Mini Golf

One thing about this area is that there are many miniature golf courses to choose from if you want to play. We had coupons from several different courses, but chose this one - Bonanza Golf - because it was one we drive by all the time and it looked interesting because it was on a "mountain". As we arrived:

we discovered we had to go through a gift shop in order to reach the start of the course. They get you coming and going at this course. There are actually 2 courses so we paid for rounds at both courses, since there is a huge discount if you purchase both rounds at once. We did a similar thing at the last course we played. Anyway, we chose the easier of the 2 courses - which wasn't so easy - and Josie got a hole-in-one at one of the more difficult holes that was a spiral, downhill drop of perhaps 10 feet. We had to get a shot of this from above the hole:

The ball really is in the hole.

It was a really nice course as you can see from this picture:

It was a close match and I only beat Josie by a few strokes as she is getting much better at this game. We will use the second round that we purchased at a later date.

Today is a full day of working the parking areas. I'm not looking forward to it as there is very little down time with this work detail. It is the 2nd game of Spring Training for the Braves, so from that standpoint it will be different. I don't believe there are any other events scheduled for the day.

We are close to making a decision on our next move from here. With spiraling gas prices it appears that a long trip to a workplace is probably not going to happen. At least, not all at once. We are leaning now toward the Big Pine Key opportunity. A final decision will be made this week...

Parking Assignment All Day

It was the busiest day so far at work. I was assigned to work the parking detail and spent the entire shift, from 10AM till 4:30, working non-stop except for my usual breaks. The reason was a result of 6 different events: Disney's Princess Half Marathon Expo, Disney's Princess Half Marathon, Pro Soccer Classic, Four Seasons Contest of Champions (Dance groups), NFL Flag Football National Tournament of Champions and the Braves' Spring Training Practice. Just about every inch of parking space was used and people were coming and going all day long. It's amazing how they can accommodate so many events at once. I was ready to leave when my shift ended.

It will be more of the same on Monday, only longer, as I have to work in Parking from 8:30AM till 5PM. Monday will be the 2nd Braves game. I'm glad that I have today off while they have all of the events above, plus the opening game for Spring Training. I picked up my schedule for the following week, 3/6 - 3/12, and I still am only scheduled for 2 days. The total hours for the 2 days is around 18, but I still need more than that to justify staying here. Changes may be in the air.

It looks a lot better outside today in terms of the wind. Maybe we can get our golf game in today. The temperatures are climbing - 90 yesterday and high 80's expected again today. It could be worse...

Wind Changes Plans

It was very windy when we got up and started our day. Much too windy to play golf, so we planned to do some local stuff. The last time we were here at the Thousand Trails campground, we stopped at a fruit stand up the road a bit and bought a bag of fresh, locally grown oranges. They were so good that we went back yesterday and bought some more. The season is about over for those, so it was a good time to go.

We also needed to get a prescription for Josie for high blood pressure. She had been on medication for that but the combination of being away from her doctor for over 2 years, and not seeing another doctor in our travels, resulted in her not being able to get it refilled. When they took her blood pressure at the hospital, it was very high, and they would have given her a prescription for her medication if she had known the proper dosage. Of course, she didn't have the bottle with her from the last prescription so they couldn't do it. Yesterday, we went back to the hospital - with the empty prescription bottle - and got a new prescription for her. By the way, her thumb is also healing nicely.

While going out of the campground we came across these sandhill cranes that were doing a mating dance and we were able to capture them between steps:

 They were jumping up and down but we couldn't catch them in the air. There were 5 in this group, so we don't know which one was odd-man-out.

I also called yesterday and made an appointment to have our fifth wheel washed and scrubbed by a local mobile detailer today. For $80, they pressure wash the roof and wash the whole rig which is so dirty it is almost embarrassing. We are not allowed to wash our own since there are severe water shortages in this area and the campground forbids it. The detailer brings in his own water which is why we are able to use him. He is due to arrive at 9 AM, which is about the time I have to leave for work. I work from from 10:00 til 4:30 today, and then have off until Monday. That's it for now...

Unplanned Visit to Hospital

It was around 10:30 AM while we were getting ready to go to the Thousand Trails campground and select our site for the next 3 weeks. As Josie was gathering up the trash to dispose on the way out I heard this loud "Ohh! Oww!" and looked up, and saw here grab her thumb and hold it in the air. She had pushed down on the trash in the bag and cut her thumb on a loose can lid that was in the bag. It looked pretty nasty so we went up the street to the CVS Pharmacy that has a mini clinic with a Nurse on staff. She recommended we go to the hospital emergency since it was a deep cut and most likely needed stitches. She was right.

I decided that, after Josie got settled in a treatment room in the emergency, that I should go to Thousand Trails alone to select the site before all the good ones are taken while she waits for the doctor. We were fortunate to get the same, nice site, that we had before going into the cabin a couple weeks ago. With that done, I returned to the hospital and Josie was just finishing up - with 5 new stitches in her thumb. We celebrated by having a late breakfast at Denny's.

That was not a good start to our day, although we were now set to return later to Thousand Trails with our site already assigned. The next item on the agenda was Camping World, where we arrived around 3:30 after packing up and leaving the Sherwood Forest campground, to have our water pump checked. For a while, it seemed like they might be able to fix the current pump, but after several tries, realized they had to replace it once again. This one - our 5th - is replacing the pump that was just installed in January. Believe it or not, they tried to charge us the labor for installing it. After they peeled me off the roof, they went ahead and installed it at no charge. The gall! Charging labor to replace an item that they installed 30 days prior! It was then on to our home site for the next 3 weeks.

