Wednesday July 6th 2022

This the third day in a row with no afternoon thunderstorms in this area. For most of the day there were very few clouds in the sky. The sun, humidity and comfortable wind kept the temperature in the low to mid nineties.

On my walk around the RV resort this afternoon I finally stopped and explored the new recreation area. There is a Tennis Court, Two Pickle Ball courts, a basketball hoop, two horseshoe pits, a boccie ball court, a large area of artificial turf and a fire ring. Most of the time when I walk by the area is empty. I’ve only seen a few people using the basketball area. It is probably the heat.

On my visit to this park in June of 2021, work on the recreation area had just started. The land was cleared and leveled with some paving completed. It wasn’t clear what the construction was going to create. In November of last year they were actively working on the area. A restroom building was under construction. Fences around the various courts were getting installed and lights on tall concrete poles were getting installed. When I departed at the end of November it looked like the construction was in the final stages.

As I’ve mentioned in other blog entries, I don’t understand campground occupancy. This park emptied out on Monday and Tuesday after the holiday weekend as expected. What surprised me was the number of new RVs that arrived today. They also seem to be a travelers rather than longer term residents. Many are families in smaller RVs.

Tuesday July 5th 2022

Today’s weather was very similar to Monday’s. The temperature peaked in the low nineties with plenty of humidity and some wind. The only real difference was one brief period of threatening weather. Just after the noon hour there were lots of black clouds and some rumbling of thunder to the east, but no rain fell in this area. By mid afternoon blue sky returned for the remainder of the day.

I started my day catching up with the Fourth of July Fireworks. Since I didn’t see any in person last night, I started my day watching YouTube Videos of various fireworks shows. The video of the local Jacksonville show was mostly from aerial shots, but it was clear I would have been in the wrong place if a good view if I had attempted to view them from the spot I was considering. Overall they weren’t that impressive although I’m sure they would have been great in person.

The other fireworks I watched on YouTube were from Walt Disney World. Both Magic Kingdom and Epcot had special 4th of July fireworks shows. Several people posted vlogs to YouTube of the shows. It is the first time since 2019 that Disney held the special fireworks shows. The shows from both parks were impressive, but the Epcot presentation was over the top. They added a ten minute special fireworks show to the end of the regular Harmonious pyrotechnics show. The sky above the World Showcase Lagoon was filled with Red, White and Blue fireworks set to patriotic music. Once again it would have been better to be there, but it was a good show on video as well.

The remainder of my day was spent on chores and my regular walks around the RV resort. The park is back to its regular sleepy midweek atmosphere. Most of the people that arrived for the weekend have departed and many of the rest are back to there regular work schedule.

Monday July 4th 2022

The good news is it didn’t rain today. The bad news is it was hot and humid. The high temperature for the day was in the low nineties.

I spent some time today scouting out possible places to watch the Jacksonville fireworks. They are launched from several sites around the city. I don’t want to go into the center of the city and get stuck in crowds and traffic. An ideal place would be along the north bank of the St. Johns River with a view of several of the launch locations. I wasn’t successful. I’m not familiar enough with the area or the exact locations of the launch sites. It will be TV and Internet fireworks for me this year.

Over the last few years on my Rambling Road Trip I’ve been lucky to be able to see the Forth of July Fireworks from my campsite most years. In 2017 I was able to see the fireworks in West Wendover Nevada down the hill from my campsite. I was also able to walk into town and watch the parade that morning. In 2019 I was able to see the fireworks in Pasco Washington. The next year I was confined to the campground in Grants New Mexico because of COVID restrictions on travelers, but I was able to watch the fireworks from my site. Last year the fireworks for the town of Chattahoochee Florida were visible from the end of the campground loop I was staying on. Twenty Eighteen was the last year I didn’t get to watch the fireworks from my site.

