To 13 weeks working in Lake City, Florida

The journey across the top of Florida is nearly 400 miles.  The panhandle is long but I never thought that it was that long.  They are still picking up downed trees along the interstate from Hurricane Michael last summer.  We will be working about 60 miles west of Jacksonville and 50 miles north of Gainesville  There are a bunch of fresh water springs that feed the Suwannee river that we hope to explore.

The work assignment started December 9th and will end on March 9th.  We docked the land yacht at a local RV ranch near Alachua, FL.  We have a nice country setting that includes cows, goats, donkeys, ostrich, and a few parrots.  There is usually some sort of animal entertainment going on.  The northern Florida winter is quite mild but the temperatures reach for the extremes on a daily basis.  We have had a few freezing night while making it into the 70s the next day.

I am working mainly 12 hour shifts.  This allows for 7 out of 14 days off to explore northern Florida.  We are in the center of Florida with the Golf of Mexico on one side and the Atlantic ocean on the other side.   On the Golf  side there aren't many beaches in this area of Florida due to hurricanes rearranging the  shore line often.  If you  look at the map there aren't many towns or roads.  The entire east coast is a beach on the barrier islands with an intercoastal waterway deep enough to navigate before you get to the land.

This is Jacksonville Beach

We have decided that for the most part northern Florida is all part of a big swamp.  Many lakes,
 and waterways with some land in between.  When it rains here the lakes and low spots fill up with water.  Florida is fairly flat so there aren't many places for the water to go.  The swollen rivers and lake start sending the water towards the ocean.  Many of the lakes are large sinkholes where the water moves underground through caves.  Some of the underground rivers pop up as springs that turn into surface rivers that may duck under the surface again.  These streams turn into major rivers such as St. Johns, St Marys, and the Suwannee.

At the headwaters of the Suwannee River in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Georgia we found this guy in the wild.  If you look at the map this is a huge roadless area made up of mainly Cyprus forests in a swampy environment.  We have an Alligator lake in Lake City but I haven't found any there.

All of this water makes for good fishing, boating, kayaking and floating during the summer.  Many birds and wild animals get to enjoy the rivers too.  Looking on a map you will find many parks and wild life preserves.  This weekend we were able to see some of the fabled sand hill cranes for the first time.

Part of the fun traveling to different areas of the country is enjoying the local food.  The people in this area eat really well.   They certainly know what to do with tasty fat.  If you go to the store for pork rinds you will find many varieties and maybe some fresh in the deli.   If you are looking for black eyed peas you may run into many varieties.  We have been enjoying field peas and zipper peas.
They all are a little bit different.  Of course you need to throw in some smoked meat and bones for flavor.  If I stayed here for very long it would be hard to avoid all of the goodness and put on poundage.

On New Years, for a good example you need to have 5 flavor filled dishes in order to get rich and be successful in the new year.  #1 You need golden cornbread with lots of real butter which will bring you money  #2  You need collard green with lots of pork for flavor.  The green brings you more money.  #3  You need to eat 365 black eyed peas for luck and health each day.  Southerners throw a silver coin into the pot.  If it ends up on your plate; you will have extra wealth.  #4  You need Hoppin John.  This is a mixture of black eyed peas, rice, and fat back or ham hocks.  Consider this dish a pot of money.  #5  How could you start a ne year without hog jowls.  They will bring you wealth as well as good health.  I saw these in the store but couldn't bring my self to try them.

Here we feel like we are in the middle of lots of sports action.  Within about 200 miles we have 3 pro football cities, several college football bowl games, Daytona 500, the Atlanta Super Bowl, and Orlando with all that is included there.  In order to avoid the crowds and commotion we are avoiding such activities and keeping it rural.

This is the old coast guard station on St Simons Island in Georgia that is now a museum.  We had some fantastic BBQ at Southern Soul BBQ.  This business occupies an old gas station and there is usually a long line.  We saw it on the show Diners Drive ins and Dives.  People at work highly recommended it as well.  So if you get to the Georgia coast...…………..The beach was nice as well.

Not a good shot but these are sand hill cranes.  These birds are rarely seen due to their extreme migration.  Impressive birds.

