Hillsborough River State Park

We are pre-Christmas glamping at Hillsborough River State Park near Tampa.  Roo is decked out with Christmas lights.  However, after wandering the campground after dark we have come to realize our lights are seriously lacking.  I'm thinking next year we definitely need to rectify that situation! See that white stuff on the ground in front of the RV?  It's Florida snow!

This morning, three dogs were loaded into kayaks and off we went down the river.  The scenery is gorgeous and the water is so clear we could see the fish at the bottom.  Along the way we stopped to find a couple of geocaches. Of course there were gators.  It wouldn't be Florida if there weren't!

The campground and park are really nice and we already have reservations to return in April!

More glamping scheduled!!

Yesterday we made reservations to go glamping in Roo for the next three months.  Yep, if we plan it in advance, it will happen!

December... we will be spending a few days at Hillsborough River State Park near Tampa.  This is one of Florida's oldest state parks.  It opened in 1938.  We plan to relax and do a bit of kayaking. There is a section of Class 2 rapids here.  We might have to check it out!  Roo will be staying in Tampa for a few days to get some warranty work done.

January... we are off to Manatee Springs to check out one of the places the manatees spend their winters.  The Suwannee River is also there so we definitely have take the kayaks.

February... our last scheduled glamping trip before the busy kayak season.  This one will be a bit different.  We are going to Grayton Beach state park where we will have the best of both worlds. White sand beach AND kayaking.

Is it time to go yet???

Florida Keys Glamping

There is just so much to catch up on today!  Fortunately for me, we are parked about 30 feet from the Atlantic catching some rays as I write this.  Yep, it's Florida Keys time!

So far on this trip we have kayaked, walked, rode our bicycles and even went out for breakfast one day.

Kayaking is so awesome on the ocean.  The water is clear and you can see everything going on underneath your boat.  Stingrays, fish, sponges, you name it.  The weather has been awesome with just a slight breeze to cool things off.  Today is our last day and we are planning another quick kayak trip on a "lake" that is nearby.  Tom went on an extended paddle yesterday and came across a couple of homemade boats that were beached.  He found out today that a few days before we arrived those boats had carried 16 Cuban refugees over.  We missed the excitement.  There were helicopters out searching and all were arrested.  Yoda and Little Bit were able to do a bit of paddling also.  Ok, not paddling exactly but they were along for the ride!

We took the bicycles for a quick 5 mile ride to find a geocache.  It was an easy find and the bike ride was really nice.  The scenery doesn't get much better than this!

Time to get back outside and do something!

Tom the Handyman

This blog post is a bit late because, well, because I just don't always get around to doing things when I should. 

When we bought Roo she had the two original televisions still mounted.  Keep in mind that Roo is a 2007 model.  Remember what TV's were like back then?  They were SO COOL!  They had flat screens!  They also weighed a ton.  Our mission... to replace these "antiques" with new flat screen TV's.

I forgot to take a picture of the front television before we removed it and yes, it took both of us to get that thing out of there!

With a bit of muscle we had it out then Tom was able to figure out a way to mount the new flat screen that weighs MUCH less.  I figure without that extra weight I should be able to pack more in the RV.  What do you think?

And the finished project.  It looks MARVELOUS!  Bonus!  I (Debbie) got Directv installed and hooked up with just a few minor glitches that were not my fault.  Now if it's raining, we can stay cozy inside watching our favorite shows.  Yep, this is definitely GLAMPING!

Halloween!

We had so much fun on Halloween!!  The Martin County (Florida) Sheriff's Office held a Trunk or Treat event.  We were among a few cars invited to participate in their car show.  We didn't treat it like a normal car show however, we decorated the Lotus!

Over 7000 people came through and unfortunately we ran out of candy after 1000.  Next year we will bring more!  The Sheriff's Department came by and gave us more candy to hand out but that didn't last long either.  The plan was for the Lotus to be a frog.  Some people thought it was a lizard... understandable!  And maybe even the ones who thought it was Spongebob (after dark so you couldn't see his feet).  But a couple asked why a cow was eating a spider.  Huh???  Just goes to show some  people have vivid imaginations!

We even found our old Corvette at the car show.  We had forgotten how nice it looked and of course seeing it made us miss it.  I will say, the Corvette is a LOT more comfortable than the Lotus!

I dressed up.  Honestly, I have wanted to dress up as Flo for years and I finally got the chance.  I had no idea how big a hit Flo would be.  People were yelling "Flo!" and I would smile and wave.  Small children were looking at me in awe so I would say "have you seen me on TV?" and they would give a little smile and nod.  They were so cute!  I don't know how many I had my picture taken with.  From little kids to adults, people love Flo!  Maybe it would be too much but I really want to be Flo again next year because I had so much fun.

Until next year...

Always an adventure!

