Day two in Siesta key.
Woke up at a decent time this morning-almost 6 AM. Had hoped to sleep a little longer, but what the heck. I did get a good night sleep, despite the pub just across the street. They keep it down pretty good.
Took a stroll around the area. I don't usually walk a lot due to blood clots in the legs, but it's good for me. I'm sure I didn't walk far, and I made two stops along the way. I just sat on a bench looking out over the ocean for a few minutes. Saw a couple of guys fishing, and a couple of birds waiting to steal either their bait, or their fish.
I saw one of them catch something, so I went down to talk to them. He had just caught a black tip shark about a foot long. They had both caught sharks, but nothing else. And, this one was about the size they were catching. Nothing dangerous, but nothing to keep either.
Talked with another guy who said there was a bait shop about a mile up the road. After breakfast I decided to go get some bait. This guy is about as good at estimating milage as I am. It was 2.2 miles by the cateye on my bike before I found the bait shop. Got a bonus while looking for the bait shop though-found a barber shop! I needed a haircut really bad.
The lady said she could take me in about 15 minutes. OK, I'll just walk around this little shopping center while I wait. Lo and behold, I found the bait shop right around the corner from the barber shop. Turns out it was the samp place we got out bait last year when we rented to boat for the day to go out riding the intercoastal waterway.
Anyway, I went back and got my hair cut. Did I mention it cost 18 bucks for a buzz cut? Yep, it does cost more to live in paradise I guess :) I get the same cut for 8 bucks at home. Think I'll let Vic or Anita take my electric razor to my head before they leave after Christmas :)
I finally got my bait. Frozen shrimp & squid. I don't have a way to keep live bait, so this was my best option. The guy across the street from the park said I could fish off his dock. I tried it for a while. Not a bite :( I need a net though, because that place was full of Mullet about 12-15 inches long!
Came home, cleaned myself up, went across to the pub & had a drink & some french fries, came back and got things ready for supper. Made a drink, went to the beach for the sunset, came back and ate supper. now I'm ready to close this off and watch NCIS. Have to watch it via computer since I don't get TV here. Need to find a cable connector so I can take care of this.
See y'all on the flip side! Going to try to fish early tomorrow on the beach side, then ride into town to see what I can see.
Jeff
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Monday, December 15, 2014
Beginning of the winter Florida trip
First blog of the trip. I had meant to start this when I got to Cedar Key, but since wifi didn't reach my campsite, despite a router on a pole about 20 feet away, I decided to hold off until I got to Turtle Beach RV park in Sarasota, Florida.
OK, I'm here now, and ready to give a little account of the trip:
The trip was very routine this year, except for one little minor detail. It all worked out well, but I'll tell you, I was a worried little puppy for a few minutes. I had spent the night in Valdosta, Georgia as planned. Valdosta is about 5 miles from the Georgia/Florida state line. I've stayed there before. It's a nice place for an overnight stay, but I wouldn't want to make it a destination. Too far from anything fun to do. A little shopping mall about half a mile away, but even my daughter could run through that in an hour or so. Then what??
Anyway, I left Valdosta as planned, about 9:00. I was going to Cedar Key, Florida. No hurry-only about 2 hours away. Just a nice little jaunt down I-75, off onto a nice state road with a few small towns along the way. Those small towns seemed like they were about 5 miles apart and each one had a 30 MPH speed limit and red lights every 100 yards!
I saw I was finally getting fairly close-was on a good road and was out of the small towns. Garmin says take a right at the next road, then turn left. OK, this happened. Made that left onto what looked like another good road. Big mistake. Oh I was on the correct road alright-problem is, that road wasn't made for an RV! About 40 yards in that road turned from asphalt to sand! I kid you not, it just went from paved to unpaved all of a sudden.
The speed limit was 45 MPH. Are you kidding me? I never was able to go above 9.4 MPH on the whole road. I saw 2 cars on that road. One guy in a small car of some kind was in front of me. He drove off into a ditch to get away from me and let me pass. He was dressed in camo, so I guess he may have been deer hunting?? A mile or so down the road a car came out of an even smaller road and turned right. It was 2 females (just going by the long hair). We met and I had to take the ditch on my side to keep from hitting them. They gave me the evil eye and kept on going.
