"I was born lost, and take no pleasure in being found"
- John Steinbeck

"The Sure Sign of Life is Death.  Why Else Would humanity Thrive So Hard To Leave Its Mark on This World"

- Unknown

"To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don't grab hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and float."
- Alan Watts

"I Have Learned Something About Creating Art.  People Do Not Want to Hear What You Are Going To Do, People Want To Hear About What You Done Did."

- Unknown

Pat's March 2010 Blog

If this is your first time here, you might want to start from the beginning of our fulltime RV Journey with our Past Blogs

If You Don't Know Me Yet, Click Here to Read Pat's Bio

Photo Gear We Use  -  Solar Tips, Fact's and Trick's we've learned while on the road 

Camper Check List - A list of things we do before leaving camp.  Again, this isn't gospel, but its a good start for those who might not already have a list made up.

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Tuesday March 9th 2010 - What a Crazy Weekend

I'm still playing catch-up from our crazy, crazy weekend.  Not only were we completely full with guests, but we were full with guests that knew how to have fun!

Friday and Saturday were spent painting the front of the building during daylight hours, but the evening hours were spent laughing, partying and having the time of our lives.

I'm not sure if it's just the people who come to Cedar Key, but the guests we had this weekend all seemed to click together and it seemed like everyone was hanging out together, watching sunrises in the morning and kicking back around the backyard in the afternoon.

On Saturday, with gathered in the front of the building while we finished up painting, we all planned on heading down to Dock Street to go out on Captn' Doug's Tidewater Tours for the sunset cruise.

Luckily I had a pile of warm clothes left in the back seat of the truck from my recent trip to Michigan because the boat ride was anything but warm and tropical.

With winds whipping pretty fierce and the cold air blowing in off the water, it was almost too cold to drink beers...Notice I said ALMOST.

We did get to see a Bald Eagles nest with two eaglets in the monstrous dwelling that I could probably lay down comfortably in and a dolphin that played hide and go seek around the boat as the sun set below the horizon.

Once the boat ride ended, everyone met back at our place and since the wind was blowing through the tiki bar a bit too strong, we invited everyone into our apartment.

Even with our new six seat kitchen table, I had to bring in a few more lawn chairs and the kitchen was still standing room only.

Mike and Patt, a great couple who had just come in from Michigan in their RV came down for the party and Patt brought her guitar.

Mike had told me that his wife was a skilled musician, but little did any of us know what sort of show we were in for.

Patt is the type of musician I'd hire to entertain a sold out crowd if the Tiki Bar was open.  Anyone could yell out a song, and Patt would take a second to run down the Rolodex of music in her head and she'd soon start strumming the tune.

Who ever requested the song had to sing it, but if they forgot the words, which most of us did, Patt could chime in real quick and get them through the section of song they forgot.

Ric and Nancy, another couple who was visiting from Minnesota for Nancy's birthday were calling out songs and harmonizing together like Sonny and Cher.  Barry and Pat were right in the mix of things keeping everyone laughing and John and I, we'll we just sat back watching and holding our stomachs from all the silliness surrounding us.

Cindy and Nancy Dancing in the Kitchen

Ron and Cheryl and another couple from the campground joined in as background singers and only added to the nights entertainment.

Have I forgotten anyone?  Oh Wait, you know my wife Cindy, the one who lives for Karaoke, do you think she was singing with the gang of rowdy guests?

Cindy wasn't singing, she was leading the group with her goofy antics like she was the hostess with the mostess and couldn't be stopped.

Forget the fact that we were lacking a microphone or a P.A. system, Cindy made sure her voice boomed over everyone else's and when others would be taking a break to rest their vocal chords, Cindy would keep the tempo going as fast as Patt could strum her guitar.

Poor Patt, I was worried her fingers were going to start bleeding.  I dont think Cindy allowed her to even reach for her drink she kept her playing so steadily.

When Cindy couldn't think of songs to call out, she'd tell Patt, "Just play music, and I'll make up words as we go along!"  Something that Cindy is known for and will usually result in such a crazy song of improv, I think Patt had to stop playing a few times she was laughing so hard.

