Donna and Jake's RV Trip

My 2009-2010 RV Trip

admin — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 22:28:49 +0000

Okay, I’m prepared to part with my blog until next winter. I love updating my blog and I love even more my followers and readers. This blog would be nothing if it weren’t for readers like yourself. So with 126 blog postings and 91 comments, I say adios, until next fall. And I’m more anxious than you to get see next fall!

Today we tarped the RV. Getting it settled in for the summer months. It’s not going to be moved for the summer but there is going to be plenty of things to do around the New England states to keep me busy.

I had a great time on my trip. It was definitely a successful trip and the incidences of the fifth wheel leg falling to the highway and being dragged in Massachusetts on 495 at 70 miles per hour last fall and the blow out tire we experienced in Texas was nothing compared to much worst events that could of happened and luckily didn’t.

Recently, I was asked by a couple of people what was different about this trip than last winter’s trip. This winter we went to Daytona Beach and their Bike Week which was a neat experience and Tombstone, Arizona which I would recommend to anyone traveling across I-10 in southern Arizona and it was neat to see Kennedy Space Center. I don’t care how many times you drive the same roads, the trip will always be different each time.

Las Vegas really hasn’t changed. Adding a new building every year really doesn’t change the true layout of what Las Vegas is really about. Gambling and food. I love Las Vegas, predictable and entertaining, and I’m a neon lights kind of girl! I think we will take a year or two off from returning there again. There are plenty of casinos between here and Arizona to explore.

My favorite city in last winter’s trip was San Antonio. We didn’t stop there this winter, so I would have to say my favorite city this year was Kissimmee and I think a big part of that is due to the RV park where we stayed. At Sherwood Forest RV park you can walk from the RV park to Dunkin Donuts, CVS, Ruby Tuesdays, two gift shops, and other little shops. The weather was beautiful and I like taking walks with Jake. There is plenty to do there and the temperature made sitting outside last forever.

As for Jake, I know he had a great time too, aside from the cat scratching him in the face in Kissimmee – Jake made a full recovery. He was sick in Arizona and now has new food and new treats and he acts half his age now. He’s doing great and this summer we are going to hit the beach and dig some holes like he likes to do and run around in the sand. Here in NH, Jake can go on the sand before Memorial Day and after Labor Day. Between those holidays we go to the park and we also participate in a Animal Rescue League Pet Step Walk.

As for my parents, they are doing very well. I can see that they are going to stay busy too this summer enjoying the New England activities and the beach. We all had a very good time and enjoyed each others company. They are teaching me young all about the retirement life.

We had no bad luck on this trip and no one got sick. It was a great trip and you know I’m counting down the days until we can do it again! If you would like to be notified of next winter’s RV blog, then submit your email address up on the right hand side of this webpage where it says “Subscribe Now”, so when I start my new adventure it will automatically notify you.

Thank you for following me thru this trip, YOU made it fun for me to do this blog!

I do have big ideas for next winter’s blog too, shhhhhhhh……stay tuned and have a great summer!!!!

