Oh for the Simple life

Monday Evening.
Picked up another Chance Card!
Bates RV had said they would put the Trailer onto our site at Tampa East (next door to them). But they didn’t. Oops!
We had to deploy a back up bonus card and stay at a local motel for the night. Motel 6
Not bad, this meant we were forced to go to the Waffle House for breakfast. Surprisingly it was quite yummy. They cooked the food right there in front of you and though it was simple it was good.
Fortified by breakfast we entered the fray at Bates RV.
What ensued there could so easily be full of meaningful detail, but would probably appear quite trite. Sufficient to say that we were underwhelmed by their communication skills and organisational capability. The trouble is that the people who work in the Service Department are really very nice. But their receptionists cannot remember to pass on messages. Their body shop workers, while keeping themselves in a job by damaging panels of our trailer against a wall could not actually fix all the parts, leaving work to be done on the repair, because he forgot that he had damaged one of the trims at the same time. Doh!. They have an ordering system by which given a choice of two sofa’s to replace, because of faulty upholstery material, cannot, even after writing it down about four times, order the correct one! So we have a brand new sofa to replace the one which was not damaged. But they are now going to have to chase us up country to replace the defective one. But a work record system which lost our snagging list about three times, leaving them asking us what they were supposed to be doing! But bless them, they do try. Linda, the manager, when we told her what had happened (she, being the manager said, and I can believe it, she knew nothing of the arrangement to place the trailer at Tampa East, even though we had made the arrangement with her in December. She wondered why we had not phoned on the Monday to remind them. I pointed out that we could have phoned at 5.00 in the morning when we took off from Manchester, but felt that no one would be really interested at that time. We had phoned on the Friday and spoken to Richard (he’s the one that looks like the guy in ‘fifty first date’, is it Adam Sandler?) to remind him. He said OK sure thing, no trouble.) So he is not in on Tuesday (can you blame him), so Linda phones him and says “I have Mr and Mrs Phillippe here, they want to tell you how much they enjoyed staying in a motel last night”. Truthfully though, they did refund our motel cost, which was nice. Meanwhile, this all happened in Linda’s office, and a dear sweet receptionist, who kept saying that Linda was bearable after a good cup of coffee (I am not sure who was supposed to drink the coffee), was trying to calm the waters by making everyone (well Linda really) a coffee, also in her office, however having the standard skills of a BatesRV receptionist, she had no idea how to make ground coffee, so half way through our conversation we could see the coffee boil over, flooding the desk, wall and floor of Linda’s office with strong coffee and grounds, which when we pointed it out to them took three technicians (RV menders really) and a receptionist to stop the flood. French Farce was one theme that kept passing through my brain. We went out to the trailer and went through the snagging list again, and admired the nice new ladder they had fitted. It is strongly attached to the back bumper, the rear walls of the trailer and the roof itself (this was nice and they had done it very cheaply for us. You don’t realise how much of a comfort it is to know that I can get up on the roof now, I certainly sleep easier). One of them tested it first and it seemed OK, so we were happy with that. Good job done.
Anyway, we seem to have got most things sorted out (apart from the sofa which will be delivered some time in March, oh and the electric hot water heater (which died on us in October, which after several hours of them saying “it works” and us saying “it doesn’t” they admitted had been recalled and we would get a new one anyway), which they will refit at the same time). So we said a temporary goodbye and took the trailer on round to Tampa East RV.
As we were just leaving one of the guys, Billy, who is very nice and seems to know what he is talking about, came over somewhat sheepishly over, though I figured he came to say goodbye (because they are all right neighbourly) carrying a nice new sewer hose kit, nice red one, with the 90 degree bend and two lengths of hose that clip together, still in its box. I said “Hi Billy, we are just off, we’ll see you. Do you know we’ve got a sewer hose just like that one”. He said “Yep, I know that, this one is for you, because, you see, as we were fitting the ladder we had to drill through the bumper to fix the ladder to it”. What, good readers from England, you may not know, but which every RV’er in the States knows, (except apparently those who fit ladders to the rear of RV’s) is that the rear bumper is hollow and you use it to store your sewer hose. So we now have a brand new sewer hose, unfortunately at the moment we can’t store it in the correct place because there are 2 large bolts stopping us putting it away.
So today (Wed) as we are packing up to leave, Good Old Matt arrives with a piece of trim (you remember the trim?), which he has lovingly removed from another Starcraft Trailer, and proceeds to fit it while we are packing away. Still, job done!

