Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Giddy-up Golf Cart!

One more "oldness" benchmark......you move into a 55+ community in Florida and buy a golf cart!
I've noticed golf carts in RV parks and many of the communities where we shopped for a winter abode.  I was inwardly amused at "oldsters" and their golf carts.

Things change when you're in a situation with only one car.  It seemed wasteful to think of buying another car with more insurance, upkeep, and taxes.  

BUT, it was becoming inconvenient for us.  Ed would drop me off at a club house for one of my activities.  Then I had to call and interrupt whatever he was doing or bum a ride home with someone....but there are only so many times I can bum rides without feeling guilty.

Thus, the "new" idea of getting a golf cart came about last year.  Our golf cart is used and old but has been well maintained.  Voila, problem solved!! 

Of course, when you do one thing, it often requires you must make changes with others.  

Change #1:  We needed to extend the driveway.
Above is the "Before" version.  You can see the tall eureka palms that were planted too close to the house.  They required constant trimming and picking up branches. So, we got rid of them (that was another complicated project).

Ed did a great job supervising the cement work.


Side story:  Just about the time  that the cement was finished, Blanche sneaked out the door and ran into the wet mess.  With each step, she sank deeper until she couldn't go any more.  It was quite a process to get her cleaned up.  Thankfully, the cement guy had a sense of humor and just smoothed out the mess.

Our friend, Dick Roy, can do anything.  Here he was putting rocks between our new driveway section and our neighbor's house.


Here's the "after" version of the driveway extension, which will be painted later.







Change #2:  Next issue to deal with was that when we parked the cart at the end of the garage, we couldn't open the door to our shed, where we keep the garbage can, etc.

Once again, Dick saved the day by adding a door at the end of the shed for access.

 


 He also put an opening for the charger cord.



No gas, insurance or taxes.  Here I am "putting in gas" (plugging it into the charger)


 Change #3:  Ed ordered and installed a back seat so when people visit us, we can give tours of Savanna Club.

 
Naturally, Ed did his research and bought a seat that folds down to make a cargo area.

Change #4:  He also got a dash insert that provides doors that can be locked and protect items from rain.  He was especially pleased that the installation involved getting a different ignition key, an added safety feature as it's a universal key for all carts of this brand.


Hence, we have more freedom thanks to our new-to-us helpful "toy".....

 and yet another sign of being "oldsters".


Yee Haw! 
Giddy-up, Golf Cart!

1 comment:

Beth said...

That's great! I wondered how you two managed with only one car.