Monday, January 30, 2012
Queen Mary
So we have made it aboard the Queen Mary and it is indeed like stepping back into the 1930's, not that I remember those days, the ship is definitely a star. Once we got ourselves sorted we had a wander round, up to the sun deck and the bridge, then down to the promenade deck and a walk round the deck, it was a beautiful day, warm and sunshining. Looking up the three huge orange and black smoke stacks. Lots of Art Deco ornamentation, although you could see the move to functionality in the fittings, a 1936 response to the Depression. We found our room, it is one of the rooms that still has the Art Deco decor of the 30's, with wood paneling and lots of geometric angles and curves built into the dressing table, wardrobes and ceiling. It was a very luxurious and interesting eexperience, preparing us for our cruise tomorrow.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Cruising
Today we are traveling up the coast to Long Beach and tonight we will stay aboard the Queen Mary. Tomorrow we transfer to the Carnival Inspiration for a five day cruise to Catalina Island and Mexico. I have no idea what Internet coverage there will be, I suspect little as we are in steel rooms on the ship. WiFi is available, at a cost of about $1 per minute -sack that. So our next blog may not be until next weekend.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Mount Palomar
There are some places and things which define a generation, time, or a culture.
Mount Palomar is one of those places, and one of the icons of the the 50's and 60's which impacted on a whole generation. As the Iron Horse the technology which enabled the development of the West in the 19th C, so Astronomy was the technology which fed the romantic fires of the frontiers of Space and our drive towards digital technologies. In the early part of the century new telescopes enabled scientists to look further and further into the universe, boldly laying down theories on top of new observations, which promoted more new theories which need to be verified by observation. The race was to build the biggest and best telescopes to attract the brightest intellects. At the top of this tree was Edwin Hubble, it was he that unified the observations of galaxies to bring order to the stars.
This early space race fed the imagination and gave the need to go into space some credibility, which crystallised in the development of NASA and the race for the Moon.
At the heart of this technology was the 200 inch Hale Telescope at Mount Palomar. If an astronomy story was published, if space pictures were needed they the iconic building which housed the Hale Telescope was rolled out. It was the 1950's quintessential image of all things spacewards. Though it was planned and paid for from 1928 it was not completed and operational until 1949. It was such a leap in technology that nothing better could be made until the Hubble Telescope was put into orbit in 1990, even now with advances in technology the Hale telescope is still at the forefront of Astronomy.
So Mount Palomar to me has been synonymous with pure science, which I first came into contact with probably as a 7 or 8 year old, and new I would never get to see.
Well today we did see it. We drove the 45 miles up into the mountains and took a good look at it and around it. We were not there very long, but what we did see fulfilled my expectations. Although there is no tour on weekdays we were allowed access to the building and because sally is disabled we had to enter using the service elevator, which enabled us to not only see the huge telescope but to get up close to it and marvel at its size and engineering. We had to wait outside for the man to escort us, he was supposed to arrive at 1.00, but was a few minutes late. When he arrived he apologized and asked if we had been waiting long. I said "About 55 years, since I was about seven".
The rest is boring statistics.
The telescope is like a giant shaving mirror. It is a piece of pyrex 200 inches across, that's nearly 17 feet and 20 tons, perfectly ground (it took eleven years to complete). Mounted on a huge structure which is so perfectly balanced and well lubricated that it can be moved by a single person. Unlike a shaving mirror the top surface is silvered, rather than the back surface, so it must be resurfaced every few years, so the whole mirror can be removed and placed in a giant vacuum tank which is used to diffuse Aluminium on to its surface.
Although the telescope was put in place 60 years ago new technology means that results are constantly improving. The biggest advance has been Adaptive Optics. A wobbly mirror, whose shape is controlled by computer, is placed in the light path. A laser reference system determines the distortion due to the atmosphere and the computer then flexes the wobbly mirror to neutralise the atmospheric distortion, amazing. It is no longer the largest telescope, as new technology will dwarf this mirror, ESO, European Southern Observatory is now building the E-ELT, a 39 metre diameter mirror with 948 sq m of collecting surface, compared to the Hale's 20 Sq m. Nice web page here, do miss the nice video
So having now achieved a boyhood dream Sally and I returned to our campground, a momentous day for me at least.
Mount Palomar is one of those places, and one of the icons of the the 50's and 60's which impacted on a whole generation. As the Iron Horse the technology which enabled the development of the West in the 19th C, so Astronomy was the technology which fed the romantic fires of the frontiers of Space and our drive towards digital technologies. In the early part of the century new telescopes enabled scientists to look further and further into the universe, boldly laying down theories on top of new observations, which promoted more new theories which need to be verified by observation. The race was to build the biggest and best telescopes to attract the brightest intellects. At the top of this tree was Edwin Hubble, it was he that unified the observations of galaxies to bring order to the stars.
This early space race fed the imagination and gave the need to go into space some credibility, which crystallised in the development of NASA and the race for the Moon.
At the heart of this technology was the 200 inch Hale Telescope at Mount Palomar. If an astronomy story was published, if space pictures were needed they the iconic building which housed the Hale Telescope was rolled out. It was the 1950's quintessential image of all things spacewards. Though it was planned and paid for from 1928 it was not completed and operational until 1949. It was such a leap in technology that nothing better could be made until the Hubble Telescope was put into orbit in 1990, even now with advances in technology the Hale telescope is still at the forefront of Astronomy.
So Mount Palomar to me has been synonymous with pure science, which I first came into contact with probably as a 7 or 8 year old, and new I would never get to see.
Well today we did see it. We drove the 45 miles up into the mountains and took a good look at it and around it. We were not there very long, but what we did see fulfilled my expectations. Although there is no tour on weekdays we were allowed access to the building and because sally is disabled we had to enter using the service elevator, which enabled us to not only see the huge telescope but to get up close to it and marvel at its size and engineering. We had to wait outside for the man to escort us, he was supposed to arrive at 1.00, but was a few minutes late. When he arrived he apologized and asked if we had been waiting long. I said "About 55 years, since I was about seven".
The rest is boring statistics.
The telescope is like a giant shaving mirror. It is a piece of pyrex 200 inches across, that's nearly 17 feet and 20 tons, perfectly ground (it took eleven years to complete). Mounted on a huge structure which is so perfectly balanced and well lubricated that it can be moved by a single person. Unlike a shaving mirror the top surface is silvered, rather than the back surface, so it must be resurfaced every few years, so the whole mirror can be removed and placed in a giant vacuum tank which is used to diffuse Aluminium on to its surface.
Although the telescope was put in place 60 years ago new technology means that results are constantly improving. The biggest advance has been Adaptive Optics. A wobbly mirror, whose shape is controlled by computer, is placed in the light path. A laser reference system determines the distortion due to the atmosphere and the computer then flexes the wobbly mirror to neutralise the atmospheric distortion, amazing. It is no longer the largest telescope, as new technology will dwarf this mirror, ESO, European Southern Observatory is now building the E-ELT, a 39 metre diameter mirror with 948 sq m of collecting surface, compared to the Hale's 20 Sq m. Nice web page here, do miss the nice video
So having now achieved a boyhood dream Sally and I returned to our campground, a momentous day for me at least.
Friday, January 27, 2012
San Luis Del Ray Mission
Just down the road from the campground is the San Luis Del Ray Mission, the Eighteenth Mission of the 21 founded in California.
We visited there on Thursday, it was a glorious afternoon and we had a very pleasant time looking at the old mission. I had noticed that above the entrance to the Mission's cemetery was a skull and crossbones. On enquiring I was told that this was a relatively recent addition. In the 50's Walt Disney made a series called Zorro, with Guy Williams as Zorro. They used the Mission to do some of the location filming and the skull and crossbones was part of their set, which they left for posterity, fascinating.