We made a trip to Sam's Club and then Walmart, to get an antibiotic prescription for Josie's thumb, then settled in for the night. It was a busy day, and not all pleasant, but we're ready to attack the next few weeks, starting with my next work day tomorrow. In the meantime, we may try a new mini golf course today that is not too far from here - if Josie can play with her thumb bandaged. Who knows, it may be the ingredient for a better swing and better score...

Checking Out the Casino

Our trip yesterday was to the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tampa. It turns out that there is a second one in Hollywood, FL, between Miami and Ft Lauderdale in southern FL. The one in Tampa is huge and we were surprised that when we went to the RV show at the fairgrounds in Tampa, it was less than a mile down the same road. How did we ever miss it?

It had a grand entrance to the Hotel and Casino:

There was no way we were going to miss the entrance. The Casino was split into the two halves of the Hotel and initially when we walked into the smaller half, we thought it was a small casino. After stopping at the Players Club window to pick up our card that we get at every casino, we discovered that, across from the lobby area, there was a much larger section of the casino. We weren't too impressed with the slot machines as they were mostly all 2 cent, nickel and quarter machines that required a couple dollars on each spin in order to win anything. We did locate an area where there were a couple machines where we could play and the maximum bet was only about $1.25, so we played those for awhile. We started with a stake of $80 each and when that was gone, we would leave.

After playing the machines in this area for some time, we each got lucky and hit a jackpot. Josie won $340 and I won $134, so we decided to put that money aside and finish playing with the rest of our money that we had at the start. After using our original stake, we cashed out the jackpot tickets and used the odd amounts to play some more. In the end, we played from 1 PM to 5 PM and left with $400 in our pocket. Not too bad.

Today is moving day again. We will go to Thousand Trails this morning and select our new site for the next 3 weeks. Then, it is back here to pack up and go to Camping World to get the water pump fixed before going on over to the new site. It is a continuing saga with this pump model, but our hands are tied with the warranty, so we will keep putting in a new one until we find one that is good. It is beyond us how they can work in other rigs that are identical to ours. That's about it for now...

Braves Homecoming Gathering

I was relieved when I arrived at the complex a little early (8:30) for the 9 AM meeting. Almost all of the people were dressed in business casual with just a few that didn't get the message and showed up in uniform:

It was still a bit foggy as you can see above, and the people in uniform can be seen here and there.

We were led into the HP Fieldhouse - one of the venues for events - and just located a table and sat for the meeting to begin. I counted about 90 tables in the room with 12 people seated at each. That's over 1000 people and they are all workers for the Wide World of Sports complex during the Spring Training period:

The shot below is of our table and the person next to me in the uniform is Robert Moxley, whom I went through training with and have become good friends:

He is the individual that brought in the grapefruit and oranges for us from his trees at his home in Winter Haven, not too far from here.

The morning session was a corporate Rah Rah session filled with statistics and facts about the company and was interesting, but not worthy of the time they allocated for the presentations. We broke for lunch at 11:30 and went outside to go through buffet lines - about 10 of them - to get food to bring back into the meeting room:

It was a nice spread with salads, sausage, pulled pork BBQ, Philly steaks, desserts and your choice of drinks ranging from water, ice tea, and juice.

The afternoon was breakout sessions in different parts of the Fieldhouse for the various groups - Custodial, Food and Beverage, Guest Operations, etc. - and the meeting ended at 3 PM. All in all, it was a nice day and a welcomed change of pace. There was only 1 representative of the Braves at the meeting - Fredi Gonzales, Manager - who thanked all of us in advance for what we do to make their spring training successful. All in all, it was a nice day and welcomed change of pace.

While at the session yesterday, Robert let it slip that his wife went to the "casino" with her sister while he was at the meeting. That's all Josie needed to hear and we will probably go to the Seminole Casino in Tampa today - just to check it out, of course. We'll certainly have a complete report on that tomorrow...

Uniform or No Uniform

The first thing to mention is that we woke up to thick fog this morning. I'm kind of in a fog anyway between my cold and the confusion about what to wear to work today. The group leader that was responsible for assigning the parking locations for us to work on Saturday mentioned that today - Braves Homecoming - was not a normal dress day. I have not seen any communication to that affect, nor has anyone else mentioned that, but it makes sense. The purpose of the day is to welcome the Braves to Spring Training and there are no real assignments. He indicated that it was a business casual dress day, and not to wear our uniform. Well, I'm going dressed business casual but I'm taking my uniform just in case. My plan is to stay in the car until I see people arriving and can tell what they are wearing. If I see business casual, I'm out of the car and on my way. If I see uniforms, I'm out of the car and changing right there before I check in.

The point to be gained from that short discussion above is that I don't know who our supervisor is. This is the first job where I just show up for work, clock-in and get a printed job assignment from the attendant at the desk. I've never had instructions or conversations with any one "manager" type individual. There has never been a time when one individual has addressed us or walked up to us and said "I'm the boss". I'm thinking that whoever that person is should have clarified everything about the day to us. Oh, well.

I also wanted to mention that once again we have a water pump failure. When we were at the rig while it was in storage, we went to use the water in the fresh water tank and the pump wouldn't turn on. I tried it again when we arrived here, prior to connecting to the fresh water hookup, and it still is dead. I called Camping World and scheduled another trip there for Thursday, as we leave here and before we get back to Thousand Trails. I'm hoping it's just a loose connection and not a pump failure, as this would be the fourth time for this same pump model. They aren't able to change the model as that would void the warranty. I guess they will have to keep replacing this same model until we get a good one. Every other Mobile Suites has the same model and they haven't had this problem so it is beyond me why our unit just can't handle it.

It's time to have breakfast and get going this morning. I'll take the camera and try to get some shots of activities during the day. Until tomorrow...