Errands and More Errands

admin — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 03:46:20 +0000

Hello! Okay, we are getting things done. I did some major spring cleaning today. With all the accumulated trip souvenirs I had brought out of the RV and home, I had to make some room, so I threw out two bags of junk I didn’t want anymore that I had forever (and why am I hanging on to the box my laptop came in three years ago and the box my netbook came in six months ago and the box my Blackberry came in a year ago???) and I took two bags of books to the library. I thought the library could use them, and when I dropped them off, the librarian was very appreciative . The only thing that lingers around now are magazines that pile up month after month. I have around 9 magazine subscriptions that show up in my mailbox month after month. I get Popular Science, Popular Mechanic, Trailer Life, Camping Life, Reader’s Digest, a magazine called Inc, another one called Fast Company, and much more!). Okay, maybe more than 9 a month! But I like reading. And a magazine isn’t like a book. With magazines, I tear out favorite articles and I *try* to throw away the magazine, but they just end up laying around creating stacks, almost like their own little village on my shelves. I’ve got to do something with them. When I had this problem a few years back, I tore off my name tag on magazines and dropped them off at nursing homes. They loved them! I wonder if I can still do that. Someone told me to drop them off at my local jail. Hmmmm, no thanks, something just doesn’t feel right with me on that one. I’ve never been near a jail and I’m not going to start by dropping off magazines there. I’ll check around and see where I can unload them. Hey, if you have any ideas on where I can drop them off, let me know. I must have 100 of them sitting around! Okay, now that I look at the pile, it’s more like 50.
Anyways, I went to Verizon Wireless today (yes, again) and I was told by the manager that if I buy a Blackberry that I can get the Mi-Fi 2200 internet card for free AND I can get another phone (simple flip phone) for free too! What a deal. We can sure use that Mi-Fi internet card next winter over the road. I got all excited about this deal, didn’t bite at it yet. I’ll wait another week or two to see what else comes up for a jackpot! Oh, speaking of changing cell phone companies…I will Not be changing my cell phone number. So, all of you that have my digits, keep using it and I’ll answer!
Today I had lunch at Five Guys burgers and fries restaurant. They just opened a restaurant here in Manchester two weeks ago. I’ve seen this chain in my travels, but don’t exactly remember where. So mom and I tried it out today and it was just “ok”, nothing to brag about and a tad over priced in my book. Two hamburger (1/3 of a pound hamburger patty), two sodas, and we shared a “regular” size fries came to $16 something. Like I said, it was just “ok”, and I will be staying with my Ruby Tuesdays for a hamburger because in my opinion, they have the best, oh, and don’t forget to order the mango iced tea while you are there!
Okay, tomorrow we are buying a huge massive tarp and we are pulling the Montana out from it’s hole and we are laying the tarp down and backing it over it. Try to make it so that those little rodents don’t get in and keep it off the dirt. That’s our project for tomorrow. Oh, and today I reconnected my internet router so we can use our laptops securely and with excellent internet signal once again! Well, we are already talking about next winters trip and I sure wish I could press that fast forward button. But until then, I’ll keep playing the lottery Have a great night and I’ll bug you later!

Home Sweet Home

admin — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 05:03:02 +0000

Hi! Well, I’m thinking that maybe if I keep writing my blog my vacation will come back to life and I will continue to more new and exciting places! No?? Or maybe it’s just that I like to yap! This blog will come to an end, but just not yet…..got to tell ya about my day today!
Today I slept late….till around 10:30am. Jake was laying there by my feet looking at me like “Are you getting up sometime today?”. I patted him on the head and said, “Sure, why not”. I said that out loud of course. Yes, I’m the crazy pet owner that has deep meaningful conversations with an 8 pound Maltese.
So, today, we took two vehicles to the RV and emptied the camper out. My clothes, Jake’s toys, books, food, printer, everything. It wasn’t too bad, just took one round trip. And then I ran errands. I’ve got a list a mile long to get done. OH, I called up Jake’s veterinarian and they had his dog treats in stock! So I ran down there and bought two big bags of doggie treats. He’s only allowed two treats a day, but I got two bags because I felt bad about depriving him of his treats for so long. Today it rained all day….and it’s not that Florida rain that starts around noon and ends around two. It rained from morning to night. I picked up my mail today, dropped off my comforter to the dry cleaners, got my oil changed on my Explorer, fixed the flat that I came home to on my Explorer, how exciting…..oh, I went to Verizon Wireless today to see about switching my Nextel over to them – I did that this afternoon after someone I was talking to on my cell phone today (in NH) said I sounded better in Florida. Nextel does not have the greatest service here in New Hampshire. If Nextel came to visit me, I could point out the exactly spots where I lose cell phone service to them. For the same exact plan I have now with Nextel, it would be $30 dollars more a month with Verizon. What to do, what to do. Save the $30 dollars and have the Nextel service annoy everyone that calls me OR accommodate my friends and pay up. And I do like to talk…..
So, that’s what I did today. I’ve got plenty more Spring cleaning to do around here so I will continue working my way down my list this week. Tomorrow I will get that tire fixed on my car because I can see I have a super slow leak in that tire. That’s just annoying all together. And Jake needs his city license, so I might just mosey over to city hall. So everything is good. I’ve got friends setting up lunch dates with me already. Tonight mom and I caught up with my sister and her husband for a late dinner. That was very nice.
So I did the math today and figured that I will be here for 7 months……..there’s around 31 days a month……that’s 217 days to go, tomorrow will be 216 days to go! Pathetic huh, yeah, I know. Well, time to cuddle with Jake, I’ll be back tomorrow. Night Night!

