Move On Down Move On Down the Road

I keep reminding myself whether you buy a $10,000 RV or a $2,000,000 RV s@#%  happens...

...and the story continues. As you read before, we are having issues with the converter. After two nights of trying to figure out how to keep my batteries charged. I set off to Oscar Sherer State Park in Nokomis, Florida; just south of Sarasota. Gerard is returning from Minnesota and he is meeting me there. We have an appointment to put in the cable outlet that was never installed in the vehicle. So glad we had the appointment, because as I mentioned in the last post, we are losing charge to the batteries that run the coach… the back of the van. I am fully solar. So I was completely perplexed as to why this was happening.

After a good nights sleep, we break camp early and head into the dealer.  At this point, I don’t care about the cable outlet, that can wait. I am praying they can fix what I think is an inverter malfunction. The inverter takes 12-volt DC power from your RV batteries and electronically changes it to 120-volt AC. We have been given two conflicting instructions about how to use the inverter when traveling.

Turns out there was a disconnected wire, but we were given another set of instructions on how to use the inverter. These instructions left us with no power to the rear outlets when we were hooked to shore power (electricity). We find this out after we had driven 4 hours away from the dealer. After a fitful night, trying to figure out how we are going to solve this. Gerard and I carefully read the manual, which is terribly vague, and put all the pieces together. With all the instructions that we were given and what the manual says, we figure out we have an inverter/converter. But nowhere does it say that. And the model is so new, the technicians treat it like other RVs and tell us the wrong things. We are fairly certain we have it down and no longer will drain the batteries. We’ll see how we do.

We are now in Manatee Springs State Park for the next 6 nights. The peace and quiet here is palpable. 

Crystal clear Spring at Manatee Springs State Park

There is no phone reception and we have to go to the outfitter’s building to get internet. Here they also serve barbecue and other assorted treats, as well as rent scuba and snorkel gear, kayaks and canoes. I brought my own wetsuit and snorkel gear!

I intend to swim with the manatees. I will also make a day of wandering down into Cedar Key and make another stop at Rosewood.

The town of Rosewood had quite a violent history. I had met some of the descendants when I presented at couple of Racial Violence and Reconcilliation conferences. I feel intimately connected to those who have done this work also.

Rosewood had been a quiet, primarily self-sufficient black community. A whistle stop on the Seaboard Railway. Trouble started when white men lynched a black Rosewood resident because of unsupported accusations that a white woman had been attacked by a black drifter. When the Rosewood's citizens banded together to defend themselves a mob of several hundred whites combed the area hunting for black people and they burned the town of Rosewood to the ground. Survivors hid for several days in the swamps until they were evacuated to larger towns. Although the states and local authorities were aware of the violence, no arrests were ever made.  As I look at the fear mongering in our present day, I see difficult road that so many people of color still have to walk.  The confederate flag seems to fly on every street in these parts. Ignorance abounds. The KKK is alive and well here. I needed to just lay on the ground and connect with souls.

Cedar Key

Sitka and I meandered our way down to Cedar Key, one of the oldest ports in the states. It is a quiet village nestled amongst many small islands 4 miles out into the Gulf of Mexico. To enter the island we crossed picturesque salt marshes and a series of bridges on Hwy 24, the only road leading to this unique environment. When Florida's first railroad connected it to the east coast, Cedar Key became the major supplier of seafood and timber products to the northeast. What we found was a sleepy artist community to wander around.

Lobster cages Cedar Key

Cedar Key

Cedar Key

 

Our return to our campsite took us down a 9 mile one lane road through the Lower Suwanee National Wildlife Refuge. Gorgeous drive through unspoiled flora and fauna!

Cypress swamp on both sides of the car

It is spring here and quite chilly. Driving around the area, the number of deciduous trees has significantly increased,  the woods still look leafless. Trees are just budding, We are going to be going down into the low 30s and yep, we aren't getting out of this cold spell unscathed.... the furnace went out. Yep, sure did. Don't know if we had an issue when the batteries were running low, but we are certainly charged now and the furnace only blows cool air and doesn't stay on for more than 5 minutes. We have been trying to reach a mobile RV service, but we have no phone reception here... so we keep missing each other. We went into Chiefland and really struggled to find a small electric heater, but we finally scored. So the cold nights are not unbearable. One of these days, we will have this rig rolling with perfection.

Manatee Springs is beautiful. Hiking trails seem endless. I am thrilled to be here for my birthday. My intent was to swim with the manatees. Wish granted. So thrilled to not only swim with them, but a female came up and went nose to nose with me and swam along side me before going down to the bottom to nosh on some algae. I will never, ever forget this experience!

my $10 ebay wetsuit... yes score!

birthday kisses

It's now Sunday morning and we are packing up to hit the road again. We are rounding the bend into the panhandle of Florida. We will be staying on St. George Island about 3 hours from here. It is 38º and mist hangs over the spring. I can see several manatees down in the water. So I am going in before we head out. 72º water should feel like a hot tub.  Added benie .... I am the only one in the water!

