HappyTrails

Epicurean Adventure, Good That We're Leaving Pensacola Now

While we waited for our Newmar dealer to complete some warranty repairs on our last day in Pensacola, we returned to the Naval Base and were privileged to see the Navy Blue Angels.  After an exhilarating practice show by six Blue Angels, who are home based in Pensacola, FL, we headed to Gulf Breeze.  We had hoped to see some shorebirds along this portion of the National Seashore but all we saw were long stretches of formerly pristine beach littered with unattractive construction.  It seems that the local zoning now permits building on these waterfront areas.  It is a very unattractive mess.  I think they will realize in days to come that they made a mistake and destroyed what used to be a gorgeous waterfront that was a major attraction for migrating birds.  Now, it's a moneymaker for an unprepared community.  Well, enough about that. 

As we drove along a major roadway toward Gulf Breeze we saw a sign for a promising eatery and decided to check out their posted menu.  WOW!  We haven't seen any place like this since we left Northern California where great food can be found on almost every corner.  We were seated on the deck with a waterside view of a small marina.  It was another one of those "pinch me" situations and we said our thanks for being able to live this wonderful traveling life.  When we commented to the pleasant young waitperson about this great place she replied "yes, you can almost pleasure-read the menu here". And what a menu it is.  We had a very difficult time deciding what to order but finally decided on the fish of the day and another special entree.  All fish served at this restaurant is fresh from local waters.  The Fish House far exceeded our expectations.  Hooray, for the Fish House.  They certainly know how to cook and present food.  It's a very good thing that we are leaving Pensacola because I don't think I could keep Jack away from this one. Here's a link to their web page which doesn't really indicate the quality and originality you will find here.  Pensacola Fish House

We've moved on to Summerdale again watching a storm that is supposed to pass through on the route we would like to take to New Mexico.  We're not fond of "strong" thunderstorms so we'll do our best to miss it.  We have an appointment in Las Cruces on April 10.  The planned route is I10 to Mobile and then northward through Jackson, Mississippi and on to I20 through Dallas/Ft. Worth, Pecos and back on I10 to Las Cruces.  The mileage is about the same crossing I20 or I10 but I10 through Louisiana is reported to be one of the worst maintained roads in the U.S. 

We will be on the road again soon

It's been almost a whole month of service visits with the motorhome.  This isn't because our Newmar Dutch Star is prone to problems, it hasn't been.  This is because we wanted to complete as much of the annual service as possible before we head West and because our 36,000/3 year warranty is about up.  The dealer Leisure Tyme,  in Pensacola, we chose to visit has been very good to us.  I told Jack today that we've been here (in their parking lot) long enough that I have neighborhood loyalty.  I mean, I know where the best shopping is and I feel proprietary about intruders to the lot when the business is closed.  People drive through to look at the RVs for sale and I wonder if they are planning to drop their garbage in the huge dumpster we've been permitted to use.  Our work will be finished tomorrow and on Wednesday we'll head westward again.  We can't wait!

We plan to go to the Blue Angels practice tomorrow morning and then visit the Gulf Breeze area to see if I can get a stamp on my National Parks Passport.  I think our dogs will like a walk on a beach before we leave Florida.

Our winter in Florida has been a pleasant experience and we've met a lot of folks we plan to meet with again.  Del and Shirley, Jack and Pat, Sam and Christine, Rob and Ronnie, Carole and Corky and Bob and Barb...we so enjoyed meeting you all.  The joy of the fulltime lifestyle is meeting other people who enjoy travel and being footloose and fancy free like us.  We cannot thank all of you enough. You have been the primary reason our Florida stay was so terrific.

To Lorraine and Mike, who are the reason we knew to spend this winter in St. Petersburg, thank you again. We're looking forward to future opportunities to meet along our travels.

Keep checking in to find out where we are next.   Happy Trails!

National Naval Aviation Museum

Jack and I both have fathers who served in the U.S. Navy during WWII.  My dad didn't see much action because the war ended about the time he went into active duty.  Jack's dad served in the South Pacific, stationed on Guadalcanal.  Our earlier post about our visit to the World War II memorial in Washington, D.C. tells a bit about his service.  There are no words to properly express how proud we feel and how thankful we are to those who served their country.  Without the service of John and his many fellow servicemen we would be living in a very different world.  So, let me say that the National Naval Aviation Museum was amazing.  We spent about three hours at the museum and will be returning for a second, longer day. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays visitors can watch the Blue Angels practice.  Living in California before our retirement and embarking on the fulltime RV lifestyle we had a number of opportunities to see the Blue Angels...and the Thunderbirds.  Somehow it seems much more impressive to see their practice in their home base.  Here are some pictures of the plane exhibits that span many decades, from the Wright Brother to present day.

