December 28, 2008 (Sun) - It is quite warm here today, 69°, but we've had some bitterly cold days since Thanksgiving and even some early snow so the warmth of the sunny south beckons. Our new bicycles have been loaded onto Q's new bicycle rack and the provisioning for a three month journey has begun. We will be off on Tuesday with plans to be in North Carolina in time to help Bob and Pat bring in 2009. Our itinerary will be about the same as last year with week long stays in several National Park and Forest campgrounds in Florida and, of course, stops along the way to visit friends and relatives.
We will be emailing the journal of our travels (and posting them in The Q Chronicles blog) as regularly as we can - given the scattered availability of internet connections. We hope that you will join us vicariously. If you need to get in touch while we are on the road, our email address and cell phone number remain the same and we will check the comments on the blog once in a while.
QC91-00 - Warmth Beckons
Grandson Fix - QC84-01
October 3, 2008 (Fri) Home to Fayetteville, NY (298/298 miles) - Packing for this short trip wasn't bad, probably because we had the experience of our August trip. Then things fell apart. Q's battery was dead - flat dead. Turning the key to the start position produced a whirring sound some where in the dash where lights flickered weakly but no starter sound - not even a click. Thanking the Chinook designers for thinking to provide a switch to connect the starter to the house batteries, we got Q started and we were one our way (54° high clouds). Well not quite. Before we'd gone a mile we discovered that we'd forgotten Hildene. We went back. We made it almost two miles into our second start when Mark discovered that he didn't have his glasses. No need to go back this time because he has an extra pair in Q for just such emergencies.
Garden State Parkway north. Our first stop was at Trader Joe's on Rt 17 in Paramus, NJ - just a few goodies. Q complained but started but when we stopped for gas a couple of miles on up the road, he complained louder. He started but wouldn't rev over idle speed - much to the irritation of the traffic behind us! We made it to a Walmart parking lot - the engine finally kicked in and ran properly - where Mark checked to water level in the battery - low but only slightly. After lunch at a nearby Wendy's and a boost from the house batteries we got back on the road at about 12:45pm.
A light rain accompanied us most of the rest of the way but stopped a little before we got to Fayetteville. Shane and Dave were out shopping so Jennifer was left to greet us alone. We backed Q onto the lawn where he would spend the weekend and powered down - glad we'd had no more problems.
October 4, 2008 (Sat) Fayetteville, NY (2) - We went apple picking today. Back in grade school we were taught that one of New York States products was (is) apples. At the time this was just one of those obscure useless facts that cluttered our memories and threatened to be the cause of an unpleasant report card if we failed to recall it at the right time. Since, and especially today, we found it to be interestingly true. As we all drove out to Shane's (4 years old) favorite apple orchard - favorite because it has things for him to do in addition to picking apples - we passed many orchards with big signs inviting us to stop in and pick our own. The apple of the day at our orchard, and perhaps others as well, was the Empire. It is a red apple very similar in taste and texture as the more widely know Granny Smith. We filled up a bag with 16 pounds of them and ate a couple along the way. Shane helped his mom and dad - he especially liked climbing the ladder to get them - sampling now and then. He'd take a bit or two of an apple then toss it away. Later he enjoyed age appropriate amusements, although all for kids, such as a bubble bounce (giant inflated jack-o-lantern with inflated floor) and a donkey ride.
Dave fixed a wonderful roast pork dinner to conclude the day.
Q045652 Dave and Jennifer's yard (x2)
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October 5, 2008 (Sun) Fayetteville, NY to Home (297/595 miles) - We got off for home at about 10:00 (clear sky 49°). Q needed a boot start - the battery was so dead that we needed the key to unlock the doors - but started without help or hesitation the rest of the way home. Problem or no problem? Don't know!
The trip was routine. Stops included for gas and lunch. Traffic was light and except for a couple of cowboys on the Garden State Parkway, easy on the nerves. We got home at about 4:00.
Q045652 Home
Fayetteville Weekend - QC83-01
August 1, 2008 (Fri) Home to Fayetteville, NY (299/299 miles) - We're off to see our grandson (and his parents) in their new home. We got off at 9:05 (77° clear) and headed north on the Garden State Parkway. It was a relatively uneventful drive even in the normally heavy traffic areas around New York City. We did make an adventure our of finding a place to eat lunch - such as it was. We got off US17 in Monticello, NY and found a KFC a mile or so up the road. But they weren't serving the spicy chicken that we remembered they had. We chose not to make the regular fried chicken spicy with the packaged hot sauce and went on to a Burger King where they didn't have spicy chicken on the menu either - not a big area for spicy foods, I guess. So we walked out of that fancy restaurant too. We ended up with a Wendy's spicy chicken wrap - one each instead two this time and we shared a large fries.
The house Dave and Jennifer are living in, a rental, is very small on a very small lot in the Syracuse, NY suburban community of Fayetteville. The neighborhood seems pleasant and , for the most part, quiet. And property, lawns and building are well maintained. In all, not a bad place to live. But it's small! They are in the process of finding a place to buy. Q found a place to settle on the front lawn - taking up half of it.
August 2, 2008 (Sat) Fayetteville, NY (2) - This morning Jennifer and Joy checked out the local quilt shop (of course) and the L.L. Bean outlet store while Dave, Shane and Mark hung out at home.
Fayetteville is on the Erie Canal which, in years past, was a busy commercial connection between Albany and Buffalo. This heritage is celebrated every year with The Canal Festival on the city hall grounds. It seemed like a fun thing to do so off we went. It began to rain soon after we got there! We scurried past the obligatory craft and food vending tents and took shelter in a tent housing a raptor display. It was interesting to see the owls and hawks up close and to learn a little about them. There were other displays which might have been interesting but for the rain.
This afternoon Shane and Jennifer baked a birthday cake (chocolate) for Joy and later Shane and Dave decorated it with white icing. Shane helped Joy blow out the candles after a delicious dinner that Dave barbecued outside - from under an umbrella. This evening, we watched two hours of the TV show "Wipe Out".
A fun day!
Q045057 Dave and Jennifer's front lawn (x2)
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August 3, 2008 (Sun) Fayetteville to Home (297/596 miles) - To round out a weekend of eating badly we ate bagels for breakfast and got under way at 10:30 (71° some blue sky). Fuel in New York is a lot more expensive than in New Jersey so we'd hoped that we could get back across the state line before needing to stop. We couldn't do it. We paid $40.30 for 10 gallons in Hancock then filled up in Paramus, NJ at $3.79/gal.
It was really strange traveling US17 again after so many years. It was the road we watched being "built" as we went back and forth between Alfred (college) or Elmira (first jobs) and Suffern where Joy grew up. We went through some very heavy rain before hitting NJ and the alway heavy, and frantic, traffic on the Garden State Parkway. An accident near exit 149 only added to the stress. We got home at about 6:30, unpacked and enjoyed a drink of scotch before going to bed early.
Q045354 Home
The 4th of July - QC82-01
July 3, 2008 (Thu) Home to Prattsburg, NY (337/337) - Packing for a weekend trip is a lot different than for a 3 month trip and in many ways more difficult. Instead of trying to decide what to bring we struggle with what not to bring. And loading up Q is more helter-skelter. But we got it done and and we hit the road at about 8:20 (sunny 78°) heading north on the Garden State Parkway. Rather than continue all the way to the New York State Thruway, as Hildene insisted we do, we turned off on US-17. We wanted to make stops for goodies at Trader Joe's and a folding stool at Campmor in Paramus. Although not strictly necessary, we stopped for gas just before leaving New Jersey. We payed $3.95/gal rather than the $4.34 at most stations in New York.
Lunch was the new spicy chicken wrap from Wendy's. We got two each thinking they'd be rather small. Actually one each would have been plenty. They were quite good for fast food. Another stop at the new Walmart Supercenter in Elmira yielded a new supply of hot mayonnaise, not readily available in our area, and hot Cajun mix, only available from Walmart, not the crackers and soda that was the reason for our stop.
As we got back onto US-17 the sky darkened and soon after the rain came - as if dumped from a large bucket - so heavy that pulling off onto the shoulder to wait it out became a consideration. We trudged on and were met by Mike and Dorcas (Mark's sister) at the bottom of their new long driveway. The rain had stopped by then. The evening was family chat and bed was welcome at 10:00.
July 4, 2008 (Fri) Prattsburg, NY (2) - When we packed yesterday we thought we wouldn't need our chilly (not cold) weather blanket for this short trip so we took it into the house. We shouldn't have! It got down to 50° which was a challenge for the blankets we did have. We survived though and the sun warmed things up when it appeared over the tree to the East. After breakfast we took our chairs down to the pond and read for a couple of hour as everyone else came to life and began moving around.
When we finally, and reluctantly, dragged ourselves away from our peaceful pond side retreat we found our nephews and grand nephews gathered on the lawn and around the picnic table on the camp's large deck building and testing rockets. They had devised a competition to launch a can of beer into "space" and retrieve in drinkable condition. The event is still pending.
Our "campsite" is a wide space about half way up the hill to Dorcas and Mike's camp and somewhat distant from the other campers. It is mowed and almost level in one place - level being relative because Q's starboard wheels are up on blocks higher than they or any of his wheels have ever been. Even so we still have a slight starboard list. Other guests include Dorcas and Mike's sons and their families - one quite large, and some friends of theirs and no less than six dogs. Later in the day Dave, our daughter Jennifer and Shane came and pitched their tent overlooking the pond.
It was fun watching all the "kids", ranging in age from 4 (our grand son Shane) to the early 20's, interact. Activities, other than the rocket competition, involved swimming, paddle boating, fishing (with a small plastic spiderman as bait), softball, lawn darts, frisbee and, of course, eating. The adults often joined in - especially the eating.
The evening was heralded by a beautiful sunset which was followed by the sliver of a new moon. After dark we sat on the deck and watched the younger kids down by the campfire make fiery drawings in the air with sparklers while real fireworks decorated the skyline over the distance hills.
July 5, 2008 (Sat) Prattsburg, NY (3) - It wasn't so cold sleeping last night. In fact we were almost too warm even though the temperature outside was only 2 degrees warmer. We'd discovered that the down comforter we carry for really cold (well below freezing) nights was up in Q's attic (the pod) and brought it down and into service.
