Deer Week

 

For the past week I've been at a campground belonging to the U S Army Corp of Engineers.  These parks are always attached to a body of water, in this case, Canyon Lake, northwest of San Antonio, Texas.

These parks have hookups for water and sewer and paved RV sites, each with it's own large picnic table under a roof.  There are nice bath houses including toilets and large showers.  The sites are nicely spaced, with generous undeveloped areas between the sites and the lake and different camping areas. 

Early this morning, I opened my door to see 6 deer in the field next to my RV.   There wasn't a day that I didn't see multiple deer, and a few fawns, wandering through the area. 

  

This past weekend, there was an influx of locals coming in with their boats, jetskis and other water toys.  The area was full of happy campers, but it did not feel too crowded.  After a day or so, most of them cleared out and my nearest neighbor was  4 or 5 sites away. 

After a week of relaxing, it was time to move on for more sightseeing.  I'm sure I'll be looking for more campgrounds run by the COE - in fact, I have one picked out for the week after next.

Gruene, Texas

 

I went to Gruene, Texas the other day, a cute little old town that has become a thriving tourist attraction.  Among other old buildings located there, Gruene Hall is the oldest dance hall in Texas built in 1868, and quite famous, since many famous singers have played there.  It's a big old building, totally wooden, including the floors.  Nothing fancy about this place, seems that they don't even sell liquor, only beer.  Framed photos line the walls and seating in the large area is picnic tables.

There's an antique store, a gigantic one with so much stuff in it that you couldn't see it all.  In reality, it was part museum and part store.  In addition to jewelry, vintage dishes and other items, there were old cooking utensils, tin cans from back when food items such as crackers and pretzels came in such things.  There were also gallon-sized metal cans that had contained oil or heavy-duty lubricant.  Of course there were old soda bottles and beverage cans. 

One store had fossils, geodes, arrowheads, sharks teeth and more pretty rocks.  For those of you who may have read my blog about being a rock fan, I can now be accused of spending money on rocks.   I picked out 5 small ones and including all of them, they claim to boost my energy, confidence and courage as well as improving my intuitive perception and reasoning.  As a bonus, they guard against the evil eye, depression and melancholy.    One claimed to be good for artists and another will bring me tranquility and calm my nervousness.  OK, sounds good, and they're really pretty.  I'll let you know when my transformation to a perfect person happens.

Texas is Special

For those of you who have heard that Texas is different - it's true.  In many ways, it's special.  It's mostly a good special, not the cynical, sarcastic "special".

 

Texas is so special that Ford has a pickup truck labeled "Texas Edition".   Seriously.  I imagine that it's only sold here, but who knows, maybe someone can order it in Alaska or some other place.  There's another pickup labeled Lone Star Edition made by Ram.   Chevy probably has one, but maybe I haven't seen it.  I even saw some travel trailers in one of the parks that were labeled "Texan". 

 

San Antonio is special because it's got the Tower of the Americas (shown above), which was constructed for the 1968 World Fair.  There are 3 elevators that will take you to the top in just over 2 minutes - it's 750' tall and you can get a great 360 degree view of the area.  If you wanted to walk up to the top, there's only 952 steps.   Guess who didn't do that? 

 

San Antonio also has the Alamo, right in the middle of downtown.  Throughout the years, the city just built around it.  It's special because of the history, but I was surprised that it was quite small, but then, it did start it's life as a mission.  There are other missions also, with larger buildings and more history. 
 

In one part of San Antonio, El Mercado (Spanish for The Market) was delightful, with crafts and goods both relating to Texas and Mexico.  There was almost more imports from Mexico than local items.  There were onyx items, sombreros next to cowboy hats, Mexican pottery with wonderfully bright colors, cowboy boots and embroidered Mexican style clothing. 

 

Texas has the USS Lexington, a WWII aircraft carrier that has been turned into a museum.  It's massive, took me 3 hours to go through it and I didn't read everything.  Definitely worth a visit.
 

I've only been through part of east Texas, and I'm sure that there's more special things I'll see.  So far, I've found one thing I'm not thrilled with (besides the bumpy roads and lots of traffic).  Since Texas is famous for BBQ, I tried that today.  This restaurant was highly recommended and is a local chain.  I got a pulled pork sandwich and found that there was only two kinds of BBQ sauce - warm and warmer.   Is it only Florida that has the sweet BBQ sauce?  I guess I'll stick with the Mexican food unless they can guarantee me sweet BBQ sauce.   For any Texans reading this - sorry, I guess it's a personal taste thing.
 

Tomorrow, I'm looking forward to touring some caverns, where it's going to be a chilly 70 degrees inside, compared to the 90's we've been having.  It doesn't feel like 90's in Florida though - not yet.

