October 22, 2019

October 16, 2019

 Today we drove up to Green Cove Springs to look around the area.  We decided to stop and talk to a realtor, Scott Schriefer who could give us some information.  Joyce did a search and found at Exit Magnolia Reality so we stopped and talked to Scott who looked up homes for sale in the area. He told us about Cross Creek Subdivision that is new construction.  We decided to have him take us up there for a look-see.

 There we met Alana who took us on a tour of a couple of models and then did some pricing.  The homes are being built by D. R. Horton and come in two different grades.  We are actually interested in the “express” builds which are a lot less expensive but you don’t have a lot of choices which will work fo us.  We really liked the Lismore model the best.

October 18, 2019

 Yesterday Joyce and I drove up to Middleburg, FL to look at another new housing development called Azalea Ridge.  We are specifically wanted to check out the Freedom area, a 55+ gated community.

 On the way up we stopped at the tax asserts office in Green Cove Springs to see what benefits we would get in Florida.  There is a homestead exemption of $50,000 we qualify for  along with a $5000 disabled veteran exemption.

We met Alana there and she showed us two of the homes.  We really liked the Avon model but it is priced  at a tad above what we want to spend.  One thing we don’t want to be is house poor.

 Later we stopped at the Green Cove Springs Elks Lodge for a cold one.  This is a very active lodge that is open everyday for cocktails and dinner.  If we decide to move to this area I am sure we will probably move our membership to here.

So, if we haven’t looked at enough houses already we decided to go back up to Green Cove Springs and meet with Scott again and look at a home in Magnolia Point.  This is a gated community that has a nice golf course and all the amenities that you would ever want.

 We looked at a small two-bedroom place priced at $198,000 but in order to make it “livable” we would have to put about $60,000 into it.  For obvious reasons we scratched that off our list.

 After a full day of looking at homes Joyce and I were ready for some relaxation so we headed to the Elks Lodge.  This has got to be the friendliest lodge we have ever visited in all our years of traveling.  Both times we have been there the Exulted Ruler greeted us and several folks came and introduced themselves.  The lodge has dinner every night of the week; tonight’s dinner was a 10 oz. boneless pork chop that is then best we have ever eaten.  The meal included salad, potatoes and beans all for ten bucks.  Heck, we’re thinking about looking for houses within a ten-minute drive of this place.

October 19, 2019

 Today we went up to Green Cove Springs to met with Scott and look at some more homes.  He took us to Silver Springs, an established subdivision north west off town to look at a home that we liked but really wasn’t our style.  Next we went farther north to Orange Park to look at a new development called Somerset by Dream Finder Homes.  The one that we liked was the Naples model.

 We then dove out to the actual building site and looked at the model that was still under construction that is actually the Naples.  Joyce and I both thought that the layout of the house was a bit strange and we weren’t crazy about the surrounding area.  Here is a link to the flyer for the Naples model:  https://availablehomes.dreamfindershomes.com/idx/details/listing/a054/1019217/?printable=1

October 20, 2019

 Today is Michelle’s birthday so Joyce took Her and Abigail out to have their nails done.  Later we all went out to Creekside Dinery for a seafood dinner.

Happy Birthday Michelle!

October 22, 2019

 Yesterday was a very busy day.  First, we had an appointment with a sales person at D.R. Horton homes in Green Cove Springs at 10:30.  When we arrived she was a no-show so we called and she told us that Alana had not told her about meeting us.  Joyce called Alana who said that we could just hang out and wait for Nancy to get to us and she would email us all the particulars.  Well, that wasn’t going to happen.

 We decided to head over to the new Richmond American Homes Traceland subdivision and looked around there.  After talking with Josh for a few minutes he showed us some floor plans,  but this area is so new they only have one model built.  We liked the Ruby model but it is four bedrooms that is more house than we need. So he then sent us to a development in the Rolling Hills at Lake Asbury subdivision.

 On the way over there Joyce looked at the floor plan brochures and liked the Azure model (link shows it as a two-bedroom but it’s actually three.).  We met with Derrick but unfortunately he didn’t have a model of the floor plan but Richmond did have one in a subdivision in north Jacksonville, about 45 minutes away.  Since we had nothing else to do off we went.

 Joyce looked at that model and really liked it so we then drove back down to meet with Josh again.  Come to find out Richmond Homes isn’t even going to offer that floor plan in Traceland.  To top it off a train came by very close to us blowing the horn.  To say the least it was very, very loud.

