THE HEAT IS ON AND SO ARE THE SWEATS

Feb. 27 cloudy & cool, PERIODS OF RAIN, Mulberry, Fl

I've been busy the last week doing final upgrades and prep for my boon docking adventure which will start for real next week. The solar panel arrived the end of last week. That is hooked up and doing good IF we have sun. Yesterday it rained hard a good part of the afternoon/ evening. Today not much sun either. So currently I am hooked up to the house electric so I can turn on the heat. It's kinda damp outside and inside. I'm wearing sweatpants and sweatshirts not capris and sleeveless and not liking it at all. But it is better than a lot of places I could name (PA).

Tuesday I received the generator and so far so good. Out of the box, I added oil and gas. Three easy pulls it started right up. It is very quiet and my brother is very impressed with it. I guess I made a good choice. I did not run it yesterday (Wednesday) but today, when I went to start it, 1 easy pull and it's running like a champ. It gets a thumbs up from me.

The battery I ordered was supposed to be here yesterday but did not come in. I have checked with the Interstate Battery people and they said, "if not today than tomorrow for sure." We'll see. So this afternoon they call, "my battery is in". Now I told them ( 3 times) I also need a battery box since it is quite a bit bigger than my old battery. When I pick it up, They tell me "they have a battery box that fits the width and depth but not the height." The lid sits on top of the battery but about 2 inches of the sides are exposed. Why they wouldn't have ordered the correct box when they ordered the battery is beyond me. Since I don't have time to wait for another box, I take this one and will made it work. So I ask, "what is the warranty on this battery?" No one knows. Mind you, this is not a cheap battery. Wouldn't you think this would be a question they would be prepared to answer when someone buys a new battery - any battery? They have to go online to Lifeline batteries to get the info. They can not print it out or give me anything in writing. They write it on the back of a business card. Hope the battery meets my expectations because Interstate in Lakeland sure DOES NOT. .

Back at Mikes', we finish work on the awning sun screen we made from the fabric I bought when I went shopping last week with my friend, Louise.  
A little sweat equity and a sewing machine and we're good to go. It turned out great and at a fraction of what I would have paid pre made. Here's a pic - what do you think?

That's all for today, folks. To all my RV and bloggers friends, safe travels and to PA friends and family, much love. Until next time...

A DAY TRIP WITH A NEW FRIEND

Feb. 20  Mulberry, FL.     70 degrees

I spent the day with friend, Louise, who I met at the boon docking rally last week. We hit it off great and seem to have a lot of the same interests. She has a really cool Nexus Viper motorhome (Miss Kitty) which she ordered made for her. Since she enjoys felting, spinning yarn, knitting and many other crafts, Miss Kitty was specially designed to help her accomplish this.

We took a trip to Centre Hill, Fl. to a little place where they sell outdoor fabrics such as RV grass mats, sunscreens, wind shield covers, etc. Beasley Mfg. Inc. is a great place with friendly, helpful staff. You can purchase ready made screens or 
fabric off the roll and do it yourself fabric at a 
great savings. Of course, I'm the do-it-yourselfer and save money type so I got grass mat fabric, awning screening and material for some bags.  Now I have some projects for next week while I'm waiting for my new battery and generator to arrive.

Then on to Ikea where I have never been before. 
When I saw some of the space saving things Louise had in her RV, she told me they came from Ikea. I wanted to check them out myself. The added bonus is she says these things stay hanging in your RV when traveling and you never have to move them. Sounds good to me. Lunch at Ikea was good and very reasonably priced. Here are 
some of the things I found that will make my life in my RV easier.

Then we took a little walk around Winter Park, in and out a couple of the specialty stores. A few purchases later, we called it a successful day.

On the way home, we decided to stop at Cracker barrel for dinner. Not surprisingly, we both ordered the pecan catfish dinner special and it was gooooood. Even though we were told there was a 30 minute wait time, we were seated in less than 15.  I am never disappointed with the food here and the service was great.  Also it's nice they have parking here for RVs and lunch specials that are very inexpensive.

