Tampa… The Ultimate Gated RV Community!

Sunset at Mac Dill AFB!

Helen at the SeaScapes Beach Club!

Today I am reporting on the ultimate gated RV community. The security is unbelievable. They even protect the park from the air. Their aircraft of choice are F-15 Hornets! The gates are terrorist proof, with lift up steel barriers. The security guards ask for a 100% ID check. They are fully armed with machine guns. In the morning, they give you a wake up call with “Reveille” . Yes, I am talking about Mac Dill Air Force Base. The RV park is located on the southern tip of the base at Gadsden Point. There is water on three sides of us. What a resort! To the South, in a distance, we can see the Sunshine Skyway Bridge with its high columns and fan shape wire supports. The western view is of St Petersburg sky line buildings. Closer to the sandy beach are hundreds of birds. Sand Cranes, Pelicans diving for fish and countless others. We are here for four days, at least. There are 750 sites here and I'm told that this is the largest military RV campground in the States. It is very impressive! There is a marina with all kinds of boats for rent, there is a SeaScapes Beach  Club (bar and restaurant) which offers us (FamCamp) discounts on daily specials. Great meals and prices! We did some grocery shopping at the commissary and spent the afternoon sitting on the beach, reading and watching people and the birds.

She said the water was definitely warm!

That is what we did and saw

Holiday, FL...Paul & Theresa Visit



 



Gail, Zeb, Taylor, Kali with Theresa and Paul in the back row

On Tuesday, Helen called Paul and Theresa to confirm our visit the following day. He had his daughter and grand kids down for February vacation. They were planning on going up to Homosassa in afternoon. Our visit would be short and in the morning. It was only a short ride down US 19-S and we arrived at Paul and Theresa’s home. They have a beautiful home. It is just a few blocks off the main drag and Holiday is not busy as it is further South. We said hi to everyone. Their grandkids know our grandkids, Sawyer and Aspen so they were thrilled that we knew them.

We left them before lunch and headed south for an afternoon of exploration. We spent a bunch of time at a County Park on the waterfront. We watched people and birds and took a walk along the shore.

The afternoon was going by and we started to think of finding a place for the night.

Most RV parks were full or very expensive. We could only find a couple along the way South. I called Mac Dill Air Force Base and they had openings. The GPS was set and we headed south.

 

That is what we saw and did!

Brooksville... The Tornado Watch!

 

Cloverleaf Residence

This morning we were set to leave early and head for Holiday, FL and visit with Paul and Theresa Savard. The radio stations and TV stations were all broadcasting Tornado watches. It was drizzling a little and we didn’t know how stormy it would get so we asked Henry if we could hangout until the storm had passed. It really didn’t rain a lot, but they did have a small tornado in Tampa coming off the water. It was a safe thing to stay put for another day. We got to eat at another Chinese Buffet at lunch time. Henry gave us a tour of Brooksville and a stop at the community room for a musical afternoon with many residents of the park (Cloverleaf Jammers)playing different instruments. It was a great time.

That is what we did and saw

Brooksville ~ The Plumbing Job!

The new tank!

We hit the road around 9:30am. I knew that Brooksville wasn’t too far down the road. We stopped at the Sugar Mill to checkout its history and take a few pictures. I really was thinking that there would be a geocache at this site, but there wasn’t. While the computer was on the geocaching program, I downloaded a nearby cache and soon we had a find at a birding wildlife site.

The "Live Oak" Helen and Henry

Notice the houses in the background and
"Mr Aligator in the foreround"

Twenty-three miles later we were at Henry Coulombe’s driveway. We had called and got Henry’s answering machine. It wasn’t very long before Henry drove up and was surprised to find us in his driveway. Henry was at Lowe's picking up a new hot water heater for his house. Needless to say, we spent the afternoon chasing parts and installing the new heater. I felt good working again. People would stop by and I would tell them that Henry hired a plumber from NH to install the heater. It was nearly dark when we finished. Helen had prepared supper. Later, Henry took us up to the heated indoor pool. Man that water was the perfect temperature! A short ride in his gulf cart and we were home for the night. Henry offered a spare bedroom, but I feel that we didn’t want to impose and we slept in the camper.
That is what we saw and did.

