90 degrees in April and...

...fuel fast approaching $4/gal!  Time to Hit the Road and try my luck crossing the country dodging  floods, wildfires, landslides, earthquakes, tornadoes and radioactive clouds.

Unfortunately, one cannot avoid the Gas Bandit.  In preparation for my trip, I got a Murphy Gas credit card which gives you 3 cents off at all Murphy's at the Walmarts.  I get 10 mpg and will fill every other day for about $100.

For me, it still beats any other way to go!

I am in turbo-mode packing the house up in preparation for my absence for 3 months.  It's payback time for several months of home maintenance carelessness and procrastination as work now becomes a 1-month crush of chores.  Additionally, I must completely set up a parallel household in my new RV but that part is mostly done already.

OK here is a shortlist of some precautions I am taking for traveling the country alone with a poofy white princess pooch:

1. I have a gun, ammo and a permit  

2. NRA sticker prominently displayed

3. A poofy white princess guardog warning sticker displayed on the entry door

4. When checking into campgrounds, I carry small amount of cash in Frank's wallet, with the Police Benevolent Assn wallet card easily visible.

5. When speaking to people casually on the road, I refer to "we" and "us".

6. When leaving the RV to go somewhere, I will bang on the window and yell "See ya later!" or reopen the entry door and yell "Whaaaat?"

7. An inflatable man will be propped up in the passenger seat (just kiddin')

8. When parking, I always keep an exit path and never allow a vehicle or other structure to prevent me from pulling forward and away.

I posted some pics of my RV on Photobucket:    Hit Slideshow--suggest when it starts select "Slow" on lower left if you want to read descriptions. 
The NEW SueMobile pictures by MovinSue - Photobucket and it will give you some idea of how I'll live for the next few months.

I have to say that I am deliriously happy with this vehicle.  It is quiet inside, 

has a great cabin entertainment center with surround sound (my privacy curtain is up in this pic), 

a cozy bedroom with a TV and dimmer lights (see the headboard I built which completely obliterates the annoying window behind your head!)

and a secure place for Cassie's crate so she can ride next to me.  She has 4 inches of memory foam under the crate and her pillow!

And, only one rattle!  That is amazing--one little rattle that I cannot find (but I suspect it is the entry screen door).  

Here is my attempted fix; the gasket was partially dislodged and I am reglueing it.

As I mentioned in my previous blog, I have (with the help of our resident handyman, Brian) completely Eternabonded the roof, slides and windows.  Took 4 hours.  Easy.  Not expensive.  And, I don't need to climb up on the roof or  recaulk again...ever.

My first destination stop is Gulfport MS where I plan to meet my friends/colleagues at Passport America's headquarters.  After many years of my whining at them about the inaccuracies in their geolocations (GPS coordinates), they finally decided they might as well work with me.  It has been a very pleasant business association and we have all decided to meet and say hello in person.  They are hosting me with a nearby campsite and it will be my first "serviced" stop after leaving Florida.

My second stop will be to visit friends near Albuquerque, NM--friends from way back when "Tuna" was a Conk in Key West and we were all hippies.  He is all grown up now and began a brand new family a few years ago who I enjoy immensely.  He is an accomplished interpretative artist of Native American culture.  If you are on Facebook, check it out. Richard Rohe's Albums (1)

My next major destination is a scenic stroll in south central Utah through tiny rural mountain towns like Big Water, Kanab, Bryce Canyon City, and Escalante on Route 12.  I plan to take a REAL photo of my feet here (yup-photoshopped!)

I promise not to go off hiking by myself and get stuck in a rock ravine and have to knaw my arm off.  

I am planning to take a half-day whitewater trip out of Marysvale.  I have always wanted to do that (and skydive too).  The rapids have enticing names like:  Rock of Shock, Satan's Gut, Room of Doom, Hell-to-Pay and Sock-it-to-Me.

After I've dried off and had my fill of odd-shaped red rock formations called "hoodoos", breathtaking canyons and lake vistas, I'll continue north around the Wasatch Mountains toward Grand Tetons and Yellowstone NP.  

I'll arrive there just in time to watch the spring birthing of bison, elk, pronghorn, moose and if I'm lucky--some bear and wolf cubs. The bison calves are cute and very entertaining; they interact with Mom and each other much like young puppies except they practice butting heads and kicking.

