2017 January - April

Jan 1 – April 12, 2017:  We have been lax in updating our Blog since the end of November 2016. Sorry!

 

Mary's House in Apopka FL, listed at $263,900Even before Christmas and the New Year we have been busy with preparing for listing Mary’s house for sale, determining what she wanted to keep, what she wanted to give to friends, what she wanted to give to charity, etc.; then taking what she wanted to keep to a 10’x10’ storage room; then cleaning the house and finally interviewing and selecting the best Realtor to market and sell the house.

Now at the beginning of April we are finally at that point, and apparently we chose the right and best Realtor for the job, who not only took the listing but also evaluated the house a little higher than we estimated and then staged the house prior to listing it. If you are not familiar with “staging” it implies taking a house as it is (either fully furnished, partially furnished or completely devoid of any furniture such as Mary’s house was after we emptied it) and either removing, adding or re-arranging some furniture if too cluttered, empty of lacking in what style would appeal to the majority of ‘Buyers’ in today’s market, to maximize interest and perception of value. Believe it or not there is actually a certification for Realtors who study this field. Our chosen Realtor, Michelle Chase is one such Realtor, who not only staged the house after we emptied it of all furniture, but also prepared a pre-market interest in preparation of the formal listing, taking photos including a Virtual Tour, presenting it on Zillow.com and other websites. By the time the listing was officially presented on MLS, there was already a lot of interest, over 300 hits and 40 saves, which translated in several showings and an offer at full 100% listing price with no contingencies by the 2^nd day. Now, with a working contract in hand and an expected closing date of “by May 15^th 2017” we are planning on staying here until closing and then heading north to the Fleetwood (Factory) Service facility in Decatur IN, as we have an appointment there to fix several issues with our coach which are still under warranty.

 

During this time period, one day we passed by our friends Rick and Trish’s house and noticed that they had another motor home at their house. As we approached it we noticed that it looked remarkably similar to our own… another Fleetwood Discovery; and upon getting to it noticed that the window configuration also was just like ours. As we walked to it OMG!! It is even the exact same model as ours… a ‘40E’.  In talking to them we found out that Mary’s friends John and Chris Petri also bought another (even bigger) motor home… a Providence 42. As the outsider, coming from The Villages, Bill finds all this very hilarious, as these folks all live in a subdivision which does not allow a motor home to be parked in front of their house for longer than 4 HOURS a day. Even funnier is that Chris Petri is not really into RV’ing, enjoying her house too much.  Maybe John will convince her otherwise once she gets out and shows her that she can still have her house and hundreds of glorious different sunrises and sunsets with spectacular views and travel opportunities.

Well, our plans are now to get ready for our summer travel up north and west this summer as we missed so much last summer due to all the problems with the previous coach (Thor Challenger 37LX). Next Winter we MAY be back to Florida, but it is still too early to tell. Stay tuned to our Blog as we will know more around September-October 2017. That was the purpose of selling the house: 1) Minimizing expenses (to $0) while we are not even there, 2) Not having to worry about it as we did during Hurricane Matthew, while being unable to do anything about it, 3) Maximizing income by putting that money to work in investments, and 4) being free to either return to FL for the winter, or NOT, free to winter anywhere else, like Arizona or Texas where there are no ”high-season” limits on camping.

Our biggest event was camping at Wekiva Falls RV Resort near Sorrento FL. We were there between January 20 and April 1 (over 2 months in the same place… woohoo!)  Wekiva Falls was a run-down park until recently when the new owners have done an amazing job restoring it to a really great place to camp with lots of activities, a great and very accommodating staff and very friendly fellow campers where we made several good new friends. During that time we were visited by our friends George and Anita Gideon, and Rick and Tricia Monroe. Among the many new friends we have made are such critters as Ollie (a miniature Schnauzer puppy), son of Eddie and Nita Collins, and ‘Gopher’ the tortoise that Bill befriended.

Here are some photos from this period

The Garage Sale  preparing to empty the house... 

 

 At Wekiva Falls RV Resort in Sorrento FL

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


This (above) was a scary scene from our bedroom window in the AM. The two kids (from that trailer ) without sign of any parents driving the golf cart and coming within feet of our coach. Some people just should not have children if they cannot teach them how to behave or be responsible enough to keep an eye on them. 

 

Our critter friends and their human parents....

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don't know why this photo refuses to remain right-side up but it showed such as good view of 'Ollie' (our new Miniature Schnauzer puppy friend) and in the background is his Mom, Nita Collins from South Carolina, that we just had to keep it in.
 

 

And a hawk that often came by for a look at us funny people.

 

 

Then, back in Thousand Trails Orlando, near Clermont and Four Corners FL, here's Bill charming a Gopher Tortoise which later ate from his hand. See you on our next blog POST, where the photos will hopefully cooperate more.

 

  Happy Trails!!

 

 

Christmas 2016 & New Year 2017

Dear Friends:

Here we are, with another perfectly good year coming to a close.  We hope that all is well with you and yours and that 2017 brings much happiness.

