Life at Rock Crusher Canyon RV Park - Part two

Hi everyone

In our last blog we told you a little bit about Rock Crusher Canyon RV Park and promised to tell you about the people here.

Like many RV parks in the South Rock Crusher has its share of long term residents. Some are really long term, meaning they basically stay here all year round, and others spend anywhere from two to five months here during the winter. The later include Canadian snow birds of which group we are a part at the moment. One can easily spot the sites of long term guests by the way they are maintained and by additions such as sun decks or other (semi)permanent structures added to the trailers. The first giveaway usually is that the leaves are raked and dead palm leaves removed. We have told you about that in a prior blog. Many people also have some kind of sign with their names on it, welcoming visitors and at the same time making it known who's site it is or, if one knows they are here, what site they are on. It was the long term guests, too who put up Christmas decorations and it is them who know one another of course. If you need information or want to join a group for some activity, your long term neighbour just might be the person to ask whom to get in touch with. This is the way Sue got in touch with a group of ladies which she now joins for a weekly game of golf and sometimes lunch afterwards.

People here are also very helpful. Some might just be looking for something to do or they simply like to help. Just recently a group of men got together and built a deck for a lady who lives here by herself. And when we have a weekly get-together with a potluck dinner and a campfire another of her neigbours drove her there in their golf cart since she has recently broken her knee and couldn't walk. No way would they let her miss out on the "eat and chat" evenings. When we first arrived here the potluck took place at our neigbours' Jim and Jeanne and they immediately invited us to join them. Everybody is welcome to these evenings. One simply looks for the whiteboard which is put up to announce at what site and time it will take place. It was also Jim who noticed that the first step to our fifth wheel was a little high. So he came over and suggested to build a step. He had some leftover lumber, screws and the tools, he said. And so we ended up putting the step together after measuring how big it could be to easily be stored in the truck-bed while we're on the road. It's a great thing to have not only because it makes getting in and out easier but also because it works great to keep sand out of the fifth wheel. It really is a little thing but how we came to build it is great and speaks to the way people here are.

That's it for today. Take care.

André and Sue

@ home on the road

PS: Don't forget to read our other blogs (listed on the side) and to follow us on facebook and our Google Map. You can also check our web site for new pictures.

Life at Rock Crusher Canyon RV Park

Uptown

 

Hi everyone

There is a lot to be said about spending the winter in an RV Park like we do so let us tell you a little bit about Rock Crusher Canyon RV Park.

Rock Crusher offers 398 nice, spacious sites in 2 main areas. There is what we call "downtown" with its 287 sites and then "uptown" with the remaining 111. We are uptown on a corner lot with so much space, it could almost house two rigs like ours. The entire RV Park also offers privacy between the sites and lots of shaded sites with Palm and other trees for those who want it. All sites have 30 / 50 Amp service, full hock-up, wireless (and really good) internet as well as cable TV. We also like that it is gated. Campers as well as visitors are issued access codes for the duration of their stay.

With the gatehouse, clubhouse, pool and playground all downtown we personally enjoy the quiet up here. Sure, if we want to participate in one of the many events offered - a list is published monthly - or go for a swim we can't just cross the road but that doesn't bother us the least. We simply take our bicycles and ride there. The only thing about being up here is that it really is up. There is a short, about 200 yards, but rather steep hill which some call "heart-attack-hill" to be climbed. That too doesn't bother us, we simply take our time when we're on foot or have the bikes with us.

Clubhouse

 

Rock Crusher Canyon RV Park is located a little bit outside of town so there is no noisy road going by yet everything we need such as grocery stores, post office, some flea and farmers markets etc. are only minutes from here by car. Crystal River offers everything a small town usually does, there is even a Chevrolet dealership should our truck need a service or some work, and Homosassa and Inverness are not far. Being so close to the Gulf of Mexico gives us the opportunity to indulge in fresh shrimp, clams, oysters and other seafood and fish whenever the mood hits us. We have been exploring the area a bit and found a seafood seller we like a lot on one of the markets.The prices for seafood are unbelievable cheap compared to Northern Ontario and of course it's fresh.

So much for today. It's time to go hit the pool and cool off a bit. In our next blog we will tell you a little about the people here and the "events" they/we hold uptown on our own (aside from the many organized by the RV Park).

See you soon

André and Sue

@ home on the road

PS: Don't forget to read our other blogs (listed on the side) and to follow us on facebook and our Google Map. You can also check our web site for new pictures.

Happy New Year

 

Hi everyone

Well, another year is coming to an end and what a great one it has been for us. We sure hope you too can look back on lots of fun, happiness, success and hopefully good health.

As you know we have been on the road for the past six months and covered quiet some distance exploring the east cost of Canada. Then, after a "detour" through the New England states it was back to our old home on Lake Nipissing for a short visit before we headed south for the winter. We had such a good time and have seen so many beautiful things and met many wonderful people along the way. We explored some new foods while tasting the local cuisine and are looking forward to having a lot of our favorite, seafood, while here in Florida. Traveling has been all we had expected it to be and even more. There is so much to be learned about Canada's history, geography and the people who make this wonderful country what it is.

Of all the great memories of 2012 our respective trips to Switzerland and visits with our families and Alice's stay with us still are the most precious ones. Although we try to make it over there as often as we can, time between visits is still very long and we are already looking forward to the next time we will see them all again.

Now we will spend some time in the warmth of Florida and making plans for 2013. Our trip has just only begun and we still have so much to see and explore. The options are many and we will keep you posted as our plans progress and certainly when we hit the road again come spring. Until then we wish you, your families and friends a very

HAPPY, HEALTHY, FUN-FILLED and SUCCESSFUL 2013

André and Sue

@ home on the road

PS: Don't forget to read our other blogs (listed on the side) and to follow us on facebook and our Google Map. You can also check our web site for new pictures.