Going Through the Cold Cycle

The last few days have been kind of "downers" for us as we both are recovering from colds. Mine is just getting into the worse stage while Josie is about over hers. We didn't do much yesterday except watch some of the Daytona 500 and sit outside to enjoy the sun.

We had our mail forwarded to this location and we picked that up yesterday which means it had to arrive on Saturday. That's OK since there usually isn't anything of any consequence that we are expecting. We did receive my Disney pass though, and it is good for myself and 3 guests for each day I want to use it. The only restriction, as far as I know, is that it can't be used on certain blackout dates (holidays) and cannot be used more than once a day. I'm almost certain the use of the card goes away when we leave in early April - if we stay that long - hurry on down, Patty. We are definitely going to take advantage of the card, and soon.

Today is the last day before working again tomorrow. I've heard that the whole day will be a welcoming "party" for the return of the Braves to Spring Training. I don't know what that means except I was told to dress in business casual and not to bring lunch. Just about everybody is on the schedule for that day so it must be a big deal. I'll take the camera with me just in case. In the meantime, I'll chug some more medication and hope the cold improves...

Scheduling Disappointment

The assignment I was given yesterday for the entire shift was parking. There were once again several different events - Presidents' Day Fastpitch, Twirl Mania event, Disney's Presidents' Day Soccer and USA Competition Gymnastics. That made for a parking nightmare and traffic jams everywhere. We use about a half dozen parking areas, including bare fields, that were almost all totally filled. The first half of my shift was at the entrance, directing vehicles either into the parking area or to valet, handicap, or to the drop off area for participants. It was relentless. The second half was in an area where the people that were leaving had to cross the busy entrance street and I directed traffic like a school crossing guard. It was a long shift even though it was only a total of 6 hours, and my back was aching when it was all over for me at 8PM.

I also picked up my schedule for next week - the first full week of Spring Training games. I was disappointed to see that there are only 3 days scheduled, and none of those are in the stadium. Two of the days have me in parking once again, and the third day I work in Guest Operations, which could be anything - turnstiles, usher, people traffic control. etc. The total hours for the week are only 20, which just isn't going to cut it if we are to stay until April 2nd. That is a problem we need to address.

The weather has been terrific though, and it looks like another stellar day today. It reached 80 yesterday and looks like the same today. It's also nice to see that the rest of the country is having a taste of warm weather, but don't put away the shovels yet.

Today is a day to recover from colds - Josie's is almost gone, and mine is almost at its worse. We can't figure out where or how we caught them but these days you only need to touch something or be near somebody that has one to catch them. Regardless, we will enjoy the day...

Smooth Transfer

We were right on schedule yesterday with the move to the Sherwood Forest campground. The time was 10:45 when we dropped off the cabin key at the office and checked out of the storage area. The storage area was located in a very sandy area of the park and they told us in the office when we checked in last week to beware of the soft sand while locating a spot to park our fifth wheel. We found a spot that was better than most but it still was in an area with some soft sand - most of which wasn't under the rig, but under the tow vehicle. It's a good thing we have 4-wheel drive on the truck, as it was needed to get us out of the spot. As mentioned, the fifth wheel was fine, but the truck sank down pretty good with the weight of the rig all hitched and ready.

It was only about a half hour before we arrived at the new location and this time we weren't given a choice of our space, but had to take one that was pre-assigned. Even though it is a little tight (below), it will do for a week:

We had to park the truck behind the fifth wheel, and the Jeep is squeezed in on the front.

The rest of the day was spent getting the inside organized again and Josie did a load of laundry.

It was really too much to hope that I wouldn't catch the very bad cold that Josie is starting to get over. I woke up this morning with a sore throat and I have to go to work today at 1:30. Wonderful. I just hope that it doesn't get as bad as Josie's. This week I have Tuesday also scheduled to work with Sunday (tomorrow) off. Weird scheduling, I'll say. I'm anxious to see the new schedule for the following week which will be the first full week of Spring Training. It needs to have more than the 2 six hour days per week that I am currently working. I'm sure it will work out...

Ready to Move

We made one trip to the trailer with most of our clothes and the food that was in the pantry that we hadn't used. On the way to the storage area, we stopped at the laundry so Josie could put her favorite blanket in the wash. She made it about a year ago and uses it as her "security" blanket in the trailer while she watches TV. It would be ready for the dryer when we finished at the trailer.

After spending about 1/2 hour at the trailer, we decided to take a trip to one of the large Jeep dealers in Orlando to check out some options we might have to trade ours for something newer. They had a few that were anywhere from 1 to 3 years old, but only one of those had 4 wheel drive which is a definite requirement for us. There have been many occasions where it has saved us in the past. Anyway, it was a 2010 model with 36K miles on it, and overpriced. We also looked at new Jeeps and quickly decided we didn't want any long term financial commitments so we passed on those. I guess we will bite the bullet and spend the money to make our Jeep last a while longer.

On the way home, Josie suddenly realized she forgot about her blanket in the laundry room at the campground. It was now about 5 hours since she put it in the washer and we were hoping that it was still in the laundry room and no one took it. Fortunately, it was still there and she was like a kid that found his lost puppy. I mentioned yesterday that she was down with a sore throat and cough, and it worsened as the day progressed. This morning - moving day - she is in bad shape with her sore throat and cough. I'm sure we will manage and get everything out of the cabin and checked out by 11 AM. The Sherwood Forest campground is only about 10 miles from here, so it isn't such a long trip.

It should be an easy transfer to the new location since most of the stuff has already been moved. I will go to the trailer now to turn on the refrigerator so all of the food from the cabin that is left in the freezer can be quickly moved without any thawing. It's a nice, sunny day for moving...

