The Beach at Ft. Lauderdale

Since I had an extra couple of days in Florida, I spent Sunday with Nancy. We drove to the coast and took the water taxi that runs along the Inter-Coastal. We didn't go far before we got off...had lunch at Sloppy Joe's - Fort Lauderdale (the "original" is in Key West). Let me tell you...that place was hoppin' as well as all the other food places along the beach! Enjoyed eating outside with a wonderful view of the ocean! Lots of sailboats, people and sun! After we had lunch we got back on the water taxi (you buy a ticket that's good for all day...you can get on and off any time you want).

The water taxi was fun! We had great tour guides along the way pointing out all the homes along the Inter-Coastal. There were homes owned by lots of famous people as well as homes owned by wealthy families as well! You should have seen the yachts parked outside many of them! Of course, there were lots of yachts running up and down as well and it was nothing to see them outside of some of the bars and restaurants!


The beach at Fort Lauderdale was the first time in Florida I saw waves at the beach! What's up with that? The water was pretty warm...especially since I'm used to that cold Pacific Ocean water! Lots of people at the beach, you could tell it was Spring Break for many!

The day flew by. By the time we got back to our stop it was 8:00 p.m. I took Nancy home and had to say good-bye! It was lots of fun to see her after so much time. I'm hoping that we'll be able to get together sooner than 5 years!

Fort Lauderdale, FL

One of the things I had to do in Florida was to stop and see my long-time friend, Nancy who moved to Florida about 4 or 5 years ago. I hadn't seen her in 5 or 6 so a visit was LONG over due!

I met Nancy in the early 80's when I lived in Missouri for a couple of years. Nancy had just become a stay at home mom and I needed a babysitter! Our relationship soon became one as friends and we have remained friends through the years! We've seen our children grow up together and witnessed many changes in our own lives as well!

Nancy knew we were coming, but I didn't know exactly when or how long. I didn't tell her once I knew the exact date...I kind of wanted to surprise her...and I did! The day that we arrived in Fort Lauderdale, I quickly got my things done around the motorhome and then drove to Nancy's work...a local pharmacy! There were a couple of people in line and I waited my turn! She looked at me, said "may I help you" and I told her I wanted to refill a prescription. She asked me my name and I told her, a split second later she screamed "Vicki" and we hugged! Since the last time I saw her I've put on a few pounds, my hair is white (it's really blond) and I'm wearing glasses instead of contacts! It was so funny! I left shortly after meeting all her co-workers and drove to her house to pick up her daughter, Amanda. I brought Amanda to the motorhome and we waited for Nancy to get off work and meet us at the motorhome! After a short visit with Amanda and getting caught up with her, Nancy arrived and the three girls set out for Mexican food! We had a great dinner and headed back to the motorhome. We talked for hours before Nancy and Amanda headed home! (Hmmm...Nancy didn't take a short cut home, but DID get home - finally!)

The next day, after Nancy got off work I met her at her house and finally got to meet Dale, her boyfriend. We (Nancy and I) headed off to get pedicures and enjoyed our time relaxing and talking! After that we went back to try to find a Brazilian restaurant but that never panned out, so we decided a steakhouse would have to do! Amanda and I left to pick up Don but once we got to the motorhome, Don decided it was too late for him to eat, so Amanda and I headed back to their house! We all piled in the car and headed for the Original Steakhouse! Had another great dinner, lots of fun and great conversation! Since it was getting late, we headed back to their house and after a little while I said I needed to get home! We said our good-byes because we thought we were pulling out the next morning!

Well, our motorhome decided it needed a break (see my previous blog entry) and we ended up in Miami. It had been a long day for Don and I and Nancy had worked all day...after two nights of being up late with me! We decided that we would just have to wait until Saturday and get together then!