Settling in for the winter

Hi everyone

It's been a while since our last blog and lots has happened since then. We had Alice, André's mom, visiting us for four weeks. It was a wonderful time as we took her on a small tour of the south of the United States. Though we mostly visited places we had been to before, it was interesting for us as well. First of all some of those places have changed a lot since we've last seen them. And secondly Alice's comments and questions gave us a different perspective of them, too. We did enjoy the trip big time.

We started out in Florida, Fort Lauderdale to be precise, drove all the way up to Georgia and over to New Orleans. Then we returned to Florida and Rock Crusher Canyon RV Park in Crystal River where we will spend the winter. Along the way we made day-trips and stops at Key West, Cape Canaveral, Daytona Beach, Apalachicola, Avery Island and, of course, New Orleans to name just some. We tasted the local foods and took in the local sights. We went on an air-boat ride and a cruise on the Mississippi river, visited wildlife parks and cotton fields, the homes of Tabasco Sauce and space travel. It was a lot to take in for Alice and so we also spent a few days doing nothing much and got her to help us wash our fifth wheel. The four weeks passed so fast and soon it was time for her and Sue to fly to Switzerland, where Sue spent a week visiting our families over there.

Before they left we had already done some leaf raking at our camp site and André had begun to clear out dead palm leafs. All around it looks like people here at the campground take great pride in well maintaining their sites. We got into the spirit as well and have to say, it looks so much better, once all the dead leafs are gone. The seasonals here are also preparing for Christmas and one doesn't have to go far to find decorated trailers, motorcycles and even golf carts. There even is a contest going on which will, by popular vote, award the best decoration in those three categories.

So we are settling in for the winter and it will be very special this year. Never before did we sit outside in shorts, t-shirts and sandals less than a week before Christmas. There will be no snow, and of course no shoveling, no coming in from the cold and huddling in front of the fireplace to warm up and it is kind of hard to even think of Christmas. Especially Sue, who just loves all things Christmas-lights, was kind of envious of the displays on other camp sites. But the sensible reasoning is not to spend a whole lot of money for something like an inflatable Santa which can only be used for a short time and will then take up precious storage space in our fifth wheel for the rest of the year. Besides, inflatables are not really our style. None the less Sue would really have loved some kind of decorations and so she was over the top when she came back from Switzerland and found out what André had done during her absence: there were solar tiki torches marking the entrance to our site, solar lights from there to the fifth wheel, two bird-feeders and a gorgeous flower display adorned with palm leafs and moss. Inside the fifth wheel Sue found a cute rosemary-tree lovingly decorated as our Christmas tree. There also is a clover spiked orange which, together with the rosemary-tree gives off a very nice, seasonal smell. It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas here in Florida.

In this sense we wish all of you a
MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR

André and Sue

Somewhere on the road in Canada

PS: Don't forget to read our other blogs (listed on the side) and to follow us on facebook and our Google Map. You can also check our web site for new pictures.

Winter destination

Hi everyone

After having spent a good 2 weeks back in North Bay, we have taken to the road again. The destination: Florida where we will spend the winter. But first we had to make a stop at Sicard RVs where the maintenance department took care of some warranty work on our fifth wheel. They were absolutely great, taking us in the next day and getting things done in a very short time. We were able to cross the border the same afternoon and drove to a nice campground for the night.

The next day we started our trip south and arrived in south Georgia on October 21st. There we stayed at a Golf and Country Club and RV Resort. Sounds very expensive but was not. With our Passport America membership we paid less than $20 per night and that included free golfing. Now we had never golfed before but took the opportunity to try it out. Two of their members not only lent us some clubs but also gave us a one-on-one lesson so we would get off on the right foot. We had so much fun that we decided to give the sport a go and went to get our own clubs and stuff. We also added three more nights to the two we had originally booked and Sue picked up a new web site. She is now working on it and will have it finished as soon as she gets the information and pictures required. The site is for a BBQ competition Team and caterer. They have won first place in all categories in the past and are now preparing for the 2013 season.

Our next stop was in Crystal River at the exact campground where we will spend four months starting December 1st. They even put us on the exact site we will have. We stayed there for three nights and then continued to Fort Lauderdale where we will remain until November 12th. This will give André's mom a few days before we start traveling with her. She will arrive in Florida on the 7th and stay with us for four weeks. What route we will take with her we don't know exactly yet but we will be back in Crystal River for her last four nights.

So much for today. Take care

André and Sue

Somewhere on the road in Canada

PS: Don't forget to read our other blogs (listed on the side) and to follow us on facebook and our Google Map. You can also check our web site for new pictures.

Fish and seafood anyone?

Hi everyone

Have you ever dreamed of eating as much fish and seafood as your heart desires? If you have, you have to come to Newfoundland. We have been indulging in fresh fare from the local fish markets every day and have to tell you: there is no such thing as too much fish and seafood when it comes basically off the boat. We intend to enjoy this as often as we possible can. Not only doesn't it get any fresher but the prices are unbelievable as well. Fresh, live lobster for $ 6.60 per pound or 5 pounds of shrimp for $ 25.00! And we learn new stuff, too. In one lobster tank we saw a big lobster with just one claw. After asking about this, we learned that a lobster can not only survive the loss of a claw but will eventually grow a new one! Did you know that?

Anyhow, I thought I make your mouths water a little with this story ;-) 

André and Sue

Somewhere on the road in Canada

PS: Don't forget to read our other blogs (listed on the side) and to follow us on facebook and our Google Map. You can also check our web site for new pictures.