RV Folly Adventure Freedom Ride

(Photo album links are at top of page to right)

(Journal entires are from the December 1, 2008 entry below up to the most recent entry)

THIS PAGE HAS BEEN ARCHIVED. CLICK ON THE "HOME BUTTON" ABOVE
AND THEN THE "FREEDOM RIDE 20XX" BUTTON AT THE TOP OF THE
HOME PAGE FOR CURRENT ADVENTURES

December 22-28, 2008

Still in Raleigh staying with our daughter enjoying friends and family and are now looking forward to the New Year!

December 16-21, 2008

It has been a real blessing for us to experience our daughter's graduation from NC State with family and friends that
could be here. And, the very thoughtful cards, gifts, and phone calls she received from those that could not be here
added so much to her realization of what she has accomplished and will help provide her the will and confidence to
continue to venture forth on the journey we call life. She is a wonderful daughter, friend, and human being and has
already touched many hearts and souls. We can only wonder about the possibilities of what she may accomplish
down her trail into the future. We wish her the very best of all possible outcomes.

With the holidays in full swing now, we have just about completed decorating her apartment in the spirit of Christmas.
I hear rumors that baking goodies to caress the palate will take place soon. And, plans are being made for the
Christmas day celebration......enjoying friends and of course a family feast. Such as it is this time of year.

Thank goodness, with folks so wound up and stressed these days running 24/7 just to make a living, the holiday
season provides time for family and friends to kick back for a moment and enjoy one another. And, to nourish one's
spirit and spiritual beliefs. And maybe, even have a moment to reflect on what's truly most important.....one's soul.
We are so lucky that our freedom adventure ride extends the "holiday moment" throughout the year. And, because
of that, has shown us that if one should break away from the rat race and television and look around them, the
creator really is everywhere and is in everything. In other words, peace comes to the beholder.

Airtran in flight to Raleigh.                                                              Beautiful skies and a smooooooth ride! Thanks
Airtran! The very next day                                                             we picked up her grandmother.

Cassie dressed for the big occasion.                                                 Then we moved on to her Commencement
Exercises near campus.

Cap and gown on now, down the aisle she strolled headin' for her                                  graduation ceremony.

Within a beautifully decorated church, Cassie graciously                                                        accepts her diploma   ...
with a smile and a wink!

Tassel now on the left....Yippi!!!!

You go girl! Parents, Grandma, and boyfriend are SUPER proud                                   and so very happy for you.
We love you Cassie!

Ahhhhhhh! Feelin' gooooood and dreaming of                                 earning my masters. I think I'll do it tomorrow ...
tonight is to celebrate!

And that's the way it is....on this day, December 17, 2008. For more graduation pictures, click on photo album link
above ... near the top of the page.

December 14-15, 2008

Wow, turn around and poof, we're in another part of the world. We flew from Orlando to Atlanta to Raleigh on Airtran
and everything went without a hitch. The airports were all very quiet, especially Orlando which is usually packed with
theme park visitors this time of year. On our drive to Orlando from Vero Beach, we saw many malls with sparsely
populated parking lots and several huge car dealerships that were closed and devoid of cars....maybe all this due to
the economy?

We traveled to Raleigh, NC to attend our daughter's graduation from NC State and spend Christmas together at her
apartment. Her Grandma Marion is coming here for the celebration from Florida as well. With our daughter, her
boyfriend, us, and grandma all together, the place will be a jumpin'.

The kids picked us up at the airport at about 7:30 PM and we proceeded to the El Rodeo Restaurant for a great
dinner. Then we went about the task of finding a Christmas tree. Surprisingly, none could be found until we stopped
at a gas station just after 10 pm that still had a few trees out front. They close at 10:00 PM but a couple of
employees were still inside closing the register, etc. We found a great tree for $29 and were allowed to come inside
to pay. Josh put the tree on the roof and back home to the apartment we went....only a short distance away.

The weather here is quite warm for this time of year...thank goodness...and it looks so different here with all the
leaves off the trees. Still plenty of green though with all the conifers and hollys, etc. After being in Florida since about
the first of October, we are thankful that we won't be freezing our tails off....at least for a week or so...if the weather
prognosticators are correct.

We are all very happy to be together enjoying each others company for the holidays and thankful our family is intact.
My broken family will no longer enjoy the love and happiness we share .... but, it seems a hardship that is meant to
be. Fear and fundamentalism of any sort and from any source is destructive and dangerous. And, so often is
proclaimed to be and justified as God's work. I question who's work it really is! Hmmmmm.

December 12-13, 2008

After more than a year of full-timing, we recently reflected on what we had dreamed to achieve setting out on the RV
Folly Adventure Freedom Ride. For the most part, we were in desperate need to get our lives back after dealing with
serious health issues, my home-care elderly father that needed professional care, and my "broken" family.

