Spending Overnight in Key Largo and on to Key West - Dec 2018

We were up early and ready to roll out of our campsite at Fort DeSoto campground in St. Pete.  It was a little tight but we went slowly and negotiated the turns fine.  We had to dump tanks so that took an extra 15 -20 minutes.  It was a fairly easy drive to catch I-275 and then I-75.

We were planning on spending the night at the Miccosukee Resort and Gaming Casino parking lot that night.  We made pretty good time even though we caught the morning traffic in Tampa and found more near Fort Myers and Naples.

About mid-morning we were talking about dry camping in the casino parking lot.  We are not big fans of casinos but many have RV accommodations or allow overnight stays.  Each of the three previous visits to Key West we have stayed at this casino.  Pam wondered out loud if there might be a campsite at John Pennekamp State Park which was another 40 miles down the road.

We called and to our surprise we were able to get the only reservation they had for the night.  We made a diesel fuel stop at our favorite Tom Thumb convenience store along the way and arrived at the state park for check-in about 2:30 PM.

We had some tree issues but were able to move the Roadrunner forward in the campsite and park it to one side so our DirecTV dish somehow missed the nearby trees.

It's always a good day when we have good wifi, a level site, cell phone service and satellite TV.  All the comforts of home.

We were parked in between three couples who were all from Quebec.  We talked with Diedre and Dianne who were a real nice couple.  They had a Monaco which they purchased in Toronto.  We compared motorhome stories and could relate to different issues we've experienced.

They were off to get some time near a sandy beach while I was setting up.  When they returned we talked some more.  They asked if I wanted to learn or improve my French? and invited me to Happy Hour with their friends.  It was nice of them but it had been a long day so I declined.

We had a great night's sleep and pulled out of our spot into an open area to connect the Honda behind the Roadrunner.  Pam noticed something in the back of the motorhome engine compartment.  I opened both doors and realized some of the insulation on the engine compartment was laying on the engine.  The insulation tape (looked like regular HVAC tape to me) had come loose.

I knew I should have at the time, but the was a little disconcerting, so I didn't take a single picture.  I was more concerned with assessing the damage.  We could not reach far enough into the compartment to cut away the portions of the insulation that were hanging down and knew that we had to access the area from inside our bedroom.

We had new carpet installed last year so it made it a little more difficult to find the four screws securing the compartment access lid from the bedroom.  We were not on a schedule so that was good.  We were able take our time and remove the large trim wood board underneath the closet door and then take out the screws.  Lifting the bed, we pulled out the lid and shined a light into the engine compartment.

We cut away three pieces that were hanging down and removed them.  There were three pieces of insulation on one side of the compartment that we cut way.  I inspected it all and didn't see any more out of place and buttoned it all up.  Later, I called Brannon at Custom RV in Red Bay and asked if there was any risk and he said we'd be OK like it was until we got it all replaced.  The bedroom closet floor was likely to be hotter than usual during our travels but we should be safe.

Another noteworthy start to our driving day.  Off we went toward Key West.  We passed through Key Largo, Islamadora, Marathon and the rest of the Keys on a beautiful day.

It is one of the scenic drives in America and a favorite of ours. The water is clear and blue and just what you'd expect in a tropical place.

We looked closely for hurricane damage from Hurricane Irma that hit landfall in Sept 2017.  It was pretty amazing, but we could see very little of the hurricane's effects.  We hardly saw any debris and only a couple of buildings that were damaged.  We did some a lot of new construction since our last visit to Key West in 2016.  There obviously was major destruction going on during the hurricane.  The cleanup was a testament to the hard work and ability of the cleanup crews to get it all back to normal.

Our campground is the at the Sigsbee Naval installation at Mile Marker 3.  We checked in were able to extend our original reservation through January 8, 2019.  They have 90 sites with full hookups and 310 dry camping sites.  If all the spots are taken in full hookups, we spend time dry camping until our turn comes up.  Campers get two weeks of full hookups and then rotate again to dry camping or leave.  It is very organized.

Our first order of business after we got our site was to grab some lunch at one of our favorite places:  Sandy's Cafe:

Then we went over to Island Bicycles where I rented a seven-speed hybrid with airless tires. They are solid and work surprisingly well.

The next morning I set off on one of my most favorite things to do in all our years of full-timing.  Ride my bike around the island of Key West.  I just love it.

The 13+ mile route around the island was full of memories from our previous three visits here over the last 10 years.

I took a lot of pictures and had a nice leisurely ride.

We were able to extend our stay and intend to be here for three weeks.  We are off to a great start.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles.

Hiking the Georgia Trails

We actually went  hiking on two trails and they were both not far from our campsite at Red Top State Park about 40 minutes north of Atlanta.  After a pretty busy day of trying to see the sites in the hustle and bustle of Atlanta the previous day, we decided to back off and take a hike.  It turned out to be an excellent choice.

Our campground may be typical for Georgia and if so, we are impressed.  We had quite a few trails to choose from and we picked the one nearest our campsite and joined up with another one.

We started on the Campground Trail taking us over to the Visitor Center and then joined up with the Sweet Gum Trail.

 The trails had enough ups and downs to get our heart rate up at times.

 But mostly it was a chance to get out there and enjoy the woods and take in the fresh air.  It was great day.  We love to do it and wonder why we don't get out there more often...

Here's a look at the 3.22 mile route we walked on my MapMyRide app:

I'm sure we'll be doing more hikes as we enjoy the weather down South here for the next few weeks!

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Atlanta in a Day

We have not spent a lot of time in Atlanta over the years.  In fact the more we talked about going there, we were cautioned about how tough the traffic is going through the area.  Nevertheless, we wanted to see the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library/Museum and the Georgia State Capitol.

