Visiting an RV Park and Catching up with my Sister in Florida

You have already read in a few posts back how we shortened our stay in Louisiana. I was glad we arrived in Florida when we did. It gave me an opportunity to spend some quality time with my sister, who was also visiting the Sunshine State.

During the time my sister and I caught up, we also relocated from Fore Lake Recreation Area in Ocala National Forest. Before doing so, we took a little side trip to visit an RV park.

We then headed in a southward direction from Ocala and west to Invernness on the western side of the state. A blogger friend invited us to spend a few days. After we got parked at their place, John and Angel stayed behind with the RV, while my sister and I took the opportunity to spend some quality time together.

The Pool, Then a Movie

It was warm enough to do exercises in the swimming pool and lay in the sun, yet it was cool enough that the pool was not crowded, so we had the pool to ourselves.

One afternoon, we saw the movie, "Hidden Figures". It was a great movie about three African-American black women pioneers who helped send America to space. These brilliant women were Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson. "Hidden Figures" is the true story behind these black women of NASA, who served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history -- the launch of John Glenn into orbit. It is far from being a dry, historical movie. It has warmth, is lively, and sometimes funny, as it tells the story of women whose brains and work ethic were indefatigable. This was a good movie and I would watch it again.


The Orlando Eye

The Orlando Eye is a giant 400 feet tall ferris wheel near Orlando, Florida. Since July 28, 2016, it has been known as the Coca-Cola Orlando Eye. It is the tallest observational wheel on the east coast of North America.  We saw it as the lights were coming on in the late afternoon, early evening.

The Eye

It was huge, interesting to look at, but neither of us had any desire to ride it. It is said to be the fifth tallest ferris wheel in the world, just 13 meters shy of the London Eye. It was definitely a beautiful site to see!

Pirate's Cove Adventure Golf

 I was able to snap this photo of Pirate's Cove, the original Adventure Golf, when we made a left turn off of International Drive after we had seen the Eye.

Pirates Cove, the original Adventure Golf

It was great catching up with my sister and spending time together. We also had fun taking some selfies! Before we knew it, she was scheduled to leave for home, and we were due to leave Invernness and move on.

Back to Fore Lake

We headed back to Fore Lake to use their dump station. They were not filled up, so it was convenient for us to spend a few more days at Fore Lake. The pull-thru site on the right of the main drive was a welcome site.

Pull-thru RV site at Fore Lake Recreation Area

We enjoyed a nice open area right outside our door. In the picture below, you can see the shadow of our RV and further to the right the picnic table and a fire pit. There was a nice sunny area by the picnic table where we enjoyed the sun in our big wide recliners.

Picnic Area at our site

One afternoon a bunch of historic airplanes did a fly-over. With all of the trees, it was hard to get a good photo because by the time you heard them in the air and determined which direction they were coming from, it was hard to find the open sky between the tree limbs and get them in focus. The clouds in the sky made a nice background, though, as I tried to get a plane flying over.

Beautiful sky where planes flew over

One morning we heard some unusual sounds. It was the sandhill cranes making the sounds.  On one of our walks, we saw them near the water.

The Sandhill Cranes are beautiful birds.

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Boondocking at Fore Lake in the Ocala National Forest

Fore Lake Recreation Area and Campground in the Ocala National Forest in Florida was fairly full when we arrived. The sites we would fit in were all occupied. Motor homes up to 35 feet were the largest they could accommodate. We were told to park in the overflow area, and they would let us know when a site in which we would fit became available. 

We pulled in to the overflow parking area, but did not unhook.

The campground host came knocking on our door as soon as a site opened up. It was only a short distance to walk over to look at it. From our rig in the overflow parking area, we walked to the next street, and turned left. The site was almost to the end of that street across from the restroom/shower building. New bathrooms with warm showers were built in 2004. After getting moved and settled in, we went to explore further.

Ocala National Forest Recreation Area at Fore Lake

Campsites at Fore Lake Recreation Area & Campground had their own parking spot, along with a grill, table, lantern post, and fire ring. All were surrounded with lush vegetation and graced with stately oaks and tall pines. Sites did not have electric. Water spigots were strategically placed throughout the campground, so it was convenient to refill water jugs. There was one dump station where people could refresh their holding tanks as needed.

