Lisa, Canadians, pool, Shabbat -Yr 1, Days 220-222

Pompano Beach, FL

Again, very busy with client deadlines so no time to update the blog until now.

On Thursday, I met a buddy from HS (38 years ago).  We were distant acquaintances back then (pretty much just knowing each others' names) but have become a bit closer on Facebook and through a common friend there.  It was really wonderful meeting her in person and getting to know her better.  I think we would have been good friends back then had we known each other.  Lisa: here's to more good times to spend together in the future!  We met over breakfast in a NJ type diner and then went over to the hospital.  She then came back to the CoW for a little while.

On Friday I spent most of the day working.  We schmoozed a little with our next door neighbors, Bob and Linda, who are also from NJ (Bordentown, which was about 1 1/2 hrs south of us). Here is a  photo of the tape measure to prove how close our sites were.  This is from his front door to our slide directly across:

4 INCHES separating us!

Later on Friday afternoon - which, by the way, was 76 degrees (sorry to my friends & family in the northeast who are experiencing the cold, snowy winters which we are grateful to finally be away from), we heard music coming from the pool area.  I came to a good stopping point in my work so we decided to put on our bathing suits and go investigate.  The area was very crowded and there was a live band playing.  Many folks were dancing and it seemed like there was a line dance to everything.  A lot of talented folks there, too.

The pool area, surrounded by tiki huts

 NOTE ABOUT THIS CAMPGROUND:  it caters very highly to the Canadian snowbirds who come down from Quebec.  In other words, everything is predominantly in French.  It was even difficult to find a notice on the bulletin board about activities that was in English.  Most of the songs played by the band were in French and almost everyone around here speaks French (in fact, someone came by with a question, and when he heard us speak English he was almost excited and very relieved!)  I often feel like I'm in another country at this campground.  I find, also, that most people are not very friendly.  I almost miss the southern tradition of everyone waving hello to you.  Here, no one even makes eye contact.  I feel like I'm in NYC.

I also need to share that Florida has really amazing sunsets.

Today -- Shabbat -- we found a Chabad shul only 2 miles away and decided to go.  Although I did not find the services very inspirational (not much singing), the people were very warm and welcoming and we felt very much at home.  They had a simple kiddush lunch and we hung around for quite a while.  We even met someone who lives in the same campground we're staying in for 6 months during the year (the other 6 months he RVs in CT with his 5 children).  Unfortunately, he had to leave early so we never got a chance to exchange sites so we could meet later in the day.

After returning from shul, we took our usual Shabbat nap, and then sat outside in the warm sun with our magazines.  I made myself a mixed drink with ice tea and moonshine and got a little bit too drunk!  Mitch enjoyed my silliness and I enjoyed being joyful, especially after such a stressful week.

License, new place - Yr 1, Day 219

Pompano Beach, FL

I truly have been very, very busy with client stuff so no time to write much the last few days.

I had a little issue with my driver's license in that it was suspended.  I learned about this last Thursday.  Apparently, when I renewed my registration back in Dec for the truck, I had to send proof of insurance.  The insurance denied that I had the policy!! After lots of back & forth, it was discovered that in the VIN # on the registration had a sequence of #s that included a 05 (zero), but my insurance card had it listed as O5 (letter O).  I got it corrected and DMV finally unsuspended me.  This is good because Mitch had to do all the driving yesterday from Jacksonville to Titusville.  At least I was able to help with the driving today from Titusville to Pompano Beach.

I also want to stop here and count my blessings again for our dream come true.  There was a huge storm in the northeast (blizzard dropping about a foot of snow in NJ).  The last 3 years we hoped it would be our last having to shovel that 4 letter word beginning with an s, and we are so happy we are now in a warmer place and not having to deal with it.

It was an uneventful drive, thank goodness.  We did stop at a very nice rest area and walked around for a while.

The campground is another story.  Huge, huge place and the spaces are literally right on top of each other. To prove a point, this is a picture outside my window.  The guy next door can barely open his door:

It is a very busy place.  Lots of people were out walking or bike riding.  They have a heated outdoor pool and we saw quite a few people walking around in bathing suits.  Mind you, it was only about 70 degrees and I (as well as a few other folks) wore a long sleeve shirt or sweater.  The suit folks must have been the Canadians!

Tomorrow I am going to meet an old friend from HS (Lisa).  Her son suffers from cancer and has been hospitalized again.  Looks like the plans will be to drive her there (an hour away; she doesn't have a car), and maybe take her shopping.  At least we'll get to spend some time with her, even if its not in a fun way.  And it feels good being able to help someone in need.

On the Road Again - Yr 1, Day 218

Titusville, FL

Wallydocking again.  Sorry for quiet the last few days -- been very busy with work.

