Fun at the Tampa RV Show 2016

Since we are in the Tampa area, we wanted to check out the Tampa RV show again.  I think this may be the second year we have been.  Three years ago we went and attended two days of the event.

One of the benefits of some shows is that Blue Ox sends a team of techs who do maintenance of the Blue Ox tow bars.  It's about three years since we had that done (at the Quartzsite RV Show) and time for more maintenance.

The hard part in all this was lugging the 35 lb tow bar from the parking lot to the ticket booth.  There was no easy way to get to the Blue Ox repair area which was about 1/2 mile on the far end of the Tampa RV show lot.

As we stood in line waiting to get in we saw a guy with a dolly and lamented "I wish we'd have thought of that".  He was nice enough to offer to put our tow bar on his dolly along with tow bar.  What a nice guy!

 We wound our way over to the Blue Ox area and arrived about 9:20 AM and got in line.  Good thing we got there early.

 We were hoping to drop it off and get it serviced that same day so we wouldn't have to pay admission again just to pick up the tow bar.

After we got done with the show, we went back to the Blue Ox area and the tech was working on our tow bar.  We got to watch him do his thing.  Very interesting.  He basically wiped down each arm with a silicon solution and applied some grease.  Then he replaced the plastic washers and took apart the ball joint to make sure everything looked good.

He finished in about 20 minutes and he even gave us a ride back to our parking spot. 

At the show, we wander through the first large building we could find with suppliers and displays.

We were looking for a 'hang down awning' to attach to our main awning.  We've seen a lot of people who tie down the awning and then attach some additional shade. 

We were also curious about what the 'hot items' were this year.  Was it LED rope lights?  Or ladders? or??? 

Another thing we were looking for was campgrounds who were offering free nights at there campgrounds.  We decided why not?  We haven't completely filled in our schedule for the next couple of months so we figured that might be fun to check out some new parks.  

We also like the 'freebies'.  Sometimes we stumble across a pretty cool give-away so we kept our eyes open for those.

One of the goals of our time there was to meet up with long time RV blogger friend whom we have never met - Joe and his wife Carolyn.  Joe and I met online about seven years ago I think, and we have conversed a few times as we roam around the country.  But we have never met face to face.  

He and Carolyn are spending the winter in nearby Clermont and he suggested we try to meet at the RV show.  We are always up for that so we agreed on 11:00 AM for lunch.  It took a few phone calls because I kept referring to where we were:  The "Winnebago display" or "the LazyDays area".  Trouble with that was there are lots of each.  Both Winnebago and LazyDays have many areas in the fairgrounds.  

We eventually got together and enjoyed our time over lunch.  We beat the main crowd by about 15 minutes so we avoided the long lines.  It was great to get to know them a little bit and hear their story and how they started out, where they have been and basically 'chew the fat' for a while.  We vowed to keep in touch and continued our wandering throughout the buildings and RVs.

One thing that is always fun here are the characters that parade around.

We went through a couple of buildings and didn't really see much in the way of new products.  We did see a lot of 'glue' solutions.  Looked like another version of Super Glue to me?  We did find a number of campgrounds that were offering some free nights.  But I never found the hang down awnings I was looking for.  

We stopped at the Freightliner and Cummins displays and picked up a couple of hats.  Sometimes those items are good to give to mechanics on the line at the Red Bay Service Center or our next? diesel repair shop.

And we lined up and went through the million dollar motor homes just to see the latest.  Pam and I decided the we liked the first one we went through was the best.  

The Newell was a cool $2.0 million.  We loved the interior!

The interior designer did a great job.  And the huge picture windows were fantastic.  I casually asked the salesman what the profit margin was on these units. He looked at me as if I had three heads and said, "I'm not going to tell you that -- it's classified!"   No surprise there, but it's always fun to ask and see what they say.  

He did indicate some of the benefits of this custom coach.  The 300 gallon diesel fuel cell could be expanded to whatever we wanted.  Same with the 160 gallon fresh water tank.  Nice to know... :)

After that we toured a couple of Prevost units.  One was listed at $2.7 M and we didn't like it as much as the Newell.  We also toured a Foretravel unit that was priced at $900,000.  In our first year on the road, we toured the Foretravel factory in Nacogdoches, TX.  We were shocked at what we saw here.  The interior was all white.  As in subway white tile.  It was awful.  But still interesting.

That was about it for our day the Tampa RV show.  Lots of fun and the highlight was meeting up with Joe and Carolyn!  
We are enjoying our time here in Florida!

Friends on Friday

After being here at MacDill AFB in Tampa a few days, we contacted friends Marj and George.  We knew they were spending the winter in Florida.  After some work on their coach they indicated they were going to Key West and after that back to the central Florida.