 

USS Lexington, Corpus Christi, Texas

 

  

USS Lexington, nicknamed Lady Lex, is an aircraft carrier that served in World War II in the Pacific, and is now berthed in Corpus Christi and serves as a military museum. She is a massive ship, 880' at the waterline, 910' on the flight deck, which is 52' above the water. Her beam (width) is 196' and has a draft (depth) of 30'. The Japanese had nicknamed her The Blue Ghost, since she was reported sunk multiple times, but yet she kept re-appearing.

I took the self-guided tour, everything is labeled and explained, with signs pointing the way to the next exhibit. As you can imagine from the specifications above, the ship is gigantic and has multiple levels. One level to another is by way of steep open stairways, like you'd see in old war movies. The tour took me about 3 hours and I didn't stop to read all the exhibits, there wouldn't have been time in one day to do that.

Working areas were set up as they were when the ship was in service, with mannequins in appropriate areas, such as the work shop that held large lathes, drill presses and other equipment. The dental area was set up with the dentist, and his unhappy-looking patient in the chair with his mouth wide open. There was even a surgeon in full surgical garb standing in the operating room waiting for his patient to be brought in.

On the flight deck were many vintage war planes, as well as large gun mounts. One of the gun mounts was open and you could go inside to see how the servicemen operated these weapons. They had very cramped working conditions, and it would have been hot in there also. I have made a slide show of the planes on deck, which can be seen at http://youtu.be/Z3SvjCm-ug4
 

If you're ever in the Corpus Christi area of Texas, this is definitely worth a visit. Plan to spend a good part of the day there.

　

Aransas Pass to Port Aransas

 

Today I took a trip from Aransas Pass  to Port Aransas to visit the National Seashore in Texas.  Port Aransas is quite a large area and can only be reached by vehicle ferry.  They have numerous vessels of different sizes that run simultaneously so that there is only a short wait time.  The trip itself, once the vessel is loaded, is probably about 5 minutes and the service seems to be efficiently run.  The best part of it is that there is no charge. 

Port Aransas is a typical tourist beach town, similar to ones you'd find in Florida or other tourist areas.  The main area was full of restaurants, tee shirt shops, and other beachwear shops.  One difference that I had not seen in Florida was the large number of golf cart type vehicles that were available for rent. 

I drove south and finally ran into Padre Island National Seashore, a massive park that includes more than 60 miles of beach on the offshore island.  They allow driving on the beach, but post signs that only 4 wheel drive vehicles should attempt the drive after the first 6 miles.  I decided my truck didn't need to be in that corrosive environment, so I parked at the visitor's center and walked the beach for a while.  I figured this might be the last time I'd get my feet in sea water for quite a while - until I reach California or if I go to Mexico to the Sea of Cortez.

             

As you can see from the picture above, it's seaweed season in south Texas now.  There was seaweed for miles in both directions, piles of it sometimes over 2' high.  On another more public beach near town, I saw hills of seaweed where they had cleaned it off the beach.  It does add a certain fragrance to the beach.  Further inland from the beaches, the sand dunes are covered with vegetation, which helps to keep them from eroding during storms. 

This was a great way to spend a warm, breezy, blue-sky day and as a bonus, on the ferry back, I saw dolphins rolling in the water in front of me. 

Love Bugs! And Museums

 

Today I arrived in Rockport, Texas, a small town on the Gulf of Mexico.  After the long drive yesterday, I had a colony of love bugs smashed all over the front of my 5th wheel.  The truck wasn't so bad because I had cleaned the windshield the previous night so I could see to drive today.  After I set up and unhooked the trailer, I got in the bed of the pickup so that I could stand comfortably to try to get the love bug guts off the fiberglass.  For those of you who don't know about love bugs - you are SO lucky!   These bugs float through their lives blissfully connected to a mate - until they meet with a passing car, truck or RV.  For some reason, they dry into something that could pass as blobs of crazy glue - the residue is that tenacious.

I was up there rubbing all sorts of fluids on this mess to see what would remove them and not damage the finish.  A neighbor came over to see what I was working on and said he had something that would work.  He brought back a spray bottle and a rag and proceeded to demonstrate that it was actually removing the dried mess.  OK, I like that, still lots of rubbing, but it looked like it was working better than what I had.  Of course, it was in an area that I had already attempted with some of my stuff, but  I have no idea if that helped or not.  Then he showed me the spray bottle - a spray on wax for vehicles.   OK, I'm game, I'll try anything if it works - but that required a trip to the store. 

On my way to the store, I saw the Maritime Museum that I planned on seeing while I was here.  Big decision - get the wax and work all afternoon, or wander around a museum about ships and oceans?  No contest.  I pulled in the parking lot nearby and went over to the museum. 

One of their major exhibits was about a French ship named LaBella that came over in 1684 with 3 other ships.  It sank in Matagorda Bay during a storm and was not found until 1995, in only 20' of water.  They excavated parts of the ship, many artifacts, cannons and other weapons, as well as the remains of a human.  Some of the artifacts are in this museum, while others are housed in other museums. 