This morning dawns bright and beautiful. Dale and Nancy drive to Miami and we load up to head for South Beach and brunch. South Beach was a mass of cars and people. We look for a parking spot in vain and decided to drive a little farther to have a better chance at finding something. Not long after their car begins acting strange and as we go over this bridge...it conks out! The guys put the hood up and look to see if there are any obvious problems. I kind of watch traffic to make sure no one rear ends us. We decide to try to start the car so we can get off the bridge and lo and behold it starts! Quickly got off the bridge and pulled into a parking lot. The car is acting like it's got a bad fuel filter so Don and Dale look for where it might be. They quickly learn that this model year it's in the fuel tank. There are also no tools in the car, so we decide that it might be best to get back to the motorhome. Once back here we load into our car and head out for a bite to eat. We were going to eat "locally" in Little Havana but I'm not sure why the guys decided they wanted to go to Hollywood, so Hollywood we went! Ended up at an Argentine Steakhouse and had a very good late lunch/early dinner! Once more had a great time talking and visiting with Nancy and Dale and Don seemed to enjoy each others company as well! We enjoyed looking at all the condominium projects/apartments going up in the area and the yachts we saw earlier around South Beach. Were awed at the cruise ships that were in the canals waiting for new passengers as well as the Condos going up around South Beach for $5.8 MILLION pre-construction specials! Yikes! Back at the motorhome reality sets in and Dale and Nancy decided they should head back to Fort Lauderdale before it got dark in case the car decided it too needed a break! Hugs and good-byes, but Nancy and I will get together again tomorrow! They made it back home safely and decided that the car just didn't want to be in South Beach! A trip to the mechanic next week to check the fuel filter is on the agenda though!

What's Wrong With This Picture?

Don and I are supposed to be on our way to Macon, GA for a Monaco International pre-Rally. We are supposed to meet a group of friends on Sunday, but it doesn't look like we'll be making it! Might not make it on Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday! Heck...we might be lucky if we make it to the rally at all!

Rolled out of Fort Lauderdale on time this morning. Drove north and we were on I-95 just north of Fort Lauderdale when the Lo Cool buzzer and light began flashing. We pulled over, Don put coolant in and we got back on the road. I blamed him for not checking the fluid levels before we left. A mile or so down the road, the light came on and our Turbo gauge began going up and down erratically. Along with that came loss of power. I got on the phone to Monaco and he wanted Don to check something in the back of the engine. We got off the highway entirely at that point and discovered that we had fluid all over the back of the motorhome and the car in tow! Time to call Coach Net, our towing service! That was 11:30 a.m. At 1:30 p.m. I called Coach Net and found out that it would be at least 2 HOURS before the tow truck would arrive. Why hadn't they called us to let us know that instead of ME calling them? They told me the name of the company coming to get us and I called them to confirm the 2 hour wait time. While I was on the phone with them, he got a radio call from his lo-boy, the unit that was coming to pick us up. He was down on the side of the road. They wouldn't be able to come get us after all. Coach Net had told me they had called many companies and no one had the equipment to tow us. Not unheard of within the RV world especially with our 45' motorhome. I asked the guy at the towing company if he could recommend someone else. He gave me the name and I called that company. He would also be around 2 hours, it was strictly cash and they charged $250/hr! Even dealing with Coach Net it would be CASH and we would have to get refunded. I called Coach Net and broke the news. About that time Don lost his cool and called Coach Net himself. I got on the GPS and looked up towing companies NEAR where we were. They didn't have anything but he recommended someone that did. I called Coach Net and gave them that information.

