Thursday, March 1 through Wednesday, March 7, 2018, Twin Oaks RV, Elko, GA

It was the first long drive I made in quite some time, 291.6 miles (85,422.7 total), but just like riding a bicycle you never really forget and you get back in the groove in a few miles.

As we pulled into Twin Oaks RV Park near Elko, GA we realized we had been there before. The last time it was a lot colder as we headed home to ready the house for sale. This time spring was in the air and I didn't have to freeze going between the hot tub and the coach.

A row of Bradford Pears at Twin Oaks RV Park

We spent the week at Twin Oaks doing very little except for relaxing and a little experimenting with the Instant Pot. I talked to some folks headed north from Naples, FL. What a small world, they lived just a couple of blocks from my Mom's place in Lebanon, TN. A few days later an American Coach pulled in next to us. In yet another "small world" example, it was Jerry and Millie who we met nearly 10 years ago at an American Coach Association rally in Memphis. I forgot to mention we also saw them at Lazy Days in Tampa, FL about a month ago as well. 

Thursday, February 1 through Wednesday, February 28, 2018, Webster, FL

Another easy drive today - just 77.3 miles (85,131.1 total) north to the Webster RV Resort in, you guessed it, Webster, FL. We passed Sumter Oaks SKP Park on the way here which might make you think we are traveling in circles. Maybe we are a little, but Webster is new to us. Joani snagged a great deal on a full hook-up site for the month for only $299! It was an RV Super Show special - just another great reason to not miss the show. The office arranged a 50 amp, full hook-up site for us. 

Our lot is actually designated as overflow site E. We found ourselves tucked in between Leslie and Lois on one side and Gil and Jane on the other with Dean and Cindy right out our front windshield.

Originally, our thinking was we could venture out from Webster to explore many of the retirement communities in the area. We took a few trips from our previous site at Lithia Springs that changed our thinking a bit. We decided after a second visit to Lake Ashton some of the "wow factor" that struck us the first time had faded. We toured new homes in Solevita which were certainly very nice, but ultimately neither of us were ready to commit to another home just yet. That meant we could just settle into the snowbird groove at the park.

The calendar was packed with activities every day - it was a quite active park. Most of the people we met had spent their winters here for many years (one woman had visited every year since 1983). We attended a meet-n-greet on our second day. They played an icebreaker game where you had to find the right person with only three pieces of information - where they were from, what they did for a living and how many years had they been coming to this park. The person I drew was a homemaker from Pennsylvania who had been coming to the park for five years. I found three homemakers from PA who were not my mystery person based on handwriting before I finally found Ida. The game forced people to talk to each other and the huge table of cookies and coffee made for a very nice get together.

A loop around the park was close to a mile and Sam was always up for a walk. Typical of campers and snowbirds there were a lot of dogs for Sam to sniff hello as we explored the park. There was no jacuzzi, but the pool had a seating area with a half dozen powerful jets and the water was anywhere between 83 and 88 degrees. I tried to make it to the pool as often as I could. 

Our stay in Webster was, unfortunately, not as enjoyable as it should have been. I have to say we will probably not remember it fondly. Not because of the park or the people, but because we both caught the flu. I don't think we were ever in any critical distress, but what a miserable time with congestion and coughing and aching.

I had it much easier than Joani and even managed a casino cruise (we signed up before the flu struck). It was my first time ever losing sight of the shoreline. That happened pretty quickly since the entire cruise (except for the last 30 minutes) was in a thick fog. The pitching deck was a new experience for me. I did manage to "get my sea legs" and kept the pretty decent buffet food down. I also managed to keep my gambling losses to just $15. I think I prefer a nice landlocked casino so I can leave whenever I choose rather than being captive for four hours.

As Joani started to feel better, Sam found himself on 3 or 4 walks a day around the park. We always felt better after taking in the fresh air and sunshine.

The Webster Flea Market opened every Monday. We managed to make it just once on the last Monday of the month. We couldn't think of anything we really needed or even wanted so we settled for picking out some fresh produce from the farmer's market.