Grantville, PA to Manchester, NH

admin — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 04:07:35 +0000

Hello! Wow, we made it!! I am typing this blog from my home in Manchester, New Hampshire tonight. We left Hollywood Casino in Grantville Pennsylvania at around 9am and I-81 had massive pot holes in the highway. A very bumpy ride along the way. We decided to stop for breakfast at a Petro Truck Stop off Exit 178B. Simple place with a restaurant and when we pulled into the truck stop to get fuel the light and buzzer to our tire pressure monitoring system was alerting us that we were losing air from one of the trailer’s tires. Like losing air where we were watching the air pressure on the display monitor steadily drop….68….65….62….59….55….52 so when we got to a safe open parking spot at the truck stop, I hopped out of the pick up and went to the particular tire and sure enough, it was hissing quite noticeably. We dropped the spare and easily changed the tire right there on the spot. Then we went to the restaurant to eat breakfast. At this truck stop there is a huge truck repair center with bays, so after we ate we just drove next to the restaurant to inquire if they could fix the leak on the tire we had taken off the trailer. They declined us and I’m not sure why, but they weren’t going to help us for whatever reason. So (and I know this is a huge taboo with RVers and other travelers) we continued our journey home without a spare. Yes, I was nervous, but luck be with us, we made it the whole way home.
Once we parked the RV in it’s summer spot, we took just the necessity stuff to get us thru the night so we can come back up to clean the rest of the RV out. We are all exhausted from the trip home and it’s relaxing time….like a vacation from our vacation! Well, this blog is not done yet, so stay with me a little longer here and I’ll be sharing with you post snowbird trip happenings! It’s nice to go all thru the things that I have acquired thru the last 4 months. They are going to bring back some great memories as I sift thru postcards I picked up along the way and souvenir trinkets I collected. Jake is doing super good too! I thought I was tired, but I can see he is more tired than me as he snores away next to me. Sleep little puppy, because we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow! Have a great night! I’ll be back tomorrow!

South Of The Border to Grantville, Pennsylvania

admin — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 21:56:17 +0000

(6:05pm) Hello! Yeah, from the title of this post you get how the majority of my day went. Wow, we made to a casino in Grantville, PA called Hollywood Casino (Ex 80, off I-81) and along our scenic journey the only thing negative (not bad, “bad” is not what you want to experience while RVing, so I’ll go with “negative”) thing that happened was that for some reason now our water pump stays on when the switch is activated and there’s no water coming out of the faucet. Hmmmmm, yeah, could be a couple of minor reasons, but not a big deal since we are a day from getting home then we will play around with it and fix it. No, no reason for a garage trip for something like that. I know it’s easy to fix, the inconvenience of not having running water….well, we will have to survive. But, it didn’t spoil our day. Oh, get this….we get started this morning and when we started the pick up truck, a buzzer sound and light came from our tire pressure monitoring system telling us that one of the Montana’s fifthwheel tires were low. One tire was sitting at 45 pounds via the display unit. Not sure why. Instead of not knowing about it and riding on the low pressured tire all day, we put air in it and we were good to go!! Neat huh!! Love that little device! It paid for itself already. Why was the tire low?? The tire sensor on the tire was loose and bleeding the air out. Not a big deal. Nothing a little teflon tape won’t fix later on. See these are all little things you repair and modify along the way. Our day could of been worse, but I will take this day over a flat tire on the side of the road anytime. Now, we are going in the casino and I’ll be back to tell you how much I won!
(9:15pm) Noooo, I didn’t win But this is a pretty nice casino a 1/2 mile off I-81. Plenty of parking and RVs are welcome. Well, it going to rain later tonight so we are pulling two of the four sliders on the fifthwheel in tonight we only have to deal with two sliders with water on top of them tomorrow. I hate (who doesn’t) when we pull the sliders in and the rug and floor and everything in the camper get wet. So I can’t say we will be home tomorrow, but we are sure shooting for it. We might have to suffer and dry camp at a casino in Connecticut for the night. Who knows! Have a great night and I’ll yap to you tomorrow!

