A "flat" out good time

Our good friends Ted & Dawn and Ron & Carol invited us to Orlando this weekend so we took them up on it. Both couples have large Class A motor homes and we've been their guest in the past. It was always understood that when we got ours we would join them. Ted told me a few weeks ago that they were planning on staying at Tropical Palms RV Park. It's just a few miles as the "see Disney from the air" helicopter flies. It's the same distance as the crow flies as well but no self respecting crow wants to share the airspace with the "see Disney from the air" fleet buzzing back and forth. They were having a car show next door at Old Town (which is not old at all but actually an "old looking" town of a few blocks of wall to wall amusement park/shops/clubs/eateries.) You get the idea here; there's a tourist or two in residence.

They got a day head start on us but we pulled down on Saturday morning. An uneventful trip really. It was our first time on the highway with LuLu and Hank (at highway speeds) and they did great. The Turnpike Authority was glad to see our 2 extra axles, so much so that they had a separate price list just for us. We exited on 192 in Orlando and had a front row seat of all the people who just couldn't wait to get to the Mouse House. No one cared that we weighed, oh I don't know, 5 times what they did in their mini vans and SUV's,the monorail was pulling out of the station and time was a wastin'.

At the park

After we passed the main entrance to Disney we found the RV park in short order. Our site was next to Dawn and Ted with Ron and Carol on the other side and after setting up Margo pronounced LuLu ready for the reveal and we showed her off.

Living room

Monkey business

We all took a trip to Camping World since it was right down the road, and our wallets weren't lightened enough yet, then we got down to what we came for. Food and drink. Ted was flying the colors, tending to the clams on the grill while Ron had the 5 gallon cooking pot turned up to full blast with shrimp, crawdads, potatoes, polish sausage, clams, and corn. This was ceremoniously dumped out on a newspaper covered picnic table and we ate like it was 10 minutes to closing at the Golden Coral Buffet.

Flying the colors on Ted and Dawn's honkingly huge RV

Ron - feeding the masses

Afterward we took in the car show at Old Town, walked the shops, watched the bungee jumpers fly though the air, and just generally did the tourist thing in the land of the $1.99 Snicker's Bar (the small one, not the double size).

A restful night in LuLu ensued then a pancake breakfast in Dawn and Ted's coach. With the food gone and check out time approaching we all packed up and headed out.

A cold front was coming through so the winds were starting to pick up. As we headed down the turnpike I could feel it pushing but actually it was not as bad as I had envisioned. We were cruising along at 65 and Margo said she smelled rubber burning. I didn't and dismissed it but she said that she could smell it. I thought, 'okay, if we have a tire going down how could she smell it at 65 with the said tire behind us'. I reassured her that all was well at which time someone in a car pulled up along side and motioned to me that we had a problem. Hand gestures, lips forming the phase "blow out". I hadn't felt or heard anything. I pulled off and sure enough the curbside (right) front tire had exploded.

Now we knew LuLu needed some new flip flops but the tread was okay for short trips. The tires are about 4 years old and looked good but that isn't always the case. We got really lucky though. We stopped in time that it didn't shred and do damage to the wheel well or water tanks. We were in a place where we could be seen at least a mile ahead of time and were able to get it off the shoulder partially into the grass. I had previously checked the spare and aired it up so that was not a problem and had gone over the steps to change it. I got out my leveling blocks and backed her up onto them so the flat was able to be removed. We called Dawn and Ted who we knew were about 10 minutes behind us to let them know not to be alarmed when they saw us on the side of the road. They pulled in behind us and Ted helped me change it out. We were back on the road in no time no worse for wear.

Stepped on a pop top - blew out a flip flop

Look Ma, no jack

Ted and Dawn - watchin' our backs

As has been the case in all of our trips we learn something new and find out more about ourselves each time.  We had the opportunity to experience a blow out under the best conditions and that helps to make us more competent and confident when and if it happens in the rain on a cold night in the mountains. I'm going to check into getting some remote tire pressure sensors for LuLu so I can monitor things better. It really is hard to know what's going on back there. The windy conditions today (which didn't pose a problem) masked things though. The truck is so big it just powers through so I think if I have some sensors back there it would be a good investment.

