Hi Everyone!!

We have been home now since Saturday the 21st. We are both still very under the weather, and just can't seem to shake this. Rick has a nasty head cold and I have a chest cold and bronchitis. Just getting out of bed and putting together our few meals is all I can seem to manage. It has been cold wet and cold since we've arrived home. Last night we had to run the furnaces in the MH as it went below zero. Tonight we will have to do the same. We don't want to have to winterize again. That would be a bummer. I lay in bed in the house and listen to the furnaces kick in and I just groan..not a good sound in the middle of the night..but better than the alternative.

I've been trying to read and keep up with you all, sorry I haven't taken the time to comment. I feel like a jack in the box..sit up - lay down-sit up -lay down.

Ok am off to lay down again. Take care all...be safe out there..

Quick Update ! We are sick

Just a quick update so you wont' think we're ignoring you all...I got up Sunday congested and head filled with cold..started Antibiotics on Monday..hoping and praying they kick in tomorrow will be 48 hrs...Rick awoke with the same thing this morning...will catch up when we feel better..maybe we came home too soon...since we got home Saturday its been nothing but cold, rain and dampness :(...be safe out there

Home Safe and Sound!!

Just a quick post to let you all know we are home safe and sound!!! We arrived around 11:30 atlantic time today. We pulled a 12 hr day yesterday to get to the border and we crossed into Canada early this morning....


And Boy do I ever know this feeling..after the last 3 days on the road!!

And Thank God he did at times!!! I'm sure he did!!!






Be safe out there everyone!!


Home is where you park it!!

Still on the Road-!!! Ya can't cure ignorance!

Hi Folks, yesterday we pulled a long 10 hour day..and boy were we tired. We hauled into the wallyworld parking lot for the night in Front Royal VA. We parked down in the area where other MHs and RVs were parked. We like to stick together right?
We were parked in the end of a line cross ways to the car lots next to the entrance lane into walmart-but we were in the parking lot area if you can figure out what I'm trying to explain here. This is what a 'trucker' did to us. 

This shot is from the door and passenger seat taken from inside

This shot is from our kitchen window

We couldn't' even open our door. He pulled up in the driving lane/entrance road into walmart and parked right there! Firstly he was illegally parked on the road, and secondly he had to see us we aren't small...plus there was tons of room in the parking lot if he wanted to park somewhere. I thought ok maybe hes having mechanical issues, or is possibly on the phone. We peeked out our bedroom window and he was sitting in the drivers seat reading a book.We didn't dare try to move the rig because we do not have a back window and we couldn't see if our toad was really close to him or not. And we couldn't open the door to check it out. I tried extremely hard not to hyperventilate and of course the furkids needed to go out. 
We waited and we waited wondering what we should do-we were fearful to call walmart security or the police..but there was no way I was going to bed knowing we couldn't get out of the rig. I was truly starting to panic.
Finally after over an hour he left. Needless to say, I sure didn't sleep well last night. Now I've always had great respect for truck drivers, and have always found them to be courteous travellers..but this one sure put a bad taste in my mouth.


We were up and on the road by 7:30 and arrived safe and sound in Danbury Ct at a nice Travel Center. We are parked up with approx 8 other rigs. There is a free dump station here as well as a tap to refill your fresh tank. Today was a hairy drive, but the weather was good.
Now I'm off to have a shower and hit the bed...be safe out there yall....tomorrow we hope to be in Bangor...
remember


Home is where you park it!

Got the Hammer Down!! Northbound to NB

Well it has been 5 days since I've been able to have a decent enough connection to upload a blog. Wouldn't you know the verizon stick is now working 'good' and I have 5 megs to use up before I cross the border into Canada..unless this will work in Canada but I doubt it as it hasn't worked the best in the US.

