March 15, 2012 (Thu) Big Cypress NP to Hobe Sound, FL (210/1956 miles) 64/77° - We got here just in time! We had heavy rain as we came south on I95 but it cleared and there was no water on the roads as we pulled into Johnathan Dickinson State Park. We found our site and unhooked Lamont without incident but as we were plugging in the electric, the sky opened up. And, of course, our power management system picked then to act up. Mark finally plugged in without it but got drenched in the process.
What might have been a 150 or so mile trip became 210 because we suspected (from being that way on Tuesday) that US41 East of Monument Lake would be closed for construction this morning. As far as we know there is no way to detour around that part of the road so we turned West adding 30 miles to the trip. Also Hildene, for some unknown reason, took us way North of the campground then directed us back South again - maybe another 40 miles out of our way.
We're in the "new" part of the campground. It looks to have been carved out of a flat field with only a few anemic looking palm trees here and there. US1 is a short way to the East with traffic sounds that promise to make us think we are in a Walmart parking lot. It will be darker here though and there well be no muffler challenged vehicles roaring past just outside our window - we hope. We'd prefer to be in the river section where we were last time. It's the older section and has a more state park atmosphere - more trees etc. There were no sites available down there.
March 16, 2012 (Fri) Johnathan Dickinson SP (2) 69/85° - Jack is an old high school friend of Mark's. (old meaning longtime, friends not necessarily age. He's younger than Mark and maybe even than Joy too.) In recent years we have tried successfully to see him when we are in the area. Last year we didn't. This year we did and we had lunch together in one of Jack's favorite restaurants. He'd lost his wife since we last saw him and we missed Olive being with us but it was good to see Jack and we really enjoyed the few hours we had catching up.
Q084039 Johnathan Dickinson SP w/e $26 A+ (x2 )
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March 17, 2012 (Sat) Hobe Sound, FL, to La Belle, FL (107/2063 Miles) 68/85° - We overruled Hildene and found a better route back to Belle Glade. We still have no idea why she sent us so far out of our way Thursday - and wanted to send us back the same way today! St Patrick's Day and many parades were scheduled for the area but we didn't encounter any. We did encounter high gas prices though. We paid $3.97/gal - $120 to fill the tank! Unlike NJ who requires that credit card prices be posted, FL does not. The posted price, the best we'd seen, was $3.89. We didn't figure out we were being ripped off until the tank was half full.
We are back in Ortona Locks - in another (and apparently noisier) part of the campground. It seems to be more social up here. everyone seems to know everyone else and the all talk loudly.
March 18, 2012 (Sun) Ortona Locks South CG (2) 60/82° - The folks next door have managed to secure permission stay here beyond the very strict 14 days/month limit in this park. In fact they have been told they can stay as long as they want, even beyond April 30 when they plan to leave. Their secret? They have worked here and at W P Franklin Lock campground (a few miles west of here). They have also agreed to do some fill-in maintenance work here later on. They are nice folks. He was born and grew up in northern England which left him with a very thick accent. (He jokes about not being understood.) She has an English accent too but we don't know (yet) from where. They have lived in the US most, if not all, of their adult lives. They are full-timing in a Revolution (a big class A motor home). They also own a home between Ft Lauderdale and Miami. They say folks can't understand that. Nor can we. (i.e. how can they be full-timing in a motor home and also have a non movable home?)
March 19, 2012 (Mon) Ortona Locks South CG (3) 63/85° - Moving day (another one) We had to move to site 36, where we were a couple of weeks ago. The boombox that drove us crazy last time has moved on - thank to the strict 2 week max rule - but today was lawn mowing day! At home they make money by mowing more lawns. They come and go so fast we hardly have time to become annoyed (almost!) Here they apparently have to put in an 8 hour day whether they need to or not. So instead of getting it over with the guys do a lot of wandering back and forth with the horrendous noise interspersed through out the day. It did quiet down in the late afternoon. This really is a great site overlooking the canal and all. There is shade in the afternoon too and that's good.
