Wauchula, FL - HH

Sunday - We left TTO around 10:30am and headed south. After filling up with diesel once we got out of the Orlando area, we continued to our Harvest Host stop south of Wauchula, FL. I guess we could've stopped at the Peace River TT, but that was one of the worst ones we've been to. Another option is the SKP park just a short drive away. 

Charlotte's Web is the Harvest Host stop and is a bar with a food truck. The po' boy sandwich I had here was wonderful. The parking area is a small field next to the building that they use for event parking. No events are going on while we are here, so it has been pretty quiet. 

Monday - The temperature this morning has been wonderful. I'm sitting outside getting ready for a test session, and it is 76°F. We will need to run the generator this afternoon to charge up the batteries, and we'll run the A/C at the same time. I think it's supposed to be 83°F this afternoon.

Our next reservation doesn't start until tomorrow at an Encore park in Fort Myers. It looks like a nice place. We'll be there for a couple of weeks before heading back to TX.

I'm using the outdoor area of the bar for the test session. I am running the generator as the battery SoC is down to 31%. We do seem to run through quite a bit of power at 430aH over the last 12 hours. We are charging at 70 amps so that is still around 6 hours. The solar contribution is minimal compared to how much power we use. I won't bother to charge the batteries up all the way as we only need enough for another night.

I had the blackened grouper sandwich from the food truck along with the fried pickles. I don’t think I’ve had grouper before and it was pretty tasty. I’m not sure whether the grouper or the shrimp sandwich is better. I’d rather not be forced to pick. 

Four Corners, FL - TT

Tuesday - The calendar says that it’s St Patrick’s Day. I had made the traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner a couple of weeks ago. Not in the sous vide but in the Instant Pot. It didn’t turn out anywhere near as tasty. 

The low temperature this morning was 47°F. Quite a change from the past week. The forecast is calling for 44°F tonight. Things should start warming up again after this cold front passes through. 

I took advantage of the cooler temperatures to take a walk. I had an Amazon package come in to a locker about 1¼ mile away. I ordered a gadget that disables the auto start/stop function on the Jeep. There is a button that disables it but you have to press it every time you start the engine. This gadget just automates that. For the last couple of years, I had it disabled by unplugging the hood switch. Now, the hood switch is in place again so the alarm function is working again.

Wednesday - Today’s field trip was to Bok Tower. It is around 40 miles south on Hwy 27. That’s over an hour of Florida driving time without toll roads. Bok Tower is a nature preserve with a bell tower with 60 bells. A keyboard is mechanically linked to the clappers allowing someone to play the bells. 

Today was the opening day of the International Carillon Festival. Carillonist is the term for the musicians playing the bells. 

At 1pm, they started to play but it wasn’t a recognizable tune (to me). There is a very short YouTube video of it playing at the end of this post. I must admit that I was disappointed in the sound. Maybe the performer was playing a complex piece and it was lost on me. 

We also went on a house tour but the house was built by a someone named Bach and not the Bok that built the tower and surrounding garden. This tree was “behind” the house but actually in front of the main entrance. We entered through the pantry and kitchen. 

Repairs - TT

Saturday - Not much went on today. A mid-day test session followed by restringing one of the blinds. The restringing part was simple but reattaching the blind to the hangers buried behind a cabinet was a pain. I have a couple more minor repairs and one semi-major one to do. Maybe I’ll knock out the minor one today or tomorrow. 

Sunday - Fixed a drawer slide. The minor repair of the day. There was heavy rain with lightning in the late afternoon and evening.

Monday - Today’s minor maintenance is regenerating the water softener. It is a manual process that takes two cartons of salt (52oz) and about 35 minutes. A slow stream of water is run through the salt and resin for about 25minutes followed by a 6 minute flush. It needs to be done about once per month. There is another method that I’m still researching 

It’s around 80°F right now (noon) with more rain and lightning in the forecast for this evening. 

Disney Springs

Wednesday - We went to Disney Springs, the retail area for WDW, to meet up with Tim and Sue from Fairbanks. It was in the 80s (°F) for most of the afternoon and, apparently, not very windy as the helium balloon was flying.

We walked through most of Disney Springs, had lunch at Chicken Guy (good Korean chicken sandwich!), and wandered through the shops. 

