~Thursday, March 2, 2023~
Day 992
A breezier day today which we’ll take as a relief from the heat. The humidity hasn’t been too bad, considering it’s the Everglades. As in true trailer fashion 5 days in, it’s time to replenish our water supply, just 5 minutes from our campsite. If you’re gonna pick a place that doesn’t have hookups of any kind, I’m telling you, this is the place. We just can’t get over that a developed campground such as this, that feels more like boondocking, has all you would ever need with access to water, a dump station, showers and bathrooms while being top notch in beauty and serenity. You just have to get over the bugs being interested in you for a light meal at the end of the day. Luckily, there’s a work around that with bug tents and your home on wheels to keep you protected as we prefer those options over DEET spray anyday.
Exciting events at the campground today…..while Sadie, Jeff and I were trying to stay cool, we couldn’t miss the sounds of planes and helicopters flying all around us and the smell of smoke. In the distance, we could see the haze, but wondered if it was an intentional burn? With a visit by the park ranger, we were informed that there were a series of controlled burns in the area, with the likelihood of more tomorrow. Thanks for the warning, but let’s hope the winds don’t perk up.
After fetching more water,
Jeff continued working on the Fantastic Fan installation, screwing down and gluing it in place. With the hot,
steamy weather, he doesn’t have a very large window of time to fully concentrate on the project, so he does what he can each day.
So for tomorrow, it looks like the flange will be installed to cover the ugly edges and wiring, followed by caulking the heck out of it all with Dycor!! We’ll try to take a video of the final steps, for a future post.
For me, it was phone calls and setting up our Excel spreadsheet for the move….i.e. Moving companies and healthcare options. I don’t know about you, but if I don’t have a list of some kind, I’m sunk. My plan is to simply fill in the information as we gather it. Check out what I have so far.
If you have any suggestions of what to watch out for related to long-distance moves, we’re all ears. Please send them our way!
With my phone calls, I found out two interesting things today….one was for storing our trailer in North Carolina temporarily, and the other was for the cost in moving my baby grand across the country. The piano storage actually came in lower than I thought with an estimate of $2,900 and an arrival time of about 2 months. At least I have SOME information to seek out a few more quotes. Of course one of my biggest concerns is that the piano is in a climate controlled warehouse (like a hub) while in its initial transport, as well as the delivery truck that gets it to our new home. For the trailer storage in North Carolina, one of the places I called wanted an insane $800/month. Yep. Not $80, $800. Isn’t that just crazy? Over $9,000 a year just for storage? We just paid $100/month while we stored it in California while visiting my mom. So needless to say, I was in complete sticker shock. She said the cost is justified since their storage is garage like for each unit, not covered carports. I guess the thinking is that if you can afford a fancy Class A or 5th wheel, what’s another $800 for fancy storage? Sorry, Billie Jean. You are definitely worthy of high class storage in our book, but our pocketbooks need to look elsewhere. But thanks to hubby Jeff, he’s come up with a brilliant alternative plan that we’re looking into. Since we planned on replacing the axles on the trailer some time this year(I’ve mentioned the damage that’s been done to them in prior posts), Jeff’s now thinking that before we head to Illinois to be with Hannah, Devin and the kids, we would first drive to Elkhart, Indiana where Dexter is located (the axle manufacturer of what we currently have on the rig), and have them work on it while we’re gone for a month in Illinois. That way, there’s no rush in getting the trailer back and we wouldn’t have to pay for storage. In the meantime, we need to do a little research as to whether we want to keep the axle system we currently have, or if we can improve it with a better system. The other manufacturer we’re thinking of upgrading with is also out of Elkhart, IN, called Morryde. We’ll keep you posted.