drafthorsecrazy

Back in the early 80's I remember our club member price for the campground being $18 night for a preferred site......oh yea....that was the week leading up to Christmas.   Ahhhh, the good ole days.

Camping World in Statesville is enclosed with fence and they lock the gate after closing.  Don't think it would be an option for staying over night.

Our longest stay was 101 nights. Come back every winter.....wouldn't stay anywhere else.

We are on our 3rd Jayco rv.  There's been a few issues but all have been handled well.  Whatever model you choose I think one of the deciding factors should be finding a dealer you trust to give you a fair price and will be there for warranty work.   We chose a local dealer and it has worked well.  

What you have---    5th wheel,  Pinnacle kpts

Tow vehicle---         single axle semi 

How heavy---          combined weight over 26,000 lbs. (yes, we both have CDL's)

Gas mileage--         6-8 towing,  10 without trailer

Like, love, hate---    Love the 5th wheel.  Semi for a tow vehicle is husbands choice.  Definitely feels safer. Sits higher to give more visibility, and of course more stopping power.

This is our perfect set up.   We started out with truck campers (  way too small )   moved up to a MH ( great for traveling but it sure had maintenance issues....always something in the powertrain  nickel dimming us from sitting inactive for months.)

Why haven't they fixed that 100 loop comfort station??  It was hot hot last winter and I thought someone had just set it too warm.  I can't imagine what it's like in the summer.  Has anyone called housekeeping and complained?  If its still too warm when we return this winter I'm gonna be speed dialing housekeeping several times a day complaining.  

Update!!  Yesterday, the carpet felt dry to the touch and seemed o.k.   This morning  I was down on my hands and knees crawling all over my carpet and I'm thrilled to say that I didn't find one spot sticky!!   Sure seems like the manufacture should put this warning and fix on the label of the plastic.   Perhaps RV dealers know about this cure?? One certainly hopes they treat the carpets before being sold.

You know the stuff I'm talking about.  All the RV dealers use it in the new campers to protect the carpet from  foot traffic.  I've seen it in hundreds of models on the RV lot.  I figured, if they use it.....it must be ok.   WRONG!!!   Over the past 37yrs we have owned just about every type of RV.  Truck camper, motorhome, and 5th wheels.   2yrs. ago we did something we'd never done before.   We bought a brand new....ordered through the factory 5th wheel.   We were thrilled and wanted to protect our "baby".   So, I put that plastic adhesive clear covering down.   When our vacation was over.....I removed  the plastic.  You know where I'm going here??  The carpet is now sticky!  Any dirt that got on it was gonna stick.  I'm not happy.  I called the local carpet cleaners out.  They told me...Yep....our hot water will clean that right out.  Ah...no, it didn't.  When the floor dried out it still felt tacky.  That was $75 wasted. 

It's my fault.  I put the plastic down,   Only thing I knew to do, was buy lots of throw rugs to cover it up.  Wasn't the best solution but, rugs, no shoes inside the camper, and diligent vacuuming kept the carpet clean for the next season.  

We've had the camper in to the dealer the last few weeks getting some warranty work done.  Obviously, the workers were not gonna treat my floor the way I had.  When we got the camper home and opened the slides the carpet in the dinning area was very, very dirty.  (they had worked on the ceiling in that area)  I didn't feel it was their fault.  I had made the mistake.   My husband knew how sick and upset I was at this point.   He called the manufacturer of the plastic and explained our problem.  We were instructed to have professional cleaners out again and they needed to pre-treat it with a citrus solvent.  Then the cleaners needed to use a hot water extraction.  

O.k.  I had a different company out this morning to do the above treatment. $85 this time.  The carpet "looks" clean, and smells wonderful but I have to wait a few days till its dry to see if it works.  Sorry for the long story....just wanted to let others know about my mistake and hopefully don't have to learn the hard way like I did .....TO NOT USE PLASTIC!

Susan

I was there in the mid 90's  I think the Japanese are very respectful in most cases.  They were very obviously absent back them.  I'm glade they now include the memorial as part of their tourist activities.

Visiting Pearl Harbor and the memorial is a very moving experience.  Thanks for bringing those memories back to me.  There are no words that I can use to describe how it feels to stand on that memorial over the ship and watch the oil bubble out.

Hawaii is a popular vacation destination for the Japanese.  They are everywhere on the islands.  Except for Pearl Harbor.   Nope, not one Japanese tourist did we see .

