Florida Mini Trip May 2021

 May 13, 2021 Today, we were supposed to be leaving for Sherry's after staying overnight in Tennessee.  The plan was to put on the tires on the 10th, pack the 11th, then leave the 12th.  But we are only one day late.   Because of the gas situation, we figured the east coast was most likely to have empty gas stations.  So the decision was to take I-65 south instead of I-75.  It is definitely longer, but we are in no hurry.  So as we traveled, we found a campground.  Well, almost.  We called, but they were full.  They suggested another park, KV RV Park and Storage. We called.  Annie answered and told us to come on in.  So, did she need any info to secure a reservation?  Naw, just come on in.  We have some open spaces.  As we traveled, I started wondering what this park was like.  Asked Connie to determine the number of sites.  20.  And she didn't want to make a reservation for us.... When we finally got there, I was pleased to find they had a vacancy sign out front.  It looked li

  Arrived Georgia  May 14, 2021 We beat Sherry to her home.  She was still in Tallahassee when we got to the Georgia farm.  Con has keys, I can setup.   If you read the last post, you will remember that the water did not run.  Campsite water or onboard water.  That is why the empty sink picture.   My guess is the water lines have been plugged and refuse to empty.  I do not want to take this to a Camping World for their maintenance.  I further guessed that the travel during the day would jostle the plug and free it.  Both cold and hot will not flow, so it must be somewhere they meet.  How about the faucet aerator, dummy? Off came the aerator on all faucets.  The  bathroom faucet was plugged.  I also found on the Internet that the hot water tank heated will increase pressure.  That with hotel water from Sherry's outdoor faucet will apply a great deal of pressure.  So, the hot water tank was turned on, and I waited. (Took almost 40 minutes to heat the tank.  That's more like it.) 

  May 15, 2021 I know I left you yesterday with the cover for the propane canisters not fitting.  I have no idea why it did not.  But,  Con and Sherry went grocery shopping, and stopped at a Walmart and picked up some washers.  With the washers, I was able to set the cover down where it is supposed to go and all is well.  Pulled out some camp chairs, you know the ones that fold out with a nylon seat that hangs in the middle.  Yeah, you know the ones that unfold quickly, but seem to never go back into the bag.  Yeah, those. Downloaded a book from our library in Ohio.  It amazes me that we can get a book so far away, now.  Search among thousands of books and check one out.  I am reading a series called Danielle Haunting.  Pure fiction, mystery, murder or grand larceny, with the help of spirits, ghosts.  Just fun reading.  Downloaded the book, finished by supper.  I think I am on book #15 of 32.  Still plenty of reading ahead. May 16, 2021 Sunday, time to sleep in.  Church is at 10:30 am

  May 20, 2021 Packed and ready to go.  Trailer was easy to hook up and stow everything.  Our trip would take us down I-75 for about 60 miles, then west on a 4 lane Georgia highway.  Pretty straight forward.  The road west took us through Albany.  That was a surprise.  For the past couple of years, I have been working on Dad's military career.  I knew he was stationed at Turner Field in Albany.  I just thought it was NE of Augusta.  Nope, SW Georgia.   Since we were going to go through Albany, I thought about driving by their old house.  I have the address.  That was until I experienced the traffic in the area.  Dragging a 26 ft trailer into streets unknown gave me the chills.  So we just kept going.   Because we chose the state routes and not freeways, we had less traffic traveling at normal speeds.  Much less knuckle biting, but longer.  As a matter of fact, the ETA changed from 3:30 pm CDT to 5:15 pm CDT.  This has happened before.  Perhaps the Florida panhandle is part of the B