After the Mission visit we re-visited and old haunt, we had noticed a local branch of The Home Town Buffet and thought we should give it a try, for old times sake. We were quite impressed both at the variety and quality of the food available, I am sure that the kids would enjoy it now just as much as they did when we ate there in 1997.
We visited there on Thursday, it was a glorious afternoon and we had a very pleasant time looking at the old mission. I had noticed that above the entrance to the Mission's cemetery was a skull and crossbones. On enquiring I was told that this was a relatively recent addition. In the 50's Walt Disney made a series called Zorro, with Guy Williams as Zorro. They used the Mission to do some of the location filming and the skull and crossbones was part of their set, which they left for posterity, fascinating.
After the Mission visit we re-visited and old haunt, we had noticed a local branch of The Home Town Buffet and thought we should give it a try, for old times sake. We were quite impressed both at the variety and quality of the food available, I am sure that the kids would enjoy it now just as much as they did when we ate there in 1997.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
23 March 2007 Momentous Changes.
So our day started, we had made our decisions, we would buy the TT we had seen in BatesRV and then set out into the wilds of Florida. We set out with nervous excitement and drove south. We wanted to check out the TT once more and then drive the price of it down to more comfortable level.
The weather was warm once again, we were taken by buggy to the TT, everything checked out as we had remembered it.
As we set out for the dealer’s office the cell phone rang, our niece Sarah was phoning to say that our daughter Helen was in hospital in Colorado. ................
(She had been taken to ER ..... she is now OK) In an instant everything had changed.
We returned the villa, spent 3 hours trying to book a flight and a hire car, made decisions about what we could carry and what would have to stay.
Next morning we were on our way, return the car, get the plane, arrive in Denver, pick up a new car and by 7.00 in the evening we were 1800 miles away, sat at 9,600 ft, in Helen’s flat, surrounded by the snow covered peaks of the Rockies.
We had no cold weather clothes; fortunately it was quite warm (in the 40’s F). But we were not going to stop there, we were bound for Carl and Sarah’s house, set another 1000 feet up amongst those snow covered peaks.
Ok, so the script had changed a little, we would now spend time in some of America’s most spectacular scenery, with some of our family. The TT and truck would wait.
The weather was warm once again, we were taken by buggy to the TT, everything checked out as we had remembered it.
As we set out for the dealer’s office the cell phone rang, our niece Sarah was phoning to say that our daughter Helen was in hospital in Colorado. ................
(She had been taken to ER ..... she is now OK) In an instant everything had changed.
We returned the villa, spent 3 hours trying to book a flight and a hire car, made decisions about what we could carry and what would have to stay.
Next morning we were on our way, return the car, get the plane, arrive in Denver, pick up a new car and by 7.00 in the evening we were 1800 miles away, sat at 9,600 ft, in Helen’s flat, surrounded by the snow covered peaks of the Rockies.
We had no cold weather clothes; fortunately it was quite warm (in the 40’s F). But we were not going to stop there, we were bound for Carl and Sarah’s house, set another 1000 feet up amongst those snow covered peaks.
Ok, so the script had changed a little, we would now spend time in some of America’s most spectacular scenery, with some of our family. The TT and truck would wait.
22 March 2007 Lake Region Audabon Street Nature Center
This is a small nature center which seems to be run by the local neighbourhood. We drove down a narrow track, through woodland, to a small car park, surrounded by trees, which was, and remained, deserted.It was completely devoid of traffic, or any other human, noise. It was only the presence of a dilapidated notice board that indicated we were in the right place at all. Next to this was a nesting box, with several copies of a map, well an A4 sheet with a vaguely circular thick black line with the odd description on it, such as ‘pond’, or ‘lake’. There was no sense of scale, but we appeared to be in the middle of the area labelled ‘Butterfly Garden’ although the only evidence seemed to be a single, but very beautiful, large iridescent black/blue butterfly floating around in it.
Nevertheless, there appeared to be a track disappearing into the forest. We unshipped Sally’s electric wheelchair and set off. The first thing to notice was the amount of dead stuff all around, the second thing was that the path was quite uneven, wet in places, sandy in others, with lots of roots on its surface, Sally’s chair had to work like an ATV to make progress along this pathway. When we stood in the car park is was a pleasant, warm spring afternoon. By the time we were 20 feet into the forest the atmosphere had changed, it was warmer, absolutely still, and humid, so humid that water just dripped of trees and bushes, almost as though it was raining. We were surrounded by tall pines and palms, with often dense undergrowth beneath, and American oaks (same bark, but not the pretty leaf shape of our oak trees), which had less dense undergrowth. The trees all had those swampy epiphytes (air plants) hanging from them. Lots of ferns and frondy plants. Old dead and rotting trees and leaves covered any clear areas; many of the dead trees had strange fungi on them. We could hear lots of bird noises, jays, and warblers mostly, although we did hear a woodpecker tapping away in the distance. Lots of bright butterflies flitted round the undergrowth.
As we moved along the path you could often hear scurryings of lizards scampering away through the leaves. Sally and I are not bird experts, so identifying them is not easy. We spent some time watching a small red and brown bird carrying nest making material into an old bird house. As we approached the lake (according to the map, because we couldn’t see very far) the undergrowth became more dense, we passed giant bamboo thickets 30 feet tall. It was even more humid here, everything was wet, the ground, even the path, became quite boggy.
When we reached the lake, it was a small muddy beach with rushes to either side, under a large oak tree which over hung the water. There was a small viewing hide there. Sally and I went in; there was a restricted view of the lake. I spent some time taking pictures of the edge of the lake, and then noticed a tree which had fallen into the lake, the base of the trees was about 6 feet to the right of the little hut. As I looked at it I could see an alligator sleeping on the trunk, only about 20 feet away. Our first encounter with Florida’s most dangerous creature! We carefully crept round the shoreline to get a better view of it – it didn’t move, we took pictures of it. We realised it was awake, at least its eyes were open, but the whole time we were there it just ignored us. It was quite big, about 5 feet long and it had ferocious teeth. We sat on the lakeshore (there was a bench) and had our picnic lunch. While we were there an eagley looking bird (there are loads of big predator birds and I have not sorted them out yet) flew past with a big fish in its talons, we saw a terrapin perched on a log about 10 feet away and all the time there were ducks swimming past and cranes flying past and little warblers flitting round in the oak tree above. It was a lovely little adventure in a rain forest. After our lunch we made our way back to the car park, where it was still dry and pleasant and the single butterfly still flitted round in the butterfly garden. This, we decided was our first real taste of Florida wild life. What a wonderful afternoon we had. We then re-emerged into the hustle and bustle of the American freeway and the Audubon Nature Center returned to its quiet and patient pre-occupation with growing, flowering, eating, dying, decaying and regrowing.21 March 2007 Parks in the USA
Today is another waiting day, waiting to make sure that everything is in place for us to buy our TT and Truck.
We have decided to visit a nature center.
As in the UK conservation, environmental protection and access to ‘nice areas’ is controlled and managed on several levels.
There are National Parks, with some aspect of national importance, such as Yellowstone, Gettysburg, or in Florida the Everglades. Very popular and usually well known. Similar to our National Parks, like the Peak District. Many have campgrounds in them (often several) which are owned and run by the National Parks Dept
There are State Parks which are run by the State and they protect important areas within the state, they are often quite large, up to 100 square miles, or maybe a specific site of interest, such as Stephen Foster House, on the Suwannee River (We hope there will be more on that later if we visit it). These are also well known and often popular. Many of them have campgrounds in them
there are also conservation areas on a county level, sites of interest to the local environment, or community. They may be local parks, walking or cycling routes, bird sanctuaries, small lakes, fishing ponds etc. Also in this section are the many Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Areas, to you and me they is hunt’n’, shoot’n’ and fish’n’ places. (More about hunting later)They do not usually have full time staff. THE UNFORTUNATE PART about them is that they are only publicised locally. They are often virtually unknown except to local interest groups, so are often almost completely deserted. THE GREAT THING about them is that they are often virtually unknown except to local interest groups, so are often almost completely deserted.
