BACK IN FLORIDA! OCTOBER 20-31, 2014

Our first destination in Florida was to the Elks Lodge in St. Augustine. 5 days to relax, warm up and enjoy bikes and beach time.

After 5 nights at the Elks we left Saturday morning and drove I-75 to Paradise RV Park in Fort Lauderdale where we would store the RV for a week and enjoy celebrating Paul's 65th birthday with a Caribbean Cruise.  Once we got everything set up we found a great place for a special Happy Birthday Happy Hour at Flip Flops right along the Inter Coastal Waterway; sitting in the sun watching the boats and water taxi passing by, it doesn't get much better than that.

 Sunday was World Series time with the Giants playing Kansas City.

 Before the game I decided to weed the little cactus garden at out campsite.

 After about 2 hours of pulling and tugging on the weeds that were strangling the plants I had it looking pretty good.  I don't know why working in a garden give me such happiness, but it does!

 We left the motorhome at the site for the rest of the week and had found home boarding for Foster in Lake Worth with wonderful woman, Alberta.

One more afternoon at Flip Flops on Sunday once the packing was all done and Foster was settled in with his new friends, Taz and Alberta. Though it's hard to leave him, he seems so happy to be spending time with new doggies and Taz was a cutie. 

 Monday one of the ladies at the park gave us a ride to the Cruise Terminal and we boarded Royal Carribbean's Vision of the Seas for a 5 day cruise.

 Sailing out of Fort Lauderdale is always beautiful!

 Our first port of call was Roatan, Honduras. We were met at the dock with a colorful local band and dancers.

We joined a small bus tour of the island which included a little boat ride to see ship wrecks along the coast. Most of the area was flooded from rains the day before.

 Cute little bungalows at a nearby resort.

 The sky was becoming darker and we hoped we'd get out boat ride before it came down....

 but just as we were half way out to the wreck the sky let loose!

 There was a small awning on the little boat but it didn't do much to keep us dry. I think we laughed the whole way back as the boat would turn and the water on the roof would fall on all of us.

 Then the rain was over for the rest of the day and we continue on to see other parts of the island.

 Several stops to see the views and enjoy local crafts, food and more dancing.

 The beautiful thatched roof open air rooms were lovely surrounded by palm trees.

 Back at the port we found these two and listened to their music while enjoying a refreshing local beer

 The next two days were at sea which we love the most. And, we were excited to see that the cruise ship was showing the World Series games on the big screen outside by the pool. It wasn't the best weather for watching a game outdoors, but we could duck under some shelter when it started to rain.  We were one of very few SF fans out watching but what a fun experience to see the Giants win the pennant.

Our cruise only had one more port and that was Cozumel.  We got off the ship but didn't go into town.  Just found some wifi at a nearby cafe and enjoyed the view.

 Friday, Oct. 31st was our last sea day and we joined the young female Captain, the crew and others walking the deck for "Walk For Wishes". A beautiful day before returning to Ft. Lauderdale Saturday morning.

 Halloween on board our last evening was lots of fun!

We were off the ship by 8:00 Saturday and back to the RV park.  After dropping our bags we drove  a little north to pick up Foster.  We had a big drive ahead of us going further south to The Elks Lodge near Key Largo. It had been a great birthday week on the cruise and Paradise RV Park was a perfect place for the time we were gone. Gotta remember that one.

WOODROW WILSON & WAYNESBORO, VA OCTOBER 18-19, 2014

We were amazed at the change in the power of the RV after the week of repairs.  We were keeping a steady speed of 65 mph going up and along the little hills that had been a challenge the week or two before.  So very happy that things were working better.  We left really early from our camping site at Bill's Transmissions yard and drove further south. I didn't want to miss seeing the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum in nearby Staunton, VA. It was only 65 miles south on I-81 and there was a nearby Elks Lodge on the hill in Waynesboro, a few mies east.  Perfect for a two night stay!