Lush vegetation and turnouts for campsites

Palm tree in Ocala National Forest

Restroom and Changing Area for beach occupants

The foreground of the next photo as well as immediately across the street shows parking places for beach goers, boaters, and people picnicing. The building to the right has a restroom and changing area that can be entered from the sandy beach side. Through the tall trees, at ground level, you can see the lake. To see greater detail, click on the photo to enlarge it and hit escape to return to the blog.

Parking Area with facilities for people picnicking, boating, or swimming.

Swimming Beach

Facilities included a beautiful beach for swimming and picnic tables for picnics. Canoeing and kayaking seemed to be popular sports with many of the people who were camped here. Kayaks were plentiful throughout the campsites.

Swimming Beach

Alligators are present here. Bears have also been seen in this park. The trash receptacles are all bear proof. Pamphlets received at check in provided information campers must follow for their own safety.

Alligators are present.

Other Scenes on our Walk with Angel

Angel loved walking. We took at least three walks a day around the campground...morning, noon, and evening before the bugs came out.

Walking with Angel

On one of our walks, and this is in February, I spotted a robin and was able to use the zoom on my camera to get this photo. Remember you can click on any photo to enlarge it. You can view the robin at the far side of the white sandy area. Then hit escape to return to my blog.

Robin at far edge of white sandy area

A picnic pavillion was located just to the left of the swimming beach for groups to hold picnics in the National Forest.

Picnic Pavillion

Appearing in the shade of the picnic pavillion roof, I spied this work of art ... a spider's web.

A spider's web in the shade of the roof of the picnic pavillion 

Camping in National Forests .... 

While traveling full time, we have stayed in only a handful of National Forests across the USA. Besides our own experiences, we have gained information from blogs written by others, as well as online research.  Research is essential. People, we have found, are always willing to share information, but depending on their knowledge and experience may still lack pertinent information to paint a clear picture of what to expect.

Speaking from our own experiences boondocking in the National Forests, here are some things we have learned.

.....Free or Not Free? 

Some National Forests have no organized campsites. Those we simply entered by finding the turnoff for the forest road. Following the forest roads then led to finding places where people could pull off to clearings where they could boondock. Our experience has been that these boondocking sites are free.

We had to pay for camping in a National Forest with organized campsites for boondocking (with no hookups). It was a recreation site with other amenities and a camp host on site. The fees were half price with our senior pass.

.....Stay Limit ?

The stay limit was fourteen days, but was handled differently, depending on where we were.

In some instances, rangers came around, sometimes at night, and recorded our license plate number. They enforced the fourteen-day stay, including making sure people did not return for fourteen days.  If found in violation, we heard that tickets were issued with hefty fines.

In another instance, we boondocked in a National Forest where signs were posted saying the limit was fourteen days. Rangers would wave at us and we at them every time they passed on the forest road. There was evidence of rangers having to clean up trash left at campsites by people who came for long weekends. We were told by other campers who talked with the rangers that as long as the forest did not get busy, they would not bother us as long as we took care of our site.

In another instance, our stay was limited to fourteen days out of thirty.

It is best to do your research to get or verify answers to your questions, so you know what to expect when you arrive. Ignorance of the rules is no excuse.

Next Post

In my next post, my sister and I get to spend some time together, while we are both in Florida. Also, come back to read about our next boondocking spot. Please put your email in the box at the top right of this blog, if you would like to be notified when it posts. You will need to go to your email and click on a link to confirm that you want to be notified.

Thank you for following my blog. You are welcome to leave comments in the section below if you are so inclined.

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Reeves, Louisiana, thru Mississippi and Alabama into Florida

After leaving our friends' place near Reeves, Louisiana, we headed northeast on Highway 165 to Alexandria. We stopped at the south edge of Alexandria to refresh our tanks at the Alexander Forest WMA. They had a very nice camping area there, but since we were not camping, they let us refresh our holding tanks at no charge. Then we continued northeast on Highway 28, which connected with Highway 84 just before we got to Jonesville.