I will rent a car for a day or two to roam around the park and oogle cowboys whilst drinking Moose Drool beer at my favorite Bullwinkles Saloon in West Yellowstone. 

While I am there, I will visit Frank's place and am actually looking forward to that.  I didn't think I would ever want to go back.

On my way north out of Yellowstone, I will meander with my RV and do some serious grizzly bear/wolf watching on road pullouts in Lamar Valley with the other wildlife photog fanatics.  This is very serious business in YNP and is a great chance to meet other folks who love the same things I do.

Next destination depends entirely on the weather--Glacier NP.  One of the most drop-dead beautiful places in the US and steeped in history of the Blackfoot Indians.  There are many things to do here as their season is short and ramps up full steam June 1.  

The park trolley bus system is a carefree way to enjoy this area, as the Going to the Sun Road is tortuous to drive.  It is plowed out weeks in advance in anticipation of a normal weather pattern, but if it snows and a new avalanche shuts down the road, I'll have to make another plan.

This takes me to the second week in June.  My next stopovers include friends in Washington state near Crescent Bar, relatives in Portland OR and possibly a girl gaggle with my sister and her friends somewhere along the Oregon coast.  

Eventually, I'll park my rig in my sister's backyard under a 100 year old Redwood tree.  I'll have to peek my head out every morning to make sure there are no bear visitations before I take Cassie out... I look forward to fresh ground coffee in the mornings (the northwestern folks take their coffee very seriously) with my sis and enjoy a long visit with her.  It is her busy season--she owns an RV park and I told her I would earn my keep and help her out.

Some of you wonder about all the "alone" time and how do I manage?  There are days when it seems like my only constant companions are Cassie and the Gas Pump.  I worry if I start talking to the pump, so if you should get a surprise phone call from me, it might be because the pump talked back and I need a reality check!  

One of my strategies is to stop frequently and pick places I'm likely to run into other travelers and not be shy about starting casual conversations.  I also walk Cassie a lot when I want company--and I usually meet another soul walking their dog and end up sipping wine and telling tall tales at their rig.   

I also am active on RV-related forums and have online buds to compare notes with--for me--internet is essential to feeling connected. 

Generally, people on the road have a mind set that welcomes transient encounters.  You never know when these "on the fly" associations become a pleasant memory or a lasting friendship (it has happened!).   In all honesty, it sometimes requires effort to magnify experiences when traveling alone and pleasure is measured as "a good day because my rig didn't break down or I didn't get mugged!"   But other days the "highs" really soar!

Things I will miss:  the serenity of my community during the summer season (population:  130) and the family-sized potluck suppers with friends, pedicure in the massage chair by my non-english speaking "guy" (lotsa smiling, nodding, no conversation Yeah!), the gangs of noisy sandhill cranes taking over the park and... my red power sofa-recliner. 

Things I will not miss:  hearing the meaningless pop culture phrases "at the end of the day" and "that having been said" during business meetings, sweeping/blowing tree crap off my car/golfcart/driveway/entry steps and the heart-stoppingly hot and humid summer air.

I plan to return in August for the peak of hurricane season; I know it's an odd time to want to return to Florida but I would rather be nearby if there is a problem.  

I will have almost uninterrupted internet service except when blocked by mountain terrain and will keep up my blog at  MovinSue's RV Travel Blog

My cell is (239) 247-1655 

My MagicJack phone is "always on" and taking messages which it drops in my email at 772-882-6859.

OoVoo is http://webvideocall.oovoo.com/callme/movinsue/257

Blue Skies Ahead!

I found this pic on another blog I follow and it tickled my imagination so I decided to make it my first photo of 2011!   The "vision" is full of hope for a good future filled with blue skies while reminding me that part of every future is "stormy"-- but that should not dominate the view.  It's my good thought for a New Year!

My community, Saddlebag Lake, is in full swing now--swelling from around 200 residents in the summer to 1500 with the snowbirds here.  With over a third of the seasonal residents calling Canada home, weekly KaffeKlatch meetings are abuzz with exclamations of "eh?"  Everyone has now stored their Christmas decorations away and are going about the business of repairing and preparing their homes.  This place is also abuzz with chain saws and pressure washers--and fragrant with the aroma of the orange grove harvests going on now.   