Well, our health issues have been stable, my father is receiving professional care at an assisted living facility, but my
family is still broken. As one might say, two out of three ain't bad. And, we've discovered the beauty and the healing
one can receive for body and soul from enjoying new places, wonderful people we meet along the way, and the good
'ol outdoors .... where the hustle, bustle, and daily issues and fears of the populated areas of our planet are left
behind.

We have also learned that the two of us can live day-to-day using about 5 gallons of water and 1/3 gallon of LP gas
per day. Folly gets about 8-10 MPG depending on terrain and wind direction and her insurance is less than $300 per
year.... a huge advantage of traveling in an older RV. Campgrounds we have stayed vary from free to about $26 per
night depending on amenities we want to enjoy. For the most part, we enjoy the parks offering solitude where we can
boondock using batteries and all the rest of the amenities a self-contained RV offers. These campgrounds rarely are
more than $3 to $8 per night, and many are free. So, after reviewing our records, we have lived comfortably on as
little as $700 to $800 a month. Of course, if one so desires, one can easily spend $2000 to $5000 a month and there
are many folks that do just that! We don't want to and don't have the money anyway!

It's interesting to note that our 35 year old rig doesn't suffer any more issues or repairs than brand new $250,000
and up rigs .... and in many cases far less. We have met people that have been full-timing for two years in very huge
and expensive rigs with almost a year, in one case, of that time spent in shops for maintenance and repairs along
their trail. And, most shops charge in the area of $75 to $125 per hour.....plus parts. WOW! Of course, those with
new rigs say everything is under warranty .... but, spending so much time in the shop is not my idea of full-timing.
Also, we can get into some pretty tight areas and don't mind crashing through tree branches, etc. to find our little
piece of Heaven on Earth. Many of the people with the new or expensive rigs worry about acorns, leaves, and/or pine
straw falling on the roof, let alone suffering scratches on the side walls from tree branches, etc. In any event, it's
ends up being all about what one wants to spend, where one wants to go, and the lifestyle one choses to live.

Folly hasn't had any major mechanical problems and only a couple of minor ones in over 12,000 miles traveled so
far. A shock absorber support broke and the steering pot joint acted up. I fixed both myself with the biggest problem
being finding or fabricating the parts. I do all the general maintenance myself as well. This is not possible on a newer
rig where computers are needed for diagnosis and special equipment for repairs.

Bottom line, other than a broken family, our dreams and expectations are being realized. Our lifestyle is one we enjoy
and the fun of traveling in a classic RV has been better than we had hoped .... a real blessing to the spirit, soul, and
mind. Who'd of thunk? Rock on Folly Adventure Freedom Ride!

December 10-11, 2008

Folly is lookin' good. It's amazing how well a coat of Penetrol, after a good scrubbing, works to bring back the "shine".
Ten times better and ten times less time spent than washing, using rubbing compound, and finally waxing. And, I only
have to use it about twice a year. I discovered the use of Penetrol on a used RV dealer's site. Be careful using the
product as it's only formulated for certain kinds of paint.

The weather here has been 80's days and 70's nights the last couple of days...but a front moving in will change all
that soon....to 70's and 60's. I visited the weather.com site and checked out Madison, Wisconsin where they were
enjoying snow clean-up, 6 degrees and a 15-20 mph breeze out of the northwest. Brrrrrr!

The next couple of days will be spent preparing for the trip back to Raleigh, NC for our daughter's graduation from
NC State. She has been working two jobs and taking finals.....really stressed, but looking forward to gettin' that
sheepskin she's worked so hard for. We are really proud and happy for her. Rock on young lady!

December 8-9, 2008

Well, I've continued work on making Folly pretty and Sandra has completed getting holiday cards written and put in
the mail. Man, this camping is hard work....lol.

We took a drive to Sebastian State Park about 12miles away to empty our holding tanks. The charge was $6. We
had a nice drive along A1A enjoying the beach and intra views. I was happy to find out the park now offers
dry-camping in a "over-flow" lot on the inlet at about $13 a night. It's good to hear the parks are trying to
accommodate travelers that come to a park and have to leave because the improved campsites are full. Especially
during the busy winter months. Way to go Florida!

After visiting the day areas of the island and a trip to Walmart for supplies, we returned to Sandra's brother's
place....where we chilled out in a balmy 80 degrees with a nice breeze blowing. Life is Sweet!

December 6-7, 2008

On December 7, my dad celebrates his 89th. birthday .... bless his heart!

A lot of folks will be thinking about Pearl Harbor Day and what it meant to our country, and, all the men and women
who sacrificed their blood, sweat, and tears and sometimes their lives to protect our freedom and our way of life.
Given where our country is now, do you think there may be lessons to be learned or lessons that have been
forgotten from those days that could be of importance?

We picked up a Hauppauge WinTV-HVR 950 HDTV stick for our Compaq Presario laptop and 4 Sony replacement
speakers for Folly. The speakers are matched to our Pyle fm/am radio, cd, cassette player so they should work well.
The HDTV tuner is another matter. It works, but the signal needs to be very strong to get clear audio and video.

