FOR SALE

FOR SALE

2001 KENWORTH T2000  $28,000

2009 SMART PASSION COUPE  $6,500

$33,000 PACKAGE DEAL

Make:  KENWORTH

Model: T2000

Year: 2001

Miles: 620,000

ENGINE, TRANSMISSION, and REAR AXLE

• Cummins N14 460 hp
• Eaton Fuller Autoshift 10 gear transmission
• 3.55 rear tandem axles
• Locking differential
• Three-stage Jake brake
• Engine block heater

BODY

• 222 inch Wheelbase
• Power windows
• Daylight driving lights
• 22.5 inch Aluminum wheels
• Michelin steers with 3/9/2010 manufacture date
• Bridgestone drives with 4/8/2011 manufacture date
• Dual 120 gallon fuel tanks

CABIN

• Bunk beds
• Air ride leather seats
• Bedside cabinet with 3 drawers
• Wardrobe
• Overhead storage space

EXTRA’s

• Trailer Saver 32,000 lb Hitch
• Diamond plate custom Smart Car bed and side-load ramps
• Heated mirrors
• Air conditioning - front cab and rear bunk area
• Power steering
• Tilt steering wheel
• Cruise control
• Sony AM/FM Radio plus CD Player & iPod connection with removable faceplate
• Registered in Ohio as RV

Make:  Smart

Model: Passion Coupe

Year: 2009

Miles: 80,000

Our Full-Timing Adventure is Over

Time to catch everyone up on our latest adventures.  After working in Ohio for a couple of weeks Nan and I headed down to Florida for my Mom’s big 90th birthday party.  Between family members and friends there were about 80 people attending.  My brother Don and his wife Sue arrived a few days before the party so we all went to a wildlife preserve near Brooksville, FL.  The guy running the park used to run the local zoo, but he decided to spread his wings and open this park.

On Sunday, June 24, 2012 we all got together for the big party.  Unfortunately Tropical Storm Debbie decided to show up.  We planned an indoor party so as long as we stayed indoors nobody got wet.  We all had a good time and plenty of food.  The storm hung around for a few days and Nan and I were wading in ankle-deep water to the door of the RV.  We were luckier than some since they got flooded out.

After spending a week in Brooksville Nan and I started heading for Ohio.  After about 300 miles our AC gave out on the truck.  I’ve never seen our cat pant before.  We spent one night in Mt Airy, NC and listened to our weather radio saying “If you live in a mobile home seek shelter in a low-lying ditch” - so that was exciting.  Except for some strong winds that storm missed us.

The next day we continued on to Ohio in about 90 degree weather.  Just south of Canton I decided to top off the tanks and put some fuel stabilizer in since I knew I would not be using much fuel in the next couple of months.  Nan said she need to use the bathroom so I told her to go in and pay first.  I thought she would use the bathroom in the station so I filled up and started to pull away from the pump.  I looked in the side-view mirror and notice the step was down to enter the RV.  Nan was inside the RV sitting on the toilet.  She said she heard me start the engine and grabbed on to the sink so she wouldn’t fall off.  As I pulled away the pee was sloshing back and forth in the bowl.  Luckily I only moved about 10 feet before I saw the step was down and quickly stopped.  It turns out after driving several hours in 90 degree heat we have a failure to communicate.

While all this traveling was going on this summer Nan and I were negotiating to buy a house.  We found one in Roaming Shores, Ohio in Ashtabula County at the NE corner of the State.  It’s a village with a population of about 1,500 on a 550 acre private lake that’s about 3 miles long an 1/2 mile wide.  Title is to transfer on August 1.  Since it’s a lakefront home that means I’m going to keep working part-time for a few years.  I wanted to keep our RV and truck and use that to travel to jobs, but because of HOA restrictions we can’t keep the rig in our driveway.  Since there’s no inside storage facilities that are high enough to fit us, I decided to put the rig up for sale and buy a smaller motorhome.  When I called my insurance agent to tell her that after 3 years of a full-time RV lifestyle Nan finally won, she said “Well, you put up a good fight.  Your comrades would be proud”.

