No Epcot This Year

What a beautiful few days we've had! We finally found our warm air.

But we didn't make it to Epcot. It might have been a good idea to find out what the ticket prices were before we planned to go there. Disney now charges about $120 per person to walk around their Epcot Center. There are no senior discounts. It is my opinion, mostly because I am now a senior citizen, that every theme park, amusement park, zoo, museum, or other such place, should offer at least a 20% discount for senior citizens, primarily because seniors have at least 20% less energy than their younger counterparts. We don't show up right when they open and stay until they close. We usually spend about half a day there. A fifty percent discount would be even better, but I'll settle for twenty. Who can I talk to to make this happen??

Anyway, Epcot was just too pricey for us, so we decided to walk up to the swimming pool and hang out there instead. And just in time, too. Because not too long after we returned home, it started to rain, and rained most of the afternoon.

We spent three days in Kissimmee at the Sherwood Forest Resort, once we found it, that is. For whatever reason, our GPS sent us the wrong way into a construction site on the other side of the highway from where we should have been. Once we realized the mistake, there was not enough room for a U-turn, so Mark had to disconnect the car in order to back up the rig and get it turned around. But we found our way again without any more trouble and settled into our assigned spot on Friar Tuck Street.

Sherwood Forest is a big park, with RVs, park models, and cabins... more or less like a regular neighborhood. Even in these big parks,  sometimes the amenities aren't that great though. Pretty much the only amenity we ever really care about is the swimming pool and the hot tubs. Here, the hot tub left a lot to be desired. The water was hot, but it didn't look very clean, and the jets were barely working. Overall, we weren't very impressed with this park and will probably not visit again unless we win the lottery and decide to go back to Disney World sometime in the future.

From there we drove over to the coast to spend four days at the Space Coast RV Park (another Encore park) in the little town of Rockledge, near Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral. We like this park a lot. It's smaller, but we got a very nice spot, easy to pull into and close to the pool and laundry. The pool is smaller, but it's heated, which always makes me happy. There's no hot tub at all, but with all this beautiful warm weather, and a heated swimming pool, I don't think I'll miss it.

While we're here, we plan to do some sight-seeing, visit some of the beaches, and check out the Kennedy Space Center. They have a senior discount.

Our misadventure of the day.

We're here! Umm...no we're not.

Chasing Warm

In spite of our great hopes to spend a few nights in one of those right-on-the-beach, free (or cheap) state parks, it wasn't to be, this time around anyway. Call us cowards, but we didn't want to chance getting to the notoriously wonderful Galveston Strand only to find no spots available. So instead, we called around to a few affordable parks in close proximity to a beach in close proximity to Galveston...and we found Quintana Beach County Park near Freeport, TX. There we planted ourselves long enough to file our tax return with the local H&R Block.


To our disappointment, with the exception of the day we arrived, the weather was in the 60s throughout our entire stay. I expect the locals were loving it, but I was hoping for temps in the 70s at least. Still, we spent a little time on the beach...such as it was. As long as we looked at the sea and not the land, the scenery was beautiful.

While we were "unpacking" the coach and putting out the slides, I happened to notice something I'd never noticed before-- water stains on the back corner ceiling of the bedroom! Not good. They were old enough to be dry, but ceiling water stains are always bad news. Mark immediately investigated, and discovered that the back cap of the coach had separated just under the roof overhang. When did THAT happen?! we wondered. And since we had just had the back cap repaired at Alfateers, Mark got on the phone, called them, and left a message. Within the hour, the owner, John, called him back and made arrangements with us to get a mobile repair service out to make the repairs at Alfateers' expense. By the next day, the repairs were made and our minds put at ease about future rainy days. Alfateers definitely stands by its work!

Apparently we must be craving another cruise, because the only thing we seem to be able to think about these days is warm weather and beaches!  From Quintana, Texas, we bee-lined to Pensacola, Florida, where we expected to find a nice warm beach.

We intended to stop overnight at a Walmart near Lafayette, but none of them were allowing overnight campers. In our search for a sleep spot, we discovered the Louisiana "Welcome Center" just past Lake Henderson on I-10. This place was wonderful! They not only allow overnight stays, but they actually welcome them. There were abundant spaces for both RVs and trucks, each with a separate area, and they also provided onsite security from dusk until dawn. We got a good night's rest, and took off for Pensacola early on Saturday.