Great Day At The Park…The Manatee Experience!

Birds of a feather...

 

 

One of the best places to visit in the Homosassa area is the Florida Wildlife State Park. This park, “twice named ‘Nation’s Best’”. We left our base camp mid-morning and headed just a few miles to this attraction. We got our AARP discount for admission and walked in. The first thing we saw was a crystal clear pool maybe fifty feet across. This was about 35 feet deep. The surrounding area was about 150 feet or so across, but shallower in depth. Hundreds of fish of many species were swimming around this spring. Some were little and some were two to three feet long. Above the water, two Cormorants were floating and occasionally dove below the surface and once in awhile came up with a small fish.
Many, many birds of multiple species  are found all around the park. The interesting thing here is that they can fly away if they wanted. It is granted that most of these birds have been injured and are not capable of long distance flight.
The "Manatee Experience" was a special treat for us. These animals are huge in size. I would compare them to the size of a cow laying on its side. The river is gated off to protect the injured Manatees until they are ready for release. We watched one feeding on vegetation as the Park Ranger gave a talk on these mysterious animals that are distantly related to Elephants.
The park also had a variety of other animals. To name a few; Mountain Lion, Eastern Coyotes, (one size down from a wolf) bears, deer and many others. A 53 year old Hippo is a park favorite.
It was a great mid-day adventure.
Roland, just before supper asked if I wanted to go for a mountain bike ride on the back roads. I said, "sure" and off we went. This  turned into a ten mile run after we took a few wrong turns and headed for the State Wildlife Refuge Area. We might still be pedaling around, if we didn’t spot this guy fishing on a dock. He reminded me of one of the guys in the movie “Deliverance”.
          It doesn't show but we are lost!
He said, "go back the way you came and take a left at the stop sign and so on". The exercise helped my numb leg a lot. I was truly glad that I was able to do this biking as we didn’t bring our bikes on the trip because of Helen’s thumb injury.
That is what we did and saw!   

The Nature Walk!

Walking in the Wildlife Preserve
Homosassa, Florida

Saturday morning we all went for a walk in the nearby Wildlife Preserve. This area is just a short walk from the home site. The trails are covered with little placards that explain the different vegetation and wildlife in the area. One placard said that the largest rattlesnake "The Eastern Diamond Back" lived in this area. Sometimes reaching six feet in long! Out ch! Watch were you are stepping! The trail finally came to the waterways with large expanse of tall grass with a river channel meandering left and right through the Delta. Their was an observation tower that gave us a panoramic view of all of this vista.

Expansive Delta View
Wildlife Preserve

Later after the morning hike and at lunch time we were treated to the best venison burgers we have ever had. Between Roland who is an expert at preparing venison meat to Cindy who cooks like a pro, we had a feast for lunch.
The afternoon brought us to Ford Island a few miles up the road from Homosassa. This is one of only a few places that actually has a sandy beach. Their were many people there sunbathing, but none were in the water. We walked a little further to the boat launch area and spoke to fisherman with answers like "No Luck". The afternoon was drawing to an end. It was time to head back. We stopped at a Catholic church for mass before heading for the compound. We headed for a spare rib place called "Sonny's" and had another good meal.

That is what we did and saw!

Homosassa ~ Home to Manatees & Roland V

Life on the Gulf!
Homosassa, Florida

A hop, skip and a jump from Leesburg and we arrived at Roland and Cindy Viens’ winter getaway rental home, here in Homosassa, on the Gulf side of Florida. We arrived just a few minutes past ten and Roland was waiting for us at the security gate. Now this is not a gated community, but the last two houses at the end of the street are gated. Real nice feeling of privacy. Roland and Cindy gave us a grand tour of the house. Like most of the late model houses here, they are built with flooding in mind. The first floor is finished in ceramic tile and furnished, but it is setup to easily move everything that is perishable to the second floor to avoid loss.

Cindy Preping the Salad!!

