largo FL because...

Home is where we park it,



Frank & Mary

# 29 Still Alive In The Golden Years

It has been a while but I am still alive and kicking. Well I'm not kicking so much right now. It seems that I have thrown out my back again and have been bed ridden for the last week. Another spinal injection is scheduled and hopefully I can get back on my feet again.



The previous weeks have been busy if not eventful. Life still is full of day to day chores like cleaning and shopping. Our youngest granddaughter turned 3 and Granddad & Grandmom decided to take her out for the day. Lunch, a movie, and a trip to the toy store to make a list for Santa. Science needs to learn how to bottle the energy of a 3 year old because Granddad & Grandmom were beat by the end of the day.



The first of November was Bike Nite in Plant City. It was a great ride & we saw some awesome bikes. There were also a number of groups organizing rides for different charities. We always like to help out those less fortunate and we will get to ride our bikes around FL at the same time. With the holidays rapidly approaching we will try to schedule as many rides as possible. This all hinges on how my back responds. Mary has also started playing Bingo with the old ladies. I don't see me joining in, so I will have to find myself a hobby.

Well, wish me well with my back and I will keep everyone up to date. Until then we will be home in Largo FL because....

Home is where we park it,
Frank & Mary

#28 Do We Know How To Retire?!?!?

Well, we have been back in FL about 3 weeks and have we been having fun! First we arrived at our old site, then we decided to move to another site, had to do some re-arranging, tree trimming, and leveling on the new site. I hurt my back and had to get an appointment for a spinal injection. A week of nothing until the shot and then some relief. Mary has been having some foot issues for a while and it was coming to a head. It was time to take care of that. Schedule the foot surgery and live with her nerves until the big day. Finally the day is here and she is dreading having her toe "CUT OFF"! Not quite, it was an ingrown toe nail that was getting very painful and needed to be dealt with. Surgery was a success but she is not able to wear shoes for a little while. Let's see what else we can dream up for fun. Oh yeah, Mary has developed "trigger thumb" and needed a shot of cortisone and possibly surgery for that down the road. Next we have dentist appointments, annual physicals(with all the appropriate tests), and we might as well throw in a colonoscopy just for giggles!!!!

I always laughed about the T-shirt that made fun of the "Golden Years". You know the one that talks about bladder issues, prostrate problems, vision, memory and hair loss,not to mention the aches, pains and all the other joys of aging. Right now I am not laughing. I AM accepting, but not laughing about the fact that we are getting older. When did that happen? Really our health is reasonably good, but things happen and they have to be taken care of. It just seems that it all happened at once. The good thing is it will all be taken care of at the same time so we can get back to enjoying life.

We saw the kids and grand kids and are looking forward to spending time with them throughout the holidays. The Snow Birds are starting to arrive and there will be good times to be had with them also. And then there are our friends whom we have missed while we were gone. The time will fly and it will be April before we know it and we will be on the road again to seek out more adventures. If you have been following us on line and are in the area I hope we see you soon. But if that doesn't happen I will keep in touch with the blog and Mary on Face Book and you can join us through the Internet in our home where ever it maybe because.....

Home is where we park it,
Fran & Mary

#27 October??

I know when you retire that days and weeks sometimes run together. You wake up and don't know what day it is or the week gets away from you, but I think I have lost track of the seasons! We headed back to Florida figuring that it would be October and the weather would be cooling down some. Instead we are greeted by highs in the 90's and overnight lows in the mid 80's. What's going on? Is it still summer or did we miss winter completely? I am tempted to hook up and head north for another month or two. 10 days ago we are enjoying highs in the low 70's and lows in the low 40's and now I am sweating so much I am showering 3 times a day!!!!! In the future we may spend less time in Florida than we planned.

Anyway, we are here and are getting together with friends and family. We are looking forward to our "snow bird" friends returning and being able to participate in more of the activities that go on during their stay. The holidays are always highly anticipated and more so now that as retirees we can spend more time with our family, especially the grandchildren. There are a few things I would like to look into as hobbies to fill in some of the down time as well as some things that just need to be done.

Speaking of things that need to be done, we are going to start a diet. Yes I am going to try to lose some of the blubber but that is not what I am talking about. We are going to put the rig on a "diet". There are too many "things" that we carry around that we don't need. They take up much need space and add too much weight, all of which makes for inefficient RVing. Less weight means better fuel mileage and safer traveling. Being overloaded is one of the most common problems facing RVers. Having more space will make it easier and more efficient to set up and tear down camp as we travel. So this is a win-win situation. Full time RVers are known for their freeing themselves from being slaves to "stuff", so this will probably be an on going process as we travel. Well we have work to do, so until next time.

