Making Prince Edward County home and getting ready for Florida once more

Last blog mentioned the fact that we seem to be growing roots here. Well it's now official: we're definitely coming back!

We were lucky enough to inherit a huge deck from a neighbour who was leaving and had to dismantle his deck in order to move his trailer out. He offered us the deck free of charge if we were willing to take it apart. It was a no brainer! The deck measures 10' x 24'. It needs a good cleaning and re-staining but it is solid and will look great once done over. We were extremely lucky to get the help of two of my new friends, Jim & Jerry, who helped us figure out how to take the deck apart and then helped us move each 8' section to its new location. I rewarded their efforts with each a nice bottle of rye which is their preferred drink. Jim & Jerry (doesn't it sound like a comedy act?) are neighbours in the annual section of the park and have become best buddies. They often can be seen in their "Cozy Corner", a picnic table with umbrella, drinking and discussing the finer things in life (or more probably talking about sports and tools).

The new patio

Before the deck

Our "new" deck

We love our deck! We find that we spend more time sitting outside than before. It feels cozier than being on ground level. We'll miss it in Florida.

I have made several friends in the park as I walk the dog at least once a day and take her to the lake. I have been invited to have a glass of wine several times at all times of the day. There doesn't seem to be a 5 o'clock rule here.

I got some perennials flowers from my friend Helene and they turned out beautiful! Some gorgeous lilies and obedient plants that were supposed to be low daisies. I might have to move those elsewhere next spring.

The Piping Plover pair on the beach did have a clutch of babies but all babies were eaten by foxes or other predators. So sad! Hoping they'll be back next year and have better luck.

The lone little cygnet that I photographed on the last blog also didn't make it. The pair was seen without baby in tow a few days after the pictures were taken. Nature can be cruel. 

We kept wanting to go to the beach to see the sunset but time kept zooming by and we still hadn't done it. Well, finally, we got our act together and saw the most beautiful sunset! It was an unusual warm evening for the end of September and people were still enjoying the water and the beach at 7:00 pm. We've been blessed with gorgeous warm fall days this year.

How can we not like this place when, right on the main road ahead of us, we have a nice horse-drawn carriage? This company is available for different occasions and were seen in the tourist town of Wellington. (Pictures taken from our vehicle).

The water finally receded in October and we got our beaches back! What a joy to be able to walk along the water further and see our old favorite spots. We always feel so blessed to have those beaches just minutes away from our home. I love seeing and hearing the water and breathing the pure air coming from the big lake. It's not salted air but it's very similar to being on the ocean. Our little Cheeka finally got brave enough to get into the water! What a good girl! She actually enjoyed it and romped in and out of the water with a smile on her face.

This is Cheeka guarding the deck at the beach.

On the Crown land side of the beach, there was a tree that was adorned with all kinds of shells that probably got lodged there in the big flood. It looked so cool, almost like a Christmas tree.

When the North Beach Provincial Park closes for the season, that is when all dog owners come to enjoy the beach and let their dogs run off-leash and enjoy the water. We love bringing our beach chairs over and just sit and enjoy the surroundings. On one of those visits I spotted a bird that looked like a Piping Plover but after a closer look, it wasn't quite the same. That bird was a Semi-Palmated Plover which we had never seen before. Another discovery!

Needless to say that we are very much enjoying this part of the country. I got to visit my beautiful grandchildren a few times and they came to visit a few times which still isn't enough but I'll take what I can. I love, love being with them and also the company of my son and my daughter-in-law. We're very much hoping that we can have William for an extended visit next summer. He's getting older and bolder and has been saying he would like to come and stay with us for a while. Keeping our fingers crossed that he won't back down when comes the time.

I had the surprise visit from my best friend Joanne with whom I have been friends for 60 years! Her sister Helene is also a good friend of mine. We enjoyed our time together and it was nice for me to be with people with whom I can really be myself and express my opinions without being judged.

Helene, Joanne and I

Joanne and I

The three amigos (I see here that I'm the shortest)

My brother and his wife also surprised us with a nice visit. Pierre is showing a lot of interest in life in a trailer but Rejeanne is not quite ready. Hurry up so we can travel together!

To get ready for our travels through Florida, we took the truck for an oil change and a multi-point inspection. It turned out that the wheel bearings in the back were worn out and had to be changed. It was a hefty cost but so much worth it to prevent a breakdown on the road! We're taking the trailer for wheel bearing and brake inspection tomorrow. Meanwhile, we've been doing what we can to prep the trailer for the trip. We emptied and flushed our hot water tank and replaced the anode rod. I don't think it had ever been done. Lots of sediment came out of that tank! The anode rod was eaten away and needed replacing.

The old rod compared to a new one.

