Farthest South in 2012

Wow, that was an easy ride from Savannah to Jacksonville. Only one "nut" during the ride. I must be getting real accustomed to these little jaunts between campgrounds. The Pecan Park RV cg is just off I-95. It seems real new and very well kept. All large pull thru sites with full hook ups. It's hot and humid and no one seems to be out and about as I did my usual park walk. Most of the rigs as mega-monsters, big class A's. This is definitely not a "trailer-park". Took a little ride into downtown, toured the Science & History Museum and the Riverwalk area. Jacksonville is a much bigger city than I thought at near 1 million population and well over that when including the surrounding communities. I had a very nice evening with cousin Bobbie and her friend Marilyn. Fernandina Beach is a cute town with lots of nice restaurants, shops, and several really good ice cream stores. Our stroll around town after dinner was very pleasant.

I spent most of one morning on the phone with the IRS figuring out my registered tax preparer status, scheduling the required continuing education classes, and juggling my itinerary to get to the right location on the right dates. This wasn't fun! Oh well, at least it's done (I hope).

What a great day. I went for a hike at the Theodore Roosevelt Wildlife area within the Timucuan Ecological Preserve. Upon entering the little museum and welcome center I met Mary Hammond. She was the volunteer manning the center and a full time RV'er. We chatted for about 1 1/2 hours! . She provided me with info on volunteering for the National Park Service and I gave her info on Loners on Wheels. Our little chat would have been enough to make for a nice day, but it get better. As I began my hike I watched a guy get all suited up for his hike. He checked his boots, put on a belt with a canteen and pocket knife. Fixed his hat and grabbed a walking stick. I said hi and mentioned that he sure looked prepared. Bill introduced himself and we began hiking together. He's a former Army MP who apparently hikes this park frequently. We did about eight miles in about three hours, chatting the whole time. The hike seemed to go fast with the company. After the hike he invited me to an American Legion Hall where we chatted a bit more over a cold beer. He got me thinking about maybe joining the American Legion and the VFW. I seem to remember that both occasionally allow RV'ers to park overnight and both definitely provide camaraderie where ever I travel. Jacksonville Beach was a short drive from the Legion Post. I walked up and down the beach for about 1 1/2 hours taking in the roll of the waves, a light breeze, and lots of bikinis.

The Alhambra Theater in Jacksonville was beautiful. I'm continuing to enjoy these local playhouses. This time it was a dinner theater showing Phantom of the Opera. The food was incredible, the play was great, and the other patrons at my table were delightful. In fact, this playhouse was so enjoyable that I'll try to stay in this area on my way north just to attend another performance. When I got back to the RV the flea market right next door was still open. I felt an obligation to at least check it out since it seems to have a common owner with the RV park. The stalls were in the process of closing as I walked slowly through all three huge buildings. I guess I'm just not much of a consumer or collector but at least I got a little stroll in.

It looked a little like rain so I closed the awning and put the sewer connection in, something really not pleasant to do in the rain. It rained a little during the night and came down a bit harder in the morning. Absolutely no hurry today with only about 60 miles to drive to St. Augustine. The rain didn't ease up so I finished hooking up and got soaked doing it. As I drove south the rain get lighter and finally stopped and turned into a pretty day. I suddenly had this urge for Chinese food. I set up and headed for some Chinese take out. This seems like a pretty small RV park, I'm not sure where 25 rigs from LoW group are going to fit. The one scrawny tree by my rig blocked the sat. dish. I seemed to have room to move so I kept going up and back a foot or two until I finally got reception. The tourist brochures seem to show lots of things to do and see in the area. I'm sure when the LoW's get here we'll have lots of little day trips to take.