We got our home back this morning and it looks great.  Drove about 200 miles to the halfway point between Jacksonville and Pompano Beach, where we're headed tomorrow.  Overnighting in the Walmart parking lot where there are about 7 other RVs. The back of this lot almost looks like a campground!

Despite boondocking (Walmart + boondocking = Wallydocking -- boondocking is camping without any hookups, which means we're running on battery power with the occasional generator to power the outlets if I need to work on the laptop or use the microwave), it's great to be out of the hotel and in my own place.  Can't wait to get it cleaned and set up the way I want, although Mitch will have to do most of it because I have deadlines to meet this week.

The rig is ready - Yr 1, Day 214

Jacksonville, FL

Got the word early in the afternoon that they were just bringing our CoW to be washed and it's ready to go!!!   I was expecting at least another week or more, so this was great news.  Unfortunately, we couldn't pick it up today because we were going into Shabbat.  Even if it wasn't, there wouldn't have been enough time to pick it up and find a place to stay before it got dark.  Not to mention that I was also very busy working.  They are closed over the weekend and I have a client conference call (actually a training session) on Monday, smack in the middle of the day that I can't miss, so we have to wait until Tuesday.  We also want to bring the truck back to the mechanic (around the corner from the RV place) to look at the leak in the gas tank.  It's not as bad as it appeared last week, but there's still some fluid there so we need to have it looked at before we hit the road.

The timing still works out to continue our journey south then west.  The only thing that was off track was staying in St. Augustine for 2 weeks, but I'm glad we still had the chance to go anyway.  We also won't have time to stop at Cape Canaveral for 2 days (which is ok since we spent a lot of $ in St. Augustine and admission to the Kennedy Space Center will be $75 per person).  So the plan is to hit the road on Tuesday, stay in a parking lot overnight around the halfway point (which is about 200 miles) and arrive in Pompano Beach on Wednesday.  We will visit with my HS friend Lisa and stay in the area until the following week.  The place we reserved in Pompano Beach could only accommodate us until 2/2 and the place in Naples can't start until 2/4, but there is a farm (part of the Harvest Host program) in Boynton Beach (outside of Pompano) where we will stay overnight.  Then off to visit my sister Mindy, then cousin Sharon in Ft. Myers, then onto the rally in Arcadia by 2/8.

Hopefully it will be smooth sailing again for a little while.

Back to Jax - Yr 1, Day 213

Jacksonville, FL

We actually returned yesterday, but I didn't have a chance to post.  Fred & Twila arrived at the hotel in St. Augustine around 10:00 and we made it back to the hotel in Jacksonville about 10:30.  Coincidentally, we are in room 104 - the same room # we had in St. Aug.  I wonder if that means anything!

We checked under the truck and there was no puddle after sitting there for a few days.  So nothing to sweat over, but we'll keep a very close eye on it.

After unpacking and "setting up house" again, we went out for lunch (a quick sandwich) and then to the supermarket to stock up on meals and staples for the next few days.  I really miss my own kitchen which is like a commercial kitchen compared to this hotel room (ok, not complaining -- much.  At least we can cook our own meals, albeit somewhat limited with no oven, and we don't have to eat every meal out).

Another thing to be very grateful for - the weather.  I had to wear a long sleeve shirt and light jacket in St. Augustine, but this was what I wore yesterday, on January 21st (can't help the bat wings).  How awesome to finally be out of snow country during the winter!

Today was a full day of work, so nothing exciting to report.  Tomorrow will probably be much of the same, with the added challenge of preparing for Shabbat.

Touring St. Augustine second day - Yr 1, Day 211

St. Augustine, FL

After meeting Fred & Twila for breakfast, we got a (free) ride by the trolley company from our hotel into town so we could finish up our journey (again - you'll have to wait a few weeks for the photos.  I can't send them from my phone, as someone suggested, because I don't have a smartphone or a data plan with which to do that.  I also didn't have batteries to replace in my camera, although I don't have the cable for that either).

Anyway, we began the day by taking the trolley to the Colonial Quarter.  There is a walking promenade where we all went the other night, but behind the stores are very old buildings and a museum.  We had a costumed tour guide who brought us through the various quarters of the town: from the Spanish period, British period, Revolutionary period and Civil War days.  Again, we learned quite a lot of history, especially about how the city was burned down numerous times because the only protection around it were wooden forts, until finally they discovered something called coquina, which is made of hard shells and sand.  It held the fort through numerous battles and finally staved off the pirate attacks.  Pirates were the main enemies of St. Augustine until the British arrived (although many "privateers" were from England).

After the tour, we walked around the historical area a little bit.  We found a place that sells jerky and had salmon and tuna jerky (peppered and teriyaki), so we indulged in the treat.  Then we found a really wonderful bagel place called Schmagels Bagels, which makes them the correct way by boiling them: just like in NY and NJ, so we stopped there for lunch.

