More Sightseeing in Our Area

Gordon went out for sunrise photos again. He hadn’t been feeling well since we arrived here so today was the first day that he went out early. I did my usual walk. When Gordon got back he said he had almost stopped next door in the little mall for breakfast so we walked over there and had breakfast at Talk of the Town.

When we got back I sat outside and read for a while and also did a computer backup and deleted my 2004 and 2005 photos from my computer as my hard drive was bordering on full.

We had to go and get fuel so we did some driving around the area and ended up at a park called Lakes Park that is very close to us. I got some good photos of birds and wildlife which you will see below. None of these photos have been cropped so that’s how close I got to them with my little camera. This park is a beautiful park for walking and is quite scenic as well with little islands in the water. We have to go back there and do the complete walk around the lakes but we didn’t have time today. It costs $1.00/hr to park and we had only paid for one hour.

Tri-Colored Heron

A little alligator

An Anhinga sitting right below me on the bridge drying his wings

Another Tri-Colored Heron

A Little Blue Heron

Some pretty palms along the road

After we left the park we drove to a little fruit and vegetable market out near where Betty and Garth are so I could get some oranges. The ones in the grocery store didn’t look nice. These looked nice but I’ve had better. I have a nice big bag of them now. I also got a really good looking tomato.

Tonight will be our usual night of TV.

Visitors

Betty and Garth at our RV

Dinner at our place

It stays dark later in the morning now with daylight saving time so I didn't get up till nearly 8:00 a.m. I needed a few things at the grocery store as Betty and Garth were coming for dinner and I decided to change the menu last night. There is a Publix just across the canal from the RV Park so I walked over and picked up what I needed. It's a nice little mall with a health food store (I'll have to check to see if they have any gluten free stuff) and a restaurant that serves breakfast all day. There's a Mexican restaurant, dry cleaner, hair dresser and a bunch of other shops.

This morning and early afternoon we spent preparing for our dinner company and sitting outside reading. Betty & Garth were to arrive around 3:00 p.m. so I biked up to the office and they were just pulling in as I got there so they followed me back to the RV. We spent a nice afternoon chatting and we had dinner outside at our picnic table as there’s not a lot of room for four at our dining room table. We walked around the park and a tri colored heron was nice enough to show up at the canal while we were there.

Arrangements were made for us to see them on Wednesday and Betty and I are going to the flea market (Fleamasters) on Friday.

YEAH!Daylight Savings Time is Here!

There is a side street beside the park that has a furniture store on it and then goes into a 55+ housing park. There’s also a road which runs parallel with Hwy 41 and goes by an elementary school, Arby’s and Dunkin’ Donuts so that’s where I walked this morning just for a change.

Another 86F (30C) high today with a nice breeze. I met Betty at Walmart this afternoon and we went shopping. Unfortunately neither of us found anything we couldn’t live without. I picked up some more groceries when I picked up the truck at Walmart and headed home.

Since it was late when I got home and I hadn’t left anything out nor purchased anything for dinner (I’m trying to clean out the freezer so I can defrost it), we went to Taco Bell for dinner and then drove around downtown Fort Myers. It’s not very impressive but looks like they are trying to rejuvenate it.

Today’s photo is of a very large banyan tree that is in downtown Fort Myers.

A Bit of Sightseeing

It’s another beautiful warm sunny day. By 9:00 a.m. it was already 74F (23C). I was up at 7:30 a.m. for my walk. I’ve pretty much walked the whole park now. After breakfast I got the laundry together and got that nasty little job done. It’s a hot job in this weather! Our high today was 86F (30C) again.

This afternoon we took a drive through Bonita Springs and crossed the bridge into Fort Myers Beach. We located the motel we stayed at some 18 years ago – amazing its still there. It’s just a little 2 storey motel right on the beach amongst high rises and hotels. The traffic was pretty bad especially on our way back. We weren’t able to find a place to park in the area where Gordon wanted to take photos so we stopped at Lovers Key State Park and walked on the trails there and took some photos which you will see below.

This is part of the beach at Lovers Key State Park

An egret looking for some lunch at Lovers Key State Park

A Nature Walk

This white ibis flew right in front of me this morning on my walk

I slept really well last night and this morning was mostly sunny and 64F (18C) when I got up. It quickly reached 70F (21C) by the time I had returned from my walk.

Betty and Garth have gone to an antiquarian book fair in St. Petersburg for a couple of days so we’re on our own.