This is Spanish Moss that hangs from most trees in this part of the country.  It doesn't harm the tree and is considered natural to this area.  Early pioneers used it to stuff mattresses.  The problems happened when the bugs that live in the moss bite at night.  Good night; sleep tight; and don't let the bed bugs bite..  Came from here.....

With all of the working it doesn't allow much time for blogging.  Only just over 6 weeks left before we get "on the road again".  We will try to keep up with the adventures. 

Pensacola, Florida

We are enjoying around 10 days at the RV park in the Navy Air Station near Pensacola Florida.  This is one of our favorite military camping destinations.  Most of the RV spaces have a glimpse of the ocean.  The Blue Angel Navy flying team lives here.  This is where they practice.  The national naval aviation museum is a must see if you are in the area.  It is on base but open to the public through the back gate.

This is also a point where there are several fortifications to keep invaders out of the harbor.  Several date back to the British American conflicts.  The local fine white sand beaches make you feel that you are certainly in Florida.  Hurricanes are certainly an issue here.  Last year Michael hit several miles south of here.  Many of the local RVers moved out because of the threat.

Along with the ocean front RV parking the Officers Club and the Navy lodging are right on the beach.  There is a great military marina here.  This is also where the amphibious boats of the Navy were launched and tested many years ago.

This is one of the most majestic officers clubs that I have found.  Note the plantation architecture on the front.  In the back there is a swimming pool and a huge ocean front deck.  Inside the ceilings are tall in the elegant ballrooms.

December weather is interesting here.  At the beginning of the week it was hot and muggy day time temperatures in the 70s and dropping to 60s at night.  Presently the highs are in the 50s and the temperatures are in the 30s at night.  Pictured below is Kathryn making a snow angel in the chilly but soft and fine sand with the Destin boardwalk in the background.  This is the place to be on a hot summer day,

When you combine a nearly cloudless sky, powder sand beaches, and plenty of ocean you usually come up with some great sunsets.  This is from the beach at the RV park.

From New Orleans east

On the day after Thanksgiving according to the news the whole world needs to go shopping.  A good majority of them need to wait in line for six hours in order to be first in.  A portion of those people need to fight and act stupid in order to be first.  For some odd reason we have never had enough time or incentive to participate in this malfunction.

Camped as we are at a plantation around 50 miles out of town it is easy to avoid such behaviors.  I did adventure into town to see first hand the chaos but it didn't take too long to turn around.  A lot of New Orleans is under construction making the city more chaotic the day after Thanksgiving.

On the Saturday we headed out to visit a crocodile ranch and find some Cajun food.  We were successful on both accounts.  Apparently in an effort to renew the crocodile population after over hunting, several ranches were formed in order to raise the animals.  They try to balance harvesting the eggs and returning 10% of the harvest back to the swamps.  Apparently these conservation efforts are working since there is close to an overpopulation of gators now.

We noticed along the Mississippi river levee that there were several triangle type structures that people were building on after Thanksgiving.  We were guessing that they would light them up like Christmas trees.  We were wrong.  On New Years Eve they actually set the structures on fire creating a substantial blaze all along the levee.

We have noted before that Marti Gras is a season in Louisiana.  On the radio you can hear the Marti Gras hymns for an entire month prior to Fat Tuesday.  It just makes sense that they would have a Christmas parade in early December in order to kick off the season.  Like the Marti Gras parades they have many bands, important people, and floats full of people throwing beads.  The local parade is scheduled for December 2 so we will not be able to attend.

We did get to see the Marti Gras World where they put together the amazing floats in New Orleans.  During the season there are around 77 parades featuring these floats.  The entire thing is financed by people paying to be on the floats.  The average float cost around 200 thousand to make.  Each year all floats are decorated different from the last year.

They take Styrofoam  and add paper machete before adding the paint.  Old school was to start with chicken wire adding the paper machete and paint.  The goal is to be good looking and light weight.  Due to the local weather during Marti Gras it is fairly important to be water proof as well.  Pictured are several statues from previous years.  They try to recycle many of the figures.  The lowest picture was celebrating the super bowl after Catrina.  It pictures Drew Breese and was recycled from an old Tom Cruz figure.

Marti Gras isn't their only goal.  Apparently they form all of the cows for Chic File.  They also have a few Disney connections.

