Cradlepoint! This Is So Cool!

I have the Virgin Broadband Internet stick and I have been very happy with it. It plugs into the side of the computer, you open a program and it connects to the Internet through a cell tower. It is a little difficult as we have two computers and only one of them can connect at a time and I tend to use the small one in the bedroom and the larger one in the living room so it means moving the card from one to the other all the time and there is danger of damaging the USB port.

There is a product called a Cradlepoint CTR35 that turns the Internet Modem (“stick”) into a limited range WIFI zone. It plugs into the wall or inverter and broadcasts a WIFI signal in and around the motorhome. It remains connected and ready all the time which is just what I need/want.

I mentioned it to our host, Paul, and he said he had just bought one at Best Buy on sale for $79 and he would take me down there. They were out of them but Paul saw the bigger, more powerful Cradlepoint 600 that he said he would like to upgrade to as he uses it as WIFI for his whole house and the smaller unit would not reach to where his motorhome is parked. I told him if he wanted the bigger one then I would buy the smaller one from him and that is what we did.

Yesterday we spent too many hours setting up the “Plug and Play” units! We got his working, started the setup on mine and a little later his new one stopped working. We played with the settings for a long time before he called Customer Support who emailed a long list of things to do to troubleshoot the problem. The women were now complaining because they wanted to go out for dinner and Paul and I were getting a little hungry and frustrated as well.

As we were packing things up we realized that I was hooked into the admin area of his router and not mine. We had the passwords and settings so screwed up that neither unit was working! When we got home I was too tired to work on it any more but Paul stayed with it. He reset everything, turned my router off and got his working again by one or two o’clock and then started on mine until he got too tired. This morning we tackled mine again, got into it, reset all the passwords and it worked!!

I velcro’d it to the inside of the passenger side cabover window and started testing. It has a range much less than the advertised 350 feet but I can get a usable signal about 100 feet away from the window (this is fixed now, I discovered a setting to increase power). Both computers can be on at the same time and it will actually handle up to 16 simultaneous connections! It draws hardly any current and can be left on all the time. It is password protected so no unauthorized users can hop on but I can give my password to anyone parked next to us to share. This is an RVers dream come true! Life is Good!

Welcome To Florida!

Here are some bumper stickers on the back end of a vehicle in front of us yesterday. These friendly retired US Navy folks seem to be welcoming us lefties to their State!

I see he has his Jesus Fish on there as well, signifying his "Christian" attitude of acceptance and tolerance, but perhaps he should update to the new symbol:

70 Degrees!

Now this is what winter should be! It is just past noon and it is 70 degrees F out or 21.1 C for us Canadians and Mexicans, eh? It is real t-shirt weather!

I had a little problem where I dragged the dolly wiring harness on the ground the other day. It wore through some of the wires and some strands ended up touching. I thought all was well but yesterday morning the motorhome engine would not start, the battery was dead. I put it on charge all night and the charger showed a battery fault in the morning. The battery is shot. Paul knows a dealer in town so we loaded up the battery and took it down. We are now waiting for a new battery to be delivered to the dealer. The old one was three years old anyway so I am not concerned. S**t happens.

The four of us went to Paul and Dodies favourite steak house last night. I had a huge slab of tuna done rare. Very delicious! Norma, true to form, brought 3/4 of her bone-in rib eye home.

We met Paul and Dodie in Isla Aguada, MX two years ago when Paul had a kidney stone attack and they could no longer keep up with the caravan they were with. The caravan, true to form, left them at the side of the road and carried on without them. Paul had the stone dealt with in Mexico and was recuperating in the beautiful RV park when we drove in and parked next to them. We got along well and they told us if we were ever in Florida....... So here we are in their side yard with a huge concrete pad and 30 amp service! Life is good!

Visiting Friends

We called a couple we met in Isla Iguada, Mexico last year. Paul and Dodi live in Lakeland, FL, about 30 miles from Tampa. We told them we wanted to visit and and would stay in an RV park nearby. Paul said they have lots of property and an RV hookup so why don't we stay there? Great! We will be able to save some money from the overpriced RV parks in Florida and spend it on something better, like food and booze! Stay tuned!

Vote Now!

This is the last day to vote on our little poll off to the right!

Turned South!

I fixed the wire harness this morning and all the lights work fine now. The car was covered with ice when we woke up and Norma said she did not sleep well she said her hair was frozen! It didn't bother me, I just crawled under the covers.

We pulled out, passed Tallahassee (never found "My Tallahassee Lassie") and turned South on Highway 19/98. You can almost feel it getting warmer every few miles as we move south! We tried to make it to St. Petersburg but it started getting dark so we pulled into a Walmart near Spring Hill. We asked the greeter if we could park and he said, "People do, but you will have to ask at Customer Service". The woman at CS had to call a "manager" and soon a 19 year old $9 an hour "manager" appeared. We asked her and she said "No, it is not allowed". I did not like her flippant attitude so we pursued it. We asked if it was a local by-law or store policy and she said the management does not allow it. I told her that Walmarts official policy was that RV parking is allowed unless there are local by-laws prohibiting it. She said lots of people ask and they always say no. We asked to speak to the store manager and an older woman appeared. We asked again and she made a phone call, probably to the actual manager. She spoke for 30 seconds and hung up. She asked us what time we would be leaving in the morning, I told her around nine or ten at the latest and she told us where to park.

