Sun Coast Area

Yesterday we took a day trip from our campground near Hudson FL, went to the Valspar PGA Championship in Palm Harbor and then stopped by to check out some things in Tarpon Springs.

First our campground.
We heard about the Word of Life Campground from our friends Bob and Patty and talked to a couple about it at a booth at the Tampa RV show in January.

This winter we decided we wanted to see more of Florida in places we have never been so this also fit the bill.
It's a nice campground with full hook ups.  Concrete pads are nice also.

It has nice facilities too, but most of all -- these folks are friendly!  We are going to like our week here!

As shown on the map, Palm Harbor is only about 40 miles from here and we were able to get tickets to go see the first round of the PGA tournament there.

 It was very well organized, parking was closeby and the shuttle bus dropped us off right near the vendor tents and the 18th green.

It was fairly early on the first day of the tournament and we were able to get good seats on a number of holes.

 On the 17th green we got to see Steve Stricker (red shirt) who is one of our favorites.

Later Patrick Reed (green shirt) played the 17th.

 One of the best things about the tournament was how well military veterans were treated.  The PGA has a program called 'Birdies for Braves' which essentially means, vets get into the tournament free.  They also are provided food and beverages at the pavilion set up for the military.

 At this event, the pavilion was set up behind the 16th green.  It was awesome.  Chick-Fil-A provided sack lunches and cokes and ice cream.  It was a very nice thing to do and there were lots of vets that took advantage of it.  The local charities chip in and pay for it which is very nice.  At this tournament, Pinch-A-Penny pools and spas was a major sponsor.

There were a lot of Chick-Fil-A employees there to make it happen including a couple of the mascots.

We typically don't stay the entire day at these events, so after lunch when the afternoon groups groups teed off, we called it a day and made our way back home.

Along the way, we wanted to make a quick stop in Tarpon Springs.  We took a short drive through town and went over to the Sponge Docks.  Interesting tourist town with a small museum.

The most noteworthy thing about Tarpon Springs is the large Greek contingent there that began with 5,000 sponge divers that came from Greece.  I read that Tarpon Springs at one time had the largest group of Greek Americans in the country.

Sponge divers continue to harvest in the area and there are plenty of stores that sell natural sponges.  I remember seeing some sponges for sale in Key West but I think this area still has a large sponging industry.

It was a busy day in the Sun Coast area but we enjoyed it and learned a lot.  We saw some good golf and some extraordinary kindness dealt out to vets.

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Week 2 Complete at our Habitat Build

We finished up our second and final week of work at the Lynmore Estates in Macon as part of the Care-A-Vanner build with Habitat for Humanity.

We had to finish up some areas and put on exterior 'blueboard' in high places around the house.  Blueboard was already up around the house from the foundation to 8 feet up.  We had to finish under the gables and soffit.

 One of our goals for the week was to start siding all the way around the house so volunteers over the weekend and in coming weeks could continue it to completion.  First we had to get it over to the house from the warehouse where it was stored.

 Jerry had to angle it through the doorways of the warehouse on the forklift since it was about 8 inches wider than the door.  He took a couple of runs at it but managed easily.

The cement fiber board (also know as Hardy board) went up pretty easily after we got going.

 It really looks great after it is up and painted.

Bruce can do about anything and here he is on the chop saw.

You have to get the corner pieces on correctly and Gabe and Andy are taking care of that one.

As we rounded out our week, we said good bye to Gabe and Bruce.  They are from the Columbus GA area and we've had the pleasure of working with them here before.

 Colleen and Pam and I worked on the siding on the back of the house.

 At the end of the day and a busy two week, Jim (the Business Developer and Volunteer Coordinator) stopped by.  He's one of those one of a kind guys, great at what he does and one of the most personable people you'd ever want to know.

 We've been to Macon three times now and he keeps the ball rolling and always spearheading upgrades and improvements for the RVers and the facility we get to use.  He also was responsible for lining up some donors so we could enjoy a three meals with folks at the church and at two eating establishments.  Very nice of him to do that!

Our last night there, we went with Barbara and Ross (can't believe we didn't get a picture of them!! - ugh) and some other folks to Yoder's Mennonite Restaurant out in the country (Montezuma, GA).

 It was a great meal followed by a picture with Janet, Andy and Dot.  It was the end of another memorable couple of weeks in Macon.

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Roadrunner Financials - February 2016

Roadrunner Recap
In February, we visited the following locations along the Florida Gulf Coast and into Central Florida:

• Twelve Oaks RV Campground, Sanford FL
• Rodman Campground, Palatka FL
• Pelican Roost RV Campground, Mayport FL
• Macon Area Habitat Campground, Macon GA

After our time near Orlando, we moved to Rodman Campground to explore more of interior Florida. Then it was off to a great military campground in Mayport.  The Pelican Roost campground is on the waterfront of the St. John's River with a lot of commercial and naval military traffic.

