May - Bridge Coast to Coast Saga

May Short Trips
May 8
Met up with Bob & Carole at the Southern Oaks RV Campground in Perry, Florida. It was a private campground that had a back section with permanent mobile homes and some park models. The sites ($24) were nice and shaded and the facilities were clean. Since they were not busy at all, we had our choice of sites. A negative about the campground was the traffic driving past the RV sites to get to the permanent sites. We were awakened during the night by the barking of dogs and the crowing of roosters, this activity started around 4:00 am and continued until everyone was awake. Had a great visit with Bob & Carole.

May 9
Travelled south for about 3 hours to the Chassahowitzka River Campground to meet up with Larry & June from Oak Run. They were testing out their new travel trailer. The campground is county run and is located in a very wooded area along the river of the same name. The name Chassahowitzka means "hanging pumpkin", a cultivated, vining type of pumpkin that climbed the trees and dangled the fruit 30-40 feet in the air. The campground is located near the 30,000 acre Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge near the gulf coast and the town of Homossassa. It offered camping, boating, canoeing, fishing, etc. It was nice & clean and reasonably priced ($20/day for full hookups, $120/week), but we would have chosen different sites, ours were located along a water filled ditch and the mosquitos were quite thick at times. We have decided that we need to take a drive or walk through the campground and request specific sites, whenever that is possible.

We had a very relaxing and enjoyable time. On a walk around the area, we got to see a pileated woodpecker, a rather rare occurrence. I believe I saw one in the 70s at the Land in Richland Center, but Mike didn't remember ever seeing one.

This trip was also a test run for Lucy, to see how she would fare in our travels. She did well but was pretty tired out. We headed back to Oak Run the afternoon of the 10th.Bold Text

May 17
Today we moved out of the house in Oak Run and on to Jonnie's house. Spent the day cleaning, hauling to storage, and filling up the motorhome. We actually had room to take all those items we felt were necessary to have with us, and then some. I think we are still under weight, but will have to check that again.

May 18. Took Lucy to vet for her Lyme's disease booster. Also had them take x rays and ecg to check her heart (having trouble breathing, etc). Her heart is enlarged and right aorta is narrow, but her lungs are in good shape. The heart condition is treatable with medication. Also ran errands to gather medical records, etc. to prepare to get on the road.

May 24
Today was to be the final "errand" day before we left Ocala. Needless to say, it didn't work out that way. Think it might be the full moon.

After our second trip to the tag office because we were missing documents on the first trip, we noticed that the AC was not very cool. So we backtracked to the repair shop to have it checked out and it was determined to be the compressor was shot. It is covered under warranty but cannot be repaired in Ocala, must be taken to either Orlando or to Gainesville, the part must be ordered, and the repair might take a couple of days. Looks like we might not leave Ocala until next week some time. Oh, well!

On the way back to Jonnie's house, riding with the windows open, Mike's clip-on sunglasses blew off his face and we couldn't find them along the road. Hope its just the full moon.

May 26
Headed for Royal Volkswagen in Orlando at 6:30 this morning to have the AC checked. It just happened that they had the part and could get on it right away. We had visions of spending the night there to wait for parts and maybe not getting repairs done until next week. But we found it to be a very accommodating business, with friendly staff, fruit and snacks, good coffee, dog friendly and great service. Jay, the Rialta expert did our repairs and reassured us that this compressor would last longer than the one just replaced. He also said that we shouldn't have problems with our Volksbox, they are pretty reliable. By 11:00 it was fixed and we were on our way.

Had 2 wonderful conversations while we were waiting for the repairs, both initiated by an interest in Lucy. First, a recent college graduate on her way to a marketing career and second, an older couple who had recently adopted 2 greyhounds. They were so friendly and had very interesting stories of their travels through Canada and the Grand Canyon in a 19' van camper.

We yakked with Ben most of the way home, he was driving to school & using his headset and we had Mike's cell phone set on speaker. Almost felt like we were sitting in the same room. Isn't technology great!

May 29
Today, we went with John & Lucia to Daytona Beach to the Cat Fancier's cat show. It was a first time experience for Mike, but I had been to one before, so I knew a little of what to expect. We watched some of the judging for several breeds, but all of the judging for the Maine Coon breed. Those cats are incredible, ranging in weight up to 25 pounds and they come in all colors.

From there we went to the Ponce Inlet park but since the beach and parking areas were so crowded, we ended up having a nice picnic in a shaded area along the road. After that, we traveled west toward Ocala and made a stop at the Hontoon Island State Park near Deland. Since it is an island, you have to take a pontoon boat ride to get across the St. Johns river to the park. We didn't stay too long but added it to the list of places we might want to visit again.

May 31
It's 6:45 am and I came out to the motorhome to make coffee. Opened up the computer and it started to POUR! Guess I'm trapped here for a while and hope my flip flops at the door don't float away! Its a good thing we put vent covers on this thing because we can still get fresh air flowing through without getting water coming in. I think I'm getting a feel for what it will be like in inclement weather.

The rain cleared by about 10:00. After finding out that Mike�??s glasses were in, we decided to pick them up and to head on down the road. We washed the bedding and cleaned up the house and took off. By the time we took care of all of our errands and left Ocala, it was already 3:00, but figured with our new lifestyle, we didn�??t have to be on any time schedule, so why not head on down the road.

We headed northwest on US 27 to Tallahassee, then took US 90 to Quincy where we spent the night at the Beaver Lake Campground ($23). It was rather plain and simple, not real clean, wouldn�??t stop there again unless I was real desperate. Its funny, next to a line of 5-6 Class A coaches, our little Volksbox really looks small. It is, but we still find it to be very comfortable.

Created on 05/11/2005 08:53 AM by bridge
Updated on 08/07/2006 04:57 PM by bridge