Afterwards, we got back on the trolley and headed to the St. Augustine distillery for a tour of their plant (and free tastings, of course!)  Unlike some of the big brands, this is a small, craft operation which makes everything by hand instead of computerized machines.  They make vodka and gin and just started with bourbon.  I prefer bourbon myself, but the first batch won't be ready for another 2 years so I didn't get to sample that.  I would have loved to since I've only ever had the well drinks (aka the cheap stuff).  At the end of the tour, they made us 2 drinks: a gin and tonic (with their homemade tonic solution), and a vodka/lime drink (they were served in shot glasses).  Pretty good stuff.  The vodka is made from cane sugar rather than potatoes or other grains and was quite different from what we've had.  We bought a bottle, which was far more expensive than we'd ever spent in a liquor store.  Better make it last a while!

We then went outside to catch the next trolley and returned to the starting point (that's where the Old Jail and Oldest Store were), where we visited the history museum and took a tour of the Tea & Spice Exchange.  The museum had a lot of interesting artifacts (including some real pirate treasure and stuff from the Indians who lived there first).

You may recall back when we were in Charleston that I came upon a tea and spice shop which I absolutely fell in love with (having confessed tea and spices are my weakness).  Well, it turns out that the store is actually part of a franchise, which began in St. Augustine, so the one we visited today was the first Tea & Spice Exchange.  The tour was more of a sales pitch, describing the different types of teas and how to correctly infuse them, as well as how to use the various infusers.  Needless to say, we stocked up again on tea and spices (which we finally ran out of a few weeks ago).  It's good to know they're in 31 cities, so we'll have to scout them out when we travel, just like we try to find a Trader Joe's and BJs.

After that store, we hung around a little bit while waiting for the shuttle to bring us back to the hotel.  We landed at 5:00.  I did a little bit of work while Mitch took a nap.  We found that between my lunch and dinner leftovers from yesterday and some corn and mashed potatoes from KFC across the street, it was more than an adequate meal for the of us.

Tomorrow we head back to Jacksonville, where I must devote my day to work and Mitch to finding a mechanic to fix whatever's making the fuel leak.

Touring St. Augustine first day - Yr 1, Day 210

St. Augustine, FL

We got an early start (8:00 for breakfast, left the hotel at about 9:00) and drove 10 mins into the downtown area.  We purchased a combo ticket with Old Town Trolley, which included admission to the History Museum, Fountain of Youth, Oldest Store and Old Jail.  Unfortunately, although I took lots of photos from the camera on my phone, I left the cable which I use to upload those photos to the computer in the CoW, so you won't get to see anything for at least 2 weeks.  Sorry about that.

We started out by sitting for the entire 90 minute trolley tour through the historic district.  We learned that if it weren't for the British, America really should have been a Spanish country, as the Spaniards were here first; having landed in St. Augustine.  Ponce de Leon and Don Pedro Menendez were the founders in the 1500s.

Another big name in this area is Henry Flagler, the 2nd richest man in America next to his partner John D. Rockefeller.  He was an oil, railroad and real estate tycoon and pretty much took St. Augustine from rags to riches.


Fountain of Youth.  The first stop we made after the tour was to this famous landmark (placeholder for photos).  It is actually an archeological park and native Indians were here first.  It has gorgeous landscaping and lots of peafowl roam the grounds (more photos).  We did drink from the famous fountain (paper cups provided).  It is actually a mineral spring and I think it tasted pretty awful.  But I suspect the reason people who drank from it perhaps did live a little longer is because of the health benefits of the minerals (probably like taking a daily multi-vitamin).  There were several "shows" there, among which we got to watch a cannon being shot (more like lit -- no balls were used).

Old Jail.  The next stop was the original jailhouse, built by Flagler in the late 1800s and closed down in the early 1950s.  The tour guide was a character actor, dressed and acting like an inmate.  I'd like to say it was fun, but learning about the conditions the inmates had to live (and mostly die) through was pretty upsetting.  I did get to stay inside a cell for a few minutes (photo).

