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evolution of a plan
So........ house eventually completed, time to leave
Meet our new home Well. Just where did those last 10 years go?
Those of you who followed our previous blog will know that we returned home planning to stay a while, with things to do, & people to see, but no real plan, then real life happened and before we knew it a decade had past.
During this time, with travelling still on our minds we bought a bungalow in which to a) live whilst we were still in the UK, b) rent out whilst away and c) renovate on our return. (It seemed such a bargain!)
Ah ha...... who else has ever believed a survey?
SO.... as our friends who spent time with us or worked with me already know it didn’t quite go like that.
All I have to say on that subject, other than “a big thank you” to those who had to share the experience and pain, was that suddenly renovation / extension was the priority and that things didn’t quite go to plan...... several builders, one court case and two years later (for a four month build) we were ready to reconsider our travel
First american meal
Ok, It was approx 1am in the USA, 6am UK body clock and we had been up 23 hrs. We were desperate and seemed like a good idea at the time. plans.
Last time I took a career break but now having worked for the NHS for soooo many years meant I could retire. Uhmm let me think about that, I could receive money, whilst not working and travel... OK, I signed that form.
Graeme put his research hat on and after many hours, weeks and months of searching eventually chose a “pre loved” RV for sale in Florida which would suit our needs. Let me introduce you to our new home a 38 ft Beaver (really) Contessa Huntington, now known as Bertie . See picture.
So we packed up the bungalow and put our remaining belongings into the "Grateful Shed". We learnt from last time not to use storage. If it didn’t fit in the shed it didn’t stay. I can recommend this as a very effective way of rationalising your items. We bade farewell to our family and friends and on the 10
th of May flew out to start our trip
We are currently parked on a wonderful site in Titusville, Florida for a few weeks to sort out and stock up the Rig before setting off
to ...... well not sure where yet.
The resort is an amazing gated community built primarily for RV owners, but also with rental sites. . Most houses have an attached RV garage, plus car & golf cart parking but every level is catered for. There is a mix of large Resort homes to smaller properties called executive suites with RV Ports. They think of everything. There are swimming pools, a golf course, fishing lakes, restaurant, club house, fitness centre, nature trails, lakes and much more. Most of the residents winter here then travel for the summer months. The overall area is huge It is three miles from the road to our parking site in Fawn Trail, where we sit overlooking a small lake. The wildlife is abundant. The area is located on the eastern continental flyway, a major bird migratory corridor, so we have seen many colourful birds, eagles and vultures. I had to stop for an alligator crossing (not a zebra!) and have seen deer and tortoise.
We have been in the RV for one week and it is as if no time has passed since we left the last one, we have
Larder...
Hey Sue,
Just how happy am I with the sliding storage area? fallen back into our old life style and we have not even been on the road yet. In fact all we have done is shop! We came with only our personal belongings and there are many cupboards to fill, approx 49 in fact! Sadly the exchange rate is not so good for us this time and prices seem to be generally much higher, many items being more costly than in the UK. Maybe it’s the area?? Lets hope so
One of Graeme’s quests was to locate and purchase a teapot. Not such a simple chore here, and after much fruitless searching he “Googled” Teapot / purchase/ Orlando. Now, you don’t normally use the words, Graeme, voluntarily and IKEA in one sentence, but we discovered an IKEA in Orlando which contained this very item, Graeme was keen to go, so off we went. I was REALLY pleased with this plan as I had been finding it difficult to buy the type of items we required in a plain or modern design in our local area ( US & UK tastes in interior design being somewhat different) and thought we could do it all in one go.
First meal in Rig
Graeme showing his appreciation of meal of snow crab legs. We had to resort to the hammer to crack though. It was like supermarket sweep. With trolley piled high, exhausted but very happy we left the blue and yellow store behind. Oh, the teapot? Well sadly it was out of stock. However the rig looks much more like home now, and I mean our old home.
When talking about our trip people would ask us two questions - a) if we knew our route or had a plan and - b) if we would be posting the blog again.
To “a” our answer was that we had no route or plan. In fact we did have just had one date set which was to leave here on the 27
th. However we caught up with Hippy Jim whom we met last time whilst travelling in Mexico. He lives just up the coast and has invited us to an” interesting “beach party on the 28
th, which seems like a great offer. So the only plan we did have has just been ditched.....
To “b”. Well, here is the first offering of the blog. Not much to say really so I am using this as a test run and
Doorbell
How cool is that? its the one you can ring if you catch up with us. for me to re familiarise myself with the site. I apologise now if it appears in a random & chaotic format, technology and all that.
We leave here at the end of the month, and as the southern states are now so hot & humid we have postponed visiting New Orleans and will head north.
Once there are more interesting things to report I will update the blog.
Until then......
A big Thanks to,
Everyone at work who gave me such a lovely send off (again), I will miss you all, and to all our friends & family who have helped us on our way (again).
Remember, you can reply or comment on the blog, or contact us via e-mail, or text, and anyone passing our way is welcome to use the doorbell!
We have used the old list of names to receive the blog so apologies if you don't wish to receive it, just hit the unsubscribe key
PS we have now purchased not only a teapot but also map and a Sat
View
From our rig parked in Fawn Trail. Nav, so planning is now in full flow.
PPS, Manisha, it’s a really bright blue and yellow land here, you would love it.........? xx
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Carol Phillips
non-member comment
Glad to hear that you arrived safely, looking forward to hearing more. Take care. Carol xx