Usher Training Day

One of the roles that I will be performing at work is Ushering. That involves several different functions: Greeting people, monitoring events, crowd control, handling emergencies, shuttling guests on golf carts and generally, guiding people to destinations within the complex. There is a lot to learn and yesterday was our introduction. There were 3 people in my group plus the trainer, and we spent the entire day walking, driving the cart and learning all the nooks and crannies in the complex. I had my camera with me and took a few shots, but basically, there are so many things to capture that this is only a small sampling. First,  there is this picture of one of the lacrosse games:

There are 23 fields within the complex, and almost all of the fields that were not for baseball - about 10 - were being used for these tournament games. Then, while learning the ins and outs of the Jostens Center where the indoor games are held, I have this picture of the volleyball tournament:

There were 6 games taking place at any one time - 3 that can be seen here, and another 3 on the other side to the left, behind the screen in the picture. These games went all day, from 8 AM till 5 PM. Finally, there is this shot of the empty stadium:

Very soon, the stadium will be filled and all the other fields will be occupied with Spring Training baseball. It will be a very busy place and I will be working in all of the areas at some point. There will be many more pictures to follow.

My next scheduled training day is Friday this week when I will be trained on turnstiles. It's hard to imagine a whole day of "turnstile" training, but there are lots of details that need to be learned for all of the jobs. Following that, I believe the real work begins and I will be assigned different locations and functions each day. There are 2 hour shifts for each assignment during each day, after which you are relieved by someone who also will give you a slip of paper with your next 2 hour assignment. So far, I haven't seen or heard anything about the part of the job that was described to me by the recruiter - the computer/tickets job. Honestly, I would rather  do what I'm being trained to do. It's different and a lot more fun. We'll see what happens.

We will go to the Thousand Trails park today to get our site and check-in, even though we will not go there until Wednesday. Our reservation here goes until then and since we are paying for this space, we will stay until the reservation expires. It appears now that we will be going back and forth between the 2 parks since they aren't able to hire anyone here. Josie and I are going to see if she can get a job at one of the resorts in the area which are nearby. There certainly are plenty of them.

I also wanted to go back to the costuming facility to pick up a couple pairs of black shorts. After yesterday's experience outside, it will be more comfortable to wear the shorts instead of the slacks. That's about it for now...

Long Walk, a Fairly Short Day

,Everything went according to plan yesterday. I arrived at the Wide World of Sports complex on time at 9 AM and we all - 6 of us - went on a long walking tour of the whole complex. It is an unbelievable place, and there were events just about everywhere. Starting with the AAU Volleyball tournament, College Lacrosse Tournaments, baseball with the "baby" Braves (the minor leaguer's) and even a Play Station area in the back of the ESPN Grill that has tournaments. The total area of the complex is 220 acres, and there are fields for everything.

We went back to the training area and did some online computer training, broke for lunch, and finished up with more computer training. Schedules were handed out and since my schedule had me working today, I had to take a trip to the Costuming Center, about a mile from the complex, to pick up my uniforms.

The "costume" consists of a special Wide World of Sports shirt, 2 jackets - one fleece and one that is like a parka that we use. Also, I picked up black slacks, a black belt, rain suit and a black hat. I can actually wear any sport team hat that I have, but I can't find a decent one, so I will wear their standard, plain black hat, until I can buy an ESPN hat which is also acceptable. I don't get to keep any of these nice clothes and will have to turn them in at the end of my commitment. They do look sharp though. I will try to get some shots of the uniform today.

My day is from 8:30 AM till 5 PM today, and my "role" is scheduled as Usher. What I will be ushering is unknown to me at this point. It looks like my definite work days will be Fri-Sun, with extra days during the week thrown in depending on the events. It will be a different, and fun experience, I'm sure.

Josie is going to try some local places for employment today since there still is no movement at the campground to get workampers hired. The budget crunches have hit this campground at least. More tomorrow...

Sports Training Day Today

We drove over to the Wide World of Sports complex at Disney yesterday so I would know where to go today. The second of my work days, and first real training day, is at the location where I will be working the next 2 months:

It is a very nice campus-type complex and it is actually a lot closer to where we are staying than the other Disney Park locations. It took us about 15 minutes to locate the complex and park. This is the building I will be in today - in the "Clubhouse" section in the middle:

It is a very well stocked store with all kinds of team merchandise and ESPN merchandise. I will almost certainly end up with some of it, either through free uniform acquisition or buying at a 20% discount. It's my kind of store.

The class today is from 9 AM till 3 PM. We spoke to one of the managers that was there yesterday and he indicated that I will most likely be working in almost all of the areas: tickets, turnstiles, parking, greeting, merchandising and anything else that needs to be covered. I will most likely be working the weekends, but the Braves Spring Training games begin at the end of February and I will be working those in some capacity. There is almost always some event at this time of year, so I expect to be kept busy. It is in a fun area for me, so I'm looking forward to it.

It's getting close to the time for me to leave, so I'll give a summary of today's activities tomorrow morning. Until then...

Trying to Plan The Next Year

It was kind of cool outside all day yesterday - high of 61 - so we stayed around the rig and did some cleaning. The other thing we started to do was try to plan out the next year. We have several different options that we are weighing.

First of all, we received a confirmation from Amazon.com that we are on the list for returning workampers next year. We have a couple options there. We inquired about the facility in Fernley, NV for next year, and it is an alternative for us if we decide to work out west. Fernley is about 5 miles or so east of Reno so it would be very cold there, and likely would have more snow, during the October - December time frame. The main decision for us is whether we want to spend the next year on the east coast, or go back west.

If we stay here in the east, we would work in Virginia for the summer, go back to Campbellsville in October to Amazon.com and then return here to Florida to work at Disney again. If we decide to go back to Cody and work there for the summer, we would go to Amazon in Fernley and try to find a place to work in either California, Arizona or a warm location out west during the winter months. The decision is a tough one. We want to work in different locations, but the west is more to our liking - so far. There is so much to see and do in  both areas that it really doesn't matter except that the weather is a major consideration for us, wherever we go. We will sort it out and make our decision soon, which we need to do to preserve our spots where we have confirmed employment.

Today is another unplanned day except that Josie still needs to visit with the manager at this park to discuss possible openings. That will be the priority for today, plus I will get a start on our taxes - UGH! ...

Moving Day & Jacks Repaired

We left the Thousand Trails campground at 10:30 AM and a half hour later arrived at our new location. This is the campground that we started with when we arrived in Florida because it is convenient to Camping World. We checked in, but instead of going to the site, we went to Camping World and dropped off the fifth wheel for the jacks repair. It turns out that Lippert Components sent 2 jacks, so Camping World said they would replace both front jacks which was good news for us.

