On the road at last!

The Trip

The plan:

As promised in the previous post but with several days late here is the plan...

After talking with Jo and André, we bought into the idea of spending a whole month in Naples, Florida. I have already reserved for mid November to mid December. When I called, I was advised that it is a park for 55 +, I said that I looked over 55, not too sure if the person believed me. Because we will be visiting that park for a first time, there is a special for a month the price is $189, that is cheap! The most attractive bonus, there is NO snow... oh ya!

We left home on October 19 (I'll come back to the first day later), so it should take us about a month to get to Naples. We only  planned for the first stop which is Cortland, NY. Following this, it will all be improvisation and discovery.

After our stay in Naples, we will fly back home for about 3-4 weeks. We are still negotiating... Before we leave for home, we will be store our trailer and truck in Florida.

Upon our return to the land of oranges, we are not sure of anything. This is just too much planning in advance and it sounds like w-o-r-k to me, hahaha

Day 1

October 19 - Val-des-Bois

We spent 2 days at home with our daughter.  We bought some grocery and prepared a batch of spaghetti sauce for her.  We also took the opportunity to do some more shopping.

We left around 06:45, in the darkness. We went back to our camping site to pickup the trailer. We drove on the same road and at about the same time as we were used to, to go to work! We had a thought (just one and that was a really short one at that :) ) for our ex-colleagues, knowing that their day at the office was about to start.

Our camping in Val-des-Bois is about 100 KM (60 miles) from home . When we arrived, Jo and André were getting ready to go. They were not expecting us to show up that morning nor were they aware that we were about to meet them later at the same camping, the first night on the road. They might never share again their plan with us!  Hahaha

We hooked up the trailer, and left around 09:30. An hour later, after travelling, 200 KM, we did a planned short stop. At this point, we were about 25 foot from home... we had to go back to drop something off for our daughter and pick up more stuff :)) One of my task at home was to drop the garbage... which of course I forgot to do (they were in the bed of the truck).

Finally at 11:30 we were really on our way and increasing the distance between us and our home. Our daughter had made us sandwiches for lunch, which we enjoyed while still in Canada (thanks Caroline they hit the spot).

We realized at the time that we (I) had forgotten the garbage in the truck bed. We were about to cross custom and we didn't want to be caught with garbage that might contain something that was not allowed... I am always nervous when crossing custom and do my best not to have anything that might get me in trouble! I ended up throwing the garbage bag at a McDonald.

We crossed customs at around 14:00, the officer didn't pull us over, nor started to do a strip search (fiou!), he pretty much only asked if we had Alcohol and Tobacco. We didn't have any, and he wished us a good trip. This is ONLY my thought but why on earth would someone try to smuggle alcohol in the US, the alcohol being over priced in Canada is enough to prevent any want-to-be smuggler, no? I might understand the smokers who want to have their brand, and even then, I just don't get it!

The next exit was close to Syracuse, we stopped at a Walmart. To cross the border, we had NO meat, no vegetable or fruit, no eggs. In the fridge and the cupboard we had a lot of "no" that is what I'm trying to say. So it seems a lot of people in our lifestyle (RV style), stop quickly to replenish the food supply when they get to the USA.

Before going back on the highway, I wanted to fill up the truck. I stopped at a gas pump, got out, put my debit card in, entered my pin (which I will not share with you hahaha), and pushed 'yes'. I got a message saying that it was not the right pin. grrrrr I couldn't see a way to re-do it. So I thought that because it was a Canadian bank, it would not work at this pump. So cash in hand I went inside, waited for the employee to hand her some cash. But, she told me that she couldn't do anything the pump was still waiting for me to do something (she could have told me what exactly but it seems like customer satisfaction is not her strong suit). I went back to the pump thinking that I was just going to drive away... and I noticed a very useful 'cancel' on the display. After I cancelled, I re-entered my debit card, entered the right nip, but this time instead of entering 'yes' I entered 'correct', and by a miracle the pump started. I was soooooo happy... for about 2 minutes. At $50. it stopped, I had enough hassle and just drove away. I wanted to fill up the truck and didn't even get half a tank... and with that, the gas station lost money!

We stopped for supper at a Cracker Barrels. They are RV friendly, you can stay for the night in their parking space and they also have spaces only for bus and RV.

