Rained out at the Daytona 500

The Daytona 500! With the house and all the excitement, we decided to skip the idea of dry camping in Daytona and just drove to the race on Sunday morning. We expected horrendous traffic heading into Daytona and especially on the road to the racetrack. We had no problems- found a parking spot for $10 with the Girl Scouts (with a little bit of a hike to get to the track). By 8:00, we were at the track-for a race that didn’t start until 1:00! So, we tried to absorb a bit of the local color- the parking lots filled with people tailgating and the huge trailers filled with racer paraphernalia. The very popular racers had their own tractor trailer filled with shirts, jackets, hats, bumper stickers…. John threatened to buy a Dale Earnhardt jacket- but the prices fortunately kept him in line. After a few hours of walking through the crowds and the vendor booths, we headed to Barnes and Noble for a few hours of quiet in their café- reading the NY Times and having a bite to eat.

Just a few minutes before race time, we headed to the track. We had prepped for our big day by reading "NASCAR for Dummies" and headed to the track with what we thought was some basic knowledge. We had great seats in the Roberts Tower-overlooking the track (and at $175/each, they should have been good!). The race started with a stunning display of good old American patriotism- complete with overflights by military jets and parachuting soldiers, a rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" by Mariah Carey and a mass recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance (the last time either John or I heard the Pledge was in grade school!!). These race car fans take this "Proud to be an American" stuff seriously! Then John Travolta made the announcement, "Gentlemen, start your engines". The sound of the cars whizzing by was amazing- wish we had taken our video camera)....and we got to see a roll-over crash and a few car collisions in the pit. John sat next to a good old boy who sat down and pulled out a huge bucket of fried chicken and a six pack of beer. He turned out to be a pretty nice guy- who answered all of John's novice questions (about 10 minutes into the questioning, he turned to John and said, "Is this your first time here?"). They talked about the price of the races and our red-neck admitted that he now has to budget for just a few races a year- he sets aside $6,000 a year for 4-5 races!

Well, things were going great, until the skies opened up and it started to pour. We were about 25% through the 500 mile race. No umbrellas are allowed - and since we didn't have those great New Orleans parkas, John had suggested that we bring some large trash bags. So, we cut open the arm and head holes and we sat there in our trash bags (yes- we were truly "white trash"). We finally decided that there was no way that the race was going to be completed and all of my mascara was running into my eyes and we were soaking wet. So, we made it to the quarter finals and headed back to our parking spot (about 1/2 mile away). They actually did start up the race again after we left- but only went for 100 laps before they called it and declared the current front runner, Michael Waltrip, the winner.

We got back to TGO to find the coach locked and no Mija inside. Ann, our TGO realtor, had offered to walk Mija a few times during the day and in one of her visits, the door locked her- and Mija out. So, Mija got to spend the day with the realtors in the TGO office. She had a great day.

The Great Outdoors

Since Lazy Days gives away free passes to the Port St Lucie resort, it was filled with people like us taking advantage of a free campsite. We met a lovely British couple, John and Kathy. They live in the UK half the year and spend the other half of the year in the States where they own a 40' motorhome and a lot in a place called "The Great Outdoors" (TGO). They encouraged us to come to visit and check it out. Since we were heading that way , we decided to stay a few days. TGO is located just outside Titusville and Cocoa Beach (directly across from Cape Canaveral). It's called a "RV Nature and Golf Resort". The entire orientation is for RV'ers - a gated community for people who own motorhomes. They have 24 hour security, a golf course and country club, pools, a post office, fishing lakes, restaurants, convenience stores, beauty shop, RV supply store......a self-contained community. They sell property that ranges from the "RV Site" -a concrete pad (although these pads provide you with a little storage shed and/or a little "Florida room" (a place for guests with a small kitchenette andbathroom), to a "RV Port" (a concrete pad with a cover for your motorhome and a Florida room and shed). They also sell "villas" (no place for an RV, but a small 2 bedroom house- designed for snow-birds). And the top of the line offering: the "Resort Home" – a real house with a garage for your RV!

We had been talking about our Daytona Beach offer and feeling a bit uncomfortable about the ability for it to support our lifestyle. We love the motorhome lifestyle- the idea of just taking off whenever we want – and also want to continue our overseas travel. So, we need a place where we can just lock the door and drive-or fly- away (the new term is “lock and leave”) When we took a hard look at Daytona Beach, we really felt that we'd need to have a rental apartment so someone would be there to watch the property. And that would mean dealing with City Hall to get approvals and permits, finding a responsible tenant (which could be a bit of a challenge here in Florida- there are some real crazies down here!). On top of all that, there were some problems with the title to the waterfront property- a possible lien on the title from 1924 when the developer put in a clause that gave him and his heirs use of the property. We had a few sleepless nights and came to the conclusion that no matter how beautiful the house and waterfront were, it would become a boat anchor to us.