To our delight, they were at Lazy Days for a while and we are less than an hour from them.  So we decided to get together at the FamCamp.  We have enjoyed their company and friendship since we first met them about four years ago.  We were in the dry camping area at Sigsbee Navy Base in Key West.

They were the friendly sort and we hit it off.  I remember going to the Sunset Celebration with them and then over to dinner at Kelly's.  Later, we saw them again in Seal Beach Navy Weapons Station Campground in California.  And another time in Tucson at Davis-Monthan AFB.

After chatting a while in the Roadrunner we went over to the SeaScapes Beach House that is a short walk from the FamCamp.  They had a pretty decent lunch menu.

It is right on the beach and has some great views.

Before long I notice a guy across the way and looked a little more closely.  Sure enough - RV and Habitat buddy Jim.  And his wife Betty!  We haven't seen them in a couple of years and here they are.  Having lunch the same place as we are.

They came over, met Marj and George and we had a great time catching up.  What are the chances?  Another reason why I love this lifestyle!  We get to meet up with our RV friends!

Jim and Betty had just arrived at the FamCamp and moved from the open field / boondocking area to a campsite right across from us.

We spent some more time with Marj and George before they headed back to Lazy Days and we hope to meet up again with them later in March before they head out West.

And we are able to enjoy Jim and Betty's company a few more days before we leave on Monday for the Lakeland area.

It was a fun Friday and a beautiful day in sunny and warm Florida.

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

On to Tampa

We moved on from Cedar Keys to Tampa and are enjoying Florida.  We feel so fortunate to be able to do this for another winter.  We love the lifestyle and are living the dream...

We got underway about 8:30 AM or 9:00 AM on Monday morning and thoroughly enjoyed the drive.

We purposely avoided the major freeways and headed south along some small towns along Highway 98 and 589.  We got to see some new areas and it was a divided four lane highway.

We had called to the FamCamp at MacDill AFB and expected to be in overflow/dry camping for at least a week and we picked a spot in the open field and got set up.

We had plenty of room from our neighbors and found a level area.  The Winegard Dish/DirecTv dish always takes a long time (35 minutes ish) but it locked on so we were glad about that.
Boondocking causes us to get into a different mindset of conserving water, limited our use of our own toilet and running the generator a couple of times during the day.  Perfectly manageable things and fine with us.  At $10 a day we figured we'd improve on the daily campground fee average.

To our surprise we got a call the next day and were able to move to full hookups.  I guess some civil engineering folks got back from the holiday and decided they could release more sites that had been upgraded throughout the main park to 50 amp.  Fine with us.

We moved over to the spot where we will be for a couple of weeks and got set up there after only one day in overflow.

Shortly after we got settled in the vacant spot next to us filled in.  It's a little tight but not too bad.  Full hook ups is nice and no issues with the neighbors so this is doable.  $20/night is fine.

We got in touch with Bill and Marg who are near Lakeland FL at Sanlan RV Resort for the winter

We took a day trip over to see them and it was an easy hour's drive.  The last time we'd seen Marg and Bill was after Adam and Melissa's wedding in October.  They came down from Petrolia Ontario (across from Detroit MI) for the wedding in Fairfax VA.

It was really great to spend time with them.  We went out to lunch at a local place which was fantastic!

 Plenty of food, good prices and tasty!

Afterwards we went back to the campground and then took a little tour of the expansive trails on the property.  They have a golf cart and their neighbor let us borrow his so were were off!

 We stopped along the way a few times.  If you look closely you can see some residents' bird houses hanging from the branches.

 Beautiful and very peaceful paths.  We saw an alligator along the shore, egrets, blue heron and other birds.

The trails go along a few holes of the golf course and it goes for 3 or 4 miles on the resort property.  Its perfect for a good hike, ride or a bike trip.

We're off to a great start here in the Tampa area and are enjoying the warmer temperatures.

That's all for now on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Museum in Cedar Keys State Park

We have really enjoyed our time here in Cedar Keys over the last four days.  It was pretty nice weather and fairly warm.  We didn't get to do all we wanted to here so we will have to come back.

Though it rained a couple of days, it was perfect for reading and watching football games.  When the weather was decent, I was able to give the Roadrunner a long needed wash.   And I think we rounded the corner on getting over the crud so we are feeling more normal every day.

One day we drove around the town and drove through neighborhoods and along the water as much as we could.  We noticed a whole lot of houses for sale.  And not surprisingly there are a lot of 'us' here.  'Us' as in snowbirds.  This place has a definite small town feel with lots of condos and apartments as well as a number of RV campgrounds.  We love just ambling through the town and seeing what we could see...

