Plant City Florida Strawberry Festival

From February 28-March 9, Plant City hosted the 2008 Florida Strawberry Festival. Mark & Gina came down from Orange City so we could all spend the day there together. First order of business - get homemade strawberry shortcake! We were offered our choice of biscuit or sponge cake (we like biscuit) topped with luscious perfectly ripe and juicy strawberries and real whipped cream.



We scouted the food vendors for lunch later on, then Gina & I hopped aboard the ferris wheel to get a birds-eye view of the Fairgrounds.



The Berry-Go-Round looked like it would be fun for the young 'uns.



We toured the barns with the livestock competition then the exhibit hall with all the arts and crafts, including a cake-decorating competition.



The Strawberry quilt won the blue ribbon.



A variety of entertainment kept us amused. How about the Native American folk dance of the wild turkey? You don't see that every day.



A 50-60-70's band called Trash played unconventional instruments made from old cans and bottles. Their energy level was amazing and they had us cracking up with their humor.



Ed contemplated buying this belt with "Redneck" carved on it and a Confederate flag but would have also had to invest in a giant shiny metal buckle to go along with it. Tough to imagine this Yankee wearing that, huh?



The Strawberry Festival grounds are home to one of the oldest original post offcies in Florida.



Outisde the old post office, a Cracker demonstrated the tools historically used by the original settlers.



FOR SALE - handmade wooden spoons.



By late afternoon, I was ready for a real strawberry milkshake, made from fresh strawberries and real ice cream. YUM! The shake was scrumptious but I loved the booth display.



The source of all the strawberry merriment, strawberry fields - forever!



And a flat just had to come home with us!

Long View RV Goes to the Rally in Perry, GA

From March 14-17 2008, Long View represented Gulfstream Coach, Inc. at The Rally in Perry, GA, the largest rally in North America. Despite the news media constantly trumpeting doom and gloom, RV buyers were out and about and we nearly sold out our complete display. Why? Innovative floor plans from Gulfstream and awesome deals from Long View RV.

For example, look at this Endura, a class C motorhome on an International truck chassis.


It's a 34' motorhome with an International 300HP engine, Allison 2500 transmission, 7' interior head room, a 13,000lb. hitch, solid wood cabinets, leveling jacks, and all the appointments you'd expect in a Class A motorhome without the Class A price tag. And anyone can drive it - no learning curve as with driving a bus. This particular floor plan has two slide-outs with bunk beds. They are a total of five other floor plans available, including the Grand Hotel that sleeps 10 and has a bath and a half. Gulfstream has the exclusive right to build motorhomes on the International chassis.

If you want something smaller that averages 18mpg, check out the MB Cruiser, built on the Sprinter chassis with a Mercedes 3.0L 6-cyl. engine.



The new B Touring Cruiser GX2 on the Workhorse chassis is 30' long with 3-slides and includes the new Sky Cap, an automotive windshield set into the cab overhead that lets in light but is tinted to block out UV rays. The interior height is 7', same as a Class A, but with the drive-ability and lower price tag of a Class C.



But for those folks who still feel that the Class A is "king of the road", Gulfstream introduces two new models for 2008 with the TV enthusiast in mind. First is the Crescendo 40K with a full-wall slide on the passenger side, a super-slide in the living room on the driver's side, and a bedroom slide with a king-size bed.



The 40K has the kitchen/dinette in the front. The living room holds two couches on either side of a 37" LCD TV mounted on the wall mid-coach.



Not enough space for you? Check out the new Gulfstream Tourmaster 45G Constellation with a full media room including stadium seating in the rear. The Constellation is built on the Freightliner tag axle chassis with a 400HP Cummins engine. Look at the full wall slide and the beautiful painted graphics.



The interior is birds-eye maple, hand-crafted by the Amish.



What sets the Constellation apart is the use of a Murphy-bed. With the bed upright, viewers can enjoy the 37" TV from the comfort of two recliners with cup-holders, the type found in high-end movie theaters.





But with the bed lowered, there is still enough room to walk around, even with the recliners foot-rests extended. The door from the back of the bedroom leads to a full-bathroom complete with a stacked washer/dryer and a walk-in closet.



All of us at Long View send a huge "thank you" to Tony, Sally and Dave from Gulfstream, the hardest working show team around!



For more information on Gulfstream coaches at Long View RV in FL and CT, visit our web site at www.longviewrv.com.

Tribute to Roxie

With great sadness, we report that our beloved Sheltie, Roxie, crossed the "Rainbow Bridge" last week. She died peacefully at the vet's office after a six-month battle with congestive heart failure. Roxie had just reached her thirteenth birthday four days prior and we were blessed to have her in our lives for nearly three years.

In 2005, Ed had decided that our first Sheltie, Duncan, needed a sister. I found this picture on the web site for New England Sheltie Rescue. We fell in love with that adorable face!



Lisa, Roxie's foster mom with Peppertree Rescue in Albany, NY, brought Roxie to meet us and Duncan. After a two-week trial period, Roxie officially became ours. She was ten years old at the time. Her matted fur had been shaved by Peppertree.



It took several months for Roxie to really blossom and become a real dog again. With love and patience and some help from Duncan, she learned to enjoy walks in the woods, the joy of chasing a stick, and bonding with the "pack." She's on the right in this photo. Look how happy she is with her "daddy" and Duncan on Driftwood Beach at Jekyll Island.



Roxie especially enjoyed living at Cha-Wi-Ma, our summer campground in CT. She could spend an hour circling the woodpile playing hide-and-seek with the chipmunks. We had hoped to give her one more spring season there but it was not to be. And we will especially miss her terribly when we get back there next month. But we will always treasure her memory.


