Friday June 10th 2022

The thunderstorms missed this area today. The line of storms passed from west to east south of Jacksonville. With that exception the overall daily weather pattern was the same as the last few days. It was sunny and still in the morning. The afternoon was filled with billowy clouds and a nice breeze. The temperature peaked just above the ninety degree mark.

I took my first walk of the day just before noon. As usual I had my camera with me to capture anything interesting. All I found was some a few nice colorful blossoms to photograph. During the heat of the day the animal life seems to be in hiding. They are probably back in the cooler wooded area surrounding the park. My second walk of the day was in the evening. Animals and people were out in the slightly cooler evening.

The park doesn’t seem to be filling up for the weekend. Jacksonville is celebrating its Bicentennial this weekend. They are having lots of events downtown tomorrow. I expected the park to fill up with people arriving for the fun. I didn’t see more than two or three RVs arrive this afternoon and evening. If anything the park may have emptied out some for the weekend.

During my stay here last November the park was full or close to full every night. People escaping the cold north joined the people using the park for temporary living to occupy most of the sites. I think during my stay last June at this time the park was also busier, but not full. I went back and read my blog entries from that June 2021 period to refresh my memory a little. While I noted that the park had openings I didn’t obsess over the issue. The current level of occupancy is probably normal and the high nightly rent probably discourages weekenders.

Thursday June 9th 2022

The weather pattern seems to be pretty much established. The day begins with only a few wispy clouds, if any, with no wind. The sun rapidly heats the air toward the daily high. As the day progresses the clouds thicken and occasionally block the sun for a refreshing few minutes. At some point during the afternoon into the evening a line of rain storms pass through the area. Today the storms arrived at 4PM and were gone by 6PM. Yesterday the storms were much later around 9PM. The storms cooled the air temperature, but increased the overall humidity. Today’s high temperature was in the low nineties.

Either the Florida Air National Guard didn’t have any missions this morning, or I’m acclimated to the noise of the jets taking off overhead. I didn’t wake up to the sounds of F-15 afterburners this morning. It was close to 9AM when I got my day started.

First up on today’s agenda after breakfast was a grocery run. Walmart is located one exit south on Interstate 95. It is in a very big shopping area with all varieties of stores. Navigating the parking lot is an exercise in patience. There are many stop signs with a lot of cross traffic between clusters of shops. The store wasn’t busy today, I was able to wander up and down the aisles without having to dodge too many other carts and shoppers. It’s a good thing, because the layout was a little odd. I’ve never seen a Walmart with the bread aisle in the middle of the grocery section like this. Other aisles seemed to be in odd places as well.

I managed to get in one walk around the front area of the RV resort before the thunderstorms arrived. The weather was threatening enough that I didn’t venture into the back area of the park. I wanted to be near shelter when the storms started. My second walk was later in the evening after the storm line moved through. The weekly food truck visit was going on at the front of the park. It had a few customers lined up, but I had already eaten by that time. Having regular food truck visits is one of the latest things for campgrounds that call themselves “resorts”.

Wednesday June 8th 2022

The day began with bright sunshine and very little wind. As a result the temperature climbed quickly to the upper eighties. The humidity was a little higher than Tuesday. As the day progressed the clouds moved inland from the ocean along with a developing breeze. The result was a more comfortable afternoon despite the temperature being a few degrees warmer.

There is a landscaping crew in the park replacing trees. About thirty palms that were planted awhile back didn’t survive the transplant. I noticed dead palms when I stayed here last June, so this has been an issue for more than a year. A landscape crew with a noisy skid steer has been taking out the old trees and planting new palms. It is amazing how small a root ball the trees have. The new trees are getting heavily watered in so hopefully they will survive.

Despite the temperature I got in two walks today. The first was shortly after the lunch hour. There aren’t many people out and about. There are many people using the park for temporary living, so they are at work during the day. Others are inside their RVs with the air conditioning cranked. During my second walk after the dinner hour there were many more people out including lots of kids. The large fifth wheel trailer beside my RV home has a family of five. During the day the mother and three very young kids were inside. This evening the kids were out playing for about an hour with the mother watching closely. I can’t imagine what it is like in their trailer all day.

