Not A New Member, BUT I've Finally Arrived

[ChuckG]

Yep, I'm finally here in Florida. Our house in Citrus County has been done for about 16 months. We just sold our house in Maryland, and just moved down here permanently on Aug. 1.

Took 10 months to sell our house up North, and we took a hit on it, but it's gone. Couldn't sell my business, so I just pulled the plug.

My wife Pat retired from CMS (Medicare Medicaid) in Baltimore on July 31.

SO, we're now "old pensioners", and full time Florida residents. Had Thomas Sunday Auto Transport move my 3 cars down. They arrived safe and sound.

We'll be working for weeks just getting the house set up, then we have to get new drivers licenses, and register the cars.

It's exciting. We finally made it.

Chuck

 

[Mannings]

:welcome: Welcome to Florida you 2. Now it's time to put some miles on those vettes year round. :dancer01: We refere to winter as top down season in Florida.

 

[Connie Z]

Welcome!

Welcome to paradise! Rich and I made the move from Maryland almost twenty years ago. You will love not shoveling snow.

 

[JIM KILL]

Welcome Home

Welcome to Florida, Chuck and Pat. I was wondering if you were going to hook back up with us. I remember the progress pictures of your new beautiful home. "Post some pictures if you can". Look forward now to seeing you all at some Corvette Shows soon. Check out the St. Augustine thread, a few of us are going in October.
:hehehe: Best Jim :hehehe:

http://www.corvetteflorida.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33882

 

[ChuckG]

Thanks for the "re-welcome"

Here are a few pix. House turned out VERY well. There are always a few small things that you wish you would have/should have done, but they're all minor.

Garage turned out great. I can put my lift up to the highest "click". Couldn't do that in my old garage.

BUT......................I have one problem with the garage....

It's too small already. It's 36W x 28D. Problem is with all of my lawn and garden equipment, PLUS automotive stuff that I used to store in my 1200 sq. ft. basement in Maryland...........I have NO ROOM in the garage.

SO, looks like an outdoor shed is in my near future. Community rules limit it to 300 sq. ft., and that's a pretty big shed. I'll be able to put my tractor, weed whacker, blower, chain saw, etc. there, plus my engine hoist, engine stands, power washer, etc.

It's tough losing all the storage space that I had in Maryland.

Chuck

 

[MRS. XTREME]

:welcome::welcome::welcome::welcome:

TO THE SUNSHINE STATE !!!!!!


Beautiful home !!! Hope you enjoy your retirement here .....

 

[KCandSting]

Citrus County Corvette Club

:welcome: Welcome to Citrus County Chuck! :welcome:

:wavey: I don't know if you've had a chance to check out the Corvette club here in Citrus County yet :wavey:

:dancer01: We meet the second Tuesday of the month 7pm at ABC Pizza on SR19 in Crystal River :dancer01:

Check out our web-site
http://citruscorvettes.com/

:thumbsup: Come over and meet a great group of Corvette people! :thumbsup:

 

[Rich Z]

Chuck,

Connie and I have been wanting to drive down to Crystal River to go to Charlie's Seafood to get some of their excellent fried shrimp. Maybe when we get out of our busy season (early September, maybe) we can get together and have dinner together. We've got a show coming up (reptile related) in a couple of weeks, so not likely we can get out of here before then.

So how does it feel to be a Floridian so far? :hehehe:

 

[ChuckG]

:welcome: Welcome to Citrus County Chuck! :welcome:

:wavey: I don't know if you've had a chance to check out the Corvette club here in Citrus County yet :wavey:

:dancer01: We meet the second Tuesday of the month 7pm at ABC Pizza on SR19 in Crystal River :dancer01:

Check out our web-site
http://citruscorvettes.com/

:thumbsup: Come over and meet a great group of Corvette people! :thumbsup:

I haven't yet made it to a Citrus County CC meeting. After I get settled in, it's one of the top items on my "agenda".

Chuck,

Connie and I have been wanting to drive down to Crystal River to go to Charlie's Seafood to get some of their excellent fried shrimp. Maybe when we get out of our busy season (early September, maybe) we can get together and have dinner together. We've got a show coming up (reptile related) in a couple of weeks, so not likely we can get out of here before then.

So how does it feel to be a Floridian so far? :hehehe:

So far, I like being a Floridian. Beats being a Marylander.

Would love to get together. Give me a shout. Have tried out lots of the local places over the past several years, but haven't hit Charlie's yet.

