RV Newbies

Umatilla, FL

We're OK with the flip in our roles.  Instead of go-to experienced cruisers, we are the newbies in this life style.

We spent the weekend getting settled, and learning.  So far, almost all the surprising new things we learned have been pleasant surprises.

• The park owns a row boat that we can use on the lake.  It is a big heavy aluminum boat.  It won't go like our dinghy does, but we'll give it a try.
• I found the perfect place for morning exercise.  My favorite kind of exercise was step aerobics, that I learned in the 80s.  I can do that here in the early morning.
• The climate here last week and this week is idea.  75-80 F highs, and 60-65 lows.
• Libby's head is spinning with ideas for gardens.
• This location, and this RV park, are nearly ideal.  5 miles north of us is Ocala National Forest.   10 miles south of us is absolute hell.  There is a highway that stretches from the huge and famous retirement community of The Villages to Orlando.  It is all commercial business and heavy aggressive traffic for 50 miles.  Ugh.  But 10 miles is far enough away.
• Everyone in this park is a snowbird.  I've noticed that the people tend to replicate their "normal" lives here in miniature.  For example, a was a man today with a huge leaf rake.  He was raking up about a dozen leaves on his 15x15 lawn.  Another man turned his 8x10 shed into what he calls a "man cave"  he has a workbench and tools in there.  His own TV on the wall.  And, I'll wager a beer cooler.   I'll keep my eye out for more such signs of old habits dying hard.  I wonder what we will do to make up for the routine of using the dinghy to.
• A supermarket and a hardware store and a library are all within walking distance.  Hooray!  Our physical condition won't deteriorate as fast as it did the winter we spent in New Bern.