I sat outside and read for most of the morning. This afternoon with temperatures reaching 86F (30C), we drove to Estero River Scrub which is not far from where we are. I only had sandals on and Gordon is fighting a cold so we decided not to walk there today and continued on to Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve. Here there is a boardwalk that goes through the preserve and a lot of it is shaded so we walked around there and got to see a fair number of birds as well as some swamp iris. It was very hot today but with a slight breeze so it was only bad in the sun. On our way back we stopped at Walmart to pick up a few things.

It’s very warm here during the day but cools off nicely with a breeze at night. Ideal!

This is a photo I took at the Estero River Scrub this afternoon

Little blue heron at Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve

Water iris at the Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve

Part of the swamp area at the preserve

Wood stork at the pond at Walmart

We Visit Betty & Garth

This morning was 56F (13C) and bright and sunny. I had a nice walk around the park. It’s not a beautiful park but it’s nice enough and has some nice features like the Ten Mile Canal that runs along one side of the park. By the time I finished my walk and got back to the rig it was 64F (18C) already and it warmed up to the low 80’s F (26C).

I called Betty (my sister) this morning and we went over to their condo this afternoon. Garth was playing golf so we caught him just before he left. We took a tour of the complex. It’s very large and has condos and single houses. It’s a very nice complex based on a golf course and has lots of little lakes throughout.

Betty took us for a drive to Bunche Beach and to one of the outlet malls that is close to them. Garth got back shortly after 5:00 p.m. and we had a nice dinner and chatted for a while. We called our younger sister in Ottawa where it was -22F ( -30C) with the wind chill this morning. YUK! Sure glad we’re here (except for the TRAFFIC!)

Betty and I walking on Bunche Beach

Dinner on Betty & Garth's lanai - L to R - Gordon, Sandra, Betty, Garth

We Have An RV Emergency Then Move to Fort Myers

We were packed up and ready to go shortly after 9:00 a.m. this morning. I had talked to my sister last night who is in Fort Myers and she had invited us for dinner at the restaurant at the condo they are renting. I just had to call them this morning to be sure they had something Gordon could eat (gluten free). I had called and confirmed that they could accommodate him when Gordon looked at the right rear tire of the fifth wheel and noted it had lost air – 36 lb to be exact. So we pulled the RV up to the garage at the campground and tried to put air in but couldn’t get enough pounds in it to continue on our trip. Off to Goodyear in Bushnell – after 1 ½ hr wait and a screw taken out of the tire, patched and put back on, we were on our way – 2 hour later than expected. I had called my sister when we reached Goodyear and told her that we wouldn’t make dinner tonight. Plans on a day that we’re moving is just too much so from now on – no plans on moving days!

Thanks to the guys at the Bushnell Tire Co. for getting us back on the road and working us in to their busy schedule.

Our fifth wheel with the tire off and under repair

We arrived at Fort Myers RV Resort around 2:30 p.m. under mostly sunny skies and a high of 81F (27C). We had some traffic backup at our exit off I-75 and some construction along the street that we traveled off I-75 to get to the park but other than that we made fairly good time.

After checking in, we were taken to our site which we were happy to see was fairly large. The park itself is a good size so I should have enough place to walk in the mornings. We were set up including changing the mount for the TV on the ladder to a higher location by 4:15 p.m.

Our site at Fort Myers RV Resort

We Meet Canadian Icons of Rving and Tour the Area

I had a nice walk through the campground this morning and on my way back signed us up for another night here. It’s a very large campground with not many park models. It’s well laid out and the seasonal sites are very large for a Florida park. Even the short term sites aren’t a bad size. I can’t give you a temperature for this morning as the sun was on the thermometer but the radio said 50F (10C) although I think the station is probably in Orlando. It didn’t feel like 50!

We got our phone call right at 9:00 a.m. saying that Fort Myers Campground has a site for us for a month. I really hate booking for so long a period without seeing the campground first but since it was so difficult to find a spot (that might be telling us something), we’re there for a month regardless.

After lunch we drove around downtown Bushnell – it’s not much, most everything is out where we are near the interstate. After that we stopped off to meet Peggi and John McDonald. They are at the RV park across the street from us called Red Barn. They have been fulltime RVers for 22 years and are fellow Canadians. Their site – rvliving.net is a wealth of information. If you want to know everything about RVing, ask them. They also have written several books. I bought the first one, Spirit of the Open Road before we started this lifestyle and it answered most of my questions. We didn’t stay long as we were headed to the Gulf Coast just for a drive but it was good to finally meet them. If I have a question, I send Peggi an email and I always get the answer to my question.