Closing Down a Short Week

It seems like we just arrived in the cabin and its time to leave tomorrow. The time just got away from us and we wish we had more of it to enjoy this different experience. The cabins are nice and we will keep them in mind for other Thousand Trails locations that we stay in the future. From what we read in our monthly magazine from Thousand Trails, they are all pretty much the same as far as configuration and amenities. For one free week a year, it's a great benefit. Actually, they aren't that expensive even if we pay for a stay outside of the free week - $49/night. That's the member rate which isn't bad at all.

Josie hasn't been feeling well the last couple days as she suffers through cold symptoms. With a sore throat and cough, it hasn't been the most pleasant time for her. Medications are helping though and she should be back to her old self soon. We are grateful that we haven't had any illnesses since we hit the road, except for these very rare occasions with minor aches and pains.

We are getting closer to making final decisions on several fronts. First of all, we will wait on any major changes with the fifth wheel/motorhome issue. We want to have more room financially to acquire the right combination and we aren't there yet. Instead, we will look into trading our Jeep for a newer one so that we don't have to spend a lot of money buying new tires, brakes, battery and having major service performed. We will also look into setting up a towing capability on the fifth wheel so that we can tow it instead of driving it to save on gas and wear and tear. Most states will allow towing another vehicle behind the trailer. We have 92,000 miles on the Jeep now, so it's time to look for change. Anybody that knows me knows that 6 years of owning the same vehicle is a record.

We have also eliminated a return to Cody this year. The distance is just too much to cover without taking a few weeks to enjoy the trip - which we wouldn't have. It is now between Virginia and Big Pine Key. Further research into the beaches issue has revealed that Big Pine Key is home to the nicest beach in all of the Keys - The Bahia Honda State Park and Beach - and has all 4 and 5 star reviews. We are also assured of working close to 40 hours a week there, where we are not assured of more than 24-32 hours per week in Virginia. So, we are leaning now toward the Keys, but haven't made a final decision yet.

Our reservation is made for next week at the Sherwood Forest Campground in Kissimmee which is where we will spend our 1 week out of the Thousand Trails system before returning for another 3 weeks on the 24th of February. Our plan today is to begin taking some things back to the fifth wheel in preparation for departure tomorrow. Maybe we'll even get a swim in today...

Decisions, Decisions

We went to the mini RV show at the clubhouse yesterday on the way to the pool. They had about 15 rigs at the show, including 2 new Doubletree Mobile Suites that were different models from ours, but pretty much the same layout. The changes have been subtle but very good. The main addition is an automatic leveling system for the fifth wheel that we wish we had an option of getting. Even though we have the hydraulic jacks, it would be nice to be able to just push a button and the rig would totally level itself. Like everything else, the newer you get, the more modern you get. There were several used motorhomes that we went through but were not impressed. If we ever made the move to one it would probably have to be a new one, or very near new, so that we could get a warranty with it and also know that there are no "hidden" problems.

It was a great day to go to the pool - near 80 degrees and sunny - so we spent quite some time there enjoying the spa (Josie & ? below):

 and the pool:

We also spent a lot of time discussing options for our next move. An important consideration is costs associated with getting there and we calculated the following distances to the locations we are considering, using Clermont, FL as the starting point since that is where we are located in the Thousand Trails park: Clermont to Cody = 2258 MI, Clermont to Bethpage = 810 MI, Clermont to Gig Pine Key = 352 MI. Although it is very close, the Big Pine Key has some other considerations that are not so positive. Namely, I'm not sure if I can use our Verizon equipment there (phones and internet). It appears that only A T & T and Sprint are there. We will get clarification of that. Most other services are there, but shopping is a problem and we have heard from talking to others that the beaches are man made and not very nice ( we will research that) and even though the new technologies give plenty of warning for major storms, such as hurricanes, it is still a huge hassle to evacuate the Keys on the 2 lane road that connects to the mainland. We can imagine the traffic as everybody scrambles to get to the mainland. There are many positives, but we need to be realistic about the negatives.

Cody is a long way off and would cost a lot in gas to get there (approximately $1300 in diesel and regular unleaded, if we drove both vehicles). Virginia is looking a little better every day, but the money isn't quite as good as the other locations. Decisions, decisions.

The next week or two will be very interesting as we sort out all these options and make the decisions. That's about it for now...

Getting Some Color - and More

It was one of those days where we felt like relaxing in the sun. There have been so many cool or cloudy and damp days that we haven't really had an opportunity to sit out and get some sun. We were both anxious to get some color which is what your suppose to have in Florida - right? We made our morning trip to the clubhouse and discovered that there was a local RV dealer that had set up some trailers and motorhomes for a mini show outside on the lawn. We went through all of those and returned to the cabin to sit out on the deck and read the paper:

It was around noon when we decided to take a drive to the largest RV dealer in the world (they claim) - Lazydays, in Seffner FL, just outside Tampa. We got to thinking about some options for us that we wanted to pursue. As mentioned before, we were thinking of selling the Jeep and just using the truck as our only vehicle. Another option, and perhaps an even better one, is to sell the truck and fifth wheel, buy a motorhome, and tow the Jeep to use as our vehicle. Wow! What a major change in thinking that is. Now that we are completely sold on this lifestyle, we feel that a motorhome may be justified. Of course, we would have to get enough out of the sale of our existing vehicles to make it work. Anyway, it is an option we thought we could pursue at this large dealership.

We had a very nice salesperson take us around - Sharon Harmon - who is, along with her husband, another salesperson at Lazydays, going to Yellowstone this summer to work at the book store at the Old Faithfull location in the park. We had a lot to talk about, of course, and they both are anxious to pick our brains about places to go and things to see in that area. They happen to own 2 homes - one in Ohio and one in Florida - that are rented since they are not able to sell them in today's market. Sharon showed us several motorhomes that would fit our budget, some a couple years old, and some that were new. Josie and I decided to think some more about doing this and we certainly would be able to get a better deal if we sold our vehicles ourselves, instead of trading them. That is a lot more difficult than it sounds. Where would we put our things after they were sold and before we picked up a replacement? Where would we stay after they were sold and before we picked up a replacement? The logistics of the swap could be difficult.

