Tampa and Back

Tuesday - Drove to the Tampa airport and back today. Bridget has a doctors appointment in San Antonio tomorrow. I took the toll road as it saves about half an hour each way. Plus, I want to make sure that the toll charge matches the vehicle. I moved the transponder to the Jeep from the RV. The faq claims that it should work fine. 

On the way back, I stopped at a coffee place for a short break. A couple of years ago when we were staying in Crystal River, this was almost a daily stop while out and about. 

It was a 290 mile round trip so it took most of the afternoon. After arriving at the park, I beelined to the hot tub to relax. 

Old Town, FL

Saturday - The Suwannee River next to the campground. They have rental boats and rent dock space. There is one more night of near freezing temperatures followed by more normal Florida-like temperatures. I moved the StarLink dish up to the roof this morning and it looks like it might be better. I joined two test sessions today it it worked good enough as long as I’m not leading the session. It’s fine for watching the Olympics or other streaming services. 

The sites are kind of small but it’s good enough. We will be gone for a bit in the middle of our stay. 

I checked out the Dicor on the roof as there was some leaking while we were at the Harvest Host. I found a couple of possibilities and use more Dicor once we get a warm afternoon. 

Sunday - According to the weather guessers, last night was supposed to be our last freeze, at least for a bit. We didn’t quite hit freezing but it did venture to the lower 30s (°F). It’s 11am and we are on our way to the upper 60s (°F) with some nice sunshine. 

Monday - Friends from Fairbanks came by to visit this afternoon. They RV with their Rivian electric truck and a Brinkley trailer. I hadn’t seen them for years. It was a wonderful visit. 

This evening, I met another Ural owner here at the park. He has a 2007 Ural in southern Illinois. 

Old Town, FL

Friday - On the drive yesterday, we heard a “bang” when a flock of birds flew in front of the RV. I thought we may have hit one with the front cap. Then Bridget noticed a sliver of light at the upper corner of the front windshield. It happened again for the sixth time. We were both pretty discouraged by this. 

Today, we are going into Gainesville to meet up with Matt and Kirsten, friends from Fairbanks, for lunch. We will be stopping at Walmart for groceries afterwards and I’m going to pick up some black urethane windshield glue to fill the gap between the edge of the glass and the rubber seal. And, I may try to work the rubber seal a bit with a little heat from the heat gun. The cold weather may have contributed to this reoccurrence. 

Florida is still going through cold temperatures. It was this temperature yesterday morning at the Harvest Host and had only warmed to around 41°F when we left at around 10am. We had gone through quite a bit of propane since leaving Hondo with a full tank. In 9 days, we burned through half a tank or about 19 gallons (~$69). We used the heat pump if the temperature was above the low 40s (° F) which shows how much cold nights we’ve had. 

The hot tub and pool are open. I didn’t try out the pool this evening but the hot tub was very relaxing. It was around 102°F. It felt wonderful!!!

Ponce De Leon, FL - HH

Tuesday - A slightly longer drive day to a farm within Harvest Hosts. They have five sites with power and water. We just hooked up to power as we have plenty of water. We are staying for two nights before heading for our destination near Old Town, FL. We picked up some eggs, a small coffee cake, and pickled vegetables at their store. The sites are dirt & gravel and the driveway was narrow and bumpy. But no issues with the rv though the Jeep was disconnected for the drive in. 

I also discovered another worn part on the tow bar. I’ll check it out tomorrow to see how serious it is. I noticed at one of our rest stops that one arm was locked at full extension. 

Wednesday - The rain started last night after midnight and continued on/off for most of the day. A drip started from one of the roof vents. I pulled off the inside trim ring and it may be coming from the sealant around the vent or further towards the front of the RV. Possibly even the condensation drain from the AC/heat pump.