QC01-02 More Florida cold

January 6, 2010 (Wed) Alexander Springs CG to Englewood, FL (199/1321 miles) - We drove only 199 miles today but it seems like it took forever. We woke up fairly early and lay in bed for an hour while the furnace warmed it up enough to take showers. We weren't about to brave the 27° temperatures to the unheated public showers! We had intended to dump our holding tanks and fill up on fresh water before a planned 3 nights of dry camping but everything was frozen up at the dump station. So off we went (9:30 31° clear) only partially prepared. In Umatilla, Mark dropped Joy off at the laundromat while he went to the library to for an internet connection.

When we got propane in North Carolina the tank would only take 4 gallons, far less than we thought we needed. Was the cold affecting the filling process? Was something wrong with Q's tank, gauge or taps? We didn't think it was the gauge because of the usage since the last fill-up. We stopped at the Ace Hardware in Umatilla and they were able to put in 8 more gallons. That's better! A stop for groceries was next then we were off again (12:40 47°) but we still needed to refresh our sanitary system and get fresh water. Flying J Dade City, here we come - and here we sat! We waited 15 minutes, at least, to get to a gas pump only to find that the regular non leaded pump was out of order. So we had to wait some more while a big class A motor home finished getting his 100 gallons. The dumping went without incident but water for then fresh water tank was only available at the gas pump island. We were so aggravated by our long wait there that we didn't even think about getting it while we waited.

After a longer day than it needed to be we got to Bom's assistant living facility at about 5:00. Bom looks great and seems very happy. It was good to see her.

January 7, 2010 (Thu) Englewood, FL (2) 37/62° - We learned about the Coleman camping coffee maker on an RV oriented TV show. It is supposed to work exactly like the "Mr Coffee" type drip coffee maker except that the heat source is a camp stove rather than electricity. We thought it sounded like a good thing to have so we bought one. It worked well yesterday morning, we thought. This morning it stopped letting water through the grounds and into the decanter below forcing most of it to stay in the bin with the grounds. What a mess when we open it up! And what coffee made it to our cups was loaded with grounds. Ugh! We'll be trying to figure out what went wrong.

Joy spent some time with her mother this morning and again late this afternoon. Between the visits we did some errands and stopped by Quail's Run for a quick visit with Bom's former upstairs neighbors.

January 8, 2010 (Fri) Englewood, FL (3) 42/65° -  The coffee pot worked fine this morning. The trick is to close the filter/grounds bin before putting the glass decanter in. Joy again spent an hour or so each, morning and afternoon, with her mother. Between we got some lunch in town (Chicken quesadillas at Food is Love) and did some used clothing and fabric shopping. The computer kept Mark busy through it all (except for the quesadillas).

Q's generator wouldn't start! Wouldn't even try. Nothing. It's as if there is no electricity at all getting to the starter. Mark took a cursory look for the problem but it was dark so unsuccessful. That said as if it would have been successful had it not been dark. He'll look into it tomorrow - probably in the rain. Current thinking is that Camping World neglected to fully reconnect the battery when they worked on the electric step.

January 9, 2010 (Sat) Englewood, FL (4) 37/45°  - Rain on the roof off and on through the night make for good sleeping. It didn't get as cold as predicted but 37° is too cold for this part of Florida. It could be worse though. We could be home.

Q057245 Jeanne Walton's yard Englewood, FL (x4)
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January 10, 2010 (Sun) Englewood, FL to Sarasota, FL (97/1318 miles) - When we made reservations for Myakka River State Park campground, this site came with a caveat, "Due to recent rains the site may be flooded". The note was dated Sept 1 so we weren't too concerned. Even so we joked about having to wade in when we got here. It turns out to be a pretty nice site. It's dry but not much higher that a swampy area out our back door. It probably does flood in the rainy season. We are surrounded by tropical forest. Palm trees and palmetto abound and Spanish Moss hangs from every horizontal branch. There are splashes of sunshine through the hammock and on the tree tops. Black Vultures wander through the empty campsites looking for scraps left behind by human transients. The scene out our windows gives false testimony to the chilling cold. It started out at 33° this morning and has not gotten over 45° all day. Normal day time temperature this time of year in this part of Florida is 70° - 75°.

We're only 50 miles north of Englewood here (the 97 miles shown above includes errands over the last few days) so we can easily make it back to be with Bom for the closing on her condo should that happen ahead of schedule. We don't expect the sale to close until the end of the week though. By then we will be south of Englewood, still within commuting range.

Q057342 Myakka River SP #14 e/w $26 B