At any rate, there was another dealership that set up a mini show in the same area of the clubhouse lawn while were gone yesterday afternoon. The dealer that set up is none other than the local Doubletree dealer and he has a couple of rigs like ours set up, along with several motorhomes and other trailers. We will check it out today.

The day was a very enlightening one and created several options for us to evaluate and decide what is in our best interest right now. Coupled with our decision of where to go from here, we'll have to spend more time outside in the sun to discuss these choices. Starting today...

More Cheerleading

The first 2 hour stint at work yesterday was in the same spot I finished the day before. It was practically a front row view of the competition for the National Cheerleading Championship. There were 2 locations in the complex where the competition was being held and after my first 2 hour stint, I finished my work day at the other location in a different complex. The view was almost as good there while working and I was able to watch the competition right up to the end at 9 PM last night.

In conversations with other people I was able to find out that there were 27 categories for this competition. There were Varsity Division I & II High Schools, each with non-tumbling and tumbling, building (creating human pyramids) and non building, Junior Varsity with all the same breakdowns, Jr High teams, Recreation Club teams, and several others. I thought that there were at least 100 teams here, but I think it is closer to 200. It's ironic that both of the National Championship teams from the 2 main categories are from Kentucky. The Division I champion is Paul Laurence Dunbar High School from Lexington, KY, and the Division II champion is Greenup County High School in Greenup, KY. I watched the final performance of each of those and they were very athletic and very deserving from what I could see. There was a video played of the first competition held in 1990 and the presenter of the championship trophy was Jerry Lewis. They've come a long way since then.

This has been a very quiet Valentine's season - the second in a row for Josie. She feels very bad that she wasn't able to get "involved" in the big day from the florist standpoint. We always thought that no matter where we were, there would be a need for help at shops to get the work out. The business has obviously been impacted by this poor economy. Maybe it will improve as time goes on. We hope so.

We will take advantage of the nice weather we are expecting this week. Today we plan to take a drive to some areas we haven't seen yet. That is, after we do our workout and have morning coffee at the clubhouse...

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Interesting Day at Work

We are pretty much settled in for our cabin week. There were only 2 trips back to the fifth wheel to pick up a few items that we didn't necessarily forget, but thought they would be useful here. It seems like the weather is improving so it should be a nice week.

The day at work was different from any I've had before. First of all, when I arrived for my 2PM shift there were vehicles and people everywhere. I had to park in a grassy area far from the complex and walk a fair distance to get to our check-in office which is in the stadium. Each of our daily assignments is suppose to be 2 hours long after which we get "bumped out" or relieved by another individual. We are handed a printed slip of paper with instructions on where to go for the next 2 hour assignment, or go to break, or lunch. After the break we go to the office, key in our ID number and get another assignment.

It was very cool all day and I wore my shorts which would have been a mistake if I had to work outside somewhere. I was lucky though, and had all my assignments indoors. There were 2 major events - field hockey championships and the National High School Cheerleader Championship. I was fortunate to be assigned in different locations within the fieldhouse where the Cheerleading Championship was being held and was able to watch the competition while directing foot traffic and generally, just guarding my area. I was able to stay warm and also enjoy the competition. These teams have all won regional competitions to get here and there were probably 100 teams representing all parts of the country.

I wasn't able to hear the final results but watched several teams from cities I knew - Rancho Santa Margarita High School in CA, and Germantown High School from Philadelphia, to name a couple. I can say that high school girls didn't look like this when I went to high school. Maybe it's because I'm just too old to remember. Anyway, it was a lot of fun to watch and the work assignments were easy.

My start time today isn't until 3:30, so it will be a long afternoon and ends at 9:30 tonight. The competitions go until 10 PM so it is also a long day for the teams. I will be happy to get assignments like I had yesterday, but we never know until we get there.

There's not much else to mention, so that about wraps it up for now...

New Home For a Week

Since we weren't able to check into the cabin until 4 PM (we originally thought it was 3 PM), and we had to check out of the site by 11 AM, it was decided we should talk to the office people about a late check out. They were very understanding and cooperative and granted a late checkout of 3 PM. That worked perfectly. It gave us more time to get things together and meant we didn't have to go anywhere to kill time.

We checked out at 3 PM and took the rig to storage and got it all set up in its home for the next week:

We packed everything into bags from the freezer and refrigerator to take to the cabin and shut down the fifth wheel.

The cabin is very nice and will be a pleasant break from our normal digs. There is plenty of parking, it is relatively private and is located in a nice area of the Thousand Trails park. Here is a shot of the cabin:

We were very fortunate to get this one that has a hot tub on the deck, which can be seen below:

It also has a bathtub/shower combination which was good news for Josie who likes to take bubble baths and has been craving to take one for quite some time.

The inside is very practical and has plenty of room. There is a loft that is great for people with kids as there are a couple mattresses on the floor which is about all that fits up there. The living room/kitchen area is nice as you can see from this picture:

The bathroom and bedroom are typical for this kind of cabin. There is a queen bed in the bedroom which is OK and plenty of closet space. Everything is provided - dishes, linens, silverware, etc. - and we only had to bring our clothes and food. It should be a pleasant week.

Today is a work day starting at 2 PM and going till 8 PM. It will be the first full work day without training which ended last week. I'm looking forward to this new experience and the fact that each day will have unknown assignments until I arrive and pick up the duty assignment. Until tomorrow...

