Wednesday May 11th 2022

It was another beautiful day on the low side of the averages for the date. The high temperature was in the low eighties, the humidity was low and there was a strong20 c breeze out of the east.

When I left the campground to run errands this afternoon I was immediately aware of another significant changed in the price of gas. The 10 cent change from Monday to Tuesday was increased by a 20 cent jump from Tuesday to Wednesday. The average price is now $4.50 a gallon.

The jump in the price of gas increased my awareness of the prices at Walmart as I was picking up groceries. Generally I only notice the price increase when it transitions the first digit in the price. So I noticed the things that went from 99 cents to $1.07 and the things that went from two dollars and something to three dollars plus etc… The things that increase in the same dollar value I don’t notice right away. Overall things seem to be up less than ten percent. The amount I pay at the register still bounces around in the same range.

Inflation’s biggest impact on my life style is the price of gas and the per night price for camping. They both are significantly higher. Most of the camping fees at commercial parks go up every year by a few dollars. Since the pandemic the increased demand has allowed them to go at a quicker pace. Most have gone up ten to twenty percent. Some state parks like the Florida State Parks have gone up significantly more. They added a fourteen dollar “utility fee” to the price, but they are still generally lower than the commercial parks. I haven’t kept a separate record of per night costs for camping since my first year on the road, so I don’t know the overall impact of inflation on me. I suspect it is more than the 8.3 percent national rate. All of these increases are annoying, but they aren’t going to cause any significant change in my life style.

Tuesday May 10th 2022

Today was a moving day. My eleven nights at Tropical Palms Resort was up at 11AM this morning. I stretched my travel preparation tasks to the last minute. It was 11:01AM as I handed my gate card to the security guard.

I only had about twelve miles to my new location, but I had to buy gas and needed to show up closer to 1PM than 11:30AM. Yesterday I scouted out the best gas station for access and cost. It was in the opposite direction from my destination. When I arrived at the station this morning, the cost was ten cents a gallon more than yesterday. I put in one credit card pass worth of gas. The current authorization level per card swipe at this station is $200 dollars. I haven’t encountered this high an authorization before. It was good for about 46.5 gallons of gas or a little over 300 miles in range. My approach going forward is going to be buy gas whenever I find easy access and a marginally better price.

Knowing the area pretty well, I turned back toward my destination on major local streets. It was still well before noon when I go into the area of the Orlando Southwest KOA. I choose to get on Interstate 4 toward Tampa rather than stop at the campground. The rest area a few miles down the road provided a good place to kill some time. I returned to the campground just after 1PM and got checked into my site. This the same campground I was at for the weekend a little over two weeks ago. I have stayed here a number of times in the past. It has enough sites that getting a reservation on short notice is usually possible.

On my way to my destination I encountered some of Florida’s famous love bugs. The front windshield and grill of my motorhome were covered with the little insects. You need to get them off quickly, so I had to spend some time with my window cleaner and a cloth after I got setup. I think the majority are gone, but will look again in the morning when the sun is at a different angle. The longer they are on the surface the harder it is to get them off without leaving a stain.

Monday May 9th 2022

I set the “On Time” for my TV to 7AM as a wake up alarm. It worked flawlessly, but I wasn’t ready to begin my day at 7AM. My plan to get an early start at Disney’s Animal Kingdom was blown when I rolled over and went back to sleep.

My day at the Animal Kingdom began shortly after 9AM. The parking lot was very full when I parked. With the parking lot trams still on a Pandemic break it was a long walk to the entrance. The lines getting through security and the ticket gates were also very long. It was a busy day at the Animal Kingdom.

If I had arrived an hour or more earlier I’d have started my visit with a ride on the Kilimanjaro Safari. This morning the wait was already 75 minutes. I wandered around the park checking out all of the other animal exhibits and wait times for the other rides and shows. By the time I completed most of my first pass around the park, the wait time was down to 60 minutes. I bit the bullet and got in line. About 70 minutes later I was boarding the safari vehicle.

The length of the line wasn’t that much longer than on my previous visits this spring, but the capacity was down. The animals were hanging out on the roads delaying the safari vehicles. There is nothing like waiting five minutes for a giraffe to get out of the way to slow down the safari ride. Our guide this morning commented on the number of animals that had blocked her way on earlier safaris.

The good news is a lot of animals were out on the savanna. Watusi cattle, zebras and giraffes were all near the ride vehicles. In other areas antelope, and rhinos were also meandering near the road. Elephants, lions, ostriches and cheetahs were also visible along the safari route. It was probably the best of the three safaris rides I have taken this spring, but I have been on better ones in previous years.

After the safari I completed my tour of the park without waiting in any more lines. The wait times continued to be very long. I got home by mid afternoon with plenty of time to start my travel preparation tasks. Tomorrow is a moving day. I’m only going a short distance. I’ll still be in the theme park areas, so a return to some of them is possible.

