Back to Penny Farms - #31-03

February 26, 2003 (Wed)
Flamingo, FL to Okeechobee, FL (218/1942 miles)

It got down to 70 degrees last night. It was so cold that we had to put on a light blanket :-) Actually getting up in the middle of the night let us figure out what the noise we've been hearing in the night was - birds. There must hundreds, if not thousands, fussing and complaining over on Eco Pond. The sound was not unlike a waterfall off in the distance. Joy found the night difficult because of the gnats, Mark because of his sunburn. It was good to see morning even though it was too foggy for the bike ride we had planned.

On the way out of the park we took a side trip to the Pa-hay-okee (River of grass) Overlook. More wildlife (bird) sightings. Mark was able to get within 5 feet of a Turkey Vulture - close enough to get a nice glamor shot. We also checked out the other campground in the park - Longboat Key - for future reference.

After leaving the park we made our way almost due north to the Claude Pepper Memorial Highway (US27). This and route US98/441 along the east side of Lake Okeechobee took us through many of Florida's sugar cane fields. We were surprised how unlike "Florida" this area is. It seems much more like rural Alabama and Mississippi - very depressed. But there was beauty too. The streets of Pahokee are lined with giant royal palms. Wonderful!

The campgrounds along the road as we approached Okeechobee were plentiful, small, crowded, rundown and expensive. The Zachary Taylor Camping Resort just south of town is one of the better ones. It's expensive, probably over $30 without our Passport America discount, and tightly packed, but clean and apparently very well run. The help (owners?) is very friendly and helpful as are the residents. A nice place! After setting up we walked over to the lake where a lock was helping boaters move between the canal and the lake. Another lock to add to our growing list.

Q047837 Zachary Taylor Camping Resort #75 $15.95p e/w/s B
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February 27, 2003 (Thur)
Okeechobee, FL to Penney Farms, FL (275/2217 miles)

Since we did some climbing yesterday (up onto the levee surrounding Lake Okeechobee) a couple of times and worked up a sweat (Temperature was in the mid to upper 80s) we decided to take showers this morning - warm ones this time. The showers in the Everglades had no hot water! During and after breakfast we took care of some housekeeping chores - Joy did the laundry (beautiful campground Laundromat), Mark got the messages from our home answering machine and "did" the email (sent and received). And we dumped and flushed the holding tanks and took on water. It was 75 degrees when we got off at 10:05 under partly sunny skies headed for northern Florida - where there was a tornado watch in effect.

Since the last time we got gas we haven't seen the price under $1.74 at any station we passed. So when we saw it at $1.67, we stopped even though we didn't really need it. Well, a few more miles up US441 we could have gotten it for $1.61 and later we saw it for $1.55. Sometimes we make bad decisions!

Yeehaw Junction couldn't have had a population of more than 3 or 4. It was a four way stop crossroad - thus "junction" in its name, I guess - in the middle of flat grasslands - with the Desert Inn on one corner. There must have been ranches out there somewhere because every so often we saw herds of cattle standing or sitting around under what looked like large dining flys. (We didn't see any sitting and waving though, Jennifer.) Actually this part of Florida is a lot like the West - great expanses of flat for as far as the eye can see. The road was two lanes dead flat and as straight as an arrow with very little traffic and that was mostly 18 wheelers. It's greener though and there are groupings of trees to break the immensity.

At Holopaw we turned East on US192 and headed for I-95 aiming to avoid the congestion in the Orlando/Kissimmee area. We lunched in a KFC parking lot on US1 south of Titusville, then passed a beautiful little park overlooking the Banana River and the Kennedy Space Center just a mile up the road where we could have taken our Triple Zinger chicken sandwiches. Next time!

Back on I-95 the traffic got heavier and heavier and construction made matters worse. We celebrated making it to St. Augustine without mishap by stopping at the huge discount mall (96 stores) - at least Joy celebrated. We bought 2 cereal bowls for Q.