This has certainly been an interesting year for us.  After the holidays last year, we decided that the motor home Bill had purchased to travel in by himself was too much of a man cave and not big enough for 2 people to be comfortable.  So we began motor home shopping.  We found “the one,” or so we thought.  We picked it up in Virginia on February 4^th.  Within 2 days, we learned that the furnace didn’t work, the water heater didn’t work and the windshield wipers didn’t work.  So it was back to Virginia.  And that was just the beginning of our problems.  Ongoing electrical issues sent us to Lone Star RV Center in Harker Heights, TX for more warranty work.  By this time it was the 4^th trip for warranty service and we had only had the coach 3 months.  The folks at Lone Star gave us confidence that they had identified and repaired the electrical issues with the coach and we could be on our way.

The day before we left, we took the coach to a local campground to empty the holding tanks.  Did I mention that the owner was so generous that he provided us with 50 amp electrical service and water while we were parked in his parking lot?  On the way back, a woman was driving too fast on a rain slicked road and side swiped us the driver’s side, taking out 4 luggage compartment doors.  That little distraction took another 6 weeks to resolve.  And we were still having issues with the coach.  But by that time, we had tried to work with the manufacturer enough to know that they were not going to do the right thing and correct the issues.  So, while the Challenger was being repaired from the accident, we had nothing else to do, but go coach shopping. 

We found a leftover 2015 Fleetwood Discovery 40E diesel pusher; and fell in love.  The floor plan is awesome.  It has everything we were looking for, and some things we had not even thought about.  It has a bath and a half, washer/dryer, side by side residential refrigerator, convection/microwave oven, plus a regular gas oven for my baking, a fantastic pantry, a wine bar, 4 TVs, 3 air-conditioners, home theater, an in-motion satellite system and automatic retraction on the patio awning, in case of sudden wind. 

When we finally escaped from Texas, we drove nearly non-stop to Saratoga, WY where we finally started our summer camping experience.  We drove up the Snowy Mountain Scenic Drive and Bill threw snowballs at me in July.  Typical Floridians, we were in shorts and tee shirts and at an altitude of nearly 11,000 feet it was 55 degrees with a cold wind!  Figures. 

We took in Flaming Gorge and camped on the lake.  Met some lovely folks that shared their fresh catch of fish with us.  Took in the wild horse refuge (there were some horses, but they were over a mile away), we stopped at Pilot Butte and hiked part way up.  We also took in Seedskadee Wildlife Refuge.  It was incredible to visit a wetlands refuge along the Green River in the middle of an arid treeless area.  We also explored the area around Flaming Gorge Lake, which is a 96 mile long reservoir.  There was some unbelievable scenery everywhere we went.

From there, we moved on the Northern California.  We were disappointed in our first campground and left before our reservation was up.  We moved further north and into a less mountainous area at Eagle Lake.  Sadly, the effects of the drought had made the area nearly deserted, but we enjoyed the quiet and the friendly chipmunks.  Bill trained a couple to eat out of his hand.  By this time, though, the elevation and being chilled had gotten to him and Bill had developed bronchitis.  So, we made arrangements to move on to Redding, CA, where there is a VA Outpatient Clinic.  After a few days he improved dramatically and after a week, was ready to move on.  Good thing, as we had to go back to Texas. 

We spent a few days in Grants, NM, resting and taking in some sights.  The area is definitely on our list to revisit and spend much more time exploring.  While on a short hike at the Sandstone Cliffs in the El Malpais National Monument, we observed a couple who seemed to be breathing in the air in a nearly ritualistic way.  They came over to tell us that the woman’s grandmother had passed away that morning and they were on the cliffs absorbing her spirit from the wind.  They were eager to share their Native American beliefs with us.  It was an interesting window into their clan culture and structure.

Once in Texas, we travelled slightly out of our way to see our friends in Harker Heights.  They were as thrilled to see us as we were to see them.  The owner is getting ready to retire and we have an open invitation to camp at his ranch in west Texas whenever we want to.

As we were setting up our camp at Lake Conroe outside of Conroe, Texas, a man walked up to Bill and asked if he had been in the Coast Guard.  Bill answered in the affirmative and Brett commenced to introduce himself and his wife Susan.  A couple of days later, as they were getting ready to leave, we stopped to say goodbye.  A brief conversation ensued and we learned that we both had appointments at the Fleetwood Factory Warranty Center in Decatur, IN on the same day in October.  So, we had an opportunity to spend some time with them and become friends.  We hope to meet up with them in Oregon next summer. 

After 3 weeks we left and had to do a quick drive to Florida to get back by the election and some pre-scheduled Doctor checkups.  As we had been listening to the news about Hurricane Matthew, we were of course concerned about the house.  That generated more conversation and “what iffing.”  All of which led us to the decision to sell the house and live in the RV full time.  It was not a decision we made lightly, but it is one that we are excited about.  We feel that we have about 10 years left that we can travel and enjoy the things we are doing now.  Now we are getting the house ready to put on the market after the first of the year.

Our current plan is to leave Florida about the 3rd week of April and head out toward the north.  Then west.  Then wherever the mood strikes us.  If you want to see photos of any places mentioned in this letter, check out our blog and in the future you can keep up with us on:  www.roughingitgently.com.

That’s the year’s report from Roughing it Gently!  All of the best for the new year. 

 
Bill and Mary