Finding out about them can be difficult. What as happened in Florida is that the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has an environmental conservation plan which links all these local sites and state parks, plus forestry and fishing administrated areas, together, so that they form a chain of habitats which are linked to geological features, such as hill ranges, water and drainage basins etc? This database has been used to create guides to fishing and bird watching. All very clever. The end result is there is The Great Florida Birding Trail which a 2000 mile long, state-wide trail of locations that are special for bird watching. Using the guide to a local section we were able to find a number of little nature reserves, which may be only yards away from busy highways, or shopping areas and all close to where we are staying. One such site is the Lake Region Audubon’s Street Nature Center. It was situated behind a large K Mart store (about half a mile away). We had to use the directions in the guide to find it, as it was tucked away in a residential area, down a cull de sac.
We have decided to visit a nature center.
As in the UK conservation, environmental protection and access to ‘nice areas’ is controlled and managed on several levels.
There are National Parks, with some aspect of national importance, such as Yellowstone, Gettysburg, or in Florida the Everglades. Very popular and usually well known. Similar to our National Parks, like the Peak District. Many have campgrounds in them (often several) which are owned and run by the National Parks Dept
There are State Parks which are run by the State and they protect important areas within the state, they are often quite large, up to 100 square miles, or maybe a specific site of interest, such as Stephen Foster House, on the Suwannee River (We hope there will be more on that later if we visit it). These are also well known and often popular. Many of them have campgrounds in them
there are also conservation areas on a county level, sites of interest to the local environment, or community. They may be local parks, walking or cycling routes, bird sanctuaries, small lakes, fishing ponds etc. Also in this section are the many Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Areas, to you and me they is hunt’n’, shoot’n’ and fish’n’ places. (More about hunting later)They do not usually have full time staff. THE UNFORTUNATE PART about them is that they are only publicised locally. They are often virtually unknown except to local interest groups, so are often almost completely deserted. THE GREAT THING about them is that they are often virtually unknown except to local interest groups, so are often almost completely deserted.
Finding out about them can be difficult. What as happened in Florida is that the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has an environmental conservation plan which links all these local sites and state parks, plus forestry and fishing administrated areas, together, so that they form a chain of habitats which are linked to geological features, such as hill ranges, water and drainage basins etc? This database has been used to create guides to fishing and bird watching. All very clever. The end result is there is The Great Florida Birding Trail which a 2000 mile long, state-wide trail of locations that are special for bird watching. Using the guide to a local section we were able to find a number of little nature reserves, which may be only yards away from busy highways, or shopping areas and all close to where we are staying. One such site is the Lake Region Audubon’s Street Nature Center. It was situated behind a large K Mart store (about half a mile away). We had to use the directions in the guide to find it, as it was tucked away in a residential area, down a cull de sac.
19 March 2007 First State Park Visit
Today saw us visiting our first State Park, a few miles away from the villa, called Lake Louisa. We paid $80 for a family pass which is valid for a year and allows eight family members at a time to visit any of Florida's State Parks as many times as wanted free. Good value when we plan to visit as many parks as we can this visit and again next time we come over.The park had some beautiful views and its 4,500 acres protect 6 lakes, two streams, 11 natural communities and 100 miles of lake shoreline. The communities included sand hills, scrub, upland mixed forest, cypress swamp, wet flatlands and old citrus grove. We had our picnic lunch by the shore of the largest lake, Lake Louisa, very beautiful but very cold as a howling gale was blowing across the lake. The other side of the belt of trees surrounding the lake was hot, hot, hot. I had twenty minutes sunbathing while Terry took photos of birds and butterflies.
We tootled along a nature trail and were amazed at the size and colours of the butterflies - just like being in Butterfly World at Preston Park!! They were gorgeous. We ogled at the cypress trees sitting in the swamp festooned by Spanish Moss on one side of the path and at the turkey oaks and bluejack oaks on the other side - two completely different habitats right next door to each other - fascinating. There were cacti in the dry sand and reeds in the swamp - again right next door to each other. Amazing. We saw a little lizard scuttle up a branch and whacky great big birds (which we couldn't identify) soaring on the thermals at the edge of one of the lakes, they swooped to within about 30 feet of us. Very impressive. Pity we didn't see alligators, deer, red hawks or gopher tortoises which are supposed to be in the park, but Terry saw (nearly fell over) a snake, don't know what sort, big and dark (about 30 inches long). We saw Deer Moss which looks like moss but is, in fact, a type of lichen which grows on the ground in among the grass! No comparison really!
But, never the less, a great day, all in all.
18 March 2007 English/American Mothers Day
It was Mothers Day in England yesterday, but not so here in the ol' US of A. Here, it’s on the second Sunday in May, so that's probably why the delivery man, bearing a beautiful bouquet of flowers in a vase, looked puzzled when he rang the bell. We nearly didn't answer, as it is the first time the door buzzer has been used during our stay and we weren't sure what the buzzing noise was but he rang again and we just got there in time! Flowers from Andrew and Marie- beautifully arranged with a lovely purple bow adorned with a butterfly- and an ecard from JP and Andrea with a singing kitten with a message that brought a tear to my eye. Helen had phoned the night before, so it was lovely to be remembered by the 'kids'. It seems strange that our two wonderful daughters in law are now mothers themselves and experiencing their first Mothers day.18 March 2007 Yeee Haw
We finally made it to the Bluegrass.
Today we stopped looking for cars ad things and took a day at a local Bluegrass Festival.
It was quite a small affair, but great fun.
There was a big top tent, five bands and about 200 people (that we saw).
Most of them had stayed in their RV out back of the tent. The festival had gone from Thursday until Sunday (last day).
Today consisted of a band performing for about 45 minutes and giving way to the next band. Each band did 2 sets. Finally the top billing, Goldwing Express, gave a performance.
You have to imagine the whole event as being a bit like a small family circus. Big Top, members of the family, granny taking ticket money, girls selling T-Shirts and CD's, boys sorting the sound, and handling the gear. Daddy being the Emcee, promoter and agent. Most of the bands seemed to be from a single family. It was a great sound, but a small and friendly atmosphere. On the Campground people seemed to get on well with each other, most people seemed to be selling something, BBQ, snacks, CD's, magic stones, read your fortune, ice cream. It was a cross between new age travellers and The Ridings Folk Group meetings. At the end of the weekend they all get underway and go to the next venue, looked like fun.
The music was great, each group had different strengths, and combinations of instruments chosen from guitar, mandolin, banjo, fiddle and slide guitar. All with a rhythm guitar and a bass. All the instruments were played acoustically into microphones. And could some of them play!!
The weather started chilly (in the 60's, but finished up in the high 70's), but bright blue and clear, not a cloud all day.
Our personal favourites were a band called Larry Gillis And Friends, the fiddle player was s... hot. Although the Dixie Bluegrass Express had a really good mandolin player.
We had a great time, came home and stopped at a Cracker Barrel, with it's All American Home Cookin', Like Momma Used To Make, complete with roast apple slices in cinnamon sauce (as a vegetable with the main dish), biscuits (scones, complete with butter and jelly (jam), before the main meal), a box for the half of the meal we could not eat and about 30 rocking chairs on the front porch where we could all 'set a spell' in the evening sun after our meal. Very hokey, very commercial, still we gotta get with the programme.
Today we stopped looking for cars ad things and took a day at a local Bluegrass Festival.
It was quite a small affair, but great fun.
There was a big top tent, five bands and about 200 people (that we saw).