When I read my entries in this blog we had a lot of adventures.  It will be roughly 3 years to the day that we started traveling.  Although we will still have an RV it won’t be full-time living, and we will now be traveling in a normal RV.  So I will never hear the question again “Don’t you think that truck is a little overkill?”

Dolphin Tour

We are on our way down to Florida for a big party for my Mom.  She turns 90 this month.  Right now we are by Jekyll Island, Georgia.  Today we went on a Dolphin Tour boat.  We got lucky and saw a couple of dolphins getting lucky.  If we come back next year there should be a baby dolphin swimming with this pair.  I also put in a picture of a sailboat sitting in the mud.  The dock owner said that a guy bought that boat a month ago for $1.00 on Craigslist.  The boat was leaking some, sunk a little, and got stuck under the dock.  The boat owner is now claiming that the dock owner should have taken more care of his boat.  When he made that claim the dock owner had to get a lawyer and decided to remove the boat from his dock - so now it sits in the mud.

An update on the house.  We have a signed contract, home inspection, and loan approval.  Title is suppose to transfer on August 1.  We are keeping our fingers crossed.

Looking for a house

I haven't posted anything for some time, so I thought I would give an update.  Not much has happened until today.  The big event was that Nan and I fed some carp - but more on that later.  After we left Hickory, NC I had a 2-week job in SW Indiana.  Then we went to Tenn for the East Coast HDT rally.  It was good seeing old friends and meeting new ones.  We then headed north to Ohio.  We stayed in Jefferson, OH for 3 weeks.  It's close to Roaming Shores, OH where we are looking for a house.  We haven't purchased anything yet, but there is one house we like.  Unfortunately for us the seller has not been financially devestated like so many other sellers in this market.   We'll see if we can come to an agreement on the price.

On Memorial Day we left the Jefferson campground and went to Andover, OH - about 45 minutes away.  The campground is right by Pymatuning Lake.  They have a spillway for the lake were people feed the carp.  They say that the carp are so thick that the ducks walk on the backs of the carp rather than swim in the water.  We bought 3 bags of carp food and let it fly.  Those of you with refined taste may not be as excited viewing the video as Nan and I were.

Hunger Games Movie Site

I'm working in North Carolina for a couple of weeks. Last Friday the movie Hunger Games opened up. It turns out a lot of the movie was shot in the Hickory, NC area. Nan and I drove out today to check out the site even though we haven't seen the movie. The property is an old cotton mill known as the Henry River Mill Village. It's currently owned by an 83 year old gentleman that has it up for sale for $1.4 million. That sounds like a good deal since a Prevost motorhome goes for $1.7 million.

In Ohio Again

I had a 2-week job in the Cleveland area, so we are spending some time living with Nan's mom. The job was from 2/27 to 3/8. Aftr the job we spent some more time in Chesterland, and we plan on leaving this Wednesday, 3/21 for North Carolina. Nan and I looked at a house in Roaming Shores, Ohio. Tomorrow we look at 2 more. The search is on.

Today we spent the day at Nan's brother's house. He lives in the country, so he invited his friend Vince and 2 sons out for some shooting. We did some trap shooting with our shotguns, pistol shooting, and rifle shooting. The big excitement was shooting Mark's AR 50 - a 50 caliper rifle. In the picture you see the bullet next to a 22 bullet. Each bullet costs $3.00 (for the cheap ones).

Olustee Battle

I’m working in northern Florida for a couple of weeks. I had Friday through Monday off this weekend for President’s Day. Jan and Paul stayed in our campground for the long weekend on their way to middle Florida. They are the couple we met at the axle repair place in Whitehorse, Yukon, on the way to Alaska.

Jan and Paul has been having trouble with a mouse or meece in their RV. They have a dog and 2 pussy cats, but apparently the hunting instinct has been bred out of them. Paul said he saw the mouse running across the mantle by the TV in the family room. The 2 pussies saw the mouse and ran into the other room. The dog never noticed any of this. Paul set several traps, but the mouse kept eating the bait and not setting off the trap. Finally it ate so much food over several days that the extra weight caused it to set off the trap. One more problem solved.

