GEAR REVIEW: Montague Crosstown Folding Bikes

We've ridden more than 700 kilometres on these new bikes, so now is likely an appropriate time to do a realistic review.

But, before I do that ... let me Review My Riding Performance on this bike, by recounting yesterdays' real-life experience. 

Downtime

We can't be busy every day all day ... 

Up late, still catching up on a couple of previous, past midnight nights at music concerts in Clearwater. We're not old yet, just older ... any 'partying' time after 9:00 pm takes us days to recuperate. For lunch today ... a big bowl of 'really good' homemade clam chowder at the Turtle Beach Pub and Grill across the street from the campground. We welcomed the hot chowder, it's a little cooler now (high of 18C @ midday) ... brrr!, not Canadian brrr ... just, Florida brrr!

SERIES Truck Camper Life - PART 2: Necessary Skills & Mandatory Rules

ONE HUNDRED & THIRTY FOUR SQUARE FEET

Yup, that's what I said ... 134 square feet!

Our house is for sale. Once it's sold, our plan is to travel for an extended period of time. We've compiled a bucket list that includes several international trips, but additionally, a portion of our intended travel will be in this truck camper we call LOAF. We've completed road trips in the past of nearly 5 continuous months, but we've never tested ourselves beyond that. During this current trip we are focusing on and trying to identify any issues that could affect the overall enjoyment of a major lifestyle change like this ... do we have enough space to live comfortably, will we get bored, can we get along in such a small space, can we stay fit and healthy, will we miss family and friends, is LOAF road-worthy, properly outfitted, safe & secure? There are many questions that we need to answer.

Discovering Stink Bugs, Ghost Ants and Other Strange Things

A fall trip to beautiful Taylor Ranch near Asheville, North Carolina to attend Overland Expo East introduced us to many different 'overland' topics.  We heard discussions on whether or not to bribe border guards, how to travel safely, how not to get arrested in Russia, we saw Tigers, Unimogs, Earth Roamers and a variety of other vehicles, BUT the one thing that really stuck with us was our introduction to the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Insectus Odorous), affectionately called simply "Stink Bug". 

LIVE at the CAPITOL Theatre

We'll only be staying here for 3 nights this time around. Just long enough to attend a couple of music concerts in nearby Clearwater ... (my Entertainment Coordinator made these bookings months ago, she wears many hats!) We'll be seeing Lucinda Williams and her backup band Buick 6 one night and then the David Bromberg Quintet the next night. We've rented a car for the drive ... a little easier than wandering around the downtown area of Clearwater after dark with LOAF.

Raise the Jacks and Disconnect the Stinky Slinky

... inspected, serviced, maintained, aired, cleaned, waxed, polished, updated.

It's a lot of work you know ... this business of offloading and then re-loading a truck camper. I suppose that's why this post became a bit of a diatribe ... and, I'm sorry about that!

SERIES Truck Camper Life - PART 1: Can You Make Gourmet Meals In A Truck Camper

Cooking in a 'wee' kitchen is always a bit of a challenge.  It takes imagination, organization, planning and patience.

Challenge #1 - Storing 'Stuff'.  

With a refrigerator of only 5 cu. feet (vs. your house fridge of between 18-30+ cu. feet), things must be bought in small quantities.  So, you don't buy for the week, you buy for the next day or two.  End result - a healthier lifestyle, you are always eating the freshest ingredients.  It also means less of the common fridge game "Oops Leftovers" better known as 'guess what this green fuzzy thing was'?  The downside is your costs increase and you are forced to buy the tiniest jar of mayo, pickles .... you get the picture.

Cycling In The Naples Area and Beyond

We stayed here for more than a month, and we rode most days, for groceries or other shopping. Additionally, we used the bikes for some sight-seeing trips and several training rides in excess of 20 kms.

Naples, Florida is a busy city and vehicle traffic flows along very quickly. It's also a city that provides numerous opportunities for cycling in wide bike lanes and on several bike paths. Unfortunately, the municipality has not compiled a definitive Bike Route Map and made it available to the cycling community.

Cast - Stroke - Unload - Haul - Shoot

CURRENT LOCATION: Rock Creek RV Resort, Naples, FL, USA

We signed up for a 1/2 days instruction with Captain Ken Chambers who runs a fly fishing and light tackle instructional guiding service out of Naples. Our trip was into the 10,000 Islands, just off Calusa Island. We have both wanted to learn this skill for sometime now and it’s not something that is easy to do on your own, either by reading a book or watching a video. 

... explaining the details.

Fuel Cost Comparison

Since leaving Ontario on November 09, 2014, we've driven 

3712 kms and had 14 fuel fill-ups ... 

We use Fuelly.com to track and monitor our driving economy. Our statistics combine driving with and without the Lance camper loaded ... but mostly with the camper on. Don't forget ... the Lance adds nearly 4000# to our overall weight and has a noticeable affect on our fuel economy. This does not compare to ...  'just throwing a couple of tennis rackets or a bag of wine into the back of your Prius'! ... and, then becoming outraged because you lost a km or two / litre in fuel economy!!!

Feral Pig Scat, Orchids and a Corkscrew

CURRENT LOCATION: Rock Creek RV Resort, Naples, FL, USA

Walk   Stop   Sit 

Look   Listen   Smell

SEE      HEAR     TASTE     

OBSERVE     UNDERSTAND     APPRECIATE 

Rookery Bay Reserve

We spent time at the education centre here and it was worthwhile. We also walked some of the trail system that begins at the centre. 

The photo below is typical of the landscape for this complete trail system. There's lots of signage WARNING of Feral Pigs in the area. We passed many places where they had been rooting for food and numerous Scat Piles, but didn't see any!