A billboard on I-95 read "Thank the Lord for George and Jeb Bush"

Dorcas (Mark's sister) and Mike were in the PRC RV area to greet us when we got there. They had just been in to see MotherB and found her so groggy that she was hardly aware she had visitors and didn't recognize them. Apparently she'd been awake a lot the last couple of nights and was sleeping so soundly when they got there that she couldn't wake up. We decided not to see her until tomorrow, but had a good visit with Dorcas and Mike.

Q048112 Penny Retirement Community RV area #1 $7.50 e/w C
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February 28, 2003 (Fri) Penney Farms, FL (2) - We got a severe thunderstorm this morning about 5:00. Luckily it had passed by the time we were ready to walk up the Pavilion to visit MotherB. And what a surprise. We found her up, dressed and sitting in a wheelchair. She had apparently recently come from her weekly shower - her hair was still wet - and the staff fixed her up for our visit.

After feeding her and having a short visit, we took off to meet Dorcas and Mike for lunch. We went to a new barbecue place they'd found in Orange Park. We had a good lunch and another good visit. Back here at PRC we went to the community rummage shop, famous in these parts, and looked for some bargains. We bought a book and a ball of yarn. We had another visit with MotherB then came back to Q for a quiet evening. Tomorrow we are back on the road.

To the Everglades - #31-02

February 24, 2003 (Mon)
Englewood, FL to Flamingo, FL (297/1724 miles)

Well here we are at the very southern tip of Florida (except for the Keys) deep in the Everglades. It's hard to believe as we sit here barefoot and in shorts, with the temperature at 78 degrees, that back home there are still several feet of snow on the ground and an ice storm expected tonight (so we hear). It was a longer trip than we expected so we haven't had much chance to see the everglades except what passed by our windows along the way. We'll do some exploring tomorrow.

We had a peaceful and relaxing 6 days with Joy's mother and sister Frannie. It was hard to say good bye this morning. We had a great time visiting, playing cards, reading, doing crossword puzzles, and playing the guitar. Friday morning Joy taught a quilting class to the Quail's Run Craft Group. She had a good turnout and they seemed to appreciate her being there for them. We ate more than we should have but a couple of long bicycle rides helped burn up some of the extra calories. Joy also went swimming with her mother most mornings. Even so it's got to be slim pickings for the rest of the trip if Mark's weight is to be low enough to keep the doctor from commenting on it when we get back.

We got off this morning at about 9:30. We stopped at the grocery store to replenish the cupboard, at a gas station to fill up that tank ($1.63/gal), and a hardware store to get propane. We're now ready for a few days in the sticks. After getting our fill of the stop and go traffic on The Tamiami Trail (US41) southbound, we jumped onto I-75 to make a little time around Fort Myers and Naples.

Back on US41 we found the road completely shut down about 25 miles across Florida with a very serious accident somewhere up ahead. We had to take a 75 mile detour around it - back up to I-75 across and down. There are very few roads in this part of Florida! But on the detour we went through what was called a "Panther Habitat" - 13 miles of it - complete with road signs with the warning "Caution Panther Crossing next x miles" WOW! We looked but didn't see any panthers.

This is quite a nice campground even with no hook-ups. Some of the sites look out over an expansive lawn and to the sparkling Bay of Florida. Those sites were all taken, of course, but it's only a short walk for us.

Q047619 Everglades National Park Flamingo Campground #41 $7.00s dry B+
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February 25, 2003 (Tue) Flamingo, FL (2) - Woke this morning to a colorful sunrise out our bedroom window. It promised a beautiful day ahead and it was. After breakfast we set out on our bicycles to explore the campground and the facilities here. There is no village per se (we don't think) but there is a grocery store, gas station, motel, cabins and a sizable marina. There is plenty of wildlife too - osprey, hawks, herons, egrets, grebes, storks, ducks and anhingas and many other exotic species as well as the normal assortment of flying folk. We even saw a large flight of the reclusive white pelicans pass overhead in a very geese-like "V" formation.