Sunday May 8th 2022

It was another warmer than normal day. The bright sunshine and gentle breeze allowed the temperature to climb into the low 90s, but the humidity was very low for central Florida. Overall it was a comfortable day.

Today was a bit of a panic planning day. I’ve been putting off booking my next reservation. I need to get some maintenance done on my RV home and wanted to get it scheduled before figuring out my next stop. With all my theme park visits, I haven’t found a place to get the service. It is really a matter of dedicating some time to the search. Unfortunately, I need to move on this Tuesday. This morning I could only find three nights until Friday at any of the places I wanted to go. The only places available for next weekend were either a long way away or right here in this area. My decision was to move back to the KOA in Davenport that I departed two weeks ago. I’ll stay there for a week while I work on more details. I also realized I have a holiday weekend coming up that needs to be booked. My focus has been on next years reservations instead of the more immediate ones.

The campground emptied out of the weekenders today. Most were gone by the 11am checkout time, but some paid for the extra day and stayed until the late afternoon. As the people departed the animal residents started to come out of hiding. This noon a Great Blue Heron was wandering around the retention pond looking for food. Later in the afternoon I spotted the most recent duck family wandering across the grass toward the water. This evening three deer decided to wander through the campground. They were very used to the people. The deer wandered into campsites with people sitting at tables and allowed me to get within twenty feet with my camera. Most of the area on three sides of this resort are heavily developed. I’m not sure where the deer actually live.

Saturday May 7th 2022

All of yesterday’s activity in Disney World kept me up into the early morning hours. It took awhile to transition from go mode to sleep mode. Just before I turned off the TV, tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings were issued for an area north of Orlando. The line of storms was due in this area around 4AM. I shut all the windows and turned on the AC to maintain a comfortable overnight temperature. The AC noise delayed the arrival of sleep even more, but once I was out the arrival of the storm barely registered. The sun was shining when I dragged my body out of bed after nine this morning. The high temperature was in the upper eighties with a strong breeze.

This was a rest and recovery day after two days of theme park visits. Most of my day was spent watching TV, and chasing information on the internet. While walking around the resort this afternoon I was surprised at the changes from Friday morning. The park had really filled up for the weekend while I wasn’t around to watch the gradual arrival of the weekenders. It’s a curious place since there aren’t a lot of people around, but many of the sites are full. I would guess that many of the people are here to visit the theme parks and get an early start. Their campsite is just a place to stay in the area.

Friday May 6th 2022

Today’s weather was a little cooler than Thursday. A much stronger breeze kept the overall feel in a more comfortable range. The high temperature was in the low nineties.

I spent the late afternoon and evening visiting Disney’s Magic Kingdom again. I couldn’t get a park reservation for Magic Kingdom, but I could get another reservation for EPCOT. To visit Magic Kingdom I had to visit EPCOT first and park hop to Magic Kingdom. The afternoon began by parking at the big Ticket and Transportation Center parking lot in Walt Disney World. Instead of going directly to the Magic Kingdom, I took the Monorail to EPCOT. I passed through the ticket checkpoint and wandered around in EPCOT. A little over an hour later I took another Monorail trip back to the Ticket and Transport Center and a third Monorail trip of the day to the Magic Kingdom. It was about 4:30PM when I arrived at town square in the Magic Kingdom.

My goal for the evening was to ride some of the attractions I hadn’t been on this spring and watch the evening fireworks show. I achieved that goal and saw a lot of characters too. Two different Cavalcades of characters passed my route of wander through the park and Winnie the Poo and his friends were up on the Main Street USA Train Station.

For attractions, I road Pirates of the Caribbean, Small World, Peter Pans Flight, Buzz Light Year, and People Mover. I also sat through the nostalgia of the Carousel of Progress. The only attraction on my wish list that I missed was Jungle Cruise. The wait was still over and hour when I left the park after 10PM.

Thursday May 5th 2022

Today’s weather was the natural progression from Wednesday. The hot and sunny weather continued with a little more humidity and a few degrees of temperature. The temperature peaked in the low to mid nineties with no evening thunderstorms.

My plan for the day was to visit EPCOT during the second half of the day. Things went pretty close to plan. The only variation was the duration of my stay at EPCOT. I didn’t make it to the closing fireworks show at 9PM. About 8PM, I headed back to my RV home.

The crowds at EPCOT were better than they were last week. For most of the afternoon it was easy walking and the lines were a little shorter. I started my visit with a walk on to the Space Ship Earth ride before making my way to the French Pavilion at the back of the park. The new Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure only had an projected wait time of sixty minutes. I had tried unsuccessfully this morning to buy a lightening lane (skip the standby line) pass, so waiting was my only option. When I arrived at the back of the line the sign predicted a seventy minute wait. I was on the ride in about fifty minutes and back in the hot sun in an hour. It is a cute ride using trackless autonomous ride vehicles and 3d projection screens.

After the ride I took a break from the park and road the new Sky Liner transportation system to its hub at the Caribbean Beach Resort and back to EPCOT. This is a ten passenger gondola style ride similar to a ski lift without the mountain. I really wasn’t impressed, but it is better than the Disney buses which is the only alternative.