By the end of the evening, I was worried we were going to run out of room in the recycle bin (A Fifth-Wheel Horse Trailer) for the empty Beer and Wine bottles that had collected from the party.

It was morning by the time everyone left to make the long walk back to their adjoining rooms or RV's and what a night it was.

Sunday morning had everyone sitting out back laughing about the previous nights antics and saying their goodbyes as some left for home, others left to finish their vacation somewhere else down the road and some lucky guests got to kick back and just enjoy a day of near perfect weather.

It's weekends like that where new friendships are made, bonds are tied to strengthen relationships and memories are etched with good times that would be hard pressed to forget.

Here's to Good Friends and Good Times

Cindy and I spent Sunday sitting out back with our new friends while we all watched the flocks of birds and just kicked back.

I finally got some time behind the camera playing with the birds and working out the kinks on my shutter finger.

Sunday night, my parents arrived in Cedar Key and we spent a quiet evening catching up on our time apart.  I've had a chance to see them while I was up in Michigan since their last vacation where they came to visit Cindy and I in Yellowstone.

Monday was back to work and Cindy and I were determined to finalize the Tiki Bar stuff.  After sending in our plans for review and paying the $150 in fees needed to have them looked at, we received a notice back that we were missing a bunch of stuff.

Things that dont make any sense because they're asking for a menu, even though we dont plan on serving food.  They're asking about our food storage procedures and methods of food preparation....but again, we're not going to be serving food?

This was the main reason neither of us want to have anything to do with food because from our past experience at the Red Dog Saloon, the food side of a restaurant is usually where all the hoops are pulled out for you to jump through.

Cindy spent the day on the phone going in circles.  After a few hours of being sent from one person to the next, she was finally moved up to the top of the food chain where she explained our entire ordeal to the big boss who apologized for all the confusion, told her he would approve the paperwork on the spot and told her it would be mailed to her later this week.

Thank Goodness she has the patience I'm so lacking.  I get way too frustrated when it comes to dealing with the politics of finishing things like this.

I think it's funny that I've already received my tax ID number requesting I start paying my taxes on the tiki bar, yet I'm not even licensed.  Strange how one government organization will have paperwork finished overnight when it comes to them collecting taxes, but other areas of our government seem like we're dealing with confused children.

So hopefully this means the Tiki Bar will be opened soon...but I think I've said that a dozen times already.  So dont go holding your breath.

Not that it really matters, because if you stay at the Low-Key Hideaway, chances are you'll find yourself a party whether its at the tiki bar or in our kitchen.

Friday March 5th 2010 - Good Days and Better Days

Some times you have a good day and get a ton of things done.  Other times you have great days and get everything done you set out to do.  Today was one of those days when I finished almost everything I set out to do.

Its Surprising that we completed anything considering we were up till after 2am last night partying with Barry and Pat and another couple staying in the RV Campground, Ron and Cheryl.

Ron and Cheryl aren't fulltimers, but they spend multiple months at a time roaming about in the little Class C that rides on a Dodge Sprinter Chassis.  I really love their RV and they told us they average 16mpg with the little Mercedes diesel motor!!

Sitting around our apartment comparing stories of backroads we've all traveled and fun places we still want to visit, we had a fun night with lots of laughs and plenty of empty beers come morning.

Waking up this morning, I felt fine and after a quick breakfast and a few cups of coffee, Cindy and I got to painting the front of the building.  This has been one of those tasks we've been wanting to complete since the day we landed in Cedar Key, but we had to wait till we had the fiberglass doors installed first and warm enough weather to let the paint dry.

Today was nice and warm with temperatures in the high 60's, and the wind was blowing at the back of the building, so painting the front kept us in the nice, warm sunshine all day long.

Between painting, we checked in a bunch of new guests since we're completely full in both the motel and the RV Campground and spent time talking and enjoying stories from everyone visiting Cedar Key this weekend who stopped by to talk with everyone hanging around out front.

Yesterday I had patched up the many holes and cracks in the stucco in the front of the building, fixed some cracks along the sidewalk where the wall meets the ground and planted a big 10' Sabal Palm tree in the back yard.

