Thursday December 5th 2024

Every year during my Rambling Road Trip that I was in Florida for the winter I spent early December in this area. The reason is Christmas at Disney World. The holiday decorations and special events are all enjoyable experiences. Despite the cold weather over the last few days I have been to Disney twice and will visit the parks and resorts several more times before the holiday blackout period for my pass comes into play.

The parks usually aren’t excessively busy the first couple of weeks of December, but this year seems to be different. On Monday, the crowds at EPCOT were hard to navigate. It seemed to have a lots of large family groups in attendance. Invariably, big groups stop in the middle of the walkways to debate their next destination. Getting around them is a continuous challenge except for the people in Electric Convenience Vehicles (ECV). The ECV is like a bowling ball and the people are the pins scattering to allow the fast moving barely under control vehicle to pass. I saw this a couple of time on Monday.

I made one loop of the park in the afternoon to check out the decorations and enjoy some of the entertainment. The model trains at the Germany pavilion were decorated for the holidays with fake snow, Christmas trees and figurines of people celebrating. I was just in time to catch the Voices of Liberty at the American Pavilion. They were in their colonial period costumes and were singing Christmas songs.

All of the attractions had long wait times. To kill time while I waited for darkness for the Christmas lights, I took the monorail to the Magic Kingdom for a quick walk around. The primary park was just as busy as EPCOT. It was just as hard to navigate. I got to watch the flag retreat, but I wasn’t able to do much else. As the sunset, I returned to EPCOT for a fish and chip dinner at the Yorkshire Fish House before making another circuit of the World Showcase pavilions.

On Wednesday I visited Magic Kingdom deliberately. It was just as busy as Monday, but I got to ride a couple of rides, see the lights and have dinner. This time it was fried shrimp at the Columbia Harbor House.

In between trips to Disney I’ve been building more furniture for the base camp. The current project is a bedside table. I have in mostly assembled. It still needs to be sanded, stained and polyurethaned. It has been slow progress. The cold temperature make the usable outside work time short. The temperature hasn’t gotten out of the fifties until the afternoon and the sun is in my eyes by 4:30.

Sunday December 1st 2024

The temperature is running cooler than normal right now in central Florida. Compared to most of the rest of the country it is still very comfortable, but the current conditions add a few complications to daily activity. I let the weather prevent me from going to Sea World this weekend. The problem is dressing for the weather. You need lighter clothes during the day and warmer clothes at night. That presents a minor logistics issue. You either need to carry a backpack with a sweatshirt inside, get a locker for the sweatshirt or go back to the car for the warmer clothes after sunset. After all that, a sweatshirt may not be enough. Sea World involves a lot of setting outdoors for shows. What is good enough while walking isn’t always enough for low activity. Hey, I’m used to the warm weather and probably a little lazy too.

I guess I’m really getting settled into life at the base camp. I got internet installed on Friday. The tech got it done quicker and cleaner than I thought. I turned one of the cabinets in my living area into a network cabinet. It holds the cable modem, the WiFi router, a network disk drive and lots of power and cables. I replaced the shelves with metal grates to allow for airflow and punched some holes in the top and bottom of the cabinets. I may need to add a small muffin fan for better airflow, but for now it works. Having a high speed internet connection is a nice luxury I haven’t had while on the road.

Today I started the ultimate task of commitment to my base camp. I started to change the locks. When I moved in I had one key to the front door locks and four keys to the back door locks. My goal was to change the locks so I had only one key and add an electronic lock so I could get in without a key. My research led me to a Kwikset lock set solution that allows me to rekey the locks to use the same key and provide a keypad deadbolt. The keypad I chose is battery operated, but low tech. It does not use Bluetooth or WiFi and does not require a smart home hub. I got the front door lock changed today and will tackle the back door next. The front door is a standard residential door. The back door is a little more complicated. It is closer to an RV door than a regular house door and opens outward.

Thursday November 28th 2024

Happy Thanksgiving!

I christened the kitchen and dinning area of my base camp today. I took the opportunity of the holiday celebration to cook a significant meal for one. A turkey breast with a few of my favorite sides were the object of my cooking adventure. It went well. With more prep space than my RV home, I could actually use more pots and pans to do more in parallel. Overall it was a good meal and I have plenty of leftovers for the next few days.