Moving on to Sertoma
We packed up our trailer and have moved on to Sertoma Youth Ranch. Some loyal readers may remember that we stayed here last November for the Thanksgiving Bluegrass Meet and then stayed on to join The Soggy Bottom Bluegrass Bunch. We have now returned to join in with their Hog Roast Weekend.
While on the road we saw a fascinating sight. We stopped for lunch at a roadside pull in, a bit like a motorway service centre, but with no petrol station or café. Very similar to the Aires they have on French motorways.
We stopped in the truck section, so that it is easy to park. We were close by a couple of low loaders, each with half a large mobile home on them. As we stopped we noticed that there was a pick up truck which was stopped off the paved area, half hidden in the dense undergrowth and trees. It seemed a strange place to leave a truck. In fact we both commented on it at the same time. As we sat there the driver of one of the trucks and a woman came round from behind the mobile home. They threw there arms up and ran for the truck. It seems that they had got out of the truck and walked away without putting the brakes on. The truck had rolled away, over the edge of the car park and off into the trees. Fortunately nothing but their pride was damaged. They looked very sheepish as they reversed the truck out, clearing braches and leaves from the front. The only casualty was the big flag they have to carry on the front bumper. The pole was badly bent and the flag had ripped off in the undergrowth. This made for a very entertaining lunch.
We arrived at Sertoma in good time and were greeted enthusiastically by Karen, the manager, who greeted us like long lost friends. Yes, it is nice to be back.

In Flight The Travel Bored Game

We are here! Again! Safely!

We had a really good, low stress flight. If you remove the fact that the plane was delayed 1 ½ hours.

Please skip the rest of this unless you want to read about my smugness at beating queues in the airport.

In Flight – The Travel Bored Game.

Anyone can play. For the whole family.
Aim of the game is to move round the board, from home to resort, as quickly as possible, with the least stress, for the least amount of money. The winner is the person/team who gets to their destination with the fewest Stress Points.
Use your skill and judgement to manage your stress by making decisions about where and when to fly, how you get to and from airports., before you start the game.
Free with every pack of In Flight.
The travel version of ‘Airport jeopardy’.
On every throw of the dice you get a ‘Chance’ Card’ or play ‘Bonus Cards’ earned while using the Internet:

Basic rule: if this is your first playing of the game you must wear a blindfold for the whole time.

The game is in two parts. Time spent in planning and on the internet can earn you Bonus Cards which can be used to reduce stress, save time or money.

Read On

Sunday we had a lovely lunch and afternoon with Carol and Ron, Dee, Steve, Beth and Sam. Ron had done a lovely job on the mandolin that was given to me by Paula.
We drove over to Manchester and found the Travelodge – the one at Knutsford Stavely is quite comfortable – only £19 p.r. if you book 3 weeks ahead.
Next morning a quick drive (Threw a 4 for traffic congestion) to Terminal 2 and drop the car (threw a 4 for what to do with the car while we are away) with the Meet and Greet man from Global parking, who are very good.
Picked up a chance card – Virgin Atlantic plane delayed by 1 ½ hours.
Through baggage drop (threw a 4) in 10 minutes. Straight through security (4 again). Though this left us waiting for 3 hours, it gave us time for breakfast.
We had good seats on the plane, right at the back there are 4 rows where the window seats only have two not three seats (I had used a Bonus Card when we booked the flight). This gave us a bit more room and freedom to squirm and move. But it is a long flight.
Moving through Orlando was almost perfect. Right at the back, almost last off. Sally’s wheelchair was waiting. Through to immigration (finger and eye check). Huge queues at all check ins – (bonus for double six) except handicapped. Straight through in about 10 minutes. Now about 10th off flight to get baggage. No queues now. Straight through agriculture and customs (Another 6). Drop off baggage again. One more security check (shoes off and full works job), no queue (another 6). Shuttle train waiting. Baggage appeared 2 minutes after we did (Yet another 6). Downstairs for the car hire. Big queue at Dollar! Went to Express Lane (played a Bonus Card, picked up by using the Internet), Only one person in front, showed card and driving licences and away we went. Crossed the road and collected our Dodge Nitro (Another bonus card – using Dollar Platinum, booked in the UK - £25 a day, all insurances, any driver, full tank of gas, drop off anywhere in Florida). We were underway to Tampa East 1 hour and 10 minutes after touch down. It’s a warm evening and we are safely back, with as little stress as we could possibly manage. Unbelievable.