 So, then we drove back over to Rolling Hills to talk to Derrick.  After a lot of discussion and running the numbers we decided to buy the Azure.  We got just about everything we wanted and at the price we could afford.  We spent a couple of hours picking out some options and colors that will individualize the house.

This is the elevation we chose.  The colors will change.

 Link to floor pan:  https://secure.ml3ds-cloud.com/#/floorplan/154163

 In about a month we’ll get a call to visit the design center in Jacksonville to pick out some more options like widow covering, faucets, door handles, etc.  In the house deal they are including a “kitchen upgrade package” that includes tile flooring in the wet areas, 42 inch cabinets and granite counter tops in the kitchen.  They also gave us a $500 credit to spend at the design center along with about $8000 that was rolled into the price of the house.

 Not in a million years would I ever think we would buy a home in Florida.  But given Michelle, Abigail and Skyler live within 45 minutes of here it just makes sense.  Also, Justin and his family are living in Southern Pines, NC that is within a days drive for Green Cove Springs.  For us to fly down here three or four times a year from Oregon would not work.

Until next time,

Barry & Joyce

October 16 2019

October 5, 2019

 We filially made it to Lynch’s Landing RV Park in San Mateo, FL in the early afternoon on October 1st.  During this trip we used 503 gallons of diesel fuel averaging $2.84 a gallon.  The most expensive fuel was at Travis AFB, CA at $3.75 a gallon and the least we paid was at Kirtland AFB, NM at $2.59.  Our motorhome averaged 8.3 MPG during the trip even though we used the generator a lot.

 As I mentioned in the last blog post we’re having trouble with our Norcold refrigerator again so after much discussion we have decided to have a residential-type installed.  On the 2nd we took the rig down to Classic Coach Works in Ormond Beach to have them do some measurements.

 A lot of folks install a Samsung Counter Depth refer when making this conversion.  However, after doing some measuring we discovered the Samsung was 3 inches too tall.  The service manager recommended installing a Fisher-Paykel which is a lot more expensive than the Samsung but it will fit.  That said, We made an appointment for October 7th to get the work done.

 Since we would have to stay in a hotel during those days, Joyce scored us a 4-day cruise out to Port Canaveral for just taxes and gratuities.  So we’ll drop off the rig in Lake Ormond and then drive down to the Cape, do the cruise and then pick up the rig on Friday the 11th.

 We have been driving our Honda CR-V for several years now and we’ve pretty much put it through the wringer.  It has 167,000 miles driving miles on it and about 35,000 being towed behind the motorhome.  It’s time to replace it.

 So on the 3rd we drove up to Jacksonville to “look around”.  We found a couple of Chevy’s that would fit our needs very well but after getting some numbers from the dealer we decided to some more looking.  Our next stop was at a Buick/GMC dealer.

 They had several cars that would fit our needs including a 2017 Buick Envision.  The car had everything on our wish list except for the black exterior so after doing the numbers and getting way more for the Honda that we thought we would, we bought it.

October 8, 2019

 I am writing this from “A Perfect Day At CocoCay”, Royal Caribbean’s private island.  

 We left Lynch’s Landing yesterday morning with the motorhome and car and drove to Ormond Beach to drop the RV off to have the new refrigerator installed.  That chore out of the way we then drove south to Cape Canaveral to Board Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas for a 4 night cruise to the Bahama’s.  This is much better than staying in a hotel for four nights.

 This is our third time cruising on Mariner, a Voyager-class ship that is actually one of our favorites. It’s just the right size for us.

October 13, 2019

 We left CocoCay and sailed sixty miles to Nassau, arriving early in the morning.  Joyce decided to go ashore and visit the Atlantis Resort.  Since this was our third trip to the Bahama’s I elected to stay on the ship.

 One day I was sitting in the Diamond Lounge reading all by myself.  A couple walked in and of all the empty seats available they came over and sat right across from me.  We talked awhile about cruising and I asked where they are from.  The said they were now living in Georgia but were both born and raised in Spaartanburg, SC.  I told them my 4th great grandfather was born in Spartanburg.  I told them my name and they introduced themselves as Joe and Nancy Crocker.  I almost fell out of my chair.