Other exhibits included information about warships used in the area, information about offshore oil and gas exploration, lighthouses and many others such as fishing equipment and antique outboards, such as the 1950 Chris Craft shown below.

Remembering my mission to get the wax for bug removal, I left there and was walking to the truck when I noticed that there was an aquarium nearby that I had been planning to see.......

USS Orleck, Lake Charles, Louisiana

 

                                           

Today I toured the USS Orleck, a Navy destroyer that was built for World War II - but it was completed and put into service about two weeks after the end of the war.  It did see service during the Korean and Vietnam Wars.  After that, she was sold to the Turkish Navy in the 1980s.  There are still labels inside the ship in Turkish.  She came back to the states in 2000 and ended up in Lake Charles, Louisiana where she is today. 

As with all boats, the project list is never completed.  She has a steel hull, which means there is continuous maintenance needed to keep the rust at bay.  At almost 400' in length, she needs to be towed if she is to be moved.  Her engines are no longer working and her props had been damaged in hurricanes after she was returned to the states.

On the forward deck, as well as the aft deck, she has massive fire power known as 5/38 gun mounts, that required multiple personnel to handle the gunpowder, the projectile, and to fire them.   The barrels are 5" wide, and over 15' in length.  There had been other weapons on board, which have been removed.

On the back deck there is a small helicopter, as shown below.  I was told that this is one of the first drones.  It was operated remotely, with no personnel aboard.  It's from the 1960s and was not original equipment.  Originally, that deck had multiple weaponry installed, but has since been removed.

                                    

 

The bridge was filled with original equipment.  Having lived on a boat, I marveled at the size of the depth sounder, compass and other equipment - extremely massive compared to today's equipment.  The radio room had an unbelievable amount of equipment.

  







 

 

                                  

 

There are plans to have it brought to the Lake Charles waterfront, which will be located close to town, which will make it more convenient to tour.  If you're in the neighborhood, it's worth a visit.

 

Pretty Rocks

            

        

I visited the Lafayette Science Museum in Louisiana the other day. There were various exhibits including space travel, fossils and dinosaurs. They also had a display of framed photographs of penguins, very well done.

What caught my attention probably more than anything, except maybe the penguins, was the display on rocks. Well, they weren't just rocks, they were crystal formations, quartz, calcites, some gemstones and geodes. Geodes are round rocks that had a void space inside that allowed the formation of crystals that cover the inside of the rock. If they had been allowed to keep growing, the crystals would consume the entire interior of the rock. They could be different colors, as seen below.
         

 

      

Also on display was a piece of tree trunk that was petrified, as well as a slice of a tree trunk that showed the interior. Surprisingly, you can see that it looks more like a rock than part of a tree. Throughout the time it petrifies, water flows through it and minerals replace the organic matter of the tree. Different colors are formed by different minerals.

　

One of the prettiest was a piece of opal, in rough form, but you can recognize the gemstone that is used in jewelry.

　

This was a small museum, and I found myself wishing it had more minerals, quartz and other pretty rocks to display. I'm sure in my travels, I'll find another museum with rock displays.

　

Street Musicians

 

 

New Orleans is home to all sorts of musicians.  Some play near the park and on various streets in the French Quarter, with all sorts of instruments.

One group playing early one morning near Jackson Park really impressed me. This group was playing a jazzed-up version of a Michael Jackson song and had quite a crowd gathered, as early as it was. I stood and watched them for a while - the keyboard player looked like he was playing with his eyes closed, his head keeping the beat from side to side, with a large smile on his face. 

Each of the of the musicians had long dreadlocks or braids and were very talented, it seemed like they had been playing together for quite some time, since they sounded so good. I think this group has the talent to go far. They're in the right place to start out, since New Orleans seems to cultivate musicians.

Check them out at www.NEOJAZZ.NET - they're called The Yisrael Trio. They also have a Facebook page, which I haven't looked at since I have very limited internet at this time

New Orleans Cemeteries

Louisiana cemeteries contain mostly above-ground tombs, especially the southern part, since the water level is very high. Some of the monuments are from the early 1800s, such as the one pictured above. Quite a few of these are very elaborate and probably cost more than some houses. Some of the larger ones have spaces for multiple family members, or they could be for just one person.

There are multiple cemeteries in the New Orleans area and there are guided tours for them, which are popular with the tourists. I didn't go on a tour, just wandered about by myself. I was surprised at the number of these elaborate tombs that had stained glass panels, mostly on the back side, as shown below.

 

 

    

 

 

There were a couple that looked like small houses, complete with a granite "fence" and landscaping such as small shrubs and flowers or plants.

                              

 

 

One was in the shape of a pyramid.....

 

 

 

And this area reminded me of a row of houses in a neighborhood.....



