... so, YOU Think YOU'VE Travelled? ... HA!

As travellers, most of us probably believe driving a few thousand kms a year or passing through the borders of a couple of the world's countries in any given year is impressive.

On the other hand ... NASA's HMS Challenger, launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida ... flew 10 missions, spent just 62 days in space and travelled approximately 41.5 MILLION kms in that time! That translates into almost 670, 000 kms / day and they accomplished all that in space!

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!!!