South Of The Border

admin — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 02:10:51 +0000

Hi! You read that right – we are at South Of The Border and you know where South Of The Border is, don’t ya?? It’s right on the border of South Carolina and North Carolina!! Yep, we left Florida this morning (sniff, sniff, cry, I miss Florida already) and flew right over Georgia (I saw Georgia because we ate lunch at a truck stop there), and we slid right thru South Carolina parking at the North Carolina border. Weren’t expecting that one, huh??
Well, we are slowly heading north bound (yeah, real slow, huh) Well, I guess this snowbird trip is getting to the end. I hate it just as much as you do. Well, this blog will continue to the very end, trust me, you’ll know when it’s the last blog post, it’s not yet. So, tomorrow, I’m not sure how far we will go but I have already figured that it’s 512 miles to the Hollywood Casino in Grantville, Pennsylvania. But we aren’t in a rush, so who knows where we will end up tomorrow night. But I will say that it will be nice to see family and friends again…nahhhh, I’ll just stay back in Florida and send everyone postcards! Haha! Hope you are enjoying your weekend! I’ll be back tomorrow!

Shopping and Bingo

admin — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 01:18:45 +0000

Hello! Well, today was simple. O didn’t do too much. We went to Walmart for some last minute shopping for food. Didn’t go out to eat at all. Had a homemade meal today! Yummy! Ham and potatoes. Today was a relaxing day and I made some phone calls to friends back home while I sat outside and enjoyed the weather. A little windy out, but that sun was sure shining. It was about 72 degrees out today.
Tonight we went to Bingo at the Recreational Hall here. It’s a lot of fun and I know tonight would be the last night I use my Bingo ink blotters for a long time…..well, until next winter. I don’t play Bingo in New Hampshire because it’s too nice outside to be indoors in New Hampshire in the summer. Anyways, I didn’t win anything at Bingo tonight. But that’s what I did today. Oh, yeah, I almost forgot, today we loaded the bicycles on the RV this morning. Tomorrow we will get the rest of the RV organized. I hope you had a great day and I’ll be back tomorrow. Time to watch some TV and play with Jake!

Shopping and Veterinarian Issue

admin — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 03:37:52 +0000

Hello! Today’s weather was beautiful. I sat out outside soaking up the sun today. Today we went to “The Loop”, it’s an outdoor plaza type mall with many stores and restaurants in one neighborhood section. We walked around and visited Kohl’s and a couple of other stores. Typical shopping day. I didn’t buy anything, I’ll wait until I get back to tax-free New Hampshire, but Mom bought two cute Capri’s. We didn’t do much else over there and came back to the RV.
I had ordered Jake some more food and treats last week from Celebration Animal Hospital (2 miles from where we are staying) and today I called them and they told me that they had ordered and received the food in the wrong size can (I thought, okay, no biggie at all) and they didn’t order the dog treats and then they tried to sell me dog treats of another brand. I pre-ordered (didn’t pre-pay) both the food and treats last week for a Thursday delivery and the conversation today over the phone with them didn’t go over too well with me. I’m pretty low key, I’m getting to old to get upset, and over the years I’ve definitely moved to be a more understanding and patient person, but when they told me that they never intended on ordering the dog treats and blew it off as I can buy the “Royal Canine” brand name from them and not the “Prescription Science” that I had ordered, well, I told them what I thought about the way they did business. Now, hang on a second, it’s not that I didn’t get what I wanted…..those dog treats can be ordered thru any veterinarian with a couple days notice…..it’s the fact they had no intention of ordering them in the first place and never told me (reason and I was told: the veterinarian office had to order the “Prescription Science” treats in bulk and they didn’t think they could sell the other packages in the bulk order) and then tried to substitute it for other brand name that they had in stock. The dog food and dog treats brand were prescribed by the veterinarian I had brought Jake to in Yuma Arizona when he was sick, and of course I want to keep him on that specific diet because of his disease of Intestinal Lymphangiectasia. The veterinarian office in Celebration didn’t even know what Jake looked like (still doesn’t) and wanted to put him on a completely different brand of dog treats?? Sorry to vent, but come on, Celebration Animal Hospital, if you are not going to order what I ask for, at least tell me so I can order it thru another local veterinarian. I can’t do much now, because we are leaving in two days and Jake gets no dog treats until he gets home. Moving on….tonight we went to dinner at Perkins, I had the soup and salad and it was delicious and enough for me. Tonight I just watched some TV and relaxed. I think tomorrow we are going to slowly and leisurely straighten up the inside of the RV for departure on Sunday morning. When you sit somewhere for a long period of time, you start to accumulate a lot of stuff. Got to find places to stash all the souvenirs! Hope you all had a good day and I’ll be back tomorrow! Night Night!

