Florida RV SuperShow Day 2

Larry and Sue arrived at our rig right at 8 am and we hopped in the Dakota to head for our second day at the show. We made a stop for breakfast at the Sunshine Eatery in Zephyrhills. Every time we pass this restaurant the parking lot is packed and we figured that was a good sign. When we arrived we got one of the last parking spots available and there were only a few empty seats in the restaurant. Breakfast did not disappoint and the servings were HUGE. Rudee and I split a meal like usual and I think all four of us could have shared our meal, it was that big!
After eating we were more then ready for a little exercise. When we arrived at the show we were pleasantly surprised to find it not as busy as yesterday. Our first stop was the Amazon booth where we caught up with the crew working there. We then made our way to the seminar tent where we attended the "Weight and Tire Safety" seminar given by the RVSEF and presented by Howard Payne.

We then spent the rest of the afternoon wandering through all the different vendors. I couldn't talk Larry and Sue into buying a new rig but they did get a sign to display in front of their motor home. :-)

We made one last pass through the last vendor building and ran into Howard and Linda Payne. We had the chance to talk with them for awhile and enjoyed being able to catch up.

Rudee and I really enjoyed our days at the show, the place really is huge and if you are seriously looking to buy a new rig this would be a great way to comparison shop. They also have factory representatives at almost every dealership who could answer all the "hard" questions. :-)

We are not sure what is in store for us the next several weeks. We are still on the hunt for part time work and have put out some feelers but no real possibilities yet. We answered an ad in Work Camper News for a job working at the Strawberry Festival next month. The job will only be for about 10 days but at least we'll be making a few $'s for some diesel fuel. I'll keep you posted.

Florida RV SuperShow Day 1

We were up fairly early so we could try and beat the crowds at the RV show today. They hold the show at the fairgrounds on the east side of Tampa and it is only about 20 miles away south of us on US 301. We made the short drive, paid the parking fee and walked to the gate where we had to pay the admission for the show. The price is $10 per person but that is good for two days so that kind of takes the "sting" out. :-)

Our first stop was one of the buildings where there were vendors set up.

We had fun seeing all the different products for sale and happened onto the Amazon booth where some of our HR people from Campbellsville were handing out literature and answering questions about work camping there. They had a flat screen TV set up showing a slideshow of different jobs and Rudee yelled "Hey, there we are!" They had included the photo of our whole group of work campers from "Single Toys, D shift nights". There was a couple there asking some questions and we helped answer some of them from the work campers point of view. :-)

As we walked around the building I saw a familiar face walking towards me. "Hi there Linda Payne". There was that second of "who is calling my name" look in her eyes before she said "Phil and Rudee!" Her and Howard are the founders of RV Dreams and were one of the first full timers we ever met in person. We had not seen them since 2007 but had emailed back and forth several times over the years. I started following their blog in 2006 and maybe they have checked in on mine a time or two as well. :-)
They are presenting a seminar here and were heading over to get things set up so we only had time for a quick "how ya been" but hopefully we can get together again before they leave.

We eventually worked our way out to the massive display of rigs. They were lined up for as far as the eye could see. There was every type and style of RV imaginable was on display.

We had a mission to find a specific toy hauler to check out for Rob and Jany back in Indiana. We found our way to the Grand Design RV display and they had two Momentum Toy Haulers. We took a few pictures for them and even talked to one of the owners of the company who invited them to the factory for a tour. He said he would show them around personally! Time for a road trip Rob!

As we were walking around we found a vendor selling name signs and decided it was time to replace ours. We sure were lucky they had one with our names on it! :-)

Actually one of the gals manning the booth hand paints the names on while you wait. They were doing a brisk business and we had to wait about 45 minutes for our sign to be ready, but it wasn't hard to kill that amount time in this place!
We toured a few rigs and kept telling each other "when we win the lottery .....!"
Tomorrow we are heading back for day 2 with Larry and Sue (Single Toys buddies!) and see of we can help them spend some of their Amazon money on a new rig. :-) I'll keep you posted.

settling in

We have been getting comfortable here in Dade City. Our park is really nice, all the roads are paved, there is a nice pool (if it warms up enough to use it!), all of our neighbors have been super nice and there is a large club house where the park hosts events.

 They have clipboards hanging inside the club house where you can sign up for different events. I decided to sign up for a golf outing for this morning. Rudee dropped me off at the golf course and I was able to hook up with a couple of the other guys. Clyde and Lee were my partners and we all three hit it off right away. I was pretty nervous since I had not played a round of golf in 15 years! The practice I have been doing at the range paid off and I really didn't do too bad. I had a couple of "blow up" holes but I also had some really good holes to make up for it. I ended up shooting a 92 so that's not super embarrassing. Besides meeting two new friends the biggest highlights of my round was a 30' putt for par and I actually birdied a hole! The course was nice and the price was a bargain at $16.00 and that included the cart, sweet!

I sent Rudee a text when we were on the 17th hole and she pulled in to pick me up as I was leaving the 18th green, perfect timing. My phone rang as we were pulling out of the parking lot and Dale and Diana Beason were just arriving in the area from Indiana and wanted to meet. We gave them directions to Doc's Bar and Grille in Dade City and met up with them for lunch. They are on their way to Bradenton where they have a place rented for a few weeks in the sunshine. :-)
We had been wanting to try this restaurant since we arrived and we were not disappointed. Rudee and I shared a burger which was the "daily special" They also had draft beer at $1.00 per mug! Oh ya, good golf followed by good friends and cold beer, life is good! :-)

We are making plans to attend the Tampa RV Supershow on Thursday and Friday. The admission of $10 per person is good for two days so we decided to take our time and see it all. I'll keep you posted.