 

 

 

In any case, it was an interesting afternoon, and a very quiet one after exploring the French Quarter and other areas of New Orleans the past few days.  For a slide show of more of my photos - follow this link - http://youtu.be/GwAbBy0aN58





 



 

Museum Day in New Orleans

Today was museum day - I had 3 to check out and then the Battlefield from the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812. I found out one of my selected museums was running a special just for today - closed. Bummer, I really wanted to see that one.

The first museum, Presbytere, had 2 polar opposite subject for their displays. Hurricane Katrina was the first display, amazing photos and I kept thinking of my close calls with hurricanes in the Caribbean. I'm not sure why anyone would stay and watch a storm of that caliber come at them and not leave to find a safer place. There's only so much you can do by staying put - you can't save your house.

The second display was a history of carnival, with costumes, jewelry and pictures from past years.  Happy times and fun providing a stark contrast to the heartbreak caused by Katrina. 

The other museum, Cabildo, was a history of Louisiana, including musical instruments, weapons and other displays. As a bonus, there was a display of the Secret History of Louisiana Rock 'n' Roll with photos from the 50's and 60's depicting musical history in this area.

The Chalmette National Cemetery and Battlefield is located near the Mississippi River. There is a monument, pictured above, was completed in 1908. There are 122 steps to a small area at the top with windows showing the view in all directions. This was the site of the historic Battle of New Orleans, which has been reported to last about 30 minutes.

The adjacent Cemetery contains remains of the Union soldiers from the Civil War as well as veterans from the Spanish-American War, both World Wars and Vietnam. 

 

Garden District, New Orleans

Today was supposed to be museum day in New Orleans for me. Before I started that, I decided that I'd take the trolley out to the ritzy neighborhood in the Garden District, just to see how the other half lives.

Little did I know that it would take up most of the day. Luckily, the first trolley, or street car as they all them, operator convinced me I needed a day pass, which was only $3. OK, I figured she knew best and she certainly did. It's not just one trolley that goes everywhere, but you have to transfer to other trolleys along the way. Then, in the ritzy neighborhood, they were redoing the track, so all riders transferred to the regular bus service - gratis.

The homes in this area were massive, ornate with leaded beveled glass doors and some with stained glass windows. Huge old sprawling live oak trees with Spanish moss lined the streets and yards were well maintained behind the pointed iron fences. A few of the larger ones had been converted to apartments, but most of them looked like single family residences.

It was so convenient to have the pass. When I got hungry for lunch I just got off, had lunch and then continued on where I left off, taking another trolley. I could tell there were other tourists on the trolleys that were just riding for the fun of it, I kept seeing the same ones and overheard that comment a few times. It sure was nice to have someone else doing the driving so I could concentrate on the sightseeing.

By the time I got back to the station I had left that morning, I had just enough time for a quick visit to one of the museums on my list. Tomorrow I have 4 more places to go, so I plan to get an earlier start than I did today. I have already had to extend my stay for tomorrow, and may extend for the next day. It's really nice to be able to reschedule when the mood strikes.

The French Quarter in New Orleans

The French Quarter of New Orleans -

Street musicians - a Rasta man playing guitar, a single man playing the saxophone, a group playing music with a woman singing, a man with an African bass harp accompanied by another man on drums. One black man was playing trumpet while another was singing, two oriental girls playing guitars and singing and another woman with a violin accompanied by a man with a guitar. And that's just the start....

The French Market, basically a flea market.  Some of the displays would be at what the islands call the "straw market".

Beignets at Cafe du Monde, warm French donuts covered in confectioners sugar, as mentioned by Jimmy Buffett in the song "The Wino and I Know".

Wrought iron balconies on buildings.

Fortune tellers, Tarot card readers, mimes and artists in the park - along with the street musicians.

Horses pulling carriages full of tourists.

Bicycles pulling carts of tourists.

Characters - a man painted all in silver, a girl on a multi-colored bike with multi-colored hair.

Doors to stores, bars and restaurants open with music spilling out.

Signs outside bars offering drinks to go.

A sign in a public restroom that states "Please use these sinks for handwashing only".

Signs in most shops and restaurants stating "No Public Restrooms".

Old homes and buildings with wooden shutters that are actually used.

Great paint jobs on these old homes and shutters.

Carnival beads hanging all over, even though carnival over was weeks ago.

I thought the French Quarter was unique, but today, my first impression was - it's very much like Key West. After walking around the area for hours, I realized that in addition to Key West, it reminded me of other places I've been - parts of it reminded me of the islands. One street in particular gave me a deja vu - it seemed that I was transported back to one street in Porlamar, a city on the island of Margarita, Venezuela.

The French Quarter is so large that it has way more ingredients than any one place and it's no surprise that it keeps drawing tourists from all over.

For a slide show of the French Quarter - follow this link - http://youtu.be/-UenK-GaW6A

 

 

Hiking Sticks

While traveling, I have always explored the area by foot as well as by vehicle. In the islands, this included hikes in rain forests as well as trails around the islands or just walking through town. I traveled with a partner at that time and on hiking trails, made him lead the way to catch all the spider webs and on rare occasions, flip a snake out of the path - or at least to scare them away.