Last weekend we headed to Orlando spend a couple of days.  It was time for another getaway.  What did we do the first day at "camp"?  Nothing, absolutely nothing.  Sometimes getting away from it all and just relaxing does a lot of good.  But on Saturday... woohoo!!  We met our friends Angela and Paul up by Groveland, FL at a very small airstrip.  This was a surprise for Paul's birthday.  He had no idea where he was going and not only was he surprised to see where ended up but he was also surprised to see Tom and I there to greet him.  What were about to do?  Go hang gliding!!

Note that Baby Bear went too!

This was such an awesome experience.  There really is not much instruction to it.  The reason for that is because it was tandem hang gliding.  We had an experienced instructor with us.  It was basically our first hang gliding lesson and we have the membership cards to prove it!  Once we were strapped in and comfortable, a modified ultra light towed us up into the sky.  Because... well... there aren't any mountains in Florida to jump off!  Paul and I both went to a mile high (Angela and Tom went to 2500 feet) and when the altimeter read the correct height the instructor pulled the lever and we were released from the tow.  It was incredible up there!  The day was gorgeous with a cloud in the sky.  We could see for miles.  At one point, the instructor asked if I would like to take over controlling the glider.  Of course I did!!  Truth be told, I wasn't good at it but did start to get the hang of it.  After handing the glider back to the instructor, he then asked if I wanted to do some wing overs.  Again, of course I did!!  It was so awesome to tilt from side to side and swing around.  All too soon it was time to land.  I was amazed at how smooth the landing was.  When I commented on it to my instructor, he told me that was actually a pretty hard landing.  I highly recommend giving it a try to everyone!  Check out Quest Air Hang Gliding.

Tom is taking off!

Our day wasn't complete just yet.  My flight instructor recommended a small cafe that looked like a hole in the wall for lunch.  It was one of those places that doesn't look like much from the outside but once you entered it was great.  The staff was very friendly and the food was soooo good!  Sorry but I don't remember the name.

We took a quick trip back to the RV to walk the dogs and watch the video from our morning excursion then it was dinner time.  Medievel Times was the venue of choice.  Angela and Paul joined us along with Kelsey and Stephen.  We arrived early and I just had to try their "slushie".  (Alcohol added)  While waiting the guys found a contest to see who could hold a 44 oz. mug of Samuel Adams beer straight out for the longest time.  Once again, of course I had to sign up.  Each person who tried got a free beer mug and a cool German Samuel Adams hat so why not?  Tom should have done it also so we could have a matching set of mugs.  There were several rounds and the guys didn't compete against the girls.  I was in the first round of females though and outlasted them all.  It's tougher than it looks!  We wandered off to browse the merchandise and as they were calling us to go into the arena for dinner and the show I saw the beer stein hoisting guy walking around with the big stein that the winners received.  So I went up to him and asked if I had won and he said yes!  Woohoo!  The photo below shows it all.  The male winner, the contest host holding the mugs we had to hoist and me with the "trophy".

Medievel Times is a fantastic show.  The food was unexpectedly REALLY good.  No silverware is given to you.  Eat with your hands, just like they did it way back when.  We had a blast cheering for the green knight, who sadly did not win.  The entire day was a blast made even better by spending it with good friends!

Now... on to the next adventure!

A new tradition

Last evening our neighbors arrived on our doorstep with champagne, wine, cheese, crackers and other goodies. Why? To christen our new RV!

We had a great time hanging out in the RV and visiting. What an awesome new tradition. Unfortunately, we didn't think to take any pictures. Next time!

Kayak Rescue Class!

This past Saturday we held a kayak rescue class in our pool.  We always enjoy teaching this class and getting to know our fellow paddlers a bit better.  The comments we receive about the class are always positive and we love that we are able to share some of our knowledge.  People are always surprised how much they DIDN'T know.

Montana!

Montana welcomed us with open arms.  The smoke from the fires dissipated just in time.  Hopefully it will be clear when we head over to Missoula and visit Glacier Park.

First, let's talk about the past couple of days.  We had the interesting task of "moving".  A trip to Walmart gave a chance to buy a few boxes.  The old RV was a MESS as we got ready to trade out vehicles.  Once the time came, Tom began transferring items.  That man was on a mission!  Box after box was thrown into the Bounder and I had no time to even begin putting things where they belonged.  With the new RV in total disarray, Tom drove the short journey to Chik fil A.  While he ran in to get us some lunch I unloaded a few more items from a cooler to the fridge.  Well, I tried at least.  The first item I grabbed was the flavored creamer... and the lid came off... and the bottle fell to the floor... and about a third of it ended up all over the floor.  Now creamer doesn't clean up as easily as other liquids.  It is thick and it is VERY sticky.  Alas, the next step was Walmart to purchase a Swiffer.  This became very apparently necessary when I tried to move and my foot came out of my flip flop which was stuck to the floor.  That mess finally cleaned up (sort of) we headed down the highway.