Enough for now. All my RV & blogger friends, stay safe. And love to all my family & friends in PA. Stay warm.

TIME TO DO MY UPGRADES

Feb. 19.     61 degrees.  Mulberry, FL
I am back at my brothers and have been going over my notes from the rally. It is time to decide which upgrades are the most important and start out with those. From what I learned and experienced, it's the batteries 1st and foremost. They are the heart of your system. So I go off to Interstate Batteries in Lakeland to see what they have. On a recommendation from my new friend, 

Monte, I inquire about the Lifeline GPL-30 HT deep cycle AGM 150 amp hour battery. Although they do carry RV batteries they don't have this one but can get it for me in 4/5 days. All they have is 2 6 v. Golf cart batteries. I choose to trust my friends recommendation and have them order it. It is costly but I believe it is my best option. Now I just wait for it to come in.

Next I look at generators. The small one I used at the rally did not work half the time and the rest of the time, I couldn't start it. So I took it back, got my money refunded and bought a Honda 2000i. It's alot of money but for boon docking, it is very important to keep the battery charged. The money 
I spend now will be saved later when I don't have to pay campground fees as I will be self-contained and off the grid.

My plan is to stay here in Mulberry "mooch 
docking" (as "the solo ladies" call it) at my brothers for about 2 weeks. This will allow time for the deliveries from Amazon to arrive and, once everything is installed & tested, I will join my new friends on the EKP rondavous trail. They have been boon docking for over 120 days and not paid any campground fees. That sounds really good to me and they are a lot of fun to boot. Kyra, Gina, Arlene, DJ, Kris and Louise are a great source of knowledge and I am looking forward to learning more from them.

That's all for today. I am looking forward to spending the day with my friend,  Louise, tomorrow. To my RV & blogger friends, stay safe and to PA family and friends, sending much love your way.

BOONDOCKING - A NEW ADVENTURE

I follow several blogs whenever I get the chance and decided to take a break to do just that. While checking out RV-dreams.com, what do I read? A boon docking rally being held in FL. "Hey, Mike", I say, "where is Ft. Ogden?" "About 2 hours away, he tells me. So I found the next leg of my journey. Off to Ft. Ogden I go.

It has been my intention from the beginning, to do boon docking. However, I don't know what equipment I need for it, batteries, generators, solar, etc. After reading several blogs from people who do this, it's even more confusing. What better way to learn than from those who have been doing it 
for years and can pass along some advice!

Today is Thursday and I have been here since Sunday. It has been a great experience despite a few problems. I have learned a lot and met some wonderful people. As a solo woman RVer and a newbee,  I appreciate all the advice and help I have gotten from the people I met here: Howard 
and Linda of RV-Dreams.com, Bill & Nancy, Monte & Rose, Louise and many others. Since I have a stock trailer, not specifically made for boon docking, I will need some upgrades (which I knew from the start). Now I have a better idea of what I need and why I need them. Batteries - all important to keep systems charged either by the generator or solar or both. They will be my 1st 
upgrade. Then I will be getting a better generator. There are 7 other solo women at this rally with more women doing this every day. They are having a ball, enjoying life. I highly recommend attending any rally, seminar, or learning experience you can. I will be doing just that. Everyone is so willing to help out others who need it and share their experiences (good and bad). You 
can often learn from other peoples mistakes so you don't make the same. 

We have shared appetizers, pot luck dinners, campfires, a cruise and beach day, seen dolphins swimming, eagles flying overhead and, tomorrow, will go kayaking. (This will be new experience for me). 


I am looking forward to the next few days as we conclude this rally and my next step along the journey. In the meantime, to my fellow RV bloggers friends: safe travels and to friends and family in PA (where they are getting hit by another snow storm), stay safe and warm.

NEW TOWING MIRRORS AND BACKING UP LESSONS

I purchased replacement towing mirrors for the Tahoe and my brother was kind enough to install them for me. He saved me a lot of money and they sure do look nice. What do you think? 