Our next Pensacola attraction

We're back in Pensacola at our Newmar service center waiting for the items requiring parts to be completed. We're not pleased at such a delay but there is always something positive in each challenge, we will have an opportunity to visit the Navy museum and possibly see the Blue Angels practice.  If you want to see what is offered at the museum of the U.S. Navy check out the link below.  Make sure your speakers are turned up. 

National Museum of Naval Aviation

What we're doing now

We've been in Pensacola for a few days taking care of additional service on our motorhome chassis.  From time to time we need to have maintenance on our portable home.  The Freightliner service center in Pensacola has really impressed us. They diagnosed the problem in an hour and had the part on it's way for installation today.  We'll be moving over to the Newmar service center for warranty work as soon as we're finished here.

While we were in Lake City the group of customers at Palmer Energy went to a local eatery.  We had a nice meal and a little show:

Solar updates and the latest happenings

We stopped at Palmer Energy in Lake City, FL to install new AGM batteries and one additional solar panel.  We have read the many enthusiastic recommendations for John's honest business practices and were not disappointed.  We arrived at the property and were escorted to a choice of parking spots in a large field surrounded by trees and hiking trails.  We set up the T.V. without any problem and were immediately invited to supper with about eight other folks who were having work done.  I won't go into all the details because it's probably not something that everyone would be interested in but I do want to emphasize that we met really neat folks having work done at Palmer Energy and are very satisfied with the work. Solar systems and electrical work is not something we do in bargain mode.  You get what you pay for, usually.  Here's a picture taken on one of the miles of hiking paths that have been cleared at Palmer Energy:

We are now in De Funiak Springs, FL at our first Coast to Coast park.  This park is a little off the beaten track (one argument by folks who don't feel C2C is worth the yearly fees) but we have WiFi and great shower facilities.  It is about 10 miles off I-10 but for us...no problem.  Fulltime RVers are not really in a big hurry so a few extra miles doesn't deter us.  We want to shoot for an average daily campground rate of approximately $13.00.  That will assure us of a great budget for dining out...
We'll keep you posted as we head West.  Safe travels to all.

Intermittent Internet

We ask readers checking in for updates to be patient.  We are currently parked in Lake City, FL, having some solar upgrades done on our motorcoach.  We have very poor connectivity on our data card but have an opportunity to share an open WiFi system with other folks who are here..the catch...when the other folks get work done and the power source is off, no connectivity.  I'm not complaining.  The fact that folks leave their WiFi open for others to use is quite a nice gesture.  We thank those people.

John Palmer Energy Systems in Lake City is quite the operation. This is a top notch subject matter expert who can really set things up for the folks who want a great system.  We're thrilled with the improvement over our previous batteries.  There really is no comparison.  I know dry camping isn't for everyone, but we love it.

We expect to move on Tuesday or Wednesday.  We're debating which route we'll take as we head West.  The Interstate is not that good and not at all scenic.  Who knows what we'll decide.  We'll keep you posted.

Hello to new readers and welcome back to others

Our departure from the KOA in St. Petersburg was right on schedule.  We stopped at the office to pay our final charges and to find out how far in advance we could book for another season.  It won't be next season because we have plans to be in the Southwest next winter but the following winter will bring us back to the Eastern states. To our surprise we were able to make a reservation for the months we wanted and could make changes as long as they are notified a full month ahead of the expected arrival.  We're pleased because we had been told by folks trying to reserve for next winter that they are already booked.

We made the 85 mile drive to Sumter Oaks RV park (Escapees) in Bushnell in low traffic.  Tampa can be an unbelievable maze of traffic but we breezed along in the northern direction.  At the point where Highway 4 and I-75 intersect, we saw miles and miles of vehicles lined up heading South.  This line of stopped traffic continued for at least 20 miles.  Thank goodness we were going in the opposite direction.   This time of year can be a challenge when looking for stopover parks but again we were fortunate that the Bushnell Escapees park had a pull-through for us.  Since we haven't been on the road for a bit it was nice that the set up went easily and we were just about finished in record time when Jack had an interesting experience.  He took our cat carrier out to stow it and touched the side of the motorhome.  ZAP!  Jack was given a pretty good jolt of electricity from the side of the coach.  We immediately unplugged the 30 AMP connection and pondered what the problem could be.  I walked over to the office to tell them we had this experience and asked if they could take a look at the pedestal.  In about two minutes the manager was checking things out and told us the problem was in the pedestal. (You folks out there that ALWAYS check the voltage will be shaking your heads saying, "why didn't we check the voltage."  Hmmm, good question.)  Anyway, the breaker was broken and the current was arcing in the pedestal.  They fixed it and our electrified coach was back to normal without any further problems.  A new lesson for us. 