Fast forward a little. I'm sitting on the couch, waiting for a phone call, Don is sitting in the passenger seat when he sees a car to the side of us and he says "he's going to hit the car in front of him", tires lock up, screech and yes, he hits the guy in front who had stopped or slowed down. They pull over in front of us, the guy in the back car (the hitter) keeps pointing back to us and it's obvious that he's blaming us or telling the guy in front (the hittee) that he was looking at us, we were in his way or something! Now we are well over to the right hand side, it's marked off like an island and very wide AND we had been sitting there for hours! We could have parked two motorhomes side by side and still had plenty of room to walk around AND be out of traffic! Police arrive (oh yeah, I forgot that an hour earlier we had a cop pull over a speeder and they pulled in front of us, gave/got the ticket and off they went)! So after the cop takes the accident report he backs up to us and asks if everything is o.k. We told him our sob story and that we were waiting for a tow truck. He told me that he could have a wrecker here in 15 minutes - GUARANTEED! He asked me to confirm where our tow truck was and said he'd wait while doing his report. About the same time Coach Net called to confirm the wrecker was on it's way. I think it's about 3:30 by now. Wrecker calls to confirm where we are and arrives at 4:00 p.m. Now remember, we started this entire process with our first phone call to Coach Net at 11:30 a.m.!!!! Cop leaves, wrecker (hook not a lo-boy) begins hooking up. I'm on the phone to different "closer" shops (we were supposed to be headed to Miami...hey, that's the wrong way) to see if they could work on us. What I heard was..."two weeks, Tuesday, not until late Monday". Looks like we're heading to Miami! At 4:22 P.M. we finally are moving! Don's with the tow truck, I'm in the car behind. At 7:30 p.m. we finally pull into the Florida Detroit Diesel-Allison shop in Miami. Do you realize that IF we had gone with the "CASH" guy, it would have been $750.00 out of our pocket! Yikes...they must know that we only have State Quarters in our safe and a few Canadian dollars, that's why they got another tow company!!!

Detroit came out to look at the coach, it's now almost 8:00 and it's been dark for some time! They finally find the problem...the heater hose has been rubbing against some clamp. Monaco didn't put it in a "loom" and over the 24,000 miles it developed a leak! When the guy came a little while later to connect the drive shaft so we can start up, put the slides out and level he said it was wet everywhere! I guess this hose runs to and fro, up and back, here and there and everywhere! The good news is they know what the problem is, the bad news is they aren't sure they have that much hose. The good news is they are open until 11:00 p.m. The bad news is the parts department is closed! Good news is they can fix it, bad news is they won't start until Monday. It's at least an all day job, so at the best we can get on the road on Tuesday. That means we would get to Macon about Thursday! I think that's the day the rally is over! We're only 593 miles away! So close, yet so far away!

This facility has a guard on duty with a closed gate. The guard took both Don and I on a tour of the shop and grounds! It's huge here. They have a spot where yachts can pull up for work (we're right on the canal that leads directly to the ocean! We go by this area and man, does it smell good! The mechanics are having a barbecue! I walked over a little later and told them how good it smelled! They didn't take the hint, but then I asked if I brought over a couple of hamburger patties if they would have two extra buns. We were starving! They said sure and off I went! Took back our plates, burgers and some Fritos! They gladly grilled our burgers! Those things tasted pretty darn good...especially since it was after 9:00 p.m.

So here we sit in a lovely, greasy, noisy (did I mention that we are in the flight path of the Miami International Airport?) well lit camp spot! We have an extension cord draped about 100' away so at least we can keep the batteries up. If we need water, we can run some hoses. Thank goodness that Don made sure our water tank was full and the gray tank was empty! It ain't Macon, GA but I guess we can have an adventure to write about! We're hoping that we can get Monaco to agree to pay for the repair or at the least split the cost with us! It was something that they didn't do and should have that caused the problem so it makes sense, but we are now out of warranty! My other concern is getting a refund of the almost $300 for the rally since it IS a Monaco problem and not us just deciding that we aren't coming! Might be time to check into a new Winnebago, huh?

Tomorrow we will have breakfast with my girlfriend, Nancy, who we stopped here to see in the first place, and then head to South Beach! Never know where we might head after that!

Disney Days...

