From Tadpole to Full-Grown Toad

If you watch RVs going down the road, you'll notice that most of them tow a vehicle behind them. Most of these vehicles are flat-towed--that is, they are towed with all four wheels on the ground.

Unfortunately for RVers, the choice of which cars can be flat-towed is limited, especially if you want to operate a car other than a sedan, such as an SUV.

Good-bye tadpole, our 2006 HHR.

Hello, full-grown toad, our 2001 Ford Edge SEL

When we bought our first RV, we owned a 2006 Nissan Murano. Unfortunately, it was one of the cars that was not towable. So we had to shop for another car. We settled on the 2009 Chevy HHR, which we misnamed "toad." ("Toad" for "towed"--get it?)

I say "misnamed" because the HHR, although a fun car, was a pretty basic vehicle. And, it was small. It was more like a tadpole, rather than a full-grown toad.

The car was OK, but I was never in love with it. Reliable? Yes. Good mileage? Yes. Cute? Yes. Comfortable? Yes. (Actually, the seats were much more comfortable than the Murano's.) But it was small and I always felt cramped. And it didn't have some of the things I really liked in the Murano, such as a backup camera, a compass, and dual climate controls.

Jim liked the HHR better than I did, but he agreed it was time to look for a bigger SUV.

We did our homework, and we tentatively decided on a Ford Edge, a 5-passenger crossover SUV about the same size as our Murano. Before we made a decision on that car, though, we had to test-drive it.

So, while we were in Orlando last week, we spent an afternoon at CarMax and then at Greenway Ford. We narrowed our selection to the SEL model, which came with most of the things we wanted. You can probably guess what happened: We found a low-mileage 2011 Edge 2011 and  negotiated a really good deal.

I like it. No buyer's remorse. It has the features we wanted. We can even talk to it and it does our bidding. If I say "Radio," it asks what station I want. If I tell it "Climate," it asks what temperature I would like.

Of course, our new toad is not yet equipped to be towed, so I had to drive it home--in a driving rain. (I confess that I almost wiped out when I hit some standing water on the highway, but the car responded admirably and everything was OK.)

Jim hasn't decided if he will put on the towing base plate himself or will have it done. (I vote the latter.) We don't plan to travel for a couple of months, so there is no hurry.

But it's nice to know that when we do travel, we will be comfortable when we take off on day trips.

Until next time,

Your Reluctant RoVer,
Linda
 

We love Campingworld!

When Marcus Lemonis, CEO of Campingworld/Good Sam, came to the grand opening of its Jacksonville operations  two years ago, he held a raffle and gave away tremendous prizes to virtually everyone who came out that Friday evening. And he made us fall in love with him.

We almost did not go to that event. It had started to rain, and the open house started during rush hour. (Traffic is horrible in Jacksonville at any time, but especially at rush hour.) But, we went. We nibbled on whatever snacks that were gluten-free. And we found a Fantastic Fan (an overhead exhaust fan) to replace one that didn't work in Baby, our first RV.

We were ready to check out, but I checked the time first. It was only 15 minutes until Marcus would begin the drawings for prizes, so we decided to wait. Maybe we would get lucky, I told Jim. Maybe we would win (say) $50.

We won much more than $50. Marcus asked each winner what was on their shopping list for that day, and then he gave them those item(s). When Jim and I realized what he was doing, we decided (if our name was called) we would ask for not only the fan, but also a satellite dish. (We could dream, couldn't we?)

A few minutes later,  Jim's name was called. I went up to Marcus, and he gave us our gifts. The retail value of the satellite dish, fan and installation was more than $2,900. Wow!

Our satellite dish

A few months after we bought Junior (our current RV), we arranged to have the gifts installed. About the same time, we quit U-verse home TV service, and subscribed to DISH satellite service, opting for receivers that could be used in the RV.

We have transported the receiver to the RV several times, but I think we were only successful in watching satellite RV once, because the other times we forgot to bring the remote--just like we did this week. You can't watch satellite TV without the clicker.

Because we (again) forgot the remote, Wednesday seemed an opportune time to purchase a receiver and install it permanently in the RV--especially since we had received a flyer last week from Campingworld that it was on sale for only $75.

