Our Wander Years

STN Hop 3: Savannah GA to Hamer SC (South of the Border)

Posted on April 18, 2016 by Sparky

225 miles, on I-516, GA 21 and I-95, with 10 extra miles due to my screwup. Cumulative distance: 714 miles.

STN Hop 3

This was supposed to be easy. But I misread the map and took a wrong turn onto I-516 in Savannah and ended up on the local streets. Some 10 miles and almost 30 minutes later I was back on track, heading north on I-95. The screwup did nothing to help Jett’s sensitive stomach as she HATES hauling the RV through busy local roads (and I can’t say I am much of a fan of that, either), but she eventually calmed down. We took one short rest area break about 2 hours into the trip. Other than the early screwup, it was an uneventful trip in bright sunshine and comfortable temperatures (about 70 all the way).

But we cut it close on the tank range: the “low fuel” warning came on just a quarter of a mile short of our destination.

Sombrero Tower

Which was South of the Border. For those of you who have traveled the I-95 corridor – or those of you who, like me, traveled to Florida before I-95 existed – you will know the place of which I speak. Nowadays, even if you don’t stop there, you can’t be unaware of its presence as the billboards begin about 120 miles away and increase in frequency and size as you approach. Like Wall Drug in South Dakota, you are drawn to it, just out of curiosity. What in the blazes could justify such hype?

Well, hype isn’t needed for places that are truly interesting. I don’t think there is a single billboard for the Grand Canyon. South of the Border needs hype. It is a “tourist trap” of the first order. In its heyday – which is now so far in the past that you can’t see it with a telescope – was a glitzy extravaganza of pure kitsch. It was a go-to place for trinkets and souvenir junk of all kinds. Fireworks. Climb the Sombrero Tower. Eat and get gas. One-stop shopping for those who just needed to stop.

But Jett’s first comment when she saw the huge, sprawling complex from the I-95 exit: “It looks deserted.” And indeed it did. The kiddie carnival area had about 3 people there – on a nice Saturday afternoon. The shopping area had a handful of cars. There seemed to be no one at the restaurant. Overall… sad and dying. A fading monument to pre-Interstate travel.

But there is an RV park at South of the Border, which is a popular overnight RV stop for snowbirds. Which is why we stopped there. It isn’t a great RV park, but it is inexpensive (about $33) and decent. We enjoyed our one night – and the $1.86/gal diesel price at the SOB truck stop.

The SOB sign and beach shop

Our rig at SOB

Categories: Places, Routes, RV Parks, SC, STN | Leave a comment

STN Hop 2: Citra FL to Savannah GA

Posted on April 16, 2016 by Sparky

STN Hop 2

224 miles on US 301, I-10, I-295 (around Jacksonville) and I-95. Cumulative miles: 475.

Spectacular cypress

The weather was less than ideal – intermittent showers the entire 4-hour trip – and much of the trip was on I-95, which we have traveled several times already. So the interesting part of the trip was the 67 miles on US 301. This is a decent 4-lane road with very few lights or stops. It passes through Starke, home to Florida’s very active death row (though the prison itself was not in sight) and traffic was heavy there. But it was Florida, so it was flat and green. Pretty boring.

Our destination for the evening was Red Gate Farms, an “event venue” and, incidentally, an RV park. It is… strange. The RV “park” is pretty much just an open field with water and electric connections scattered about. There are probably fewer than 40 sites in all. Our water-and-electric site was “clubhouse right” – i.e., the site to the right of the clubhouse. Some of the facilities – like a decrepit stage – were awful. But the clubhouse was nice and the grounds, with a scenic lake and a stunningly awesome cypress, were very nice. And it was very close to downtown Savannah which, if we had adhered to our original plan to spend three nights here, would have been very convenient. I also appreciated having a gas station very close by which had diesel for $1.99 per gallon (regular was $2.03).

Scenic but risky lake

I walked the dogs down to the lake and saw a sign warning of snakes and alligators. But a more immediate danger was the gaggle of geese on the shore. They did not like the dogs and appeared to be ready to defend their turf. We decided to let them be. But we coulda took ’em.

On to South of the Border today for a true kitsch experience.

Our rig (in the background)

The full-hookup row

Categories: FL, GA, Places, Routes, RV Parks, STN | Leave a comment

STN Hop 1: North Ft Myers FL to Citra FL

Posted on April 15, 2016 by Sparky

STN Hop 1

230 miles, mostly on I-75.

