Savannah South KOA

Swimming swan

Swimming swan

Our home for the past four days has been the Savannah South KOA in Richmond Hill GA. Our primary concern in getting a place near Savannah is to be near Savannah, so we really didn’t look closely at the amenities of this park before we booked it. But it was a surprise. We love this place!

Some of our joy may be the result of 2 nights at a place that we really disliked. But we would have liked this park even if we had come here directly from Gulf Waters. It is clean, clean, clean. The staff is wonderful and our site had a great patio, with nice furniture, including a glider and a table with umbrella, a firepit and – most surprising of all – a propane grill. Perhaps we paid extra for these amenities – there are only 4 sites with patios on the premises – but whatever we paid, it was worth it. We loved the site.

We also loved the pond and the many swans and geese that populated it. Rusty didn’t quite know what to make of birds larger than he, but he had the good sense to keep his distance. If he had gotten close I am sure they would have kicked his ass.

The campground is very wooded and is completely serene. I loved walking Rusty along the pond. Or to the dog park. Rusty loved it, too.

This is probably one of the 10 best parks we have ever been in. Maybe top 5.

Our patio

Our patio

Our site

Our site

Pool

Pool

Activity room

Activity room

Dog park

Dog park

Rusty keeping his distance

Rusty keeping his distance

The pond

The pond

Categories: GA, Places, RV Parks, TTN | Leave a comment

Headstone hunting, Savannah edition

Mary Flournoy's headstone

Mary Flournoy’s headstone

If you like walking through cemeteries looking at headstones, consider joining FindAGrave.com. Its main purpose is to locate the final resting places of the dearly departed. But if you would like a photo of Uncle Ben’s headstone and are nowhere near his grave, you can post a photo request on FindAGrave and maybe, just maybe, someone like me will fulfill the request for you.

I found myself with a couple of spare hours yesterday in Savannah, so I took a look to see what photo requests were extant for cemeteries in or near Savannah. Much to my surprise, there were 10 photo requests for the Colonial Park Cemetery, a colonial cemetery right in the heart of Savannah. I saw my opportunity and I took it.

This cemetery was one of the rare ones that has a full plot plan that can be downloaded as a PDF. Good thing, too, as I never would have found the graves without it. The problem is that most of the headstones in this cemetery are more than 200 years old and most are sandstone, meaning that there is not much left of the inscriptions after 2 centuries of weathering. But with plot plan in hand I was able to track down and photograph 5 of the graves for which photo requests had been posted. I uploaded the photos and marked each request as “fulfilled.”

And I felt damn good about it. You might say that I felt fulfilled, too.

[NOTE: When the inscription is hard to read it sometimes helps to wet it to increase the contrast. I did this on the stone in the photo. I was looking for “Mary Flournoy” and could make out – barely – the “Flournoy”. But I wet the stone to get a better view of the first name. What I found was a barely legible “Mary” followed by “Willis.” When I returned to FindAGrave I found that the request was for “Mary Willis Flournoy.” Bingo!]

Categories: GA, Genealogy, Places | Leave a comment

TTN Hop 2: Ocala FL to Richmond Hill GA

TTN Hop 2

TTN Hop 2

221 miles via I-75, US 301, I-10, I-295 (around Jacksonville), I-95, US 84 and US 17. Cumulative tow miles: 438

We have traveled most of this route before. Taking US 301 from Ocala to Jacksonville cuts off many miles from the I-75/I-10 route. It is a bit slower, perhaps, but not bad. And more interesting, I think.

We did have two more arguments between Google maps and the GPS. First, the GPS told us to take FL 228 from I-75 to I-295, cutting out the entire 13 mile segment on I-10. We chose to ignore it. Afterward I looked at that route on Google maps and it considered the route to be 4 minutes slower, but 2 miles shorter. As the GPS was set to pick the fastest route I can’t see why it would think that route was faster.

Then, as we approached our destination in Richmond Hill GA, the GPS told us to take US 84 to US 17 north. Google maps was saying we should take I-95 all the way up to the intersection with US 17, then go south to get to our destination. This time we opted for the GPS and it cost us 2 miles. But we avoided an ugly turn across US 17 traffic, so I am happy with that tradeoff.

Google 1, GPS 1.

Our home for 4 nights is the Savannah South KOA in Richmond Hill GA. I will give a full review later, but our initial reaction is very positive – a beautiful park and a great site.

Or maybe we are just glad to not be surrounded by derelict RVs.

Categories: FL, GA, Places, Routes, TTN | Leave a comment

Ocala FL

Painted horse

Painted horse

We have stayed in the vicinity of Ocala several times before, but have never explored the city. This time I planned an extra day, just to give us time to look around. My tentative plan was to visit Silver Springs State Park and, perhaps, take one of their famous glass-bottomed boat tours. We did, in fact, get to the park, but it was breezy (too breezy for a boat trip?) and Jett was not in a walking mood, so we didn’t go in. A pity because the park looks very interesting. Florida has some wonderful state parks.

