Stuff we've learned while living in an RV

Towels never dry in Florida.  Too humid.

We can only drive several hundred miles a day because 60-65 mph is about the average speed we should safely travel.

When we stop for gas, everyone wants to know how many gallons our tank holds (100 gallons), what kind of gas we use (diesel, which always costs more than gas except in California), how many miles per gallon we get (7-8 ish)…there’s always someone at the gas station that is curious. Yes, we fill-up with the big trucks! These truck drivers are all really nice...men and women! They work hard for a living!

We can spend anywhere from $0 a night when we stop overnight…up to $279 a night!  Ok, we have stayed in a Walmart parking lot overnight for free! And no, we did NOT stay at the Newport Dunes RV Resort for $279 a night…but, hey, you can also have your boat at the marina and I’m sure there’s an extra charge for that! We usually try to spend under $40 a night, but during high season we sometimes spend more.  Our spot ON the beach on Ft. Myers Beach, FL, was around $100 a night…our front window view was the ocean, and it was cool.  Our month’s stay in Ft. Lauderdale was $1,600 for the month…but, hey, we were amongst $1 million RVs with people who owned their own site and built tiki huts, indoor bars with 100” TVs, and kitchens…it was a first class place.  We’ve stayed on the sand at Sunshine Key, FL. Our weekend spot at Talledaga Superspeedway was $85…constant rain and cold was no extra charge.

Towels in Arizona dry before you get a chance to hang them on the rack to dry.

Charlie and I don’t always agree. What?!?!?!

We meet the most interesting people.  Marilyn and Larry from Canada…who live in their RV fulltime…they’re called “Fulltimers” and travel the warm US and Mexico each year Oct-April and live and work in Canada spring and summer when not on the road.  Chris and Jim, also Fulltimers, who travel the country while teaching technology classes to RVers…they taught us how to set up our blog! (ok, we promise to get better at it)…Tracey and Phil who also work on the road selling all kinds of electronic products that RVers can’t live without.  Of, course, we bought a bunch of their stuff. We met Marilyn, Larry, Chris, Jim, Tracey, and Phil on our first extended trip in December to Florida…we became instant friends when Marilyn and Larry invited the group over for dinner…they would cook, we would each bring 2 bottles of wine! Instant friendship at the RV park!

When we’re on the golf course, we get the best suggestions from the locals where to visit, eat, drink, golf…Can’t wait to go to Pismo Beach, CA!

We have learned that when we are sick, we should go to the urgent care right away…and not wait until we really feel bad, because then they send you to the hospital for a few days…boo…Charlie started with the cold, bronchitis thing…got him some drugs…Mary got it…hung in there way too long before we made it to urgent care who immediately told us to go across the street to the hospital…who promptly checked me in for 2 days and treated my bronchial pneumonia and sent me home with more drugs…ok, those drugs didn’t work after the 10 day dosage, so back to the UC for more drugs…those worked immediately and after 4-5 weeks, Charlie and Mary are cured and back on the golf course.

Our mountain bikes are great for cruising around and checking out different areas.  Riding everywhere around Key West was the best! Find a place you want to stop, there’s always a tree or a fence to lock the bikes up to…ready to head off to Hogs Breath Inn…yep, there’s a tree there, too.  While riding on South Beach Miami, you can lock your bikes to a palm tree while you attend the South Beach Food and Wine Festival while hanging out with Rachael Ray, Anthony Bourdain,  Emeril and the gang…just hop on your bike afterwards to get back to the car.

We’ve learned that if the road is really narrow and windy and maybe looks like a 40” RV shouldn’t be driving on it, it most likely means that we are going to get stuck on the curb and need a really big tow truck to get us off the curb.  Oops, it was a long 4 hours the night we tried to check into Santee Lakes, CA (close to San Diego) and missed the main entrance and found a really badly designed secondary entrance.  We were told by many people that we weren’t the first to get stuck there…didn’t help as we turned away the first really small tow truck who said he would just attach his wench and drag us off the curb…oh, no, this is my house and I just didn’t think dragging my house was a good idea.  An hour or two later the REALLY large tow truck showed up and on the 2^nd attempt got us safely back on the road…minor damage that was fixed with a visit to Rick’s RV the next day.  Oh, the adventures!

We also learned that sometimes gas stations have crappy exits…yes, it is possible to try to leave the gas station and bottom out the front end on the way out…ok, it only crunched one of the fog lights that was a bad design and was hanging too low anyway.  And, we’ll most likely never drive in fog anyway.

We tow our Chevy Equinox…so we have a vehicle to drive once we park ourselves at an RV Resort.  You canNOT backup the RV when towing the SUV…so, if you get into a situation that requires backing up…you must detach the towed vehicle from the tow bar…then reattach the tow vehicle.  We’ve only had to do this a few times, but it’s a pain.

We cannot go under bridges that are less than 13'7”…otherwise we will be driving a convertible RV.

Lance’s (the cat) fur mostly matches the colors in our new home…grey, with a little beige…oh, even his little kitty vomit (one-time deal) matched the rug…thanks, Teresa, for choosing the right colors during our makeover! 

Charlie and I always agree to what time happy hour starts.

If the gas gage gets really low, it’s important to get gas…the next diesel gas station may be miles away. Nope, we haven’t run out of gas, but came close once :(.

Rolling down the road…we have a Picture Window To The World…right in front of us.  We sit in front of this huge windshield and our chairs are 6-7 feet in the air, so we can see faaaarrrr and over the top of all the cars.  When there’s an accident down the road, we can usually see what’s up before we get there.  Rainbows look cool, too.

Follow the truck drivers on the detours.  They know what’s going on.  And, someday we’ll learn to use the CB radio, so we can even talk to them!

3 grandkids can comfortably spend the night on the pullout sofas!  A second night may have been more than Harper and Avery needed, but I’m sure Ella would be back without any hesitation.

The weather in Southern California is the best!!!!!!!!!! Warm and sunny all the time!

Adding the Earthquake App to my phone is fun…but I still haven’t felt an earthquake while we’ve been here.

By adding your email address on our blog, you will be notified when we post an update…since we don’t do it very often, sorry.

Sometimes stuff breaks and someone has to fix it.

Talledaga, baby!