The Amazon delivery drivers, UPS drivers and Fed X drivers all now my base camp well now. I have gotten one thing or another delivered each day the past week. Today was the first day without a delivery, but I got one delivery at 6:30 last night and have another scheduled for tomorrow. Most of the deliveries have been little things like place mats for my table and an indoor TV antenna. The antenna was an experiment that proved to be successful. I get better reception with the indoor antenna than the old outside pole mounted antenna even with a powered booster.

The biggest delivery was a recliner from Wayfair. The UPS delivery guy got it in the door for me and I was able to assemble it in short order. It is good to have that purchase complete. The most impressive delivery was last night’s. I got another one of the photos I took on the Rambling Road Trip printed on canvas. This is a very large picture of a desert landscape at Lost Dutchmen State Park in Apache Junction Arizona. I had it printed at 30×40. It may be too big for my living room, but I don’t mind. It is a beautiful landscape.

The cable guy is scheduled for tomorrow. The plan is to get internet installed at the base camp, not TV. The internet connection will fill the connectivity gap and also satisfy most of my TV entertainment needs. I still have my Directv subscription for my RV home and it is accessible over the internet. Up until now I’ve been using cellular data to stay connected, but that is both slow and limited.

Sunday November 24th 2024

The weather has been cool and windy the last few days. The daytime high temperature reached the seventy degree mark plus or minus a couple of degrees. Once the sun sets the temperature dropped quickly through the sixties into the fifties. It was even in the forties one morning. All of these weather issues resulted in a break in my furniture building activity. The wind was the chief culprit. Getting things done outside under my carport was like working in a wind tunnel at times.

I have actually reached equilibrium at my base camp. I have bought and built enough stuff to live comfortably. The sense of camping out is gone. There are still things to be built or bought, but the rush is over. I bought a recliner from Wayfair and a floor lamp from Amazon. These items took the living room out of the camping phase into the living phase. I don’t feel that I have to dedicate most of my time each day to furnishing my base camp anymore. A few more days dedicated to leisure are in my future.

Today had a little bit of recreation. I took a hike in the nearby wildlife refuge. The conditions were great to walk around one of the little ponds. Some of the wildflowers were in bloom, but I was disappointed by the lack of water birds in the area. I wish a heron or egret was around to satisfy my bird itch.

This evening I took another walk. This one was around the neighborhood. The park is a little less populated today than it was a week or so ago. Many of the people that had returned are gone again. I assume many went back north for the Thanksgiving Holiday. At least, that is what my neighbor across the street did. They drove back to Michigan. The park still isn’t showing signs of decorating for Christmas. One or two homes scattered here and there around the park have put up a few things. The weekend after Thanksgiving is a classic milestone for decorating, but it seems more and more people are getting a head start. The fact that this park is probably following a classic pattern is a good thing, just surprising.

Thursday November 21st 2024

The lead phrase in the TV weather talker script today was “The coldest temperatures since February”. The high temperature for the day was just over seventy, but the real cool temperature came after sunset. It was below sixty by 7PM and it continues to drop.

The dropping temperature got in the way of my enjoyment of Disney Springs this evening. I went in search of dinner and some evening entertainment. The ambiance set by the Christmas decorations and various roving entertainment was top notch. Wandering around was easy as the crowd was down probably because of the temperature. Unfortunately, wandering or shopping inside was about all you could do. It you stopped moving or sat down outside, the wind added a chill that was hard to take.

I did a complete circuit around the shopping and entertainment district. There were lots of Christmas flair around the area. In the main shopping area “snoap” was falling. The soap flakes make very realistic snow as they are blown off the roofs of the shops. Around the area brightly decorated Christmas trees lite the pathways and roving entertainers add to the overall atmosphere.

It was a brief but fun experience. Finding food that I could eat inside without a long wait proved impossible. It was just too cold to eat outside. Similarly, it was too cold to sit and watch the entertainment. My visit to Disney Springs became a lot shorter than I planned. I am going to try and get back again during the Holiday season, but it gets very crowded as Christmas approaches.