A huge barge, it looked too wide for the locks, came up the canal pushed by a tug boat. We ran (well walked fast) over to the locks to watch it go through. It just fit! A deck hand said it was equipment for a power plant. We'll take his word for it because it was completely covered with tarps. Watching it go through the lock was an interesting experience,
Tomorrow we're off to The Great Outdoors Gulf and RV Resort.
Q084146 Ortona Locks South Campground #7&36 w/e $12 A+
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March 20, 2012 (Tue) La Belle, FL to Titusville, FL (185/2131 miles) 63/83° - The price was right - well maybe not exactly right but the best in the area - so we pulled into a USA Murphy (Walmart) to get some gas. The space to maneuver a motor home with a car in tow was very tight but we pretty much had our choice of pumps. For good reason. They were all blocked off with traffic cones. No gas was being pumped there at all. All the lights were on, there was activity (maintenance vehicles it turned out), and there were no signs announcing the station was closed. We got around and out without having to unhook the car - a real possibility since we didn't have the space between pumps to use. As we pulled out a pickup pulling a huge fifth wheel RV pulled in. He discovered the problem before we could warn him but not in time. He too had to squeeze his way around and out. A closed sign would have been a great help!
We left Ortona Locks at about 9:30am and except for the the adventure at Walmart we had an uneventful drive up through Florida cattle country to The Great Outdoors. Dorcas was able to make arrangements for us to use one of the unoccupied (for sale) sites in the resort so we hunted it up and pulled in. Although not as close to them as in the past, it is a nice site with plenty of greenery out our windows. We spent the afternoon and evening with Mike and Dorcas catching up on family news and making plans for tomorrow.
March 21, 2012 (Wed) TGO, Titusville, FL (2) 69/85° - While in Ortona Locks CG, Mark made a third attempt to locate where water is getting into the junction between Q and his awning. Ordinarily this would not be any more than a curiosity but the water was being released not to run harmlessly down the outside of the motor home but to drip inside through the window, if it was open. It rained this morning as we got up. No drip through the window!
The Quilt Place (a quilt shop in Rockledge, FL has over 10,000 bolts of fabric, maybe as many as 12,000. Dorcas and Joy spent an hour there, looking at everything and doing some shopping. A huge place, it was almost over whelming, but fun.
On the way home we stopped in Coco village to visit Knit and Stitch (a yarn shop). Joy bought yarn, of course, and a book she has been looking for. Lunch in Ossorio (flat bread sandwiches is their specialty) was excellent.
Back into the forest tomorrow.
Q084331 The Great Outdoors #209 e/w $30 A+
QC21-10 Campground hopping
QC21-09 In the swamp
March 8, 2012 (Thu) La Belle, FL to Big Cypress NP (90/1746 miles) 64/82° - We found one of the parking lots for the La Belle post office was big enough for our small motor home with a car in tow to loop around and park (read wait) - as long as there were very few cars already there and they were out of the way. It helped that the post office wasn't yet open (by a few minutes). Fewer cars. We took advantage, only inconveniencing one delivery truck, and picked up our mail. Then it was south on SR27.
Signs along the road warned of panther crossings (several through the Florida Panther Wildlife Preserve (bisected by SR29) and wild fires. We saw neither. Although we did see smoke off to the SE.
Our neighbor here at Monument Lake camp ground is a large Mercedes Benz truck from Germany (foreign registration plates anyway) that has been converted into a camper/motor home. Since homemade truck conversions often have very loud generators (no electric hook-ups here), we asked the host if this was the case with this one. He said he hadn't heard one and thought the folks had said something about solar panels when they came in. Not sure if that's comforting either. Now we'll have to be careful about running our generator! At least we have a quiet one now.
As I was writing that, said neighbors packed up and moved to another site! We tried not to take it personally. When we took our evening walk around the lake later, we passed their new site. Their generator was running and it was loud. They are several sites away from their closest neighbor up there as they were here before we came. Our guess: They moved so as not to bother us. (Or maybe they just don't like close neighbors.)
March 9, 2012 (Fri) Monument Lake CG (2) 65/77° - What a beautiful morning it was! The sun came up giving the billowing white clouds a brilliant outline. The lake was near mirror smooth due to the lack of wind (for a change). One of the resident campground alligators swam slowly around waiting for unsuspecting prey.
