Thursday August 3rd 2023

The rain got in the way today. The morning forecast called for a partly sunny day with no real chance of rain. The atmosphere had other ideas. Shortly after the noon hour it started to rain. It didn’t get dark. The sun was still visible on all of the horizons, but it rained steadily for about an hour. Overall it was a cooler than normal day with the high just reaching the ninety degree mark.

I had planned to take a hike in one of the county preserve parks this afternoon. The park is on the St. Johns river about half an hour away. The rain arrived when I was preparing to head out. It probably would have been dry at my destination, but I didn’t take the chance. Instead I just continued to work on various chores around my RV home.

A little extra length during my walk around the RV park this evening replaced the exercise I missed from the skipped hike in the preserve. The sights and features of the RV park are very familiar after more than a month of walks. There have been a few changes as RVs come and go, but for the most part I have seen most of the sights before. Today there was an Egret along the banks of the main retention pond. I have only seen an egret here one other time this summer.

Wednesday August 2nd 2023

Today’s weather was the type I’d like to see repeated every day during the Florida summer. The temperature peaked in the low nineties, the humidity wasn’t extreme, there was a gentle consistent breeze and the thunderstorms were extremely scattered. As long as you weren’t hanging out in the direct sun it was a fine day.

I sent some time this afternoon along the north bank of the St. Johns River. There are a parks, roadside turnouts and boat launches along route A1A before it reaches Little Talbot Island. There were people out in small boats and kayaks to watch, but I didn’t see the wildlife I was hoping to see. Getting there I drove by many of the big facilities that make up the port of Jacksonville. The road intersects with A1A when the route arrives on the north bank of the St Johns River after passage on a ferry. It might be interesting to take the ferry over the Mayport on the south bank sometime, but driving around is probably easier.

On my way back to my RV home, I stopped at Walmart to restock my grocery supply. My visit was late enough in the afternoon that I caught the surge of after work shoppers. The store also showed the result of a full day of shopping. Many of the shelves needed to be restocked. I was still able to get what I needed, but occasionally I had to do a little extra effort. Getting a couple of gallons of drinking water took a little climbing and reaching to get the containers from the back of an upper shelf. At the checkout I was behind a lady that was stocking up on back to school supplies. She must have been a teacher or school administrator. The purchase included notebooks, ruled paper tablets, pencils and other things I couldn’t identify. The quantity was probably close to 100 of each item. The cashier started counting each item before scanning it and ended up just assuming there were the same number of each item.

The RV park is in its quiet mid week mode. There isn’t any real activity during the day and in the evening there is only a small amount as people return from work or whatever. The geese continue to have free range around the park except when a park employee decides it is time to harass them with a golf cart. Then the peace is disrupted as the geese honk a lot and take flight. The other disruption to the quiet today was the Florida Air National Guard. They were busy taking off with full afterburners overhead several times today.

Tuesday August 1st 2023

It was a very nice Florida summer day. The temperature was right around the seasonal normal in the low nineties. More important for a nice day during the summer is the thunderstorms weren’t wide spread and the few that did develop missed this area. Another line of storms may pass through the area overnight.

This wasn’t a very blog content filled day. I got my walks around the RV park in and took pictures of the geese and lilies, but most of my time was filled with chores and planning. I have about three weeks remaining in my stay here. I need to book some reservations to get me from the end of August to the middle of November. The plan needs to be flexible to allow running away from the path of hurricanes and I’d like to explore some new areas. The complicating factor is that I really should get a few lingering maintenance issues with my RV home worked on this fall. So I need to find both campgrounds and RV repair options.

As I look at various campground options I am again reminded of how much the nightly price has gone up. Prices seem to have gone up again. The first digit in the price seems to be one number higher. So prices that were in the forties are now in the fifties, fifties are in the sixties and so on. Places that I’ve stayed at a few years ago and begrudgingly paid in the forties now have nightly rates in the eighties. The real problem is I don’t need or value many of the amenities included in that rate. I don’t need a sewer connection for a stay under two weeks, although it is nice and I rarely use cable TV connections or any of the recreation facilities. The only upside is that weekly and monthly rates seem to be a little more discounted than they used to be.

My first task is to book the labor day weekend. I have identified a few options with plenty of vacancies, so I have a few days to think it through. The Columbus (or Indigenous Peoples) day weekend is also a concern for October, but I can wait a little longer for that one.