On the home furnishing front, I finished staining and applying polyurethane to the unfinished table and chairs I bought through Amazon. I am getting a little better at applying the poly, but I am still not an expert. The finish still shows a few blemishes that probably relate back to an incomplete sanding job. Over time I’ll stop seeing the issues and I’m not sure if anyone else will anyway. In addition to the two chairs I bought and finished I have two high end folding chairs that will bring the number of chairs up to four if I ever need to seat more than one or two which is highly unlikely. Better to be prepared.

Sunday November 17th 2024

The last coat of polyurethane went on my headboard yesterday. One of today’s tasks was attaching it to the bed frame. There was one hiccup in that task. The bed frame I built with mattress in place was too heavy to move. On the carpeted bedroom floor it also wouldn’t slide. I made a run to Lowes for something thin and hard to go under the bed legs. My plan was to get a four foot section of Masonite, but found a better solution in a piece of hardboard intended to be used to make a white board. When cut into four strips about six inches wide and slide under the bed legs, I was able to move the bed frame away from the wall and attach the headboard. My bed is now finished and doesn’t look too bad.

Today’s other task was finishing the two dinning room chairs I bought from Amazon. Each chair came in eight pieces in need of stain and polyurethane. By the end of the day I had all sixteen pieces stained. Trying to stay out of the direct sunlight is a challenge. The stain drys fast in the direct sun and it is hard to see the areas that haven’t been hit with the stain. I need to stop staining or applying polyurethane by mid afternoon. The sun is too intense in the late afternoon.

The unfinished table gets the stain and poly treatment next. Rain is in the forecast for Wednesday, so I need to get stuff inside by then. The furnishing of my base camp is coming along slowly. I got a framed canvas of one of my Rambling Road Trip pictures via UPS on Friday. It was a test of the printing service. I hung it on my bedroom wall. It looks pretty good. I am going to have a couple of landscape photographs printed on canvas next and maybe a bird picture or two.

I keep waiting to see Christmas decorations around the resort, but so far the only decorations are the Thanksgiving style decorations that have been added to the front gate. It is basically a garland of fall leaves. My guess is most of the Christmas type decorations will arrive right after Thanksgiving.

Thursday November 14th 2024

The big event of the last few days was a trip to Disney’s Animal Kingdom on Wednesday. The park is decked out for Christmas and the Merry Menagerie has returned. The Merry Menagerie are a set of big puppets that interact with each other and the park guests. Accompanied by a fiddler playing Christmas music the puppets of animals from the earth’s poles along with their marionettes greet people in front of the Tree of Life. They are fun to watch. Unfortunately, still pictures don’t do the interaction justice.

The park was busy for a mid week day. There were crowds along all the walkways, but the wait times for the various rides weren’t too bad. I only waited about thirty minutes for my favorite ride in the park, the Kilimanjaro Safari. The park’s most in demand ride, Avatar Flight of Passage, had a wait time of seventy minutes which is about average.

The animals were out and about today. The giraffes and zebras were in particularly high numbers on the safari, the only animals I missed seeing were the lions. They weren’t on their rocks as usual. It was a very windy day and many animals were enjoying the sun in sheltered locations. The gorillas were taking the sun against the rocks on the far side of their enclosure. The adults were catching up on their sleep while the young ones were getting into trouble.

On my way home from Animal Kingdom I stopped at Lowes for more base camp improvement project supplies. I am currently working on the headboard for the bed frame I completed a week or so ago. I have all the parts cut and stained with some assembly completed. I still have to trim the vertical pieces and add a cap board. A little stain touch up followed by two or three coats of polyurethane will finish the job.

The next project will be my kitchen/dinning room table and chairs. I decided not to build the table from scratch. Amazon had an unfinished round drop leaf table at a reasonable price as well as a couple of unfinished dinning room type chairs. I went with unfinished for two reasons. First, it is next it impossible to really know the color and look from the online pictures. The computer desk I bought finished from Amazon turned out alright, but it didn’t look much like its pictures. Second, if I finish them with the same stain I use on other projects there is a better chance the things will match.

