Friday August 19th 2016

Today was a lot like yesterday. It was hot and I didn’t have a great deal of motivation to leave the RV. I worked in and around my RV home today.

One of the things I’ve been doing is assembling a list of warranty repairs for my RV that need to be completed. After the sale of my house closes, I need to make a run to Red Bay, Alabama to get the repairs completed at the factory. The one year warranty runs out at the beginning of October. The advantage associated with a trip to the factory instead of having any authorized dealer complete the tasks are two fold. The biggest advantage is that the factory service center is first come first served. You don’t need to make an appointment for some day weeks or even months in the future and being the factory, they usually fix it right the first time.

My understanding of the way it works at the factory service center comes from the internet. Hopefully that is close to accurate. They have a large campground with hookups at the service center. Once you check in, a customer service tech visits you at your site to go over the list of things you need completed. Your scheduled for a service bay based on complexity of task. It usually takes a couple of days to a week to get in depending on how busy they are. Now until the middle of October is supposed to be a slow time.

I haven’t had any debilitating problems with the RV. They are mostly things with easy work arounds or annoyances. The two biggest items are the power window in the drivers door doesn’t work reliably and the black tank flush doesn’t seem to work. I re-tried each of these issues today to make sure they were not just operator error. They are real issues so they are on the list. The other items are adjustments and replacing a window shade that doesn’t work.

There may be one other problem to fix. Over the winter I had a water leak in the hot water line to the shower. Unfortunately, the evidence of this leak has gone away. I find it hard to believe it’s fixed without intervention. There is something wrong with trying to re-create a leak, but that is exactly what I’ve been doing. If I can’t get it to happen again, I’ll report it and have them log it as a problem identified during the warranty period. They are reported to be good about fixing things like reported during the warranty period at later time.

In addition to the repair list, I got a few other things accomplished around the RV. Outside, I put the sun shades on the tires that face the sun to prevent UV exposure and I dumped the holding tanks. Inside I did more internet research and made a few calls to setup appointments regarding the sale of the house in New Hampshire.

Interesting cloud pattern as the storm front moves into the area.

Late in the day the weather deteriorated. A brief line of storms went through about 3PM and a heavier storm hit around 8PM. It seems to have cooled things off a little. My roof AC units are cycling off for much longer periods of time.

Thursday August 18th 2016

It was another hot and humid day. I didn’t do much outside today. I spent most of the day inside not doing much at all.

I stretched my breakfast coffee into a 2 hour affair by reading blog pages on the Internet, searching for information and watching TV. I drank the whole pot of coffee this morning. Usually, I only finish about two thirds of the pot.

My afternoon was spent watching TV and napping. Even though I got a good nights sleep, some how I lost an hour during the afternoon to sleep. With any luck, I will still be able to sleep tonight.

Late in the afternoon, I went out to dinner at the Cracker Barrel at the Airport exit off of I-95. Thursday is their special is turkey with dressing. It’s pretty good and Cracker Barrel in the late afternoon or early evening is not a bad place for a single to eat. After my meal I checked out the Economy parking lot at the Airport for my flight on Sunday. Believe it or not, the fee is only $5 a day.

The best picture I could get with my limited photography equipment and skill of tonight’s Full moon.

This evening I have been trying to get a picture of the full moon with one of my point and shoot cameras. It is a lost cause. Neither of my little Canon cameras have enough zoom or low light capabilities to pick up any of the definition visible with the naked eye. The good thing about my Canon Power Shot cameras is they are always available on my belt and produce a little better picture than my cell phone. I know I am going to have to buy a Digital SLR camera or something with interchangeable lenses before I get out west or into heavy wildlife areas.

Wednesday August 17th 2016

Today was another hot and humid day. Getting acclimate to this weather is not easy. The real issue is going from air conditioned space to the outside heat and humidity. Sitting and light activity out of the direct sun is OK. Anything in the direct sun is uncomfortable very quickly. The two air conditioners on my motorhome keep the inside comfortable, but one is always running during the heat of the day. Once the sun sets the AC units get some rest.

After breakfast and a little time with the morning Olympics coverage, I took a drive in search of the sea. Basically, I went into Jacksonville and followed the north bank of the St. Johns River to the ocean. Then I continued north on route A1A to Amelia Island.

