Friday, March 11-19,
2016 - North Florida Fairgrounds, Tallahassee, FL
We walked this morning, had our breakfast, showered, and
hooked up Bentley. It was 11:04 when we
pulled out from the Hitchin' Post Corral & RV Campground, headed to Tallahassee,
Florida. It wasn't but a short time and
we moved ahead an hour into the Eastern Time Zone. It was an easy drive on I-10 and we pulled
into the Tallahassee State Fairgrounds at 2:30 p.m.
The address for the fairgrounds was on Paul Russell Road
but we could not find an entrance into the grounds. I called the fairground office and found out
we should have turned south at the intersection onto Monroe St. instead of
staying on Paul Russell Road. The
entrance is just a short distance past the intersection. As we turned into the main entrance off of
Monroe St. we could tell there was something going on at the fairgrounds. There were many vehicles blocking the road ahead
of us. We stopped, and walked that way
seeking a person to ask about the location of the office. Someone was nice enough to direct us and we
were soon at the office on the other side of all of the traffic. We paid our fee for two nights and moved down
to the hookups near the area of the fairgrounds where the boondocking rally
will be held. There were already several
other rigs parked here. We will have
full hookups for two days which makes it nice for us to empty our gray water
and waste tanks and take on fresh water before the start of the rally.
Soon after we arrived Linda (of RV-Dreams) drove past us
(we recognized their jeep from their blog and pictures the often post), and a
short time later her husband Howard walked down to introduce himself and say
hello. The rule is when someone is
setting up on arrival or tearing down to leave you do not take time to visit
and he soon left us to continue with our setup process. It is too easy to be distracted and forget to
do something important when you stop to visit.
Once we were set-up we walked down to Howard and Linda's
rig. Our neighbors (Bill and Linda
Napier) were already visiting with them so we pulled up our chairs to join
in. They were discussing the perfect RV
layout. These two long term RVer's had
many good ideas. Now if they can just
get the RV industry to hear them out it would be a big plus for full-timers or
most-timers (those who still have a home but go as often as they can). One thing we all agreed on is there needs to
be more room at the front door to store shoes so they do not have to be worn
all over the home to cut down on dirt, sand, grass, etc. being tracked though out
the camper. It's fine to leave them
outside in summer but during cool weather it's a bit much to take your shoes
off before coming in the rig.
After an hour or so we left so we could eat dinner and
settle in to watch some TV for the evening.
Saturday, March
12, 2016 - North Florida Fairgrounds Campground
Today is my daughter's 39th birthday. It's hard to believe that much time has
passed. She is so special and I am so
proud of her and love her so very much.
I hope she has a very special day!
We walked this morning, had our breakfast and then we
headed to Wal-Mart to get a few groceries.
I also wanted to stop at Dollar General to look for a small container to
put apple juice in, that will fit into the inside compartment of the
refrigerator. We couldn't find one at
Wal-Mart and were not successful at DG either, however we found a bottle of
apple juice that will fit, so problem solved.
And why do I want apple juice?
Dean and I have about a tablespoon of Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar every
morning with our breakfast. We have
noticed a significant difference in the way we feel, especially in arthritis
type pain. The knuckles and joints on my
hands rarely hurt if I drink this on a regular daily basis. I also notice a big difference in my back. If I miss a few day’s I know I’ve gone too
long without it. In a few days the pain
disappears.
After we returned we did a little clean-up in the rig
from all the sand at the Hitchin' Post Campground, however it probably won't
last long since there is lots of sand here at the fairgrounds as well.
Later this evening we walked back down to Linda and
Howard's where all of the RVer's who came in early were visiting. We met Bob & Paige (Airstream owners),
Ken & Gizzy (our neighbors to the east of us), Bill and Linda who we met
last night (west side of us) and a few others, but unfortunately I cannot
remember their names. I'm sure I'll get
to visit with them more this week and will eventually learn most (if not all of
them) before the week is over.