Our area of the campground seems to be the hangout of choice for about a dozen turkey vultures. They circle above, gather in groups on the ground or just wander around. We can't imagine there being enough carrion around to support such a large flock.

The mosquitos can be very bad here at other times of year but are not bad now. A sign at the ranger station announces the misquote rating as "Tolerable". We agree. That was one down from the highest -"Care Free". "Total Mayhem" the worst. The gnats are a different story though. There is no way to keep them out of Q short of closing up completely, and it's far too warm to do that. They are so small they come right through the screens.

A cold start - #31-01

February 12, 2003 (Wed)
Home to Wytheville, VA (533/533 miles) Q046428

Well it's been an interesting day. It was 24 degrees at 6:15 when we got off this morning and dropped steadily as we drove Northwest on the Garden State Parkway and West on I-287 and I-78. It got down as low as 13 degrees in Pennsylvania before finally beginning to warm up a bit. Add a blustery head wind often filled with blowing snow picked up in the nearby fields and you can imagine how eager we were to turn south toward decent weather.

Q still had antifreeze in his plumbing - so we had no on-board toilet facilities - and his house batteries were so low from inactivity that they were barely able to keep the refrigerator running. The prospect of spending the cold night in a noisy truck stop or Walmart parking lot was weighing on us - most campgrounds are closed in the winter when their water pipes might freeze and camping traffic is low. In hind sight we realized that we should have headed directly south to get to the warmth sooner. Luckily we found the Ft. Chiswell Campground open. We can't hook up to the water but we've been able to put a little in our tank so we can use our bathroom facilities. We're plugged in so we can run the heater. We even have a cable TV hook up. Ah, the life of luxury. We're in Virginia just South of the junction of Interstates 81 and 77. The temperature here is about 40 degrees but the forecast is for it to go down into the teens tonight. Florida is going to feel really good!

Q046428 Ft Chiswell Campground #11 e/w/tv $24.64 B
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February 13, 2003 (Thu)
Wytheville, VA to Richmond Hill, GA (428/961 miles)

It didn't make it down into the teens last night but 24 degrees was cold enough to make sleeping difficult. And the wind was fierce all night long. We couldn't imagine what the wind chill might have been. It was almost up to 32 degrees by the time we were ready to take off at 8:45 but the wind still made breaking camp miserable.

We headed south on I-77 and up and over the Blue Ridge Mountains. Fancy Gap pass wasn't high, 2900 feet, but there was still plenty of snow on the ground. It slowly vanished as we went down and south. We heard on the radio that I-77 was shut down due to an accident with fuel spill up ahead so we jumped off onto I-74 so we could take the parallel US 601. We never heard anything more about conditions on I-77 so maybe we detoured for nothing. It was good to be off the interstates for a while though.

Gas prices are outrageous. In New Jersey we paid $1.49 a gallon. Since then we've seen it as high as $1.71 at places we would normally expect to pay reasonable prices. We've not done too badly - $1.54 at one place, $1.56 at another. The temperature has moderated - it was all of 64 degrees as we crossed the causeway to the campground. But this is Georgia.

Q046856 Fort McAllister State Historic Park #8 e/w $15.64s A
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February 14, 2003 (Fri)
Richmond Hill, GA to Penney Farms, FL (185/1146 miles)

We're getting lazy - stayed in bed until 7:15 or so this morning then showered and had a leisurely breakfast. The sky was cloudy with the sun breaking through in patches and the temperature was almost balmy at 54 degrees. A good kind of day for traveling. The big class A from the campsite across from us - the Haas' from PA - was pulling out of the dump station as we pulled in. We noticed that they had forgotten to put their TV antenna down. We tried to get their attention but could not. We wonder if they still have it.

We gassed up in Richmond Hill ($1.54) and started south on I-95, heading for our favorite fudge shop in the Darien, GA Prime Outlets discount mall. (It's our favorite because it's the only one we allow ourselves to shop at, not because it's any better than any other.) The mall was having a sidewalk sale - great prices but not much we could use. Joy did pick up a $49 shirt for $5 though.