That left the whole afternoon for us to use for something we had been putting off for a long time. There has been a strange noise coming from the engine in our Jeep, intermittently, for the last year. We decided to finally get the problem diagnosed, so we went to the local Jeep dealer in town to have it checked. Of course, they not only found out what that problem was - a belt tensioner failing - but they came up with a half dozen other "items" that they suggested we get fixed. That's their standard mode of operation - get you in, then bilk you for everything they can get. We passed on the belt tensioner repair and everything else they suggested. We have religiously maintained the Jeep for 5 1/2 years and are confident that we can still drive without those fixes. Anyway, we have been contemplating selling the Jeep in order to eliminate the expenses associated with it. Also, Josie has been wanting to stop following me when we travel and wants to ride in the truck, so we are considering it before we do face some significant costs. It will need new tires soon, a major tune-up, brakes and possibly a new battery soon, so maybe it's time. It has almost 92,000 miles on it and it has served us well. We'll see.

Our jacks have been replaced and we hope that problem is finally behind us. We made it back to our site at 6 PM, set up, and spent the rest of the evening relaxing and watching TV. The sun is out again today but the mornings are still cool - 50 this morning. We're waiting for the warm Florida sun...

Officially "Goofy"

It was a long day at Disney University yesterday:

Cameras were forbidden inside, so the shot above is all that I could take - from the parking lot during lunch break. I arrived a little early, at 7:15 AM, and checked in at the lobby desk, went into the cafeteria and had a cup of coffee while I waited to be taken to the classroom with about 30 other new hires. It was near 8 AM when someone finally came in to get us and take us to the classroom.

The day was filled with just what the day implied - Disney Traditions. We went through the timeline of the history of the company, discussed their philosophies, talked about business conduct and procedures, organizations within the company, employee roles within the company and many more subjects, some of which were interesting, and some of which were boring.

The real highlight for us though, was a field trip to Magic Kingdom. We all boarded buses, went about 4 blocks, got off, walked through a gate, went down some stairs, and right into a tunnel! Believe it or not, there is a tunnel that runs under the entire Magic Kingdom. We walked quite a distance through the tunnel and went up some stairs and came out on a short side street off Main Street, just short of the Castle. There was a band playing and visitors everywhere. Our goal was to observe and record as many of the examples as possible of Safety, Courtesy, Efficiency and Show features that we could find. It was a fun exercise and we got to see the "hidden" secrets of the Park where deliveries are made, maintenance functions are housed, development offices are located, employee cafeterias are located for workers in Magic Kingdom, a Library, and many other park functions are controlled.

We received our employee ID's after lunch and sat through more presentations of Disney culture until 3 PM when somebody walked into the classroom, pushing a cart that contained all of our employee badges, in large glass cases. It was an emotional ending to the day where everybody "officially" became a Disney employee.

Several HR people then came in to take groups of people away for instruction on where they are expected to go from there. I was in a large group of people that were given individual instructions. My next work day is actually another day of training, scheduled for Saturday, January 29th, at the Disney Wide World of Sports complex where I will attend a session entitled "Introduction to Sports" from 9 AM until 3 PM. My official role is DWWS  (Disney Wide World of Sports) Guest Operations. What I will be doing is still anybody's guess. I am really looking forward to it though.

Today is moving day, and we will go to the Sherwood Forest Campground near Camping World. Before setting up, we will go to Camping World and, hopefully, get our jacks repaired - finally. We are also hoping that Josie can connect with the campground Manager and discuss employment opportunities. Until tomorrow...

It's Off to Work

There wasn't much to say about yesterday except it is warming up again and it didn't rain. We stayed around the rig with the exception of a short trip to the post office to get our mail. We are having it sent there in General Delivery until we can get a firm address to send it to. We only have it forwarded once a week so it really doesn't matter.

Today is Traditions Day at Disney which is the full day orientation for new hires. It is held at a place they call Disney University which contains, among all the classrooms, simulated areas of the park such as turnstiles, counters, registers, etc. We will also spend some time outside according to the description I received about the day's events. The main emphasis is on appearance, which they are very strict about. I am wearing a white dress shirt for the first time that I can remember in many years.

I expect to be gone all day until dinner time, so I should have lots to report tomorrow. I will try to get the day off tomorrow - if it is an option - so that we can relocate to a new space in a different campground, I don't think it will be a problem in the future, since I should get some idea about my schedule today. We also have to get the jacks fixed tomorrow, so it will be a big day also.

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, it's off to work I go...

A Wonderful Day in Edgewater

We drove the 90 miles to Edgewater in just about 90 minutes and we arrived at Josie's sister's place at 11 AM. Their house is very nice and is one they had built 14 years ago when they moved here from New Jersey:

Pauline was already working on a huge meal when we arrived and we munched on snacks and talked for a couple hours while she prepared the meal. There was a lot of catching up for Josie on all the family and friends that she had lost touch with over the years. Here is a shot of the threesome in the kitchen:

The meal was wonderful and consisted of roast chicken, Spanish rice, a few Puerto Rican dishes that Josie hasn't had in years, deviled eggs, salad, french bread and wine. Everything was delicious and following the meal we adjourned to the living room where Pauline and Carlos brought out 2 large boxes of old photos for Josie to go through. Talk about nostalgic! Lots of memories were brought back for Josie. Of course, I knew many of the people also, since I have known them for over 40 years.

We then went outside where I picked a bag full of grapefruit from their tree - they also have an orange tree, but that was almost bare at this time of year:

Finally, we returned inside, had some more conversation and Josie got to talk to her brother in Puerto Rico and her other sister in New Jersey. Carlos made the calls to them so that they could say hello to Josie.

At 5:30, we were ready to head back to our rig and we took this final shot of the sisters:

We aren't that far away from them so we plan to get together again. They have some friends in Clermont, FL, where we are staying now and they will probably visit us when they come to see them again. It was certainly a fun day.

The next couple days may be "hairy" for us. We need to get the jacks repaired on the fifth wheel - today, if possible. I have to start work tomorrow at 7:30 AM, so tomorrow is out. Also, we are scheduled to leave this park on Wednesday to go to the Sherwood Forest Campground in Kissimmee again for another week before returning here on the 31st of January. We haven't figured out how to do that yet if I have to work on that day. It should really get exciting starting today...

