It's like they are surrounded by color! Joan was sick a couple of days and could see beautiful trees from three views from the bed: the bedroom window, the balcony door,and the dining room window.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Telemark condo units in the midst of fall!
It's like they are surrounded by color! Joan was sick a couple of days and could see beautiful trees from three views from the bed: the bedroom window, the balcony door,and the dining room window.
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Making a condo feel more like home!
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Before and After
October 14, 2008
We are now in the 1700 building, up in the trees. We carry certain items to “decorate” condo units to make them feel more like home. Almost all (if not all) the condos are well appointed with furniture, lamps, etc, and some (not all) have nice flower arrangements, too. But to really make it feel like home, here are the things Joan brings to add in order of importance depending upon space either in a suitcase or car. We usually can only take 1 and 2 on a plane.
1. Family pictures – very important
Several framed pictures of family to put around the condo. Especially important are those which we always have on our bedside stands of the grandchildren. These are easy to carry even in suitcases, so they can come with us even when we travel by air.
2. Candles
No only for ambiance but for scent, especially if the previous occupant smoked, or any stuffiness that there is in the unit. We also have a pair of crystal candleholders for the dining table that adds a lot. We have a table runner and placemats for the tables, too, which take up almost no space and add a lot, especially if there are no placemats in the condo.
3. Flowers
Although “fake” flowers are not the BEST (to decorators), they are better than nothing and a few carried in the car and put around, even if we have to use glasses instead of vases, transform the rooms. If the fresh flowers in the grocery store are cheap enough, we may get them. You can even use decorative grasses that grow outside to make attractive arrangements.
4. Books – in bookshelves or bedstands
5. We have a few, very few, small items of interest to set around, some even gathered in our travels.
Of course, we also try to unpack the suitcases and put the clothes in the dressers so that we are not “living out of a suitcase.” This gives more a feeling of home, also.
Without these items, wehink the condos look bare. Sometimes we go to a friend’s timeshare unit which would be just like ours, but ours is much more “homey.”
Please share other ideas you have too.
Telemark Resort! Fall in the Northwords
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September 28
We arrived at Telemark for the first day of Fall on Sept 21 and the trees only continued to get more beautiful every day. There were daily changes as we drove the 10 miles back and forth from the Telemark Point Apple Club (RCI #2253) to the main lodge, amenities and other timeshare units (RCI # 1831). The “Pointe” has 4 large 2-BD units right on the Garden Lake, part of Lake Namakagon. We rent a little fishing boat out there and Ron goes fishing every day. (Owners get 50% discount on boat rentals.) We were there last week and now are moving to the Lodge Suites, 2 BD units (with 2 Jacuzzi baths!) so we can more easily be a part of the Annual NW Wisconsin Children’s Literature Conference held this week at the lodge. Next week we’ll begin a two-week stay in the timeshare villas up the hill from the lodge; they are available to Telemark owners for $199 a week based on a 3-week advance availability.
Interstate vesus small town stores
September 21
I am ready to see the green and quiet of the Northwoods of Wisconsin and when we left Minnesota on I-94 into Wisconsin, I was almost surprised to find the exact same businesses along the interstate as we had just past at the border. Well, of course, I thought, we’re still in “civilization! ”
Cable, WI has a population posted of 200, except for Birkebeiner Race Week (the International Cross-Country Race in February) when the population swells to about 20,000, or the Fat Tire Festival Race in Sept with more thousands. I tried to think of a national chain in Cable: oh yes, the BP gas station. Otherwise, all businesses are local.
The big town of Hayward, 17 miles south has about 2,100 population posted and boasts of a Wal-Mart, national hotel chains, McDonalds and some other food chains, and the original Famous Dave’s restaurant some miles out in a lake resort – beautiful!
I am ready to see the green and quiet of the Northwoods of Wisconsin and when we left Minnesota on I-94 into Wisconsin, I was almost surprised to find the exact same businesses along the interstate as we had just past at the border. Well, of course, I thought, we’re still in “civilization! ”
Cable, WI has a population posted of 200, except for Birkebeiner Race Week (the International Cross-Country Race in February) when the population swells to about 20,000, or the Fat Tire Festival Race in Sept with more thousands. I tried to think of a national chain in Cable: oh yes, the BP gas station. Otherwise, all businesses are local.
