BOSTON RED SOX SPRING TRAINING DAY 1 & 2

FLORIDA WEEK 2 (PART 2): BOSTON RED SOX SPRING TRAINING DAY 1 & 2

Day 1

I wanted to check out the Twins Spring Training, but they were having a game and charged for parking, so I head to the Red Sox facility and the minor leaguers where practicing. I sat and watched my favorite play Travis Shaw all morning and took pictures and video. Travis starting his second year as an everyday first basemen, had a good day on the field. He took some bad hops and turn then into great plays and others got pass him, but over all an good day. In the box, he was selective as always only swinging at good pitches. He had no home runs, but a good stroke and approach at the plate. I did not think that the minor leaguers have arrived, so I had nothing for them to sign. I walked around the four field they were using writing down names and uniform numbers of the prospects I wanted to get autographs from. So, when I come back I will be better prepared.

   Travis Shaw Spring Training Picture

Day 2

When I arrived only two fields was being used and the players were mostly from A ball or on the DL. I did a quick look around and there was no sign of Travis Shaw, so I started looking for the other prospect. I found Sean Coyle (2B advance A) and Bryce Brentz (OF AAA). Bryce Brentz is on the DL from shooting himself while cleaning his gun. He was driving the ball long and deep to all parts of the field. A few were hit out of the park over the left field fence. Sean Coyle had a good day in the box too. He had hit some gappers and one or two out of the park. He also showed range at second getting to some balls to his left and right. After practice I followed them off the field and got them to sign a baseball on the sweet spot and a picture of them. Tomorrow is a night home game and practice will be open again, I will visit and see if Travis Shaw will be on the field and try and get some autographs of him... again.

Bryce Brentz Photo and Auto baseball

 Sean Coyle Photo and Signed Baseball

FLORIDA WEEK 2: NEW LOOK TO BLOG & FT MYERS BEACH

I have been playing around with the view of the blog. I've added a cover photo (which I will likely change, just testing), added Canada map to places visited and I found a count up clock to let everyone know how long we been full-timers. I wanted to add something different to monitor instead of just reading my post. Add your comments at the bottom and let me know what you think of the changes.

25 Feb
We wanted to ride our bike in the park across the lake, but my front break was locked. As I started to fix it a piece of medal got stuck in my thumb. I want to the throw my bike. The wife pulled the medal out of my thumb. Instead of bike riding we walked in the park. We must have walked about three miles and the sweet was poring from our forehead. We went to the store to get a few things and turn out to be a lot of stuff. We spent the rest of the day at the RV park reading a book and using the computer to plane the rest of our stay.

                                                   The train that run around the park
                                                              on a 1/2 mile track

                                                               Crossing another bridge
                                                       keeping my eyes open for alligators

                                              View of the waters surrounding the parks trails

                                         Another view of the waters surrounding the parks trails

26 Feb
Another nice morning and this time we went to Ft Myers Beach (about a 15 minute drive) for our morning walk. It was a sad sight to see dead fish all a long the coast. Not sure what the problem was, maybe something in the ocean waters. There was a lot of people walking on the beach too, so it must be kind of safe. We saw no one in the ocean, but did see some fishing from the shore. All of the dead fish should be a sing not to eat what you catch and move to a different place. We picked up anther visitors guide to get some more ideas on where to go next. The weather was calling for 20+ degree winds and my luck with the awning I did not want to take any chances so I closed it up. The breeze feels nice and cool, but we don't want another broken awning.

                                                     This is what the whole beach looked like
                                                All kinds of fish, not just one type big and small

                                                                       Balloon fish

                                                              Ft Myers Beach Pier

                                             The wind was so strong the camera was rocking
                                              on the walkway when the picture was taken

I wanted to find out what was killing all the fish. When we got back to the RV Park I searched the internet. It did not take long to find out is was because of Red Tide. I also found out it could be harmful to humans too. The alert was issued around the first week of February and has passed, but there are still dead fish everywhere. It was the first ever alert for Red Tide. Click on the link to read more. RED TIDE

FLORIDA WEEK 1: ARRIVE IN ONE PIECE

Sorry, for not posting in about a week. Florida Week 1 was really busy with lots of stuff going on, so I have been working on this week as one big post. I'm going to try and hit all the highlights of the day and if we have picture I will add them too. I'm hoping to have this week post by Sunday or Monday at the latest. 

