Day 2 on the way to Texas

May 16 – We both slept pretty good last night. I was really tired. This morning we both woke early since we have crossed our first “time line”. Worked out well as it ensured we were on the road at 8 after a nice breakfast of cantaloupe, bacon and English muffins. I got the inside all stowed for travel while Bill unhooked the water, electric and cable. Xena was anxious to get back in the truck. That dog loves to ride. Molly has gotten so she is ready too. We decided not to go back to Wal-Mart for my missing items from yesterday as the route to I-10 is closest if we don’t backtrack.

The morning was rather uneventful, except Bill remembered that he only put one of our 6” wood blocks in that we use under our rear stabilizers. Is that problem number 5?

We saw a huge Bass Pro Shop so we stopped and I went in to see if they had inflatable kayaks, in hopes we could get one and just ask Kerry or Kam to return the one we left behind. Of course that store was twice the size of the one in Orlando but they did not carry inflatable kayaks. We used our stop as our morning break. Bill walked Xena while I was inside.

For lunch today we timed it again to stop for fuel at Flying J. I splurged and got us 2 huge pieces of pizza for $5 and a 44 ounce soda to share. We didn’t even have to open the RV. We agreed though, no more of that pizza, such grease balls.

After that soda I was super ready for an afternoon bathroom stop. We were only 50 miles from our destination but my bladder didn’t care how close we were. Even Xena was ready for another stop. Poor Molly just had to wait to get to her litter box.

Tonight we are staying at Frog City RV Park. It’s in Duson, LA. We’ve stayed here twice before. Small, clean, right off the interstate and next door to a fuel stop. What more could we ask for? Bill worked on our water problem from last night and took the panel off covering the area where the water enters and diverts to the different locations. We decided the filter was not working properly and we knew our tech had changed out the filter inside the housing and commented that it was not like the one previously in it. We called him and he told Bill what to check and it came down to the filter. It would not properly fill and allow the water through so Bill took it out until we can get the right one for it. At least we have our outdoor filter that really does an excellent job of getting the chlorine taste out. Yeaa, we fixed something!

I made lemon pepper swai tonight with brown rice and green beans. Bill even commented on the fish as he is not a fish eater. After taking Xena for a walk that we all needed, Bill did the dishes while I attempted to get my printer up and running. Black just won’t print so will have to call HP as it’s out of warranty and the website won’t let to contact via email under the circumstances. Ticks me off!

We had a late dessert of strawberry/yogurt/granola parfait and a glass of almond milk. Yummy! We took our showers again at tonight so we can hit the ground running again tomorrow.

Summer 2012 - To Colorado and Back

May 15 – It’s the first day of our 4 month summer experience. I hesitate to call it a vacation since we will be volunteering from Memorial Weekend through Labor Day weekend at Navajo State Park east of Durango, Colorado and will be “working” to be given a full hook up for the summer. We are going to be Campground Hosts this summer, but I was asked to help out in the Fee Station, so I guess I’m splitting my duty.

We didn’t get on the road as early as we had hoped, which is pretty much the norm. We left the warehouse at 8:40, heading north on the turnpike. Although we arrived safe and sound to our first destination, Sunset King Lake Resort in Defuniak Springs, it has not been the ideal first day. When we were loading the RV this morning the little storage door below the fridge was open and would not close. Apparently it opened as I was closing the slide the last time and I think it has sprung the hinges, so Bill removed the door. I guess once we settle in I will check into getting 2 new hinges. Ok, it’s not the end of the world. It will not slow us down.

We stopped mid-morning for a walk and bathroom break. There was a swarm of love bugs right around Gainesville, so we got hit pretty hard. At least it wasn’t anywhere else. We decided we would make Tallahassee before lunching. We called our friend Jean and let her know what time to expect us at her thrift store. I packed a load of great things for her to sell in her shop, which funds families with autistic children. We had no problems negotiating the tight shopping area and were glad to see Jean, even for just a few minutes. We got unloaded and pretty much got right back on I-10.

We only went 7 miles to the Flying J where we fueled up and parked in their lot and had lunch. Along the way something sparked an “uh oh” from Bill. He remembered we didn’t bring the new inflatable kayak we bought specifically for this trip. DARN IT! Guess we will call the Park and see if they will accept a Fed Ex package for us. OK, problem number 2 for the day.