Roland took us down the village at a restaurant called Mac Rae’s' on the waterfront. It was one of those open air places with plenty of shade and a nice breeze coming from the Gulf. The temperature was in the mid eighties. We had scallops, and clams. Yummy! It was late afternoon before we made it back to the compound. Cindy offered us one of their three bedrooms. We elected to stay in the camper, but took advantage of the down stairs bathroom. I plugged the AC into the camper and we were fine for the night. Oh, I nearly forgot to mentioned the excellent Taco salad that Cindy prepared in the evening. We kept thinking how perfect the weather was  here and also thinking of the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Boy did we miss the snow!
That is what we did and saw

Leesburg, Florida ~ Perfect Visit!

Bob, Georgette, Helen and Lucien
Leesburg, FL

The sign is for real!
Brittiny Acres

Most of the visits to friends and relatives are short hops down the road as it was with this one... Ocala to Leesburg. Our visit with Georgette and Bob was relaxing day for us. We walked around the community, took pictures of the many beautiful flowers in bloom. The temperature was in the low eighties with a slight breeze. Down at the lake we chuckled at two signs... Bikini Beach.... Caution Alligators! Later we found out that a large 10' Gator was spotted just off shore. Georgette and Bob took us to a Chinese Buffet for lunch. We spent the latter part of the afternoon in the Florida Room sipping on a glass of wine, talking about everything under the sun and most of all having a good time in the Florida weather.
It was good to slow down from our trip from New Hampshire. The evening soon arrived and after dinner we said our goodbye's and headed for our favorite night camping (on the road) spot. (Cracker Barrel Restaurant) Not many people know of this spot. It is nearly always vacant at night and best of all quiet.

That is what we did and saw!

  

Ocala, Florida….The Mix Up!

Judy, Mike, Helen and Yours Truly!
Ocala Palms

The Bottle Brush Tree
"Eat Your Heart Out Dickey"

A good night sleep felt good. The furnace never came on. Are we really in warm country? Yes, as I rubbed my eyes and looked at the rising orange sun to the east. It would be a short 40 mile run down to Ocala to visit with Mike & Judy Mazzeo. We had called yesterday to see if they would be home. I took my time driving so we would arrive at there house around 9:30. The story took a twist from this point on. I had pre-programed the laptop to bring us to their home address. A short stop at a gas station for a coffee and a few minutes on the computer to finish yesterday's blog. OK, I said, "let's move on to Steve’s address". Three miles away, we find exactly the right street names, house numbers, but this was not a gated community, as we were toll it would be. Something was wrong. I checked the address and discovered that I had added two letters after Circle. I was trying to re-program the computer when the phone rang and Mike asked if we were having a hard time finding his house. He directed us to follow US 27 South. A half hour later, I pulled over and said to Helen that we should be heading North on 27. Another half hour and we pulled up to the beautiful gated community… golf course and all. Mike & Judy were out front waiting to greet us. We had a good time chatting all afternoon, looking at pictures. Mike gave us a grand tour of the 1100 home community. Mike has a wonderful, beautiful home and Judy gets five stars for decorating!
We headed South on I-75 and found a spot to bed down for the night.
That is what we did and saw

Florida… The Sunshine State

Finally,after crossing into the “Sunshine State”, the temperature climbed to 78' degrees! Rain showers were predicted for late afternoon, but it only drizzled for 10 minutes in the evening 

Waxing at Walmart!!

South Carolina was relatively a short State to cross from north to south. The gas prices here were higher, in the high three-seventies. We took our time driving down, stopping at the different Information Centers, picking up state maps and talking to people. We reached Waldo, Florida in late afternoon and spotted a Wal-Mart  for groceries. Oh, I forgot to mention our stop at an RV dealer. I was looking  for parts for the camper (nothing serious) and they said I could fill up with drinking water and use the dump station, if needed. So far, on this journey, the truck camper was still winterized and now was the time to fill up. Back at Wal-Mart, we decided to stay the night. We asked and they said it was ok as long as we didn’t block the trucker’s entrance. I had time to finish cleaning the truck, I even gave it a coat of wax. It felt good to be outside in a tee shirt. (notice the goatee is back)
That is what we did and saw

The Carolinas’… North & South

The price of gas in southern Virginia was in the $3.55 range. I was thinking that North Carolina was a little more rural and less expensive…wrong! The average price around $3.79! I should have filled up in Virginia. Now, South Carolina was different story. I paid $3.45 a gal. Live and learn.
We drove from Rocky Mount, NC to Colombia, SC to visit with Helen’s aunt Simone, cousins Chris and his wife Sandy. The trip was pretty uneventful. The day started out cold at  18’ degrees, but  by early afternoon it was 52’ degrees…nice! We stopped along the route to find a Geocache to claim a souvenir for the state of South Carolina. We don’t have many states left to gather for a completed North America!


