We've been cleaning most of the week. Living beside a lake brings in new kind of dirt and little bitty bugs. The mosquitoes don't seem to bite, but there's times they're all over the windows. The windows were the first to be cleaned. Jim does a wonderful job. When I do it there's always a film and he has to re-clean them.
I cleaned the Florida room. I couldn't reach the ceiling so that will have to be done later. This winter we'll repaint it. The room still needs some work, but we'll get it done, no hurry.
We went to our first wine and cheese get together. It's not a tasting session like at the last park, you bring your own drink. It's basically a social time, but we learned more about the area and the park.
We've been in our new house for a month. We didn't have an exit plan, but we did know we wanted to live in Florida. Here's my take on the changes from full time RV'ing versus living in a stationary home.
I miss some things with the RV'ing like the change in scenery and the excitement of what is the next park going to be like. I miss exploring the areas we stay in each night. I miss talking to people about where they've been and where they're going. I miss the scenery we go by in our travels. I miss turning on the light by just reaching for it. I miss how close the bathroom is or sink and refrigerator, I miss catching up with friends that come to the same park.
What I DON'T miss is getting ready to go to the next destination and find a flat tire. I don't miss when something breaks down who to call and how long will it take to get it fixed. I don't miss the heavy traffic in pouring rain and missing your exit. I hate the tornadoes that get you up at 3 in the morning and you're not sure where to go. We had to escape tornadoes every year while on the road. I don't miss getting to a park and not feeling safe or the owner isn't pleasant so you want to move and your tired. I don't miss the parks that say we have WIFI, but it's at another location not in your site, or the WIFI is so poor it's hard to do anything.
Overall, I'm fine that we settled down. We'll be taking trips by car and staying in motels again, like we used to do. If we want to go to Colorado, our second favorite state, we'll fly out or drive in the car and stay at a military base. It's not like we're grounded, but it was nice to have our own bathroom and stop along the road whenever we wanted. It's just a different way to go somewhere. We weren't sure of the "exit" point of our travels, but we knew after being in 48 states that we'd live in Florida.
We watch the lake activities a lot and a bird suns himself several times a day. (Click on picture to enlarge).
In between activities at the clubhouse I've been crocheting. My latest is a bear made of embroidery floss, an ice cream cone kitty and another mouse book marker made with crochet thread.
See you next Friday.
8 comments:
I am glad you wrote about both sides of the coin!
Actually, with us only "officially" being fulltimers for 5 months, we enjoyed the feeling of no bills, no plans, and just enjoying our rig. Plans changed in a wink of an eye, and we ended up changing our outlook.
We owned our motorhome for 6 years before we full-timed so we were used to long trips and how everything worked. And before that we owned many RV's over the years. RV living was a natural for us, so we didn't feel deprived or at a loss for a home when we went fulltime. It was very "freeing". And now using the motorhome for long trips or weekend getaways is sooo nice, but having a home base is nice too.
We figured on family health issues keeping us close to Wisconsin, and boy we were ever so right on that! So buying a house was not a bad choice for us. Mainly it was the costs.... the old house was costing us $1,100 a month to live there, and this one is only $450 a month. That is cheaper than staying at a lot of campgrounds for a month!
I do enjoy the travelling, and still owning the RV is a nice option for us. I wonder if down the road you might decide to pick up a small class B or something to travel in?
If anything happened to Steve, I would probably sell the big 40 ft diesel pusher (although I do drive it) and get a small class B to get around in.
We are enjoying your move to your new place, and you sure lucked out on a great location!
KarenInTheWoods and Steveio
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(our Blog) RVing: The USA Is Our Big Backyard
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I miss seeing new places and even old places, the scenery, the different birds. I don't miss the travel to and from, setting up and breaking down, finding satellites. I enjoy having lightning fast interent, TV that's not satellite, knowing where I can purchase the foods we need, volunteering.
Although I did enjoy the travel, it was stressful. I'm happy to be back in sticks and bricks for the most part. Although I'm not happy about the way it was forced on us.
With us, it's not stressful yet. I do that planning, he does the driving (mostly). But I find myself looking out the truck window at houses and wondering if I would like that one.
Am I being told something?
But after just buying ANOTHER newer rig, I best not even think that way.
Enjoy life Dee and Jim!
You are in a nice area of Florida and there are a lot of beautiful state parks with beautiful rivers and of course the famous Florida Springs. You need to see those springs!! That way you can still sightsee and then come home each night to a home that doesn't have a flat tire!
Time sure flies, I started following your Blog when you were still working and looking forward to full-timing. :-) Now another new start! Good luck with all your endeavors.
I like your summary. We're not even close to settling down, but it will happen at some point. My most frustrating item to do with is, as you say, the breakdowns. I always enjoyed when we crossed paths with you, and hopefully we will in Florida!
Breakdowns can be very stressful and finding reputable places who can fix things is a challenge.
It looks like you are settling in nicely. I love the little bear.
Breakdowns are the worst part, oh and weather. We know someday we will be at the decision point, appreciate the insight.
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