18 Feb

With 621 miles of road ahead of us and a three days window to get there we were not in any hurry. We left Azalea Acres in AL around 10:00 am with a group of six people to see us off and wish us a safe trip. As we drove out of the park, others came to the roadside to waved to say their goodbye. Then we hit the highway taking I 10 East at a blazing steady pace of 60 mph (speed limit 70 mph). For some reason there was strong crosswinds all the way to Fort Myers, so we played it safe and took our time. Other drivers on the road must have been in a hurry to get somewhere, as they were passing us like we were standing still. Our goal was to get on I 75 South by night fall, but after passing into Eastern Standard Time Zone we lost an hour so we pulled over for the night at a rest stop just East of Tallahassee, FL.

                                       
                                                    The wife starting us off on the road

                                        What the traffic looked like most of the way to Ft Myers

                                            Florida's gas prices, that why we dove 60 MPH

19 Feb

Woke up to temperatures in the high 50's, with no outlet power to turn the heater on we jumped in the driver seat withe the heater on and started driving to the next rest stop. 30 miles later we arrived worm and ate breakfast. As soon as we reached I 75 South the weather warmed up pretty fast, I had to change from jeans to shorts. We stopped at a rest stop to eat lunch. The weather was nice, so we ate outside under a picnic table. With plenty of time to spare, we took about a two hour break to eat lunch and take a nap. To our surprised the traffic was not a problem, we were driving at our 60 mph pace and it was smooth driving all the way to Punta Gorda, FL. With only 30 miles left to the Lake RV Park, we stopped for the night at a rest stop. In Florida, the signs say no over night parking, but we had no issues. There was even an armed patrol car at both rest stops and not one knock on our door to move on. 

                                            Tree at the rest stop where we ate breakfast

                                                  Lunch of Champions, Japanese Tuna Fish

                                                Enjoying lunch under the sun at a rest stop

                                                                     Rest Stop Palm trees

                                          Bug that flow into the RV window (he did not make it)

20 Feb

Woke up to thick fog, so we decided to wait it out until it cleared. After the fog cleared, we were back on the road to finish our  last 30 miles. We arrived at Lakes RV Park, to our surprised it was right on the main road however, the park is pretty quit. We are right in the middle of all kinds of stores and restaurants. Our camp site is small, we had a tight fit between two light poles and a concrete slab for a patio. After a few tries, the wife finally got the RV in and I hooked everything up. The rest of the day, we just settled in put our stuff the way we like it.

                                                           First sunset at the RV park

21 Feb

The first full day in Ft Myers and we want to get to know our surrounding. We drove to find what store are near by for our groceries and eat-out for some dinners. We also found the Minnesota Twins (7 miles away) and Boston Red Sox (15 miles away) spring training facilities. I plan to attend both parks to see practices and maybe a game or two.

22 Feb
Our neighbor told us of the farmers market in the park, so we headed there in the morning. We got a few things and then wanted to walk around the park a little. The park is BIG. We did not even get close to walking half the park. We saw direction sign and decided to come back on our bikes and ride though the park another day. The Red Sox had no game today, after a quick lunch we went to the practice fields only to find out that most of the players took the day off to play golf. It looks like only the Major Leaguers are in camp and only a few Minor Leaguers have arrived. I asked around and no one knew when the minor leaguers report day was, so I guess I'm still waiting for the arrival of Travis Shaw. The weather was in the mid 80's and the wife did not want to cook, so we ate out.

                                                            Beignet at the farmers market

                                               Crazy red face duck trying to beg for food

                                                   JetBlue Park Red Sox Spring Training

                                                Me at one of the six practice filed fences

23 Feb
Early in the morning, I washed down the RV. The RV was pretty dirty and it needed it. Besides, I want to hang the US map that show every State we visited on the side of the RV and need to wash the area on RV first anyways. I will hang the map in a few days. When I was at the Red Sox facility I picked up a few schedules and inside there was a coupon for buy one get one free ice cream cone. I took the wife out to try and surprise her, but like always she figured it out before we arrived. We both got villain and orange swirl ice cream cones. On the weekends there is nothing on TV we like so at night we watched a movie outside on the patio. As I was bringing everything inside I looked up in the sky and it looked like it was still day time. All of the lights coming from the main street lite the sky around us. It's different from Azalea Acres when at night the sky is pitch dark and the only thing you can see are the moon and stars.

