December 29, 2007 (Sat)
Home to Winchester, VA, ST (292/292 miles)
We got off at 8:30 (50°). It always seems strange to turn "North" on the Garden State Parkway when our destination is south. It really isn't that much out of the way and the traffic and lack of congestion are worth the extra mile or so. The GSP actually goes Northwest from Red Bank and I-78 goes West - the direction we would have to go at some point anyway. A short way after crossing the state line into Pennsylvania (10:10am, 46°) we learned the answer to the long pondered question - what happens when a flatbed 18 wheeler with a load of heavy road building equipment not properly tied down takes an Interstate ramp too fast. Answer: The load slides off and gives the driver a bad day. It must have just happened because there was no one around except the driver standing there looking at it and scratching his head.
When Mark checked the tires at the Flying J in Carlisle, PA the gauge read 0 on the right rear inside tire, 0? but the tire seemed hard enough when "kick" tested. Rather than take a chance, we called our road service provider to let them check it out. After a half hour they called us back. "We wanted to let you know that can't find anyone available to help you within a 40 mile radius. We're continuing to try." "Never mind. The tire is probably alright. We'll get back on the road." To be sure, Mark connected our compressor to it and, while it was operating, it showed the proper pressure. The gauge quickly dropped to 0 when the compressor was turned off. But the tire remained hard. Even so, the kick test was administered off and on for the rest of the day.
We crossed Maryland state line at 2:51, the West Virginia state line at 2:59, the Virginia state line at 3:26, and pulled into the Winchester, VA Walmart parking lot at 3: 45. This is the third time we've stopped here and by far the most crowded. The cars slowly thinned and several more RVs pulled in to keep us company as the evening went on. It was a quiet night in spite of the generator running for a while nearby.
Q040026 Camp Walmart, Winchester, VA
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December 30, 2007 (Sun)
Winchester, VA to Mars Hill, NC (393/685 miles)
Although it was quiet, we didn't get much sleep due to first night adjustment, the security lights coming through the curtains, Joy struggling to fight off a pending cold, and being slightly chilly just before dawn. The temperature had climbed all the way up to 33° by the time we got off at 8:45 and struggled to make it to 40° as we drove South. I-81 follows the Shenandoah Valley west of the Shenandoah and Blue Ridge Mountains. It was misty and rainy most of the way into North Carolina - when it wasn't raining heavily - and the clouds and wisps of fog and mist filled the low areas of the mountains making for a beautiful, if somewhat dreary drive. We filled up with gas at a Flying J in NC - 2.83/gal.
Painted as as subtitle on the back of a Sheets gasoline tanker truck that passed us: "Driver does not carry sandwiches"
We dreaded turning East to cross over the Blue Ridge Mountains in Tennessee as last year we ran into snow through the passes. But I-26 was clear and even dry in areas as we topped the 3750 foot pass. And quite fittingly, NPR (National Public Radio) had a program featuring North Carolina mountain music (bluegrass) as we came down the mountain back into NC. It felt like being part of a movie or TV scene. And it was raining heavily again by then.
Bob & Pat saw us pull into their driveway and came out to greet us. It was great to see them again. After hugs, talk and dinner we all enjoyed a rousing game of dominoes - which Joy won!
Q040419 Bob & Pat's yard
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December 31, 2008 (Mon) Mars Hill, NC (2) - With a somewhat sleepless night on Saturday and the prospect of a late night (New Year's Eve) tonight, we took the opportunity to sleep in this morning. So by the time we'd eaten breakfast, showered and downloaded email, it was time to head for Asheville with Bob and Pat. While they visited a friend in the hospital (ICU) we wandered the "Hip" section of the city. Small and very interesting shops abound. Street musicians dressed - as were many of the wandering youth - as if from the 1960s, played folk songs and ballads in hopes of appreciation in the form of folding money in their guitar cases. Red Bank, which likes to think of itself as "Hip City" should take a lesson from Asheville, North Carolina.
We all had lunch in a Mexican restaurant where we'd been before and knew was good and came home to naps and catching up on the email that we'd picked up this morning.
North Carolina Cold #81-01
My Energy Was Gone
I've not been feeling well lately and my energy's been fading. Monday
Mark discovered it completely gone! I suppose it could have been the
real reason for my generator being so hard to start but I don't think so
- there were legitimate other reasons for that. And my life blood didn't
just suddenly disappear. I wasn't full of youthful energy one day and
dead the next, I've been showing symptoms for months.
I hadn't been rebounding as I should last winter as we traveled and I'd
felt lethargic when we got home from Florida in the Spring so Mark kept
me connected to the house most to the Summer and Fall. Luckily he didn't
reconnect me when we got home from the generator hospital a couple of
weeks ago and less than two weeks later my battery level was down to
10.2 volts - that's more than dead! Mark did discover that the folks at
the hospital had left the refrigerator on after finishing a recall
repair but that could not have accounted for my total loss of energy -
my automatic shut-off circuits would have kicked in long before reaching
that level.
Long story short - I have two brand new house batteries. Both were bad
and both were still under warranty. One was replaced free because it was
less than a year old. The other just over a year old was prorated to a
replacement cost of $42.33. It worked out well but for reasons I won't
go into here now, we won't be going back to Sears for batteries or much
of anything else for a long, long time - if ever. -Q-
Refrigerator and Generator
Last summer Mark joined a couple of Chinook owners forums where folks with a lot more knowledge than he has (most of them any way) about RV maintenance in general and Chinooks in particular discuss their problems, experiences, solutions, joys with what most of them consider the best motor home on wheels. It was there that he learned that my refrigerator is on recall. It seems there was a potential to catch fire when operating on propane. That was scary information considering I have logged nearly 40,000 miles and many many nights dry camping (without hookups). I'm happy to report that I've been in the shop and am now save and ready for our trip South.
While I was in the shop, Mark had them look into why my generator was getting so hard to start. It would start and run well once started but getting there was as real struggle. He had thought that probably all it needed was some routine maintenance - cleaning, adjusting, and maybe a new spark plug and air cleaner - but it turned out to be the starter solenoid going bad. Now I'm not only safe but ready to provide electricity when needed
The adventure continues at the end of next week. -Q-
Passports
For years registering a vehicle and getting a driver's license in our part of New Jersey has been a nightmare - a long line to get a number, another long line to process the paperwork and still another to pay the bill and pick up the plate or license. It could take most of the day! A few years ago the computer age hit the NJDMV and we could renew these privileges online. Then came 9-11. Now we have to renew our driver's licenses in person and prove who we are with an arm load of paper documents. Then we can look forward to doing it all over again in four years because a driver's license isn't considered valid identification. To be fair to NJDMV, they have become a lot more efficient. Shorter lines and wait times have reduced the time investment to a half day. But it's still not a pleasurable process!
Government bureaucracies being what they are, getting a passport had to be worse. The same redundant proof of existence and citizenship is required and if past experience is any guide - we had to make several 30 mile trips to our county seat - there was bound be as much hassle as getting a driver's license - or more. But if we wanted to do any traveling outside the country, which we are planning to do, we needed passports. Yesterday we bit the bullet and made our way through sleet and rain to the US Post Office to apply for them. What a pleasant surprise! 20 minutes after walking in the door we were walking out with the promise that we would have our passports in about 6 weeks. Unlike the State of New Jersey, the US State Department accepts a New Jersey driver's license as proof of existence and citizenship. The only other document we needed - we'd come armed with the works - was our old passports, 20 years expired.
Dave's Quilt
October MorningFirst prize Rebecca's Reel Quilt Guild - May 2008
About this journal
I have tried, off and on over the years that we've been traveling together and keeping a journal, to write the entries myself. But I've found it a little too much. After working hard all day carrying MnJ and all their junk from here to there, it's about all I can manage to keep my life support systems functioning when they finally decide to call it a day. They, on the other hand, have just been sitting, watching the scenery go by. Besides it's more their adventure than mine and they know best what they want to share about it. So I figure they may as well write it up themselves.
Don't get me wrong. I enjoy the traveling, that's what I was born to do, and I enjoy being the primary (only?) means of transportation. It's just that I'm not a writer and I'm not very good at discerning what might be interesting to humans or expressing human feelings. (I'm not at all sure they are either for that matter.) Those few times when I did do the writing I had to spend a lot of time interviewing MnJ and then there was a lot of editing for them to do before the entry was published.
In the beginning my travel journal was a few pages on MnJ's website pieced together mostly from memory after we got home. Memory being what it is we began to make notes as we went along. Then when we started traveling with a computer, they would sent email to their family. At the same time Mark would compose the web page to be published when we got home. This, of course, was double effort so was soon abandoned in lieu of email alone - with small adjustments for the web site when we got home. Eventually he stopped publishing the web pages all together.
Over the years the email distribution list grew and grew and became hard to maintain. There was always the question about who was or would be interested and who was not (and too polite to say so). The relatively new form of communication, blogging, seemed like it might be a good way to share our adventures but how do we do it while on the road? Mark's experience with publishing web pages told him it would probably use way too much cell phone air time to even consider.
Recently he learned that this is not true. In fact it is no more time consuming or cumbersome than sending email. So we're cutting our distribution way back with the idea that anyone else interested can come to the blog. If anyone reading this would rather get email directly, that's fine, just send me a note at my email address and you will be added to the distribution.