I was getting really sleepy with only about an hour to go, so we stopped and I got a caffeinated coke and some fresh air. I told Bill he needed to turn off the radio and talk to me so I’d stay awake. Before we knew it we were at our exit. I had complained that I forgot my bag of fresh lettuce I had picked last night and washed to take, so Bill said we could stop at the Wal-Mart, and maybe get a rotisserie chicken for dinner. Sounded good to me! I parked way out in the lot and hiked into the store. I got Bill’s bananas, a carton of artesian lettuce, some yogurt and the chicken. I thought the cashier put the chicken (hot item) in one bag and the other 3 items in the other bag. I got to the truck, we drove to the park, got parked, got the electric going and I went in to put things away that were still in bags, the groceries being one of them. Imagine my dismay at realizing the cashier used a third bag and didn’t give it to me. No lettuce for Kelly and no bananas for Bill. It doesn’t look like I’m meant to have a salad! Problem number 3.

Bill had a time with our water, hardly could get any to come in. Worked fine at the faucet outside. If we have the same trouble tomorrow we will call our technician and see what he might have buggered up. Problem number 4. Bill bonded with our neighbors. One couple is from Ohio and the other are full time RV’ers who are retired military. Sunset King is a really nice RV Park. They have 10 private bathrooms, so it’s just like being at home except there are no tubs, just showers. Bill wants us to use the showers here to avoid carrying the water as he doesn’t want to drain our tanks until we get to Texas. We have stayed here before and parked in the same area.

While I was getting dinner and putting things away that we left in bags, Bill managed to get the love bugs off the front of the RV and the truck. Looks shiny and clean again. For dinner we had the chicken, steamed zucchini and a bowl of peppers and tomatoes from our garden and some cucumber slices chilled in balsamic dressing. For dessert I brought 4 Slim a bear ice cream bars so we each had one. Yum! These freezers are not the most efficient so with the bars you can line them along the back of the freezer and they stay frozen. I’ll have to remember to take something out for dinner when we stop for lunch tomorrow.

They had cablevision and we didn’t want to miss the season ender of “NCIS” but it was the only channel that was fuzzy! We took our showers so we could save some time in the morning. I tested my new I Phone WIFI Hotspot feature and it works really well. Hope that holds true when we get to the woods in the middle of nowhere all summer.

August 1 - The Rainy Ride Home

Well, after I typed last night’s blog we had a little problem. It was starting to rain and get windy out so Bill wanted me to bring in the awning. No problem! Then it started raining harder and he remembered the cactus was sitting out in the rain and I had taken the globes off and didn’t want the water to get inside and ruin the electric, so I put the awning out a couple of feet to keep me dry and get the cactus. Then as I tried to bring the awning back in, it went out. I tried several times and it would not come in but kept going out. Geez! So Bill called the guy we called when we first arrived in Savannah who dealt with our battery issue and he said he could have someone out to work on it at 8:30 today. Well, that meant we would not be on the road by 9. We worried when the wind got worse and the awning was rattling that we’d end up loosing it all together, but when we got up it was still there.

Bill let me sleep til 8 since there was really nothing we could do in case he needed to order something and we might not get to leave as planned. So we had our cereal and I did up our dishes and the RV tech arrived on time. I was telling him about the awning motor having been replaced when we first got the RV, and yada yada and he was pushing the same button Bill and I pushed and the awning went in. He attributed it to a wiring issue but as long as it was in, we could pack up and get on the road and have our RV guy at home look into it. Too bad we didn’t give it one more try. Oh well.

We didn’t get on the road til 10:30. Bill had to put air in 3 of the RV tires, which is a slow process. I hitched on the first try and then on our way out Bill took our keys to the park to the office and we were officially on the road. We had found the best way to get to the I-95 on the south side of Savannah but it took a while to really be on the way home. We stopped at noon for a multi-purpose stop. I bought peaches, Bill bought lunch at Wendy’s and we all got a potty break.