Monday July 31st 2023

I woke up this morning to a dull overcast day. The sound of the lawn crew working on the grass in the RV park was distant. I rolled over and went back to sleep assuming I’d be awake again when the mowers arrived in my area of the park. It didn’t happen. It was well after 9AM when I woke up again. The mowing crew only did a small area at the front of the park.

It remained cloudy all morning. This gave me a chance to get a few outside chores completed before it got hot. There are still several more outside chores that I need to get done, but the sun broke through the clouds in the early afternoon. The temperature climbed into the low nineties before the usual afternoon thunderstorms started to arrive in the area. Once again, for the most part, the heavier storms missed this area.

The end of month turnover in the RV park continued today. Several more of the trailers that have been here for a long time departed today. The start of the month represents the beginning of leases in rental properties. The start of the school year is also getting close. In many Florida counties school begins this week or next. Families want to be in place before the kids start school.

Sunday July 30th 2023

The weather has returned to the above normal level with respect to temperature. It was in the upper nineties today with high humidity to make it seem even hotter. Severe thunderstorm warnings for the area started around 4PM. For the most part the storms avoided this area. There was a lot of wind at times and a few drops of rain, but most of the afternoon and evening the storms missed this area. As I write this blog entry at 9PM, the first real thunderstorm is overhead. It is raining steadily on the roof of my RV home and the lightening is providing quite a light show.

This seemed to be a big departure day in the RV park. Several of the RVs that were here when I arrived over a month ago departed. I suspect it may be related to the end of the month. Included in the departures was the RV on the site across the road that runs behind my RV. It has looked like they were getting ready to leave for a couple of weeks now, but today’s departure was well disguised. I thought they were just getting ready to go out for the day. They still had plenty of stuff scattered around their site, but when I looked out a few minutes later they were hooked up and pulling out. Somebody in a golf cart came by later and collected the two or three things they left behind.

Today’s walk around the RV park was a short one. It was very hot in the sun without much of a breeze blowing on my early walk. My second walk was canceled for fear of getting caught in a downpour. Most of my day was spent watching TV, chasing random information on the internet and doing a few inside chores. I have a backlog of outside chores, but I’m waiting for more favorable conditions.

Saturday July 29th 2023

There was one heavy thunderstorm in the middle of the afternoon, but otherwise it was a nice sunny day. The temperature peaked at the seasonal average in the low nineties with about normal levels of humidity.

Before the rain I drove out to Cedar Point for a little hiking. The breeze along the shore of the creeks kept it comfortable. Along the trails in the woods the breeze didn’t have an impact. It was not only warm, but the insects were a real problem. I didn’t get in as much hiking as I had planned. Most of my time was spent in the open watching the birds wading and the fiddler crabs racing across the mud.

I was on my way back to my RV home when the afternoon storm materialized. The sky darkened quickly and lightening decorated the horizon. This was a windy storm with heavy rain. I had to crank the windshield wipers to full speed and slow down to maintain visibility. The storm didn’t last long. I drove out of it in about five minutes. It was only a light sprinkle when I arrived home, but the storm had made its presence known. Not expecting rain, I had left windows open to air out my RV home. I had a few wet areas to dry up.

As I commented in yesterday’s blog entry the RV park didn’t really fill up much this weekend. When I walked around today, there were only a few additional RVs in the area of the park generally used for travelers and weekenders. On the other hand, the RVs that are generally empty during the week had people in residence today. I’m not sure if these units are weekend escapes or if the people work and I just don’t see them during the day during the week. The bottom line is there was still a higher level of activity in the park for the weekend.

Friday July 28th 2023

Today was a bizarre weather day. It started to rain in the middle of the night. There were light to medium showers regularly until after sunrise. It didn’t seem like there was any real wind or thunder. I slept through most of it, so who knows. During the day the sky would go from dark clouds to light fluffy clouds every hour or so. Some of the dark clouds brought rain, others just threatened. Overall it was dry more often than wet, but there was no way to predict. All of the rain showers were mild without much wind and only an occasional clap of thunder.

I drove north one exit on Interstate 95 to the town of Yulee this afternoon. My intent was to visit another park and boat launch area. The weather didn’t cooperate. Just as I arrived at the parking area another rain shower arrived. After a little while waiting the puddles became deep enough to make walking difficult. This resulted in a change in plans. Even as the rain was slowing down, I moved on. Then the adventure began.