Cold Again

I guess we picked the wrong winter to be on the East Coast, and in Florida. It went down to 34 again last night and we woke up to frost on the cars and everything else outside. We had to turn on the heat in the middle of the night. I'm sure it gets this way every winter on occassion, but it seems like it is more often this year. Just following the weather across the rest of the east this year on the Weather Channel, we can see it is an unusually cold and snowy season. We heard at one time last week that Florida was the only state out of the 50 (including Hawaii) that didn't have some snow on the ground somewhere. Of course, with the highest elevation in this state of only 90 feet, it would be tough to have any snow.

Josie called her sister in Edgewater yesterday and we will finally get to see her and her husband, Carlos, today. It is about a 90 mile trip from here and should take about an hour and a half. It's been 7 years since we saw them last when they visited Arizona. It's ironic that when they visited us back then it was very cold and damp in Arizona. We took them to Lake Pleasant that day and we all had to bundle up in heavy jackets. It looks like we will need jackets to visit them today. It's normally a few degrees cooler where they live anyway, as it is further north of us.

At least the sun is shining and it looks like a good day to visit. This is one of the few days we have left before starting work - at least for me. We are hoping that our (correct) part arrives tomorrow AM and we can get the jacks fixed once and for all. 'Till next time...

On Board at Disney

The trip to the Casting Center for my new hire meeting at 9 AM was through torrential rain. I went 30 MPH the whole way - for 30 minutes - and had the wipers on max. It really does rain hard in Florida. I made it with 15 minutes to spare and I was called in for fingerprinting right at 9 AM. There is a new method for fingerprinting - scanning - that eliminates the old, ink method. Much better! The paperwork was reviewed and we (8 of us) went into a short class that was intended to distribute the folder with all the Disney employee booklets, rules and instructions. There were meetings (classes) scheduled each hour during the day.

Working for Disney Parks is more of a culture than a job. There are very strict rules for dress and appearance, as there are for business conduct and procedures. There is an 8 hour day scheduled for each new employee's first day - called Traditions Day - which is a total introduction to the park and its operations. The class yesterday was spent discussing dress and appearance requirements for our Traditions Day which is scheduled for 7:30 AM on Tuesday. Several of the people were told that they had to make adjustments in their appearance -trim mustache, cut hair, etc. - before Tuesday, or they would be sent home. It will be an interesting experience, I'm sure.

I found out that I will be working at the Wide World of Sports complex and that the Atlanta Braves use that facility for their spring training games in late February through early March. I will probably be involved in some way with that event, along with other activities in that facility.

The "free passes" policy is not totally clear at this point. As an employee, I have access any day to any and all park locations at no cost. What isn't clear yet is the arrangement for family and friends. It appears that the only advantage they will have is an employee discount of 20% on all purchases that I am able to get for them. It did make reference in the policy manual about free passes, but in not much detail. I will get further information when I meet my supervisor next week.

So, Tuesday begins the real work schedule and I'm looking forward to it.

We sat around and watched it rain most of the rest of the day. We did go to the store to get some groceries, but that was about it until around 3 PM when Josie jumped up out of her seat to grab the camera. It turned out that a huge Sandhill Crane showed up right outside our window:

After watching him for awhile, his mate showed up and they calmly walked along behind the rigs on our row:

They are huge birds.

The sun is finally out again today so we will have to plan something to do to take advantage of the nice day. That's about it for now...

New Chapter Begins Today

Today begins the "experience" at Disney World - at least for me. That means that Josie gets some short term quiet time, alone, until she can find a job locally. Actually, we plan to go back to the campground at Sherwood Forest in Kissimmee next week so that she can try to join the staff there. They indicated before we left there over a week ago that they needed help but had to get budget approval before adding staff. That would be a blessing if she can land a job there as it would provide a space for us so that we don't have to change campgrounds every week or so. They would provide the space at a huge discount, with no departure until her commitment ends. At any rate, we cancelled the free space we had in Wauchula for the next 10 days. We will go to Sherwood Forest for a week, then back here for 8 days. Beyond that is not determined yet.

All of my paperwork is completed for the meeting this morning. We should definitely have a feel for my schedule and my responsibilities at the end of today. They are very thorough with their hiring procedure and, when you think about the type of company that they are, it's appropriate. They can't be too safe in hiring all the people that they do with the degree of public contact and all the children that are involved.

The other news from yesterday came out of a conversation with the people at Bethpage in Virginia about the summer job there. They have asked us to join the team, as early in April as we can arrive, and stay through October, if possible. We are thinking that we will commit to doing that this year. We are already on the east coast, and it represents a new and different experience which is what we are seeking in this adventure. They are OK with our arrival around the middle of April since I am committed at Disney World until April 2nd. The late ending in October may be too long for us, but they said they can be flexible with that also. They are sending all of their paperwork to us to complete and send back in the next week or so.

We had thunderstorms overnight and some hard rain. The temperatures still are holding in the comfortable area at 80 for the high yesterday with a low of 50. It is still good sleeping weather without having to use the air conditioner. We know that will change as we get closer to summer. It's time to go, so tomorrow's update should be interesting...

A Lot of Irons in the Fire

For starters, we arrived at our new site at the Thousand Trails in Orlando early in the afternoon. It is a very large Preserve, and we selected site #F60, which is an end site, and one that has some extra room to spread out:

We left the truck hitched to the 5th wheel expecting to take it into Camping World today for the jacks installation. Not only that, but the problem is getting worse to the point that the one jack slowly collapses when standing alone with the weight of the rig. We could feel the left front corner of the rig sinking the last 2 days in Wauchula. Just when we think the end is in sight, the door gets slammed again. We received a call from Camping World at around 4 PM telling us that the jack that was sent from Lippert is a stabilizing jack, and not a landing gear jack. I went through the roof, and am still stuck to the ceiling over this. How can they send the wrong jack after performing all the tests, taking all the photos and having so many discussions about the problem? Is there room in this world for all this incompetency? I fired off an eMail to Doubletree about the problem and hope that they can get some action for us. Enough on that for now.

I received an eMail with 16 pages of instructions and forms to bring to my meeting on Friday at Disney World. I'm still not sure how many hours I will be working since the job has me working in a couple different areas. I do know that it starts immediately - probably Monday - and I will work until April 2nd. I'm glad that there is an opportunity to break into the seasonal workforce since that probably means I can return each year if I decide to work here again. We have to find something for Josie until she too can get involved at Disney at some point. I'm anxious to have the meeting tomorrow so that all the details will be known.