John and Peggi McDonald in front of their motorhome

Lots of Spanish moss in the trees around here

Flowering bush within the park

The drive was nice as it was a beautiful sunny day and reached 75F (24C). We didn’t see much over there, couldn’t get near the Gulf, too many houses and buildings but we had a good afternoon.

Tallahassee to Bushnell

Our site at Blueberry Hill RV Resort

A canopy of live oak trees cover the road

A view of the river that runs through Floral City

It was only 32F but sunny when I got up this morning. We got on the road by 9:05 a.m. and decided not to drive so far today so I made a reservation at Blueberry Hill RV Park in Bushnell, FL. We arrived there around 1:00 p.m. Our 212 mile drive was under sunny skies with little wind. We were set up by 2:00 p.m. even setting up the internet. We get enough local TV channels that we decided not to set up the TV dish.

The good news is that this park is right across the street from a SuperWalMart. After I had a bit of a rest I walked over there and Gordon came and picked me up when I was finished.

I spent a while on the phone trying to locate a site for us in Fort Myers. It’s amazing to me that resorts in Florida can charge $1100+/month and get away with it and be full! We’re thinking this is our last trip to Florida with the RV, too many people and too expensive! This is one park that is supposed to get back to me tomorrow so we’re planning on spending another day here in Bushnell.

Just before sunset we drove over to Floral City about 14 miles away as there were some scenic live oak trees that met in a tunnel over the road. We also drove to a little river that had some wood storks and limpkins. On our way back we picked up an Asian salad at McDonald’s and a Southwest steak bowl at Taco Bell for dinner. Yummy!

We're Back in the Eastern Time Zone in Tallahassee, FL!

This is our site at Tallahassee RV Park

There are azalea bushes all around the park

A cold front blew in last night so it was only 46F (8C) when I got up this morning – mind you it was 6:30 a.m. Central time. We started to pack up around 7:00 a.m. and were on our way by 8:30 a.m. It hadn’t warmed up any and the wind was strong. There was serious consideration given to staying another day but we wanted to get through Mobile and Pensacola on Sunday so off we went.

It was bright and sunny the whole way and we reached a high of 61F (16C). We crossed into Florida around 10:00 a.m. and arrived at Tallahassee RV Park at about 3:00 p.m. Eastern time and since we weren’t setting up either satellite (both cable and wifi are free) we were set up by 3:30 p.m. It’s the satellites that take the time.

This is a nice little campground run by a couple from New Zealand. It’s not cheap though at $32/night but I expect that’s not the most expensive campground we’ll see as we continue south.

We relaxed for the rest of the day. I took a walk around the campground and photographed some of the pretty flowers and also got a pretty good shot of a cardinal with my camera which is rare other than reading my book and watching TV, that’s about it. It’s supposed to get down to freezing here tonight!

We leave tomorrow hoping to make Venice, FL. Haven’t looked at campgrounds yet.

Short Trip to Mobile

This is the Richards DAR House Museum - note the cast iron facade which is quite popular in the older part of Mobile

Part of the Mobile skyline

Today was mostly sunny & breezy. It was 58F (14C) when I got up shortly after 7:00 a.m. I took what will probably be my last walk in the bird sanctuary at least for this trip.
We’re heading east tomorrow so will probably forego my walk as we’ll want to get on the road as early as possible.

Late this morning we left to go into Mobile. It was very crowded downtown. There was some kind of chili cook-off going on and it was wall to wall people. We took some photos of some of the antebellum mansions, one of which is the Richards DAR House Museum (Daughters of the American Revolution), drove around the downtown area, then headed for Walmart where I picked up some groceries before heading back to Dauphin Island.

Gordon went out to photograph the eclipse tonight and got a good photo To see it, click here.

Bellingrath Gardens

I was up shortly after 7:00 a.m. today. It was 55F (13C) and partly sunny with a bit of wind. I walked in the bird sanctuary and along the boardwalk to the beach. There were a few birds around this morning.

I took this photo at the beach this morning

Today was to be our day to go into Mobile and see the city. However Bellingrath Gardens was recommended to us by Gayle and Breland whom we met in Louisiana and a blogging RVer friend, Carolyn so we decided to go there on the way.

We arrived in time for the 12 noon cruise on the Fowl River. This is a 45 minute cruise that explains the importance of the river and the delta grasses that grow there with respect to the Gulf and fresh and salt water rivers. We saw a few osprey and the cruise commentary was interesting but the best was definitely the gardens, probably the prettiest was the oriental gardens. They had an oriental bridge and some buildings as well that really helped with the theme. They also had one lotus blossom tree. The rest of the gardens were very pretty as well. The azaleas were just coming into bloom and the camellias were just about finished but there were lots of flowering kale and cabbage and all sorts of spring flowers. You would need to spend a whole day there to see everything and take your time.

