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By Dasy, February 8, 2010 11:07 am

Last November I witnessed a day launch of space shuttle Atlantis.

This morning we saw the last night launch of NASA’s space shuttle history. We saw space shuttle Endeavor take off at 4:14 AM this morning.

It was quite a spectacular site from our backyard in Ocklawaha (it is about 2 1/2 hour drive from Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral). The shuttle was a bright orange streak against the black starry night. What a sight!

After the shuttle disappeared, we just stared at the black starry night. That too was an awe inspiring sight.

There are four more scheduled launched left for NASA space shuttle missions.

• Launch Target (Atlantis): May 14, 2010, at 2:28 p.m. EDT
• Launch Target (Discovery): March 18, 2010,at 1:34 p.m. EDT
• Launch Target (Endeavor): July 29, 2010, at 7:51 a.m. EDT
• Launch Target (Discovery): Sept. 16, 2010, at 11:57 a.m. ED

Picture below is courtesy of NASA/Jim Grossmann.

It really is cool to witness the shuttle launch from the backyard. 

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By Jonathan, February 4, 2010 7:31 am

No pretty pictures this time, just a quick note to let you know we’re still here. Here’s the short version:

I’ve been working.
After getting back from Virginia with the KLR, the Jeep’s transmission started eating itself, so it’s in the shop.
I got the KLR registered yesterday, so at least I can still get to work.

Sorry about the lack of updates, I’ll carve out some time here soon enough.

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By Dasy, January 28, 2010 11:49 am

Now that we are settled in the Star. Here’s what it looks like…for now. 

We have converted the dining area into our computer/desk area. We converted the extended leaf off the kitchen counter into our eating area with the addition of two bar stools.

We have four plants in 6-inch green plastic pots (two anthuriums, one spider plant and one golden pothos). Spider plants and golden pothos are excellent air purifiers. Anthuriums are in the same family as peace lilies which are also excellent air purifiers. I rearrange the plants now and then.

There are four cushions and one “pillow” cushion between the couch and lounger.

The “laundry room” (behind the louvered doors to the left of the bathroom sink) has two small laundry baskets, one for dark load and one for white load.

There are pictures of family, friends and places/events on the wall.

So, what makes a house/trailer/RV a home? It depends on the individual. Below are some qualifiers:

• Pictures 
• Plants
• Napping spot
• Play area
• Work/study area
• Decor/styling preference
• Good lighting
• Art work
• Garden
• Smells (or lack there of!)

This is our home sweet home. Enjoy your visit.

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By Jonathan, January 27, 2010 9:55 am

Sorry for the lack of recent updates, but I’ve been working and Dasy’s been helping get us set up an official business. We’ll get some more posts up shortly.

Note to any who read this before I edited it: I’m not a moron, I just forgot about the “auto-correction” of several words that the Droid hasn’t learned from me yet.

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By Dasy, January 21, 2010 4:27 pm

Since we have moved out to Central Florida we have had sporadic cell coverage with AT&T.

This week we switched over to Verizon and got the new Droid phones. And we have signal! We even have signal in the Ocala National Forest. It came in handy this morning!

It’s so good to be connected again!

Hubby got the Droid by Motorola and I got the Droid Eris by HTC.

We are enjoying our new gadgets and the coverage.

Those of you that have our numbers, feel free to call us.

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By Jonathan, January 17, 2010 8:29 am

We went to Salt Springs Recreation Area on Thursday.  We’d heard from friends who are staying there that manatees are coming up into the springs, probably due to the recent cold weather (most Florida springs are 72 degrees, regardless of how cold it is everywhere else).  Our friends were also nice enough to lend us their kayaks.  It was even better that one of their neighbors lent his kayak so one of them could join us! 

It didn’t take long for us to spot a manatee.  It took a bit longer to get decent video of one, but that’s mostly my fault… I hadn’t used the camera underwater before.  I also had to hold the camera with one hand and paddle the kayak with the other.  That’s a lot easier to explain than it is to do it.

But, we did get a few minutes of decent footage of the manatees!  We also had a great time just paddling around with new friends.  We also went to the big Florida RV show in Tampa with them, but we’ll post separately about that later.

I’m not sure if the video shows up in RSS clients… if you don’t see it, you’ll have to go to our web site to check it out.  If you want to see the HD version (highly recommended) go check it out directly on YouTube and hit the HD button on the bottom of the player.  BTW… if anyone knows how to get the HD button to show up in my embedded version, leave me a note. 

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By Dasy, January 16, 2010 9:08 pm

Yes, it really is the “best spinach dip ever”.  The picture and recipe comes from allrecipes.com. I have made this dish a number of times and each time the recipe was requested. It really is good!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
• 1 (1.8 ounce) package dry leek soup mix
• 1 (4-5 ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
• 1/2 to 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 (1 pound) loaf round sourdough bread

Direction:

1. Mix together mayonnaise, sour cream, dry leek soup mix, water chestnuts and chopped spinach. Chill in the refrigerator 6 hours, or overnight.
2. Remove top and interior of sourdough bread. Fill with mayonnaise mixture. Tear removed bread chunks into pieces for dipping.

This dish is great at a gathering or party. Try it. You will not be disappointed. Toss veggies along with the sourdough bread chunks to give it more variety.

P.S. – An apology to S. that it has taken me this long to post the recipe. :S

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By Dasy, January 13, 2010 12:54 pm

Florida has been experiencing record breaking cold for the past several days. It’s been rough for people. Crops are dying, pipes are bursting and people are yearning for warmer weather. Last Saturday, we saw sleet and ice pellets in Florida!?!

The past several nights in Ocklawaha has been in the 20s and low 30s. Tonight’s low is expected to be 38 degrees, above freezing!?! Yeah!

