You are currently browsing the monthly archive for October 2018.
After we left Markham Park, we went about 90 miles NW back to Ortona South. We were here last year and liked it enough to return. It was three days of mellow after the hustle and bustle of Ft. Lauderdale. We visited a bit with some friends who were also there, strolled the dam, and puttered about the RV fixing this and organizing that. Quite pleasant.
The big news, however, is that Fall finally fell. Markham had been very hot and the first couple of days at Ortona were hotter. We woke up our second morning to beautiful skies and temps that were BELOW 70! That may not seem cool to most of y’all, but it’s wonderful to folks that haven’t seen a temperature in the 60s since March. The rest of the trip we slept with the windows open. Perfect.
A big change that we recently implemented is that we are traveling with our cat, Nora. She’s an old lady and is adjusting slowly to this mobile life. But she is adjusting, which pleases us to no end. She has the run of the RV while we’re driving, which helps, but we still have to train her that under the steering column and behind the gas/brake pedals is not a place for a cat while driving. Otherwise, we have provided her with plenty of soft places to lay and/or hide, so she seems to be good.
We’re enjoying retirement more and more. Strongly recommend!
Morning coffee, Ortona South COE Campground, 10/20/2018
Entering the lock, Ortona South COE Campground, 10/20/2018
Gator guarding the lock, Ortona South COE Campground, 10/20/2018
Sybil at rest, Ortona South COE Campground, 10/20/2018
We just spent 3 nights at Markham Park, a Broward County park located on the western edge of the Fort Lauderdale area right against the Everglades. And is it ever a nice place. We were made aware of it via a respected blogger we follow (we’re looking at you Wheelingit) and are we ever glad we went. Our site was huge (most of the back half of the campground is like that) and backed up to the canal that separates the campground from the Glades. The park includes areas for mountain biking, RC Flying, RC Boating, a huge dog park (that was VERY popular) and an extensive target range. The range has facilities supporting both long and short guns, a skeet range and a “sport” skeet range that apparently involves wandering through the woods on a trail blasting away. Our site (which a park employee informed us was the “best in the campground”) was at the end near the range so we had the sound of gunfire all day, including one morning when the sound of extensive automatic weapons accompanied our morning coffee. Not our favorite sound but it didn’t last very long. Note: Wednesday morning is the day the Broward County sheriffs come out to play.
Our stay here was just fantastic. We saw our New York nephews who just happened to be in town. We also got together with some close friends who we haven’t seen in way too long. We biked along the berm that holds back the Everglades from civilization (or, more realistically, holds civilization back from the Everglades), saw a beekeeper doing his thing (just feet from our RV), dodged iguanas and even managed a wee bit of shopping at Ikea.
Oh, and it looks like there’s a wifi hotspot in each circle of 5 sites. We had 54Mbps download. Sweet.
Our greeter at Markham Park, 10/16/18, Sunrise, FL
The Everglades. Our site is directly behind this shot beyond the berm. 10/17/18, Markham Park, Sunrise, FL
Our site from the berm, 10/17/18, Markham Park, Sunrise, FL
Pointing to the Queen Bee, 10/17/18, Markham Park, Sunrise, FL
Scream! 10/17/18, Markham Park, Sunrise, FL
I see I last posted way back in March. Huh. There’s been a lot going on since then. Among other things, we have taken the RV out a half dozen times. We have been to:
- Tampa, where we had the RV serviced, including a recall on the dashboard software;
- Gulf Waters RV Park in Fort Myers where we stayed with some friends and toured a local rum distillery;
- Myakka River State Park, a very large park with lots to do … when it isn’t under water from the heavy rains they had just had;
- Jetty Park in Cape Canaveral, where we tested out our new cell booster and took Nora on her first trip in the RV. She accepted it. Barely.
- Fort Wilderness at Disney World, where we did a lot of nothing while it rained for 3 days, and
- Wekiwa Springs State Park, which was awesome! Beautiful, cool springs which were exactly what we needed on the (very) hot September days we were having.
Oh, yeah, and I retired. Best decision I ever made.
We’re spending our time getting rid of stuff in preparation to hit the road full time, exercising and relaxing, all three of which seem to make the days fly by. Here are a couple of photos from the last little while.
(BTW: I sit here on October 2nd and our air conditioning has crapped out. It’s supposed to hit 90 degrees and the humidity is over 85%. I can’t wait to hit the road and get out of here.)
Sunset at the Outer Banks, Hatteras NC, 5/11/18
Hatteras Lighthouse, Hatteras NC, 4/5/18
Wicked Dolphin Distillery, Fort Myers FL, 6/2/18
View from our window, Wekiwa Springs State Park FL, 9/18/18
Wekiwa Springs State Park FL, 9/20/18
The World as We See It 