Tuesday June 7th 2022

I was reminded of the proximity of this RV park to the Jacksonville Airport a little after 7AM this morning. Several F15s of the Florida Air National Guard flew took off over my head with full afterburner speed and the accompanying noise. I knew this fact about the park from previous stays. It will soon fade into an accepted noise, but this morning it was a rude reminder.

Today was a very humid day with a high temperature a little below ninety. It was a partly cloudy day with many clouds passing overhead. When the sun was blocked by clouds it was comfortable. In the afternoon a breeze developed that helped as well. Even with the high humidity it didn’t rain today.

This morning I finished up the setup tasks that I didn’t complete yesterday. Since this is a longer stay I got the tire covers out to block the UV light from getting to the tires. They are a real chore to get properly fastened. It requires lying on the ground and reaching behind the tires. Getting them off at the end of my stay is only a little bit easier.

Next up on today’s agenda was a walk around the RV park to see what has changed since last November. This park is spread out over a very large area. Walking around the complete perimeter is close to two miles. The sports courts that were under construction in the fall seem to be finished. I say “seem”, because they didn’t look like they have seen much use. I’ll be watching to see if anyone is using them.

The front area of the park that is used for short term stays has many empty sites. I think there are more sites available then when I was here last year at this time. The back area of the park that has more longer term residents only has a few empty sites. I’m in an area in the middle of the park with that isn’t as easy to categorize the residents. It only has a few empty sites.

Monday June 6th 2022

It was a very humid day with a high temperature in the upper half of the eighties. The first half of the day was sunny, and the second half was filled with showers. I was dripping in sweat packing up this morning.

I departed the campground just before the 11AM checkout. I hadn’t even cleared the first line of campsites before the campground crew was at the site preparing it for the next arrival. They must have been stacked out waiting for me to leave. They shouldn’t have found much to do. I leave the sites clean and in good condition.

My first stop on the sixty mile drive was at one of the gas stations I scouted Sunday. The access was as good as I expected, but the price per gallon had gone up ten cents overnight. I put in one credit card authorization of $175. When I arrived in the area of my destination I found gas fifteen cents per gallon cheaper. I would have been very uncomfortable trying to travel that far on a rapidly emptying tank.

I took a very indirect route today. Check in time at my destination was 2pm, so I had plenty of time. I completely avoided the interstate highway and probably added fifteen miles to the google indicated sixty mile distance. Along the way I encountered two rain showers complete with very black clouds and brief downpours. I arrived at my destination around 12:45 and was able to check in early. They were in the process of assembling my checkin package as I entered the office.

There were only a few sprinkles while I got setup. The first round of storms was west of this area. Around 5:30 the second round of storms hit hard. A thunderstorm with heavy rain sat over the area for about forty five minutes. This evening the rain is gone, but the humidity remains.

I am back at Pecan Park RV Resort. This is the same location that I spent the month of November last year. I have booked and paid for seven weeks at the monthly rate. I will be ahead of the weekly rate after about three weeks, so I’d be comfortable moving on if the opportunity comes up. The nightly rate at this park is close to twice the nightly breakdown at the monthly rate. They really want longer staying guests.

Sunday June 5th 2022

The weather turned out to be better than the forecast called for. There were more clouds in the sky than the previous few days, but the line of thunderstorms passed through the area without dropping any rain here. There was rain to the north and south of here. The temperature peaked in the high eighties.

Today was my last full day in Starke Florida. Tomorrow I’m moving to the north side of Jacksonville. In preparation, I scouted out my departure route today. I was particularly interested in finding a suitable gas station. Finding a station with good access is my primary concern. All of the stations have higher prices than the last time I put gas in the motorhome’s tank. The five to ten cents difference in price between stations is only a minor consideration when looking for a “good” station. I found a couple of good possibilities.

Most of the weekenders departed the campground by the 11AM checkout this morning, but in some ways the park was more alive today than yesterday. This park has a number of workers that stay here during the week, but leave for “home” on Friday. They return on Sunday afternoons. There are also people that leave their rigs here during the week and only use them on the weekends. They don’t have to checkout by 11AM, so the weekend continues for them until Sunday evening. The pool was very busy this afternoon after the line of clouds associated with the thunderstorms in the area moved through.