At about 11:00am we all gathered at a safe distance from the launch pad to watch the rockets go up. The rule was that we were to have overhead protection in case one went astray so some lined the railing under the covered part of the deck while others staked claims under the high deck itself. Before each launch we watched in excited anticipation as the crew prepared the rocket for its flight. When they stepped back from the pad, the chatter in the crowd would die away and we'd all joined in the final count down .... Five, four, three, two, one.
The first rocket was constructed from a round cardboard mailing tube. A nosecone containing a plastic parachute topped the majestic cylinder. In the hold was a can of cold beer. The engines hissed, smoke covered the launch pad and the rocket began to rise. It reached an altitude of about ten feet, turned and headed straight toward its designer/builder before crashing harmlessly into the ground.
The second rocket was made from a 1/2 gallon plastic soda bottle filled (more or less) with water. A bicycle pump forced air into the rocket which, in turn, forced the propellant (water) out. After some effort from the launch foreman - to push the plunger down - the rocket lifted off its pad spewing water, soared three feet into space and plunged to the ground.
The third rocket was the can of beer itself with an empty can attached to the bottom to house the rocket engines. Fins and nosecone had been constructed from other emptied and disassembled beer cans. It too lifted from the launch pad with a hiss and a cloud of smoke and sailed maybe fifteen feet into the air before turning and heading for the launch crew.
The fourth rocket never left the launch pad. It got hung up on the guide rod and spun wildly around it until fizzling out.
Q044431 Dorcas and Mike's summer camp (x3)
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July 6, 2008 (Sun) Prattsburg, NY to Home (327/664 miles) - Breakfast of pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon was provided by our hosts, Mike and Dorcas. Although we had a more than 6 hour trip ahead of us, we took our time getting off because we didn't want the weekend to be over. But, at last, it was time (77° sunny). Coming down off the leveling blocks was a bit of an adventure. One of them kicked up underneath producing a loud bang. We were sure the damage was major but we could find nothing - not even a dent.
We had thought we would be reporting an uneventful trip but, alas, it was not to be. Instead of staying on US-17 to return the way we'd come up, we turned south on I-81 in Binghamton, NY. We could stop at the Flying J in Montrose, PA to dump Q's holding tanks. Continuing south we soon ran into traffic, not stopped but almost. We decided to get off and take some back roads to get around it. The problem was that our last minute decision didn't give us time to adequately plan a detour and we guessed wrong at the end of the ramp. By the time we discovered that we should have turned the other way we didn't want to turn back. Instead we decided to let Hildene have her way - except that she kept trying to get us to turn onto dirt roads which we declined more than a few times. It turned out that dirt or gravel roads was about the only way back to civilization - we were really out in the boonies by then. It's amazing how many "unimproved" roads there are in that part of Pennsylvania - and how very narrow some of them are. By surrendering completely to Hildene's guidance we finally make it to I-80 where we could turn east toward New York City and home. An estimated 6 hour trip took us over 8 hours!
Q044758 Home
The Q Chronicles #81-16
March 19, 2008 (Wed)
Englewood, FL to Ocean Pond CG, Osceola NF (269/3098 miles)
The last 5 days have been no more, nor less, eventful than the last 10. We all did about the same things. But time moves on and home is calling. So after packing Q with all the stuff we'd taken into Bom's condo over the last two weeks (actually 15 days), changing the dressing protecting Bom's minor facial surgery (Joy), and saying a tearful good buy, we struck out for I-75 and points north (sunny 80° at 9:45). At about 11:30 and north of the intersection with I-4 we saw a sign for a Steak-n-Shake restaurant. We had $4 worth of coupons from the fiasco the other day so we stopped there for lunch. Our next stop was Books-a-Million (a large chain bookseller similar to Barns and Noble). Mark wanted to look at guitar instruction books but didn't get one.
After getting off the interstate we began to see Dogwood in bloom along the road and the slower pace of the traffic was certainly welcome. Ocean Pond campground is in the Osceola National Forest in northern Florida. We'd been here for one night back in 2001 and thought we'd check it out again. The seems to have made some changes since 2001. Site #13 where we were then is now in the high rent district - water and electric hookups for $18 as opposed to dry for $8 back then. We chose a water hookup only site for $12 ($6 for us old folks) because the premium sites were all occupied and the "primitive" sites were too primitive (although acceptable in a pinch).
We have a very nice site almost right on the lake - we can see it out our dining room window through Spanish moss draped trees . It's one of the larger sites so we have plenty of room around us and no real close neighbors. And we have our own private path to the beach - although others will probably use it too. It's very windy this evening, coming right off the lake and blowing the wrong way for our roof ventilators - we're having to keep them closed. The campground host promises that it will die down over night and be beautiful tomorrow.
Just before going to bed last night Mark checked the utilities monitor panel - he'd meant to do that before we started this morning - and found the propane level at 0! OK what do we do? Well, the refrigerator was still on so it wasn't really completely gone. We can wait until morning to make a decision.
March 20, 2008 (Thu) Ocean Pond CG, Osceola NF (2) - The flame under the coffee went out just it began to perk and the refrigerator quit soon after. Our decision had been made for us. We left a chair and our "campsite occupied" sign at the end of our parking pad and headed for the closest populated area, Lake City 20 miles away. The fellow at the first propane seller we found struggled and struggled with trying to attach the filler hose to Q's tank. After swearing more than once and declaring that this to be the least favorite tank he'd ever tried to fill, he gave up. The next guy had only the normal struggles and succeeded - at the cost of over $64 ($4.25 a gallon), Ug!
It was chilly enough for sweatshirts when we got up and was slow warming up. Finally by noon it was warm enough to sit out in shirt sleeves but only in the sun. There was a breeze just cold enough keep us active otherwise. An old fellow stopped by on his tricycle to talk as Mark was playing his guitar. And talk he did! Among many other things we learned that he started learning to play a guitar (country style) about a year ago, he has it with him but hasn't played it for a month, there are a couple of fellas near his campsite who play but don't have their guitars with them, It's good practice to play with other people etc. etc. His wife came by on her tricycle after a while and sat silently behind him. When they finally went on their way, Mark retreated indoors so as not to be out when they came back.
March 21, 2008 (Thu) Ocean Pond CG, Osceola NF (3) - It was chilly (50°) again this morning. In fact it was much colder than yesterday morning. We even turned the furnace on for a little while to warm things up before we got up. It has served to remind us that we will need to get our cold weather clothes down out of the pod before we start out tomorrow. We have decided to head for home a week early. A problem that prompted Joy to see a doctor last week, persists. She thinks it best, since we are so close to going home anyway, to see her own doctor and be stationary for any follow up that might be necessary. We will miss seeing nephews Luke and Jake as we pass through North Carolina but now that the decision has been made, we want to get on home and try to get an appointment for Monday.
The start of a long holiday weekend began to become evident in the activity here in the campground. There have been an increasing number of RVs cruising back and forth looking for "the perfect site" - which are becoming fewer. Kids on bicycles, on scooters, and on foot parade by in larger numbers also. And the noise level is increasing. Even so this is a very nice campground and we will definitely come back and stay longer.
Q043015 Ocean Pond CG, Osceola NF #20 w $6.00 B (x3)
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March 22, 2008 (Sat)
Lake City, FL to Manning, SC (308/3406 miles)
There is a very distinctive tree on the beach near our campsite. Both of us thought it looked familiar so we looked at the pictures we'd taken back in 2001 and there it was! By studying the pictures we determined that we had actually been in the site next door back then. What was #13 then is #22 now. Interesting.
The campground has shower facilities but they were a hike away and not in the best condition so we decided to use Q's on-board shower instead. After showers, breakfast and dumping we got on the road at 9:25am (58°) and headed west on US-90 and I-10. Hildene was directing us to I-95 North but we turned onto US-301 before we got there - much to her dismay. She then set out to annoy us with constant attempts us to get us back onto I-10. When we did finally get to I-95 and turned north she happily announced would now continue for the next 549 miles before needing to turn again.
We crossed into Georgia at about 10:50 and ten minutes later stopped for gas. Florida gas prices had been running $3.23 to $3.37. We paid $3.18. Not as much better as we had expected but we'll take anything we can get. Had we waited we could have paid $3.13 but who knew? Most of I-95 through Georgia is under construction to add a third lane each way but traffic moved along quite well - maybe because it was Saturday morning. After a stop in a Camping World in Pooler, GA and another at a rest stop up the road for lunch we rolled on up to Manning, SC where we found a Walmart willing to let us hang out in their parking lot for the night. We thanked them by picking up some supplies.
Q043370 Camp Walmart, Manning, GA B
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March 23, 2008 (Sun)
Manning, GA to the Delmarva Peninsula (387/3793 miles)
Easter Sunday. This is only the second time in recent years that we haven't gone to church. Strangely, we feel very little guilt. We were up and off by 7:30 (52° clear), got gas ($3.07) at Walmart's USA Murphy, and got back on I-95. At 10:20 we crossed the border into North Carolina. Although we didn't need it, we went on and got gas at the Kenly, NC Flying J ($3.18) thinking that Virginia prices are alway higher. The weren't this time! Almost as soon as we crossed into VA at about 2:00 (59°) we began to see prices at $3.13 and lower. In Norfolk we saw several stations advertising $3.09.
Those who don't know about it may be interested know that the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel across Chesapeake Bay (dah) is a 17 mile long water level bridge interrupted by two tunnels, a high arch and a small natural island. It is considered one of the modern engineering wonders of the world and a spectacular drive. While crossing we saw several oil tankers out in the bay - waiting for the price of crude to go up - and other smaller boats. There were a couple of small groups of brown pelicans (we didn't know they came this far north) and Joy saw two dolphins swimming in unison toward us. (Mark missed seeing those because he was too busy trying to stay on the road and trying to avoid hitting oncoming traffic.
We usually avoid staying overnight in rest areas. They are notoriously dangerous and it's usually illegal. But this one at the southern tip if the Delmarva Peninsula is set up for overnight parking - specifically for long-haul truckers. There are signs limiting parking to 48 hours - which, I guess means it's OK to park overnight - and there is a police cruiser constantly parked either at the restrooms or at the toll booths just outside the rest area boundary. Every once in a while a police car cruises through the lot, maybe on its way to or from the police barracks across the highway. We're giving it a try.
