First TR - a little Disney, a lot of fun, Christmas 2014

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Wow Doug....I'm glad you posted again to this report because I hadn't seen it before.  I just finished reading the whole thing.  I don't even know where to begin.  

 

Slide problems SMB.

Your daughter's story has me in awe.  

kayaks....cool way to spend Christmas

That campsite with the tiki hut looks spectacular

Cinnamon rolls....what more can I say?  

[ependydad...Doug 176]

Wow Doug....I'm glad you posted again to this report because I hadn't seen it before.  I just finished reading the whole thing.  I don't even know where to begin.  

 

Slide problems SMB.

Your daughter's story has me in awe.  

kayaks....cool way to spend Christmas

That campsite with the tiki hut looks spectacular

Cinnamon rolls....what more can I say?  

Welcome, Dave! I've been busy and am awful at being consistent. So I'll post this in fits and starts.

Hopefully my slide problems are done. My camper went back to the factory again and even was taking to the Lippert facility. We'll see. I got it back last Monday, the day before we left for a hotel/resort trip to Disney. We camp next towards the end of March.

My daughter is pretty awesome. I'm proud of the young lady that she is becoming.

Kayaking and tiki huts- I could do that every Christmas!

And yes, yummy yummy cinnamon rolls!

[ependydad...Doug 176]

So, moving right along and coming to the close of this... which is good, because I need to start my next TR.

 

I have way too many pictures of my camper getting pampered. While in Key West, I wanted to act like one of the ritzy owners of the ritzy spots at the ritzy campground and got suckered for a wash and wax. Because I spent that kind of money, you get bored with pictures of it. I will say, but the time it was done- the camper looked as nice as the day I bought it.

 

First, the place that did it:

 

Next, you can see the pricing. A regular wash left the camper somewhere between "bleh" and "wow, I want my money back". Not good- I was very afraid I was about to spend $10/ft and be disappointed with the results (spoiler again: I was not- they did a great job with the waxing):

 

They had a team of 3 guys. It was nice to see someone on the roof that wasn't me. First, I hate being up there. Second, I am terrified of being up there AND it being wet/soapy.

 

You can see in this picture how absolutely filthy it was (the bright area is where we removed a Christmas decoration sticker):

 

They used their own ladders:

 

They washed it first and then went away for it to air dry. They claim to use special ionized spot-free water. When they came back, they waxed it:

 

None of the actual crew spoke much English. The owner from the business card did, but the workers didn't. Getting them to come back around for specific spots was sometimes challenging, but a lot of hand motions, waving, and pointing with a furled eye brow worked. At the end of the day, we were all happy:

 

And it looked so perty:

 

 

We, on the other hand, spent New Years Eve chilling and kayaking.

 

 

 

We just hung out and with sadness starting packing things up to get ready for a morning departure. We were all actually in bed by 11pm. My daughter made me promise her that I'd wake her up at midnight to celebrate the new year. Waking her from a slumber is hilariously difficult. But, I promised and finally drug her into the living room so we could watch a count down. She did ultimately wake up enough to remember the next morning. Queue creepy looking photo here:

 

 

I do sort of wish we would have been able to go into Key West and see Sushi dropped in a shoe. But I can't imagine fighting the crowds and traffic afterwards.

 

The next morning, we were up and out at a decent time. I want to say by 9am but I could be lying. Miraculously the slide worked, but I lost all of my trust in it. We stopped using that slide for the 2 overnights that it took to get home. I should wrap up the TR in the next posting.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Looks like the detailing guys did a great job!

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

Yes... the looks like they did a great job on the RV :)   I didn't find the picture creepy... I thought it was sweet :)

[ependydad...Doug 176]

Looks like the detailing guys did a great job!

 

Thanks! And then I drug it home through messy rain and since then it's been taking to northern Indiana and back with snow. (insert Sad Trombone Sound Effect here)

 

 

Yes... the looks like they did a great job on the RV :)   I didn't find the picture creepy... I thought it was sweet :)

 

Thanks! We have fun together. She's a cutie.

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Relaxing while someone else cleans.... I like it! 

[ependydad...Doug 176]

Relaxing while someone else cleans.... I like it! 

 

I know!  :dance:

[Helmsey......Todd 134]

Great pics, and I love the people who come to your site to wash the rig.

While we were In MB we had a wash\wax scheduled for the day before we left. It would have been fantastic if the guy behind us and one site over didn't complain to the company about the water blowing onto his truck. That caused them to stop and only had about 3' of clean roof. 

[ependydad...Doug 176]

Great pics, and I love the people who come to your site to wash the rig.

While we were In MB we had a wash\wax scheduled for the day before we left. It would have been fantastic if the guy behind us and one site over didn't complain to the company about the water blowing onto his truck. That caused them to stop and only had about 3' of clean roof. 

 

Wow. Now, I will admit- I saw the water hitting our neighbor and wondered what I would think if the roles were reversed. But that was the adjacent site. Plus, they use some magical "D.I." water so it's not supposed to leave spots.

 

I've got a tip for a guy in Clermont, so I'll probably get the camper cleaned again this summer. Not sure about the waxing or not.

[Family of Bears 98]

Doug, I'm gonna be honest here and say that you've dragged this tr on so long, I'm not sure if I've commented or not! I was going to go back and look so that I don't embarrass myself by repeating everything, but heck, I'll just comment anyway. If it all sounds familiar, we will know why.

We have stayed at bluewater. Back when we had our tt. Loved it. Had the place to ourselves. Spent the days in the pool and the nights on duval. Had friends with us. Great time. Would definately recommend the resort. Did they redo the pool? They said they were going to right after we left. It needed it.