While patching the concrete, a flatbed truck pulled across the street and parked along the vacant property there.  I walked over to ask them how much they charged for the big palms they had strapped down on the flat bed.

They told me they were working down the street and had just dug them up.  They told me to go talk with the owner because he didn't really have any place to put them.

I ran down to talk with Paul, the guy clearing a lot to put in his new vacation home here on Cedar Key.  Talking with him, he told me I could have the two palms if I wanted them, but he couldn't drive his excavator down the street, so all he could do was simply dump them on the property.

I was fine with that since these were beautiful mature palms.  As soon as they were on the ground, Barry and Ron were out of their campers asking what they could do to help.

One of the trees was small enough that between the 3 of us and the help of a dolly, we were able to move it to the back of the motel and put it in the ground.

It amazing how awesome full mature trees change the landscape and the look of the place.  Putting little shrubs or tiny trees in the ground looks ok, but it'll take years before they're ever even noticed.

I'm having a guy come by later in the week with a bucket machine to move the other tree that is way to big to move by hand.  He tried to stop by today, but with all 5 RV slots full, there was no room to get the machine or the big tree around the big RV's and into the back yard where we're going to plant it.

Since we left California, it seems like it's been raining non stop.  We drove for 6 days straight through non-stop rain to get to Florida.  I've driven up to Michigan through rain, snow and sleet and this past winter here in Florida has been one of the wettest on record.

Cindy and I were talking a few days ago wondering if our Roof Top Tent (RTT) would be molded or mildewed with all that rain.  I told her that the first nice, warm day that the winds werent too crazy, I'd open it up and let it air out.

Today was that day, but amazingly enough, there wasn't even so much as a damp feel to the tent that's been packed tightly since we last used it in Canyonlands National Park in Utah.

I set it up with the truck parked right in front of the motel and you would have thought it was a naked woman standing out by the road.

Numerous times the passing cars would come to a complete stop so they could either stare or snap a photo of the Camping Lab RTT.  Cedar Key always has alot of people who walk to town from the numerous rentals because of how small the town is.

It was hard to get any painting done because of how many times I had to put the paint roller down to go show people the tent.  Not that I minded, I love showing off because of how cool it is.

I was pleasantly surprised with the sturdy waterproofness of the cover, and I'm glad to know it can withstand that harsh of conditions and not mold or mildew in the least.  I cant wait to go out and use it more once we get caught up with the motel.

I've been telling Cindy that if I can find a used Pontoon Boat cheap enough on Craigslist, I thought it would be cool to put it on the roof of the Pontoon Boat so we could use it as a overnight boat and stay out on the water.

I'll keep you posted if that comes about.

Tonight none of us really felt like partying it up all that much, so it was a very laid back evening.  Although Ron and Cheryl were raring to go and stopped by with some fresh Key Lime Pie from one of the local restaurants and asked if we wanted to go next door to the neighboring RV Park where they were having a Folk Fest Concert.

We told them we were laying low to save our strength for tomorrow night and wished them well.

I'll be sure to snap some photos of what the building looks like with the fresh coat of paint on it tomorrow when we finish it all.

Wednesday March 3rd - Happy Birthday Donielle

First and foremost, I wanted to say a big Happy 24th birthday to our daughter.  How friggin' old am I that we have a 24 year old daughter?!?  It seems like only yesterday that I was sitting with Cindy and Donielle at Donielle's 5th birthday party.  That was the first time I got to hang out with Donielle when I was invited to a Chucky Cheese for her birthday party.

I think it was somewhat of a test for me to see if I could put up with so many screaming kids hopped up on caffeine and still want to stick around after the dust settled.  Little did Cindy know that I absolutely love kids, especially at that age when they're so dang fun to play with, so it only made me want to hang out with the two of them even more.  19 years later, I'm still around and it seems like only yesterday it all started.

So if you're reading this blog, then you'll notice that we listened to your requests on the comments section and we're going to try out posting the new blogs at the top of the page.  Personally I dislike this feature, but I'm going with the readers who take the time to read these goofy posts of mine.