Most of them had stayed in their RV out back of the tent. The festival had gone from Thursday until Sunday (last day).
Today consisted of a band performing for about 45 minutes and giving way to the next band. Each band did 2 sets. Finally the top billing, Goldwing Express, gave a performance.
You have to imagine the whole event as being a bit like a small family circus. Big Top, members of the family, granny taking ticket money, girls selling T-Shirts and CD's, boys sorting the sound, and handling the gear. Daddy being the Emcee, promoter and agent. Most of the bands seemed to be from a single family. It was a great sound, but a small and friendly atmosphere. On the Campground people seemed to get on well with each other, most people seemed to be selling something, BBQ, snacks, CD's, magic stones, read your fortune, ice cream. It was a cross between new age travellers and The Ridings Folk Group meetings. At the end of the weekend they all get underway and go to the next venue, looked like fun.
The music was great, each group had different strengths, and combinations of instruments chosen from guitar, mandolin, banjo, fiddle and slide guitar. All with a rhythm guitar and a bass. All the instruments were played acoustically into microphones. And could some of them play!!
The weather started chilly (in the 60's, but finished up in the high 70's), but bright blue and clear, not a cloud all day.
Our personal favourites were a band called Larry Gillis And Friends, the fiddle player was s... hot. Although the Dixie Bluegrass Express had a really good mandolin player.We had a great time, came home and stopped at a Cracker Barrel, with it's All American Home Cookin', Like Momma Used To Make, complete with roast apple slices in cinnamon sauce (as a vegetable with the main dish), biscuits (scones, complete with butter and jelly (jam), before the main meal), a box for the half of the meal we could not eat and about 30 rocking chairs on the front porch where we could all 'set a spell' in the evening sun after our meal. Very hokey, very commercial, still we gotta get with the programme.
15 March 2007 Getting a Driving Licence in Florida.
Getting a Driving Licence in Florida.
Step one: turn up in person at the driving licence office.
Step two: Fill out an app form (well they do that for you)
that was easy I thought. Too soon
Step three: Show proof of identity, that was ok passport and UK driving licence
Step four: give address where the licence can be mailed to. . . . . . . . oops. Well we did that – I may come back to that as it got quite interesting at that point)
Step five Photo taken
Step six: Just step over to the computer and answer a few questions about driving in Florida. Well there were 40 questions, you could afford to get 10 wrong, about the highway code and signs - I passed, although the question about what to do if you hit someone’s car when they were not there puzzled me a bit. I did fail on the question which asked what is the minimum distance an oncoming car must be before you must dip your lights
All in all I thought I had done pretty well, so I went back to the desk to collect my licence. . . . . . ..
Step seven: “when would you like to come back for the practical test Sir?”
9.15 the next day saw me practising 3 point turns and parking in a space.
At 9.30 I took the practical test – passed of course, but it was slightly nerve racking.
I am now the proud owner of a Florida driving licence.
I now have the I.D required to buy a car, as Ken pointed out, when you register your car you can use the Florida licence as proof of who you are – you don’t need to be a resident.
Step one: turn up in person at the driving licence office.
Step two: Fill out an app form (well they do that for you)
that was easy I thought. Too soon
Step three: Show proof of identity, that was ok passport and UK driving licence
Step four: give address where the licence can be mailed to. . . . . . . . oops. Well we did that – I may come back to that as it got quite interesting at that point)
Step five Photo taken
Step six: Just step over to the computer and answer a few questions about driving in Florida. Well there were 40 questions, you could afford to get 10 wrong, about the highway code and signs - I passed, although the question about what to do if you hit someone’s car when they were not there puzzled me a bit. I did fail on the question which asked what is the minimum distance an oncoming car must be before you must dip your lights
All in all I thought I had done pretty well, so I went back to the desk to collect my licence. . . . . . ..
Step seven: “when would you like to come back for the practical test Sir?”
9.15 the next day saw me practising 3 point turns and parking in a space.
At 9.30 I took the practical test – passed of course, but it was slightly nerve racking.
I am now the proud owner of a Florida driving licence.
I now have the I.D required to buy a car, as Ken pointed out, when you register your car you can use the Florida licence as proof of who you are – you don’t need to be a resident.
12 March 2007 Times They Are A changin'
The nation has finally woken up to saving energy, so they have moved forward by three weeks the moving forward of their clocks by one hour. We changed last night, so now we are only 4 hours behind UK time, at least until the end of March. Yippee, we can all rest easy in our beds now. That’s going to save the planet isn’t it?
Back to funny coincidences, since we are talking about time, my watch has given up the ghost; I think I have had it for about 10-12 years on the same battery. Could be time for a new one.
Today is day 3 of our hunt for a TT. We are going to looking at Jayco TT and second hand TT. We spent a few hours in a second hand dealers, and found that many of the TT that were there and cheap had been mishandled in some way. Many looked like they had actually been lived in or had been rental models. I suspect that some may have been used for Hurricane Katrina relief housing. So that at least removed one area of investigation. We moved on to Bates RV and found a very nice TT, an Aruba Lite 298RKS, with most of the things we have been looking for, of course it is too expensive and it will need a bigger (read more expensive) truck to tow it.
The weather has really moved up a gear in the last few days, up into the 80’s, so it was nice to get back to the villa and spend some time by the pool. We also phoned the kids and that was lovely.
I managed to find all the ingredients and equipment to make a Sunday dinner, complete with Yorkshire puds made in a muffin tin. I have bought an espresso coffee machine ($20 would you believe) and want to try it out in the morning.
Back to funny coincidences, since we are talking about time, my watch has given up the ghost; I think I have had it for about 10-12 years on the same battery. Could be time for a new one.
Today is day 3 of our hunt for a TT. We are going to looking at Jayco TT and second hand TT. We spent a few hours in a second hand dealers, and found that many of the TT that were there and cheap had been mishandled in some way. Many looked like they had actually been lived in or had been rental models. I suspect that some may have been used for Hurricane Katrina relief housing. So that at least removed one area of investigation. We moved on to Bates RV and found a very nice TT, an Aruba Lite 298RKS, with most of the things we have been looking for, of course it is too expensive and it will need a bigger (read more expensive) truck to tow it.
The weather has really moved up a gear in the last few days, up into the 80’s, so it was nice to get back to the villa and spend some time by the pool. We also phoned the kids and that was lovely.
I managed to find all the ingredients and equipment to make a Sunday dinner, complete with Yorkshire puds made in a muffin tin. I have bought an espresso coffee machine ($20 would you believe) and want to try it out in the morning.
11 March 2007 Goats Milk Fudge
Bright and early we set out in the other direction: back south and spent some time looking at TT’s in another 2 dealerships. All seem to tell the same story that this is not a good time of year for used TT. – But they seemed to be much more interested in motor homes and 5th wheelers. We may yet have to go north to the New York area to get what we want.
On the way home we stopped at a little gifty shop which makes its own ice cream and fudge. Its claim to fame being its excellent range of Goats Milk Fudge and Goats Milk Ice Cream. Sally and I shared an ordinary ice cream, because they had run out of Goats Milk Ice Cream.
We are seeing some lovely birds as we travel round. We have been taking picnic lunches and finding lakeside places to eat them. Soon (like when I know which birds are which) I will say something more on these birds.
On the way home we stopped at a little gifty shop which makes its own ice cream and fudge. Its claim to fame being its excellent range of Goats Milk Fudge and Goats Milk Ice Cream. Sally and I shared an ordinary ice cream, because they had run out of Goats Milk Ice Cream.
We are seeing some lovely birds as we travel round. We have been taking picnic lunches and finding lakeside places to eat them. Soon (like when I know which birds are which) I will say something more on these birds.