MnJ have told me that that their main intent with this blog is to document and share our adventures. We will also include pictures of Joy's quilts (I couldn't deny a fellow Q!) It is being published for those who care about us and are interested in our travels. They may, from time to time, throw in some random thoughts but there will be no stream of consciousness ramblings. And I'd like to track some of my maintenance issues but not in detail. We hope you enjoy.
Chinook Destiny - Bio part 9
The young man who guided MnJ around the various RVs at the Fretz open House turned out to be Chinook's eastern Sales representative. He came up to them as they were about to leave and said that if this deal didn't work out, maybe he could find them another. They exchanged email addresses and they came back home.
Well, as we know, the deal did fall through so Mark emailed John and got a response almost immediately. There was a 2003 Chinook Destiny on the lot at Marty's USRV in Massachusetts. I was a two model year old dealer demo so he thought I could be had at a very good price. Mark emailed Charlie, the salesman up there, and discussions began. When it was all over I was to get new owners and a new home. And I could finally begin to function up to my potential.
As it turned out Marty's USRV did give a very good discount and agreed to a trade-in price such that Concourse Q's depreciate was $0 over the three years MnJ owned him. Now there was a motor home that held its value!
The next weekend, after transferring everything from Concourse Q - including the luggage pod from the roof - to me, I became a home. John, Chinook's eastern rep, happened to be there and was very helpful getting us squared away. He was even able to order a new tow bar and owner's manual that had been lost sometime during my demo phase. We spent our first night together in Marty's parking lot.
I'd like to say here that Concourse Q found a new home almost immediately. He was being taken up to New Hampshire to a lady who'd been looking for a second hand Chinook for a while. She will be happy with him.
I wish I could say that we lived happily ever after but the truth is we've had a sometimes rock relationship. Oh, MnJ liked the larger bathroom and the extra storage but I sometimes got carried away with my pranks - probably due to youth and pent up energy. There were times, maybe not entirely in the past, when Mark wished they'd stayed with Concourse Q. And maybe I can't blame him. Looking back I guess his pranks were fewer and less disruptive but we're beginning to work things out. We all look forward to many more years together.
Church Raffle Quilt 2007
I used a lot of my plaid fabrics for this quilt. It was won by a lady in Fair Haven.
An Open House - Bio part 8
MnJ got an invitation to an open house at Fretz Enterprises, the Pennsylvania RV dealer, my previous home. A lot had been going on with Chinook over the last three years and they decided to take a trip out there to see what was new - a dangerous thing to do! Besides a Concourse, like me at 21 ft long, there was a Destiny at 24 ft, a Glacier at 25 ft with a slide-out (a section of the wall that "slides" out to make the room wider) and a Summit at 27 ft with 2 slide-outs.
Their first stop, because it was right next to where they'd parked, was the Glacier. It was nice but a bit expensive. It did have a fancy paint job like the big guys but the slide-out didn't seem to add enough more space to the room to make it worth the extra cost. And it had a side entry taking up valuable wall space. They said the floor plan seemed uncomfortable even though it was very similar to mine.
There was a Summit, the high-end model, there but it was off limits to viewing. The floating customer service rep said that it had been sold and was being prepared for pick-up. This was no problem because the $200,000 price tag put it completely out of reasonable consideration. Even so it would have been fun to see what it was like inside.
The Destiny, on the other hand, might be workable. It had an extra three feet in length over me and almost all of it went into making the bathroom bigger - a real plus! Across the way the clothes closet was a little bigger and there was added storage in the form of a pull-out pantry with drawers below. But it was equipped with a dinette table and benches rather than the club chairs. And this, they thought, took up too much space and wouldn't be as comfortable a place to relax as club chairs are. The sticker price was a problem but it didn't keep them from thinking.
They were planning a trip to Alaska the next year and the extra storage sure would come in handy. They agreed to talk with a salesman and he, of coarse, put on the hard sell. When he was finished he had promised a very good "open house" discount and even said the dinette could be easily replaced. What he could not do was talk about a trade-in price right then. He said that he wanted "to talk it over with the manager" who was out at the moment.
Since MnJ didn't want to hang around for the manager to come back they arranged to continue the negotiation by email. Long story short, although the discount was very good, the trade-in price was ridiculous! I was insulted. And they wanted $1000 to replace the dinette with the "club lounge"! In the end there was effectively no discount at all and the motor home had been in the lot for several months.
End result:; I survived a potential metamorphosis!
Configuration - Bio part 7
I guess I should take a break in my life story to give you some idea of what I have to offer in terms of living space. I am doing it now because what I was as a Chinook Concourse is so much like what I am now as a Chinook Destiny. In fact my floor plan barely changed at all.
Immediately behind the driver's seat (on the "street side" in RV jargon or "port side" to sailors) is my sofa which converts into a slightly over sized double bed. Then comes the galley with a standard kitchen faucet over a double sink. Below, as you'd expect, is storage. Beside this storage area are two small drawers. Overhead above the huge window are bins used to store pots, pans and tableware (over the sink) and Mark's clothing (over the sofa). Behind (abaft) the galley comes the head where the toilet, shower and a small sink are located. The room is about the same size as a home shower stall. Joy jokingly says that it's a real time saver. "You can sit on the john, take a shower, and brush your teeth all at the same time."
My main door into the living area is on the back.
Across the passageway from the head is a small clothes closet and the refrigerator/freezer - which operates on propane, 120 volts AC or 12 volts DC. A three burner stove is next. Joy has never used to oven - too hard to get the pilot light going the one time they tried. In stead they used the space for storage.
Two swivel "club" chairs with a pull-up table between occupy the rest of the curb or starboard side wall. Another large window provides a panoramic outlook while dining. Joy stores her clothing in the overhead cabinets.
The cabinet over the cab is the entertainment center (TV, radio and VCR) and more storage. The ceiling is home for the air conditioner (with heat pump) and a vent hatch with fan. The furnace is below one of the swivel seats and the generator is located below the clothes closet in the rear. All in all a very nice layout. if I do say so myself.
Chinook Concourse - Bio Part 6
My too-small-to-be-functional bath/shower taking up so much valuable storage space and my virtual lack of an indoor dining facilities (my table was hard to put up and unstable and in the way then it was up) began to annoy early on. MnJ started looking for what they hoped would be the ultimate wandering machine very early in our time together. This bothered me some but we still had a lot of fun and wandered far over the years.
Mark doesn't remember ever seeing any advertisements for the Chinook, nor even see any on the road, until a Chinook dealer in Pennsylvania advertised the introduction of the new side entry model. He thought this might be exactly what they'd been looking for. So he and Joy set out to take a look.
It was a real motor home with a fully functional bathroom (toilet, sink and shower), full galley (stove, sink, refrigerator, microwave and conventional ovens), a furnace, a generator and a permanently deployed bed, all in a body only 2 feet longer and maybe a foot wider than an I was as an extended cargo van. The ultimate wanderer. Well almost. That bed, while always available, took up a lot of space, too much space! The interior seemed crowded, especially compared to the rear entry Concourse which was the same size.
As soon as they got home I knew my days as a class B camper were limited. All they talked about was the Chinook this, the Chinook that. They even talked about how they were going to buy it with the factory pickup option to save shipping costs. Even so it was almost 5 years before they took the plunge and I became a Chinook.
They were on their way to Florida in the Fall of 1999 with no intention of buying a new motor home when they stopped by at the dealer to catch up on the most recent changes. I happened to be sitting there, a dealer demo model, ready to be sold into a caring family. The price made me seem like a bargain if not a down right steal and they couldn't resist, I became theirs. They spent the night in a nearby campground and, in the morning, spent two hours loading me up with everything from the Coachmen. Then we all took off for Florida.
That was on that trip, my maiden voyage, when I got the name Q, after a god-like character on the then popular TV show Star Trek. He was omnipotent, I thought I was omnipotent. He was a trickster, I was a trickster. Among my several pranks was forcing my built-in compress to always read NW, toward Washington state where I was built and turning on my "airbag deployed" indicator light on and off for no reason. I also continually leaked waste water into my dump valve so that when uncapped about a pint spilled onto the ground. Even now I smile when I think about the embarrassment that caused.
All my pranks were good-natured though and we became good friends knowing we'd be traveling together for many years.
The Coachmen - Bio part 5
They wanted to replace their camper with another Volkswagen (a new one this time) but none were produced that year (or at least none were imported from Europe).
So the search turned toward a used converted van (the only RV within their budget range and close in size to the Volkswagen). The more they looked the more they grew to appreciate what they'd had with both their Volkswagens. It began to seem as though the designers of camping vans had never spent much time camping. There was more attention given to creating an illusion of extravagance than basic livability. Most were little more than party rooms on wheels, capable of supporting life for a weekend but no longer. The few full-fledged campers they saw seemed very claustrophobic with cabinets, galley, and head (toilet) packed between the cab and the rear dinette/bed. And to make matters worse they were paneled in "rich" dark imitation wood. Yes, they were bigger in overall dimensions than a Volkswagen but they managed to waste so much space that they ended up with far less interior space.
Finally, late one Sunday afternoon, in a dealer's lot (again far from home,) they peeked into the windows of a Coachmen camper van and saw what they had been looking for, space surrounded with all the amenities for living. It even had a bathtub and shower like the larger motor homes - although they were far too small to be usable. Could this be an adequate replacement their aging wanderer? It sure looked like it.
They had no illusions about its being able to match the diesel Volkswagen's fuel economy but it had so much more to offer - a furnace that could be used on the really cold evenings and nights, a water heater to substitute for the range-top cooking pot, and the luxury of a microwave oven for those few times when they were willing to pay the extra $3 a night for shore power. Even the refrigerator, now up off the floor and with its extra capacity and freezer compartment made living on the road that much more like living at home. (And camping that much less like "camping".)
