Makena’s Musings

Posted on February 6, 2014 by liv2rv

Hi everyone, it’s me again! For our new followers, “me” is Makena, a Jack Russell terrier. I like to interrupt this blog every once in a while to give my point of view.

Hello!

When we began this new lifestyle, my parents promised me I would not have to suffer through another cold and snowy winter in Wisconsin. I was not too impressed with the weather in January in Cedar Key, Florida, although it is better than Wisconsin from what my parents tell me. However, I did discover what this lifestyle is all about: adventure and making new friends. I am not too fond of other dogs, unless I get to see them a lot, and, they keep their nose out of my butt! But I did get to meet a new type of friend, a cat!! At first, Kiki was not too happy to see me, but once she realized I had no interest in chasing her, she seemed to warm up to me.

I love Kiki!

Although I did get to go on many long walks in Cedar Key, I wanted to try out kayaking. Try as I might, the weather just didn’t get quite warm enough for my parents. I was ready to go, and hopped in to Kiki’s parents inflatable Sea Eagle kayak. They are animal friendly. My mom said I needed to put on my life jacket first (yes, I do have one!).

I’m ready to paddle

But now we are in Orange City, FL for the month. So far, I am really liking it here, for several reasons:

Weather!!! finally some hot days to bask in the sun!

Orange City RV Resort has a fenced in play area for dogs, so I can finally play some football again!!!!!

always ready to play!

I love my football!!!

And best of all, my grandparents are just a short ride away, so I can get lot’s of hugs and tummy rubs from them. We went to the New Smyrna Beach Dunes park the other day, and I was able to play in the Atlantic Ocean (it is a dog-friendly park, but you still have to wear a leash).

Splish Splash!

My grandma took a photo of me with my parents standing along the ocean. As you can see by the photo, my grandma knows who is more important! Who cares that she cut their heads off, at least I am in the photo!!! Oh, and that’s her finger covering the lens on the left, in case you were wondering!!

Grandma says I am the important one!

So things are going well. There are a lot of nice folks in this park as well. I haven’t seen any cats though. But the man across the street likes to leave peanuts out for the squirrels, so I see dozens of them everyday!!

Thanks for following along, and I hope to bring you more adventures soon!!

Quote for the day: “Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.” – Robert A Heinlein

Goodbye Cedar Key

Posted on February 1, 2014 by liv2rv

Our month here in Cedar Key, Florida has come to an end. Today we will be moving our house over to Orange City, Florida, about 130 miles to the east. We chose this play because Chris and Cherie of Technomadia were spending part of the winter here. We have followed their blog for several years, and it was one of several that gave us the inspiration to throw caution to the wind and start this full-time RV lifestyle. We have never looked back.

We have met a lot of wonderful folks here, many of them were also “blog stalkers” of Chris and Cherie. Our goal here was to just spend some time relaxing and winding down after 3 months of working at Amazon. Now we are ready to move on to a “big city”. This past week we continued having impromptu events. Tuesday was a Trailer Trash pot luck, in which you made your favorite pot luck dish.

Wednesday it was only in the 40’s, so we had movie night in our camper, and watched RV with Robin Williams, and a 2003 documentary on the Burning Man festival. We had seen RV before (a very funny movie that every RV’er should see), but the Burning Man documentary was very enjoyable. (thanks Chris for bringing the movies). It is a festival that takes place in August in the Black Rock desert area in Nevada. It has a creative, artistic feel to it.

Thursday we headed down the road to the Tiki Bar, for one last visit.

Tiki Bar

hey, hands off!

Tiki Bar gang

And of course, no Tiki Bar is complete without a naked Barbie!

Yesterday our neighbors refrigerator decided to stop working, so they had an impromptu fruit smoothie party, to use up all the fruit in their freezer that was thawing out.

After that, Chris and Cherie played an outdoor movie on the side of their bus. It was a classic, The Long, Long, Trailer, with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez. It was very funny, and I think anyone that has ever towed a trailer would love it.