The big town of Hayward, 17 miles south has about 2,100 population posted and boasts of a Wal-Mart, national hotel chains, McDonalds and some other food chains, and the original Famous Dave’s restaurant some miles out in a lake resort – beautiful!
I am getting tired of motels
September 21
I will be so happy to get back into a timeshare condo! Because of our plans – reunions, friends/family visits, etc, we have had to be in motel rooms (well, two nights in a B&B and 3 at a friends’) for 4 weeks but otherwise, for a high school reunion and family visits have been in places where there are no timeshares, and we miss the condo size and amenities (full kitchen, laundry, etc.) It’s a drag keeping an icechest cold, figuring out where to put everything we use (i.e., computer, printer too sometimes!) and doing laundry. Today we drive to Cable, WI and one of our most favorite places, Telemark!
I will be so happy to get back into a timeshare condo! Because of our plans – reunions, friends/family visits, etc, we have had to be in motel rooms (well, two nights in a B&B and 3 at a friends’) for 4 weeks but otherwise, for a high school reunion and family visits have been in places where there are no timeshares, and we miss the condo size and amenities (full kitchen, laundry, etc.) It’s a drag keeping an icechest cold, figuring out where to put everything we use (i.e., computer, printer too sometimes!) and doing laundry. Today we drive to Cable, WI and one of our most favorite places, Telemark!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
We're Off!
September 6, 2008
We are leaving now for Springfield Illinois, to visit our son, after spending 10 days in Fairborn Ohio. I should feel elated at starting out officially on our “journey” but so many things happened these last days.
Could it be that we are tired of continuing to sort boxes in order to free up the extra storage unit we rented to make it easier to get out of the house in July? Most of those boxes were Ron’s that had been in the garage for so many years and he was able to empty that storeroom’s boxes into the main storage unit (a 10’x’30’) so we would not be carrying that extra expense.
Could it be that staying at a hotel, even though it was a studio (Suburban Extended Stay) wasn’t the ideal condition? “Suburban” Extended Stay hotels are in the Choicehotel family and are competing with the regular Extended Stay hotels, but they are not as nice, and even though it was a brand new facility that summer, smoke from the only smoking wing was filtering throughout the 3rd floor.
Could it be that all the farewells, however wonderful, were stressful? First Baptist Church of Yellow Springs gave us a wonderful farewell program on August 31st and then many dinners and lunches with friends finished out the week. It was great being with everyone..but.. hard to leave such good friends… and …well, we’ll be back for a few days next March and June.
Could it be that working full time at Yellow Springs High School the last three days in town, volunteering to assess the reading levels for all the students made me worry we wouldn’t get packed up…? I must have been crazy! How could I think I could test all the students in such a short time? I had a lot of fun, though, with the students, and finished most!
We are going to stay at a favorite Bed and Breakfast, the Branson House, near Springfield for two nights while we visit our son and then go on to visit a best friend on their 100-acre horse farm in southeastern Iowa for three days.
We are leaving now for Springfield Illinois, to visit our son, after spending 10 days in Fairborn Ohio. I should feel elated at starting out officially on our “journey” but so many things happened these last days.
Could it be that we are tired of continuing to sort boxes in order to free up the extra storage unit we rented to make it easier to get out of the house in July? Most of those boxes were Ron’s that had been in the garage for so many years and he was able to empty that storeroom’s boxes into the main storage unit (a 10’x’30’) so we would not be carrying that extra expense.
Could it be that staying at a hotel, even though it was a studio (Suburban Extended Stay) wasn’t the ideal condition? “Suburban” Extended Stay hotels are in the Choicehotel family and are competing with the regular Extended Stay hotels, but they are not as nice, and even though it was a brand new facility that summer, smoke from the only smoking wing was filtering throughout the 3rd floor.
Could it be that all the farewells, however wonderful, were stressful? First Baptist Church of Yellow Springs gave us a wonderful farewell program on August 31st and then many dinners and lunches with friends finished out the week. It was great being with everyone..but.. hard to leave such good friends… and …well, we’ll be back for a few days next March and June.
