Our second so called shake down trip was to Red Rocks Pond Rv resort in Holley New York . Spent a full week there from June 8th to the 15th. It was a 42 mile trip, which is the longest I have towed the Rv. It all went good, I felt pretty good driving that far. We had a pull through site so it was pretty easy to get set up. Here we had all hook ups and cable Tv.  This place has many seasonal sites, which means people stay from May 1st till they close Oct 15th. A lot of people then head to Florida or such or some also have houses locally and just go back there. Of the 200 sites or so only about 35 are open to reserve the rest are seasonal.

The big thing about the park, besides it being very clean, is that it is right on the Erie Canal. Where you can walk , ride your bike on the bike path.  The park also used to be an active quarry in the past, where stone was quarried out for the canal, and in later years they made big blocks to construct churches and such. Now they are all filled with water and used for fishing and small boating.

Anyway after we got settled, we walked around the park for a while, they also have paths around the lakes toy can take. Saturday they had Myers Rv in and they gave away prizes along with free hot dogs, of course I had three of them, didn’t win anything though. Sunday we walked the Erie canal, a little and in the afternoon a lady came by and invited us over to her seasonal for a few drinks, which we did. I played darts with a few of the guys and Melissa talked with the ladies. Cooper was back at our site and was alone for over 3 hours, he did good, so I felt better about leaving him alone. Tuesday My brother and sister-in-law came by for dinner, we made chicken shischkabobs on the new grill I got, they were good.  The rest of the week we just started to get used to different things that we need to about this lifestyle.  It was the first time I really dumped the tanks into the sewer, and we also hooked up to the cable tv they had there. One afternoon I cleaned the outside of the rv a little and Melissa cleaned and polished the wheels and tires, she did a really nice job.  We did walk a lot around the park and on the canal, we also went to Holley falls just a little up the road and saw the falls and walked around the park there which is very nice. One thing I was concerned with and it came up Thursday was the wind, it really got windy that day and seeing how the Rv reacted to that was a learning experience, you cannot have your awning out in the wind that is for sure.

Overall the trip was good, Melissa, I noticed was bored a few times but she will have to adjust to this as I told her this is not a vacation, it is a new lifestyle, so a lot of adjusting will be needed. Also Cooper has a lot to learn also, as this is all new to him, he had a lot of fun , but i see he has to be trained a little more. Friday we then got all hitched up and drove back to our home base (Steve”s).

One final note, as we liked the park so much and the nice seasonal people, we put our names in for a seasonal site. Will see if they call us. We decided it was worth it if we stayed there and also at our home base when we are back in town for the summers.

Well, Our first real trip driving the Rv is in the books. It went pretty well. I was a little nervous about my first time backing in a spot. I backed in pretty good, and should have stayed where I was, it was in a little rut on the one side, so I tried again and that was a mistake, I ended up pulling all the way out to the next road, and starting all over again only to really end up in the same place I was in before, so we set up there. I was a little frustrated, but got over it . The week went good, the weather was a little cooler than we thought and Melissa was a bit cold . We went to some friends site by the lake for evening camp fires and that was nice, walked around during the day and I worked on the Rv a bit and we both tried to get the feel of it all. The only bad thing was that Cooper had two seizures during the night and it kind of put a damper on things. We thought he was doing good on his meds. In fact last week it got worse and we had to take him to the emergency vet where he was for 3 days. So far they feel it is epilepsy so he is on more meds. In July we take him to Cornell for a MRI, hopefully it is negative, if it shows something things will be a bit more complicated. I have also been at my brothers working on the area we are going to be as they put in the driveway and dirt last week, I am now planting grass seed and watering it and all that. For now that’s it.

Next week Friday we go to Red Rock Campground for a week so hopefully the weather and all else will work out. Below is a picture of our spot at Four Mile Creek State park

There it is all hitched up ready to go. This week end we are going for a shake down run to a local state park. My first time really driving it and getting it backed up to the spot, it will be quite the experience. Will update on how it went when we get back

Been busy lately, got the cover off the Rv a week ago, and it is dirty. The weather here is still cool compared to what it should be. Been getting it opened up, but the big thing is that I have been hooking it up and taking it out on the road, (YAY) not far, 8- 10 miles at time, boy is it big on the road. A lot to get used too. It tows nice and i seem to be sort of getting the hang of it. I also have been practicing backing it up, that is going slow, but when I get it backed to where I want, I feel satisfied, just need to practice more. We will be getting ready this week for our trip next week to Four Mile Creek state park. Will be there five days, that’s where I will be nervous backing it in.
Other than that I did update the blog with a new look and added more links , so for now that is done.