Last night I commented in the blog that I wasn’t hearing any fireworks in the area. Tonight I am hearing the sound of fireworks. They are from a good distance away. The nearest residential area in the direction of the noise is over a mile away. I did not here the public fireworks from Jacksonville.

Sunday July 3rd 2022

The daily rain arrived at 2PM today. It started heavy and transitioned to a long drawn out period of gentle rain. Around 7PM I looked outside to a blue sky and a bright sun in the western sky. The temperature reached the upper eighties before the rain brought it down to the upper seventies. The bright sun after the rain allowed the temperature to climb again before nightfall.

This was a very quiet and sleepy RV resort today. People stay inside their air conditioned RVs most of the time. When I was out walking I saw a few people, but not any real gathering of folks. The exception happened this afternoon during the light rain period. The power went out for about half an hour. Everybody came out of their RVs long enough to look around and verify it was more than just them with a power issue. Brief “Are you out too?” questions and answers were exchanged. Then we all went back inside to wait for the power to return.

The park management sent out a reminder late last week that fireworks are prohibited in the RV park. So far it has worked. I haven’t heard any fireworks going off in the area. The park is located in an unpopulated area. The nearest housing development is to the north out of the flight path in and out of Jacksonville International Airport. The bottom line is I haven’t heard any fireworks this Independence Day Holiday weekend. If I want to watch fireworks tomorrow, I’ll have to travel to a good viewing location. Since I don’t know, more than in general terms, where the pyrotechnics will be launched that might pose a problem. I’ll do a little more checking tomorrow, but right now I expect to be watching fireworks on the TV and/or internet.

Saturday July 2nd 2022

I got faked out by the weather forecast again today. The thunderstorms finally arrived around 5PM. They had been forecast since 11AM. The sky showed signs of an impending storm all day with big dark clouds all around. A few breaks in the clouds allowed the temperature to heat to around ninety degrees, before the evening thunderstorms brought it down into the seventies.

This was a day filled with random tasks and events. Breakfast dragged into a two hour event while I caught up on some of my Internet reading. During that time I got a notice that Amazon was going to deliver my one remaining package this afternoon. It spent some extra time in Georgia on its way to Jacksonville according to the tracking information. So by 1:45 my “What’s up with Amazon?” thoughts were answered. It amazes me how they can successfully deliver it to my open door, six feet from where I’m sitting in my RV home, without me knowing it until I get the notice from the Amazon App. Sure enough the package was there.

I got one long walk around the RV resort in today. The number of people here for the weekend is surprising. This is the most occupied I’ve seen the park this summer. The swimming pools and sports courts were getting a lot of use. The ducks were trying to sleep in the shade of a tree (until I came along) and the Canadian Geese were roaming between the sites. In other areas of the park people seem to be preparing the outside of their RVs for parties. In many ways there was more activity today than I’ve seen here.

The 5PM thunderstorm was more intense than any of the storms in the last few weeks. The sky darkened, the wind blew and the rain pour down hard on the roof of my RV home. The forecast called for rain to continue for several hours, but once again mother nature didn’t agree. The heavy storm was over in about twenty minutes and the light rain that followed was over by 8PM. Plenty of time to get ready for round two tomorrow.

Thursday June 30th 2022

Last night the weather forecast called for a chance of rain from 20 to 60 percent for every hour of today from 10AM to 8PM. This morning there was less than ten percent chance of rain anytime before 11PM. What happened? The reality was a brief minute or two of rain around 11AM, but nothing else. Many clouds passed the area that looked like they could dump lots of rain, but it remained dry. Rain is now forecast during the overnight. The high temperature was in the upper eighties with lots of humidity and a nice wind to keep it comfortable.

This last day of June in 2022 was for the birds, but in a good way. On my walks around the RV resort I saw a few more birds than I’ve been seeing. The local Canadian Geese had visitors. The local group of six birds was surrounded by another ten to fifteen geese. The duck family was keeping their distance at the other end of the retention pond. There was also a Little Blue heron looking for lunch to go along with the local area Green Heron. On my last walk of the day to the back area of the RV resort, I encountered a vulture to round out my day for the birds.