Could it be that working full time at Yellow Springs High School the last three days in town, volunteering to assess the reading levels for all the students made me worry we wouldn’t get packed up…? I must have been crazy! How could I think I could test all the students in such a short time? I had a lot of fun, though, with the students, and finished most!
We are going to stay at a favorite Bed and Breakfast, the Branson House, near Springfield for two nights while we visit our son and then go on to visit a best friend on their 100-acre horse farm in southeastern Iowa for three days.
August 2008
We had reservations for almost 3 weeks in Nashville at the Wyndham Nashville right across from Opryland since we were going to attend a music convention there. Then, the music organization decided to impose a $300 registration fee if you did not stay on-site at Opryland, so we decided not to attend the convention. We like a timeshare condo which has more space and a kitchen at a much reduced rate from a convention hotel. However, since we did not have a home to return to, we decided just to stay at Wyndham Nashville. And it was GREAT staying there. We did not want to leave when it was time!
A death in the family the first week of August meant that we needed to leave for a few days, but we just told the front desk we would be gone and flew to Seattle, leaving all our stuff in the room. We returned then and continued our stay.
We had scheduled a week in Phoenix, where my niece and family live, for the week of August 16th. It was cheaper to fly in and out of Nashville, so we packed up our car, the front desk at Wyndham Nashville let us keep it there as we were coming back to stay a few more days, and we took a taxi to the airport. We stayed at the Westgate Painted Mountain Resort in Mesa, an II exchange. We loved the resort and are going back in December.
Since we are looking for a final retirement place, we had thought of Phoenix. We thought the “dry” heat would not feel as hot as the humidity in Nashville and Ohio. But we found out that 110 degrees is still 110 degrees, wherever you are! So…, Phoenix will probably not be our retirement place after all….
A death in the family the first week of August meant that we needed to leave for a few days, but we just told the front desk we would be gone and flew to Seattle, leaving all our stuff in the room. We returned then and continued our stay.
We had scheduled a week in Phoenix, where my niece and family live, for the week of August 16th. It was cheaper to fly in and out of Nashville, so we packed up our car, the front desk at Wyndham Nashville let us keep it there as we were coming back to stay a few more days, and we took a taxi to the airport. We stayed at the Westgate Painted Mountain Resort in Mesa, an II exchange. We loved the resort and are going back in December.
Since we are looking for a final retirement place, we had thought of Phoenix. We thought the “dry” heat would not feel as hot as the humidity in Nashville and Ohio. But we found out that 110 degrees is still 110 degrees, wherever you are! So…, Phoenix will probably not be our retirement place after all….
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
We're not on vacation; we are only living here!
Good friends rent a condo for 6 to 8 weeks at the Townhouses at St. Augustine Beach and Tennis Club, where we own some timeshare weeks, said the above quote. They, like us, bring their computer and printer, and just continue their activities as if at home: except they are in a better climate for the winter! That was our goal too, to get away from the snow.
We now own five weeks at the Townhouses at St. Augustine Beach and Tennis Club (TAS in Interval Internal exchange company), 3 fixed in January and 2 floating. We purchased there since we liked the area so well after attending Ron’s military organization’s reunions there.
We bought the first week there on eBay, the first time to buy such a large item. The seller had a (0) feedback around his name: Oh-oh, red flag. We wrote him and he said that his wife had died that year and he was giving the reserved week in November that year to the new buyers as well. We wrote back and forth a few times. We called the resort to check his ownership; it was okay. We decided to take a chance and waited ten minutes until the end of the auction and bid. The runner up bidder tried to catch us, but couldn’t . Five minutes after the end of the auction, the phone rang: “That’s Buzz!” we said. It was, and we were immediate friends. We now get together every time we are in St Augustine and he even keeps our car for us at his home in Daytona Beach when we fly to Seattle to see Joan’s mother or Little Rock to see Ron’s.
We accumulated the other weeks there, mostly by eBay.
We now own five weeks at the Townhouses at St. Augustine Beach and Tennis Club (TAS in Interval Internal exchange company), 3 fixed in January and 2 floating. We purchased there since we liked the area so well after attending Ron’s military organization’s reunions there.
