RV'ing to Orlando to see the Kings

We are on the move, yet again! We headed back to Orlando but this time with Annie Too. We are meeting up with friends, Rob & Kris King. We are excited to spend a week hanging out with them and seeing what kind of trouble we can get into with them!

As Willie Put it... On The Road Again

Cheers, love!

We have been bitten by the RV camping bug, that’s for sure. We got back to Ocala after a week in Myrtle Beach and we’re instantly planning our next outing. Joining Thousand Trails has been a game changer as it’s allowed us to just reserve spots in campgrounds nearby for “free”. It’s suffice to say it’s already paid for itself. 

We are planning an outing to Universal Studios with our friends, Rob and Kris, in April. Being FL residents, we got a great deal on 3 days versus 1. So, after a few days in Ocala, we decided to go stay closer to Orlando so we could start using those days. We had been given 2 free nights at a campground 45 min from Orlando to go listen to a timeshare sales pitch. We went! 

The pitch was the usual 2 hour deal, we said no thanks and collected our free lunch, $50 gift card, $25 Cracker Barrel gift card and vouchers for 2 nights elsewhere and 21 days of free camping. Not too shabby!

We had hoped to stay one more night for free to go to the park but were told it was $45 a night (we didn’t buy, after all) so we looked up Thousand Trails and booked 3 nights for $0 which is 30 minutes from Universal. Winning!

We packed up the pups and we are heading to Orlando for some roller coaster fun! See ya soon! 

Myrtle Beach for the Win

As you know we were in Myrtle Beach for a week visiting friends. So, one of the highlights of the trip is we ended up trading in Annie for a larger model. We spent a day looking at campers and found one at Camping World we loved. Plus, throw in an offer we can’t refuse and we walked away with a 34’ Rockwood 2902WS. This thing has 2 slides, an actual shower we can move in, outdoor kitchen, more counter space, bigger fridge, fireplace, queen size pull-out sofa bed, a queen size bed not jammed in the wall, tons of storage and loads of space for Lionel. We named her ‘Annie Too’. I’ll post more about her later.

Besides upgrading our digs, we also explored the area with our friends. For Kris’s birthday we spent the day eating, drinking, visiting a cemetery to visit the haunted grave of Alice Flagg, we attemped wine tasting (apparently the last tasting is an hour before closing and they wouldn’t honor our Groupon, I wasn’t happy), an amazing seafood buffet full of crab legs, and watching karaoke at a local beach bar. That was just one day. I think she had a great day - we were thrilled to have been apart of it! 

On our last day, we had tea at a southern plantation owned by a signer of the Declaration of Independence. But not to be forgotten, we also had pedicures, massages, the guys played golf twice, shopped many times and enjoyed an array of non-Keto food and Jell-O shots. I’d say it was a great trip, but now it’s time to get back to Keto!

Since we are now pulling a larger RV we opted to stay a night at another campground mid way home vs driving the 8 hours, which would end up being longer. Plus we were on the move so much in Myrtle Beach we wanted another night to enjoy our new toy. We stopped in a small town in SC called Yemassee, which has pretty much nothing but gas stations. Our campground is fine but I think I’ll be removing it from our return list... no WiFi, nothing close, no grocery stores. Its part of our Thousand Trails membership so its “free” but I think we’ll find something closer to Savannah for our May trip. 

We aren’t surprised, I think others are, but we are loving RV life! ❤️

Shagging in Myrtle Beach

Get your head out of the gutter, the shag is a dance in South Carolina! If you saw the movie Shag you would know what I'm talking about. (Side note, I loved that movie and want to go see the movie sights while here...).

Anyways, we drove 7/5 hours from Ocala, FL to get here and we are glad we did. It was a lovely reunion with friends from Mexico, Rob and Kris King. We are staying in the very large RV resort, Ocean Lakes Family Resort. Being that it is off season it isn't packed at all, which is nice. We are right near the beach so a nice breeze is always blowing.

For our first night we started with margaritas at their RV. However,  after our beach walk we opted to head into town for drinks and appetizers. It wasn't a late night as we were exhausted but I anticipate several longer evening ahead of us this week. 