I blame thoughtless RV'ers for this problem. We have seen Walmarts where old motorhomes park for days, even weeks at a time. Some folks set up tables and chairs, light barbecues and set up dog runs. It is obvious they intended to stay for extended periods. I also suspect they set up over storm sewers so they can use them to dump. These thoughtless jerks will eventually change Walmarts policy. It is a shame.

These are not really "free" nights at Walmart. Tonight I bought a $49 Schumacker 15Amp battery charger, a $30 recharge for our cell phone, a $10 SD card for the GPS and a few groceries. They get their money from us!

Tomorrow it is a short run to the St. Petersburg / Tampa area where we hope to settle in for a week.

Three States Today!

We are in Florida! We left Mississippi this morning, entered Alabama at noon and crossed into FL late this afternoon. We are now parked in a Walmart about fifty miles west of Tallahassee, FL. The Walmart was posted "No Overnight Parking" but we asked anyway. The greeter called the manager and he told us to go ahead and park for the night. The sign is just there to stop people from taking advantage and staying for several days. These are the kind of people who will eventually ruin it for all of us. Some ignorant people have even been known to dump their holding tanks in the parking lot!

From Tallahassee we will be turning south onto Highway 98 and taking the scenic route to Tampa. I have an aunt in Sarasota who I have met only once. Part of the purpose of this trip is to see her.

We had a little problem this morning when the wiring connector from the dolly became unattached from the motorhome and dragged on the road. I noticed the trailer brake was not working and stopped. The connector was ground down a bit from dragging in the pavement but the wired were nor exposed and I plugged it back in. Several hours later we stopped for lunch and when I went to start the engine, the battery was dead. I went back to the dolly connection and found the cable had been damaged in the dragging incident and several wired were barred and touching. I had grounded out the battery!

It eventually started by using the "Emergency" button which connects the engine to the coach battery and after an hour on the road everything is charged and provided it starts in the morning, no harm was done. I picked up a box of wire splices in Walmart and I will cut out the damaged section of the cable tomorrow morning before we leave. It will be a half hour job.

KKK License Plates

Just to place an exclamation mark on my last post, it has been released that Mississippi is considering a 2014 State license plate honoring Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. Yuk!

Here is the story in the local paper.

Off In The Morning

Our original plan was to move to Mobile, AL for a week before heading to FL. The weather there is virtually the same as it is here in Biloxi, MS. Chilly! We have been getting two or three cold days in a row followed by one nice day. Our neighbor from Illinois promises us it will start getting warm soon and we want to believe him but we also want to warm up before we have to head home. We have to be home in time to mail our taxes by April 30 so that means heading slowly north by the first week in April. We will skip Mobile and head straight for Southern FL! Temperatures there are in the mid 70’s. Just what we need for a few weeks.

We spoke to an older black gentleman ahead of us in line at the grocery store. Norma remarked to him how friendly people are in Mississippi. With an obvious glance at his black skin he said, “Are now, weren’t always”! We told him we were from Canada and thought we were coming down here for some warm weather. He told us to come back in the summer and we would get enough warm to last us through the next winter.

Now an observation

This is our first time in the Southern States. We have known many black people but all of them either in Canada, Mexico or the Western USA. We have spent lots of time interacting and talking to them. Here in the “South” things seem different in everyday interaction between the races. I am most comfortable in situations where there is no apparent or perceived differences between people. I talk to and treat everyone the same; black, white, brown, red, yellow, gay or straight and I expect to be treated the same back. This is my comfort zone and I feel very uneasy stepping out of it. Here, white people appear to be treated differently. Black people seldom or never seem to initiate contact. They will return a smile or nod but they do not come over to talk. If I initiate conversation they are friendly but let me lead the conversation. They always address us as “sir” and “ma'am” which always makes me uncomfortable, I don’t want to be called “sir”. I don’t know if I am creating all this in my head or not. Are they simply taught much better manners than the rest of us or is this a remnant of their life back a few (too few) years? Also, I do not recall seeing a mixed race couple since we left Arizona or New Mexico. I even feel uncomfortable talking about the subject here and I hope all I have said here is just my imagination.

Slow Times In The South

It has been pretty quiet around here the last couple of days. Norma has had a relapse with the cold she got last week and hasn't felt like doing much. I have been "puttering",  that is to say, not doing much either. We paid to stay another three days and that is up. We should move on to Mobile, Alabama but I may go and pay for one more day.

The park Internet was down most of yesterday and the time expired on my Virgin Broadband card. I have been mute!

The Internet was working when I woke up this morning so I have been catching up. What did we ever do before the Internet?

Edit: This weather is getting to us! We have decided to head out tomorrow and drive straight to southern Florida. The temperatures there are in the mid 70's and that is what we need. We are searching the Internet for deals on RV parks and will stay out of the $100 per night joints.