We finally arrived at the camping around 18:30. The office was closed so today I will go and pay for our site. Even though we were the last team to arrive, we didn't get eliminated... oups I must have been watching too much TV :)

The two teams

 

Oct 20 Morning at Cortland Where are the RVs?

 

Total distance yesterday : 575 KM (345 Miles) It was a long day, we will slow done someday!

Today, we might stay, we might drive away, we don't have a plan, but we know that we won't be going north!
  

My love with fall

My favorite season, by far, is fall. I just can't get enough of the grand colours, the lovely fall carpet that naturally covers the ground.



Splendid fall carpet

The weather is starting to cool down. You need a good sweater, but it is still comfortable. It is so nice to be sitting by the easy-to-lit fire in the afternoon, and enjoying the warmth emanating from it. If the sun is shining, everything is just perfect!

At the camping, the water has been cut off, but it is not a big deal, we have the lake across the street and I don't mind filling up buckets to be able to flush the toilet. It gives me a good workout which my body is in real need.

2 buckets = 2 flushes

Plus there are toilets at the front building where you can enjoy a nice warm shower, go do some other business while doing a sudoku and bringing back drinkable water.

During the past 2 weeks, the trees have turned from a beautiful bright red or yellow colour to a rust-brown colour, when they still have leaves, that is.

The weather is just so cold and windy, you can't lit a fire without using a few gallons of petroleum. The rain is consistently coming down every time I try to go outside for any period of time, grrrrrrr. ENOUGH!

Time to get rid of the darn carpet!

If the hassle I have to face was not enough, as mentioned earlier, the camping CUT the water... So now I have to go to the lake and fill buckets after buckets of water. There are stairs to go down to the lake, 28 to be precise. I am surprised that so far I haven't miss one step going down. Sometimes there is frost on the ground and by going down and up those step several times a day, water spillage becomes a really issue! DO YOU KNOW how many times a person flushes a toilet? The answer: A lot! in our case is double a lot because we are 2. My back is starting to hurt from that workout-from-hell.



I hate you!

At the front building, the water is hot (really hot), but the building is not! I almost need my parka just to not get a cold. I tried but you can't wear the parka and dry yourself at the same time grrrr. Last weekend, the toilet blocked (that's all I'm going to say about that) and once, there was no paper... a good thing I had sudoku with me, it can be a life saver!
Tomorrow's post will be about the plan to leave all this behind us... but now, I can't write no more, I have to go to the lake...

Getting ready

Where did the week go?

Please don't get confused by the question mark at the end of the previous sentence. It is not a question I am asking you, it is a question I am asking myself! No need to post comments about where your week went... I am saving you the trouble :)

Last weekend, which was Thanksgiving weekend for us canucks, was spent with our daughters at home. We had the traditional turkey meal, but mostly we had a lot of time together before we all went our way, to each their own journey. 

Monday I drove Julie to the airport and then came back home.

Tuesday we loaded the truck with stuff for the camping, did a lot of shopping, and drove back to our camping site in Val-des-Bois. That was a busy day, it reminded me our previous life (where work was a part of it). When we arrived at the camping, their was a carpet of pine needle to greet us, we just pushed some aside and started to unload the truck.

I had purchased a 12 Volt battery for the trailer, I replaced that. At Costco I filled both 30 pounds propane tanks, so if we get out of here before it freezes over... it should last us a couple of months!

Jo and André arrived around 5:30 and setup on our other site, just behind us. Most of the campers have already closed their trailer for the winter, so it is great to have someone else around.

Jo and André's motorhome

I couldn't see any of the 7 cats around, the ones we were feeding last week. I had purchased a large bag of cat food at Costco and was starting to think that I might be stuck with it. I filled up 2 bowls and waited for their visit. It took a couple of hours but 5 of the cats came back... plus several Blue Jays and a raccoon grrrrrr

Wednesday I was the first one up (guest included), and I started to rack the pines needles, I did both sites, by the end of the second one André came out and helped me finish it off. I was happy for the extra hands, my back was killing me, at one point, I was thinking that life was so much easier at work... NOT hahaha  I had read that the worst day you have in retirement is better than the best day at work... not too sure I buy that but you get the point :) 

Pile 1

 

Every day, I am out racking up more needles, I am considering going up in the trees and glue them there... permanently!