Since we are alone here Mark got our new generator out and started it up. We'll try running it an hour or so each day and see if it keeps the batteries charged.
It rained off and on all day. Usually only just enough to get us to fold the chairs up and move inside for a few minutes because the wind was blowing it in under the awning. Then it would stop and the sun would come out. Finally around 4:00 it began to rain as if it meant it
March 10, 2012 (Sat) Monument Lake CG (3) 64/80° - Last week we were in a quasi-resort campground complete with concrete pads, manicured landscape and guests (all who seem to be old friends) stopping at each others sites to "socialize". There were no club house, golf course or swimming pool but the cost didn't reflect such amenities (whether we wanted to use them or not) either. Here the pads are gravel losing its battle with grass, the landscape is au natural and the guests are strangers who stop by only to comment on the weather. No club house, golf course or swimming pool here either. Nor hot showers for that matter or even cold showers. But there is atmosphere and plenty of wild life - an alligator walked through our site a little while ago.
The rain stopped just before we went to bed last night and today dawned, as it did yesterday, with the sun lighting up the clouds. And it's been a beautiful day. Rigs have been coming in all day, as they usually do on weekends, but this year they go around the lake and go right back out again. We speculate that they didn't want to camp where there are no electric hook-ups, and gas prices being what they are have caused less demand for the full hook-up campground down the road.
March 11, 2012 (Sun) Monument Lake CG (4) 65/83° - The story is that Loop Road was originally an overgrown access to Al Capone's whiskey stills deep in the marshes of the Everglades. (The gas pumps are still there, we've seen them, and apparently a short (unpleasant?) hike will take you to the old stills.) When the National Park Service took over the area, the road was improved to some extent and maintained for a while. Neglect in recent years caused the road to deteriorate to the point where it became little more than a 26 mile single lane pot hole infested track deep into the Everglades. Last year the going was so rough in places that it might have been a challenge for even dedicated off road vehicles. Well maybe not quite that bad but it sure put our poor little CRV to the test. There were places where we'd have bottomed out if we weren't been careful and speeds over 5 MPH invited a broken suspension This year it's a super highway by comparison. It's still a gravel road but we could have easily exceeded the posted 25MPH speed limit - if our intent was not to see the wildlife. Passing on-coming vehicles was no longer a test of wills as it has been widened to two lanes. Unfortunately the wildlife, prevalent last year, was scarce today. Probably because half of south was out there scaring it away. It was a fun excursion though.
When we got back we found that we are no longer along in our little corner of the campground. A class B Roadtrek camper had moved in next door and a short time later a medium sized box truck "XIS AllSafe Medical, Inc." towing a small pickup pulled in across the way.
March 12, 2012 (Mon) Monument Lake CG (5) 67/82° - The owner, the female half of the ownership, of the laundromat in Kendall (West Miami) shared with us how she and her husband had enjoyed their tour to Alaska a few years ago. It was on a cruise ship. She said that they are in the process of trying to sell the laundromat now so they can buy a motor home, a small one, and go back. We talked about how much we enjoyed our trip to Alaska.
March 13, 2012 (Tue) Monument Lake CG (6) 61/80° - When we planned this part of our trip, Mark had a brain malfunction in the geography lobe. He put Ft Myers where Naples is. So we came to Big Cypress so we could easily get over to see Jackie play softball. By the time we discovered that we were too far south, it was too late to do much about it. So our excursion to watch the ball games was over 100 miles further than necessary. But the thrill of being able to see our granddaughter in action was well worth the extra time and miles. Unfortunately the scores favored the wrong teams. But the girls (women?) put up a good fight and seemed to be having fun. We had hoped to take her out for a burger after the games but the coach is keeping them pretty busy. It's really a team building event and it is "spring break" after all.
March 14, 2012 (Wed) Monument Lake CG (7) 60/82° - Today seemed a bit cooler than yesterday although the temperature was higher. It may be that there have been more clouds to block the heat of the sun or that it's been breezier. Or maybe it was just knowing that we could find shade when we needed to. At any rate it has been a pleasant day and we took advantage by doing nothing - nothing, that is, but sit and watch the birds, alligators and curious passers-by. Reading and napping got their share of time too.
