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