A well used Goodyear Marathon

In the end it was a great weekend and thank you to our friends for making it so; and watching our backs.  Oh yeah, Margo, you were right - there the whole internet heard me......

Camping in the backyard

Remember when you were a kid. You got your tent and camped out in the backyard. That was essentially what we did this weekend. Silver River State Park is about 1/2 mile as the crow flies from my house. I have been there countless times on my bike to ride the trails or paddle up the Silver River to Silver Springs.   Here's the link to the park ; it's quite a place.



Over the last four years I've been riding through the campground of the park. Occasionally I'd find an Airstream, most of the time not. I always said to myself that one day I'd bring my Airstream here and camp for the night. At $24.00 a night we decided to forego a meal out and use the money for a night's rent. We cooked up some sausage, peppers and onions and just had a quiet afternoon and evening.

The whole country is experiencing snow or cold weather except for here where it's 72 degrees in the afternoon and in the 50s at night. I follow a blog called "chasing 72 degrees" and we've made that our plan for the future. This time we didn't have to chase at all. It found us.

Rodman Dam

We took our first trip this weekend for one night to Rodman Dam Campground.  It's part of the Florida Greenway and Cross Florida Barge Canal project the was on again and off again since the 1930's.  The original plan was to dig a canal through Florida from east to west to save transit time.  The project was only partially done then stopped.  The canal portion still exist today but only a small part.  For the entire story, and it's an interesting one, go here.   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_Florida_Barge_Canal

The campground is extremely nice, laid back and clean.  We wanted no excitment, just a day to relax and also to get LuLu out and about to learn the ropes.  Baby steps.  If we don't break anything the trip is a success.  By road trip standards it was a small trip, 40 miles up and 40 miles back but huge for our confidence.  We still have a long way to go and aren't getting cocky but we feel much more comfortable after this trip.

We met a nice retired couple, Lance and Maria, very experienced RV'ers from whom we learned so much as well as getting to know them a little bit.  They left to go back to Cocoa Beach and we soon headed back to Ocala.  It was everything we wanted, peace and quiet.  Actually not much more to report than that but that was the plan.

Meet Hank and LuLu

Okay, so the last time I updated this blog was three years ago. I'm right on time. Back then the plan was to wait until my youngest was in her senior year of high school and get the truck and Airstream. I started the blog way before I had anything to say. Well, I have stuff to say now. My daughter is approaching graduation (with honors I might add) so it's time to introduce Hank and LuLu.





A few months ago I started my research in earnest into a tow vehicle and decided on a Chevy Silverado . We found it in Plant City, Florida. A 2002 with a whopping 8.1 liter gas engine. I wanted something that would be able to handle anything we threw at it. We saw it the first time on a rainy night and took it for a ride. The previous owner's dog, an extremely plump Pug named Hank, was all over us, very happy to make friends with two strangers. We went back the next week in the daylight and closed the deal. Margo, who names EVERYTHING, named it Hank.

Now we had a truck so we started looking for the Airstream. I knew I had a few months so just started casually looking. We took a trip to Tampa and looked at a 1999 25 footer. Very nice and we were actually considering it. I went to the Credit Union the next day only to find out that they would not finance anything older than 6 years. I looked some more and found a 2008 25 foot Safari at JD Sanders in Gainesville, FL. It was only 35 miles away, and since they are our closest Airstream dealer, we took a ride. After taking a look we knew we had found it. They worked with us to make the deal and we took her home the next week. Margo who, did I say, names EVERYTHING, named her LuLu. No cute dog this time, it just sounded right.

Now the real fun begins; selling and tossing our belongings, selling or renting the house etc. Sounds really easy in a short sentence but we know we have our work cut out for us. We have a great incentive sitting in the driveway though.

The posts will start coming regularly now - I have stuff to say.

Still in preflight

I haven't made a post to this blog since February but then at this point that shouldn't be unusual.  We'll be in preflight for a while still.  "We'll", as in we.  My first two posts were "I" as in I.  Coincidentally just days after those first few posts I ended up meeting the person who will share this adventure with me.  I knew Margo for a few months before that.  She was always the attractive woman in my spin class at the YMCA until Feb 29th when the spin class got together for a night of bowling.  Having only seen Margo on a spin bike in class with the music pumped up really load we didn't have much to say to each other.  We each felt that neither was "our type".  My shyness probably had a lot to do with it too.  Anyway, at bowling we were chatting.  I told her about my plan to travel the country in an Airstream.  A conversation topic by the way not conducive to developing a relationship but amazingly she was even more turned on by the idea than I was.  Long but glorious story short, first impressions, and who you think is and is not your "type" are not what they seem.

