Gulf View Punta Gorda - Nov. 30

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Barb and Lily

Decorations "after"

                                                             Bob's decorations "before"

We've been busy since Thanksgiving playing Mexican train dominoes, teaching me  to play pinochle, riding bikes, taking walks, play ladder golf, practicing the piano, attending a fun dance here with "oldies" music. Jim and Bob leveled both motor homes with blocks of wood under the jacks and also the wheels. We were seriously listing to port! Finally the doors stay open and things don't slide along the table. Bob set up his Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving. We only have small red ribbons on the windshield wipers, door handle, and awning latch. We will be leaving Dec. 2 for home until after Christmas, so the bikes will get stored in Bob's travel trailer. When we get back, we'll set up flower pots and an herb garden, along with springy butterflies I just bought at Home Depot. Quite a few people leave here for the holidays and the park will be full starting in January. It's been pretty emtpy, but lots to do.

Happy Thanksgiving 11/24

Happy Thanksgiving

                                                                       Donna and Santa

The Pool

We spent Thanksgiving dinner at the Olde World Restaurant in North Port with 36 other people from
Gulf View. We sat with 2 couples plus Rita and Graham who joined us. Our days here have been busy walking Lily, riding bikes, playing Mexican train dominoes, Jim playing pinochle, attending a pool party with beer, wine, popcorn and chips, plus pictures with Santa. The weather has been in the 70s and 80s, sunny and breezy. I've been busy playing the piano at the clubhouse everyday. All of my favorite Jim Brickman pieces are in the book I just bought and are all sight-readable and read through several Sonatinas which are fun and a good workout for technique. So glad I found the piano!!!

Days in Punta Gorda - 11/10

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                                                                       The Pool

The dock and boat launch

                                                              The Club House

                                                Jim and Bob washing our motor home

Bob was over by 8:00 ready to work. He immediately climbed the ladder to the roof to begin the washing process. Tomorrow the car will get it's "bath". It's another warm, sunny day. Last year during the night, all we heard was a mockingbird until 5:00 AM. Now each evening around 7:30 we hear the gentle call of a great horned owl and sounds like it's right outside out window in one of the palm trees.

Punta Gorda, FL

We arrived at Punta Gorda, FL late yesterday afternoon after a quick stop at Lazy Days outside Tampa. We were totally shocked to be greeted by Jim's brother, Bob, and wife, Donna, who planned for months to be here and never told us. They are 5 sites up from us and will be through April. It's so nice to have family here. They have a cat, General, and dog, Cinnamon, so we can now take walks together with our doggies. They had free drinks, hotdogs, and beans last night for a social gathering at the clubhouse. Later that evening we went back to the clubhouse to watch Dancing with the Stars since we have not hooked up with cable yet and Bob's TV does not pick up ABC.

We also noticed that our patio had red ant mounds all around. The attendant put white powder on top and left a spot in front for us and Lily to walk off. In a few days they will spray it with water. Then I can wash the patio and sweep and put down out outdoor carpet and chairs. We don't need red ant bites! We are diagonally across from the laundry facilities, so handy! The park is about 1/2 full and by January will be in full swing. It's a nice small place and people are very friendly.

South of the Border, SC to Jacksonville, FL

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WE'RE IN FLORIDA! Our trip today was 330 miles. We are staying at Pecan Park RV just off I 95. At least tonight we have cable TV and can catch up on the weather channel and news and maybe a good movie! We would like to head to Punta Gorda tomorrow, but have to see how we feel in the morning. We are all very tired and could use an extra "rest up" day, but need to get to the west coast. Jim wants to stop at Camping World outside Tampa at Lazy Days RV on our way to check out satellite TVs.

Mebane, NC to South of the Border, SC

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Since we only had 150 miles to go today, we left the parking lot of CAT around 9:45. Sleeping in the parking lot is similar to anchoring in the boat and running the generator! We fueled up at a nearby Flying J, then headed down I 40 through Raleigh and meeting up with I 95. We have NO exhaust fumes, so they repaired the problem and we are so happy!