Here we are at Fort Wilderness in Orlando, FL ready to "do" five days at the theme parks here. Our campsite is heavily shaded and we are lucky that we are able to get internet but not t.v. We wouldn't be so lucky if it weren't for the fact that our site has cable! Don would NOT be a happy camper for five days without t.v.! It's very lush and should be tranquil except that we are near the bus stops (a great thing for us, but not too quiet) and right up near the marina. We can get the boat over to the Magic Kingdom in just minutes however, each time the boat comes in or leaves it toots it's horn! I'm sure it's a safety thing but it's still loud! :-) It's AMAZING to see what some people bring to "decorate" their sites! All our full-timing friends have "stuff" but this is ridiculous! The person that arrived on Friday next to us has a huge blow-up Tigger with an Easter egg...it's only the beginning of March, but... She also has a light that is Mickey shaped. It' s attached to the parks light post! On the opposite side of Tigger is this Mickey character. He looks like he might be resin, but it might be plastic! A couple of Disney flags, a Mickey light on her table and several other things as well! Crazy!!


Our first day is at Epcot. We get up early and head for the bus. It takes two buses but we get there pretty quickly. Sure beats having to try to get parking and then a tram before getting into the park! I had some pre-conceived notions of what Epcot would be and it doesn't live up to those expectations! It's still a fun day and we see lots of the park. We went back to the motorhome in the late afternoon, let Tess have some time outside, eat dinner and then it's back for the evening light show. I love fireworks, parades and light shows! Don came back for this one, but I won't get him back for any others. That's o.k. since it's so easy to get back to the motorhome I feel very comfortable getting back on my own! While we were waiting for the light show I took the opportunity to see more of Epcot. I'm sure there's more to see and we hope to come back again another time to see those things not only at Disney but in the Orlando area that we've missed. Almost forgot to mention a ride that we went on Mission: Space. Don and I had a choice of two different rides on this one. Green or Orange...orange having more "spins". By the time we got off we were both feeling very nauseated! Don got over it in about an hour. It stayed with me throughout the night! Yuck...not the way I want to feel after riding a ride!

Day two is spent at the Magic Kingdom. It looks much like Disneyland but feels smaller. The entire area of Walt Disney World is huge, but the park itself FEELS smaller! A few rides aren't there that are in Anaheim, but there are a few new ones too. We had a great time and actually never had to stand in line for too long. Most of the more popular rides have times listed on how long it is to wait. I don't think we ever waited as long as the signs might say. Many of them we walked basically right on. This was a great time to enjoy the parks of Disney! Don left in the afternoon and I stayed on to watch the parade. Made it back to the motorhome for a quick dinner and then I headed back to watch the parade at night and then fireworks. Being by yourself it's much easier to find a spot to sit. I was sitting on the curb and decided to go into a store for a quick "look". When I came back out my "spot" was gone and the streets were full! Walked a little ways and found another spot to land! The parade and freworks that followed were done in true Disney fashion and I was glad that I spent the time waiting to see them both! They were awesome!



Day three is spent at Disney MGM Studios. It was the beginning of ESPN the weekend at MGM. There seemed to be a LOT of people there for that. On Friday, there were sports games being played, lots of things to see and look at, and "stars" in the athletic field. Not into sports so they didn't mean a thing to me. We did have this picture taken by ESPN/Directv, but didn't care to stand in the mobs to see someone we didn't even know! Don and I decided to tackle the "Tower of Terror". Oh my! It was fun, but I oan't believe how scary it was! I kept hoping the ride would be over - SOON! Screams were coming out without my wnating them to! You actually lift up out of your seat! It was dun, but scary too! Another ride that we almost did (we both chickened out after Tower) was Rock and Roll Coaster. I have some trouble with my ears and equilibrium so I didn't want to mess with going upside down when it rolls! Enjoyed the back stage tour and the "performance" of "Muppets" in 3D. It's amazing what you see when wearing 3D glasses! We laughed and had a great time watching it! Once again, Don headed back to the motorhome and I waited for the "Beauty and the Beast" performance and of course, Fantasmic! I've seen it at Disneyland and wanted to see it again! At MGM they actually have a stage to see it at instead of watching along the street. You still have to get there early, but it was easier waiting while sitting than standing!