A Happy Family Gathering!!

It was mid afternoon when we arrived at Chris & Sandy’s home. They live at the end of a cul-de-sac with 600 acres of University owned property just bordering there residence. Chris, who is into kite flying has a plenty of fields to do his thing. Oh, the kites are not your 5 and 10 cent store variety. Some cost a $100! The technology is there! We visited all afternoon. Chris was gracious enough to let me wash the salt off of the truck and camper. Sandy gave us some good tips on what to visit along the coast later when we return in warmer weather. Aunt Simone is always interested in hearing about our travels. She is 86 years young and she also has done her share of travel with 26 countries under her belt.
We said our goodbyes and drove about forty miles to Orangeburg, SC. We set camp at a Cracker Barrel Restaurant parking lot for the night. Cracker Barrel has a country wide policy to allow overnight parking.
That is what we did and saw

Washington, DC ….The Maze!

Sunday morning we got up early and had a quick breakfast at the Quality Inn. I was sort of in a hurry to checkout my truck. It looked like a rough neighborhood the night before. Racial profiling you know! Ah, everything was in order on the rig. We located a Catholic Church 3 miles away and made it just in time for 8 o’clock mass.
The fun begins after church service… driving down to Alexandria. If you’ve ever driven down the beltways in DC, you know how many exits and ramps you get to choose from. Wow! I had only a short time last night to study the road course. Amazingly, I made it all the way to the last exit on the interstate. Only three miles left to Cousin Bob’s house. Oh, no!…. an overpass low clearance sign! It was one of those tapered stone overhead bridges from the old days. One corner said 10’-2” to the center of 13”-6”. I was panicking until I saw a sign that said all buses must use the center lanes. Our truck camper is 11’-6”. A good thing I had physically put a label on the windshield. We passed in the center with inches to spare.
We found Bob’s house with no problem after that. The sad news then was that Bob was dying. The family expected him to pass within hours. We did not even go into the house. The family talked to us and invited us in, but this  I felt a private family time and we left with prayers on our minds. Bob passed that day around 5:30pm
We continued driving to Rocky Mount, NC our night stay for today.
That is what we did and saw

South to Washington ~ No more Snow!!

Enfield, CT this early morning had a covering of snow. It was only a inch and very wet. This was a far cry from yesterday”s warm nearly fifty degrees weather that we so much enjoyed. Oh well, we would be traveling west and to the south, actually away from the predicted snow coming later afternoon and evening.

Helen taking a picture of the Hudson River

Mileage is what I needed to do today to punch through the dreaded New England winter weather. I hoped that I could make it to somewhere close to Winchester, VA. (estimated 430 miles) The weather was cold all day and cloudy. Nearly the entire travel day gave us a view of just a sprinkle of fresh snow on the trees. The highways were dry. Our route was to take us away from the New York City metropolitan areas, closer to the Poconos mountains. We soon were on I-81 South heading for our Winchester destination. Helen spent to day exercising her injured thumb on her new phone. (we never had a unlimited texting plan before). We had a good deal at the RV Camping show for a MyFi from  Verizon with a new phone. (For those of you who do not know what a MyFi is, it is a device that enables you to access the internet any place you have cell reception).  That makes it very convenient to connect two laptops, Kindle Fire, Kindle, I Touch and finally one I Pod.
On the outskirts of Harrisburg, PA, Helen started to talk about her cousin who was recently diagnosed with cancer. He lives in Arlington, VA. Cousin Bob was very good to us when we took a “Heart of Europe Tour” He was on business at the Paris Air Show and took time to give us a special tour of Paris, France. It became apparent  that we should divert and head to the Washington area for a visit. South on I-83 we headed. Traffic, traffic and countless Interstates and Byways… so much fun! We are in a place Laurel, Maryland at a Quality Inn. The game plan was to stay in a motel the first few days of our trip. No time to find a secure place to stay in the camper over night. I think when I check the mileage in the truck we drove around 430 miles as planned.

