Going to Key West for Christmas.

[wincrasher]

Got a reservation at Boyd's for the week - Dec 21 thru 27. Plan on a week away from the regular Christmas craziness and ride my bike, paddle my yak and enjoy some quality time with Mr. Bonz.

Any suggestions on must do's while I'm there?

[gerrym51]

You are one lucky guy.have a great time.

[wincrasher]

I hope I'm lucky, I'll be in Vegas tomorrow nite!

[gerrym51]

Originally Posted by wincrasher

I hope I'm lucky, I'll be in Vegas tomorrow nite!

i'm a sucker for roulette

[Davydd]

I always go to Sloppy Joe's Bar for sentimental reasons. That was Hemingway's hangout. It was also the watering hole in the last road trip I took with my father in 1982. It is probably nothing like it was in Hemingway's time. Actually it is nothing like it was in 1982.

[Mike]

Originally Posted by gerrym51

i'm a sucker for roulette

+1. Anything with wheels is my magnet.

[wincrasher]

Well I'm on my way back from Vegas. It's an interesting town. Full of liars, thieves and whores. Loved it! Lots of energy and activity. Wish I had more time to explore the city. Did take a bus tour out to the Hoover dam. Thought that was actually a pretty good deal - bus ride out there and back, tour of the interior of the dam, stop at Fiesta casino in Henderson for a buffet lunch and a bit of gambling - $56 each.

But didn't love the modes of travel. Airplanes, taxis and hotels. I'm exhausted!

I looked at a timeshare of sorts while I was there. What a scam! They concocted this point system to use their locations all over the world. Your "ownership" as they called it would be secured by the deed on their Las Vegas building. But as you dig deep into it, full of surprise expenses and limitations. Everyone was a fast talker, and would continually contradict themselves. Couldn't really get a straight answer on anything. But you can't think about it, their busy and need your answer right this minute! LOL. I doubt I'd get a week a year out of it. About fell out when they asked for $50k, plus $1000 maintenance a year! Plus all the rest. No thanks.

Just a good reminder how inexpensive, convenient and carefree it is to travel in my B. Looking forward to Florida the week after next.

[gerrym51]

I've owned Disney Vacation Club for over 20 years. you buy points and can go various times of year using various amounts of points. we go to Disney world every year. we have found it to be a very good buy.

[Fastpaddler1]

Originally Posted by wincrasher

Got a reservation at Boyd's for the week - Dec 21 thru 27. Plan on a week away from the regular Christmas craziness and ride my bike, paddle my yak and enjoy some quality time with Mr. Bonz.

Any suggestions on must do's while I'm there?

Have a great time and a Happy Christmas. Have a few cold ones while enjoying perfect weather--while we freeze here up North.
AL

[wincrasher]

So far I've been at Boyd's for a couple days and couldn't be happier with it, or with Key West in general. The weather is a perfect 80 degrees and low humidity and gentle breezes. The park is very lush and tropical. I was expecting a glorified parking lot and blazing sun, so this is quite the happy surprise.

I'm warming up to this inflatable kayak. It's been nice to have. Today I paddled out to the Atlantic (and back). For the life of me, I don't really see how these things fit back in the bag. After this trip, I may get a plastic tote to put it in.

On the trip down, the kayak bag was a nice wedge to hold my electric bike in place without it banging around in the back. It's been a real joy this trip. I was able to run from Stock Island all the way down to the end of Key West (near the cruise ship docks) down around Duval street and downtown and back around the US 1 loop back to Boyd's. I clocked this at 12 miles and still had full power when I got home. I really think this bike will go the advertised 50 miles.

Today I strung up some LED christmas lights I bought at K-Mart. That's about as festive as I'm going to get this year. I'm in good company though, as others are doing the same thing and the park is full-up. There are a handful of other B's of various sorts. The guy next to me has a Roadtrek 210, and there are 3 Sprinter based vans of various flavors. Most of the rest are big-rigs. It amazes me that they can park them in these close quarters.

[gerrym51]

Boy-am I jealous.merry christmas and happy new year wincrasher

[Mike]

Originally Posted by wincrasher

So far I've been at Boyd's for a couple days and couldn't be happier with it, or with Key West in general. The weather is a perfect 80 degrees and low humidity and gentle breezes. The park is very lush and tropical. I was expecting a glorified parking lot and blazing sun, so this is quite the happy surprise.

I'm warming up to this inflatable kayak. It's been nice to have. Today I paddled out to the Atlantic (and back). For the life of me, I don't really see how these things fit back in the bag. After this trip, I may get a plastic tote to put it in.

On the trip down, the kayak bag was a nice wedge to hold my electric bike in place without it banging around in the back. It's been a real joy this trip. I was able to run from Stock Island all the way down to the end of Key West (near the cruise ship docks) down around Duval street and downtown and back around the US 1 loop back to Boyd's. I clocked this at 12 miles and still had full power when I got home. I really think this bike will go the advertised 50 miles.

