Empty Nest in the Midwest

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RV Life

Samuel T Bryant Distillery – Harvest Hosts Review

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We recently spent a few days at Ft. Pickens FL. We don’t like to travel too far in one day, so on the way to Florida we stayed a night at the Samuel T Bryant Distillery in Jackson TN. This is a Harvest Hosts site.

We really enjoyed our stay there, so much so that we also stayed a night on our way back. Since we stayed there twice, it is pretty obvious that we highly recommend this site.

They have plenty of parking for RVs. When we arrived, we went inside and they let us know where to park. Then we sampled the products. 🙂 They really make an excellent selection of moonshines. We purchased some coffee moonshine and Snickertini. They also serve up cocktails made with the moonshine which we also enjoyed. Of course.

When we stayed on the way back, it was an open mike night for local blues musicians. Normally they close earlier, but this Friday night they were open later. This was a fun event. There even families there with kids enjoying the music and it was completely family friendly and appropriate, which you can’t say for every distillery.

And of course we purchased some more of their product and some cocktails. 🙂

What Size RV or Travel Trailer Should You Buy?

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Around this time last year, we were shopping for a new RV. Our old used 2004 Fleetwood Mesa popup had served well as an RV to learn on, but we were ready to purchase something a little more comfortable and easy to set up. And something which would be better for boon-docking/dry camping.

We had several features we were looking for – comfortable seating, an upgrade on the cooking facilities, a larger refrigerator, a toilet and shower (!!!!!), and a few other things.

But one of our criteria was that we could park it at our house. City codes limit where we can park it. The space between our garage and the neighbor’s fence met the criteria. The length was not a problem, but as you can see, there is not a lot of width.

We chose the Micro Minnie Winnie 2108FBS because it had the features we wanted and was a little narrower than some of the other models available out there. We liked the construction on the Winnebagos, although we also looked at some Rockwood Geo Pros and Fleetwood E Pros seriously.

So what size RV or travel trailer should you buy? I can’t really tell you. Your criteria might be totally different than ours. But you might want to consider where you are going to park it! 😉

Joining the Gateway Winnies

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Since we purchased the Micro Minnie Winnie last summer, we have been thinking about joining the Gateway Winnies, which is our local Winnebago owner’s club. So we finally got around to it. Last weekend was our first event with them. They do dinners during the winter. Missouri weather can be icky and unpredictable in those months.

It was really fun meeting other RV enthusiasts and talking about the places we’ve been. And there is a lot of knowledge there. Some of them have been doing it for years.

And we found out that some of them like to golf! It will be fun to have some golf mates when we are out camping. I told them that I am a new golfer and The Husband has just taken it up again after a 25 year break (kids!) and we are not very good. They reassured us that we will fit right in. 🙂

And one of the gentlemen in the club is a talented woodworker. At the end of the gathering we played a game and he gave away some of his creations. We were lucky to receive a wine stopper, golf ball mind bender, ceder closet hanger, and a snowman. What an unexpected bonus and so generous of him!

We are really looking forward to future meetings with this group, especially the camping.

What am I supposed to do with my new license plate from Winnebago International Travelers Club? (WIT Club)

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The Husband and I thought it would be fun to get to know some other Winnebago owners from our area so we joined the Gateway Winnies. That meant we also needed to join the Winnebago International Travelers Club (WIT Club), which we did. So now we have a new license plate from WIT. What are we supposed to do with this?

Are these required to be displayed at Winnebago events or is it just for fun? It looks like most people mount them on their ladder. Is there a recommended method for doing this? The information in the brochure about the purpose of the license plate was a little vague. Hopefully we’ll either figure it out or somebody with more experience and knowledge will take us under their wing. 🙂

And we look forward to seeing many of you on the road!

I Am a Temple of the Holy Spirit. I Am God’s Winnebago.

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So we are preparing for a women’s retreat in a few months and last night at our formation meeting we had a sheet of Bible verses related to our identity. Now many of them were paraphrased and most of them were things like “I am blessed”, “I am capable”, “I am loved and cherished as beloved”. But the one that caught my attention was this one:

I am a temple of the Holy Spirit. I am God’s mobile home.

1 Cor 3:16, Eph 2:22

After that, all I could think was “I am God’s Winnebago”. 🙂

When Should You Winterize Your RV?

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October extinguished itself in a rush of howling winds and driving rain and November arrived, cold as frozen iron, with hard frosts every morning and icy drafts that bit at exposed hands and faces.

J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Well, that seems to be what is happening here in Missouri. I had to cover my ears and hands and even put on the scarf for the walk to church this morning.

So The Husband winterized our Micro Minnie Winnie last night. We are not planning to go out again until we head south for a week in February. So for now, our travel trailer is hibernating next to our house. And we count the weeks until our next adventure!