Xena on a leash

June 12, 2015--This is the first trip Xena has made without Charlie. She was a good girl.

Jim is determined to get her used to walking on a leash. It was comical to watch him pull her along. She hunkered down and refused to move! Eventually, though, we did walk--especially when Jim headed toward the RV. Home never looked so good to her.

Florida caverns

June 12, 2015—Weatherbug, that little Android app on my cell phone—the only electronic device to pick up a signal here in Three Rivers State Park—advised that Mexico Beach on the Gulf, our planned destination for Thursday—was to experience a series of thunder storms and heavy rain. So, we nixed the idea of surf fishing and opted, instead, to visit Florida Caverns State, located outside of Marianna, Fla.

The reform school in Marianna is where supposedly delinquent boys were treated in despicable ways. It operated from 1900 until 2011, when the truth about the abuse, beatings, rape, and even murder of many young boys eventually was proven. The institution was one of the biggest reform schools in the United States.

Jim said that when he was growing up his parents made the hollow threat of sending him to Marianna unless he shaped up. (In my family, my brothers were threatened with military school. I don’t recall the threat to us girls.)

Marianna is actually a nice little Panhandle town nestled in an abundance of beautiful natural resources, including Florida Caverns State Park. 

When people think of Florida, they immediately think sunshine, sand, palm trees, and flat land. This part of Florida (Northwestern Florida) has plenty of sand and some palm trees, but it is definitely not flat. It is very hilly, with many rivers and creeks. Its bedrock is limestone, and as every spelunker knows, when acid rainwater seeps through limestone, caves (and sink holes) are created. 

Florida Caverns is the only state-operated public caverns open to tourists.

This park, like many other 161 state parks in Florida,  was built during the Great Depression by the CCCs. (My dad served in the CCCs as a teen, but not in Florida.) The young men labored to create a walk-through tour of the caves.

The caverns are not on par with any others I have seen, but they are well worth the time nevertheless. My neck still aches a bit from having to walk through some of the passageways hunched over. One passage is only two feet wide and four feet high. It wasn’t very long, though.

Upon exiting the caverns, we had three choices to return to our car: a 9-minute walk that ended at the gift shop; a hiking trail (I forgot where it went); or a 45-minute trek through the woods, where we could see a shelf cave and walk through the Tunnel Cave. We opted for the latter.

I am not much of a hiker. The trail was replete with roots and stone “steps” that we had to navigate. My problem is balance. Navigating up a trail or steps is not too bad (I only get out of breath and don’t enjoy the workout), but  going down steps, especially uneven steps on a trail, challenges my balance. However, I managed. I admit that I was tuckered out and extremely thirsty by the end of our walk in the woods.

The hike tested my endurance, but it was fun. It ended by our going through a Tunnel Cave—a cave that was open on both ends (hence, a tunnel), which led us out near the parking lot.

I slept well last night.

Until later,

Your Reluctant RoVer,

Linda

Serenity at Three Rivers State Park

June 10, 2015—Three Rivers State Park, near Marianna, Fla., and about 45 minutes outside of Tallahassee, is truly beautiful. We can look out at the lake from our campsite. I am sure Lake Seminole has an abundance of fish,but so far, none has been tempted by our feeble attempts to catch them.

I did snag a baby alligator, who thought my worm lure looked appetizing. He spit it out though, so no harm to him or the lure. 

We only fished for a while last night (although I went out this morning while Jim was still asleep), because for a couple of hours yesterday, Jim had to “play” with the wiring on the car.

Lake Seminole at Three Rivers State Park

The baby alligator that liked my fishing lure

He is at it again this morning. With any luck (and skill, since Mr. Fixit always finds a way to correct electrical and mechanical problems), we will have working brake lights today.