Eastward to Natchez, Mississippi

The bridge in the photos below is where we crossed the Mississippi River to enter Natchez.

Bridge over Mississippi River to Natchez, Mississippi

Crossing the Mississippi River at Natchez, MS

Welcome to Mississippi

Our overnight stop was at the Brookhaven, Mississippi, Walmart. As usual, this gave us an opportunity to get a few needed supplies while we were there.

Sunset photo from Walmart parking lot at Brookhaven, Mississippi

Our drive through Mississippi was mostly on good divided highway through areas with trees on both sides. It was a pleasant drive with minimal traffic.
 

Typical scene on our drive through Mississippi

Alabama State Line

Within 25 miles after crossing the Alabama State Line, traveling east on Highway 84, near Coffeeville, we came upon a big bridge. Turns out, it was the Jim Folsom Bridge which was named for a man who was twice Governor of the State of Alabama. This big bridge is over the Tombigbee River on the Choctaw-Clark County Line near Coffeeville. It was built in 1958 as a part of the Alabama Bureau of Bridges Big Bridge Building Program, and is steel Warren thru-Truss.

Map view of Hwy 84 and Tombigbee River near Coffeeville, AL

Approach to the Jim Folsom Bridge

View exiting Jim Folsom Bridge

The Walmart in Andalusia, Alabama, was our overnight stop. The next day, we continued on to the east side of the loop around Opp, AL, and took Highway 52 to Samson, AL. We then headed south on Highway 87 into Florida.

Florida at last!

The last time we were in Florida was November of 1993! Soon after entering Florida, we headed east on Highway 2 over to Highway 231 to the Florida Welcome Center.

Our RV and trailer in the parking lot behind the Florida Welcome Center.

Florida Highway 231 Welcome Center

The Florida Welcome Center offered a fresh glass of orange or grapefruit juice, which was very refreshing. We then looked around and gathered a limited amount of brochures of things to see and do while in Florida. From there we continued south on Highway 231 to the east side of Panama City, where we  stayed overnight in the Walmart parking lot.

Sightseeing

Our priority the next morning was to do some sightseeing before we got to our eastern destination in the Ocala area. We got on Highway 98 and followed the coast past Port St. Joe. This was also the first time in many years that we had seen the Gulf of Mexico.

Before getting to Appalachiacola, we turned off on State Road 30A. We just wanted to see where it went! It took us to Cape San Blas and the end of the road, past St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge. The area was mostly residential set among beautiful Southern Pine forest and beaches with many expensive homes and resorts.

A St. Vincent Island NWR map at Cape San Blas, FL.

Just a reminder that you can click on any photo to enlarge it, and escape to return to the blog.

Signs at end of road, Cape San Blas, FL.

Boat landing and ferry dock to St. Vincent NWR

Causeway approach, highway 98, Eastpoint, FL

Crossing the causeway toward Eastpoint, FL

Highway 98 along the shoreline afforded a beautiful view of the Gulf. Highway 98 parallels the Gulf and makes a beautiful drive from Panama City to the little town of Medart at the eastern edge of the Appalachiacola National Forest.

Highway 98 and a beautiful view of the Gulf

This took us to Carabelle, Florida, with great views of the beach. 

The above photos are looking left, straight ahead, and right at the Gulf. It felt really nice after 24 years to set foot on the soft, warm sand of a gulf beach. Below, I panned around to the right along the street to the picnic areas with overhead shade.

Still panning to the right, this is the picnic area along the street

Still panning, a little further to the right, I found Angel sitting in the driver's seat of our RV looking out the front window. On the other side of the street is a view of an RV Park at Carabelle. 

Angel in the driver's seat of the RV

 After Carabelle, we took a little detour through Appalachiacola National Forest on Highway 319 and then back to Highway 98 again.  The Perry, Florida, Walmart was the site of our overnight stop. We continued south on Alternate 27 the next day to Ocala.

