Southern Hospitality

After spending a few days in a swamp, we stopped for a week in higher country in the northwest corner of South Carolina. On a good day, you can see the Blue Ridge Mountains from the high point of Spartanburg.  Ah, yes.  Yet another place we would like to travel. 

We didn’t stay too close to the city, but rather visited with friends outside of town. They live in the country on a lot with several acres of woods. I was told to watch my step if I took a walk, as they have had copperhead rattlesnakes at times. Given the colour of the fallen leaves under the trees, I understand how easy it would be to accidentally step on one.

Our trailer was parked right outside their kitchen garden. There were several birdfeeders beside us, well used by the sparrows, cardinals, and even a couple of wild turkeys.

We met this couple when we traveled on our caravan down the east coast. A true southern gentleman and southern belle, we really enjoyed their company. It was difficult not to imitate the lovely soft drawl in their voices. It is such an attractive sound.

A long, curvy driveway leads to their beautiful one story brick house. It's the end of March, spring is starting to come to this part of the country, and the tops of the trees are beginning to show green. There is a "barn" beside the house, a specially built garage to hold their Airstream motorhome, wood shop, tractor, and assorted other toys.

These lovely people invited us into their home and their lives with no hesitation. I certainly hope they didn’t regret it.

I especially hope they didn’t regret mentioning to Hubby that they were tired of the carpet in their motorhome, and would like to have a wooden floor like ours. Four days later, it was done. Even with the laid back attitude of this southern state, it is hard to get my man to relax.

Meanwhile, we got to experience real southern grits, southern sweet tea, and pulled pork BBQ. In turn, we prepared spring rolls, stir fry, and pancit for them.

Our trailer stayed happily outside their barn while the men toiled in their man cave. The women enjoyed several excursions in the city.  We shopped, attended Garden Club with other southern ladies, and waited in a line of at least 140 cars for the grandchildren to get out of school so we could pick them up. They do have school buses here, but they do not appear to be popular.

It was nice to experience a real southern lifestyle. It's even nicer that this charming couple says they would like for us to come back again.

It is the people we meet that make our travelling life so very interesting.

We are very glad we met these ones.

W

The Wild Side

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Trouble in Paradise

Lovely little spot, Paradise is.






Stuck in the middle of nowhere, 20 miles to the closest town, and by extension, any shopping at all. How could I get into trouble here?














Paradise Park is a nicely laid out Airstream community. It is small in comparison to the last Airstream park we stayed in, but has many of the same amenities, and each lot comes with a level concrete pad to park on. And your own personal palm tree.











We landed here at the best time possible. March in southern Florida is hot and sunny. I made good use of both the outdoor pool and their extensive library.

Unfortunately, hubby wasn't able to enjoy it as much as I did. He was called away for a family emergency, leaving me as sole occupant of our trailer for 11 days.

I was so absolutely devastated by having time to myself that, upon dropping him at the airport, I promptly splurged on an hour-long spa pedicure. I also stopped at the grocery store to pick up lots of salad makings - I am not the cook in this partnership.







This wasn't the first time I have been left to entertain myself at home. There was a whole summer where hubby worked in another city and only commuted back on weekends. In that case, we were at a campground that held a full mix of residents: families, singles, young, and old. So my protective partner did his best to hide from everyone that I would be alone and vulnerable. As if.

Here, however, in an exclusive retirement community, he told everyone he met that I would be by myself, and could they keep an eye out for me? The irony was, as soon as he left, it became obvious that these seniors just didn't remember that conversation. Many of the neighbors he had spoken to wondered aloud to me later why they hadn't seen my hubby around.




But they saw me. I walked, and biked, and swam. I joined aerobics, played bingo, and watched movies. I joined the golf crowd for lunch at the Airstream trailer turned into a cafeteria kitchen.

I even managed to pull out the big awning when the sun was unmerciful at heating up my tin can.

And, only when I absolutely had to, I dumped the holding waste tanks.







But, as with all good things, this too had to come to an end. The hot sun, loved and appreciated by me, wasn't so nice to my home. Although the awning kept the heat off the windows, the aluminum roof was exposed and warmed the glue that held up the pretty vinyl on my ceiling. A mere day before hubby was due back, I had a sagging ceiling to contend with. I tried spray glue, and smoothing it out with a rolling pin, but it would not stay.

I guess I can get into trouble in Paradise.






Well, in the end hubby got home just fine, temporarily fixed my ceiling, and now manhandles the awning by himself again. I even got him to enjoy some pool time.


It really is more fun to get into trouble together.

W

Aluminum City

Aluminum was the name of the game this week.

According to the singer/comedian who finished off the 5 evenings of entertainment, we are living in semi-precious metal.

Aluminum was all around us at this rally.  We were surrounded by Airstreams, about 120 of them. Big ones, little ones, old ones, new ones.

They parked us in the field of the Sarasota Fairgrounds. Being the shy, retiring types that we are, we learned our neighbors’ names in record time. On one side we had a couple from Michigan with their large, docile dog; an intriguing mix of standard poodle and Newfoundland. On the other was a couple from our own province, who live barely more than a ferry ride away from our summer site.   Ain’t life funny?

