Storing Stuff - Bath & Bedroom

Here is Part 2 of RV storage tips. This shows bathroom and bedroom storage areas.

This extra rack hangs over the edge of the shower. We probably bought it at Camping World.

This soap holder is from Camping World but I've seen them other places, too.

Storing Stuff - Front of RV

A few friends have been curious about what goes on inside an RV and how we manage to live and keep up with things. I'm certainly no expert but you can take a tour of the front part here:

Keeping one's "stuff" is a challenge in an RV. You have to find a place for it that is convenient AND you have to remember where it is!

I'm the one who usually forgets.

Outside the RV

We are still at Paradise Island RV Resort in Ft. Lauderdale and will be here until the middle of January (or longer).
The two slide-outs give a lot more space inside and take away that tunnel/trailer feeling.
It's nice to have awnings and a ladder. We think we're going to sit out but somehow it's always too rainy, too hot, to cool, or too windy.

Sitting outside is also affected by my internet addiction, Ed's TV football addiction, and reading lots of books.

Inside Luxuries in Our RV

It amazes me at how convenient and luxurious motorhomes can be. We've looked at some of the newer ones and at 5th wheels, but I always come away feeling pleased with out coach.

When I first learned about having a washer/dryer, I laughed but quickly found out how wonderfully handy they are......especially for keeping up with the underwear and tee-shirts. It's easier to do the sheets and blankets in larger machines, which are available at campgrounds. But this way is soooo easy -- no getting dirty clothes into bags, getting soap, softener, and quarters (lots of them) for the trip to the laundry room.

This one unit washes and dries the clothes. So, put in a load, go out to eat and come home to clean, dry clothes. Having a second TV in the bedroom is handy, although I haven't used it at all (besides, it's old and we didn't get a converter box for it). You can see the 2 corner doors under the TV and a lot of stuff fits in there. The closet already had the shoe shelves, plus, the door to the left is a deep cabinet and the drawer under it is, too. I get my half of the closet and a bonus shirt closet with 2 deep drawers under it. The little cabinet above the nightstand holds a LOT of folded shirts. The nightstand is large enough for my CPAP machine and plenty of books. Ssshh, don't tell Ed about all these extra cubby holes and this extra stuff I have, OK? This next feature makes me feel like we have a living room.

Our shower is nice and, instead of a step-in shower stall, it has a shelf so I can sit down to shower and it has a BATHTUB - my most favorite luxury!

Overall Inside RV Tour

This is a 2001 Holiday Rambler Scepter motorhome. We've been living in it since August 1st.

Standing in front, looking back on navigator's side of coach.

Standing in front, looking back on driver's side.

Kitchen has microwave/convection, an oven, and a 3 burner stove.
Standing in kitchen, looking forward
Refrigerator, Door to Toilet, Washer/Dryer

Sink and Shower

Guess what, this is the bedroom. The closet is behind the sliding mirrored doors. The bed's on a platform that lifts up and it has storage underneath.
It's amazing what all can be squeezed into a 38 foot motorhome.

This post is by special request from Tee, one of my college friends.

Pepper, the Pest

Pepper's been waking us up numerous times a night because she's cold. A queen-sized bed is not adequate for 3 sleeping bodies so we finally bit the dust and bought her a new heating pad to replace the one that died last week.

Nowadays, heating pads are all automatic shut-off, which doesn't cut it for keeping a Cornish Rex kitty warm throughout the night. We had to buy a more expensive model to get the option to "turn off the shut-off"......go figure.

Anyway, as I predicted, Pepper stayed in her bed almost all night. I'm not sure about tonight because she's slept all day while Ed was watching football.

Ft. Lauderdale Fall Follies

It seems so strange not to have a travel adventure to report! Then again, it's nice to stay in the same place for more than a week.

We had a busy Thanksgiving Day. (Lorraine Angelil is his daughter-in-law and Lorraine Barkett is Ed's sister.)

We had lunch with Stever, Lorraine and Sean and tried to eat very lightly. Sean seems to enjoy hanging out with Grandfather Edmond and Ms. Mary. He especially enjoyed beating Ms. Mary at Candyland!

At 5:00 p.m. we went for the Barkett Thanksgiving dinner that was held at the home of Rich and Christine Barkett. This is about 10 years of (some) holidays I've shared with the Barketts and I'm starting to feel more a part of the family each year. There were about 16 people and most everyone is outgoing so it was a boisterous bunch of Barketts.

We missed having George and Kay Angelil but she's still recovering from her back surgery and that process isn't going smoothly. We hope she'll start feeling better soon.

Today I didn't get up until about 11:00 a.m.! (None of that 3:00 a.m. shopping for this old bird!) It was nice to be lazy. We met Stever, Lorraine and Sean for an early supper at Wingstop. Those garlic Parmesan wings are simply delicious!

I'm really falling down on the job....all these activities and I didn't take any pictures. Maybe someone will email a few shots....hellooo, anyone out there?

Summary of Sites Seen with Blog Links

To see our all of trip blog posts, you can click here: Trip Out West , or you can click below on the various individual posts listed under each state below.

OHIO:
Dayton (visited Paul & Anita Krull, my sister, and family)

• Dayton, OH -- 5 nights instead of 1
• We're at My Sister's in Dayton, OH
• Warning
• Departure Day of Disasters

MISSOURI:
St. Louis (Archway to the West, Botanical Gardens)

• In Pursuit of HD TV
• Glad to Get Some Repairs
• St. Louis, Missouri
• Our "Trip Out West" Approach

SOUTH DAKOTA:
Midland (Badlands, Wall Drug Store), Rapid City (Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse Monument)

• Mt. Rushmore and More Tour
• Badlands and Wall Drug in SD
• Hail......Yes!