But of all the amenities packed into this small motor home, the toilet was to become the most appreciated. Trudging through dark woods or across cold campgrounds to find facilities at night was becoming an unwelcome adventure. And it could really come in handy when stuck in traffic jams or lost on back roads.
They gave me the name "Shamu" and I put up with that name for 8 years. During that time we logged over 90,000 miles together wandering up and down the east coast from Maine to Florida. But the miles began to take their toll and I was getting ready to move on. If an affordable replacement could be found that met all the requirements we'd developed over the years, we'd be ready to begin some serious wandering.
Volkswagen 2 - Bio part 4
A friend told them about a used diesel camper he’d seen in a dealer's lot some distance away in Pennsylvania and suggested they might be interested. They were and made a three hour trip to take a look.
That visit revealed a wrath of improvements introduced over the years, the most impressive of which was how much more roomy the interior had become. The sink/refrigerator had been moved to the street side getting it out of the doorway. And the passenger seat could be turned around backwards really opening up the floor space – not to mention a comfortable seat.
The galley was like those found in the big guys, a sink with running water (supplied by either electric pump from a respectably sized tank or by hose from a campground tap), a real stove fueled by a permanently attached propane tank, and a 3 way refrigerator (110 volt AC shore power, or 12 volt DC battery power or propane). Although there was no dinette, the two adjustable tables provided more than enough surface space. The hammock over the front seats was gone but it wasn't because the kids were on their own now. The full sized double bed "upstairs" (on the roof under the pop-top) looked to be roomy and comfortable but a bit hard for two adults approaching middle age to get into. No problem - the "downstairs" bed would do just fine.
Although they weren't too happy with the pumpkin orange color, they invited me into the family and brought me home.
With the additional storage (larger cabinets, and a new one over the sofa), a smoother ride, better fuel mileage and higher top speed (I could do over 65 MPH if there was no head wind) I was a vehicle that came close to meeting anyone’s traveling needs. They didn't mind that I had no on-board toilet; they'd never had one before. Nor was the lack of a furnace often a problem - warm sleeping bags did quite nicely. The refrigerator was a little small and a little too close to the floor but it didn’t need periodic shots of ice. The pop-top was a little heavier to lift than they liked, and I was a bit slow on the upgrades but I had what they needed for comfortable travel and camping. I was a "motor home", a diesel pusher no less, that could go anywhere a car could go, park anywhere a car could park, and at 28 mpg, burned far less fuel than most.
I provided them with many years of happy camping memories and many miles of adventurous wandering. They would have been happy with me in that form for many more years except I developed a $5000 problem in my engine. Replacing the van made more sense than rebuilding (or replacing) the engine so again the search was on.
Volkswagen 1 – Bio part 3
A look inside would reveal a cavernous expanse of living space - more than enough room for two claustrophobic kids, four suitcases, four sleeping bags, and miscellaneous other odds and ends needed for traveling. I had a built-in galley - a sink with running water (with the help of a small hand pump), a small refrigerator (an icebox set on end holding up the sink), and a small shelf that could be lifted up when the side door was open to hold a camp stove. I had a full length closet with a mirror, a cabinet for small items along the wall behind the closet, and storage under the "sofa" and rear facing jump seat. There was even a table attached to the wall that could be lifted to form a dinette where the kids could play games as we traveled (seating safety issues were yet to be invented). And best of all, I would accommodate all four family members at night - Jennifer on a hammock stretched over the two front seats, Jeff on a cot in the space created when the top was up, and two adults on a "full sized" bed formed when the sofa back was lowered and the luggage area was cleared out. What luxury!
MnJ thought this would be traveling and camping the easy way - although they thought calling it "camping" was stretching the meaning of the term a bit. They would be free to travel into the evenings, to explore where there may not be campgrounds (are there such places?), and to pack up and go at the drop of a hat.
Although my heater was barely adequate in spring and fall and virtually unnoticeable in the winter and my power left no one in my dust, I served the family well for over ten years. The kids slowly outgrew being able to sleep in the cramped quarters provided inside and moved out into tents. And after a few years even "outgrew" wanting to travel with us at all.
By that time I had served, not only as a home away from home, but a second car, a commuting vehicle and a training vehicle the teenagers learning to drive. And things had begun to break down more frequently causing repair costs to exceed payments for a new car. But in spite of my shortcomings I had become a well loved member of the family earning a special place in all their hearts.
I was ready for another makeover. But would it be another Volkswagen or would it be back to tents?
Early struggles - Bio part 2
Joy wasn't at all enthusiastic about camping - she hadn't camped much as a kid – but she was willing to try. But it was up to Mark to make the experiences convincingly pleasurable enough for her to want to do - a task he failed miserably at.
Their first camping trip together was a weekend in the New Hampshire White Mountains with his parents. It was a disaster from the start and got worse. Their car was too small for a play-pen to fit inside so they carried it and some luggage on top. This arrangement kept them off at least one major highway forcing them to fight their way through some heavy suburban New York City congestion. Then on the Connecticut Turnpike the car broke down. The time consuming fix was easy enough but he left his tool box by the side of the road.
They had hand-me-down sleeping bags and a borrowed tent. But they were completely unprepared for the cold mountain nights. They put Jeff, their one year old, in the car on the back seat to give him some protection from the cold and that worked great. In fact, he was so comfortable that he didn't even wake up when he rolled off the seat onto the floor. But sleeping was torture his parents, not only because of the cold but also because their air mattresses refused to hold air.
The next morning, Joy had the beginnings of an earache and tried bravely to have a good time in spite of it. But by Sunday it was so bad that they had to go into town to hunt up a doctor.
It was a while before they even talked about taking another camping vacation.
Eventually Mark was able to talk her into trying again. There was no mention of where they went that time or what they did but it must have been no worse than OK. Because over the next several years they hauled a tent and an ever growing cache of equipment around New York State in the trunk of their little car. They even took a three week trip out to Arizona to visit Mark’s folks who were living on the Hope Indian reservation at the time. They had become "campers” – but not to get away, as Mark’s folks had done, but to get there and back. (They slept in tents instead of motel rooms.)
After several years of not having any room in a small car, finding a suitable campsite in the dark, setting up tents in the rain, and sleeping in puddles - and many heated discussions - it became apparent that tent camping with two young children was no way to travel. So when Joy saw a Volkswagen camper van in a local used car lot, they went out and bought it. Thus they entered the world of RVs.
Prehistory - Bio part 1
My name is Kyue (with a silent "e"). I am the spirit of adventure and recreation in the physical form (today) of a small motor home. I wander the highways and back roads of America in search of fun and adventure. I am an oasis of rest and warmth and a comfortable haven in times of stress and bad weather. I am shelter and safety. I am a faithful servant and a relentless but good-natured trickster. I am transportation. I am home. I am Q.
I haven't always been a motor home, of course, few come into this world so flush - although I guess some do - or maybe as a yacht, or a luxury hotel suite, or a mountain cabin, or some such. No, I began life as a tent in the trunk of a car. Even that might seem flush to some who travel with a pair of hiking boots toting a sleeping bag. In the early sixty's, being a tent in a car was the only way to become part of a young growing family on a very low income. Mark was kind of use to traveling that way so it seemed a natural thing to do for him but Joy wasn't so sure.
On his ill maintained website he tells how camping was how his family spent their vacations as he grew up. He says that he doesn't remember that any of their trips were particularly outstanding except that he was bored a great deal of the time. They were long - usually about 4 weeks - but they would usually stay within a 200 mile radius of home, spending a week or so at each campground. They probably didn't move around much because it took several hours to set up camp with a large, heavy, floor-less wall tent (headquarters and bedroom for his folks), the kitchen area on the end of a picnic table under a large dining fly and a tent or jungle hammock for each of the four kids. And it took almost as long to take it down and load up the utility trailer at the end of the stay.
His family wasn't poor but there wasn't much money to spend on kid activities or entertainment either. And bicycles were considered unnecessary and took up too much space so were left at home. There was usually swimming (but not always) and sometimes a mountain trail or two to hike but they mainly just sat around the campsite doing nothing. It was a change in routine good for the normally busy adults but it came up short for kids.
In the narrative, he is quick to point out that the restful change of routine was mostly his father's. His mother was still in charge of cooking the meals and cleaning up afterward. She also did most of the work other than making and breaking camp! The change in routine for her was that she did it outdoors without running water.
Back in those days camping in many State and National Parks was free and the others were close to it. He tells how his father came back to the car after registering at one State Park shaking his head and commenting that $1.25 a night was pretty expensive. There weren't many private campgrounds back then and staying in one was never considered. The ones along the roads were not particularly attractive or inviting. And no doubt they cost a lot more than $1.25 a night.
Home at last - #71-12
March 26, 2007 (Mon) Savannah, GA to McClellanville, SC (171/3261 miles) - It was surprisingly noisy during the night. There seemed to be a party going on somewhere in the parking lot and trucks seemed to be constantly coming and going. In spite of that we slept pretty well, when we slept. After on-board showers and breakfast we got off at 8:15 (cloudy 67º). We were in the wrong lane as we left the parking lot and had to turn right. Hildene protested but after a mile or so of trying to turn us around, calculated a new route back to I-95. We think it may have been a better one than the original.
