Day 75, March 14, 2016 Home Sweet Home

As we expected we did not get much sleep because of the noisy truck next to us. There was nowhere else to go so we stayed put and dealt with the noise. 

Needless to say we got up feeling pretty lousy and still had another 350 miles to home. It was raining steadily but did clear up after Noon. 

We had a fairly trip uneventful until we got to Taunton. We were on route 44 and had just gone through the lights by the road into Taunton High School. It is where the road is two lanes then narrows to one lane. Of course there were the usual people who had to zip by on the passenger side to get in front of you. I was watching for those trying to pass us on the right and let Ron know when someone was making a move. We had made it into the single lane when this woman decided she was going to drive in the same lane. I told Ron to stop - he did-  but the stupid woman kept on driving. We thought she  had cleared our MH but not so much.

No Damage 

When we got home we noticed a large scrape on the fender of the MH with tan paint from her car. What an idiot!!!! So now we have to get the fender repaired. 

So,  we drove over 3000 miles without incident and one mile from home a dumb woman sideswipes us. UUGH!

We were surprised to see remnants of  snow on our roof. 

Yes, that is snow despite the warm weather that has been happening here. Also there must have been quite the wind storm because when Ron took Jewel for her walk he couldn't believe there were so many broken limbs and fallen trees in our back yard.

The storm certainly made a big mess and we're happy that no trees hit our house.

Home Again!

Day 74 - March 13, 2016 Driving home stopping at Mountain Top Rest Area, Pennsylvania

When we left at 9 am there were  overcast skies and rain predicted later in the day. Once again we ran into a ton of traffic but still managed to drive over 400 miles.

We stopped for  the night at the Mountain Top rest area in PA at 6 pm.The rest area 38 miles back was full but we managed to get the one remaining spot at Mountain Top.

We were parked next to a truck with a cooler on the back and the refrigeration unit  ran all night. It was really noisy so we didn't think we would get much sleep. We have decided that we aren't crazy about rest areas but in the northeast there are no CG's open! We should be home by tomorrow afternoon and hopefully the weather won't get any worse then it is.

Day 73 - March 12, 2016 The RV Resort at Carolina Crossroads, Roanoke Rapids, South Carolina

It was an uneventful travel day. Always a good thing. We actually made pretty good time despite the traffic. Ron drove around 350 miles. Jewel was not happy because every time we stopped for a break she thought we were done for the day. By the third stop she was done and was very unhappy. 

One of Her Unhappy poses

We have stayed at this CG before and it is the polar opposite of the place we stayed last night. Truly a resort without the resort fee! LOL The grounds are beautiful maintained as are the fairly large sites.

Site  # 013

After dinner we settled in for the night. It is the second night in a row we had to use our air conditioner - never had to use it in Florida!

Will be moving on tomorrow and plan to be home by late Monday or early Tuesday.

Day 72 - The Oaks at Point South - Yemassee, SC

Day 72 - March 11, 2016

Before leaving we took one last trek to the ocean to enjoy the view. 

Morning Sunshine

Jewel was very calm this morning despite knowing all the cues indicating we were leaving. Usually she is all hyper and shaking because she hates to  ride. We think she has an internal compass and knows we are heading home. 

Here she is - super relaxed. Who is this dog! LOL

We will be taking our time heading home. Ron has had an ear ache for the last few days and I now have one also as well and a sore throat and body aches. UGGH!

The drive was unreal with stop and go traffic along I-95 for no apparent reason. We have traveled this route more times then I can count and have never run into this type of  traffic before. Very unusual. 

Ron had done research before leaving and found a Passport America (1/2 price) CG for us to stop over tonight. It is an Encore/Thousand Trails CG . We have stayed at one of these before so figured it was an OK place. Thousand Trails and Encore is a huge organization and people pay a big fee to join.

We arrived around 4:30 pm only to find that the place was a little scary. The roads were being graded which was OK but the sites in deplorable condition. After a very long check-in process we were told by the woman at the desk to go and pick a site and let her know which one we wanted. 

We drove around and weren't sure if we would get a site that wasn't deep in mud. We picked the site that looked fairly dry.

Site 24

Most of the sites looked like the one below.

Other people who were passing through were coming only to run into the same problem. Trying to find a dry site they wouldn't get bogged down in.  

The one thing Ron didn't do was check on RV reviews to get input. We checked after we were settled in and the reviews were pretty bad and people said they would never return here. The real joke here is that we were charged a "resort fee" along with the camping fee. Resort it is not!

Ron took Jewel out to the pond but was afraid to walk over the bridge that was falling apart. 

For such a large organization Thousand Trails/Encore does not take care of their properties. Cannot believe people pay a huge fee to be a member. The Thousand Trails we stayed at in Yosemite was better but not by much.

Ron said that this wasn't much better then staying at Wal Mart. What can you expect from a "resort" for $26.00 per night! LOL

Day 71 - March 10, 2016 Bryn Mawr Beach Reosrt

Day 71    March 10, 2016

We had intended on going back into St. Augustine and take in more of the city and what it has to offer. Instead we stayed at the CG and enjoyed our last day here at the beach. The wind has picked up as has the humidity.

Out on the beach we thought we would be blown away. The wind has been quite strong and cool. Not many people on the beach today. 

Just a few people on the beach today

Rough Water

It has been nice here and we are always glad that we make it a point to stop for a day or two. 

Day 70 - March 9, 2016 Bryn Mawr Ocean Resort - Trolley Ride around St. Augustine

Day 70 - March 9, 2016

We have been to this CG several times but it is usually on our way out not on our way home when it is very cool to cold here. We have been to the lighthouse and fort but have never done a trolley tour. Today we decided to go into town and take the Old Town Trolley Tour. 