Oldest Store.  Next stop was to a place called The Oldest Store, owned by a Mr. Hanlin.  Not a place we could buy things at now - it was more of a museum, again with costumed actors. The place was originally a store in the early 1900s, so there was a lot of turn of the century merchandise from a store of the period (soaps, lotions, candy, ointments, etc).  Then there was the huge warehouse behind it.  They sold everything from Victrolas, washing machines (like they had in 1900), bicycles, sewing machines, old fashioned typewriters, kitchen appliances, and lots more.  The largest client of his, of course, was Henry Flager, who purchased all kinds of stuff for his hotels and luxury railroad cars.  What I found most interesting was that when Hanlin died in 1920, all the stuff in the warehouse just sat there until the 1960s when his children decided to remove and throw everything out.  Fortunately, a historian somehow got involved and refused to allow them to discard anything - thus they created a museum.  So none of this stuff are replicas - they are the actual items left unsold at the turn of the century!  (the actors pretended to be salesmen)

After this, we found a local (hole in the wall) Mexican restaurant.  I had a vegetarian fajita with lots of leftovers.  The food was ok and the service had something to be desired, but I suspected they were probably very short staffed

Fort.  The Castillo de San Marcos, now a National park, is one of the earliest Spanish forts.  Twila was feeling very out of sorts by now, and there was nowhere to park, so we decided to forego this as the walking and climbing were too ambitous.

Chocolate tour.  We decided, instead, to visit the Whetstone chocolate factory.  This particular location only makes artisanal chocolate and sells to St. Augustine and online.  They do have other, much larger factories that supply the rest of the world.  What I found truly amazing is that for a long time (until a few years ago when they decided to downsize) they were subcontractors to Nestles, Hersheys and Mars.  So no - those big brands did NOT make all their own chocolate!  Of course we learned the history of chocolate, how it is made, and there were free tastings (yum) and we bought a bunch of stuff in the gift shop.

It was about 4:30 when we were done, so we headed back to the hotel to take a little rest.  I did some work, got to have a video chat with Jess, Griffin and Ellie, and then we met for dinner around 7.  We ended up at Ruby Tuesdays around the corner.

Plans for tomorrow have changed a bit.  First originally we were going to check out and return to Jacksonville (Fred/Twila to Lynn Haven).  Second original plans were that we were going to head a bit south to Daytona Beach so Fred could visit an old friend.  We'd stay in a hotel down there and return on Wednesday.  However, we learned that (1) the trolley tickets we bought are good for 3 days and (2) the trolley company offers a free shuttle to/from all the area hotels.  We decided that while Fred & Twila visit their friend, we would stay here in St. Augustine and try to visit some of the places we missed today, such as the Fort, the Colonial Quarter, the oldest school house, maybe get a tour of Flagler College (the original Ponce de Leon hotel), the pirate museum, as well as the distillery and winery tours.  Then Fred & Twila will pick us up on the way back up north.

So... off to another early start tomorrow.  Did I mention how much I really enjoy St. Augustine?  It is just so very different from all the other cities we've visited; such a different "flavor."

Budweiser, St. Augustine - Yr 1, Day 209

St. Augustine, FL

We started off the day arriving at the Jacksonville Budweiser Brewery at 10:00 am for a self-guided tour.  Generous free samples when we arrived.  Surely, it was 5:00 somewhere, right? :)

We then hit the road and drove about an hour to St. Augustine.  We needed to stop at the campground we would have stayed at because I had a package of mail and medicine shipped there.  They were nice enough to hold it for us.  The office opened at 2 and we arrived around 12:30, so we drove around until we found a place to eat.  We ended up at Carrabas.  We still arrived about 15 minutes early.  We then drove to the hotel (HoJos) and arrived 45 mins. early.  They would not give us an early check-in so we waited in the car.

After checking in, we all rested for about an hour and then went into the Old City.  They are currently running a "Nights of Lights" so all the buildings and surroundings are lit up.  Very pretty.  I will post photos in a few days.  Mostly we stayed in the Colonial Quarter which is very old and quaint with a lot of gift shops, restaurants and pubs.  I'm sure it takes on a whole different life at night.  I understand that during the day there is a tour with a lot of re-enactments.  We found a gourmet popcorn place and a crystal shop (I bought a cheap memento to put on the bedroom shelf).  Fred bought a t-shirt.  We had dinner in a Spanish restaurant where I had a delicious portobello mushroom and some great sangria.

Tomorrow we plan to take a trolley tour and visit some of the old sites such as the jail, old schoolhouse and Castilo de San Marcos (the oldest fort in the US), the Fountain of Youth, and hopefully return to the Colonial Quarter and the Pirates Museum.  There's a lot to do, so we will meet up at about 8:00 in the morning.  Looking forward to it.  So far I am really loving this area!  Such a far different flavor from the other old historical areas we've been to (Charleston, Savannah and Raleigh).

2 surprises - Yr 1, Day 208

Shabbat: stayed in room and read and napped most of the day, with the exception of a nice walk around this little "development" of businesses and hotels (lots and lots of hotels!)

As we ended, got a knock on the door - Fred and Twila!!!  What a great, awesome surprise!  They were supposed to pick us up on the way to St. Augustine tomorrow morning, so it's really nice to have even more time to spend with them.