The utilities were scarce, as this was not a regular campground, but a fairground.  They hooked our entire line of 15 trailers to one water spigot with a technique called a “daisy chain”, requiring two hoses and a plumbing Y per rig.

 The first hose is attached to the source, the Y put on the end, and then another hose goes from one side of the Y to their trailer. The next trailer adds a hose to the other side of the Y, puts his Y on the end of his first hose and uses his second hose for his personal supply. This goes down the entire length of the line. 

Also, our electricity had to be shared among three trailers, meaning the 15 amp pedestal, divided up, gave us 5 amps each. That is not enough to run the coffee maker, but if you turn off the radio you can make toast.  Life is all about adaptation.

We didn’t have to make our own coffee anyway. Morning coffee was served each day from a little Airstream Café. It sure tasted better that way.

Seminars were held during the week on subjects like travelling and maintenance. I learned a few steps of Tai Chi, while hubby was shown how to make an old trailer sparkle in the sun. 

I see new tools in our future.

The organizers did their best to educate us on our chosen lifestyle. We learned about solar panels and batteries, the proper way to hoist your awning, and living well off the grid.

I’ve never met an Airstreamer who was not as proud as punch of their rig. So on the last day, they held an open house, where you could walk around and visit inside any trailer with their door open. These people are not modest. They are happy to brag about all the work they’ve done and any alterations they’ve made. Others are quick to point out all the original and “vintage” features on trailers as old as I am. One even had its first icebox still in it.

Guess that tells you how old I am, eh?

With all these goings on, we didn’t get much chance to explore Sarasota. But we did make the effort to see the winter training grounds of the famous Royal Lipizzaner Stallions. Despite a rainy day, these gorgeous animals were taken outside to practice their drills and ballet moves in front of an appreciative audience. 

We even got a chance to visit the stallions in their stalls.

Other than that little side trip, we lived and breathed aluminum all week. Even the entertainment was centered on trailer life, with songs and comedy routines frequently referring to it. Vendors pushed sparkly tops with Airstreams designs and Airstream jewelry was on sale.

Aluminum may only be semi-precious as a metal, but for this group, it’s as good as gold.

W

Birds of Florida

Florida is for the birds.

Song birds, seabirds, snowbirds…. You get the idea.

We’ve seen and heard so many different types of feathered friends over the last couple of months. We’ve heard the owls lurking in the woods, saw vultures and hawks soaring overhead, and watched the anhingas drying their wings by the water. These diving birds are as fast and graceful underwater as any loon, but can startle a paddler when they come up alongside, as they swim low in the water and their sinuous necks resembles a snake.

While in Ochlockonee River area we searched in vain for their rare red cockaded woodpecker – whose name is misleading as there is very little colour on this tiny grey bird. The yellow bellied sapsucker, however, was dropping pieces of pine bark almost on our heads while we were walking.

Now that we are further south in the state, we are finding bigger game to chase. Quite common around here is a very noisy and very large bird, the sandhill crane. They are often seen along the roads, in pairs, nibbling at the grass or prancing suggestively around their mate. Our current campground even had a mating pair that produced a small family for a couple of years. This year they removed the tempting tall grass along the golf course for fear that an errant ball would take out a fledgling. 

They don’t seem to feel the same concern for the windows in the trailers along the first hole.

A trip to Homosassa Springs gave us the opportunity to see colourful wood ducks along a tiny river. Since there is so much development in this area of the country, these pretty little birds almost disappeared in this area. State parks and conservationists now put up specially made nesting boxes.

The warm Homosassa springs attract many other birds, especially tourists. These particular birds flit in and out, making a lot of noise and mess. And yes, I know that I’m one, too.

The river’s biggest draw for the tourists are the manatees that come to warm up in the tepid water. They float serenely along the bottom, vacuuming up any underwater vegetation they find. It is interesting that they are not bothered by the more aggressive alligators. In fact, their only predator is humans.

Speaking of birds of prey, we saw a hawk sitting on a flag pole, eyeballing the mourning doves out on the golf course.

And I wonder if one of the many ospreys we’ve seen down here have a nest along the Bay of Quinte?

At the Mardi Gras dance held at the campground, we saw lots and lots of old birds. Some of them had feathers, too, but mostly on their flashy masks and hats.

As two of the old birds in attendance, we danced to a live band, a small band with brass and strings, entirely populated by campground residents. Our footwork may have been slightly improved by the two dancing lessons we’ve taken, but quickly forgotten in the fun of just dancing.

By far, the ugliest bird we’ve seen here is the wood stork. Although their body and wings are a brilliant white, it is the grey, bald head that you notice. It even sits on the ground in a funny way!

I would hate to think what kind of babies it brings. Maybe alligator?

So far, we have only seen the iconic flamingo in a zoo. Perhaps we have to be even farther south to see them in the wild. We’ll let you know. We’re heading that way next.