We're not ready to leave this beautiful place but leave tomorrow we must. Jonathan Dickinson State Park on the east coast is our next port of call.
Q083829 Monument Lake CG, Big Cypress National Preserve #4 dry $8 B (7)
QC21-08 On the canal front.
March 3, 2012 (Sat) Lakeland, FL to La Belle, FL 71/95° - 95 degrees. Would you believe it? Well they say a cold front is coming, temperature to drop into the low 80s in these parts. We got off from Ed and Kathy's at about 8:20 just as they were leaving for choir practice. Thanks guys for a great time and the use of your yard. We'll be back (like bad pennies). Mark drove Q over to Lakeland Carefree RV Resort and waited for them to open so he could get propane - we think the tank wasn't completely filled before we started south. Joy took Lamont to Publix for food supplies. We hooked up in the Publix parking lot and started south at about 9:45.
Azaleas are in brilliant bloom and the orange crop harvest is well under way. There were long gondola trucks loaded with oranges passing us going north along US27 as we traveled south, passing orchard after orchard lining the road for miles. Some of the trees were heavy with fruit and some picked clean. In other orchards we could see ladders up against the trees with men (and probably women too) leaning into the foliage. Every mile or two there were groupings of bee hives (pollinator housing). The scent of orange blossoms filled the air. It was a beautiful drive.
Ortona South Campground is one of our favorites.
March 4, 2012 (Sun) Ortona South CG (2) 62/75° - It was somewhat clear and 75° when we got up but the skies darkened and the rain came, dropping the temperature during the morning. A small black otter ran across our campsite as we ate breakfast and there were black cattle in the field across the road in front. Doves, mocking birds and starlings wandered around our yard. Wild life at Ortona. The fellow next door was leaning into the crowded back seat of his car when a wall of rain hit. He jumped in and closed the door. His wife was marooned in the rest room. There was a couple camping in their wooden fishing boat set up on a trailer across the way. The wind rocked our motor home making us feel as if we are on a boat ourselves. Life at Ortona.
March 5, 2012 (Mon) Ortona South CG (3) 45/79° - We've never been here when it's gotten this chilly. 45° mornings are probably not unusual but it's a little disappointing for us - especially after all the wind yesterday. It makes sitting out by the canal a bit unpleasant. It did warm up nicely though. The wind made it feel chilly in the shade but we spent the afternoon on our terrace overlooking the canal anyway. Of the several boats that passed was the Capt. P, a river boat replica complete with rear paddle wheel. It was the largest boat we've ever seen go through the locks. It looked almost too big to fit. We wished we'd had time to go over to the locks to watch it go through.
March 6, 2012 (Tue) Ortona South CG (4) 51/80° - Moving day - from #36 to #34. The folks in #34 waited till exactly 11:00, the mandatory checkout time, before they pulled out of their site. Which meant that we had to wait in #36 past checkout time. Which meant that the folks waiting to move into #36 had to wait even longer past checkout time. Dominoes! It could have gotten serious if many more had wanted to move.
The Capt P. came back down the canal this afternoon. This time we hoofed it over to the lock, it was closer because of our move, and watched the activity up close. It was interesting to note that the paddle wheel was suspended a foot or so above the water. We concluded that it wasn't being used to power the boat, although it did go around.
March 7, 2012 (Wed) Ortona South CG (5) 59/82° - There is no room for a motor home, much less one with a car in tow, to park near the La Belle post office. So we went in to pick up our mail this morning in stead of doing it on our way to Big Cypress tomorrow. It wasn't there yet! We also had to do some food shopping so it wasn't a complete waste of time. But we may have to block traffic on the street in front of the post office tomorrow or unhook in a distant parking lot and drive Lamont over like we did last year.
It's going to be good to get away from our neighbors (from NJ no less) - they have been here the whole 5 days we've been here - who play their boombox out side all day whether they are there or not - and sometimes they are gone long periods of time. It's not particularly loud but it's constant and inconsiderate.