I took the trolley ride around the old historic St. Augustine and took notes on things I'd like to check out. First on my list was Anastasia State Park. I camped here over 30 years ago while travelling around the country on a motorcycle. I remember pitching my pup tent under some trees in full view of the beach. I remember a beautiful park, beach, and evening. I drove around the camping area but couldn't find the site I felt was the one I'd camped at. In the 30+ years, the park had probably undergone several changes. I walked along the beach for a few hours. Over the next few days while waiting for the LoW campers to arrive, I took a cruise around St. Augustine bay and walked the old historic part of the city. The old fort, Castillo del San Marcos, was very interesting. The fort was build in 1672 and is the oldest masonry fort in the United States. The masonry walls are actually made of local seashells which harden over time. Can you imagine ducking behind a pile of seashells to protect yourself from incoming cannon balls? Another day I climbed the historic lighthouse, went through their museum, and walked around the little boat launch and park. Strolled the Spanish section of St. Augustine. It seemed more touristy than the historic section with lots of shops and restaurants. The flea market adjacent to the RV park is pretty good sized. I'm always amazed at the junk that is someone else's treasure (lol). I did buy some fruits and vegetables and got a great price on a new set of sheets.


I met five couples at the RV park, all from TX and OK, and all here to help set up for a Good Sam Rally. They invited me to join them for dinner. We sat around chatting about everything from Good Sam to politics and religion. Nice evening. Another couple who were Camping World ambassadors, seemed to know some of the Good Samer's but were very stand-offish. They didn't join us for happy hour or pot luck and barely spoke. Very Strange! Several days later, when they left, they went off with their awning out and ripped it off on a telephone pole (:=(. I was on the phone with my son Zack when I noticed some people walking around my rig checking something out. I cut the call short and met Jacques & Therese, a couple from Quebec. Their water line was leaking and they were checking out how mine was hooked up. Cute couple who kept switching back and forth between French and English, occasionally getting mixed up and speaking French to me and English to each other (lol).

The LoW's arrived!!! I had joked with Jan in the campground office that the LoW group had coordinated their arrival so all 25 rigs would show up at the same time. I think most of them really did!! The SE-LoW's are a great group. I didn't realize how much I missed them. It was fantastic to see these people who felt like old friends even though we just met last year. The park seemed to run out of sites and put Ron Henderson off in never-never land. Ron is nearing 92 years old and has more energy than most any two or three others combined. He is incredible! A retired engineer who fought in the Battle of the Bulge in WWII and has been full timing for well over 30 years. I enjoy hearing his many stories. I went with him to his assigned site to help and discovered there was no electric hook up and the site had a pile of dirt blocking it. I went to the office and got him another site which the campground tries not to use. After I got Ron set up at his new site and had gone back to my rig, Jan, from the office, and one of the maintenance workers, Mike, came knocking. Jan didn't realize that the pump house Ron was now camped at was scheduled to have major work done the next day. Mike quickly extended an electric line to the original site and they asked me to explain to Ron and get him moved yet again. Good thing Ron is such an easy going person. He took it all in stride and we had him settled in no time.

Happy hour, yippee! Bobbi is so organized. She had sign ups for over a half dozen side trips, everything from the trolley tours, a cruise, pirate ship, golf, and even a combination obstacle course and zip line. I'd already gone on the trolley tour but they need one more to get a discount for everyone so off I went. It was much more fun doing the tour with the SE-LoW's than on my own last week. We had a great lunch at a Cuban restaurant, the Columbia. Three of us shared a champagne sangria. I think Cheryl got a little tipsy (lol). Carolyn, Mary Kay, Nancy, and I went off golfing. The good news was a got very rare birdy. The bad news, a lost four balls in water and ended with a 105 (:-(.  A bunch of us went to the Lightner Museum. I had wanted to see this beautiful building and it's collection of collections. We had a lovely lunch at the Alcazar Bistro and then went walking on the beach. Our pot luck dinner was it's typical delicious meal. John Henry fried a turkey, Linda made some stuffing, and all the other fix'ins were great. Sitting out most evening listening to Dave Irons sing and play his guitar, life just doesn't get any better. Hurricane Sandy is heading up the Atlantic coast but was kind enough to stay mostly away from us. The high winds did cause the Pirate Ship cruise to get cancelled so about 20 of us went to dinner and a comedy club. The place looked a little dumpy but the food was excellent. I couldn't get over how efficient the waitress was. She handled our table with 20 individual checks plus another table of eight with ease. The comedy club was great. The Disgruntled Clown was really good. This 6'7", 350 lb clown had me in tears! Two hecklers up front, both women, tried to get under his skin. He was obviously annoyed by them but handled them fine.