The other piece of good news was a phone call from the Bethpage Camp-Resort asking us to become part of their team for this summer. We knew that our interview went well last week at the Tampa show, and the gentleman that called us indicated that they were anxious to "nail down" their staff for the season. I would work at the front gate, and Josie would work in the office doing registrations and Check-ins. We would have the same days off, work an average of 32-35 hours per week, have a full hookup site, including wi-fi and cable, and paid a bonus at the end of the summer. They asked us to start in mid April and work through October, if possible. Right now, we are thinking that we will do it. It gives us a chance to stay on the East coast for the summer which is something we wanted to try. We wanted to return to Cody again, but that opportunity will probably still be there for us next year if we want to go back. It's also a better situation for us if we decide to return to Amazon in Campbellsville. That is a remote possibility right now, based on our memory of the winter weather there.

Our most pressing problems right now are, of course, the jacks repair and finding a long term space between next week and the first of April that won't cost us an arm and a leg. That's it for now...

Word From Disney World

Two things occurred yesterday that were noteworthy. The first thing was that we got a call from a place called "Camping Connection" in Orlando telling us that they received a Jack from Lippert Components, and they were wondering if it was ours(?). Obviously, it is ours and we are trying to figure out how they ended up with it and also how they knew where and how to contact us. They indicated that they would make sure Camping World got it. What next with that situation.

The most important thing that happened was I received a message from Disney World while we were away from my phone indicating that there was an opening, if I was interested. It appears from the brief description in the message that it is in the ESPN Complex and involves working with the computer at the front gate and preparing tickets. I tried to return the call yesterday but will have to wait until today to get all the details. It is my understanding that the job will start now and go to April 2 which would be perfect. That changes everything we had planned for the short term, but it changes for the better. We would need to find a longer term space and stay in the Orlando area. Stay tuned for the update.

The timing is good for that call since we are heading back to Orlando today to stay at the Thousand Trails park for a week. Hopefully, we can get the repair done on the jacks and secure a job in this coming week. It is certainly getting exciting...

Rainy Day

Except for a short trip to Walmart to get a few items, it was a laid back, quiet day at home. It rained off and on all day and is again cloudy and damp this morning. It's probably a good thing to have these days now as it gives me an opportunity to do some more organizing for tax time. It is going to be interesting this year since we had income from 4 different states. Only 2 of them have state taxes but it is still going to result in extra forms and effort. One good thing though is that we can deduct travel expenses to our jobs which helps, along with some other workamping (job related) expenses.

It's fun watching the jockeying of all the motor homes and trailers each morning as I write the blog. Check-in time isn't suppose to be until 1 PM, but we see lots of people coming in starting around 8 AM. Coupled with the folks that are leaving, it looks like a circus. There are no assigned spaces, so people have to drive around looking for a suitable spot. We like to check-in during the early afternoon when most of the people that are leaving are gone. The other thing that has been pretty much verified is that almost all of the people coming to Florida are from the Eastern states, as we knew that most people going to Arizona in the winter are from the Western states. The Midwesterners are probably split between the two winter havens.

Today is our last full day here before going to the Thousand Trails park in Orlando for a week. We had better say goodbye to the jacks problem while we are there. Until tomorrow...

Short Trip to Bradenton

Since we were late getting started yesterday as a result of the excitement of the fire the night before, we shortened our trip. Instead of going to Ft Myers to spend the day, we took a shorter trip to the coastal town of Bradenton. It is easily the nicest town we have seen so far. We stopped at a couple subdivisions to look at model homes on the way and at one Condo complex that was in a larger, Resort type subdivision. It was at the River Strand Golf and Country Club and was, what we thought, a great value. The Condos line the golf course, with full amenities in the clubhouse, are between 1200-1600 S.F. and are all priced in the mid $100K's. It is a good option for us to consider down the road, if this is an area we want to retire to.

The condos were about 20 minutes from the Gulf beaches and a place called Anna Maria Island. We saw the whitest sand and prettiest beach we have seen in years:

This area is known as having one of the best beaches in the world as a result of the fine, white sand and long and shallow entry into the Gulf for swimming.
There was a Beach Cafe at this point that sat way back on the beach entry:

Josie walked along the shore for a while, picking up shells, and we left after a scoop of ice cream at the cafe.

Since we will be returning to this Thousand Trails campground to stay another 12 days, we thought that there would be plenty of time to see the other cities along the coast, like Sarasota and Ft Myers, and maybe even Naples. We are primarily interested in seeing the Gulf coast, since we have not been to this part of Florida before. The Atlantic coastal cities are not a real attraction from what we can remember, and are very congested.

Today will be a relaxation day as it is expected to rain. There are some things we need to get done in the rig anyway, so that's about it for now...

Wauchula, FL, and Motor Home Fire

We hit the road at around 10:30 Yesterday morning and had a leisurely drive the 60 miles to Wauchula. Actually, the drive was extended because we took US Route 17 more than half way and we went through every small town for about 40 miles of the trip. That gave us a better feel for Florida towns and none were too impressive. It seemed like only the poor were out on the streets as we saw them everywhere on the drive down.

We arrived at 1 PM, checked in, got set up:

and walked around the campground to get familiar with where everything was. While walking around, we took this picture of the large trees that were all full of moss:

It is a very nice park and we stopped in the office to see if we could get reservations for a couple weeks after we leave the Orlando park on the 26th. We lucked out, and got reservations back here for January 26th through February 7th (12 days) which is more than we expected for this high season with little availability. Anyway, we have from now until February 7th to stay with no cost at parks - Thousand Trails - which is what we need to do without having jobs. Most of the jobs that are available in Florida are "work-for-your-site" jobs, so it's like we have the same benefit but we don't have to work. We'll take it - for awhile.

After driving around the town of Wauchula and going to the local Super Walmart for a few things we came home and relaxed, had dinner and turned in about 10 PM. Then, at 11 PM the knock came on our door. It turned out that the motor home just behind us was on fire. We jumped out of bed, dressed as quickly as we could, grabbed the small camera and headed outside. Sure enough, the rig that is behind us diagonally (see it in the picture above, just over the Jeep) had flames about 3 feet high shooting through the roof:

Everybody was scrambling to get hoses and the gentleman next to us that woke us up climbed on the roof with a hose to try to put out the fire. The fire continued to burn until the fire department arrived in about 10 minutes and they were on top of the fire and put it out in short order. The fire was started behind the refrigerator, and the motor home will most likely be declared a total loss. I know I wouldn't want to live in it after that fire, no matter how much they replaced inside. Below are the shots that were taken as the firemen were doing their job:

Our rig is just behind the fireman on the right, and you can see our blue light from our rooftop satellite dish. I grabbed the wrong camera to take these shots of the fire and it doesn't do well on inside or night-time shots. I apologize, but you get the idea. We just hope it isn't always this exciting here.