We then went to the Pop Century resort and took the Disney Skyliner to the Boardwalk. The Skyliner is free as it is just another transportation option around Disney World, like the monorail and buses. Here, we are crossing a small lake heading towards other resorts, where we will switch to another Skyliner towards Epcot.

We had dinner at Blue Ribbon Corndogs, where they had something that I had to try. A dill pickle corndog. The large pickle is hollowed out, and a hot dog is inserted. Then the whole thing is covered with the corn dog batter and deep-fried. It is served with peanut butter, but I don't think it adds much more. The combination works, though I did end up using a knife and fork. The addition of the pickle made it quite heavy.

We hadn't visited the Boardwalk on prior visits, so this was new. We ended up walking over 18k steps. Definitely got in some exercise. It was wonderful to visit with Tim and Sue.

Orlando, FL - TT

Sunday - Today was a very short travel day to TTO. Like usual, it was a long wait at the front gate, but they are pre-assigning sites now, like many other TT parks. It’s not as nice as their old system, but better than driving around hunting for something. 

It took quite a while to set things up, but since we are here for a couple of weeks, it made sense to me to make myself at home. It’s an older part of the park, but it has 50-amp power and is reasonably level. And the refrigerator is not facing south. StarLink isn’t as fast as other locations, probably because we are in a populated area. But we are still getting 114 down and 15 up. Fast enough. 

Monday - It's 79°F at noon. But since I have the awning and the sunscreen set up, it is pretty nice sitting outside at least for the mid-day test session. 

Tonight, grilled vegetables on the Blackstone. Finished off with a balsamic glaze. One of our favorites sides. And I’m trying to make garlic butter shrimp also on the Blackstone. 

We still haven’t decided whether or not to venture into any of the theme parks. Since this is the beginning of Spring Break season, it’ll be crowded. 

Tuesday - First thing this morning, I washed the Jeep. This is the first time I’ve been “allowed” to wash a vehicle in a long time. Everywhere has had water restrictions due to drought. Even northern Florida. We have run it through a couple of touch less car washes but they aren’t as common as the ones with brushes. Since the Jeep is a soft top, car washes are strongly discouraged according to the manufacturer. 

It’s pretty warm today and it feels humid though the Rh is only 50%. The pool was crowded earlier but once evening arrived, it slowed down a lot. There are two pools. This used to be the adult pool but they were sued by a full time family RV group. Now, no more age restrictions at any TT park. 

Ocoee, FL - HH

Saturday - A short travel day to a Harvest Host just east of Winter Garden. It is a restored car dealership with about 150 cars. Some are completely restored and some have some modern components.

It was a hot afternoon so we had the generator running with both A/C units on. Having the generator is nice. By 6:30, it was around 80°F and a light breeze. We had dinner at a place called Sizzling Greens. A light-ish dinner on this warm evening. 

Tomorrow, it’s about 25 miles to Thousand Trails Orlando aka TTO. Google says 38 minutes. 

Back in Florida

Sunday - After a week of 79°F temperature, the 69°F of Fort Lauderdale felt “chilly”. Welcome back to the real world. At least we aren’t headed back to snow.

From the parking lot to the RV park was 357 miles and took around 7 hours including a stop at KFC for lunch. This time, we took the Florida Turnpike from Fort Lauderdale to just east of Tampa. The toll was around $18 but after our trip down to the port, well worth it. The only slowdown was when we were near Orlando. So much less stress.

We arrived back around 4:30pm. If we took the non-toll roads, we probably would’ve stopped for the night along the way. So the toll roads were a net savings. 

Monday - It felt cold this morning. The low was 48°F. But by early afternoon, it was up to 80°F so time for a dip in the pool. The pool here was about the same as the ocean so pretty nice. And, the sun felt just as hot!

I got some tasks done. NSA sent some new parts to try and resolve the tow bar not locking into the extended position. The new part looks just like the old one. But I went ahead and installed it. We move next Sunday.

Tuesday - A quiet day but it did get a bit warm and humid. Another good day for the pool. Someone asked me where “home” is. The phrase “home is where we park it” came to mind. It’s kind of accurate, for now, but I think Bridget would like to have some sort of sticks-and-bricks home base. The big question is where. 

