We left Wandering Oaks in Ocala at 10:30 on Monday morning, February 15. Acey has 70,333.4 miles and Thor has 79,499. As we got on I-75, the A/C quit! Jim replaced the fuse and it worked for a few minutes and quit again. He will investigate further to see if he can figure out what is wrong. We had hoped PatRick’s in Ocala had solved the issue…We arrived at Winter Quarters just after noon.
As seems to be typical at Encore and Thousand Trails Resorts, there are many “park models” and other permanent residents.
Our site had a concrete pad to park Acey on with a concrete patio – not too bad!
Tomorrow, we are going to take the 2 captain’s chairs in to be re-upholstered. The seat is about worn out on both chairs – not terribly comfortable! Here is the driver’s chair:
…and the passenger chair
The captain chairs can be turned around so they face away from the windshield and provide seating when we have guests.
Jim worked on getting the seats loose and we picked up a small U-Haul trailer to transport them. We got the chairs into the trailer and will need help getting them back into Acey! They are pretty heavy.
Tuesday we got up early to get the chairs dropped off at Emo’s in Lakeland when they opened at 8:30 and returned the U-Haul. We stopped at Lowe’s and found some carpet squares to replace the gold shag carpet under the chairs, under the steering wheel and pedals, and on the front retracting step. There is plenty more of that gold shag carpet in other places, but we’ll deal with that later. We only addressed the areas that are easier to deal with while the chairs are out of the coach. Here is what was left on the floor after the driver’s chair was removed.
Here is the carpet we put in – we may need to get some kind of trim to go between the tile and carpet. That can be installed later. The black rug is a removable mat that covers the tile in the driving area, and the steps as you enter.
We mostly make our own meals and fix a big salad at least once a week.
Jim had a molar (#19 in case you care!) with a rather large filling in it – and the side of the tooth broke off last week. We considered seeing a dentist in Florida, but decided we would make a “speed run” to Nashville – and had made an appointment for Thursday morning to see our dentist. Some winter weather hit Nashville Monday – freezing rain left about an inch of ice and shut down much of the city! We rescheduled for Monday the 22nd. Chris sent us this photo – by Thursday, nearly 3″ of snow fell on top of the inch to inch and a half of ice on his patio in Nashville!
However, on Thursday in the Tampa area, we had nice warm weather and went on a bike ride at Flatwoods Park where we rode a couple of weeks ago.
Today we rode about 18 miles; going around the loop in the woods twice. After we rode, we had a picnic lunch at the park.
We got back to Acey, showered and headed up to The Villages to visit Russ and Adele again. They have a lovely home there.
It was perfect weather to enjoy outdoor dining at Bluefin Grill and Bar. We all enjoyed the delicious food and fellowship.
Friday we visited a nearby craft brewery and sampled some of their offerings.
They also had some fruity meads; this huckleberry mead was very tasty.
Saturday we reserved a “full size” car but ended up with a minivan! Thor – the Jeep – would not be very comfortable to drive for 10-12 hours. We zoomed with the family in the evening and got to bed early as we plan to get on the road early to head to Nashville!
We had great weather on Sunday for the drive to Nashville and passed under the landbridge that we rode our bikes over just last week!
Before we knew it, we were leaving Florida
and drove into Georgia. We Zoomed with our Sunday School class over Linda’s iPhone and then were able to join the worship service at Stephens Valley Church via YouTube.
Finally, we got into Tennessee. The crepe myrtle will be blooming in just a couple of months – they look quite dead at present.
When we first moved to Nashville, we were very taken by the ice that formed on the rocks along the interstate. Monteagle had a nice display of that! We were glad the ice was on the rocks and not on the road…
We arrived in Nashville about 4:30. The hotel was not far from our storage facility so we stopped by there to get the carpet cleaner. We can return it when we get back to Nashville next month. We stopped by the hotel and checked in. There was evidence of last week’s winter storm in the parking lot.