The park we booked in Pensacola was not near the beach, but our stay was short and it was cool and rainy through the weekend, so it didn't really matter. We did take a drive along the Pensacola Beach Strand on Monday, the last day of our stay, stopping to sit for a while on the sand and enjoy the sounds of the ocean.

Sometime between getting our oil changed and arriving in Quintana, Mark noticed a nasty spattering of black oil all over the front of the car. Anchia's Fleet Care, the folks that changed our oil in Houston, must have overfilled the oil reservoir, because oil was spraying out of the engine as we drove down the road. Mark found a CAT service center close by and we stopped on our way out of Pensacola to have them check it and, if necessary, pump out the excess oil. It turns out our oil reservoir is only four gallons, as opposed to the eight gallon reservoir in most trucks. Anchia's failed to check that little detail and put in TWICE the oil they should have! This experience has reinforced with us the importance, the necessity really, of taking our rig to a CAT service center for everything engine related. Next time we'll know better. By late morning we were on our way again.

It seems the Walmarts in Florida have decided to say "No" to overnight camping courtesies for RVs and truckers. The trip to Gainesville was too long to make comfortably in one day, so we would need one dry-camping stop. Since Walmart was not an option, we decided to stop at every rest area until we found one without a "No Overnight Parking" sign-- a few of which we'd already taken note of along the way. To our relief (as we were both very tired by this time), the very next one fit the bill and we found a spot where we could put down our jacks and open both our slides. In the end this turned out to be a much better option.

Next morning, before we'd gone a mile down the road, we were being pulled over by the Florida Highway Patrol! "Is everything okay?" he asked. "Yes, why?" I responded. He proceeded to inform us that one of our basement bay doors was wide open. Mark had forgotten to latch the door to the battery compartment, and it had sprung open without our knowing. Now, what are the chances that a highway patrol car would be right there just as we were getting on the freeway... and actually notice that open door??? God really is good to us.

We've had three wonderful days in Gainesville with Paul, Amy, and Lee, visiting, catching up, and reminiscing. Lee has turned into an amazingly good cook and prepared two absolutely delicious meals for us. At the end of April we'll be back, but tomorrow we begin our month-long tour of Florida.

I'm very much hoping to find warm air soon. I know it's only March, but this IS Florida, after all ...and I was led to believe there would be warm air.

Rest Break in Central Texas

I'm sitting at my kitchen table, in Columbus, TX, gazing out at green grass, an overcast sky, and trees just beginning to green up. It reminds me very much of Minnesota in April... or May. We've been in central Texas for the past five days, following a grueling three-day travel spurt from Mesa, AZ.

When we made our travel plan, we decided we would push hard the first couple days out of Arizona and then stop for a few days to rest. We reasoned that since we would be "camping" at a Walmart, from which we generally get an early start in the morning, that we could cover more ground-- say, 350 miles or so each day. To you road-trip junkies, that probably sounds like nothing. And in my younger days, when the family and I routinely made trips from Idaho to California in three days, 350 miles would have seemed like poking along. But now, 350-mile days just make me tired and cranky. At the end of the day my body hurts, I have trouble smiling, and I generally feel like I've been tortured. Of course, Mark is totally unaffected (not!) After a short conversation about it, we have decided that even when we plan to dry-camp at a Walmart or truck stop, we will keep the miles to something around 250 and take longer rest breaks... for sanity's sake (not to mention marital health).

A view from our window out to Lake Medina

Our first resting stop was at a little off-the-beaten-path Thousand Trails park on Medina Lake, just east of San Antonio. Getting there reminded me of dreams I have of driving down wide roads that get progressively narrower until my car is impossibly wedged between two cement walls or dirt barriers. Fortunately, we made it to the park without encountering any wedging problems. (Nightmare averted.) The campground was not fabulous; it had no full hookup sites (at least none available), and only 30 amp power, but it was good enough for resting. We found a spot right by the lake and had very few neighbors for most of our three-day stay. The highlight of this campground was its deer population. At dusk, they would wander through the campground--on either side of our coach-- munching grass, dancing, and playing, on their way down to the lake for their evening drink, completely unafraid of the resident humans. The herd had to number somewhere between forty and fifty, with at least two bucks that we could identify. It was a delightful experience. I wanted to include a video I took of the deer, but sadly the file was too large for the blog size limit.

