Even though our last location at Magnolia Trace RV Park was seen and felt by us as paradise, we had to move again. Dieter had too much to work to keep our trailer clean. Loads of Oak leaves on the roof, brown stains and run-offs....and invasion of all kind of wood critters, the big spiders topped all those. We were parked directly underneath old huge oak trees - agains all principles we had over the last 20 years to be parked underneath open skies. It has been a hard decision after living there for 13 months. We had very nice neighbors - left and right - and our landlords treated us like family! But both men understood our move. Dieter is 85 and I am 82. Who knows how long we will be able to work so hard as we had to now. We moved the trailer on June 1st, big items the next and over-next day in the truckbed, including treated lumber boards to put again underneath the 6 wheels to minimize sinking deeper in the Florida soil and stabilize the unit. On June 4st Dieter hooked the trailer onto the truck again, moved straight up, so we could place the boards into the wheel imprints...then back again. Hurray! All was even and went well. Then came - of course - all connecting again. We also enjoy now a new awning, which was installed before we left. The old one was 19 years old and not useful anymore. Today we were connected via secure cable to the internet again. Wonderful !! You should see us mowing around doing housework and laying hands on the new lot. Every step we take we have to think of first. This tiredness will hold on for some time..... Our new address is: Dieter and Karin Bartsch, 35120 State Road 54 # 61, Zephyrhills, FL 33541. Phone numbers did not change. Our Park is Zephyr Palms RV Park and is also surrounded by trees, but this time we have open skies above. The sun is intense and our air conditioner has to work a little more - but we are used to it during our active travels. Underneath some pictures. Keep in mind that all the "snowbirds" are in the northern states right now and return with their RV's in fall. You will also notice that our trailer is very sunny inside now. It was nice to look directly into the dense woods, but we had to have the light turned on all day. The oak tree you see in the first picture is located at the other side on our street about 50 foot away.
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1.) Wooden deck is preserved now with Water Seal ( color Cedar)
2.) Our lot # 7 3.) View onto the woods 4.) View over our left shoulder when we sit on the deck. Looks like paradise, yes?? The weather changed lately, so, we can sit longer outside. We might have to wear jackets in the morning hours, but we don't have to sweat anymore. Dieter washed the entire trailer last week, first day the roof and the other 2 days the sides. He adds "Wash 'n Wax" to the water, so the unit has a smooth shine, even though the trailer is 17 years old. Meantime the green table was spray-painted. All looks good now. Beginning of September 2017 the predicted path of a hurricane changed into a direction which included entire Florida.
We thought that we can stay in our trailer and be safe. Our Fifth Wheel trailer is heavy ( 18000 pounds) and is built low over the ground. We went shopping for water, milk and other necesseties. Our refrigerators/freezers switch over to propane automatically in case the Electric goes out. Landfall was predicted during the night from Sept. 10th to the next day. On Saturday the 9th the news told us that the strength of the hurricane would be terrible and would set new records and the center would lead directly over our area. My stance changed from being strong to feeling jittery...... I said to Dieter: We are going into a shelter. He said nothing, just nodded. Frantically I put things together to live in a Middle School 5 miles away from us - - that included of course our cat Ellie. We took the folded cage with us and her carpet and bowls and food, and she was put into her carrier. I did not know whether we would be fed or what our sleeping spot would look like. We took our bed covers and pillows and a big ice chest....and left with our truck. We found out that the way from the parked truck into the office to register was very long and our load was heavy. Then we were told we need to register Ellie first and need all her papers. Dieter drove back and got those. The registration of the cat took a long time, many had a pet or two with them. Cats and dogs were in a room together ( far away from us in another building) and the noise level from barkings was so high pitched that my ears started to hurt. Poor Ellie...... Then we both registered ourselves and by being led into our classroom we found out that everyone had to bring their own lounge chair or something to sleep on. Dieter drove back the second time and grabbed an extra cover and blankets, so we could sleep on the floor. He also brought my old folding camping chair I like to sit on. He sat on a simple folding chair. By that time at 10 PM we were terribly tired and some bones in our bodies were screaming. Lights were dimmed and TV ran almost without a tone. But it was too loud to sleep, people were laughing and talking and going back and forth to the restrooms. 25 people were guests in "our" classroom. Overall the school sheltered about 1000 people. Snacks were dispensed at mealtimes and coffee in the morning started the Sunday. It was raining and very stormy outside. We were allowed looking at the pets. Ellie was quiet and just looked at us. She did not eat or drink anything and she had not much room in her cage, the litterbox was a little too big for the size of her cage. We petted her and left. The following night we heard the howling of the storm outside. Nobody was allowed to open a door. The next morning we were free to gather our things and our pet, sign out the cat and ust and leave. The weather allowed driving, even though it was still very stormy. How would our trailer be??? Our truck was fine. Our trailer was fine also!! No damage at all, just debris from the trees and lots of leaves. Our park has a wonderful sheltered location and suffered no material loss. Old big oak trees brake the wind. Boy, we were relieved, but our stress level needed time to deal with that experience. Dieter had lots of work to bring everything back in order. Instead of copying a lot, I give you the link to this information.