This went on for about 4-5 miles, Didn't see another car, but it did start to rain a little. Somewhere in the back of my head a little knot of worry started to move forward. Suddenly I saw light up ahead-I was out of the woods and back onto the main highway. The Garmin had taken me on a "shortcut".
Within a short period of time I had found the RV park at Cedar Key, got checked in, found my space and started making new friends. I kid you not, people were gathered around me almost as soon as I got backed in. Not to gawk, make fun of me, or anything else other than to offer friendship and help setting up. I've never seen anything like that. These people at that park were great!
I would probably go back to that park. Not to see the sights or any of the things the area has to offer. They really don't have a lot to offer unless you are a clam or oyster fisherman. There is minimum traffic on the road, so riding the bike into town isn't a problem at all. Sidewalks almost all the way make it even safer. If I do go back, it will be for the people there. From park management down to all the campers, it was a great experience. I hated to leave, but was really looking forward to getting on down south to Sarasota.
It took almost 5 hours to get here today. Garmin said it was about a 3 hour drive, but I didn't go the way Siri wanted me to go. No way was I going to go over that Sunshine Skyway bridge in an RV if I could help it! No sir, no way, no how!! Final!! OK, I got out the Atlas, plotted a course, turned on the Garmin and left at 10:03. The plan was to leave at 10:00, so I was very happy about that. I also made the mistake of trying to get Siri to help navigate. Word to the wise-never use 2 separate instruments to navigate!
To keep this a little shorter, I'll leave out a couple of times where they took me in a circle and brought me out right where I started.
I saw a sign to I-75 which is what I was really looking for. Both instruments tried to reroute me when I made that turn, but I decided since I was paying the bill, I was the boss! It payed off-10 miles later and I was headed South on I-75.
I did make a couple of stops along the way. These were planned. I found a Publix grocery store where I got fresh eggs, bread, hamburger buns (I like these for breakfast. Use them like plain bagels), milk and some potatoes. Had to make a pit stop at a rest area, but this is not unusual for me (whizking). Also knew that even though I had enough fuel for the trip, I wanted to fill up the tank before I got here. I found a Pilot station, almost filled the tank. Pump cut me off at 75 bucks which is not uncommon. Not completely full, but plenty close enough.
I got here at 3:10 this afternoon. Check in time is 3:00. Pretty good timing I think :) I did a minimum setup. Water, sewer, electric. TV cable connection will not work. The lead coming out is a male connection, too short to reach the RV. The extension cable I have has male ends on both connections. I'll try to find a connector in town somewhere tomorrow. They don't have a lot of choices within my bike riding abilities, so I may have to wait until the family gets here this weekend. Not really a big deal to me.
This park is nothing to brag about-just somewhere to park, take a shower and sleep. There will be no in park fun I don't think. That's OK, there is a nice beach within easy walking distance even for me. I can fish there if I choose, or walk across the street and fish on a pier. This area is very bike friendly, I'm familiar with the area, so can get groceries or whatever else I need, and there is a world famous white sand beach about 4 miles away. I do expect to spend a little time there :)
Sorry this post is so long, but there was a lot of catching up to do. The following posts should be a lot shorter. Also, I'll try to get Anita to show me again how to import pics here so I can incorporate them into the blog. Meanwhile, please stay tuned to regular twitter for some great beach pics. (Or you might just want to mute me).
Thanks for reading,
Jeff
OK, I'm here now, and ready to give a little account of the trip:
The trip was very routine this year, except for one little minor detail. It all worked out well, but I'll tell you, I was a worried little puppy for a few minutes. I had spent the night in Valdosta, Georgia as planned. Valdosta is about 5 miles from the Georgia/Florida state line. I've stayed there before. It's a nice place for an overnight stay, but I wouldn't want to make it a destination. Too far from anything fun to do. A little shopping mall about half a mile away, but even my daughter could run through that in an hour or so. Then what??
Anyway, I left Valdosta as planned, about 9:00. I was going to Cedar Key, Florida. No hurry-only about 2 hours away. Just a nice little jaunt down I-75, off onto a nice state road with a few small towns along the way. Those small towns seemed like they were about 5 miles apart and each one had a 30 MPH speed limit and red lights every 100 yards!
