Stopping for a short interlude in Zephyrhills

April 1-7, 2013
Zephyrhills, Florida
Majestic Oaks RV Resort



Stopping in Zephyrhills, as we start our slow trek back to the West Coast, has become an annual tradition for us. The main reason for this interlude is for me to spend time with my aunt, brother, nieces, and nephews before leaving the area. There are several RV parks in Zephyrhills, but most are geared more for long term residents who mostly live in park models vs. RVs. Majestic Oaks is no exception to this but we have come to feel quite at home here and the price is right. (Passport America rates in April of $16.00 per night.)

With a drive of only about seventy miles, we pulled into the park fairly early in the afternoon. Good thing as we ended up needing to call a tow truck for our Jeep shortly after arriving.  When Vic was unhitching the Jeep near the main office, he discovered the transmission would not come out of neutral. We had this problem once before near Niagara Falls and it ended up costing us over $1000 to replace the motor on the transfer case.  Our fingers were crossed that this problem would not require more big money to fix. 



We have towing covered with our Coach-Net policy. They were great and had someone there within an hour. Fortunately, the closest Chrysler Jeep dealership was only about ten miles away. The only challenge was we didn’t want to send the car there with the kayaks, bikes, and everything else we had packed into the back end. This is where having family close by came in handy. My brother came with his truck to help us haul everything to our site. We stayed pretty unperturbed through it all, even laughing at Vic’s idea to sit on the tailgate of my brother’s truck while “towing” the kayaks.



The next day we learned from the dealer that there was a Chrysler recall for the computer code error that was showing on our dash: Service 4 wheel drive. The recall requires a software update (N-23) that should clear the code and allow the transmission to shift out of neutral. It took another day for them to complete the software update then Voila! The transmission was working fine once again. The best part was No Charge. The worst part though was learning from the dealer that their mechanic did not think the previous dealership did the work they charged us for as the transfer case is still all original. Bottom line: we now have a Case # with the Chrysler Complaint line. We were grateful this problem happened in a place where it was relatively easy to deal with and that the Jim Browne Jeep dealership in Dade City turned out to be a reputable place. 

The rest of our time in Zhills went by very quickly. I went to my aunt’s home every morning for coffee and good long visits. This aunt is my mom’s only living sister (of four girls) and she is my god-mother. I even found a photo of her and me at my baptism—many, many years ago!



While I was off visiting with my aunt, Vic shifted into major cleaning mode. He washed the entire exterior of the motorhome with a waterless solution, vacuumed all the filters in the ceiling vents, and cleaned all the window screens. What a guy. The temperatures this week have been the warmest we have experienced this winter, so after his cleaning sessions in the morning, we spent time each day cooling off and relaxing by the pool. Since we have been to this park for several short stays before, we enjoyed some friendly banter with many of the familiar faces we saw at the pool.

On the weekend, we had my brother over for one of his favorite dinners: grilled lamb chops (while watching Florida and Wisconsin lose in the Final Four games). I must be feeling nostalgic, as I also found one of my favorite photos of my brother and me from the 1950s. Now our dog Jetta is his baby on the couch!







The best news from my brother was learning that his son, who was recently diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, has responded well to aggressive radiation and chemotherapy sessions. His overall prognosis looks very good.



On Sunday, my whole family in the area got together for a barbeque, a perfect way to say our goodbyes for the winter. These goodbyes were a little harder than usual since we are planning to spend next winter on the West Coast. I guess I have gotten used to seeing my Florida family much more often since I retired as I used to be lucky to see them every few years.



We left Zhills this morning on a short drive of about seventy miles to another Passport America park where we have stayed before near The Villages: Southern Oaks RV Resort. The word resort is a stretch, but this is a comfortable park in a location that works well for us as my oldest brother and some family friends are nearby. We are also hoping to get our kayaks wet on one of the nearby rivers, but the weather will have to get better as there is a storm a comin’.  We may have to rest up a little to be ready for our ambitious spring travel itinerary.

A family interlude in Central Florida

November 19-30, 2013
Zephyrhills, Florida
Majestic Oaks RV Resort



Goodbye to November already!  Thanksgiving is behind us and Christmas songs are going full force on the radio—a disappointment for us as we really enjoy a Tampa station called “The Dove” which normally plays mellow oldies.  It’s hard to believe this is my third year of retirement from the classroom. I still have my fair share of teacher dreams and tend to view the year in terms of Thanksgiving Break, Christmas Vacation (no—Winter Break), etc. I guess after living this way as a student or a teacher for close to 50 years, it makes sense. But, this year I feel the hold on me loosening as Sunday evenings now hold the same possibility of joy as any other day of the week.  (Teachers out there will know what I am talking about---the ungraded papers and loose lesson plans colliding with the Monday morning reality).