Back at EPCOT I saw a couple of shows, road a couple of rides and wandered through more gift shops than I usually tour in a year. The park was also getting busier. A media event for the new Guardians of the Galaxy roller coaster was being held in the park. All things considered I didn’t wait for the Harmonious Night time show.

Here are more of the pictures I took during the afternoon. There are a lot of pictures of the beautiful orchids at the Mexico Pavilion as well as the topiaries scattered throughout the park for the Flower and Garden Festival.

Wednesday May 4th 2022

Everything came together weather wise today. It was sunny all day and the wind was very light. As a result the temperature climbed into the low 90s and thunderstorms threatened in the late afternoon. So far the storms have passed to the east and south of my location, but the rumbling of thunder has echoed.

Probably because of the lethargy resulting from the heat, today turned into a Rest, Relaxation and Reading day. The triple Rs were interrupted by a couple of walks around the RV resort and an extended cooking session involving my slow cooker. In general I kept finding things to keep me busy and not make the trip to Disney Springs for shopping I had considered for today.

I have a theme park reservation for tomorrow at EPCOT. Since I want to stay for the evening fireworks and laser show, I will probably not leave for the park until afternoon. The goal with be to stay engaged all afternoon and stay dry during any thunderstorms that pass through the area. Stay tuned for an update in tomorrow’s blog entry.

Tuesday May 3rd 2022

The morning clouds were a little thicker and hung around a little longer than the forecast anticipated. The end result was a slightly cooler and drier day. The sun made an appearance during the afternoon allowing the temperature to climb into the upper eighties, but the forecast thunderstorms never arrived.

I got an early start to the day. Shortly after 8AM, I was walking into Disney’s Animal Kingdom park to visit the animals. It was just as crowded as it was a week ago. I don’t know what happened to the concept of slow times at the theme parks. Today seemed to be a day for huge family groups all dressed similarly. One group of about twenty people all in green Mickey T-shirts seemed to be blocking my path most of the way from the front of the park to the Safari Ride. The group complete with several strollers and an Electric Convenience Vehicle (ECV) got in line in front of me. They took up at least one whole safari vehicle.

Another group of similarly dressed people put a little thought into their T-shirts. The majority said “Baxter Family” on the back, but a few said “Baxter Family Friend” and I say one that said “Baxter Family Enemy”. I wonder what that was all about.

The wait for the safari was listed as thirty minutes. I think it was a little longer. It was worth it. I would have taken a second safari if the wait time wasn’t over an hour the next time I checked. Different animals were active this morning. Last week the Giraffes were out in force, but today I only saw a couple. The female Elephants were also missing from their area. On the other hand the African Painted Dogs were out and the White Rhinos were very active.

Following the safari I walked the Gorilla trail. They were very active this morning. Some were eating and some were playing. The little ones were getting into it as well. According to one of the cast members today was the first time they have seen the youngest Gorilla climbing on its own.

I walked around the entire park looking at all the animal exhibits. Today was the first time I got a good view of the kangaroos that are in the area near the tree of life. I only recently learned there was a kangaroo exhibit in the park. There is a real eclectic mix of animals in the tree of life area.

As the noon hour approached the crowds were still huge and the wait times for everything were getting longer. The two attractions in Pandora I really wanted to see were particularly long. The Avatar Flight of Passage flagship ride was over 120 minutes and the Na’vi River journey was over an hour. I decide to end my day at Animal Kingdom early. Shortly after noon I was back at my RV home having lunch.

Monday May 2nd 2022

The upward temperature trend continued. Today’s high was around ninety degrees. The TV weather talkers report the expected average high at 87 degrees, so it is a little above normal. The scattered afternoon showers were all north of here. Tomorrow has a higher chance of thunderstorms in this area.

I battled the traffic this afternoon to check out some of the changes in this area since my last visit. Other than a few buildings that are now empty lots and a few empty lots that are now buildings, there wasn’t much to see. My actual destination was one of the local Walmart stores for groceries. It has been two weeks since my last stock up.

I was in search of typical groceries, but many of the people in the store were in search of very atypical items. The Walmart, Target, CVS and Walgreens stores in this area all have big Disney merchandise sections. The family in front of me in the checkout line had a basket filled with Disney souvenirs, Mickey Mouse T-shirts, candy, soft drinks and a few breakfast style food items. They were clearly stocking their vacation rental for an extended stay. It was over three hundred and fifty dollars in merchandise. A gallon of milk and a basket of strawberries were the only things I would categorize as healthy food. At least the souvenirs were cheaper than at the theme parks. I guess you’d say, I had fun people watching at the grocery store.

The campground is in a midweek lull in occupancy. A few more people departed this morning and haven’t been replaced by new arrivals. On my walk around the resort his afternoon it was very quiet with lots of unoccupied RVs and empty sites. The only busy area was the swimming pool and the adjacent laundry facility.