I saw I was finally getting fairly close-was on a good road and was out of the small towns. Garmin says take a right at the next road, then turn left. OK, this happened. Made that left onto what looked like another good road. Big mistake. Oh I was on the correct road alright-problem is, that road wasn't made for an RV! About 40 yards in that road turned from asphalt to sand! I kid you not, it just went from paved to unpaved all of a sudden.
The speed limit was 45 MPH. Are you kidding me? I never was able to go above 9.4 MPH on the whole road. I saw 2 cars on that road. One guy in a small car of some kind was in front of me. He drove off into a ditch to get away from me and let me pass. He was dressed in camo, so I guess he may have been deer hunting?? A mile or so down the road a car came out of an even smaller road and turned right. It was 2 females (just going by the long hair). We met and I had to take the ditch on my side to keep from hitting them. They gave me the evil eye and kept on going.
This went on for about 4-5 miles, Didn't see another car, but it did start to rain a little. Somewhere in the back of my head a little knot of worry started to move forward. Suddenly I saw light up ahead-I was out of the woods and back onto the main highway. The Garmin had taken me on a "shortcut".
Within a short period of time I had found the RV park at Cedar Key, got checked in, found my space and started making new friends. I kid you not, people were gathered around me almost as soon as I got backed in. Not to gawk, make fun of me, or anything else other than to offer friendship and help setting up. I've never seen anything like that. These people at that park were great!
I would probably go back to that park. Not to see the sights or any of the things the area has to offer. They really don't have a lot to offer unless you are a clam or oyster fisherman. There is minimum traffic on the road, so riding the bike into town isn't a problem at all. Sidewalks almost all the way make it even safer. If I do go back, it will be for the people there. From park management down to all the campers, it was a great experience. I hated to leave, but was really looking forward to getting on down south to Sarasota.
It took almost 5 hours to get here today. Garmin said it was about a 3 hour drive, but I didn't go the way Siri wanted me to go. No way was I going to go over that Sunshine Skyway bridge in an RV if I could help it! No sir, no way, no how!! Final!! OK, I got out the Atlas, plotted a course, turned on the Garmin and left at 10:03. The plan was to leave at 10:00, so I was very happy about that. I also made the mistake of trying to get Siri to help navigate. Word to the wise-never use 2 separate instruments to navigate!
To keep this a little shorter, I'll leave out a couple of times where they took me in a circle and brought me out right where I started.
I saw a sign to I-75 which is what I was really looking for. Both instruments tried to reroute me when I made that turn, but I decided since I was paying the bill, I was the boss! It payed off-10 miles later and I was headed South on I-75.
I did make a couple of stops along the way. These were planned. I found a Publix grocery store where I got fresh eggs, bread, hamburger buns (I like these for breakfast. Use them like plain bagels), milk and some potatoes. Had to make a pit stop at a rest area, but this is not unusual for me (whizking). Also knew that even though I had enough fuel for the trip, I wanted to fill up the tank before I got here. I found a Pilot station, almost filled the tank. Pump cut me off at 75 bucks which is not uncommon. Not completely full, but plenty close enough.
I got here at 3:10 this afternoon. Check in time is 3:00. Pretty good timing I think :) I did a minimum setup. Water, sewer, electric. TV cable connection will not work. The lead coming out is a male connection, too short to reach the RV. The extension cable I have has male ends on both connections. I'll try to find a connector in town somewhere tomorrow. They don't have a lot of choices within my bike riding abilities, so I may have to wait until the family gets here this weekend. Not really a big deal to me.
This park is nothing to brag about-just somewhere to park, take a shower and sleep. There will be no in park fun I don't think. That's OK, there is a nice beach within easy walking distance even for me. I can fish there if I choose, or walk across the street and fish on a pier. This area is very bike friendly, I'm familiar with the area, so can get groceries or whatever else I need, and there is a world famous white sand beach about 4 miles away. I do expect to spend a little time there :)
Sorry this post is so long, but there was a lot of catching up to do. The following posts should be a lot shorter. Also, I'll try to get Anita to show me again how to import pics here so I can incorporate them into the blog. Meanwhile, please stay tuned to regular twitter for some great beach pics. (Or you might just want to mute me).
Thanks for reading,
Jeff
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
A little blog I'm using as a test to see if I can remember how to do it.
Getting things together, making lists, buying things I think I will need, and just generally getting excited about my winter trip to Florida.