WYOMING:
Cody (rodeo and Buffalo Bill Museum), Yellowstone National Park (Old Faithful, buffalo, elk)

• Wonderful Wildlife in Yellowstone
• Apple Pie and Yellowstone Park
• Splendiferous Scenery In Yellowstone
• Paparazzi in the Park (Yellowstone)
• Waterfalls and Buffalo in Yellowstone
• Firearm Museum Blew Ed Away
• Rodeo in Cody, Wyoming
• Using the Map
• Rocky Mountain "Hi" = A Harrowing Highway

WASHINGTON:
Seattle (Space Needle, Pike's Market), Long Beach Cranberry farm, jetty, lighthouses)

• The Space Needle
• Public Market in Seattle
• Passport Problems
• Boeing Tour - Ed's Report
• Our Duck on Land and Sea
• Desolation in East Washington
• Tally Ho in Idaho
• Ilwaco - Fishing Village
• Cape Disappointment Photos
• Cape Disappointment - Lighthouses and Jetty
• Long Beach, WA - A Few Observations
• Crazy for Cranberries
• Virginians Meet in Person

CANADA:
Butchart Gardens (sooo lovely), Victoria, Canada

• Canadians Kept Ed - Almost
• Glorious Gardens in Victoria, Canada

OREGON: We spend a whole month slowly moving down the coast of Oregon.
Portland (friends, downtown foodcarts), Newport (whales, aquarium) , Florence (seascapes, beaches), Coos Bay (sand dunes, sea lions), Port Orford (lighthouse, driftwood), Gold Beach (jet boat up the Rogue River, salmon fishing)

• Seeing Seastacks
• To Each His Own (Camping Style)
• Roving the River (Rogue) in Oregon
• Salmon and Seagulls at Gold Beach, OR
• Port Orford Harbor & Cape Blanco Lighthouse
• Our Secret Beach at Port Orford
• We've Done the Dunes
• Sea Lions Without Tryin'
• See Birds and Sea Lions
• Map of Trip as of 9-14-09
• Seascapes in Oregon
• Oregon Coast Sea Aquarium
• Staying in a Forest - No Internet
• A Tail of a Whale
• Portland

CALIFORNIA:
Crescent City (redwoods, sea lions up close)

• Waldo in the" Wedwoods"
• Redwood Patterns
• Under Tsunami Advisory Here
• Trees of Mystery
• Supper near Sea Lions
• Not Fussing about Fog
• Raving about Redwoods
• Trip from CA, thru OR, to NV
• Picnic in the Park

NEVADA:
Las Vegas (6 nights of Luxury at Caesar's Palace)

• A Few Last Pictures from Vegas
• Last Lunch in the Lap of Luxury
• Casino and Hotel Life
• New Encore and Wynn Hotels
• Food for the Soul and Body in Vegas
• Las Vegas Strip
• Next Door - The Bellagio
• Cesar's Palace, Our Hotel
• What a Way to Start the Day!
• "Click on Photo" Help
• Livin' THE Life in Las Vegas
• Nevada = Brown All Around
• Bath for the RV - At Last!

UTAH:
Hatch (Bryce, Red, & Zion Canyons)

• Zion, a Zenith of Our Journey
• A Few More Beautiful Bryce Treasures
• Beautiful Bryce Canyon
• Red Canyon Colors
• Utah, Utopia of Unique Scenery

ARIZONA:
Sedona (red huge rocks/mountains, chapel), Grand Canyon (by helicopter, champagne picnic)

• Our Grand "Grand Canyon Adventure" by Helicopter
• Heading South Through Arizona
• Seven Years
• Sedona, the Corona of Arizona

NEW MEXICO:
Silver City (Friends, Cliff dwellings, Catwalk)

• Silver City Slickers
• Catwalk near Silver City, NM
• Cave Dwellers near Silver City, NM
• Silver City So Far
• Jogging Instead of Blogging...

TEXAS:
Cisco and Pecos (cotton, oil wells, wind farms), Waxahachie (visited Maribeth & Phil May, my brother and Mother, went to my first cat show)

• Mother, My Brother and His Family
• West Texas Wind Farms
• Trip Map as of October 31, 2009
• Cat Competition - My First
• The May's Oasis in Texas

MISSISSIPPI:
Biloxi (beautiful beaches)

• Western Trip is Winding Down
• Biloxi's Beautiful Beaches
• Lousy Louisiana Roads

FLORIDA:
Ocala (visit Jan & David Clements), Tampa (Lazy Days for minor repair), Port St. Lucie (visit Kay & George, Ed's bro), Ft. Lauderdale (We used to live here.)

• Look Out, Lauderdale -- Here We Come!
• Surgery for Mary Kay Angelil
• 100 Nights, 8,000 and 30,000
• Special Friends in Summerfield, FL
• Wal-Mart is RV Friendly

Photo Album of Trip Out West 2009

This is a photo of highlights of our trip......you can travel over 8,000 miles in only 170 photos. Click here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2021702&id=1591490827&l=90d597c9c5

1. You can click on each picture to enlarge it. Be sure to scroll down to see the caption.
or
2. You can hover your pointer over each thumbnail photo to see the caption, then click only if you wish to enlarge it. Enjoy!

Trip Trivia 2009

8,000 hits on this blog as of today!

August 1, 2009 to November 13, 2009
105 days

8,208 miles

States visited:
Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, FloridaBreakdowns - 0

Fights - 0

Sickness - None
(disregarding Cancer and Fibromyalgia)

Weather - Amazingly good!

Memories - Priceless

Blessings - IMMEASURABLE

Pepper says, "We're here, here at last!"