March was definitely a month of big changes, from the weather to the RV to family. Seems like we just got to the Lake Wales area and now it is already April and we’re back in the Atlanta area! Read on to get the details.
We arrived at the Resort at Canopy Oaks, a new campground that is about 15 miles east of Lake Wales. Lake Wales has some significance for Dan as his maternal grandparents had a home in the area back in the early 1960’s. Dan visited a few times, their house was on a small lake. Of course, no one can remember the address and we have no way to find it at this point so long afterwards.
As noted, the campground is brand new, only been open 2 months when we arrived. Lots of new bushes and palm trees that still will take time to fill in and start providing shade. The facilities are very nice including a large pool, clubhouse, tiki bar, convenience store, deli, ice cream shop, and salon. They are definitely still working out the kinks and trying to find some decent people to work at the park.
A few days after our arrival, we visited Bok Tower & Gardens which is definitely the BIG attraction in the Lake Wales area. This 250 acre park was built about 100 years ago by Edward Bok, designed as a contemplative garden that would highlight local flora and fauna. Frederick Law Olmstead was commissioned to design the gardens while a 205 foot Singing Tower was designed and built to house carillon bells. We happened to be there as the azaleas were blooming which made the visit that much more special.
After a week of enjoying the area, our next plan was to do some advanced shopping for our next RV. Our plan has always been to buy a new(er) RV in 2022 as Lola would be out of warranty and also would be approaching 10 years old which is when values of used RV’s really drop (harder to get loans and insurance on the older units). We had scoped out several RV dealers within about an hour of Lake Wales to check out several Class A rigs including those manufactured by Newmar, Tiffin and American Coach. All of these are considered high quality, top level Class A manufacturers. Until recently, they were all individually owned but just as with most of corporate America, all have since been absorbed by larger RV companies (Newmar by Winnebago, Tiffin by Thor, and American by REV Group/Fleetwood).
Our first stop was General RV where we would look at American Coach. This brand was relatively new to us, we’d never actually been inside one. However, during our research we had found a lot of positive support from owners and were further intrigued by the only 2-year warranty in the industry. Our sales person wasn’t that interested when she heard we were just doing our initial research and did not have plans to buy until next year. She reluctantly took us to look at a 42 foot Dream model, figuring she was wasting her time with us. What we found was a very well built, striking coach. The layout was exactly what we would want (1 1/2 bath, recliners across from TV, lots of storage, etc.). So, it was time to do some more talking. She was reluctant to get into numbers (since we didn’t plan to buy until next year) so we pushed – what if we were interested in buying now? After a few hours of negotiating (how we hate this part!), we came to numbers that worked for us and before we knew it, we were trading in for Lola 2.0!!!!
So, that threw a big wrench in our plans to have a relaxing stay the rest of the month. Instead, we had to start going thru all of our “stuff” to decide what would need to be transferred between original Lola and new Lola. It’s amazing how much we had acquired in 2+ years on the road and also how we had settled into our home on wheels. All of a sudden, we had just a few days to determine what should be kept and what would need to be moved to the new coach.
And before we knew it, it was time to drive the original Lola over to General RV to trade in and swap out. This turned out to be the day from hell!!! First, you arrive and much like buying a house, it’s time to do all the paperwork. But like buying a car, there are all the “add ons” they want to sell. But before the paperwork, we got a walk thru the coach to get familiarized with all the systems and processes (like we would remember it all!). This took about two hours but could have spent all day on this. Next we had to deal with finance which seemed to take forever. Then we had to wait for the new coach to be cleaned and brought out to original Lola so we could transfer everything.
This is where you are thinking…”how hard could it be to move some stuff from one 42 foot RV to another?” And how long could it take, right? Let’s just say that Dan logged 5.7 miles walking between the two rigs (and that was with both doors lined up side by side), working with the storage bays, etc. We started around 3 PM and didn’t finish until around 7:30 PM! And by that point we were just shoving things into various places, figuring we’d sort it all out later. After a stop at a Wendy’s for food (we’d had nothing to eat all day), we finally arrived back at the campground in Lake Wales around 9:30 at night. We finally went to sleep around 1 AM. But, as we settle into our new Lola, it was totally worth it!