We wanted to go to Ft Myers today, and hopefully we will with a later start. It is only about an hour away, so it should be a fun day. So, that's the start of our 4 days in Wauchula, FL...

Quiet Birthday Celebration

Birthdays really do become less significant as you get older. Probably, the last significant birthday I have had was my 21st, when I could buy a drink and not worry about being carded. Now, it is pretty much just another day. I guess they begin to get significant again when you turn 90, as people are amazed you are still around. My birthday was celebrated yesterday with a round of mini golf which we had already paid for last week, and a caramel Frappe at McDonald's to top it off. Here is a picture of Josie teeing off on one of the holes on the Livingston course. We had played the Stanley course last week, and we saved the tougher course until last:

It was a lot tougher than the first one. There were several holes where it was impossible to get a hole-in-one which you always feel like you should at least have a chance. We both scored worse than the first time.

Yesterday was also our last full day here in Kissimmee. We leave today for Wauchula and the Peace River preserve of Thousand Trails for 4 days. It will give us a chance to travel around some of the more southern towns in Florida. We want to at least spend some time checking out the Fort Myers area. Then, we travel back to this general area to Orlando, where we need to be to make a return visit to the Camping World store for our "final" repair on the jacks. We hope that the jacks can be manipulated a couple more times without causing a scare that they may "drop" while traveling. It will be such a relief when they are finally repaired.

It wasn't mentioned in yesterday's post, but we visited the Doubletree display at the show in Tampa and we ran into the individual - Dan Tauer - that is a VP of Marketing and part owner of the Company, and is the individual that was responsible for our purchasing our rig in Pomona, CA., in October, 2007. We told him about the Lippert Components run-around we have been getting and he was appalled. He asked us to send an eMail to his Operations VP (Tom Peck) and tell him about the problem, as he will get all over Lippert to make sure things get done - fast. Unfortunately - or fortunately - we believe that we are at the end of the effort and it wouldn't do any good at this point. Our parts are now in transit, and these should be the parts that finally fix the problem. If they aren't, Mr Peck will be notified along with Dan Tauer again.

Our plan is to leave here between 10 -11 AM this morning. The drive is a short one (60 miles), so we should arrive in the early afternoon. Until tomorrow from Wauchula, FL...

The Tampa RV Show

It was 9:00 AM when we finally got on the road to Tampa which was about 1 hour away. The plan was to meet Hank & Brenda at the entrance and spend the day walking around the show together. They are staying in a campground near Tampa so it was an easy trip for them. We arrived around 10 AM and a nice fellow walked up to us just outside the gate and handed us a free pass for 2 people which we gratefully accepted and used. It was the second day for the show, and the crowd was already building at the entrance:

It was a short while before Hank & Brenda arrived:

and we began what was a fun day walking around the show, viewing all kinds of RV's that we could never afford - without winning the lottery - big and small. The crowd seemed to grow all day long and we can attest to the fact that it is the biggest show in the country. You can see from this shot that there were plenty of people:

One of the main objectives for us was to connect with some of the Resort and campground personnel at the booths and plant some seeds for future Workamping jobs. We gave out 3 resumes, and had a very good discussion (interview) with a couple of folks that were looking to hire couples for this summer. It is a beautiful Resort - actually 2 Resorts - that are right on Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. The one we discussed working for this summer was Bethpage Camp-Resort, and they gave a convincing story about the location, the Resort, the workamping program and the pay. It sounds like a place where we could spend some quality time since it is very near Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown and Washington DC. Being right on the Bay doesn't hurt either. We will have some tough decisions to make. If we decide to do something like that, it wouldn't pay us to travel west before the summer, which means spending the whole winter on the east coast and we are not too fond of that based on the cold weather we have run into everywhere. The idea of spending the summer in that area is very appealing though. We'll see.

It is now 43 degrees outside and we plan to use our other 18 hole mini-golf ticket that we purchased last week. It better warm up some before we go there. The high yesterday at the show was only 51. Where is the Florida warmth??

One more day here, and we head to Wauchula tomorrow. We hope to explore the areas in the southern part of Florida for 4 days before returning to the Orlando Thousand Trails for a week while our jacks are repaired. Who knows where we will go from there...

Going in Circles at Camping World

We did everything that we normally do to the rig to get it travel ready: clear all the countertops, put away anything that can move during travel, make sure all the cabinet doors are latched, unhook the water and power, pull in the slides, raise the jacks (if possible) and hitch up. We were only going a couple blocks to the Camping World for our 1 PM appointment, but we still have to prepare the rig for travel. We arrived right on time and proceeded to wait, almost an hour, while they tried to figure out where to put the fifth wheel in the service bays. It never made it to the service area because they were so busy. The people at Camping World were instructed to perform a test on the hydraulic lines by Lippert Components,  and they performed the test right there - in front of the store. The test results were reported to Lippert, and they said that this was a unique set of jacks and the test had to be performed another way - so it was done again, in reverse of the first test. Both tests failed their results. It is now determined that hydraulic fluid is leaking from one of the front cylinders and needs to be replaced. Lippert will ship the parts - UPS Ground, since I refused to waste more money over-nighting parts that may not work, and Lippert refuses to pay for overnight shipping - and the parts are scheduled to arrive by the middle of next week. Of course, we will be gone and located in another park that is about 30 miles from here at that time. We have no choice though. We have to get the jacks repaired.

Our plan to play mini golf during the appointment yesterday went out the window, and we just brought the rig back to our site after the tests in front of the store, and set up all over again. Believe me, this is getting old! It is still mind boggling to us that any company would risk further damage to a unit - or worse, to us - by not insuring that the problem is fixed before more damage can be done. If these jacks drift down while we are traveling, they could catch on something in the road and rip apart the rig and/or cause a crash, or both. We have a nice paper trail on this problem if we ever need it in a lawsuit.

Today is our day for the Tampa RV Show. We are planning to connect with Hank & Brenda who are also in Florida and planning to attend the show with us. We will meet them at the entrance when we arrive at the Show, around 9:30 AM. It should be a fun day, and we are hoping to get some info from recruiters and also see some new and exciting products. We are armed with some resumes in case we need them. It's off to Tampa...

