December 1 - December 7, 2001

As we left off last week, Saturday morning Dec 1, we were in a campground in Kissimmee, and had weekend plans to visit cousin Randy. Fortunately last weeks trip report went off early in the morning. When the Motorola cellphone battery was exhausted after my early Saturday internet session, I was not able to recharge it. The connection to the charger had become increasingly intermittent over the past few weeks, and I had also noticed a few internet disconnects when I moved the phone while connected. How disappointing! The phone would operate while plugged in, but would not accumulate a significant charge, and the connector was so intermittent it would not allow a conversation while connected either. No cellphone....YIKES! We knew it was a convenience, but how dependent we had become on it we only now realized! This MUST be fixed! SOON!!!!!

We planned to stop at Costco to replenish supplies best bought there; we knew the Orlando Costco was a convenient stopoff on our way to Cousin Randy's house. We managed to find it easily and Claire shopped while I fussed trying to force a charge into the cellphone so I could call Randy. I made one call, left a message (I thought, but found out differently later), and who should drive up but Mark & Karen who had come to shop from Clermont. WOW, our first unplanned visitors! What a cause for celebration!!! One thing we do miss as RV'ers is spontaneous visits from friends and relatives, (who can visit with folks they know not where they are?) and here we have REAL LIVE VISITORS!!!! Claire had splurged and picked up a bottle of one of our favorite wines she found in Costco, to save for a special occasion, and 20 minutes later we had the occasion. We thoroughly enjoyed the visit, and reluctantly allowed Mark & Karen to proceed with their planned Costco shopping.

We managed to call cousin Randy and clarified the best way to his house. The drive there was uneventful, but the RV sorta did deny any other use of the driveway. :-) After watching the sun set over the lake, Randy & Chuck showed us the results of their BIG project renovating the lakefront home they had purchased near downtown Orlando. What a beautiful job they did, and what a beautiful location too! Randy & Chuck demonstrated the use of the new kitchen, and produced GREAT results which were enjoyed by all! Purry and Pookie too enjoyed walking in the yard and along the lake. The RV excited a neighborhood beagle, who kept all but us experienced Walmart RV'ers awake for a while; we didn't even hear Randy turn the hose on the offender. :-)

On Sunday Dec 2 we were treated to breakfast on the porch overlooking the lake, then Randy was kind enough to drive me to a nearby Verizon store to get the cellphone fixed. Although they informed us there were no technicians on duty on Sunday, they took the phone and charger and in a few minutes said they needed my account information (which they could not get directly from their computer system as it was a Massachusetts phone number). They were going to swap out the phone under warranty. In a few minutes they came out with another phone, said the charging/data port on the old phone was bad, and informed me that it usually happened because the release button was not pressed when the connector was removed. I do recall I had pulled the connector out hard the first time (ripped it out) because I did not know there WAS a button to push.....; it had been increasingly intermittent for the past 3 weeks or so. It was a big relief to expect it would now work again! I am quite pleased with Verizon's service. Later Sunday we were joined by Uncle Harvey & Aunt Ann.

 They drove us to see Aunt Mary and Uncle Maynard. It is nice to see so many folks who we thought we might have to put off seeing until January.

 We were fortunate to find cousin Dottie & Luther were visiting there too, so it was a grand mini-reunion! It is nice to be able to see folks we have not seen in years, and enjoy seeing their homes too.

 Later we visited Harvey & Ann's "new" home they have only been in for 20 years. WOW, time flies when you are having fun!  We had intended to open up Randy's driveway before we interfered with Monday morning work schedules, but we had so much fun it was dark, and Randy invited us to stay another night. It was so inviting to do so that we accepted with apologies and thanks. We briefly checked out the new phone by calling the kids, checked that the internet connection worked, and decided we must wait for next weekend for most other internet activity.