Now that I'm traveling alone, I still go on hikes. But now I don't have a "front" man to lead the way and catch the nasties. I was pretty lucky through Florida, somehow I never got caught in a web. Mississippi is a different story - first hike here the other day and I spent the time dodging spider webs and catching them across my face. Yuck! It was about halfway through the trail that I saw a sign telling me that I was 3/4 of a mile through the trail. That sign also had the universal icon of a hiker - an outline of someone walking with a hiking stick. In a flash, I knew why people carry hiking sticks! It's to carry in front of them to catch all the webs!

You can bet I'll be on the lookout for some type of hiking stick for my future hikes through the woods. Sooner or later, my hikes will be in the desert and maybe I'll still carry one for the rattlers!

RVillage Works!!

RVillage is a new website for RVers - you join, add your profile and then check in at different RV Parks, State Parks or National Parks as you move around the country. If you enter the park you're in, another RVer can view that park's information and see RV subscribers who are also registered in that same park.

I joined a few weeks ago, when the Beta version was first announced. Yesterday, I found out that it really does work - I was being lazy after a long day of sightseeing the day before, sitting outside reading a book and I looked up to see a man coming across the street with his laptop. His first words were about RVillage and that he was surprised to find another member already registered in the park That would be me. He had clicked on my profile, found a picture of my truck and 5th wheel, and that's the picture he had showing on his computer. So, it really does work! As long as people check in as they arrive and are open to meeting others. And why would you not - it's part of the fun of RVing and it's great to exchange important information.

His wife came over with their sweet little dog and we sat down and discussed where we had been and where we were headed. They were headed to Florida and then north, and I was coming from Florida, headed west. We traded information on places we had been and what was worth seeing as well as parks that were worth staying in, as well as other RV related issues. He also had information on websites I hadn't known about, but could be handy for the future.

It's nice to know this works as intended and I'll be looking forward to meeting other RVers along the way, thanks to this site as well as the Facebook pages devoted to get togethers. Thanks to Technomadia for the extensive work that made this website viable!

Murphy!!

Just so everyone will understand that the life of a nomadic RVer is not all fun and games, I guess you should hear some of the bad parts....   As you can see by the above picture, I didn't have much fun on this day. But,  I guess we have to take the good with the bad. About a week ago, Murphy joined my crew. Sure wish the cat had chased him out before he decided to do his special mischief. The first inkling I got was a funny noise under the hood of the truck one day when I hooking up. Sounded like a fan belt type noise, but it couldn't be, the serpentine belt had been replaced a few thousand miles ago. After I got hooked up and pulled out of my campsite, the noise stopped and I figured it was OK - for now.

The next morning, I started the truck again and the noise seemed louder. The general consensus from my conversation with a couple guys in my new camping area was that it was probably the pulleys that made the belt work. OK, sounded logical to me. I called a repair shop and the guy told me to bring it in and he could check it. It was a little way down the road and I figured it shouldn't take too long to do the job. Sure wish I had taken a book with me.

The mechanic opened the hood and listened to the noise - yeah, at least it made the same noise when the mechanic was around. Murphy must have been sleeping. He said it had nothing to do with the belt or pulleys, it was coming from the back of the engine. Sounded ominous, there are only expensive things back there. He finally decided it was a broken flywheel. HUH? They break? All by themselves? Not that I'm skeptical (yeah, right!), but I really didn't believe it. I told him that I wanted to see it for myself, I just didn't believe it.

He was pretty adamant it was the flywheel, so he started tearing into it to uncover the problem. Well, when he got it partially apart, the diagnosis changed - the starter gear that meshes with the flywheel wasn't retracting after the engine was started, it just sat there and pinged along the flywheel teeth. OK, I'll buy that, especially when I saw the little teeth on the starter had some new shiny spots. The flywheel teeth didn't look damaged at all.

A new starter was ordered and a few hours later he was putting things back together and I was on the road back to the campground, a few hundred dollars lighter.

A couple days later, I hooked up again and left that park. I was about 60 miles away when my brakes started pulling to the side. And I thought Murphy had jumped ship. A few more miles down the road, I smelled the dreaded hot, burning smell that demanded immediate attention. I pulled over the first chance I safely could and got out of the truck. The driver's side front tire was smoking! I grabbed my phone, got in the middle of the wide median strip and called Coach Net. While I was talking to them, a Sheriff pulled up. He helped give me information on the areas and roads I had just passed through since I wasn't paying that much attention and she needed more information than what my GPS was telling me. After that, she asked me where I wanted it towed to. Well, of course, a fix-it shop. She said I had to give her the name of one. OK, I don't understand, I told her that this is an RV specific service and since most RV people don't know what's available in the area they're traveling in, so I didn't understand why she thought I'd know what was around me. Even the Sheriff's guys (by now I had 2 of them with me) didn't know, but one checked on his computer and found a place about 25 miles down the road.