Q043757 Delmarva Peninsula rest area.
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March 24, 2008 (Mon)
Delmarva peninsula to Home (321/4114 miles)
Well, that wasn't one of our quieter nights! Trucks came and went all night. Unlike most truck stops, there was no way to know where the trucks were most likely to park so that we could be somewhere else. And, as is often the case, they sat idling for hours as their drivers slept. There was one parked a few spaces from us in the early morning hours that was so loud that it sounded like a big street sweeper right outside our window waiting for us to get out of its way. Conclusion? It's OK in an emergency but not a good destination stop.
Needless to say, we were up early. At 6:30 (42° wispy clouds) we got under way and went in search of a McDonald's for our traditional last-morning-on-the-road breakfast. US-13 up through Virginia, Maryland and Delaware (Delmarva) took us through mostly open farmlands and small communities. It was a very pleasant change from the super rush of I-95 and we avoided the madness of commuter traffic around Washington, DC and Baltimore. We crossed the Delaware Memorial Bridge into New Jersey at about 12:00 noon and stopped at the first rest area on I-295 to dump and flush our tanks and to eat some lunch. The thermometer had made it all the way up to 54°. The rest of the way home was in frantic interstate highway traffic but it was nice to see that spring is on the way in these parts. Many of the trees are aglow with buds and below them daffodils and forsythia were in bloom. We pulled into our driveway at about 3:00 - home at last.
Q044078 Home
The Q Chronicles #81-15
March 14, 2008 (Fri) Englewood, FL (10) - The last 10 days can best be described as unremarkable, meaning there has been very little worth entering into these chronicles. A week ago Wednesday, the big events of the day were a walk on Englewood beach in a brisk wind and looking at the pictures Gail and Phil took on their recent whale watching trip (very interesting). On Friday, Mark got together with George, from a few doors down, to play some guitar together. On Sunday, a couple of ladies from Bom's (Joy's mother) church stopped by to share Holy Communion with her (and us).
On Monday evening Mark went to the "Bluegrass" jam session in a local city park. (Apparently it's a weekly event). It turned out to be more country than bluegrass There was only one song(?) that could be call bluegrass and one that bordered in it. He wasn't familiar with either. The rest was what one might hear on a country/western radio station that doesn't play the new country rock kind of stuff. There were maybe 15 musicians milling around "on stage" at any one time - some playing, some not. There were others standing around in the background kind of strumming along to themselves. Of those on stage - actually one end of a picnic pavilion - four (guitar, fiddle, harmonica, bass) played about every song. Oh, and there was on old fella standing in the back playing the washboard. The others came and went depending on the song. The "soloists" normally did only one number while the rest accompanied. It could not come near being mistaken as "professional" but they were having fun even to the silly extent of one old fella hitting himself on the head with castanets as he did an inappropriate "jig". The singing was often off key and lyrics forgotten - at one such occasion the audience filled in until he got back on track again. It was just a bunch of old folks - this is a retirement area - getting together to entertain an audience that numbered maybe 50 to 75 people who seemed to be regulars. They chatted among themselves, sang along now and then and occasionally one or two would go up to the microphones and sing a number. The atmosphere of a Rocky Horror Picture Show event came to mind although not really similar.
Tuesday was the day another space shuttle was launched from Cape Canaveral. It was a night launch, 2:30am, and we were told it might be visible from here. Not to us! We set the alarm and got up to watch. It was overcast, so there wasn't a hint of anything going on out that way. Another space program related disappointment.
We have no transportation here other than bicycles and Q who is parked out in the bank parking lot so we don't go out much. We've bicycled down to the Publix supermarket a couple of times and brought groceries back bungied to the back of the bicycles and in backpacks. One trip was very windy and cold! We also hoofed it a couple of times. We have used Q too, when Bom needed to go out. At 96, we didn't think she'd want to sit on the back of a bicycle.
Other than that Joy worked on her quilting, played SkipBo and worked jigsaw puzzles with her mother, did crossword puzzles and read a few books. Mark tried to catch up on the computer work (banking, taxes, etc), played his guitar, and read a couple of books. Very relaxing!
Q042680 SunTrust Bank parking lot (parked)
The Q Chronicles #81-14
February 29, 2008 (Fri)
Lake Kissimmee SP, FL to Plant City, FL (112/2718 miles)
Today was one of those days that just didn't seem to go right. It started almost as soon as we got up. Sometime before we got under way at 9:00 (sunny 53°) Mark's glasses fell apart in his hands - the temple broken. So we would need to hunt up a Pearle Vision store. Hildene found one in Brandon, a few miles beyond Plant City. Posted gas prices as we started out ranged from $3.15 to $3.35 a gallon so when we saw a sign showing $3.13 we stopped - even though we really didn't need to. When the tank was near full, Mark discovered that the pump showed that the price was $3.17. It turned out that $3.13 was the cash and proprietary credit card price. If we won't talk about the difficulty we had getting turned around on busy Brandon Blvd, the stop at Pearle Vision was entirely successful. Costco was our next stop and by then it was lunch time. A Steak and Shake across the street seemed a good choice. It wasn't! The food was OK but the bill got screwed up. Among other things, they charged us full price for the discount burgers we'd bought. Then the waitress/cashier couldn't figure out how to make the correction in the cash register. Instead, she gave us coupons good only in Steak and Shake restaurants in Florida. We probably won't use them!
Finding a library with a high speed internet connection was our next job. One "library" turned out to be the offices for Tampa area library administers. An other was a recreation park - not much more that a building with a few tight parking spaces - without a hint of a WiFi signal. We knew that Plant City had a library but Hildene didn't. We stopped at a visitor's center and asked directions. Although connected to the internet in the library, Mark could neither send nor receive email. He was able to update our financial data though. One small step.
We got to Ruth and Gordy's about 2:30pm - and found we hadn't needed to hunt up a library at all. They had DSL and a neighbor's WiFi signal was strong enough to use.
March 1, 2008 (Sat) Plant City, FL (2) - Alafia River State Park is a park we've considered staying in but never have. It has hiking (and biking and horseback riding) trails and was our day trip destination today. Ruth and Gordy like to hike and have checked out several of the parks in the area to do so but had not been there. Apparently the main attraction of this park is its mountain bike trails. The place was overrun with colorful spandex outfits. The trails for the bikers were graded as to difficulty and looked interesting but too challenging for us. Fortunately the walking and multipurpose trails were more suitable for us older folks. The trail we chose to take first was shown on the maps to be a 3/4 mile loop but we must have missed a turn somewhere because we ended up walking much further than that.
Q042535 Parked (x2)
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March 2, 2008 (Sun)
Plant City, FL to Lake Manatee SP, Bradenton, FL (74/2792 miles)
Plant City is the home of Florida's annual week long Strawberry Festival. This was the week. There would be some, many perhaps, who would think that being so close and missing it demonstrates some kind of character flaw. Well so be it. Actually we didn't miss it by much. We got off from Ruth and Gordy's at about 11.15 (sunny 74°) and went in search of a Publix Supermarket. Hildene suggested several. We chose the closest south of where we were at the time. We should have been suspicious when she turned us North but we (Mark anyway) tend to trust her directions. We ended up driving right by the main(?) entrance to the festival - along with everyone else in the state. Much fun!
March 3, 2008 (Mon) Lake Manatee State Park (2) - We think this is the park where Bob and Pat stayed a month or so ago. (If so, Frau Tinka must have moved on, Bob). It's a beautiful park with both high and low vegetation separating the moderately spaced sites. We thought for a while this morning that the sound of power boats on the lake might be a problem - it was as if they were trying to make as much noise as possible while not going anywhere. But it didn't last.
At about 10:00 Joy's sister called and suggested that she come up and take her back to her mother's while Mark waited for Q's appointment in Sarasota - he was having have his refrigerator looked at. Joy agreed and at 11:30 took off leaving Mark to fend for himself. Joy had a great time. Mark just hung out.
Lake Manatee State Park #10 e/w $17.00 A+
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March 4,2008 (Tue)
Lake Manatee SP to Englewood, FL (71/2863 miles)
Q's appointment was for 10:30 so there was no hurry getting off. At about 9:30 (overcast 74°) Mark and Q pulled away from the holding tank dump station and headed West on SR64 toward Bradenton, then South on I-75.
Mobil Service Inc., just North of the Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport, is probably one of the best RV repair there is. They were able to diagnose and repair a refrigerator problem in Concourse Q (Q1) that other facilities had charged many dollars to guess at without fixing. When the refrigerator in Destiny Q (Q2) developed a similar problem - apparently a chronic problem with Domenic refrigerators - that's where we took him for the 30 minute circuit board replacement. We knew the cut and paste (literally) repair we'd had done in Miami was temporary. There was never any doubt that Mobil Service would be the place to place that knew what was going on and how to fix it. The owner(?) took one quick look and determined at once that it was part of the "recall" package we'd installed before we left home. Domenic should have know what that part was!! It took him 45 minutes on the phone with Domenic to first explain what the part was, what the problem was and to get the authorization to install (free to us) a new recall package. The fellow who actually did the work looked in the compartment and said, "What a hack job." Not only had the service people at home (Risco, Ed) done a poor job - installing some improvised parts instead of those supplied by Domenic and installing others, including the blown thermal fuse, improperly - but broke the 120v connection to the cooling unit and covered it up by bending the broken part in such a way as to allow the ends of the broken wire to connect. He couldn't believe the refrigerator actually worked while on shore power. We had to buy a new cooling unit and have it installed! While there, Q also had a new water intake check valve installed and the TV antenna fixed - it wouldn't rotate.
Mark drove into Englewood at about 3:00 sans lunch and very hungry. Joy fixed him a reuben.
Q042680 SunTrust Bank parking lot (parked)
The Q Chronicles #81-13
February 22, 2008 (Fri) Ed and Kathy's yard (2) - Again as King George III said on the day the American Declaration on Independence was signed, nothing of importance happened today. Joy did some laundry and reading, Mark and Bob practiced their respective stringed instruments individually and together, the four dogs played individually and together, Pat continued her recovery from a "bug" that kept her in bed most of yesterday, Ed ran his trains periodically, and Kathy hung out doing her thing.