We drove over to the nearby Cedar RV Resort which is about 100 yards away. It looked like a very nice place and an option next time.  Although we like it right here at Anglers RV Campground at site #54. We'd probably come back here if we had the option.  Its nothing fancy, a little older, but it has a good mix of old and new and is a very friendly place.  And the price is good.

While here, we are hoping to see the museums but were only able to see one.  There are two museums in Cedar Keys:  The Cedar Keys Historical Museum and the Cedar Key Museum State Park.

It was raining yesterday but since it was our last day, we wanted to check out what we could.  Our first stop was the Cedar Key Museum State Park.  For a $2 entrance fee it was great!

 The first thing I noticed was this sign indicating John Muir was here in Cedar Keys.  Really?  I thought he was a Sierra Mountain/California outdoorsman and naturalist.  He visited after the Civil War in 1867 on his 1000 mile walk from Louisville KY.  Fascinating reading in his A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf.

 Inside, there were a number of small 'basic/" displays.  It was just what I like:  a few tidbits, a few historical facts and something I could digest and remember.  My goal at at museum is basically to come away with some type of working knowledge of the history and what the place is about.

 We learned the Cedar Keys once had a bustling red cedar lumber industry.  A New York businessman - AW Faber - was looking for lumber for pencils that didn't splinter and red cedar fit the bill.  He bought large tracts of land to build two mills.

He also imported graphite from Siberia.

 Fishing was a major industry here.  Now the main industry here is tourism and clams.

 On the property of the museum is the home of Saint Clair Whitman.  It was moved to its present location and is a great display of life in the 1920's.

 My favorite room in the house was the kitchen.  Look at that modern stove.  Pretty nice!

 And the Starbucks coffee bean grinder on the wall.

 My dad was born in 1912 so I can imagine he grew up in a smaller, less well equipped home like this in the Depression Era.

This home reminded me of other historical homes we have toured.  The first one that comes to mind is the Little House on the Prairie/ home of Laura Ingall's homestead in DeSmet SD.  And the Woodrow Wilson birthplace in Staunton VA.

We drove over to the Historical Museum but it was closed on Sunday so we will have to wait until next time.  However, I invite you to take a look at friends Steve and Karen and their blog GoneByRV to see thoughts on Cedar Keys.

That's some thoughts on our time here - thanks for checking in on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Roadrunner Financials - December 2015

Roadrunner Recap
In December, we visited the following locations along the Florida Gulf Coast and into Central Florida:

• Oak Grove RV Campground, Pensacola NAS, FL
• Postal Point Campground, Eglin AFB, Fort Walton Beach FL
• Hurlburt Field FamCamp, Fort Walton Beach FL                                                                     
• Angler RV Campground, Cedar Keys FL           

Good News Areas We Are Under Budget

We had a very good month budget-wise.  We drove a lot and therefore paid for a lot of gasoline.  We also ate too much and spent too much for Christmas.

Biggest Expenses
Nothing really stands out in the way of spending a lot.  Christmas presents and things for baby Brooks were at the top of the list.

Large One Time Cost Item


Monthly Average

We are still recovering from out big month to get the Roadrunner engine fixed in August.  That month was a big one for us.  But we have steadily decreased our spending so our averages look better.

As always, if you think this spreadsheet might be useful I'd be glad to pass it along at no cost.  Just let me know.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Happy New Year!

We are currently at Cedar Keys FL where the temperature is 75 degrees.

Greetings from Florida!  Hope you are warm and well wherever you are and that you have been enjoying the holidays.

We drove back from Virginia Beach to Fort Walton Beach where we had the Roadrunner parked.  The Honda got fixed and we picked it up on Monday.  We were very pleased with the fixes to the Honda the way Miracle Strip auto body shop handled everything.

They replace front and back bumper, hitch, front grill, and quarter panels.  And steam cleaned the engine as well as vacuuming and washing the car.  Nice touch.

USAA has been exceptional so we will follow up with all that and get that behind us.

Our trip to Fort Walton took two days.  The first day was a loooong day day Interstate 95.  After 11 hours we stopped in Brunswick GA.  Everyone we talked with were shaking their heads too -- it was a long day for everyone.  All those snowbirds are heading south!  (...that would be us!)

We are recuperating from some cold / crud stuff we picked up so we were glad have a day to relax and pack up before we headed east and south to our location in Cedar Keys.

We're at Angler's RV Campground which is an older park.  The price is right, we have plenty of space, the people are friendly and it is quiet.  A great place to spend a few days.  At $30/night it is reasonable and even more so with two nights at $16.50 with Passport America.

It was a lovely day when we arrived in the early afternoon and we drove the few miles into town to the pier and wandered around.

 Lots of fishing going on!

We also had dinner downtown at the Big Deck Bar and Grill and had some shrimp and grouper.  We are looking forward to our next few days here!

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!