We were going to stay overnight at either a Walmart or a Sam's Club. As we got closer, traffic was horrible. When we got there, we discovered they had changed their rules and did not allow overnight parking. Designated spaces for RVs to park while shopping were at the far end of their parking lot, which had a lot of curbs and made the spaces way too tight for comfort. I did make us a quick sandwich while John checked parking information on his Smartphone. Our best option was to head for Ocala National Forest and hope they had a camping spot available. 

Thank you for following this RV Full-Time Living and Traveling adventure. Feel free to make comments in the section below. 

In the next post I will show you our next camping spot and talk about differences we experienced in National Forests as we traveled across the land.

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Visiting Louisiana ... Part 2

It was nice and quiet parked in the clearing by the tall trees at our friends place. It was early February. Some things were green. Other things were still dormant, but by the time we would leave, many signs for the new Spring season were beginning to come to life. It was so peaceful. Angel and I took walks every day.

We were parked in a clearing by the tall trees.

We needed to make repairs for items that I mentioned as they happened enroute. The first order of business was figuring out why the propane repair failed. Until this was fixed, I had to run back and forth between the RV and the trailer, to get food to fix for meals and put leftovers away after our meal was done.

The double door refrigerator we have in the trailer is 3.1 cu. feet. It was a lifesaver. The freezer compartment was large enough to hold everything from the freezer in the RV refrigerator. Everything else fit in the refrigerator section. We got our black two-door compact refrigerator from Walmart. We have been so thankful that we selected this two-door model.  Several things sold us on this particular model. First of all, it had two doors, the freezer will hold a gallon of ice cream, and the amount of room it has for its compact size. We used it constantly for the first seven months that we lived in the trailer. Since then, we have relied on it twice for emergency use until we could get propane leaks repaired.

First on our Agenda was Finding the Propane Leak 

The first chance they had, the guys drove the back right side of the RV up on blocks so John could get under it to have a look. It actually turned out to be an easy fix. The flare nut that the dealer had put on the line to fix the leak was not tight and all of the propane leaked out. We can only surmise that the employee only tightened it with his fingers instead of using a wrench to make sure it would not loosen up. That is why we ended up losing a whole tank of propane. If that wasn't bad enough, the cost to refill the propane tank was $3.89 per gallon, the most we have ever paid anywhere for propane, but I guess that is what one can expect to pay at a small one-stop convenience store where there is no other competition.

Finding a Garage That Could Do the RV Brakes was next

We called Reliable Tire and Auto in a nearby town to see if they could do a brake job on our P130 chassis motorhome. They said they could. We drove it over to their shop so they could take a tire off to make sure they ordered the correct parts for our rig.

Instead of taking a tire off and looking so they would know what to order, we could hear them walking around our rig, discussing back and forth what kind of front brakes we had, even including whether we had dual wheels on the back. It was frustrating to listen because their conversation did not give us any confidence in what they were about to order. However, they assured us that they had the parts on order and could do the job the next day.

The next morning we made another trip to their shop, and they had us drive inside. After they took one wheel off and started the job, they realized they had ordered the wrong parts. Then they wanted to put the new brake pads on even though they did not have the other parts, but we told them not to because we did not want bad impressions on the pads. (Needless to say, those were two extremely frustrating days!) Now the tire was off and they could see exactly what to order.

So two days later, we made a third trip to their shop at the appointed time. This time, instead of having us drive inside, another vehicle was inside, and they parked us on the outside. There was a doorway between the front of the rig inside and the front of our rig on the outside. It made me think that they were already booked up that day, but needed to work us in, after they screwed up ordering the wrong parts. They finally had the correct parts, and completed the job. We were on our way with new rotors and pads. It was not a job we were totally happy with, but our brakes were metal to metal and we needed brakes.

The job was done; we had new brakes, brakes that squealed like a banshee all the way to Florida when the brakes were  applied! That is, unless we coasted to a stop. And they still do, to this day, even after arriving in Florida! In addition, we have noticed that the dust cover is missing. I have to wonder if they actually took the time to clean off all of the residue before putting on the new parts. I'm no mechanic, but it is frustrating, especially after paying $739.54 to get the job done. The other thing that I wonder about is who did the work; were they the most knowledgeable person performing the work, or was someone else walking them through the procedure. After all, they did not have the right parts for the day they set the appointment, and they were so busy the day they had us come back, that they parked our rig outside to do the work because another vehicle was on the inside bay. The picture this paints is perhaps worth more than a thousand words, if you get my drift.