Along the St Johns river I passed a massive freight terminal for cargo ship and a little ferry dock where route A1A crosses the river. Somehow the two extremes of shipping struck me as anachronistic. The ferry may be used by many people who want to avoid the long drive back to the bridge at Interstate 295, but it just seemed like a throw back to an era before Interstate highways and massive bridges. I might just take that ferry another day.

My drive north on A1A ended on Amelia island when I found signs directing me to I-95. This trip was really a scouting mission for another day. All of the places I passed with water access charged for admission or parking. There were several state parks that have good trails. I will go back another day with plans to spend some time. The northern end of Amelia Island also has Fort Clinch state park that I’ve wanted to see.

The parts of Amelia Island I’ve seen so far didn’t impress me. It is clearly a high end community. Gated housing developments line the roads that have roundabouts at every intersection to manage traffic and keep speeds down. They also make it hard to navigate because the discreet signage is several hundred feet before the rotary. I was ready to head back to camp when I found the signs for Interstate 95.

Pond in the Pecan Park RV Resort.

This evening I took another walk around the campground for exercise. I checked out the pond in the campground for wildlife. I didn’t see any birds or reptiles. The are supposed to be fish in the pond as signs call for catch and release fishing. I suspect that during the winter northern water fowl may make this pond and the accompanying marsh home.

Tuesday August 16th 2016

Today was a travel day. I got everything packed up and ready to go by 10:30. It was only a little over an hours drive to my next stop. The drive wasn’t bad traffic wise, but the weather could have been more cooperative. When I was in a construction area, just as I was about to go over the St. Johns river, a cloud burst openned up. Visibility dropped but the speed of the of the traffic didn’t seem to go down proportionally. It only lasted three or four wheel gripping minutes and the sun was back out.

Site at the Pecan Park RV Resort.

I am now at the Pecan Park RV resort on the north side of Jacksonville. I’m booked here for about a month. It is a fairly updated campground with 5 long, uniform rows of campsites. I chose this park for its proximity to the Jacksonville Airport. As it turns out it is right in line with one of the runways. The commercial airline traffic is not bad. You know something is going over, but it doesn’t impact hearing the TV or shack anything loose.

Unfortunately, some military fighter traffic is also using the runway. I haven’t gotten a good look at the planes, but I’d assume they are Navy F/A 18s since Jacksonville is a heavy Navy port. I don’t think the fighters are based at the airport, but are using the runway for training. They are in full afterburner mode as they pass overhead. The noise and rumble cause everything to pause while they go by. They passed in groups of three or four at least two different times this afternoon. I hope they don’t start up again before breakfast tomorrow morning.

There is also a farmers market and flea market next door to the campground on weekends. This may prove to be a good opportunity to buy some fruits and vegetables. I continue to be amazed at the quality and origin of the produce in the grocery stores. You’d think that a state with the agricultural production of Florida would have better selections.

Late this afternoon I checked out the immediate area. At the next exit off the Interstate south there is a large shopping complex with a Walmart and many other stores and restaurants. The next exit north is the access road for the Amelia Island area. I’ll be checking out each of these in more detail while I am here.

Monday August 15th 2016

Today was an inside, turn up the air conditioner type of day. The sun was bright with heavy humidity and a little over 90 degrees on the thermometer.

I left my RV home for two brief trips. The first a little afternoon was to the grocery store for milk and bread. I came right back to the motorhome after that trip. Toward evening, I went down the road less than a mile to Cracker Barrel for dinner. I had their Roast Beef dinner with mashed potatoes, corn and carrots. As usual it was stick to the bones quality.

At my RV home, I’ve been preparing to move tomorrow. I’m relocating to an RV park nearer the airport to make it easier when I fly back north. I need to get a few more things done at the house before the closing. Chief among those is hiring someone to empty out the rest of the stuff.

Hopefully, the house sale will close in the middle of September. One of the other things I’ve been doing today is dealing with the real estate people and the title company that will handle the transfer. Finding some of the information they have requested has been quite a search. It’s one of those, which hiding place did I store that old paper work in, type of searches. So far, I’ve found what I’m looking for on the 2nd or 3rd try.

Getting ready to say good-bye to the Stagecoach RV Park in St. Augustine FL.

As the day ends, I’ve got half of the outside preparation tasks complete and will do a few more inside tasks before I go to bed. I’m only moving about 50 miles tomorrow, so it shouldn’t be to bad.

Sunday August 14th 2016

It was a cloudy day with high temperature around 90 degrees. The humidity was about normal; thick and sticky. Around 6pm we got a flashy and loud thunderstorm that dropped a little water in the area.