Checking Out The Housing Market

It was a good day to drive around and check out the housing market in this area. Not that we would ever seriously look at moving to this area, but we were curious to see what has happened to property values in the greater Orlando area. We went to a 55+ community in a small town called Poinciana, which is about 20 miles south of Kissimmee and Orlando. The name of the community is Solivita, and, just as in the case of all of these communities, we were matched up with a salesman who took us on a tour of the place and showed us, after some probing, some of the available homes and models that we might be interested in buying. There were actually some pretty good deals if we were in the market. They had homes that were completed and available at a "blowout" price and some others that were "field" models and would be available to build. Almost all of the home sites back to either woods or small lakes, so there aren't people behind you in most cases. The house that we liked the best was a 2098 S.F. great room home that had a similar floorplan to our home in Surprise - but almost 300 S.F. larger. It was available, with lots of upgrades and on a premium lot for $224,000, which seemed like a steal to us. That is, if you wanted to live in central Florida with not much of anything around for miles except Disney World. It did have two championship golf courses and a beautiful clubhouse complex which they called the "Village". It was actually many different buildings, layed out like a little village, containing all the typical clubhouse fare - crafts, meeting rooms, fitness center, indoor and outdoor pools, etc. They even had a local branch of Wachovia Bank in one of the buildings.

That was an interesting afternoon. It appears that property values, in this area at least, are holding low. Although this segment of the market - 55+ communities - haven't been impacted as much as other housing developments. The salesman told us that they average about 15 home sales a month and they are almost all cash sales. The real negative to us was that they charge a $312/mo association fee which covers your outside lawn care, use of the clubhouse facilities, security and not much else. That seemed like a lot of money to us, and it is going up this year. So much for living among the alligators.

We have what we hope will be our final appointment at Camping World today. The rig goes in at 1 PM for some final tests and they feel that the problem can be fixed with no additional parts required. It turns out that the parts sent to Chattanooga were installed there, even though they weren't the ones ordered. We still can't figure out that one, since they made no difference in the jacks. The local people seem to feel that they only have to "bleed" the lines and everything will be OK again. We hope they are right.

We plan to use our 2nd mini golf ticket while they work on our rig this afternoon. It is cool this morning - 40 degrees - but is suppose to warm up to 70. It should be a nice day...

Visit to Verizon and New Schedule for Repair

It rained nearly the whole day yesterday. The day was used to try and straighten out our Verizon account that has been messed up since we acquired the Fivespot Internet Modem back in early November. We drove to the Store in Clermont to talk with them. As you may recall, the device was replaced twice, and we could not get the use of it while in Campbellsville. I refuse to pay for usage charges for a time period that the device was not accessible. They have a different opinion. If it is used even for one day during a month, it is charged a full month access fee. Times are changing in this world. It used to be that the customer was given consideration for unique circumstances and forgiven fees that were not appropriate or fair. After all, it is Verizon's fault that they didn't have extended coverage for this device in our area in KY. I will not give up on this yet.

We also heard from Camping World and they would like our unit back in the shop on Wednesday afternoon. They are going to try some other tests on the jacks and attempt to fix the problem without the need for parts from Lippert. Whatever it takes, its fine with us.

We now have a bit more of our schedule completed. We will go to the Thousand Trails Park (Peace River) in Wauchula, FL., which is about 50 miles southeast of Tampa. We will stay there for 4 days which is all that was available. That gives us a little time to explore a different part of Florida, and maybe get to the gulf coast and Ft Myers which is a place we wanted to go. Then, we will come back to Orlando to the Thousand Trails Park there to spend another week. Of course, everything could change depending on what comes out of the Tampa Show, if anything. Otherwise, we still hope to visit Josie's sister before leaving the state. It's unfortunate that the jacks problem has controlled our schedule so much.

It's another dreary, cool day here, so it looks like another day of just hangin' out. That's not all bad though, as we are enjoying the free time from the hectic schedule we had at Amazon. Until tomorrow...

Clean The Grill Day

Since it was rather windy all day, it seemed like a good time to clean the grill. The last time it was cleaned - really cleaned - was in Lincoln City early last year. It turned out to be quite a project. We had to go to the store to get a brush, steel pad and some Oven-Off. It turned out that you can't use the Oven-Off on the grill itself (?) but you can on the grates. Some Dawn dishwashing fluid and hot water did the trick. Anyway, the grill looks nearly new again (below) and we used it last night for the first time since we arrived here:

Today we will try to make some arrangements at a Thousand Trails Park that is in Orlando. We are staying where we are so we could be near the Camping World facility, but after they repair the problem - hopefully this week - there is no reason to stay. That would allow us to stay for up to 3 weeks with a minimal cost of $3 per day for utilities. At least, that is the immediate plan until, or unless, something comes up at the Tampa RV Show this week. We are constantly looking out for opportunities that may be here in Florida, but if we can't find something that works for us, we will head out toward Arizona, perhaps stopping along the way.

As mentioned before, it has been a little cool and breezy the last couple days, but we are thankful that we have exited the states north of us - KY, TN and GA - as they are getting snow once again. We'll take 65 and breezy. There is some rain forecast for today and it is a bit cloudy, so they are probably right. It looks like a quiet day at home today...

Playing Golf - Mini, of Course

Among all of the discount coupons we have accumulated here, we had a couple for the largest chain of mini golf courses in this area. The Congo River Golf course was not far from us so we used one of the coupons and played.

 They have two 18 hole courses at this location - the Stanley course, and the Livingston course. The easier of the two - the Stanley - is the one we played yesterday, but we payed to play both courses at a discount. It was an interesting experience. As soon as you enter the complex, there is an area that is full of alligators:

The large alligators weren't visible, but there sure were plenty of these little guys.

The course wound through forests, caves and rivers and went up and down hills which made the whole experience an interesting one.

There was a game within the game that the course offered. If you could find the "hidden" treasures around the course (totem pole, mask, spear, shield and hat) you would win a prize at the end of your round. We got all but one of them and won a small prize anyway - discount tickets for their store. Here's a picture of Josie on one of the holes:

She hit this one in the water on the right where you see the rocks, but ended up getting a decent score on the hole - 3, I believe. It was fun, and we plan to go back and play our second round on the other course very soon.

It is a little cool here now - low of 44 last night with a high of 70 yesterday, and it has been breezy. It looks like a better day today as the sun is shining and there is no wind. We like to watch the Weather Channel on TV and it looks like Chattanooga got more snow - sure glad we left that area.

We have been in touch with Hank and Brenda since we left Campbellsville, and they are now in Wildwood, FL, at a dealership getting the roof of their motorhome re-done. Our plan is to meet up again at the Tampa RV Show next week on either Thursday or Friday. There will be some Workamping recruiters there and we are anxious to talk to them. So far, we have no firm plans beyond this week except to get the jacks fixed so we can move on...