Until next time,

The Lovebirds

Civilization

For the last month, we have been out in the woods. Communication with family was limited, social conversation consisted of telling the wildlife they didn’t have to run away from us, and we only caught up on news when we went to town to get Wi-Fi. State parks are beautiful, and inexpensive, but my last blog was a little dry because, after talking about the hiking and biking and paddling, there’s really not much else going on. 

Unless some unusual coloured deer shows up, or sometthing.

New week, new campground.

We are now at Travelers Rest RV Resort just north of Tampa. The only woods to be found are on the golf course. I mean the trees, not the clubs.

But the social life! This resort puts out a real newspaper every Friday, and the centerfold section has 112 activities that anyone can participate in. That doesn’t even include the dozen or so “highlights” on the front page that are not regular weekly events. Nor does it include the spontaneous happy hours that pop up, frequently.

Just plotting out our days on the calendar takes us back to the days of children and having too many things to do but not enough time.

The residents are extremely friendly, and are an active, out-going bunch. All the activities listed are run by volunteers and everyone seems willing to lend a hand. We have already been encouraged to come out and try our hand at pickleball – which appears to be a form of ping-pong on a tennis court.

This resort is not just a community; it is a town in its own rights.  It has its own water tower, a fire station, and a real post office. I did mention the newspaper, right? There are about a thousand residents, of which only a couple of hundred stay all year around.  I was told that in the winter 25% are Canadians, and I believe it, based on the license plates I see in the parking lots.

This place started out as an exclusive Airstream park, but in order to stay viable, started letting in other brands  a decade or so ago. A good percentage of the trailers are still Airstreams, even if the owners have now settled into sites with park models or sunrooms. We decided to try out this place because of our connections with other Airstream owners, who insisted it was the best place to wait out the winter months.

The resort certainly caters to its residents. Just outside of a complete laundry room is a set of clothes lines in a drying area. In all the campgrounds I’ve seen, this is a first for me. It’s a discrete fenced in spot, and I was thrilled to be able to dry my clothes outside in the Florida sun.

There is a large hall where they hold dances and have entertainment every week. Three other buildings provide room for aerobics, computer classes, card or board games, singing groups, and a class to learn clogging (tap dancing) among other things. There is a small cafe on the premises called the Snack Shack where they offer low priced lunches, and coffee is provided every morning in the grand hall. Free if you bring your own mug.

We have a golf course right on the grounds, a tennis court, a heated pool and a hot tub.

And just in case you get too busy keeping up with all the things to do that you don’t make it to the grocery store, they hold a market with fresh fruits and veggies three times a week right inside the campground.

We had planned to use this campground as a place to stay while we explore places like Tampa, and the Gulf shore off western Florida.  Now it looks like we will have to make room in our social calendar if we want to check those places out.

So if you’ll excuse me, I’m on my way to ballroom dance class…..

W

Travelling Economics

Over the last month or so, our Canadian dollar has taken a lovely swan dive. This is not so good for the many of us who choose to spend the cold winter months in the warmer states of America. We now have to factor into our budget an extra 25% or more on the price of everything just to accommodate the exchange.


When it comes to gas, that actually brings it about up to par. But it was because of the cheaper gas in the states that over the last 4 years we could travel farther and more often. This winter we are thankfully staying closer to home, or at least on the same side of the continent, instead of going across country. And we find if we stay in the same campground for 2 weeks or more before moving on to explore other places, we are towing less and using less gas.

When we stay in state parks, the rates are low but the parks are usually located in remote areas, and well out of town. We have to drive a distance to get to any kind of civilization. By only doing a “town trip” once a week or so, and planning to hit all the shopping, museums, and library all on the same day, we also cut down on our travel.









And shopping less often really does mean you spend less money. You don’t have any excuse to stop somewhere for a quick lunch, with beer of course, or even a luxurious dinner out if you’re late getting back.

Private campgrounds are easier, as the longer you stay the less you pay for the daily rate. We find that they are more crowded and less natural.  But financially, you can understand why so many snowbirds just head for the same place and stay the whole winter. And that probably would be more affordable for us, but we still have the travelling bug. There’s just so doggone much to see!







So we try to see it by hiking, biking, and paddling.  Enjoying the simple pleasures.

The cheap pleasures.




Like wine. It is very affordable in the States without the Ontario sin tax.




We don’t need to worry about utilities or property tax. Both are included in the daily rate at each campground. And since we rarely choose the expensive luxury resort places, our monthly housing costs in the US are usually less than $500 a month, well within our budget.


We still have house maintenance. It’s just that our house includes rolling parts. Lots of rolling parts.

There is always room in our budget for museums. We consider them to be part of our continuing education. We have learned so much about history, geology, and the nature around us by travelling. Things that we thought we knew, like our own War of 1812, surprise us when looked at from a different view.









Travelling by RV in Canada is a much more expensive proposition. Not only is gas more expensive, but the campgrounds, both public and private, are often more than twice as costly. It’s a shame, because there is so much in our own country that we would love to explore and learn about.

But if the loonie keeps diving to the bottom, we may indeed be staying longer in the North Country.

You do what you must to make ends meet.

W