Thursday November 7th 2024

In last Sunday’s blog entry I wrote about my intent to visit furniture stores to shop for a sofa and a recliner. That activity didn’t go completely to plan. The furniture store I went to was a disappointment. All they had on display were big sectional sofas. If I got one of those, there would be no room for people in my living room. When I inquired about smaller, simple sofas, they showed me to a kiosk area with a terminal and web browser. In other words “shop on line”. Their focus on the big sectionals was consistent with what I’d seen at Big Lots, so based on my small sample size I went back to online shopping for my sofa.

Shopping online for a sofa was productive. I found the same products on multiple websites. I depended on the specifications to get the size, and the pictures to get an idea about the overall look and color. More important, the reviews gave me an idea about issues and how easy it was to assemble. I finally found a sofa that struck my fancy on Amazon. It was the same model I saw on another website, but for almost one hundred dollars less.

I also bought an area rug from Amazon to offset all the gray that I was putting the room. From the pictures, I was expecting to receive a rolled up carpet 5×7 feet in size. I was surprised to receive the rug in a small box about a foot by fifteen inches and four inches deep. The rug was thinner than I expected, but seems to work fine over the carpet in the living room.

The sofa arrived today via UPS. I was prepared to bring the sofa in piece by piece, but the driver helped me get the large one hundred plus pound box into the living room. The next half hour or so was spent putting the ten pieces together. I had to prop a couple of pieces up to get them connected, but I didn’t need any help. The Amazon assembly service wasn’t necessary.

I still intend to buy a recliner to sit in facing the TV. A local store with delivery service continues to be the plan. The logistics of getting the recliner into the room and assembled are likely to be more complicated than the sofa. It doesn’t seem like a good solo job. Most recliners seem to be heavier and perhaps wider than the sofa.

The living room also needs an end table or two as well as some wall art. The sofa is centered under a set of picture hooks. I’m reviewing some of the pictures I have from the Rambling Road Trip for something suitable for framing. I also intend to build an end table and possibly the lamp to go on it. Slowly the furnishing of my base camp is coming together.

While the furniture arrival today was the big event of the week, I did make a visit to Disney’s EPCOT for a Fish and Chips dinner on Tuesday night. The park seemed so different after the return to Standard Time. Even though I’ve been there at night many times, the first arrival near dark this year took a little getting acclimated. In addition to supper, I got in some exercise walking around the World Showcase and road a couple of rides. They are getting the Living with the Land ride ready for the holidays. Many of the trees and plants had Christmas lights installed. They haven’t been turned on yet. The Festival of the Holidays at EPCOT begins the day after Thanksgiving. Christmas celebrations at the other three theme parks are already underway. Friday night is the first Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at the Magic Kingdom. I may visit Magic Kingdom during the afternoon and early evening to see the decorations, but won’t be staying for the separate admission after hours party.

Sunday November 3rd 2024

With the return to Standard Time today was confusing to the senses. It was bright outside when I woke up this morning. For the last couple of weeks it has been the dull daylight that occurs before the sun clears the eastern horizon. My base camp is located on the western side of a hill delaying the sunlight from reaching my windows even more. Tonight’s early sunset didn’t help cure the disorientation either. From experience I know it will be a few days before I get synced with the changes.

I took the last few days off from my furniture building tasks. The bed frame is supporting my new mattress well and I have been getting a good nights sleep. My next projects may need to get delayed a few days. My work space is outdoors under my carport and rain is in the forecast for most days this week. Another tropical system is moving into the Gulf of Mexico. It sounds like this one will die out before the center moves onto land, but plenty of rain may fall before the week is out.

It is time to start some serious shopping for the furniture I can’t build. Specially, I need a couch and a recliner. So far I’ve done some casual looking at furniture at Big Lots and looked online at Wayfair and Amazon. Given the size and weight of these items, I really need to get them delivered in an assembled state. That means I have to shop at a traditional furniture store complete with annoying sales people and long lead times. Not my favorite form of shopping.

Life around my base camp is starting to return. The sleepy summer state is transitioning to an active winter state. There are many indicators of the change. Perhaps the most obvious change is the empty RV sites are almost all occupied now. More subtle changes are the presence of cars in front of more park model homes and the canvas covers removed from the golf carts along side the homes. As a guess, in August there were less than a third of the units occupied. Right now about half to two thirds of the units are occupied. It will be interesting to see how soon the remaining units get occupied.