It has been a while and we are doing great here in Florida with temps in the 70 & 80s. Still trying to get used to this new lifestyle and enjoying it. We found a small church near by and have been attending it. We will be leaving Ocala on March 17 and moving to Charleston, SC for a couple of weeks before we head back to Ohio the first of April.

Yesterday we went to the Tampa RV show to look at the Cardinal 3456 also on site were 4 other models. The 3456 was an estate model which is what we have been considering as an upgrade.

What we liked was the second vanity and more kitchen cabinets and additional counter space. We would love to have the larger fridge and washer dryer.

We were not happy with the new fold up step unit. Although it was very sturdy to walk on it was also a bit heavy and Karen would not be able to raise and lower them. And we love the aluminum steps we had installed at FROG last year.

The basement door on the driver side lifted up but the slide interfered with it and could only open to 90 degrees which made it difficult for access. I like what Mike did having a split door opening out instead of up.

As we continued to look at the 3456, 3850 and others we decided that if we changed the 3850 would still be the best choice for us. The reason is the bedroom layout. With the King bed, there is very little space between the bed and the wall and I need a shelf for my heart monitor and the 3850 is perfect.

We are not fans of the theater seating and would have regular recliners.

As we looked at other brands and found the most all of the rear living spaces are about the same and for right now we will keep what we have. Our rear kitchen has plenty of storage and counterspace and we can leave our Keurig sit on the counter even while traveling, it has never moved. We have remodeled the living area so that we each have a large table with drawers and more storage, like for our printer, next to our chairs and can comfortably spread out. If we had a third slide we would be even happier.

As nice as the new units are nice, the seating would not work for us. We like to sit in our recliners with the laptop and a cup of coffee and with the RL seating there is no place to set my coffee cup. Karen loves to color and would be challenged to have her coffee/beverage and drawing materials close by.

So, as for us, what we have is what we will keep for a while longer. We will continue to look at options and someday as we continue this new fulltime lifestyle, we will change Cardinals.

Well the new year is here and we are just getting settled in Florida. The last month was very busy with trying to get acquainted with the area then My doctor called and said it was time to replace my pacemaker/defibrillator. We talked about the option of having it done here but my doctor felt it would be better in Ohio because my leads may need to be changed also, which would mean Cleveland Clinic.

We made arrangements to travel to Ohio for the procedure and decided to drive which was the most cost effective. The doctor had everything scheduled before we left. My pre-op was in the morning of meeting with the doc to decide next steps and the procedure was scheduled two days later and the post-op the following week. After meeting with the doc, we still did not know about the leads and they would be checked and verified the morning of the procedure. The device would be changed no matter what but if the leads need change then we would go to Cleveland. As it turned out a rep from St. Jude checked the function of the leads and all was OK then while in the operating room the doc does a visual inspection and told me just before he started that all looks good, YEA! Two hours later we were on our way back to Rachel’s home where she and Matt were allowing us to stay for the two weeks.

We were able to attend one church service and Christmas Eve service. We had a wonderful Christmas with the family then headed back to the warmer climate.

It does seem strange after all the years in Ohio winters to be here in January with temperatures in the 70s and 80s. Today I set up outside and started the first of two stained glass windows for friends in Minnesota and Indiana.

A couple from the campground invited us to church and we went once and will return again this coming Sunday. We have some places like state and National Parks we want to visit and this weekend a large farmers market.

We think we are settled in now, we know where a Church, Wal-Mart, Camping World and other shopping is. We are walking about five miles a day and using our Fitbits to track what we do.