North Florida
Fairgrounds Boondocking Rally Site
Sunday, March 13,
2016
We moved over to the boondocking site that will be our
home for the next week around 9:30 this morning and was soon settled in. Other rigs will be coming in over the next
few days. We were on the south side of
the boondocking area, somewhat by ourselves for a while. They grouped RV's with solar on the north
side, and RV's with generators on the west, south and east sides. We only have a generator so we will be
running it a minimum of 3 times a day, at 7am, sometime around 12-3 pm and
again around 8 to 10 pm. Generator hours
are from 7am to 10pm. We are set up in a
circle with a large area for a campfire in the center, which allows for seating
around the fire each evening.
Once we have leveled Bentley and put out the slides, we
put our large mat outside, got out our chairs, along with 2 extras to provide
seating for visitors, put out the awning and added our sunshade to provide as
much protection from the sun as possible.
Later in the day another Big Horn pulled in on the west side of us. Jerry and Jill are originally from
Wisconsin. He has been work camping in
Florida this winter. His wife is still
working and living in Wisconsin until their son graduates from High School next
year, when they will go full-time. She
flew in for this rally. Jerry has taken
a work camping job in Wisconsin for the summer/fall and they will be driving
back there together after the rally.
A short time later a small motorhome drove and we soon
met Kathy. After a couple times of
pulling in and getting out to check to see how level she was, Dean and I went
over to see if we could help her and Dean directed her onto her plastic tiles
to better level her unit. Kathy is
originally from Orlando, FL, however she has been work camping in various
locations. She has applied for a
position in Yellowstone later this year and actually did a phone interview once
she arrived and was setup here. She's
pretty excited so I hope it works out for her.
We also met Russ, an older single man in a small
motorhome who parked between Kathy and Jerry/Jill. Not too much later an Alpine arrived and
parked next to Kathy. This was Gary
& Mary from Texas. We spent quite a
bit of time visiting with them throughout the week. Both of them originally worked in the
telephone business for AT&T so they had something in common with Dean. They are a very nice couple and we enjoyed
spending time with them.
Howard and Linda have a nice portable fire pit to use for
evening campfire. Throughout the week I
think we had a chance to meet everyone and visit a bit. Tonight after I fixed dinner we sat around
the campfire for awhile.
Monday, March 14,
2016
We will have our first seminars this morning at 10. Dean and I did our morning walk, had
breakfast and were soon ready. The
seminars are being held behind Howard & Linda’s rig where there are several
nice trees to provide shade. This
morning we learned about Boondocking & Solar which included tank
management, ways to conserve water and extend the use of our waste systems,
keeping our batteries charged, etc. We
finished around 12:30 or so.
After lunch, there were several people beginning to
inspect their rigs to see if any changes should be made. For us that was a big YES! We soon headed out to purchase some new
batteries. We purchased two deep cell
batteries at Sam’s and we turned the old ones in to them. The ones we had were not very good for
keeping us charged up well overnight.
The new ones proved to be a good purchase as we did not have any more
problems the rest of the week.
 |
| Immediately to our left is Jerry & Jill Sweeney, in the distance, the 3 RV's starting from the left is Linda and Howard Payne (RV-Dreams owners), Kathi & Ran Cummings, Ken Altman & Gisela (Gizzy) Wieland. |
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| The two airstreams, from the left are Linda Fox, Paige Harris & Bob Pavlechko. |
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| The motohome the farthest in the distance is Bill & Linda Napier. |
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| Dean taking it easy after we got back. |
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Left to Right:
Greg Gabert, Len & Sally Timm (Sally is formerly from Topeka, KS), Bill & Bev Scholten, Gary & Mary Curtis, Kathy Grimmett and Russ Hagberg. |
Dinner was on our own, followed by the gathering at the
campfire. Tomorrow there will be some more
seminars.