Today I strung up some LED christmas lights I bought at K-Mart. That's about as festive as I'm going to get this year. I'm in good company though, as others are doing the same thing and the park is full-up. There are a handful of other B's of various sorts. The guy next to me has a Roadtrek 210, and there are 3 Sprinter based vans of various flavors. Most of the rest are big-rigs. It amazes me that they can park them in these close quarters.

Also envious, but good to hear it's going better than expected. That's always a big plus.
Just curious. What make and model and point of sale for your electric bike? Been thinking something like that would be the equivalent of a toad for a class B van. I recently saw an electric folder up here on our business news network (BNN TV) but I can't recall who made it or what they cost. I remember it had no chain or central sprocket, the pedals were on the front wheel like a tricycle, and the inventor said it had a range of around 40 kms per charge. It looked quite useful.

[wincrasher]

this is what i have, and where I got it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

there are reviews on youtube. some are not so great as they are looking at it as an off road mountain bike. for what I'musing it for, it's terrific.

[Mike]

Thanks, I'll have a peek.
Merry Xmas.

[wincrasher]

Heading to Red Coconut on Fort Myers Beach tomorrow. Anyone been there?

First place I've ever had ask for a copy of the dog's immunization record. That's a first.

[Mike]

You'll need the dogs shots records to enter Canada. They also may ask for cat vaccination records as well but rabies is the one that matters.
Been through Ft Myers. Retirement home heaven.
That's a great looking bike. Ignore the bad reviews.
Revelo makes the bike I was trying to remember. The LE 1. It's on sale for C$1299.
There are pics and a short video on their website, if anyone's interested. The current model doesn't fold but they're working on it. Only weighs 14kg, has a range of 30kms per charge, and full recharge can take 3 hours depending on SOC when plugged in.
http://www.reveloelectric.com

[wincrasher]

This trip has been going so well, I've decided to extend a bit.

The Red Coconut is a dreadful park. Just crammed together, overpriced, etc. All these supposed rules I guess are just for people like me, and not the regular population. So tomorrow I'm moving to the San Carlos RV park on the inland side of the waterway. I rode the bike over there and it seems like a lot more relaxed choice.

Just an update on the van. The Travato continues to perform above expectations, but not without incident. A few bits of information for potential Promaster/Travato owners:

Firstly, if you suddenly discover that you have no 12v power, look to the switch along the floor that is the main battery disconnect switch. It's in the perfect location for the dog to play with it and shut off all your 12V. Of course, that doesn't come to mind until you've spent 30 minutes perusing the owner's manual.

Secondly, if your house sound/dvd system stops working (like it isn't getting any power), and you've checked the main fuse box, and still no solution, before you take it to a dealer, unscrew the front facia and pull out the radio. On the back side, is a hidden 10 amp fuse. Inspect that fuse and you'll probably find it's blown. Simply replace and you should be back in business. Of course, you'll probably have to find a hardware store and buy a long shaft screwdriver.

Thirdly, the screen door on the Promaster/Ducato is probably the best in the business. It works extremely well. But, in your enthusiasm, you grab the door from the top of the frame, it will surely pop off the track. To fix is fairly easy, you unscrew the bottom piece on the door frame, snap it back on the track, and then replace the two screws. 2 minute fix that I had to do twice this trip. I found that this would happen opening the door from the inside of the van - your vantage point is much higher than outside the van, and your natural tendency is to grab the door from a high point. Simply grab it from the mid-point or lower, and you won't have a problem.

Lastly, I finally clogged the shower drain pump, necessitating removal of the filter under the sink cabinet and cleaning it out. The permanent fix is to put a faucet screen in the shower drain inlet which is a lot easier to periodically clean.

The drive train continues to perform flawlessly. 18 mpg traveling down Florida, 19 mpg on the causeway to and from the Keys, and 18 mpg again traveling across to Fort Myers Beach.

[stanw909]

19 mpg. Very cool.

[mlts22]

This is good info about the Travato. Have you had any issues with gray water dumping and using the pump with that?

[wincrasher]

The only issue I've had with gray dumping was at Boyd's. At the back side of the park, there is a visible water level about 10" down in the sewer connection. So dumping was slow. You'd pump a little, then walk the hose back (lifting it) to empty it. Then pump some more, and so on.

The hardware on the van has worked flawlessly. But in this situation, a pure gravity dump would be quicker and less of a hassle.

At the park I'm at today (San Carlos RV Park at Ft. Myers Beach), the sewer connection is right at the back of the van, about 2 feet from my discharge. So I'm able to use my short hose and just pump it down. Almost the ideal situation.