7-23-15 Beginning life off the road !!

7-23-15 --HOW TO ADAPT TO LIFE OFF THE ROAD !!

Have you ever had a major re-direction in your life ? We have !! Several years ago we decided to hit the road and see the USA in a motorhome, that led to writing a blog and that became a semi daily high point of the day for me ! I thought it'd be a great way for our families and friends to see what we were doing. 28 States and 100k miles later we have decided to settle down again.

We had been talking about stopping our gypsy travels last spring but we thought we'd do that this coming winter. We kinda put some feelers out for a place to settle down on Matlacha Island, Fl. as we both love it. As luck would have it a nice place showed up and we both loved it. If we tried to get a place like this at the beginning of “ season “ it wouldn't happen !! So we flipped our “ jello “ coin and grabbed it !

The past 1 ½ weeks we've been “ moving “ out of the motorhome and into our new place. It's amazing how much stuff we had in the motorhome and trailer. I guess none of us pay much attention to our collection of stuff. We really didn't find anything we don't use but there was a lot of it ! Ha ha ha ! One of our concerns was our “ Kitty “, Mama Cat, that has adopted us. She's pretty headstrong and is an inside/outside cat. We're wondering what she'll do ???

Our new residence gives us about 416 square feet more space to survive in. Now that's not a lot but it's nice to have a little more room. Our MH was 28 x 8 ( 224 sq ft )and the new place is 40 x 16.( 640 sq ft ) Hmmmm !! Kinda like the old days ! We also aquired a 21 ft boat with it.

Since I had a boat for 20 some years up in Michigan I'm looking forward to being on the water again. We're on a canal front and on Matlacha Island, Fl. which is a spot we both love. We have made many friends here in the last 5 years so we feel at home.

I've been finding the hot weather here is something to contend with. AC seems to be the answer every afternoon. I suppose we'll get used to it as time goes on. I do know I'm never gonna do winter again.

Ms Heather has been grinning ever since we decided to do this ! I'm grinning because I was getting tired of driving every week. It's nice we're both so happy !

Now, we've got a motorhome and trailer to sell. Hope they go to a good home. We have a lot of adjustments to go thru. I still try to flush with a foot pedal and feel bit awkward not having to dump tanks !! We are finally able to pass by each other without any scootching !!

I suppose we'll have to changeover to being Florida residents now ! Of course there's advantages and disadvantages to that. I totally find all that cr** to be a pain in the a** to do, but necessary. Would be nice to be declared a USA retired resident with a national license for driving, CCW, voters card, etc. !!

Ms. Heather has solved the kitty dilemma. She put her in a carrier and hauled her over to our new place. She's been here for a week now and seems to enjoy the AC as much as I do. Of course we had to get all the necessary cat stuff and she has totally adapted to inside living so far !! The silly kitty seems to have a grin on her face too. ( We did find her sleeping up on the motorhome motor while we were gone and didn't wander to far away from her “ big box “. I guess she missed us !! Awwwww !!! She's even been joining me for nap hour.

We having an open house party tomorrow, Saturday for our old neighbors and the new ones. Hoping the weather cooperates.

I may/may not continue the blog. What do you think ??

REMEMBER, LIVE YOUR DREAMS AS TIME GOES BY QUICKLY !!

Charlie & Heather

7-1 thru 7-10-15 big changes !!

7-1-15 JELLO PLANS CHANGE AGAIN

Ms. Heather & June's painting project is just about done. June's house looks real good. They've managed to get the bright yellow paint on them pretty well too ! ( & the ladder )

Got a call from my skin clinic that the biopsies they did a week ago require the spots on my lip & back be removed with a MOHS procedure. Got an appointment for July 6^th, early, to get that done. Kinda sounds like we may be here for a few days more. We were gonna take off that day.

We removed our 2 seat cushions from the table seats and had them reupholstered. Found a lady on Pine Island that was reasonably priced. We had pull the chairs and flip them to remove a few dozen hog ring fasteners. The only worn fabric was the seat cushions. She did a nice job and revamped them to be drop in cushions. She added zippers to them, we can flip them now and if needed they're washable. Much better setup ! Total cost was $160.

The humidity has dropped a bit, making the heat bearable. It still gets up to 90F every afternoon.

I'm thinking we'll get some fireworks for the 4^th . Haven't done that in awhile! We'll join a lot of other folks by the drawbridge and celebrate ! A park party is in the makings too !

We had a great party on the docks Saturday. The food was yummy. We pounded fireworks for over an hour. The fireworks I bought were fantastic. I think my friend, Carl, had more fun than I did. We were like a couple of kids again !!

WOW !! Change is in the air !! A BIG twist in the jello plans occurred on Thursday, July 2^nd. Ms. Heather and I have been toying with the idea of when we'd quit roaming and had kinda figured that we'd get serious about planting somewhere after this summer. We totally agree that Matlacha Island, where we've been coming to for 5 years, would be a great place to settle into. I've been researching the idea, via internet and all our contacts here, to get a feel of the prices and possibilities available. I put a few business cards out with my inquirees. Lo and behold, we got a call from the resort next door. A couple, Bob & Barb, had a place available. We took a walk over and looked it over, it's furnished and on a canal and comes with a nice boat on a lift. Hmmmm!!!

This place is newer and in very nice shape. So we all sat and talked. Ms. Heather & I decided to make the plunge 'cause we aren't gonna beat this deal. We signed a 2 year lease and it looks like we're earthbound again. Wheww !! Gonna be busy for awhile !! Anyone out there want to buy a great motorhome ?

Our move into our new place really shouldn't take too long. Life in a motorhome keeps the amount of 'extra' stuff to a minimum. We'll start transferring stuff on Wednesday after Ms. Heather does some prep work. It certainly will be easier than our last move !!

On Monday 7-6 , I had an appointment at my dermatologist's to remove some basil cell carcinoma from under my nose and a spot on my back. ( MOHS procedure ) My primary doctor found those a few months ago and sent me to get them looked at. Good catch !! I'm paying dues for all the sun in the past. I never used sunscreen in the old days, I do now ! Gotta walk around with my upper lip all bandaged up for a few days. Real pretty !!

The days fly by ! Here it is Friday, 7-10-15, and we've been busy. We started our move in on Wednesday and have been hard at it every day. Got about 80% moved so far. I hate moving. Even though we have been in a motorhome there's still lots of small stuff. Luckily our new place comes furnished and with appliances so we haven't had any heavy stuff to move. I'm too old for that anyway !!

We had Dishtv here today and took advantage of their moving service. Got a new sat dish permanently mounted and tuned in. I called them at 1000hrs and the field tech was here at 1600 and done by 1730. Gotta love it. We managed to live without TV for 3 days..whewww, I was going thru withdrawal !! LOL !!!

I suppose this blog is long enough.

REMEMBER, LIVE YOUR DREAMS AS TIME GOES BY QUICKLY !!!

Charlie & Heather