Wednesday June 29th 2022

Today’s weather was transitional at best. The day began sunny and ended cloud covered. In between there was a quick line of storms, some wind and a lot more threatening clouds. None of the weather tracked with the forecast for the day. The rain storm came in the early afternoon which required me to close the windows and turn on the air conditioning once again.

June is supposed to be the start of the rainy season in this area. So far the amount of rain is behind schedule. There haven’t been as many days with rainstorms as normal and the storms that have occurred didn’t drop a lot of water. I’ve noticed grassy areas that are starting to brown out and the water level in the retention ponds in the RV resort is down considerably. I suspect this problem is localized to this immediate area. Reports from the center of the state are complaining about excessive rain. It is probably only a matter of days before it will all change.

Today was a chores day inside my RV home. I got some computer work done and some cleaning caught up. The potential of rain at any minute kept me from making a trip to the laundry at the front of the RV park. The laundry facility is well equipped, but not the cheapest. At least the machines take credit cards. Finding enough change remains a major issue. People and businesses just don’t use cash anymore.

Tuesday June 28th 2022

I had turn the air conditioner on early today. It wasn’t because of the heat, but rather the rain. A line of thunderstorms arrived before 11AM this morning. I had to close the vents and windows, which means I need the AC to keep the interior of my RV home comfortable. The storms didn’t last long. The sun was back in full force by 1PM, the behavior change was complete. I was living in AC comfort for the rest of the day.

Once the sun was back in control of the sky, I forced myself to get out into the weather. Going from the AC comfort to the hot and sticky outside is difficult. That is one of the reasons I try not to turn on the air conditioning until I really need it. Today I drove twenty minutes north to St Mary’s Georgia.

I’ve been to the historic old town on the St Mary’s river many times before. It is a very interesting place. The words quaint, peaceful, historic, quiet and picturesque all come to mind with respect to the village along the river. Today it was even more quiet than normal. There wasn’t a lot of boat traffic or people around. It still was enjoyable to walk along the riverfront checking out the scenery.

On my evening walk around the RV resort I discovered new arrivals. It looks like the park may be filling up a little. I wonder if it is the approaching holiday or just a coincidence. The resort hasn’t issued the schedule for the weekend activities, so I don’t know if there is a particular draw at the park. The forth of July activities in the area don’t sound like anything special. I have been trying to find the location for fireworks and if it is worth going. It is always a challenge to figure out locations to see fireworks when you’re in a new area.

Monday June 27th 2022

It was another great weather day very similar to Sunday. The temperature peaked in the upper eighties with moderate humidity and a good breeze off the ocean. The thunderstorms that were possible in the forecast stayed well south of here.

Since last Thursday, I’ve had the urge to go grocery shopping. I was out of orange juice which is one of my key indicators that it is time for a grocery run. However, when I thought about what else I needed the list was very short. Since I’ve been here I’ve gotten out of my usual sequence for shopping. Each day since then I ran out of something else. Yesterday I was ready to go grocery shopping, but traffic had other ideas. Interstate 95 was backed up when I was ready to leave. Consequently today was shopping day.

The Walmart at the next exit off the interstate is a big store. It wasn’t extremely busy when I was there, but may have been earlier in the day. There were quite a few empty shelves. The odd thing is that instead of restocking, there were employees in most of the aisles with ladders rearranging the products on the shelves. The product from deep in the shelf was getting moved to the front to fill in gaps and overflow products from the top shelf were getting moved down. The behavior would tend to imply they didn’t expect new stock soon.

Despite the gaps on the shelves I managed to get everything I needed. I arrived at the checkouts with a full cart and the final bill was about twenty dollars higher than my average total. Clearly I was ready for grocery shopping. Hopefully I’m back on track and things will run out in sync.