Monday Dec 3 we took a leisurely departure, walked the cats, and moved out to find Camping World. Fortunately we looked at the map and decided to take the Interstate; it is a LONG way from central Orlando to southern Kissimmee and driving it all on city streets would have been SLOW. Camping World is the RV'ers supermarket; we had some needs that were hard to fulfill in Walmart or other supermarkets. We bought the special oil filters for the RV generator, and spent a long time trying to decide what to do about the bike rack we had that we could not use because we could not find a suitable ball mount for our trailer hitch.; Camping World carried the same rack also, but did not have the correct ball mount in stock to use it with either. We decided to write that bike rack off, and buy a less expensive one that mounts on the RV ladder. The bikes had done fine tied on the ladder this far, and the only problem was the difficulty getting them back up that prevented us from using them much. We expected a real ladder mounted rack would work fine. We decided to install it right in the Camping World parking lot to be sure it was satisfactory, and had the advantage of advice from another RV'er who was using one; the instructions are non too well written. :-) So far it has worked well, as we departed for Lakeland late afternoon from Camping World. We have more folks to see in the Orlando area, but we will have to do that in January. We intended to buy gas in Lakeland at a Walmart with gas; it looked easy on the map, but we milled around looking for it. It turned out to be closed. WOW, never saw a Walmarts close before! This was a big Super Walmart in a large shopping center. When we finally found where it had been, the parking lot was empty except for trucks overnighting; we decided to do the same, but that did not get us gas. Prices for gas are much higher here than in Orlando; we should have taken local advice and bought there. It is hard to keep track of gas prices; years ago Lakeland had always had low prices compared to Orlando or Tampa...not now. The Lakeland area shows signs of economic stress; lots of other closed businesses as well. However there are still many name department stores open too. I'm not sure what the cause for the situation is.

Tuesday Dec 4 we decided to go onto secondary roads and try to find good biking areas; we went down Rt. 17 toward Arcadia, with intent to explore Myakka River State Park. We stopped in the Arcadia Walmart and biked into downtown historic area. Historic here dates back to 1900, as much of the town was destroyed by fire around then. This is the county seat of Desoto County and the only incorporated city in the County. It was a short bike ride across town; the small downtown area was pleasant as were the people we met; it reminded me of the 50's (deliberately intended to?). The cattle and citrus industries are the main source of income here, with attempts to encourage tourism, and a number of RV parks nearby. Without the attraction of the seacoast, it will be a while before this area competes with the coastal areas; however if you want QUIET, this may be your place..... We did find 99% isopropyl alcohol in the local supermarket; we like at least 91% to dry our ears and prevent swimmers ear after swimming in tropic areas. This will do admirably, and act as a cleaning solvent as well. Shortly before we left Arcadia, we were approached by a friendly gentleman who was interested in Purry on his leash (Purry is always a REAL curiosity and icebreaker). Turned out he had met his wife here during W.W.II when in flight training here; she had lived with him in Chicago during his working years, so they returned to Arcadia in retirement. He loved it here, but said it's a small town with all the small town characteristics (good & bad). Some years ago a ranch hand had disposed of surplus insecticide in the Peace River, then the local water source. By the time the problem was traced, much of the town had mild paralysis. The well connected local rancher was finally fined $5000 after much delayed court proceedings. The town drilled new wells for their water. :-)

On Wednesday Dec 5 we drove to Myakka River State Park on the Desoto/Sarasota county border. This is an INTERESTING place with admission a modest $4 for vehicle & 2 persons. We parked at the entrance and biked about 15 miles across the park stopping at points of interest. The concession stand, Myakka Outpost, had an interesting sign in it's parking lot, echoing a warning slip we had received when we checked into the park; "WARNING, Vultures often have a taste for molding and trim on vehicles and trailers. You may want to avoid this parking lot." My goodness, they might find our whole RV tasty.....bikes are sure the way to go here! Myakka Outpost offered smoked allegator (sign in left window) and allegator stew.  

The road was perfect for biking, flat, smooth, and mostly shaded. There was a really spectacular "Canopy Walkway" which consisted of two wooden towers connected by a suspension bridge. It was built for research into the ecosystem of the forest canopy in the park, but was open to park visitors. The suspension bridge crossed at 25 feet, the middle height of the canopy, so you could get a real close view of upper levels, while one end tower rose to 75 feet, high above the top of the canopy for a wonderful 360 degree view of the park and river. The guyed wooden structure swayed as people walked on it, but held solid (at least for us).

 When we returned to the RV we put Purry out for air on his leash tied to a tree near where we were working to return the bikes to their rack. Numerous vultures circled overhead, but we are accustomed to drawing them; I often wonder what they know that we do not? :-)

I noticed a hawk circle low overhead, and Claire said "He's after my cat!" I looked at Purry busily extracting himself from his harness to run & hide, and could see that at least PURRY agreed! I quickly picked him up, and he relaxed, but he wanted to go INSIDE. The hawk was not particularly large, similar (or identical?) to the one in the attached picture; certainly not so large as Purry. I wonder whether he could really kill and carry an animal as big as Purry away? Purry obviously thought the threat was real, so that gives it credibility with me..... most amazing!

