More Q&A

I’m back with more questions from blog readers about RVing, what’s happening in our lives since we hung up the keys, and all kinds of other things. While I try to answer all questions individually, I also share some here occasionally.

Q. What are the blue pants you are wearing in the picture Terry took of you in your kayak in yesterday’s blog? Are they jeans? I love that color!

A. No, they are hospital scrubs. Terry gets them on Amazon and I have several sets in different colors. They are lightweight and very comfortable to wear around the house and while on the kayak.

Q. Kayaking is fun, but do you ever encounter all those alligators we hear about in Florida?

Q.We have not seen any gators here, though there are some. But our water here is saltwater, which is not their preference. While kayaking on lakes and rivers in other parts of the state, both in our Sea Eagle inflatable kayaks and our hard kayaks, we have seen many, many alligators. They ignore us and we don’t approach them.

Q. The other day you had a blog post about places you love going back to. Of the hundreds of places you visited while you were fulltiming and publishing the Gypsy Journal, are there any you have no desire to go back to?

A. Not many. The one that always comes to mind for us is the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. We have many RVing friends who love wintering there and some who have hung up the keys and live there fulltime. It seems to be the right place for them, but we just don’t care for it.

Q. Is Miss Terry still enjoying her AeroGarden? We haven’t seen any pictures lately.

A. Oh yes, she is busy growing herbs and leafy vegetables all the time. The only things she hasn’t had much success with are the cherry tomatoes, which produce a lot of leaves and flowers but have never produced a single tomato, and the strawberry plants, which produce very small strawberries that are rather bland. Here is a picture of one of her latest harvests, and she’s got more growing now.

Q. I know you have been off the road for a while now, but if you had to choose just one campground membership to buy, what would it be? We have looked at Thousand Trails, KOA, Passport America, and some others and just cannot decide. We don’t plan to fulltime, but we will be on the road for 6 to 8 months a year.

A. Hands down, if I could only choose one it would be Passport America. The annual dues are low and there are over 1,450 campgrounds around the country that will give you half price when you visit. You should be able to recoup your investment on your first trip.

Q. You mentioned that your son and his wife are thinking about moving to your area of Florida. Do you think the crazy real estate prices are going to be a problem for them?

A. It will definitely make things more difficult, and they may have to rent for a while until they find the right deal. The way things are currently, it’s an insane market and I think the bubble is going to burst sooner or later and a lot of people who overpaid for houses are going to be in trouble.

Q. After seven years of fulltiming, we’re going to be hanging up the keys in the next year or so. It’s been a great run, but we’re tired of constant maintenance issues with the RV, campgrounds are busier and more expensive all the time, and the roads are falling apart everywhere we go. Our problem is that we don’t know where to look for a forever home. I love the ocean want to be near the beach, but my husband hates Florida and wants to be near the mountains. I know you spent a lot of time in the Pacific Northwest, can you recommend any small towns along the Oregon or Washington coasts that might make us both happy?

A. It was very hard for us to choose between the Space Coast here in Florida and the Long Beach Peninsula in Washington state. Even now there are times when we ask ourselves if we made the right decision. Another choice might be Ocean Shores, Washington, or any of the small towns along the Oregon coast. Our favorites are Seaside, Newport and Florence.

Q. Now that you and Terry have your Covid vaccinations and the world seems to be getting back to some kind of normal, do you have any trips planned?

A. We don’t have anything scheduled right now, but we would like to take some short trips, maybe down to the Keys and up to Savannah, Georgia. I also want to go back to Ohio to do some more research on my Tinder Street historical saga. And, of course, there are lots of other places we would love to get to as time allows.

Q. You’ve mentioned your bus conversion a couple of times now, but I guess that was before I found your blog. Do you have any pictures of it you could share?

A. At one time we had a series of blog posts about the bus conversion project, but in transferring from one host to another they seem to have been lost. But I do have some pictures of the bus and the conversion process I might share in a blog post if enough people are interested.

Q. If I recall, it seems like it’s been about a year since you had your RF nerve ablation done to your back. I’ve been thinking about having that done and I’ve been told they last a few months to a couple of years. Do you mind telling me what your status is now Nick and if you would do it again?

A. I had my ablation done in mid-June of last year, and so far, so good. I still have occasional pain, but not the debilitating type I suffered with for so long. When and if the nerve regenerates and the pain returns, I won’t hesitate to have the procedure done again.

Congratulations Sandy Bronstein, winner of our drawing for an audiobook of Big Lake Lynching, the second book in my Big Lake mystery series. We had 33 entries this time around. Stay tuned, a new contest starts soon.

Thought For The Day – Here’s a question for all the mind readers out there.