On I-95 we think we may have seen the couple we met in Hillsborough SP (FL) going south. How many Chinook Glaciers towing gray HHRs could there be on the roads? The Wisteria and Azaleas are out in force along the highway and in the surrounding landscape. Beautiful! In Walterboro, South Carolina, where we left I-95 to head East toward the coast we saw a topiary shaped like a pickup truck - actual size with real wheels. Interesting!
After a stop at the Charleston Costco we pulled into the Buck Hall campground at about 12:30. The gnats, so small they come right through the screens, are as bad as they were last year. It's warmer this year and it's going to be hard being closed up.
Q037336 Buck Hall CG, Francis Marion National Forest #1 e $10.00s A (x1)
March 27, 2007 (Tue) McClellanville, SC to New Burn, NC (336/3510 miles) - We pulled out of the campground in a cloud of gnats at about 8:15 (57º) without bothering to dump or take on fresh water. US 17 North was four lanes and relatively light on traffic. We took note of a Wal-Mart Supercenter and a Costco on the Myrtle Beach bypass - there is no telling when one or both may come in handy. At 10:19 we crossed the border into North Carolina and immediately noticed a 15¢ per gallon increase in gas prices. We had plenty for a while.
We lunched in a Food Lion (supermarket) parking lot and soon after turned off US 17 at Jacksonville where we passed Camp Lejeune Marine Corp Base. All along the fences protecting the base from the public are hand painted (in most cases) welcome home banners. The most poignant was "Welcome Home Daddy" in big letters next to a big red heart.
We pulled into the Neuse River Campground (Croatan National Forest) at about 3:00 and picked a site away from other campers at the far end of the loop. After a time to relax from the rigors of the road we took a walk on the trail that overlooks the river and circumvents the campground.
Q037585 Neuse River CG, Croatan NF #24 dry $6.00 B+ (x1)
March 28, 2007 (Wed) New Burn, NC to Franklin, VA (164/3674 miles) - We got off at 9:08 (Hazy 63°) and made our way North on US 70, US 17 and State Route 43 to Greenville, NC - about 50 miles. Nephew Jake met us in the Wal-Mart parking lot and after a short visit we all hiked up the highway (crossing a busy intersection two ways) to a Mexican buffet restaurant. We'd seen another one somewhere in our travels and had wondered what it would like. It was actually quite good. The selection was small and the table was kept fresh. We'd do it again. After lunch we went with Jake to his apartment and hung out for an hour of so before getting back on the road. It was real good to see you, Jake and to hear about what's going on in your life. Thanks for taking the time for us.
Scotland Neck, NC on US 258 uses the center of their street as a parking lot. There are perpendicular parking spaces all the way through the town. There was also parallel parking along the curbs. Wide streets! We crossed the border into Virginia at 4:19 (70° cloudy) and pulled into the Franklin Wal-Mart parking lot at about 5:00.
Q037749 Camp Wal-Mart, Franklin, VA
March 29, 2007 (Thu) Franklin, VA to Home (396/4070 miles) - It rained during the night but we could see clearing in the East as we headed for our McDonald's breakfast at 7:50 (50°). The Red Bud trees were in bloom and periodically lined the road with beautiful purple displays. There is a rest area at the North end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel well set up for overnight parking - a sign stated that there is a 48 hour parking limit. We may consider stopping there next time. US 13 up the Delmarva Peninsula is getting quite built up. When we first traveled this road it was a bit depressing with many falling down buildings and overgrown farm fields. Overnight, it seems, there are now many new buildings and businesses along with a general sprucing up.
I-195 across New Jersey and the Garden State Parkway are never fun but they weren't bad today. We got home at about 2:50 and began the tiring job of unloading Q. Is it good to be home? Yes and no.
Q038145 Home
To Savannah, GA - #71-11
March 21, 2007 (Wed) Englewood, FL to Plant City, FL (104/2776 miles) - Mark brought Q into Quail's Run from the bank parking lot at about 8:00 and we loaded him with all that we'd been offloading over the last 12 days. We were amazed at how much we'd managed to carry into the house even from the parking lot. We said a tearful good-bye to Bom and started North (sunny 69°). It was so good to be with her but the time was too short and our next visit seems so far away.
Our first port of call was Mobil Services of Florida in Sarasota where we stopped to have the circuit board in the refrigerator replaced. Hopefully that will put an end to our having to worry about keeping things cold when we're dry camped. Early indications are that the problem is fixed.
Gordy and Ruth were out when we got there. But we made ourselves at home anyway. We'd barely settled in with our books when Ruth showed up. This is another place where Q isn't allowed to mingle with more stable abodes so we off loaded suitcases (actually duffle bags) and moved him to the swimming pool parking lot.
March 22, 2007 (Thu) Plant City, FL - Our adventure for the day was a trip to Alderman Ford Park where there were several walking/hiking trails. We took the 1.8 mile one. There were exercise stations along the way which would have been good had we been in shape for them. As it was they turned out to be more embarrassing than helpful. On the way home we saw an eagle trying to cross the road with his kill - it looked like a rabbit. It was too heavy for him to lift and he risked his life crossing two lanes of a busy four lane highway struggling to get airborne. He was in the median when we passed.
Q036850 Pool parking lot (parked) (x2)
March 23, 2007 (Fri) Plant City, FL to Lakeland, FL (16/2792 miles) - Since we had such a short distance to go and we weren't expected un till afternoon, we didn't get off until after lunch (Sunny mid 80s). Thank you Ruth and Gordy for a wonderful two days. It's always so good to be with you.
16 miles doesn't provide much chance for adventure and there wasn't any. We pulled into Ed and Kathy's yard at about 1:30 and found they had just gotten home from a week of camping in Georgia. Bud and Gladys, friends of theirs, where already there in their Bounder. Later we all went out for an early dinner at the Red Lobster. The wait was longer than we expected, because we were a party of six, but the the food was good.
March 24, 2007 (Sat) Lakeland, FL - Today was spend taking care of chores. Our lunch was the leftovers from the last night's seafood platter, dinner was pot luck for six.
Q036886 Ed and Kathy's yard (x2)
March 25, 2007 (Sun) Lakeland, FL to Savannah, GA (304/3096 miles) - Last night was comfortable for sleeping at 60° and was about that and clear at 8:45 when we got on the road to head North. Thanks, Ed and Kathy, for your hospitality and advice. We hope all goes well with the snake and code problems.
We had hoped that we could get to Georgia where the gas is a lot less expensive before refueling but couldn't make it. We stopped in Starke, FL and took on 8 gallons, enough to make it to the state line. Back on the road again we traveled a while behind the national Vice President of the Family Motor Coach Association or so stated the plate on the back of their motor home. The dogwood was blooming and the Magnolia trees are budding. Beautiful! It's definitely spring in northern Florida!
Gas at the first exit in Georgia was $2.37/gal - 12¢ less than what we'd paid in Florida (which itself was below the state average). We pulled into the Savannah Wal-Mart at about 4:30. We plan to be home on Friday (unless we decide to put in a long day on Thursday).
Q037171 Camp Wal-Mart Savannah, GA
To Englewood, FL - #71-10
March 4, 2007 (Sun) Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park - Last night and the night before we were awakened at about 12am by loud shouting in the men's room - our site is near the rest rooms. At first it sounded angry but it turned out to be exuberance - probably from the consumption of beer. We seem to find this kind of behavior more often in state parks than either national or private parks. We should have gone over with the horses as we'd planned! We won't have had that problem tonight. All but a few of us older folks have gone home now and we are free to sit quietly in our yard and watch the deer bound through the fields. In the afternoon we took our bicycles out a way on the access road. It was a sandy dirt road, so somewhat treacherous and dusty. But it was good exercise, especially coming back against the wind.
March 5, 2007 (Mon) Kissimmee Prairie Preserve SP - It got cold last night, 41° during the early morning hours. We wished we'd gotten the electric heater out from under the sofa before we'd turned it into a bed. We had enough blankets to keep us comfortable though. We opted to save our showers until later in the day when the sun had warmed things up a bit.
We got to talking with the campground host (Bob) on our way to hike a "short" trail through the prairie that circumvents the campground. He suggested that we take water. Of course we should. We knew that. Just didn't think about it. As Joy went back to Q to get water he told Mark about a bicycle hiker who'd gotten lost on the trails and had to be rescued. Mark called to Joy suggesting that she bring the map. He didn't mention the compass which would have been a good idea too. He must have thought we were a couple of real novices, which I suppose we were, because we weren't on the trail long before he came along in his little golf cart type vehicle to tell us that we should make all right turns. "Don't make any left turns." he said. It turned out that there was only one opportunity to make a left turn and it was obvious that we shouldn't. We could see the campground off in the distance across the prairie most of the time. The left turn would have obviously taken us in completely the wrong direction. The loop was about 3 1/2 miles long and we never saw the Burrowing Owl that Bob said to look for. Robins, Mockingbirds and Red Shouldered hawks were the extent of our wild life sightings.
March 6, 2007 (Tue) Kissimmee Prairie Preserve SP - This morning we set out on the longer - 6 miles by the time we got back - Prairie Loop Trail. We took water, a map, a compass and hats to keep the sun off our faces this time. Part of this trail goes through a palm/palmetto hammock (forest) and we were far enough away from the campground and the trail markings confusing enough for both the map and the compass to come in handy. Again we saw plenty of Robins, Mockingbirds and hawks but at one point we rousted a couple of wild boar. They must have been sleeping near the trail and our approach startled them. They suddenly jumped up and ran across the trail right in front of us, startling us, and charged off into the brush.