I got off to a very slow start this morning. The Olympics are to blaim once again. The Women’s Marathon drew my attention for most of the morning. The race isn’t the real attraction. It is the area the women are running through. I like seeing the roads, buildings and the beach in Rio as the race goes through the various areas. Four years ago watching the running through London was a little more interesting, because I’d actually seen some of the areas in person. This was interesting because of the beach and the knowledge that they had “cleaned up” the areas the race was passing through. Even so, I have no desire or expectation of ever going to Brazil.

Once I broke away from the Olympic coverage on TV, I made an attempt to visit the World Golf Hall of Fame. It is just one exit up the interstate from my campsite so if I’m going to see it now’s the time. I couldn’t really build up a strong desire to see the hall of fame. I watch golf on TV a lot, but have played about two rounds in the last 40 years. From the web page it is clear that this hall of fame has a focus on the history of the sport and on exhibits for active golfers. With this ambivalence on my mind I headed for the Hall.

World Golf Hall of Fame at the World Golf Village outside St. Augustine Florida

The approach is through the heavily landscaped entrance to the World Golf Village planned community. You wind along tree lined roads past the real estate office and the entrances to several gated housing developments. You have to watch closely for the discrete little signs that direct you to the parking for the Hall of Fame. You finally arrive at a man made lake with buildings lining the shore. The World Golf Hall of Fame is here along with a building labeled PGA Entertainment, First Tee, several golf related shops and a hotel. In front of the Hall of Fame building is a golf tee area with a green on the opposite side of the lake. One of the opportunities a golfer gets with admission is a chance to drive a ball onto the green. I don’t know what they would win if they got a hole in one.

I didn’t get any further than a walk along the promenade around the lake. There were not many people around. Those that were present were all couples that looked like they had just come out of the country club after a round of golf and dinner. My ambivalence rapidly changed to frugality.   I don’t think it was very expensive, but I didn’t even find out. I watched one couple drive three balls into the lake trying to reach the green then returned to my RV home.

Ironically, I spent the next couple of hours watching the Olympic coverage of the Men’s Golf final. The top three or four finishers were actually players I’d heard of before. With so many of the top golfers backing out for fear of health and security at the Olympics that was a real surprise. Later in the afternoon I cooked a pork chop with potatoes and corn for dinner. The only other activity for the day was a walk around the campground shortly before the sky opened up.

Saturday August 13th 2016

This morning I went to the Washington Oaks Gardens State Park. The park is located south of St. Augustine on the barrier island about 30 miles from my campsite. The Matanzas River which forms part of the Intercoastal waterway is to the west and the Atlantic Ocean is to the east.

The land has a history that dates back to the Spanish rule of the early 1800s. A distant relative of President George Washington married the daughter of the land owner in 1845. That is why “Washington” is part of the name of the park. The land was donated to the State of Florida in 1964 by the widow of Owen Young. He was the Chairman of the Board of the General Electric Corporation in the 1920s. The Youngs put in the formal gardens that are one of the parks attractions.

View across the Matanzas River

Cruiser passing down the Intercoastal waterway.

The views on the river side of the park are fantastic. You can watch all of the boats and recreational traffic in the Intercoastal Waterway. There are also people fishing in the river. I saw a couple of small fish caught while I watched. I couldn’t identify the type of fish, but they were about 10 inches long and not of any interest to the fishermen. Both fish were released back into the salt water of the river.

I took a hike on one of the trails from the garden area of the park to the picnic area. The trail is only a little over a half mile in length. It goes through an oak hammock with tree branches covered in Spanish moss. I didn’t see any animal life, but the sound of chirping insects (or something) in the trees was ever present.

Formal Garden area of the park.

The garden area of the park was disappointing. The water features were all drained and under repair. The azaleas and camellias which the garden is known for were not in season. The rose garden was in bloom, just not in peak bloom. I think in the spring, the gardens would be more impressive.

Atlantic Ocean beach at the Washington Oaks Gardens State Park.

Across highway A1A from the garden section of the park is a beach area on the Atlantic. Nice white sand covered the Coquina rocks that are common in this area of the coast. Coquina is a sedimentary rock made of sand and shells. Some of the architectural details in the plantation side of the park are made of coquina rock.

Friday August 12th 2016

It was a bright sunny day with high humidity and the temperature in the mid 90s. A typical summer day in northeast Florida.

