What To Wear????

What is a girl to wear???

That is the question!!

We are in full blown packing mode!!

Housesitters have been briefed and are in place, all RV Park reservations, and all Enterprise car rental reservations have been made and confirmed.  RV has been inspected and all new tires have been put on.

Food shopping is a work in progress as some of it comes from BJ's and Sam's and some of it is from Wegmans.

Amazon orders were placed for other miscellaneous "stuff" that we needed for the trip.

REALLY hope that the storms are GONE before we get there!!

LadyBug is really having QUITE a time picking out her wardrobe... :)

Road Trip Preparation: Essential Apps!

As most of you know, we are in preparation mode for our annual RV southern trip and I thought it might be helpful if I shared with you all some of the apps that I use...and have been gathering for the past ten years!  I should mention that these are iOS apps...not sure if there are Android versions.

*  CardStar - Grocery Chains change from state to state and I had to sign up for a new card each time.  With CardStar...it will search by location and you can add the cards that way...so much easier!

* Coverage - Gives you the coverage maps by cell phone provider.  For instance, my husband has Verizon and I have Sprint...which has saved us a few times...when he doesn't have coverage and I do or vice versa!  Also has AT&T and T-Mobile.  Except in Wyoming...NOBODY has coverage there!! It drove my nuts!!

* Free Wi-Fi Finder - Does exactly that!  Will find you the closest free wi-fi.

* Gas Buddy - Gives you gas prices at individual stations nationwide.

* Google Earth - A godsend!  Navigating a big rig to a new destination or RV park when you have no idea whether there are low bridges or very narrow roads.

* History Here - Places of historical importance near you...my husband likes this one (I would rather be shopping!)

* My Radar - Weather is a BIG concern for Rvers.  Animation depicts how storms are moving...so we can get out of the way!

* NOAA Radio App. - Must manually input your location, but does help with tornado sirens!

* Roadside America - Explore the fun stuff while you are on the road...like Wahl Drug!  In case you happen to be in the area of South Dakota! :)

* State Lines - VERY helpful in assisting with all the different laws BY STATE.  This includes:  taxes, seat belt laws, helmet and motorcycle laws, cellphone bans, rest area stay lengths, towing speeds, right on red laws.  

* Tune-In Radio - Find a favorite radio station you like to listen to...even if you are not there!

* YELP - Looking for local places to eat or shop, laundromats, RV Repair Shops, or Car Rental...this will help you!

* Trucker Path and Trucker Tools - Very accurate for Big Rig and Truck Stop information.

* KOA App - We are not fans of KOA's, but if you are a member, the app will come in handy.

* IExit - Fabulous Interstate Exit Guide shows what is available at exits...for example...fast food choices...like Arby's, Wendy's, Starbucks, etc. and also what the gas prices are.

* AllTrails - Browse 50K trails for hiking trails near you.  View maps for routes and track your own activities with GPS.  This one is a favorite of my husband's as well.

* SaniDumps RV Dump Station Locator - The largest listing of RV dump stations in the U.S.  Since we stay at RV Resorts with full hookups and do not boondock, we rarely use this, except at the end of the season when we do our final dump before winterizing.

* Roadtripper - Discover best scenic spots, diners, attractions, hotels.  I believe this one may require an upgrade to Pro and the cost varies.  I haven't used it in a while.

* RV Checklist - Be prepared and don't forget important tasks!!  This is a GO TO app as it is a really good idea to double and triple check before heading out on a month (or longer) road trip!

Frustration is the Name of the Game!

There are times when I could just S C R E A M!!!One would think that the girls would know the routine by now. They see bags being packed and set by the door. 

They see THEIR things being put in THEIR bag and placed INTO the vehicle. 

Their carseats are already installed in the back of the Jeep.

The cooler with the food is the last thing to be packed. When the mama walks out to the car carrying THEIR leashes...they KNOW it is time to go!!

Now we do this a couple of times a week.

One would THINK they would GET it.

Today.

Not so much.

Drives Ben and I totally NUTS!!

We get in the car which is fourteen thousand seven hundred degrees because it is HOT out and the car has been sitting out in the sun. 

The A/C does not seem to be working AT ALL.

The girlz were told to go to the bathroom BEFORE entering the vehicle.

One did. Chloe.

LadyBug did not.

We aren't one half mile down the road when the panting starts.

Another half mile down the road and we are in FULL FLEDGED PANTING ERUPTION mode.

Seriously?

GRRRRRR!!

So. Exactly ONE mile down the road, we pull over into the public boat launch area. 

Ben gets out and loads another can of freon into the A/C.

I let the girls out to "take care of business".

Chloe goes AGAIN. This time...POOP.