Cool and Wet

As expected, it was cloudy and raining most of the day. We had .24" of rain and it was in the form of mostly light rain. The temperature never got above 67 all day which isn't too bad, but coming after a 76 degree day with sunshine, it was a disappointment. Unfortunately, today is starting out the same way and we have to move. We stopped at the office yesterday to find out if the cabins had a washer and dryer and, of course, they don't. Josie was going to get some laundry done before we moved but didn't want to use the pay machines if she could do it for free.

The cabin check-in time is 3 PM and we need to leave our site here by 11 AM, so we have a few hours to kill before actually moving in. We wanted to see the cabin before today but they said that if anybody goes inside, they would have to send the housekeeping people back in to clean it all over again. I guess we understand that. So, it will be a total surprise today when we walk in. They told us that everything is included and we just need to bring clothes, toiletries and food. It's good that our real home will be nearby in storage so we can get last minute things if we need them. It is guaranteed to be an interesting experience, good or bad.

My work schedule has me on duty tomorrow, starting at 2 PM and working until 8:30 PM. It will be much better when the Spring Training games begin and I can work the normal hours - at least, that is what I am anticipating. People are telling me that there will be many more working days and with normal hours once they start. Pitchers and catchers are due in on Monday, so it's almost here.

It's time for some breakfast and then we'll begin getting things together for our move, so until tomorrow...

Enjoying the One Nice Day

It seems like we have been getting 1 really nice day per week, and we had it yesterday. It is back to raining again this morning and the forecast isn't pretty for the next 2 days. We were able to enjoy the nice day yesterday though.

After doing our workout at the fitness center, we went to the post office in town to pick up our mail and we stopped at an RV neighborhood that was very different from traditional neighborhoods here. The houses all had RV ports attached to them and almost all of the owners were snowbirds, from what the salesman told us. We looked at several models and drove around the neighborhood and were impressed with the designs and the prices which were in the $150K to $250K range, depending on size (1400 SF to 2200 SF). Below are a couple of these - the first one is a model with a carport instead of garage, and the second one is of one of the homes already occupied:

It was a very interesting option for RV'ers. The community also had a clubhouse and swimming pool and the association dues were a robust $55 per month - unheard of today. Of course,  that probably only covered the pool and grounds maintenance, but it is very reasonable.

We also completed our applications for the job in the Keys and sent them on for processing. The decision still hasn't been made as to where we will go from here. We are still mulling over the options and will decide within the next week. It would be a mistake to make an emotional decision on where to go and we just want to be sure of the choice. One key ingredient to the choice would be which one would provide the best opportunity for future jobs. The experience we would get in Cody would provide future opportunities at other Comfort Inns, since our job this year would be to learn and work with that new system. The opportunity in the Keys would open the door for other jobs in the ELS (Equity Life Style) Property system which includes all of the Encore parks and Thousand Trails parks which I discovered they purchased just last year. They also own several other types of properties across the country. It will be a tough choice. The opportunity in Virginia is one that would only give us an opportunity at the one other park they own which is also in Virginia. That one may be the last one we consider, although the area is one where we would like to spend more time. Whichever we decide, we are grateful to have the choices.

Nothing special is planned for today so maybe we can begin to prepare for our transfer into the cabin tomorrow. We are not sure how that will work out, but the week is free and it gives us a new experience. The fifth wheel goes into the storage area here, so it will be handy if we need to get anything. It will be a situation similar to when we stayed at Patty's where we packed a bag and stored the rig nearby. We also made a few trips to the storage area there to grab some last minute stuff.

That about does it for today...

Adding to the Mix

Just when we think we have everything we need to make a decision on where to go from here, something happens to reset the process.

We responded to an add in our Workamper News a couple months ago when we were looking for jobs in Florida that was for the Equity Life Style Properties. They are the organization that owns the Encore Resorts and are affiliated with Thousand Trails. The Sherwood Forest Campground that we have used here is one of their properties. They also have other properties and campgrounds all over the country. Anyway, we received an email asking if we would be interested in working at their Sunshine Key Resort in Big Pine Key in the Florida Keys, beginning April 1, and working through next winter.

The pay is better than either Virginia or Cody, except that we would have to pay for our site at a spectacularly low $350/mo, where the sites normally rent for $1600+/mo. Even after deducting the site cost, the money is better. We aren't quite sure yet about the location - 39 miles from Key West - but it looks like everything is available - stores, restaurants, wi-fi, etc. - within a reasonable distance. It is a tropical location but don't know if they have the same "bug" problems there that they have on the mainland. Everything we have read so far indicates that it is a wonderful place to go. Decisions, decisions.

We went back and forth with them yesterday asking questions and making sure that we both would be working the same hours/shift and have the same days off. We ended the communications with an application that we are going to complete and send back. That doesn't mean that we have decided to go there, but it means we haven't dismissed it either. We would save lots of gas as opposed to going to Virginia, and especially Cody, but we need to make sure it would be a positive experience for us. Hang on!

It was 37 degrees outside this morning with sunshine. There isn't much to do in the sun when it's that cold. We're hoping it warms up so that we can at least get outside and enjoy it. We stopped at a fresh fruit stand yesterday and picked up a bag of oranges that were locally grown. I work with a gentleman that brought in a bag of oranges and grapefruit from his trees for us, so we have plenty of fresh Florida fruit to eat. We may get tired of it before it's all gone, but it beats the store-bought stuff. That's about it for now...

Very Windy Day

It was windy most of the day yesterday - 20 mph - and we had rain to boot. Who named this the Sunshine State? Actually, it was still warm (82) even with the wind and rain.