I spent most of the morning working on the computer and telephone. I returned a few Emails and looked up more information about establishing my domicile here in Florida. Around noon I got in the car for an aimless ride. My objective on these rides is to see what I can see.

In this case I drove north to the southern edge of the Jacksonville metro area. Then I returned south on the other side of the St. Johns river. About all I saw was traffic until I was back in Green Cove Springs.

Pier in the St. Johns river from the Green Cove Springs town park.

I stopped in a small public park behind the town hall on the banks of the river. There were shady areas with benches and a pier out into the St. Johns river. I got out of my air conditioned car and sat in the park for a while. The breeze off the river made it tolerable in the shade. I don’t envy the people that work in the sun in this heat, but just sitting in the shade isn’t bad. The biggest challenge is overcoming the shock leaving the air conditioning.

Today’s wildlife sighting. The four turkeys that visit or live at the campground.

During my evening walk around the campground, I saw the turkeys again. This would seem to confirm that they are an ordinary occurrence here. While I stopped to take their picture other people just walked by.

Tomorrow I am going to try and find another natural setting to take a walk/hike. There are a couple of state or county parks south of St. Augustine near the beach.

Thursday August 11th 2016

It took three tries, but I finally got to the beach today. This morning I went for a walk on the beach in St. Augustine Beach.

I got an early start for a change. The beach is about 20 to 25 minutes away. I was there before 10am. The sun was shining brightly and the temperature was already in the high 80s. I had sun screen and a hat, but it was still uncomfortable in the sun.

My beach walk started at the St. Augustine pier. Not to many people were on the pier. There is a nominal charge to use the pier. I think it was $3 to fish and a dollar to sight see. The pier is high above the water level. It really stood out at the low tied during my walk.

St. Augustine Beach Pier

The sand on the beach has been graded to support the re-establishment of sand dunes. Sand has been piled up at the back of the beach with a steep drop to the tidal area. An attempt to get grass to grow is supported by fences to break the lateral wind action. The lower area of the beach has a gradual slope with less sand and lots of broken shells. A few people were searching for shells.

St. Augustine Beach at low tide.

There were people trying to ride the waves and surf. Other people were walking along in the water line. I walked north along the beach at the high water line trying not to get my feet wet as the tide came in. There were not a lot of people sitting on the beach. Most people were either in the water or walking the beach like I was. You would really have to have a beach umbrella or other sun shade to sit on the beach for any length of time.

I was back at the car by 11am, so I was out in the sun for about an hour. I lucked out and didn’t get burnt. Back in the car the air conditioning was welcome as I took a long route home. I drove north halfway to Jacksonville before turning west toward the St. Johns river then south and east back to the campground.

One of the campground turkeys.

This campground comes alive after supper in the evening. The people who were out during the day have returned and the people that have been hiding in their air conditioned rigs come out. I also came out of my air conditioned RV for a walk around the park. In the back corner of the park a storage field was home to four turkeys this evening. They were good size and very dark colored birds. Since nobody else that was out walking paid any attention to them, they must be a normal sighting.

Wednesday August 10th 2016

I’m going to blame the Olympic coverage for today’s lack of anything interesting to write about tonight. I got a slow start to the day, I turned the TV on at 7:30, but didn’t get out of bed for another hour plus. How much TV I watched and how much snoozing I did remains a mystery.

Over my breakfast coffee I got hooked on the NBC Olympic coverage. Some of the interviews they were showing caught my attention. As I write this blog entry I can’t remember who was being interview or what they were talking about. All of the coverage seems to blend together. The significant thing to me is that all of the competitors are so dedicated and driven. Even the athletes that don’t stand a chance in a million are committed to their sport.

At mid day I made an attempt to get out and do something. I set out with a general goal of checking out the beach area of St. Augustine Beach. Traffic and a general lack of interest conspired against success. I ended up driving in a big circle, 25 miles or so, and returning to my RV home for lunch and more TV.

Later in the afternoon, I tried to get interested in visiting the World Golf Hall of Fame. Similar to my earlier excursion, I missed the turn, ended up in first day of school traffic and abandon the idea. The trip wasn’t a total loss, I picked up some groceries at the local Publix supermarket.

View of the storm front to the southwest.

The TV weather people say that today’s weather is back to summer normal. That translates into sunny in the morning with highs around 90 followed by a chance of showers in the afternoon. Around 4:30 there were reports of thunderstorms heading in the direction of the campground. They were wrong. The storms passed by to the west. Tomorrow and Friday have similar forecasts.