Some facts and pictures can be deceiving.

Cars of beauty:

I could really like this '66 Ford pickup to work out of. ;-)

Friday’s stuff:

We once bought a house on the internet. In the pictures it appeared to have a large front yard. Then when seeing it for real, it was a nice yard but was not huge or large as appeared in the photo.

That is why I, especially, wanted to see some of these places up close and personal.

We looked at six.  We drove by most of them, no need to stop. It was obvious these were not for us. Two show some possibilities, but neither said to us, “You should call the realtor and put a down payment on ME!”

One Sherry liked, the other I liked. She picked an older trailer in a neat seniors neighborhood, very quiet, ready to move in condition.

Asking $55,900 2BR/2BA

. Home has recently been painted inside and out and roof has been pressure washed, coated and sealed. Washer/dryer are less than 1 year old and other appliances are newer (except dishwasher). Hot water heater is approximately 4 years old. Fully fenced back yard which also includes a shed. Really super cute and well maintained! Move in ready - partially furnished

I liked one located on a canal, with  a few hundred yards to Lake Istokpoga.  The neighbor said about the trailer, “It has a nice Florida Room.” She withheld comments on the rest of the trailer. LOL It appears to need a lot of work (right down my alley!), but my sweetheart is afraid I over do things. I have no idea where she gets that idea. MMM?

The pictures of the place sorta put me off, because it looks like To storage buildings or two trailers on the same lot.

 

Asking $62,500 (Repaired and updated it would bring $110k easily.)

 The storage building on the left is only 20' off the road and facing the canal, for some reason. No pictures of the inside were given. Looking in, there was a reason. It NEEDS a lot of work, but REMEMBER it is on the water, just down the street is a home worth about $500K same canal. Across the canal is the same.

BUT, but the place does have its own dock!!!!!!

After all she said, she did say the only way I would go there is to live in our RV. Ah ha, no problem. The coach will fit and I can run water/sewer and electric.......

She is thinking 

But it is so far out of town...  I am thinking..BUT THE FISH!!! and the fun!. LOL

WE probably will get neither, but what would you take? Remember if you go with Sherry I will know you really want on the water!  LOL

Imma suggest she get both!   LOL

 

Nite Shipslog 

Lake Istokpoga is well known for fishing. WE know only one story about the lake. My sister and her hubby were fishing and doing great, when the waves got up and flipped the small boat. They didn't see their young son of 5 yrs old. Dick dove under the boat and brought him out, unharmed. they climbed on the boat and were rescued by other fishermen.

Well we are here but why are we here?

Cars of beauty: Yeah, another Edsel

Thursday’s stuff:

First to answer 2 questions:

Why are we here?....We are looking for a place with 2-3 Bedrooms, 2 baths, preferably a trailer (for tax purposes). I would love one on a canal, but must keep in mind what Woody said about flow, depth and cleanliness.  Most likely we will not find anything in our budget on the water.

Did we have Alligators when we lived on on Lake Dora?

 YES we had alligators close to our pier often. WE had a sea wall but neighbors with no seawall had gators in their yards.

NOW>>>>

We left a couple days’ worth of food for the cats (Michelle, our neighbor, will be back today.) She feeds the cats better than I. We left Belmont, NC at about 6AM. I drove straight thru stopping for fuel and two rest stops. It is about 530 miles. We arrived at around 4PM, and only got lost once. It is fun getting lost in a town with 55 feet of vehicle that cannot back up. We saw some new places in Brunswick Georgia. LOL

Many more RV’ers are here than I expected. Wildwood will be our base. Today we are on our way to Sebring, FL.  We will be doing a lot of talking on our drive and down time. The question in both our minds is…. WHAT DO WE REALLY WANT TO DO?

We sure enjoyed the drive down. BTW we were not stopped driving into Florida, although there was a SIGN COVID 19 CHECK POINT

ONE MILE AHEAD

BE PREPARED TO STOP.

But no one was there traffic passed at 60-80 mph going south.

 

 

Nite Shipslog 

Living on a Florida lake

Cars of beauty:

 1969 GTO, the Judge!

Entry for Wednesday (Posted early because we hope to be on the road first thing in the AM):

I thought I wanted to live on a lake. A few years we went searching for a place. We found a nice senior community in Tavares Florida and we bought a Trailer on Lake Dora.

WE had a 70ft (socket) pier. A socket is a U shape at the end that allows disembarking either side of your boat.

Son Mark brought his boat down for us to use until we got what we wanted, and later bought. It was an older pontoon boat.

Florida lakes I am familiar with are fairly shallow from 4 feet to 20 feet on average. I didn’t realize that allows for large waves quick in the wind.

At times I thought this one would jump out of the water.

After a few months I felt sorry for the boat, it was getting beat. The HOA did not allow lifts and boat houses saying it deprived the interior residents of a lake view. I watched the boats do this, pulling against lines and wearing the boat ties. I signed on knowing the HOA rules, so I did not complain, just hurt for the boats.  The HOA also did not allow for renting or leasing your property, so we sold when we decided we had more fun on the road. LOL

I am thinking it would be better to be on a canal rather than on the lake proper, in Florida. Not that we will be looking at either this time.

Now I did enjoy the sunrises and Morhens that shared our pier and boat.

Nite Shipslog 

PACKING! and We’re coming with you!..

Our rolling love nests.

 
Our first motor home to see if we could live like this. We learned we could, so we started looking for something larger.

NOTE: It is embarrassing when I make a mistake, I seldom do!!!!  LOL LOL. But Rick caught a BADLY placed year on  the T-Bird a couple blogs past, IT DEFINITELY WAS NOT A '56 it is a 63 dolled up some.  Thanks Rick... My face is red.  I changed it, I would not want that to stand uncorrected. LOL 

For Tuesday’s stuff:

Sherry came in from the deck last night and said that there were two kitties, one black and one striped on the motorhome step, looking sorta like they want to go with us tomorrow. LOL

Until last year, for the previous 20 years we have seldom packed for a trip. It was nice to move around and take everything with you. We actually forgot the convenience of having our refrigerator, stove, cookware, closets, bath and bed on wheels. Leaving was a matter of unplugging shore connections, securing loose chairs and the few loose things. Then hit a button, pull the step in and raise the jacks. We didn’t even have to lower the TV antennae since we seldom raised it. Then start the engine, hook up our tow vehicle and head out. Knowing we had what we need.

Our first real rolling home, a 38' Overland Coach. I painted sort of a gawdy bra for her.

I said all that to say it ain’t as much fun to take trips when you have to ask yourself, “Do we have everything we need?”

Our last and resent coach is a 38.5' Diplomat with two it has been good to us.

I do not have to move any clothes, I have enough left in the coach that doesn’t concern me. But you ladies know you must take ‘certain pants, blouses, and maybe a dress or two. Maybe you should take several of each just in case. I understand that. Men can live with slip over shirts and jeans. That is why as a rule men fit better in the military they don’t mind wearing the same style of uniform daily.

We have a friend Don, he spent so much time on submarines he can live with a white t-shirt and jeans. His lady, Evelyn is having a tough time retraining him, but she has only been trying for 55-65 years now, she thinks there is still hope.

Anyway, for us, this is packing and prep day.

Son Mark has his house in New Port Richey remodeled and ready to sell, we want to see it and look around for ourselves. It will be a short trip.

The long trip a few weeks later has many possibilities, Michigan, Dakotas, Utah and Oregon. Maybe swing back thru Las Vegas.

Nite Shipslog