First day of Flywheelers Show

January 14, 2015July 2, 2022 / Roadtirementvintage / Leave a comment

She has a great seat to see the show.

Today is the official opening day of the January edition of the Florida Flywheelers Tractor show at Ft. Meade, Florida. The weather has been cloudy and breezy and cool this morning, with everyone waiting for the forecast sunshine this afternoon.

The crowds are stirring, with a moderate amount of traffic moving around the many many rows of vendors set up. Once again the variety of vehicular transportation being used is been fun to observe.

Another good way to get around.

Looking for that bargain!

Three wheeler

Sisters run Buddy’s Auction House

January 7, 2015July 2, 2022 / Roadtirementvintage / Leave a comment

Buddy’s Storefront

While in Clearwater, Florida, Sher and I found a listing for an auction the evening we were planning on being there. So off to Buddy’s Auction House we went.

We found a great little facility that was packed with items up for auction that evening. This establishment has an auction every Tuesday night. Two sisters run the business which is named after a rescue dog that goes to yard and estate sales with the owners.

Beth shared with me that she and her sister Ruth aquired the business in March of 2014 and their first auction was held on April 15th. Normally a full 70% of the items up for sale each week are owned by the sisters.They are constantly on the move buying at estate sales, yard sales and anywhere they can find good merchandise.

Sold!

When we first got to the business Beth was busy talking with folks who were previewing the items for that evening’s sale. She also told us some of the stories of folks she has interacted with in the business. Lots of people will put things in sales on a consignment basis. While I was talking to Beth a fellow came in wanting to put things in on consignment.

Beth shared that she and her sister used to have ‘normal’ jobs but loved antiques and the hunt for good antiques. When the opportunity came along to get their own business they boh jumped at the chance. Now these lively vibrant ladies are living their dream and enjoying what they do.

The auction stared at seven. We had spent the rest of the afternoon in the coach. About a half hour before seven we went in, got our bidder’s number and took one final look at the items up for sale. Ruth introduced me to their auctioneer, Vince Gepp, and the rest of the staff. We had a great time during the sale. Some items did prompt some lively bidding.

Ruth, Vince, Beth and the rest of the Buddy’s staff

And yes, I did end up with a few things that I thought I couldn’t live without. That is what happens we you keep bidding on an item until everyone else stops. Go visit the Buddy’s Auction House website to learn more, and see what is up for sale next Tuesday night. You will find a friendly, helpful staff, have a fun time and chances are good you’ll also go away with a treasure or two. Sher and I highly recommend Buddy’s. Tell Ruth and Beth we sent you!

Clearwater: A beautiful place

January 6, 2015July 2, 2022 / Roadtirementvintage / 2 Comments

The boardwalk to the Sand Key Beach

We are in Clearwater,Florida today. We got here around 11 this morning. The strip down by the beach was packed with cars and pedestrians enjoying the nice weather. It is cloudy, but the temperature is very mild, and it is so much warmer than the midwest now we are really loving it!

We found a very nice public park with lots of beach frontage. Sand Key Park has lots of parking, although there were very few people there when we were. I guess Tuesdays are not the busiest times for beach visits.

Pretty widflower on the beach

In Florida now and love the warmth

January 5, 2015July 2, 2022 / Roadtirementvintage / 1 Comment

Florida Welcome Center (I-75)

We got to Florida yesterday, missed the free OJ at the welcome center by a bit less than an hour. Too bad they closed at five instead of six. Oh well, we made it .at least. Sher and I are sure enjoying the warm weather. We even commented last night that we were hot. I opened windows on the coach and enjoyed a nice Florida breeze all night.

Today we went to Webster planning on going to an auction. Once we got to the area we were happy to see flea markets that were open .Normally flea markets are closed on Mondays in the mid west, so Monday opens were a surprise to us. Two of the three markets we found were huge and did have literally anything and everything for sale. We are tentatively planning on returning next Monday to set up at one of them.

It is off to the gulf tomorrow. We can’t wait to see the water and get a little beach time in!

One of the smaller Flea Markets at Webster, FL

2015 is here

January 1, 2015July 2, 2022 / Roadtirementvintage / Leave a comment

Our new FourWinds 22e

2015 is now officially here. I know because I saw the ball drop. As Sher and I look forward to the new year we are excited about our new RV, a Four Winds 22e motorhome. We have had it a couple of weeks and are still getting things organized the way we want them. Changing from a truck pulling a travel trailer to a self-contained Class C has been a change as you can imagine. The coach will fit into our travel life a lot better than the trailer.

We are planning on heading south from Indiana, maybe towards Florida or maybe towards New Orleans. That is the fun of the RV lifestyle: you can go where ever you want.

My thoughts after returning to Indiana

December 8, 2014July 2, 2022 / Roadtirementvintage / Leave a comment

We don’t see this in Indiana

Sher and I just got back from a fairly quick trip from Seattle to Indiana. We had spent the last three months in the Pacific Northwest, but were wanting to return to Indiana and family for the holiday season. It had been an intersting time, including our trip out to Seattle (mostly on I-90) and the return trip (mostly on I-80).

The trip back to Indiana took us down through Oregon on I-5. We then hooked up to I-80 south of Yuba City, California. Then it was across Nevada, the Utah panhandle, across southern Wyoming, then through Nebraska and on into Iowa, Missouri, finally across Illinois to pick up I-74 to Indiana.

Some musings of mine when we got back home again in Indiana: the Hoosier farm fields seemed so small compared to the ones out West. Where Indiana fields are measured in acres, the open ranges across Wyoming and Nebraska would be measured in sections. A corn stubble field with a few cattle in Indiana would seem like merely strays when compared to the scores of cattle out west. It was also different when you looked out and did not see any mountains, buttes, or foothills.