We ran into rain the first time around Jacksonville. We also started having trouble with the passenger windshield wiper. The rain got worse and the wiper got worse so Bill told me to turn them off and get off the road. I told him I couldn’t see to get off the road if I turned them off, so he repeated himself and I pulled over. He was working on the wiper and, oops, it wasn’t turned off, but lucky for me he didn’t have his hand on it. I tried not to smile since there he was, out in the drizzle, trying to fix it. It stopped raining as soon as we got back on the road and luckily when we stopped for fuel Bill worked on the wiper again and then I finished getting it back in the track. We still need a new wiper. Good thing we got it fixed as we ran into a lot of rain in the Daytona area and then again from Maitland to Ocoee. The weather sure made our unloading and parking a pain. We got to the house about 6:30, unloaded pretty much everything but the refrigerator and freezer and then took the RV back to the warehouse. I was not at my best parking this time. I was tired and couldn’t get my right and left straight, but Bill managed to get me into the space and we emptied the fridge, called First Choice to deliver some Chinese for dinner. We got to eat at 8 and it was yummy.

Then I looked at all the bags of food and clothing and laundry to be emptied and put away, ugh! But it was a great trip, a super experience and we look forward to the next time.

July 31 - Visiting Savannah One Last Time

Bill says today is the real D Day. We had our normal Sunday breakfast and then set to getting things ready to leave tomorrow. We took down the bird feeder, the cactus, the lights, the clothesline, the dog pen and put them all away and then the ladder. We loaded all of our scrap wood and things we thought would help with the fridge cooling issue in the truck to take to the dumpster. By then we were soaking wet from the humidity. After a cold drink we showered and headed to the VC to turn in our shirts and badges. On the way we did stop at the dumpster and the lid was shut, so I opened it and there was a raccoon inside. I told Bill he would need to put the climbing limb in for it that was along side the dumpster, as they get in there frequently when the lid is left open. When he looked in he said there were 2. Sure enough when he put the limb in I went for the camera and we just stood there and watched the 2 just climb up and out and slowly walk away into the woods. It was really pretty neat.

Bill, Rangers Ron and Patty and Kelly

At the VC we got to say our goodbyes to Ron and Patty. Ron hadn’t realized we were done and apologized that he wasn’t prepared for us. He gave Bill a book and a Ft Pulaski patch and gave me a really nice glass ornament of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War and a patch also. He’s going to send us letters of recommendation for future park applications but also said we could always have the parks call and give him as a reference. While we were there in came Cathy and her husband Tim. She was off today but came in to tell us good bye. She is so nice and we really enjoyed working with her in the bookstore. She gave me her marinara sauce recipe that I will try very shortly after we get home. They have a place in Bradenton and we hope to see them when they are in Florida.

We went to the fort to see Nancy and Wanda. Wanda manages the bookstores and we wanted a Cockspur Lighthouse patch and a magnet and when we went to check out she asked it that is all we wanted and I said yep and she said take it. I think she really appreciated that I always offered to do extra for them in the bookstore whether it suited the rangers or not. I hate just sitting all the time so I did stocking and cleaning and straightening. I think too she appreciated the baked goods.  Nancy was getting ready to range guard for the musket demonstration but we did get a quick hug and good bye and I gave her our card with our emails, etc. We both told Tramas and Brian goodbye just before they did the soldier and musket demos, so it was time to head back to the truck.

We made a quick run to Chu’s for a Sunday paper and then home for BLT’s for lunch. I made extra bacon this morning since we were out of lunch meat. We had some fruit, carrots and a cheese stick to round it out.

After lunch we went stopped at Wal-mart for a new egg crate pad to use in the truck for the animals and then we went into Savannah to Paula Deen’s Store, which is right beside her restaurant, Lady and Sons, or whatever it is. We did a little last minute shopping and checked out the Nathanial Greene monument in the square where we parked, and on the way back decided on our route for tomorrow. So many of the streets have those beautiful low hanging trees that we needed to have a good plan for our exit. We stopped for a few things at Walgreens and then Bill topped off the gas tank.

We relaxed for a bit and read the paper and Bill took a nap. I cut the egg crate for the back seat and we put it in the truck. We went to dinner a little early as we had things to do still when we got back. I still had some credit on my Crab Shack gift card so we went there and there was no waiting since we were there about 5:30. Bill had pork bbq and I had a steamed shrimp and crab cake dinner. Again the crab had too much filler but it was seasoned well and the shrimp were good. We drove to Tybee to see where Cathy and Tim live and they are just about as on the beach as you can get. She said we are welcome any time and if they are gone in December when we come back she’ll leave us a key. Not that we’d go to the beach in December but it’s nice that she made the offer. I could walk to the lighthouse every day!