Tuesday, March 15,
2016
First of all, today is my sister Cindy’s birthday. I hope it turns out to a great day for
her. Since she is on spring break and
not working this week that should be a good start!
After our walk, breakfast and getting around we attended
a seminar on battery maintenance. One
thing we learned was that overcharging and undercharging of batteries is the
most common way to ruin batteries, followed by not keeping battery cells filled
up properly.
The next item we discussed was How to Find Boondocking
Spots. Afterwards, Howard showed those
interested how to use a hydrometer to test batteries. Dean stayed for this and I headed back to
Bentley.
As soon as Dean returned to the rig, we ran down the road
to the Winn-Dixie grocery store so I could get some sour cream and scoop Fritos. We are having a Happy Hour with appetizers
this evening and I am making corn dip. I
quickly made it up when we returned so it would have time to set up before our
get together at 5:30. Tonight we will do introductions and a show and tell on
our favorite RV related gadget.
Some of the group decided to do a scouting trip to paddle
on the Wakulla River before taking a larger group out later this week. At 1:30 Linda is going to do a T-shirt
braiding class for those who are interested.
Mary and I walked up and participated along with at least 7 or 8 other
ladies. I loved this and I’m excited to
do this on 2 or 3 other T-shirts I have.
For those long men’s t-shirts it is a great way to shorten the t-shirt
and give it a unique look. Mine turned
out wonderful.
Afterwards, Kathy and Mary came down and set outside
under our awning and shade curtain until it was time to head up to the Happy Hour/appetizer
event.
Howard and Linda had received a call from a student
attending Florida State. She had heard
about the Boondocking rally and wanted to know if she could meet with them for
an interview and to do a video on their full-time RVing and the rally. Gabby, attended tonight’s event. The introductions of the RVer’s attending the
rally was really amazing. Many of the
attendees had some amazing careers and there were some great gadgets shared
with the group.
The paddlers had quite a day on the water and arrived
after everyone else was already partaking of the appetizers, but there was
plenty for them too.
Tomorrow Howard will give a demonstration on filling a
portable water bladder with fresh water and then pumping it into the RV fresh
water tank. Good information to know
about.
It has been wonderfully cool in the mornings when we walk
but it is beginning to warm up and the rest of the week is expected to be in
the upper 80’s. I hope the nights and
early mornings stay cool.
Wednesday, March
16, 2016
We followed our recent morning routine of walking,
breakfast and getting around for seminars, and visiting with other RVer’s. We have another new neighbor, Susan and
Todd Draves. They are getting ready to spend 30
days walking the Appalachian Trail. I’m
not sure I could do that, staying in a tent, putting up with bugs, wondering
about animals they might meet up with, and dealing with weather conditions that
might not be so great. I applaud them
though and I kind of wish I was brave enough to try it! I was never much of a tent camper though.
This morning we watched the demonstration on filling the
portable water bladder. If we ever
boondock in the desert it could be a good option. Gabby, the student from Florida State came
back to video the demo and to ask Howard and Linda some more questions on their
RV life.
Following the demonstration Dean and I drove to St. Marks
National Wildlife Refuge. We heard about
this from Greg who was the only person attending the rally in a toy hauler
rig. He hauled his motorcycle with
sidecar along with him to the rally.
Another RV’er and her friend, who also had a cycle with sidecar rode to
St. Marks Lighthouse yesterday. Once I
found out there was a lighthouse and a beach I was hooked.