Disney Downtown and A Movie

admin — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:44:32 +0000

Hi! Happy St Patrick’s Day! Today was a simple day. We didn’t have any ideas on what to do today so we decided to hit the movie theater. Off to Downtown Disney to the AMC theater!! Well, of course we ate lunch at Downtown Disney at a fish and chip restaurant, I can’t remember the name of the restaurant right now, but it was so delicious. It was a busy place, almost couldn’t find a place to sit. I have to say that it was beautiful weather out today, I could of sat outside all day long. After lunch, off to our movie that started at 2:20pm to see “Brooklyn’s Finest”. I looked at the reviews of all the other movies, but nothing appealed to me. I really didn’t care for any of the movies playing, but we had to do something today. “Brooklyn’s Finest” was okay…..hmmm, I’ll give it a C, a lot of action and a lot of blood. Don’t bring the kids to this one, it’s definitely rated R for a reason. This evening we returned to the RV and I sat outside with Jake for quite a while and enjoyed the weather. At 8 tonight, I brought Jake out for a long walk around the RV park and fed him again. Now, I’m watching American Idol. Oh, tomorrow I have to pick up Jake’s food and treats at a local veterinarian that I ordered last week. So Jake gets treats before bed again starting tomorrow! I hope you had a great day and I’m not sure what we are doing tomorrow other than local errands, but you know I’ll let ya know! Have a great night!

Forget The Diamonds….Give Me Chocolate!

admin — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:06:21 +0000

Hi! What a great day we had today!!! We headed up to my aunt and uncle and picked them up to go to the Russell Stover Candies Outlet in Wildwood. It’s a big, simple outlet store that has boxes and boxes of chocolate stacked high! I wanted to pack my bags and move right in!!! I’m home! Any kind of chocolate or candy you are looking for, they have it. I bought a box of assorted chocolates with a stuffed animal strapped to the front of the box! You know where the stuffed toy went when I got home, don’t ya?? Jake loved the toy, he played with it for hours……okay, for 20 minutes until he got bored with it.
Anyways, I invested a total of $14.96 in chocolate purchases. I bought the assorted chocolates, a box of mint chocolates, and a bag of individually wrapped solid chocolates that are little egg shaped. You know those small egg shaped chocolates that you hide around the house on easter day for the kids to find. Hey, I grew up that way, searching for little chocolate eggs on window sills and behind doors and on shelves behind photo frames! Yeah, those little chocolate shaped eggs! So, tonight I tried one of each of what I bought and for some reason had to skip dinner……okay, fine, I had two of each!!!
Okay, so after we left the Russell Stover’s chocolate warehouse, we all ate lunch at Golden Corral. It’s another restaurant that we don’t have back home. A buffet restaurant and I had pulled pork in barbecue sauce, a salad, and chicken. They have a lot of good food there but I can only eat so much. After lunch, we parted ways and I know I will see them at their summer home in northern New Hampshire this summer.
When we got back to the RV, we took a walk to Dunkin Donuts to get Jake out of the RV for a while. And now we are watching American Idol. No dinner tonight, I skipped dinner, remember why?? Oh, that reminds me….where did I put all that chocolate?? Time for a snack! Have a good night and yep, I’ll bug ya tomorrow!