This community is quite yummy this time of year; all the Clubs hold their specialty food events and the Lady Cooks show off their best recipes.  So far, I have been to the Chili Supper, the Spaghetti Supper, the Chicken BBQ and next week is the Soup Supper.   I attended a "Minority State" Pot Luck luncheon last Sunday.  You bring your own eating utensils (and a generous dish to share if potluck) and your $5 ticket provides a delicious hot meal.  This is a Big Deal for me since I generally do not turn on oven/stove and rarely get a hot meal except for my morning instant microwaved oatmeal.

Sandwiched among all the fooding festivities this month was the Florida RV Supershow which I attended with two other couples in the community.  We all parked together and had a great time looking at the new RV's.  

Inexplicably, my TV stopped working upon arrival so, while going through the tedious process of getting Warranty service on it, my friends Pete and Basil installed a temporary Walmart TV for me to watch during our 4 nights at the Show.  Look at the rolled up magazine in the middle of the set; the screw size didn't match so they used one of the RV show brochures to add some depth--RV'ers can juryrig Anything!

We also enjoyed entertainment every evening -especially the  Rivoli Revue, well known for their recent whistle stop tour with the Tea Party Express where they performed crowd-pleasing satirical song sketches on various conservative topics. 

I'm not commenting for or against the politics of their song ditties (they write all the lyrics themselves), but I did enjoy their humor and energy in their RV-related parodies , including When I Die-Bury me at Walmart, Awning in the Wind and The Dump is Funky.  Here's a little ditty I think everyone can agree on: "Press ONE for English"  Press ONE for English

Ok--my news....I bought a new RV!  You might recall from my November blog that my moho had a transmission problem that could not be identified by Freightliner.  The primary reasons I bought this expensive chassis were because it was supposedly 1- automotively carefree and reliable--and 2-good mileage.  It got good mileage, but amazingly, has given me nothing but automotive headaches!  Time to Go.

My new moho is a gas engine Ford 450, a 27' Forest River Lexington GTS (GTS means "Get the Screws" and they put some nicer stuff in it and use screws instead of glue).  It is 3 ft longer than my diesel was and has a second slide for the separate bedroom.  Instead of a bunk bed over the cab, it has a fantastic surround sound "entertainment center". It is massively roomier and more liveable than my other one.  It is a brand new floorplan which is not even posted yet on the manufacturer's website.  

Realistically, this is a low end unit and these rigs are known far and wide for their leak problems.  Mine is being built at the factory "now" and the first thing I will do is secure the roof seams with Eternabond Miracle RV !  This is a supertape, expoxy microembedded product that claims you will never have to caulk again (you need to re-caulk RV's yearly).  

Anyway, unless this thing blows up on me, it should be my last RV.  This is my 3rd RV purchase in 1 1/2 yrs and I am getting tired of this nonsense.  I should have it delivered sometime in March and will take off for my cross-country trip as soon thereafter as I can reasonably manage.

When I got back, I went searching for the painting from my neice, Jessica, who painted me a triptych of a Sandhill Crane and shipped it to me just before I left.  It turned out that the FedEx guy took my package to the Post Office and I finally ran it down there.   It is a 3-panel painting of a sandhill crane.  I have to admit that I am enamored of sandhill cranes; they are often pests but have interesting personalities.  They hang around in gangs and are fearless.  Here is another fact:

During mating, pairs vocalize in a behavior known as "unison calling." They throw their heads back and unleash a passionate duet—an extended litany of coordinated song. Cranes also dance, run, leap high in the air and otherwise cavort around—not only during mating but all year long.

It is so cool!  I wanted something "whimsical" that captured the attitude of these birds.  (Sorry I am having trouble all of sudden getting pics to rotate on this site).  If you look at the middle and top frames, you can see into the "internal" anatomy of the bird--an interesting creation of Jessica's work that I like.   See the little alligator on the lily pad?  She made it Florida-ish for me.  Thank you Jessica!

The FedEx guy also brought me a new pair of slippers.  Cassie was thrilled---not.

