Author Archives: Sparky
Lingering effects of Hurricane Irma
When we arrived at Paradise Pointe RV Resort in November, some 3 months after Hurricane Irma (Sept 16, 2017), we saw major damage to trees, along with some lesser damage to structures. Within a month most of the trees had been trimmed and the debris had been removed. I thought that was the end of … Continue reading
Green water
We have been noticing, for several months, that our water had a greenish tint. Sometimes it was barely noticeable and other times it looked like green tea. I tried several times to identify the source of the green and tried to compare water coming out of the tap with water coming from the ground, where … Continue reading
Another fine (and very expensive) mess
When we paid up front for our winter RV site in Florida I expected that our out-of-pocket expenses would be relatively low for several months. Well, we killed that thought last month when we booked our very expensive April cruise, justifiable as a “bucket list” item. Now I am facing a huge truck repair bill … Continue reading
Truck maintenance nightmares – 2 of 2
After my “adventures” at DeVoe Buick GMC on Wednesday and Thursday I decided that I had better get the bad tires replaced ASAP. So on Friday I drove over to the Goodyear Collier Care Center just a few miles from our park. The instructions, though not trivial, were clear: Put two new Goodyear Wrangler tires … Continue reading
Truck maintenance nightmares – 1 of 2
So I took my truck to DeVoe Buick GMC of Naples on Wednesday with a short list of things that needed attention: Oil change. Check the brakes. Diagnose and, possibly, fix the shimmy that I feel at highway speeds. I dropped the truck off at 11 am and got no phone call that afternoon. I … Continue reading
Farewell to the Yaris
We bought the Yaris in Nov 2013, shortly after we arrived in Ft Myers for our first Florida winter. It had become obvious that Jett was not comfortable driving the truck, so another vehicle was necessary. We considered leasing and even renting, but decided that purchasing would be the most economical option. We had the … Continue reading
Our next cruise adventure
Yes, we booked a 27-day cruise yesterday, characterized by Jett as “the cruise of a lifetime.” And since we had already blown our “budget” by choosing to go at all, we decided that we might as well go in comfort and booked a Signature Suite. We will have nearly 4 full weeks cruising, first, the … Continue reading
Relatively cold
January 2017 was beautiful in southwest Florida. Every day in the mid-80s, sunshine, light breezes. Absolutely dreamy. January 2018 has seen a few of those days, but has also seen rain, wind and freeze warnings. Nothing dreamy about this January. It is 48 right now – very cold for south Florida. Still, it is only … Continue reading
“Sycamore Row” by John Grisham
Dell Mass Market, 2014 Yes, it has been quite a while since I posted my last book review. My primary excuse is that I have been busy traveling over 10,000 miles. But John Grisham deserves a share of the blame, too. Sycamore Row is long (637 pages in this edition) and it moves slowly. It … Continue reading
Retrospective on our 2017 travel experiences
We traveled a LOT in 2017. I have documented our day-to-day experiences under the labels of “Third Trip North” (TTN), “New England Tour” (NET), “Second Trip West” (STW) and “Second Trip East” (STE). From the time we left Florida (14 Apr 2017) to the time we returned (20 Nov 2017) – 220 days – the … Continue reading »