We drove to Port Charlotte allowing the computer mapping program to select the fastest way. Even though it was rush hour, driving was easy, and we found Walmarts where we expected. We did not expect to see the "Overnight Parking Prohibited" signs in the lot, however. We filled our gas tank at a nearby station; it was by far the lowest price we had seen since Orlando, but the pumps ran so slow we had plenty of time to consider alternatives to the Walmart lot. The pump was so slow it actually filled the tank to OVERFLOWING and did not shut off; 71.7 gallons in a 75 gallon tank. I will always wonder if the pump was calibrated wrong, as the gauge indicated we had about 1/8 left. Of course, we aren't about to deliberately run the tank dry to measure the capacity either.... We decided to cook and eat in Walmarts, then move. After eating, I went out to open the gas fill cover to let it air after the overfilling (it smelled slightly). A friendly Walmart employee volunteered that an RV had recently spent a week here without being hassled. We decided to stay. The alternatives we had found all took us 15 miles out of our way, and we were TIRED after the bike ride. This positions us well to enter our storage campground tomorrow. We purchased everything we could think of we needed to prepare for the trip, and for the trip itself.

Thursday Dec 6 was HOT; this was the first time I actually wanted to DRIVE to get the air conditioning running before noon. We planned to stop on the way to confirm our rental car reservation (and be sure we could find the place). We left Walmarts hot black parking lot before 11AM, and had lunch at the Hertz parking lot (in front of the now deserted Republican Headquarters). Don't know WHAT we'd do without closed businesses to park in front of here; we use 6 or 7 parking spaces parked lengthwise in the small strip malls. :-) This lot was white concrete and noticeably cooler. The car reservation seemed OK, so we moved on 12 miles South to Sun N Shade RV Resort soon after noon. It appeared well maintained, and the folks we met staying here were extremely friendly and enthusiastic about the park. It is under new management, and while we waited to check in we walked around looking it over. It appeared to be quite a safe place to keep the RV for 5 weeks, with management in full control of the only entrance, and residents quite interested in everyone they did not know who showed up. This is a COMMUNITY, with most people staying for a period of time; the Christmas lights on the RV's at night make it seem like daylight. Purry & Pookie had a great time wandering through the resort until their servants decided it was bedtime. :-) They had a strong desire to explore the unlit drainage canal (NO! NO!) and under other RV's, but enjoyed despite our emphatic prohibitions in these areas. Both had to be carried home, or we'd all be wandering still..... The balmy "shorts & T shirt" evening made me think of the contrasting Massachusetts winter winds to come. :-(

Friday Dec 7; this is a heavy work day. The tasks on the lists must be carried out today. Tomorrow I hope to send this final trip report (until the third week in January) early (we do have a reasonable digital cellphone signal here). We must drive to pick up the car by 10AM, return; put the RV in it's storage slot, and load the car for departure; it's not a time for writing, but for doing. We plan to drive straight through to MA; Street Atlas says it's 1417 miles, 26 hours 17 minutes, and we expect to get going before noon.

A bit about future plans (after mid January); we've decided we want to hit Mardi Gras in New Orleans (we think mid February this year?). Before heading there we want to spend a bit more time here on the Florida Gulf coast, visit Miami, and return for some more time in the Orlando area, then continue along the Gulf coast to New Orleans. Detailed planning will have to wait until we have a full time internet connection at home, but it is clear that more planning than we have used on this leg of the trip will be required. Mardi Gras in New Orleans books up early, and we will need campground reservations. Beyond New Orleans, weather permitting (meaning no ice or snow on the roads, no long spells of freezing temperatures) we hope to see the Indian ruins in the Southwest (NM, AZ), and the Grand Canyon before returning to Massachusetts in the Spring. We can't just follow our headlights if we want to pull this off; we'll let you all know when plans solidify. Until January, ENJOY! Hope your holidays are SUPER; have a merry Christmas and happy New Year. We're looking forward eagerly to time with our kids, family and friends in Massachusetts.

We'll clog your email box with trip reports again next year God willing (if you don't want them, let us know & we'll take you OFF the list). This shakedown has been as much fun as we could hope for; if the only real mistake is buying a bike rack we could not use, we can deal with that! We already look forward to the next leg of the trip.