It’s the middle of March , usually its warmer, it’s not. This year it is staying a little cold. Hope the snow is gone for good this winter. Been a little to much for me. I cannot wait until we get moving this September on our maiden voyage for the winter. Speaking of which I have been very busy lining up places to stay for the winter and booking them for our trip down to Florida for the winter. Pretty much all done for now and it is a lot of work, wonder how it will be in a year or so with all this, may just go where the wind takes us.

Also have been busy just getting a lot of other details sorted out, so i won’t be overwhelmed in a month or two. Everything from insurance to our licenses, all of our accounts, passwords filed and all that.

I also am going to do an update to this blog, new look, and all that pretty soon.

For now that’s it.

Wow, it is the 10 th of January already. Been meaning to update, but time flies by. We had a good holiday season, saw some good friends and family. This will be the last time for a while that we will be here for the holidays. It as always went by too fast. The last few weeks have been brutal cold here 0 for the highs, it sucks. The RV is snow covered and frigid, I am not happy about it.
Condo or apartment life is going pretty good, no major issues. I am doing a lot of paper work right now. Getting everything we have like credit cards, insurances, and a ton of the like concerning our lives. All of this I am putting on spread sheets, and making copies for us and a few other people to give when we leave. That way if we lose something somebody has a copy. It is more work than I thought. Plus I am doing a lot of other stuff to get prepared. Other than that just going through the motions with everything else.
Cooper is doing good. He is growing and has a lot of energy. We take him to day care a few times a week so he can burn it off. He is really a good little puppy. He just turned 8 months old.
In a week or so will be figuring out our route for the fall down to Florida. With that also deciding where we want to stay and booking them early. This will be the hard part to figure that all out.
We have 3 months or so till we can get to the RV, and open it up. Have a lot to do then .

Well, We are all buttoned up for the winter, put the cover on the other day along with the wheel covers, it all went fine and should be pretty well good to go for the winter. Let’s get it over with, got a lot to do when we open it up again in the spring. I am not looking forward to this winter. BRRRRR

Added a description and photo of our new tow vehicle, In Our Rig section. Also our indoor storage plan for the RV fell through, it was to big for the guys building, so it is over at my brother’s for the winter, a little bummed out. got a cover for it and will be putting it on this week.

What a relief, we finally closed on Oct 27th. After all said and done, I would never do it again. We had setbacks every where you could. Finally though it’s over and I want to put it in the past. We got our money and started to get things paid. The truck was the big one, we got that done and got the truck on the 30th of Oct. Got it licensed and road legal the 2nd of Nov and I am a very happy, relaxed person right now. Just have to unwind from it all for a while.

The other big news is that I for the first time on last week end hitched up the rig, and took it for a spin, All be it only 2 miles , I finally drove it all hooked up. It was a little nerve racking but also very exciting in the same token. Melissa was with me and we both had a smile on our face. I did pretty good I think had to make a few turns and all that. It is a little weird though looking behind you and there is a 40′ rv with you. I finally drove it YAY. We also found a place to store it over the winter, which was not looking good the other day. Today we will be putting it in storage for the winter. Come spring we will have a lot to do, it is pretty dirty and all that right now. For now that’s it, it has been a very long 3 months.

Well we moved everything over to the new place on Oct 4th and 6th. Our first night here was the 6th. The new owners of the house had been hounding the real estate lady, cause they has no where to go and had to be out of there place on the first. We signed an early Occ. for them and they moved in the week end of the 7th.
It wasn’t so bad moving in here, we arranged a lot of stuff over the week end. as of today which is the 17th, we are getting kind of used to the place. It is a big change but the 3 of us are coping pretty good. What is not good is we still have not closed on the house, every day I get madder and madder. The big problem is that the lady we are buying a truck from wants to get this over with and without closing we cannot pay her. It’s wearing me down. For now that’s a quick update on the moving.