FL
Brush fires
Brush fires in March are common in southwest Florida. The Everglades may be wetlands, but they are surrounded by vast areas of grass and woodland that burn pretty freely once a fire gets started. Last year parts of Naples had to be evacuated due to fires that threatened the eastern fringe of the city. This … Continue reading
Lingering effects of Hurricane Irma
When we arrived at Paradise Pointe RV Resort in November, some 3 months after Hurricane Irma (Sept 16, 2017), we saw major damage to trees, along with some lesser damage to structures. Within a month most of the trees had been trimmed and the debris had been removed. I thought that was the end of … Continue reading
Truck maintenance nightmares – 2 of 2
After my “adventures” at DeVoe Buick GMC on Wednesday and Thursday I decided that I had better get the bad tires replaced ASAP. So on Friday I drove over to the Goodyear Collier Care Center just a few miles from our park. The instructions, though not trivial, were clear: Put two new Goodyear Wrangler tires … Continue reading
Truck maintenance nightmares – 1 of 2
So I took my truck to DeVoe Buick GMC of Naples on Wednesday with a short list of things that needed attention: Oil change. Check the brakes. Diagnose and, possibly, fix the shimmy that I feel at highway speeds. I dropped the truck off at 11 am and got no phone call that afternoon. I … Continue reading
STE3 Hop 9: Sarasota FL to Naples FL
124 miles via I-75, FL 84 and US 41, with a slight detour near the Ft Myers airport. Cumulative tow miles: 1608. Truck miles: 128. Cumulative truck miles: 2103. Thus endeth the Second Trip East (STE). The last hop was short and almost uneventful. The minor event was a stop to check the sewer hose … Continue reading
STE3 Hop 8: Cedar Key FL to Sarasota FL
184 miles via FL 24, US 98, I-75 and FL 780. Cumulative tow miles: 1484. Truck miles: 205. Cumulative truck miles: 1975. Our penultimate hop (I love that word!). It was a 3-hour jaunt, the first half on US 98 and the second half on I-75. It is a route we have traveled before and … Continue reading
STE3 Hop 7: Port Saint Joe FL to Cedar Key FL
217 miles via US 98, US 319, FL 345 and FL 24, with a refueling stop. Cumulative tow miles: 1300. Truck miles: 269. Cumulative truck miles: 1770. Usually our refueling stops occur about 150 to 180 miles into the hop. This one occurred 24 miles into the hop. Why? Because the one diesel pump at … Continue reading
STE3 Hop 6: Orange Beach AL to Port Saint Joe FL
176 miles via AL 161, AL 182, FL 292 and US 98. Cumulative tow miles: 1083. Truck miles: 281. Cumulative truck miles: 1501. Jett hated this route. I chose it because it was mostly on US 98 which I liked a lot, based on my experience on more southerly sections. It also cut about 40 … Continue reading
TTN Hop 2: Ocala FL to Richmond Hill GA
221 miles via I-75, US 301, I-10, I-295 (around Jacksonville), I-95, US 84 and US 17. Cumulative tow miles: 438 We have traveled most of this route before. Taking US 301 from Ocala to Jacksonville cuts off many miles from the I-75/I-10 route. It is a bit slower, perhaps, but not bad. And more interesting, … Continue reading
Ocala FL
We have stayed in the vicinity of Ocala several times before, but have never explored the city. This time I planned an extra day, just to give us time to look around. My tentative plan was to visit Silver Springs State Park and, perhaps, take one of their famous glass-bottomed boat tours. We did, in … Continue reading