A few days before we left we heard the refrigerator beeping and the control panel indicated there was no AC. Fortunately, it worked fine on propane which gave me some time to research the problem. The manual said the only possible user serviceable issue resulting in no AC was a fuse. Anything else would require replacement of the control electronics. Usually, it is just not that easy, but this time it was. Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you! As we started our journey north we found our step did not retract. I finally just dismantled it and zip-tied it up to the chassis - it's always something! At least the step was nothing critical and we have a nice adjustable step to place below the door.

Sunday, January 21 through Wednesday, January 31, 2018, Lithia Springs, FL

Moving day again - 25.3 miles (85,053.8 total) from the Florida Fairgrounds to Hillsborough County's Lithia Springs Park in Lithia, FL on the Alafia River. This is our third stay at the park over the years and always following the SEACA rally at LazyDays. We approached it differently this time and it went so much more smoothly by taking exit 250 off of I-75, following east on Fish Hawk road to its end, two quick lefts and we were in the park. 

Site 33 was a challenge like many of the small sites in this park are, but we were in and set-up by 11:00 am - sweet!

There were some noticeable changes to the park. First, it was crowded - nearly full. On previous visits, we were sometimes all alone except for the camp hosts. New policies allow long-term stays (up to 6 months) so a lot of the people camping when we arrived were still there when we left. I'm going to guess the beautiful weather might have been a factor in the park's high occupancy rate as well.

We met an artist from Texas who travels in her mobile "Art Haus" from show to show.  She was finishing up some pieces for a show in Tampa soon. I didn't pry but I got the impression a lot of her painting was done with her hands (I didn't see brushes and her hands were covered with blue).

I realize Florida may not be as spectacular as the west when it comes to natural wonders, but as a location to escape the brutal winter cold while thinking about our next years travels it will do nicely!

Tuesday, January 16 through Saturday, January 20, 2018, Tampa RV Supershow Rally

It was a grueling moving day today - just kidding - we went 6.3 miles (85,028.5 total) from the LazyDays rally to the Florida Fairgrounds for the RV Supershow. Seriously, it was a bit concerning that our parking time was scheduled so early we had to contend with the morning rush hour traffic. Even so, we were extremely lucky with our timing and we had no merging issues.

The crew did an excellent job parking the 40+ American Coaches together very quickly. Bonus - we were provided with 30 amp hook-ups which made life much easier for the duration of our stay. We also seemed to have the best location at the fairgrounds - literally across the street from the vendors. 

Keith arranged for an open area where we could congregate for happy hour around four every afternoon. Everyone brought something to share and we found ourselves with so many options and so much food every night.

The first time we have seen a convertible bunk bed sofa!

Joani has decided when we retire from full-time RV life she wants this little Leisure class B for vacations. It certainly was nice, but it was tight. It was probably half the size of our current home. I'll try to keep an open mind. 

How about this trailer for the deck enthusiast - two decks for folks who really don't like to touch the ground.

By the end of the show we had seen a lot of cool stuff, but after five years of full-timing, the only thing I felt inclined to purchase was a new display for our tire pressure monitoring system. I know, not very exciting - maybe next time.

Thursday, January 11 through Monday, January 15, 2018, SEACA LazyDays Rally

This year's winter excursion through Florida was feeling pretty familiar. We left Sumter Oaks SKP park in Bushnell, FL following the same route we did two ago when we last attended the Southeast American Coach rally at LazyDays in Tampa, Florida. We had to stall a little to make sure we were not too early for check-in. The 50.0 mile (85,022.2 total) drive was all on back roads. I was again reminded just how much better secondary roads usually are compared to the Interstate highway system. Additionally, since we were familiar with the route we were not misled into the heart of Dade City's downtown district which made things a bit more relaxing.

Since we were a day early for the rally, registration went very smoothly. We were parked on the edge of the facility in a pretty tight site. I had to have a guy move his pickup truck to maneuver into our site that had a tree overhanging us. We never did have enough room to get our car off of the drive, but then again neither did anyone else.

Only a few people had already arrived for the rally, so I made the most of our free time with daily trips to the spa and lots of walks with Sam to look at the LazyDays inventory. Of course, being so close to Tampa we were obligated to visit their Ikea for some idea shopping and Swedish meatballs. 

