HAPPY NEW YEAR

Hey folks...it's New Years eve. Wishing each and every one of you a Happy and Healthy New Year. Regular posting will begin again .. The craziness of the holidays is behind us. See ya next year!

Geocaching 2nd Try, At Ames Nowell

Our second attempt  

was no better. Although I did figure out to get pics on the blog.. Woo hoo!  The weather was very warm but soggy walking. Al cheated. He found pictures online so he figured he knew exactly where the cache was... Lol. No so. He was practically in the creek looking for the  spot.  We walked through the snow and muck for a few minutes. The IPad

wasn't showing much since we don't have wireless., and we didn't  bring the GPS because we found out it will only give us street addresses, and not on way points. Oh well. Next time, maybe.;)

Email subscription now available... I think.

I started working on the blog set up. You can now subscribe to The Motor Gnomes... I think. :)) I tested the link with hubby's email address, which seemed to work. So feel free to give it a try for yourself. It's hardly a snazzy set up, but hey, I'm working on it.. Let me know if it doesn't work for you if you do sign up. I'll continue to post to facebook for the time being and this will give you a heads up just in case my newest change has or has not worked.

Boondocking Or Where To Stay Overnight On The Cheap

So if you don't already know...RVing doesn't mean you have to pay to be in a campground, when you need a place to pull over for a night or 2. Heck, no! While doing our research last winter, we found all kinds of freebies for rvers looking for a night stop.

Did you know that Walmart allows RVs to park overnight in their lots? Mind you, not all of them but most.There are plenty that absolutely allow you to spend the night. It is suggested that you call ahead to get the okay though. Walmart's have been known to be Rver friendly.. And why not? We will be spending money in the store while parked for the night. There's an app just for Walmart locations. ALLSTAYS ONP Walmart, I believe the cost is 99 cents, but well worth the cost whatever it is.

The other places that allow you to park for free, with paid club memberships are the VFW, American Legion, or Moose Club.  They allow members from all over to park in their parking lots. Water is usually not supplied. Make sure your water tank is full and you'll be okay. The freedom to do and go wherever you want.

And what if you don't have electricity? Hey no problem either.. That's what solar panels are for. Rvers don't HAVE to have an electric hookup. It's nice, but with the appropriate solar package, we can have lights, TV and computers. It's not an endless supply, but enough to keep most of us happy. Let's not forget, propane is used for heat, cooking, and the refrigerator(when not running on electricity). Rvers are pretty self sufficient. :)

Casinos are another great place to park with your RV for free.  No need to call ahead since many have parking facilities just for RVs.

Thats hardly all the freebies.. Really. If this post intrigues you, then start researching on your own. There are hundreds of blogs, and tons of info on Rving.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. :D

US Army Corps of Engineers and West Hill Dam Park

We have our interview and processing appointment in January for the COE volunteer opening in Uxbridge, MA for the months of August and September 2014. West Hill Dam Park has a large natural swimming area,  picnic tables and grills, pine grove, changing house, restrooms, volleyball court, horse shoe pits, and 1/2 mile nature trial.

As I had mentioned in an earlier post, we stopped by the dam and park on a day out. We fell in love with the park right away. They have 3 RV spots open for volunteers. In exchange, volunteers get to stay for free with full hook ups. Some even receive pay for hours worked. The US Army Corps of Engineers has volunteer opportunities in almost every state. They manage 12 million acres of land and water, and care for recreational areas and natural resources.

The US Army Corps of Engineers and other federal agencies are always looking for volunteers.  They need campground hosts, visitor center staff, park and trail maintenance, and much more. It's a great way to work outdoors, and meet people, while taking advantage of some great camping resources.

To apply just go online to volunteers.gov,  for positions and fill out form.. A back ground check will be required, but what job these days doesn't.

Those who don't know much about full time RVers, may think that RVers have to pay for all their stays. Nothing could be further from the truth. Keep reading this blog and you'll soon see the sky is the limit!

Geocaching

Al decided we would try our skill, or lack there of,  at geocaching. For those who don't know what geocaching is, it is a worldwide hide and seek treasure hunting type of game where at the minimum a logbook is in a hidden container for the finder to sign in. RVers enjoy this activity as well as lots of other folks. It's a great way to get outside and have some fun.

Today's geocache treasure was to have a bunch of pens with logos which when found we would leave one, take one. Are you getting my drift yet??? Was to....The geocache we were trying to locate is just one of at least 15 hidden in Ames Nowell State Park. With GPS in hand and an iPad, we were off. Cold weather be damned, we were on an adventure.

No sooner did we start down the chosen path, when the Mister with GPS said we were headed in the wrong direction, so we went down another path, and another... And another..this time we kept going, climbing over rocks and down. Hmm, think next time a day pack is in order. I need my hands free to be able to climb.