We ran a couple errands after going to the fitness center and then settled in back home. I spent most of the day finishing up our taxes which was no easy task this year. I use Turbo Tax software and even though it simplifies the task, I have to complete State Tax returns for 3 of the states we worked where they have taxes. One State return is included with the version of Turbo Tax that I have, so I used the one where we got the most money back - Kentucky - and will mail that in today. As a non-resident of the state, we have to mail the return. The Federal return was e-filed, but I found out that as a result of all the tax law changes at the end of the year, the IRS will not begin processing returns until February 14. That's nice. Suppose I told IRS that because of all the late changes to the tax laws I wouldn't be able to get my taxes done until May 15? At any rate, it will be nice to see a refund check, whenever they can deposit it into our account. As far as the other 2 states where we need to file that have State Income Taxes- CA and OR - they will have to wait awhile. Wyoming has no State Income Tax.

We received the paperwork from the Virginia Campground at Bethpage where we have been given an offer to work this summer. We still haven't decided for sure where we will go, so I guess we need to do that before completing the contract and sending it back. They want us to start as early as April 2, and work until November 21. That's an awfully long time to be in one place. They did say that we could change those dates, but we would want to stop working around the first of October, at the latest, so that may cause a problem for them. We usually get anxious to move on after about 4 months, so we'll see.

The sun has returned this morning. Maybe it should be called the Sunshine State. We will go to the fitness center and do our daily workout for about 45 minutes and then try to enjoy some of the nice weather today. A visit to the park at Disney World will be forthcoming when my free passes kick-in, supposedly after 3 weeks on the job. I need to get clarification on the number of passes and how they can be used. No matter what the program is, it's a nice benefit that saves lots of money. Until tomorrow...

Super Bowl Sunday

We remember that this time last year we were in Columbia, CA., at 49er Ranch watching the Super Bowl. At that time, we had a party in the barn room and I ran the "pool" for the game. This year was very different. It was just the 2 of us and we had our own little party. We picked up some veggies and dip and also some buffalo wings to cook for the game. Coupled with some margaritas, we had a nice Super Bowl afternoon. The game was great and it was a good day to be inside with the rain and cool weather that we had all day.

It's still cloudy and cool - 58 this morning - and we are hoping for some sun today. There are a couple errands we need to run and then would like to start on a tan that we have been waiting to do when the weather cooperates.

Our arrangements now are almost complete for the rest of the time we will be here. Reservations were made for another 11 days here at the Thousand Trails park which will take us to April 4th. That is the tentative date for us to head out after my commitment is completed at Disney World. If all goes according to plan, we would have been here over 13 weeks and have had to pay for only 5 of them - and those were at a huge discount - so it wasn't too bad on our wallets as far as space costs go. If we had known how long it was going to take for the jacks repair, we could have planned for another "free" week in early January but we had to be close to Camping World. That's the way it goes. The big decision for us now is where to go from here. We have guaranteed jobs in both Virginia and Wyoming for the summer. That decision will be made very soon...

Tossed to the Wolves

The first half of the day yesterday at work was spent covering some final details about the turnstiles and their operation. By lunch time at noon we were done and we were then tossed to the wolves, so to speak, and were actually assigned a turnstile at the main entrance. At first, it was a very nervous time as I was expecting unique problems to occur but there weren't any major problems and I got into the routine fairly quickly and enjoyed the assignment. Also, the trainer stood behind us for awhile to help with any unusual problems. The most serious problem was that the turnstiles went offline for about 5 minutes with a software glitch which meant we had to do the ticket checks manually during that time. The day was a good wrap up to our training. My next scheduled day is Saturday and I start at 2 PM and work until 8:30 PM - not the best schedule. I'm still hoping for more, regular hours, and soon.

Florida is called the Sunshine State, but there hasn't been much of that the last few days. Yesterday and last night we had over .10" of rain which doesn't sound like much but it was in the form of a steady drizzle most of the time. We do feel fortunate though as most of the rest of the country is suffering through a lot worse. At least the temperatures are in the pleasant range here - 79 for a high and 57 for the low. The forecast isn't much better but the poor folks in Dallas have taken a big hit, financially, from the weather leading up to today's Super Bowl. My guess is that the people that choose the sites for these games in the future will stay with the almost "guaranteed" nice weather areas of the sun belt - such as Miami, Southern California and Arizona. I hope it's a good game and we will be watching.

The week ahead will be important for us. We will have to finalize our plans for the next year and I will get our taxes done. If we get some sunshine we will also enjoy some outdoor activity of some kind.

Enjoy Super Bowl Sunday everybody...

Turnstiles Training day

You would think that allocating a whole day - actually 2 days, including today - to training on turnstiles would be waaay too much time. Not true. We spent the entire day training on these and we still have things to learn. There are many different types of tickets - Coach passes, Athlete passes, general admission, length of event, etc. - and we need to know how to respond to problems with each type. It may be that a parent is trying to use an athlete pass, or a child is trying to use a coaches pass, or whatever, and we have to be able to direct individuals to the proper locations to either buy the right ticket or certify that they are allowed to enter the event. It gets complicated. Plus, there are turnstile locations in different parts of the complex where procedures are slightly different. Add to all of this the problems associated with getting wheelchairs for the handicap and dealing with folks trying to "sneak" in, and situations you can't imagine, and it is a very complex duty. I'm not sure it's one that I would relish doing regularly. Today is "hands on" experience day at these turnstiles as we have a huge event going on - the National Dance Team Championships. It should be a fun day.

Josie spent some of her day watching more of the local "wildlife" and was able to capture these pictures during the day:

There is a fairly good size lake behind us and these animals certainly hang out there and probably come up to the campground looking for food every day. At any rate, they are seen walking around all day long. The sandhill cranes are especially active and we have seen lots of those. The turtle is a new critter in our neighborhood but I'm sure there are more around.