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February 23, 2008 (Sat)
Lakeland, FL to The Great Outdoors, Titusville, FL (92/2520 miles)
There was another difficult departure this morning. After almost two months of traveling, off and on with Bob and Pat, we would be going our separate ways. We pulled out of Ed and Kathy's yard at 8:46am (cloudy 74°) and went out to US98 to get gas. Although probably the lowest cost in the area, the $3.13/gal seemed high to us especially since we'd seen much lower prices last week. We thought Hildene would direct us south down US98 to the I-4 intersection from there. Instead, she sent us back the way we'd come, past the turn off to Ed and Kathy's house and down Socrum Loop Road. The I-4 interchange has been relocated since Hildene was programed so we missed a turn and took the the long way - as we always do!
We found the I-4 traffic through Orlando much better than we'd expected and made good time on that leg of the trip. But US50 between Orlando and the Cape Canaveral (Kennedy Space Center) held us up several times with heavy traffic and, at one intersection, an accident. We arrived at The Great Outdoors RV Golf Resort at about 12:30 and found Mike and Dorcas (Mark's sister) sitting under the overhang of their fifth wheel waiting for us - and another couple as it turned out. Friends of theirs - or more appropriately, their son's - were vacationing near Disney World and came by for a visit.
February 24, 2008 (Sun) The Great Outdoors (2)- The Painted Bunting is a very colorful little bird - for a finch - being green, blue, and red - and it is quite rare in these parts. We saw two, a male and a female, today at a feeder in the resort. Dorcas took us over to one of the homes in the park where they hang out and we were rewarded with their being there. It was interesting to note that they seldom occupied the feeder with the Cardinals also feeding there at the same time. Instead, they waited in the nearby greenery until the Cardinals went away.
Earlier in the day we went over to the museum in Christmas, FL. This is the site of Fort Christmas - named for the day the construction was started in 1837 - built during the Second Seminole War. The museum occupies the replicated fort and surrounding residence buildings and features the life and lifestyle of the people at the time. Very interesting!
Q042254 The Great Outdoors, 443 Oak Cove Rd, dry Free (x2)
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February 25, 2008, (Mon)
The Great Outdoors to Titusville, FL (30/2468 miles)
Mike and Dorcas had things to do today which gave us a chance to get some errands done, which accounts for 28 of the miles put on Q's odometer. We browsed several stores in the area, including Walmart, Target, Dollar General, and the Ultimate Sewing Store (a quilt shop), etc. and were able to pick up a few things we'd been putting off getting and were back at The Great Outdoors with Mike and Dorcas by 3:30pm. We had to vacate the site we'd been borrowing the last two nights because the owner needed to use it. Although we had permission to park at another site, we chose to move to a nearby Walmart instead. One of the reasons for doing this was find out if we could consider using it in the future if no sites are available in TGO.
Q042284 Camp Walmart, Titusville, FL
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February 26, 2008 (Tue)
Titusville, FL to Lake Wales, FL (138/2606 miles)
We found the Walmart an acceptable alternative to a site in The Great Outdoors if we need it. It wasn't nearly as plush, of course, but it was quiet and conducive to a restful night's sleep - with one exception. At about 4:00am the whine of a street sweeper woke us from a sound sleep. For an hour it moved back and forth across the parking lot until it finally faded into the distance.
We got off at 8:20am (cloudy 62°) and headed South. The straight line distance between Titusville and Lake Kissimmee State Park is 50 miles but there is no straight line way to drive it. It turned out to be a 138 mile, 3 hour trip. It was an easy, relatively traffic free trip - even on US 192 where construction vehicles involved in changing a perfectly good 2 lane road into a 4 lane divided highway outnumbered the rest of us. Wildlife along the way included vultures, caracara (birds), cranes, hawks, osprey, and several gaggles of turkeys.
We have been at Lake Kissimmee State Park a couple of other times. We like it here. The sites are large and well separated and there is plenty of vegetation between them. According to Reserve America (reservation service), this site isn't suitable for RVs as long as Q is (24 feet) so we had to lie to reserve it on line. We have learned that length limitations are usually well understated. We fit easily. In fact, a 40 footer might fit - barely. Since we were here two hours before checkout time and the previous occupant hadn't left yet, we went over to the
picnic area to eat our lunch and hang out.
In the late afternoon, as we sat reading, a large male turkey strutted through our campsite with his harem (two females). At one point he paused, looked at us and spread his tail feathers like a real Thanksgiving turkey as if to say "Look how lucky I am." Joy had seen one doing the same thing earlier across the way. It must be turkey mating eason.
February 27, 2008 (Wed) Lake Kissimmee SP (2) - There were dire weather predictions for last night including heavy winds, thunderstorms and tornadoes. We heard thunder off in the distance before we went to bed and it rained heavily during the night but there was nothing particularly dangerous. The predictions were actually for the storms to go north of us and that's what they did. As Mark sat playing his guitar this afternoon, a large (4 ft) Sandhill Crane wandered into our campsite and up to Q's door. He looked at Joy who was standing in the doorway and let out a loud squawk. He squawked several times and, when she didn't give him anything to eat, turned and wandered away.
It's been a little cool today. We tried to stick it out in shorts and sweatshirts but finally gave up and put on jeans. It was the first time in nearly a month. There are freeze warnings for tonight and tomorrow night in a couple of counties north of here so it will probably be jeans and sweatshirts again tomorrow too.
February 28, 2008 (Thu) Lake Kissimmee SP (3) - 40° was the low here last night but according to the news, it got down to below 30° in some areas north of Tampa. The sky was clear in the morning but it didn't warm up all that quickly and never got over 57°.
This part of Florida had quite an active cattle business not unlike that in the "Old West". Cowboys called Crackers, established camps in the wilds to round up and brand local free roaming cattle. A replica of a 1876 camp, consisting of corrals, a fire pit and a crude living shelter,is located in a remote part of the park. It is located where nothing of the modern world can be seen. Even bicycles are required to be left on the approach path out of site. The area was actually closed today - meaning there was no reenacted activity nor Crackers in costume doing their thing - but being there gave us a real good feel for what it must have been like back then.
Q042422 Lake Kissimmee State Park #16 w/e $18.00 A+ (x3)
The Q Chronicles #81-12
February 18, 2008 (Mon)
Flamingo CG, Everglades NP to Clewiston, FL (186/2232 miles)
Travel day' so we were up early at 6:30 and pulled out of our campsite at about 7:20 (73° partly cloudy). By the time we'd dumped our tanks and taken on needed fresh water it was 8:40. Flamingo is at the very southern tip of Florida 40 miles into the Everglades - one road in, one road out. The TV news this morning said that it was raining in Homestead and we could see the dark clouds with what looked like rain below them off in the distance. We only got sprinkles on the windshield as we drove across the flat landscape highest elevation 3 feet).
In Homestead, while Joy and Pat did laundry, Mark and Bob joined a homeless man on the concrete under the roof overhang in front of the library - closed for President's day - to connect to the internet for email. We sat at one end, he slept at the other. Grocery shopping filled the rest of the morning. Then it was lunch at a Mexican restaurant we'd been threatening to stop at every time we came through Homestead. The food quite good but the atmosphere was very noisy.
Our route north was via US 997 (once we got to it) and US 27 to Clewiston on the west side of Lake Okeechobee. It was a long, flat and, for the most part, uninteresting trip. About the only excitement was a loud bang on Q's port side as an empty flat bed truck passed. Q's performance didn't seem to be effected (no flat tire or thrown rod, etc.) and Mark couldn't see any damage by looking in the mirror so we continued on. We couldn't find any damage after we stopped either.
Yesterday Bob called the Walmart in Clewiston to see if overnight parking in an RV was OK. They said it was. But there were signs all over the parking lot that said "No overnight or extended parking. Violators will be towed away" which made doing so seem a little risky. Marked asked again inside and was told it was OK as long as it was out by the road (where some trucks were parked). We moved up there, pulled the curtains, turned out the lights and went to bed almost expecting to wake up in a strange police storage lot. (Not really!).
Q041966 Camp Walmart, Clewiston, FL
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February 19, 2008 (Tue)
Clewiston, FL to Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park (79/2311 miles)
We heard trucks coming and going all night and in the morning we were surrounded by 18 wheelers who apparently knew how meaningless those signs were. And it was uncomfortably warm - a cotton sheet was almost too much. We got up early, went to the nearby McDonald's for breakfast and were on our way shortly after 7:00am (71°).
We accepted Hildene's suggestion to turn onto the Kissimmee Scenic Trail - which was a shorter, though not faster route - and almost immediately came up on a school bus stopping at every corner to pick up kids. She also directed us onto a back road through the Seminole Indian reservation which turned out to be miles and miles of flat prairie type land with only very few signs of human activity other than the building of the road itself. Joy said she thought we'd taken this route south a year or two ago but Mark had no memory of it. The road to the park, was almost as desolate. It appears to be a part of Florida that unscrupulous land mongers tried to sell of to unsuspecting northerners. Hildene showed intersecting numbered roads every few hundred feet or so where very few actually exist. And once in the park there is the 2 1/2 miles or so of dirt road into the prairie to the campground where we found that we could not stay the week that we'd planned. The sites in the "family" area (with water and electric) are all booked for the next several days. We decided to take site in the primitive "equestrian" (no hookups and a vault toilet) which is also booked full for the weekend.
February 20, 2008 (Wed) Kissimmee Prairie SP (2) - This started out as a day for our Ramapo College sweatshirts (50°) but quickly warmed up to 72° by noon. Today was the day the space shuttle was to return to earth. We calculated that its glide path would be just west of directly overhead so the four of us were out at just before 9:00am looking to the Southwest hoping to get a glimpse of it. We didn't but we did hear the
sonic booms as it passed over - actually several seconds after it had passed over. What a thrill that was!
Later, we took the bicycles, and Sheila (Bob and Pat's younger dog, and rode up the road a mile and a half, then hiked a trail into the prairie a mile or so. Saw lots of water birds, and a fire off in the distance - from the prairie burning that the crew had done the day before? The fires turned out to be stray burnings from an adjacent tract that jumped into the park in several places throughout the day. We had smoke in the air, and little bits of ash floating down all day.