When breaking into a big city we have a plan that usually works.  We look for a moorage to park the land yacht on around 30-50 miles from the metropolis mess.  We take the dingy into town usually 10 miles from the target due to parking expense.  From there we try to take alternative transportation, usually bus or train, into the center of action.

In New Orleans we parked near Tulane University.  We took the old and famous Saint Charles street car into the city.  From there we hoofed it to the entertainment.  Bourbon street was a been there done that so we didn't feel the need to repeat this time.

Thanks for reading

Happy Thanksgiving near New Orleans

From Monroe we headed south towards New Orleans.  There is a lot of rural beautiful country here barely populated.  The people are friendly and real.  This ended abruptly at Baton Rouge.  Sudden traffic jams and aggressive drivers.

Our goal was to spend the weekend about 40 miles from New Orleans in a rural plantation RV park just off of the Mississippi river.  The plantation was on the other side of the levee well below river level since 1870.  The nearest town is about 15 miles away.

I was curious about the man who built this mansion.  Both google and Wikipedia had little to say about him.  I added civil war to the search and found many articles on how a judge recently allowed various statues and memorials to be torn down.  This judge must have been the wrong kind of democrat during the civil war.  In this biased digital age he may be soon forgotten.  One may have to go back to relying on the library for historical facts.

A dash into town for last minute dinner supplies was certainly interesting.  The local supermarket was extremely expensive compared to places that we have recently visited.  It is sad given the town's population consisted of poor minorities who certainly couldn't afford it.

The store employees told me that they sold out of fresh turkey days ago.  There were a lot of smoked ham hocks and necks.  There were a lot of seafood and other southern delights.  For bread there are two types: white or wheat.  The only turkey found was frozen and expensive.  We need to plan better next time.

New Orleans was getting ready for some major football action over the weekend.  On Thanksgiving the Saints were going to support their only thanksgiving home holiday game ever against the Atlanta Falcons.  They were beefing up security on Bourbon street for the aftermath according to the news.  There is some college action as well.

Saint Michaels Church was near the plantation grounds predating it by several years.  The cornerstone was placed in 1831.  The bricks were made by slaves pre civil war by slaves.  It had a much taller steeple before Hurricane Betsy in 1965.  The alter was brought in from France in the 1800s and the pipe organ is considered one of the largest in Louisiana.

One final Thanksgiving note:  Along with appreciation for family and friends over the years our "mutt" Bruno has been with us since October 9, 2009.   We have to call him a mutt because Rottweilers and German shepherds aren't welcome at most RV parks.   When we got him the best guessers considered him around 2 years old.  That makes him elderly in dog years.  

He is slowing down and sleeps more.  When traveling in the mobile dog house he still finds enough energy to bark at traffic, people, skate boarders, and any other thing on his mind.  Lately his ability to jump and desires to chase ball have faded.  

He has been our faithful mascot for most of the 40 thousand miles in the land yacht.  This is his second trip to Louisiana.  We are looking at ways to improve his declining mobility and access to his homes on wheels.  We are thankful for his many years of family service.

Thanksgiving in Lousiana

From our ranch RV parking with relatives just outside of Fort Worth, Texas we headed east on I-20 to cross Dallas during the midday break in traffic.  It was so great to get out of the big city traffic.  As you know we really don't appreciate traffic jams with the RV towing the dingy...…… about 65 feet of process.

There were several construction areas which halted traffic.  We ended up near the town of Longview, TX at a small RV park for $25/night.  The rural RV park was called Hitching Post.  We were happy to have good wifi.

On the way across Louisiana we plan on spending some time in Monroe.  This is the vicinity of the Phil Robertson Duck Dynasty.  The actual building that turned into the factory in the series is now partly a visitors center.

If you have read the books this is a classic rags to riches story complete with loosing drunk to practicing Christian tale.  The tour was well done.  At the end there are a bunch of products in the store if one is after memorabilia.

We stayed in a nice RV park just off the freeway in Monroe called Ouachita for $32.  Due to the chilly weather we have had the need to get electrical support for the heat pump.  The past several nights it has been nearly freezing in the deep south.  Records are being set.

We could use other options such as more blankets but why when you have options.  We could survive on gas heat and the inverter for the battery bank.  There is always the noisy and smelly generator to create heat and the needed electricity.  A solar panel might be in our future if we are determined to boon dock.