Last year we swung by the bridge in Brunswick we'd watched being built because we thought it would be finished. It wasn't. This year we were sure that it had to be finished. It wasn't! It's been under construction about six years so far.

We got into Penney Farms, about 3:30, set up camp and went to see Mark's mother. We found her awake, alert and glad to see us. Apparently she has good days and bad. We were glad this was one of her good days. Conversation was difficult but not impossible. We'll be here until Sunday morning.

Q046856 Penny Retirement Community RV campsite #1 e/w $7.50 C
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February 15, 2003 (Sat) Penney Farms, FL (2) - Today was for MotherB. We walked over to see her and spent a couple of hours with her at dinner and supper times. We were able to help her eat these meals and it gave us a way to communicate without the struggle of verbal exchange. It is wonderful to see her sense of humor shine even though she is so weak. Between visits we came back to Q and read, napped, worked crossword puzzles and Mark practiced his guitar (he's three weeks into a new practice regiment after 25 years of total neglect.) In the evening we played a couple of games of RummiKub and watched a TV show that we'd taped before we left home.
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February 16, 2003 (Sun)
Penney Farms, FL to Lakeland, FL (171/1317 miles)

What a day! Violent thunderstorms here and record snowfall and blizzard at home. But it started smoothly enough. We got up, showered, unhooked Q from utility support, and went to say good bye to MotherB.

At 11:00 we headed for Starke where Mark's sister Dorcas and her husband Mike were camped in their fifth wheel. While we were there the rain came. It poured with lightning striking so close that there was no time between the flash and the very loud clap. But good company and good conversation made it almost fun. By 3:00 when we were again on the road it had let up but it didn't last long. We got gas just before getting onto I-75 ($1.65). Then it began to rain again and it poured all the rest of the way to Lakeland.

But at home it was snowing and blowing. We heard that 18 inches or more were expected in Washington and New York. It made us glad to be in the South experiencing less than completely pleasant weather (66 degrees). Our daughter Jennifer and her husband Dave were scheduled to leave Liberty Airport in Newark, NJ at 5:00 and fly to Miami, FL. We wondered if they'd be able to get out - we were hearing that the New York airports were shutting down. Donna, Ed and Kathy's daughter, checked the internet for us when we got there and found that the flight did get out. It must have been one of the last out. We arrived at Ed and Kathy's and joined family and friends celebrating their grandson's 4th birthday. A highlight of the party was the key lime cheese cake they served for desert.

Q047212 Ed and Kathy's back yard campsite #D e/w/s A+
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February 17, 2003 (Mon) Lakeland, FL (2) - This has been a relaxing day of visiting and errands. Ed and Kathy saw their daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren off , then we all went out shopping and lunch at a Subway shop. When we got back, Mark downloaded email and later called our son Jeff for a situation report at home. They had about 20 inches of snow at the time and it was still snowing. They were all OK although getting their girls to and from their weekend swim meet before it was called off turned into quite an adventure.

Tonight we watched "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" on Ed and Kathy's new DVD player. Great movie!
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February 18, 2003 (Tue)
Lakeland, FL to Englewood, FL (110/1427 miles)

Before getting on the road at 11:45 we went to the used paperback book store in Lakeland. This is the best such place we've ever shopped in. Besides having a huge selection and not being picky about what they take in, they pay the best price (25%) for the books we bring in. We're always surprised at how many books we can get to break even.

Our trip across I-4 and down I-75 was uneventful. The weather was cool for Florida this time of year - 67 degrees - but otherwise typically cloudless, sunny, and beautiful. We got here about 2:30, unpacked Q, and moved him - against his will as always - out of this motor home restricted condominium into the bank parking lot. While Joy, her mother and sister caught up on family news, Joy did a much needed laundry and Mark began to translate our notes into this more readable account of the last few days.

Q047322 SunTrust Bank Parking lot - parked