After about 25 minutes on the phone with this non-helpful person, she told me I should see two trucks in about 75 minutes - one for the 5th wheel and one for my truck. A Sheriff's volunteer spent the next hour and a half with me waiting for these guys, the first time I've been in the back of a police car!

The guys loaded up my truck and trailer in record time and we set off to the fix-it shop. Unfortunately, there was no room at the shop to park both the truck, which would be taken care of first thing the next morning, and my trailer. The tow truck guy called the local Walmart and got permission to park the trailer in their lot.

The next day, I got new calipers and brake lines for the front wheels. And I sure hope Murphy left with the calipers that went back for the core charge!

I've decided that if Murphy shows up again, I'll try an exorcism - 2 major problems in the space of a couple days means he was having way too much fun.

State Park Week

For the past week, I have stayed in two Florida State Parks and visited a Wildlife Refuge Center.

St Marks Wildlife Refuge Center and Lighthouse is along the Gulf Coast of Florida in the Big Bend area. I spent a few hours there, hiking the trails and photographing the lighthouse and other wildlife in the area, including the cute critter below, who refused to sit and pose for me.

　

The next day I was settled in at Florida Caverns State Park. As soon as I learned this park had cavern tours, I knew I wanted to see them, so I reserved a spot for a few nights. I love caves and caverns and Florida has so very few of them, this was a real treat. For the tour, I was fortunate to be one of a group of three, so I was able to take lots of photos without people being in them. After the tour, I spent a few hours hiking the trails and watching the wildlife, including one squirrel who wanted to have a conversation.

　

I left after a couple days and headed a few miles west to see Falling Waters State Park, so named for an actual waterfall in the park - in Florida - very rare, since this state is so flat! The park itself has a high elevation of 324 feet above sea level, but that's not where the waterfall is. The waterfall is a short hike to a sinkhole in the woods where the water comes off the edge of the sinkhole to disappear further into the sinkhole 73 feet down. There is a wooden platform built down into the sinkhole so you can get closer to the waterfall and see it hit bottom and disappear into a cave. I visited the waterfall the first day and then the second day after a heavy rainstorm. The second day, there was about twice as much water (and noise) with mist rising from the force of the water falling.
　

From there, I went to a more populated area at Mexico Beach, still on the Florida Panhandle coast. There is a get together here of several solo RVers, most of them seem to be women. It will be fun to compare notes with other women who have the same wanderlust as I do.

　

　

Moving Along

The past two days have been pleasant traveling through unpopulated areas and small communities. I've been traveling on a divided 4 lane highway that's been sometimes as straight to the horizon as Alligator Alley.

I did have a bit of panic yesterday morning when I realized that my brake controller wasn't working. I was leaving Holiday, Florida on Route 19 in heavy traffic and pulled over in an empty parking lot to assess the situation. I had checked everything that morning and it seemed to be working then. I took the power connector from the trailer to the truck and gave it a good squirt of Boeshield T9 - plugged it back in and wiggled it in an out a couple times. Then I tested the brake controller and - YES! - it's working again. I can only hope that all my future problems will be taken care of with a spray can of magic.

I spent last night parked in a WalMart parking lot, in the company of at least 4 other RVs and a couple tractor trailers. Tonight, I'm in another WalMart lot further up the road, with a couple more RVs. Nice of WalMart to let us come in and park for the night along the way. Of course, I ended up buying some good looking strawberries for breakfast tomorrow.

Tomorrow I'll head to St Marks Lighthouse for the tour, photos and hikes along the trails. Then it's up to Marianna, Florida to see the caverns in one of the State parks. Florida is not known for caverns, except for the underwater variety, so this is unusual for this area.

After that, I'll head for the Panhandle coast and points west.

Day One

 

Yesterday was my first real trip with my truck and fifth wheel trailer.  While getting ready to go, I was about to stow the electric cord and when I opened the little hatch to feed the cord inside the trailer, I noticed a couple little light-colored frogs crouched there.   As I tried to get them out, they started crawling inside, where they were safe from eviction since I had no way to get them.  They have now been relocated to the west coast of Florida, as soon as they evacuate.  They will probably stagger out as soon as they recover from motion sickness. 

My cat was riding shotgun and not at all happy about it.  I had given her a couple morsels of "Quiet Moments" calming aid, which claimed to reduce stress, tension and promote relaxation.   I also sprayed the towel in her cage and the one covering her cage with some spray that claimed to do the same thing.   HAH - not with my cat!  It did manage to lower the volume of her usual very loud howling and after a couple hours, she got tired enough to lay around and continue to whine.   I finally managed to tune her out and I managed to have a pleasant trip.