Next, we moved more north to our Care-A-Vanner build in Macon GA.  That's always a fun one because we get to see old friends including Pam's Maid-of-Honor, Barbara.

Good News Areas We Are Under Budget
We did pretty well in spending for the month in areas of fuel, campgrounds, and groceries.  Most
of it had to do with the fact we camped for free at the Habitat for Humanity site in Macon GA and did very little eating out while we were there.

We had a very good month budget-wise but were not able to avoid the unexpected RV maintenance with the broken tailpipe which accounted for our overrun.

Biggest Expenses
We got new cell phones and switched from AT&T to Verizon in January.  The expected savings did not present itself.  In fact for a while, we were paying off the old bill and for the new coverage while we were gathering information to get reimbursed by our new carrier.

Large One Time Cost Item
The biggest item on the spreadsheet during the month was our $1997 bill for a broken exhaust pipe.  While leaving Rodman Campground near Palatka FL we noticed a strange sound in the engine.  Later, exhaust smoke was coming in the PS window so we had to close it.  Those two items turned out to be a tailpipe that broke at the exhaust manifold.

We were heading to a Habitat for Humanity Care-A-Vanner build in Macon GA and ended up getting the repairs done there.
Monthly Average

The basic story here is that we are on a clip for the first eight months of the Roadrunner FY (June 2015-May 2016) to spend a lot more money than we would like.  But this 'budget' I have often send is really more of a record of spending.  We seldom limit ourselves because of where the budget is.  This does give us a pretty good idea though, of where our money is going compared to what our planning goals are.

So this is a look at where our money went during the second month of the new year.

As always, if you think this spreadsheet might be useful I'd be glad to pass it along at no cost.  Just let me know.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Care-A-Vanner Build in Macon - Feb 2016

We joined the Habitat for Humanity Care-A-Vanner group for a two week effort in Macon Georgia.  Other RVers from all over the country signed up online and we arrived this past weekend.

We had our first team meeting and Meet and Greet on Sunday afternoon in the very nice Macon Habitat facility.  On Monday, we met the Construction Manager (Jerry) who went through our Work Plan for the week and gave us a walk through tour of the woodshop and supply area.

The facility includes large warehouse, offices, a training room along with the Habitat Restore.  Very nice facility.

Our six RVs are lined up along one side of the parking lot.

They have water and electric hookups along with a dump station on the other side of the building.

Our work for the week is out in Lynmore Estates.

On Monday we worked on installing some inside insulation and installing two doors.  Dot and Gabe are showing how its done.

Larry and Colleen working on a different area with the insulation.

One thing that naturally happens at these events are the impromptu get-togethers.

We have folks here from South Dakota, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Georgia.

Here is our first 'team photo'.

On Tuesday we split up into two groups and worked on decking at both houses.

Pam and Brian bring over another cut piece of decking.

This local affiliate enjoys a great relationship and support from the community.  Jim (on staff with Habitat) was able to get Texas Roadhouse to provide dinner for us on Tuesday evening.

We tried to get everyone together for a team photo with a couple of the managers at the restaurant.  It was a great meal and a great evening.  Texas Roadhouse employees also volunteer and have an event this week at the Restore in which they are participating.

We are off to a great start and looking forward to our time here in Macon.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles.

Visit to Amelia Island

We are only about 20 miles from Amelia Island, so we thought we'd take the Mayport Ferry across the St. John River and see what we could see on a day trip.  We quickly added an hour to our drive when we found out the ferry is closed for repairs until further notice.

So we drove the long way around to I-295 and I-95 to take the exit for Amelia Island.  We stopped for coffee at Dunkin' Donuts and then drove around the Historic Section of town.  What a quaint place.  Reminded me of St. Simon's / Jekyll Island on a smaller scale.

There is a good sized waterfront, some shipping and lumber and lots of Victorian houses in the town.  And lots of stores that are thriving despite the old turn-of-the-century look.

We quickly found the Amelia Island History Museum.  It was excellent!

The history of Florida is convoluted to say the least, but I found this good synopsis online:

Originally home to the once-thriving Timuncuan Indians, around 2,500 B.C., it has also been 

Nearly 80% of Florida's Atlantic white shrimp is harvested in the surrounding waters, with 2 million pounds of shrimp delivered annually to the Fernandina docks.

the home of an English plantation, an international port, Civil War fort, turn-of-the-century playground for rich tourists, terminus of Florida's first cross-state railroad and world headquarters of the shrimping industry, which was first modernized here.
An aura of simple innocence belies what was once a hotbed of corruption, buccaneers and bootleggers. Named for the daughter of England's King George II, Amelia Island, was under the Spanish flag in 1807, when the Jefferson Embargo closed all U.S. ports to foreign shipping. The Spanish harbor of Fernandina became the nation's center for smuggling slaves, liquor and foreign luxury goods, as well as buried pirates treasures.
Amelia Island played another historic role during the Cuban War for Independence (1895-1989), when freedom fighter Jose Marti was overheard plotting his strategies in his island suite in the Florida House Inn (Florida's oldest surviving hotel). This led to the demise of the ill-fated revolution.