We keep learning as we go which I find so interesting and satisfying. I love it when we can do maintenance ourselves. We also sanitized our fresh water tank and water lines. It's very easy to do with some bleach. I also finally cleaned the awning which gets streaked with black lines from rolling up when wet. I used Spray Nine which worked really well. What a difference! Should have done it way earlier! We've been busy but soon we'll be driving down to sunny Florida! We've booked campsites until December. The big question is: will we be able to back up the trailer close to the deck next spring?

Cheeka says "Bye for now"

Growing roots in Prince Edward County

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Who knew that when we booked a seasonal site at Bay Meadows in Consecon (Prince Edward County) that we would totally fall in love with the area? PEC, as it is known around here, is an amalgamation of several towns/cities, most of them located along Lake Ontario. Is it because living near water brings the best in people that everyone we meet is sooooo nice? I think it has a positive effect on most. So living here is very pleasant to say the least.

As most of you know, we are having the worst summer EVER! Thank God for the unending bird songs that keep us entertained every day although it is sometimes frustrating to hear the birds but not see them. I have spotted some interesting birds right out of my window. For example, a Northern Flicker which I had never seen before, just happened to be on the lawn. I shot the picture through the window screen.

                                   


I also saw a beautiful young cardinal in the large tree in front of our trailer. Cardinals have a very special meaning for me. They are said to appear when a departed loved one wants to manifest their presence. When my dear cousin passed away (she was the older sister I never had), Glen and I were walking along Lake Ontario in Burlington when a cardinal landed on a bench. It then flew to the ground where it lingered for a while (making sure we could see him). It was weird since cardinals are normally but a fleeting blur of red that can't be easily photographed or seen. I turned to Glen and said very confidently: "my cousin passed away, the cardinal is a sign." About 10 minutes later her brother called me to tell me the sad news. Since then, when I see a cardinal that seems to want my attention, I say hi to my cousin and thank her for visiting. Am I crazy? Maybe. But it gives me joy to think that she is still around and travels along with me.

We have also witnessed young Canada Goose families strutting by the water in the bay and have watched the babies grow from cute little fluff balls to miniature replicas of their parents. There is also a pair of swans that had 6 babies but are down to only one. A woman whose house is right by the water told me she saw a snapping turtle bite and eat a small cygnet. So sad...

The water has been very high this year and it doesn't seem to subside very fast. Our lovely long beach is practically non-existent and to top it all off, a pair of Piping Plovers decided to nest on the best piece of beach we have and the authorities have completely barred off that area from the public as these birds are on the endangered list and are quite rare. We got to see one of them the day before they put up fences and barricades and were lucky enough to get a few pictures. I really hope to get to see and photograph babies but it will be pure chance as we can't get near the nest at all.

We have explored the area a little more than last fall when we spent 1 1/2 month here and have discovered some treasures. First and foremost, a very small general store in Consecon sells wine and beer! Yeah! Seriously, we went to our local library which is housed in a 200-year-old church building. A large stain-glass window still presides over the building behind where the altar would be. It is now a nice sitting area with comfortable chairs. Of course, the librarians are super nice and we can even borrow an internet hub for 7 days and get super good internet! Wow! Also, our friend told us about Point Petre and the Bird Observation station where they band migratory birds in the spring and Sawhett owls in the fall. It's a beautiful area where many different bird species can be seen.

Yellow Warbler

Rufus-sided Towhee

Common Merganser pair

I have also started painting on wood that we find on the beach. It's turned out to be quite original and my paintings are now in three stores in the area. All three store owners liked my work and thought it should sell well. One of them asked for more when I brought the three pieces I had left. I am painting mostly birds (I have no idea why) and am painting in a very different style than I did before. It's like someone else takes over when I paint. I never quite know how it's going to turn out until it's finished and I step back and think: "it's not bad at all".

I have also gathered my courage and joined aqua fitness on weekday mornings. It's a one-hour workout that leaves me feeling refreshed and ready to attack the day. I'm also playing darts on Friday nights. I remember playing darts with my brother in the basement of our home in Hull and that is the only time I played. Well, the darts don't go where I'm actually aiming but they seem to land in good enough sections of the board that I achieve good scores. It's a lot of fun and everyone is very encouraging.

We have a friend who lives 25 minutes from here. It's really nice to spend some time with her and do other things than hiking with the dog. We have changed our mailing address to be at her place as it's more convenient for us to pick it up there. Send me an email if you want our new address.

We're still farther away from my family than I wished we would be but we would never find a better place closer at this price level.