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| Here is the couple right after they understood I was saying there was a snake in front of them. She jumped behind him. If you enlarge the picture you can see it slithering off the trail to the left. |
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| Here's Dean's picture of the snake. |
We began to visit with the couple. The gentleman told us he and his
wife had retired last year, sold their home and were now living and traveling
in their motorhome. They met a couple
while camping last year who live here in Florida. The couple had invited them down to visit and
they were traveling with them today. I
told them we too were traveling in our RV, although we were not full-time, and
that we were here to attend an RV-Dreams boon docking rally at the North
Florida Fairgrounds. He said they drove
by there this morning and he was wondering what was going on when he saw all of
the RV’s parked in a big circle. He was
very interested to hear it was an RV-Dreams rally because he also follows
Howard and Linda’s blog. We really
enjoyed our day here. When we left we
were pretty hungry so we headed to St. Marks to find a place for lunch. I checked out Trip Advisor and the best
reviews were for Cooter Stew Café Bar and Grille, however they were not
open. The only other place listed was
Riverside Café and they had a sign out front advertising “Come on In, We are Open”.
The Riverside Café was a large building that resembled a
big tiki hut, with a waterfront bar on one side. Here are a few pictures.
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| Large open building. |
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| Open bar to water side. |
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| Doesn't he look happy? Can you tell he doesn't like his picture taken? |
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| Add caption |
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| Outside of the Riverside Cafe. |
We both ordered the shrimp dinner that included fries,
coleslaw and hushpuppies. It was
delicious. The shrimp was
wonderful! Oh, I wish we could get
shrimp that tasted this good at home.
The hushpuppies were quite yummy.
Shortly before our food arrived a man that was sitting at the bar, got
up and as he passed by he nodded at Dean and then came over and began talking
to us. He wanted to know where we were
from and after we told him Southeast Kansas, he said that’s an awful
place. Then he laughed and told us he
was originally from Topeka, KS. What are
the chances? We enjoyed visiting with
him until our food arrived.
Needless to say no campfire tonight. It was pretty late when they finished and
everyone headed to bed. Tomorrow night
we are having a potluck dinner with a St. Patrick Day theme.
Thursday, March
17, 2016
It rained a good part of the day, but not before we
managed to get our walk in. Gary and
Mary came over and we visited inside and enjoyed getting to know each other a
little better. Dean had to pull our
awning in because the wind was blowing so hard.
When they left we had to run to the grocery store. I am making no-bake cookies for tonight but I
discovered I forgot to bring the peanut butter.
When we returned I quickly made them and let them set up. We are eating at 6:00. Unfortunately, I did not have a St. Patrick’s
dish to take. I brought food with me for
the potluck so I made Mexican Chicken.
Nothing like Mexican food on an Irish holiday, huh? Fortunately, due to the rain it cooled off a
bit, so it didn’t get too uncomfortable when I had to turn the oven on to bake
the casserole. Dean left to help Gary
set up a tent to place the food under in case it rained during the event. The Fairground had a large tent set up in a
separate area from where our rally is being held. They set Gary’s tent up at one side of the
big tent so you could walk into the food tent (which had open mesh sides and a
double door entrance), and we used the large tent for everyone to set under
while we ate. Fortunately it never
rained, and everyone had a great time with some super good food.
Following the meal, Howard discussed data service and how
to improve getting signals with various types of gadgets. He suggested if we wanted more detail to
check out RV’ers Chris and Cherie of Technomadia. They
have their own website and write a Mobile Handbook they keep updated on a
regular basis. I have the older version
of the handbook, which was recently updated.
One of the things I would like to do is purchase a booster for picking
up a cell phone signal. In addition,
something to pick up a stronger internet signal when in an RV park would also
be nice. We have a long list of items we
would like to purchase as upgrades to our RVing lifestyle. Even though we are not full-time, we go often
enough some of the same things full-timers find important are also important to
us.
This year we will be on the road for several weeks or months
at a time. After this nearly 3 week
trip, we will be home for about 2.5 weeks, gone 3.5 weeks, home for 3 weeks,
gone for 10-11 days. Once we get back we
have several things going on, watching some of the grandkids, a class reunion
to celebrate my class’ 60th birthday, and then leaving again in
mid-July for about 6-8 weeks to meet our newest grandchild. I’m proud to say we will gain another
granddaughter for a total of 5 girls and 7 boys around mid-July. We expect to spend time out at Wichita-Hutchinson
in September as well as a few more camping trips before the season is
over. All in all we will probably spend
at least 4-5 months in the RV during 2016.