St. Augustine is a very pretty city with some great architecture and history.  

At one trolley stop we had a furry friend join us for the ride! He was mildly crushed between his owner and another tourist. LOL

We decided to do the entire tour first  and then get off and explore. 

We took the tour of St. Augustine Distillery where they make craft bourbon, gin and rum. 

The building was once an old ice plant and was saved from destruction by the people of St. Augustine who came together to help finance the conversion from ice plant to distillery. 

Original Tiles

At the end of the tour we were all treated to a sample of  the craft rum, gin and bourbon. Very good - even for non-drinkers.

We later stopped at the Shrine of Our Lady of Le Leche.

There were bikers everywhere and it was getting very noisy. It was difficult  to here the narrator at times due to the loud motorcycles. 

Motorcycles Everywhere!

We had been touring for around four hours and decided it was time to call it a day. There was more to see but everything closes at 4:30 pm so we were running out of time. 

One of the many beautifully restored homes

The building that houses Ripley's Believe it or Not is quite spectaculr!

We headed back to the CG around 4:15 pm and the traffic was unreal. We were almost hit by a truck that wanted to be in our space  on the road and didn't see us. Amazingly he stopped before hitting us and there was no horn honking or words spoken. Ron is cool like that!

We rode back over the Bridge of Lyons to get back to route a1a. 

It was an interesting day and we will be returning on our next visit to check out more of the city. 

Back at the CG we went to the beach for a very nice walk. It was late and there were just a few people on the beach so we let Jewel run free for a few minutes, She loves to run and had the beach to herself. 

Another nice day here in St. Augustine! 

Day 69 - March 8, 2016 - Bryn Mawr Resort - St. Augustine, Florida

March 8, 2016

We left Little Manatee River State Park around 10 am arriving at Bryan Mawr Resort in St. Augustine by 1:30 pm. 

Site 105

We were not able to secure a site on the ocean because the resort was full due to the fact it is "Bike Week" here. Bike Week used to be held in Myrtle Beach but has been banned from there so in now held in Daytona.  There are thousands of bikers in the area and many here at the CG. In fact, we had to pay an additional ten dollars a night for our site because of "Bike Week."

It was a glorious day and the beach was waiting for us.

Jewel loves it here because she is allowed on the beach. 

We sat outside for the early part of the evening and then took another walk on the beach. It was a very relaxing day.

Day 66, 67, & 68 - March 5th, 6th & 7th Long Point Park, Melbourne Beach Florida

Days 66, 67 & 68

We have had a really nice three days here with bright sunshine and temps in the low 70's. However, the nights have been cool and great for sleeping.

We have been enjoying the wild life here and taking a lot of walks around the island. We did try to secure a couple of more days here but no luck so will be moving on March 8th.

 I made reservations at the Bryn Mawr Resort in St. Augustine. We stay there every time we come to or leave Florida. It is one of our favorite CG's because it is right on the ocean. 

Unfortunately we were not able to get an ocean front site this time bu that is OK. We will be slowly working our way back up the coast to home. 

Day 65 - March 4, 2016 Long Point Park Melbourne Beach, Florida

The day started out quite beautiful. After breakfast we took Jewel for a walk and then sat outside watching the wildlife.  Once again we had a visitor. The egret came up to our campsite and looked us over for quite some time. Jewel didn't know what was going on but she was good and did not chase the bird. 

Egret

Ron found out they don't like pretzels! LOL 

Later our neighbors came out to go for a kayak ride with their dog.

Their dog is  twelve years old and loves the water. We can't get Jewel near the water! LOL She runs the other way. 

After lunch we took a ride to the beach to get our  ocean fix. The wind had been non-existent in the morning but picked up just as we were heading to the beach. When we arrived it was a full gale wind and people were chasing their umbrellas down the beach and across the dunes. 

Windy!

We stayed at the ocean for about 30 minutes and finally gave into the wind and dropping temperatures  and went back to the CG. When we arrived our neighbor was pulling in his awning and chasing down some of his lawn furniture. 

The wind didn't really die down for several hours. After dinner we put on long pants and jackets to take Jewel for a walk.

We were happy to get to see the dolphins swimming past and Ron was able to capture at least one good picture. 

The dolphins and the pelicans appeared to be playing together. So cool!

As we were walking we saw a group of people in the middle of the road looking up toward the sky. How lucky are we - they had just launched the Space X Falcon 9 Rocket and we got to see it's ascent.

Then we saw the rocket boosters break away.

What great timing. We don't usually take Jewel out until  later in the evening but decided to go at that time. We have always wanted to see a launch but were never here at the right time. 

Another great day here at Long Point park!

Day 64 - March 3, 2016 Long Point Park , Sebastian Inlet, Melbourne Beach Florida

Despite this park being full to capacity it is very quiet and we got a great sleep. We woke to sunshine and clear skies. 

It is so nice to get up to the sound of the water lapping on the shore and chirping of the birds. It is quite the bird sanctuary here and we had some fine feathered visitors. 

We took several walks around the campground. It is actually a small island with 170 camp sites. 113 sites are on the perimeter and face the water. There are huge green spaces in the middle that have not been set up for sites making it very park like and less crowded. 

We took a walk over the bridge to Scout Island where they have group camping available. There are lots of birds along the river making themselves comfortable on the railings.

Every site is full and we enjoyed seeing some of the older unique trailers. There are a lot of people here that have not moved past the 60's and still adhere to the "Flower Power" generation.

The people in this cute camper still dressed in sixties attire and were quite interesting. 

Back at out site we sat and enjoyed the views and good weather. 

We spent a good deal of time  talking  to our neighbors and enjoying their company. It was a great day and  we are looking forward to more of the same.