After a few days of sorting and settling in (much like moving into a new house) we were up to do a bit of exploring which took us down to the town of Sebring (yes, of the road track fame) for a bike ride around Highlands Hammock State Park. This was actually one of the very first state parks in Florida, established in 1931, four years before the Florida state park system was established! The park has a nice 3-mile loop ride that took us thru various environments. A highlight was an encounter with some local wild pigs.
We were also lucky enough to finally qualify for the COVID vaccine so we signed Jill up to get both doses before our plans had us leaving Florida. Dan passed at this point as there was concern he’d be getting his second on the day he had to drive 6 hours north into Georgia. We have to give Florida credit for managing the vaccine distribution and scheduling as it was easy to find multiple ways to find resources and sign up and in Jill’s case, CVS was great at getting it all done.
So, now you get the point of the title of this blog when it applies to the “gain” in that we gained a new home, one we hope to live in for many years to come (guess the experiment worked!!??). Unfortunately, we also experienced a loss near the end of the month that was to be way more impactful that the gain. Brandy had been doing fine with us since she first joined us at 2 1/2 years old but suddenly she was not behaving as usual, no control of her bladder, seemed out of breath, gained weight. We took her to a local emergency vet, thinking she had some sort of UTI. After staying overnight for tests, we were crushed to learn that she had a large growth on her liver and her vitals were off the chart (high temp, blood work, etc.). We had to make that horrible drive to the vet to say goodbye to our crazy little brown girl. It was crushing for both of us and we are still dealing with it weeks later. Even Adele seems out of sorts looking for her little roommate/tormenter. Below is what Dan posted on FB:
“Yesterday, we had to say goodbye to our sweet Brandy (also known as Bran Bran, snaggle tooth, little brown dog, Brandy Lou, and many others). We considered her “my dog”, probably because we are both so odd. We adopted her when she was 2 1/2 years old, already had experienced so much in her life but we were happy to have her in ours, even when she was a little “b*$#h. Even Adele seems to be missing her “roommate”. Enjoy yourself on the other side of rainbow bridge!”
And below are some pics of Brandy thru the years…
Before we left the area, we had the chance to catch up with relatives who lived nearby in the Tampa area. We were lucky enough to catch up with Chad Miller, his wife Kara and their son Gage. It was great to spend some time enjoying a nice lunch and then hanging out at the campground for awhile. As with our past travels, we get to connect with people we haven’t seen for years while enjoying our full time life on the road.
Our departure time arrived in early April but this would be more complicated than usual. First stop, back to General RV to get some warranty work completed (nothing minor and, as it turns out, most could not be completed because parts were needed). We dropped Adele off at a local kennel, dropped of Lola at service, and checked into a local Staybridge Suites hotel. We relaxed for the next day and a half as the RV was worked on, getting our last view of salt water and taste of fresh seafood as we had two meals on Tampa Bay.
The next day, we picked up the RV and moved to a site nearby to get prepped for our drive back to the Atlanta area. Finally, day of departure, Jill left with the car to get her 2nd COVID shot, pick up Adele and connect with Dan in the RV to head north. After about 5 hours we finally arrived at our overnight layover near Valdosta, GA. We camped at Eagle’s Roost Campground which ironically was where we spent our first night in the original Lola when we took possession of her back in 2018.
After another 5 hour drive thru bad Atlanta traffic (surprise!), we arrived back at Victoria Campground, north of Atlanta on Lake Allatonna, in the same space where we camped for 2 weeks last fall. We’ll stay in the Atlanta area for several months for medical and family reasons. More updates about all of that to come in a future update. Until then, we hope everyone is well, getting their vaccines and enjoying wonderful spring weather.
