Long time

Been a bit over a month since my last post, I have been busy moving to the campground and getting things settled and setup for the season. I bought my daughter a trailer that is sitting right behind my trailer, a older Prowler travel trailer complete with deck and shed and most importantly a beer fridge for her boyfriend and the times that I wander over.

This is working out real well, instead of the daughter and her boyfriend coming up and sitting on my deck and making a mess, they now have their own place. Big big bonus, is when the granddaughters come up, they can stay overnight in their trailer. I get to spoil them and then send them home some twenty feet away.

So I inspected the trailer and did all the component checks and it all works, no leaks and at some time in it's history someone had retiled the floor and redid the roof. The daughter painted the deck and cleaned up and they have a great little spot to spend the summer, beats hanging around a apartment with no air conditioning in Mississauaga.

I bought the trailer and the boyfriend paid the seasonal campground fee, he wants to pay me for the trailer, but I told him it's okay, I am getting just as much enjoyment as you guys are.

I have another fifth wheel, a 93 Jayco with a large slide out, that I sold to my buddy last year but he has failed to pay for it. I had tried getting it back earlier this year and was going to put the kid in that one. Still trying to locate the Jayco and my buddy. Real impressive eh.

Weather has been kinda up and down, yesterday morning there was frost on the windshield, and the weekends lately have been windy and cool, this weekend coming is supposed to be nice, maybe I will get back out on the boat.

So a recession or depression is ongoing, and yet, there is at least 10 brand new trailers in our park and another half dozen that have upgraded to almost new trailers. On top of this, many people in the park have been laid off or at least had their hours cut, a couple of families have had both mom and dad loose their jobs. So go figure. All the people that I talk with, are making the best of it and just trying to survive as best they can.

We have been slow in the shop, I have picked up some work but overall we are down at least 50 % and now it is just me and one guy in the shop. Earlier this month and last month I have been feeling down, due to all that is going on. It was this week that I sort of pulled up my pants and started to think about all the good things in my life. The good things far outweigh the bad and although this is a bad year for business and money is tight, I am still enjoying life and moving ahead very slowly.

Because of our lifestyle, our personal living expenses are damn near nil. So we are in a great position to whether out the economic storm. Instead of worrying about paying a ton of bills every month like most people have to face, I downgraded my choice of beer to Lakeport Lite, and I am saving 10 bucks a case. lol. We are also trying to limit all our trips with the Explorer, getting everything done in one trip. Why the wife has to make three or four trips to WallyWorld everyday is a big mystery to me.

I have found a piece of property up in Northern Ontario that is ideal. In between North Bay and Sudbury, about three acres with a well built 16 by 40 shed on it, driveway already installed as well as a cleared area, lots of room for a big fifth wheel. On a county serviced road and hydro at the entrance to the property. All this for 9500.00. I am still sitting on it and pondering?????? Thought the already built shed is a real good idea, to hold my 1500 gallon water tank??? maybe some tools etc. I would have to go into debt with the bank to swing it though.
http://northbay.kijiji.ca/c-housing-other-Priced-to-sell-W0QQAdIdZ129114464
Theres the listing if anyone is interested.

I can't move up there till another 3 to 5 years as I have a 14 year old at home still. It's also just far enough away, that going for a weekend trip would be too far.

It took six months before I could get the wife to let me bring the dogs into the trailer, see, persistence pays off. We bought this trailer after our last trailer burned down and the first thing that came out of her was, there will be no dogs in the trailer. ha lol. They have been keeping fairly clean anyhow, and I have been taking them down to the lake in the campground for a swim, and that cleans them up pretty good. Problem is the carpet in the trailer, especially the kitchen area, I would really like to take it out and just have tiles or linoleum. It's a high traffic area and the carpet gets killed.

We were sitting over at the daughters having a campfire and the dogs were with me, then around 10 pm, they went and wandered back over to our trailer and wanted in to go to sleep. They rarely sleep during the day, but come bed time, they have had enough.

I should get some pics together this weekend and post em.

We can't get a wireless signal at the campground, last year I got one although very weak. As it turned out the wimax modem for internet at the shop went down, the modem failed and I am waiting for a replacement from Bell. I did take the modem to the campground to see if it would work there, but I was too far away from the tower. I ended up with a Bell Stick that plugs into your usb port and works off the cell network on a 3g system. Well this works very well and even plays you tube video with no problems. Cheap too, 30 bucks a month and you get the stick on a contract for two years, free. Otherwise the stick is somewhere around 400.00. I use it here at the shop all day and then take it home and plug it into the laptop. the wife and kid go do their thing.

We spent 8 grand at Rogers video over the last three years. Wow, we are the top renters in our town. Now does that not sound a little excessive?????? What burns me though, is that most of the movies that they put out now, are simply garbage and most of the time I get half way through one, and either fall asleep or become non interested and shut the damn thing off. I ordered a movie and it cost me over 30 bucks, I thought it was going to be a good movie, called My Winnipeg, as I lived in Winnipeg for years, and this movie was also a top choice at the Toronto Film Festival. After waiting over 45 days to get the movie, I watched it and it was just a complete utter waste of money, so much in fact, that I was looking for any type of a email address on the packaging where I could write and complain.

So we are looking at getting Bell sattelite, which we had years ago and did not like. But I don't like spending what were spending at Rogers Video more. Figure the system is around 100.00 and then 40 per month or thereabouts. I am pretty handy with sat systems, so setting up and getting a signal is a no brainer for me. But, what I might consider, is the VuQube dish, just set it on the ground where it can see the southern sky, and locate and lock onto your signal from inside the camper via remote control? Also looks alot nicer than a dish hanging off yer trailer or on the property.

I also miss all the documentary and history channels too. Hopefully I can delete the channels that carry Oprah and Dr Phil lol. My buddy in the campground is working on the digital antenna system, he brought the converter box over to my trailer last weekend and we hooked it up and with my onboard antenna, I got six channels super clear. If we were at the shop as we are in the winter months, we would get 19 channels of clear digital tv with 5.1 sound all for free. Good channels too. Converter is about 55-85 bucks. At any rate, my buddy went back to his trailer and the antenna up around 20 feet and all he could get was one channel, the CBC, my personal favorite. This weekend he is putting up a homemade tower and going close to forty feet to see if that helps.

A couple of weeks ago my buddy brough over his free to air sat system, we wanted to watch the UFC fight on the Saturday night. So I checked out the system and it costs around 650.00 for two recievers as we have two tv's in the trailer. Problem with that is sometimes you can get zapped and then have to go on the internet and download a new file to enter into the reciever so that the signal can be rebooted. Well I did that 10 or so years ago with Direct Tv and got real tired of having to go all through that to save under a hundred a month. One day it went down twice.

My beer fridge has been working overtime ever since we got into the campground. Everyone there drinks daily and lately so have I. I'm good for about 6 beers before I have had enough but have been known to pound back a 24 of Coors Lite. Looking at 50 now, and sure can't carry on like I used to, probably a good thing too.

My buddy is down in New York State for a weeks holiday, he sent me some pics of the campsite he is on







Pretty disgusting eh, look at him pretending he is enjoying himself. Too bad the only site you could get was right on the water and look at all those trees you have to look at. And the sun, I can see why your under the awning, man I sure am glad I'm not there. Thank the good lord, there is no ladies in bikinis wandering around the lake and beach, like a guy needs to look at that kinda stuff. Yea I am a little envious, looks like your having a fine time Bill.

Well thats about all for today, will get some pics up later.