In the evening we watched the lunar eclipse - some of it. Clouds kindly left plenty of open areas for the first forty five minutes or so but moved in to cover it most of the rest of the time. We did get glimpses of it totally in shadow, which was exciting, but only glimpses.
Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park #22 dry $13.20 B (x2)
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February 21, 2008 (Thu)
Kissimmee Prairie Preserve SP to Lakeland, FL (117/2428 miles)
Another travel day - too soon because we were really enjoying being in those sites more then we had expected. Not only were we away from the much more congested but the sites were open and sunny.
We left the campground at about 8:00am (61°) and drove out the 2 1/2 mile dirt road to civilization - which meant the road was paved and there was a house now and then. The smell of the fires out on the prairie yesterday still lingered. The trip to Lakeland was routine and mostly uninteresting. Along US 98 we came across 150 to 200 horse and riders - most of the riders in appropriate costume. There were also a couple of horse drawn wagons (living quarters? chuck wagon?) A sign on the following (motorized) support vehicle announced that it was the Annual Florida Cracker Trail Ride.
In Sebring we stopped several places for minor housekeeping chores and
got into Lakeland at about 12:30pm.
Q042162 Ed and Kathy's yard
The Q Chronicles #81-11
February 11, 2008 (Mon)
Monument Lake CG, Big Cypress NP to Homestead, FL (103/1962 miles)
This is not where we wanted to be tonight nor what we expected to be doing. But we'll get to that. It was the coolest morning in a while (53°) when we got up at about 6:00am and there was no fog for a change. We had a quick breakfast and finished packing up. Our first stop was Midway campground about 8 miles East on US41. There are no dump facilities at Monument Lake but campers there are allowed to use those at Midway. That's what we did.
In Southwest Miami we found a much needed laundromat recommended by the Midway campground host. While there, we took advantage of the Walmart across the street then set out to find a Publix for some groceries. We had planned to eat our lunch in a Mexican restaurant in Homestead but by the time we'd found the West Kendall Regional Library where we could connect to the internet, we were famished. Fortunately the Asian Super Buffet was right there in the same mall. It was excellent!
Finally stocked up and ready for a week in the wild, we headed south for the Everglades National Park. Just as we entered the park Joy noticed that the refrigerator light didn't come on when she opened the door. Nor were any of the indicator lights on. Long nerve wracking story short, we opted out of going down the 38 mile desolate road to the campground in Flamingo. Instead we came back to Homestead and are now parked in the Walmart parking lot for the night. Our road service provider found an RV repair facility in Miami who agreed to look into the problem for us tomorrow. Maybe! We called them as suggested, got no answer and left a message. We've gotten no callback yet. We'll head up there bright and early in the morning.
Q041596 Camp Walmart, Homestead, FL
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February 12, 2008 (Tue)
Homestead, FL to Flamingo CG, Everglades NP (84/2046 miles)
That was not one of the quietest Walmarts we've stayed in nor the loneliest. The area of the parking lot assigned to overnight parking was next to greater Miami's designated bus route. Buses roared by every 10 to 20 minutes all night long and trucks came and went continuously. Sleep was scarce! There must have been thirty mobile residents crowded into that relatively small area maybe ten or twelve more scattered around the parking lot.
We took off at about 7:30 and with Hildene's guidance, went in search of Chuck's RV Service. We wanted to be there when it opened at 8:00 (we guessed). We ended up in the middle of a residential neighborhood not far from where we ate lunch yesterday. We could see three class A motor homes packed into what may have been someone's back yard but there was no apparent way to get to them and no sign. The proprietor of an ACE Hardware store in a nearby strip mall had never heard of Chuck's RV Service. He looked it up on the internet for us and found that it was, in deed, located in the middle of the adjacent residential neighborhood. We tried to call them, got no answer, left a message.
K&K Trailer & Recreational Vehicle Supply has a large advertisement in our Trailer Life Campground Guide where they tout all manner of repair and services. It was also one recommended by our road service provider. They are located only a few miles south on the route we'd be taking. When we got there, at about 9:15am, the place was closed and all locked up. A man whose only job appeared to be pumping propane informed us that the mechanic was only there on Mondays and Thursdays. Really? Only Mondays and Thursdays? And it's not a small outfit! He suggested we try a place down the road a bit.
Camp Out Inc. was one of the seediest places we've actually ventured to do business with. There were derelict and demolished RVs of every strip lying all over the place. Our first impression was that it was a junk yard. But it wasn't because scattered here and there and along the drive inside a fenced-in area there were newer units obviously for sale or awaiting repair. With great trepidation, Mark ventured through the disreputable landscape and past a sign that said "Do not enter without authorization from the sales office" (sales office? the only building on the grounds was inside the fence beyond the sign). He found a door into what looked like a dark over crowded parts warehouse with a couple of appropriately cluttered desks. The young woman sweeping the floor informed him that the mechanic would not be in until 11:00. When he explained that we had food spoiling in a dead refrigerator she asked a young fellow who would not have appeared out of place on the back streets of Cairo if he would take a look. It turned out that the young man was, in fact, Egyptian (with very little accent) and he did a great job of tracking down the problem. After working 2 hours checking all the fuses, which we'd done earlier, and tracing voltage through the circuit board and wiring, he found what looked like a resistor hidden under wire sheathing that was blocking current flow. He removed it and spliced the wire. And the refrigerator went on! He had no idea what it was or what it was for. Nor did any of his coworkers. Nor did the refrigerator manufacturer! Several calls to various technical departments of Dometic Corporation yielded the startling information - "If it was there, it must be necessary." We decided to take the chance that maybe it really wasn't and headed for the southern tip of Florida deep in the Everglades.
When Bob and Pat got here yesterday, they were told that since their motor home was longer than 21 feet, they had to select a site in the "T" loop. Q is longer than 21 feet so we expected that we'd be sent there too, although we'd never had to go up there before. But we were told that no, we were too small to go there!That left us nowhere we could go! Actually the yesterday's gatekeeper was wrong. Although the "T" loop is reserved for big really rigs (trailers and motor homes with cars in tow) the rest of the campground is open to any rig that will fit on the short parking pads.
February 13, 2008 (Wed) Flamingo CG, Everglades NP (2) - The campground host came around last night to advise us that the area was under a tornado watch and to take cover in the restroom if one actually came near. It rained heavily during the night but the expected strong winds didn't materialize. This morning was sunny and beautiful. Another storm came through about 1:00pm and this one had some pretty strong gusts of wind - and thunder and lightning. Of the four units in this loop, one is a tent. The residents were away for the early part of the storm but got back before their tent was completely blown down. They moved it to the lee side of the restroom and, for some reason left again. That's when the wind really began to blow. They came back again, this time to a pile of sticks and flapping canvas. They packed everything into their car and left.
February 14, 2008 (Thu) Flamingo CG, Everglades NP (3) - It's been another lazy day. About the only thing we've done is dump our holding tanks and take on fresh water. This was not strictly necessary yet but since we used the trip down here to wash the tanks (with detergent) they were already half full when we pulled in. We wanted to get them rinsed out before the dump stations get busy with weekend traffic.
It's been one of those days when the sun is almost too hot but the shade is a little too cool but we are really enjoying the now beautiful weather.
February 15, 2008 (Fri) Flamingo CG, Everglades NP (4) - This part of the campground - loops "B" and "C" - is a huge grassy area with a few trees scattered here and there. Loop C and half of loop B have been blocked off to limit occupation. This makes sense because after two tenting units left this morning, there are only 3 of us in the more than 100 sites. It's been great having so much space all to ourselves. But the long weekend has begun. About noon the sites around us began to fill up and after a while the barrier was moved back to open up loop B. By late afternoon the whole area was alive with the sounds of kids at play, the boom boom boom of radios and pop of beer bottle caps. We expected the partying to continue well into the wee hours but everyone seemed to respect the 10:00 "quiet hour" rule.
February 16, 2008 (Sat) Flamingo CG, Everglades NP (5) - A Chinook siting report: Yesterday a couple came by on bicycles and stopped to say that they too had a Chinook motor home, an old one. We thought we might have seen it up in the T loop as we came back from hiking the Coastal Prairie Trail along Florida Bay so this morning, on our way to the marina complex (store, gas station, visitor's center, etc.) on our bikes, we detoured up there for a closer look. It wasn't there. We later saw it parked in the marina parking lot with an empty boat trailer attached. We also saw a Chinook Concourse (like Q1 but with a fancy paint job) occupying a site in A loop. No one was around, so no comparison of notes.
February 17, 2008 (Sun) Flamingo CG, Everglades NP (6) - We had french toast made with french bread for breakfast on this last day in the Everglades. It was truly delicious! And the sun just beginning to come through the trees and a warm breeze off the bay, the weather was perfect.
There are three military families camped in sites next to Bob and Pat. They have been very good neighbors - even to the point if one of the fathers giving a short lecture to all the kids about campground etiquette. They complimented us on our music (guitar and banjo practice) and even invited us to join them to play at their campfire Friday night. But they seem to have a routine that is, at best, curious. Two of the fathers apparently have the duty of taking their daughters to the restrooms - the men's room. At the risk of sounding sexist, it would seem that that should be a woman's job. Mark finds it a bit disconcerting - and distracting - to be in the men's room wondering if at any moment a couple of young girls might pop in. He found it downright annoying tonight to have to wait while an eight year old (approx) girl washed her hands and primped in front of the mirror. Bob called him chicken for not saying anything to the father who did nothing to hurry her along.
Q041780 Flamingo Campground, Everglades National Park #B16 dry $8.00 A (x6)
The Q Chronicles #81-10
February 4, 2008 (Mon)
Englewood, FL to Monument Lake CG, Big Cypress National Preserve (140/1859 miles)
The beautiful weather of the last few day continues. The sun was out and warm, making it unnecessary to wear our new Ramapo College sweatshirts as we walked over to Quail's Run condo book exchange shelves to exchange the last of the paperback books we'd brought south to recycle. We packed Q for the next leg of our trip and at about 9:30 (71°) we said farewell to Joy's mother and sister and started out - with Q in a snit for having been left alone. He sputtered, bucked, spat and threatened to quit every time Mark pressed down on the accelerator. We stopped in the parking lot before pulling out onto SR 776, shut the engine off and quietly shared with him how important he is to us. That was all he needed. When we started him up again, he settled into a nice smooth quiet purr.