The trip was progressing without incident until Tom noticed flashing lights in the mirror.  Of course he didn't think he was doing anything wrong so immediately he yelled to the back to ask me if I had an overhead light on or something.  The patrolman was quite nice.  And that's how we discovered we had no tail lights on the Lotus trailer.

Montana REALLY needed rain.  Fortunately for them, we brought it!  Beginning last night it has been raining non-stop.  The forecast calls for rain in Missoula tomorrow also.  I guess the Griz game will be a bit soggy, BUT Griz fans won't care.

Sometime during the night our electricity went off.  (We are hooked up This morning Tom was taking the first shower in RV.  Apparently, when

I just noticed this post has disappeared at the bottom.  BOO!!!  :(

A successful shopping trip!

The time has come to reveal our shopping trip a few days ago.  During our drive from Florida to Colorado we began to discuss the state of our current RV.  There is nothing fundamentally wrong with it, we just started talking about how much time we were planning to spend in the RV and decided it was time for an upgrade.  Now here's something you need to know about Tom and I, when we decide to do something that means the time is NOW!  We stopped at a dealership in Mississippi to check out what they had to offer.  This gave us an idea of what we liked and I began researching RV's as Tom drove down the road.  See what a great way to travel RVing is?  I checked out various dealerships along our route to see what each had to offer and even called a few to talk to the sales people.  

We had found a coach we really liked in Billings, MT but we had some time to spare in Grand Junction, CO and decided to check out a few of the dealers.  The plan wasn't to purchase a coach in Grand Junction.  Really, it wasn't!  But we just happened upon the ideal RV for us.  As I have said before, this being our second motorhome we now know what we want and don't want in an RV.  So, we found ourselves this awesome 34 foot Bounder and fell in love with it.  Yep, we were smitten!  Because we had so much going on visiting family, attending the wedding and just having a good time, we went back several times to check it out.  At one point I told Tom the only thing it didn't have was a washer/dryer and dishwasher.  Then I realized that I WAS the dishwasher.  If you haven't been around Tom and I much you may not know that we like to joke back and forth a lot. Apparently we were entertaining the salesman also because he said "You two are funny!" Ha!

And so we say goodbye to the Minnie Winnie and hello to our new Bounder.  It has plenty of room for the five of us!  I'm thinking we need a name for her.  Anyone have a good suggestion??

We are already in Utah, heading for Montana and look at the view!

And check out my office!  How cool is that?  Baby Bear is helping me of course.  He was forgotten this past weekend poor thing.  He didn't get to go to the wedding and we did take him to CJ and Kayla's house for dinner last night, but once again, he was forgotten in the car.

Until next time...

How our RV life began

So… how did we end up traveling in an RV? We both started out camping in tents, moving on to popup campers, pickup campers, bumper pulls, 5^th wheels and finally a fully self-contained motorhome.  Why did we switch to a coach?  Because we wanted to pull a trailer behind with our kayaks, bicycles and whatever other toys we might fancy.  In April of 2014, we sold our bumper pull trailer and began shopping for a coach.  In hindsight, we really didn’t know what we were doing.  We checked out a few different coaches and decided on the Winnebago based on the features inside and the Winnebago name.  That was a mistake. 

We had the coach less than a week when I needed to take it Jacksonville, FL for a three week stay.  I “surface cleaned” what I found dirty, loaded the RV and headed out.  A few miles up the road a very annoying  beep began.  The coach thought the emergency brake was on.  Since we weren’t far from the dealership, we turned around and went to have it repaired.  A technician came out, looked at it, told me he couldn’t fix it “correctly” then and put a piece of foam on it.  A couple miles down the road, the foam fell out.  Every time I slowed and sped up again I had to listen to the beep for a few minutes.  He didn’t offer to have me come back and fix it and I didn’t ask because I thought he done the repair.  By the time I returned from Jacksonville, our warranty period had ended.  Tom was able to make the repair himself.  Because we didn’t have a tow dolly, Tom followed in our car pulling a trailer with a motorcycle on it then drove the motorcycle home.  The stay for the three weeks would be at Hanna Park in Jacksonville, FL.  Hanna Park is a great spot located near the Navy base and right on the ocean.  A short walk or bike ride takes you to the beach which is also dog friendly.  Bonus!  During the time I was there, the park was almost empty during the weekdays, but filled up with local campers on the weekends.  There was a lot to do at Hanna Park including bike trails, geocaching, beach time and kayaking on the lake.  My weekdays were spent away from the park. 

