New Years Eve in Fl

We spent the day in Gainesville with my cousins at the flea market! What fun.  We found a back scratcher for my traveler and sheets and green bags to keep our produce fresh.  Tonight we are staying at the RV resort so we are not on the road. 
For dinner we had hamburgers on the grill, potato chips and pickled beets.  It feels more like Spring  than New Years Eve. 
We took the dogs for a walk and the stars are so bright!!  The campground where we are staying is about 10 miles North of Gainesville.  We have stayed here before and like it here.  The people are great and give good service and the animals that they keep here are wonderful.  So far today I have seen 3 cows, a horse, donkey, emu, several goats and a large assortment of tropical birds.  In the morning it sounds like we are on a tropical island with the wildlife singing!
We will spend the day tomorrow with my cousins and watching football games like the rest of the world.
Tues. we will take our new rig to a warrenty repair shop to have the water leak, water heater and cable system worked on.  Hopefully, they can get it all fixed in one stop.  I sometimes wander if buying a used vehicle is a better idea as maybe all the bugs will be worked out!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maiden Voyages are tough

We made it to Nashville, TN on the first day of our journey but it wasn't easy!!!  The bridge over the Ohio River was over full of cars and trucks and was stopped at Exit 2.  We crawled along until we got on the bridge when the red "error" light came on the new towing system.  We had to wait until we got to a place where we could pull over and look at the problem.  Apparently, the braking system had run the battery down to the point that the engine wouldn't even turn over.  I disconnected the system and off we went.  We arrived in Nashville 2 minutes before the RV resort we were staying in closed!!  We got set up just before the rain started! 

This morning it was still raining and the dogs got us up at 5:30am but we went back to sleep until daylight.  WE have a leak!!! OH NO!!  A little water made it's way into the coach during the storm!!  GREAT!

After a call to Nexus to find a repair place near our next destination a call was made to Indy to find out about the braking system then a trip to the Ford dealership and got a new battery.  We visited the local Camping World and I let my "travel campanion" come in with me and of course she found something we couldn't live without so,  $500.00 later, we have a new mattress for our rig.  I told them that she can't come in their store again....

We are off to Alabama tomorrow!!

Visitors from Mississippi

We had a great visit with the people from Mississippi who came to see how our folks are getting along after their moves from institutions.  My oldest daughter, "Q", was the hostess for a visit so they could see how well she and her roommates are doing!  "Q" showed them around her home and sat in her favorite chair and allowed her staff to answer questions about how people with significate disabilities could live at home, close to their families, and thrive!  It was a lovely evening and one that I hope will encourage them to continue with their work in Mississippi.
I got an invitation to visit the Center in Miss. in Jan. when we drive thru on our way to Texas. 

Getting Excited!

The house has been cleaned, the tree is up, the cookies are made, presents bought and wrapped, about half of the cards have been written and we are ready to go!!  We still have grits to make and packing to do but we are so ready to go!!!  Snow is suppose to fall tonight and it is getting cold and we are so ready to go!!! 

If the weather cooperates we will leave the 26th after the tree has been put away, cookies eaten, presents delivered and opened, grits eaten, and the "basement" of the motor home packed and we will go!!

SNOW!!!

I thought for sure we would be out of town before I saw snow but NO here it is!!! Oh well at least it isn't sticking yet!!  I just hate to walk the dogs and have their little feet covered in baby snow balls!!  We are trying to organize our belongings so we know what to take and what to leave here.  It's not easy!  I finally have come to the conclusion that there are stores all over the USA so if we do not bring it and need it I bet we can buy it!!

Here We Are!

Yesterday we spent a great deal of the day getting our new rig and car set up with a new towing system for getting our car to travel along with us!!  I think it will be a lot easier than the tow caddy we used before.  I hope so because I really hated to spend the money on another system!!

We are so ready to leave and go South!  Another reason to be excited about xmas!!!

She's Here!

We got our new "toy" home last week!!  She is beautiful!  We are so happy that we made the decision to trade in our Class A for the Class C.  My "travel companion" likes the drive so much better.  She said that she thinks it is so much easier to drive and I must agree!  I have spent the week trying to find places to put everything that we think we will need for the next trip.  We will be traveling for nine (9) months in 2012.

We will begin the day or so (depending on the weather) after xmas and head South.  My cousin is having knee surgery so we are going to Florida to help out for the month of Jan.  We will then head West to Texas and stay there for about two months.  On to Carlsbad Caverns for a visit on the way to Arizona where we will spend April and May and then North to the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Park.  July and Aug. and the first couple of weeks on Sept. we will be in Oregon for the Summer!!!  We can't wait to get on the road again!!!!

We got home Sunday and I have spent everyday since cleaning out the "bus"!  I can't believe we were carrying around so much stuff!!  Fortunately, we have an empty one car garage that I have almost filled with the thngs we thought we couldn't live without for two months on the road!  Imagine how much "stuff" we will think we need for 9 months on the road!!!
My "travel partner" says we are going to minimalize for the next trip---we'll see!!!
We pick up our new rig next Wed. and are very excited!!  I hope Indian Summers comes this year so we can have a little test weekend before the big travel day gets here.

Well, we bought a new rig!!!  In fact, it is featured in the Oct. 2011 Motor Home magazine.  She is beautiful!!  It is a class C instead of another Class A.  We have really loved our Class A but we could never upgrade to another unit as they are so expensive.  The C class we bought is 31 feet long and can sleep 6.  It has full body paint, not decals, and is very comfortable inside.  It has the same motor as the Class A and a lot of the same features.  One of the better features is a fiber glass roof instead of rubber.  It also has a microwave oven and a regular oven.  More storage space in the kitchen.  I think we will be very comfortable in it.

I am in Goshen, IN the buggy capitol of the World!!  I am with 275 RVing Women for a week long conference.  We took a tour of a factory today.  This factory builds and sells motor homes.  We were really impressed.  In fact I am going over there tomorrow and drive one!

We then toured the RV Museum and saw some of the first RVs ever made.  It is amazing that people were brave enough to drive cross country in some of the contraptions we saw today.  True pioneers!

In the beginning

 My name is Nanette and live in Indianapolis, I enjoy traveling.  I am also the mother of three "only" children.  I say that because each of my children are so individual! 


 My oldest daughter "Q" is 47 with a significant developmental disability that required her institutionalization for about 25 years.  She is now purchasing her own home in Indy down the street from me. 

 My son "the cool man" is 45 and also lives in Indy and works as a heating and cooling expert.   


 My youngest daughter "the blueberry farmer" is 39 and has my three grandchildren on the orchard in Oregon.

I have a companion "fellow traveler" that goes with me in the motor home as well as our dogs Lucy, Ethel, Fred, and two cats Nutmeg and Xenia.

Our next trip is to Goshen, IN for the RVingWomen national convention in Oct. You can contact RVing Women at .www.rvingwomen.org.