More poop than can comfortably come out of a small Bichon.

The problem....it doesn't come all the way out. 

So...now I have to go back to the Jeep and get out my trusty WIPES. Of course, I do not have anymore babywipes left, so I have to use the Clorox Orange Scented...fortunately bleach free...wipes. To be more specific, it actually took me EIGHT wipes to clean up this mess.

By this time, LadyBug has gone and we are now ready to re-enter the vehicle.

All loaded up and back into the vehicle. 

Chloe's panting has not yet subsided. In fact, her heart-rate is increasing by the second. We make it approximately ten miles down the road and we have to stop for gas before getting on the highway. I decide to simplify this little endeavor by taking the girls out AGAIN while Ben gets gas...and we also have to grab something at the drive through because we are both starving.

By the time both girls have gone AGAIN and re-entered the vehicle, I jump out and head in to order our food. This was not supposed to take very long. It was intended to be a very quick stop.

As I'm inside waiting for the order to be ready, the girls are driving Ben totally Up The Wall. By the time I arrive back in the vehicle, the girls are hyper-ventilating and are in desperate need of water. Lots and Lots and Lots of water!! Fortunately, I had thought ahead and put a little dish and container of water under my seat. The girls decide that they both MUST fit their tongues into this little dish at the EXACT same time as they are both entitled to drink FIRST.

The panting continues.

Ben is threatening to pull over at a nearby animal shelter.

We wolf down our food and I end up giving them MORE water as Chloe is still just hyper-ventilating.

Finally we get on the interstate and head home. We are fortunate that the girls have decided that they now need a nap.

Ben and I are freakin' exhausted. There's a tractor trailer off to the side of the road and emergency vehicles all over the place and FIRE! So, we wait for a few minutes....that seemed like hours.

Then, we made it the rest of the way home.

We open the mail and discover that we earned a free Pizza! The coupon expires in an hour.

One quick phone call and a drive back and forth to the pizza place...We now have our free pizza AND an order of cheese breadsticks!

YAY!

Was it worth it?

I am just too tired to even think right now.

We are all going to sleep.

Hope you all had a better day than we did!!

(Next time we should just take the RV. We NEVER have to stop for anything then!)

A Dickens Christmas Adventure in Skaneateles, NY

Continuing in our quest to enhance our Christmas adventures this season, we took a day trip to Skaneateles, NY which is not far from us.

What a cute little town!  It would have been a lot more fun if the temperature was warmer.  It was FRIGID with a very cold wind!  We enjoyed ourselves, but we decided the summer would be a better time to visit.  It would have been nice to spend a little more time in the shops.  Some of the photos you see were taken in a little store called F. Oliver's.  Kind of funny because we actually have an F. Oliver's in our own town and we have never been in it!  Their olive oil is the BEST and I highly recommend it.  This is not a sponsored post, I just really love their oils.

Enjoy my photo tour...

Seeing Beautiful: The Lake Edition

We are joining Sugar and Madi for the Monthly See Beautiful Blog Hop!

 

Happy Father's Day!!

We are joining Sugar and Dachsund Nola for Black and White Sunday!

Oh...The Places We Go!

Nothing like fresh, local seafood when traveling!  Above, is my shrimp with sweet potato fries...EXCELLENT!

In addition to the shrimp and fries, Ben had the seafood chowder...which he said was equally as good!

What an interesting place THIS was!  It was typical old Florida...lots of STRANGE things just hanging around...perfect for my picture-taking blog fodder!

Here you will see my Southern Sweet Tea...which I LOVE!  It is my drink of choice when traveling in the south!

Cam you even believe that they charged me $6.00 a pop for those sweet teas??  

My husband played on the Senior Olympics Volleyball Team, so he was thrilled that there is a large Volleyball Tournament here all week long.  I don't mind, because while he is watching the volleyball...I can peruse the shops!

It has been very overcast and somewhat rainy for the past couple of weeks...photos do not come out as good!

See the woman in the boat hanging from the ceiling??  Told you there was some interesting stuff to see here!!

This place was quite creative in their design...they painted a bunch of old tires and hung them on the ceiling for the "Color Effect"!

This place is HOPPING at night...very, VERY large bass music until 4am!  It just happens to be across the street from our place...we can hear it from the RV!

Interesting little courtyard linking the front restaurant to the back deck on the gulf...

An old washer found its way in to the garden...who knows where THAT came from??!

Then, there is this red phone booth...presumably for photo opps or selfies!

In case you were looking for Nite Crawlers...here you go!!

And we are off to get some desperately-needed sleep!!

Stop by and see what we are up to tomorrow!

Thoughtless Thursday

By Ruckus the Eskie and co-hosts Love is being owned by a Husky and M.K Clinton