Tuesday August 16th 2016

Today was a travel day. I got everything packed up and ready to go by 10:30. It was only a little over an hours drive to my next stop. The drive wasn’t bad traffic wise, but the weather could have been more cooperative. When I was in a construction area, just as I was about to go over the St. Johns river, a cloud burst openned up. Visibility dropped but the speed of the of the traffic didn’t seem to go down proportionally. It only lasted three or four wheel gripping minutes and the sun was back out.

Site at the Pecan Park RV Resort.

I am now at the Pecan Park RV resort on the north side of Jacksonville. I’m booked here for about a month. It is a fairly updated campground with 5 long, uniform rows of campsites. I chose this park for its proximity to the Jacksonville Airport. As it turns out it is right in line with one of the runways. The commercial airline traffic is not bad. You know something is going over, but it doesn’t impact hearing the TV or shack anything loose.

Unfortunately, some military fighter traffic is also using the runway. I haven’t gotten a good look at the planes, but I’d assume they are Navy F/A 18s since Jacksonville is a heavy Navy port. I don’t think the fighters are based at the airport, but are using the runway for training. They are in full afterburner mode as they pass overhead. The noise and rumble cause everything to pause while they go by. They passed in groups of three or four at least two different times this afternoon. I hope they don’t start up again before breakfast tomorrow morning.

There is also a farmers market and flea market next door to the campground on weekends. This may prove to be a good opportunity to buy some fruits and vegetables. I continue to be amazed at the quality and origin of the produce in the grocery stores. You’d think that a state with the agricultural production of Florida would have better selections.

Late this afternoon I checked out the immediate area. At the next exit off the Interstate south there is a large shopping complex with a Walmart and many other stores and restaurants. The next exit north is the access road for the Amelia Island area. I’ll be checking out each of these in more detail while I am here.