Oranjestad, Aruba

Tuesday - I was up early-ish (6 am) to watch our arrival into Aruba. I didn’t need to get up early as there wasn’t much to see until after 7 am. But it was nice to sit on the balcony in the 79°, which is the forecasted low temperature. 

There are clouds but it still should be a nice day. I stayed out on the balcony until we were almost docked. 

We then headed down to Johnny Rockets for breakfast (no extra charge for breakfast only). We then went to the solarium on the guess that most of the passengers were headed ashore. We decided to wait until after lunch. 

There appears to be some sort of military ship parked next to us but Bridget said that it wasn’t the Aruba flag. 

We did not schedule any excursion for this stop and plan to just wander around the port area. It looks like there are at least three cruise ships docked. That’s a lot of people wandering around. 

This is the boat that we’re on, Oasis of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. It’s large but it doesn’t feel as crowded as the last cruise which was also an oasis class ship. 

That area on the back of the boat is an aqua stage. The show last night was phenomenal and one of the highlights was a tightrope walker. About 60’ above the deck on a boat moving at 18 knots in open water. Others dived from this point into the pool. 

Total distance covered, so far, is 1272 miles or 2046 km. 

Eastern Caribbean - Day 3

Monday - Today is another sea day after passing between Cuba and Haiti last night. After coffee in the room, I headed to the solarium, an 18+ area near the front of the ship on deck 15. Much quieter with relaxing music instead of the live band around the pools. It was pretty quiet though a lot of the deck chairs were “reserved” in spite of the rules prohibiting the practice. 

The forecasted low is 79°F with a high of 80°F. Hard to complain about that. We had lunch in the main dining room as it’s open for lunch on sea days. I prefer the dining room to the buffet even though there is more choice at the buffet. Nothing fancy. Tomatoes salad, spaghetti, and an apple crumble dessert. Tasty and not too much food. We have a show tonight during our regular dinner time so I’m not sure where dinner will be. Probably the buffet. 

Later - The buffet was not great. And it was kind of crowded. The best items were the two Indian dishes and maybe the pasta. 

Eastern Caribbean - Day 2

Sunday - I was curious where we were this morning. I turned on the TV, which has a map showing our location, speed, temperature, etc., and was mildly surprised at how close we were to Cuba. The weather app even showed our location as Cuba. 

There wasn’t much to see from the starboard railing besides seeing that there is something on the horizon. 

Today is a sea day as we wander south towards our first stop at Aruba. Someplace I had only heard of in the Beach Boys song, Kokomo. Not being a big music person, I had to look the title up on Google. But I do remember the song from the late 80s. 

My son rented a casita for the day on deck 16. The shade is nice benefit. It is kind of windy up here. I had stopped in the solarium at the front of the ship and that was quiet. No DJs, no games, or live performances. 

I guess I'm fascinated that Google maps work with the wifi. The onboard Interneg was included with The Key package. I'm not sure I would've purchased it but it's nice to have. 

Those look like Starlink dishes mounted to the rail. I heard that it has been a game-changer for on-sea Internet. The speed is decent especially considering our location. 

Port Everglades

Friday - We headed east then south towards Port Everglades which is located north of Miami. Quite a long drive at 387 miles. Further than I thought. We could’ve shaved 20 minutes by taking toll roads through Orlando but we decided on the non-toll route through the outskirts of Daytona Beach. We stopped at Buckees for lunch which is always a win. 

The first couple of hours were all secondary roads, which was fairly relaxing. From Daytona Beach south, it was all I-95 much faster but more stressful. It was much warmer while heading down the Florida east coast with most of the drive in the mid-80s (°F).

As we approached Fort Lauderdale, the traffic became horrible. Lots of accidents on the highway probably from people driving too fast and not paying attention. When you look at other drivers, a significant number of them are on their phones.

We had dinner at a casino a short walk from the hotel. I had carnitas tacos and they were pretty tasty. The back parking lot at the casino is being run as discounted cruise parking. Less than half the daily rate at the port. We’ll see how well the shuttle service works tomorrow. 

Saturday - Parking was easy and the shuttle ride to the terminal was quick as they didn’t use the normal vehicle entrance. The priority boarding was quick and straightforward and we were in a “special” waiting area until the ship was ready. 

We were on the ship by 11. And we finished our required tasks pretty quickly. There is a special lunch at noon that is supposed to feature some really good food. 

Later - The wild mushroom soup was wonderful as was the fillet mignon. The mac and cheese was lukewarm but creamy. It was a nice lunch. Way less hectic than the buffet.

Now it’s time for a nap. We don’t leave for a couple more hours. We have a port side, ocean view, balcony room on deck 6. Time to relax…

Below is the Princess cruise at the next terminal. 

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…

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.

Baton Rouge, LA

Monday - After a low temperature of just above freezing, we headed east at around 10am. The weather was nice with a high in the mid-60s (°F). Heavier traffic on I-10 with a fair amount of road construction. Our overnight stop is at a Cracker Barrel on the eastern side of Baton Rouge. 

We had dinner in the restaurant and, in my opinion, the food “quality” seems to have gone downhill. One thing that hasn’t changed is the game on the table. Something to do while waiting for your order. We didn’t park in the RV parking spots as we would’ve had to disconnect the Jeep to fit. But the parking lot was pretty empty. 

Winter Weather in Livingston, TX

Friday - At noon, it is only 49°F. I reconnected the water and filled the fresh water tank (through the water softener) to 85%. I'll disconnect it tonight as I really don't want to damage the water softener. 

Saturday - Today was pretty cold with a low this morning of just below freezing. Tonight’s low is forecast to be in the mid-20s (°F) and it barely rose to 44°F with lots of sunshine. We are planning to head out on Monday as there is a warming trend in the forecast.

On Wednesday’s drive, I wanted to take a toll road to make sure our transponder worked plus I was curious what the toll would be for the motorhome towing the Jeep. We were charged the truck rate. The trip on 99 around Houston came out to $44. Pretty pricy. The good news is that the transponder works. Just in case we want to use it in the future. (I’m thinking of future east coast trips)