We stopped for groceries in Port Charlotte but decided to wait before getting gas. Big mistake! We could have gotten it for $2.99/gal. We paid $3.17 outside Naples, FL. We pulled into the Monument Lake campground at about 2:00, selected a site and settled in. Bob and Pat got here about 5:00. The sites we'd picked were on a road that sent a cloud of dust wafting our way every time a vehicle went by - not fun. So we moved. We are now at the end of the lake in an area we've not been before. It's really quite nice here with the lake and its resident alligator out Q's cab windows.
February 5, 2008 (Tue) Monument Lake CG, Big Cypress NP (2) - The fellow from next door stopped by this morning to ask about Mark's guitar playing. He and his wife are from North Carolina and have some interest in playing music while camping - but only enough interest to pack his dulcimer, not enough to take it out. He said he's never taken the time to learn how to play it. I guess it's going to take him a while longer. They were very interested in the Everglades when we told them that was our next stop. They might have gone on down there but for her health.
The rest of the day we just sat around reading and napping - and getting almost too much sun. The sun is good for keeping the battery charged up but not so good for northern winter bleached skin. The wind blew pretty hard all day reminding us of last year when we were blaming the wind for the trouble we were having with Q's refrigerator. It turned out to be the circuit board.
February 6, 2008 (Wed) Monument Lake CG, Big Cypress NP (3) - Monument Road, on which this campground is located, used to be the way former swamp dwellers got to their homes. Now the homes are gone and the road, blocked to "unauthorized" vehicles, is a twin track crushed coral "service" trail into the swamp. About a mile out, it joins a slightly better maintained road used by National Park Service swamp buggies - gasoline engine propelled platforms on huge wheels - for commuting to work locations and for tourist rides into the swamp. ATVs are also allowed to use it but we've never seen or heard any. We walked out Monument Road this morning and a way down the swamp buggy road. Along the way a hound dog wearing what looked like a radio collar joined us and followed us home. He wasn't much interested in us though. Fifteen minutes later he was gone - back out into the swamp?
We spent the rest of the day following what little shade there was around the campsite. Our sunburns were minimal but we thought a day out of the sun, wise. It was still quite windy today, so much so that we finally pulled the awning in to keep it from being destroyed. The wind calmed toward evening though, just as it had last night.
February 7, 2008 (Thu) Monument Lake CG, Big Cypress NP (4) - Again we must quote the immortal words of King George III on the day the US Decoration of Independence was signed. "Nothing of importance happened today." We walked a mile or so out into the swamp in the morning and spent the rest of the day reading. It was quite windy during the day again - refreshing with the temperature hovering around 84° - and again it died down in the evening.
February 8, 2008 (Fri) Monument Lake CG, Big Cypress NP (5) - There's been increasingly more fog when we wake up each morning. We could barely see across the small lake this morning and by the time we took the second of our three times around the lake walk we couldn't see the other side at all. The sun burned it off very quickly though so that by the time we'd finished breakfast we could again see the distant trees out on the swamp plain.
The campground lost electricity during the night, maybe because of the fatal car crash out on US 41 near Turner road. This was only a miner inconvenience for us as we are completely self contained and would not have even known about it had the restroom not been closed. Apparently electric pumps supply the water and restrooms don't function very well without water! We've been supplementing our water supply all week be adding a gallon of water to our fresh water supply now and then so we are in good shape until we leave on Monday if necessary. We felt bad for the folks in tents though - the nearest water and restroom facility is eight miles East and that may be out too! The power was back on again just after noon.
February 9, 2008 (Sat) Monument Lake CG, Big Cypress NP (6) - This is a weekend. The campground should be jumping. Last year all the sites were full and there were several units parked in the overflow area. This year about half of the sites are empty. Is this because of the high price of gas? Don't know. Maybe it's normal.
Joy was talking with one of the campground hosts (volunteers) and learned that the park rangers are concerned about the alligators becoming aggressive. Apparently they (the alligators) are hanging out close to where campers are cooking their dinners and sometimes come up on the banks. Some have been captured and taken out of the area. She was told that more may be trapped today and taken away. We looked forward to watching. It didn't happen! Instead, we went to the regular Saturday night ranger campfire program at the amphitheater. It turned out to be a very interesting talk about the problems "invasive" plants and animals have on the ecosystem here in the Big Cypress National Preserve - and across the US. Invasive species are those that were not here prior to 1492 and are now spreading and overwhelming native species. Employing a Bingo type game card the young female ranger talked about several specific species.
February 10, 2008 (Sun) Monument Lake CG, Big Cypress NP (7) - We combined resources with Bob and Pat and had a special french toast breakfast this morning then spent the rest of the day just "hanging out". The sun was behind clouds a good deal of the day which reduced Q's solar panel's ability to generate electricity. By the time we went to bed the batteries were almost down to the system shutdown point but since we would be on the road tomorrow, we decided not to start up the engine to boost their charge.
Q041593 Monument Lake CG, Big Cypress NP #16 dry $8.00 A (x7)
The Q Chronicles #81-09
January 30, 2008 (Wed) Lakeland, FL (2) - What a pleasure it is to be able to wake up in the morning and not have to dread getting out of bed into the cold. It was about 60° this morning. There was no need to make a decision about turning the furnace on to take the chill off.
We've been hankering for a Chinese buffet lunch since we left home. Today was the day. Great food, great company. Today was also the day we made our yearly pilgrimage to Book Bazaar, the best paperback book exchange store in the country in our estimation. We now have enough new reading material to keep us busy for several months. Mark and Bob practiced (guitar and banjo) together for a while this afternoon and got rave reviews from their spouses. They all agreed they'd have to do it again sometime.
January 31, 2008 (Thu) Lakeland, FL (3) - Ed has a garden scale railroad layout in his yard. The mainline track comes out of his over sized RV garage and makes two overlapping loops before returning to the sheltered "rail yard". Along the way it passes through two villages and a couple of outlying "industries" with appropriate sidings. It's not unusual to see one of his several trains pull out of the huge garage door and begin to make it's way into the "landscape" with Ed at the remote throttle. The mournful wail of the diesel horn in the "distance" is both nostalgic and slightly disconcerting.
Five Guys Famous Burgers and Fries make hamburgers the old fashion way - by hand. There are no extruded, sliced and frozen patties there. The choice of several toppings (any or all) is free and a "small" order of french fries is more than enough for two people. Although it's a chain with restaurants almost everywhere east of the Mississippi (Kentucky and New England excepted) we had never heard of them. We had lunch there today. Fabulous!
Q041336 Ed and Kathy's yard (x3)
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February 1, 2008 (Fri)
Lakeland, FL to Englewood, FL (117/1719 miles)
A travel day. Up at 7:15 (61°) off at 10:00. Our first stop was at Camping World in Seffner, FL off I-4 where we picked up a couple of things for Q. The price of gas at the Flying J across the road was $2.87. We filled up. Actually we would have anyway no matter what the price. The tank was about empty! Costco in Brandon, FL off I-75 was our next stop. Then on to Englewood. Traffic on I-75 near Venice was bumper to bump and slow. Accident? We don't know because we jumped off into local bumper to bumper traffic. We're not sure we gained anything by getting off the Interstate!
We got to Englewood at about 2:00 to Frannie's and Bom's warm greetings and banished Q to the parking lot - accompanied by his usual grumblings.
February 2, 2008 (Sat) Englewood, FL - Groundhog Day. Joy and her mother went swimming and played Skip-Bo. Joy and her sister went shopping. Joy and her mother and her sister talked. Mark caught up on a month's worth of mail and played his guitar.
February 3, 2008 (Sun) Englewood, FL - Joy and her mother went swimming and played Skip-Bo. Joy, her mother and her sister talked. Mark payed bills, organized files and played his guitar.
Tomorrow we head for Big Cypress National Preserve just north of the Everglades. Although there is cell phone service, there is no internet access within 40 miles. We are hoping for warm sunny weather and from what we understand, we may well have it.
Q041453 SunTrust Bank parking lot (parked) (x3)
The Q Chronicles #81-08
January 25, 2008 (Fri) Alexander Springs RA, Ocala NF (3) - Our exciting activity for today was to go into "the big city" in search of a WiFi signal - the big city being Umatilla (population 9,034). The signal we'd found last week, across the road from a large RV resort, was too weak to use today. We finally went to the library - why we don't just seek out the local library to begin with is a mystery. After getting our email and sending out the last installment of The Q Chronicles, we headed for the bigger city of Eustis (population 17,923) where Bob found a banjo instruction book and we all had lunch at Applebee's.
We are discovering that playing a guitar in a campground has at least thing in common with walking a dog - it stimulates social contact. A woman stopped while riding by on her bicycle and asked Mark if he was the one who'd been playing the guitar. She thought he'd be interested in knowing that the fellow in the campsite next to her was playing a dulcimer. Another time a woman (coincidentally also riding a bicycle) stopped to say that she was learning to play a violin.
January 26, 2008 (Sat) Alexander Springs RA, Ocala NF (4) - Late yesterday afternoon a group ranging in age from about 7 to mid 20s (maybe 7 or 8 people) and a young dog who knew neither leash nor boundary lines moved in next door. Some of the them were drinking beer as they set up 4 tents, a dining fly and much miscellaneous equipment and toys. We thought we were in for a long noisy night. It turned out not to be. As we went to bed it was obvious that there was a group gathered around a large campfire over there but they weren't boisterous. Around midnight we were awakened by lights against our window. It turned out to be the "Security" vehicle. We can only guess why they were there. They weren't disturbing us at all. This morning they all piled into their rented U-Haul van and took off for the day.
January 27, 2008 (Sun) Alexander Springs RA, Ocala NF (5) - The woods are spotted with the highlighting of twinkling campfires and the smell of woodsmoke fills the air. The sounds of children mix with that of louder than necessary adult voices. Somewhere in the distance rock music adds its special touch and occasionally a dog barks. Next door neighbors extend their camping experience to well past midnight. It's night time in a public campground on a weekend. It makes us appreciate the quiet and relative solitude of the weekdays.