Since I took the back roads instead of I4, to which I am highly allergic, there was some nice scenery along the way.  There were some places that would have been nice to be able to stop and take a few photos, but there was no place to pull over and park.  My route took me over many of the hills of northern Florida - not at all like the flat lands of most of Florida.  There were patches of pretty purple wildflowers along the side of the road.  And lots of live oak trees with Spanish moss hanging, as well as one that had been split in half by lightning and laying dead in a field. 

I got into the park later than expected but was pleased with my choice, Fay's RV Park, a small park but one that accepted Passport America (discount!).  I'm surrounded by live oak trees and some tall pines, as you can see in the photo above.  The view out my big back window is woods, replacing the view of the Halifax River of the past few months.  I don't have any close neighbors and it seems very quiet after driving so long.  The manager was very helpful and helped guide me into the spot.  As a bonus, their wifi works well!

I'll be here for 3 full days and expect to take my bike out tomorrow for some exploring in the area.  And so ends the first leg of my cross-country trip.

New Toy

I've been doing lots of research about RVing in preparation for taking off on my own. I've learned lots by reading blogs written by people who have been doing this for years. There are numerous Facebook pages about RVing as well as many forums full of information and helpful hints.

Of the many "must haves" discussed by RVing people, I noticed that quite a few of them recommended a dash camera for safety/accidents or other problems. I also saw quite a few videos of great scenery taken by these little cameras. I started researching them and found that you could get one for as little as $25, moving on up to a several hundred dollars. Since I'm just starting out, I opted for one just over $100, which I now see is selling for $140 and up.

I played with it for a few hours and the quality certainly isn't as good as a regular video camera or even my digital still camera. But, it does a decent job although the quality deteriorates a bit when driving with the light coming at the camera. Typical behavior in any camera. I do believe the resolution would be even better if someone had cleaned the windshield first. Will have to discuss that with the window cleaner.

Just for fun, I've uploaded a video and you can see it with this link
      http://youtu.be/MwydzxCSASM

A Sinking Feeling

1. 

I just love those plastic screw on connectors for P traps that are under sinks these days.  Such a great invention compared to the old metal pipes that required wrenches.

When I moved into my 5^th wheel, I noticed my bathroom sink had a little drain plug.   That’s all it did – plugged the drain.   There was no little basket to catch anything that could easily be dropped right in there.   Looking straight down the pipe, I just knew that sooner or later, it would be a problem. 

The other night, I was about to brush my teeth and the cap to the toothpaste jumped right out of my fumble fingers and right down the drain – no bouncing around at all.   Bet I couldn’t aim and get it in that good. 
 

My first idea was a long stick to try to drag it out – I only succeeded in sinking it into the P trap water instead of having it float down there.  OK, it was after midnight, I knew I wouldn’t sleep if I put it off until the next day.  Took everything out of the cabinet and put down some used towels (so glad I hadn’t done that load of laundry). 

I have been a failure with house plumbing and trying to get the P trap off and back on successfully without a leak.  For some reason, those plastic fittings just didn’t want to play nice.   So, I was a bit worried about this, but I knew that within the next week or so, the RV fixit guy would be showing up to do something else for me.  So, what can I lose? 

These little pipes are so much more user-friendly than house pipes – about half the size.  The connectors screwed off easily and I spilled very little water getting it out of there.  I dumped the water and toothpaste cap into a pail and then screwed on the P trap again – it went together so nicely! 

I leak tested it by filling the sink with water and letting it all drain out.  First time and it’s dry!   I feel so much better now that one of my projects was so easily accomplished, without any bad words or frustration from having to attempt to get it leak-free multiple times. 

 

Now, to save future problems I might have, I now have a little screened wire basket in the drain.  After all, I will need all the sanity I can muster to get through re-stringing my day/night shade!  Stay tuned for more details.

Countdown

This has been my neighborhood since New Year's Day.  I've enjoyed the sunrises, have gotten up early just to take some spectacular photos.  The evening sunsets cast a warm buttery-yellow glow onto my scenery in the evening. 

But this blog is not about my neighborhood - it's about moving on soon.  I have been living in my 5th wheel since last November when I moved out of my house to make it easier to sell.  I have been waiting for some "snowbird" (as Floridians call the seasonal tourists) to make an offer because they were tired of the cold and snow up north.  Finally, the beginning of last month, I got an offer, which was countered and accepted!  I waited for 3 weeks for the closing, hoping there wouldn't be any snags with the deal.  About a week ago, I signed my name a couple times, got the check and went directly to the bank as I was calling to cancel my homeowner's insurance.  I was finally FREE to enter the next stage of my life. 

I have lists of things to do, such as getting someone to rebed one of my windows that the old owner had just gooped caulking around.  If it wasn't high up in the section over the 5th wheel hitch, I'd probably try to do it myself, but I don't like heights and it's a decent sized window.  Unfortunately, the thing that will hold me up the longest will be my taxes - I really need to get them done here and I'm still waiting for some revised 1099 forms to come in.  Seems that one fund I have sends them out late repeatedly each year.   I just might trade that one in next year. 