As we're gearing to go back to Florida again this winter, Glen found work to beef up our finances a little bit and pay some bills that popped up (like new brakes on the truck). He's working night shifts which are a bit of a disturbance of my schedule but he likes it as we can still do things together in the afternoon and he can enjoy the nice weather when it's here. The rain has been pretty consistent so we had to get loads of gravel to fill in the hole we had at the door that kept our carpet wet and smelly. It's much better now. We also acquired for a very good price, some patio stones from neighbours who have sold their house and are leaving at the end of the month. So we built a nice patio where we will put the table, chairs, and umbrella we're also getting from them. It's starting to look like we live here!

It is nice to not be traveling so much but I'm sure once fall comes upon us we'll be ready to move south again.

How much did it cost to spend 6 months in sunny Florida?

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We did it! We spent the whole winter in Florida! It was a blast! We didn't see a speck of snow and avoided the really cold days of Canadian winters by leaving October 31st and returning May 1st (OK, this year May 1st was less than balmy but still, there was no snow). But how much did it cost?

Well, the camping was cheap. We had paid for a zone pass from Thousand Trails for $445 US before leaving. The pass was on sale and they seem to have deals throughout the year. On top of it, when I called to buy the pass the lady on the phone asked me where we would spend most of our time and I told her Florida. So, since there are only three Thousand Trails campgrounds in Florida, she gave us access to six Encore campgrounds in Florida making our stay even more pleasant. So for the time we were away we could stay at any of the assigned campgrounds for our zone for free for 90 days and then pay the ridiculously low price of $3/day and as we later discovered, free at the Encore properties.

The zone pass lets you stay as long as two weeks at a time after which you have to get out of the system for one week. At first we weren't sure how to find free camping for that week so we stayed at a state park and a national forest. But then we discovered all the free campsites available through the Florida Water Management and the Wildlife Management and we didn't pay for camping during the off week again. So our camping fees turned out to be an average of $173.53/month and that includes paying for the Thousand Trail zone pass, camping at the beginning and paying for a campsite in Pennsylvania on our return. Not bad eh?

The gas was cheap compared to our prices here and the big expenses were driving down and back up. The only gas not included in the average is what was spent on October 31st and May 1st as they are part of months spent in Canada. Our average was $331.32/month which is exactly what I had budgeted for ($332).

Propane was also cheaper and the fact that they charge for the amount they put in instead of a set price whether your tank is completely empty or half-full makes a difference. We did find that the TSC stores' propane was the most reasonably priced. How did we do? An average of $25.17/month.

The laundry prices varied from campground to campground being as high as $3 per washer and $3 per dryer to $1.25 per machine. So we averaged $22.59/month. We used to pay $60 for laundry at the apartment! We did use our little manual washing machine from time to time but it can't do the big stuff and it takes a long time as it only does small loads at a time. Still, we used it when the laundry was too expensive for our budget. Our spin dryer works really well, getting the clothes almost dry so it takes only a short time on the line to dry completely.

We tried to avoid restaurants but at times we had lunch out for a treat. We did eat dinner out for my birthday and we ate out when traveling for an average of $80.68/month.

The killer was grocery shopping. Food costs almost as much there as here but we had to add almost 40% to all our purchases due to the money exchange. We ate simply but well and eventually found that the best deals were at Walmart (and Walmarts are everywhere) but still, our average was $728.80/month which is really high for only two people (and no, I didn't count the wine in that amount). The wine by the way, was very cheap (paying $2.86/bottle at Walmart -  not the best wine but it satisfied me).

Because it was hard to find the pet foods we were used to feeding our dog and cat we ordered from Chewy.com which delivered right to the campground! The prices were about the same as here plus the exchange so we changed our pet's diet eventually so it would be more affordable (something had to give!). We also bought bigger bags of dry food even though we didn't really have storage room for them (I did find that they fit quite well under the cat tree and neither of our pets tried to chew their way through the bags). I was concerned about moisture and possibly mold getting into the food as the temperature inside a trailer varies a lot more than in a house, but the food stayed fresh and cost a lot less than buying small bags that would fit in the pantry.

Those were our major and recurring expenses. We did however end up going over budget almost every month because of incidentals. We had to buy a solar panel in order to survive seven days without any hook-ups in the free campsites to the tune of $285.51 all together. We also lost the door to our water heater during a particularly bumpy trip and that cost us $63.41 to replace. The big booboo, the really big mistake, was ripping the rubber roof on the trailer trying to access a free site because we both failed to notice a side branch that was in the way. That cost us $150.77 to repair and $145.92 for a ladder since the top part of our attached ladder also got torn off by the branch. We had to find a ladder that would reach the top of the trailer but also could be reduced to a smaller size for travel.

When I backed into a tree trying to find my way into a small site it damaged the bumper where our sewer hoses were stored. Guess what? One of the hose was now stuck in there so we had to go out and buy another one as just one didn't reach most sewer connections.