Changing Windows

Since we had to stay close to home to wait for word from either Camping World or Lippert Components about the next step in our jacks repair problem - in case they wanted to work on it before the weekend - I used the time to install our new picture window. We had been looking at swapping out the drab, frosted window that was standard on our fifth wheel when we purchased it in early 2008. There is a woman that makes them  - RV Stained Glass Windows - that we had been corresponding with for some time. This year, we got one as a Christmas gift for each other. The project was a little more difficult than I originally thought it would be - isn't it Murphy's law or the Peter principal or something? - because I had to put putty and silicon around it for weatherproofing. Anyway, I just need to do some touching up but it makes a huge difference in the appearance of our door. Here is a shot of the original window, with the drab and faded white frame:

The picture of the new window didn't show the true colors as a result of shadows and being daylight:

so, there is this shot taken from the inside to show the real colors with the sunny background:

There is still some final touching up required on the new, black frame, but what a world of difference in the appearance. It is also how it will appear from outside at night with the interior lights lit.

Progress is at a snail's pace with the repair effort. I talked to Camping World in the AM, and they indicated that they still were waiting for Lippert to get back to them. At 3 PM I contacted Lippert myself to try to get some movement before the weekend, and it is still a perfect example of the incompetence that is rampant in businesses today. Neither one of these companies is customer service oriented and they only are concerned about making the bucks. Nothing will be resolved before at least Monday now. They still don't know what the problem is. Incredible!

We will try to get out and do some "Florida" stuff to take advantage of the nice weather. It has been a little cool the last couple days, but still sunny, and it is warming up again. Until tomorrow...

A Long, Long Day at Camping World

We were just about on time (8:10 AM) when we arrived at the Camping World facility for our repairs yesterday. The first surprise was that they had me pull into the service bay front-ward, so we didn't have the use of the truck all day as we had planned. They had somebody drive us back to the campground so we could pick up the Jeep to use for the day. We hauled our laptops and coolers out of the truck and made it to the Jeep and were on our way for the day.

We went to an outlet mall that was only about a mile from the Camping World hoping to get a light breakfast and walk around for a couple hours. Of course, nothing opened before 10 AM so we had to settle for an expensive latte and danish at the local Internet Cafe at the end of the mall. The mall was OK, but not spectacular. There was another "Premium" Outlet Mall closer to Disney World that we went to and we drove around for about a half hour looking for a place to park, couldn't find one, and left - frustrated.

It was back to Camping World to see how they were progressing with  the repairs. The water problem was fixed - they replaced the water pump for the 4th time since we bought the rig. The good news is that it was covered by warranty and didn't cost us anything. It's hard to believe that Shur-flo - the company that manufactures our pump - makes any money with the lousy quality pumps they have. It was now after 2 PM and we ended up spending the rest of the day at Camping World waiting to hear about the plan they had to complete the jacks repair. They hadn't resolved anything with Lippert Components by 5 PM so I asked them if we could take the rig back to our campground and get set up again before it got dark. So, it was back to the campground, and still no fix for the jacks.

Hopefully, we will get word today on the plan to complete that work. The people at Camping World are sympathetic with our plight to get this fixed. Lippert Components will forever go down in our book as one company to stay away from in the future.

Still no firm plan in place for beyond our visit to the Tampa RV show next week. In the meantime, we will try to just enjoy the warmth of the Florida sun and continue to check out Workamping opportunities...

Another Offer and Getting Ready for Repairs

We were kind of down yesterday as a result of the non-action at Disney World. Most of the day was spent around the rig - Josie did laundry, I did more organizing and we both worked on a jigsaw puzzle we picked up earlier in the week.

We received an email from the owner of one of the Resorts that we worked in last year - Premier RV Resort in Lincoln City, OR. She indicated that she saw our resume and noticed the experience there last year, had an excellent report from the General Manager about our work and work ethics, and wanted to know if we would be interested in returning as Managers - immediately. What a surprise that was. Our experience there was very good except for the frequency of rain in the winter which we were kind of used to from living in Washington for so long. Our biggest problem, once again, is committing to a long term arrangement. Also, our main reason for leaving last year was the Manager they had there last year, and he and his wife are still involved  with the Resort, even though they (supposedly) are going to another one of their Resorts. The pay isn't bad, but we will probably also pass on this offer. We'll just hang in there until the Tampa show ends next week and we'll see what opportunities come out of that.

It is raining this morning - actually storming - and we need to hitch-up and go to Camping World. It figures that the first rain we get would be on this day. We expect the rig to be in service all day, so anything earlier than 5 PM will be a pleasant surprise. It will be interesting to see how it goes today. That's about it for now...

Put On The Eligible List

I left the rig at 8:15 AM yesterday to allow plenty of time to arrive for my 9 AM interview at Disney World. It is a very impressive facility and operation. I walked along a huge incline, lined with pictures of Disney characters, to the second floor of the Casting Center where there was a lobby and reception area for candidates. I checked in, sat down in the huge lobby and was called in for my interview at 9:10. I was out of the interview by 10 AM. There were several things I was told about procedures, dress codes, job descriptions, hours and just about everything you need to know to begin working there. Finally, the interviewer - a nice lady named Anita - went online to the job openings in Merchandising and discovered that there were no immediate openings. What a disappointment. She indicated that the offices had been closed for the holiday and that any new job requisitions hadn't been posted yet for the next busy season, which is Easter! She put my name on the eligible list for openings in Merchandising and also added my name to another list - Food Service - to improve my chances of being called. If I don't hear anything from them within 60 days, I was asked to contact them again. Of course, we can't wait 60 days to hear from them. So now, we have to regroup and decide what our next step is going to be.

Coincidentally, I had a phone message from a campground in Santa Cruz, CA., asking if we would be interested in coming out there to become Assistant Managers of the Santa Cruz Redwoods RV Resort. I talked with the owner of that campground and he is willing to even provide some travel expenses for us to come there by the end of January. We will be talking to him again today, but we think we will probably pass on that offer. First of all, we aren't too sure we could take the "cool", and rather wet, weather for a long period of time in that location. Secondly, he is asking for a long term commitment which would eliminate our return to Cody this summer. We get "hitch-itch" after a couple months everywhere we go, so a long term deal probably would not be for us. There are some other options for us to look at. One is to complete the application for where we are for openings in Housekeeping and Maintenance. Not our favorite jobs. Another is to see what is being offered by recruiters at the Tampa RV show next week which is probably what we will do. There are several large companies that will be at the show, trying to entice Workampers to come to their many campgrounds that they manage.

All in all, it was a very disappointing day. Tomorrow is the Camping World appointment that we are not looking forward to, but have to do. Hopefully, they can get the jacks problem fixed promptly and we can have the option to leave here on short notice. Until tomorrow...