We accomplished pretty much everything we intended in our stay here the past ten days.  A major focus for me was to spend time with my aunt. She lost her husband one year ago and it has been a tough adjustment for her after being married for more than fifty years. Our park is only about two miles from here, so I have been able to spend time with her almost every day. I didn't think to take a photo of us together, but here is one from two years ago.



We managed to see two movies while here: Last Vegas and About Time. We didn't expect Last Vegas would be that good, but it was entertaining to us baby boomers from beginning to end. How can you go wrong with Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, and Kevin Cline?  It has been described as similar to the movie Hangover only for senior citizens, but we thought it was better than Hangover because it had a better developed plot and subplot which we found quite entertaining.

I took my aunt to see About Time. It was an unexpected WOW for both of us. If you liked the movie Groundhog Day, it is likely you will appreciate this one even more. Suffice it to say the film caused us to both laugh and weep, and more importantly, reflect on our own daily relationship to the passage of time. For some reason, I think those of us who are full-time RVers may relate to the theme of this movie more than others. See it and let me know!

One big highlight this past week was learning that we were in close proximity to fellow bloggers, John and Pam of Oh the Places They Go. We have been following them for almost a year now, but have been quite far apart geographically for most of that time. Aside from having the connection as full-timers and for me, the same first name, we are all retired educators. Vic and John, even more so, as they both were social studies a teachers and principals. I also need to acknowledge that they have been an inspiration to do some serious hiking out on the trails. They met us for lunch near at Kafe Kokopelli in Dade City. As so often happens with getting to know folks we only knew in the virtual world of blogging, we passed three hours quite easily with much to share about our travels and perspectives on this lifestyle. Fortunately, we will be at the same RV resort for the month of March, giving us a much better opportunity to deepen our friendship.



The day after we met Pam and John was Thanksgiving. I have two nieces who live in Zephyrhills; the youngest one typically hosts Thanksgiving and the older one hosts the Christmas gathering. This year, three other nieces were able to join us: one from Sweden, one from Miami, and one from Ocala. As the mother of two sons, my nieces are especially important to me. I was thrilled to be able to be with them on this holiday. Here are a few more shots of our Thanksgiving feast.



Five of my gorgeous nieces. They make me miss being young and . . . ?



With about twenty five or more for dinner, we had quite a festive gathering. It also happened to be my sister-in-law’s birthday so we managed to include a birthday celebration after our gynormous meal.



Of course a family gathering for us Irish folks would never be complete without a group shot—hah.



After our meal, we had a big bonfire in the backyard (one of my favorite things) and we were serenaded by my niece on guitar and one of my other niece’s boyfriends, also on guitar. My photos and short videos were too dark to share, but it was a special way to end the day.  I also enjoyed taking photos of one of the two bulldogs who graced our party.



Another highlight of the week was Vic washing the motorhome over the course of two days. He even found time to polish the rims—a job that had not been done in some time!



We are hoping the winter months are more reminiscent of our previous winters here in Florida as the weather has been either unusually warm and humid or downright chilly.  I had intended to bathe and groom the two dogs, play tennis, and lounge by the pool. With temps as low as the mid 30s the night before Thanksgiving, the pool was not a big draw this week. It was also too cold on most days to wash the dogs outside, so that will have to wait.  I am sad that we did not get out on the courts; time just slipped away. Playing tennis or pickleball is something I really want to do. 

Tomorrow we are off to Holiday Cove, a splurge to be by the beach RV resort in Cortez, where we will be for the next two months. It is only about a ninety minute drive from here—close enough to return for a few occasions in December during the holidays. I leave you with my friends, the Sandhill Cranes, who visited us daily here in Zhills.

From The Villages to Zephyrhills

November 15-24, 2013
Zephyrhills, Florida
Majestic Oaks RV Resort



Our stay at Southern Oaks RV Resort  was a bit unplanned but turned out great as we enjoyed exploring The Villages, having lunch with my brother in Dunnellon, and meeting friends of my family for dinner while we were here. The Villages, called by some Adult Disneyland, is a bit of a phenomenon. It was designed to be a self-contained retirement community that provides a wide spectrum of shopping, medical, recreational, and housing options. There are three town squares now within a 6 square mile area, each with different themes, and housing developments to match, plus dozens of churches, golf courses, recreation centers, and entertainment venues catering to a population close to 100,000. One of the most unusual aspects of the design is that it is also accessible by golf cart. Supposedly, one could live here and only use a golf cart for transportation.

These photos below are of Lake Sumter Landing, the most developed town square in The Villages. This area is built around a large man-made lake that offers boating and fishing for recreation. The town is supposed to look a little like Key West, or a waterfront fishing village.