Glamp On

Glamp On

Taking a short intermission from Gerard’s and my road trip. I stayed with my mother for a few days while Gerard took flight to Minnesota to celebrate his mom’s birthdays, yes, I said birthdays. those who are friends of Bill will understand.

Coral Castle

Even though I had intended to persuade my mom to go on the road for a few days, it turned out I had to vacate the premises. Crochetedy old people were employing the condo association rules and kicking me out. So my mom packed a bag and came along for the ride. She's never camped a day in her life! We headed down Highway 41 through Miccosukee country. My mother had never been. When going to the east coast, my folks always took I-75, Alligator Alley.  We were heading that direction because I wanted to visit the Coral Castle, a structure built by one man to unrequited love.

Ed Leedshalnin was born in Latvia in 1887. In 1913, he was engaged to marry Agnes Scruffs, but the day before they were to marry she called off the wedding.  Broken hearted, Ed left Latvia and eventually landed in Southern Florida and for reasons only known to himself, he chose to carve the Coral Castle in Florida City. Long story short, he worked by night and only by himself with just hand-made tools, he spent 28 years carving all the structures on the property. But wait, I said he started in Florida City, but bought property then he bough property in Homestead. With the oncoming Highway 41 coming through, he decided this would be a better location for people to see his creation. H moved these massive structures weighing hundreds of tons to the new property 10 miles away!!! You have to see this if you are ever wandering down to the Everglades or the Keys. It will be worth the side trip.

camped in the avocado grove

 Being southern Florida–IN SEASON– there is literally no room at the inn or campgrounds for that matter. We managed to find a space on the outskirts of Miami in an avocado grove. The days were warmish. I enjoyed cooking Chicken Marsala and garlic mashed potatoes to show my mom, you don’t have to eat hobo packets over the fire. Even so, we brought Girl Scout Thin Mints.  Of course, a good bottle of wine makes for perfection. We stayed two nights before heading north. 

camped in the tomato fields

Earlier this year I joined a group called Harvest Hosts. With membership I was given a directory to a variety of wineries, alpaca farms,  fresh markets that folks can overnight for free. The only obligation is to purchase or participate in some way in the hosts' business. We headed for Bedner’s Fresh Market in Boynton Beach. Bedners is a sustainable farm It is a u-pick farm as well as having a delightful market. The market is stocked with their fresh produce as well as wines and fresh breads. We bought some wine, roma tomatoes, and fresh basil. We situated ourselves behind the market overlooking the fields. It was Friday night. We watched all the workers come in from the fields. It was wonderful to learn that the produce food that is healthy to eat, doesn't harm the environment, is humane for workers, respects animals, provides fair wages and supports and enhances the community. Bedners pays very fair wages. so many folks live here year round in a camp on the premises. 

Strawberry Fields Forever

Fresh Basil,  roma tomatoes, spicy mozzarella on garlic herb bread drizzled with balsamic and olive oil

On weekends they have barbecue, corn roasting, petting zoo and camel rides. I think I ate the best piece of roasted corn I have ever had. Earlier in the morning, Sitka and I walked the strawberry fields for our morning hike. I don’t think I remember strawberry fields as aromatic as these. 

So on to the ZiOs mobile issues. Yep, we were doing just fine and thank goodness we had an appointment for Monday to take the van in for some cosmetic details before leaving on this trip. Because I think our inverter is shot. More next post....

Hurricane Bay and Pelican Landings

We are well into our stay on Hurricane Bay at San Carlos RV. Yesterday was our first day really sitting outside and enjoying the sun. I did get into the hot tub, but lollygagging around the pool was not to be these past days. Temperatures and winds may have been a precursor for what is to come up north–it's been COLD. Still, we can't complain when we know what is happening back in Minnesota. In fact, Gerard breaks camp today to fly into MSP. He will arrive before a big snowstorm hits tomorrow.

two pelicans in the mangrove across from G

Great White Heron

Our campsite is on the edge of the bay. There is a strip of mangrove that separates us from a more expansive view of open water. At first, I was a bit disappointed, but it turns out this is the nesting spot for brown pelicans, ibis, anhinga and a host of herons. Constant entertainment. The brown pelican nest up in the trees and the American white pelicans nest below in the mangrove. We see the white pelicans early morning at low tide coming in to fish on pink shrimp and small fish. This strip of water between our dock and the mangrove is a takeoff and a landing strip for these large birds.