Decided that since we were actually leaving on our "5th" day, that we would spend our last day "in" Disney at the Animal Kingdom, come home early and have dinner at the dinner show at Fort Wilderness "Hoop Dee Doo". Again, it took two buses but we never had a long wait on any of our bus trips. Got into the park and headed for the "safari". One of the cast members at another park told us to get there early when the animals are up and about. That was good advice, except the weather had changed and it was cooler. Based on the previous days we were both in shorts and short sleeves. I almost went back to get a sweatshirt or jacket, but decided I could go without. Sure wish I had it several times! One of the funniest things happened while on the safari ride! We had a couple of ostriches chasing us and each other. They raced after us, turned to the right, came around, running after us again and finally turned away! It was pretty funny. Someone on the ride said that they had ridden it many times and never saw that happen! The Animal Kingdom was a small version of a zoo with Disney characters, a few shows and a couple of rides. One of the rides was a white water rafting ride where you were guaranteed to get wet. They sold rain ponchos close-by. Since it was pretty cool...we decided to skip it! This park seemed to be busier in comparison but I think it was because this was on Saturday! All the fast passes were given out early so if you wanted to get on one of the more popular rides...you had to wait in line. Everest had a 40 minute wait and we decided to forgo it. It looked like it was very similar to the Matterhorn so I don't think we missed much. Headed back to the buses and got on. Our bus had another stop "Blizzard Beach" on of the water parks. It had about 20-30 cars in the parking lot and sure wasn't very busy! A group of kids got on to head back to Fort Wilderness and asked them if it was cold. They told us only when they got out of the water! They did feel that they had exclusive treatment since they weren't at all busy! They were glad to get on the bus! Just about got back when it started to rain! Not a bad day for planning on getting home early!

What's Next?

Don and Vicki...

"You've just finished two weeks at a Habitat for Humanity build. What's next?"

"We're going to Disneyworld"!

Habitat for Humanity, Dade City, FL - Part 5

Habitat for Humanity, Dade City, FL - Part 3

From this... we will make a house! Amazing isn't it?

Wednesday morning we're up and at 'em once again by 8:00 am. A quick devotion and we go over the updates for the day, etc. We head over to the build site and they bring the lumber that has been pre-marked, cut, etc. for the house. It's kind of like putting a puzzle together as everyone helps to unload the trailer!

We lay out the walls on the concrete and once that's done, we start nailing...a wall at a time! We actually put up the north and south wall in two parts because of the weight and size. I learned all kinds of things about constructing houses and can tell you the various names of the parts of a wall! Aren't you impressed? Once we had the first half of the wall done we set it up. We couldn't bolt it down tight because the concrete really hadn't had the time, with the rain and the weather, to set up properly. We braced it inside and continued on. We were able to get both halves of the north wall up.

Today another homeowner provided us with lunch. A soup that had pieces of corn on the cob and chicken in it. Lots of other stuff too, but I don't remember what it was! :-) It was very good! The home owners are all so appreciative of all that the members of Habitat do for them.

Valentine's Day!

Had a nice surprise this afternoon when our friends, Rick & Joanne Stone showed up at the Dade City Habitat for Humanity Build that we are at. They were just in time to see Don fall off the back of a truck Lew was driving! Lew thought that Don was trying to pull a fast one on him, Don thought that Lew was trying to knock him off the back. Guess you learn that you shouldn't be riding on the tail gate of a truck! Good thing was that he landed on grass, Lew was only going about 15 mph and the other is that Don wasn't hurt. He may be a litte sore tomorrow though!

Enjoyed some time to relax and catch up for the past few days and then we all headed out for dinner. It is Valentine's Day after all! We drove to Zephyhills and had dinner at Chilis. We did have a wait of over an hour, which Don handled well!

We were able to show off the house that we are working on and the steps, gate and hand-rail that Don & Lew have been working on the past few days at the Train Depot which is where the office is for East Pasco County Habitat for Humanity! I'm going to keep this short and hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to share some of my pictures of our "build"!

