Relaxing in Burlington

Saturday, 1 August and Sunday 2 August

Visiting Gene's son, Alan, in Burlington, VT. We expect to be here about three days, I'll take it in two bites.

One of the things you have to know about visiting Alan and Valerie is that they are workaholics that never slow down. When you visit, don't expect them to take time and show you all the sights, unless what you want to see is them doing their thing. This trip we spent most of the time at a rental they have in neighboring Colchester: inspecting after a tenant moved out, changing a downspout, doing some additional planting, and trimming a bush and a tree. Gene got a chance to exercise his supervising skills.

It was not all work and no play, though. Among the fun things we did was to try out a new (to them) restaurant, then go see the movie "Minions."  This is not a film I would have chosen to go to, but it was entertaining and a chance to catch up with the "what's happening now" scene. Makes you feel less like an old fogey from the farm.

Sunday morning, we took a walk down to the waterfront to check out the dragonboat festival. There were crowds, many sitting on chairs on the waterfront, an announcer on the PA, a few vendors, the whole nine yards. I found out later that the dragonboats are all owned by an organization that runs such festivals all over the place. So crews just rotate among the available boats. The course is surprisingly short (a few hundred yards), and they run heats of two or three boats at a time. There are a lot of crews who cycle through the boats quickly.

While we were there, there was a performance by a Japanese-style drumming group. One hopes that the paddlers don't confuse their drumming with the drummer aboard the boat.

After a short while, we hiked back to Alan's for a delicious breakfast.

About the time we left Forest, it became apparent that our tire pump was not doing its job. So later in the afternoon, Alan took me to an auto parts store and I bought a new one. This one works a little differently, so I will have to change my routine slightly.

In the evening we went to a pool party with friends of Alan and Valerie, followed by a delicious pot-luck dinner. Back at the house, Alan and I sat out on the deck until late, talking. Finally Jean and I watched the (2-hour) season closer of Poldark and turned in late.

Don't know what's happening tomorrow, but I will report on whatever it turns out to be (if anything).

Last lap

Friday, 31 July

We are poised for the last run to visit Gene's son, Alan. We stopped at Gansevoort, NY, because we had been tasked to pick up an item for Alan in that area. He had asked us to pick up a driver's seat for his car at a junk yard --- excuse me, Auto Parts Recycling Center.

When we got there it turned out to be an amazing place. The customers go in to a building that looks like an auto parts store, with several people at computers. One of the guys looked up the account, issued a receipt and said to wait for 20 minutes. Twenty minutes later he showed up at the Roadtrek carrying a new-looking driver's seat. After telling us how to get to Route 4, we were on our way.

At last a day off the interstate. It was good driving through farm land again, with much less traffic; though there seemed to be more than the usual number of RVs on this route, presumably going to and from Lake George. We got into Vermont in early afternoon, drove into Fair Haven, and stopped at the Wooden Soldier, a small-town cafe we had found the previous year, for lunch.

Fair Haven is a typical New England small town. Quiet, with well-tended lawns, interesting older houses, and churches with tall spires.

A couple of hours on the road took us through rolling hills and neat farms. At one place there was a taco truck open for business out in the middle of a field. We arrived at Alan's place about 4:15, quickly set up, and relaxed on the deck with cold drinks. Into visiting mode for a couple of days.

Temperature was pleasant, so we decided to try dry camping for the night.

Off to Vermont

Tuesday, 28 July

We're off to Vermont. But first we needed to go to Williamsburg. We can't go to Vermont looking shaggy, and our barber is in Williamsburg (don't ask). So off we go on a 200 mile side trip.

The forecast was for scattered showers and we ran through several, three of which were real gully-washers. But we made it to Williamsburg safely and got our haircuts. Then we went to Martin's and did some grocery shopping. The weather was HOT and we went down to the Parkway and sat on an overlook at the river, opened the windows and enjoyed a nice breeze off the James.

