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)