Another thing about Indiana: no laws saying that you have to have chains with you like Oregon and other states out west. And I really noticed that things look small in the midwest compared to the big sky you see not only in Montana but other states as well.

It is good to be back “home” for a while, but we are looking forward to our next journey.

Our new short queen mattress from Mattress Insider

October 26, 2014July 2, 2022 / Roadtirementvintage / 6 Comments

Ok, how many of you RVers out there still have the mattress that came with your RV? If you do, you sure had a better mattress when you bought your RV than we had in ours. The mattress in our master BR was a five inch thick thing that appeared to be stuffed with the same material in a carnival prize stuffed animal. We both were waking up with backaches after sleepless nights.

innerspring-coil-rv-mattress-park-meadow-sml

This is the mattress we bought from Mattress Insider

Sher began to check around for a different mattress. She found the MattressInsider.com site on the web. Long story short, this site is a gold mine for RV replacement and custom made mattresses.

We looked at the many styles of mattresses and felt that we really would prefer steel coil construction for the firm support. We found the 8″ Park Meadow Pocketed Coil RV Mattress II. We placed our order by phone and received the mattress seven days after it shipped with free shipping.

Wow. This mattress is more comfortable than the one we had in our house. Backaches have gone. We sleep at night. (Now there is a concept!) We just love this mattress and should have ordered it sooner.

Don’t even hesitate to do business with Mattress Insider. They were great to work with on the phone. Delivery was as promised. Set up was easy: simply remove the packaging and the mattress unrolls itself. (The package is about the size of a 30 gallon drum, weighs about 70 pounds.) Let it “expand” for 3 hours and you are good to go.

Guarantee? You bet. If before 100 nights you are not satisfied, simply donate the mattress to a charity, get a receipt for same, and send the receipt to the company for a full refund. No sending the mattress back to the company on your nickel!

Need a new mattress for your RV? Browse the Mattress Insider website and/or call them at 1-888-327-3047. You will not be disappointed working with these great folks.

The Route 127 yard sale

October 11, 2014July 2, 2022 / Roadtirementvintage / Leave a comment

Our set up at the 127 yard sale

The Route 127 yard sale starts in Michigan and ends up in Alabama! This four

The site was lovely with trees and good roads.

day, 600 plus mile long event each August sees thousands of “yard sales” set up in the homes of ordinary folks, parking lots and just about anywhere you can find to set up a table or two or even a tarp on the ground. This event has become a huge tradition for thousands of bargain hunters and hopeful sellers as well.

We set up for the 127 at York Woods north of Greenville, Ohio. York Woods is the home of the Darke County Steam Tractor Association. The woods is really a nice camping area for the tractor events, and is perfect for the 127 yard sale. There were close to 100 vendors that set up in the woods, including several food concessions.

We set up here. It was the third event in as many weeks for us. This was a great sale for us. The cost was only $70 for seven nights of camping with water and electric and that included our vendor space rental.

Another cheap camping festival

October 10, 2014July 2, 2022 / Roadtirementvintage / Leave a comment

Hideout on a level grassy area, sales canopy on the gravel path.

Our Hideout trailer on a level grassy area in back, sales canopy on the gravel path. We paid for 30′ of frontage.

The Annie Oakley Festival was over, and our next event was going to be two weeks away in the same location. Would we travel during that time frame or would we stay and camp at the site? I spoke with a fellow vendor who had a food concession trailer set up at the Annie Oakley Festival. He was going to another festival the following weekend that was very close. I got the phone number from him, called and got a spot reserved.

So off we went to the State Line Heritage Days in Union City Indiana and Ohio. Yes, the town was split by the state line! The great thing was that it was only 11 miles from our current location. Talk about saving on travel costs, this was ideal. We left on Monday and drove to Union City.

We had to drop the trailer a fair distance behind our canopy due to the ground level. This was not a real problem and there was plenty of room to park the truck. This place also had water in addition to 20AMP electric service. And the cost? Would you believe that the total cost for a 30′ space and seven nights of camping was only $60.00?

This was not a huge festival attendance wise, but we still sold a lot of our necklaces. With the low cost of the vendor space factored in this was a very profitable festival for us. We really enjoyed this festival and it is now on our calendar for next year.

Made some money at the Annie Oakley Festival

October 9, 2014July 2, 2022 / Roadtirementvintage / Leave a comment

One EZ-UP tent, the hideout behind, we paid for one vendor spot.

One EZ-UP display tent, the Hideout behind: we paid for one vendor spot.

Our first festival after we went full time in our RV was the Annie Oakley Festival

Showing the electric and water hook-ups. We could have set up another canopy behind the front one.

in Greenville Ohio. Planning on making some money, we had reserved a vendor spot at this event long before we knew when our house would sell. As it turned out, we closed on the sale of the house on a Tuesday and traveled right to the festival grounds that night! The festival ran Friday through Sunday.

The festival was held at the York Woods, home to an antique steam engine and tractor facility about 12 miles north of Greenville. We fit into one 20′ wide vendor spot because the depth allowed the trailer to be backed in with our canopy as the picture shows.

“Buffalo Bill Cody” put on quite a show and had a nice collection of artifacts on display.

We had a great time at this festival. The group running the show was terrific, and the folks who owned the property were also most accommodating.There were several live singing groups, bull whip demonstrations, and the Festival Queen was crowned due to her winning the shooting contest! There was even a fellow portraying Buffalo Bill at the festival.

Our sales were very good as our necklaces were well received. We only paid for booth rental and camping was a mere $10 a night. We will be going back next year, as this is one of our favorite festivals.