I looked into the info today to learn about the elevation of the city, which is important when it comes to flooding ( Texas is in the middle of Hurricane Harvey now...). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zephyrhills,_Florida The pictures I posted on 95/06/2017 showed almost bare trees and almost no lawn because of the dryness following the last winter. Here are the latest ones:....The plant clinging to our awning tie-down rope enhances the scenery...
Size of it: 18' x 7.6' .
Owl in foreground: Good-Bye Gift from our friend and neighbor Phyllis in Bushnell. She painted the owl. Lately Dieter cannot help me with taking a picture ( my hands are shaky when I want to be precise - - ) because he cannot see clearly. He was diagnosed last month with AMD ( Age-related Macular Disease) and gets injection treatments. It took me a longer time and about 4 deletions to get this one fairly good, very frustrating. When it will be "roll-over time" for a new cellphone next year, I think I have to give in and get a smartphone, it will be easier on my hands because my Kodak Camera is heavy and I have to push the button down from above. And the picture to be taken will be clearly seen in a bigger size, including better lighting. when we look to our right.......... ....when we look to our left....
The impression is that we have the entire RV Resort for ourselves.... The grass is very dry right now, the rains will correct that in the Florida summer to come - - hopefully! Picture 1 :
This is a "Snip" from Google Earth - but not a current one. The red marker indicates the office of the owners. We are located at the left side of the road in the view. The loop road goes all the way up to the rim of the woods. Magnolia Trace RV Park has 30 sites - and it is a natural marvel. The mixed and wild wood around us looks like a safety belt, which might be appreciated sometimes, when a storm is on the way. Trees brake the wind...... Picture 2 : Sofar we avoided being parked underneath trees for several safety reasons, but this time the need to have more shade as aged outdoor persons won. It will save us a couple of dollars on the electric bill ( air conditioner ), for sure. And Dieter and our cat Ellie can sit outside more often. We could have rented a wider lot, but that also means more wind when it is windy and more leaf raking work , and I do like the feeling of a firm perimeter. The trailer across from our entrance area gives us west wind protection and more shade after 7 PM and it is eye-friendly to look at. The paint of it is mustard and allows us to look at it without needing sun glasses. Picture 3 : We do not pull in our awning sunshades in the summer, the passing breezes are beneficial. In the wintertime we might need it when the air is cold sometimes. Picture 4 : This picture shows you the work Dieter did by building a wooden patio and wooden steps to the trailer in Bushnell. The steps making a big difference, more stability. With these I can "hop up" and go down quickly without looking like I need assistance....Dieter has already plans in his head to double the patio. We will make some improvements month by month or how we will feel at that time. Picture 5 : From the back to our Alfa Fifth Wheel to the woods we are talking about 3,5 meters or about 10 foot we have as a "back yard". And this picture gives you an idea, how the Florida sun is always penetrating dense woods to the point of making those looking beautiful. By the way: we have birds around in big numbers, to the delight of our cat. We have so many windows around that she can race from one to another to watch these birds. Picture 6 : When we look out of the big windows opposite the entrance area, we have this wonderful view. Our neighbors ( Ellie is a born German ) created this paradise here with so many flower varieties, this pic gives you just a partial view - we love it, it is a feast for the eyes. You can expect updates - new posts - when things get updated here with us or when the opportunity is good..... Please, you can make comments to this post. Thank you for your attention! |
Author : Karin
I love to write and work on my websites. The computer is a fascinating and useful tool. Archives
May 2021
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