Keeping Up With The Counters

Saturday, February 14, 2015

GULF COAST - FLORIDA

Since I have been lazy, suffering from writers block, or whatever excuse I may come up with, I figure it's time I update Keeping Up With The Counters before I completely forget the past few months.

VENICE, FL
While in the Venice area, we got together for dinner a few times with my childhood friend, Veronica (Ronnie) Carlson Horton and her husband Walt. One day, Jim and Walt golfed while Ronnie and I shopped.

Lemon Drops for the lovelies.

GETTING A CLEAR VIEW
Some of the windows in the RV were very cloudy because the seals failed. Especially on sunny days this became a safety issue with the front driver and passenger side windows becoming almost opaque. After doing some research on the internet, I found rave reviews for a company in Hudson, FL that repaired this common RV problem. We called and made an appointment with Sun Coast Designers to take care of the problem.

BEFORE

DURING

AFTER

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER DOLLAR - OR THOUSAND
Our next move was to Wildwood, FL, located near The Villages where Bob and Donna Gall retired to about 15 years ago. We planned a visit with the Galls's and also decided we needed to have the refrigerator repaired because it wouldn't work using electric and only ran on propane. Also, we had it cranked up to the coldest setting and it was barely keeping our food cold. Alliance Coach Sales and Service was located just down the road from us, so we made an appointment to get the fridge fixed, as well as a few other issues taken care of before we left for home to spend the Holidays back in Wisconsin.

Long story short...what we thought would be a 1 or 2 day stay at the Alliance customer RV park (they provide electric and water hook-ups for service customers) turned into 4 days. After several unforeseen problems were fixed and a few thousand dollars later, the RV refrigerator was replaced with a residential one. The new residential fridge won't run off propane so an inverter was installed so it will run off batteries while we were traveling or dry camping.

Look who I ran into at Alliance Coach!
Even Santa needs to get his sleigh tuned up every now and then.

After making sure everything was working, we put the motor home in storage and drove the Jeep back to Wisconsin.

We got back to the harsh cold November weather in Wisconsin, celebrated the Holidays with family and friends, and counted the days until January 25th when we would drive back to FL, get the RV out of storage and in 2 days continue our trip around the Gulf of Mexico to Texas.

JUST CHILL OUT - LESSONS FOR PATIENCE AND FLEXIBILITY After getting the RV out of storage and all set up on our campsite at Three Flags RV Resort in Wildwood on January 27th, we turned on the never been used refrigerator to let it cool before heading to the grocery store. The air soon turned blue with cussing and swearing because the new fridge didn't work; an urgent call was made to Alliance Coach. For those of you who know Jim, the following 10 days were a test and lesson in the virtue of patience.

The not so happy camper with the new shiny trouble maker.

After diagnosing the problem, the technician said the inverter was defective; a new one would have to be ordered and would take 5 - 7 business days to arrive. In the mean time, the fridge was plugged into an extension cord and ran perfectly off electricity.

While waiting for the new inverter to arrive we got together with the Gall's a few times, and drove the Jeep to Jacksonville for a weekend stay at Tom and Pam Schneider's home to visit them and Pam's parents, Don and Ginny Reinertsen. The weekend was fun and included a Super Bowl party at Casey and Judy's house (friends of Tom and Pam).

Getting wild with Don & Ginny.

Back at Three Flags, we tried to make the best of waiting around for the inverter to arrive. One evening we decided to go to the Jam Session at the campground clubhouse. We each filled a big glass with wine, walked to the clubhouse and realized the minute we walked through the door that this was not the typical RV park jam session. The crowd of people sat in chairs lined up in rows listening to and singing old country gospel hymns along with other park residents who were playing their guitars, fiddles, and drums. We felt very uncomfortable sipping our wine while in the midst of a Southern Baptist revival. I thought we were getting the stink-eye and judgey looks, Jim's perception was they were looking at us and our big glasses of wine with Baptist envy. As soon as there was a break in the entertainment we made a quick exit with our empty glasses.

Finally, Friday morning Ted from Alliance came to our campsite and installed the new inverter, while we made plans to leave the next morning. Soon after Ted left, I opened the refrigerator and noticed that the inside temperature was getting warmer. Another frantic call to Alliance was made, the fridge got plugged back into the extension cord, and we waited for Ted to come back. Ed and Ted showed up in the afternoon. After checking this and that, Ed called the inverter company for some trouble shooting tips. The problem was...the wire distance from the inverter to the battery connection was over the 6 foot maximum.