Yesterday was one crazy day here on the Florida Coast with winds strong enough to make one think we were experiencing a hurricane.  The water behind the motel in the Back Bayou was the highest I've ever seen it and within a foot of the top of the sea wall.  At times it was lapping against the bottom of the dock, which normally has a few feet between the water at high tide and decking.

Highest Tides We've Seen Yet

The winds werent blowing in gusts, but a non-stop wind that was strong enough to make one think the eye of the storm was fast approaching.

While I was working on a few different rooms throughout the day, Cindy came running up with a baby sea turtle the electrician had just found while running cable out to the tiki bar.

This will be the second sea turtle we've found around the motel in the past week.  The first one was walking along our sidewalk right towards an open door to a room that Cindy was cleaning.

I think they are crossing the road not sure of where they're going or maybe they're just hatching from somewhere on our property and dont know which direction to go to find the ocean.

I know we're not supposed to handle or touch the sea turtles because they're endangered, but when one is walking towards a busy road, I'm thinking human interference is the right thing to do.

Baby Sea Turtle found at the Low-Key Hideaway

Of course Cindy wanted to keep it and raise it as our own little pet turtle, but we just snapped a few photos and put it back on the edge of the water where it could decide which way to lead the rest of its life.

Between finishing a ton of stuff that no one would even know I did, things that should have been done from the get-go, and painting a bunch of signs I'm planning on nailing to a post out in the yard, I'm happy with what I accomplished today.

I'll be sure to post a few photos of the direction sign once its up, but for now here is what my kitchen looks like with all the signs and paint scattered around our place.

I got a phone call from Diane at Aluminess Products in California who wanted to make sure our mailing address was still the same.

She joked that her and Dave, the people behind the beautiful creations at Aluminess, know that Cindy and I usually move so much, they thought the mailing address we gave them a few weeks back would be old news by now.

But the purpose of the phone call was to let me know the mast for the Wind Turbine is finished and they're shipping it off tomorrow.  I'm so damn excited because this is something that I've been wanting for years now.

Since we've landed in Cedar Key, if we would have bought a full scale turbine the day we got here I think we'd have yet to make an electrical payment.  The wind blows non-stop at our location and it might not always be as crazy as it was yesterday, but there is always a breeze blowing.

Once we get the turbine hooked up, I'm planning on running an extension cord from the camper over to the tiki bar and using natural resources to power the electricity needed to run the televisions, the radio and the lights so The Hideaway will be 100% Green.

If you cant tell, I'm pretty excited about the turbine....More to come on that once it gets here.  Who knew that wind could be so sexy?

I stayed up late last night working on images from the last two months.  We had a ton of shots from here and there that we've taken around Cedar Key yet we haven't had time to sit down and work on them.  Now they're all where they're supposed to be.  Check out the Cedar Key Galleries to see some of our handy work if you like photographs.

Tuesday March 2nd 2010 - Settling Down for a Few Days

After the past few weeks of non-stop stress while trying to juggling the rooms getting tiled when ever we had an opening, I told Cindy that we're going to wait till we get caught up before we start with the next set of rooms.

It's just too dang stressful trying to move everything out of a room, slam it out and get everything back in a few days time.  There are things that always come up that we didn't plan on...Plumbing, Wiring or the weather getting in our way, so I'd rather just wait till season is over and we can actually have time to finish them without being under the gun.

Starting tomorrow, we'll be full through the rest of the month, so yesterday and today I told Cindy "Let's just kick back and take a break.  Let's pretend we live here and go out and enjoy the place we live in."

I woke up yesterday morning before sunrise and loaded up some camera gear to go fool around the island and see what I could find.  My shutter finger is going through major withdrawal and I'm jonesing for a photography fix.

Once the sun came up high enough to wash out the good light, I came back home and found a big osprey sitting right on the end of the dock.  I sat out there for a few hours just watching it stare back at me. 

The osprey won when it came to the waiting game and I came inside without getting any good shots.  Numerous times I've sat in the back yard and watched as one of the local Fish Hawks dive into the water coming up with a fresh catch.  Yet I've never seen it while I had the camera in hand.