I don't know if I will be able to keep this post going the whole trip, but I do want to be able to look back and remember it later. I hope you enjoy reading it-please feel free to post comments.
Back to the first paragraph for a moment. Most of the time I enjoy the getting ready for a trip almost as much as the trip itself. The planning is fun, I even enjoy loading things. Most of all though, I love the "list". My mind goes too fast for my body most of the time, then all of a sudden the mind just stops! At times I can't even remember my own name. That's why I love the list.
I grab a sheet of paper and a pen and just start jotting down ideas, articles I think I will need, tools, etc. I just let it flow as long as it will. Suddenly it stops. That's OK. I just put it away for the time being. Sooner or later I pick it up again and go over it. I will add a few things, mark out a few things, then put it away again. I make this list several times before anything happens.
Of course there are are always "staple" items-food, clothing, towels, soap, cooking utensils. However, for a three month trip this far from home, there are also items that I need to have with me. I learned a lot last winter. When I go on my short one week fishing trips I don't worry about things like tweezers, nail clippers, laundry detergent, bleach, etc. I remembered to take my drill last year, but forgot drill bits. I had a screwdriver bit with the drill, but no screws. I had an extra battery, but no battery charger. I think you can see where I'm going with this. I have to write it down or I won't have it with me if I need it.
Why would I need a drill, charged battery and screws in an RV? Well, the velcro that holds the privacy curtain in the front of the RV was well worn. The curtain kept falling down. I just happened to have a little velcro strip in my bike kit. The problem was I had no screws to hold the velcro to the section where it's supposed to go. I did buy some screws at the Publix, but it would have happened sooner if I had just had a small assortment of screws with me. So, all that is now on the list :)
I have refined my list by now, and I think I have it down to things I will, or could need. I can't take everything I could possibly need, but with the drill, bits, a few screws, some duct tape and WD-40, a hammer and pliars, I think I'm set for most things that I can handle by myself.
OK, this is mainly a test blog to see if I remembered how to do it, and how to post it. I won't update it again until I'm almost ready to leave. That won't be until mid December-46 days after today to be exact. Until then, everyone enjoy Hallowe'en and Thanksgiving!
Jeff
I don't know if I will be able to keep this post going the whole trip, but I do want to be able to look back and remember it later. I hope you enjoy reading it-please feel free to post comments.
Back to the first paragraph for a moment. Most of the time I enjoy the getting ready for a trip almost as much as the trip itself. The planning is fun, I even enjoy loading things. Most of all though, I love the "list". My mind goes too fast for my body most of the time, then all of a sudden the mind just stops! At times I can't even remember my own name. That's why I love the list.
I grab a sheet of paper and a pen and just start jotting down ideas, articles I think I will need, tools, etc. I just let it flow as long as it will. Suddenly it stops. That's OK. I just put it away for the time being. Sooner or later I pick it up again and go over it. I will add a few things, mark out a few things, then put it away again. I make this list several times before anything happens.
Of course there are are always "staple" items-food, clothing, towels, soap, cooking utensils. However, for a three month trip this far from home, there are also items that I need to have with me. I learned a lot last winter. When I go on my short one week fishing trips I don't worry about things like tweezers, nail clippers, laundry detergent, bleach, etc. I remembered to take my drill last year, but forgot drill bits. I had a screwdriver bit with the drill, but no screws. I had an extra battery, but no battery charger. I think you can see where I'm going with this. I have to write it down or I won't have it with me if I need it.
Why would I need a drill, charged battery and screws in an RV? Well, the velcro that holds the privacy curtain in the front of the RV was well worn. The curtain kept falling down. I just happened to have a little velcro strip in my bike kit. The problem was I had no screws to hold the velcro to the section where it's supposed to go. I did buy some screws at the Publix, but it would have happened sooner if I had just had a small assortment of screws with me. So, all that is now on the list :)
I have refined my list by now, and I think I have it down to things I will, or could need. I can't take everything I could possibly need, but with the drill, bits, a few screws, some duct tape and WD-40, a hammer and pliars, I think I'm set for most things that I can handle by myself.
OK, this is mainly a test blog to see if I remembered how to do it, and how to post it. I won't update it again until I'm almost ready to leave. That won't be until mid December-46 days after today to be exact. Until then, everyone enjoy Hallowe'en and Thanksgiving!
Jeff
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