Do we really have to go back Momma? We love the beach

We set the alarm on the cell for 6:30 this morning to be up bright and early to finish packing up camp and give the fur kids a final walk on the beach! We all enjoyed our time in Myrtle Beach at the Lakewood Resort. The fur kids are going to be in for a big surprise at home when we say lets go walkies and theres no golf cart for them to hop on immediately outside the door. They do love to travel on the back of the 4 wheeler with dad tho. We left the resort at 8:15am. Dieseled up at $3.89/gallon and hit the road.

We have had a busy five days, visiting with friends who were in the area from NS-thank you Beth and Barry; can't wait to get together again this summer. We made a couple of trips to the Tanger Outlet, and a run to wally world for groceries and the rest of the time was spent on the beach, soaking up as many rays as we could before returning home.

Cathy and Brent our friends from Shelby were also down to the condo for a few days so we had supper with them at the Sea Merchant (fantastic food) Sunday evening. Thanks guys!!!! 

Am I sad to be heading north ? Nope!! I'm ready to get back home. I'm looking forward to seeing our kids again!! We sure did a lot of travelling since December, and we're thankful for having spent the winter in the south.


First order of business upon arrival home is to get the income tax info over to our accountant and get that pain in the butt (the paperwork not the accountant) out of the way before the last day of the month. All in all it has been a great first snowbird adventure, and I pray the good lord allows us to experience many more.
We have met so many rv blogger friends and have enjoyed our time with each and everyone of them. We visited with stateside friends, and even met some relatives for the first time. What great memories we've created.


I'm excited to see all our family and friends, tackle the spring cleaning in the rig and the house, work on the flower beds, and get the cottage opened up for the season. It is shaping up to be a great summer-our first full one since retirement. We also want to remove the carpet in the MH and install flooring that is more user friendly. Why they put carpet in is beyond me. I do carry a little green machine but its still a lot of work.


We are hoping to be parked up in Front Royal VA in good time today, but only time will tell. And we are praying for an arrival date at home to be Sat or Sun.


Its nice to finally have the time and internet to catch up on all your blogs..thanks for stopping by..


and remember


home is where you park it 
6:22 PM - we are parked up for the night in Front Royal VA safe and sound after a 10 hr day..

A Busy Week-Charleston SC-and Verizon Frustration

We are still in Myrtle Beach and what a busy week it has been I have no idea where it disappeared to. I've finally convinced myself that any resort/campground that offers free wifi means that the wifi will show strong signal but you can't use it-this sure seems to be the pattern. I tell myself we shouldn't be so dependent upon technology, but lets face it, it is a technology world and its our lifeline to family back home, and friends on the road.

Monday was a totally frustrating and wasted day for us. We had activated our 2 year old verizon air stick while in Mississippi. It was due to be renewed around April 5th so last Monday we headed on over to the verizon store to accomplish this task. And what a task it was. Drove all the way to one outlet and they couldn't do it-they put me on the phone with customer service. Well we all know where that went..to heck in a hand basket, as I was connected to India call center. I immediately told her we were from Canada. After asking her numerous times to repeat all her questions (I couldn't understand her accent) when we got to the 'zip code' question I again informed her we are from Canada and do not have a zip..she immediately informed me she couldn't help me then. I was standing there with my receipt from the verizon store in Mississippi but she rudely informed me that I did not present at a verizon store in MS and activate my stick. Even the sales rep in front of me was shaking his head. We left and drove all the way to another verizon store on his advice as it was a corporate store. I was in and out in minutes..humm that didn't seem right to me. We got back to the MH logged on - nope wasn't working. Packed up the mac, receipt in hand and back we went. The rep apologized and stated he had done it incorrectly. He was truly a nice guy he did it the way the manager told him to. So how much does the mgr know..not much I guess. She came out and dealt with us was extremely rude, berated the rep infront of a store full of customers for doing it wrong. She 'voided' the 50.00 charge on our CC-then apparently did it right ?? To me there is a major difference between a 'void' and a 'refund' so we will see how long this takes to show back up on our visa. And charged us 80.00 for 5 gigs. Now in MS we paid 50 for 5 gigs and the first rep charged us 50 for 5 gigs (on Monday). But she wanted 80.00 all I wanted was a stick that would work. After trying to log on while there again it was a no go! And onto the phone with customer support. Where I was informed that we paid 50 for the 5 gigs and the other 30.00 was taxes...60%??? Gawd...anyway to shorten this frustrating story we are up and running by the time we left there at 6pm. Canada and the US have got to get together with internet / phone related services its crazy to say the least. Seems Canadians can't do anything without zip codes and the verizon stores just plug in any old one then it doesn't match your credit card statements ughhhh...k shutting up about that now...and they always seem to make it 'your' fault. No compassion at all-and no offer of anything discounted for their mistakes.