When we began planning our five week fall trip to Florida we had to consider a few things in order to make the most of our time there:  We wanted to

• Go to a few places we hadn't seen rather than concentrate on old favorites,
• See as many friends as possible depending on how our schedules lined up,
• Visit as many historical sites and capitols as we could squeeze in, 
• Get more repairs done in Red Bay,
• Stay at modestly priced locations,
• Relax a bit instead of being on the go every other day

With some of those thoughts in mind, we considered Atlanta and all it has to offer.  We weren't kidding ourselves though, and knew that you can't see Atlanta in a day.  Maybe a week if you hit the high points.  But still it has a lot going on and we actually thought we'd devote a couple of days to seeing what we could.

Our first challenge was finding a decent location to see the city.  We were hoping for some RV campgrounds to choose from on the southern side of Atlanta.  There were precious few choices.

We tried to find a U.S. Army Corps of Engineer park that had been recommended but that didn't work out either.  We located and called Red Top State Park which is about 40 minutes north of the city.  Not ideal, but still doable.

Next, we had to pick two or three things to do each day.  We have found if we cram in more than three or four things it becomes 'overload' and we can't learn all we want and digest it all.  We drove from Columbia S.C. through Atlanta (taking the northern I-285 beltway around the city) to Red Top State Park.

Yikes!  Everyone was right - the traffic is tough !!  Lots of crazy semi-aggressive drivers and not a lot of fun at 1:30 PM in the afternoon.  

Still we made it to our very nice site without incident.

Then for Friday we picked out seeing the State Capitol and the Carter Presidential Library.  Depending on how that went maybe we'd see something else downtown.  The next day we planned on seeing Olympic Park, Turner Stadium, the Underground and the Coca-Cola Museum.

But-- we ran into some issues and didn't get to see all of the capitol.  We forgot Veteran's Day was on Friday so none of the government or state offices were open.  But we went ahead anyway and went downtown.  Holidays are the perfect time to find a parking place and walk around the outside of the capitol!

Georgia State Capitol

We saw a few things and were struck at the size of the building.  It is quite a bit bigger than the last capital we saw.

 We peeked in the doors and sure enough - no one there.

We walked around the northwest corner of building and found a statue of Confederate General John B. Gordon.  He was one of Robert E. Lee's most trusted generals.  

After the war served as governor and later as U.S. Senator from Georgia.  Fort Gordon, outside of Augusta, is named after him.

 Outside there are a number of displays describing Georgia historical events surrounding Atlanta.

 These were erected in 1920 by the Daughters of the Confederacy.

 Near those is a statue of our 39th president, Jimmy Carter.

 As we made our way around the building we noticed some maintenance going on in the back.

Three vehicles were parked on the extra wide sidewalk and they had one of the back doors open and were carrying items back and forth.  While that was going on Pam looked across the street and said, "There's the Liberty Bell!"

Sure enough, on the southeast corner of the capitol is the Liberty Plaza.  It is in a place of honor and a great location for public rallies and other outdoor events.

The names of the three signers of the Declaration of Independence were on the back side of the Liberty Wall.

The Liberty Bell replica was on full display and in a prominent place.

It is probably the best display we have seen of the Liberty Bell replica in our travels to date.  The whole area was very well done.

This photo I grabbed off the internet gives a better perspective of Liberty Plaza and its proximity to the capitol building.

From there, we went over the the Jimmy Carter Museum and Presidential Library.  I will save that and some other things we saw in Atlanta for (an)other post(s).

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Roadrunner Reflections: The Last Few Days

The last few days were pretty great in Catalina State Park.   We have been able to enjoy a good mix of getting things done and enjoying life.

We really consider ourselves very fortunate.  More than once in the last month I have heard other RVers say, "Isn't this great? Aren't we lucky?" --- to be doing this.  Whether they are snowbirds or those that travel and see new places all the this time -- we echo the same thought:
We are very fortunate to be doing this at this time in our lives.  We are very thankful.

And I am very thankful to YOU.  I know there are hundreds and hundreds out there that read this every week.  And a much smaller group of you that send a note and/or a few comments.

 but I want you to know how much I appreciate it --- 

Thank YOU!

I think I would be writing a blog even if we had no readers or commenters.  I started out doing this for a lot of reasons.  But believe me, it is lots more fun knowing that you are out there!

On another subject, I have been doing work over the last few days and some of my routine has been to go to a Starbucks and use their internet instead of mine.  I am able to usually put in a good two or three hours 'before the day gets started'.

I don't know about you, but some of the fun is seeing some interesting people at these places.

Then, when I am not working, we've especially enjoyed hanging out with my brother Marty and his wife Elena.   That is the real reason we came back to Tucson/Oro Valley -- to see them.

We played golf a couple of times and I keep saying I am going to be more competitive, but I wasn't this time.  For as little as I practice, I don't get too excited about playing poorly (like all those 3 putts...ugh!)

The great thing about golf is that when you least expect it, sometimes a good shot happens.

Marty and I were also able to do a project.  Like put together a PVC banner/sign hanger for his display at a Women's Business Networking gathering last week in Tucson.

He's a Dental Business Coach and also offers Sacred Money Archetype assessments for folks on how they view their money.  He said it worked fine at the event with a couple of small tweaks.  Job done.

Another day we had some laundry to do and I was able to get some more work done at the same time.

Then too, we watched every round of the Masters.  I love that golf tournament more than any other of the Majors.  After the first couple of days, my favorite did not make the cut and I had a number of others that I was interested in seeing do well.  It was great to see Bubba Watson win a second green jacket.

So - as I look back at our time in Catalina SP, I will remember the great campground and great times we had for a couple of weeks with Marty and Elena.  And once again I am grateful and thankful to you our readers.

That's it for this edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles!  More next time from our stay a couple of hours north of Tucson.  Until next time...