One question I've been asked by many is, are you happy? Well, I can tell you that I'm contented. I am nine months into my journey as a full-time RV'er, so I'm starting to get accustomed to my new lifestyle. Some things about my lifestyle in my RV, I absolutely love. Other things, not so much. One of the first things I notice that I really enjoyed was not having to pay property tax on my old house. I had paid tax on it for 25 years. When the time came around, I was so very happy to keep that money in my pocket. I have found that full coverage insurance on my fifth wheel is about the same that I paid on my house, so that part would be a push. One of the things I don't like about my RV is that it is a depreciating asset. That means that the value goes down, instead of up.
I've happy I solved my two most pressing problems in the last month. I was absolutely lost without satellite television, but I got all that done. (It's on my last post) My major concern was what was I going to do for Internet service? My first solution was tethering to my cell phone. That worked pretty good, except I only got about six gigs a month before they started charging. A lot! Next, I got a Verizon MiFi gizmo and charged it as I needed it. Really, ten gigs was about $90. It didn't take me to to long to retire that idea. Finally, Roxi over at The Good Luck Duck, left me a comment and said, "You've probably looked into Millenicom? If AT&T doesn't work for you, their Hotspot plan is Verizon." You know, I never have looked into Millenicom. Thanks to that good advice, I did look into it. Here's a look at what they have to offer..........
After much thought and consideration, I decided to go with their "unlimited plan". It just so happens, I live in an area outside of Daytona that is serviced by Sprint, and my particular area has LTEplus. This is turned out to be the fastest Internet I've ever had. Compared to what I got in my house, 4mbps, I get 27mbps!! It absolutely screams. I'm glad I waited, and didn't do anything dumb before I discovered this. I almost went with Hughes net, but Billy Bob said "No never no, don't do it!" I took his advice and I'm glad that I did. This wonderful Internet is delivered to me by a Sprint dongle. After a little research, I ordered a cradle point from Amazon, and things are going great. I had to get the new modem, because dongle's don't go into just any modem, it has to be a special one. The cool thing about the cradle point, is it sets up a hotspot all around my RV. Now I have no unnecessary wires running anywhere, I just being wireless.
Have you guys seen Chromecast? It is also really awesome. I got mine from Amazon.com.(here). Since I was in the first wave of people to buy these, they threw in three free months of Netflix. Go ahead and read the description from the Amazon page, so you get an idea of how it works. Movies, YouTube, or anything else that's compatible with Google Chrome, goes wireless from my laptop, which is wireless, and to that device. It's plugged into a slot behind my TV. So very, very cool.
I decided to upgrade my patio a little bit, as you can see in the picture below. I really do like my shade screen. I went to Camping World in San Augustine, and shopped for shade screens, and found they wanted one hundred dollars or more for them. In fact, the ones that they wanted $100 for were smaller than the ones you see on my awning. Once again, saved by the Internet. What you see is a mesh tarp that is used to cover a dump truck. It's actually bigger than what you buy for an RV, but not so big that it didn't fit my 20 foot awning perfectly. Those are new carpets on the ground, and I also got a new director's chair with sidetable. This is absolutely the best place for morning coffee, while listening to Sirius XM outlaw country. When you let it be, life's pretty sweet!
As you can see, I have been feathering my nest some, and adjusting to my new lifestyle, a lot! In a week and a half, it will be Biketoberfest (click) in Daytona, and I will be right back into my element. Honestly, I hadn't planned on staying in Florida this long, but what can one do? I'm not about to leave right before the second biggest motorcycle rally in Florida. I am missing me some Tex-Mex food, and good ol' Texas music. I haven't made my mind up, but I may be doing the Austin, Texas area for Thanksgiving. My favorite aunt will be celebrating her 90th birthday, and I don't want to miss that.
Thanks everyone! I will be back in touch.
Michael Ultra