 

Pile 2

I installed an electric jack on the trailer. There was nothing wrong with the manual one but I felt that it was a justified expense considering that we will be setting up and setting down several times per week. My wife is usually the one that is doing the jacking up when we hook the truck and I didn't want her to have sore elbows...  I would be the one having to "feed" her her wine hahaha

The installation was easy, the holes in the new jack lined up perfectly with the old holes, the screws fitted, the only difference was that I had to run a wire to the positive side of my brand new battery... so easy I took 2 days to do it. The biggest problem was the temperature, it was cold and I stopped because there was rain coming down, I'm not fond of working on electricity under the rain. 

While I was outdoor in the bad element, my wife was inside setting up the interior... she was re-decorating to her liking hahaha just a joke, she was installing a rack to suspend our wine glasses at the top of one of the cabinet. She also started to load stuff inside  and finding a spot for everything. Those are the spots where I will never find anything anymore :)


Wednesday I had a shower... see, even retiree showers from time to time. I promise you I won't bore you with such trivial event too often but what was particular about that shower is that up until then, we had running water in the trailer. I expected the water to be cut off that day. I went by the office and saw one of the maintenance person and asked him when they were cutting the water. He told me it would be at the end of the afternoon Thursday... I was disappointed and told him that I had already taken a shower thinking it was my last shower but I could have just waited one more day... Frustration of retiree folks!

Friday, I installed the bike rack. It is a rack that go above the tongue of the trailer. I started when the sun was out, but the wind was sooooo cold, and then the sky opened up and let SNOW fall down... It kept switching from sun to snow and back to sun... I enjoyed thinking that in a week we'll be out of here!

We also winterized the water line in our model park trailer. This is pumping anti-freeze in the lines. Before we leave, we will also do all drains. We have water at the front building where we can get water, so for now, we just have Jerry cans, but it is OK for now... life is tough :)
 
Saturday, after I started my daily racking up of the needles, my neighbour Terry ask for my help with pumping antifreeze in his trailers. He has 2 trailers and he was also doing his daughter's trailer. My job was outside by the water entrance at each trailer, pumping antifreeze in... (I own the pump!) He was inside going from one faucet to the other to make sure the antifreeze got everywhere. At one point he was doing the one in the kitchen and there is a water pistols which he was doing by blocking the kitchen faucet. I showed up at the window just at that moment and got sprayed. He was telling me that he needed to do that to get enough liquid to go up the pistol. I didn't know how we do it at home so I asked my wife and she realized that she forgot to do that in ours. So today, we should be re-connecting the pump and shoot more liquid in... I considered having her sleeping outside because of this, but, I didn't want to sleep alone hahaha

First week

Friday Friday

You were the jewel of the week

Friday Friday

Rain or shine I loved your day

Friday Friday

You were the weekend preliminary

Friday Friday

Without you hopeless will have been the week

Friday Friday

Now all you are is just another day!

This has been our first retired week. Out of that week, I have had the flue for the past 3 days. In our previous life, loosing 3 days on a week holiday was something that would have me so mad. Now, it's just waiting for it to pass, taking it easy.

Next week will be about getting the trailer ready to hit the road. We are going to load the trailer with enough content to last a couple of months. I think the biggest challenge is to decide what we are going to bring and what to leave behind. At about 140 square foot of living space, you just can't bring all the toys... also we will need clothing for both warm and cold climate.  

We will buy a bike rack to carry the bike over the tongue. We are in no means the athletic type, but we do enjoy going miles on bike paths. This is a great way for discovering new locations.  

In July, there was a sale at Canadian Tire for the type of battery pack that, after charging it, you can use to boost you car with or you can use to supplement some electrical need on the road. Of course they were out of stock, we got a rain check. Yesterday I went to the store to get one, but, another customer was in that aisle and started to tell me that he bought the same model and that he was not happy with it. It couldn't supply enough juice for a few hours without needing to be re-charged. Not what I need.

I was thinking about getting 2 * 6 volts batteries for the trailer. From researches I did on the Internet, the consensus is that it is far better than a 12 volts battery. It should provide us with enough power to hold us for the rare occasion when and where we will not have electrical hookup. Having that setup, we will be much better than with the little power pack.

I might not post much during the weekend, this will be family time.

Maiden retirement voyage

This is it, I couldn't sit around anymore, this morning, on this third of October 2012, I hitched the trailer and started our maiden retirement voyage.

All Hitched up

You might be wondering where we are going? Maybe Florida, Texas, New Mexico, California.