10 March 2007 The Hunt Is On
I have found some hot spots! Almost all of Kissimmee has a town wide network, but it is about 15minutes drive away. Our local resort Hotel at Champion’s Gate also has a hot spot, but I feel a bit exposed sitting in their car park, wondering if at any minute someone will come along and sue me for stealing information. I have seen lots of employees come past in their little golf buggies, but they may not be their job to collar me. Also sitting in a car with a laptop is not very comfortable. So that means that we have ‘limited access’.
Today we have looked for Travel Trailers (TT). We decided to go north to the Orlando equivalent of Portrack Lane, except is about 25 miles long. With about 6 RV Dealerships. As we were given a tour by a salesman we could see:
1. that seeing anything second hand was difficult.
2. That the gap between what we wanted and what we could afford was increasing.
Still I suppose that is the art of salesmanship.
We only managed to see 3 different dealerships but have found 1 TT we like.
After all our exertions we rewarded ourselves by having dinner in Denny’s.
Enter my first pancakes – I had the Grand Slam Breakfast, with 2 pancakes etc., Sally is keeping up the good work on her diet plan and had a chicken salad.
Today we have looked for Travel Trailers (TT). We decided to go north to the Orlando equivalent of Portrack Lane, except is about 25 miles long. With about 6 RV Dealerships. As we were given a tour by a salesman we could see:
1. that seeing anything second hand was difficult.
2. That the gap between what we wanted and what we could afford was increasing.
Still I suppose that is the art of salesmanship.
We only managed to see 3 different dealerships but have found 1 TT we like.
After all our exertions we rewarded ourselves by having dinner in Denny’s.
Enter my first pancakes – I had the Grand Slam Breakfast, with 2 pancakes etc., Sally is keeping up the good work on her diet plan and had a chicken salad.
Strange Negotiations.
We are coming to realise that Americans have moved to a different way of buying things. The items we bought today had an up front price, and then very quickly the price was discounted.
Item 1, conversation “How Much”, “$200”, “OK, we will have to decide whether to come down for it”, “OK, I can make it a little bit cheaper”, “Oh, how much”. “What about $150”,”Oh, OK”. Notice I hadn’t even asked for a discount!!
Item 2. “Yeh, we have one in stock”, “How much?”, “$80” (UK price would be about $100 equivalent), “and you get 10% discount”. “OK, thanks”. Now why offer a discount? If everyone gets it, why not just sell it cheaper?
So now we are starting to accept that bartering is not degrading, and discounting seems to be expected.
Item 1, conversation “How Much”, “$200”, “OK, we will have to decide whether to come down for it”, “OK, I can make it a little bit cheaper”, “Oh, how much”. “What about $150”,”Oh, OK”. Notice I hadn’t even asked for a discount!!
Item 2. “Yeh, we have one in stock”, “How much?”, “$80” (UK price would be about $100 equivalent), “and you get 10% discount”. “OK, thanks”. Now why offer a discount? If everyone gets it, why not just sell it cheaper?
So now we are starting to accept that bartering is not degrading, and discounting seems to be expected.
09 March 2007 Strawberry Festivals Forever
It was a glorious day, warm (hot to us) and sunny. We drove down to the Plant City Strawberry Festival.
It is a county fair.
Lots of agricultural bits, with craft and cooking competitions.
As with many of these fairs the commercial side has grown and the community side has diminished. Lots of concession stands and a big funfair. We enjoyed looking at the decorated cakes and Sally enjoyed the quilting, tapestry and needlepoint (crosstitch).
There were several ‘events’, however they had switched the Little Richard Concert from the Thursday to the Wednesday, so I was slightly disappointed and the Hog Racing was packed out, so I was deeply disappointed.
However, by 3.30 we had both had enough and came back home via the Lakeland Square Mall. Where we finally bought ourselves some mobile phones (Virgin) and had a meal at the food court. It was what they called Chinese food - fried rice, Bourbon Chicken (?), Orange Chicken and Chinese mixed vegetables. But it was the same as the Tokyo Express, Perry’s BBQ as well as China Max were selling! Still it tasted reasonable, was more than enough for 2 of us and with a cup of tea and a coke came to $10.48.
So far in our 4 days of holiday, just doing bits and pieces we have done 279 miles.
It is a county fair.
Lots of agricultural bits, with craft and cooking competitions.
As with many of these fairs the commercial side has grown and the community side has diminished. Lots of concession stands and a big funfair. We enjoyed looking at the decorated cakes and Sally enjoyed the quilting, tapestry and needlepoint (crosstitch).
There were several ‘events’, however they had switched the Little Richard Concert from the Thursday to the Wednesday, so I was slightly disappointed and the Hog Racing was packed out, so I was deeply disappointed.
However, by 3.30 we had both had enough and came back home via the Lakeland Square Mall. Where we finally bought ourselves some mobile phones (Virgin) and had a meal at the food court. It was what they called Chinese food - fried rice, Bourbon Chicken (?), Orange Chicken and Chinese mixed vegetables. But it was the same as the Tokyo Express, Perry’s BBQ as well as China Max were selling! Still it tasted reasonable, was more than enough for 2 of us and with a cup of tea and a coke came to $10.48.
So far in our 4 days of holiday, just doing bits and pieces we have done 279 miles.
Today we lost the internet
Today we lost the internet. Felt very lost. Difficult to find out anything, or where anything is. Sally and I needed to find a charger for her chair. A quick search on the internet became a trawl through the yellow pages; every number outside the local area had to be dialed through a phone card, which means entering a 21 figure number plus the number you want. To find out where somewhere is needs a phone book, a gazetteer to find the rough area, a street directory and a map. What happened to entering the address into Google Map? It took 3 hours to locate a 110 volt charger and a replacement nebuliser. But having located them we had a lovely drive south through Haines City to Lake. Wales. Then across to Winter Garden. We also want to buy mobile phones, so we swung past Lakeland, where there is a Verizon Shop. It’s called the Lakeland District because there are a lot of lakes! There was some very lovely scenery; we saw lots of different birds, egrets, small herons, large herons (grey?) and storks
The Villa
We have successfully arrived at the Villa. It is in an estate just off the Ronald Reagan FreewayIt s a lovely house. It has four bedrooms and three bathrooms.
It has a big L shaped living area which leads out to the pool area.
We are so pleased that Sarah's Mum and Dad have let us use it.
On arrival I popped to the local supermarket called Publix (?) and picked up some food for the evening and breakfast. Some coffee cream, milk and orange juice, cinnamon rolls and some pizza.
By the time we finished tea we were absolutely shattered. It would have been 2.00 in the morning in England.
06 March 2007 Cruising - A Quick Squirt of "Essence of America"
Cruising is at the centre of the American Psyche. It’s about doing something because you choose to, not because you have to. Its about saying to your self 'I COULD BURN EVERYBODY OFF THE ROAD, BECAUSE THIS BABY WILL TOP THE TON EASY, but I choose to drive sedately at 45mph in a 55mph zone, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT ALL THESE OTHER DRIVERS KNOW THAT I COULD BURN THEM ALL OFF THE ROAD, so I don't need to prove it TODAY. Instead I will let them look on in awe at my car as I drive past all the places where the cool people will be sat eating their Big Macs, watching out for cool cars LIKE MINE, THAT THEY WISHED THEY OWNED. While I am doing this cool driving thing I will let my wife think that I am actually taking her to Wal-Mart.'
Today Sally and I woke early, still jet lagged, cos 6.00 our time is 11.00 in UK.
We had a lazy breakfast (including another Cinnamon Bun) and decided to 'cruise' to the local Wal-Mart to pick up the next set of essentials.
The sky is bright blue and cloudless (as it has remained all day) and warm, though not hot.