  May 22, 2021 Today was lazy day.  Got up. Bagels for breakfast, then hiking shoes.  There are a couple trails in the campground.  We took the one less traveled by. This is the beach reserved for the campers.  No one was there and truly looked serene. The spot looked like a fishing possibility but there appeared no life. The water is called Blackwater River because of the concentration of tannic acid in the water.  No minnows to be seen.  I did see a mayfly drop on the surface to lay eggs, but no fish to slurp it down. After the hike, we decided to head to Milton for Gas, Post Office, and Supplies.  Good old Walmart.  Got all needed at the local trading post plus a meal at Subway.  For some unknown reason, we forgot a number of items packing the fridge.  Salad dressings, blue cheese and ranch, Hot sauce, Soy sauce, baking powder, corn starch, yellow potatoes, bananas, all the important things. And t-shirts for Con.  Just a couple of things we forgot.  Back to the La Hacienda for a rou

  May 25, 2021 I do mean real.  So today we traveled to Torreya State Park south of Tallahassee. Actually it’s south of 3C campground at which we stayed before. Travel time was short, but there was a change in time zone. The road southward from 3C campground was winding, and two lane. But doable.  . Met our camp hostess when we arrived. Nice lady. Set up in our site number 28. It was sandy but Appeared level. Notice I said the word “appeared”. Everything hooked up easily, sweated profusely, and welcomed a cold water. Oops, water was not replenished. But, found one in the freezer.   So, as I sat down on the couch looking to the back of the trailer. I tilted my head to the left. Then, I tilted my head to the right. It just didn’t look right. OK, I got out the electronic level. During the short interval of trailer set up, the passenger side sunk into the sand, by 2°.  For those of you that are trailer neophytes, the set up and leveling has to be done before stabilizers, and locking chocks

  May 30, 2021 Up with the birds. Setup the picnic table for cooking outside for lunch.  I think the biggest disappointment concerning this campsite is the sporadic connectivity to Wi-Fi. Because our cellular data is running low, we need to use Wi-Fi. Their Wi-Fi problem is the same as it was last year. But after repeated attempts, I was able to update the blog This is truly a private campground. Sites are sandwiched in close with little room to spread out. It is memorial day weekend and campground is full. We are sitting outside as much as possible when the temperature allows. But we go inside for cards and a little cribbage. Con has gotten the worse hands by far. Unbelievable.  May 31, 2021 Memorial Day No fanfare. No parade. I don’t think anyone thanked me for my service. (Actually, someone did on Sunday.) No church yesterday. It wasn’t filmed. We watched Charles Stanley on TV.  We walked a couple times and read the rest of the time. Connie is reading Les Miserables. Big book and it

  Starting North June 1, 2021 Today we started North. Driving was easy without any problems. Until... A lot of our travel is on smooth 4 lane roads. But occasionally, there is the small bridges with transitions back to road that are a little bumpy. It was so today. The bump was nothing to get overly concerned with, but the resulting effect was. Right after the bump, I got a warning from the car electronics that the trailer was no longer electronically attached. Then I got a notice that the trailer is connected. Anxiety level just increased. Very shortly I noticed a church and parking lot off the road to the right. I pulled in.  The pigtail to the trailer was still attached. I assumed the bump caused the connection to momentarily disconnect. Upon inspection, the swipe connectors appeared to be separated so I used my knife to push them back together. Reconnected, checked  and got back on the road. No problem, it was a Baptist church.  But afterward, application of the brake seemed excess

June 8, 2021  We learned about their emergence during the Memorial tournament. Their noise droned in the background of every golf shot captured. Even catching a few sitting on the players as they took their swings.  Well, they were not in Tennessee. But they were at Lincoln State Park in Indiana. When we stopped at the guard house we could not hear the attendant. We stayed inside.  We decided to take the slow boat to Lakeview. Instead of the freeway with 65 mph speeds, we took the two lane scenic routes through the hills. Winding roads with frequent slow curve warnings. Added to the reduced speeds, city restrictions, we had constant rain, some heavy downpours. Result, the 5.5 hour trip took closer to 8.5 hours.  The trip from Tennessee was predicted for 8.5 hours which is why we stopped in Indiana and got on the slow boat. There was a blessing hidden in this slow drive. After leaving Tennessee, we stopped for breakfast. Patti’s. A great breakfast. A Farmer’s omelette that was loaded wi