I downloaded all the audio and video upgrades for our laptop and the HDTV dongle. And even with our 15db
amplified Winegard rooftop antenna, it seems we will have to be within 40 miles of a tower for decent digital reception
.... similar to receiving decent analog reception. Also, I didn't realize the dongle really uses a lot of PC power while in
use which means we will use a lot of AC or DC energy running it while boondocking. Hmmmm. Now I will have to see
what the power requirements are for a regular HDTV.

Whichever way we decide to go, apparently TV reception and range will not change much, but true HD viewing would
be a plus and we can be rid of our bulky analog set as well. Those living full-time and/or boon-docking in an RV know
the advantages to this! Any form of satellite TV is not an option for us, as we do not want monthly payments and a
long list of TV channels we will never watch anyway. So, we will watch TV now and then, as we have been doing since
setting out on our adventure freedom ride, and spend the bulk of our time reading and enjoying the good 'ol
outdoors.

Decembrt 4-5, 2008

I've been working of getting Folly washed.....a big job as RV owners know. The rig is painted fiberglass and develops
black spots rather than streaks. I have found a good scrubbing with Ivory or Dawn dish-washing detergent does a
good job, but afterwards the surface loses it's luster. So, I put on a quick coat of Penetrol which brings back the
shine.

I wrote an e-mail to George who also writes about his RV travels and experiences. The name of his site is "The
Adventures of Tioga and George." I asked George for permission to put a link to his site on our site and he
graciously granted same. You can find the link by clicking on the Home button above and find his link under links of
interest.

Interestingly, it has come to mind that Ara & Spirit mentioned below, George, and ourselves have had some pretty
serious bumps in the road of life. The bumps though, it seems, brought forth in our minds how precious each day we
live is and how important it is to live every day of your life like it was your last. So often folks get so wound up in their
"work" and "stuff" that they lose track of what's really important. RVing full-time seems to rekindle the spirit in that
regard and opens your minds eye to your soul and all of the creator's gifts to discover and enjoy while traveling the
open road. All one has to do is LOOK!

I have been scouting around the net for a HDTV tuner dongle that I can hook up and run on my PC. We have nice,
flat screen analog set, but it's big and bulky so rather than get a converter box for it we think the dongle route would
be better. And, I have a large LCD monitor I can hook up to the computer if we want to watch something on a bigger
screen. We are going to give our analog set to Sandra's mother as hers just went bad. She's got cable so she can
get and watch HD channels on it without a "box."

The hard part has been finding a dongle that matches my PC's system. Most require DirectX 9.0 support and my 4
year old Compaq Presario came with DirectX 8.1. Howerver, I finally found one that should work at Circuit City and
Walmart, but the Walmart one has to be ordered over the net. So, it's off to Circuit City tomorrow to check out the
dongle, then Best Buy for a replacement set of speakers for Folly, then to a couple of book stores, and finally to the
grocery store. There's still some "stuff" that we need?.... or is that want? Hmmmmm.

December 2-3, 2008

We are still having issues getting our mail forwarded from our home and PO Box address since sending in the USPS
permanent forwarding address cards on November 3. I have called our local PO twice to fix things but each time the
distribution center miles away changes things to mess us up again. The PO gal at our local office is doing her best to
deal with the situation and has been frustrated with our situation as well. A common issue while RVing full-time, I am
told. Homeland Security requires a permanent address for all, and there's the rub. What should we list as our
permanent address.....Folly, USA? I read the HS powers at be are working on a solution for full-timers .... thank
goodness!

I was totally tickled to pick up another pair of State Street shoes at PayLess Shoes yesterday that are exactly the
same as the pair I bought at the same store a year ago. The shoes are black and are stylish enough for dress and
are also built very similar to a good pair of walking shoes. I paid $20 last year and $10 on sale this year. These
shoes are every bit as comfortable as a good walking shoe and wear much better. I wore the old pair in rain, mud,
sand, and salt water, and, since they clean up so nice, attended a wedding and two funerals. Can you believe that
from a cheap shoe?

I wrote Ara and Spirit for permission to put a link to their website on my home page. The name of their site is "The
Oasis of My Soul." They travel by motorcycle and side-car and Ara publishes an interesting narrative with
outstanding pictures. Ara wrote back granting permission and offered us a place to stay on his land in Texas, if we
should ever get out that way. Sweet! You may want to check them out sometime. Click on the Home button above
and find their link under links of interest.

December 1, 2008

We arrived in Vero Beach about 2, turkey afternoon. Had a great meal with Sandra's brother's family and her
mother...who drove up from Pompano Beach the day before. After catching up, we went to Folly for the night. Her
brother's family left Friday morning to visit St. Augustine for a couple of days. We stayed put and kept watch on the
house and the family dog, Bear, who wasn't feeling too well. All worked out fine and her brother's family returned
Sunday night...traveling a long time in bumper-to-bumper, Thanksgiving Holiday traffic.

Today, I am updating the website, paying bills, and chillin' on Folly. We hope you all had a great holiday!