I began to really begin cleaning the RV during the evenings.  This is when I discovered what a poor job the dealer we purchased the unit from did.  The previous campers I bought from dealers, though used, were cleaned immaculately so I assumed (my mistake) this would be the case here.  We purchased the RV from a large dealer so it came as a surprise all the problems we encountered.  The filth ranged from not bothering to dust the top of the door jambs to food having been spilled between the table and window.  Mucking out all that old food and drink took HOURS!  The RV served its purpose for the stay.

Once I returned home I shampooed the carpets FOUR times trying to get them clean and scrubbed the floors on my hands and knees.  I began to do a total mucking out when I lifted the cushions on the overhead bed and discovered an ant’s nest.  We weren’t talking just a few ants.  No.  They were swarming and there were a LOT of ant eggs as well.  It was SOOO disgusting!  I ran to get ant spray and immediately doused the nest, tracking down the stray ants.  Then the worst part (for me anyway) came.  Using the vacuum I began sucking them up.  The sound it made still makes me cringe.

With the ants evicted from their cozy home it was time to begin cleaning the upper bunk.  What should have been an easy job turned into a test for Tom.  The A/C unit had dripped into the bunk area where apparently the previous owners had not bothered to keep it sealed.  It was our fault for not checking and not knowing to check for these things but I also feel the dealer should have let us know about this problem.  Tom was able to remove the rotten wood and replace it.  That man is amazing!  Besides that, there were small repairs to be made that would be expected with a coach that is 10 years old.  

On Monday, August 24, our 2004 Winnebago Minnie Winnie was packed and loaded.  It’s amazing how much food you can actually get in the refrigerator and freezer in one of these!  We planned to leave Tuesday but we were ready to head out so why not leave a day early?  The first problem?  I was enjoying my comfy king size bed too much for one last sleep.  Tom had to wake me up finally at 9 am.  No worries, within an hour we were on the road!  As Tom always says, plan for contingencies!  The first contingency was a leaking transmission hose only a couple hours down the road.  Fortunately, Tom is a master at fixing things and in no time (ok, about an hour), we on the road again. Here is a pic taken on our current trip.  We spent the night outside of Fort Walton Beach, FL in a rest area.

Tomorrow will be the big reveal of what we were shopping for a couple days ago.  I am so excited!  Stay tuned!

Here we go!!

Hey all!  Let's get this blog started!  

So... ya know how we travel all over, have great adventures and meet new people?  We decided it's time to share "the Wright life" with you.  As time goes by, we will fill you in on past memorable adventures.  Why?  Because we've had some interesting ones!

For those who don't know us, we are Tom and Debbie Wright, currently living in Port St Lucie, FL. Yep, we definitely enjoy the Wright life in Florida!  Our personal, as well as business, motto is "It's All About the Adventure!".  We definitely try to fit in as many adventures as we can.

What do we do for "work"?  We meet people from all over the world when they paddle with our kayak tour company Kayaks and Stuff.  I know, it's a tough job but SOMEONE has to do it!

As I write this first post, we are in Grand Junction, CO.  We loaded up the RV, our three dogs and hit the road to begin yet another adventure on Monday, August 25.  A three day trip through Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico FINALLY found us in Colorado for our sons wedding.  The great thing about traveling in an RV is you really don't have to stop much.  The restroom is built in, food and drink are available, the dogs have room to roam and you can sleep whenever you want. 

We are thoroughly enjoying visiting with family while here.  Even the crazy ones... because hey, it adds to the entertainment.  Okay fine, maybe some of those entertaining family members are no longer exactly family members... and for a good reason.  (Did I say ex spouses?) If any of you have one or two of those people in your life think of it this way; you should feel awesome knowing someone else spends so much time thinking of you! And that is my philosophical thought for the day.  

The day before the wedding we had some time so we did a bit of wine tasting.  For those of you don't know, Grand Junction has a LOT of wineries.  If you can't find wine you like here then you are way too picky.  FYI, Grand Junction also grows the BEST peaches you will ever find.  We also did a bit of... shopping.  But that's a story for another day.  Oh! The Grand Junction Motor Speedway has a shift cart track.  About 18 of us headed out first thing in the morning the day of the wedding for a few laps.  Neither Tom or I had ever driven these before.  We were slow at first until we got a good feel for the carts. These aren't your normal carnival bumper cars, the babies will go over 65 mph!  At one point, CJ, the groom spun out in front of me.  Rather than take out the groom, (I didn't think that would be a good idea) I swerved and spun out myself.  

The wedding was at an awesome outdoor venue.  The bride and groom looked wonderful. The reception was tons of fun.  What can I say?  It was a wedding with (as I said before) crazy ex relatives. This morning we all met for breakfast.  Yup, crazy ex relatives and all. Of course this just made for more entertainment!  Seriously though, it was great getting to visit with people you haven't seen in such a long time.

And so I will end my first ever blog post.  We are looking forward to more great adventures to come. Stay tuned!