Tuesday was a beach day for us..and it was a pretty good one. Wednesday we hit the outlets for some shopping at Tanger..some great deals there. Yesterday we dropped the kids off at a spa we checked out during our travels on Monday and we headed for Charleston. Another glitch we discovered the other day that Lilly's had some vaccines that just expired..but her rabis was still valid. We found a vet not far from the resort popped her in had it all updated and the cost was $34.00 can you believe that? And they were doing rabis shots for $5.00 for everyone. For her required shots it would have cost at least 120.00 at home. Sure makes one wonder doesn't it. We can't seem to get in the vet's door at home for anything less than 100.00 and if we need shots its more.

Charleston was wonderful. Reminded me of New Orleans only cleaner. We took a horse and carriage tour and it was worth every cent. Cobble stone streets, churches everywhere, beautiful homes, a 3-4 block market, we had a great day and the kids had a super day at the spa they were some tired last evening from playing all day. 

Charleston

Beautiful churches everywhere

Notice the patches that is stucco-our guide told us the city paid over a million $ last year to do that patch job-apparently if you don't have stuco on your house or building you were considered 'poor'

nice hidden walled gardens in some private homes

beautiful architecture

this is a single family home and it was massive- they all are

another single family home

Jake receiving a pat from Rick

and another church but no steeple

gorgeous single family home

A shot from the upper level parking garage 

If your in the area and need a place for your kids- the spa is Benji's Bed and breakfast and they are fantastic. Big outdoor play areas, clean and everyone seemed very nice. Lots of staff etc.

Sorry the sun was shinning strong

Nice play area

 I would not hesitate to leave our kids there again.

I've been having blogger problems, seems I can read all the blogs but can only post on some of them, could also be my stick connection. Glad to see you are all safe and sound but very sad to see that some of you are having mechanical difficulties-and coach damages. I'm almost scared to hit the road for home and am praying we luck out and don't have any on the road problems.

Take care all thanks for stopping by - sorry for the major 'rant' and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

remember

"home is where you park it"

Happy Easter Everyone-Milestones

It is a wonderful sunny beach day here at the beach. So this will be short and sweet as I know you all don't want me to miss out on my beach time.
Its been a great week here and we've accomplished a lot. We finally got to camping world and purchased a new shroud (among other things too of course) for the a/c that Rick had duct taped due to the close encounter with that tree awhile back. While replacing it yesterday he figured he'd snap a shot or two while up there.
 We are about 8 or 9 lots up from the beach.

We had supper at Crabby Mikes the other night with our Ontario friends Colin and Barb. Great meal and great company.
We are going to daycare the fur kids for a day this week so we can visit Charleston, and realized yesterday that a couple of Lilly's shots were expired...so off we went to find a vet..and luckily there was an open house clinic and got her all fixed up for 34.00..at home we can't get in and out of the vets office under 180.00 maybe I should have all their shots done at a vet stateside. Tucker went to the groomer yesterday for a major shave down. Between the sand and sand burrs I couldn't keep up. I clipped Lilly up on Thursday but didn't have the energy to tackle him also. He is now too embarrased to let me take his picture...he keeps hiding under the table. He and Lilly are sure loving the beach.


The Easter display here is fantastic will include some daytime pictures for you. 