It's been six months now and we truly have found in each other a partnership that is extraordinary.  The dream has become so much more important to achieve then when it was just me.  The adventure with Margo is well underway.  It's an incredible ride and we haven't even left town yet.  We'll work our jobs, mark time and get my daughter through high school.  We'll grow and by the time this comes to be we'll be ready.  Oh yes, We is much nicer than I.  

So, preflight is still preflight but it's a team getting ready, not just me.  We took a trip to Bates RV in Tampa, home of the Airstream Ranch, and looked around.  She got really excited about the 31 foot Classic so that part is settled.   A Classic it will be.  This woman has style.  Now just to get the kid through high school. Again, probably not too many posts in the near future but once we start firming up plans and getting into the nuts and bolts of things I'll start updating.  Look in the "fun stuff" section of my flicker page here for a look at the Airstream Ranch.

Why an Airstream

When I was first running all this through my head I felt that a class C motor home would be ideal. I knew that a big class A would be too expensive but a class C (that's the one with the van front) would be affordable. I never even considered a trailer. Too small. I'd have to buy a big pick up truck to go with it plus I just envisioned myself in a totally self contained set up.

Then I went to the Ocala RV show. I had never been to one and as a matter of fact had never really had that much exposure to RV's at all. I wanted to look at the class C motor homes and maybe have a little fun and tour the big class A's. As I walked through the place and went into a few class C's I would picture myself living in one. I realized that they were just too small. Not practical for what I wanted to do. I had to have room for an office to be able to work on the road and with every floor plan I saw it just wasn't working. Oh sure there was a huge thing built on a heavy duty Chevy truck chassis that had plenty of room but it was over $100,000. The class A's, as I knew, were way out of my price range.

I toured some trailers and wasn't impressed. They looked cheaply constructed. The slide outs were cool but for what I wanted to be doing I wouldn't always be in a situation where I would be able to deploy them. When they were in everything was cramped. Not only that but all I could see was the day the thing broke and wouldn't slide, in or out. I felt they were great for people who wanted to go camping for vacation but I was going to be doing this full-time. I needed something built a little better than that.

As I walked around I came to the Airstream display. I didn't even know they were still making the things. I went into a 31 foot Classic and it just hit me. This was it. It looked so well constructed and for the first time I could actually see myself doing this. I toured all the models. They had a few smaller Bambi's and I think an International. I didn't talk to a salesman or anything, just took notes in my head.

After that show I started doing some research on the Internet about Airstreams and found that it was all coming together. Not only do they still make them there's a huge following, especially for vintage. In a nutshell. A SOB (some other brand) is ready for trade in five years while an Airstream at five years is barely broken in. More on my research later included some praise for The VAP. Stay tuned.

First post

The first post and a short explanation of why I'm doing this. Like every major step in your life it starts with a dream. This is the birth of the dream and as time goes by it will be a chronicle. A travelogue, literally, of my life.

I'm 45 years old. Single. Two daughters, one grown and on her own and another 14 years old. I've been thinking a lot lately about what I'm going to do the rest of my life. I have a long time to go here and really can't see myself staying in one place and languishing it away. I've always loved to travel and want to see everything there is to see out there - especially while I can enjoy it. While I'm young and healthy.

The question was how to do this and still work to support myself. I'm a medical transcriptionist and I work from home. As long as I have an Internet connection I can work. Okay, next step. If "home" can travel then I can travel. Simple really. Get an RV, put a satellite dish on it and hit the road.

So that's where I am. I don't see myself actually hitting the road for a few years. I have to get the 14 year old grown up a bit more but once she is in good shape I can put the plan in motion. The blog for now will chronicle the preparation and from there I hope it turns into a true travelogue. I have no clue how long it will go on. Hopefully until I see everything there is to see then go back and revisit the places I liked. In my old age I'll settle down in my favorite place.