It is time to go and say our “see you laters” (I no longer do good-byes), and head on to a new adventure. As an introverted person, this has been a challenging month for me, with all the social activities. I have been spending a lot of time thinking about that, and will probably post my thoughts about that in a future post.

Quote for today: “You can’t stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.” – Winnie the Pooh

Another week gone by….

Posted on January 28, 2014 by liv2rv

I know it has been awhile since I posted. There is just something about this laid back atmosphere in Cedar Key that keeps me away from the computer. It has been another low-key week here, with parades, pottery lessons and fireside chats.

The Cedar Key Sharks had their Homecoming Parade last Thursday. Since they do not have a football team, their homecoming is in January, during basketball season. It was a very brief parade, and just when we started walking back towards the campground, the parade had completed the entire downtown loop, and was returning to the school, so we ended up seeing all the “floats” for a second time!

The Sharks!

Congrats!

Boys basketball

Girls BB

The cheerleaders

And no parade would be complete without a tribute to the “Lunch Ladies!!”

The Lunch Ladies

Many of us came to Cedar Key to meet up with Chris and Cherie of Technomadia. We have had several fireside chats this past week on topics such as work camping jobs, and domicile/residency questions. Dan and I are doing the traditional work camping jobs. Others have been able to work remotely with their jobs. There are so many opportunities out there, it is just a matter of spending the time researching what options work best for you.

Another person in our park, Dean, who is from Monroe, Wisconsin, set up his small pottery wheel and gave impromptu pottery lessons. I am always amazed by what people bring on the road with them! Dan decided to take a brief pottery lesson from Dean. One should never stop trying to learn something new!

Dean is explaining the proper position, elbows in, and how much force you need to apply on the clay.

Once you get the feel of the clay, you insert your finger in the middle, and expand the clay upwards. This is very challenging.

checking the depth of the clay.

Looking good, elbows in!

After it is finished, Dean slices it in half, to check the depth on the sides. He said Dan did a good job.

Dan’s parents rent out a condo in New Smyrna Beach for February and March. They stopped in for a visit on their way. Makena was happy to see them, and couldn’t decide where to sleep. She spent the night going between our bed, and the air mattress to sleep with “grandma and grandpa.”

Dan’s parents

And of course, we took some time for our nightly sunset viewing on the dock. I think this cloud looks like the head of an alligator.

A gator sunset?

My sister sent me a photograph of their indoor/outdoor temperature gauge this morning. It is showing minus 13 degrees just before 6am today in Wauwatosa, WI. That is some dangerously cold weather, when you factor in the wind chill of 45 below!! We hope everyone back home stays safe and warm!!

Yikes!

Just remember, there are only 50 days from today until Spring!

Quote for the day: “No Winter lasts forever, no Spring skips it’s turn.” – Hal Borland

Poi dance lessons, more sunsets and visitors

Posted on January 20, 2014 by liv2rv

Our week started off sitting at the Ford dealership in Gainesville, FL. On the way home from our snorkeling trip, the check engine light came on the truck. We thought we may have had some bad diesel fuel, as there is only one gas station in Cedar Key, and another person in the campground was having issues attributed to bad diesel. Parks Ford was the only dealership in the area (about 55 miles away) that had a certified diesel technician that could get us in. Fortunately, our problem was caused by a bad DEF (diesel exhaust fluid sensor) that was still covered under warranty. We were there about 5 hours, but it was nice to have a “free” visit. We would recommend this dealership for service. And we did get to see some of the University of Florida campus on our way back.

Tuesday we had Poi dance lessons, given by Cherie (www.technomadia.com). Poi dancing originated with the Maori people of New Zealand, and it involves swinging tethered weights in a rhythmic and geometric patterns. Many advanced dancers, like Cherie, use fire in their dance. She has been doing this for 8 years, and it was fun to see her dance with fire. Given how many times I bounced the bean bags off my head and legs, I don’t think I will ever be playing with fire!!

Cherie (2nd from left) giving us instruction

learning to Poi dance

After our dance lessons, we headed next door for another glorious sunset at the Tiki Bar to celebrate Susan’s birthday.

the dock at the Tiki Bar

Happy Birthday Susan!

