2012 » tgif: let's RV

Vehicle Shopping at Galeana Chrysler Dodge Jeep - Ft. Myers

May 132012

It's time to think about getting rid of the truck and looking for something that better suits us now. I really have no need for a GMC 3500 Diesel dually any more. we decided that an SUV would fit our needs. It was time to start looking.

One place we stopped at was Galeana Chrysler Dodge Jeep in Fort Myers, Florida. After looking at a few vehicles a white '05 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited caught our eye. While priced at the higher end of the price range for that year truck it did have all the bells and whistles. I figured I might be able to get the price down to a more acceptable level.

The first thing I noticed on the test drive was there was a "thunk" in the drivetrain when shifting out of reverse. OK, something we'll have to point out to them when we got back from the drive. It was still morning and cool so it was a decent short test drive with the windows down. Everything else appeared to be be fine.

New A/C From Custom Heating & Cooling - Ft. Myers FL

SWFL Service & Repair, SWFL Shopping No Responses »

May 112012

I knew when I bought the house that the air conditioner was old. The previous owner said is was 12 years old and I was hoping to get a year or two of service out of it. While it was cooling the house it was just running longer than I thought it should. It was time to find a cooling and heating contractor to do a check up on the system.

In February I was at the flea market and there was a rep there from Custom Cooling & Heating. I stopped by back then to ask about getting a humidistat installed for the couple of months I'd be gone in the spring. He explained that since I would only be gone a couple months in the spring I really didn't need one, just set the AC to 85. He gave me a fridge magnet and said to call if I needed anything else. He could have sold me one as I wouldn't have known any better but this showed me they could be an honest business. I remembered that so called them to check out the AC.

Lighthouse Waterfront Restaurant - Fort Myers FL

SWFL Restaurants No Responses »

May 092012

It has been 6 months since I've been with my sweetie and we decided to go out to have a nice dinner. We had dinner once before at the Lighthouse Waterfront Restaurant and enjoyed it so decided to go back again.

The restaurant is located in the Port Sanibel Marina just before the entrance to the bridge to Sanibel Island. It's an upscale restaurant that has a decent steak and seafood selection. Inside and outside seating is available with a fully stocked bar for your enjoyment. I would call it dressy casual with most patrons wearing nice shorts and shirts.

While not cheap, the $27 price tag for an 8 oz. Filet Mignon is not overboard considering the quality of the food, great service and excellent view of the marina. I've paid much more for far less.

The steaks were done just right, the baked potato tender and moist, the crisp steamed vegetable medley was tasty and the homemade blueberry cheesecake just topped off the meal. I asked for A-1 steak sauce as I like a tang every few bites. The waitress came back a few minutes later after the chef whipped up a small cup, after tasting it I could tell this wasn't your normal A-1 from the bottle... yummy!

Blog Update

SWFL Lifestyle 3 Responses »

May 052012

No more excuses, I've just plain been neglecting the blog. Not having my trailer means no more RV adventure posts so I've just haven't been in the mood to write much. Now since I've had a chance to get settled in a bit at my new home I've had a chance to think about what I want to do with the blog.

My thoughts are to morph it into a SW Florida adventure blog. Review places I visit, restaurants I eat at, attractions I go to and other places of interest. That would give everyone an idea on what to see and do when they visit this area of the U.S.

The RV info will stay, just be reorganized into its own area. I'll rename the blog with a new domain name, update the blog software and then setup topic areas that fit better. Stay tuned, once I get this done I already have photos ready for articles I want to write.

Bittersweet Day

RV Day to Day Life No Responses »

Feb 152012

Today I delivered my trailer to the new owner in Naples. It is a bittersweet day. Sad to see the trailer go as I had a lot of good times in it this year. On the other hand I look forward to moving to the Fort Myers area and starting anew.

So far I've had good luck selling my excess RV items. Still looking to get rid of the flag pole, satellite system and now the 5th wheel hitch. Hopefully I can dispose of them before I head back to Michigan the beginning of March.

More updates as they come.

Selling Fast

RV Day to Day Life No Responses »

Feb 102012

Over the past few days I've put a number of my RV equipment on Criagslist. Not sure if I'm pricing the stuff too low or I just have things people want, but everything has sold within a couple of days. So far I've sold my Yamaha generator, bike carrier and scooter carrier. Still to go is the satellite system but I haven't posted it yet.

Starting to get settled in here at the homestead. The 5th wheel is emptied out and moved to the house. Still working on finding the right combination of open windows and ceiling fans to make it comfortable at night. Still hard to get used to having windows open in the middle of winter. It has been warm enough to kick on the A/C for a couple hours to cool it down in the evening, maybe a window fan would help pull in the cool evening air.

I did have a bite on the 5th wheel today. Not sure if that will pan out, just have to wait and see.

Moving to North Fort Myers Florida

SWFL Lifestyle No Responses »

Feb 062012

I know, I've said I would post more updates but there has not been very much RVing news and a lot of other things going on.

When I first decided to come to Florida this winter I really didn't expect to like it much from all the negative feedback I've heard from others. Everything from unfriendly local Floridians, to high costs and insect infestations. With everything I heard I decided to head here anyways because I have some family in the Fort Myers/Cape Corel area and I wanted to experience all of the popular snowbird choices.

If you've followed my blog at all you see I travel down the east coast stopping at St. Augustine, Cape Canaveral, Daytona, The Keys and now Fort Myers. While I may not want to settle down in all these areas I did enjoy every one. Never once did I meet anyone that was unfriendly, other then the The Keys I didn't find the prices out of line. Other then a few "no see ums" in They Keys, there were few insect problems.... at least no more then Michigan in the summer.

One of the things I have read about was that stores and restaurants raise prices in the winter to take advantage of the Snowbirds. Talking to my sister, who lives in Cape Coral (located next to Fort Myers), she said that a few local restaurants offer "by one get one free" meal specials in the winter and in the summer only offer "buy one get the second 50% off". She felt that the locals that support them year round should at least get as good a deal all year and not just during peak winter season.