The other surprise was not very nice, unfortunately and more salt in this accident wound.  There was a huge puddle under the truck which turns out to be gas.  When we return on Tuesday, we'll need to get it taken care of.  Anything else going to go wrong with these vehicles?

4th hotel room in 2 days- Yr 1, Day 207

Did I mention how HOMESICK I am???  Staying in a hotel and eating out every meal is NOT fun.

The first room we had was at the Hyatt Place until yesterday.  We decided to move across the street to the Red Roof Inn to save $$ ($110/night versus $45).

The room we had (2nd room) was way too small and just barely designed for 1 person.  The "desk" (if you could call it that) was barely wide enough for 1 laptop, there was no chair or anywhere else for Mitch to sit or work.  So we went to room # 3 and asked for an upgrade to their "premium King" room ($60).  It was much better from a practical standpoint -- the workspace was larger and it had a mini fridge and microwave.  However, we still weren't happy.  The room had an awful smell; it was very old and you could see all the paint chipping and water damage.  It was also the first time in a while that I woke up with a backache - you could feel the springs in the mattress.  Not that I was spoiled by the comforts of the Hyatt, but if we're going to be spending a few weeks in a hotel room, it should be somewhat tolerable.

We played with the numbers and saw that we were spending at least $50/day on meals out.  After some research, we found that we could stay at an Extended Stay hotel, complete with full kitchen (which includes a full sized frig, stove and microwave, dishes, pots, pans, utensils, etc) for a few dollars more.  But if we could buy and cook our own food, it would actually save some money.  So we are now at room # 4 in the last 2 days, at Extended Stay Hotel.  It's about 20 miles from the RV dealer, but that's ok since we don't need to be there every day.

We'll be in yet another hotel Sun & Mon nites, but that's more for vacation in St. Augustine.  Then we''ll return here for the duration of our stay.

We stopped by the RV to get some more stuff.  They have done quite a lot of work already and are working very hard.  They are replacing the entire roof, so now everything was removed from there (the a/c units, skylight, fans).  Glad we don't have solar installed yet.  They were in the process of getting some metal that has the right curvature to go around where the tanks go.  They are also going to paint some.  It will surely be better than new when they finish.

Damage report - Yr 1, Day 206

Jacksonville, FL

Thank goodness for insurance.  The cost of repairs is ... drum roll.... $16,530.  Fortunately, we're only responsible for $1100 of it (plus the $550 we paid for a new alternator and oil change), but wow. 

Got hit with a bit of deadline client stuff so didn't make it to the campground to pick up our mail and meds.  Tomorrow I have a meeting at 11:00 and it'll be Shabbat, so I doubt we'll make it then either.  Hopefully I can last until Sunday.  It's only sleep medicine, so the worst case is I'll be awake for a few nights.  Nothing life threatening - except to Mitch because I feel murderous when I'm cranky and sleep deprived!

We did change hotels today (from a Hyatt suites to a Red Roof Inn).  It's decent and basic (and $50/night cheaper), but it will be a miracle if we don't kill each other living in this really, really small space for a few weeks, especially regarding my need to work without noise or interference, and how I freak out over clutter, which is 1000x more pronounced in an enclosed area with no storage space.

I have to remind myself that it's all part of the journey.  And how much sweeter it will be when we return home.  And to count our blessings that at least we will have a home to return to.

A better day - Yr 1, Day 204

Jacksonville, FL

Things were much calmer now, after a good night's rest, and learning that we are in very good hands.  The dealer/repair center we went to -- Dick Gores of Jacksonville - is just absolutely amazing and treated us like royalty.  They are going so above and beyond the call of duty for us, even doing things like painting the chipped or missing paint on the truck.  The list of what they've been doing for us beyond the repairs they have to make is extensive and I'm a bit tired right now.  But suffice it to say, I'm feeling really great.  If we have to be in this situation, at least we know we're being well taken care of.

They also fixed the truck - it was indeed the alternator.  Hopefully this one will be good.

We'll probably leave the hotel tomorrow and go to a cheaper place.  We were told the repairs would take at least 2 weeks, and at the $200 a day allotment, we'll be at our $2K limit in 10 days, so I think we should be frugal and spend as little as possible in case we need more time.

We're also going to St. Augustine from Sunday to Tuesday and we'll stay in a hotel down there.  I sent some mail ahead to meet us at the campground, which includes my medication, so we may take a trip over there on Thursday to pick that up (can't wait until the weekend as I run out tomorrow).

Second worst day of the journey - Yr 1, Day 203

Jacksonville, FL

You were probably expecting that to say St. Augustine, right?  Nope - it's jello plans again.  The first worst day on the journey was on July 1st and 3rd when I dislocated my hip both days (I'm counting them as the same event).  This day involved 3 things - all mechanical but resulting in some major damage to the RV.  Thankfully no one was hurt and no other people or vehicles were involved.