I googled 'odd things to do in Myrtle Beach' and found a few places I'd like to go. I found 2 wineries (one with a white Merlot), tea at the home of a Declaration of Independence signer, a restaurant with goats (the goats may be on vacation though since it's winter), Shag lessons, Alice Flagg's grave and a fried bologna sandwich. Might have to check a few of these out.

I'll post more at the end of our trip about what we ended up doing. If you have suggestions, send them our way. Happy travels!

Ocala Life is Slower Than We Are Used To...

No offense Ocala, but I can see why some call you Slocala. There really isn't a ton to do here. While you have beautiful horse farms and lots of acreage, there really isn't much to do besides going out to eat, seeing a movie, swimming... 

Keith and I have been trying to stay busy these last few days while getting a lot of errands checked off our list. Get trailer registered, check. Get car registered, almost checked. Oil change, check. Car inspected, check. Get hair done, check. Spend time with Mom, check. Get out of the house and move, check. Watching a puppy, check.

We still have several items on the list not completed and we are hoping to get a few more checked off today before we head to Ft.Myers to see friends.

I have been an avid Groupon user these last few days trying to find a few fun things for us to do next week and not spend much money. Right now we have a winery visit, golfing and massage scheduled. 

Yesterday, we went to the RV show here in Ocala that runs through the weekend. Being that we went during the week and on the first day it was just $5. For 3 hours we looked at tons of RV's trying to see if we could finding something that would work better for our little family since our current RV is a wee bit too small for all of us. We are actually thinking of leaving the dogs in Ocala for the 2 month journey so they won't be uncomfortable/we won't be uncomfortable. I made a video... of course.

So yeah, Ocala is a bit more on the slow pace side and more errand driven but only a few more days till we hit the road again and head to Myrtle Beach. Adventure awaits!!

Annie Gets a Seahawks Decal

Our RV came with a Falcon decal but we requested it be removed so we could add our own... We tried to honor our favorite team and our live for Mexico!

We Made it to Ocala

We spent a total of 5 nights in the trailer and figured out real fast that 1. it’s too small for the 4 of us, 2. it needs more counter space, and 3. the shower is too small. We are already talking about upgrading... 

First off, after we left Nashville, we headed to Destin to see daughter Tristian. She was there for a modeling shoot camp. We were able to see her each day, which was really nice. We even got to have dinner at the house and meet some of her friends and the organizer of IBMS. It was nice to see what it is she loves doing.

After visiting with her, we packed up and drove to Ocala to my mothers home. We have been there getting our affairs in order (tags for the car and trailer, setting up a few appointments and hoping to attend an RV show in a few days). You know, important stuff. Keith did add a decal to our trailer - I’m working on posting that video shortly. 😉

I’ll try and update the blog when interesting things happen. We may head to see friends this weekend in FL. Then in a few weeks we head to Myrtle Beach to see friends Rob and Kris in the RV. It will be our first RV road trip with friends! 

Our First Night in the RV

We arrived in Nashville around 4pm at Nashville Shores RV Park. Keith quickly setup everything with only the hot water heater giving him a bit of frustration. The first setup was a bit stressful but after he got the pilot light lit and had some time to relax, it felt do-able. The dogs weren’t really sure what to think of the space. Lionel looked displaced due to his size. We had planned to use the table but that plan quickly changed. I removed the table and made Lionel his own cubbie. Once he has his own space he stopped pacing and relaxed.

We had planned to go eat dinner out with friends but the plan changed and we went to their home instead. This plan was perfect as it great to see their new home plus it was more relaxing than a restaurant. Thank you to Sonia and Tommy for opening up their home to us. As always, I love seeing and spending time with them! Another great surprise was having Melissa, Brian and their daughter, Grace, join us. We all had the best time in college so I’m always happy to see them and catch up! Lots of wine and laughter made for a terrific evening!

We headed back to the RV around 10pm and fell asleep rather quickly. The bed is a queen but we decided to sleep on it horizontally so we had more room. We both agreed we slept pretty well so we may try it again tonight... our feet hang off but I think that’s ok, we both sleep somewhat balled up. The dogs slept great, so there’s that...

This morning Keith went to Starbucks rather than making coffee. We will eventually “cook” but today wasn’t that day. He then came back and we slept till 10am. Tonight we head to Murfreesboro to see friends! ❤️

Long story short, things have gone well but we do know one thing... Next one will be much bigger!

The Maiden Voyage