The car we have is a Chevrolet Town and Country, which is very smooth, with A/C and cruise control, lots of power (it could probably do a ton). Making sure I keep to the right is one of Sally's support roles, her other one is to make sure that know I need the next exit just before I can put my indicator on (I have now taken to giving a running commentary on my driving to let Sally know, that I know, that we are indeed going to take the next turning "I will shortly be going to put my indicator on so that we can take the next turning right". The trouble is that I am now starting to give the running commentary for everything I am about to do!!).
Speed is unimportant and we happily travelled the 10-12 miles at 35 - 55 mph without any feeling of being too slow. We chose the route which took us through the commercial section, which meant that we cruised past a whole variety of eating places, Wendy's, Mexican, Chequer's, Denny's, the odd ice cream parlour, Subway. Mexican, Chinese, MacDonald’s, Pizza.
We had a reasonable look round Wal-Mart, even stopped for a reasonable meal in the Nathan's in store diner.
Now I now that I am getting old, but the age profile of the people who work at Wal-Mart would suggest that they are part of a war veterans work programme. (Second world war of course). I saw several people who looked at least 80. It made for a nice and relaxed (if slow) atmosphere. But since the age profile of the customers was very similar it was OK. Florida's demographic time bomb has gone off already, and there are bits of it all over Wal-Mart.
As I wandered the aisles it’s seemed that it was a lot more like an English supermarket, and had many brands similar to English brands, which is a shame really. As usual though the cakes were very different, but I managed to restrain myself.
Got enough stuff for a spag bog, with chilli for tomorrow night.
Sally and I cruised back (much easier when I had found the cruise control.
Sally then had an hour by the pool.
I was able to talk to Brian, the friend of Kathryn and David, he gave me some
Today Sally and I woke early, still jet lagged, cos 6.00 our time is 11.00 in UK.
We had a lazy breakfast (including another Cinnamon Bun) and decided to 'cruise' to the local Wal-Mart to pick up the next set of essentials.
The sky is bright blue and cloudless (as it has remained all day) and warm, though not hot.
The car we have is a Chevrolet Town and Country, which is very smooth, with A/C and cruise control, lots of power (it could probably do a ton). Making sure I keep to the right is one of Sally's support roles, her other one is to make sure that know I need the next exit just before I can put my indicator on (I have now taken to giving a running commentary on my driving to let Sally know, that I know, that we are indeed going to take the next turning "I will shortly be going to put my indicator on so that we can take the next turning right". The trouble is that I am now starting to give the running commentary for everything I am about to do!!).
Speed is unimportant and we happily travelled the 10-12 miles at 35 - 55 mph without any feeling of being too slow. We chose the route which took us through the commercial section, which meant that we cruised past a whole variety of eating places, Wendy's, Mexican, Chequer's, Denny's, the odd ice cream parlour, Subway. Mexican, Chinese, MacDonald’s, Pizza.
We had a reasonable look round Wal-Mart, even stopped for a reasonable meal in the Nathan's in store diner.
Now I now that I am getting old, but the age profile of the people who work at Wal-Mart would suggest that they are part of a war veterans work programme. (Second world war of course). I saw several people who looked at least 80. It made for a nice and relaxed (if slow) atmosphere. But since the age profile of the customers was very similar it was OK. Florida's demographic time bomb has gone off already, and there are bits of it all over Wal-Mart.
As I wandered the aisles it’s seemed that it was a lot more like an English supermarket, and had many brands similar to English brands, which is a shame really. As usual though the cakes were very different, but I managed to restrain myself.
Got enough stuff for a spag bog, with chilli for tomorrow night.
Sally and I cruised back (much easier when I had found the cruise control.
Sally then had an hour by the pool.
I was able to talk to Brian, the friend of Kathryn and David, he gave me some
tips about local car and RV dealers.
Nice day, tomorrow we take a look at our first RV Dealer
Nice day, tomorrow we take a look at our first RV Dealer
05 March 2007 The Dream Takes Flight
The thing about weddings is that you make all the decisions, do the planning, you are the centre of attention and its your day, but because you haven't done it before you are grateful that you are surrounded by professionals to guide you and all you actually have to do is say "I do" and even then they prompt you at every step. Of course, the chances are that if you really had to do something serious you are so nervous that you would screw it up totally. Instead you are guaranteed a spectacular event.Flying is a bit like a wedding. You are the important centre of attention and you are passed gently from one scenario to another (or rush like an idiot from one queue to another). You repeat sentences so that they are actually your words. "I solemnly swear that I have not let anyone pack atomic weapons parts in my suitcase" etc. But no one would say anything different anyway. You are guided to make sure that you are in the right place at the right time. Place your luggage in their hands and lift it over the threshold of the luggage carousel.
Somehow although everything feels as though it could go horribly wrong (you might get jammed in the public toilet, or accidentally throw your passport away, be abducted by aliens) - but it doesn't. You and your luggage are separated in Manchester and somehow reunited in Orlando.My obviously mellow mood is a reflection of how well the flight has gone. There were no hitches or problems from getting up in the Travelodge to getting the hire car and arriving in the villa.
So now we have arrived in one piece and with very little stress. We hope that this is the way our holiday continues.
04 March 2007 D(eparture Day) - A Tale of Two Radiators
Why is the world full of coincidences? I am sure that there are universal laws about them, a bit like gravity and falling over (I'm sure that if there was no gravity I would not fall over when I am drunk, so that’s an inevitable coincidence).
Wednesday we had the amazing coincidence of both cars giving trouble in exactly the same spot.
Well the latest coincidence is about radiators.
On Monday I took the Toyota to be fixed, partly because it had a water leak.
The man found a faulty hose clip radiator at the bottom of the, problem solved (?).
Today we were ready to leave, just packing the car, when I found a wet patch on the carpet in the hall. Oops! A radiator had a just sprung a pin hole leak and was spraying water. so an hour and 20 mins. later I had isolated the radiator and we were back on track (only late).
We set off and 10 minutes later, the heater on the car failed! PANIC, because if the heater fails it probably has lost water, so the engine will very quickly overheat and fail. So, expecting the engine to boil any minute, we limped down to Carol and Ron's, but amazingly it didn't, we, or rather I, got cold. Sally had a lovely heated blanket that JP and Andrea had give to her for her birthday. But, despite my worries, we got to Manchester Airport safely.
So failing radiators was the coincidence which nearly stopped us getting away on our holiday.
Wednesday we had the amazing coincidence of both cars giving trouble in exactly the same spot.
Well the latest coincidence is about radiators.
On Monday I took the Toyota to be fixed, partly because it had a water leak.
The man found a faulty hose clip radiator at the bottom of the, problem solved (?).
Today we were ready to leave, just packing the car, when I found a wet patch on the carpet in the hall. Oops! A radiator had a just sprung a pin hole leak and was spraying water. so an hour and 20 mins. later I had isolated the radiator and we were back on track (only late).
We set off and 10 minutes later, the heater on the car failed! PANIC, because if the heater fails it probably has lost water, so the engine will very quickly overheat and fail. So, expecting the engine to boil any minute, we limped down to Carol and Ron's, but amazingly it didn't, we, or rather I, got cold. Sally had a lovely heated blanket that JP and Andrea had give to her for her birthday. But, despite my worries, we got to Manchester Airport safely.
So failing radiators was the coincidence which nearly stopped us getting away on our holiday.
03 March 2007 D(eparture) Day minus 1
It's our last night before we go. We have had webcam links with the kids and grandchildren to say goodbye, we will miss them all. We have gone through long lists of things to take and crossed some off because we can't get them in.
We have had a last minute offer of help from our dear friends, Kathryn and Dave, who have found us a contact in Florida who knows people who use Travel Trailers and even have RV parks. So hopefully it will be lovely to meet them when we arrive.
Tomorrow we are going to take a break on the way to Manchester Airport to visit Carol and Ron, who has kindly invited us to join them in a beef stew and dumplings (could be messy). Ron has kindly offered to renovate my old Takomene Guitar.
