Sunday March 28th 2021

Today began early. Not only was it a travel day, but it was also the eleven month mark to attempt to get another state park reservation for next winter. There were four sites available at one park and one at another. I picked the one I thought I’d have the best chance at and waited for the clock to strike 8AM. The reservation gods were not with me this morning. I failed to reserve. Time to figure out plan B.

I completed my packing and travel prep in the rapidly warming morning. It was shortly before the 11AM check out time when I pulled out of the campground. My first stop was at a gas station to fuel up for my journey north. The gas pumps at the station were slower than I’ve experienced in a long time. It seemed to be pumping at a rate of about a gallon per minute. The thirty four gallons I put in on the first credit card pass took more than half an hour to complete. I decided against filling the tank completely with a second credit card pass. I was tired of waiting. That was probably the right decision. Gas is three or four cents a gallon cheaper in this area. Then again it will probably be higher went I get around to filling the tank in two to three weeks.

The trip north was on US and Florida state roads. The interstate route is longer and probably had a lot more traffic. The trade off is the need to be more alert for changing traffic conditions. The big RV doesn’t maneuver as nimbly as the passenger cars. I need to start slowing down for traffic lights much sooner than most other vehicles on the road. Unpredictable traffic and a couple of signal lights required more than one hard stop. Some of my stuff that wasn’t well secured managed to take a walk during today’s travel, but nothing was damaged.

I am back at Lake Louisa State Park in Clermont Florida for another two week stay. My last visit was at the beginning of December. I arrived around 2:30PM well after the 1PM checkout time. They weren’t sure my site was available yet. The previous occupants hadn’t checked out. I had to wait in the parking lot while they checked to see if the site was available. The campground is two miles or so from the ranger station. One of the rangers had to drive to the campground. He called me to indicate that the site was available. All that because someone didn’t checkout by turning in their window pass on the way out.

The site I’m on is nice. It has a big tree that provides a lot of shade. The down side is the shade tree prevents my satellite dish from seeing the satellite. I’ve got fifty plus over the air TV stations and good internet to keep me entertained. This was the only site available when I booked. It is not a site I’ll get another time.