Chuck

 

[Connie Z]

Welcome to Florida, Chuck and Pat. I was wondering if you were going to hook back up with us. I remember the progress pictures of your new beautiful home. "Post some pictures if you can". Look forward now to seeing you all at some Corvette Shows soon. Check out the St. Augustine thread, a few of us are going in October.
:hehehe: Best Jim :hehehe:

http://www.corvetteflorida.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33882

Hey, any thoughts on joining us in St. Augustine in October? Would love to see you there if you can get everything in place in the new house and have the time to goof off.

 

[ChuckG]

Hey, any thoughts on joining us in St. Augustine in October? Would love to see you there if you can get everything in place in the new house and have the time to goof off.

I have LOTS of time to goof off.

BUT, that being said, Pat and I have been REAL busy since we arrived. Still arranging things and unpacking. Still out "takin' care of business", like getting drivers licenses, changing insurance, getting cars titled, etc. etc.

Seems like we're at Home Depot, Lowes, Sears, or Walmart 2-3 times/week.

I need to buy a new air compressor for the garage, as I left my old one at the house in Maryland. Also, I'm in the market for a shed. There is so much "crap" in the garage, that I don't have a lot of room to move around.

Need to get all the "lawn and garden" stuff outta there, as well as the heavy duty tools, like engine hoists, stands, etc.

Chuck

 

[Rich427]

Hey Chuck,

Joyce and I were out of town when you started this thread so I missed it. i sent you an email the other day but I don't know whether you still have your Comcast account.

Anyway, congrats to you and Pat. I know it was a difficult year or so getting out of O'Malleyland! Take our word for it, you won't regret making the plunge.

I see in your thread that you used Tom Sunday to move the cars. I hope you had a good experience with Tom. He moved our '69 and the '04 Z06 CE for us when we moved and I could not have been happier with his service!

I know how you feel about getting stuff out of the garage. When we made the move I made a concerted effort to work everyday to unpack boxes and get the stuff the hell out of my garage. The one advantage that I had was that I did not move any lawn equipment. I decided that since I was paying someone to take care of the property before we made the move that I was just going to keep that arrangement. So, I sold, or gave away, ALL of my lawn equipment before we moved. And it still took me about three weeks to get all of those damn boxes out of the garage! And you are right, I think I made multiple trips to HD and Lowes almost daily for the first couple of months after our move.

I don't know what you have decided for a work area in the garage, which BTW looks great, but I would highly recommend the Gladiator products. I installed their 8 foot work bench, which is a heavy mother when it's in the box, four 24 inch wall cabinets above it, plus two under bench rollout cabinets (one is a five drawer unit and one double door unit). It was a little expensive, but after I was done, I felt it was well worth it.

Are you going to buy as large of a compressor as you had in the old garage? Did you bring your glass bead cabinet down with you? I am sure you are anxious to get the garage squared away.

Well, welcome to sunny Florida and after you and Pat get yourselves organized and you would like to get away for a few days, come on down and visit.

Rich

 

[ChuckG]

Hey Rich.

Good to finally catch up with you. AND, yes, I finally got your EMail at the old Comcast address. I answered it. You should have gotten it unless Comcast pulled the plug on me.

Man, have I been busy. The garage is still a mess. I brought the glass bead cabinet and all the other heavy duty stuff, like my hoist, MIG welder, engine stands, polishing lathe, etc.

I left the big 80 Gal 2 stage 5HP compressor in MD. Too big to move and it required 30 AMP 220 service.

I'm looking for a new 5 HP single stage 60 Gal compressor. Been to "the Depot, Tractor Supply, Sears, Lowes, etc. TOUGH to find a 5 HP 60 gallon.

Seems all they have now are these 3 HP motors "rated" at 5,6,7 HP "peak operation". Bull crap. I want a real 5 HP one. I'll keep looking.

Still looking at sheds. Man, in my wildest dreams, I never expected to be cramped for space in a 36 x 28 garage.

Chuck

 

[Rich427]

Hey Chuck,

I did not get your response. I guess Comcast pulled your plug before it got through. I guess you are going to a different ISP. Send me a PM with your new address.

I hear you about garage size. I don't care how big you build it, it is never big enough! I am pretty happy with my 24 x 48, but at times I wish I made it a few feet bigger. It is umbelieveable what gets stuffed into the garage. I have tried to avoid this as much as possible but just can't avoid everything. When we designed the house I had put an outdoor closet right next to my pool equipment. That was for pool supplies, gardening stuff, etc. I did not want that creeping into my garage. Unfortunately, I did not think about the bikes Joyce and I bought, the hardtop for the '69, my spare set of golf clubs, etc, etc, etc,.