 The next day Nancy contacted a relative in Spartanburg and got the name of Joe’s great-grandfather, Robert C. Crocker.  With that information I did some research and discovered that Joe is actually my 4th cousin, 2 times removed.  I look forward to meeting other member’s of Joe’s family and sharing research.

 During the cruise I got an email from Frank Eisenhardt, the service manager at Classic Coach Works that the they would not be able to get the Fisher-Paykel refrigerator but had sourced and ordered one made by General Electric.

I didn't take any pictures during this cruise but Nancy Crocker did.  Thanks Nancy.

 After returning to Cape Canaveral on Friday we spent a few hours goofing off and then drove to Ormond Beach to Classic Coach Works to pick up our motorhome.  The new refrigerator is beautiful and the technician’s did a great job on the installation, making it look like the coach came with this refrigerator.  That’s the good news.  The bad is that someone forgot to make sure the ice maker had a bucket installed.

October 16, 2019

 On Saturday we drove up to Jacksonville to watch Skyler’s flag football game.  Skyler scored a touchdown and made some nice defensive plays.  Then we took Abigail and Skyler to their jujitsu class.  Later, we took the kids to Carmelo’s for pizza.  Carmelo’s is located in a Shell gas station near downtown St. Augustine but don’t let that fool you.  They serve up some of the best pizza we’ve ever had.

 Yesterday Joyce went down to Daytona to pickup the ice bucket for our refrigerator that was actually at the the appliance shop when Classic Coach Works bought it.  Sometimes you just have to shake your head and wonder why if you know what I mean.  All is working well now.

 Then she visited Bill and Nikki Schroder who were friends with Her grandfather.  They took her on a tour of Palm Coast area that is one of the places we are considering to either rent or buy a home.

More next time.

Barry & Joyce

October 5, 2019

September 16, 2019

 Yesterday we got a late start out of Albuquerque.  It was raining a lot so we decided to wait until the weather passed through before leaving.

 We had actually planned to stay at Kirtland AFB for four days but decided to leave one day early to give us a shorter drive today to Amarillo.  We arrived at the Elks Lodge in Tucumcari, NM abut 3:30 and after getting setup in our site we went to the lodge to pay for the parking and relax.

 September 18, 2019

 We left Tucumcari around noon headed to Amarillo, TX., arriving at the Overnite RV Park about 3:30.  During the drive over during a break at a rest stop Joyce noticed that our Norcold refrigerator wasn’t cooling all that good.

 After getting parked I cranked the temperature setting on the refer up to the highest setting.  We the drove over to Jim and Linda Hotz’s home south of Amarillo in the Tanglewood Lake area.  Joyce and I first met Mr. Jim and Miss Linda several years ago in Lockhart, TX and have become life-long friends over the years.

 When we returned back home the refer seemed to not be cooling at all but the freezer was still very cold and actually making ice.  In the morning I did some research and discovered this symptom could be caused by several things, one of which could be the cooling unit going bad.  As you may remember we had that unit replaced in Las Cruces, NM back in March. I finally called a mobile mechanic here in Amarillo and he has put us on his list for today.

 We then went to visit with the Hotz’s who took us out for lunch at Green Chile Willy’s.  One of their specialties on the menu is Chicken Fried Steak so, “when in Texas eat like a Texan”.

September 19, 2019

 Yesterday we had a mobile mechanic come out and look at our refrigerator.  He checked all of the power inputs to the control board and made sure the cooling fans were working properly.  All checked out good so he thinks that the ammonia solution tank had got too hot and some of the solution has crystallized.  How that happened we have no clue but for sure there is nothing that can be done but replace the cooling unit again.  The good news it is under warranty.

September 20, 2019

 We left Amarillo and after stopping for some fuel we headed south on US 287 bound for Henrietta, TX.  The plan was to stay at the city owned Hopgood Park but when I called to check on availability the lady said we couldn’t make a reservation.  Since there isn’t another RV park anywhere near Henrietta we decided to stop in Wichita Falls.

 We arrived at the Wichita Falls RV Park around 2:30 PM and checked in to a huge pull-through parking spot.  After getting set up we drove out to Sheppard AFB to the Commissary and Exchange.  Later we had supper at the Parkway Grill.

 Both Joyce and I have been to Sheppard AFB for training.  For me, I came to here for Basic Aircraft Mechanic training back in August 1966, in 1969 for training on the C-5A and then in 1975 for Basic Flight Engineer School.  Joyce was here for Basic Loadmaster Training in 1981.