We bought the first week there on eBay, the first time to buy such a large item. The seller had a (0) feedback around his name: Oh-oh, red flag. We wrote him and he said that his wife had died that year and he was giving the reserved week in November that year to the new buyers as well. We wrote back and forth a few times. We called the resort to check his ownership; it was okay. We decided to take a chance and waited ten minutes until the end of the auction and bid. The runner up bidder tried to catch us, but couldn’t . Five minutes after the end of the auction, the phone rang: “That’s Buzz!” we said. It was, and we were immediate friends. We now get together every time we are in St Augustine and he even keeps our car for us at his home in Daytona Beach when we fly to Seattle to see Joan’s mother or Little Rock to see Ron’s.
We accumulated the other weeks there, mostly by eBay.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Logistics
There were some logistic issues to decide on. We rented a mailbox at the local UPS Store to have a street address and changed the addresses of our accounts, even though we do almost all financial transactions on the Web now. We also use our son’s address in Seattle since we are there almost every month anyway (Joan is the power of attorney for her mother.) We changed all the magazines to Seattle two years ago.
We rented a small environmentally controlled storeroom to put our many boxes of photos and photo albums. The baby grand piano, from Joan’s grandmother, is at a friend’s house. The antique pump organ, from her other grandmother, is at another friend’s house.
In case something happens to us, our son’s signature is on the bank safety deposit box and the extra key is in the Ohio storage unit and he has the key to the padlock. So, he’s to jump on a plane and go on a scavenger hunt to find everything – if he can locate all the keys!
We plan to return to Ohio a couple of times a year for Joan to still do some projects for the high school, so we can go to the storeroom and pick up various extra items we will need, like files and CD’s.
We also have a storage unit in Seattle, storing furniture from Joan's grandmother and other items we use when we visit there. We will put an external hardrive there for our laptop backups while also carrying a smaller portable one.
We rented a small environmentally controlled storeroom to put our many boxes of photos and photo albums. The baby grand piano, from Joan’s grandmother, is at a friend’s house. The antique pump organ, from her other grandmother, is at another friend’s house.
In case something happens to us, our son’s signature is on the bank safety deposit box and the extra key is in the Ohio storage unit and he has the key to the padlock. So, he’s to jump on a plane and go on a scavenger hunt to find everything – if he can locate all the keys!
We plan to return to Ohio a couple of times a year for Joan to still do some projects for the high school, so we can go to the storeroom and pick up various extra items we will need, like files and CD’s.
We also have a storage unit in Seattle, storing furniture from Joan's grandmother and other items we use when we visit there. We will put an external hardrive there for our laptop backups while also carrying a smaller portable one.
We begin our journey
Inspired by stories on TUG and staying in timeshare condos for four winters, getting away from the snow in Ohio, plus other trips throughout the year to visit our elderly parents, we were simply not at home enough to warrant the upkeep and tax expenses on an empty house as well as wanting a warmer climate. So we planned to sell our house and timeshare full-time while deciding where to finally settle down for final retirement years.
Here is a picture of our beautiful Victorian house in Ohio which we lived in for almost 22 years. We worked very hard for almost two years repairing, upgrading, decluttering and staging for real estate showing. Then the house sold within a week of listing, so we had to get out quickly, and went through boxes and boxes and boxes, deciding on which to put in storage and what we would need to carry with us. We sold most of the furniture, keeping only the family antiques, and put the rest in a storage unit in Springfield, Ohio.
Here are additional pictures of the house:
https://www.snapfish.com/library/share?w=snapfish_us&c=snapfish&l=en_US#S3Zo17LKS6ydISsV7RsDXQ/AUS/12305895009/SNAPFISH
In July, we started our journey, going to Seattle first to visit Joan’s mother, who has total dementia, and our son who lives there with three his children, and then returning to Wyndham Nashville where we are staying 2 ½ weeks.
Here are additional pictures of the house:
https://www.snapfish.com/library/share?w=snapfish_us&c=snapfish&l=en_US#S3Zo17LKS6ydISsV7RsDXQ/AUS/12305895009/SNAPFISH
In July, we started our journey, going to Seattle first to visit Joan’s mother, who has total dementia, and our son who lives there with three his children, and then returning to Wyndham Nashville where we are staying 2 ½ weeks.
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