It was getting gray and rumbly out so we changed clothes quickly when we got home and set out to finish our prepping for tomorrow. I greased the hitch while Bill took the slide stabilizers down, then we put the bike rack on and the bikes. We put the sheet on the back seat for the girls and all that is left is for Bill to drain the tanks in the AM and put the hoses away. Tonight before bed I will turn the recliners around and pack up the laptops. We’re going to stop for lunch so will only have cereal bowls and the bacon rack to wash and put away. I’ve put the antenna down and secured the bedroom TV so we hope we get going at a reasonable time.

We have certainly enjoyed our time here. So many new friends that we hope to keep in touch with and meet again. So many great experiences that we would never have had any place else. We really do like it here, if it just wasn’t so darn hot!

July 29 & 30 - Time is Running Out

July 29 – It was my last day in the entrance station. I did all of the blogs through yesterday and some email so won’t be finishing the trip blog until I get home on Monday. The morning went pretty fast and it has gotten really hot again so it was not fun facing the sun in the booth all morning. The afternoon in the VC was pretty slow. There were 4 of us on duty until 3, then Patty left for the day and the other volunteer left. Bill and I were on our own until our quitting time. Joel came up from the fort until closing time. Nothing exciting went on so I read a while then tidied up the bookstore, then read, then tidied up the break room. I don’t think anyone does any cleaning there if the job isn’t specifically assigned to them. Wonder how clean their homes are?

Before making dinner I put a pineapple cake in the oven for the rangers. I also made a new cookie dough as Bill wanted something to take Reiter and Jennifer at breakfast tomorrow since they won’t be coming to the fort. Then I made pork chops for dinner with some sautéed apples and we finished the waldorf salad and had the rest of the fresh green beans. After dinner I baked the cookies, frosted the cake, did a load of wash and then we took up our outdoor carpet and put it over the truck bed to dry out.

Then I got my shower and reset the alarm for EARLY tomorrow. At least I don’t have to fix breakfast!

July 30 – D-Day! We got up extra early to have breakfast with Reiter and Megan. Jennifer was ill and was not able to make it. We had a nice time and Reiter and Megan appreciated the cookies I took them. Reiter took a picture of us and is supposed to email it and one he took in the VC the other day.

Everyone enjoyed the pineapple cake today. It was a long day as I didn’t have much to do until after 11 since the bookstore was being inventoried and by the time they got it done and ready to open up it was later than expected. We didn’t really say our good byes to anyone but Megan today. She left at 4 and will be gone for 2 weeks, so we invited her to Florida anytime. She’s such a nice person. She and her boyfriend are going to Colorado for a week and she is working at her other job for a week and then will go to 1 day a week at Ft Pulaski until at least after Labor Day. We have to go in on Sunday to turn in our volunteer shirts and badges so we will say good bye to the people we missed then. So today wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be with the good-byes. We also want to make a few last purchases at the bookstore as they have some new inventory in that we might be interested in.

It slowed down a lot by 4:30 so Patty let us leave at 5, so that was nice. She apologized that she didn’t get to have a little going away for us as Ron had possession of the Kroger card they use to buy food for these types of things. We told her it was fine, I had taken in a cake so that was enough.

We managed to get our outdoor carpet cleaned and put away along with the grill and a few other items tonight. Then I fixed hamburgers, roasted butternut squash and salads for dinner. We watched an episode of NCIS while the laundry washed and then put it in the dryer on the way out to walk Xena. I made my last deposit in the recycle bins and stopped at the VIP room and got my fridge and freezer items out and brought back. The fridge is really getting empty.

Bill cleaned the kitchen and I cleaned up the computer desk in preparation to pack up the laptops. There’s quite a bit to get ready tomorrow before heading into Savannah one last time.

July 27 & 28 Time is running out

I really wanted a head shot but they keep their heads
in the ground so much

July 27 – And another day bites the dust! It was rainy when we left for work and it stayed “wet” most of the day but not really rain. At least it kept it cool, but darn, the mosquitoes were terrible. I worked the entrance station and it was way busier than I expected it to be. I guess the beach goers couldn’t go to the beach so they came to the fort.

I was I the VC for the afternoon and it was steady but not super busy. We got to spend time with one of the rangers who is normally down at the fort. She’s really nice and we had lots of laughs as well as more history lessons. We stayed a little late so we could say good bye to Ian as he is off tomorrow and leaves for Europe on Friday. He and his wife come to Orlando somewhat frequently so we plan to get together. We exchanged emails and phone numbers.