KAYAKING: Rivers, A Creek and Mangroves, Florida

CURRENT LOCATION: Rock Creek RV Resort, Naples, FL, USA

If you're a kayaker, you won't be disappointed by what the Naples area has to offer for day-trip paddling opportunities.

Blackwater River, Collier-Seminole State Park

There’s an informal paddling group here at Rock Creek and we’ve connected with them for this daytrip. We did about 12 kilometres on the Blackwater River today ... left Naples around 10 am and returned by 3:30 pm ... maybe 3.5 hours on the water. There is a longer loop possible here but we didn’t paddle it due to the tidal effect.  We got as far as the Old Grove location just west of Mud Bay. I had read reviews of this trip that described an abundance of wildlife, but we did not encounter it. If anything, we saw very little ... a couple of Osprey, some Anhinga, a couple of dozen flying Mullet, 2 Wood Storks and a half dozen or so other waterfowl. Regardless, it was a nice paddle ... they always are!

The Put-In at Collier-Seminole State Park ...

LOAF Unplugged and Leavened

CURRENT LOCATION: Rock Creek RV Resort, Naples, FL, USA

LOAF Unplugged and Leavened 

... separated from himself, made lighter (by about 4000 pounds) and lowered more than 4 feet.

The procedure took about 3 hours. Most of that time was devoted to offloading boats from the camper roof and then reloading them onto the truck's roof. Kayak rollers and saddles had to be removed from the camper roof bars and re-installed on Thule bars and towers that we were carrying inside the truck bed for the road trip. The actual removal of the camper from the truck only takes about 1/2 an hour. Mechanical camper services were lengthened slightly but left connected for the process. 

Happy Holidays and Welcome 2015

CURRENT LOCATION: Rock Creek RV Resort, Naples, FL, USA

Seasons Greetings One and All!                                              

Tis' Christmas Eve and we are sitting snuggly warm in LOAF (actually 27 C (or 80+ F)), so in reality we have the AC running. We turned it up to HIGH hoping to generate some snowflakes to make us feel like we're at home (NOT!).  We have been enjoying amazing weather with lots of opportunity to cycle, walk, swim and kayak.  Have eaten enough local, fresh fish to sink some ships.  Christmas dinner will be more ... fresh fish shish kebabs!  Since we didn't have an opportunity to send out Christmas cards we decided to make our first 'selfie video'.  Hope you enjoy it.  All the best to everyone, stay healthy and happy, have a wonderful 2015.  

Love Crusty and Wry

Wry reporting ...

The Escapee

This very odd fellow pulled into the campground last night, directly across from us, driving a brand new, sparkly clean and detailed, $65k Cadillac. 

CAMPING REVIEW: Nine Nights On and Around Siesta Key

CURRENT LOCATION: Turtle Beach Campground, Siesta Key, FL, USA

We broke camp early this morning ... all in preparation for service on the Ford’s power steering system. We got in to AutoNation in St. Petersburg by 10:30 and we were out by 12:30 with repairs completed (a new high pressure, power steering hose installed), then lunch at the PoFolks franchise (don’t bother, everythng is deep fried, soggy veggies, tasteless breads), then groceries & supplies and on the road to the Turtle Beach Campground by 1:30. Our camp set-up was completed by 4:00 pm, a quick beach recon, some happiness hour at a pub across the street from the CG and then back at our camper by 5:00 pm. All, just in time for a simply superb SUNSET, on the beach.

 I KNOW we’ll be content here for the next nine nights ... obviously WRY will!

I Wonder If MAE Will Ever ... Pass Herself ?

CURRENT LOCATION: Turtle Beach Campground, Siesta Key, FL, USA

MAE has been a welcome companion in several adventures in our lives and she also features prominently in this travel blog.  

We were fortunate to travel with her and 'The Duke' to Canada's Atlantic provinces, to northern Canada a couple of times and into Alaska and also to the southern USA. Here, on our blog, you can find her in About / MAE and also in Maps / MAEandering 

Arctic Circle, Dempster Highway, YT

CAMPING REVIEW: Fort De Soto County Park, FL

CURRENT LOCATION: Fort De Soto County Park, Tierra Verde, FL, USA

We leave here in two days, so I suppose it's time for a review of the area. 

We’ve camped here a few times now, over a number of trips to Florida in the winter months ... it has a lot to offer. The community of Tierra Verde is just north of the park by a few kilometres. Tierra Verde features medium to high end condominium complexes and several residential neigbourhoods with multi-million dollar waterfront and canal homes. However, Ft De Soto CP is far enough away from these residential areas to still maintain (by Florida standards) a reasonable amount of quiet. Just north of Tierra Verde are the beachfront communities of St. Petersburg, Madeira Beach, Indian Shores, Treasure Island and Pasa Grille ... all very busy. Several local, nearby restaurants specialize in fresh-caught, local fish ... there are many, but ... food at the Salt Rock Grill is exceptional & Billy’s Stonecrab, Seafood & Steaks offers good food for reasonable prices.

OPINION: Less Stuff, More Life

YOU'VE ALL SEEN US ...

We're the Travellers, the Campers and the Road Trippers, we're the RV'ers and the Overlanders ... 

We drive slowly and we change lanes slowly ... 'cause we hafta'. We're big, long, high and heavy. We're difficult to manoeuver and hard to corner, we're slow to climb hills and slower still to descend them, we're often over-loaded and ... we all trailer or haul TOYS!

This Sure Beats The Snow

Well, Florida is busy BUT it's warm and offers an endless array of outdoor activities - in November!  

We've decided that this life is 'pretty good', living in LOAF - 5 minutes of house cleaning, cozy, music, DVDs, good food, good wine, everything we absolutely need.