Just got back from a gorgeous walk - to the dumpster!! And the length of the campground, and back. The moon is full, clouds are drifting across it. The temperature is perfect, the cattle looked across the fence at the crazy people walking along. Not too many people out, it was fun to look into the various RVs and see the folks, having dinner, playing games and watching TV. But the best part was the lovely feel of the evening around us, the stars, clouds and moon over us. We'll be back!! What a lovely place!!
Q083607 Ortona South CG #36 &34 w/e $12 A+ (x5)
QC21-07 A week in Civilization
February 26, 2012 (Sun) Alexander Springs CG to Lakeland, FL (83/1524 miles) 49/68° - We wanted to get propane in Umatilla as we drove south on SR17 and it was beginning to look as if the rain would get here sooner than predicted. The fellow at ACE hardware there doesn't like what he has to go through to get it into Q's tank and we didn't want to add to his misery by his having to do it in the rain. So we rushed our departure routine - to no avail. The sky opened up as we drove into Umatilla. We didn't stop.
Other than the rain, which lasted until we got to Eustis 3 miles on down the road, the drive to Lakeland was uneventful. The sun lightened the skies and the early blooming azaleas brightened the landscape here and there along the way making for a beautiful morning.
We got to Ed and Kathy's about 1:00 and moved Q into a new spot in their yard. They have put in a beautiful patio and walkway near where we usually park and we didn't want to spoil the ambiance.
February 27, 2012 (Mon) Lakeland, FL (2) 63/80° - Mark installed the new "Jack" digital TV antenna on Q. It is supposed to be a little less directional that the regular bat wing antenna that comes with all RVs and more sensitive especially in the UHF range. We are in a strong signal area so we don't know if it does what it is supposed to yet, but it does at least as well as the old bat wing - a good start.
We went to Ling's Buffet (the best Chinese buffet we know of) with Ed and Kathy. On the way back we shopped for miscellaneous supplies at various stores. The rest of the day was sitting around chatting.
February 28, 2012 (Tue) Lakeland, FL (to Plant City, FL) 65/83° - We left Q in Ed and Kathy's yard and went over to Plant City today. On the way we stopped at Book Bazaar to exchange 7 bags of books for two. They deemed the books in 3 of the bags unacceptable for one reason or another so we had a bill for $22 for our "new" books. We found Gordy and Ruth in good health and at least as glad to see us as we were to see them.
February 29, 2012 (Wed) Plant City, FL ??/??° - We never looked at a thermometer today so there's no record of the temperature, but it was about like yesterday. Alderman Ford was our destination in the late morning. It's a park with a 1.8 mile trail with periodic exercise stations along the way. We've been there before and it was just as pretty today as then. We didn't partake of the stops along the way (except the rest rooms).
March 1, 2012 (Thur) Plant City, FL to Lakeland, FL 70/85° - After a wonderful couple of days of good food and thought provoking conversation we packed up Lamont and came back to Lakeland and Q. It was so good to be with Gordy and Ruth, as it always is, and we left wondering at how fast the time passes.
After some research on line and in person to find the best price for the small Honda generator (the EU1000i) we ordered one from a company in Wisconsin - saving nearly half the MSRP. It was waiting for us when we got back to Lakeland. We wasted no time in setting it up to run and giving it a try. It really is amazing how quiet it is. In the afternoon we went over to Winter Haven to The Yarn Basket (a yarn shop) with Ed and Kathy. It was a nice shop with a good selection. Joy now has more sock making raw material. (Mark picked up a bag of tiny beads that happened to be torn, and they all dumped out on the floor of the store!! Can't take him anywhere!! -J)
Joy helped Kathy pull weeks in her flower garden when we got back. One of the weeds turned out to be a stinging nettle!! Applications of Caladryl, Benadryl and Aloe don't seem to help much.
March 2, 2012 (Fri) Lakeland, FL (6) 64/85° - We had lunch at Harry's in downtown Lakeland. It was a nice place with good service. And, of course, we ate too much. From an eating stand point it will be good to get back out into the wilderness. Ortona Lock South is our destination tomorrow. It's not exactly wilderness, we have electric and water hook-ups, but it's away from the calorie factories.
Q083607 Ed & Kathy's yard (6)