We always go to the dessert place which i wont name for little eyes that may be reading. We actually have an annual anniversary trip to key west with friends and make a reservation. A great place for an adults only date. The food is fantastic.

Looks like a great christmas!!

[ependydad...Doug 176]

Doug, I'm gonna be honest here and say that you've dragged this tr on so long, I'm not sure if I've commented or not! I was going to go back and look so that I don't embarrass myself by repeating everything, but heck, I'll just comment anyway. If it all sounds familiar, we will know why.

We have stayed at bluewater. Back when we had our tt. Loved it. Had the place to ourselves. Spent the days in the pool and the nights on duval. Had friends with us. Great time. Would definately recommend the resort. Did they redo the pool? They said they were going to right after we left. It needed it.

We always go to the dessert place which i wont name for little eyes that may be reading. We actually have an annual anniversary trip to key west with friends and make a reservation. A great place for an adults only date. The food is fantastic.

Looks like a great christmas!!

 

Sadly, this is why I'm afraid of doing TRs.. I'm horribly inconsistent. :) A bunch of updates and then a lull.

 

It sounds like the pool was redone. I know the outside of it was a bit torn up and awaiting landscaping yet.

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

Whew! I finally got caught up.

Great pix. I think the pic of your DD sleeping on your shoulder is cute not creepy.

[ependydad...Doug 176]

Whew! I finally got caught up.

Great pix. I think the pic of your DD sleeping on your shoulder is cute not creepy.

woohoo! 2 for 2. :) Thanks for the kind words.

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

All caught up.

Looks like a great Christmas!

[ependydad...Doug 176]

Doug, I'm gonna be honest here and say that you've dragged this tr on so long...

 

Sigh, and this is me. Super manic for a while and then ultimately a deadbeat with finishing anything. My poor wife.

 

 

 I should wrap up the TR in the next posting.

 

So now, let's try to finish this shizzle... As I mentioned (and forgot), packing up the next morning went well. No more slide issues, no hookup issues, nothing of the sort.

 

In the campground, I chuckled at this sign each time I saw it and finally stopped to have my wife take a picture:

 

From there, we hit the road. This gas station's pump sign made me laugh. I'm surprised it didn't include suggested Yoga poses.

 

One of the things that I struggle with is good food for rest stops. I don't mind cold food for lunches, but dinners are meant to be hot. I'm not Aunt Josephine after all. The biggest challenge is I don't travel with a generator, so it's stovetop only. My best idea yet was to pre-make hamburger for tacos, then it could be reheated on the stove.

 

First, our stop. Notice the traffic cones protecting our steps and slide since we take up the WHOLE spot. I try to be cognizant of taking up space.

 

 

Grandpa cooked:

 

Grandma entertained:

 

Fixin's!

 

Worst food pictures of kitties tease, ever. No pictures of the actual masterpieces. We were back on the road before too long. It was cheap and it wasn't restaurant food. Major success!

 

With my mother-in-law in tow, parking lot boondocking was out of the question. So, Pecan Park in Jacksonville was our first stop. Knowing that we were ramping up into snowbird season, I called ahead. It was a good thing, too- they only had a couple of sites available. They left me a site map at their office because we arrived pretty late. The sites there are all fully paved pull-thru sites.

 

Our nighttime setup is pretty minimal - landing gear and stabilizers down to take some shake out of the camper; electric; and possibly water. The sites are level enough that I didn't have to unhitch.

 

Driving along, I did find that I likely need an alignment. My steering wheel needs cocked in order to drive straight:

 

My father-in-law claimed he can't sleep in vehicles. I cry B.S.:

 

An uneventful drive got us to the RV Resort @ Carolina Crossroads. They have a tiered pricing structure and have a set of "O"vernight spots that are level pull throughs. They're all gravel, but it wasn't a major issue. They were full-hookups which was nice because I was able to fully dump sewer and flush my tanks.

 

While there, I saw this crazy contraption at the back of a towed vehicle/toad off of a motorhome:

(That's a scooter and 2 bikes, if you're counting.)

 

Here's our setup. It was a cold and gray day (which matched my "going home" mood!).

 

 

There was not space to park our extra vehicle, so we had to park it up at the office. They had a couple of playgrounds for kids to play on:

 

Selfie!

 

Their water hookup was a little funky. It was in a box in the ground, but had a hose that you could lift up and out of the box. (Though, not the strangest I've seen- Ramblin' Pines in Woodstock, MD wins that one; it was literally down in a hole with a cement "lid" on it.)

 

 

DC is always good for traffic and the "getting home from a holiday" traffic was expected:

 

Don't ever get home and compare temperatures. It'll make you sad.

 

Once home, I finally went to the Urgent Care place to deal with a cough that I had almost the entire time.

 

 

I've never used a nebulizer before. (It made me jittery.)

 

And then came home with quite the pharmacy. The doctor just smiled when I joked about making her Porche payment for the month.

 

And the last thing before I bring this trip report to a close- I winterized the camper. First we blew out the lines with the air compressor and then we pushed in anti-freeze. This was a first for me even though this camper makes it really easy.

 

Wasted a fair amount in the empty filter housing. I probably could have remembered to put something in there.

 

---

 

And with that, I'm done. I don't have a whole lot of closing remarks other than these Christmas trips rock. :)

[dblr....Rennie 224]

WOW Doug you finished!!!!!!!!!!!! Great job and your trip looked great, now finish your planning on your year long trip and best of luck

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Ataboy, Doug.  You got 'er done.

 

You really should have erased Key West as a location from the weather app on your phone. That was just torture for you to look at the temperature comparison.

 

I really enjoyed your report.  If I ever own an RV which would be allowed to park at that resort at Key West, I'm going to go.

 

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Congratulations on getting this great TR finished!  I really enjoyed it too.