After that, we headed back to the campground, where Cherie performed a Poi dance, with fire.

Cherie with fire

The next day we headed to Tampa, to pick up some friends from Wisconsin that flew in for some “warmer” weather. We gave them the quick tour of downtown Cedar Key.

Dan, Mike, and Mike

Each day they joined us for our 3 mile roundtrip walk to downtown and back. Although they did not get to snorkel with the manatees, Mike did get to have some fun with them.

giddy up Mr Manatee

playing piano with the manatee

The other Mike was more interested in the mermaids!

yes there are mermaids!

And no trip to Cedar Key is complete without stopping to watch the sunset.

sunset viewing

We stopped in at Tony’s restaurant, which is famous for their clam chowder. Tony’s is a three-time world champion winner of the clam chowder festival. Once you win three times, the recipe is no longer eligible for entry into the competition. We all thought the chowder was good, but surprisingly spicy. Not sure if they just used too much pepper on the day we visited, or if it was supposed to taste that way. We do plan to try it again before we leave by the end of the month.

On Sunday, we were able to spend a bit of time with Gail and Jim, whom we met working at Amazon. They are making a slow trek to the Houston, Texas area, for a work camping job starting in March. They walked Makena every day that we worked, and Makena was very excited to see them.

Makena’s dog walkers

We had a great time getting together with friends, both old and new. Our door is always open if anyone wants to come and visit. We hope the weather will start warming up even more.

Quote for the day: “A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same.” – Elbert Hubbard

Snorkeling with the Manatees

Posted on January 13, 2014 by liv2rv

Saturday we went to Crystal River with 3 other couples, to snorkel with the manatees in the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge. Normally the tour with Manatee Tour and Dive costs $49.00, but one of the couples found a Groupon, so we only paid $20 each. Even at the full cost of $49, it would be well worth the experience.

First, a little background about manatees. Manatees are herbivorous (plant-eating) marine mammals, sometimes referred to as sea cows. There are three main types of manatees: Amazonian, West Indian, and West African. The manatees in Florida are West Indian. They come to Crystal River because the water temperature in the springs remains 72 degrees year round. Manatees, despite their size, do not have a lot of body fat, and cannot survive for an extended period of time in water that is less than 68 degrees.

Manatees can live upwards of 60 years, weigh 800 – 1200 pounds, and are 8-10 feet in length. A baby manatee weighs about 66 pounds at birth. Manatees spend half their day sleeping, and can stay under water for 20 minutes, before floating up to the surface for a quick breath of air, then gently sink back down. They are still an endangered species, and are very gentle animals, when treated with respect. It is against the law to approach a manatee, but you can touch it, if it approaches you first. The tour company goes over a long list of the rules of what you can and cannot do during the tour. And there are many volunteers in the wildlife sanctuary that make sure us humans respect the gentle giants.

Manatee Tour and Dive, Crystal Springs

Our tour started out with getting fitted for a wet suit, which neither of us have ever worn before. The suit is required, since the water is 72 degrees, and helps to keep you afloat.

After we squeezed into the suits, they have a brief safety and informational video on the manatees. Then it is off to the boat, where we received more instruction from our captain.

Our tour boat

Here’s our group from the campground:

Captain Glen used a stuffed manatee to explain the areas we are allowed to touch if a manatee approaches you.

Captain Glen

Our tour group before we headed out to the sanctuary:

Before we start snorkeling

Once we get near the sanctuary, the boat is anchored in the river, and we all get our “flotation noodles”, and slowly get acclimated to the cooler temperatures in the water.

The river water is pretty murky, and then we follow Captain Glen into the sanctuary, where the water gets pretty clear. Here is a manatee that popped up for a quick breath of air. You can see darker shadows under the water where other manatees were hanging out.

For me, it was a little frightening when you see this coming at you!! But they truly are gentle mammals.

Hello!!

this is a baby

If you remain still in the water, and keep your feet up, they will come right up to you.

I do not swim, so Dan would check in on me to make sure I was doing okay!

doing fine!