That is what we did and saw  

Boomers On The Move…Are Moving!

This is the day I’ve been waiting for nearly all winter. At 7:30am, the big Ford with its baby boomer cargo headed south. In Jefferson, NH, we went through a heavy snow shower and were bummed out. It actually was a turning point and in a few minutes, the sun shinned for the rest of the day. The temperature went from 34 degrees all the way up to 47 deg.

Me, Gordon & Angela White (Truck Camper Online
Magazine at the Big "E")

We arrived in West Springfield, MA around 1:30pm, filled the truck with gas and headed for our Red Roof Inn check-in a few miles down the road in Enfield, CT. I had pre-booked the room because I wasn’t sure how cold it would be here and I didn’t have a place to park the camper for the night.
The reason for being at the “Big E” (Eastern States Exposition)is for the largest Camping and RV Show on the East Coast. Gordon and Angela White (Publishers and Editor of Truck Camper Online Magazine) were there and I wanted to touch bases with them for possibly getting one of my articles published on their fine magazine.
I am please with this first day of travel to Florida!
That is what we did and saw

Frustration ~ Northeaster ~ Hopefully Next Week!

I never realized how much lack of sun affected people especially as it has to this “Baby Boomer” . This Friday afternoon, I sit here waiting for the predicted Northeaster to get into full force. It has been snowing lightly all morning and afternoon. The storm is not even expected until later tonight. The weatherman says “6 to 10 inches for the North Country and as much as 30 inches for the southern part of the state”. We are slowly gathering all of our gear for the repacking of the truck camper. We are planning on a Feb 15th departure. (Weather permitting). I was planning for a mid-week departure, but I want to make it to the Eastern Exposition Center for the Camping & RV show in West Springfield, MA. I want to meet Gordon and Angela White… The publishers of Truck Camper Magazine. I am hoping to get an article published in their online magazine. From there, we will head south the next day and punch out of the snow belt to warmer days and nights.

Day #1 Camping & RV Expo

At least that is what I am hoping for. We will stay at a Red Roof Inn on the first night on the road.

The Eastern States Expo is a marvelous place to visit at least when the agricultural fair is going on. The RV Expo will be a first for us, but I am sure we will have a good time looking at everything. Hopefully, we don’t get tempted and buy something that we don’t need like a new truck camper.(Ha, Ha… Helen, that’s a joke!)

The Plotting ~ Direction to the South by Southeast

I am again planning and thinking of all the things that have to be done before leaving for plan “C” ~ Key West, Florida. With Arizona aborted, because of family emergencies, mine and my mother-in-laws’, things are falling into place. It has been extremely cold here in northern New Hampshire with one exception of a couple of days of above normal…rainy weather. The snow took a beating and now it is back to being very cold weather. All of this makes it difficult to plan a take off date. If it snows  heavily before leaving, I’ll have to remove the front hitch mountain bike mount in order to attach the snow plow. I have to watch the weather all the way down the east coast to make sure that we are not heading into a blizzard. When we headed for Arizona a couple weeks ago, that is exactly what happened [not so much of a snow storm, but extremely windy and cold weather blowing in from somewhere most likely the North Pole]!
My little emoticons at the beginning of each paragraph on this blog are for good luck on the weather side. Truck Camper Magazine recently had a couple of articles on truck camping in cold weather. It may work as stated on the articles, but when the temperature never goes above 8 F. and the wind blows a steady 30mph it is not  the best of conditions. [The Lake Effect weather] 


This picture was taken last summer on shores of Lake Superior
I am just trying to think positive on the weather!

On the positive side, everything is nearly loaded, cleaned and ready to go. We are planning on visiting friends and family on the way down to Florida. Fortunately they are all located in the southern tier of the States. I have downloaded a bunch of military RV campgrounds for us to checkout. We might take advantage of these and the military facilities close by. 

That is what we are planning!