When I saw the pictures, I just assumed that you sold your lift and bought a new one for the new house. How difficult was that to disassemble and move? I know how heavy that sucker is!

I am pretty sure that Ingersol-Rand makes a 5hp/single stage/60 gal compressor. I bet you can find it by just doing an internet search.

Well, don't wear out a path from the new house to HD! I know I almost did!

Tell Pat we said hi, and if you need anything I can help with, just let me know.

Rich

 

[ChuckG]

Hey Chuck,

I did not get your response. I guess Comcast pulled your plug before it got through. I guess you are going to a different ISP. Send me a PM with your new address.

I hear you about garage size. I don't care how big you build it, it is never big enough! I am pretty happy with my 24 x 48, but at times I wish I made it a few feet bigger. It is umbelieveable what gets stuffed into the garage. I have tried to avoid this as much as possible but just can't avoid everything. When we designed the house I had put an outdoor closet right next to my pool equipment. That was for pool supplies, gardening stuff, etc. I did not want that creeping into my garage. Unfortunately, I did not think about the bikes Joyce and I bought, the hardtop for the '69, my spare set of golf clubs, etc, etc, etc,.

When I saw the pictures, I just assumed that you sold your lift and bought a new one for the new house. How difficult was that to disassemble and move? I know how heavy that sucker is!

I am pretty sure that Ingersol-Rand makes a 5hp/single stage/60 gal compressor. I bet you can find it by just doing an internet search.

Well, don't wear out a path from the new house to HD! I know I almost did!

Tell Pat we said hi, and if you need anything I can help with, just let me know.

Rich

Sorry you didn't get the EMail, Rich. We "disconnected" the Comcast account as of June 21, but it was still working, i.e. I could still retrieve my EMails, etc.

The lift at the new house is new. I left my old lift at the Maryland house for the new owner. TOO big to move.

Was at the NCRS Regional in January. They had a pair of new Direct brand lifts that they were using for the judging schools. They were offering "deals" on these 2 barely used demos. I bought one of them.

The guy knocked the price down to $1795. With tax, that brought it back up to about $1,900. total. For that price, after the show, they delivered it to my house from Kissimmee, about a 1.5 to 2 hour drive. Came assembled on a rollback.

For $1,900 delivered and assembled, it wasn't worth the hassle of attempting to disassemble the one in Maryland, and move 2000 pounds of steel 1000 miles.

Regarding the compressor, Pat and I are heading up to Ocala tomorrow. In Ocala are a Northern Tool and a Harbor Freight store. Gonna check both of them out.

I'm likin' this retirement thing. As many have said, I've been busier since I "retired" than when I was working. Best thing is no more headaches and hassles at the office.

Chuck

 

[Rich427]

Sorry you didn't get the EMail, Rich. We "disconnected" the Comcast account as of June 21, but it was still working, i.e. I could still retrieve my EMails, etc.

The lift at the new house is new. I left my old lift at the Maryland house for the new owner. TOO big to move.

Was at the NCRS Regional in January. They had a pair of new Direct brand lifts that they were using for the judging schools. They were offering "deals" on these 2 barely used demos. I bought one of them.

The guy knocked the price down to $1795. With tax, that brought it back up to about $1,900. total. For that price, after the show, they delivered it to my house from Kissimmee, about a 1.5 to 2 hour drive. Came assembled on a rollback.

For $1,900 delivered and assembled, it wasn't worth the hassle of attempting to disassemble the one in Maryland, and move 2000 pounds of steel 1000 miles.

Regarding the compressor, Pat and I are heading up to Ocala tomorrow. In Ocala are a Northern Tool and a Harbor Freight store. Gonna check both of them out.

I'm likin' this retirement thing. As many have said, I've been busier since I "retired" than when I was working. Best thing is no more headaches and hassles at the office.

Chuck

We were fortunate that the community that we built in already had Comcast so we did not have to change our email addresses. Send me a PM and let me know your new email address.

I do understand your retirement comments. I don't know how I ever had time to go to work. Plus the day after I retired the stress in my life went away. The only stress I now have are recreation related. As an example, I played golf with a bunch of guys from my club this morning, but we played a different course. We only got 9 holes in before the thunder and rain started so we all got 9 hole rain checks. Now I have to work in time to go back to that course to play again during the next month. Not sure I can handle this pressure!

I guess I misread one of your previous posts. I thought you brought the old lift down with you. After you explained the deal you got at the NCRS meet, I don't blame you for jumping on that deal.

I know the unpacking and organizing is a PITA, but it will be over soon. Let us know when you and Pat are too stressed out from handling all this pressure. Your welcome to come visit SW Florida for a few days!