Dan had one swim right under him!

We were in the water about 1 1/2 hours, and saw manatees the entire time. With the cooler weather, the sanctuary had hundreds of them seeking out the warmer water temperature. Many of the manatees stay year round, but the best viewing is during the winter months. We had a happy group on the return trip. Our captain had hot chocolate for our return trip back.

Everyone had a fantastic time, and we would highly recommend this experience if you are in the area.

Quote for the day: “Love the manatee and save the manatee.” – John Lithgow

Downtown Cedar Key

Posted on January 11, 2014 by liv2rv

Cedar Key is a very low-key, relaxing place. Some days are best just spent relaxing, which is what we have been up to this week. On Wednesday we drove down to Crystal River, and had lunch with 24 full-time RV’ers. Unfortunately, we did not have time to talk with everyone, but did get to see Karen, Al, Phil and Rudee, fellow Amazon workers. We also met several couples that have been on the road for close to 10 years. When Dan asked them what they would do differently, they all said “start earlier!!” This is a common theme that we hear from others, and one of the many reasons we decided to do this now, instead of waiting until we “retire.”

Thursday we met a group of folks from this campground for pizza at the Tiki Bar that is just down the road. It was started by another Rv’ing couple that came to Cedar Key four years ago, fell in love with the place, and then decided to stay.

And of course, we took time to watch the sunset again. It just never gets old.

Friday we decided to take Makena for a long walk, and went to downtown Cedar Key, which is just a short 1.5 mile walk from the campground (anything under 10 miles is a “short” walk for us after working at Amazon!!)

Here’s some photos from our walk.

hmm, a nice snack

Quote for the day: “Peace is seeing the sunset and knowing who to thank.” – author unknown

Chilly days and chili cookoffs

Posted on January 8, 2014 by liv2rv

Sunday turned out to be a beautiful sunny day, and we were able to meet many more folks that were out enjoying the weather. The campsites here do not have fire rings, but you are allowed to bring your own. Our gracious hosts for the Packers/49ers game had an interesting fire ring. When they sold their house last year, they decided not to include their old washing machine, and instead took out the tub and brought it with them in their RV. It makes an excellent fire pit.

a laundry tub

We did put the game on pause, to take time out to watch the sunset. Cedar Key has some colorful sunsets, and I hope to be able to post many more photos like this:

After the game, another couple entertained us with their wonderful musical talents, playing a harp (yes, they travel with a harp!) and a Hammer Dulcimer. I have never seen such an instrument, but they played many beautiful songs.

By Tuesday, the weather turned cold, and one of our fellow campers decided we should have a chili cook-off. We had many different styles of chili, from your traditional meat and beans, to vegan and gluten-free recipes, and one with buffalo meat. I decided to try something new, and went to my favorite source for recipes, Taste of Home, (http://www.tasteofhome.com/) and found a white chicken chili recipe for the crock pot. It was very easy to make and very flavorful. All the chilis were very good.

The chili crew

And as happens so often, another impromptu musical session broke out after we all stuffed ourselves.

One of the couples has a 4-year-old daughter that kept telling everyone, “everyday is a great day”, and to “be happy and kind to others”. Good advice!

Quote for the day: “It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.” – Charles Spurgeon

Greetings from Cedar Key, FL

Posted on January 5, 2014 by liv2rv

We arrived in Cedar Key on the 2nd of January, in a rather chilly, rainy day. As with the rest of the country, it has been colder than normal here. Today has been the nicest day, but Tuesday night it will dip into the 20’s, but it should be back in the “normal” 70’s by the end of the week (we hope!).

Sunset Isle at Cedar Key

Sunset Isle

The park here is small, but is full of friendly people. They have a small clubhouse, and have nightly “jam sessions” for anyone that plays an instrument. Last Thursday there were 3 guys on acoustic guitars, a banjo and slack guitar player, a violinist and a gal with a Peruvian drum, that looks like a box, but has snares inside, so it sounds just like a regular drum. I know my brother Jerry, and brother-in-law Doug would fit right in with this group of talented folks. (and George, there was a lady playing the spoons that would give you a run for your money!!)