I've had one for several yrs.  Love it.  Wouldn't be without one.  I like my beverages to be ice cold .  Period.  Tried the refrigerator.....but all my produce was freezing by the time I got my adult beverages cold enough.  We spend 4 months every yr. in our RV.  So it made sense to buy an ice machine.  Mine come from Target.   Current price is around $159.  It goes on sale often for $139 or less!  Don't buy more expensive ones....as said before....they are all made by the same company....including the one camping world has for $299.  Now....the negatives.....It's noisy.  You hear the pump sucking in water, then the racket of the ice being dumped in to the bin.  Solution....our noise maker...I mean  icemaker sits outside .  Plan on a commitment.  It can take from 1 to 2 hrs. of making ice to cool the interior enough that the ice doesn't melt faster than producing.  However, once its cool, it will chug along making ice.  Be prepared to dump ice out of the bin and into your cooler every couple hrs. ....IF you want lots of ice. Also, plan on refilling with water after you dump.  I will run mine daily....never all day.  Its not necessary  to babysit the machine.  The ice will hold for a while once its full.  If you are gone for hours it will simply melt and when the level drops below "full" the machine will make another batch.  Another thing I've noticed about the light panel on the front.   It will light up when out of water or when the ice bin is full.  When you refill the water, or dump the ice it can take time for the computer to register that you've done this.  I'm talking 5 - 15 minutes .  Its not broke.  Its just slow.  Never overfill with water.  This confuses the machine and it will get stuck on fill cycle and won't make ice.  This has been my experience during the last 5 winters in Florida.

Thanks everyone!  Had a great day! Spending your birthday at the fort......doesn't get any better than that.

Carrot cake cookie is available at the Writers shop near the Muppets!

The price for the meals you are planning will be high.....both out of pocket or dining plan for 9 days.   Your restaurant choices include several buffets or all you can eat meals.   These are great choices!  However,  for us eating big heavy meals everyday would get old.   Our stomachs would need a break with lighter food.   For me,  I'd make reservations at many of the restaurants you chose but I'd do it out of pocket.   Some days you could eat light----maybe breakfast and a dinner of hot dogs or burgers at the RV or chicken take out dinner from Trails Inn at night.  This not only would lighten up your stomach but also the cost of eating at Disney. If paying out of pocket you have the option to cancel reservations and not be out of money( unless they are prepaid of course )

You know your family best....(big eaters daily? or not? )  Good luck with your decision!

Ok, I'm up from my nap so that I can make things magical for the crazies at MK until some ungodly hour in the morning.

 

On page 499 subsection 10, paragraph 3, in the SBD "making up his own rules as he goes along" official rule book, it clearly says that participants must have at least 29 posts in order to participate.

So drafthorsecrazy, my hands are tied, you're outta here.

Hmmmm....... since I haven't learned to read yet, I don't know what you are talking about

We were there for the leap day all nighter last year.  Here's a pick of my husband when we were leaving at 6:14am.

Have you considered the 7 day cruise around the islands? That's what we did several years ago. It's a different cruise line today......I believe its Norwegian now. It was a great way to experience 5 different islands without a lot of plane hopping or hotel switching. Rent a car on each island and see the sights. Second Mama's fish house after the road to Hana. Yes, I got car sick going to Hana but was ok coming back and the sights (waterfalls) were amazing. On the cruise ship we went by the volcano's after dark and seen the red lava flowing into the ocean. I would do the cruise again in a heartbeat. But.....please know that this cruise ship is no frills....it's basically just room, food, and transportation to the islands. You cruise at night and in the morning you are in port for a day of sightseeing. Good luck planning!!!!

Wow.....how have I missed this thread? We arrived Nov. 25th and leave Mar 3.

My first visit was over Christmas in 1980 with my DH and 8 month old son. We pulled in without a reservation and got a site! Try doing that today without reservations booked a year in advance.

Question for anyone who has made a Minnie lamp.....How do you attach the bow to her head? Double stick tape? Or?

Northern Pioneers group was formed just a couple yrs ago. I'm wondering if the CM was talking about the old winter settler rates? They were before my snowbird days. I believe snowbirds could lock in discounted rates for several years. Once those good ole days were over someone came up with the idea to form a club and get a group rate for those who want to spend more than 30 continuous days at FW.

We've stayed at Huntington Beach a couple of times. Nice quiet park. There are a couple different loops. One is open with lots of sun....the back loop has more trees and ground cover. Roads are paved, sites are gravel. Brand new shower house in the back loop. Can't beat the price for Myrtle Beach area. The MB state park is more centrally located---you also get to listen to the planes come and go from the airport next door. What I didn't like about MB state park was how tight the loops were. Lots and lots of trees to navigate also. Our rig is to big for those conditions.

We have Direct TV with a free standing dish. Have always been able to get a signal. Sometimes you have to be creative......bring lots of cable in case you have to set the dish a ways from your RV.

I don't have a forever mug. I will be filling my new mug with POP. Yep, add Ohioans to the list of pop drinkers.

We are currently in our "off season". AKA working hard all summer so we can play later. Come winter we will head to Florida and spend a week at Sebastian Inlet State Park, St. Lucie South COE park in Stuart Fl. for 12 days. We've never been to either of these campgrounds---Anyone have any experience with them? Christmas will find us in Fort Myers. Planning to celebrate the New Year at the Fort. Head back north sometime in March.