Last dog park walk

I gave the dogs one last walk to the dog park, then, after waiting for our neighbor to pull out first, we were on our way. It was 11am – about an hour later than we planned – and we paid for our tardiness in Citra by getting caught in a downpour while setting up.

About 210 of the 230 miles were on I-75 and about half of those were construction zone. The scenery consisted of orange barrels. Lanes were dropped or narrowed over long stretches. If it had been the weekend – or even Friday, I think – it would have been very unpleasant. But midday Thursday wasn’t too bad. Even Tampa, which is seemingly always backed up, flowed pretty well.

We stopped once. We didn’t really need a break after just 2 hours, but we had some difficulty in entering our destination into the GPS. I guess the “NW 45th Ave St” (sic) made as much sense to the GPS as it did to us. Entering the name of the campground (Grand Lake) made the GPS happy and got us underway again.

The hop, with GPS stop, took just a few minutes under 4 hours.

Ready to leave Seminole

Our home for the evening, as previously mentioned, was the Grand Lake Golf and RV Resort in Citra, FL. This is a very large (estimate: 500 sites) RV park with many park models and long-term residents. But no trashy long-term residents. All the RV units were newer and in good repair. But many sites had landscape improvements and quite a few had permanent steps and/or wooden decks. I think sites could be owned as the reception desk was labeled “Sales Office”.

The weather was terrible – a downpour while setting up and brisk winds that prevented us from deploying the awning. We also had a tree in close proximity that brushed against the RV, which affected the quality of our sleep. But despite these negatives, I thought the place was very nice. Having a golf course on site was a plus, but there was also a very nice rec hall, a laundry with new machines, a very large dog park and a restaurant, right on the shores of Orange Lake with a lakeside patio (which would have been great had the weather been better), that served surprisingly good food. Their fried green tomatoes were tangy and crisp – just the way we like them. I had a shrimp basket that was very tasty and filling. I didn’t really need dessert but had to try the “peanut pie.” It was like a slice of peanut butter cheesecake. A bit disappointing in that it didn’t have chunks of peanuts, but good enough to finish.

The park also has cable TV – 44 channels. Most of them were either news or sports, so the number of entertainment choices wasn’t a big improvement over our 8 over-the-air channels at Seminole. But it was a relief to not have to deal with a weak signal.

After the downpour

Grand Lake street

Grand Lake patio

Grand Lake restaurant and tree

Categories: FL, Places, RV Parks, STN | Leave a comment

The best laid schemes…

Posted on April 13, 2016 by Sparky

… o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft a-gley (Robert Burns, “To a Mouse”).

After carefully working out all of the details of the STN (second trip north), as previously reported, Jett was notified today that her brother has decided to forgo further chemotherapy and is now in hospice with a projected lifespan of no more than two weeks. Rather than taking a leisurely trip north we are going to strap on the afterburners and hastily head to Massachusetts tomorrow morning. The trip will still be 7 hops, but they will all be one-night stops, with the exception of the Maryland (formerly Virginia) stop which will be two nights, to give Jett an opportunity to get a few much-needed hugs from her sons and grandson.

The three days we squeeze out of the trip north will be added onto our MA stay, giving us a full week there. Obviously we will be visiting with her brother immediately upon arrival. And hopefully a few more times after that.

Categories: STN | 2 Comments

Ft Myers dog parks

Posted on April 7, 2016 by Sparky

Seminole dog park

Dogs love parks, especially parks that cater to canines. What is not to love? Lots of smells to sniff, lots of pups to play with, complete off-the-leash freedom. The campground has a very nice dog park, with two enclosures, fresh water and an occasional tortoise to break the monotony if no other dogs are around. It is their favorite destination within the park.

And it is a good destination for me, as well. With the morning sun hitting the trees, it is a great wake-up spot.

For all these reasons – and the fact that it is a short walk from our campsite – we hit this dog park nearly every day.

But there are other dog parks in the Ft Myers area and we checked out two of them this season.

Seminole dog buddies

Morning dog park sun

First, we found the Judd Community Park dog park in North Fort Myers. This is a fairly small dog park which wasn’t much better than the Seminole dog park. But it did have a large contingent of other pooches, which Grace loved and which made Rusty nervous. We didn’t stay long and we didn’t go back.

