Round Two

FOUR PAWS KINGDOM

Rutherfordton, NC 28139

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RV LIFE:

Well, we are on to not only year two, but round two of our adventure. We have made a "circle" of the US, staying 1-2 weeks at most places and speeding through the northern part in order to make our timeline to the East coast. 

Looking back, we are amazed that we have traveled so far, but yet seem to have not seen too much. Friends ask what was our favorite place. To be honest, we haven't been impressed with too much of what we've seen.

The snow capped mountains in Colorado were a cool site.

Santa Fe, New Mexico is a very cool town, that we felt very comfortable in. But, we hate the landscape.  From afar, the red/brown rocky mountains look beautiful in their own way. But the dry blah landscape is off putting. I rate a nice landscape by questioning..."Would I enjoy walking/hiking my dogs through here?" The desert area is just so dry with scratchy bushes around in the open with the overbearing sun. I wonder if I feel that way because I was brought up amid pine trees and green forests? Do people brought up in the desert area of the West dislike the thick green forests of the East? Is it claustrophobic to them? I believe when I was speaking to someone from Lubbock, TX, she mentioned that she is so used to the open flat land that a forest is indeed claustrophobic to her. 

We've arrived in North Carolina for our 3 month stay at the WONDERFUL FOUR PAWS KINGDOM CAMPGROUND. We were here for 5 weeks last fall. We have returned this year to help out. We'll be staying here until the end of their season, after Thanksgiving.  This is the first "work" we've done since starting our RV adventure. We don't NEED to work, but really wanted to help out Birgit and Mike with their workload at this terrific park. I will admit, that the last month and a half has been expensive. Traveling everyday (lots of diesel) across the US to get to the East coast, a new campground every day (no weekly discount), has reduced our checking account and even a little bit of our savings. These next 3 months should put us back in a comfortable position. We are not getting paid for our labor, but are getting the site free. So minimal diesel usage and no park fees for 3 months!

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RV MODS:
Yep, we are still modifying our RV. This is a work in progress, until we or if we upgrade in a few years.
We had to wait until we could have this shipped to a friend's house while in NJ. I've been wanting this for about 6 months now since reading it on RV.NET FORUMS.
We replaced our entry door window with an much nicer window from EASY WINDOWS.
It's always bothered me that we can't see out our "front door" (entry door).

BEFORE

AFTER

I can see!

We purchased this window for $150.00 including shipping.
Not only can we now see through it, it is also that tinted, reflective glass that is through out the rest of the RV. So during the day, no one can see in.  We do have to be careful at night, because with the lights on, we are in a fishbowl. But the way our RV is set up, there is no reason for us to be hanging out in front of this entry door window.
The other nice feature of this window is that it opens! So now we can have the door closed, but yet still enjoy a breeze (if any) through this area.
The company states that the surrounding "molding" or border (not sure what it's called) will not yellow like the old window frame. That's the word! FRAME. Duh. And to finish praising this product, it was easy to install and hasn't leaked. We really like this improvement to our home.

On the 2nd photo of the door, did you see the paw print under the window? Here's a close up.

Sorry blog followers. The above saying does describe us. I may spew out all kinds of personal stuff, and may even give you a laugh here and there, but in reality, Scott & I are loners. If you've been following our blog, I have mentioned a number of times, that I'm in a bad mood because I've done too much socializing. I can only take being charming, well maybe just being nice, well really barely tolerating people in small, infrequent increments.
OK, I'm not THAT bad, but I'm more comfortable hanging out with your dogs.

The other mod I did was to add plastic drawers instead of plastic tubs in our rear clothes closet.  Previously, I had some plastic shelves with tubs on them to hold items. Every time we traveled, I'd open the closet to a mess because the tubs slipped off the shelves. I tried those spring type curtain rod thingies, but they didn't hold it back.
Off to Wally World and purchased the combo drawer units that can be stacked in different ways.  They work like a charm and keeps my things more organized also.

And....did you notice???? The second drawer from the top????

Come on, can you see what's in that drawer???? NOTHING! IT'S EMPTY! Yes, living in an RV I still have room for more "stuff". That drawer won't be empty long and NO, I will not be adding new items to the RV because of the empty drawer calling me.  I will just rearrange things to make more convenient and EFFICIENT.  

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BOOK REVIEW:
OK, I guess I have to admit, I really LIKE  romance novels. This is the 2nd romance in a row and again, I was thrilled with this book. Yep, I guess I'm a romance softy, as least when it comes to reading.

Earth Song by Catherine Coulter
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book. Loved the main characters and their "insults" back & forth, but yet you could get the feel of what was really going on behind those remarks.
Love that Philippa (main female character) is not a helpless female, but a woman who is educated won't take any crap. I respected her even though sometimes she acted before thinking and then had to suffer the consequences which is the base line of this story.
Yes, this is a medieval romance, but there is some suspense included,  some fairly erotic or maybe even some mildly graphic sex scenes also.
It was difficult to put this book down and thought about the book when I wasn't reading it. I look forward to another book by this author, although will probably take a break from romance for a bit.


View all my reviews

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COFFEE REVIEW:
K-cups are very expensive. I like to keep my coffee habit below 50 cents per cup at home. So we order from COFFEE GIANT when we can, meaning when we are staying in the same place long enough to get a mail order and also that will accept mail at the campground.
We have been able to get some decent deals on pods via Coffee Giant, which are cheaper than and more space saving than K-Cups.
But recently, I have gone back to ground coffee, or better yet, beans that I can grind at the store.
I still use our single serve Keurig coffee maker, but I have accessories that enable me to use pods or ground coffee. I may have mentioned this before, but I'll mention again because I love both accessories.
To use coffee pods in a K-cup machine we have the Perfect Pod Holster. To use ground coffee we use My-Kap Kaps.
Anyway on to coffee review...

Margaritaville "State of Mind" Coffee: Supposed to be a medium/dark roast. I felt it was a little weak. But more important, it was not bitter.  I prefer my ground coffee, espresso ground. It seems to give me a stronger cup of coffee. Since this bag was pre-ground, it was a coarser grind, which may give reason for the weak strength. I would buy this again. It is easily available at Walmart for under $8.00 for a 12 ounce bag.