Most of the trail was sandy and a lot of it very fine and soft. 6 miles on that stuff is much harder then the asphalt and concrete we are used to. We were exhausted when we got back and spent the rest of the day recuperating.
March 7, 2007 (Wed) Kissimmee Prairie Preserve SP - Our activity/exercise for today was to walk out to the Five Mile Prairie Trail. When we got to it, though, we turned right. Turning left would have meant hiking a 12 mile loop to get back - or turning around and coming back, of course. We weren't up to that. It might have been fun to do it on horseback but too much on foot. Bicycling would have been a real challenge because of the sand. Turning right took us eventually out to the entrance road which brought us back to the campground, a 4 mile walk. This was plenty with our sore muscles from yesterday's hike. Our wildlife sightings today included the Burrowing Owl (2) that we missed seeing the other day and an otter. The only water we saw was a lily covered pond that was supposed to be home for a couple of alligators. They must have been off duty because we didn't see them.
Q036597 Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park #1 e/w $13.20 B+ (x6)
March 8, 2007 (Thu) Okeechobee, FL to Sebring, FL (54/2672 miles) Off at 8:39 (54°) Bob (campground host) said that there may be water and electric in the equestrian area next year - if the money comes through. That would be good. It's a nice area over there. We hope that means there will be a decent rest room/shower facility too - there's only an outhouse (albeit a nice one) there now. Along the very sparsely populated 20 miles or so across the prairie we passed one Cracker (cowboy) on horseback and his two dogs and no motorized vehicles. That campground is really out in the sticks! Once back in civilization we stopped at a Sweetbay supermarket. Some of the brand names were Hannaford. We wonder if Sweetbay is the southern arm of the New England Hannaford supermarket chain.
The gate keeper at Highlands Hammock State Park said he could give us a campsite for tonight - there were plenty - but he doubted there were any left for tomorrow (Fri) night. He found one though - specified for a 19' motor home. He said we could have it for two nights if we could get our 24' motor home onto it. It turned out to be the same site we had the last time we were here in 2004. We fit then. We fit now. It was about 11:30am when we squeezed Q between the trees and converted him into a home. We'll never know where we would have gone tomorrow night if Q had been any bigger.
March 9, 2007 (Fri) Highlands Hammock State Park - This is such an interesting park. In addition to all the hiking and biking trails, the people activity is so pervasive that it's hard to get a good night's sleep or any relaxation during the day. Last night at about 12:30 we were awakened by the sounds of voices and RV maneuvering. Someone had come in late and didn't care that everyone else had gone to bed. At 4:30 again we heard an RV jockeying into a campsite - this time into a site across from us. There are at least 3 (maybe 4) large family units spread out around us. The kids, from ages of about 2 to 13 are all having a great time riding their bicycles. Rigs were coming and going all day. Watching them set up and break camp is always entertaining. Some people do the strangest things!
We took a couple of breaks from the entertainment to bicycle around the park loop and out the county road toward the Western entrance. We had thought we might go out that way tomorrow but the road turned out to be washboard gravel with a weight restricted bridge somewhere beyond where we went.
Q036651 Highlands Hammock State Park #17 w/e $19.60 B (x2)
March 10, 2007 (Sat) Sebring, FL to Englewood, NJ (95/2672 miles) - We got off at 8:56 (65°) under high broken clouds. We have decided that we will probably never come back to this campground - certainly not to that campsite. During the late yesterday afternoon and evening all the sites around us filled up with large family units. The group that set up behind us backed their popup trailer right up close to our picnic table and used it to hold some of their junk while they set up. (It was still there this morning.) We had a very small site - hardly bigger than Q himself - so to have them encroach so closely was very off-putting. And the kids of all these families who seemed to know one another tended to use our site as a pathway. Kids are kids but parents should also be parents and enforce limits - or at least mention them.
The trip to Englewood was relatively unremarkable - except for when we passed through Arcadia, FL. They were in the midst of a rodeo parade crossing the main drag. Fortunately we got to the intersection just ahead of the parade and crossed with barely a need to pause - the first time! But Hildene was confused as to exactly where we were - road construction had created new roads - and directed us to turn left when there was no need to. By the time we (and Hildene) figured out where we were and how to get back on route we were headed for the same parade intersection again. We did some sitting this time!
We pulled into Quail's Run at 11:30 - in time to join Bom and Gail for lunch. We'll be here at least a week.
Q036746 SunTrust Bank parking log (parked)
Kissimmee Prairie SP - #71-09
February 26, 2007 (Mon) Flamingo, FL to Ochopee, FL (118/2378 miles) - Off at 8:30 (74° high clouds and humid) Our phone beeped as we neared the main national park gate which meant that we had picked up a Verizon (or affiliate) cell signal and that we had a voice message. It was good to know that we were back in touch again but a bit worrisome until we learned that all was okay. We stopped in Homestead at our favorite? laundromat and then went on to the Costco in Miami Lakes, FL. Then we began a search in earnest for a WiFi signal - even if we had to pay for it!
McDonalds sometimes provide WiFi service - as do Taco Bells, Starbucks, and others - so as we drove West out of the Miami area we stopped at a McDonalds to ask. They had not a clue to what Mark was talking about (maybe it was language - English vs heavy Spanish accent). There was a Radio Shack right there. Surely they would know and have some suggestions. They didn't! They thought he didn't know what he was talking about and tried to explain (again in heavily accented English) how he needed to have an internet service provider, modems, cables, etc. They couldn't seem to understand that all we needed was a signal. Libraries tend to be in heavily populated areas (without adequate parking for motor homes) and we didn't want to get any further into Miami. But desperation sometimes breeds adventure. We had work that needed a high speed connection - at least faster than a cell phone connection. The West Dade Regional Library turned out to be right around the corner (a mile away). They had a wireless signal and it was free! And a nearby municipal park would accommodate Q's extra length.
We pulled into Midway Campground at about 5:15 and were very surprised to find that there were 2 open sites. Usually you have to get here at 8:00 in the morning and wait for someone to leave. Today hasn't been good for either our nerves or our nutrition (what meals?), this was a treat.
As we came into the camping loop a couple on a tandem bicycle was ahead of us. This was not the typical bicycle "built for two". They sat side by side, one on each side of the two wheel frame. Each had a seat, peddles and handle bars although apparently only one of them was actually steering. Interesting.
February 27, 2007 (Tue) Midway Campground, Big Cypress National Preserve - This campground is the RV resort of the Big Cypress National Preserve. For a whopping $10.00 a night we have an asphalt pad with picnic table and grill, and an 8 foot strip of grass we can call our own. Best of all we have an electrical hookup - so we don't need to worry about the refrigerator going out during the night. In addition we have a huge, football field sized, pool with its own resident alligator. (swimming not allowed!)
It rained heavily last night. So heavy, in fact, that the folks a few spaces up lost their awning from the weight of the water. The sun came out during the morning though, and by noon the temperature was approaching 90°. What a day!
We got to Joy's friend Dorothy's condo at about 10:30 and after a short visit went to Sweet Tomatoes (a soup and salad bar restaurant chain) for lunch. It was quite good - especially the home made soup and bread. After lunch Joy was talked into going to the local quilt shop. On the way there was a horrific thunder storm and downpour. We heard later that there was golf ball sized hail and a tornado that took the roof off a house 3 miles south of where we were. Joy reports that the quilt shop was phenomenal with the fabric selection very much like what she carried in her shop but 5 times as big.
We pulled into the Fort Pierce Walmart at about 5:30, put our feet up and collapsed.
Q036476 Camp Walmart dry
March 1, 2007 (Thu) Fort Pierce, FL to Fort Pierce, FL (61/2558 miles) - It was a relatively quiet night even though the 18 wheelers in the truck parking area ran their motors all night. The biggest problem to sleeping was the uncomfortable warmth and humidity. The overnight low was 71°. We pulled out of the Walmart parking lot at about 8:30 and headed south toward Stuart, FL stopping at a bank, a Publix and a post office on the way. We got to Jack (Mark's high school friend) and Olive's at about 10:30. After some catching up on events in our lives over the last year and some reminiscing we went to an Olive Garden for lunch. Then it was back to the house for more visiting. It was so good to see them again and to renew friendships.
We're back in the same Walmart parking lot we were in last night. This is one of the very few, if not the only, Walmart on Florida's central east Coast where overnight parking is allowed. Local authorities have put a stop to such practices in other places.
Q036537 Camp Walmart dry
The Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park Campground is literally out in the middle of no-where. The closest house is about 2 miles away and looks to have been abandoned 25 years ago - there's a tree growing up through it. Its closest neighbor - maybe another mile or so away - seems to be in almost as bad repair. The park itself is 54,000 acres in size pretty much all flat, open prairie with the campground in the middle. There is a 2 mile long washboard dirt road to reach it. We asked about campsite availability. "How many nights?" "6" "None available." "How about if we move around?" "Nope." "Are there any available for tonight?" "Yes. One" "How many nights is it available?" "One." "How about the equestrian area?" This is an area, without hookups, set up for campers with horses. In the times we've been here we've seen only a few camping units (usually tents) in the the 30 some sites. We've never seen any horses. "Oh you can move over there after tonight if you want to." "How long before the there will be sites in the Family area?" "Oh there will be plenty opening up on Sunday that will be available through Friday." So here we are sitting and watching the campground fill up with campers who all seem to know one another. Tomorrow night, when the parties will no doubt be the loudest, we'll be over near the horses.