They even have a bottom concave mirror and turn signal arrows built in.  I took it out for a day of shopping. They are a great help in seeing behind me on the highway. Now to test them when pulling 

the RV.  

I had my first lesson in hooking up the RV to the Tahoe on my own. Well, sort of!! Little brother was right there beside me with guidance, but I did all the work. Since he was a truck driver for many years and a guy, he was a great help. Just pointed me in the right direction and I "got 'er done".!  Then I backed the whole sebang up, between a post on one side and a mailbox on the other - with a ditch on both sides. Look at this.

Then the real learning experience began. I have to say, it took a little bit of back and forth, turning and pulling ahead. But  I DID IT!  Mike said I did good - for a girl (...brothers.... What can u say). No, really, he said I did good for my 1st time. I know it will take a lot more practice. Experience is the best teacher and slow and steady wins the race. But who's racing - I have lots of time - I'm retired. Here's my new parking spot for the next week.

I wanted to be able to access both sides of RV to organize storage under it. That's part of why we moved it. Also I need the practice backing up, lining up RV and Tahoe. This way I can do it anytime I want since the tongue in now pointed toward the driveway. That's my goal for this week.   PRACTICE! practice, practice.

That's all for now. All my RV blogger friends, safe travels. To my family and friends and PA who are getting hammered by snowstorm after snowstorm with more to come, just remember only 6 MORE weeks of winter. HA, HA. Sorry, I couldn't resist. Really, stay safe, warm and inside if you can. Love to all.

VELCRO WORKS & SHELVES DONE

The velcro on the back of the pictures works much better than 2 way tape. I got the industrial velcro and that seems to be the way to go. Time will tell when I am on the road and the RV gets some heat in here. Look at the nice shelves we installed in the corners to put my stuff on. They work great for just 1 item - pretty, are useful, and make the RV look "homey".

I also added some pictures to my bedroom area to give it a bit of color. These are needlepoint and appliqué that i made years ago. Anyone who does this knows it takes quite a bit of time to finish. I didn't want to part with these and since they are light-weight (no frames - just cloth) they make a nice addition. What do you think?

I am setting up my printer & paperwork area. I can stow maps of area I'm traveling in, extra printer paper, even my iPad when I'm not on it in here. That way things have a home, are easy to find and NO CLUTTER. Yeah! Thanks again, Mike, for your help and advice.

Safe travels to my bloggers friends and love to my family in PA. That's all for tonight. Be back tomorrow with more improvements!

SUNSHINE ON MY SHOULDERS MAKES ME HAPPY

With a high today around 70 degrees, I opened the RV windows and got a nice breeze in here. The sun feels good after the cold of PA. I am enjoying it even though most of my day is spent in RV getting it organized. 

Today we got the Wii and TV hooked up, cable and DVD connected to make sure all in is working order. Made the miles of cords disappear with the help of some wire ties so no more spegetti factory hanging down. 

My brother installed window vents on my Tahoe so I can get some air flow even if it is raining when I'm traveling. Thanks for the help, Mike.

I got the pantry situation finished and was able to 
bring a box of food I had in the Tahoe inside the RV and put it away where I can use it. Now I have lists 
of what I put in what cabinets so I can just consult 
the list instead of pulling all the cabinets apart 
looking for what I want. We'll see how that works until I get used to my new home.

I talked to the neighbors here who have a 

motorhome and do a fair amount of traveling. They 
gave me some good ideas that I will be looking into. 
Also gave me some guidance on cell service (Verizon is what I was considering and that's what they have and love it). They have mifi for internet and say they can get online almost everywhere they go. So when my contract will Sprint is over in 2 weeks, I'm heading to the Verizon store for info. I'm also checking out straight talk through Walmart since they have no contract. We'll see which is the better fit for me. 

Tomorrow my brother and I will work on putting up some shelves. I had to make a trip to Home Depot today since the picture I put in the bathroom yesterday with 2 way tape  fell down during the night. I got industrial strength Velcro so I'll try that - see it it holds.

That's all for now. Safe travels blogger friends and love to family in PA.