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  • Please note, Blogs are intended for stories about your RV travels.  Please post technical questions/comments in the forums located at:

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Blogs

Roadtreking Blog
 

The Bonding Power of the RV Lifestyle

No matter where or how you roll, the one thing all RVers have in common is the way the RV lifestyle seems to bring people together - literally and figuratively. For snowbirds, full-timers, near full-timers like Jennifer and me or weekend campers, it's the sheer joy of getting out and meeting new people or simply spending quality time with your spouse or friends. For families with younger children or grandchildren, it means bonding time away from the distractions of day-to-day living, TV, video
Roadtrekingmike

Roadtrekingmike

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Melvin's Travels
 

Gracie enters fuel filter black hole

2-17-15 Today began by waking up to 60 degrees inside Gracie. Our space heater didn't keep up with the 30 degree temp and strong wind. At 6AM I turned on the furnace and by 7 it was a toasty 74. My morning chore was to change fuel filters before we left. The last hundred miles Gracie was bucking a bit and the ATC light flashed anytime the engine was pulling hard. Mostly on on ramps and passing. The last time that happened was in Canada and fuel filters was the fix. The instant I put my brand
Castle3

Castle3

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Melvin's Travels
 

Where is the river?

2-15-15 We woke up to a dreary day today. On and off drizzle and gray skies. It was a good day to sleep in a bit and have a mid morning breakfast. Cabin fever set in about 1 PM so we decided to take a drive south. We followed the levy for more than 30 miles and never saw the river. We did spot a couple places one could scale the levy on a bike and rid the top. We finally walked up one of those only to find out we were still quite a distance from the river. Our view was blocked be trees and den
Castle3

Castle3

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Melvin's Travels
 

Melvin goes to Mardi Gras parade

2-14-15 We decided to celebrate Valentine's Day by going to the Mardi Gras parade in Baton Rouge LA. Following good advice we got going early and left for downtown by 9AM for the 12PM start time. Our directions were good, taking us right by the LSU Tigers stadium, then straight to the action. Dumb luck landed us in a parking lot adjacent to the parade route. As we pulled in we passed many spots already in party mode. Tailgates were down, tents were raised and drinks were flowing! After parkin
Castle3

Castle3

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Melvin's Travels
 

Camped on the shore of the Mississippi

2-13-15 Today was a travel day and it was a good one, even though it was Friday the 13th. We were up and on the road by 9:30 with blue sky ahead of us. The traffic was light most of the way and the roads were good. Our day began in Florida, but 20 miles later we entered Alabama (Roll Tide). In no time at all we spotted the sign for Mississippi. A few miles later we pulled into a rest area for a break. Have I mentioned how lovely they are in the south? Large buildings with sparkling rest rooms,
Castle3

Castle3

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Melvin's Travels
 

People are the best part of RV life

2-11-15 OK it's time for the rest of you to laugh. It's getting down to 30 here in Pensacola tonight. It still beats minus something and waste deep snow, but Ruth and I did come down here for the warm weather. Tonight we gave a highly recommended restaurant "Peg Leg Pete's" located on Pensacola Beach a try. Many people told us they are the best in the area for crab. That's of little importance to me since I can't eat shellfish but Ruth wanted to try it since she has never eaten fresh crab legs
Castle3

Castle3

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J. Dawg Journeys
 

Living in a Small RV - Parked for Two Months

Our two months of being parked in our small RV is up and we're moving on to the travel phase of our winter sojourn. We had a very good stay in Fort Myers Beach and it was so nice to avoid the cold winter weather in a nice warm climate. Living in our small RV worked out pretty good. I wrote about my observations after the first month in this post - Living in a Smal RV - Parked for the First Month. Not much changed in the second month. Here are some final conclusions. The small space in our
italo

italo

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Melvin's Travels
 

Melvin joins Blue Angels

2-10-2015 Today was a great day for Melvin. He finally got his leather flight jacket and goggles. In celebration we took several photos at the National Naval Aviation Museum. While there we reviewed a wonderful display of vintage aircraft dating back to 1909. Not only is this a must see if you are in the Pensacola area, it's FREE! We spent about 5 hours there, but could have stayed for a couple days if we wanted to study every display in detail and take the guided tour. They also have an IMAX
Castle3