Problem # 1 - it should be noted that while hitching up at 7:30 am, there was torrential rain.  Apparently, the lock that closes the jaws on the hitch (holding the king pin and therefore the entire RV in place with the truck) wasn't closed tightly enough.  As we were pulling out, we felt a big bump, but we often do have something like that when we first start out because we're used to driving just the truck, and that's just the weight of the pull.  But in the rain, Mitch didn't want to go out and check, especially since the rig was still being pulled and the brakes were working.  Figured it really was just the normal jerk when pulling out.

About 75 miles away, we stopped at our first rest area.  When returning to the rig, it looked strangely low in the front, and as we got closer, we realized that the front was actually sitting on top of the rails on the truck.  Upon further inspection, we realized that the king pin had slipped out of the hitch and embedded itself on the floor bed of the truck.  It is truly a miracle that it held so tightly, especially going 70mph on the highway!  I can't begin to imagine the scenario if this had worked the way it should have: it would have ripped through the bed of the truck, disconnected completely, and who knows what else would have occurred once that happened?  God was definitely protecting us.  Anyway, Mitch was able to use his mallet and raising the trailer up (he put the landing gear down first), was able to get the pin out of the bed and reattach it to the hitch.  No damage done there, except the big hole (which hopefully can just be patched using a square piece of steel and some metal screws) and some paint.

Aside - our next rest stop was the Visitor's Center right over the border in FL.  See my very first entry here, in June 2014 ("Officially Floridians").  It was a feeling of "coming home," sort of.  Mitch took another cat nap and I collected a bunch of brochures for the many places we hoped to visit in FL.

Problem # 2 - The day before, we noticed the battery light in the truck flashing on intermittently.  Mitch didn't want to replace the batteries or alternator as the shop was too far away.  After giving the batteries a charge, he was confident we could make the 200 mile trip since we had 2 batteries.  Well, about 150 miles (in Jacksonville, FL - 40 miles from our destination of St. Augustine), everything started shutting down.  The lights got dim and the radio went off, showing a message of "low battery."  This wasn't a good sign, so we got off the highway immediately (fortunately we were right near an exit) and pulled into the first parking lot we could turn into (behind a Bank of America).  This was at 1:00 pm.  We called for a tow truck which finally arrived about 2 hours later.  Again - bad decision made.  Mitch thought that instead of being towed to any "Joe Blow" mechanic who can easily take out of towners for a ride, that if we just had the batteries charged again, we could probably make it the last 40 miles (since we made 150 already).  So rather than having them tow us, they gave us a jump.  They took off and Mitch started pulling out of the driveway.  He got as far as a few feet from the exit when the low battery light came on again and the radio went off.  Not good.  Should have had the tow.  So... rather than pull out of the parking lot, he went to turn back in.  Now, this is behind the bank in a small shopping strip.  There were a few very narrow twists as part of the landscaping.  He was sort of panicking about the situation and when making the turn, forgot that he was towing and didn't check his clearance (which, even if he did check, there was no way he could have made it.  No matter what, it was a lose-lose situation).  As a result, the rig got stuck on the landscaped median between a tree and a bush and we were in a jack-knifed position.  He had to move forward and backward to get it released, thus tearing off part of the roof and putting a few other holes on top, as well as scraping and denting much of the sides.

Problem # 3 - As if this wasn't enough, he still had to make another turn to get out of the drive-thru lanes he was blocking.  At this median, there was a low retaining brick wall, which he managed to run over, resulting in putting a big gash in the area where the holding tanks are.

So there appears to be a lot of damage.  Fortunately (I hope), it is all on the outside - the inside should still be unaffected.  And hopefully the insurance will cover this.

So back to the towing saga... we called the company again and they said since they had already authorized a tow and we didn't accept it, they couldn't authorize another one.  We begged and pleaded and escalated this up to management (especially since it was for a different reason).  They finally agreed to make this a single exception and sent the tow truck back - another 1 1/2 hours.  It was now about 5:00.  They tried to hook it onto their truck and discovered it wasn't heavy duty enough to carry both our vehicles, plus we have a 4WD which apparently needs a different kind of hookup.  What we needed was a truck that tows semis.  This provider didn't have such a truck, so we had to start all over again to arrange for another company to come.  Finally, at 7:00, they came.  I'll upload pictures some other time of the truck they sent - ginormous doesn't begin to describe it!  It took them about 1/2 hr to get it all hitched up.  Unfortunately, the step into the truck was way, way, way too high for me, with my hip, to climb into, which meant taking a taxi.  The driver said it was only about 8 miles away.  It turned out to be about 30, and cost $50.  But there were no other options since our truck was dead.