Judd Community Park

Then, just a week ago, we drove 10 miles to the Barkingham Dog Park, in the Buckingham Park. This park was more interesting but was still somewhat less that I expected. I had heard that dogs could swim there, so I thought it might be similar to the incredible dog park at James Island in Charleston. But it turns out that the only swimming was in a pond adjacent to the enclosure which was posted with “Caution – Alligators” signs. Letting the dogs swim there struck me as being unacceptably risky. I did let Grace wade in – on the leash – and, of course, she immediately flopped down in the mud. That dog loves the water.

We haven’t returned to Barkingham, either, but we may. It is a very nice dog park.

We will keep our eyes open for more dog parks, but these are the only two public ones that I know of within 10 miles of the RV park.

Barkingham

The pond near the dog park

Grace taking a dip

Categories: RV Living, RV Parks | Leave a comment

A season of puzzles

Posted on April 5, 2016 by Sparky

Tootsie Roll toughie

You can’t say that I wasn’t productive this winter. Softball, golf, dog walking… and jigsaw puzzles. My good buddy Dale and I completed a bunch of them. There were a few 300- and 500-piece puzzles, but most were big, difficult 1000-piecers. The toughest one was the one headlining this post – a jumble of Tootsie Rolls, Tootsie Pops, Dots and Junior Mints. Not only was it difficult but it also made me very hungry.

Another toughie was the one just completed – a painting of what seems to be a Venice canal. This one was tough because it was, when broken into 1,000 pieces, just splotches of color. Dale said he would burn it.

Venice menace

The 300- and 500-piece puzzles:

Winter scene

Village

Dogs

Cottage

Bears

Categories: RV Living | Leave a comment

The Plan for the Second Trip North (STN)

Posted on April 2, 2016 by Sparky

STN plan – FL to MA

Our winter season in Florida is drawing to a close and we are beginning the preparations for hauling the fifth wheel, the dogs and ourselves north for what we hope will be an interesting and productive summer in Vermont. We have already done the “wellness checks” on the vehicles, have tested the hydraulics on the RV and the umbilical linkage between the truck and the RV and have adjusted tire pressures. I have planned a route, have booked campsites along the way and have checked the route for low bridges. We are pretty much ready to go.

This is going to be a relatively quick trip – 14 days. We need to be in Vermont by April 30 and are planning on an April 28 arrival, just to give us a day to settle in. Total distance traveled: 1,748 miles in 8 hops (it would be shorter if we wanted to skirt NYC, but we have learned to give it a wide berth). Highlights will include a full weekend in Savannah, GA, an overnight at South of the Border (a guilty pleasure), 4 nights with family in VA and 3 nights at a campground in MA that we remember fondly from a tenting trip many years ago. The hop from MA to VT will also be interesting as much of it will be on local New England roads (always an adventure) and goes through areas that we have not visited before. And when we get there we can add a 32nd state to our map.

The weather could also be interesting. It will probably be near 90 degrees when we leave FL and there will likely still be snow in the mountains when we reach VT. I hope that there won’t be many freezing nights as dealing with frozen water lines is never fun.

STN plan – MA to VT

As this map shows, we have several choices of routes to VT. We will probably take the one shown in blue, but I need to thoroughly review all the routes for low bridges (which I have done once, but checking twice is necessary) and possible fuel stops, should the tank run dry earlier than expected.

Now that the park is emptying (and softball season is over), I am getting anxious to get on the road. And on to our new careers as “workampers”.

Categories: STN | 1 Comment

Banana Derby

Posted on March 21, 2016 by Sparky

One-man band

We spent a few hours at the Lee County Fair recently. We like county fairs. Yes, we gorged on unhealthy food (funnel cakes, sno-cones and a really tasty gyro dripping with dill sauce), checked out the farm animals (I liked the exotic chickens). We watched the one-man band. I even – at Jett’s urging – paid 50 cents to see the “headless woman”, ostensibly a real human being who was decapitated in an auto accident and was kept alive through a “medical miracle” (which, if true, makes one wonder who paid for that). She looked like a headless refugee from a wax museum. And she was fully clothed. Recommendation to carnival brass: pose her naked and charge a dollar.

Jett and Gilligan (Jett on right)

But the real highlight was the Banana Derby. You have heard of dog-and-pony shows? Well, this was a dog-and-monkey show. Yes, monkey jockeys riding dogs in a race around a short oval. It really wasn’t a fair race as one dog was clearly younger and faster than the other. And the faster dog had the more experienced monkey jockey. But both dogs and both monkeys got treats, so I guess they didn’t much care about the blatant unfairness of it all. There wasn’t much wagering, either.