D Day minus 2

It's only two days before we set off to Manchester. Terry has been working in a local school and doing things for our trip when he gets home. Quite tiring so he is ready for a long break. I've been doing all the necessary things to get ready for the trip as well as having plenty of rest, to try to get my energy levels up again after my relapse. Everything is done now except for the packing which we will do tomorrow - Saturday. On Sunday we will just have to pack the last minute things , close up the house ( dealing with the rubbish - trash- turning the heating down- setting the timers for the lights etc) and then we are travelling to Manchester, stopping at Ron and Carol's on the way. We are going to pick up Terry's mandolin ( thank you Paula) which Ron has repaired and got in working order again. Ron is a wizz where anything to do with wood is concerned - many thanks Ron. It will be good to see them again as it was in between Christmas and New Year when we saw them last. Plenty of catching up to do. Hope we see more of each other when the camping season gets going again. After a night in a motel at Manchester, we fly out on Monday morning arriving at Orlando 2.45 local time. Lets hope the strong winds we are having at the moment die down or we might have a bumpy flight.

Preparations

16th January 2008

We cannot believe that it's only 12 days till we board the 'plane and fly to Orlando again. It's been a busy time since our return on 5th December. Our daughter, Helen, who lives with us, got her H2B visa which allows her to work in the USA. She only had 5 days after our return to get ready for her return to Breckenridge, Colorado, where she is working in the Day Care facility near the ski slopes. There was a lot to do - shopping, washing, packing, Christmas presents to organise etc. etc. Terry drove her down to Manchester in the early morning on Dec. 10th and made sure she got on the plane safely. She is really enjoying working there and has settled in very quickly. This is her second time as she worked there last winter too.
Getting ready for Christmas was a scramble - thank goodness we had brought quite a lot of things from the USA with us. Our eldest son, John-Paul, wife Andrea and granddaughter Emma spent Christmas with us. We were given the best of Christmas presents when we were told that we are expecting another grandchild this year. Lovely. Then Terry and I flew to see the New Year in with our second son, Andrew, wife Marie and our grandson Ben.
I, Sally, overdid things over the holiday period and ended up back in bed for over a week with a relapse of CFS/ME. I'm back on my feet but am having to be careful to rest much more than usual. Hope I survive the flight.
Terry has been his usual efficient self and booked everything for our journey - flight tickets, motel, hire car etc and has booked us into various campsites and music festivals. He's been in touch with our dealer who is doing warranty repairs to our trailer - still not completed, but we are hoping they finish before we pick it up. I've been sorting out insurance and things we need to take.
We are looking forward to our next trip, mainly because we hope to meet up with various lovely people we have met on previous trips. We are getting excited about hearing and playing more Bluegrass and are dying to get back to some sunshine after our dull skies and cold, damp/wet weather here in England.

The Florida Necklace

This is the end of this journal. We have been in Florida for 2 months, our holiday this time has been very special , We had a lovely month with Carol and Ron, when we watched the Shuttle take off, we have met so many lovely people and saw some fabulous wild life. We swum in the Atlantic and in the Gulf. In November we immersed ourselves into the culture of Florida, spending a lot of time at festivals, meeting people and making new friends.

The route map of our journey is like a thread that has been weaved through Florida. As we have moved from place to place we have discovered little gems, each one a different shape, colour or texture, maybe a person, a place, a sound. But each one special. Each jewel has been threaded onto journey. We have reached the end of this trip and can look back and see what has become a necklace of precious experiences which will remain with us as we make our long journey home

We are of course on a tour of the whole of the USA, however, we have made lots of lovely friends in Florida, so we are going to stay in Florida for our next break. There is another Shuttle launch, a Hog Roast at the Soggy Bottom Club, another meeting of the WSWFBA, acouple of Bluegrass Festivals and Connie has invited us to her birthday party, and we still haven’t seen the panhandle of Florida yet.

Thank you to all who have patiently read of our travels, we hope that you will join us again on our next adventure.

On Our Long Journey Home

Sunday saw us pack up and head south to East Tampa RV Park, where we washed, cleaned and packed everything away into cupboards, or suitcases. One suitcase was completely full of toys, new clothes and gifts for everyone at Christmas.

We rented a car, stayed in a motel on the Monday night, dropped the trailer and truck off at Bates RV and drove up to Orlando. In what seems to be becoming a tradition we had our last meal at an IHOP, this one on Bronson Highway, Kissemmee. Then drove the car to the airport. Our return flight was quite smooth, its certainly speeds things up to check in on line before hand. We landed back in Manchester at 7.00 in the morning, the car was waiting for us at the airport and we were home by lunchtime. The end of another great time in Florida