We intend to try our luck at fishing this lake. We are also considering going down to the Gulf Coast to try our hand at surf fishing, something we have been wanting to do for a year. Let me see...we live about eight miles from the Atlantic Ocean in Jacksonville, where we can surf fish, so we drive 238 miles here, then another 60 miles to the coast to try our hand at this type of fishing. Does that make sense? And how about fishing in lakes and rivers? Again, the Jacksonville area has an abundance of water around it, but we drove five hours to go fishing in this state park.

Of course, fishing was just one of the reasons for this trip. The main purpose for this trek was to get away for awhile, since it had been so long since we had taken a vacation. (I know, I know: When you are retired life is supposed to be one continual vacation. Unfortunately, it is not.)

I have no internet access; I have a T-Mobile hotspot, but T-Mobile does not work in this area. (Fortunately, my AT&T-based Cricket cell phone operates well.) We only get one TV station during the day, and it breaks up at night.

I think all that quiet is called serenity.

Until later,

Your Reluctant RoVer,

Test Run

June 8, 2015-- We have not RVed for more than a year. Time just sort of slipped away without our being able to enjoy our RV. Some of that time was not pleasant, including several medical issues and death in the family. And some were pragmatic: We had to equip our “new” Ford Edge with the proper equipment to allow it to be towed.

Since we had new equipment (the car and its towing harness and hitch), we needed to do a test run before we head out for a long vacation later this summer. The purpose of a test run, of course, is to find out if all systems are “go.”

Naturally, they weren’t.

We discovered that the wiring to the lights on toad (our SUV) did not match the wiring on the RV. Only tail lights lit up. We drove anyway. When we got to the campsite, we also had a dead battery. Actually we were aware that the battery might die (Ford lies when it says this model is towable), but Jim thought he had solved it when he wired the car. However, since the wiring was not correct, the battery trickle charge did not work along with the brake lights.

The campsite host helped us jumpstart the car, and tomorrow, even before we think about fishing, Jim has to fix the wiring.

I won’t be able to post this (or other blogs) for a while. Although I can get email on my phone (thanks to the AT&T network Cricket uses), my T-Mobile hotspot does not work here in the woods, along the banks of Lake Seminole at Three Rivers State Park near Marianna, Fla.

So, until later,

Your Reluctant RoVer,

Linda

Keeping Connected

Jacksonville, FL--No, we are not yet on the road again. But we have hopes of hitting the pavement in less than two months. Jim should have the siding on the house done next week (unless we have bad weather). Once that he done, he has to repair the swim-spa, then install a base plate on our Ford Edge (and maybe a hitch, too, so we can haul a small boat), and then we will finally be ready to go!

Jim is busy installing siding on the south side of our house.

The poor swim-spa popped out of the ground. After we emptied its water and before we could refill it, we had a downpour that caused this malfunction. It has to be reinstalled. 

We love our 2011 Ford Edge. It needs a base plate so we can tow it. And we want a hitch on the rear end so we can pull a small boat (not while we are towing it, however).

In the meantime, I am always looking for economical ways to remain connected while we are on the road. This is especially important when I am working on a freelance project, as I have been doing for Reed Business Systems for the last couple of months. Although many RV parks claim they have WIFI, usually it is impossible to connect, unless I take my computer up to the clubhouse, something that is not very convenient to do.

My first venture into mobile computing was a Virgin Mobile broadband stick. It was 3G (which was the best technology back then, in the "dark ages" of only four years ago). It worked pretty well, although coverage was not the best. Also, connectivity was limited to one device.

My next purchase was a T-Mobile hotspot device. It was 4G, and I could purchase data without having a contract, just as I could with the Virgin Mobile device. Not have a contract is important to me. I don't want to pay for months I do not use the data. T-Mobile was the most economical of all the no-contract plans I could find. However, T-Mobile's coverage is sometimes spotty, as we discovered in Georgia and also the Keys.

I've investigated other hotspot devices and service plans, but today we came across a special offer from Karma Go. The offer came through a CNet newsletter Jim and I subscribe to, Cheapskate. This daily newsletter alerts us to special deals, many often free. After much evaluation of the offer, I decided to take advantage of it, even though it meant purchasing yet another device.