The race was preceded by a dog doing some high-wire tricks – walking a high beam and jumping off an elevated platform.

As Jett is a big fan of both monkeys and dogs (ok, so am I), it was a pleasant way to spend 20 minutes. Totally free, too – except for the $10 that Jett paid to have her photo taken with her favorite monkey (twice).

Good food, good weather and a dog-and-monkey race. Does it get any better?

Platform leap

High-wire act

The big race

Categories: Adventures, FL, Places | Leave a comment

Jett, American Princess

Posted on March 21, 2016 by Sparky

I haven’t blogged much lately because I have been busy doing some genealogical research. I have learned a lot more about my forebearers than I ever knew before. I may be related to old Scottish royalty. Pretty cool.

But Jett’s family has been even more interesting.

I have gotten almost nowhere on her mother’s Irish side. And her paternal grandmother – an English war bride from WW II – is also a blank slate. But the rest of her paternal lineage is fascinating. I have traced most of her paternal great-grandfather’s line back to the founding of America and every single immigrant that I could document arrived before 1700. And 95% arrived before 1650. I would characterize that lineage as “purebred Pilgrim” and the founding fathers of most of New England. I had documented members of her family who were original settlers of the Massachusetts towns of Salem, Watertown, Concord, Lexington and Bridgewater and the Maine town of Kittery. And, yes, Plymouth and Boston, too.

She is descended from not one but at least 5 of the 45 passengers of the Mayflower who survived the trip and the horrific first winter. She is a direct descendant of John Alden, arguably one of the most famous of the 45. He was, technically, not a Pilgrim as he made the voyage as a crewman rather than a passenger, but was immortalized in Longfellow’s poem, The Courtship of Miles Standish. And, yes, she is also a direct descendant of Priscilla Mullins, the women made famous by the poem and the one who uttered the famous line, “Why don’t you speak for yourself, John?”

I told Jett that, with this lineage, she is as close to royalty as we get in America.

I am sure she will remind me of that frequently.

Categories: Family | Leave a comment

Moving the Yaris

Posted on March 11, 2016 by Sparky

One of the reasons we chose a (towable) fifth wheel RV over a (drivable) motorhome was that we wouldn’t need to tow a car to get around once we reached our destination. The plan was to park the RV, unhitch the pickup truck and then use the truck to get anywhere we needed to go locally. However… that plan didn’t take into account Jett’s fear of driving a diesel dually. You see, while was very comfortable driving her own pickup before we went on the road, it was a tiny Ranger – barely larger than our Mazda 3. Now, over 3 years later, she has still never been behind the wheel of the GMC 3500. Too long, too wide, she says. I keep thinking we need to do some training – like taking her out into an empty parking lot like I did with my sons before they got their licenses – but it hasn’t happened yet.

We made it through our first long stay – in San Jose and Temecula, California – by renting cars. We did the same our first summer in Littleton, MA. That met the need, but was expensive. So one of the very first things we did when we arrived in Fort Myers in November, 2013, was to purchase a Toyota Yaris for Jett’s use. We planned to sell it in April, 2014, when we headed back to Massachusetts, but Jett liked the car so much that we decided to transport it. We checked into commercial transport and found that prices hovered around $700. Instead, we hired Jett’s brother to fly to Florida and drive it back, for $600. Yes, it was 1,500 miles of additional wear-and-tear but we trusted her brother more than we trusted the union guys in the car carrier.

We did the same thing, in reverse, to get the car back to Florida this fall. Now we need to get it north again. This time we have opted to drive it ourselves. No, Jett is not going to follow the RV north – that would be too simple. And too much driving for her sore back. So I am going to drive it north, to her brother’s place, then fly back a day before we have to begin the long haul north in the RV. That will be *2* 1,500-mile trips for me, back-to-back, but I don’t have a sore back (yet) and I actually enjoy driving. Plus I don’t have to pay myself.

The Yaris goes in today for an oil change and a “wellness check” to make sure it is ready for the trip, which begins 4 weeks from tomorrow.

Maybe I can get Jett to that empty parking lot and have her drive the truck before I go. She would then have the confidence to use the truck in my absence. And maybe we could sell the Yaris someday.

Hey, a guy can dream, right?

Categories: RV Living | 2 Comments