Q036597 Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park #4 e/w $13.20 B+ (x1)
March 3, 2007 (Sat) Kissimmee Prairie Preserve SP - It was another sticky night. The weather forecast for today - in Miami anyway - is for a record breaking 89°! After breakfast we walked over to the equestrian area (a half mile down the road) to pick out a site for tonight. We were surprised to find 2 fifth-wheel trailers and a couple of tenting units - and one horse in the coral. When we went to the office to register we learned that there had been a cancellation in the family area and site #1 was available for the rest of the time we'd be here. We took it. While we were in the office the sky got dark and the temperature dropped 10°. Amazing! It's been almost chilly all day - where is that record breaking high? It was warm in the sun though - when it chose to come out from behind the clouds.
Q036597 Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park #1 e/w $13.20 B+
To Everglades NP - #71-08
February 19, 2007 (Mon) Ochopee, FL to Flamingo, FL (184/2260 miles) - Off at 8:40 (42° sunny). The loop road is 23 miles of dirt, pot holes and stones through the Big Cypress and Everglades swamps. It was reminiscent of some of the roads we were on in Alaska except that there they were wider, two lanes in most cases. Two small cars might have been able to pass one an other on the Loop Road but not a motor home and a car - one of us would have ended up in the swamp. Fortunately our one encounter took place where an even smaller road turned off into the wild. The trip was well worth the detour though. It was a true tropical swamp environment with lots of birds and post card quality photo ops (if we'd had room to pull off the road).
A strip mall in Homestead, FL provided a laundromat, a supermarket, and a Chinese buffet but no WiFi signal. We found four retail propane stations. We couldn't get Q close enough at one (too small a space). Another was waiting for a license to sell it (new ownership). Another didn't have a fitting that would attach to Q's - or any motor home's - intake port. Then finally success. We tried several places for a WiFi connection. Found none. We arrived in Flamingo campground, at the very southern tip of Florida, at about 5:15pm (76°).
February 20, 2007 (Tue) Flamingo Campground, Everglades National Park - This is a beautiful campground, one of our favorites. Quiet (when neighbors don't have their radio turned up high as they do right now or partying) and peaceful. The campsites are widely spaced on great expanses of mown grass. A scattering of palm trees and other tropical plants gives an air of the exotic. We are faced SSE so that we can see Florida Bay out Q's cab windows. If we had better eyesight we'd be able to see beyond to the causeway out to Key West and to Cuba across the North Atlantic Ocean.
We watched a motor home, shaped not unlike an old bread truck, with a European license plate check in. We'd seen it before somewhere in the last several days - how often do you see a motor home with European license plates? Sometime later we saw him again roaming through the campground. And later, yet again. Then it dawned on us that it wasn't the same motor home. It turns out that there are at least ten (not all "bread trucks") camping down on the other loop. A German tour we've learned. We can't help think about what it must have cost to ship all those motor homes over here. Why not fly over and rent RVs here?
February 21, 2007 (Wed) Flamingo Campground, Everglades National Park - We took a walk this morning along the "beach" where the Florida Bay licks at the Florida mainland. The campground was closed last year because of the damage caused by Katrina so we were eager to see how things have changed. There were signs of the area having been flooded but not as much as we expected. There is a large area between where we are camped and the water that was all mowed grass the last time we were here. Now it's all dried mud. Very little vegetation has come back, probably because of the salt left behind. The amphitheater is gone, benches and all and some buildings nearby are shells with rotted blue tarp roofing. The motel is boarded up and overgrown, the gift shop at the marina is closed and empty and the viewing platform at Eco Pond is gone. And there are many places here where the taller vegetation is missing. Other than these few things there is little evidence that this whole area was covered with at least 3 feet of water during that storm.
It got really hot this afternoon - 91° by our thermometer and the sun found only a few clouds to hide behind. The road in front of Q has been a parade route for scantily clad folks on foot and bicycles. It's hard to think that only a few days ago we were wishing for warmer weather and that at home coats are needed outside.
February 22, 2007 (Thu) Flamingo Campground, Everglades National Park - Our neighbors in the next site, 150 feet or so the the East, mother and son it appears, were away all day yesterday. They came back about 5:30, packed up their small tent and left. Just as it was getting dark and after the gatekeeper had gone home they pulled back into the site but didn't set up a tent. At about 5:30 this morning, before the gatekeeper came on duty, the car started up and they left. That's how one gets to camp free for a night.
Another neighbor, the ones who have been playing their class C motor home cab radio louder than necessary for the last three days, spent the morning under the hood. Just before noon he hauled out the coach battery and jumper cables. Then he disappeared and was gone all afternoon. During all this time the radio was silent. We're guessing that his battery died (from using the radio?) and he hitched a ride into Homestead, FL (45+ miles away).
February 23, 2007 (Shane is 3 today - Happy Birthday Shane!) Flamingo Campground, Everglades National Park - Last night after we'd gone to bed a very large 5th wheel trailer came in accompanied by at least two pickups pulling large boats. They stopped nearby, had a loud discussion and finally decided that they were way too big to be in this part of the campground. On our walk this morning we found the 5th wheel up where it belongs, in the big guy area, but the pickups and boats were nowhere to be seen. We assumed they'd gone fishing already.
The campground has been filling up all afternoon - a lot of the traffic is cars or pickups pulling boats. There is a large group of college aged young people over closer to the bay. One of their cars is parked illegally on what used to be (before Katrina) a grass "lawn". The kids don't seem to be there but the Park Ranger is!
In the late afternoon one of the Park Rangers came by to tell us about their "campfire" program tonight. It would be in the Visitor's Center - so much for a campfire - and would be in the form of the Jeopardy game show with the Everglades as topic themes. Since the Visitor's Center is a mile away and we'd be walking on an unlit shoulder-less road after dark, we chose not to go.
February 24, 2007 (Sat) Flamingo Campground, Everglades National Park - We have a hard time understanding why people have to have their radios on all the time. Every evening we looked for signs that our noisy neighbors were getting ready to leave. There were none - until last night. We rejoiced. But for a long time this morning the motor home sat on it's pad. It was completely ready to go but it just sat there. It's interesting how feelings change. For days we've been thinking unkind thoughts about these people and their radio. Suddenly, as we watched a tow truck back up to the front of their motor home, our hearts went out to them. A stay in a beautiful park was in ruins. Hooked to the back of a wrecker they finally pulled out of the campground bound for civilization 45 miles away and who knows how long in a repair shop parking lot. Bummer!
February 25, 2007 (Sun) Flamingo Campground, Everglades National Park - We have known for some time that the black water holding tank gauge hasn't been working properly - it read 3/4 full when it is, in fact, empty. This is a chronic problem with most motor homes. This morning we learned that the gray water tank gauge lies too! It overflowed into the bathroom/shower when the gauge read only 3/4 full! To be fair to Q we were pushing the envelope, trying to go the whole week here without having to go over to the dump station. We almost made it!
A note now for the record. There is a strong analog cell phone signal here but it is Cingular and apparently Verizon has no network sharing agreement with them so we haven't been able to use our cell phone. Since the signal is analog not digital, email wouldn't have worked anyway but it would have been nice to have been able to be in touch with civilization by voice.
Q035934 Flamingo Campground, Everglades National Park #14 dry $8.00g A- (x7)
Still in Big Cypress NP - #71-07
February 13, 2007 (Tue) Monument Lake CG, Big Cypress National Preserve - This campground is run by the National Park Service and up until a few years ago was free. So amenities are scarce. There is running water and flush toilets in the one rest room building but no hot showers. There is one communal outdoor cold water shower that one could use if modesty weren't a consideration. It's good that Q has shower facilities on-board. The only problem is an adequate water supply. We are solving that by carrying a one gallon jug when we go over the the rest room. That way we've been able to keep our fresh water tank topped off.
February 14, 2007 (Wed) Monument Lake CG, Big Cypress National Preserve - The distance around Monument lake then out to the road and back is about a mile. We walked it three this morning before we took our showers and ate breakfast. That and walking the long way around the lake to the rest rooms once in a while was our exercise.
Our neighbors across the road left this morning so we pulled up stakes, so to speak, and moved across the road. Now we are right on the lake and our closest neighbor is a 6 foot alligator sunning himself on the bank. A big old turtle climbed up on a rock nearby at one point and when Mark went down to get a picture, a bee crawled between his toe and sandal and made his presence known. The bees, not the alligator, are keeping us away from the lake.
February 15, 2005 (Thu) Monument Lake CG, Big Cypress National Preserve - Last night a pair of bicyclists, each with a small trailer, came into the campground. This morning Joy had a chance to talk with them. They are from San Diego, CA. It's not clear if they bicycled all the way here from there this time but they have peddled across the country in the past. They are on their way to the boat show in Miami.
Tuesday night the campground was full with 3 units in an overflow area. Last night there were several empty sites. Maybe about half the sites were empty at noon. There seem to be a lot of one nighters. We enjoy watching the rigs come and go. And adding to our camping pleasure this morning, a road crew with dump truck, scraper, roller and small scoop came in and began resurfacing the gravel road around the lake. It needed it. There were several pot holes that made walking after dark somewhat hazardous.
February 16, 2007 (Fri) Monument Lake CG, Big Cypress National Preserve - It rained quite a bit last night which did a good job of turning the newly graded road into mud. It's packed down now that it has dried. Motor homes, trailers, pickups, motorcycles, cars, bicycles, and human feet have helped too.