We also learned that the RV repair shop (one of the largest and most reputable in FL -- Dick Gores) does not have the capability of allowing us to live in the rig while they work on it (something to do with it being a fenced in, locked up lot), which means having to stay in a hotel until it's fixed.  Fortunately, this is in the vicinity of the airport so there are a lot of business here - hotels, restaurants, etc.  We're staying in a Hyatt Place in a suite room.  Very nice.  We also learned that our insurance will pay $200/day (up to $2K) for meals, lodging and transport (so even the taxi is covered).

We had to leave the rig outside the repair facility as it was after hours when we got there.  Finally got to the hotel at 9:00pm, where we went to the bar before going to the room!  We definitely needed those 3 drinks!  Tomorrow we will learn a lot more about the extent of the damage and how long it will take to repair.

This is all part of the journey.

Work, cold- Yr 1, Day 200!

Hardeeville, SC (near Savannah, GA)

Wow, another 100 days has gone by!  Time is really slipping away.  Glad I'm blogging this, as I'd never remember everything we've done.  

Nothing much to report on since the last entry, as work has totally consumed me this week.  Still working on that same obnoxious task for the vague client, although he's trying to be a little more helpful.

An arctic front rolled in.  I shouldn't complain because the temps in the upper midwest are in the negative 50s in some areas, and many places have feet of snow.  I'm glad we didn't have any precipitation, but the temps fell into the 20s.  We were smart enough this time to disconnect the water hose and fill the fresh water tank.  The heat pump turned over to the furnace, so it was nice and toasty.  Unfortunately, during the night, we ran out of propane, so we woke up to a very frigid house.  I literally couldn't get out from under the covers.  Mitch finally managed to get up and go outside to switch to the other tank, so it warmed up in about 1/2 hr.  By noon it was in the 50s, so all back to normal again.

Nothing much planned over the next few days either.  More folks have  left the campground yesterday and today so the place is almost completely empty.  The forecast is for rain for the next week, so who knows if we'll be able to take our Shabbat walk.  Sunday is pack up day and we leave on Monday, heading for St. Augustine, FL. 

Savannah, GA; Bill & Bev - Yr 1, Day 197

Hardeeville, SC (near Savannah, GA)

I played hooky from work today and we spent the day in Savannah.  It was a lot more pleasant this time around than the last time, probably because last time we were in the seedy part of town, and this time we visited all the rest of the city (business, colonial, historic, victorian and river sections).

We got there around 9:00 am.  The plan was to see if we could park at the visitor's center and if not, then backtrack across the bridge and park at Hutchinson Island and take the ferry across.  Oddly enough, the parking lot was almost completely empty, so we lucked out.

The Visitor's center is housed in the same building as the history museum, so we spent a few hours between there and the railroad museum which is adjacent (the history museum was once the railroad shed).  Savannah really does have some very interesting history, having been "birthed" by a Londoner named Oglethorpe.  A major battle was fought here during the Revolutionary War - the Battle of Savannah - which was the bloodiest battle in the entire war.  I didn't realize that France and Germany had sent troops to fight with the colonies against England.  There is a large memorial dedicated to the soldiers who died on the field that we stood on:

Mitch was really fascinated by the railroad museum where Pullman and other trains of the 1890s to 1940s are on exhibit.  It was a working yard -- all steam operated, including the machinery in all the buildings.  We had a tour of how everything operated and was connected by steam, and a tour of the executive cars: the ones the executives of the railroad used - extremely high luxury in its day.  We also got to ride on a hand car (a thrill ride for me, akin to a roller coaster!).  

Mitch on the hand car

The dining room in the executive car

After the museum, we stopped for lunch across the street at a place called The Distillery.  It used to be a distillery during the Prohibition (making "medicinal" concoctions).  Now it is a pub with a full menu.  They make a lot of things from scratch and what they don't, they buy from local vendors and farmers. I had the black bean burger and Mitch had falafels.  They're motto regarding their beer is "no crap."  They don't carry Budweiser, Heinekin, Blue Moon and several other name brands - only craft beer and spirits.

Afterwards, we took a trolley tour through the area, with very interesting narration. A lot of movies were filmed here, including Forrest Gump.  We got off the tour at City Market - a collection of little shops & restaurants.  We lost all control when we entered The Savannah Candy Kitchen where they make all flavors of popcorn, taffy, praline and pecan goodies, chocolates and a lot of other homemade stuff.  I'm glad we don't have a lot of storage space in our pantry; it kept us from buying up the store, although we did buy some cheddar cheese and pizza flavored popcorn, and some praline chocolate goodies.