Life back on the road is nice.  Staying for a few months is good too but we bought a diesel motorhome because it could handle a lot of road use.  We'll be getting our service work done and hope to have enough time to travel the closest route to the Gulf of Mexico from Tallahassee to Pensacola, where we'll have another service appointment. 

A note to the folks who have been checking in on our site lately:  Feel free to make comments by clicking the "comments" at the bottom of a post.  You are required to list an email address but we don't see it and our web hosting company doesn't send junk mail.  They just want it for anti spam purposes.  Or, if you prefer, you may click on the email link on right column and send us private email.  We love to meet the folks that are interested in learning about fulltiming or sharing their experiences.  In fact, meeting fellow travelers is one of the BEST parts of fulltiming.

Happy Trails

Saying Goodbye to Friends

We've spent the past two days getting ready to leave our 2005 winter home in Madeira Beach, FL.  We've had a nice stay and it has been even more enjoyable because a number of great friendships have developed.   Our next door neighbors, Barb and Bob, headed out for Panama City yesterday.  I really want to keep in touch with them because Barb is a crafter who makes artistic treasures that she sells through shows back in Port Hope, Ontario, CN, and Bob is a Flyfishing guy who travels down to Pennsylvania a couple times a year.  It never ceases to amaze how similar we RVers can be. 

We were invited to dinner by the fulltiming couple we met at Harper's Ferry last year, Lorraine and Mike, who told us about this great stopover park.  We cannot thank them enough.  The Turkey Chili was absolutely scrumptious.  Being originally from El Paso, Lorraine knows how to make chili!  I'm still trying to talk them into going a little farther West this year so we can rendezvous someplace wonderful - and get more of that chili.

Carole and Corky, our next door neighbors for the past month plus, are almost as obsessive about checking out new eateries as Jack and me.  We have been to a half dozen moderately priced restaurants and eaten our capacity in seafood.  Most of these places have been filled with snowbirds on a budget and other tourist types.  We outdid ourselves last night.  We decided to make the trek to Indian Shores, about 20 minutes up the Gulf Blvd from our park.  We had passed Sloppy John's many times during our stay, intrigued by their sign  "The wurst place on the beach.  Lousy food and warm beer."  WELLLLL, we certainly had an e x p e r i e n c e.  When we arrived with Carole and Corky we entered a place that is a jumble of junk.  As you enter there is a vintage gas guzzler in the  entry, followed by some plumbing items like clawfoot tub and toilet.  As you enter the tiny shack-like seating area there are all kinds of crazy signs, more junk and an amazing number of abandoned lingerie items hanging all over the place.  I don't think I can really describe everything we saw in words, let's just leave it that there's  a lot to take in at Sloppy John's.  It so happened the chef was not in the house last night but we stayed for a drink and decided where to go next...whew, I was a little relieved.  Here's a look at a tiny bit of what we saw:

Yes, were were there....

One of the more sedate eateries we enjoyed with Carol i(n back right) and Corky (front right of photo below):

Dave's Dockside Restaurant in John's Pass, FL, really good food.

It's been loads of fun!  We know that there are many eating excursions in our future with Carole and Corky.  We just don't know where or when they'll be. 

I have a few more photos to share but the WiFi has slowed to a crawl and Jack is getting a little itchy waiting for me to help break down camp (or, it could be more of those pesky fire ants) .......HAH, this is NOT camping.

The rigors of the fulltime RV lifestyle

We've been having a terrific stay in the St. Petersburg, FL area and now must head out to new adventures.  For the past few days we've set up appointments for solar service, a regular maintenance on our motorhome chassis and our final warranty visit to a dealer, all of which we'll do in Florida locations we will travel to from here.  We've met loads of new people and some will no doubt be friends for life.  Here's a snapshot of Jack (left)  whiling away an afternoon learning all about Nascar from our neighbor Corky.

Our Flickr albums will be getting updated as soon as we have a high speed connection that can handle the uploads.  We have been thrilled to get photos of some birds we won't see again for some time.  This photo was taken by Jack with his telephoto on the Nikon D70 and I just had to post it.

Pair of Osprey guarding their nest

Our remaining few days will be busy getting together with our new friends and those we met before we came to St. Petersburg.  It's really a hard life when you realize the biggest challenge you have is deciding when to schedule the many social events with your friends on the road.  Some of the folks we've met are snowbirds who come to Florida from Canada and Indiana.  Others are fulltimers like us who feel the best winter spot is Florida.  We're a little different in that we will be bi-coastal fulltimers.  With two dads, one living on the West coast and the other in the East, we'll be traversing back and forth for as long as it makes sense for us.  And so, as I've said so many times in previous posts, we're not on vacation.  We're living an amazing and gratifying life on the road as unemployed, homeless vagabonds who live in our vehicle.  What a life!