The Light Parade in Dade City

Friday – On our visit to Dade City we had discovered that there was to be a parade tonight. A parade of Lights no less. Dade city is a small town of a few thousand people, it is quite rural, it has a main street (called Main St), a town hall, a courthouse, several sheriffs and deputies, a High School and several elementary schools. It is big enough to have a Wal Mart, though not a Super Wal Mart. We were told the parade would start at 7.00, so I took a chair, with Sally in her power chair, and we drove into Dade City. Sally, with her usual panic, wanted to get there about 6.30. we drove into town, up Main St, to find that the street was already lined with people, all with their garden chairs, (most people at public events carry chairs with them and think nothing of sitting down in the street. Most of the bluegrass festivals we went to had no chairs provided, you brought your own), waiting for the parade to start. We parked and went back to Main St and only just managed to find a space to sit. On our left was a large and noisy local family, to our right was a couple who had just arrived from Indiana, behind us was a family with a cheerlead daughter, who had just left one of the high school bands as their principle cheerleader and she gave a running commentary on the bands. Speakers on the roadside kept us informed of the event, with the town mayor doing the commentary. The parade stared early at about 6.50, with a fire engine and police car blaring away. Closely followed by a school marching band, then came the sheriffs on horse back, followed by a little man who collected all the horse droppings. The came all manner of floats, cars, trailers, people, dancers, twirlers, cheerleaders, gymnasts, horses, Golf buggies, Monster trucks, hot rods and carts. There were four school marching bands and a civil war re-enactment society. Each float entered by a business or charity. All were lit up with Christmas lights and every participant seemed to be throwing things in to the crowd, sweets, necklaces, toys. Each wanted to outdo the previous float. There were plenty of kids, who ran out in the road to collect the booty, in a most reckless way, no one seemed to object and saw it as part of the fun of the night. Most of the parade was local, but it went on for 2 hours, until 8.45!!!!. A great night.

The Soggy Bottom Bunch were well under way with jam sessions when we returned, as they wre all weekend, I joined in on some and we had a great weekend. We are now officially paid up members of the Soggy Bottom Bluegrass Club.

Tuesday

. On Tuesday we went to the “Rogers Christmas House and Village” shop, five houses dedicated to Christmas stuff, mostly decorations. This was a lovely piece of escapism for us, though we managed to get away with only spending a few dollars. There is a video on Myspace (not mine) http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=21959514

By Wednesday the gang was stating to drift back to Sertoma, Paula came and invited us to eat at Connie and Jim’s, so we went over and had a bite to eat and a jam session

Thursday – The run up to leaving starts with a load of washing (spare bedding and clothes that were to be left behind. As our tours progress we want to leave more stuff behind, so that we have less to carry backwards and forwards across the Atlantic), so a visit to Dade City was called for, where we there is a launderette and we had a pleasant wander around and a lunch in a garden café, looked a bit greasy spoon, but actually it was very tasty, particularly the pumpkin cake.

Monday

The Bluegrass music has died down, the RV’s have gone and we are almost alone at the Sertoma ranch. We have decided to stay on at Sertoma for this week, so that we can take part in the Soggy Bottom Bunch Jam weekend. This will mean that we cut it fine for packing up to come home, but what the heck, we are supposed to be on holiday. However the slower pace this week will allow us to catch up on a few bits, notably Tagging the car and trailer and catching up on Christmas shopping. Tagging the car proved easier than I thought, we just handed over the old receipt and picked up the new tag (plus money changed hands). Joyous news today, Helen had returned to the US Embassy and succeeded in getting a visa to go back to Breckenridge for the winter. So she now plans to be flying out on December 10th

Thanksgiving At Sertoma

Thanksgiving at Sertoma starts early. The Ranch provides the turkey and everyone brings a ‘covered dish’ to contribute. They start on Wednesday evening cooking the turkeys in giant BBQ’s. They stay up all night to cook them and people come and go all night to talk and pass the time with the team of cooks. Everyone is welcome to come and get dinner, then the music on the stage stats at about 3.00 and goes on util about 10.00.

Due to the kindness of Connie and Jim we had been invited to the Soggy Bottom Bunch thanksgiving dinner, which was centred round Connie and Jim’s and Brenda and David’s RV’s. Connie had got up at 6.00 to roast a 22b turkey in a giant electric roaster, by 12.00 people were starting to gather at their RV. Everyone helped to set out the food that had been brought. Turkey, Sweet Potatoes, mashed potatoes, scalloped potatoes, potato salad, hash potato salad, sweet potato stuffing, bread stuffing, two other stuffing’s that were indescribable. Loads of different salads, fresh fruit (yes with your dinner), Cranberry jelly and sauce, apple sauce and pickles. You couldn’t get a sample of everything on a single plate, you had to take at least two turns at the table, Let alone getting a lot of dishes which were particularly nice. After this we had to eat the desserts, apple pie, sweet potato pie, pumpkin pie, pecan pie and cherry pie. Brownies and bits.

The real joy was that Connie and Jim had opened their RV/home to us as complete strangers, we almost felt that we were part of their family. The afternoon moved on and we then got round to playing some bluegrass together. We finished at about midnight, though Sally went to bed at about 9.00, exhausted. It was another lovely day for Sally and me.