Chilling and a new "toy"

We decided with this unexpected delay, Jan would fly to Texas to see Kelly, Todd, and our grandchildren.  She had an uneventful trip and has been "enjoying" herself helping Kelly do a ton of landscaping and gardening.  It's hot there but Jan says the difference in humidity as compared to Florida is delightful.  It has really become uncomfortable here these last few weeks.  When I do my 3 mile walk it literally takes me 45 minutes to cool down enough to take a shower!

Jason has been keeping me company most evenings, and this weekend we managed to get a few things done.  He bought a couch for his new place, sorely needed, and is actually making it a nice place to live.  Overlooking a golf course isn't too bad:-)  We recharged the dash AC system on the motorhome.  It hadn't been blowing as cool as it normally does, so after 5 cans of freon, it is so cold now!

We changed out our modem we had been using for internet.  I had mentioned back in the summer we had gotten a modem from Millenicom that interfaced with our WiFi Ranger, our amplified external antenna WiFi and wireless router system that used the Verizon network.  It has worked great so far, but as our quest for speed has increased, its 3G capability has been lacking.  So we traded for a 4G/3G MiFi that also works on the Verizon network.  It is really fast!  Millenicom is an interesting company that offers internet service with no contract and allows large amounts of data each month all the way up to unlimited.  Our plan is 20GB which is plenty adequate for us.  The MiFi is pretty cool, it's about the size of a small pack of cards, and it wirelessly connects with up to 10 devices.

Now to the "toy".  As Jan and I sat for all this time here in Florida, there were often times when we wished we had some other transportation.  She or I had the Jeep which pretty much stranded the other person except for a bicycle.  This is not a problem as we travel as we spend most of our time together, but here in Florida, it does prove challenging now and then.  Jan and I talked about maybe getting a scooter for next season and left it at that.  Well..........Jason and I had nothing better to do so we went to learn something about scooters.  Started at a little scooter store in Venice to learn something about them.  Seems there is a 50cc threshold that below which you don't need a motorcycle endorsement on your license, no problem, both Jan and I have endorsements anyway, and the 50cc ones only go about 30 mph.  Which could make you an impediment to traffic in my opinion.  The next threshold is 125/150cc which will go about 60 mph, much better, still small and maneuverable but can run with traffic.  This store only sold Chinese units and although inexpensive, they didn't look too robust or necessarily reliable.  JMHO.  There was a Honda store nearby so we walked over to to see what they had.  Honda builds a couple, a tiny 50cc retro model and a PCX, a 150cc model that is pretty cool looking, but still a scooter.  I should say not as retro as most that you see on the roads.  It was neat but they only had new ones.

Then we went to a Vespa/Piaggio dealer to see what they looked like.  Vespa has been around forever and is considered THE scooter, very retro, all metal, pretty robust.  Turns out Piaggio owns Vespa and they make under their badge a more modern looking scooter than the Vespa.  They were pretty nice as well, but fairly pricey.  To make a long story a little longer, we looked on Craig's list for grins, since we were waiting until next winter season anyway and found a 2011 Honda PCX that looked brand new with only 1400 miles on it for less than half what a new one cost!  Took a look and a ride and decided it was a hell of a deal so...............

Here's our "new" scooter.  Should be a lot of fun.  Jason took one for the team yesterday driving it back 20 miles to the campground in the steady and sometimes pouring rain.  Oh yeah, it gets 102 mpg!