I have already signed up for Passport America, which gives me a 50% discount in selected RV Parks across the states - I love a good discount!  I still need to sign up with Coach Net, which is the AAA of the RV world.  I don't expect any mechanical problems, new tires all around and lots of mechanical stuff has been done to the truck.  And I'm going to change oil and filter before I go.   But, just to be sure, it's cheap insurance!  I need to download the app for Allstays to add to my collection of apps for truck stops, dump stations, weather information and other helpful apps.  This is a comprehensive list of places to stay, phone numbers and other important information.

Last week, I found a little Honda generator from a private seller, so I picked that up.   It won't start the AC, but it should do most everything else.  If I find I need more power, I can just add another one and run them in tandem.  I even picked up a bike rack for the back of the camper. 

So, here I sit, making my final plans and waiting for that tax form.  In March, no monthly check for that house (!) and no big check for my rent here, I've already arranged to pay weekly.  I'm keeping busy by doing some volunteer work and little projects here, such as finding something that I can't remember where I put it when I moved in.  Oh, yeah, I do have one project that I have parts on order for - I need to restring one of my day/night shades - I'm sure that's gonna be LOTS of fun!  Yes, of course it was the biggest one in the camper!!

Alarming

This picture is of a beautiful sunrise this week, which has absolutely nothing to do with this article, but it's pretty.....

When I moved into my 5th wheel trailer, I made sure all my alarms were working.  I had to replace the LP monitor and the CO2 monitor.  The smoke alarm just needed a new battery.  The monitors are all within a few feet of each other, my trailer isn't very big.

The CO2 monitor came with a smoke alarm also and it talks - when it senses fire, it says in a calm voice,  "fire, fire" to accompany the annoying screeching beep.  No, I did not find this out when I had a fire.  I found out when I was cooking pancakes one morning - what a way to wake up completely and quickly!  This alarm is so sensitive, no matter what I cook, it claims that it's on fire.  Forget the fact that when I have multiple candles burning, which are actually small fires - it doesn't seem concerned about them.  It just does not like my cooking - I have come to the conclusion that it reacts to a different smell in the camper.

I have been trying to remember to turn on the stove vent and close the sliding door between the kitchen/living area and the bedroom/bath area where the alarm resides.  Most of the time I forget and when it starts telling me about my poor cooking habits, I just snatch it off the ceiling, lay it on the bed and cover it.  I just hope the neighbors can't hear it , I don't want them wondering how I can eat my own cooking.

Appearances are deceiving.....

This is a photo of my sunrise this morning in Florida, as seen through my back window.  Looks really pretty and like we're having warm weather - doesn't it?  

Don't let this pretty picture fool you.  When I went out to take the picture, it was COLD.   It was windy too!  During the night, it had been down about 37-39 degrees.  Even now when they're predicting the low tonight will be about 46, our wind chill is 41 degrees.  Plus, it's a damp cold.

I know what the people in the northern states are thinking - I must be crazy to complain abut 30's and 40's.  But, this is supposed to be Florida - where people flock every year to get out of the cold northern temperatures.  The people in Florida are not used to this abusive weather.  I won't speak for everyone here, but I will admit that I am a wimp when it comes to being cold.  

Of course, spending about 10 years in the Caribbean on a sailboat really spoiled me.  It was a rare day if the temperatures went below 75.  I spent some winter seasons in the Virgin Islands, and the locals did not go in the water until summer.  Yes, we could tell the difference. 

Every time winter comes in Florida, I keep thinking that it's so nice and sunny looking - it looks like it should be warm.   Just like the picture above - looks like a nice sunny, warm day about to begin.  Don't believe everything you see or hear.....

New Year - New Neighborhood

When I lived on the sailboat, I joked about the fact that if we didn't like the neighbors or the neighborhood - it was easy to change it.  All we had to do was just pick up the anchor and go to another harbor or island.  Now that I live in a 5th wheel trailer, I can do basically the same thing! 

Florida is a very touristy state, especially when snow starts piling up in the northern states.  For the past couple months, I have been at an RV park just south of Daytona Beach.  The second month I was here, the rent went up - January's rent was supposed to go up more.   By February, the rent was going to go over $700.  Not knowing when my house would sell and I could go "cruising", I started looking for a more reasonable place live in my 5th wheel. 

I found a little mobile home park that allowed RVs.  I called them and got the information on rent and facilities.  The rent was way more reasonable and they paid for the electric!  They have wifi, but it's non-existent at my site, so I'm waiting for the cable company to come in a day or so.  Otherwise, they have full hookups and a laundry room.   AND, I'm right on the water - only a tributary of the intercoastal, but scenic.  I can see the lighthouse flash on the opposite shore.  Much better view than other RV neighbor's rigs less than 10' away.

So, welcome to my new neighborhood.