Then we met Chris at Outback for dinner. He had a birthday last week, so it was our treat! He also had a few items to bring to us – a shade for Acey’s front window, replacement WeatherTech mats for Thor, some beer from Yazoo and our mail from Dickson. We only retrieve our mail about once a month at best, so if folks want to communicate with us, e-mail, text or phone calls are best!
On Monday, Jim had his tooth fixed with a temporary crown and will have it finished next month when we are back that way. We headed south about 9:30, and got back to Acey by 9pm. 2 days, 4 tanks of gas and 1409 miles later – it was a long 2 days!
On Tuesday, Jim put the WeatherTech mats in the Jeep, and we put the shade on the front windshield. It appears to be too big. Jim contacted Magneshade and they sent us a shipping label to return it; they will fix it and return it to us. The shade is brown (tho it looks black in the photo) and came with wiper covers. The installation rod is used to put the wiper covers on and also to attach the shade. There are 10 pockets with magnets sewn in them. 10 very strong magnets we will adhere inside the windshield will hold the shade up. During the day the shade “blocks 90% of the harmful sun, heat and U.V. while offering a view out with total daytime privacy”. It is sort of like window tinting film but is a removable fabric. We will take the shade off for driving.
We should have the shade back next week when we are in Hudson. Jim used the carpet cleaner on the black entry mat and the carpet up front. The carpet in front of the kitchen sink seems to get spots on it and needs to be cleaned every few months. We got a washable rug to hopefully help with that issue!
On Wednesday, we had visitors! Patti and Mark rode in from Brandon on their motorcycles! They got to meet Acey and see her inside and out. We had lunch and a nice visit.
Another beautiful sunny day in Florida!
Thursday we went for a bike ride at Flatwoods park again; its close to where we are staying and is a nice loop trail in the woods. As we parked, we noticed the picnic table where we had lunch last Thursday had been barricaded with a plastic mesh fencing! Its a good thing we didn’t plan to eat there today…
We rode 11 miles since we only did one loop. There is a 2 mile section to ride before you get to the 7 mile loop though the woods.
Jim wanted to get back to Acey to see if he can figure out what is wrong with the dash air conditioning, PatRicks thought it was a blown fuse, but Jim is thinking its a bad wire or relay
Later, we went to World Market to get more pizza crusts,
and to Michaels to get some iron-on patches to fix a pair of shorts and elastic to fix the pillows on the back of our outdoor lounge chairs.
the brown elastic is a nice improvement!
As luck would have it, there was a brewery nearby – so we went to Double Branch Artisanal Ales for Happy Hour.
Friday we drove out to Lakeland to pick up the driver’s chair from Emo’s. They finished re-upholstering it, but have not yet begun on the passenger chair. On the bright side, since we only picked up one chair, we were able to fit it into the back of the Jeep and did not have to rent a U-Haul. We were hoping BOTH chairs would be done in the 2 weeks the chairs were there; so it goes. We leave for Nashville in 3 weeks and really need to have the passenger seat!
Jim had to go under the coach to tighten up the bolts holding the chair in place. A bracket that secures the bolts from underneath had broken off. As he was checking to see that the bolt heads were in the right position to be secured by the bracket, he lost hold of the bracket and it fell. It split his lip open, but fortunately did not harm his teeth. So, off the the Emergency Room we went – and he got 2 stitches. OUCH!
Saturday evening we walked around the park and zoomed with the family.
Sunday morning we zoomed with our Sunday School class and then joined the worship service at Stephens Valley Church by YouTube. We bid adieu to Winter Quarters in the afternoon and headed to Hudson where we will have most of our windows refreshed at Suncoast Designers.
You guys are really keeping things ship shape and what a variety of beers you’ve quaffed. Enjoy! Liking the commentary and the photos.
Pictures of Florida are nostalgic. Makes me think of living in warmer weather. Love the pictures and that you have kept up with friends on your travels .
Sorry to hear about Jim’s little accident! Really enjoy your blogs!