The exodus started about mid morning today with cars and campers parading past on the main artery road. And the cleaning crew began moving from site to site raking and removing ash from fire rings. The crew, normally one person, had to call in reinforcements to pick up all the cigarette butts and dog poop from the site next door. The amount of trash left behind in and around the fire ring, including something that might once have been a piece of clothing, half filled a large garbage bag. But it didn't include the 2 plus cases of beer bottles that the young folks had kindly carried over to the dumpster before they left.
Although it was too chilly to just sit around outside much, we did enjoy the quiet. We walked a boardwalk trail along the spring run and watched ducks, turtle, herons and anhingas from a platform at the end. On the way back we stopped to watch amateur scuba divers hunt for visual treasures in the small lake at the source of the spring.
January 28, 2008 (Mon) Alexander Springs RA, Ocala NF (6) - Canoing on the Alexander Springs run is a much more relaxed than on the Juniper Springs run. We rented canoes this afternoon and took a nice leisurely paddle. Like Juniper Springs it is about 7 1/2 miles long but we didn't go nearly that far - we only had the canoes for two hours and this time, we had to paddle our way back. Along the way we saw several alligators, including two babies, out sunning themselves. Bird life included ducks, herons, ibis, limpkins, anhingas and the ever present Black Vulture. It was a great way to spend our last afternoon there.
In the evening we sat around a warming campfire and chatted until the chill drove us inside.
Q041193 Alexander Springs RA, Ocala National Forest, FL #38 & #31 dry $8.50 A+ (x6)
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January 29, 2008 (Tue)
Alexander Springs RA to Lakeland, FL (143/1602 miles)
The older couple (about our age) across the way who had a tent for shelter were in their pickup truck with the engine running when we got up this morning. We don't blame them. It was 39°! Although better than the night before (37°), that's pretty cold unless properly equipped.
Housekeeping chores before we were officially on our way at about 11:00am included dumping the holding tanks, replenishing the propane, and restocking the cupboards.
This is Primary Day in Florida and we saw lots of Huckabe lawn signs as we made our way South on SR19, West on SR50, and south on SR471. There were a few promoting Mitt Romney and occasionally a sign or two for the other Republican candidates. There was also a sign for the Holy Ghost in the Hills church - but that had nothing to do with the election process. We also passed one area that was obviously a reforested orange grove - there were old orange tree, heavy with fruit, scattered there and through the young hardwoods.
Q041336 Ed & Kathy's yard
The Q Chronicles #81-07
January 21, 2008 (Mon)
Alexander Springs RA, Ocala NF to Blue Spring State Park (44/1408 miles)
Moving day. Up at 7:15 (37°) and off at 8:50 (44° clear). After some housekeeping (dumping, laundry, shopping, and email) we headed East out of Eustis on CR44A then Northeast on SR44 & SR42. And finally South on SR15A and US17 to Orange City, 44 miles in all. When we got to Blue Spring State Park, we found ourselves joining a long line of cars waiting to get in. As we sat there we wondered about the wisdom of our choice to come here. We tried to attribute it to being Martin Luther King, Jr day and people wanting to get out after a cold weekend. That must have been it because there was no problem getting a campsite.
Well, that's not exactly true. The reservation computer connection to the internet was down. The gatekeeper said to go ahead and set up, she'd call us when the system was functional again - an hour or so. She didn't. Not wanting our campsites to be reserved out from under us (officially we weren't really there) we went back up to the gate to register late in the afternoon. The connection was still a problem, so much so, in fact, that the gatekeeper apologized repeatedly and finally gave us a nice 50% discount.
January 22, 2008 (Tue) Blue Spring State Park (2) - This is where hundreds of manatees come to spend the winter. They come to bask in the constant flow of 72° water from the natural spring. It is not just a resort for them but a haven for survival. They would not be able to live long in the nearby St. Johns River as its water temperature drops below 60°. Manatees are mammals that live in the water as do whales and dolphins. They are the closest living biological relative of the elephant and are the original mermaids.
We walked down to the Blue Spring run early this morning, before the crowds, and meandered along the boardwalk. At the first viewing platform we counted over 20 of them and saw well over 100 of them as we moved down the run toward the St. Johns River. They were fascinating to watch swimming along in their slow undulating fashion. Occasionally one would surface to breath or roll over to discourage the attached fish. Several times this performance took place so close we could almost reach out and touch them.
We had a bit of excitement this evening. A spider bit Joy! She was winning at a lively game of dominoes when she screamed, jumped and started brushing at her leg thinking she'd been stung by a bee. By the time we'd found and killed the culprit, and determined that it was a spider, everyone was quite shook, especially since we'd seen a recent news story about a problem with Brown Widow spiders (poisonous but not deadly the Black Widow) in the area and the carcass was brown. The ranger said that it was neither the Brown Widow nor a Brown Recluse and she shouldn't have any problem beyond the local irritation, like a bee sting, she was feeling.
Q041142 Blue Springs State Park #41 e/w $11.25 A (x2)
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January 23, 2008 (Wed)
Blue Springs SP to Alexander Springs RA, Ocala NF (51/1451 miles)
It was a fairly warm night (53°) but uncomfortably humid. Joy was feeling no ill effects from the spider bite when we got up at about 7:15 so we looked forward to an uneventful last look at the manatees and move to Clearwater Recreation Area. It didn't happen! We'd forgotten to bring our camera when we went to see the manatees yesterday so we'd hoped to get some pictures this morning. But, except for a few, the manatees were gone. Yesterday the sun was just right for photography and the water was mirror smooth - this morning was overcast and a breeze roughed up the surface of the water making viewing (and picture taking) very difficult.
The National Forest Campground Guide in our library lists a free campground (Forest River CG) on the St Johns River just outside Deland, FL. To check it out, we turned onto a dirt road that both Hildene and a road sign indicated led to the campground and followed it to the end - a private residence with barely enough room to turn Q around. The owner(?) was working on his rain gutter and paid us little attention. He must be used to seeing motor homes turn around in his driveway.
Clearwater Recreation Area campground turned out to be under construction. Which meant that the facilities (not great to start with) were very limited. i.e. showers were available only at Alexander Springs RA 15 miles (or 8 miles by dirt road) away. We decided to go on and camp over there instead of going back and forth. Hildene routed us via roads that were mostly unimproved (dirt) through the national forest (the 8 mile route), quite beautiful but rough. Our dishes hadn't been stowed for rough travel so when Joy opened a cabinet after we'd gotten here a small bowl fell out and shattered all over the sink and floor. She was not a happy camper for a while.
January 24, 2008 (Thu) Alexander Springs RA, Ocala NF (2) - The campsite we had last week was not available when we came in yesterday so we settled for site #38 which, among other things, was uncomfortably close to the site next door. There was no one in that site but will be when the weekend comes. When our old site (#31) opened up this morning, we moved to it. Other than that it's been a quiet day. The weather has been partly cloudy all day with the sun coming out every now and then to make it seem warmer that it really was.
A Cold And Dreary Week #81-06
January 17, 2008 (Thur) Alexander Springs RA, Ocala NF (5) - The sound of rain on the roof (and mild temperatures) made for good sleeping last night and we slept quite late - for us - this morning. On the down side, some of the run-off collected in a puddle under Q where we'd put our folding chairs to keep them out of the rain. The water had to be dumped from the storage sack when they were rescued!
Last night Bob and Pat found that they were not able to start either their generator or their vehicle engine to recharge their batteries. So this morning, before breakfast, we took Q over to their campsite to jump start their motor home. We learned later that the folks in the site next to them also had power problems. They had thought they could keep the "house" batteries in their trailer charged by running the truck engine like we do, but it doesn't work that way with trailers! They had to go out and buy a battery charger. Their long term solution has to be to either go out and buy a generator or camp only where they can hook up to shore power.
January 18, 2008 (Fri) Alexander Springs RA, Ocala NF (6) - Friday is the start of the weekend and the character and sounds of the campground are changing - probably more apparent because of the Martin Luther King, Jr holiday on Monday. There is more activity, people walking by, and the sounds include those of children in addition to generators and the occasional barking dog. There seem to be a lot more tents here than in Juniper Springs - maybe because of the holiday weekend, maybe because it's the general character of this campground.It's been a dreary few days. The sun has come out only for short periods, not enough to make it seem warm. And there have been periods of misty rain - usually about 5 minutes after Mark has gotten his guitar out. Joy shivers a lot as she works her crossword puzzles and watches for the sun to come out. It is supposed to be cold, for Florida, the next couple of days then warm up again next week. We are looking forward to that.
January 19, 2008 (Sat) Alexander Springs RA, Ocala NF (7) - The campground didn't fill up last night as we'd been told it would. It's probably because the weather forecast has been so bad. It was dreary almost all day and the temperature never got above 60° until mid afternoon. And that's when the sun also put in an appearance - for a short while. About the only thing we've done today is take a walk around the campground.
We and Bob and Pat collaborated on pizza for dinner tonight and the preparation began just as the storm hit. Thunder, lightning and torrential rain provided the "background music" for the festivities. The pizza was the best and the dominoes game lively.
January 20, 2008 (Sun) Alexander Springs RA, Ocala NF (8) - They said it was going to get down into the 30s in this area last night. Our thermometer showed a low of 41° which is close. The high today was 51° - not a good beach day, if there were a beach to go to - good for hiking, though. We explored a small part of the Florida Trail the goes by near here.Three young students of the recording arts - CDs and such - school came by while Mark was practicing his guitar this afternoon. They said that they could hear him from the other side of the campground loop and came over to check it out. They asked him to play something for them. He did, reluctantly. One of them applauded politely and they left unimpressed. So much for his first audition!Q is back in travel mode - except for the chairs that we used for the campfire tonight.We move on tomorrow, probably to Blue Springs State Park, stopping along the way to do email, shopping and laundry.
Q041028 Alexander Springs RA, Ocala National Forest, FL #31 dry $8.50 (x8)
Alexander Springs #81-05
January 13, 2008 (Sun)
Juniper Springs RA to Alexander Springs RA, Ocala NF (25/1294 miles)
Moving day. We awoke quite early and lounged in bed watching television for a while - ah what a life! We had only a short distance to go so we took the morning to pack up and get under way. We finally got off at 11:45 (71° threatening rain) and headed east on US40 toward Daytona. Hildene had given us the name of a county library in Astor so we took a detour there to see if we might find a WiFi signal. We did. We downloaded a bunch of email and sent off the newsletter. Mark also fixed the email filtering to hold back non-personal mail unless specifically requested. Bob stayed with Mark to take care of his email while Joy and Pat went on to the campground to register.