Then we saw "the house"......imagine a house with 2400 square feet of living space - and 1600 square feet of garage! In the middle of the "snob zone" of TGO, we found a house that has 12 foot ceilings, 2 "master bedroom suites", a sunroom, a huge "great room" (living room, dining room combination) and a big kitchen -AND an RV garage (complete with full hookups), a 2 car garage and a golf cart garage. The house was built 2 years ago and was the builders model home. The original owners bought it completely furnished (decorator perfect) and wanted to sell it completely furnished. So, not only did we just buy a house, but we also got a full house of furniture and accessories. AND- John managed to get their golf cart thrown into the deal.

We set a closing date of April Fools Day- how appropriate. It's still hard to believe- we swore we'd never live in a gated community or a golf course community and never thought we'd ever own a golf cart. But, this house really supports our lifestyle. It's completely rentable--in season, it fetches about $2000/month and we won't have to worry about family antiques, etc. We can enjoy the house whenever we want- and it's perfect for visitors. We're only about 20 minutes from the Cape and the Kennedy Space Center, an hour from Daytona Beach (and Bike Week and the Daytona 500) and about 40 minutes from the Orlando airport and Disney World, Universal Studio .and "Splendid China”.

The RV Resort Life in Florida

With a week to go before the race, we headed south to Stuart/Port St Lucie, Florida for another free 5 night stay at a "luxury motorcoach resort". Free is good here in Florida where in peak season, rates for campground run from $35-55/night.
This place was amazing. You can buy a "lot" there for $70,000- the lot consists of a concrete pad and some grass on either side of your pad, with full hook-ups (water, sewer, electrical and cable). On top of the $70K price, you also get to pay property taxes annually of about $2000 and a monthly maintenance fee of $155 (that covers the grounds maintenance and the pool, tennis courts, club houses etc). The park was filled with New Jersey types (blue collar guys that made big bucks in "concrete"). Once you buy your lot, you can landscape it - add palm trees, shrubs, pavers, etc. Most of these owners were putting another $20,000+ into their landscaping. We were stunned.

We spent a few days driving around the area looking at Port St Lucie, Vero Beach, Ft Pierce and Stuart. We had heard wonderful things about the area- but found it was lots of white people and gated golf course communities. We even opted for dinner at an Outback Steak house- packed at 4:30 in the afternoon- offering huge portions of red meat and fried foods.

Daytona Beach

Daytona Beach! We checked into a nice RV park just off I-75 in Ormond Beach and started our typical crazed drive-around of the area. We found a few housing options on the ICW (Intra-coastal waterway) and spent two days driving through Daytona, Ormond Beach, Smyrna Beach. We found a beautiful property on the ICW in Ormond Beach- a historic house that needed some work, but had a huge lot and a rental property in the back. But, as we stood on the 2nd floor porch, the whoosh of the traffic from the road was just too much to handle.

On Monday, we saw a house right in the middle of Daytona Beach with riparian rights on the ICW- and a boat slip for 3 boats. The house was built in 1924 and was absolutely gorgeous. The living room and outside deck looked right out onto a beautiful view of the ICW and the Main Street Bridge.

The property had tremendous possibilities- a huge garage that could be converted to a rental unit, a garage in the back for the VW and a place to park the motorhome. All that, plus a house with true character. We decided to put an offer in on it immediately. Then our realtor, Chris, dropped the bomb- the house already had an offer on it. But, he assured us, that he felt that it was going to fall through. Our hearts sank- it was truly the perfect house for us.

That afternoon, we met with another realtor and looked a several houses in Ormond Beach- but every house paled in comparison. It also spoiled us for the whole house hunt on the ICW. We realized that to truly work for us, we’d need to find something in the city- where it wouldn’t be a huge effort to just get to the store or to a restaurant. Most of the ICW properties have lovely views and beautiful waterfront, but the feeling is suburban.

On Wednesday, we drove up to Palm Coast and it simply reconfirmed our impressions. With our heart set on the Daytona house, we decided that if the deal was going to fall through, we should probably have a pretty good idea of the possibilities of adding a rental unit, parking the RV and some idea of plans for the neighborhood. The current neighborhood left a lot to be desired. The main street- only a few blocks away was filled with bike shops and the local Goodwill (complete with food kitchen). But, several blocks further on there was new development including a marina and marina restaurant. The trend line was looking good as an investment. So, we headed to City Hall and met with the planning person to get some idea of the city’s plans for the area (everything sounded great) and with the permit czar to make sure that we could deal with the rental unit and RV parking (also looked promising). Bolstered by our good news at City Hall, we decided to put in a back-up offer after one more look at the property. While we were looking at the waterfront, we saw dolphins frolicking in front of the house-we were sold. Now it was just a waiting game to see if the other offer fell through.

Back at the campground, we met several couples from Iowa who come down every year for the Daytona 500. We spent some time talking with them and found ourselves buying tickets to the race- for $175/ticket! They convinced us that it was a must see experience.