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!