Desperately trying to eat everything out of the fridge, (I don't think I will be able to finish the jar of Lemon Curd).
Now ready for bed!
We have had a last minute offer of help from our dear friends, Kathryn and Dave, who have found us a contact in Florida who knows people who use Travel Trailers and even have RV parks. So hopefully it will be lovely to meet them when we arrive.
Tomorrow we are going to take a break on the way to Manchester Airport to visit Carol and Ron, who has kindly invited us to join them in a beef stew and dumplings (could be messy). Ron has kindly offered to renovate my old Takomene Guitar.
Desperately trying to eat everything out of the fridge, (I don't think I will be able to finish the jar of Lemon Curd).
Now ready for bed!
02 March 2007 Last minute preparations, alongside reminiscing!
It's Sally writing for the first time. Two days to D-Day!! Things are getting quite hectic, trying to organise all the things that need sorting before we go. I've been buying last minute things we need, going to appointments with Doctor for prescriptions, getting all my supplements ordered and delivered, having my wheelchair serviced, making sure we have necessary addresses and phone numbers with us, sending off cards and presents for Birthdays, Easter and a Wedding, laying out clothes etc ready
to pack, doing the washing and generally making sure that we have thought of everything. At one stage, as fast as I was ticking off things on the list, the list kept growing! Now there are only a couple of things left on the list and I feel much happier. I'm sure we will forget something, but as long as we have the passports and tickets, we'll be OK. Anything else forgotten can be bought while we are there.
All this and I'm supposed to pace myself carefully and rest (because of my ME) - fat chance!!! I'll be sleeping on the airplane- dead to the world- if I have my way.
Our next door neighbour, Sarah, is a treasure - she is going to thoroughly Spring Clean the house, wash the curtains, feed the birds, water the plants, be a key holder, sort out the post and let the gardener in while we are away. She is going to make sure the timers for lights work properly and alter the position of the curtains every few days. What would we do without her?!!
We are getting quite excited and apprehensive at the same time - can't help wondering if we are biting off more than we can chew - but if you don't try, you would never be adventurous.
This dream has been a long time in the making - dating back from when we were in our twenties. We tried to emigrate to the USA in the 70's but they would not recognise our qualifications and we would have had to pay our way through three years of college, which we couldn't afford to do. Hence, the rosy picture of us travelling round the States when we retire.
We have both camped and caravanned in the States and it's a great experience. Wonderful when a deer walks past the end of your table when you're eating breakfast, so close you could reach out and touch it - don't get that in a motel!! Once we had a skunk lurking around outside our tent in the middle of the night. We could smell it for the rest of our stay!! Thank goodness it didn't spray the tent - would have had to wash it in tomato juice - not kidding - that really is the way to de - smell after being sprayed.
Will have to get ready to drive on the other side of the road and remember how the road system works. If you're not careful, you end up coming off the highway on a slip road because the filter system is different. In the past, we have even been on the correct road but driving in the opposite direction to where we want to be!!! Must remember the USA Road Atlas! Better go and get it out.
27 February 2007 Preparing the Wheelchair
We are now getting down to making sure that all the bits and pieces are ready.
Sally is taking her Electric Power wheelchair. This is a complete project on its own.
The last time we flew the wheelchair was mishandled and dropped, thus writing it off!
I have spent this evening making day glow labels to show where the brake release levers are, and how to operate them. I have also been practising disconnecting the batteries (deep inside the wheelchair). Which have to be special gel type? We are also taking the ramps, which need to be strapped together. Hopefully it will not be damaged this time.
Sally is taking her Electric Power wheelchair. This is a complete project on its own.
The last time we flew the wheelchair was mishandled and dropped, thus writing it off!
I have spent this evening making day glow labels to show where the brake release levers are, and how to operate them. I have also been practising disconnecting the batteries (deep inside the wheelchair). Which have to be special gel type? We are also taking the ramps, which need to be strapped together. Hopefully it will not be damaged this time.
28 February 2007 Organising things
Because we are away for so long we have to organise with our next door neighbour to make sure that the house stays safe, the post is collected, bills paid, lights are switched on and off (Morrison’s are selling mains timers for 2 for £4.00), curtains moved around occasionally (she is also our cleaner). We also have to make sure that the garden is kept reasonable so this has needed negotiation with our gardener. Both cars have had a service ready for their MOT when we come back. We have had to buy and pre-post birthday cards and presents, as well as Easter presents. We have had to get new cases (that deserves a G.O.M. posting on its own). The list seems almost endless.
24 February 2007 Still trying to work out cars and Travel Trailers
I have looked at hundreds of cars and Travel Trailers on the Internet. Slowly I am becoming clearer about what we want, what we need and what we can afford. The really nice TT are not necessarily expensive (a new 28 ft TT with all mod. cons. may be bought for about $15000 - that is about £8000), but they are heavy. Many of them are over 5000lbs, plus liquid carried on board, plus all the optional extras, which can easily put the weight up to 7500lbs to 8000lbs (nearly 3 1/2 tons). There are a number of vehicles that will tow that sort of weight, but for one of several reasons they are not suitable for us. A pick up is no good - we need to carry Sally's wheelchair. Ford make an Econoline van, the Excursion, and more recently the Expedition, Chevrolet make the Suburban, the Tahoe and GMC the Yukon. The problem is that the bigger engines also have stronger chassis and beefier suspension, so they tend to cost more. Also fewer are sold, so they keep their value in the second hand market. To buy a 'one ton' vehicle in reasonable condition will probably put $5000 on the cost of the car. If we could get away with a standard sort of vehicle it would be cheaper.
Example the Ford Econoline passenger van (minibus) comes as a standard 'half ton' configuration, with a 5.4l V8 engine. These are used by the hundred as rental vehicles which means that one and two year old vans can be bought quite cheaply. But the tow limit for these is 6900lbs, so putting out of reach the most popular TT's.
Would you believe that there is no easily obtainable list of TT weights? So I set myself the task of compiling a list of all the TT'savailable with a Gross Weight Limit of less than 7000lbs. Easy, until you realise that there are about 30 different companies, each with several ranges of TT, each range with a number of layouts, each with a number of options which affects the weight. Nevertheless I spent several days trawling the manufacturer’swebsites finding models which are below the weight limit. I have found 69. There area couple of dozen that have all the acceptable features (we don't want bunks).
So we have now come down to a basic specification for the rig that we want to buy:
A 2-3 year old Ford Econoline E150 passenger van, a 4- 6 year old Ford Excursion, a 4-6 year old Chevrolet Suburban 1500, a Chevrolet Express passenger van, a GMC Savannah1500, a GMC Yukon, or a Dodge Ram 1500 (although if we find a bigger truck we will be very pleased to consider it).
An ultralite Travel Trailer, preferably new, 26 ft long with a walk round double bed, a sofa, a dining area, awning, microwave, air conditioning. With either a gross weight of 6500lbs or a weight when empty of 4000lbs or less and a hitch weight of less than 700lbs.
All we have to do is go and find them when we get to Florida.
Which do we look for first? I will tell you when we get there.
Example the Ford Econoline passenger van (minibus) comes as a standard 'half ton' configuration, with a 5.4l V8 engine. These are used by the hundred as rental vehicles which means that one and two year old vans can be bought quite cheaply. But the tow limit for these is 6900lbs, so putting out of reach the most popular TT's.
Would you believe that there is no easily obtainable list of TT weights? So I set myself the task of compiling a list of all the TT'savailable with a Gross Weight Limit of less than 7000lbs. Easy, until you realise that there are about 30 different companies, each with several ranges of TT, each range with a number of layouts, each with a number of options which affects the weight. Nevertheless I spent several days trawling the manufacturer’swebsites finding models which are below the weight limit. I have found 69. There area couple of dozen that have all the acceptable features (we don't want bunks).