Saturday morning, Ted and Eric arrived with the required materials and equipment to reposition the inverter about 4 feet away from the batteries. WHA-LA, it worked!

After a lesson in patience and RV travel flexibility, we left Florida on Sunday and didn't stop until we crossed the border into Alabama for a one night stay.

Bye Bye Florida!

Friday, November 7, 2014

EAST COAST FLORIDA

ST. AUGUSTINE - OCT. 12 - 15
Our campsite at Anastasia State Park was surrounded by live oaks dripping with spanish moss, palm trees, palmettos, and a plethora of tropical plants. This was one of our favorite campsites.

I don't know what this plant is, but it's beautiful and seemed to grow everywhere.

WHEELIE FUN!
St. Augustine is rich with history as it's the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in the U.S. It was founded in 1563 by the Spanish and was a key setting for the Civil Rights Movement in the early 1960's.

After we learned how to drive and control the Segway in a parking lot, Corley, our guide led us around the streets of St. Augustine. By the end of the 2 1/2 hour tour I had 'seglegs' - cramps in my legs and feet.

Spanish Colonial era buildings and 19th century architecture add to the charm of St. Augustine.
In the 1880's Henry Flagler established this city as a popular winter resort
for the Northern East Coast wealthy by building ornate and extravagant hotels.

Castillo de San Marcos - construction began in 1672.
The material used to build the Spanish fort is coquina, a shellstone
quarried from the Historic Coquina Spanish Quarries at Anastasia State Park.

Driving on St. Augustine Beach.

Before leaving St. Augustine, we had the recalled part for the refrigerator replaced.

MOVING ON DOWN - OCT. 16 - 19
Taking some time off from sight-seeing, we spent 3 days being lazy and chilling out in central Florida at Orlando RV Park in Clermont, FL. The park is about 10 miles from Disney World, and although it's been 28 years since we had been to the Magic Kingdom, neither one of us felt the need to visit Mickey and friends.

The next stop was in Fort Lauderdale; we stayed 1 night at Yacht Haven RV Park.

Dock your water yacht, or park your land yacht at Yacht Haven.

THE REINERTSEN SISTERS
Friends from Wisconsin, Don and Ginny Reinertsen, have 2 daughters, Pam and Cindy, who moved to Florida several years ago. We were happy to see both Pam and Cindy while on the east coast.

Pam lives in Jacksonville. While we were in St. Augustine we met Pam for lunch.

Cindy invited us for dinner at her home in Boca Raton. Cindy has turned her backyard into a tropical fruit tree garden and served up some freshly picked star fruit and mango.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

SOUTH CAROLINA

YOU KNOW YOU'RE IN THE BIBLE BELT WHEN... Myrtle Beach, SC - Oct. 6 and 7th
South Carolina was our next stop; we camped at Myrtle Beach State Park for 2 nights. Our campsite was a short 2 block walk from the beautiful sand beach on the Atlantic.

We invested in a beach umbrella.

As we were checking into our campsite were were told "NO alcohol is permitted in the park, so y'all keep it in yo' campah". Yup, we're in the Bible Belt.

This is what happens when there is a No Alcohol Policy...
instead of seeing Pink Elephants, you start seeing Pink Flamingos.

One of the beauties of the RV Life is that our neighbors change every time we move and we never know what we'll see or what interesting characters we'll meet. Even arriving at a new RV park is an adventure because the description and pictures on the WEB or in Trailer Life Directory don't alway match the reality of the place. While I don't always take the time to check out RV park reviews, previous guests reviews seem to be the best place to find an honest description of the good, the bad, and the ugly. We have never been disappointed at a State or National Park.

STOP SLAPPIN' YA'SELF! - Yemasse, SC - Oct. 8 - 12
October 8th we moved on, staying at The Oaks at South Point RV Park in Yemasse, SC. Spanish moss hung from the oak trees throughout the park, creating a real down-south feel. The interior roads in this RV park were horrible; driving the motorhome to our campsite was like off-road 4-wheeling through the water filled ruts and pot holes. The men's showers didn't have hot water. However, we met some interesting characters during our 4 night stay at this park.

"PEE-U-EE! It smells like a French Whorehouse!"

Three raggedy looking kids came by the RV selling Swamp Swatter; after listening to their sales pitch, and feeling kinda bad for them, I bought some of the gnat repellent.

The Traveling Swamp Swatter Sales Force.
Instead of throwing out the foul smelling "snake oil", I left it at their campsite.