Habitat for Humanity, Dade City, FL - Part 2

Tuesday morning...up again at 8:00. The concrete is supposed to arrive around 9:00 am for the foundation. Don is working on the steps at the train depot. I went over to the build site to take pictures and have kind of been dubbed as "the official photographer"! The concrete arrives - almost 1-1/2 hours late and the fun begins! The foundation takes 3 loads of concrete and the guys work quickly to get it into all the nooks and crannys (sounds kind of like an english muffin...doesn't it?) They get the foundation poured and the slab for the shed when it starts to rain. They delayed pouring the concrete the day before because of the threat of rain and no rain...today there is no call for rain and guess what!

We quickly start to cover what we can with plastic which means that some of the concrete had to be walked on! Wet cement means large footprints that sink into the cement. The guys backtracked through their footprints and smoothed them over! Since it was raining, nothing more that I could do. I drove over to the train depot to check on the progress of the steps and found Don and Rick (Lew was sick and wasn't there) under the overhang still working. The steps, are quickly becoming the "steps from hell"!

Habitat for Humanity, Dade City, FL

Some of you may know that we are currently in Dade City, FL where we are part of the East Pasco Habitat for Humanity Build Team. We are working on House #43! We arrived here on Sunday with our friends, Dottie & Lew Anderson who actually "talked us into" this! We were also supposed to be joined by Marie & Dave Ostrander (other Monaco friends of ours) but Dave was diagnosed with cancer about a month ago and is currently undergoing treatment in Dallas. We were met by our Team Leader, Barri Amor and quickly got settled in. We have electric, water and even sewer! There are 9 members from FMCA Habitat for Humanity and 7 Habitat for Humanity RV Caravaners (FMCA is an organization strictly for motorhomes, hence the RV Caravaners).

On Sunday evening we had a "get acquainted" meeting with our team so that we could meet everyone and hear where they were from, how many builds they had done, etc. Don and I are the only "first timers". We found out that our "house" has been beset with problems, failing the soil compaction test, weather, etc. In fact, the foundation hadn't even been poured yet! We also were told how the build normally takes place and basically what we could expect. We "work" from 8:00 - 2:30 or 3:00 with a break at 10:00 am and lunch at 12:00. Different people and groups feed us lunch each day. We "work" Mon - Sat. with Sunday off (usually). At 8:00 am we meet, get a brief synopsis of the day, are told about any changes, etc. and have a daily devotion. Gather our tools and materials and off we go! We also go over work safety and then our meeting was over! Heavy hors devours are the norm and this night was no exception!

Monday morning dawns bright and clear. The biggest problem was there was no work since the foundation hadn't been poured yet. The concrete that is supposed to be delivered later this afternoon has been postponed because of the possibility of rain. It will be delivered on Tuesday. Odd jobs were handed out around the build site, a previous house, loading supplies, steps at the HfH office (a historical train depot) and a few others. It was also "suggested" that some of us may like to go to Webster to see the Flea Market there, which is only open on Monday! We were asked to be back by noon, though, since a local church was bringing us lunch. Eight of us headed off to Webster, Lew started off helping to load lumber on the trailer, and Don joined up with another guy to build the steps at the train depot (that's a whole other story)! Webster is about 1/2 hour away but it has to be the biggest flea market I've ever seen! It stretches forever and has booths here there and everywhere! Didn't purchase too much. Dottie and I started off going down rows of produce. We decided to hit that area on our way back, but ended up running out of time and only had the chance to quickly purchase a thing or two when we were leaving! I'm sure there were lots of great bargains, but in a motorhome you only have so much room and when that gets filled, well...you get the picture! :-) Got back in time for lunch and I can't remember what we ended up doing after that! After time to get cleaned up, we met around 5:00 for a brief meeting and heavy hors devours! Hey, I could get used to this...after heavy hors devours, you don't need to cook dinner! :-)