Castle3

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Melvin's Travels
 

Dustin on the Emerald Coast

2-8-15 Today we decided to drive to Dustin FL. It's about 50 miles from our CG in Milton. This city is also on the "Emerald Coast" highway. Compared to Navarre it is much more developed. Many McMansions and hotels/condos the size of Las Vegas casinos. Public Beaches are either private or smaller and hard to find with even harder to find parking. If you need things to keep the kids happy, or like bar life then this may be a good choice. We were interested when we saw many party boats for rent
Castle3

Castle3

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Melvin's Travels
 

Love P-cola FL

FL 2-7-15 Today it was a mere 67 degrees with lovely blue skies. The morning was spent doing a few errands. Once it warmed up we headed for the beach in Navarre. It only took about 40 minutes. Here's a travel tip. If you want to visit the greater Pensacola area, Milton is a great place for home base. Now back to the beach. Navarre is another white sand beach on the Gulf. This one goes on for about 30 miles. When we arrived today we were told we had missed the Mardi Gras parade. We would have
Castle3

Castle3

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Melvin's Travels
 

Gracie gets her stomach pumped

FL 2-5-15 We woke up to a rainy day. After raining hard most of the night it stopped by 9 ans we began getting ready for our move to Tallahassee. The site was muddy and by the time I completed the outside work so was I. We were parked in a difficult site with trees everywhere and a narrow street in front of us. But with Ruth's guidance I was able to pull out in one attempt and didn't hit anything. In a few minutes we had the Burb hooked up and were on our way. I-75 is an easy drive and the new
Castle3

Castle3

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Melvin's Travels
 

Ruth gets carded

FL 2-4-15 The only thing I have to report is yesterday's news. When we went out for breakfast yesterday we went to IHOP. They have several items on their menu for Seniors over 55. Ruth picked one of those and when our table servicer took the order, she asked Ruth for ID. They didn't ask for mine. Maybe they thought I was her father. When Ruth was old enough to drink they carded her and now that she's old enough for SSI she still gets carded. Made her day! Tomorrow is a travel day so I probably
Castle3

Castle3

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Melvin's Travels
 

Melvin gets a shocking experiance

FL 2-2-15 Today was moving day. 224 mile north to Alliance RV in Wildwood. We have service scheduled tomorrow. New Koni shocks. That should improve our ride a bit. The place is Huge and Mega busy. Glad I scheduled 10 days ahead. They have their own CG with about 50 slots and let you stay for free while service work is being done. Nice spacious sites, water and elec only. I'm sure they have a dump station somewhere on property. As we were in leaving Pine Island this morning and George, the GPS,
Castle3

Castle3

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Maritime Travels
 

Our First Blog

We're planning a summer trip f/ our home in South Carolina to Canada's Maritime Provinces. We'll be traveling in our 39' diesel pusher coach. We've done a fair amount of research but would sure appreciate any helpful ideas or suggestions of places/things to see/do while there. Also, we're a little concerned about the availability of diesel fuel that far north as well as being prepared to cross the border into Canada. Is there anything special we should know about Canadian Customs and/or brin
jananddave

jananddave

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Melvin's Travels
 

Melvin goes to Sarasota

FL 1-31-15 Today was fairly simple. I spent some time replacing the connector for the Burb lights when towing. I crunched it the last time I folded up the hitch for storage. About 2 PM we took off for Yoders restaurant in Sarasota. We called some more Bradford friends, Jarna any Gary Perkins and Joyce and Perry Tiel, to meet us there. We thought we we meeting half way for both of us. But as it turned out they stay in Venice and it was out of the way for all. Who cares? The food was plentiful
Castle3

Castle3

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Melvin's Travels
 

Sanibel Island

FL 1-30-15 Today was a beach day. Well at least afternoon. Although it was only 75 here, it felt plenty warm for us. This time we decided to check out Sanibel Island, specifically Shell Harbor. It took us just about an hour to get there. No direct routes when you are island hopping. First make note: this and all beaches we could find on Sanibel have only paid parking lots. Three dollars per hour. That can add up quickly. The good news is they were all dog friendly. As we got to the end of the
Castle3

Castle3

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J. Dawg Journeys
 

What is the RV Lifestyle?