One more day of work this week and it's time off until next Saturday, unless they add hours to my schedule. I know they will increase when Spring Training games begin so I'm looking forward to that. Pitchers and catchers are scheduled to arrive on February 14, so it should pick up after that. The first scheduled game is on the 27th.

Time to get ready for work so that will end it for today...

A Walk on the Boardwalk

One of the missing items from my "uniform" was a hat that was acceptable for the working uniform. The ESPN store at the Wide World of Sports complex where I work was closed yesterday, so we had to go to the sister store that was located on the "Boardwalk" at the Disney Resort Hotel on Lake Buena Vista.

When we came to Orlando in 1998 for the FTD Convention, we stayed at the Disney Dolphin Hotel which was right on the lake that is adjacent to the DisneyWorld Park and Epcot Center. We took the boat ride all around this lake at that time and it brought back memories of that trip we made back then. We had brought Nan along on that trip and we are thankful that she had an opportunity to visit here with us before she passed away. Here are a few shots of this area:

It is a neat place to go before entering the Park areas.

When we got back home, we were greeted by some of the local "wildlife" here in Clermont Florida:

And that's about all the wildlife we will see here. Except for all kinds of birds, that is.

Today is a work day - the first of 2 - so I need to cut this short in order to get ready. It is "turnstiles" training day so we'll see what that involves...

Starting on Taxes

The only place we went yesterday was to the Post Office in Clermont to pick up our mail and to stop at Kohl's so that Josie could inquire about employment. They indicated that they still had some of their Christmas help and nothing was available. Not surprising. They are probably not a place that is impacted by the tourists as much as many other businesses.  The first paycheck from Disney was deposited and I'm hoping that I can squeeze more hours out of them. Supposedly, when all my training is done, I should see an increase in work time - especially with the Spring Training games starting soon.

The other main activity was to begin on our taxes. There is only 1 W-2 still outstanding but there is enough information to get that dreaded task started. It is a little more complicated this year since we had income from 4 different states. There is no state income tax in Wyoming, so that helps.

As promised yesterday, I have a couple pictures that we took while going to the clubhouse for our free coffee and newspaper that our membership provides each day. Below is a shot of the pool area:

As mentioned yesterday, there are 2 pools - the one on the left is barely visible and is the adult pool that is next to the fitness center. Then there is this picture of the area containing the shuffleboard courts, the tennis courts (background) and the kids playground area:

There are lots of things to do here with all the events that they schedule like craft shows, dancing classes (line dancing), potlucks, sporting tournaments and other specialty group activities. Most of the people involved in those are people that pay an extra fee to stay the whole season in the same park. Our membership allows for a maximum 3 weeks at a time, with at least 1 day out, and then back for another 3 weeks - providing there is space available. That allows for other members to get reservations. It is a fair system and we don't object to those rules.

I expect to get more done on the taxes today, so my last day before going back to work tomorrow will be busy. This week I am scheduled for Friday and Saturday so I get to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday. Later...

All Set Up Again

The trip to Clermont was uneventful - good news. The jacks seemed to have functioned normally at both ends of the move, and they remained in the raised position during the entire drive. Of course, it was only a half hour drive to the Thousand Trails park but it was a good test. We really like this park and once again, we have a great site, with nothing behind us:

The registration for both the fifth wheel and truck were due for renewal, so we drove to Clermont to the Tax Collector's office - the place in FL where you pay for registrations - and got them both renewed for another year. One of the main reasons for using Florida as our address is the low cost for vehicle registrations. The combined total for both the trailer and the truck was $200, whereas in AZ it would have been $1500. That's a no-brainer.

When we returned back to the campground, we took a walk to the clubhouse and each had a big cup of ice cream from the store and just checked out everything. Tomorrow I hope to have some shots of this huge clubhouse area. There are 2 pools - 1 for adults only - the clubhouse, a fitness center with all kinds of equipment, the store, tennis courts and an area for other outside activities like horseshoes, a playground for the kids and, of course, shuffleboard (the old-folks game).

It doesn't look like a very nice day today - clouds and 67 - but it is better than most other places in the country. We have been watching the Weather Channel and it is not a pretty picture in the Chicago area with the blizzard they are having, so we hope that Patty and her family stay safe and warm. It's close to the time of year that we used to go back and stay with the kids while she and Mark took their annual vacation to warmer climates, so we know how bad it can get.

Until tomorrow...

Longer Term Arrangements

The main thing we accomplished yesterday was the completion of reservations for the next 7 weeks. All but 1 of those weeks will be in our Thousand Trails park. We leave today to go to the park in Clermont where we will stay until Feb 11. We then put our rig in temporary storage there and stay in one of their "Getaway" cabins where we get a free week each year as part of our membership. We then will return here to Sherwood Forest for a discounted (paid) week, and then return to Thousand Trails again for the next 3 weeks. That takes us up to March 18th, and our total cost will only be for the 1 week back here at Sherwood Forest.

We checked a couple places yesterday for Josie to work without success. One flower shop in Kissimmee indicated they may contact her if they find out they need somebody. We are now convinced that the impact of the economy on the flower business is deeper than we originally thought. It used to be that these shops would roll out the red carpet for extra help during the Valentine's Day holiday. Before the downturn, they could never get enough help. Actually, we've seen where several shops have closed their doors and gone out of business during this economic depression. Like everybody else, we hope it changes soon. In the meantime, we'll keep searching and will enjoy the weather and the location as much as we can.

Today will provide the first test for our new jacks. We expect to raise them when we leave, and see them in the same position when we arrive at the new location, without any stops to raise them again. It's a good thing that we aren't that far from Camping World if there are any problems. We're certain that they are also hoping that they have seen the last of us.

Our plan is to leave by 10 AM, so it's time to have breakfast and get ready to leave...