On the road again to Texas

After one night at Travis Air Force Base in Tucson we headed on to Los Cruses, New Mexico for one night at Hacienda RV resort.  It was reported to be down around 24 degrees at night so we had to plan for a freeze.  The cold front from the north finally caught us.

So far we have avoided problems during freezing times by taking a couple of additional steps.  The land yacht has good heat pump that can pump out cold air or heat.  The heat ducts are below the floor so that most of the pipes stay warmer.  The fresh water intake is protected by adding an extra warm light bulb.  The pump out area stays warm with a small electric heater equipped with a tilt kill switch. Some suggest that you need to leave a slow drip at the remotest water faucet as well.

Around 280 miles further down the road we spent a night at the Sandhills, State Park in Monahans, Texas.  The park turned out to be nearly full on this late fall weekday.  You are surrounded by sand hills to tromp on.  They shift during windy periods.  No wind and lots of stars that night.  This on and off again oil field area in west Texas was a family hub for the last few generations.  All of them moved on or reside in the local cometary presently.

The next day we took out 200 miles across the heart of Texas to Abilene.  At Buck Creek RV park they had some Texas sized pull throughs of nearly 150 feet.  For those who are not used to RV lingo a pull through is a RV parking area where one doesn't have to back in.  This comes in handy when you are towing a car.  You don't need to disconnect for the night saving time.  The usual pull through is usually a tight fit of about 70 feet.

After 150 more miles we pulled into Fort Worth to visit relatives.  One had a handy RV shed complete with electric and water on his 8 acre ranch.  There were several goats, sheep, ducks, chicken, dogs, cats, and even lamas.  This wonderful little protected area was just a few miles from the main drag of a large Fort Worth suburb.

We will spend a couple of days here to rest and rehabilitate after several long days of traveling.  Along with the gray hairs there seem to be a few more reasons to insure that one needs to take a break from driving daily.  Exercise is good.  Also one needs to find some roses to smell!

Into the valley of the sun

It is around 120 miles from Yuma to Phoenix.  We passed several bargain RV resorts and RV lots for as cheap as 37K.  The problem lies in that the nearest support and resupply for RVers is about 50 miles away.

We chose to stay at Leaf Verde RV park near the town of Buckeye at the exterior fringes of the ever expanding metropolis of Phoenix.  It is far enough away that you don't have to participate in the big city traffic unless you choose to.  Current rates 245/week with sports and pool.

The warmer climates in the winter suites us fine in Arizona with temperatures above 60 most every day.  The problem lies in the dust generated by the desert winds that occasionally happen.  There are more nice warm days than windy days.

We visited Luke Air Force Base where there was no family camp for the RV.  This is a fighter base so the air shows happen daily.  From there we learned of a flag raising ceremony on top of a local desert mountain during Veterans Day weekend.

A local athlete had a habit of taking the stars and stripes to the top of local hills.  The local anti-Americans couldn't let this happen so they did their best to take them down.  The "rebel" got organized and found contractors to donate a flag pole.  He even got the city of Glendale to sponsor and maintain the flag on the top of the hill.

The plan was to form a human chain to pass the flag to the top of the mountain in order to display it permanently for the first time.  There were thousands of participants including several military organizations, the Boy Scouts, and lots of the general public.  There were local musicians hauling their instruments to the top to play the National Anthem, many flyovers of vintage military air craft, and of course speeches by the local politicians.  This didn't make the local news!

On Veterans Day we visited the local NASCAR track that had recently been majorly renovated.  They spent 180 million dollars to upgrade the viewing stands and change the track.  It was great to revisit the racing excitement of NASCAR at a new track for us.

On November 12th we headed out of the Phoenix winds 100 miles south to the relative calm of Tucson  Our new goal is to make it to Lake City, Florida by December 8th for a work assignment.  This will require about 2000 miles of driving and diesel at 8 miles/gallon.  We usually like to cover less than 250 miles/day on travel days with at least 2 rest days in between for exploring.

There is a certain joy of being on the road again.  New adventures abound.  There are so many things to see at the new destination.  There is never enough time to do all of the things you want to do.  Such is the life of the chronic traveler.