Old Town, FL

Thursday - Not much happened yesterday, at least that I can remember. Today, it’s all about packing for the cruise. The tow bar part isn’t scheduled to be delivered until Friday so I need to let the office know. 

I scheduled a test session for early afternoon and those have gone surprisingly well in spite of the obstructed view through the trees. I guess there are enough satellites zipping around up there. There are about 50 outages per day but most are just a couple of seconds. I’ve been able to lead Zoom testing sessions which surprised me given the obstructed view.

After picking up a few last items in town, I started putting things away such as the Blackstone, folding tables and chairs, and the step stool. Tomorrow, I’ll disconnect from water after partially filling the freshwater tank. I’ll put away the hoses and water softener to avoid potential problems with a water leak. The forecast is calling for lows around freezing so we’ll be leaving both furnaces on but set for maybe 55°F. 

Today was warm enough for me to try out the pool. It was nice and refreshing. Not as cold as I was expecting it to be. 

Gainesville, FL

Tuesday - We went back to Gainesville, located about an hour to the east of the rv park. Bridget is just looking for somewhere things for the upcoming cruise. I’m just the driver. It’s a very pleasant 72°F around noon with a light breeze. Hard to complain about that. 

This afternoon, they had a Mardi Gras get together at the rv park with a low country boil, jambalaya, and some barbecue. 

The low country boil has shrimp, sausage, potatoes, corn, and chicken. It was pretty tasty. It was a good opportunity to talk with some other campers. 

Back to Tampa

Thursday - I took the non-toll route which followed I-75 south into Tampa. Definitely further, slower, and a lot more traffic. I think we’ll take the toll road back tomorrow. Bridget’s flight arrived in the late afternoon so we opted to stay in Tampa instead of driving back in the dark. Given how exhausted I am, it was the right decision. 

Friday - After the morning fog cleared, we headed back towards the RV. We stopped for breakfast in Tampa and, it was good but kind of pricy. Tourist prices. About an hour north, we stopped in Crystal River for coffee at the familiar spot, Cattle Dog Coffee Roasters. 

Sunday - Today’s forecast called for wind and rain and we got both. Not a lot but maybe ¼” to ½” or so. And winds gusts up to 35mph. So far, no water leaks. 

RV work

Wednesday - It warmed up to 72°F today so I applied Dicor to the roof where rain may have seeped through. And, I squirted urethane into the rubber windshield seal and adjusted the seal to overlap the glass. It only overlaps by about ⅛” and the cold temperatures may have caused the rubber to shrink (not sure) but we’ll see how well this holds up.

Since I only used about 15% of the urethane, I vacuum sealed to see if it’ll prevent it from drying out. Kind of expensive stuff. 

I ended up borrowing a step ladder from the park to work on the windshield. I left my extension ladder in the class C as I didn’t expect to need it on this trip. After these tasks, I relaxed in the hot tub again. Really nice…