Wednesday - This morning, we visited Manatee Springs State Park. It is just across the Suwannee River but to drive there, we head all the way back to Old Town to cross the river. Day use was only $6/vehicle and there was a nice boardwalk to the Suwannee River. 

No manatees in the river or spring. But did see an otter and a lot of turtles. The park was pretty empty probably because there weren’t any manatees. 

This is the Suwannee River from the end of the boardwalk and where saw the otter. 

Afterwards, we picked up more groceries before heading back to the rv park. 

Perfect Day at CocoCay

Saturday - Last night after dinner, we saw a Broadway production of Cats. Which was phenomenal. We were in the second row and many times, the performers were just a few feet away. During the chorus numbers, you could hear individual performers. The action was almost non-stop. 

This morning, we pulled into the Royal Caribbean private island CocoCay. Their literature always says “Perfect Day at CocoCay”. I’m not sure if that’s the official name. The orange tower is a water slide, the sphere to the left is a helium balloon. And, there a lot of other extra cost activities. 

We are here for most of the day. It is cooler as we headed north. It’s 75°F at 6:30 am with a forecasted high of 75°F. 

Later - Hmmm, it shouldn’t be too crowded today. Actually, it’s not too bad once you got off of the pier. I was off the ship shortly after 8am after watching the second boat, Wonder of the Seas, dock. Both are Oasis class cruise ships with over 6K guests each.

My son rented a cabana on the beach for the day. The shade and having a place to relax without fighting the crowds was really nice. Below is the view from the cabana. Not very crowded.

Sea Days Heading North

 

Thursday - This mornings activity was sushi making. We made two rolls, a hand roll, and two nigiri. Both of the rolls had the rice on the outside which I had never successfully done before. One was tempura shrimp and the other was spicy tuna. It was a small class with only ten participants. It was fun. Plus, I had lunch and picked up some knowledge. I think I was the only one asking questions. 

We headed out of Willemstad, Curaçao shortly after sunset with slightly rougher seas due to wind. 

Before lunch, Bridget wanted to watch the parade through the promenade shopping area. Lunch was in the main dining room. Delicious Atlantic cod. 

Followed by mini golf on the sports deck. 

Friday - Another 78°F-79°F day. We are headed northwest through the Bahamas with a stop tomorrow at Royal Caribbeans island, called Perfect Day at Coco Cay. A strange name for an island. 

My son rented a casita on deck 16 looking out over the ocean. 

There were a few light sprinkles in the afternoon though the weather looked much worse to the east. 

This morning, we took a tour of one of the many kitchens. The tour was given by one of the head waiters and he explained the process from food storage through preparation and serving. I thought it was pretty interesting. 

I got to see another part of the ship this morning. While getting breakfast, I slipped on the wet tile and bumped my head. They took me to first aid along the central corridor that runs the full length of the boat on deck 2. They refer to it as I-95. I’m fine and they applied some glue to seal the cut. 

Willemstad, Curaçao

Wednesday - This morning, we came into Willemstad, Curaçao. The second of the ABC islands, which are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which we are visiting. 

We have a shore excursion scheduled this morning shortly after docking. The local time AST which is one hour ahead “ship time”. It was suggested that we disable auto time zone update just to avoid confusion. 

It’s interesting to watch the boat coming into the dock. Unfortunately, they seem to dock on the starboard side so I can’t watch from the balcony. 

Later - The tour was on a large bus with a knowledgeable tour guide explaining the different areas we drove through. Very narrow roads with tight corners and traffic. The first stop was at a small botanical garden. I couldn’t hear any of the explanations due to an inadequate sound system. So I just sort of loitered near the back of the group talking to others on the tour.

The views from the bus as we crossed the Queen Juliana Bridge were pretty good. Our ship is the one on the right. 

The second stop was at the distillery where they make and bottle Blue Curaçao liquor. We learned that they also make it in three other colors but they all taste identical. They gave everyone a sample of the blue and a chocolate one. 

The weather here is kind of boring. The temperature doesn’t change even though we are here at the end of the rainy season. We got a little bit of rain while traveling in the bus. 

We arrived back at the boat in time for lunch at the buffet. 

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.