Finally, we went back in to town and had supper at Cracker Barrel. After enjoying the food and air conditioning, we went back out to the motorhome and spent a very hot night. We did manage to get some sleep, but we decided that if the next night was hot we would find a campground where we could plug in and run the air.

Wednesday, 29 July

Off to an early start, finally heading toward Vermont. We prefer country roads wherever possible. Thus we stopped for a late breakfast at the Country Cafe in downtown Bowling Green.  We were soon back on the familiar path toward Winchester. Instead of switching to I-66 as usual, we kept straight on Route 17. It turned out to be Business 17, which doesn't return to the main stem but peters out in farming country. We were soon lost.

In the process of wandering around trying to reconnect with 17 at Paris, we stumbled into serious horse country. Normal farms gave way to huge spreads with big houses and bigger stables. There were miles and miles of black fences and miles and miles of low, stone walls. The whole countryside from horizon to horizon looked manicured. There were even a few horses.

Eventually we came to a small town with interesting old buildings; and a little later we connected with 17 at Paris. The scenery reverted to standard Virginia countryside, pretty but not spectacular. The magic ride was over.

At Winchester we merged onto I-81 and the prospect of a couple of days of traffic and lots of big trucks --- broken occasionally by big cities with even heavier traffic. About 3:00pm we stopped in a small town across the Pennsylvania border and had lunch at an Arbys. Temperatures were in the 90's.

Shortly after we check in at a KOA. Once set up and the a/c turned on, we strolled back to the camp store and relaxed with some ice cream. Back at the rig, which was now nice and cool, we did a comparison test of Cuba Libres made with two different grades of rum (both Mount Gay). Gene liked the expensive version while Jean preferred the usual (cheaper) one.

Thursday 30 July

Bought a cheap (but good) breakfast at the camp store and on our way.

In and out of rain again, some of them frog-chokers. Hope we run out of rain before I run out of cliches. By the early afternoon, we drove across a mountain and into bright sunshine (and lots of heat).

We stopped to make some sandwiches and discovered that the cap had leaked on a bottle of Gatorade in the fridge and we had a major clean-up on our hands. After that, peasant driving in sunshine with big cumulus all around However, much of the road in New York was rough, making it difficult for Jean to text.

She found us a good campground in NY near Glens Falls so we were in a good position for the next day's situation.

Home again

We had spent the night at Cracker Barrel parked next to a gaily painted school bus --- which we thought of as the "hippie bus". We never saw any evidence of people in or around it. It was still parked there when we left.

Parked next to the hippie bus

Checking our supply of anti-freeze, which we use to flush the toilet now that we are winterized again, we saw we were about out. No problem, there is a Walmart a little over a mile from where we were parked. So off we went.

On the way we saw that the return was seriously backed up with traffic due to road construction. We found the Walmart, but they were out of anti-freeze. Not wanting to plunge into the traffic back-up, we turned the other way and fumbled our way through the outskirts of Savannah. The unanswerable question was, which traffic was worse, the way we went or the way we avoided? We decided we were probably better off the way we went. We got clear of traffic after about half an hour.

On the way up the interstate we spotted a Camping World at an exit. Guess what? they were out of anti-freeze too! This was looking serious.

We headed up 17 and had a pleasant drive to Walterboro, where we had lunch. There we found another Walmart next to the freeway. Good luck! they had some anti-freeze left. They also had diesel at a good price. By now it was getting a bit late and Florence was still 125 miles away, so it was back onto the interstate.

We made the Cracker Barrel in Florence (an old friend) shortly after dark. We ate supper in the Roadtrek to finish up some of our supplies. Next morning, we had breakfast in the restaurant and checked out the rig to hit the road for the last leg. The weather was sunny and cool but not cold. We had managed to avoid any bad weather on the trip home.

