Sometimes things just don't go as planned

Monday February 1 2016

We had packed most everything and prepared for departure as much as we could on Sunday afternoon, so leaving was pretty quick on Monday morning. We only had about 300 miles to run and most of that was on the interstate but there were two stops scheduled.

Heading south

Stop one was Flying J for fuel, convenient to our route on the interstate it only took a few minutes. Stop two was to visit my brother John and his wife Sandy at their new home in Jensen Beach. They both celebrated birthdays the previous week so we took a birthday cake and enjoyed visiting with them and seeing their new winter home.

John and Sandy's Florida house

On the road again we continued south on I-95. In hindsight we should have shifted over to the Florida turnpike because as the afternoon progressed the traffic got pretty heavy. I-95 ends in Miami and then it is city driving on Hwy One. It was never to the point of gridlock but it did extend the time of the trip.

Elks Lodge in the Keys

We arrived at the Elks Lodge on Tavernier just in time to join the other RV'ers at the beach to watch the sun set over Florida Bay. Afterwards we parked the bus and hooked up just the electric so we could run the air conditioner. We planned on settling in the next morning and had made arrangements to meet the camp host to pay for the site.

Our site in the driveway

There is something adventurous about staying in the Keys and we had been looking forward to it for months. Unfortunately, the Elks Lodge RV park wasn't living up the the dream. Living in the keys is a laid back affair but our parking arrangement was beyond anything we would call laid back. Our motorhome was parked in the entrance drive of the campground. Our bedroom was about 150 feet from Hwy one and traffic never really stops on the only road thru the Keys. Delivery trucks start making their runs down the island chain in the wee hours of the morning. By morning we had decided we couldn't stay here for a month. Besides the precarious parking and the traffic noise, there was no walking or biking path in the area and several other issues.

Tuesday Feb 2 2016.

I met with the camp host and told her we couldn't stay, we rolled up the power cord and away we went. Knowing we would be hard pressed to find accommodations in the keys without reservations we headed back to the main land.

Back to the mainland

Back in Homestead we accessed the list of area campgrounds in our GPS and started driving to each of them. The first couple either didn't look appealing or they had no vacancy. Southern Comfort RV park looked OK and they had room for us so we signed on for a week.

As we drove to our assigned sight I started noticing that sites that had been vacated that morning had deep tire tracks. Under the grass the parking sites are soft black soil, probably great for growing tomatoes, it was not the ideal ground for parking motorhomes.

I almost made it. About four feet shy of centering the motorhome on the site the rear tires started spinning. I had experienced the almost exact same condition many years ago and knew to just stop as it would dig a hole real quick if I pressed forward. Using the leveling jacks I lifted the rear tires, shoveled out in front of them and inserted some plywood from my lumber collection. (My friend Stanley Crisco will be proud, he carries tools and materials for any contingency)

Our stay did not start out so well

I had to repeat the jacking, digging and shimming process three times before I got the RV onto the site. We're parked, utilities hooked up, and all is right with our world. We set up Maggie's wading pool and let her play, going round and round biting bubbles. Shes already attracted the attention of passersby, she's a great conversation starter!

Maggie in her swimming pool

PS: Hopefully the rains will subside and the ground will dry up before our departure!

Wednesday Feb 3 2016

This morning as we started wandering around the campground I noticed several sites that were a lot nicer than the muddy one I was assigned yesterday. When I checked in was under the assumption that the site given was the only one available. I think what happened was the clerk assumed I needed a 50 amp service and she gave me the last one. Our motorhome only has a 30 amp service so I asked and received permission to move up the street to a drier site. It is also on the perimeter with no one behind us.

Our new site at Southern Comfort RV Resort