We left there around 2:30 p.m. and decided to come home as we were tired and hungry (Gordon couldn’t get anything at the cafeteria that he could eat) so we decided to go into Mobile tomorrow.

We reached a high of 65F (18C) and the afternoon turned sunny and beautiful, perfect for walking around the gardens.

Expenses, Housework & Touring Around

February Expenses

Campgrounds (incl Electricity) - $339.21

Groceries (includes wine) - $300.57

Laundry - $20.50

Entertainment/Parking/Restaurants - $155.97

Truck Fuel - $372.94

Propane - $0.00

Repairs/Service RV/Truck - $144.34 (includes labour for installation of microwave & truck service)

Internet/TV/Cell/Insurance - $351.52

Medical/Dental - $0.00

Gifts - $0.00

Misc - $343.78 – The largest items were my new hard drive and getting my hair done – other amounts just misc expenses

Total - $2,028.83

We did much better on groceries this month however since we started traveling at the end of the month our fuel expenses are higher. Our electric bill for Fulton Oaks was $85.50 which was rather high but we had quite a bit of cold weather so the electric heater was running 24 hr/day for several days as well as during the nights for a lot of days as well. It’s still cheaper than buying propane!

We were supposed to have rain and thunderstorms after midnight last night and continuing all day today and tonight. I woke up early as I’ve been getting up early the last few mornings because we were traveling so got up and Gordon and I went for a walk since it hadn’t started to rain yet. We found the beach which is accessible through the campground as is the Audubon bird sanctuary. The beach is not a ‘walking’ beach with mostly loose sand and the clouds were looking very heavy so we headed for the bird sanctuary and took the swamp trail when it started to rain a bit. We headed back to the RV. I made a stop to get some quarters for the laundry at the office and the rain stopped so I continued walking around the park. It was 65F (18C) and very humid.

This morning I did a couple of loads of laundry and vacuumed. Gordon went out to the bird sanctuary to take some photos but I decided to stay behind and rest my back for a while. Vacuuming and standing around always kills it and I stood for quite a while talking to a couple from Indiana when I was doing the laundry.

Around noon I checked the temperature and it was 80F( 27C). It was sunny but the skies were fairly dark. I had heard from someone this morning that the thunderstorms were passing north of us but with the humidity it feels like we might get some sort of action in that regard. We actually had the air conditioner on today. We had tornado watches for much of the day as well.

This afternoon we did some driving around and walked around another birding area but the birds haven’t arrived yet. This area is apparently a migratory stopoff for most birds and in a couple of weeks it will be teeming but unfortunately we can’t stay that long!

We also drove back to the west end of the island and saw the devastation that two hurricanes in less than ten years have caused the housing on the island. There are no trees or anything to shelter the houses. There’s a photo below of one of them.

We stopped at the local tourist office and obtained some information on the island. Behind the tourist bureau there are several camellia trees. Here’s a photo of one of the flowers. Very beautiful!

By the way for anyone watching the weather in this area, a tornado did hit Enterprise, AL but that’s about 300 miles from where we are – 13 people were killed including some kids in the local high school whose roof collapsed while the kids were inside. Devastating!

Now at Dauphin Island, Alabama

Our site at Dauphin Island Campground

We left Hammond, LA this morning around 9:15 a.m. under mostly cloudy skies and 61F (16C). The temperature did make it to 77F (25C) on our travels.

Dauphin Island is a barrier island located three miles south of Mobile Bay in the Gulf of Mexico. Entry to the island is made by crossing a three mile long high rise bridge which was opened in July 1982 after the original draw bridge was destroyed by Hurricane Frederic in 1979. Many attractions are located on the east end of the island including Fort Gaines, the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Dauphin Island Campground (where we’re staying), Audubon Bird Sanctuary and numerous boat launch sites. There are beautiful beaches of white sand (but not as white as Mexico Beach, FL) public golf course and parks are added attractions located on the west end of the island.

Today after getting set up at our site, we did some exploring around the island and spent some time at the Audubon bird sanctuary. We didn’t see a lot of birds but it is a beautiful spot and below are a very few of the photos I took. Too bad it wasn’t sunny. Dauphin Island is the first landfall encountered by many birds as they migrate north from South America, and as a consequence many species can be found resting there before continuing their journey.