Shortly after pulling onto the highway, we heard a strange, creaky sound from the back of the accomodations. We should have recognized the sound because we had heard it before, but we didn't. A short time later we heard the same sound, followed by a thud. The door had come off the refrigerator! The lower hinge, which I had repaired with epoxy last year, had broken. After working with it for a while, we finally got it back into position and held on with duct tape. Never go anywhere without duct tape.

The rest of the trip home was uneventful. The weather was good and traffic (outside of Greensboro) was light. We stopped for fuel and food at Tightsqueeze, Virginia. (That is not important, I just wanted to be able to use the name.)

We got home about 3:40 and were unloaded by dark.

Trip statistics: Total mileage, 2,706; days away, 22. Now it's time to make reservations on the keys for next February (and hope we are not too late).

Creeping home

Well, the weather up North is frightful, and the South is so delightful, to misquote an old song. We are on our way home, but studying the weather there and enroute as best we can, we decided to advance slowly. We are adding another day to our travel time in hopes that the current bad news will push offshore by the time we are approaching Virginia.

After spending half a day (and a bunch of money) at Leisure Time, we headed toward the ocean. I had studied the map and discovered that Lynchburg is actually slightly east of Charleston, so I-95 is the most logical route, even from the Gulf coast of Florida. Being in no hurry, we bypassed the interstate and turned north on A1A, which runs along the shore. We stopped in Ormond Beach so Jean could get another beach hit.

The beach there (at least at low tide) is broad and flat. The sand is fine and very light, except by the water where it is reddish. There were few people and few birds on the beach. Also, to Jean's disappointment, few shells. After about three-quarters of a mile, we spotted RVs parked just beyond the dune line. Investigating, we found a combination hotel/cottages/campground. We inquired and found the price higher than we hoped, but tempting. However we elected to press on. After a long stretch where you can actually see the ocean from the highway (rare for A1A) we found some more campgrounds. Unfortunately they were either full or way overpriced. So we carried on and checked in at the same campground we had stopped in on the way down to de-winterize.

Next day (today) we decided only to go through Georgia. We drove up US 17 and quickly saw the effect of building I-95. The new (at the time) highway took most of the traffic off 17. There were a lot of abandoned businesses and things looked sort of run down in general.

Along the way, we passed a sign for Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation Historic Site. We were in no rush, so we turned around and drove in. It turned out to be well worth our time. The site is park-like with lots of 400-year old live oaks bedecked with Spanish moss and Resurrection ferns. It is the last remaining of the rice plantations that were the basis of the economy of the Low Country.

Don't think Tara, the house itself is little more than a substantial farm house. There are lots of outbuildings, mostly from the years as a dairy farm after the price of rice fell. It stayed in the family for five generations, and was finally given to the state by the last surviving family member.

Hofwyl-Broadfield plantation house

We were fascinated by one huge live oak that was spread well out on the ground.

Pressing on, we ended the day at a Cracker Barrel on the outskirts of Savannah. The temperature is dropping and it is raining off and on. Tomorrow we don't expect to get much farther than Florence, SC, where we will sit tight and wait for a break in the weather so we can head north for Forest.

Winding down

I'm sitting in the waiting room at my favorite RV dealer, waiting for some work to be done on the Roadtrek. That work will include re-winterizing since we will be heading back north from here. Now's the time to catch up on the last couple of days.

Leaving Chokoloskee Island, we stopped for breakfast at a Cuban cafe just down the road. Good food! Then we headed north, taking back roads to avoid Naples and the subsequent urban madness for as long as possible. We finally headed back to I-75. Since we didn't have far to go, we swung off to Venice so Jean could have one more day at the beach. Circumstances prevented her from having much beach time this trip.

After about an hour we were back on the road for Seffner (east of Tampa). We were low on everything, so we pulled in to a Publix and went shopping. So far, we have been eating Skillet Meals for supper. They are quick and easy to prepare and require little clean-up. Surprisingly, Publix had no Skillet Meals at all. So we went to a nearby Walmart --- which didn't have any frozen meals of any kind! Empty shelves. So we were all set except for supper.