The Karma device, in this special offer (which is only for the next couple of days), is $99, and through the offer, we get 1 GB of data free. We will be able to purchase 10 GB at a time, for $99. The good thing: The data never expires.

Karma is using a different approach to marketing, too. The device allows up to eight people to use the hotspot at one time. Aside from the owner, those eight could be strangers. Not good? Not really. They can't get into the owner's data. To use the hotspot, they have to open an account. When they do that, they get 100 MB free data, and 100 MB of free data is also added to the owner's account. Their use does not take away from the owner's data, either. It's their own 100 MB.

Karma uses Sprint's LTE (and 3G, if LTE is not available) network, which is what most of the other no-contract no-name carriers use (e.g. Virgin Mobile and Freedompop). That was actually one of the primary reasons I decided to splurge on the new device. My T-Mobile is 4G, not LTE. And LTE is a whole lot faster than 4G. (I can still use my T-Mobile in areas where Spring is not available.) Spring has also extended its coverage. It's not nearly as good as AT&T and Verizon, but it looks to be better than T-Mobile.

My device is preordered; it won't arrive until December. But that's OK. If we hit the road before then, I still have my T-Mobile hotspot.

If you do any traveling or just want to have connectivity wherever you are, you might want to consider Karma. (When you click on the link, scroll down until you see the hotspot.) But do it quickly. The offer is only good for four more days.

Until later,

Your Reluctant RoVer,
Linda

A kayak adventure

Jacksonville, Fla. -- No, we are not on the road. And we won't be for a couple more months. Jim continues with his daily IV antibiotic treatments (to cure the bone infection caused by a cat bite), but his daily medical treatment has not stopped us from enjoying life. Even if we can't travel.

Our adventure today involved kayaking.

Several months ago, we decided to start fishing. That decision inevitably led to a discussion about all things floating--bass boats, dinghies, canoes, and kayaks.

Kayaks are relatively inexpensive, can be hauled on top of the SUV, and are great for fishing close to shore in shallow areas of rivers, lakes, ponds and marshes. When we were camping in Central Florida a few months ago, our neighbors bought a tandem (two-person) kayak that had foot pedals to propel it. We thought that was pretty nifty.

With research, though, we pretty much decided that a tandem kayak wasn't really good for fishing; it just wasn't big enough to accommodate two people as well as fishing gear. Single kayaks were another thing, however. Jim kept investigating them and remained keen on them. I wasn't so sure. The only way we would know if we would like kayaking was to try it out.

Along came a Living Social coupon offer: $20 (each) for a full-day's kayak rental at All-Wet Sports here in Jacksonville. It is located on Pottsberg Creek, which meanders for miles.

Both kayaks we rented were sit-on-top style. The "kayak master" had only one detachable seat available for rent; I got it. The seat provided some back support, but had no padding. Jim's kayak was a slightly different style. His seat had a mini-back, but no padding.

The kayak master suggested we turn left off the boat ramp into the creek to have a scenic paddle for about three miles. He said that within a couple hundred yards, we wouldn't hear any cars or see many signs of human habitation. He said we might see some manatees (we didn't), turtles (we did), and various birds (we spied some, including a couple of blue herons). We also saw thousands of hermit crabs scurrying for shelter as the tide went out.

Our adventure took us upstream, paddling against the tide. It was so quiet, it was hard to believe we were in the city not far from downtown. The water was clear although tannin-stained. We saw a couple of fish jump, but no schools or even solitary swimmers.

Paddling a kayak is not a difficult skill to learn; nevertheless, I got hung up a couple of times on sunken tree trunks and shallow water. All in all, we had a good time. When I looked at my cell phone (safely stored inside a clear dry bag), I was surprised at how fast the time had gone by. We had paddled for several hours.