Bobbi put together a last minute campground dinner that was fantastic. Everyone kicked in $3 and we had more fried chicken and fish than the group could eat plus lots of side dishes. It was a nice end to a great gtg.

I met my cousins Bobbie and Ellen for dinner Sunday evening. They choose a great restaurant in the old Spanish section. The Tasting Room had delicious tapas and a great wine. After, we walked around a little and had some ice cream. It was a lovely evening. We're planning to get together right after New Years when Bobbie returns from her vacation. First, a belated New Years party at her place and then the Johnny Cash play, Ring of Fire, at the Alhambra Dinner Theatre. I'm already looking forward to it.

I took my time in the morning and was on the road around 10am. A few hours later I was pulling in to Paradise Oaks in Bushnell. I felt like I was coming home. This is the first campground that I'm at a second time. It's where I met the SMART folks last year and had a moving experience at the Florida National Cemetery on Veterans Day. It's where a bunch of us sat in the hot tub enjoying several evenings. I feel like I'm heading home.

I had just backed in and not even set up when the team of Joan & Linda asked if I'd like to join them for a Chinese lunch. Absolutely! There are only a few of us LoW's here today and it was a little chilly. Still, we sat out for an hour or so and laughed at the many stories Joan has of her travels with Linda. I caught up with my wash and had a great nights sleep. The rigs left rear tire was very low on air. I set up my little compressor and the tire seemed to hold. I'll have to keep an eye on it. The next morning was also a little chilly but it warmed up fast. A bunch of us went out for a chicken lunch. By evening there were about 20 LoW rigs around. By the next day there were closer to 70 rigs. What a great rally! The catered breakfasts and dinners were "so so" but the activities seemed non-stop. I felt honored and got a little emotional to participate in the veteran ceremony run by Dave Irons. The karaoke Dave also organized was lots of fun. Mary Kay, Nancy, and I did sneak out one morning to join Carolyn who was staying at Flori LoW Oaks and play some golf. About 30 women teamed up in pairs, putting their names on slips of paper to be bid on, blind, by us guys, with the women then taking the winning bidder to lunch. The proceeds went to LoW activities and I couldn't let the bid go below $10 soooo, I wound up with two winning bids and a harem of four women. I got ribbed a little (lol). Sheila & Lulu (yes, her name is Lulu) took me to a Waffle House. Noreen & Nancy brought flowers and took me to a great deli called Too Jays at the Villages. The Villages is a fairly new and fast growing community of about 70,000. The community has lots of golf courses, several little town areas with shopping, and all kinds of residences from townhouses to up scale single family homes. Very pretty. Noreen, Nancy, and I met at Marvins, with Noreen driving us in Marvin's car and he tagging along. Rather than hold everyone up walking back and forth to my rig to leave the flowers, I left them in Marvin's rig. Later, Marvin brought the flowers to me with a photo taken of his handing them to me. Of course he signed the photo inside a heart (kind of funny, even with the ribbing I took). The husband and wife music entertainment team kept us dancing until about 10pm. I kept my word and danced with almost every woman in the place. I won a prize for the costume with the best hair. It was great fun.

The last evening we had the world famous Homer Noodleman for entertainment (if you've never seen him do a google, he's hilarious). Homer has a great comedy act, he plays several musical instruments, and has a really good singing voice. What amazes me most is the energy he puts into his act. We were in stitches! With the rally over and about a dozen of us staying on for the Escapee gtg, we continued our happy hour by Linda's rig. Tuesday evening the cg let us use their large grill and the clubhouse. We had an impromptu pot luck and listened to Dave sing and play guitar. Bobbi, Linda, and I hit the hot tub several evenings with Pat joining us on one occasion. This is a fabulous lifestyle!

As the rally broke up, my little Margie slipped me her phone number and suggested lunch. Before anyone reading this gets any wrong ideas, Margie is about 4'10", weighs 75lbs soaking wet, and just celebrated her 90th birthday! She does have more energy than most any three people combined. Margie grew up in Minnesota and has told me stories of her ice fishing days with her parents. She's a doll! She was in the mood for Mexican so off we went. She finished off almost a half pitcher of sangria. What a pleasant afternoon.