                                                            Ice Cream.... So Good .....

                                                       In front of Sun Harvest Citrus Center

24 Feb
A real slow day, Red Sox on a road game today. I put up the state map on the side of the RV to show people where we have been. I left room above the US so I could add Canada map next. We stayed in the RV most of the day with the air conditioner on. It was too hot to cook dinner inside so I cooked dinner on the grill.

                                                                          Before

                                                                          During

                                                                        After
                                                                (21 down 29 to go)

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Tomorrow, we will be on the road again. Where did the week go? I must have lost a few days, because I blinked my eyes and the week was over.

I have already stowed our belongings so in the morning the only thing we have to do is bring in the slide out, dumb our black/gray tanks, hook up the tow with car and hit the road. I heard of a trick where you put ice  in your toilet so when you drive the ice knocks the "stuff" off from the sides. Our black tank reader is showing full all the time, even after I have emptied the tank. I will let everyone know if the ice trick works or if it's a myth. $.50  for a 8 lb bag at the RV park, good time to test that the theory.

We have decided that the wife will get the first few hours on the road in the morning/early afternoon. The interstate is about two miles from the RV park and she has to get the practice in driving on other than just the highways. Beside, she wants to take a detour and hit the side roads by the ocean in Florida, and there is no way she is going to drive by the ocean (she would be looking out the window and not pay attention to the road).

ALABAMA WEEK 13: LAST WEEK IN ALABAMA 

This week will be our last at Azalea Acres in Alabama. We have had a lot of fun, visited some nice places and met a lot of good people, and it will be sad when we say our goodbye's. We enjoyed our time here and if we are ever in Alabama/Florida panhandle again we will make our way back to Azalea Acres. But, it's time for us to move on to see new places and meet new people. A good rule to use is when we can get to places without using our navigator it's time to move on.

This week is mostly planed out already. Monday and Tuesday are the only days left open to complete our actives left on our "to do list". Wednesday, we are going to Pensacola, FL to go to our bank and commissary on the base for our groceries. Thursday, is pot luck for the RV park and Valentines Day. The weekend we will be doing our last loads of laundry, packing the RV to be safe for the road, last run to fill up our water jugs with local spring water and completing any last minute things needed for the road. And, Sunday night I will take the wife out to eat (not no fast food place) so we don't have to cook and clean up our last night in the RV park.

I'm a few days behind in posting this, so I will update events until I post.

Tuesday, we made it to Holmes Medical Museum in Foley, AL to mark off the last of the things to see in "LA" (Lower Alabama). After the tour I was thinking how people felt gong to the doctors in the 1930's. Some of the medical instruments looked like torture tools and I would have never visited a doctors office. We went with one couple from the RV park and she is a nurse so we also got stories of how the instruments would have been used. The tour was self guided and with her walking with us made us understand more, then from reading the tour pamphlet.

Wednesday, we went to the commissary in Pensacola, FL and took the same couple with us. They have never been to a military commissary and exchange. They came to see the price differences from a regular store. The news called for afternoon rain, so we did not stay long and by the time we got all the food into the RV the rain started. Today, should be the last day of rain for the week. We have to pack and get the RV ready to hit the road and with no rain in the forecast it will be perfect to dry out the awning and repack the outside storage.

1,000 VIEWS: IF I WRITE IT THEY WILL COME

11 Feb 2013

I would like to thank everyone who has visited my blog to make this possible. I never thought in my wildest dreams this many people would visit my blog and be interested in my adventures (life-in-RV). With so many views, I decided to update my profile to allow readers to see my background on my path to becoming a full time RVer. If I write it they will come, and come they have. In five months I have views from the US, Japan, Germany, Russia, UK, Romania, France, Switzerland, Ireland and Poland. See you again at 1,500 views. THANK YOU!