GONE WITH THE WIND
We took a day trip to Charleston and a carriage tour through the historic district. This city is the epitome of southern charm.

I can picture Scarlett and Rhett strolling along the Battery. Bless their hearts.

On the way back from Charleston, we stopped a
road-side shrimp shack and bought 2 pounds of these beauties.

DEATH AND DESTRUCTION!
While staying in Yemasse and talking to our neighbor, Don, about a problem we were having with our refrigerator, he said "You better check to see if your fridge is on the Norcold recall list". Sure enough it was. We called Norcold and were told to unplug the fridge immediately, don't use it, and have it repaired ASAP as it could start on fire and cause death and destruction! We made an appointment for the next week at Ocean Grove RV in St. Augustine, FL and Norcold got busy sending them the part that needed replacing. The refrigerator ran fine on LP gas.

Thursday, October 9, 2014

N. CAROLINA OUTER BANKS

CAPE HATTERAS - Sept. 30 - Oct. 3
Tuesday we left Virginia Beach and drove to Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Three barrier islands running north and south out in the Atlantic Ocean make up the Outer Banks of North Carolina and can be accessed by highway from the north, or by ferry service from Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands which provides a link between islands as well as the mainland. The Pamlico Sound stretches between the mainland and the Outer Banks. We stayed in the Village of Frisco on Hatteras Island at the Frisco Woods Campground.

While siting at our perfect campsite on the Pamlico Sound,
Kite-Boarders entertained us with their antics.

The end to a perfect day. God, I loved this campsite.

A BIT OF HISTORY I BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW
During World War II German U-Boats off the coast of the Outer Banks torpedoed and sunk an average of 1 cargo ship or allied tanker a day over several months. After the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard sunk four U-Boats, the German commander called it quits and took his war ships and torpedoes to the North Atlantic and Mediterranean. While Outer Banks residents knew what was going because of the tremendous explosions and seeing evidence of the destruction, the government kept this information classified and the general public never knew how close the War came to our shores.

BEACH BEATING
One beautiful sunny day we went to the beach; I couldn't wait to play in the water, watch and listen to the sound of the waves. I was standing about knee deep in the surf enjoying getting splashed by the salt water when a big wave came in and knocked me down. As I laid there like a beached whale, waves continued to beat and pound my body, and what seemed like a truck load of sand filled my swimsuit. Laughing, I managed to crawl and stumble out of the water, then decided to watch the waves instead of play in them. I was still picking sand out of my ears 2 days later.

A POPULAR VACATION SPOT

This Inter-Galactic Air Stream was camping up the road from us.

CAPE HATTERAS LIGHTHOUSE
Of the 3 lighthouses on the Cape, this one is the iconic symbol of the Outer Banks. Built in 1870, it's the 2nd tallest lighthouse in the world standing 198.5 feet, and is affectionately called The Barber Pole.

WE MISSED DA BOAT
Friday we left the Cape and our perfect campsite, having a 1:00 reservation on the ferry to take across Pamlico Sound to the mainland. As were were waiting in line to board the ferry at Hatteras Island, we discovered we were supposed to be on the 1:00 ferry leaving Oracoke Island. I quickly called the Ferry Station at Oracoke, explained our screw-up and got our reservation pushed to 4:00. The ferry trip from Hatteras to Oracoke was about 45 minutes and the ride from Oracoke to Cedar Island/mainland took 2 hours and 20 minutes. We finally made it to Goose Creek Campground and had to set up camp in the dark using flashlights.

That's our RV behind the blue truck.

Meeting the Ferry going to Hatteras Island.

CAROL AND TOM
My high school friend, Carol Jorganson Stewart and her husband Tom live about 40 miles from our campsite. Sunday, they gave us a tour of their historic and charming town of New Bern then treated us to a fabulous lunch at a restaurant with a deck over looking the water.
It was a fun enjoyable afternoon with two great and funny people.

So glad we spent a beautiful afternoon with Carol and Tom.

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

REVOLUTION AND REVELATION

COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG - Sept. 22 - 24
We left the D.C. area on Monday landing near Colonial Williamsburg. We spent 2 days visiting Colonial Willamsburg, a living history museum. The 300 acre historic district is closed to motorized traffic with only horse-drawn vehicles allowed. The surviving structures in the village date from 1699 to 1790 and have either been restored or reconstructed on their original foundations. Historical reenactors dress, work, and talk as if the 1700's as they demonstrate and explain life in colonial times, about the time before the start of the American Revolution. Private residences are not open to the public.