The gravel is where RVs used to park before the ground
gave way.

We arrived in Columbus on Saturday. The campground sits on the edge of the Colorado River. As a matter of fact, some of it sits IN the Colorado River, due to some serious erosion that was caused by the hurricane that wreaked havoc last year on Houston and the surrounding areas. It's a smallish park, and all of it's 50 amp full hookup sites were filled up, so we ended up again in a 30 amp site with no sewer. The sewer hookup isn't much of a problem for two or three days because our tanks will handle us that long and we just dump at the campground's dump station on the way out. It's the power that can make things a bit difficult. For instance, we can't run our basement air conditioner or heater on 30 amp power. On cold days, we can use the gas furnace, but on hot days like yesterday, we have to rely on the smaller rooftop cooler, which doesn't really reach back into the bedroom very well. The nights are still cool, though, and we slept with open windows.

Today I learned a little bit more about what it means to plug into 30 amp power when your rig is designed for 50 amp. You can't run the washing machine, the water heater, and the frig while simultaneously trying to bake something in the convection oven. About five minutes into baking muffins in my electric oven, it suddenly lost power. "The oven shut off!" I barked at Mark. "Do something!" While he hurried outside to "do something," I went around shutting off all things electric and switching over to propane all the appliances that can run on either propane or electric. In moments he had my oven working again. We'd blown the breaker. Thankfully, the muffins turned out fine in spite of their little ordeal. It looks like I still have a few things yet to learn about this lifestyle.

Tomorrow morning, we're heading for Galveston Island with a short stop in Houston for an oil change...one of those little inconveniences of living in your vehicle. Hopefully it will go smoothly and quickly.

Deer at Medina Lake campground.

Enjoying Mesa, AZ

At Roosevelt Dam

Because of our last-minute booking, we were unable to find any available spots in Sun City, which was where Mark initially wanted to stop. Sun City is closer to his niece, Becky, who visited us while we were here. Instead we ended up on the other side of Phoenix in Mesa. Though it worked out to be a little bit of a drive for Becky and her husband Ty (sorry), we ended up in a beautiful Encore park-- Viewpoint RV (and Golf) Resort. We paid a little upcharge to stay there, but it was totally worth it. This park is going on our "Must Revisit" list. It is clean, quiet, and well-kept. And each site has a citrus tree. We were invited to pick as many oranges as we wanted! And we did. We're still munching on them.

Viewpoint has a wide range of amenities, including a nice restaurant just outside the gate, at least two large pools with hot tubs, and several pickle-ball courts...not to mention the golf course and golf proshop (which I usually don't mention). Neither Mark nor I have any idea what pickle-ball is, but it looks like a cross between tennis and ping pong.

We arrived at the park last Wednesday, and spent Thursday catching up on laundry and checking out the pool. Friday morning, Becky and Ty came by and visited for a few hours. For a "blogger," I don't do a very good job with pictures, and regret to admit that I didn't take a single picture of Becky's visit. Apologies are in order. (I will try to get better at this.)

Mark & I with Jenny & Troy

Then on Saturday afternoon, my friend Jenny, who recently relocated from Chaska (our old hometown) to Mesa, came by with her husband, Troy, and the four of us spent the afternoon at the swimming pool and hot tub. They shared with us their amazing testimony of how God worked in their lives to move them from Chaska to Mesa in the mostly unlikely of ways (isn't that how God usually works?).  Just this week she started what we all hope is her "dream" job working for the non-profit Jewish Voice Ministries, which proclaims the Gospel of Christ to the Jewish people. Jenny has had a heart for Israel and the Jewish people for many years. Her story is a reminder to me that when we desire to be a part of what God is doing in the world, He will move what seem like mountains to us in order to put us into a place where we can serve him. We parted that afternoon as "prayer partners."