 After looking at the weather forecasted for the area, Joyce and I decided to just stay in W-Falls today.  We prefer to not drive in bad weather, so we’re just going to relax.  Remember, sugar melts in the rain.

September 22, 2019

 We had supper at the Highlander Public House in downtown W-Falls on Friday evening.  The food was delicious including some of the best mac and cheese I have ever eaten.

 Yesterday we left W-Falls about 10:00 AM headed to Mineola, TX.  The plan was to go south on US 287 the head east on US 82 to just past Sherman then south on into Mineola.  This route was chosen to avoid the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area.

 After driving a while, I decided to tun south onto US 81 that would take us down to Gainesville where we planned to get some fuel.  Well, that plan didn’t work out so good.  Suffice it to say that US 380 from Decatur to Gainesville is one stop light after another and the traffic was terrible.  Won’t do that again.

 After getting on US 69 the drive was relatively easy and we arrived at the Mineola Civic Center RV Park at 3:30.  After getting set up in our site we drove over to Kelly B’s Main Course Restaurant at the Mineola County Club.  We met several very nice folks and had a really good catfish supper.

September 24, 2019

 We left Mineola about 9:30, got on US 69 headed to the Elks Lodge in Shreveport, LA arriving here around 1:30.  We have been to this lodge before and we were happy to learn that they have upgraded the parking sites with 50 amp electric, water and sewer.

 Of course with our luck lately something had to go wrong.  We use a Blue Ox auxiliary braking system in our Honda when traveling and plug it into a power box to keep from running the battery down.  Somewhere along the way the plug to the power box came loose during a braking event causing the brakes in the car to stay applied.  Well, you can imagine what that did to our CR-V brakes.  Yep, it wan’t pretty.

 Since it was Sunday I planned to take the car to Discount Tries in the morning but when we went to the lodge to pay for our parking several folks told us to take it to Shrive Island Tire Service Center just one block for the lodge.

 So bright and early yesterday morning I dropped the car off with the manager who said they could get the work done in a few hours.  During that time Joyce and I discussed our travel plans and decided to stay here one more day.  Jarvis called about 1:30 letting us know the car was ready.  All-in-all, they replaced all four rotors, pads and the front calipers.  Although it wasn’t cheap we were happy they could get the job done in one day.

September 29, 2019

 On the 24th  we had a fairly easy run from Shreveport to the Ameristar Resort RV Park here in Vicksburg, MS.  We had a really good supper at  Rusty’s Riverfront Grill.  Since Joyce and I  had been to Vicksburg a few years ago when we visited the Civil War Battlefield we didn’t get out and do any sightseeing this time.

 After a good night’s sleep we hooked up, got on I-20 then down US 98 through Hattiesburg, MS to Shields RV Park on the Naval Construction Battalion Center in Gulfport.  After pulling into our assigned parking site and getting settled I went out to plug in the power cable and water.  When I plugged in the surge protector I found that there was no power on one leg of the 50 amp plug.  Joyce went to the office to report the problem.  The maintenance folks showed up and installed in a new circuit breaker.

 We left Shields Park about 9:30.  We stopped at the Exchange for some $2.62 diesel fuel and headed to Destin, FL, arriving at the Army Infantry Center Recreation Area about 3:30.

 This is a recreation park run by Fort Benning, GA and has a lot of amenities including a hotel, cabins, a pool and a marina.  We actually stayed here several years ago and really enjoyed it then.

 On Friday we met our good friend Brandy Haskins at the Southern Star Dolphin Tours.  Brandy works on the Southern Star and scored us tickets for a cruise.  Joyce and I had a wonderful time visiting with Brandy and to top off a great day we saw a lot of dolphins swimming around the boat.  Thanks for the great day Brandy.

 On Saturday morning we met up with some of my “old” flying buddies at Harry T’s for lunch.  

It was good to see T. J. Langdon, Tom Jones and Clark Cameron again.

On Sunday Joyce and I met up with Ed Rodriquez, T. J., Wade Blackford and Clark Cameron in Ft. Walton Beach for lunch.  Later we met Brandy for supper in Navarre Beach.

October 3, 2019

 We left Destin on the 1st and made the drive down to Lynch’s Landing RV Park in Palatka, FL where we will be staying for the winter.

More later,

Barry & Joyce