American White Pelican

The next week or so we will be relatively dry. This is normally the dry season,  but we are 12 inches above normal! It is causing hosts of problems. There is a large lake east of here that is dangerously high and compromising its dam. They are releasing billions of gallons of freshwater from Lake Okeechobee into the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie Rivers. This freshwater has unfortunately been contaminated with agricultural runoff. The release contributes to overly high salinity levels coming into the salt water of the Gulf. The imbalance leads to death of seagrasses in rivers and estuaries where endangered manatees and other marine life reside.

Mucky grey sediment coming from Lake Okeechobee. This is the kayak put in point. I wouldn't want to put my feet in it!

We can already see the cloudy sediments floating here on Hurricane Bay. The cloudiness blocks the sunlight from underwater grasses and contributes to their death. The sediments in Lake Okeechobee are loaded with nitrogen and phosphorous pollutants. When too much of this enters the waterway, algae takes over. We are bound to see more severe and frequent outbreaks of Red Tide. Hundreds of square miles of the Gulf of Mexico are affected. Not good for tourism, which I think is more profitable industry for the state than sugar cane production that is causing the agricultural runoff. Just my humble opinion anyway. And as you know I am a staunch ally of the wildlife here. Our moving north may be fortuitous. Hopefully, they will get this under control before we return to the shores of the Caloosahatchee for the last five days of this trip. Something tells me the damage has already been done.

Campsite review: #116

•Sandy, level parking on the edge of Hurricane Bay. A mangrove buffer from the wind and aquatic bird nesting a bonus.
•Concrete slab with picnic table.
•All sites pretty tightly spaced. Maybe 18' feet from vehicle to vehicle. Many large rigs at water sites and they have room for a toad (towable vehicle)
Not much room for Sitka to stretch out and he had to be leashed all the time.
•Full hook-ups
•Pool, hot tub, shuffle board and rec center all well-maintained and well-used. Quite a few seasonal folks use this park.
•Two bathhouses both with laundry facilities. Showers were in better shape at the one by the pool and had hot water. Bathhouse closest to us had missing tiles and just seemed groady even though it was clean and the water was just lukewarm. Even though we have a full bathroom on board, space is tight. So we opt to use the bathhouses. The day we run across a bad one, I'll be showering right in the van.
•This RV park is exactly 1 mile from Fort Myers Beach.  Most days I walked there and did not bother with driving through the in season traffic and parking. Other bennies are several good restaurants all walkng distance and all on the water on Hurricane Bay: Doc Ford's Rum Bar and Grill, Dixie Fish House, Parrot Key, Bootleggers Barbeque and Bonita Bill's Waterfront Café.
No reviews on these as we started this trip with so much food from our house frig that we felt obligated to do home cooking at camp. And it's not like we can't come here regularly since home is only 30 minutes away.

The next week I will be visiting with my mom.  She may or may not head out on the road with me for a couple days. Time will tell. My sister flies in today. So the ZiOs mobile will be parked until at least Tuesday.  Gerard returns on the 21st and the real road trip begins. I'd like to take Sarita down to Chokoloskee Island in the Everglades. Hoping there will be a cancellation ... wish us luck.

~Catherine, Gerard, Sitka and Kole

Great shot Gerard!

Nearly Ready to Launch

Our last week at the Cape house and Sunday the 7th we start our two month exploration of Old Florida. However, we won't wander too far away at first. Crazy as it seems, we are headed to Fort Myers Beach to set up camp until February 16th. At this time of year, we don't want to go north yet; we want to hang on to all the warm temps SoFlo has to offer. Highs up in the panhandle, (where we are headed) are 60s and hopefully 70s. It's perfect 80s down in SoFlo. We are just starting the height of "in season". Oh my, the traffic, especially with only one way on and off Estero Island!!!!  It will be a good time to walk, walk and walk.

Our first settlement will be at San Carlos RV Park right on San Carlos Blvd, right before the Matanzas Pass Bridge.

Matanzas Pass Bridge

We will be right on the water and exactly a 1 mile walk to the beach. I will actually experience 3 different campsites while at San Carlos. I think I will do camp site reviews in this series of blog posts in case I ever get this blog up and out there for the general wanderers to find. My intention is to clean up this computer and maybe move the blog to Wordpress while lazing around on our vacation. So if anyone has experience with that (with Wordpress that is, not lazing around :-) I would be eternally grateful for advice and any help you can lend.

San Carlos RV Park

Gerard will spend a few days in Minnesota visiting his mama. My sister, Suzi, is flying down for a couple days and I think I've convinced my mom to go out and about in the ZiOs mobile with me for a few days until Gerard gets back. We will then be off to swim with the Manatees up north.... Northern Florida that is. This will be me on 2/26/16-my birthday-