TWO DAYS, IN REVERSE ORDER

2010 Jan. 5, Tuesday.
We are changing the way we stay in FL - using time-share resorts instead of our 5th-wheel trailer. I found a great deal on the internet, so we purchased enough points to allow us to stay 2 to 3 months in any area that has availability. This will cost us less and allow a lot nicer living - larger living space, convenient laundry facilities, no set-up or take-down of the trailer, no storing of the trailer, no upkeep of the trailer, etc. So we are selling our trailer. (- Hey, I’ll give you a good price …) This morning we went to a place a mile north that will sell it on commission. I have it posted on Craig’s list, but it will be hard to sell that way. I don’t like to pay a commission, but we are leaving at the end of the month, and I can’t pull it myself. So they will come and get it, put it on their lot, market it, show it to buyers, and take $2000 to do so. It’s the easy way out, because I don’t have to do any showing, advertising, etc. I only hope there is a buyer out there for it. It’s in good shape, but they say the age is what will dictate the price. It’s a 2004, we bought it in 2005, but didn’t use it until 2006. So it has never been on the road, and has been used only 13 months - but it’s still a 2004 model.

Feb. 1, we will be staying at a resort in Orlando. Then we’ll come home Feb.7 - 17, back to Orlando for Feb. 17 - March 13, then to Myrtle Beach, SC, March 13 - 25. We should be back to Mazon about March 28. In the future, we don’t plan on moving around so much, but I didn’t get the time-share points until Dec., so this year many places we wanted to stay at were already booked up.

WEATHER: Still very cool - high 58 and low 34, but colder inland with probable damage to crops. Sounds like one more night of the freezing before warming some. The record low is about 40, so it will be broken.

FL NEWS: The front-page headline today was “Surprise guest on local beach”. A leatherback turtle came ashore on a north Collier County beach. (Naples is in Collier County, south of us about 30 miles.) Loggerhead turtles are the type usually found on SW Florida beaches. Park rangers were not sure if it laid eggs or not, but it made the same kind of circles in the sand that they usually do after nesting. The area where the nest might be has been marked to keep people away. Leatherbacks nest on the east coast of FL and are seldom seen on the west coast. They don’t start nesting until March. They are a large turtle - from 4 to 5 feet long and weigh from 500 to 2000 pounds.




2010 Jan. 4, Monday.
This morning we went to Panera Bread for a mid-morning snack and to do some work on the computer. This year, the RV Park is charging for WIFI service, so I just go to one of the many places in the area that offer free WIFI, like Panera. It’s located in a very large mall about 7 miles away called Coconut Point. It’s a pretty area, with lots of water, and it has gone back to the old downtown idea of streets with stores along them.

Back to the 5th-wheel for lunch. This afternoon we washed the side of the camper that has the awning on it, and then we put the awning up. This includes two tie-downs at each end to help keep it from flapping in case of wind. Since we had the cleaning stuff out, we also did a quick wash job on the car. Kind of cool to be doing this, but it sounds like it won’t be much warmer for several days. This is very unusual - not the highs of barely 60, which always happens - but the fact that instead of 1 or 2 days of cool, there will be a week of cool.

WEATHER: High today of 60, low tonight 36, but colder inland. Chance of rain is 0% for the next four days, then 30% on Friday, with a slight warm-up on Thursday. The normal high is 75 (perfect!) and the record high is 87. The normal low is 55, and the record low is 37, which might be broken tonight!

FL NEWS: Ft. Myers faces some tough financial decisions, like many cities across the country. The budget for 2010-11 is already at a $12.5 million deficit. Property values fell 23.4% citywide last year. City officials indicate a budget cut of $9.9 million is coming, but one of the cuts probably will not be the $780,000 plan to redevelop roughly a mile area on the Caloosahatchee River. If approved as expected, implementation of the plan will begin after March 15.