That flyer, of course, is sitting on Jim's desk at home. But we figured the receiver would be on sale at the local Campingworld. It was--but not for $75. It was marked down to $99. But would you believe? Although the manager could not find the sales flyer we mentioned, he sold us the receiver for the amount we told him was advertised. (We told him we could wait until we got home, but he insisted.)

satellite receiver and other AV equipment

Jim spent the afternoon installing the receiver, which allows you to use your own hard drive to record programs. We brought our hard drive with us, and we are able to not only record programs, or watch them live, we can also watch shows previously recorded. Just like at home.

Just like at home...watching our DVR.

Why did we buy the receiver? It is a tight fit to put the receiver into the audio/visual cabinet. Now we don't have to go to that trouble any more. Plus, at the end of May we are going to discontinue DISH services...cut the cable, so to speak. We have Chromecast on two TVs and Roku on the third, with subscriptions to Netflix and Hulu+, so theoretically we will be able to watch whatever we watch now, just without the expense of DISH, whose costs have escalated over the two years we have had the service. Watching TV in this manner will require adjusting our viewing habits, but we will get used to doing that, just as we got used to only have two receivers and not being able to record as many shows as we had when we had U-verse. Less TV is good, in my opinion.

But, when we are on the road, we can subscribe to DISH on demand, one month at a time. If we are out for a short period and can get good over-the-air TV, we won't bother. But we will have the option. It's always nice to have a choice.

So, thank you once again, Marcus; thank you Campingworld. We appreciate the satellite dish you gave us.

Until next time,

Your Reluctant RoVer,

Linda

P.S. We really love Marcus. He's a dynamic business person. Watch his show, The Profit, on CNBC. You can even watch episodes on demand online. In the show, he uses his own money to buy businesses and turn them into much more than the owners had ever dreamed. But, sometimes the deals don't work out, and he walks out if the owners don't live up to their part of the bargain. One of the businesses he bought, Automatch, just expanded to Jacksonville.

Stuff...

April 8, 2014--We are on the road again.

• We haven't gone too far, just to the Orlando area. We're staying at the Thousand Trails Orlando, which is a misnomer, because it is in Clermont, not Orlando. We stayed here once before.

• Jim has his 60th high school reunion this weekend. He'll be the "youngest" at the reunion, since he was only 16 when he graduated from Boone H.S.
• Last week, Jim installed a new kitchen faucet in the RV. Nice! I like tall faucets. This one has a pull-out sprayer at the end of it.

• The trip up here was a bit bit lonely without Charlie sitting on my lap. Xena spent most of her time sleeping on the bed. That's what she does mostly...sleep. She is the same age as Charlie. She seems to be in pretty good health, except she is slowing down a lot. No interest in chasing laser lights, and even little interest in exploring out in the yard. But she's affectionate now, and we are appreciating her.

• This trip we decided to bring one of our DISH receivers. Jim got it hooked up, then discovered two things: (1) He (he was in charge of the satellite stuff, not me!) forgot the remote control; and (2) the big TV didn't want to power up. He thinks we might be able to change channels through the receiver itself, so he's trying to hook it up in the bedroom, where we have a small TV. It's always something.
• We don't have any definite plans for this week, other than the reunion, having dinner with Mike and Susan, and going to IKEA. (That's like going to an amusement park.) Oh, and having dinner at one of the Vietnamese restaurants on Colonial Drive. (That's always a treat.) We may also go visit a friend who was Helen's neighbor for many, many years.
• The RV resort has a catch-and-release fishing pond. It also is located on a large lake with a fishing pier. We intend to explore that later, as well as its other amenities, such as a pool table and miniature golf.

I don't know how "exciting" this week will be, but it should be relaxing. Until next time,

Your Reluctant RoVer,

Linda

Goodbye, Charlie. We love you!

March 19, 2014—The time finally came. I had postponed it for weeks, maybe years. But today, after yet another incident of uncontrolled bladder, I took Charlie into the vet and said my final farewells, crying all the time.

The vet, of course, gave me options. But really, there were none. Charlie was 16 years old. She said he had a bladder infection, which could be cured, but would most likely recur. She said he had chronic kidney failure. And thyroid failure. And heart failure. She could see it in his skin and bones. He only weighed 6 pounds 13 ounces, down more than two pounds from three years ago.

I saved Charlie from the animal shelter in Palm Beach County a couple months after I moved to south Florida in 1998. He was such a tiny thing! Hardly more than a handful. I didn’t want a big cat, and I was right in believing he would never grow big and fat.