We joined the guided tour of President Wilson's birthplace, a beautifully restored Greek Revival mansion where he was born in 1856. It's furnished with Wilson family treasures and period pieces. 

The President's Pierce-Arrow Limousine is the highlight of the museum along with the new World War I trench exhibit with sights and sounds to give the experience of what life was like for soldiers engaged in battle.

 The museum is designed with severn galleries which explore his presidency; suffrage, prohibition and World War I.

 It was a beautiful fall day in the town as we walked all around Staunton.  Not much going on the day we were there, though it looked like a bike event was coming through town, streets were closed off and a sound stage was set up in the middle of town.

 We walked by historic Trinity Church but it was closed that afternoon. I had wanted to see the stained glass windows by Tiffany, next time.

Not far from the Wilson family home is Mary Baldwin College, the oldest institution of higher learning for women in the nation affiliated with the Presbyterian Church. A beautiful campus.

 Saturday had been cold and cloudy but we woke to gorgeous skies on Sunday.  We had a long day of driving ahead of us.  I drove the car for about an hour through the Blue Ridge Mountains before we hooked it up onto the dolly for the rest of the day. We drove 380 miles, I64 to US 29S of Charlottesville.  A great route , beautiful trees with little traffic.
From US 29 to I-73 another beautiful drive. On US 52 we went through the darling town of Cheraw, antebellum houses and birthplace of Dizzy Gillespie.  We didn't stop but I think I sure would next time.  The Cheraw State Park is just south of town.

The afternoon was warm by the time we arrived at the Sumter Elks.  The lodge isn't open on Sunday, the parking lot looked a little too deserted to stay the night so I called the nearby Poinsettia State Park to see if they had a site available.  The ranger was just closing down and assigned us site #23, a pull through. We drove the 25 miles out into the South Carolina woods, a narrow windy road 6 miles off the main highway to get to the park itself.  It was one of the first times we've had a dirt road into a state park, but it was pretty, very wooded and perfect for an over night stay. Long days but almost to Florida before the weather changed. Now that the motorhome was running so well, w were making great time too.

FAMILY TIME in BALTIMORE, MD and CAR REPAIRS IN VA October 9-17, 2014

Leaving Ephrata Elks, PA we had the best of intentions to make an early drive to our next destination,

Frederick Elks Lodge in Maryland.  Packed up early, got on the road, and all was going well the first hour or so then a loud noise.  Couldn't ignore the fact that something had broken.  Being only 10 miles from the good sized town of York, PA, Paul made a few calls and we found a truck mechanic who would look at the engine and see what was wrong. It didn't take long to find a broken exhaust hose. It would take about an hour or two to repair so I took the laundry and found a great Laundromat down the street. By the time I was done so was the RV.  We and a tasty lunch at a burrito place right across the street then off we went once more. But, the hose popped again about 10 miles south so we returned to the shop, this time they ordered a new part, got it on and we were on our way again. Whew!

It was late and rainy when we got to Frederick, Md. a beautiful Elks Lodge with three water and electric site in the parking lot. Perfect for us.  Our plan was to leave the RV for 2 nights and take Foster with us to Baltimore, only 50 miles east, for a weekend with our nephew Wesley and his family.  Little Harvey Marcus had just returned from a cross country trip to California.  At one year old he's chalked up many an air mile visiting family and friends. 

Nothing better than a darling and very happy little one year old Great Nephew!

 

The weather was pleasant and a little cool but perfect for walks around he neighborhood with Wesley.  Alena works the night shift at the hospital so she was out of the house by 6pm that first evening.

Harvey kept us entertained all weekend! Our time spent with them is so precious, we didn't need to do any sightseeing, just hanging out at home was perfect. We did pack up and drive over to the Farmer's Market Saturday morning, a great local market with lots of fantastic apples... names of some I've never heard before.  Alena slept till mid day Saturday and then turned her body clock back to a more normal schedule for the rest of the weekend. Wes and Alena went out late Saturday to visit a friend and we got "Harvey Duty", a pretty easy task since they put him down before they left.