Roxie Lee Pronovost - March 1, 1995 - March 5, 2008

NY Yankees Baseball - Opening Day of Spring Training at Legends Field; Tampa, FL

Spring has sprung! On February 29, Ed & I attended the NY Yankees first game of the baseball spring training season. Legends Field here in Tampa is the home-away-from-home for the New York Yankees for the month of March each year. The stadium is a smaller replica of Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York City.



Prior to the game, United States Special Forces parachuted onto the infield, dropped from a plane 5000 feet above the stadium. Each sky diver carried a different flag. First up - the US flag.



Here are two parachutists about to land, including one bearing the Yankees team flag.



Touchdown on the infield!



Here's the Yankees dugout with Derek Jeter standing in the background.



After introduction of the Yankees legends who were present for the occasion (including Yogi Berra), the coaches and the players, both teams lined up for the singing of our national anthem. The opponents are the University of South Florida (USF).



During the singing of the "Star Spangled Banner", the color guard stood by as the giant American flag was unfurled.



Time to play ball! It was a fun game to watch. USF did manage a Grand Slam. Final score was 11-4, Yankees.

Honeymoon Island State Park; Dunedin, FL

For Ed's birthday on Tuesday the 29th, we took the dogs and spent the afternoon doing some geocaching at Honeymoon Island State Park, on a barrier island off Dunedin, just north of Tampa. We bought sandwiches on the way and enjoyed them in the picnic area of the park. We were among just a handful of folks visiting. Temps were in the 70's with a breeze that made the day a bit cool for sunbathing, so the park was peaceful and quiet.

Our first stop was the mile-long Osprey Trail. Three osprey were busy constructing two huge nests. The park ranger told Ed that he expected babies to hatch in 2-3 weeks. Here's a pair of adult osprey perched high in the trees.



Duncan was more interested in this earth-bound gopher tortoise. As he barked excitedly, the tortoise withdrew into his shell a bit, then reappeared and lumbered off.



After finding our first cache on Honeymoon Island, hidden along the Osprey Trail, our next stop was the Rotary Centennial Nature Center. This building was originally a bathhouse that has been restored and "re-purposed".



Behind the Center lies an educational nature trail. We learned that this common palm tree is properly called a "Sabal Palmetto."



The trail leading to another cache followed along St. Joseph Sound, popular with kayakers. These mangrove trees held the cache.



Duncan & Roxie helped Ed investigate the cache of trinkets, hidden in a camouflaged ammo box at the base of a mangrove tree.



Late in the afternoon, we tried to find the dog-friendly beach. But it's about a one-mile walk so we skipped it, as none of us had that much energy left. I did catch this view of the Tampa skyline from the main beach.



This row of beach swings invited me to sit and watch the sunset, but it grew too cool to stay outside comfortably.



From inside the van, we watched the sun sink beyond the horizon over the Gulf of Mexico. It brought back memories of the Oregon coast, where it was a nightly ritual to stop whatever we were doing to watch the sun set over the ocean.

Fort DeSoto Park; Tampa Bay, Florida

In 2005, North Beach at Ft. DeSoto State Park was named the "#1 Beach in America." Friendly RVers have told me that we must camp there. We didn't make arrangements for camping for I knew that once we got settled in Tampa that we would make a pilgrimage. A day trip doing some geocaching provided us opportunities to see parts of the park (1100 acres on 5 islands) that we might otherwise have missed.

North Beach is the largest beach, with picnic areas and sand dunes nearby. On the Gulf of Mexico, the waves lap gently and create a relaxing family atmosphere perfect for sunbathing. The sand is fine and very white, almost like baby powder between your toes.



I preferred the smaller East Beach with no concessions and very few people. We picked up a couple of geocaches near here. This view is facing east toward the Sunshine Skyline Bridge over Tampa Bay, linking St. Petersburg and Bradenton.



The actual fort is camouflaged from the Gulf of Mexico side by sand dunes and sea grasses. This is the back side view of Ft. DeSoto. One of the cannons was the scene of a virtual cache. After locating the correct cannon as determined by the GPS coordinates, we had to read the accompanying sign and answer six questions about the cannon specs. Only after answering them correctly could we claim credit for the cache.



From the top of fort, we enjoyed a different perspective of North Beach.



The view to the other direction encompasses the fishing pier and ferry dock.



We found our sixth and final cache of the day near the fishing pier. We turned and realized the sun was setting over the water to the west. We haven't seen that since we traveled in Oregon and California back in 2002.



Click here to visit my web album with 25 photos from Ft.DeSoto.

Airstream Ranch

You've probably heard of Cadillac Ranch,
a tourist attraction considered art by many. It is a series of cars, partially buried tail-end up, in a cow pasture along the old Highway 66 in Amarillo, Texas.

Well, now we have a similar "attraction" right here in Tampa, just across the interstate from Long View RV where I work. The local Airstream dealer, Bates RV, has created Airsteam Ranch. Watch the video to see it, hear Frank Bates explain why he did it, and get reaction from the neighbors. What you you think? Leave a comment below.

If you're traveling on I-4 to the Tampa RV Supershow next week, keep an eye out for it just west of Exit 14. At the show, feel free to stop by and say hi to me at the Gulfstream Coach booth.

RVers of the month, who - us?

Ed & Camille hiking in Zion National Park in April of 2007

Welcome to all our new readers referred by www.rvresources.com. We are quite honored to have been selected as their "RVers of the Month" for January 2008. RV Resources is just what its name implies - a web site with reference links for almost any RV related topic. Ed's company, Protech Mobile RV Service is listed under "Repair Centers" for CT and this blog will be listed under "Travelogues & Journals." For now, they have our picture above and a description and link to the blog on their home page. I guess we're somebody now, huh?