Jean found us a campground near Seffner and we went out for dinner.  Then backed in and set up after dark. Next day we visited Jean's sister-in-law, Chris. After a while we went out for strawberry shortcake since Seffner is in the heart of strawberry country (there is a Strawberry Festival going on now). Once stuffed with strawberries, Chris took us down to a nearby power station which has a manatee-viewing pier (with associated gift shops, etc.)

Big Bend power plant

There must have been two dozen manatees milling about and partying. They were surprisingly active for manatees (we think this is mating season).

Back to Chris's house for more visiting, including with her daughter, Maria, and granddaughter, Kelsey. Finally, went out to a Greek restaurant on a back alley. A place only the locals know about.  By the time we got back to the campground it was dark again.

When we woke this morning we discovered a pair of downy wookpeckers nesting in a dead tree next to the campsite. 

We pulled out and headed for Winter Garden and Leisure Time RV. Basically back roads all the way to Cleremont, a small down in the lake district that we like. We pulled in and parked by one of the three lakes in the town. After lunch in the rig we strolled along the lake shore and relaxed for a while.

Jean watching a woodpecker in the tree

After Cleremont, the road toward Orlando got wide and busy. We pulled in to Leisure Time just before closing. They ran an electric cable out for us and we settled in. Once the work is done we will really be heading for home. Three days of just laying down the miles.

More everglades

Well, we got to the campground by noon and scored a site. That put us in the Everglades for another night (for a whopping $8.00). We immediately headed for the Anhinga Trail, one of the most popular. It is a boardwalk above a marsh and birds (and, of course, gators) are in good supply. Here we saw nests of anhinga chicks as well as adult anhingas.

Anhinga chicks

Typical anhinga pose

There is a small wooded area with pond apple trees. These had air plants that were just beginning to bloom.

It also had the usual gators, here's a good one.

There were cormorants all over the place, some close enough to touch (we didn't try to). I had never heard a cormorant call before. It is pretty ugly. There were also quite a few blue herons.

Moving on, we visited a pond where there were a group of roseate spoonbills and wood storks in the trees on the opposite side. Unfortunately, those distant birds were the only spoonbills we were able to spot.

Everyone know that the everglades are very low-lying, but it is still a bit surprising to see a sign marking one of the higher elevations.

We drove on to Flamingo with the idea of maybe taking one of the boat rides. We got there just in time to see the boat leaving. The next one would have put us pretty late, so we just found a parking place overlooking Florida Bay, had a late lunch, and chilled. No need to rush from one activity to another --- after all, we're on vacation.

Next morning, we had a long conversation with another Roadtrek owner, and headed for one last thing. We decided to end our everglades adventure with a walk along the Gumbo Limbo Trail. This is right next to the Anhinga Trail but couldn't be more different. There are no birds or animals. There may perhaps be some tree snails or butterflies, but we didn't see any. With a slightly higher elevation it is a tangled jungle of gumbo limbo and live oak trees, along with strangler figs, air plants, and God-only-knows what else.

Gumbo limbo tree

It looks like something out of one of the scarier parts of a Disney movie.

Banyan

After the walk, we headed for the Tamiami Trail and Naples. This road cuts across the top of the Everglades, then through the Big Cypress Swamp. We had lunch at the Miccossukee Restaurant along the way. Trying to find a campsite was frustrating. Everyone was filled. We finally found a space at the Chokoloskee Island Park, which is like a small fish camp on Florida Bay.

So that is where we are today. We took and extra day in order to do laundry and just kick back a little. I finally had time and energy to catch up with the blog. It is Florida back country, popular with fishermen and pelicans.

Old pair of pelicans

Tomorrow we turn north. We need to get close to Sefner to visit a relative of Jean's. We may even take the back roads and bypass Naples altogether. Wednesday we have an appointment to get some work done on the Roadtrek from the place we bought it (and still my favorite dealer/repair place). That will probably be our last official Florida event for this trip. We're already making plans for next year.