RV Seasonal Living – The right place at the right time

I posted last regarding our decision to do a seasonal spot in this amazing location between Ocala and Gainsville, Florida and wanted to provide an update since we’ve been here since December. Is this the right choice for you? Read on and learn from us – the good and not so good.

All the goodness

We have a new neighborhood, and we like it!

This park has several amenities and we have taken advantage of some of them while we’ve been here, although not all. Dave has been focused on his golf and plays every day. He has met so many people, from all over the US and Canada and really enjoys both the weekly and morning scrambles. He and Max will walk the park every day, sometimes twice, and love going to the dog park. His shoulder has not bothered him at all, and his golf game has definitely improved. All this exercise has kept him at a healthy weight, and he is looking fit and tan and is in better shape than he ever was when we lived in Minnesota. The sun shines almost every day and while it’s warmer here, it is cooler than SW Florida, which we both really like. He definitely gets his much-needed outdoor living.

Between the two of us, Dave is definitely the more outgoing, fun loving, people person than I am. Getting to know our neighbors and to begin to build longer term relationships with them, has been a great benefit for him and is something that he looks forward to maintaining when we return here this fall. All good things! He hasn’t wet his fish line yet, but it’s on his to do list and since there is so much duck hunting down here, he may look into that as well. More new experiences to add to his ever-growing list of new and different things he has done.

I am not as outgoing as Dave, and while I enjoy hearing about other people’s experiences and travels and like meeting new people, I am very content to spend most my time being a homebody. Having a seasonal site allows me the time and area to do that. I can spend all day just putzing around Homer. Touching up paint, finding new storage areas in Homer, and now with having our own site, I added in a small flower bed that I can go and “Play” in the dirt and just relax. This site also came with a shed that is just ours. I have set it up as an office space for when I need the chance to escape and write, or a huge desire to organize something, yet again. Yes, I have organized my shed at least 10 times. I have a constant need to improve things, areas, processes, even when something might not need improving. (No, I do not look to change people or try and improve them, thank goodness)!

For me, having this sense of a continuous home base, as in it’s here and only ours, and the ability to make it my own, has been a missing piece of the puzzle. I love my flowers and there are soooooo many different kinds here in the south, I am really enjoying trying out new plants and learning about them. When I venture out and about from my home, I love going by the water and checking out the other sites to see the many different plants all over the place. I play BINGO every Thursday and get some quality girl time with my small group of friends and no, I am not as fit as Dave and that just doesn’t bother me.

We can leave and travel from our site whenever we want and it will still be here for our return!

Our first grandchild is due the beginning of April. We can’t wait to meet him and congratulate our kids on the newest addition to the Sarff clan. However, Homer is not making that trip. No way, no how, not doing it. We tried it last year and ended up laying over in Kentucky. As much as we enjoyed our time there, after finally arriving and still freezing in mid-May, knowing we can leave our homer in a safe place and it will be just fine until we return, provides a lot of peace of mind. We can drive to Minnesota in the car, sleep on our kid’s sofas for a few days and then head right back to our beautiful warmth and sunshine and yes, more golf for Dave.

More Flexible Travel!

We now have the ability to adjust our traveling schedule however we want for fall and winter and spring. You might think we had that before, but we were basing everything on campground availability and if they can fit our rig, within our dates. We are used to that for our weeklong stops and as we travel the different states, but have found it’s much harder to find something for a few months, especially in Florida, especially in the winter. Example – We decided we want to take two months to head up the east coast before our arrival in Maine in July. Having a seasonal site means we can just stay right here until mid-May. No need to try and extend our reservation here and hope it means just moving sites, rather than trying to find another park. We are in our spot anytime we want for as long as we want and can come and go as much as we want.

Our east coast adventure will be filled with so much new to see, we want to take our time to see it. We really like that if we find a place and want to explore for longer, we can stay there longer and yet our spot will still be here whether we arrive in Sept or Oct this fall. No trying to find a place to return to or changing reservations several times.

The not so good part

We’re not out on new adventures and seeing the best of Florida!

We are very content to be in our park and at our home base. We’ve been to a couple of new places, like Silver Springs and Micanopy (one of the top 5 cutest towns in the USA) but haven’t traveled much in this area outside of those. Being able to drive the golf cart by the lake with Rocky in my lap every day, which seems to constantly change, is a real treat for me. There are always new and different forms of wildlife in sight. (I’m on the lookout for a snake – although safely from my golf cart)! We have found ourselves falling right back into our same old patterns, just with added activities. We count this as maybe not such a great thing if you are after adventure and travel and new experiences all the time. You will need to decide this one for yourself.

Investing time and money in a site that isn’t yours

This park allows us to improve our site, within guidelines, while we are here. Some we can leave behind, like the flower bed and expanded brick patio, other items we have to clear out when we leave permanently. This has caused us to purchase items we would not normally take with us on the road. A couple of comfy chairs, a pergola to provide some much-needed shade in the heat of the day, a golf cart, steps into our shed – you get the idea. What we did decide is that even though this will most likely not be our forever spot, it will until 2025 and the items we purchased will be much used while we are here. We think of this more as an investment in ourselves, rather than someone else’s park. If we do find a different seasonal location, we like better, we will just sell what we’ve purchased for this one, or actually move it to our next seasonal site. We have decided we do like seasonal living for the winter and will continue with this plan for a while.

Back to larger living? Been there, done that, don’t want to do it again!

Now adding a couple chairs and purchasing a golf cart we know we can re-sell, seems sound to us. Where we need to be cautious is in purchasing many more items for this location. We downsized for a reason and falling back into previous patterns and habits is going to put us right back in our old mode. Example:

• No, we are not getting a lawn mower so we can mow more than the landscapers do.
• No, we do not need two grills and a smoker.
• No, we do not need a tv for the shed so I can hear it while I’m writing.
• No, we are not adding permanent steps or a small deck to the outside of Homer
• No, I am not buying a permanent bird bath and bunch of outdoor pots for beside the shed, even though it would look sooooo cute!

You get the idea. We are trying to be very cautious and check ourselves before investing in too many items we know we don’t need again. Nice to have, sure, but don’t need to have. Where I was going with all this, is that as nice as it is to have a seasonal site and place to call “Home”, we are still very much committed to traveling the US and seeing all it has to offer. We do not want to fall back into our old patterns and habits. For us, it’s imperative we keep that at the front of our minds. Something to think about before you choose to do seasonal living.

Finally, as we now will have not one, but TWO grandchildren make their entrance into our world this year, once again, Flexibility is the name of the game for us. Having a Home on wheels that can go wherever we do – except Minnesota in the spring (LOL), – we are even more committed to this lifestyle than ever before. As we wrap up our second year of full time living next month, we continue to look forward to our travels all this summer along the east coast and the return to our lovely warmth and sunshine of Florida this upcoming fall and winter.

See ya on the road,

Dave and Theresa