The last supper

He has risen

We attended a car show yesterday here at the resort..there were some nice vehicles to say the least. There were a couple we drooled over but none that would be suitable as a toad-so we passed on the ones that were for sale.

A week from today we head for home (unless I can talk him into staying longer). It has been a great first winter out as snowbirds.
I want to shout out a big congratulations to our dear friends Linda and Jim back home who are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary today, and I see they made the newspaper-way to go- you raised and educated three wonderful children into very responsible adults-Quite the milestone folks...we love and miss you but will see you soon.

The picture her hubby lovingly had put in the newspaper

Oh and Karen P of heres a couple for you!!

And last but not least -I lovingly want to acknowledge a special day today. Momma in law- happy birthday- I'm positive you are up there in heaven just filling everyone's day with smiles and love-like you did mine while you were here- Love you and miss you dearly-you took a piece of my heart with you when you were called home 2 years ago.

I hope and wish you all a blessed Easter folks..and stay safe out there..its beach time for us..thanks for stopping by. 


Update: Ok I couldn't wait for all the pics to load 3 hrs ago-so we left it loading and headed to the beach. Just retuned and go figure they all uploaded. 


Remember:
Home Where you Park it

Our Special boy Makes the Paper again!!!

You Can read the article here :

Senior canine still making people smile | face, turned, patient - The Star Online : The Newspaper of Cleveland County

Sunning our Buns!!! On Myrtle Beach-and a Milestone

When we go to bed tonight and awaken tomorrow morning, we will have spent our 100th night in the motorhome since leaving home. How kewl is that for a milestone! And like Marti and Paul we are still talking and having fun together :) And our microwave also doubles as a bread box Paul! And I don't feel guilty anymore not getting up and going to work-we do what we want all day and stay up as late as we want at night-how much fun is this.....I'm starting to think we should retire first and work last-had we known it was so much fun!

Today was a great day here in Myrtle Beach-the day started off bright sunny and hot. We took the fur kids for a big walk on the beach-and they dipped their paws in the ocean. 

Upon our return, they rested in the air conditioning in the motorhome and we donned our beach apparel, hopped in the golf cart and spent a few hours at the beach just relaxing. 

Later in the day storm clouds started to roll in, the wind seemed to pick up instantly, and there were beach umbrellas flying everywhere. 

Talk about a gaggle of folks packing up fast and taking off. We came back, battened down the hatches, pulled in all the awnings and just sat back to watch it roar. We got some thunder and lightening and lots of rain. I feel bad for all the folks pulling in and trying to set up their rigs in the rain. The park is suppose to be filled to capacity this long easter weekend.
We have a family of ducks here which incidentally are driving Tucker crazy..he is so focused on watching them out the window even a treat won't bring him off the sofa.

After a rest from the hard job of beaching it-we decided it was time to tackle the sandy dogs. We have been picking sand burrs from their coats all day every day. Seems like its been a gazillion trillion at a time. I decided Miss Lilly had just too much coat on her so we got out the clippers and did a job on her then I showered her. As for Mr. Tucker? After the 3 hrs it took to do her I think I'll just take him to petsmart or another groomer on Saturday. I'm tuckered out!
This park has a lovely Easter display-the 40 days of Easter and the life of Christ set up in the lake. The pictures just do not do it justice and I will get some more in the day light. Each evening there is a narrated Easter story which is told through narration, lights, and music daily at 8pm lasting 35 minutes.  We attended from the comfort of our golf cart last evening. It was a very nice production. 

The Last Supper Display

Beautiful lighted crosses along the lake

Jesus carrying his cross

I'm looking forward to attending the Easter services on Sunday. On Saturday there is a car show here on the resort at the conference center so we will attend that also.
Tonight for supper we whipped up a shepherds pie. It was very tasty. We had planned on grilling but the rain put a quick damper on that. At times it is raining quite heavily. I feel bad for the folks that are here just for the Easter weekend. I sure hope the weather clears up for them. 
Take care all, be safe out there and have a wonderful long weekend! And remember..


"Home is where you park it"