Home with our friends & family in Largo FL because....
Home is where we park it,
Frank & Mary

#26 Heading to Florida

We are heading back to FL for the winter. This will be home for the next 6 months. We spent the last 6 days in Celina OH. The high during that time was 70 degrees and the low was 38 degrees. Now we are in FL and the temperature is in the 90's. PEOPLE, it's October! I was hoping it would be a little cooler by now. Oh well that's what AC is for.

Ohio was the last state that seemed to be taken over by corn. I don't know if anyone has coined the term but with that much corn growing over your head I think I was suffering from "Corn Claustrophobia". When I left Florida I had a case of "Flatland Fever". This country is so big that it is possible to overdose on it. It's a classic case of too much of a good thing and I am going to enjoy every bit of it!

Our time in FL will be spent getting in touch with friends and family. We will also be cleaning and working on the rig to make it more efficient on the road. There will be some day trips around the state to some of our favorite spots and others we just never seemed to have the time for. Other than that we will be doing the hum drum routine of being retired. So for now, even though our home is not permanently in Florida, we are now home in Florida because....

Home is where we park it,
Frank & Mary

#25 Puttin' On The Rally Hat, Gloves, Scarf....

Here we are in Celina OH. We are participating in the Gypsy Journal RV Rally. This is a collection of like-minded people and the vendors who sell products unique to our RV lifestyle. The weather has been just a tad bit colder than we are used to in Florida. Today's high was
55 degrees and the low tonight is expected to be 38 degrees. I have been wearing a jacket most of the time and I think Mary is wearing everything else in the trailer. With a t-shirt, long sleeve shirt, sweatshirt, jacket, scarf, and hat she looks like a multi-colored Michelin Man. I have to give her credit for even going outside. The winds have gusted to 50+ mph so you know it felt a lot colder. Even the dog has adapted to the cold. Now her walks outside are purely business...out, squat, in, and that's it!

The rally itself has been a lot of fun so far. We have met some very nice and very interesting people. Full time RVers are a unique breed created by living in close quarters and ever changing neighborhoods. Mercer County Fairgrounds is our current home and has been very accommodating. There are as many different RVs as there are RVers. Motor homes of every description, 5th wheel trailers from 20' to 40', and a motor home that runs on vegetable oil! This has also been a learning experience. We are going to seminars on everything from RV fire safety to RV insurance and almost anything else RV related you can think of. There are also a hundred ways you can part with your money. Anything from must "haves" to "what do you do with that?". Self control is the policy of the day, but there is always tomorrow.

We will be here through the weekend and then we will move on. Where to? I'm not sure but our plan is still to be back in FL by November. Anything between Ohio and Florida is fair game. I will keep you informed as we make plans. Freezing our butt's off, in a field, at the fairgrounds, in Celina OH, this is home because....

Home is where we park it,
Frank & Mary

#24 Making a House a Home

We are still in Elkhart and have been doing some shopping. After all, this is the "RV Capitol of the World"! Not only do they have RV factories, there are also RV accessory manufacturers, customizers, surplus parts warehouses, etc. An RV, like any home, starts out as a house, residence, or abode. You then make it your own and it becomes a home. Well, we have been doing just that since we bought our trailer. Little things like curtains, pictures, and other decorative touches. We have also done some plumbing and appliance upgrades. Now we are redoing some of the furniture. This is no small undertaking when you consider that all the furniture that comes with an RV is built in. This involves tearing out the old and custom building the new. If you didn't already know, the Amish are some of the finest craftsmen in the country if not the world. Their woodworking skills are more than skills, they are art. The install is planned for Friday and I will let you know how it went. We are excited about the improvement to come.

I also mentioned in the past that the food in Amish country is to die for. It might also kill me. We went to a family style, all-you-can-eat dinner today. Six hours later I still feel like I might burst. The food, while not fancy, is so good we couldn't say no when they asked if they could bring us more. When I found out that they didn't have a roll out service to get me to the car I had to stop, but not after some home made Dutch Apple pie. I had to try it, and it was worth it, but I could not finish it. So we stopped at the bakery and got a custard pie to go. I may never eat again after we leave here. I was just glad that I fit through the door to the trailer when we got home.

Well we have to get things packed so we can move the trailer. That's one of the nice things about living in an RV, when I need someone to work on my house I just bring it to them! After the furniture upgrade we will get ready to leave for Ohio. There is an RV rally put on by a couple who put out an RV newspaper called "The Gypsy Journal". We've met them before and look forward to seeing them again at the rally if they aren't too busy. We have volunteered to help so this should be interesting as well as fun. I will write more later. "til then.....

Continuing to make our house a home in Elkart because.....
Home is where we park it,
Frank & Mary