The town shoemaker creating a new pair of shoes
for me. A girl can never have too many shores.

Taxi service in Colonial Williamsburg.

George Washington (on the horse) reviewing the troops.
And no, the guys in the red coats are NOT "British Red Coats", they are American Revolutionists!

READY, AIM, FIRE!

Yankee Doodle Dandy

Notice Jim (upper right) serving on the jury at Williamsburg Municipal Court. Had he known he would be called into service he would have worn his frilly shirt and wig.

VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA - Sept. 25 -29
We arrived in Virginia Beach on Sept. 25th. Virginia Beach is home to Edgar Cayce's A.R.E. (Association for Research and Enlightenment). Edgar Cayce (1877 - 1945) was a gifted psychic, who, while in a self-hypnotic state/trance would give readings to diagnose medical conditions and treatments. Because he could not remember what he said while "sleeping", his readings about medical conditions/treatments, philosophy, prophesies, religion, and reincarnation where written down by a secretary and transcripts of his thousands of readings are located in the library at the A.R.E. Center. Also on the grounds of the Center is the historic Cayce Hospital. The hospital is now a spa and center for holistic wellness, as well as a school for massage.

Over the weekend, Jim attended "Many Lives, One Soul: Reincarnation, Life Before Life, and Your Soul's Plan" conference at the center. I opted to spend a few hours at the spa getting a relaxing massage and facial. After my spa treatment, I spent the rest of the weekend hanging out at the campground reading, and watching several beer drinking campground residents parade by in their country music blaring golf carts; it was hilarious and entertaining.

I had fabulous massage and facial at the historic Cacye Spa and Wellness Center.

A beautiful labyrinth is in the foreground.

This is a picture of the A.R.E. building where Jim spent the weekend becoming enlightened. A beautiful mediation garden is on the left side of the building.

NEPTUNE FESTIVAL
Also happening the weekend we were in V.B. was the annual Neptune Festival. Sunday afternoon we strolled the boardwalk along the ocean, listening to live music while munching on crab cakes and shrimp.

The crab cakes were good, but not even close to the "10 STAR" ones I had in D.C. at Ebbett's Grill.

Sunday afternoon's weather was perfect to stroll the boardwalk at the Neptune Festival.

In addition to music and delicious food, the sand sculpting
competition was another highlights of the Festival.

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

STARS AND STRIPES FOREVER

WASHINGTON D.C. - Sept. 15-22
Our next destination was Collage Park, MD, a suburb of Washington D.C. The Cherry Hill Campground was a short drive to the subway station where we could hop on a train to take us to and from downtown D.C. Over the next week we explored our nations capitol, the Smithsonian American History and Air and Space museums, and several memorials and monuments by bus, tours, and walking.

About 2 months before leaving home, I contacted or Congressional Representative to request special tours of the Capitol and White House. We submitted the information for our background checks and waited and waited. Several days before arriving in D.C. we finally received the invitation from our Representative, Sean Duffy, for a private tour of the Capitol, and also got an invite from Barack and Michelle Obama to visit their house on Saturday afternoon.

CAPITOL BUILDING
Nick, one of Rep. Duffy's interns, took us on a tour of the Capitol which included getting into places we could only see if escorted by a member of Congress or staff. In addition to seeing the places open for public tours, we sat in the gallery of the House and watched/listened to a debate. In between committee meetings, Rep. Duffy met us and escorted us to the balcony overlooking the Capitol Mall which we could only get to if escorted by a member of Congress.

Work is being done on the Capitol dome so scaffolding surrounded it.

Here we are with Wisconsin Representative Sean Duffy.

The view of the National Mall, with the Washington Monument in the background, from the Capitol balcony is stunning.

WHITE HOUSE
After going though several security check points and being sniffed by dogs, we toured about 9 public rooms on the main floor of the White House while Secret Service stood watching our every move. The Obama's never came down from their private quarters to say "Hi", so Jim didn't have a chance to give the President some advice.

Over the past 230 years, many renovations and additions have been made to the White House, the exterior still retains the integrity of the original design, and is the oldest building in the City.

Jim would like everyone to know - he was NOT the guy who jumped the fence.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

After 2 fires destroyed the congressional research library located within the Capitol, Congress appropriated money to build this magnificent building which opened in 1897. Today, the library is home to the national copyright office and repository of over 150 million books, print materials, sound recordings, photographs, maps, sheet music, motion pictures, and manuscripts.