We also took some photos at the fishing pier at the western side of the island and had a bit of a sunset. This guy was out parasailing and I just happened to catch him as the sun was starting to set.

There are lots of places to explore on the island and plenty of things to see in Mobile itself including antebellum houses.

We are officially here until Friday but the weather is not supposed to be too good tomorrow so we may be staying here until Monday (yet to be decided).

Tickfaw State Park

Wow, did I ever sleep last night. I don’t remember waking up at all until Gordon left this morning to go and shoot photos. That’s unusual for me. This morning when I got up it was foggy and 55F (13C). I did my walk around the park. This seems to be a typical country park, sites are rather haphazard, no pavement, grassy sites and sites on gravel. The ones that back on the lake would be nice. The bayou they claim to have is a ditch but the lake is pretty if it didn’t have power lines running across it. It’s adequate for our needs and only about $15/night with Passport America.

This is the lake in the campground taken in the morning fog

I napped for most of the morning. The last two days of getting up early has really gotten to me plus not sleeping well the night before we travel. However, this afternoon we went to Tickfaw State Park which isn’t far from Hammond and walked a couple of the trails. We didn’t see a lot but it was a beautiful day and it was nice to be out in nature.

This little fellow popped up over the side of the boardwalk railing to say hi

Me on one of the trails

Louisiana swamp

I think we’ll spend a relaxing night tonight and tomorrow head for Dauphin Island, Alabama where we’ll spend two days. There are supposed to be thunderstorms while we’re there and we’ll be right out on the point in the Gulf of Mexico!

From Beaumont, TX to Hammond, LA

What a beautiful day today. We left Beaumont, Texas at 9:00 a.m. under sunny skies and 65F (18C). The temperature rose to 77F (25C) on our travels and we arrived at Punkin Park near Hammond, Louisiana around 1:15 p.m. and were completely set up complete with both TV and internet satellite by 3:00 p.m. This trip we managed about 12.1 mpg as there was very little wind. Our trip west on I-10 in January 2005 led us to really not look forward to this trip through Louisiana but work has been done on the road although it still did have its very bumpy spots.

I was up this morning at 6:30 a.m. as I wanted to walk and have breakfast before we left. I walked all around the RV park. It was quite foggy but when the sun came up the fog soon burned off.

This RV park is right on I-12 which runs north of Lake Pontchartrain so the traffic is quite heavy and we’re very close to it. We’re here for two days. There doesn’t seem to be much around here as far as scenery goes although Louisiana itself is quite scenic with its bayous and Spanish moss hanging from the trees. The park has its own bayou and a lake so it should be nice to walk around in the morning. We’re about an hour from New Orleans but at this time we don’t have any thoughts about going to see it.

Henderson Swamp runs along I-10 just west of Baton Rouge

I-10 is basically a very long bridge between Lafayette and Baton Rouge

Here is our site at Punkin Park

Tonight we were met here at the park by photographer friends of Gordon’s, Gayle and Breland and we all went to Tope La, a French/American restaurant in Hammond for dinner. The food was excellent and I had to bring a doggie bag home. Thanks Gayle and Breland for dinner and it was great meeting you!

Gayle and Breland

Overnighting in Beaumont, Texas

We left Fulton Oaks RV Park this morning at 9:00 a.m. and arrived at Gulf Coast RV Park in Beaumont, TX and were set up by about 2:50 p.m. Setup sure is a breeze when you don’t have to hook up the satellite dishes! They have free wifi and cable here so we’re using that as we’re only stopping for the night.

I had a short walk this morning but only down to the ranch to see if the steer was out and indeed it was and facing me for a change so I got some photos. Gordon had gone out for sunrise and got an excellent photo of the blue herons leaving the live oaks where they spend the night. The weather was rather cloudy and cool when I got up but it was early (before 7:00 a.m.) but it warmed up on our trip to 74F (23C) and was sunny most of the way. We had quite a strong wind from the north until we hit somewhere around Houston so we were lucky to get just over 10 mpg on this trip.

After set up I took a walk around the park but other than that we just relaxed.

I’ve made reservations for the next four nights – Monday and Tuesday we’re at Punkin Park in Hammond, Louisiana and are meeting up with some photographer friends of Gordon’s. She was in Cloudcroft, New Mexico when we were in Alamogordo last year but we never met up. She has recommended we stop at Dauphin Island, Alabama which is near Mobile so I’ve booked two nights there (Wednesday and Thursday). We’ll get to Florida eventually!

The photo is of our site at Gulf Coast RV Park.