Soon enough the whole gang arrived. The rally attracted just under 60 American Coaches with lots of old friends as well as new ones. There was entertainment most every night and so much great food! Unfortunately, I rarely thought to capture pictures and instead just enjoyed the fellowship, food and fun. The few times I did snap a picture on my phone it did a poor job of capturing the atmosphere. Fond memories would have to do as we wrapped up our time at LazyDays.

Sunday, January 7 through Wednesday, January 10, 2018, Sumter Oaks, SKP

Our trip to Sumter Oaks Escapee RV park in Bushnell, FL was an easy 142.5 miles (84,972.2 total). Finally, we could fill the propane tank and quit worrying that we might run out. As it turned out, it only took 22 gallons to fill the tank meaning we still had about 18 gallons on board - we were never in any danger of running out!

Sand Hill Cranes have a very loud and very distinctive call. I found them a few rows over from our site. This crazy bird was fighting with his own reflection in the grill of a pick-up truck. His companion just did a little preening while her man protected their territory.

I don't think she was really impressed - you could almost see the disappointment on her face trying to figure out when he would give up the fight with the phantom bird.

Last time in Bushnell I found the extra hot salsa at the Coyote Rojo to be very tasty. Of course, we had to see if it was as good as I remembered - it was! In fact, over our four-day stay at Sumter Oaks, we visited the Red Coyote 3 times.

What a difference a few days and a few hundred miles to the south made. I could wear shorts and a tee shirt to walk Sam around the park. There were cows in the field to the west of the park along Cow Patty Lane.

On the east side of the park, we were able to visit with the Donkeys along Donkey Lane.

Since we didn't even call the park until we were two hours away, we were lucky they had room for us at all, but our four-night stay in the park required our moving three times. One night we dry camped with a beautiful view of the swamp. When we were quiet, the birds came within maybe 20 feet of our coach while far in the background you could see birds flocking from every direction to fill the trees a couple hundred yards away.

My guess was there were several hundred birds gathered. At least I never got any creepy Alfred Hitchcock The Birds kind of feeling.

Sumter Oaks is a bit run down, but its convenience to I-75 makes it one of our favorite SKP parks and I am sure we will be back again next time through Florida.

Sunday, January 24, 2016

We moved to a small, but nice park named Ocala North.  It was 130.0 miles (76,326.7 miles total), so it was another easy drive.  We were on our way back to the house where there was a lot of work waiting for us.  Getting the house ready to sell after nearly 23 years meant sorting through a lot of clutter, cleaning and painting, so we were not in a real hurry to get there.  We thought we could make a couple of stops and see a few interesting sites on the way back home.

Our campground choice allowed us to visit Ocala where there were a couple of museums and an old sinkhole we could investigate. The sinkhole had lots of stairs that would allow us to climb down inside. I was a little skeptical about going into a sinkhole - I mean, how can you be sure it's not going to sink any further?

The weather did not cooperate with our sightseeing plans.  There was a lot of rain for the first three days of our stay.  We added another day to wait out the rain and finally visited Ocala.  The two museums were on the Florida State University campus. Unfortunately, I did not like the parking situation.  Like most campus layouts there were color coded parking restrictions everywhere with the threat of towing and fines.  I can't say they made us feel welcome.  After maybe 15 minutes of circling to find the museum buildings, we decided to just have lunch and keep an eye on the weather.

There was a Golden Corral nearby and we were in a glutinous mood. That hardly ever happens! About mid-way through our meal, there was a power outage that lasted 20 minutes or more.  There was no way to get ice cream with no electricity so we nibbled on a few more choice entrees while we did another crossword puzzle at our tablet.  When the power returned, we decided we were too stuffed to be hiking to the bottom of a big hole in the ground and there was still the threat of more rain, so we just headed home.

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Following the ACA rally, we drove a short 15.2 miles (76,196.7 miles total) to Lithia Springs county park. It seemed very familiar and then we remembered it was the same thing we did three years ago following the regional rally at Lazy Days in 2013!

Attendance at the park picked up quite a bit in the past three years. Last time there were days when it was just us and the two hosts in the park. This time there were nights when they were nearly full.