You may ask: How do they stay warm in the RV?

Well, because it has been ridiculously cold we disconnected the water supply from the pipe (after we filled our fresh water tank). We also wrapped the outside pipe to prevent the pipe from bursting. So here is how we cope in the RV:

• Turn on the “basement” heater so the plumbing in the bays do not freeze and burst.
• Turn on the “house” heater and set it to a comfortably low temperature. The “house” heater uses the more expensive propane gas.
• Take out the down comforter and extra blanket.
• Take out and turn on the electric oil-filled radiator. What a great unit!
• Open the blinds when the sun is out.
• Close the blinds and use solar shade for extra insulation when the sun goes down.
• Close the bigger of the two slides to conserve heat loss (notice the space size when the slide is in and when the slide is out).

The electric oil-filled radiator is an awesome unit. 

• It is heat safe and less drying than the heat fan.
• The electric radiator gives you heat and let you conserve your more expensive propane gas.
• The unit is highly recommended.

Here’s to warmer weather!

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By Jonathan, January 7, 2010 9:59 am

Now that we’re officially in our RV and the year has ended, we figured we’d post up a recap of the stuff that we did in 2009.  This is the start of our adventures on the road, and we figured some of you might want to see what was involved and the timing of our travels.

• March 20th – Visited RV showroom
• Jun 9th-19th – Rented 25 ft RV, drove to Florida for a reunion, stopped at Cheoah Point and the Outer Banks on the way.
• Jun 22nd – Bought the 30′ Fleetwood Storm
• Jun 29th – Contacted our realtor about renting our house
• July 13th – Met up with Chris and Cheri of Technomadia.com
• July 16th-19th – Flew to Texas to pick up the Storm, stayed at Little Black Water Creek on the way back.
• July 19th – Subscribed to AAA RV Plus coverage
• July 22nd – "WeGoFar.com" web site went live
• July 27th – Announced the plan to most of our friends and family
• July 31st – Jonathan’s last day of work
• Aug 3rd – Replace stereo, add surge suppressor, other minor improvements, front brake starts sticking
• Aug 4th – Towed to shop to fix front brakes and parking brake
• Aug 7th – House officially listed for rental
• Aug 13th – House driveway resealed
• Aug 12th-17th – Drove the Storm to Gatlinburg, TN for a family reunion, inadvertently spent the night on the Blue Ridge Parkway on the way down, replaced cabinet handles while waiting for tow truck.
• Aug 17th – Had our back deck refinished at the house
• Aug 17th – Realtor called about possible renter, wanted to discuss price and qualifications
• Aug 18th – Had new windshield installed on the Storm
• Sept 9th – Sold the FJR, the bigger of my two motorcycles
• Oct 15th – House officially rented out
• Oct 15th – 22nd – Officially started "full-timing".  Stayed at Bull Run Regional Park.
• Oct 23rd – 27th – Relocated to Pocahontas State Park.
• Oct 27th – Sold Dasy’s Lexus.
• Oct 28th – 29th – Stayed at RV Resort on Hilton Head Island (we still have to write that up)
• Oct 29th – Arrived in Florida, set up in my parents back yard
• Nov 9th – Became official Florida residents
• December 1st – Bought the Newmar Dutch Star
• December 8th – Storm listed for sale
• Dec 21 – Dec 28th – Went to Sarasota, burned up Jeep parking brake, visited friends and family, stayed at Sun ‘N Fun RV resort.  Met Duncan and Jessica of TravelingOnTheOutskirts.com.

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By Dasy, December 30, 2009 9:34 am

As with any brick and mortar place (aka house), it may take some time after you have moved in before you can call it “home”. There is always cleaning (again!), some painting and maybe some remodeling. The same applies to living in an RV. 

This RV has the layout and scheme we wanted. It has good “bones”. But it stunk! There was cigarette smoke, stale air, gaseous odor and a “funky” smell we couldn’t put a finger on. It was a challenge!

So we took action to root out the smell. After some time and effort, we finally got the cigarette smoke, stale air and the gaseous odor out. But the “funky” smell was still there!

We have done the following:

• steamed cleaned carpet and upholstery
• cleaned toilet seal
• ran washing machine cycle twice (probably no water in “P” trap, it sat for a long time)
• checked for leak inside under faucets/plumbing (found none)
• used Geo Method to clean black water tank
• opened windows and door at every opportunity
• used slow cooker & baking soda as odor neutralizer 

Jonathan realized I was going to ‘drive him crazy’ or ‘break his home’ by rooting behind things I shouldn’t if we didn’t find the “funky” smell.

So, he set to work. He removed the tool rack behind the holding tank bay and inspected the area for leakage and cracking. Nothing was amiss, no leakage or cracking. Excellent! There was a seal or caulking around one of the tube that could use some resealing so Jonathan took care of that.

While Jonathan was working outside, I set to working inside. I found in the washer/dryer manual under "maintenance” about the checking the ‘pump in the pre-chamber area’.  It stated that this area can occasionally get clogged. I opened the pump and it smelled to high heaven! I cleaned the area and wiped it dry.

So, that  “funky” smell was the smell of sour water. I am leaping for joy that we no longer have that “funky” smell. The “funky” odor is GONE! It’s finally “home sweet home”. 

Here is the pump in the pre-chamber area.

For good measure, we have ordered Xtreme Vents from Coiln’ Wrap to replace the old roof vents.  We are also going to replace both vent caps under the sinks (one under the galley, one under the bathroom) with the Studor Mini-Vent cap.

We have already replaced the cap under the bathroom. The one under the galley/kitchen sink will have one soon.

Here is to an odor free home! Odor be gone!