Wondering how close we were to the hidden treasure, I caught up to Al,  the look on  his face told me everything .. We weren't. We were actually walking away from the geocache. Hahaha. Well the GPS said it was an 8 minute walk .... It's been almost an hour. Time to turn back; freezing hands. Back at the truck the heat feels soo good.

Well no pay dirt this time. A few hearty laughs and a bunch of pics that I have yet to learn how to load onto the blog page. Oh and some good old exercise...

Learning this whole blog business

Just asking you all to be patient while I learn how to finagle this whole blogging business. I'm trying to figure how to post pics, links and more. I'm learning by doing. No one is showing me the ropes, so the leaning curve is taking awhile. For now, I'm just happy to have correct spelling and grammar. Sometimes I have to edit 3 or 4 times, quite frustrating. 

If you any tips for me, feel free to send them. I'm open to any and all.

Thanks for reading!

Tentative Travel Plans

Travel plans are beginning to come together for 2014. We will be headed off to Illinois for Dawne and James' July wedding. I believe we will stop in Michigan first, to take in the Ford Museum in Deerfield. It's been on our bucket list ever since we went to Nassau and met up with a couple who had been. They made it sound pretty awesome. Similar in nature to the Shelburne museum in Burlington, Vermont. It has an eclectic mix of  buildings and stuff and, of course, Fords.

We plan on traveling no more than 200 miles per day, more like 150. We're traveling with 2 dogs so they'll need frequent bathroom breaks, and we'll boondock as much as possible, keeping costs down. By the time we get to Michigan we may need to rest for a few days. From there, we travel right to Naperville, Illinois, where the wedding is to take place. We'll stay a day or 2 depending on our need for rest, once again. Unless I find something really cool to go do..:D Then we may stay an extra day.

Next stop is South Dakota for personal reasons. I'll post more on that when we get on the road. We have to be back to Massachusetts for August 2nd, so time is of the essence. We may have our very first COE(Core of Engineers) job in Uxbridge. :)  We need to get our paperwork done but I don't see any reason why we wouldn't get it. We will be taking care of the park in exchange for electricity and a place to stay.

Al and I visited the park and dam earlier this past summer. We were exploring the area and walked around the dam and traveled some more down the road and found the park. It has 3 RV spots for volunteers, as well as a beautiful beach, grills, and a playground. We instantly thought we should try to volunteer for this park. Al checked into it and we're in the application process now.

So those are our tentative travels plans up to October 2014. Don't have any costs yet, still working on it. Sounds exciting, though!

To Sell or Rent

We haven't fully committed to selling the house... Well I haven't. Al brought up the idea of renting the house, back during the summer. A light bulb went off  in my head! Wow, that is another option.. Cool beans. Upon some research, it may or may not be a good idea. We will have to hire a maintenance company or at the very least, an individual who will watch over the place. We would need enough to cover the monthly bill plus Homeowners insurance. The house is almost 10 years old, so it's still fairly young. Yeah, it has some wear and tear, mostly from the dogs. Regardless, it is still a great home in a great neighborhood. Decisions, decisions. I'm experienced in selling real estate, so if we go that route, we will sell it as a FSBO first, before we pay someone to sell.

If you all are interested or know someone who might be... It is a 2 story colonial with about 1600 square feet with a full basement. 3 bedrooms, 2 and 1/2 baths. LR, dining room, Eat in kitchen, and laundry room on first floor. Above ground round pool, large man cave. Located in Brockton, Abington line.

When we get closer to spring, we will have a much better idea on what we we going to do with the house.

Welcome!

A big welcome to our readers of  "This RV Life" and to those who just found us. We plan on being full time Rvers come June 2014. The exact date is still a mystery but it will be around the middle of the month, as we get closer to June we will have a better idea. We still have a ton of stuff to get rid of but every week it gets less. GlorE B is wrapped up for the winter. :( Al goes inside to check things out every weekend, and makes sure everything stays charged.

He changed out the broken bathroom door. We now have one that locks. We plan on changing the kitchen and the bathroom faucets, too. The bathroom faucet is a bit short so when we wash our hands water goes all over the counter sink area.  I would really like a taller kitchen faucet, that way I can fill up a stockpot without trouble. Right now I can't do that very well without getting aggravated.  We are still looking for the right ones. I've seen conventional faucets that may work from Lowe's, I just haven't made a decision yet.

We purchased some glass tiles to put around and behind the stove area. That job will have to wait for spring when the warmer weather is around. The grout will need time to dry. We are looking into LED televisions. Apparently they use less electricity. It's on the wish list.

We need a new set of tires. The coach is already 5 years old,  and a lot of recommendations we've seen suggest new ones every 5 years. Wear and tear from travel and UV damage are big culprits. GlorE B doesn't even have that many miles on her, less than 20,000, but UV damage rots rubber. We will dress her up and treat her to some new wheels come spring.

More tomorrow. See ya then.