I picked him out because he reminded me of my little dog, Poochi. I still cry  when I think of having to put him to sleep. I guess I will cry when I think about Charlie or see a cat that looks like him.

Jim always accused me of treating Charlie like a dog. I guess I did. I petted him, not stroked him. I expected him to be a companion to me. And he usually was.

I gave Charlie a friend, Xena, a month or so after I brought him home to live with me. I thought (erroneously) that a cat should have a companion. Wrong! Dogs need a companion during the day, but cats don’t. They are independent.

Charlie and Xena never got along really well. Despite being “fixed,” Charlie would try to ... well you know. And Xena didn’t like it. She let him know.

Charlie was a good cat, though. He was especially good to Helen, Jim’s mother, who lived with us for six years until she died at age 97. Helen would go to the Senior Center every day, and would return at 1 p.m. Charlie would be waiting for her. He would walk her to her room, and then, when she laid down for her afternoon nap, he did too. They performed the same ritual every night. Usually it was in her bed that he slept.

Helen loved Charlie dearly.

I called Jim from the vet when I made the decision to put Charlie to sleep. I simply said, “Dig a hole.” We both cried as I said it.

When I got home, the grave was ready. He dug it just outside of the porch. He gently placed Charlie in his final resting place. As he was filling the hole, I said, “That’s where we ought to put your mother’s ashes.” Jim thought it was the right thing, too.

Helen’s ashes were buried in North Carolina, at the gravesite of her husband, Jim’s father. But we had saved some. We had talked about strewing them on the pond out back of our house. She loved sitting on the porch and watch the ducks and geese and other wildlife. Something has held us back from doing that, however. I guess strewing her ashes on the pond just didn’t feel right.

But burying them with Charlie did.

We both cried some more. I don’t think either of us had cried ver much when Helen died. It wasn't that we didn't love her. But the tears didn't flow then. But now, we put her and Charlie to rest together. And the tears came.

Charlie and Helen are taking care of each other.

I think I will cry some more tonight. I didn’t think I would. After all, Charlie was only a cat. Not a dog. But I loved him. And Jim did too.

No more Charlie stories when we travel. Goodbye Charlie—and Helen—we miss you already.

Until next time,

Your ReluctantRover,

Linda 

Dolphins, cats, and other topics

February 28, 2014--It was a nice trip. It ended too soon.

Our vacation went as planned: fishing school, fishing, and more fishing. Unfortunately, we never did catch dinner. That's the way fishing is. You can fish, but there is no guarantee that you will catch!

Our last two times on the bridge, we kept casting our lines, hoping that something sizable enough to be eaten would bite. The fish nibbled--they really liked the live shrimp we used as bait the last day--but they sure didn't catch!

As we gazed out on the water, watching our lines and waiting for a tug, we saw several dolphins out for a late lunch. Swimming less than 100 yards from the bridge, they would silently and gracefully dive into the water. Up and down. Up and down. I thought possibly that as they fished for dinner, their prey would come our way. But no such luck.

Despite the poor catching, we enjoyed the fishing. An hour or two casting is very peaceful for the soul. And the sun felt good, too! We are determined to improve our fishing gear and even try surf surf fishing, which the school emphasized.

Other topics...

Charlie was a champ during our vacation. He ate well (seemed to have gained weight, too); slept well; and even went outside to play. We would eagerly wait at the door and want to go outside. I can't say he was eager for the leash, but he tolerated it.

Xena didn't want to be outside. She decided the shotgun chair was her bed the entire week, and that's where she stayed. She sometimes also tolerated Charlie to sleep with her, too. Sometimes...not always.

When we got home, we put the cats on the porch. Within minutes, Charlie went around the front and tried to go back into the motorhome. What surprised us, though, was that Xena did the same! She climbed in after Charlie and they both refused to come out. We let them stay with us and take the RV down to storage. They returned home uncaged in the car. They were good travelers...almost like dogs!

Once we got home again, we transported them to the porch. It was dinnertime for them, and Jim put the food out. Charlie was nowhere to be found. Finally, after some time, Jim heard meowing at the front door. Charlie had gone around the house--I guess in search of the RV! When he couldn't find it, it meowed until we let him in. I have no idea why he didn't just go around back and come in as he normally would. Cats! Give me a dog. They are so much smarter. And companionable.