This summer I have been following closely my good blog-her pal Carolyn. She spent a good part of summer in Washington and Oregon. Those two are definitely on my radar. She kept posting beautiful pictures and meanwhile I was biting my finger nails off with envy. But that will be for another trip :(

But before telling you where we are going, let me tell you a bit about yesterday.

Knowing we were leaving today, even with the flu, we cleaned the trailer. I did the exterior, roof including, while Christiane was taking care of the inside. I filled up the black tank (for the one that doesn't know what I am talking about, it is the tank where the c-a-c-a end up) three times with the hose and flushed it. When you are not flushing regularly, there is some odor that... seem to ferment (do I need to say more?) 

After that we relaxed. I hate to talk about this because it reminds me of my ex-work, but I have been involved with a census. I first thought that we were feeding 5 cats, but, noooooooo, there are seven of those looking-for-a-free-meal cats enjoying our treats. Hopefully my wife won't read this but... I'm thinking about a trip to Costco to get a 50 pounds bag of cat food... This should hold them happy for a week! 

Back to our maiden trip, the weather was perfect, traffic was non-existent, I backed up from my spot, turned around and backed back to our lot in Val-des-Bois. So in total the trailer was moved about twenty feet from it's original location. Exciting isn't it? Hahaha see what happens when retirees have too much time on their hands.

Final destination

 We moved the trailer because my wife's sister Jo and her husband André will be our guests for a few weeks. They are fulltimer and live in their motorhome. As a good host, we let them park by the utilities... see we are NOT all bad!

Hiting rock bottom

Mirror,mirror on the lake...

That's it, I am sick... runny nose, sore throat, I feel like my jaws are made of bricks. Who would have guessed that retirees could also suffer from flue. That's not fair, I don't have any sick day, I have to go through that on my own time...

Yesterday, we spent the day like a lot of our future days, I would guess. It was cloudy, but by the afternoon, the sun decided to show up to brighten the already gorgeous fall colour. We built a fire, and sat all afternoon outside, surounded by 5 hungry cats. Boy we had fun with them... and they seemed to appreciate the freebies... must be what they talked about when they say it's a win win situation.

Not easy getting all the cats in the picture

We truly enjoy days like that, there is almost no one around, we can just relax and de-compress from our working life. We are also planning what we will be doing soon...

Tomorrow, we are going back home for a few days (Caroline - time to do cleanup before the parent units showup :) ). There is some business that need to be attended to, and since we are retired, we don't have to wait for the weekend to do them:

I need to buy a new battery for the trailer, I didn't know much about batteries and I found out that battery that are in a trailer should never be allowed to go below 50% of their charge. If you let that happen, you reduce considerably their life expentency. During the winters, I was disconnecting the batteries but leaving them where they were. Now they don't hold their charge anymore.

We also want to buy a bike rack to mount the bikes over the tongue. There seem to be problem with bike rack and trailer, I feel that if while driving, I can see the rack, I might be able to prevent losing my bikes on the road.

Our Daughter from the East (Julie) is coming for the weekend. We will pick her up at the airport friday.

It's our baby's birthday and we will celebrate that event as a family. Julie's birthday is also in October, we will celebrate her birthday as well. A lot of cake in the futur for us... yummy!

We don't have any definite plan as to when and where we are soon going, I will be letting everyone know when we are ready.

Feeding wild animals

Sunday was raining pretty much the whole day, I would think that for those people that (I hate to use this word) w-o-r-k on monday morning, it could be depressing. For us, it was just another day at the office (matter of speaking of course :) )

We spent sometimes on the internet, played solitaires and watched TV. Like our previous life, we watched the Amazing race and the good wife.We also watched a lot of car leaving the camping to go back to the city... The result is that we have pretty much the whole camping ground just for the 2 of us!

When I say just the 2 of us, I mean the animals standing on 2 legs. There is a healthy population of wild cat in the camping. Other than mice, a good amount of their diet was coming from the campers generousity. Since we are pretty much the last ones left, we carried on the task. Saturday I gave them spaguetti (no wine). I also planned ahead, and I took food from our cat at home, part of her food. When I did that, she looked at me like I was out of my mind... When we go back home, we might just take food from our daughter... Everyone has to contribute!

The wild one
 

The evil one

Wild Blue Jays (what is good enought for the cats... )

Just so that you feel bad for me, this is a picture of my cubicle this morning. You see folks, retirement is not all about benefits... and I share my cubicle with my boss... She can be demanding at time hahaha