ALABAMA WEEK 12 (PART 3): LET THE RAIN FALL

7 Feb

Good thing we heard on the news yesterday that it was going to rain. Because, yesterday was warm, sunny and in the low 70's, I did not see this weather coming. I closed the awning and put our lawn chairs and tables away as the sun set to prepare for the rain. Around 3:00 am the rain started and almost 6 hours has passed and the rain has not stopped. We remained in the RV the whole morning. This is the one downside to living full time in a RV. If you don't want to get wet, you are in lock down until the weather clears. With the rain hitting the RV it was to loud to watch TV. Lucky for us (knock on wood), we have not got stuck in a downpour while driving. With us pulling a car, I would more than likely pull into a rest area until the storm passes. As I sit at the dinning table typing this post to pass the time during the storm, the rain has stopped, but the sky remains cloudy and gray. At least now, we can get out of the RV to check for outside damages and move around to stretch our legs. Almost an hour has passed and now the sky has opened and the sun is out to dry everything. Turning out to be a good afternoon  After a check outside, there was no damage to the RV during the rain.

It's official, I no longer have my cell phone, I had it disconnected. With our plan we had two phones and the lowest we could go was 700 minutes a month (no internet access). We have not got anywhere close to 200 minutes a month in three years. I use email, Skype and Facebook to keep in contact with family and friends. We kept the wife's phone and was able to lower our minutes to 200 and kept her international plan to call her parents in Japan. We now use only one cell phone and the bill is now cut in half. I'm not going to post our monthly or yearly spending like other full time bloggers do, but if we have to pay for something we don't use it's just wasting money. This is just one way we have cut back on expenses.

8 Feb

Nine months in the RV and not once did I fill under the weather, until today. Well, I still got up and did my daily activities so I was not too sick. The back of my throat is red, sore and when I talk my voice is horse. I did the usual gargling warm salt water, Halls cough drops and trying not to talk to much. After lunch, I put my earplugs in, laid down for a nap and fell asleep for almost three hours. When I woke up, my throat is still sore, red and now have a small headache, but at least I don't fill drowse, sick or have a fever. I hope this passes soon, the weather is getting warmer and I don't want to be stuck in bed all weekend. I went to the clubhouse, because the Schwans Food truck arrived to see what kinds of food they have and the talk around the water cooler is other in the RV park have sore throat and redness too. Mystery solved!

11 Feb

My worst case scenario came true. All weekend I was stuck in the RV with sick mask on (trying not to spread to the wife.... how kind of me) and watching TV/movies between naps. When I woke up today, I still don't feel sick, but throat is still little red and sore with my voice sounding horse. To top it all off, the rain is still falling with temperature in the low 70's.

ALABAMA WEEK 12 (PART 2): RV REPAIR & BEANBAG BASEBALL

The other day while trying to lower the day/night shade behind the sofa, the string gave out and broke. I took it down to try and restring it, but after a half hour and still no progress I decided it was not worth the time or effort. We don't like that they are made from paper like material too. We looked at Camping World and to replace a day/night shade is over $100. Instead we went to Wal Mart and got a curtain rod and drapes and spent about $20. There was no drapes that would fit an RV window at 56" x 28" so we got a pair of 28" x 60". We folded it in half so the length is now 30" to make it thicker to not allow much light inside when the drapes are pulled closed. The whole job only took about 30 minutes to complete and looks pretty good too. If, the day/night shade along the dinning table goes (keeping my finger crossed not soon) I will likely do the same to that window too. Another issue is the over head light as you enter the RV door. The plastic behind the spring that holds the light bulb broke into four parts not allowing the light bulb to make the connection required to light. I looked and I can not find the plastic piece only, looks like I will have to buy the whole set (estimating $35 ~ $40). Good news, all the other ceiling light work. We do not use that light very often, so we have put it off for a while. That is the next thing I will have to fix. We have had the RV for 9 months and so far only small fixes and repairs that are not very costly is a good thing. Keeping everything clean and in working order now hopefully will keep the cost of repairs down in the future too.

There was a new active added to the campground calender in February, beanbag baseball. The word baseball alone caught my interest. It kind of like cornhole, but the board in standing up making it a little harder. The beanbag enter the hole and the thrower (batter) gets that base. The thrower get three tries to hit a hole, but if they miss they are out. After a team gets three outs, the next team turn. We only played to 5 inning, but I'm sure you can play a whole 9 inning game. Some people threw to soft and could not hit the board, others threw to hard and over threw the board and one released the beanbag straight up and almost hit the ceiling of the pavilion. All-in-all everyone had fun and the afternoon passed pretty fast. I found a article of the game at ESPN.

                                            (all game pictures are from last month's game)