The first day when we arrived at the RV park, we had electrical problems--again. Jim dismantled the entire cord from its reel and wired it directly into the electrical system. Then somehow he reset the inverter. After that, we had no further electrical problems. I think they are finally solved. He would still like to fix the reel problem (rebuild it with new brushes), but so far he has been unable to locate the correct parts. So, we may do without the reel and have to coil the cord manually.

We are having a problem with the microwave, but we will be getting a new one later this summer, so we should be OK on that account. Oh, another thing...our portable ice maker also died just before we left. We had worked it hard for almost three years, so I guess it lived a good life. Jim will either fix the freezer's ice maker or we'll purchase another portable unit.

We haven't decided where our next trip will be. Sometime in the early summer (after a few projects on the house are done), we'll either go out west, then up through Utah and back through the midwest, with a stop in Chicagoland, or we'll go up the east coast, swing out to the midwest and back home. That trip will probably last about two months.

Until later,

Your Reluctant RoVer,
Linda

Gone fishin'

February 23, 2014--We went fishing, but we didn't do much catching. Despite this, we had a lot of fun.

The waters around here are supposed to provide some of the best fishing in Florida. But you couldn't prove it by us. Jim caught two or three throw-backs. I think I had two. So for dinner tonight it will be pulled pork...not exactly an angler's catch!

We did put our new fishing knowledge to work, but unfortunately, the fish seemed to prefer the lines and bait of the people down the bridge from us. While we stood there, throwing our lines in the water, the husband and wife 30 feet away pulled in a couple of "keeper" bluefish. Nice! They were using chunked-up bait fish. We were using clams. I guess the fish didn't like our gourmet dinner as much as theirs.

Jim is attempting to take the little puffer fish off my line. The little critter came out of the water and blew up like a balloon!

After a couple of hours, we drove down the highway a bit and pulled into a parking space by the intracoastal waters. I swore there were no fish in those shallow waters. Jim says the fish are the same, both sides of the highway. I suppose he is right, but we didn't get very many nibbles, let alone catch any.

Oh, well. Tomorrow is another day. It's just nice being out in the warm 80 degree sun and breathing in the fresh salt air.

We are going to the RV park's ice cream social in an hour. I think we'll have better luck eating our dessert (before dinner) than we did pulling in the big ones.

Until later,

Your Reluctant RoVer,

Linda

A fish school

February 21, 2014--The main purpose of our week's vacation was to learn how to fish. And that's what we did today.

The seminar wasn't exactly what we had anticipated, but we learned a great deal about surf fishing, as well as fishing off a dock or bridge. (I had wanted more information and techniques for fishing in the river or at least off a bridge. But most of what we learned was applicable for those areas.)

Did you know that fish can smell? I didn't. I knew they could see; that's why you put attractive bait that they want to eat on the hook. But smell? Well, it makes sense.

Rodney Smith, the publisher of a statewide fishing magazine distributed free at bait shops, was the main presenter, along with John Detmer, a long-time angler and owner of a bait and tackle shop. Smith used to be a fish guide; he has won recognition for hooking the biggest snook on a certain type of line. He knows what he is talking about when it comes to fishing.

The bait method Smith and Detmer suggest using is called the 3-S method: sight, sound, and smell. When all three are used together, supposedly fish will jump into your net. Well, maybe not. But using a lure that is attractive, adding scent (either with a scent plug or spray), and also adding a rattle within the lure makes the lure more alluring, since it immitates real bait fish.

And did you know that a smaller hook is better than a bigger one? And that you can actually catch a very big fish on a lightweight monofilament line?

I didn't know these things, but I do now, and I can't wait to try them out.

Part of the fishing school was inside an auditorium at a conservation center on Melbourne Beach. After a couple of hours, we went down to the beach. Unfortunately, the wind was fierce and clouds were overhead. Rodney and John demonstrated how to bait hooks and how to cast into the surf, using a 12-foot fishing pole. But the weather was too bad for any hands-on experience, assuming some was planned.

Fishing is like any other sport: You have to learn how to do it. Sure, you can just throw out a line and hope for the best, but it's better if you have at least a little knowledge. The fishing school gave us that.

So, tomorrow, if the weather is better, perhaps Jim and I will head out to the beach and try our hand at surf fishing. I can't wait.

Until next time,

Your Reluctant RoVer,

Linda