Instead we explored downtown Ocala. It is a small downtown, so it didn’t take long to see the whole thing. A craft beer festival was underway and that was enticing, but the entrance price was not: $35. Instead we walked around the perimeter and listened to some nice live music (“Sweet Home, Ocala”). We liked the painted horses that were scattered around downtown. These were the product of a 2011 public works project, the theme being to celebrate Ocala’s claim to being the thoroughbred horse capital of the world.

We completed the day with a Chinese dinner at China Lee Buffet. The selection was huge and the dishes I sampled were good to very good. And inexpensive – the total bill, with tip, was $30. Jett loved it and, for once, did not have an upset stomach after dinner. Recommended.

On our way home we picked up a 100 oz insulated mug for Jett. She plans on using it to keep her crushed ice cold while traveling. And if she want soda she can now get a 100 oz refill for $1.59. And lots of bathroom breaks along the way…

Painted horse

Painted horse

Painted horse

Painted horse

Guitar door

Guitar door

We also dined out Friday night – at about twice the cost – at the Ivy House Restaurant, an Ocala institution that bills itself as providing “genteel Southern dining”. It gets very good reviews on TripAdvisor, Yelp and Google and, overall, we were pretty impressed, too. It has a very old-fashioned décor, old-fashioned plates, traditional southern drinks (raspberry tea and lemonade) and excellent service. But some things are not quite what they appear. The furnishings were replicas, the decorations were fake plastic and even the chipped “china” was plastic. We did love the breads and salads and the green beans were very flavorful – probably sautéed in bacon fat. But Jett’s chicken entrée was ordinary and I think I made a mistake in ordering the BBQ shrimp and grits. While I enjoyed the shrimp and grits that I had last year in Charleston, this one was very, very sweet with a BBQ sauce that completely overwhelmed the delicate shrimp and grits flavors. I would not order it again.

Dining room

Dining room

Chandaliers

Chandeliers

Raspberry tea

Raspberry tea

BBQ shrimp and grits

BBQ shrimp and grits

China Lee Buffet

China Lee Buffet

100oz mug

100 oz mug

Categories: FL, Food, Places, TTN | Leave a comment

TTN Hop 1: Ft Myers Beach FL to Ocala FL

217 miles via I-75, FL 80, FL 31, US 17, US 98, US 301, I-75 (again) and US 27

TTN Hop 1

TTN Hop 1

There are times when the Google map route and the GPS route just don’t jibe, for no apparent reason, and this was one of those times. Google very clearly preferred taking FL 471 north from US 98 to US 301, bypassing Dade City, but the GPS insisted that taking US 98 all the way – despite it being 5 miles longer – was superior. Because we trust the GPS to keep us out of trouble we took US 98, which cost us not only the 5 miles but also about 10 minutes in travel time due to the Dade City rush hour traffic.

I like FL 31 and US 17, but US 98 through Lakeland was a PITA. Too much traffic, too many lights. Because of all the stop-and-go, the “low fuel” light lit when we were about a half mile from our destination. Not great mileage considering that the route is very flat.

Our home for two nights is the Oak Tree Village & Campground in Ocala. If our goal had been to find a place that was the polar opposite of Gulf Waters, we would have to declare success. While the site itself is fairly large and comfortable – and a pull-through, making for easy setup – the park reminds me of a housing project. We locked our door for the first time in 6 months when we went out to dinner. Not only are the “apartments” – cheap double-wide trailers – very low class and unappealing, but the RV section of the park is filled with ancient trailers that have not moved in years. A man I met in the dog park admitted that he had lived in the RV park for 12 years and expected to die there.

Well, we are staying for just 2 nights, but we are hoping that we don’t die there.

The park does have the large dog park, a new playground and a nice pool, so it is not without amenities. But it has no cable TV (we have a choice of 4 over-the-air channels) and is close enough to I-75 that we not only can hear the trucks go by, we can feel them go by.

We won’t return.

Our site at Oak Tree Village

Our site at Oak Tree Village

The wreck next door

The wreck next door

Apartment trailers

Apartment trailers

Dog park

Dog park

Pool

Pool

I-75

I-75

Categories: FL, Places, Routes, RV Parks, TTN | 3 Comments

And so it begins…

Ready to go

Ready to go

We will be leaving our home at Gulf Waters RV Resort in just a couple of hours. I have already mentioned how difficult this will be for us. We love this place and will miss it deeply. It is also the start of our first road trip without Grace and there will be additional sadness there.

This will be the start of over 7 months of nearly continuous travel. We will be making our second trip to the west coast and will be collecting overnight stays in each of the 16 states that we have not yet visited, completing our map. But it will be more than that: 11,400 towing miles through 36 state and 61 hops. Our longest stay will be 24 days in Plymouth MA in May, but no other stay will be more than 2 weeks. It is ambitious. And possibly exhausting.

But we are going to see some great places. Yellowstone, Glacier, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Arches National Parks. Many other places that we have on our “bucket list.” Some genealogical research.