Friday, March 18,
2016
There was nothing planned for this morning. Dean and I wanted to do one more beach trip
so we decided this would be a good time to fit it in. After our morning routine of walking and
breakfast we were soon heading southwest towards St. George Island State Park,
one of Florida’s Gulf Coast barrier islands.
We had a nice leisurely drive that at one point took us right along the
Gulf Coast. Just four miles offshore
between Apalachicola Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, St. George Island is best
known for its secluded beaches, Apalachicola Bay oysters and abundant local
seafood. The park offers nine miles of
pristine beaches.
We drove by these beautiful homes right on the beach on our way to the State Park.
It wasn't long and we drove right to the State Park.
If we had brought our lawn chairs and something to drink,
I could have set on the beach for hours listening to and watching the waves as
they came in. There is just something so
relaxing about the water! There was a
nice wind and the waves were really rolling in.
I also wanted to mention that on both sides of the road as you enter the park are beautiful sand dunes. I took several pictures. I can’t wait to look at these on the computer and pick out the best ones to include in the blog. Unfortunately, we are about out of our allotted data for the month so I either have to wait until we are in a park with good internet or until we get home to complete this and post it.
From the beach where we first stopped, we headed on
toward the far east end of the park.
They had very large and nice bathhouses along the road and we stopped at
one to take advantage of their facilities.
A short distance on down the road, the path narrowed and a gate stopped
vehicles. From this point you could not
go further in your vehicle without a special vehicle permit. Several people were hiking or bicycling
though and passing through a special entrance.
It is another 5 miles along the Gulf to the end of the park. Since neither of us were prepared for hiking
and we did not have bicycles this was the end of the line for us.
We headed back to St. George and found the Blue Parrot
which was touted as the best restaurant on the Island by Trip Advisor. Dean and I shared a seafood platter that
consisted of fried shrimp, oysters, scallops, fish, crab cakes and hushpuppies,
along with coleslaw. I’m not a crab fan
so Dean took it and we split the rest.
While it was good, we were disappointed compared to the meals we had on
Wednesday at St. Marks, and the one we had earlier in Panama City Beach. I did not like the scallops at all. I ate one and tried a second one but wasn’t
sure I was going to even get it down, so gave those up quickly. The oysters were pretty good, the shrimp and
fish were just okay. It might have just
been a bad day because the reviews were all great.
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| Our view from our table. |
Here is the St. George Island Lighthouse.
We headed back to the northwest so we could stop at Camping
World. We would really like to have some
new camp chairs. After sitting in our
bag chairs for the last few days and evenings, we now want them more than ever,
but we did not find anything we liked. It
was after 5 before we got back to Bentley.
We stayed in the RV the rest of the evening. Amazing how being around the water and wind
can wear you out.
There is talk of cooking breakfast out at the campfire in
the morning if it is not raining. We’ll
see!
Saturday, March 19,
2016
Linda came by later to see if I wanted to play
Qwerkle. I told her I had never played
but was willing to learn. They wanted
four players but we were waiting on Cathy to return. About an hour or two later, Linda stopped by
again to say they were tired of waiting for Cathy to get back so if I still
wanted to they would play with 3 players until she got back. As a new player I was pretty lucky and won
both of the two games we played before Cathy returned. I didn’t win again after that. It was lots of fun and I can’t wait to buy my
own game to share with other RV friends and my family.
Tonight we had another campfire. Knowing it was the last one, I think everyone
stayed a little longer. It has been a
great week. We’ve met some wonderful new
friends and learned a lot of things about living “off the grid”. We know we can do it if we want to, or NEED
to. I am hoping we can make it to
Arizona in January of 2017 and this will allow us the ability to stay in the
desert.
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