It was very difficult to turn left across traffic to return toward home. I decided to turn right looking for the next traffic light. The next thing I knew I was on Amelia Island. Much of the island is an upscale tourist area. They seem to have an aversion to traffic signs. I managed to take enough wrong turns to make a counter clockwise circle including a stretch along the Atlantic Ocean. For most of the trip I didn’t know where I was even though I’ve been on the island before. Traffic was heavy the whole way around the loop I completed to reverse direction toward home.

The RV park doesn’t seem as busy today as I have come to expect for the start of a weekend. The front of the park has filled up with weekenders in the past. Tonight it doesn’t seem to be as populated. Perhaps more people arrived after dark. I’ll figure it out during one of my walks tomorrow.

Thursday July 27th 2023

The last few days have begun cloudy and even foggy. This morning was the opposite. The clouds were missing from the sky at the beginning of the day. The temperature climbed quickly. Then everything changed. The clouds moved in and the wind picked up. The sub tropical system that has been developing off the east coast of Florida over the last few days is starting to move inland. It is forecast to bring rain to the area tomorrow morning.

I haven’t really caught up on the sleep I lost by getting up at 5AM yesterday. Instead of going to bed early last night, I stayed up late. This morning I was dragging. Breakfast took about three hours to complete. I kept getting distracted by things on the internet. Basically, I lacked focus all day.

My afternoon activity turned into a drive in air conditioned comfort. I had intended to stop at a few of the picnic areas and boat launch areas along the rivers, but found them uninteresting when I arrived. In general, I wasn’t in the mood for doing much walking without a specific goal. The only walk I took was around the RV park this evening. The changing weather had lowered the temperature into the mid eighties making conditions right for a comfortable walk. The geese thought so too. The entire flock seemed to be waking along the roads in the park.

Wednesday July 26th 2023

Today began very early. I had an 8AM appointment in Ocala to have my new car setup to be towed behind my motorhome. Ocala is about two hours away in normal conditions. To make sure I arrived on time, I departed my RV home at 5:30AM this morning. The first half of the trip south was in the dark followed by the glare of the rising sun. I made it with plenty of time to spare.

The next six hours were spent waiting for my car to have major surgery. They need to take the front bumper assembly off to install the base plate to the frame. The front bumper assembly includes the headlights, front running lights and lots of sensors. They also run wires from the front of the car to the tail lights and through the firewall into the cabin. The shop also installed a trailer hitch receiver in the back so I can use my bike rake to carry my bicycle.

I spent the time watching YouTube videos on my cell phone and observing the other patrons of the Hitching Post shop. In addition to setting up cars for towing, they install trailer hitches, bed covers for truck beds and other aftermarket equipment. It seems to be a busy business. There were two other 8AM appointments this morning and when I departed this afternoon several people were waiting for service.

Traffic on the way south this morning was light after I got out of the greater Jacksonville area. Returning home this afternoon, traffic was heavy all the way. Once I got to the beltway around Jacksonville it really slowed down. I got home shortly before 5PM. It was a long day, but I have my new vehicle towable. There are a few more things I need to check out to optimize the connection for towing. Specifically I need to make sure the light are wired correctly and that the height of the towbar makes a level connection. That will happen over the next couple of days. I still have almost a month before I plan to travel again.

Tuesday July 25th 2023

It went from dry to rain in the blink of an eye this afternoon. When I decided it was time for a walk, I checked the sky and didn’t see any dark clouds. There were lots of white and gray clouds, but nothing that looked threatening. I also checked the weather radar on my phone. The sky looked clear. Ten minutes later the sky started to cry without warning. It stopped before I found shelter back at my RV home, but I needed dry clothes. The storm basically formed right overhead. Over the next two hours more rain fell.

This was a chores and errands kind of day. They certainly didn’t take op the whole day. I wasted a lot of time drinking a second cup of coffee with my breakfast pastries and I got in two walks. One wet one and one dry one.

I may have discovered why the geese disappear for a day or two every now and then. At least one of the park staff has taken on a mission of harassment. Today he was driving his golf cart toward them at full speed complete with beeping horn. Not content with a single pass, he would circle around and come back at them until the majority took flight to escape. I know their calling cards are dirty and annoying, but they get dried up by the sun and cleaned up by the thunderstorms. The geese are protected from harm by Federal regulations, but not from harassment. Right now the RV park is empty enough that the birds can wander easily from grassy area to grassy area. When the park is full they have a much harder time. This would naturally limit the number of geese in the area.