Since we can't go 7 days without dumping our holding tanks we had to go out to the dump station (15 miles away) at least once. Today was the day. We went on into Everglades City (5 miles more) to look for a laundromat. None! Nor is there one in Chokoloskee, a small fishing village on an island (connected by a causeway) out in the Gulf of Mexico. Oh well, we'll be going through Homestead on Monday. There are several there. In the mean time hand washing a few things will have to do.
February 17, 2007 (Sat) Monument Lake CG, Big Cypress National Preserve - It got down to 39° last night. That's cold for south Florida. In fact it set a record for this date. It did warm up during the day, 73°, but sitting outside was a bit uncomfortable with the brisk breeze. The campground wasn't quite full last night - one or two spaces stayed open - and a lot of units left this morning. But this afternoon they began to pile in. Right now there are six units in the overflow area. This is one of the few campgrounds we've been in that continue to let people in after the campground is "full".
The Ranger led campfire program tonight was about how Big Cypress has been, and continues to be, inspiration to artists. Very interesting. Joy was especially interested in how local native American textile design was influenced (Seminole patchwork). The young lady Ranger who gave the talk and slide show presentation was very knowledgeable and did quite a good job.
February 18, 2007 (Sun) Monument Lake CG, Big Cypress National Preserve - Just before sunrise this morning we watched a rather spectacular weather front came across the swamp. We first saw it as a strip of dark blue - we thought it was the tail edge of the cloudy overcast at first - exactly parallel to the horizon. As it came across the wind picked up considerably whipping up little whitecaps on the lake and it began to rain heavily. The rain didn't last long though and the sun finally came out but the wind continued to keep the water choppy all day. There were no alligators out sunning today! The refrigerator kept going out until we turned Q around to face into the wind. (Maybe that's the problem!)
The campground, as over full as it was last night, emptied out this morning leaving only a few RVs and a couple of tents scattered around the lake. In the middle of the afternoon a family of 7 pulled into a nearby RV site, set up a tent, put loud salsa music on their boom box, and loaded up the barbecue with something that smelled delicious. We enjoyed watching the kids. At about 5:00 they folded up their tent, loaded everything in their pickup and left. In the late afternoon a Newmar Mountain Aire (a BIG class A motor home, very scarce in this no hook-up campground) pulled up to register. They circled the lake several times and finally pulled in across the road from us. We watched in amazement the variety of passengers that went in and out over the next hour or so. We counted least 7 kids plus a couple of young adults.
Q035934 Monument Lake Campground, Big Cypress National Preserve #3 dry $8.00g B- (x6)
To Big Cypress NP - #71-06
February 5, 2007 (Mon) Lakeland, Fl to Englewood, NJ (131 miles today 1852 total) - Off at 8:15 (50° cloudy, misting rain). We stopped for gas at the Flying J in Seffner, FL and got to Mobil Service (RV repair facility) at about 10:00. We were one hour early but the young man gave us (and Q) his immediate attention. He checked out everything having to do with the refrigerator on propane and tightened and cleaned along the way. He found nothing wrong and was unwilling to sell us a $140 circuit board without testing under duplicated conditions - battery somewhat less than fully charged - when his work could have corrected the problem. Rather than wait the 2 or 3 (or 4) hours it might take to draw the charge down, we decided to come on to Englewood and let the battery draw down in the parking lot here. We'll run back up to Sarasota and get the new board if there is still a problem.
Before leaving the Sarasota, Mark discovered that his new Palm PDA wouldn't turn on. No amount of persuasion worked. Hildene helped us find a Circuit City in Sarasota and after waiting in the Customer Service line for over a half hour, Mark was able to (easily) demonstrate the problem. The young man behind the counter couldn't turn it on either. Since they didn't have one in stock, our money was refunded. Long story (and afternoon) short, we stopped at every Circuit City, Best Buy, and Staples all the way down US-41 until we finally found one in the Staples in Englewood. Fortunately all our data was in the computer and transferred into the new PDA easily so nothing was lost.
February 6, 2007 (Tue) Englewood, FL - It's amazing how long the refrigerator will go on DC. We have always made it a habit to switch from DC to propane whenever we stop for a little while (to shop etc.) so as not to drain the batteries. This turns out to have been a useless precaution. It took all day, in addition to about 3 hours last night, to draw the charge down to below where we were having problems last week. No problem on now. Back to DC until bedtime drew the voltage down some more. At 11.3 volts the system shut down automatically to protect the batteries. Switching to propane allowed them to recover slightly. The refrigerator went on and stayed on.
February 7, 2007 (Wed) Englewood, FL - Over night the refrigerator shut down. Not surprising and not necessarily a problem as the battery charge is so much lower than we would normally let it get.
Other than this excitement we've been living a peaceful existence. Joy, her sister and her mother have been talking non-stop while Mark walked back and forth to the lot where Q is parked, caught up with the computer backlog (a month's worth of mail awaited us here) and tried to read.
Q035716 SunTrust Bank parking lot Parked (x3)
February 8, 2007 (Thu) Englewood, Fl to Le Belle, FL (84/1936 miles) - Bom and Franny were getting ready to go swimming as we got off at 8:39 (60° sunny with a few clouds). After a stop at a Publix Supermarket to pick up supplies we headed south on US-41 and I-75.
"Bumper sticker" on the back of a box truck - "Annoy the media and cry babies - vote Bush!"
Last year, when we stopped at Ortona South campground east of Le Belle, FL there was one campsite available and that one a double that we had to share with someone else. We didn't have much hope of getting a site this year, but we decided to give it a try anyway. It is, after all, a beautiful campground and well worth the extra miles to check it out. The sign at the gate said "campground full". "Yes it's true," the gatekeeper said when asked, "you need to make reservations 120 days in advance to get in here during the winter." As Mark walked away from the booth, the she said, "Wait, I have an idea." She looked on her computer and after much typing and screen changes she said, "Actually site 20 is open. It's being held for the volunteer [worker] but I haven't been told one is coming. You can have it if you want." It turns out to be one of the best sites in the campground. The only thing needed to make it better is for it to be on the canal. Even so we can see it across the road and beyond a row of RVs out our living room window. Behind us and out our dining room window there is nothing but flat tropical Florida landscape. Our site is on a corner end of the loosely packed campground and covers more area than our property at home.
We spent the afternoon sitting out in the sun enjoying 80° of warmth - much appreciated after weeks of cool dreary weather.
February 9, 2007 (Fri) Ortona South Campground - Other than a 4 mile walk (2 miles out to the highway through a Florida cattle ranch and back) we didn't do very much today. It was a bright sunny day with hardly a cloud in the sky. The local weather people are apologizing for yet another day without rain, there is a drought in this area, but it really feels good to us. Mark even got a slight sunburn on his neck and shoulders.
February 10, 2007 (Sat) Ortona South Campground - Another slow day. We had expected more boat traffic on the canal and through the lock now that it's the weekend but it was very light this morning. It did pick up in the afternoon though. The next time we come here we'll get reservations ahead of time and try to get a site over where we can see the canal and lock better. It's really interesting to watch the different boats come and go and it's a bit frustrating to have to look past a row of RVs.
There is a eagle in the top of a tree across the canal. Our neighbor said he had been watching him hunt for some time.
February 11, 2007 (Sun) Ortona South Campground - It was a little on the cool side today - mostly because the sky was overcast. Joy did a small laundry this morning. Late this afternoon we took our bicycles out to the highway and back. The sky has been darkening all afternoon. The weather folks are predicting rain tonight. It looks as if they might be on to something.
Q035800 Ortona South Campground #20 w/e $12.00 A (x4)
February 12, 2007 (Mon) Le Belle, FL to Ochopee, FL (134/2076 miles) - It was sprinkling slightly as we walked down to take our showers - and as we walked back. There was more than a sprinkle as we broke camp and dumped - always fun! There was no fresh water available at the dump station so we had to go back to our site to fill up. We need a full supply because there are no hook-ups in Big Cypress and no way to fill Q's tank without driving 15 miles.
We finally got off at about 8:50 (62° and rain). In our never ending quest to shop at every Costco in the country, we headed for Naples, FL. A big mistake! The parking lot was so packed that we had to go next door to a soon-to-open Staples to find a space big enough for Q. Inside the narrow isles were taken up with an overabundance of retirees, elbows on shopping carts, strolling along as if they had no reason for being there and nowhere to go if they weren't. Leaving the area, after getting gas was like doing battle with hundreds of impatient New York taxi cab drivers caught in a parkway traffic jam.
The Third Fifth Bank is a bank in Naples.
Naples is unbelievable! Most of the roads we were on were under construction, and all along each road huge developments were being built. The traffic was horrendous, and I can't imagine what it will be like when all of the building is finished and everyone moves in, it is already so crowded. You couldn't pay me to go back!! It was a relief to get out into the boonies!!-J
We stopped at the countries (world's?) smallest Post Office (self proclaimed and about the size of a two hole outhouse) in Ochopee, FL to deposit some snail mail and pulled in here at about 1:39 (73° still raining).
Q035934 Monument Lake Campground, Big Cypress National Preserve #3 dry $8.00g B-
Back to Lakeland, FL - #71-05
January 30, 2007 (Tue) Lakeland, Fl - Today was mainly devoted to recovering from our adventure yesterday. In the morning Mark went with Ed to get propane for Ed and Kathy's big class "A" motorhome (it feels like it is about 18 inches too wide to fit on local roads) while Joy hung out with Kathy. In the afternoon Ken and Kathy, who had joined us in Disney World yesterday, came with their Bounder (Class "A" motorhome) to spend a couple of days in Ed and Kathy's yard. The evening was spent in lively conversation.