As a blogger and blog reader, I read some blogs that write about the RV Lifestyle. Most of these bloggers tend to write about their travels, what they're doing, or what they've learned. And they all write really good stuff. But its mostly practical and not philosophical. Few actually put a definition on what the RV Lifestyle is. One talks about getting out there, seeing the country. Some seem to infer that's its constant traveling in an RV. Some write about how they live full time in a RV
italo

italo

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Melvin's Travels
 

Melvin gets too close

FL 1-29-15ia We were up early today to start our day. Well 7 AM is early for a retired couple. By 8 the Burb was headed for doggie day care. Oscar got another day in Pamperville while the rest of us went SW on route 41. That took us trough Naples. Ruth and I still can't believe we traveled 30 miles and never ran out of stores. Everything from furniture to Wendy's. Who buys at this many stores? Once we passed Tin City, In Bonita Springs, several restored warehouse type buildings that were onc
Castle3

Castle3

1
Melvin's Travels
 

Melvin goes to Edison winter home

FL 1-27-15 Today Oscar went to Doggy Day Care for the first time. Since Ruth and I wished to see some sites that were not dog friendly, we webulated for dog care. One popped up between us and the place we wanted to go so we decided to try it. Turns out it was quite the place. The Pet Corral Resort, located in Cape Coral, had two large outdoor fenced exercise areas (one for large and one for small dogs). It also had grooming and veterinarian services! With Oscar settled in Pamperville, we too
Castle3

Castle3

0
Melvin's Travels
 

Oscar goes missing!

1-26-15 Yesterday was a down day. Saturday afternoon we walked to the function hall and enjoyed an hour of Gospel singing quartet. What else when the State is half southern Baptist. That was followed by a very tasty meatloaf dinner at a mere $6 a plate. Before going to bed last night I had "Black tank" duty. That went fine, I'm getting use to it. However, I left the door to Gracie open. As the last light went out we realized Oscar was nowhere to be found. As I hurried to get dressed and comen
Castle3

Castle3

0
Melvin's Travels
 

Melvin smells something funny

2-23-15 Today we took off in search of Billy's swamp tours. That didn't work out so well. Garmin could not find him and after 120 miles and 3 stops for directions I gave up. Perhaps I'll try again when we head for alligator alley next week. We did manage to see quite a bit of the country side. At one point we even stopped to watch sugar cane being harvested. Interesting machine for that task. As we left the fields we spotted the processing plant in the distance. Lake Okeechobee is easy to fin
Castle3

Castle3

0
Melvin's Travels
 

Melvin finds his own Castle

1-22-15 Today we took a 60 mile drive to Fort Meyers. Nothing to talk about along the way, but plenty when we got there. First we just meandered through downtown and then headed South along the shoreline. Well, as close as we could get. We admired all the lovely homes a a string of McMansions. Including Henry Ford's and his friend Thomas Edison's. While searching for a dog friendly public beach, we stumbled upon a Perkins and stopped in for lunch. In just a few more miles we found the beach fo
Castle3

Castle3

2
Melvin's Travels
 

Sebring and ice cream

1-2-15 Yesterday was a busy day and by the time we returned and watched the State of the Union address I was in no mood to write the blog. The day started as usual by taking Oscar for a walk. As I approached the large pond in the CG, I saw the sign you see at the top of this article. I don't think it was there as a joke, so I promptly steered Oscar away. Buy 11 we we're on our why to Sebring, 60 miles north, to visit Dave and Jan Pickman from Bradford. GPS found them without difficulty. After
Castle3

Castle3

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