Sunday was gorgeous, another walk in the neighborhood then back to the house for some gardening time and a visit from Harvey's nanny.

Foster found his quiet garden spot to watch it all.

My favorite photo...like father, like son

His is the most delightful baby ever.  Happy temperament and always a beautiful smile.

The weekend went quickly and by 4 on Sunday it was time for hugs and good byes.  We returned to the Frederick Elks Lodge for one more night.

By morning the rain had come in. We packed up and were all set to go except the SAAB just wouldn't  start as Paul was ready to put it on the dolly. After trying to problem solve it, he called for a tow truck with AAA. There was a SAAB mechanic nearby so off we went.  It needed a new battery cable and after talking through other options we had the cable replaced, got the car on the dolly and once again, we were ready to move on.  Our destination was about 150 miles south on I-81 but just as we left Frederick we knew something was terribly wrong now with the RV motor.  We were on the 3 lane Interstate 70 and it would only reach a speed of about 30 mph as we headed up a bit of a hill. Crazy, for sure, no place to pull off and no off ramps for almost 20 miles. Paul was so patient and just kept us going slowly up the hill as I did some frantic looking for a truck repair shop we might be able to call.  We FINALLY made it into the town of Hagerstown and a truck repair shop.  The guy there thought it might need an air filter so we tried that but it didn't really do anything for us.  By now it was about 3pm and we decided to keep going a little further south to the Camping World in Winchester, VA., maybe they could help.  We got there about an hour before closing and discovered that they do repairs to the interiors only on RVs and we needed help from the Ford dealership down the road; but we could park for free in their lot, with water and electric hookups.  That was such a blessing! We parked, went to dinner at a nearby steak house and then came back to start making phone calls.  What a day!!!  I guess it's really true; when it rains it pours, and we sure were getting a shower full of engine troubles.

Up early on Tuesday, we headed off to the Ford dealer in town but what a waste of time.  They wouldn't address the main concern we had without checking out everything else they saw needing attention.  After two hours of talking, Paul had had enough.  He called another mechanic in the town who worked on mufflers, a small independent guy. He had just the right part, a catalytic converter, and he had the time to repair it for us.  Ahhhh, fantastic!!! By 2pm we were back on the road and moving at a great speed. But PK was still worried about the transmission and the brakes so our next stop was Woodstock, VA. to a transmission expert, and what an expert!!! Bill's Transmission and Auto Repair. He also thought he could help us so we drove out to his shop. a few miles from town.  He is not only an outstanding mechanic but also a cattle farmer.  With his shop on his ranch he told us we could park in the lot and stay in the RV while he worked us into his schedule. Here's the view of the shop.

The views from our motorhome were just gorgeous. Foster and I walked the dirt roads and I did some errands in Woodstock each afternoon. By Friday afternoon we were all repaired, the transmission was OK after all and he had worked on the brakes, relaxing a couple brake lines. He'd figured out the alternator was sending out a false signal to the speed sensor in the transmission so we replaced the alternator and the main belt. Now we were good to go.  We'd made such a nice friendship while staying on their property, we took Bill and his wife out to dinner Friday night at the wonderful Spring House Tavern in town.

Woodstock is a darling small little town in Shenandoah County, with a population about 5,600. It dates back to 1761 with a courthouse designed by Thomas Jefferson and the oldest courthouse still in use west of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  The town now has a newer WalMart section with the usual chains for fast food but the little old downtown still had so much character.

So, after a week filled with one mechanic shop after another we finally felt like maybe we'd solved some of the nagging issues we'd been having the last few months. We're keeping our fingers crossed that we'll be repair-free for a while; just when I think we're done with major expenditures along come things like this.  But, we realize our life on the road isn't much different from living in a home with it's constant repair needs and replacement parts. The gift in it all, are the people we meet who help us out along the way.  So many wonderful, caring and talented individuals, often doing more for us than they charge us.