We arrived at South of the Border, a typical "tourist trap" that had signs along the highway for 80 miles. Since it's out of season, there were not many people around, but everything was still open. We unhooked the car since our site in the campground is a very long walk there, and strolled around for an hour to get some exercise. Four other motor homes pulled in after us, so at least we are not alone here. The weather tomorrow changed from rain to 20% chance and partly sunny. I'm just hoping we get the bikes to Punta Gorda without getting them wet! Tomorrow we will head to Jacksonville, FL. We were hoping to stop in Brunswick, but Jim wants to get the extra 55 miles done with the mileage tomorrow.

Day at Gregory Poole CAT, NC

 

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                                                   The Caterpillar CAT Service Sign

Our alarm went off at 5:30 and we were ready for the knock on our door to move into the bay area. By 7:00 we were inside and work started. It was a long day since they didn't finish until 4:30. The lounge was perfect, comfortable chairs, TV, and popcorn. It rained most of the day, so it was a good day to stay put anyway. We are all fixed up and ready to travel again. Everyone here has been wonderful and helpful and we will definitly come back here for service. We still need to get our slide fixed. We thought we were lucky to have a Winnebago dealer in Raleigh, however, they can't fit us into their schedule for 4 more weeks! The other dealer in Garner has a 3 1/2 week wait, Sanford, FL a 4 week wait. I guess they don't keep room for people traveling with emergencies. I finally gave Lazy Days a call, and they put us in for service on Nov. 16. So the plan now is to continue to Punta Gorda, then roll out on the 15th, stay at Lazy Days RV the night before so we are ready for our 8:30 time.  Tomorrow we are heading to South of the Border RV in SC.

Hagerstown, MD to Garner, NC

We left Hagerstown at 7:15 and had a nice ride until I started smelling exhaust fumes. It followed us all the way to the front of the RV. We pulled into the Caterpillar dealer in Garner, NC just south of Raleigh for our routine engine servicing, and had them check it out. Turns out we have a hole in the muffler pipe, so they ordered one. They are unable to do all that work for us this week, and sending us to Mebane, NC about 60 miles north west. They said they will be able to take care of the maintenance and exhaust problem on Friday, and hopefully they can because they are closed on the weekend! Our right slide opens, but within minutes closes on it's own. The dealer in CT "fixed it" since before it would pop about an inch while we traveling. Now we have the opposite problem, so that's something we need to attend to ASAP. We feel like it's our "Wally World" vacation!!

Road Trip to Florida

We departed our driveway at 7:15 this morning and stopped in Middletown to hitch up the car. It turned out the posts that attach to the car hitch would not come out. Luckily we were heading on I 84 west which is near the RV place in Bristol. We pulled in there and someone was able to help us get it all working again and glad we had a can of silicone aboard! We were off on our way by 10:15, bouncing and bumping along I 84, then I 80 through Pennsylvania. I was worried about the bikes on the back of my car with all the pot holes and slamming we were taking, but they held fine. They are both latched on to the rack, tied with the strap that came with the hitch, bungeed, and wheels tied with string, foam between the bikes so they don't scratch! I'm glad we bought the Thule rack, but they still do bounce a bit more than I'd like to see. We arrived at Yogi Bear Jellystone RV Park in Williamsport, MD around 6:00. We only needed to open the bedroom slide and one slide in the kitchen area. That one opened, then we heard crackling or dripping sounds, and suddenly the slide worked its way back 1/2 closed! We think it may have done this because we are not level from "bow to stern". We may have to have it checked at Lasy Days RV in Florida. We planned on stopping there for 1 night anyway since it's on the way just outside of Tampa. We'll be heading out Wednesday for Raleigh, NC for our appointment to have the engine serviced. At least we have not more snow and it's a bit warmer here!