2018-1 First Report of the new Year, St Cloud Florida

2018-1

St Cloud Florida

14 years on the road, what a grand lifestyle

one last look at Lake Common before heading out.....

Campground: Shelter Cove. Where I own two Rv lots. Available for rent. Currently staying here for two months, Nov/Dec 2017.  Though I must admit both Rv lots are currently leased. Lot 56 only being available for 6 months from April-Oct 2018.

Lot 56, Shelter Cove

Lot 56, my little piece of Florida heaven

Back in the 1870s, Hammilton Disston from Philadelphia was interested in developing some land in Florida. He made arrangements with the Florida Government to drain much of the swamp land in Osceola County. Half of the land would go to Florida to pay off Civil War debts and the other half would go to Disston. And that's how the Alligator chain of lakes was created. Disston dredged canals linking the chain of lakes which would eventually drain into the Kissimmee river and flow down into Lake Okeechobee. And of course creating Lake Common and the dry land that Shelter Cover sits on today. Much of that drained land in Osceola County is devoted to cattle ranches, though housing developments are encroaching on those ranch lands more and more each year.

Shelter Cove is on Lake Common
part of the Alligator chain of lakes

My two month stay before heading out to Arizona has already been a very busy one. With appointments to see my Ophthalmologist, General Practitioner and Dermatologist.... it seems as one gets older one collects doctors as easily as picking up seashells by the sea shore. Along with those appointments, I've had to bring my camper in for the installation of a new awning with cover to protect it from damaging sunshine and hail. So far I've had to go back to the Rv store in Melbourne three times mainly due to the installation of new colored LED lights. And finally I brought the Rv in to have the wheel bearings repacked and greased.

Since I'd be on my second Rv lot on Shipwreck Lane I ordered a triple Christmas Palm and a dozen Crotons for the empty garden area. Enjoying a bit of gardening, I've also taken cutting from a good sized rubber tree at the corner of my shed and planted them around the yard. They have wonderful thick dark green leaves and are very hardy and easy to start from cuttings. This will have to do as far as plants go until I come back for a longer stay.

my new Christmas Palm (native to the Philippines)
and colorful crotons. Those are rubber trees
in the background

In the park, I've once again started up the shuffle board games and we got a crew together to paint the courts after pressure washing removed much of the old worn out painted surface. It's looking pretty good and we've been able to play some fun games over the past couple of weeks. Today I won the two games I played.... But I can't wait to get back to Tucson where I'm hoping to play a couple rounds of Mexican Train with my buddy's out there.

Ben and Mary got a group together
Saturday afternoon for shuffleboard... lots of fun

Each day is filled with activities as you can see from the list above. Along with visits with my sister Dorothy and her Daughter Kelly and family.

Kelly, Rusty, Brooke and the bear

my get together for the Golf Cart parade
in Shelter Cove

Dorothy on left talking to a couple from N Michigan

Hoopla

One of the trips into St Cloud took me to our local library where I needed to pick up a new library card and get instructions for downloading books to my tablet. There are a couple of programs to do this and the APP: HOOPLA was recommended to me. It only took a few minutes to download and set up. It's the easyiest program I've ever used to get electronic books from a library and begin reading the book(s) without having to go through any exta steps. I've already downloaded a couple of books and look forward to continue using it while traveling around the county. Hoopla even gives me access to download music, movies, and tv series.

One of the features I like on Hoopla as well as my Kindle reader is that I can hold my finger down on a word and it will give me the dictionary definition. I'm always learning new words or should I say re-learning them...

swimming in Deceember

The holidays breezed by quickly as I prepare my departure from Shelter Cove. Although as I mentioned earlier that I'd started up the Shuffle board games again this year, there has been little excitement in the community to attend. Some weeks only 3 players have attended. Sad to see one of the few activities used less and less. Perhaps the bingo nights and weekly coffee and donuts are better attended. The swimming pool has gotten back to the approved 84 degree temperatures so more residents are enjoying it.

Our little community of snowbirds and full time residents and renters a number of families with children seem to interact sparingly. I've only attended one of the owners workshops as there will be a completely new board of directors for the coming year. I'm not confident much will be done. The possibility of selling approx. 65 undeveloped lots has already been nixed. Cancelling the projected $9,200 assured monthly HOA fees they would have generated. A missed opportunity to add a nice income to the communities coffers. Although we have sufficient operating expenses, we only have approx. $200,000 in funds for emergencies. I would have liked to see that additional money going into our funds for future upgrades and repairs.

ROKU

This was an exciting find along the way.

Another device I've recently purchased was a Roku stick. It attaches to the Tv and comes with it's own remote control.  Using any wifi source (I use my Verizon cell phone hotspot), I'm able to access tons of free movies, tv programs from the internet, using the Roku device. As long as I have two or three bars/signals on my cell phone, I'm able to enjoy lots of new programs.  Many channels give you the option to pay for a movie or watch with a few commercials.  Needless to say, I never pay.  I particularly like the YouTube channel and Roku's movie channel. If you've ever thought about cutting the cable or satellite cord, this might just serve you well.  

This is the beginning of my 14th year as a full time Rv-er and I am so thankful for being able to enjoy another year on the road.   

enjoying Florida winters

unexpected repairs.....

playing Mexican Train with family

many early morning walks around Shelter Cove
enjoying the mirror lake images

a new awning installed and.....
three trips back to have the LED lights installed and re-installed

And a few more photos.

St Cloud Florida

and I didn't even write about my experience talking to the son of a man who worked at "Area 51" and Cape Kennedy during the moon missions.... now that's a story....

I'm leaving my Flamingo
behind to guard the Rv sites