The campsite we'd been assigned turned out to be a bad one for Q - the end of the spur was defined by a barricade which would block his back (main) door. We picked another site but when we got back from clearing it with the gatekeeper, a squatter had taken up residence on it and disappeared. The gatekeeper wanted to find him and have him thrown off but we said we'd found another site and would go there. We didn't want it known that we were the ones who'd ratted on them.
Dinner was courtesy of Bob and Pat - a delicious London Broil - and dominoes closed out the day
Q041028 Alexander Springs RA, Ocala National Forest, FL #34 dry $8.50
January 14, 2008 (Mon) Alexander Springs RA, Ocala NF (2) - At 12:30 last night the water pump burst into action - woke us from a sound sleep! It is supposed to come on only when there there is a reduction in water pressure in the system as when a tap is turned on. Another reason is a breach in the system. And that's what we found. If someone had come along the dark campground road, unlikely at 12:30am, they would have wondered about the two old folks huddled next to the little motor home in their nightwear. While Joy held a flashlight Mark tried to stop the water being pumped out through the city water intake port - not being used because there is no water hook up here. This morning we found some parts lying on the ground that when replaced made a better temporary fix then the jury rig installed in the middle of the night.
When we got back from doing a week's worth of laundry and a similar amount of grocery shopping in Umatilla, we found that the squatter in the campsite #31 and (apparently) his friends across the road had left. The gatekeeper very kindly let us move yet again. This is a much better place to spend a week. It is level (Q doesn't need to be up on leveling boards), there is no pot hole at the bottom of our step or under the awning and the area is more grass than dirt here. There are very few campers here now - we've since counted 12 out of 67 sites occupied - so we may as well have a site we are happy with!
January 15, 2008 (Tue) Alexander Springs RA, Ocala NF (3) - Chilly night last night (37°) and almost as cold inside as out because we didn't use the furnace. It's too noisy and a drain on the batteries - a consideration when camping without hook-ups. We did turn it on before we got up though, so it would be warm for dressing and eating breakfast.
It was just a bit too cold to sit outside so most of our activity was confined to Q's 8 x 10 living space. We did have a nice walk around the campground in the morning and Mark took advantage of a sunny spot to play his guitar for a while.
January 16, 2008 (Wed) Alexander Springs RA, Ocala NF (4) - The shower facilities here, and most other National Forest campgrounds, are unheated which makes taking a shower on cold mornings an adventure. Yesterday at 37° we declined. This morning at about 50° it wasn't too bad. The hot water felt good but the walk back to the campsite was bracing.
Bill and Margret, a retired couple from Michigan, and Dora, a single woman from New York State, spend every Winter in this campground. When we were their neighbors two years ago, they invited us to their campfire a couple of nights. They have a campfire almost every night from the wood they collect after other campers leave. We, Bob and Pat and a couple of other campers were invited to join them tonight. It was a beautiful fire and we all had a great time sharing our travel and camping experiences - until it began to rain around 8:00.
Juniper Springs #81-04
January 9, 2008 (Tue) Juniper Springs RA (3) - Although there are no hook-up, electricity or water, at the campsites and a generator can be hear running somewhere nearby almost constantly, we consider this one of our favorite campgrounds. The campsites are open and large with plenty of tropical underbrush around. Most sites are shady but many, like ours, let in plenty of warm sunshine. We spent the day doing what we came here to do - nothing. Our major activity was to get our email via the pay phone in the concession area.
There are two types of sites in this and many National Forest campgrounds, reservable and non-reservable. Reservable sites are available only to those who make reservations - 3 to 6 months ahead! We seldom make reservations - too restricting and they cost extra. When we
came in on Sunday, there were many open sites to choose from. Yesterday and today there have been more unit coming than leaving - unusual so early in the week and we're beginning to wonder if any non-reservable sites will be available when Bob and Pat get here tomorrow.
30 or 40 years ago there was a fad of turning old Volkswagens into "dune buggies" by replacing their bodies with roll cages and equipping them with over sized tires. Now they've pretty much been replaced by commercial ATVs. Late this afternoon a fellow in a class A motor home pulled into the site across the way - the one we vacated yesterday - towing one four down like a toad. It is silver (aluminum?) and shaped more like a stubby dragster than a dune buggy or ATV. It's a two-seater, one in front and one in back, and street licensed.
January 10, 2008 (Wed) Juniper Springs RA (4) - Another warm sunny day. In fact, we had to think about and avoid sunburn. Who would have thought about that a week ago? We both finished the books we were reading and started new ones. Bob and Pat came about 2:00 and found a campsite not too far away. We ended the day with a vigorous couple of dominoes games.
January 11, 2008 (Thu) Juniper Springs RA (5) - 7 1/2 miles by canoe through a tropical forest on a winding spring fed stream was our activity today. The run is quite a challenging one with a slow moving current constantly trying to send us into the heavily foliated banks at every turn. There are low hanging and fallen trees all along the way positioned to knock unwary and careless canoeists into the water and very often do just that. In the past we have seen a huge alligator sunning himself within a paddle length of us but today he chose to stay out of sight. We did see plenty of bird life though and at one point a great blue heron flew so close over head that we could have reached up and touched it. It was a grand adventure and a real work out was We
spent the afternoon recovering.
January 12, 2008 (Fri) Juniper Springs RA (6) - This morning, we hiked a bit of the Florida National Scenic Trail - about three miles of it. The area that had been clear-cut 3 years a go is now covered with new growth. It's not all that tall yet but it's green and more "natural".
This afternoon Mark ran 75 feet of hose out to the nearest water tap and refilled our fresh water tank.Other than that it's been another relaxing day.
January 13, 2008 (Sat) Juniper Springs RA (7) - Bob and Pat came for dinner tonight - our first entertaining in quite some time - and it began to rain as we were having cocktails. It was kind of fitting in a way because it was the first rain we've had on this trip. We rolled out the awning and moved under it. Q is too small for dinner parties of more than 2 inside so we set up our little folding picnic table under the awning. It wasn't elegant but the atmosphere fit the Progresso soup we were serving. Dominoes in Bob and Pat's motor home finished out the evening.
Florida and Warmth #81-03
January 4, 2008 (Fri) Mars Hill (6) - It only got down to 16° last night, short of the 8° forecast. We are disappointed only in that we don't have that low point to brag about - as in "One time we camped in North Carolina when it was only 8°".
Mark went with Bob to the local "greasy spoon" (The Wagon Wheel) for his weekly breakfast with the guys. There turned out to be only one other guy this morning but the discussion was lively and often contentious. In the evening we and some of Bob and Pat's friends helped Bob celebrate his birthday. The pizza was home made by Bob and Joy and it was delicious!r
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January 5, 2008 (Sat)
Mars Hill, NC to Savannah, GA (349/1034 miles)
It was 21° over night - a virtual heat wave - and up to 27° when we got off at 9:30 this morning. And most of the snow is gone. It got steadily warmer as we came down out of the mountains until finally reaching a high of 60° as we left South Carolina for Georgia at about 5:00. We're hoping that's the last of the cold for a while.
Our route was straight forward through North and South Carolina, I-26 to I-95. Our only deviation was to voluntarily leave I-95 for a few miles to avoid an accident scene. According to the CB chatter a camper trailer had overturned and was blocking most of the two southbound lanes. There were no reports of injuries or even ambulances on the scene so that was good but traffic was backed up for miles. Maybe 10 miles after getting back on I-95 the cars we'd been creeping along with earlier began to pass us. Our decision to detour around the accident was the right one!
Shortly after getting back on I-95 we passed a sign advertising the "Big Ass Farm". Apparently they raise and sell mules. According to an organization that keeps track or determines such things, the word of the year for 2007 is "sub-prime".
We pulled into the Walmart parking lot at about 5:20, picked up some needed supplies and settled in for the night. After supper we watched the Republican and Democratic debates from New Hampshire - most of them anyway.
Q040768 Camp Walmart, Savannah, GA
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January 6, 2008 (Sun)
Savannah, GA to Ocala National Forest, FL (235/1269 miles)
It was a quiet night, though well lit, and we both slept well. We picked up a couple of more things in Walmart this morning, ate breakfast and were on our way again by 8:00 (46°) driving just under the fog - the road was clear but we could see little much above Q's height. And it was that way all the way through Georgia. In fact it was so disorienting that we crossed over into Florida before realizing it and ended up having to pay 20 cents a gallon more for gas!
The route we chose around Jacksonville was the one we used to take when visiting Mark's mother in Penny Farms - I-295 to Orange Park (US17) but in stead of turning onto US16 toward Penny Farms we continued straight through Green Cove Springs and on to Palatka then south on US19. Soon after entering the Ocala National Forest we saw a sign for Lake Delancy campground, one we'd never explored. It was out a 3 mile long washboard surfaced narrow dirt road. Passing on-coming traffic (one car and a pick-up truck) was an adventure. The campground was in two sections - one catered to campers with ATVs and the other to ordinary campers, mostly with tents. The only facilities are pit toilets. As far as we could tell there is no running water out there and no dump station. Even so it might be an interesting place to camp for a couple of days.
It was 77° under a deep blue sky and big puffy clouds as we pulled into Juniper Springs Recreation Area - Florida weather at last! We dumped and took on fresh water on the way in - we'd been 7 days dry camping - and selected site #16 as home for the next week.
Ocala National Forest, Juniper Springs RA #16 dry $8.50 A
January 7, 2008 (Mon) Juniper Springs RA (2) - This morning we moved across the street. There was an uncomfortable drop from the parking pad to the natural surface of the campsite. Since the site across the way was empty and a better layout for us we moved. So now we are in #17. Other than that we spent the day decompressing. It was great to sit be able to sit outside in shorts and T-shirts reading, napping and watching other campers.
The stars are worth mentioning. They are magnificent! The sky has been virtually cloudless and without a moon or nearby city lights is very black. The view through the forest canopy is limited but what there is is fully of stars. We don't often see the sky like that. It makes going out in this very dark campground a real treat.