When I suffered from a urinary track infection that couldn't wait anymore, it cost $210.25 to see a doctor and get the prescribed antibiotics. We also had to replace an exploded tire which cost us $146.54.

There were other unexpected expenses like $678.22 that the trailer dealer forgot to charge us to install the rear ladder (that ladder that got knocked off during our trip and that with shipping and installation cost us close to $1,000!) and installing the WIFI amplifying antenna and repeater that didn't work anywhere in the States as you need to be fairly close to the hotspot or have an uninterrupted view, and we got that email in December (nice Christmas gift). The WIFI antenna is however useful where we are for the summer as it gives us a secure network with the free internet (that sucks by the way - that's why I don't post anything on Facebood since I can't even get a simple post to go through - aarrrrrggghhghh).

We did have to purchase medical insurance which cost us $1200 for the two of us. The phone in the States cost us $300 for the six months and came with 4 G of data per month.

Was it worth it? You betcha! We had such a great time and neither of us had a cold or even the sniffles! I was and felt very healthy and alive as compared to being sick all winter and getting depressed because I can't breathe or can't go outside because I can't breathe. We learned a lot, met many different and interesting people and I got to visit someone I hadn't seen for years who also spends the winter in Florida. I was hoping to visit my cousin who stays in Fort Lauderdale and another dear woman I haven't seen for a long time who spends her winters in Boynton Beach but our travels didn't permit those visits. Next year we will be better prepared. We got to be on the beach and watch the ocean waves, their roar making it difficult to concentrate on reading, we got to breathe that healing salt air and walk barefoot in the warm sand, we visited different tourist sites and learned a lot about US history. The Americans we met everywhere were very friendly and polite. The businesses we dealt with were also very helpful and generous. All and all we definitely want to go back so now we will concentrate on making money this summer to pay for the inevitable expenses and the incidentals we are bound to meet on the way.

If you have any questions please reach me at wabacreek@gmail.com and I'll try my best to find an answer for you.

We did meet couples who spend the whole winter in free campsites but after a while it is nice to go to a proper campground and be able to watch TV and get good phone reception and internet. I don't think I would change a thing. Someone we met before leaving Canada travelled the States with a Passport America membership which gives you 50% off campsites but most places only give the discount for one to three days so she had to keep moving all the time which she found exhausting. It is nice to settle in for two weeks and get to know the neighbours. All the Thousand Trails campground have pools, pickleball courts, most have mini-golf and gyms, some have tennis and volleyball courts and billiard rooms.

Ponderosa Campground in Pennsylvania

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We needed to stop overnight in Pennsylvania and didn't want to make the same mistake as we did coming down in the fall when we overnighted at a truck stop and froze, so we booked a site at a campground with hook-ups just looking for something reasonably priced for the one night stay.

After driving on twisting and roller-coaster-like gravel roads that only had space for one car, we arrived at Ponderosa Campground in Honesdale. The owner was super nice! We had called earlier letting her know that we would arrive later than expected and she just asked to call her about 15 minutes from arrival and she would be there to greet us. 15 minutes away we tried to call but we had no phone signal. We got a signal back about 3 minutes away from the campground so we called her.

We only had to wait a few minutes and she arrived. She was very pleasant and it showed how much she likes this remote spot. Our site was by the small lake where apparently earlier in the day, a bald eagle had been fishing. How I wish we could have seen that! There is a lot of wildlife here, including bears, since it's away from dense population and the lake provides food and water.

The ground was soft from the rain so we chose a site that seemed a bit firmer. The view was really nice! It would be a wonderful place to spend some time in the summer. Too bad we didn't have much time to enjoy it. The next morning it was quite cold but we went outside and enjoyed the peace and quiet along with the view of the misty lake. I hugged Glen and reminded him how lucky we were to be able to see such beauty and to live those experiences.

We left fairly early since we had a long drive ahead before we got home. I drove in the rain and fog for most of the way but other than that the drive was without incident. Crossing the border was super fast and easy as the agent just looked at our passports, asked us how long we had been in the States and sent us off. No question about bringing food or alcohol, didn't ask for the dog's rabies certificate even though she was in plain sight between us on the seat. We must look like good people!

We arrived at Bay Meadows, our home for the summer, to discover a flooded and sad looking campground. They are replacing the pool but the work is not finished and there are mounds of soil where there used to be a grass field. All the roads have large puddles and the sites are full of water and mud. It was raining and setting up was not pleasant. Two days later it was sunny so we moved to a drier site at the end of a road by a treed area. It is more private than where we were and we don't step in the mud right outside our door. If it can stop raining, I think we'll enjoy our summer here.