Dave took me to the Escapee luncheon where I met many of the folks I had first seen last year. I tried not to eat too much at the Golden Corral buffet but didn't quite succeed. Wow, was I stuffed. The Escapees began to arrive almost as the LoW folks were still leaving. Last year Sharon Hatch adopted me into Escapees. This year I adopted Charlie. I reminded him next time he saw Sharon to be sure to say "hi" to his new Grandma! (lol)  The SKP food was really good, from the road kill stew to the pot luck to the pizza. They had the same entertainment as last year and once again I danced with every female I could grab (lol). A bunch of us went on an air boat ride, I got to carry the flag in the veterans ceremony, and, as with last year, I got all choked up at the Veterans Day ceremony at the National Cemetery. We went to a local park from the cemetery and enjoyed each others company along with hot dogs, hamburgers, and lots of fixings. About a dozen of us LoW'ers went out for a great steak dinner. The prime rib was delicious! Bobbi, Linda, and I hung out in the hot tub. In the morning all but John Hubbard and I headed out. Another great rally.

I took my time in the morning, no hurry. As I packed up I saw the left rear tire was again flat. John had gone to a Goodyear tire store just down the road and had good things to say about them. He drove me over and they had the right tire in stock. I finished hooking up and drove slow with the compressor having brought the tire up to about 45psi. It was going to take about an hour so John and I went to a barbecue place for lunch. When we got back I had two new tires and was ready to go. John went back and got his rig and followed me. Slow, easy drive to the Atlantic coast. It went pretty well although I did pull off once at a wrong exit and John and I had to make a tight U-turn to get back on the FL Turnpike. We arrived about 2:30pm, checked in easy and found David Poole hanging out. Relaxing afternoon with some beer and watching some people fish. The next day the three of us did a little exploring. We went to the Warbird Museum which was pretty interesting we lots of planes and artifacts from WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam era. We had a nice lunch at Corky Bells and checked out the Cocoa Beach Pier. While enjoying some beer, we watched the surfers and lots of pelicans. They are big birds and one actually let a few people pet him. Next day Ron Henderson, Jerry McKay, June, & June's mom Becky arrived. It seems the Space LoW chapter will be closing and this may be the last gtg. They didn't even have any equipment for morning coffee. We had our own breakfast and enjoyed our coffee as a group. David and I played some pool. We were so evenly matched it was eerie, we are equally in need of some lessons (lol). We piled into two cars and went to Blue Springs State Park to spend the day watching manatees. When we returned, Dwight came by to visit with us and a new LoW'er, Barbara showed up. June got some pizza and we all hung out for the evening. John & David left in the morning. Barbara, Ron, and I went hiking at the Enchanted Forest Sanctuary. We did about 3 - 4 miles while asking Ron if he was okay. At 91 he has more energy than Barbara and I combined!!

In the evening we went out to dinner and in the morning everyone but Barbara and I headed out. I had gotten a ticket to see Driving Miss Daisy at the Titusville Playhouse and Barbara managed to get one of the last tickets and join me for the play and dinner. Yet again I am amazed at how wonderful these local playhouses are. The show was absolutely great. Barbara headed out the next morning and I finally got to take my longer hike at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. It was a cold, wet day and so my hike was a short one. Cleaned up a little and pulled in the slides, just in case it rains overnight.

Took my time in the morning and left around 11am. Slow and very easy drive south on I-95. John Prince Park is pretty although my site is a bit tighter this year than last. Right after setting up I walked over and found Ira & Elaine. The couple I met last year recognized me immediately. They are such nice folks. It was very relaxing to sit out with Ira for a little while and chat a bit. Thanksgiving dinner at the Calienes was absolutely the best. These are great people who always make me feel welcome. I am so lucky to have such friends. It was such a lovely evening, we ate dinner outside. Armando, Madeline, her parents, his parents, their two sons, Madeline's sister, her husband, their two daughters, Armando's sister and her three daughters. These are all happy people and beautiful families. Ira, Elaine, and I sat out and chatted a bit more. We had lunch together one day. Armando, Madeline, and I went to the movies and dinner another evening. This was a great stop for me even if I didn't play golf as I did last year. It was definitely melancholy leaving. I enjoy the folks in this area but, onward I go, now turning North.