For the last several months I had been threatening to clean up the old Dream. With time on my hands and a couple of days with no plans, I finally decided to try something new to spruce up the roof. I found straight bleach was pretty effective at removing oxidation. I also applied some 303 Protectant to hopefully protect the fiberglass from UV and maybe prevent (or at least, slow down) any more oxidizing.

I ran out of steam before I ran out of roof so only one side got cleaned. I guess I should also mention a thunderstorm rolled in and Joani pulled me off of the ladder when the lightning started.

One nice day we headed back to one of our previous haunts - Lettuce Lakes Park. I don't know if it was the time of day or the weather, but there were very few birds this time, so I didn't include any of our pictures.

Another day, we drove over to Lake Ashton where our ACA friends, Brian and Pat, lived. They talked about it and were very happy there, so we decided to see what it was all about. I don't think Joani was really interested, but after the sales pitch, we were both thinking it was worth some serious consideration. Our friends live in an RV port home with a huge garage for the RV. It had a nice layout with 1,700 sq ft of living space and a two car garage. The neighborhood amenities were outstanding! They had everything you could possibly imagine and a few you wouldn't. At least I was surprised by the bowling alley. Needless to say, the visit had us re-evaluating our priorities and will be something to think about when our home in Georgia is finally sold.

Wednesday, January 13, 2016, Lazy Days ACA Rally

The trip from Sumter Oaks SKP park to Lazy Days in Tampa, FL was only 48.7 miles (76,181.5 miles total).  We followed Loren and Sharon and chose to travel the back roads instead of Interstate 75 which made it a little longer, but I suspect it was far more interesting.  My navigator, however, was not happy about the traffic and tight streets through several of the small towns along our route.  There were no issues and I maintain the delay helped bridge the gap between check-out time and check-in times between the two parks.

We arrived at Lazy Days with everyone else - at least it felt that way. There were so many coaches pulling in at the same time we blocked traffic on the main road.  Through a lucky break, we got checked in quickly, but we found there was a coach parked in our space.  More than an hour later, a couple of Lazy Days guys apologized profusely and moved it out of our way.

We picked up our rally package and re-acquainted ourselves with the expansive Lazy Days complex.  It was a lot of fun meeting our new neighbors and finding that old friends were close to our site.  Dinners were planned for most nights and there was entertainment mixed in as well.  Beer and wine were included every evening and, mostly, I exercised restraint.  I have to admit, however, I was feeling pretty good by the time I slipped into the hot tub several nights. 

Days were spent exploring the Tampa RV Supershow.  I had a short list of things to find and managed to find them all.  Of course, we found a few extra things that were not on the list.  There was a heated water hose at Camping World marked down to half price that Joani talked me into buying.  It was something I wanted, but it made me think I would really rather not be anywhere we would need it. 

American Coach brought back the American Dream model and it really looked good!  Maybe someday we will have to replace our Dream and it would certainly be a fine candidate.  There were several park models (or manufactured homes) we toured, but they just re-enforced our desire to continue our full-timing adventure.

Saturday, January 9, 2016

Loren and Sharon invited us out to lunch at River Ratz Cafe in nearby Nobleton, FL.  I know, how can you expect much with a name like River Ratz, but it was really good!  We hit the place for a late lunch and it was quiet, but I suspect the place might be hoppin' late on a Friday or Saturday night.

Our waitress asked if we had been there before.  Since we said "no" she brought out a complimentary fried appetizer platter - yum!  Would it be awful to tell them "no" the next time we visit?

Heading home we decided to explore a back road to Hog Island deep in the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge. There was a small, rather rustic campground a few miles down that road that felt like it was in the middle of nowhere.  It appeared to be more of a tent or small camper type of park - I can't see taking our coach in there. Next, we followed signs to the Iron Bridge landing further into the refuge.  There was not enough remaining iron to even hint that there was once a bridge there.

It seemed like we drove an hour down some very narrow road getting there, so it was good that the Withlacoochee River at least provided some peaceful, serene scenery for our pictures.  We talked with some folks fishing who said we were actually pretty close to the main highway if we just went a little further. That was some highly appreciated info that saved us a lot of backtracking!