We celebrated Roxy’s 9th birthday with them. In the video you can see the 3 of them singing to her. I had to keep the camera steady so I was unable to participate. We also went to the Olustee Civil War battle reenactment. According to the lady that owns the campground, this battle is a big deal since it is the only one that the South won in Florida during the Civil War. Friday the 4 of us went downtown where they closed off the streets so vendors could set up their booths. Paul and I shared a fried Twinkie. Saturday we went to the Battlefield at the Olustee State Park. While walking around we saw a medical tent where they showed how to amputate an arm, or pluck out an eyeball. The little kids loved the demonstration. We also saw an authentic plastic cooler with old fashioned Bud Light in it. Some people take this stuff very seriously. We then went to the battlefield where they reenacted the battle.

Fort De Soto County Park

Although the campground in Bowling Green, FL is a nice place, there isn't much for Roxy to do here. We take her for walks around the campground, but there's no place to swim or run. She gets so bored that we thought about changing her name to cigarette because we have to take her for a drag rather than a walk. I decided to drive 1 1/2 hours yesterday to go to Fort De Soto County Park that has a dog beach by Tampa Bay. She couldn't believe it when I put on her "fun" collar that we use for swimming or hunting. After swimming in the bay she puked up some salt water. She's never been happier. Today she's sleeping it off.

Sebring, FL

We are still in Bowling Green, FL. Last night Nan and I played poker at a nearby Thousand Trails campground. We both got bumped out of the first tournament, but the second one Nan got first place for $35, I got second place for $20, and I got high hand for $13. Our investment for the 2 tournaments was $24, so you can do the math.

Today Nan wanted to go shopping in Sebring, FL. While there we stopped at the Sebring International Raceway. There were a lot of non race cars going around the track. I asked some guy what was going on. He said during the workers' lunch break you can pay $30 and take your car around the track about 3 times. You follow a pace car so you can't go that fast. The track is 3.7 miles long. If I ever get something faster than a Smart Car that may be something to do someday.

Boston

I have a 2-week job in the Boston area, so I flew north to the frigid tundra while Nan waits for me in Florida. Today is Saturday so I took a trolley tour around Boston. The tour was $42 which was worth it, but the nearby parking garage was $35. That seemed a little steep. The tour guide had an interesting story about Paul Revere and his midnight ride in 1775. Apparently Paul picked up 2 other men on the way. One guy fell off his horse and broke his leg. Paul got captured by the British. The other man, Samuel Prescott, finished the ride and warned the people that the British were coming. Then in 1861 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow decided to write a poem about the midnight ride. Unfortunately for Samuel, not much rhymes with Prescott. But there are a lot of words that rhyme with Revere. As a result, Paul Revere got all the credit. In Boston they also have a statue of Christopher Columbus who was a slave trader that decided to call Native Americans indians only because he was lost. But that's a whole other story.

Tampa RV Show

We stayed with my mom until 1/1/2012, then headed to Clermont, FL to one of our favorite Thousand Trails campgrounds. We can stay for free but had to pay $30 for our 10-night stay to get upgraded to 50 amp electric service. That was no problem since they have 2 Texas Hold-em tournemants each night that only cost $6.00. The first night I got first place each game and won enough to pay for our electric. Nan and I played each night and won much more than we lost.

We left Clermont on 1/11 and went to Tampa for the big RV show. We stayed in a space at the fairgrounds that had electric, but no water or sewer. We came with 90 gallons of fresh water in our tank. I wasn't sure how hard it would be to live for 5 days with only 90 gallons for showers, toilet, kitchen, etc. But we leave tomorrow and have plenty of water left. Since Nan did such a good job conserving water I'm going to let her take a shower tomorrow morning.

Nan and I have talked about getting a motorhome in a few years after getting a house. It would be easier for me to go on jobs by myself in a motorhome rather than our current rig. We saw some nice ones that should be in our price range once they are a few years old and being sold as used. We also looked at the Prevost motorhomes that usually go for $1.7 million to $2.4 million. If I ever become a lobbyist I may be able to afford one of these, but for now I'll stick with something less expensive.