Visit to Camping World

The main goal for yesterday was to verify that Camping World was expecting us on Thursday, and that everything was ready for the repair work. I spoke with Jim - the equivalent of Joel in Chattanooga - and he seemed very vague. I'm not sure if it is because they are much busier at this location, or if he is just not as thorough as Joel. It made me a little nervous about the upcoming appointment. It is very important that everything go according to plan since we have to hitch up and take the rig in for a full day each time they need to do work on it. Not only that, Jim didn't seem like he knew exactly what the problem was. It appears to me that he wants to diagnose the problem on Thursday, order parts, and then bring in the rig for the install on another day. The goal was to have the right parts already here, take advantage of the work that was done in Chattanooga, and do it all in one day. We'll see.

We also used the day to do a little bit of reorganizing so that our files would be ready for the new year, and the taxes would be easier to prepare for last year. I'm not looking forward to doing the taxes this time since we have income from several states. It promises to be fun.

The interview at Disney World is this morning, so our planning should become easier after that. It would be nice if both of us could somehow get jobs there. Three hours seems like a long time to be in an interview, so I'm anxious to see what they have planned. That is the amount of time they asked me to put aside for the interview. Tomorrow's entry should have a blow-by-blow account of the time spent there. Hopefully, with a positive outcome...

Touring the Town

It was a good opportunity yesterday for us to just drive around the town and get familiar with where things were located. One important trip was one to the Casting Center near Disney World which is where I have my interview scheduled for Tuesday. I didn't want to go to the appointment without knowing exactly where I was going. It was a good thing we went. It is only about 5 miles from our campground, but it is at the entrance to the park and could be a traffic nightmare early in the morning.

It was a very interesting drive around town. We found Costco, Sam's Club, two Walmart's (one of which is a superstore), Office Max (I needed some 2011 material), and just plain stores - everywhere. We took a picture of the way the street looks with all the "junk" shops, fast food places and rip-off joints:

The thing that makes it even more interesting is that everything is very old - 50's style motels, condos and stores. You would think that people would want to update and modernize their businesses.

We have some local trips we also need to take today. We will stop at the Camping World to talk to "Jim" - the counterpart in service to Joel in Chattanooga - to make sure everything is going smoothly with the paperwork transfer and contacting Lippert Components. We also plan to get our Florida driver's licenses since we have a Florida address and vehicle registrations.

It is cloudy this morning but still nice and warm. If the sun comes out, we may even do the swimming pool this afternoon. We have signed up for another week here since we will possibly need more time if the repairs don't get completed on Thursday, and we also plan to go to the Tampa RV show next week which is only an hour away. Everything should begin to fall into place starting tomorrow. The job situation is key to our next move. In the meantime, we will enjoy the time we have here - however long it may be...

Kissimmee, FL and Warmth

We left the park in Adel, GA., at 8:45 after trying to get a start by 8 AM. Once again, we had to fiddle with the jacks controls in order to get the front jacks to a point where they would not drift down while traveling. I mentioned that the problem is getting worse, and they did drop a small amount while traveling yesterday. It was a "let's keep our eyes on them" day. We made it to Kissimmee at around 2 PM which was very good time traveling the 259 miles. There were a couple stops along the way - for gas, potty - and it gave us plenty of time to get set up at our site and do a little exploring of the area before dark. Below is a shot of the site we will be in for at least 1 week:

We were given a choice of this site which is a premium, 100 ft long site, or a regular site that appeared to be very small. It was a no brainer. We can keep both vehicles with plenty of room left over on this one.

It didn't take long before Josie spotted pine cones under a tree that was nearby:

Of course, she gathered a handful or two to add to her collection. She wants to get pine cones from every state we visit. Always the Florist. Who knows where they will be stored.

We went out to see where the Camping World is located and discovered that it is about a half block from here. We can walk to it if we had to. The street we are on is the main drag through Kissimmee and it is a tourist trap for sure. Of course, it borders the Disney World Park so that explains it. There is every restaurant imaginable, souvenir shops, hotels, motels and just about anything else you might want. It is a stark difference from what we have been used to the last several months. The biggest plus though is that it is warm! It was 78 when we arrived yesterday, went down to 62 last night, and is expected to be 80 today.

We thought we might get to go to the pool but there are thundershowers forecasted today, so that may have to wait. It doesn't matter - we are here, safe, and ready to experience the next chapter in our adventure...

Travel to Adel, GA

First of all - Happy New Year! We hope everybody had a grand time last night and aren't hung over too much this morning.

Our plan was to leave at noon yesterday for our trip to Adel, GA., and the Reed Bingham State Park. We had trouble getting the front jacks to stay up and it caused an hour delay. The problem is definitely getting worse and we hope we can get them to stay up for just one more leg of our travel to Florida today. We determined that the bungee cords really don't provide the support to keep them up since yesterday the jacks came down with force and snapped the bungee cord on one side before we could get the jacks to stay up on their own.

Anyway, the trip was uneventful and we arrived here at 3 PM (159 miles) which allowed some time to enjoy the park a little bit. It is another really nice Georgia State Park and we took some pictures during our walk around the area where we are staying. Starting with our site:

It is another huge site that is private and gives us a clear view for our satellite. This park is very big and has a lake that contains several different species of fish and, we hear, alligators that like to sun themselves on the shore of the lake when it is warm. It is warm here now - finally. It was 75 when we arrived and is expected to go to 80 today in Orlando. It is our turn for some nice weather for a change.

Here is another shot of one of the shelter areas in this park:

The one thing that amazed us about this park was the amount of Spanish Moss that is hanging from all the oak trees:

 Josie said this was a florist' dream with all the moss and she couldn't resist touching it everywhere we walked:

After walking around the park for some time, we came back to our site and sat outside for the first time in a couple months. It didn't take long before this squirrel came up to us and started begging for a handout. We did have some peanuts inside and Josie got a handful to feed him. He was obviously used to having people around as he got very close to us to get the goodies we were handing out:

Those last 2 shots were taken of him on our picnic table where we were sitting.

Today we will travel to Kissemmee, FL (254 miles) and the park called Sherwood Forest RV Resort. It is a park that is right down the street from the Camping World and is affiliated with Thousand Trails (Encore Parks) and we get to stay the whole week for $120 which is a real bargain during the start of the peak season in Florida. We hope it works out. It will certainly work out for the first week we will be in Florida since it is also close to Disney World where I have to go on Tuesday morning.

Our trip today will be longer, which means we will leave here earlier - planned 8 AM departure. We hope to get to our destination in the early afternoon to allow some time to set up and explore the park and the immediate area. We'll let you know tomorrow...