On Sunday, Jenny and Troy invited us to visit their church, Generation Church in Mesa, and we did. I enjoyed the service and the message so much that I downloaded their app and have been listening to other messages as part of my devotional time. Their young pastor has a unique gift for making scripture relevant. If you're in the Mesa area, you should definitely check it out. Of course, Mark and I are about two generations behind the music, but I'm sure younger folks will love it!

After church they treated us to brunch (thanks again!) at one of Mark's favorite Mexican diners - Rubio's, and then we parted ways and headed out to experience the Apache Trail and the Roosevelt Dam. 

I'll start with... it was beautiful, and so it was. Beautiful and treacherous. The first half of the trail was paved, and then we hit the gravel road. From this point on, for approximately 22 miles, it was indeed a trail. We crept along at about fifteen miles an hour over a washboard that was occasionally wide enough for oncoming traffic to pass. Some three and a half hours later we arrived at the dam, where the trail ended. We took the highway back home, which was straight and smooth, but which still took us another hour and a half (give or take). The whole affair took about five hours. If you even think about making this trek, I highly recommend leaving early and stopping often...and take a very small vehicle, like a "smart car" or a horse.

Monday we hit the road for Texas, which is where we are right now. I don't know why I keep agreeing to 350-mile days, but I think I've done it for the last time. Monday and Tuesday nights we dry-camped in a Walmart off the freeway and got early starts in the morning. Long travel days really are tiring; not only tiring but hard on the body. We weren't created to sit in chairs for hours at a time. And my body especially feels it when I do. Perhaps going forward we will cut down the daily miles, and stop more frequently. After all... how else will we have opportunities to see things like this...??? ...which, by the way, we drove right past.

...maybe next time.

More Apache Trail Pictures...

Greetings from Arizona!

Finally! We are out of California. Not that California is so bad on the face of it, just that we spent WAY more time there than we ever intended.

California is in our rear view mirror until October. And God put a beautiful rainbow ahead of us to remind us of how good He is.

Our next stop was the Phoenix area with a half-way stop in Quartzsite. We (and by "we," I mean I) just don't like long travel days. If it were entirely up to Mark, I really believe we'd be doing ten-hour days. But we both do better on a slower, calmer schedule. So we're trying to make that our new normal.

We have a giant slab to park the car and put out our
chairs...and we even have our own trash cans!

Citrus trees line the streets

This week we are in Mesa, AZ, at an Encore park. This is a very nice park with all the amenities you could ask for. We even have orange and grapefruit trees growing in every lot from which we can partake at will. We had to pay a $20/night premium, but it is so worth it. They escorted us to our assigned spot, and Mark parked the coach without incident. Yay! Even though it was only 69 degrees, we spent some time this afternoon in the swimming pool and jacuzzi. It was lovely. The warm sunshine made it feel like 75.

We've got some visitors coming tomorrow and Saturday. Tomorrow morning Mark's niece, Becky, and her husband will come by to say hello and see our rig. Saturday, my friend, Jenny (and hopefully her husband) will visit. Both are recent transplants from Minnesota. Who doesn't love the wonderful warm weather of Phoenix... in the winter at least. And we'll be long gone before the summer heat hits.

While we were at in the Palm Desert area, Mark and I decided to check out the Thousand Trails park there. It was much smaller than many of the T.T. parks, and the pool was not nearly as attractive as Caliente's, but it has the advantage of not costing any money (outside our normal T.T. dues), as well as being right in town and close to shopping. For those reasons, we'll likely make it a destination for at least a week or two on our next time through.

On our way back we stopped at the Coachella Valley Preserve. This is a very interesting place. It is a real live oasis, in it's natural state. You can see what palm trees look like when they're not regularly tended. Kinda scary, actually. Who knows what creatures are lurking in those masses of dead palm fronds! I wasn't about to disturb their repose - THAT's for sure.

From here we journey eastward toward Florida. We'll be stopping in Texas for a short while to take care of that one unifying pain of all Americans - the tax return. Then on to Florida. While we're there, we'll be hanging out with family -- my brothers, who live in Gainesville, and Mark's daughter and her family, who will camp with us at Daytona Beach. In April we'll be park-hopping around Florida and visiting the Keys.

As the Good Book says, "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord directs his steps." (Prov. 16:9)  Things may or may not pan out the way we plan--we'll see how the Lord directs. But for now, our plan can be found on the itinerary page.