Repairs to the Trailer 

Repairs were needed to re-secure the brackets for the solar panels mounted to the top of the trailer. The brackets had weakened due to the constant vibration of bouncing over uneven pavement as we drove down the road. This required removing the brackets so they could be taken to a nearby welder, who welded all four for only $25.

Ratchet strap kept things taut until brackets were re-installed.

Brackets at all four corners were welded and reattached. 

Then John fabricated an angle to attach at a 45-degree angle to the sides and upper portions on all four corners of the assembly to stabilize everything and keep the brackets from weakening from the  continual bouncing over every little bump in the road.

It was a relief to finally get all of the repairs made.


More Fun!

In between getting repairs made, we enjoyed going with our friends and seeing different places in the area. We stopped at Lowes to get some bolts for the trailer repairs. We visited a casino north of Kinder. Although tempted, we did not play any of the machines. We listened to the machines in the room, but did not hear enough winning action to want to get involved. One evening we returned to the casino and were entertained by a somewhat untamed, very energetic Mustang Sally Band. We also enjoyed a chicken dinner from Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen. Seeing the different countryside as we travel across the country is relaxing as we see how local areas offer a variety of interesting sights. 

One day the ladies decided to gad about. Being so far behind on my blog, not to mention thinking about spending in excess of a thousand dollars in one month for repairs since leaving Ehrenberg, as well as driving a gas vehicle that gets 7.6 miles per gallon maximum to get to Florida, I decided to stay behind and do some much needed writing. It was a good time for me to set it all aside and lose myself while reliving our adventure in my blog post and do some more catching up. We had no internet signal without driving to a nearby location, but getting on the computer and catching up with writing more posts was time well spent. I would add photos and post later when it was easier to get on the internet. The ladies came home with this beautiful doll they found for the right price at a thrift shop.

30-inch doll found at a thrift shop

It was another great day! That's one thing about full-timing. What's not to love about this lifestyle? Reminds me of a song... The stars belong to everyone -- The best things in life are free -- I could go on and on, but sometimes the most memorable adventures are just that!

Incidentally, one of the most beautiful night time scenes that I have experienced is waking up at night, reaching above my head to pull the blind away from the window and looking up into the nighttime sky to see if the stars are out. When they are out, they look amazing! They also appear much larger than earlier in the evening. Several times, I have been tempted to get up and go outside to see if they are really larger, or is the angle I view them through the window creating an optical illusion. 

Playing it by Ear

As to how long we would stay, we were playing it by ear. At first we thought we might stay a month. A Mardi Gras celebration was scheduled for the end of February, and it would have been nice to attend this gala affair. Then John discovered Ed Helvey, a blogger who had boondocked at our house for a week before we picked up stakes, was enroute to Texas. When he learned how close we were to where he was headed, he stopped to boondock for a few days, so we could all catch up.

Then the unthinkable happened...

We needed to dump our holding tanks, and when John took the sewer cap off at ground level, it was full right up to the rim. There was no more room. We waited a day, but the level had not changed. After further investigation on dump stations that would be on our route, we decided to go ahead and head out. We would find a place with a dump station as we headed northeast.

It was time to get on the road again. We thanked our friends for their hospitality and bid them good-by. Ed left the day before. Our friends had family arriving later that month to go to Mardi Gras and see other things in the area. Leaving when we did turned out for the best, for me and my sis, as I will write about later.

In my next post we will cross the Mississippi River, our first time to cross at Natchez, Mississippi. From there, we travel across Alabama into Florida. Please put your email in the box at the top right of this blog if you would like to be notified when it posts. You will need to go to your email and click on a link to confirm that you want to be notified.

Thank you for following my blog. You are welcome to leave comments in the section below if you are so inclined.

Also, thank you for clicking/purchasing through links you find on my blogs, even if you buy something totally different than you first clicked on. There is no extra cost when you do, and we might make a small commission, which helps with travel expenses to keep this blog alive.