Another big attraction here is live entertainment and happy hour every night in the town squares. We learned there was a Sadie Hawkins celebration going on in Brownwood Square, so we checked it out and were entertained by a Dixieland Jazz band when we were there. This square is the newest addition, opening a year ago, with the theme of the Old West.



The sidewalks in Brownwood have exposed brick and the streets are lit with what are supposed to look like gas lanterns.





The first time we were here, our friends gave us a tour, and, while we were curious about this retirement community, we did not feel compelled to spend any time here. It seems that the full-time RV lifestyle calls us to evaluate almost every place we go as a candidate for our eventual settling down phase. Since we were in the area again, we thought we would do more exploring on our own. If you want to learn more about this place, I found an interesting website with an article called “50 Things to Think about Before Buying a Home in the Villages.”



Regardless of what you think of this type of lifestyle, it does look like fun to zip around on all the special golf lanes to your favorite restaurant for dinner or to a polo match. A downside, however, is the “Stepford Wives” quality of this designer lifestyle with limited diversity in age, race, socio-economic levels, and political views. And for those who seek solitude in a natural environment, this would not be the place for you as the home lots are small and landscaping must conform to the HOA regulations.

We happened to meet a wonderful couple at GarVino’s Wine Bar in Lake Sumter Landing (one of the village squares) who were eager to share their enthusiasm for Village retirement. They had just purchased a home here in April after renting for a couple years. Their description of the place is “summer camp for adults.” They seriously do have classes or workshops for almost every imaginable hobby or avocation. This couple were avid pickleball, tennis, and golf players. They each had their own golf car and they clearly were living a very active lifestyle here. They even invited us to try pickleball with them, have cocktails at their home, and zip in for dinner to one of the squares in their four-seater golf cart. We wished we could have taken them up on this offer, but we had made plans with my family friends that day.  On the bright side, they visit Sarasota often and we vowed to get together when they come our way later this winter.  We appreciated hearing their first-hand enthusiasm for this place, but neither of us can imagine ourselves as “Villagers” at this time of our lives.

Another outing while we were in this area was to visit my oldest brother Bob and his wife Carol. Bob is a busy guy running the National Parachute Test Center in Dunnellon, but he managed to break away from the airport to join us for lunch. We had just enough time to catch up on one another’s families and his work at the test center which is always fascinating. Fortunately, we will be able to spend more time with him on Thanksgiving and at his annual holiday party the week of New Years.



I spent the last day in Summerfield (at Southern Oaks RV Resort) cooking a meal to take to a couple who have been friends of my family since the 60s. We try to see them every year we come to Florida. He is 85, blind, and still sharp as a tack, but you never know how many more years we will be able to enjoy their company. They live in Spruce Creek, a Del Webb development, just north of the Villages but they still have a home in Upper Michigan which they retreat to May-October. 



After visiting with them, we left the next morning for a short stay in Zephyrhills where I have lots of family. My mother used to live in Zhills before she passed away in 2011, so it is a place I have been coming to visit since she moved here in 1999. We found a park that we like to stay at here, Majestic Oaks RV Resort,  because of its proximity to my family (brother, nieces, and aunt), reasonable price, and spacious sites. We also like watching the daily drop of numerous skydivers from our patio as we are just a mile or so from Skydive City, an internationally known skydiving club. The folks in this park are quite friendly and seem to be drawn to the strong sense of community here, the good amenities, and central location to shopping, airport, medical, etc. It is, however, a misnomer to call it an RV Resort—maybe a Park Model Resort would be more like it.



My family’s connection to Zephyrhills goes back to the 1950s as my sister-in-law’s family owned orange groves here. It was a different kind of place then, but now many of the farms and orchards are turning into Super Walmarts and strip malls. Kind of sad. . . . If I did not have family in the area, Zhills would not be a place we would spend time. It is too far from the beach and has a rather depressed economy. We will stay here through Thanksgiving as my niece is having us all at her home—about twenty or more folks--something we are looking forward to in terms of family connections and holiday cheer.

Our plans for this two-week stay here tend toward the more mundane—read, play cards, catch a few movies, wash the motorhome and Jeep, bathe and groom the dogs, and, for me, spend time with my aunt whose husband passed away last year.  She is my godmother and the only living sibling out of my mom’s family of six. 

There is a very nice pool here and tennis courts, so we are also hoping to take advantage of these two amenities in terms of exercise or just lounging—if the sun comes out!  (It has been rather cloudy, humid, and a little rainy since we arrived.) December will be here before we know it and we will be returning to one of our favorite spots in Florida, the Gulf Coast in Cortez, near Anna Maria Island. We are looking forward to an extended stay of two months there with plenty of beach time!