Q035518 Ed and Kathy's yard
January 31, 2007 (Wed) Lakeland, FL to Hillsborough, FL (39 miles today 1693 total) - We have found that the best way to get a campsite for a weekend in a public park (state park, national forest, etc.) is to arrive there on a Wednesday. Other campers tend to move on Wednesday freeing up sites. It didn't work this time! When we pulled in at 1:20 the gatekeeper said that there was only one site available and for only one night. The rest were full through the weekend. "This is our busiest time," she explained. When, after a discussion we decided to take it, she offered to look and see if there might be something available for two nights. There were two spaces. One was too short for Q. We are in the other. The site is indeed small, very small for a state park. But beggars can't be choosers.
Tom & Jane, a very nice couple from North Carolina who have a Chinook Glacier (25 ft with a slide-out), stopped by to chat. They are as upset as we are that Chinook is out of business. They said they thought another RV company may be in negotiation to buy the name and molds.
February 1, 2007 (Thu) Hillsborough River State Park - This park has several hiking trails. We chose the 3.5 mile Florida Trail. After walking a mile each way to the trail head and around the whole campground after we got back our pedometer read 6.73 miles. A respectable walk!
Rain is predicted for tonight and we've had preliminary showers off and on this afternoon.
Q035557 Hillsborough River State Park #13 w/e $20 C (x2)
February 2, 2007 (Fri) Hillsborough, FL to Lakeland, FL (28/1721 miles) - We woke this morning to the news that tornados had touched down in several places in central Florida. Fortunately they hit somewhat east of us. It wasn't so fortunate for people in Lady Lake, FL near Ocala National Forest where we were in the middle of January though. They say as many as 19 people may have died.
We got off at about 10:30 (71° rainy and dreary) and headed back to Lakeland. Ed and Kathy are going to be away for the weekend (and beyond) but were more than willing to let us crash in their yard anyway. We went with them to an Olive Garden for a soup and salad lunch, and then some shopping. With Ed's good advice and help Mark bought a Palm PDA - a toy he's been considering for some time. This one is equipped with WiFi which makes finding hot spots and downloading email a whole lot easier.
February 3 2007 (Sat) Lakeland, FL - At about 9:00 Ed pulled their big class "A" out of its oversized garage. After hitching their Tracker on behind, he and Kathy took off for their week in Brooksville, FL. We locked the gate behind them and then hung out to wait in vain for the weather to clear.
February 4, 2007 (Sun) - It was a little cooler last night, down to 49°. For our exercise we walked 2 1/2 miles to the chinese buffet restaurant over on US98. It wasn't a bad walk getting there but a bit of a push to get back on a full stomach! It's nice to see the sun for a change even though at 61° it's not quite warm enough to be comfortable in shorts.
We're back on the road again tomorrow - headed for Joy's mother's for a couple of days then on south.
Q035585 Ed and Kathy's yard (x3)
To Lakeland, FL - #71-04
January 21, 2007 (Sun) Juniper Springs Recreation Area, Ocala NF - We
have the campground to ourselves again. Most everyone around us has
left, the cleaning crew has come around and raked up the sites, and it
is quiet. We spent the afternoon sitting out on our patio in the sun.
What a wonderful day it has been.
On one of the passes by the visitor's center, Mark took another look at
the pay phone thinking there must be some way to tell the phone to send
a dial tone to the computer jack. There was. And the instructions for
how to use the data connection were displayed as a banner scrolling
across a small window on the phone. We'd missed it because it also
displayed other stuff - like "Welcome to Juniper Springs Recreation
Area, Ocala National Forest." We'd never waited to see if there was
anything else!
January 22, 2007 (Mon) Juniper Springs Recreation Area, Ocala NF - Today
was our day on the 7 1/2 mile Juniper Creek run. We rented a canoe,
signed all the releases (Juniper Springs et al is not responsible for
anything that may happen to us or our belongings, etc.) and set out down
the very narrow water way. It didn't take as long to get the hang of
negotiating the twisting, obstacle-laden stream as it did last year so
we didn't run into nearly as many banks or overhanging vegetation. The
two lowest obstacles - trees so low over the water that we needed to
actually lie down in the canoe to get through - have been removed. Even
so we got into trouble a couple of times and nearly went over once. We
made it though without getting wet - well almost. The storm due this
afternoon gave us a sampling in the form of light sprinkles now and
then. The 14 foot alligator we saw last year wasn't out this year - no
sun to bask in - but we saw lots of birds, including the largest white
heron we've ever seen, deer and turtles of all sizes. It was a
beautiful, though exhausting, way to spend a morning with nature.
Q035167 Juniper Springs Recreation Area, Ocala NF #21 dry $8.50g B (x2)
January 23, 2007 (Tue) Juniper Springs Recreation Area, Ocala NF to
Titusville, FL (95/1539 miles) - We were up early this morning for no
other reason than we woke early. We took our time eating breakfast and
getting ready to go. We got off at 8:00 (60°) and headed south on US-19.
Our first stop was to do laundry in Umatilla (where our flat was fixed
last week). Then we stopped at a Publix market in Eustis and the Costco
in Altamonte Springs. With our closets and cupboards refreshed we made
our way to The Great Outdoors RV Resort. The adventure in this leg of
our trip was driving on city streets in the outskirts of Orlando, FL to
avoid the outrageous fees on Florida's toll roads. It's hard to say
which is more aggravating.
January 24, 2007 (Wed) The Great Outdoors RV Resort - It was sprinkling
and threatening to get worse when we got up so decided not to do our
walk this morning. We are parked 2 spaces from Dorcas (Mark's sister)
and Mike's pad, so getting to their place was no trouble (or exercise)
at all. (The same can be said about the rest rooms which are the same
distance in the other direction.) We spent the day with them visiting
and catching up. In the afternoon we went out and walked some of the
roads of this interesting RV park.
Mark make an appointment with a service facility in Sarasota to have the
problem with our refrigerator looked into. It probably needs no more
than a circuit board replaced but they will do a thorough check of the
system. We will stop on our way to Englewood
Q035403 The Great Outdoors RV Resort #436 Oak Cove Rd $30 e/w/s A (x2)
January 25, 2007 (Thu) Titusville, FL to Lakeland, FL (115/1654 miles) -
It rained off and on all night and was raining when we woke up - a good
day to stay in bed. It was still raining when we got off at 10:45 (49°).
The most direct route to Lakeland would have been the Bee Line
Expressway (toll) west to I-4 but that be through Orlando, FL, on one of
the busiest roads in the country. And traffic reports were particularly
dire. So we charted a route through Cocoa, St Cloud, and Kissimmee -
mostly back roads but wonderfully free of traffic and straight.
The temperature was up to 56° when we stopped for lunch in a Publix
parking lot. We overheard people in the complaining about the cold. We
arrived at Ed and Kathy's at about 2:00.
January 26, 2007 (Fri) Lakeland, FL - Jim and Donna (friends of Ed and
Kathy whom we met in Homer, Alaska) have been staying in Lazy Days (RV
dealer) near Tampa where they took delivery of and moved into their new
class "A" motorhome. Today they moved their home - they are full timers
- into Ed and kathy's yard for a couple of days on their way to Vero
Beach, FL.
January 27, 2007 (Sat) Lakeland, FL - It's hard to be with Ed and Kathy
any length of time without going to Chinese Buffet. Today was the day.
Before we went though, we all went to the Book Bazaar, a used paperback
book store, to replenish our book supplies.
January 28, 2007 (Sun) Lakeland, FL - Before dawn we heard a big class
"A" diesel start up. Jim and Donna were getting ready to leave. A short
time later they did. What an interesting couple they are and their
lifestyle, with no permanent house to return to or worry about,
stimulates some envy - though not enough for us to consider moving into
Q as our only home.
The bishop of Honduras was guest preacher in Ed and Kathy's church this
morning. A very interesting man and a terrific speaker. It is a large
church with a terrific choir and the liturgy was mostly sung. We enjoyed
the service.
January 29, 2007 (Mon) Lakeland, Fl - Big day today! We were up bright
and early, for us these days, at about 6:30 (39°) and, after breakfast,
joined the commuters and tourists headed east toward Orlando on I-4 with
Ed and Kathy. We pulled into a relatively empty parking lot at Disney
World at about 9:00 were we met Ken and Kathy - friends of Ed and Kathy
whom we first met in the Black hills on our way to Alaska. Epcot was
only a gleam in Walt Disney's eye when we last visited Disney World last
in 1973. Soarin' is a theater "ride" that simulates soaring in an
ultra-light aircraft - feet hanging free - over cities, canyons, and
other similar landscapes. It was almost as thrilling and scary as
actually doing it. A trip to Mars in a space capsule simulator was an
equally exciting experience. Joy "rode" the version that subjected her
to substantial "G" forces, especially during launch, but Mark, because
of his back, took the more gentle, senior citizens, version. But even
with this ride he gained plenty of insight into what astronauts must go
through - except for the crash landing on Mars! These were only two of
the many things we did - all well done as only Disney can do. We ended
the day by taking the monorail to Magic Kingdom then boarding the steam
"sight seeing" train around the perimeter. We would liked to have stayed
to see the fireworks display but we were all tired and cold, and home
took priority.
Q035518 Ed and Kathy's yard (x5)