BREAKING NEWS!  I just got a call from my RV Salesman at 5:15pm on Friday, Jan 28.  He said my new rig was coming "off line" (that's RV-speak for "the factory will be finished putting all the screws to you...uh... in IT) and will get it ready to deliver to the selling dealer.  My salesman is all, like, super-anxious because the financing must be finalized by the end of the month for him to get a commission bonus on unit sales, so he is overnighting the finance package tonight.

Bub-bye 2010--Hello 1/1/11

All in all--not a bad year!   It was a year of change...and a lot of work!  With a little help from my new and old friends, I look forward to a "constructive" new year in 2011, and say a bittersweet goodbye to the "recuperative" year just passed.

In 2009, I did not have a Christmas, and was certainly in no festive mood.  THIS year, in contrast, I went crazy with Christmas!  

I downloaded a lot of Christmas music from YouTube, bought a new lighted tree and decorations, a set of remote-controlled flameless candles on Ebay (you know how I love gadgets!) lighted wreaths and put up solar-powered LED lights on my golf cart!  

I went with friends to see the Singing Christmas Tree in Orlando and also went out for dinner on Christmas Day.  

I participated in the Community Christmas Golf Cart Parade and Christmas Eve luminaria lighting.  

I bought myself a new, fancy-schmancy camera as my gift to myself and went around on my golf cart shooting photos!   It was a very festive and warm Christmas!

This year, I also enjoyed family and friends in San Antonio and Las Vegas.  And, amazingly, family found me by GPS and visited me here in Lake Wales!  This is a photo of my nephew Drew and his wife, Helena (she is creating his "doo").

I enjoyed family members in Cocoa Beach, FL for the Space Coast Marathon.  Here is my nephew, Luke, achieving his best time yet!  He runs for the Lymphoma Foundation.

I participated in my community in various ways and ventured into "video" attempting my first video creation which I posted on YouTube Saddlebag Lake Christmas Dogs     During the making of the video, I photographed many doggies and met lots of people living here.

I have become active in our Community Forum.  I published my second video  Saddlebag Lake NewYear 2011

This year, I bought and renovated my home, making it a convenient, easy-to-maintain and attractive oasis for me and Cassie.  I was able to visit my friends in Cape Coral, Bonita Springs and Estero 4-5 times, and enjoyed several visits with my "Orlando-Family" and a trip to Disney with a pal.

Plans for 2011 are now in process beginning with a planned trip to meet family and friends in Utah in April.  We will have at least 3 RV's in our group and continue to try to interest other friends in joining up with our caravan.  April is the perfect time of year to visit Utah.  I am hoping to stay for an extended time "out west" during the unpleasant Florida summer months and expect to be up in the Pacific Northwest for awhile.  We are also discussing a group cruise to Alaska.

Throughout the year, I experienced many "ups and downs".  Losing Frank and then uprooting myself from the area where I had lived for a decade was a tumultuous life change.   

Finishing Frank's Video Memorium was a major milestone and helped me to, as they say, find closure.   I also found peace in my music--a legacy from my mother who was my inspiration in so many ways and who passed away just before Christmas, forever changing my experience of this joyful season.  

Here is wonderful music with a comforting thought that made me realize that people we love will always be with us. Remember me

Without the support of family and friends, I'm certain I would not feel so "patched together".  I feel stronger now and ready to receive the new joys and inevitable sorrows which life must have in store for me in 2011 and beyond.


So, it is with humility and a grateful heart that I say "Bub-Bye" to 2010.  

Saddlebag, Disney, Thanksgiving, Space Coast Marathon

The minute the weather turned cooler, I began my next major home improvement project--landscaping.   This was to be a "concept" job as I do not want to maintain crabgrass and weeds.  Grass does not grow well in Saddlebag because the immense oak trees block the sun and consume all soil nutrients.  What the tree canopies don't kill is mangled by the troupes of sand hill cranes wandering around digging up the ground with their primitive talons.

This is what lawns typically look like, except mine is worse than most.


My initial impulse was to AstroTurf my entire property; it is a very environmentally-green thing to do and my turf would look good all the time and not need any maintenance at all.  Alas-it was cost prohibitive!  The next idea is to divide the property into two parts and do the front this year and think about the back half next year.

The goal was to blanket the front yard with mostly drought-, heat- and cold-tolerant, ground-hugging plants that need no pruning, thereby eliminating grass/weeds.   I dug about a hundred holes for plants, laid in weed control fabric and soaker hoses, placed a ton of paver block for edging and hoisted 75 bags of rubber mulch.   Job completed in about 3 weeks of almost daily work.  Got a good tan.