When we got home there was an armadillo out by the RV. He let me get really close to him to get photos. Then on the other side of the RV were some deer.

I started clearing more food out of the fridge. The goal is to not have much to haul in once we get home. I made Bill leftover steak, a baked potato and salad and I had my leftovers from Tortugas and some leftover sliced tomatoes. I baked some molasses ginger cookies to take to the rangers tomorrow and Bill walked Xena. I did a load of wash so I can have less to do when we get home. Time to watch TV and read.

July 28 – What a long day! The Thursday volunteer showed up so I was in the VC all day. And with Patty, who was in a nasty mood. She has no people skills. She doesn’t even say “You’re Welcome” when a visitor says “Thank you”!

My cookies were a big hit. Reider was there today and he immediately fixed himself a little package of cookies to take home. He’s going to breakfast on Saturday with us and 2 of the seasonal rangers. We traded info today so we can email and keep up. I will surprise him with some goodies in the mail as he is single and seems to really enjoy the homemade baked goods.  We plan to come back in December for the annual CandleLantern event.  It will be good to see some of our favorite people again.

They are doing inventory in the bookstore tomorrow and have a lot of the inventory counted so I couldn’t put any merchandise out but I did do some of the counting to help them out. I’m going to ask the bookstore manager for a letter of recommendation in the event I ever need to apply for a paid position when Bill and I are working at parks someplace.

Sunset from Ft Pulaski

We had an assortment of leftovers for dinner. Then I left for Weight Watchers while Bill walked Xena and cleaned up the dishes. After the meeting I stopped at Walgreens and Publix. On the way home I stopped on the bridge to the park to take a photo of the sun setting. I only had my cell phone but it came out pretty good. Then I saw 18 deer and 2 armadillos on the way to the RV. There were 4 deer again in front of it. Two were bucks. Suddenly we are seeing the bucks all the time after only seeing one for the longest time.

Bill was excited I got him 2 boxes of chocolate dipped frozen bananas. I hope they stay frozen in the fridge freezer.

I worked on some photos, made a CD of some photos for the Bostons and did my blog.

Now only 2 more days to work and 3 days left in Savannah.

July 26 - Cemetery and a Movie - Odd Combination

We had agreed to meet John and Cheryl at Bonaventure Cemetery today at 10:30, so after sleeping in a bit we had some breakfast and left at 10:15 to meet them. I had wanted to stop to pick up our mail but didn’t have time but I did call the Head Ranger to let her know someone got locked in the fort because one of the rangers failed to properly do the island sweep. His truck was in plain site.

Little Gracie

Cool Headstone

Once I did my civic duty we headed to Bonaventure Cemetery and The Bostons were waiting for us. Cheryl got a map in the office and we found “Little Gracie” Watson. She died when she was 6 and her father had a headstone of her carved as she looked on the Easter before she died. It’s a very real looking statue. We visited Johnny Mercer’s grave again so they could see it and we found one headstone that was a piano and then just looked at some of the old graves and the veteran section. After we finished we said our good byes to the Bostons. They followed us to Abercorn where we went to Sears and they buzzed by on the way to I-95. I had to do a return to Sears and then we headed back to where the movie theatre is. We got sandwiches from the drive thru at Wendy’s to take in the movie so we would not be late. Bill wanted to see “Captain America”. It was OK. The movie made in the 1990’s was just on last week and it was a very similar storyline but not the ending. We didn’t like the ending. Bill said it was like they didn’t know what to do with it.

On the way home we fueled up and then stopped at Krogers. Bill went to the post office and also filled our water jugs while I did the shopping. Will be cutting back since we only have 5 more days til we leave and don’t need to carry a bunch of groceries home. It was raining when we left Sears and kept it up til after we got home. I put the groceries away, put a load of wash in, baked a pumpkin cake and used the leftover rhubarb and plums to make a small crisp. The cake is to take into the rangers. Bill says they are really going to miss me. We had some heavier rains so Bill couldn’t do anything outside as he had hoped.

I made lemon pepper panko chicken for dinner with fresh broccoli with asiago cheese and I sautéed fresh green beans with olive oil and seasoning. After Bill did his dishes and I had my shower we had our dessert with some leftover ice cream. Then I settled down to journal and prep my photos to post tomorrow. The fridge is starting to get empty.

Only 5 days til we head home and 4 days to work!