We were in Cedar Keys a few months ago, we learned that the first railroad across Florida into that city originated at Amelia Island.  One of the main crops shipped by rail from one coast to the other (and thereby avoiding the long and often dangerous ship route around South America) was lumber.

Two main industries were centered in this area of Florida:  lumber and shrimping.  Both continue today.

 We arrived just in time for the docent's tour of the museum.  After about 20 minutes in one room and getting up to the year 1565, we knew we were in trouble.  As the group moved to another area, we opted out and spent the rest of our time there  poring over displays.

 The museum was very well done and worth the $7 admission.  It had first quality and very informative displays.  The area was heavily involved with the slave trade from the late 1700's until well after the Civil War.

 After the arrival of the railroad in the 1850's and well into the 1880's, it also became favorite spot for the well-to-do Northerners and vacationers.  Large Victorian homes were built and some remain today in excellent condition which serve as Bed and Breakfast venues.

After our time at the museum we drove around the historic town which has a very large old town section with thriving shops and boutiques.  There are a lot of restaurants and the city wharf and park is close.  It is a place we could spend hours and hours.

We did a drive by of the local lumber yard and shipping company and watched some logging trucks empty their load.  Then we took a drive over to Fort Clinch State Park and checked out the two campgrounds.  Never know when we'd like to hang out there.  One campground was near the old fort which now serves as the Visitor Center.  The other campground was near the beach where there were less trees and an open area that looked like a better place for satellite TV.

We continued on our drive and went by the Amelia Island Plantation area that started development in the 1970's.  It has the large conference hotels and high end tourist accommodations.

It was a great day to see the area and find out more of the history of the region.

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Back in Florida After a Short Visit to Virginia Beach

We had a wonderful time in Virginia Beach seeing our kids and grandson and extended family and friends.  We arrived on Wednesday and returned here to Mayport Naval Station at the Pelican Roost Campground.  Our 1200+ mile round trip was worth it in every way!  Even though our kids are grown and married and left home a long time ago, I still miss them!  So this short trip came at a good time.

We got to see Brooks who is growing and growing up by leaps and bounds!  He is turning into quite a little personality.  Lovable, affectionate, friendly, funny and very mature for his age (said another Grandpa...).  He is no short of amazing.

And it was great to see Adam and Melissa who came down from Fairfax for the weekend.  And Jon's parents made it up from August to also celebrate Brooks' birthday.  It was really fun to see everyone and catch up.  It's one of the most fun things we do.

We were also able to squeeze in some medical appointments and I got in to see Jake, the same Physical Therapist Kelly and Pam have seen in the previous months.  Pam got some help in alleviating some foot pain and got on track with some good walking/running shoes that are a good fit.

This time I got in for a couple of sessions to see if I can actually start running again.  It's been years and years since I have regularly run, but I'd like to get back to doing that again.  We'll see.  I was very pleased with the plan of attack (Return to Run -RTR) program he put me on.  It focuses on flexibility, stretching and a very conservative approach to move from walking to running again.  I have already been surprised with the stretching results so hopefully I can stick with it and start running again.

I also got in to see the Opthamologist and get my eyes checked.  A few months ago, I had an 'event' -- something I described as an 'oil spill/floaters - that came and went in my left eye after about 30 minutes.  I knew something was going on and I tried get in to see an eye doctor in December.  But I had some Tricare administrative issues.  Those got fixed and I had a complete eye check in both eyes with dilation and the doctor's scrutiny under his laser light.  It all checked out fine so that was a relief.

Thankfully, the return drive to Mayport was without incident.  I drove a couple of hours, Pam drove while I took a nap.  Then we stopped to fill up and grab something to eat.  We arrived back in the Jacksonville area about 5:30 PM.  We decided to go out to eat.  I asked our campground neighbor if he had any suggestions.  He thought for a moment and then said, "Seafood Kitchen" near Jacksonville Beach.  Great food, low price, modest looking restaurant".

Boy was he right!  Pam and I each had a shrimp dinner.  I opted for cheese grits while she had french fries and we both had cole slaw.

 Definitely one to put on your list if you are in the area.  I love these kind of 'local joints'.

This morning we were treated to a Navy ship getting underway right in front of us.

Nothing like a 'room with a view'.

And a few hundred yards away an aircraft carrier getting some work done.

We've been able to get the wash done, caught up on our mail and done some work around the Roadrunner.

We'll be here for a few more days and aim to enjoy it.  Hopefully the great weather will hold up.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!