I finished just in time to join my pal Carole and her new baby Rachael in Disney.  We bought our FL Resident "weekday only" tix, loaded up  BSE (baby support equipment) and headed out to the parks.

Rachael is one yr old and not mature enough for most of the rides, but that was OK because we were quite pooped and pushed to our limits with the few rides we took.   I had not realized that the strollers get parked outside the attraction and non-walkers had to be carried while waiting in line!   Here I am with a sleeping Rachael waiting to see "It's a Small World".  Disney made a major improvement in this attraction and stopped piping the music OUTSIDE the attraction so you are no longer subjected to this child's song playing over and over inside your head for the next 2 weeks.

From time to time, Carole had to use the changing table; this particular change was pretty major.

We all  had a fun ride on the carousel.

That evening, we went to Hollywood Studios to see the Dancing Lights, which are just Christmas lights flickering with music.  Naturally, Disney did this "bigger than life" and got me in the Christmas spirit with snow falling down from the snowblowing machines mounted on top of the NY building set and speakers blasting out Mannheim Steamroller's Deck the Halls.

We didn't make the Food and Wine Festival due to exhaustion...

My friends, Barry and Sue invited me up for Thanksgiving, so Cassie and I loaded up the moho and squatted in their backyard for a few days.  Since my brother and nephew were flying down to Florida for the Space Coast Marathon, they were also invited, as was their friend, Drew.  Here we are enjoying a sumptious meal prepared by Barry and Sue.  As usual, they outdid themselves with smoked turkey, a spiral pineapple-glazed ham, garlic mashed and candied sweet potatoes, dressing, green bean casserole, homemade cranberry jam and homemade pumpkin schnapps.  We had Jack Daniels Pecan Pie, Pumpkin Pie and Pumpkin Cheesecake for dessert.  It was an amazing meal!  Thank you guys for your generosity and an awesome feast!

The next day, we dragged our inflated bodies to Cocoa Beach, the site of the Space Coast Marathon.  The red arrow at right/center is the staging area of the Marathon where the DJ and all the sponsors hang out.

My nephew, Luke, runs for Team In Training Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, DC Chapter.   He is a leukemia survivor and Frank also had leukemia and was an Honored Patient.  This organization supports patients and families in many ways and raises money for cancer research.  I am proud that my nephew has aligned himself with such a fine organization.

The weather was changeable for the day and a half preceding the race, but the morning of the race was perfect!  The start was at 6:15am!   It was controlled chaos at the Start Line with hordes of volunteers and pacers gathering their groups together which are "coralled" according to estimates of race time.  Everyone wore a shoe lace tag which digitally logs their personal time at the Start and Finish lines.

On the day we arrived, Luke turned his ankle walking to the Pier in search of a brewsky, resulting in tenderness and moderate swelling.  We treated it best we could with bandaging, a stabilizing brace and anti-inflammatories and could only hope for the best.  Luke estimated his time for this 13 mile race would be 30 minutes slower than usual because of the ankle.

The race was open to all mobility modalities and ages.   The race course followed the Indian River and I am told that the route was incredibly pleasant and picturesque. 

Luke was excited to see a dolphin swimming close to the shoreline.  This pic was taken in a quaint and beautiful section of Cocoa Village, a walking shopping/dining destination.

Racers were encouraged by Volunteers clad in orange NASA jumpsuits to "Embrace the Suck".

Here is Luke at the Finish Line "embracing" it.

Imagine our excitement when Luke finished almost 30 minutes ahead of his estimate at 2h 3m!  That was a personal best for him and he was very pleased.  We were also quite happy that the ankle had not been a problem or further injured.

After gorging on a pancake breakfast prepared by Volunteers, Luke immediately posted to Facebook followers.

We hoisted a few to Luke's success.

I am now back in Saddlebag making my Christmas round of doctors and other purveyors of medical devices.   Right before I closed on my house, I decided to do "medical housekeeping" and get a complete systems tuneup, so now all the annual checkups fall during the holidays.

Between chats with the docs, I'll decorate the house for Christmas, and work on another project I have cookin'.  More on that next blog.