Friday June 3rd 2022

A little more humidity and a little higher temperature made today uncomfortable. The actual temperature was in the low nineties and the humidity made it seem warmer. Clouds moved in late in the day threatening thunderstorms, but so far none have materialized. The first tropical system of the 2022 hurricane season is heading for South Florida tonight into tomorrow. It should pass across the peninsular without impacting this area in the northeast of the state.

This afternoon while walking in the campground I was almost run over by a fast moving golf cart. Fast moving traffic has always been a problem in campgrounds and the recent popularity of golf carts has only added to the problem. This park has signs indicating a speed limit of 7.5mph and other signs reminding everyone to slow down. One sign in particular says “Only You Can Prevent Speed Bumps.”

For the most part people travel at reasonable speeds in the campground. My guess is people travel at ten to fifteen miles per hour. Trying to stay at 5mph, 7.5mph or even 10mph is very difficult. Most analog gauges in cars don’t even register below 5mph. Golf carts don’t have speedometers and are often driven by people without sufficient driving experience to accurately judge speed. At least at this park, proof of golf cart insurance is required to operate the cart in the park. This seems to keep them from being driven by kids.

I don’t really understand the need to bring a golf cart on every outing. If you are going to be staying at a huge park for an extended period of time it may be helpful. For short stays and at small parks, I think it is more of a nuisance. With the exception of people with physical limitations, What is wrong with taking your time and walking?

It is hard to believe this is the start of another weekend. The campground didn’t fully empty from the holiday weekend until Tuesday. It isn’t filling up much for this weekend. While I didn’t expect occupancy to come close to the holiday weekend, it seems to be much less than the pre holiday weekend at the end of my first week here. Maybe more people will come in tomorrow.

Thursday June 2nd 2022

Today’s weather was a repeat of Wednesday’s. The temperature peaked a little above the ninety degree mark under a sunny sky with a little wind.

The morning got started much better today. There was no noisy lawn mower wandering around the campground to coax me out of bed earlier than I wanted. Better yet I didn’t see any of the electricians randomly throwing breakers to see what happens. They must have finished their survey for the future work. The power did go out around 1AM for a few seconds. I don’t think it was related to any of the electrical work, but it sent the park cable TV system into a reboot and my microwave clock into blinking mode. On a positive note, it got me to turn off the TV and go to sleep.

This was an ordinary day. I did my daily chores and a couple of extra cleaning tasks. My daily walk extended out of the campground into the neighboring strip mall. I wandered through the Tractor Supply store to extend my daily exercise a bit. This Tractor Supply seems to be selling riding lawn mowers well. The front side walk had several more when I first arrived in this area a couple of weeks ago. At an average of four thousand dollars a unit the turnover is surprising. Obviously I don’t have any need for a lawn mower, but I seem to be paying a lot of attention on them between the ones in the campground and at the store.

Wednesday June 1st 2022

Today had more sunshine and wind with a little less humidity. It was a very nice day with a high temperature in the upper eighties. The temperature and humidity are forecast to climb the next few days. There is also the possibility of a tropical storm at the end of the week.

My morning calm was disrupted by lawn mowing again. The guy on the zero turn mower really seems to enjoy his task. He moves very quickly on the very loud mower. The driver has ear protection, but the rest of use have to suffer. When I was watching the guy mowing the lawn I spotted even more possible disruption. The same electricians that were roaming the grounds yesterday were back again today. I spent all morning into the early afternoon expecting the power to go off at any minute. When the departed around 2PM I relaxed a little. I wish the campground communicated better about what is going on.

Today was a day filled with chores around my RV home and a little bit of travel research. When I get into exploring travel possibilities, time flies. One internet search leads to another and before I know it two or three hours have gone by. Today I came up with ideas, but no commitment. Some of the ideas were short term and some were as far out as next summer. I need to put some stakes in the ground so I have targets to look forward to visiting.