It will be a full – and fulfilling – trip.

Fun, too.

Follow along with us.

Categories: Preparation/Planning, RV Living | 1 Comment

Gulf Waters by night

Night lights

Night lights

One of the many things I love about Gulf Waters is the way many of the owners illuminate their sites. There is a fun, festive feel about the place. It reminds me of my trip to Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen many years ago.

Just one more thing that we will miss when we leave – which is now just 24 hours away.

I didn’t sleep well last night because my mind was going a mile a minute thinking of things that need to be done to prepare for the trip. We are actually pretty well prepared, so getting out should be easy. But it will mark the end of five wonderful months at Gulf Waters and the start of 7 months of travel, through 36 or 37 states, with a cumulative towing miles total in excess of 11,000. And it will be our first RV trip without Grace, which will put another layer of sadness on our departure.

But it is time to go.

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EO Burgers

EO burger

EO burger

After a forgettable meal in Fort Myers Beach, we returned to EO Burgers in the Bell Tower Shops mall in Ft Myers. We had dined there (yes, I use the term “dined” for a burger place) in the first few weeks of our stay, liked it very much, and wanted to return before we headed north. Jett was afraid that we would be disappointed this time, but she needn’t have worried. The burgers were, once again, perfect and the fries and onion rings were to die for. This place, along with Ford’s Garage, are the places to go for a great burger in Fort Myers.

We are puzzled, though, by the lack of customers at EO Burgers. Once again we were the only customers in the place. I don’t know how they stay in business. I was actually relieved to see that they were still open. They have great burgers and deserve better.

I hope they are still there when we return.

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Fort Myers Beach

Times Square

Times Square

Jett and I have been living in Ft Myers Beach for nearly 5 months now, but we don’t live on the beach. We have driven down the Estero Blvd – the only street that runs the length of the beach – but never actually saw the beach, walked the beach or dipped our toes in the Gulf of Mexico. Well, we took care of that on Saturday. It is something we should have done at the start of our stay and perhaps we could have made it a regular thing.

The main reason we avoid the beach is the traffic. There is just one bridge – with a single lane southbound onto the island – and it is busy whenever the sun is shining, which is most of the time. Once you are on Estero Island you need to find a place to park and can expect to pay at least $10 for the day. Maybe more in the peak season. We avoid Cape Cod for the same reasons – don’t like the traffic, don’t like the cost.

But for us there was another way. The LeeTran “Beach Trollee” – a cute trolley-style bus that runs from the Summerlin Square terminal, about a quarter-mile from our RV park, right down to the beach. Cost per ride: 75 cents. So that is what we did – drove to the terminal, took the bus to the beach, took the bus back downtown, did some sightseeing, had dinner, took the bus home.

There is one other major advantage to the bus: it has a dedicated lane on the bridge. While it still gets stuck in some traffic before the bridge, having that lane all to itself probably cuts 10 minutes off the travel time most days.

Bowditch Beach

Bowditch Beach

Our first stop was Bowditch Point Park and Bowditch Beach where I stuck my toes in the water. Chilly but swimmable.

Then down to Times Square, the honky-tonk entertainment area near the pier. We enjoyed the sun, the music (an oldies band was playing in the square) and admired the beach, the atmosphere and the bikinis. Well, maybe Jett didn’t admire the bikinis, but I did.

We then had dinner at the Yucatan Beach Stand Bar & Grill. It had some atmosphere and my blackened Mahi tuna was tasty. But it came on a mushy bed of pasta with a tasteless pesto sauce. Mediocre at best. Same for Jett’s burger. Not a bad place, but you can probably do better.

Final stop: the ice cream shop for some soft-serve. A small cup of soft serve for $4.50. Again, forgettable. If you want ice cream in Ft Myers Beach, go to Love Boat Ice Cream instead. The ice cream there is superb.

Beach and pier

Beach and pier

Yucatan

Yucatan

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A really fine piña colada

A tall, tasty one

A tall, tasty one

On Friday Jett and I were out-and-about, running errands in preparation for the trip north. One of those errands was getting Rusty groomed. Another was getting Jett some new shoes. We finished getting the shoes before Rusty was finished being groomed, so we decided to have a late lunch at the Bahama Breeze near the shoe store.

I don’t think anyone has ever claimed that the Bahama Breeze chain is due for a Michelin star. It seems to sell atmosphere more than food. But the fact is that I have never had anything there that I didn’t absolutely love – both food and drinks. On this day I ordered a jerk chicken sandwich and, because it was after 3pm, decided to try the half-price “Ultimate Piña Colada.” The jerk chicken was fine, as were the “Key West Nachos” that Jett and I shared. But the big winner was the piña colada. It was served in a tall glass with pineapple garnish and had a big red splotch, like the surface of Jupiter. It was a strawberry puree – probably the same stuff they use to make frozen strawberry daiquiris – with the run and coconut flakes on top. Absolutely delicious!

I had two.

And we still made it back to the groomer before Rusty was finished.

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