So we have now come down to a basic specification for the rig that we want to buy:
A 2-3 year old Ford Econoline E150 passenger van, a 4- 6 year old Ford Excursion, a 4-6 year old Chevrolet Suburban 1500, a Chevrolet Express passenger van, a GMC Savannah1500, a GMC Yukon, or a Dodge Ram 1500 (although if we find a bigger truck we will be very pleased to consider it).
An ultralite Travel Trailer, preferably new, 26 ft long with a walk round double bed, a sofa, a dining area, awning, microwave, air conditioning. With either a gross weight of 6500lbs or a weight when empty of 4000lbs or less and a hitch weight of less than 700lbs.
All we have to do is go and find them when we get to Florida.
Which do we look for first? I will tell you when we get there.
22 February 2007 Finance
Because we are away for such a long period we have got to make sure that we have sufficient funds to keep us going. This is where I hope that online banking and credit cards will be very helpful. I have spent some time this afternoon checking with various credit card companies to make sure that when they start getting bills from Florida that they don't stop the card to prevent fraud. We must also bear in mind that we will probably pay for the car and TT using a credit card, which may be a rather large lump of money and we would like it to happen smoothly.
08 February 2007 A new laptop!
We intend to keep in touch with the world using a laptop, so we have paid out to buy a new one (only the second totally new computer I have bought for Sally and I).
Although it may be cheaper to buy in the States by buying it here I can preload software and information about our holiday.
I hope that we can find cheap/free wifi networks in the states.
We have bought an Acer 5633 Intel duo core 2, with 120 GB HDD and 1024mb ram, 15.4" Screen. I am ashamed to say that we have also paid for a 3 year warrantee, as it includes accident insurance which is valid worldwide with courier collect and return. (Even in the U.S.).
Although it may be cheaper to buy in the States by buying it here I can preload software and information about our holiday.
I hope that we can find cheap/free wifi networks in the states.
We have bought an Acer 5633 Intel duo core 2, with 120 GB HDD and 1024mb ram, 15.4" Screen. I am ashamed to say that we have also paid for a 3 year warrantee, as it includes accident insurance which is valid worldwide with courier collect and return. (Even in the U.S.).
Hiring a car in Florida
We have now booked a hire car, which we will pick up at Orlando Airport.
We have chosen a minivan, as that should be able to take Sally's electric wheelchair.
We have booked through Airnet.co.uk as they appear to be the cheapest.
It appears to be cheaper to book a hire car in the UK than locally in Orlando!
The cost for 2 weeks is £325.00
we have booked it for 2 weeks as we hope to buy our own car reasonable quickly, however, it is possible to book it for a further week if necessary.
We have chosen a minivan, as that should be able to take Sally's electric wheelchair.
We have booked through Airnet.co.uk as they appear to be the cheapest.
It appears to be cheaper to book a hire car in the UK than locally in Orlando!
The cost for 2 weeks is £325.00
we have booked it for 2 weeks as we hope to buy our own car reasonable quickly, however, it is possible to book it for a further week if necessary.
06 February 2007 Phoning for the price of a Travel Trailer
Finding how much a Travel Trailer (TT) will cost is quite difficult.
There are many different makes of TT; I think about 30, each with their own range of model, each with variations based on size.
There are also many sites on the internet who sell TT’s; however prices seem to differ widely. I fear that Florida may be one of the more expensive places to buy a TT.
RV sales companies seem to base their prices on the Manufacturers recommended Retail Price, and then some knock 20-40% off, while others add all sorts of charges on. But which one is the con, which one is selling a rubbish TT and which one is just cutting the margin to get custom?
Often second hand prices are higher than new prices! Mind you caravanners in the UK have an over inflated opinion of the value of their caravans when they come to sell them. Basing the price of a private sale on the part-ex value offered by a caravan shop, so perhaps when one actually views them a reality check needs to be provided.
So, tonight I bit the bullet and actually phoned one of the cut price companies in the US RV-Direct.
I enquired about a new Jayco Jay Flight TT, 25RKS- basic price $17927, $20744 with all the extras, then on the phone I was offered it at $14750 as a towaway price!
I suppose I should now phone some in Florida and see if they do the same.
Sally suggests that it may be clearer when we actually get there and see them. I am not sure; salesmen have ways of making a simple price into a complicated profit.
Still we will see.
There are many different makes of TT; I think about 30, each with their own range of model, each with variations based on size.
There are also many sites on the internet who sell TT’s; however prices seem to differ widely. I fear that Florida may be one of the more expensive places to buy a TT.
RV sales companies seem to base their prices on the Manufacturers recommended Retail Price, and then some knock 20-40% off, while others add all sorts of charges on. But which one is the con, which one is selling a rubbish TT and which one is just cutting the margin to get custom?
Often second hand prices are higher than new prices! Mind you caravanners in the UK have an over inflated opinion of the value of their caravans when they come to sell them. Basing the price of a private sale on the part-ex value offered by a caravan shop, so perhaps when one actually views them a reality check needs to be provided.
So, tonight I bit the bullet and actually phoned one of the cut price companies in the US RV-Direct.
I enquired about a new Jayco Jay Flight TT, 25RKS- basic price $17927, $20744 with all the extras, then on the phone I was offered it at $14750 as a towaway price!
I suppose I should now phone some in Florida and see if they do the same.
Sally suggests that it may be clearer when we actually get there and see them. I am not sure; salesmen have ways of making a simple price into a complicated profit.
Still we will see.
02 February 2007 Filling in the Blanks
Once the commitment to go has been taken the next part is to put together some sort of plan of travel.
After browsing the internet it becomes clears that the popular, and expensive, spot is the Florida Keys. (Camping is over $100 a night in many places). It is high on our list of priorities, so we have to make a firm commitment to being there. John Pennekamp State Park has camping sites at $30 per night. However the reservation facility shows that the only availability is well into April, and we have to be back in Orlando for May 1st ish. What I have now learned, and can share with you, is that reservations can be made up to 11 months in advance and popular places do get booked up quickly.
So we have booked our first campsite, for 5 nights, and we don't even have a Travel Trailer (TT) to camp with!!!
From the sky its looks more like a piece of waste ground, but I am assured by my niece’s manager that it is a reasonable site.
After browsing the internet it becomes clears that the popular, and expensive, spot is the Florida Keys. (Camping is over $100 a night in many places). It is high on our list of priorities, so we have to make a firm commitment to being there. John Pennekamp State Park has camping sites at $30 per night. However the reservation facility shows that the only availability is well into April, and we have to be back in Orlando for May 1st ish. What I have now learned, and can share with you, is that reservations can be made up to 11 months in advance and popular places do get booked up quickly.
So we have booked our first campsite, for 5 nights, and we don't even have a Travel Trailer (TT) to camp with!!!
From the sky its looks more like a piece of waste ground, but I am assured by my niece’s manager that it is a reasonable site.
Research - Finding our more about Florida
I remember that when we were in Los Angeles once you were actually in a hotel it was quite difficult to actually find and organise what you really wanted to do. So now that there is so much info on the internet, now is the time to find out what we want to do, and where we want to go. The State Parks offer a lot of scope to see the best of the history, culture, nature and geography of Florida. I find it difficult to comprehend just how big Florida is. From pictures and information it seems crowded, but it is about the size of the UK, with a third of the population, so some of their State Parks are large and wild. They still have bear and panther in the wild, as well as the more obvious alligators. Browsing the State Parks has thrown up exciting places such as Manatee Lake, The Suwannee river (yes, Way Down Upon The .....), the home of Steven Foster (who wrote it), The everglades, the Keys and loads more.
The difficulty is to know the best way to file all this information.
The difficulty is to know the best way to file all this information.
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