We got home around 5:00 and I had to do some work.  We discovered yesterday that another DRV pulled in across from us, so we left a note that we wanted to meet them.  Around 8:00, Bill and Bev knocked on the door and we had a great conversation until 9.  They also just started full timing, but have been RV'ing for many years.  They are originally from Iowa.  Turns out they are also on the way to FL and then NC for the same 2 rallies we're going to!  They also post on a few of the same forums, so I already knew them by their screen name (BillBev).

Lots of work and more deadlines by the end of the week, so won't have much to report over the next few days.

Dryer, tornado warning - Yr 1, Day 195

Hardeeville, SC (near Savannah, GA)

Started the day with Mitch finding the problem with our dryer and fixing it.  It hasn't been drying very efficiently at all.  In addition to the normal clothing wash, I also had to wash sheets and a few pairs of pants, which take a lot of drying time.  We were prepared to dry them at the laundry machines on the other side of  campground.  But then we both had a thought:  although we cleaned the lint trap and behind it inside the dryer, what about where the exhaust comes out?  Is it possible some critters made a nest there and it's clogging the vent?  Mitch took a look, and lo and behold, no critter nest but a 3" round and deep plug of lint!  He was unable to remove the cover as he would have needed some kind of caulk to replace it, so he used a jeweler's screwdriver and a portable vacuum - removing it inch by inch.  It took over an hour, but now the dryer works great again!!!  Kudos to my handyman husband.

Then we had some excitement.  We were expecting rain, as the forecast all week has been calling for afternoon thunderstorms.  We didn't expect a tornado warning!   We were in a watch for a while.  There is no place in the campground to seek shelter.  I called the owner and was told the closest place was the fire dept. down the road, but I shouldn't worry as these things always pass by.  This is a very rural area, so the nearest place to civilization is about 25 miles away (where we went shopping on Friday).  We were kind of torn between leaving 2 hours before the storm was scheduled to hit this area and heading to Walmart - at the risk of not knowing whether the single lane roads would be flooded out and we'd be unable to return - or waiting to see if the watch turned into a warning and then running up the road.  We asked our neighbors (who are 20 year full timing veterans) if they were planning to leave and they said they were tracking it and was heading away from us, so they weren't really worried. Well, while trying to make the decision, our weather station started screaming and it had turned into a warning.  We put the weather channel on and then found a local news station broadcasting minute by minute radar and while it looked very scary that it was heading straight for us and there was now no time to seek shelter, it did indeed move in the direction our neighbors said and missed us completely.  In fact, we didn't even get thunderstorms; just some heavy rain that lasted about 10 minutes.

Still, it was scary enough that we really need to have some kind of plan in place for future weather events, especially if the campground doesn't have bath houses (which, when you think about it, really aren't much more secure than a trailer.  In fact, a school or hospital or even Walmart isn't safe if a tornado hits it).  Either way, we are counting our blessings that we were safe.

Campground photos, Savannah skyline - Yr 1, Day 193

Hardeeville, SC (near Savannah, GA)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!  Yesterday (Jan. 1st) was spent continuing on the hair-pulling job I was working on all week (see yesterday's post).  I started working on it at 9am, and other than a walk we took in the afternoon, finally finished up at midnight! Hey, at least it's good pay, and the client was well aware of how much trouble this would be (of course, he didn't tell me, but I guess he was willing to pay whatever it took to fix it all up).  I still have work for him, and another deadline for my other client on Monday, but this is all manageable now.

So we took a walk around the campground yesterday.  This is a very simple, no-frills park but it is for RV's only -- no permanent structures / mobile homes.  It is very quiet and serene.  Whereas in our last place in Myrtle Beach, I liked to stand by the beach and listen to the roar of the ocean, here I was able to listen to the sound of complete and utter silence, with the exception of an occasional bird call (which was then broken by the sound of a fire cracker in the distance).  Although the sites and roads are gravel, there is a lot of land that was very soft dirt - recently dried.  I can imagine this place is a total mud hole when it rains (which we'll discover over the weekend).  There are numerous little foot bridges all over the property which go over little ponds (some have tiny fish in them).  There was a nice little gazebo over a pond.  I took a bunch of pictures:

This is a view from my dining room window

Trees reflecting in the pond

The other day I posted about the depressing skyline entering Savannah.  Below are 2 photos I took from the truck:

Tonight starts Shabbat.  The closest synagogues are in the downtown area and since we discovered that parking will be very difficult (we'll need to park at Hutchinson Island and take a ferry across the river - not something we would do on Shabbat) we'll stay home this week and next.   Later today we will go in the other direction, away from Savannah towards Bluffton / Hilton Head Island where there may be other supermarkets and stores.  This is the most rural location we've been in so far.  We're not used to not having Walmarts, Targets and lots of strip malls within a few miles.  Or even just a local store or gas station.  There's nothing here for at least 5 miles!  The jury is still out whether this is a good or bad thing.  For now, just a different experience.