We learned some things:

• Kayaking is hard work. I'm sure I will feel the effects of paddling tomorrow in my shoulders and arms.
• Kayaking is wet. I thought that by sitting on top of (rather than in) the kayak, I would remain dry. Not so. Water dripped off the oars, and within 20 minutes, my shorts were soaked.
• Going downstream is a lot easier than going upstream. Duh! Until we came to deeper water where the current wasn't felt, we did very little paddling going "home."
• Kayaking is not comfortable. At least not in the kayaks we rented. We left about 11:30 a.m. and returned about 2:15 p.m. Throughout that time we were sitting in the kayak. My feet hurt; my back hurt; and my butt hurt. If I were to buy a kayak, I would invest in some very comfortable seats with lots of padding. But that still wouldn't solve the problem of staying seated for a long period of time. It is not possible to stand up in the type of kayak we rented. 
• Kayaking is not how we want to fish. I want a comfortable seat and lots of room. I prefer not to get wet unless I deliberately choose to get wet. 

That last point is the most important probably. If we ever sell our house and buy one on some water, we might buy one or two kayaks just for fun. But we really don't want to fish from a kayak. Too much work to get to where you want to go and too much distraction to try to paddle and fish at the same time. 

I'm glad we had our little adventure, and I would probably do it again. It was fun; it was serene. 

But I think we will consider buying a small boat for fishing.

Before I close, a word about the pictures I did not take. I didn't want to take my cell phone out of its waterproof bag, but I was willing to risk harm to my inexpensive Kodak camera. I had put new batteries in the camera before we left home, but the camera malfunctioned and I did not get pictures of Jim paddling up the creek or of the blue heron sunning in a tree. I'll have to let you use your imagination to "see" those images.

Until next time,

Your Reluctant RoVer,

Linda

Fire!

August 3, 2014—It could happen to o you...to us...or to anyone.  It DID happen to Jim’s daughter-in-law.

Teresa was anticipating a great vacation with her two kids. (Marshall is working overseas.) They planned to drive up to Kentucky to spend some time with her family and enjoy the cooler weather in the Midwest. This was not the first time she has ventured out in the motorhome by herself; she has successfully driven it (and her Wrangler toad) several times.

For this trip, she stowed clothes, food, and gear into the motorhome; hitched up the Wrangler; gassed up both vehicles; checked all systems; put the cats and kids on board; and fired up the engine.

A few miles (literally) down the road, disaster happened. The Wrangler caught fire and the fire quickly spread to the motorhome. Both are total wrecks. Fortunately, everyone (including the cats) got out and no one was hurt.

Teresa reported that the fire department responded quickly, but not fast enough to save the vehicles. The Jeep, incidentally, was a new 2013. It didn’t have too many miles on it. The motorhome was a 2007 gas driven, 38-foot RV that slept six. It contained not only their clothes but all types of duplicate small appliances and kitchenware, such as mixer, rice cooker, pots and pans, storage equipment, etc.

Cause of the fire? Still unknown.

We had a similar (but far less devastating) incident the first time we towed our car. Jim had hooked up the car (our old HHR) in the RV storage lot and towed it about five miles. We were turning the corner on Beach Blvd. to Hodges (about two miles from our house), when someone yelled that we had lost a hubcap from the car. Jim pulled over and we discovered that the brakes had locked up and we had essentially dragged the car for about five miles. No fire, but we had to replace two tires and redo the master brakes and brake shoes, if I recall correctly. Not inexpensive, but at least we did not have a fire.

To make sure that never happens again, every time we hook up the car, after checking to make sure all the lights work properly, I watch the wheels turn as Jim pulls forward several yards. We’ve had no problems since that first time.

We are glad Teresa and the kids and cats are OK. In my opinion, she’s a brave lady even to drive the RV herself. Now she can add to that bravery as having survived an RV fire that could have been disastrous.

Until next time,

Your Reluctant Rover,
Linda