We met up with another couple whose blog we follow, Chris and Cherie of Technomadia (http://www.technomadia.com/). We have learned a lot from following their blog, and they are great people. Saturday they did a live, video streamed presentation on the lithium batteries that they use to power their 1961 bus conversion that they live in.

We also drove into downtown Cedar Key, which many people describe as Key West 50 years ago. Kayaking, fishing and bicycling are the main things to do here.

low tide – lots of mud

Given the weather, we have not spent much time in town yet. Since we will be here for a month, there is no rush to do anything. The tide did not come in on Friday, as the wind was coming in from the North.

brrr!

They have a lot of boat tours and fishing charters, but we will wait until the weather is a lot warmer, so we don’t look as cold as these folks on the boat!!

Today there will be a get together to watch the football games (hosted by a 49ers fan!). We hope everyone stays warm and safe the next few days!

Quote for the day: “The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play. So we sat in the house. All that cold, cold, wet day.” – Dr. Seuss The Cat in the Hat

Happy New Year!!

Posted on January 1, 2014 by liv2rv

We want to wish everyone a safe and Happy New Year 2014!!!

We spent our New Years Eve, just as we always do, having a quiet, relaxing night. The only big difference this year (other than the fact that our house has wheels now), was being in the Eastern time zone. For our entire lives, when watching the ball drop in Times Square, it was always 11:00pm Central Standard Time. So it was a little odd watching it “live” at midnight. And then hearing lots of fireworks going off (Makena was not happy!).

Many people make all kinds of resolutions for the new year, and we wish everyone the best of luck in keeping them. Just remember, we don’t know how long we will be on this Earth, so make the best of everyday!!

We have donned our Wisconsin Badger apparel for today’s football game against South Carolina. Go Bucky!!! Jump Around!!!!

Quote for the day: “We will open the book, it’s pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity, and it’s first chapter is New Years Day.” – Edith Pierce

Camper Crisis and hearing voices

Posted on December 30, 2013 by liv2rv

I’m baaaack!

Hi there!!

We have arrived in Florida, and my parents are busy cleaning out the camper and other odds and ends, so I thought I would do a post!

We are in Lake City, FL until Thursday, when we leave for Cedar Key, FL. I did have a major crisis the other day, when my parents left to go run some errands. They usually give me 1/2 of a small Milk Bone when they leave, which I love! However, when they left, instead of eating the treat right away, I kept it in my mouth and ran to the back window to watch them leave. Then I dropped the treat behind the couch! Oh, it was horrible. When my parents came home an hour or so later (hey, I can’t tell time), they knew something was wrong when I didn’t greet them at the door. This is what they saw:

crisis!

My mom looked under the couch to see what I was staring at, but didn’t see anything. But I kept whining, so she got a flashlight and looked under the couch again. I helped point out where my treat was.

I can’t reach it Mom

My dad remembered that the couch folds forward (it folds into an air mattress I guess), so they were able to reach my treat, and all was well with the world again!

For awhile, that is. Then I kept hearing voices, familiar voices, but I couldn’t figure out where they were coming from. I would run around the camper, barking, and then I would hear laughter from those familiar voices. I asked my mom if this is why people go get a CAT scan? She tried to explain that those voices were from the Face Time and Skype that they were doing with our families for the holidays! I’m a dog, I don’t understand all this new technology stuff, but I know they both appreciated being able to see and talk with their family (even if Skype turned my mom’s family into purple and green blobs!!).

Other than that, I am really starting to enjoy this camper life. We have been on the move a few times in the past week. I know that when I get out of the crate in the truck, I am always at home. Same bed, same location for my treats and dog food, just a different view. I am really settling in nicely, and am enjoying the sunshine along with warmer weather! I hope all is well for everyone out there!

I think my parents will start posting again when they get to Cedar Key. If not, I will keep you updated!

Quote for the day: “If you think dogs can’t count, try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket and then give him only two of them” – Phil Patoret

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Liv2RV

Living and working around the country in a RV