I thought today would be my day to get that shot I've been after for so long.  The one of a bird catching a fish, but an hour on the end of the dock in a chilly blowing wind and I packed up the gear to go into the house and warm up without catching the shot.

Even though we were supposed to be kicking back and taking the day off, I spent a few hours filling out my paperwork for the tiki bar.  Wouldn't you know  that the last two people who have had Beer & Wine Licenses on this property were issued them incorrectly.

After hours, and I'm not lying when I say Cindy and I have spent hours on the phone with the various government organizations we're trying to deal with to get this taken care of.  The inspector that is supposed to sign off on the paperwork has finally told me that the last two licenses were issued incorrectly, so they're going to slap me in the face and make me jump through all sorts of hoops in order to get it done right.

This means paying a $150 site plan review fee, having to apply for a food license even though we're not going to be making or serving food, and having all sorts of local inspectors sign off on my site plans even though what they're signing off on are things we're never going to use.

If I wasn't already bald, this Tiki Bar would have made any hair I had left fall out from the constant rubbing of my head in confusion.

During my time off I worked on the Wedding Photos we took for the couple here last weekend and got them mailed off to her which was another check off my 'To Do List'.  While working on them, I found myself laughing about the wedding day.

I dont know if I mentioned it in Last Month's Blog, but the girl that got married on the dock was very well endowed in the chest area.  She was having trouble keeping her dress up where it was supposed to be and Cindy and Alice were working with her to make sure us men didn't get a free peep show.

When I asked what they used to keep the dress up, Alice told me she had a few extra 3M Command Strips and they used the sticky backing on the sides of her breasts to hold up the dress.....LMAO

I'll bet 3M never knew their sticky tape would be used for things of that nature.

Cindy and I have been enjoying the company of Barry and Pat and have spent numerous nights sharing stories and talking about our traveling adventures we've both encountered in the RV's.

Last night we hung out at our new kitchen table with Karen and Scott while Cindy made us homemade margaritas and Scott grilled burgers on the grill.

Cindy found a woman on the island who had sold her house and is moving back to Finland.  This woman is selling all her furniture for next to nothing prices and we snagged up a bunch of stuff.  We got a King Size bedroom set for less than we would have been able to buy a Double Size mattress.

A few others things I've been working on is researching ways to conserve water here at the motel.  Being as Florida is on major water restrictions and this motel is outfitted with outdated fixtures, there are many ways we can upgrade them and conserve major amounts of water.

I spoke with a Kohler representative on products they offer that can save us tens of thousands of gallons of water each year.  For a little investment upfront, that will be major money kept in our pockets and in the process, we'll be saving precious water.

Waterless Urinals, Dual Flush Toilets, Low-Flow Shower Heads and Faucets and we're even looking into a Solar Water Heating System that will save us thousands on electricity.

Another energy saving item we recently had installed was a skylight in our bathroom.  The bathroom was in a part of the house that kept it dark at all times.  Anytime you used the bathroom, you had to turn the lights on.

The roof was leaking from a faulty flashing and I had to pull down some of the drywall to find the leak.  Since we were having the roof leak fixed, I thought why not install one of the solar tubes where the hole was and solve two problems with one fix.

Home Depot had two solar tubes to pick from, a 10" model and a 14" model.  It said the 14" model was the equivalent of a 500 watt light and once it was installed, it's amazing how bright it is.

At least a few times each day Cindy and I will say "Who left the lights on in the bathroom?" because looking down what used to be a dark hallway is now bright with natural light flooding out of the bathroom.

The past few nights with the full moon, you can walk into the bathroom in the middle of the night and it feels like there is a light on simply from the moonlight.  I think these solar tubes should be mandatory in new construction.  They give so much light to rooms during the daytime that using electrical lights would be cut down drastically and we're already thinking of installing them in a few more sections of the house.

Starting tomorrow, we fill up and stay full for the next few months.  Season is in full swing here in Florida and although the weather could get a little warmer, I'm really enjoying our time spent on Cedar Key.

My parents are coming to visit, my sister has planned a big family vacation and Cindy's entire family will make the rounds within the next few months.  I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone and having the chance to re-pay some of the hospitality they've all shown us in the past few years.

Every Miles A Memory