Day 7 - Thursday, March 8, 2007
Travel Day….. Tampa, FL to Kingsbay Naval Base, GA. 250 miles
After saying goodby to Alexia yesterday evening we got an early start leaving around 8:30 am. Before we made it off the base Richard remembered we left the Y-splitter for the water hose connection still connected back at the campsite; oh well, we’ll have to pick up another one at the next Camper’s World we come to.
It was pretty uneventful trip until the near end…….
Gas prices in Florida were running around $2.55 per gallon, much higher than we were paying in Virginia when we left. We knew that gas would be around $2.35 per gallon once we got to Georgia. So watching the gas gauge move toward empty as we drove through Jacksonville, we pressed on to try to get the last 20 miles or so to the Georgia border so we could take advantage of the cheaper gas….
Well you guessed it… We really ran out of gas just as we were crossing the bridge over a river that was the Georgia border!! We coasted down the hill off the bridge to just the beginning of the exit ramp to the gas station; pulled over with no power; and put on the emergency flashers. Richard walked up the hill to the gas station and found them extremely helpful. They provided a 5 gallon can of gas and even drove Richard back to the RV insuring that the RV stared up before driving off. We did drive on up to the station and put in another 75+ gallons.
Lesson Learned: Do not drive the RV with the gas gauge below empty just to save a couple dollars in gas!! Total savings after tipping the gas station man: $10.00… lesson learned regarding how far can you travel once the needle is in the red: Priceless.
The Kingsbay Naval Base was only another 6–7 miles from the station. We made it in here around 2:40pm. After getting set up we took Lucy for a walk around the Lake. The air was scented with Pine needles and the absence of noise was deafening. It was a perfect ending to a somewhat exciting day.
Day 6 - Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Strawberry Festival Day….
The Florida Strawberry Festival is held at this time each year in Plant City, FL. It’s a really big deal down here; so big that the map we have had a plot and a label for the festival grounds; the kids get out of school that week and everybody who is anybody is at the festival. They have big entertainers every day; the day we visited Little Richard was playing at 4pm and Kenny Rogers was on at 7pm. We did not stay for either of them since we really were interested in the strawberry shortcake being served….
and as you see here we had our share. We also found the displays and exhibits about the growing of strawberries down here in Florida interesting.
Old Tyme Strawberry Production vs Production Today…. The tractors and equipment were displayed such that you could see the various stages of field preparation…. All done pretty mechanical and automated.
The rows were made using this plow. If you could see the ground in front of this tractor you’d see that it was basically flat. After plowing over the flat ground with this plow you would have “perfect” strawberry rows ready for the next step.
Using this attachment, the rows are covered with “plastic mulch”
Then using this attachment, perfect holes are punched in the plastic mulch ready for a strawberry plant to be inserted.
The result is the perfect Florida strawberry field. 
Probably more than you ever wanted to know about strawberries…… We bought half a flat for $6.75; ate some this evening they were great……
Day 5 - Tuesday, March 6, 2007
We went bike riding on the base today. The base is really flat and made for a good place to ride our bikes. We did an easy 6–7 miles.
Spent some time doing a little maintenance on the RV. The heater is acting up and not lighting, so we end up getting a little cool in the early morning hours without the heat working as it should. You would not have thought you need heat down here in Florida; however, it’s been getting really a bit chilly at night here (low 50s to high 40s). I do not think I was able to do anything to get it fixed, so we’ll take it in to the shop when we get to Charleston, SC.
Went to New Port Richie tonight to visit with our daughter, Alexia, and to see her new apartment. She has a real nice place. We went out to dinner and did some more catching up on things.
Tomorrow we’re going to go to the Florida Strawberry Festival over in Plant City. The link to their site is: http://www.flstrawberryfestival.com/default.htm
The festival runs: 
Lots of famous entertainers daily (e.g., Randy Travis tomorrow evening).
I’ll be taking some pictures tomorrow at the Festival and will post some of them tomorrow night.
Day 4 - Monday, March 5, 2007
45 degrees in Florida last night…!! Thought it was supposed to be warm down here!
No sleeping in for the weary when you’re camping on a Military Post. At 0700 we were reminded of military life as they played reveille over loudspeaker even making our dog Lucy jump. I had gotten up just a bit earlier as our heater was not kicking on and it was definitely cold in the RV. I had no idea how to fix it except to just turn it on and off a few times. That worked!! We do worry a little about this fickle heater as we are heading toward the parks in mountain country later on during our journey.
We took Lucy for a walk right away this morning to begin getting some exercise daily. Before this trip I was not able to fit exercise into my schedule in Washington.
No real schedule today… just a little relaxation and enjoyment of the sunshine as it warms up. There is a Strawberry Festival going on down here this week, so, we’ll have to make a day trip over and check out some strawberry shortcake – after a bike ride through the base to get some exercise.
We have to work out a schedule for Lucy and I; Sylvia was attempting some Yoga moves this morning in the RV and at this point Lucy decided it must be play time and proceeded to lick her face…
More later….
Day 3 - Sunday, March 4, 2007
Well be did make it to Tampa OK yesterday evening.
Last night we were going to spend our first night at a Walmart, however, we were not very close to one so we decided to spend the night at Truck Stop. We were so tired we just fell asleep. Sylvia was a little apprehensive but we were so tired we just went to sleep. Next morning we were off before 6am amid running Diesel. So much for our first adventure in roughing it.
We had hoped to arrive before 3pm; however, we ran into a lot of rain and a whole lot more traffic and accidents in the Orlando area. We got here some time after 7pm. The campground office was closed but they left directions to contact the night campground host for signing in. We did and were given our site assignment. Got set up, freshened up and drove over to Palm Harbor to have dinner at Crabby Bills with our daughter we have not seen for a while. It was great to see her and we did a quick catch up but said our goodbyes early as all were tired, Alexia from working and us from driving.
Got up this morning early and took a nice walk on the beach with our dog Lucy. Found out later that was a no no. No dogs on the beach! Spent most of the day getting better organized with all the things we brought in the RV. It’s amazing all the things you bring that you think you just have to have and then all the things that you forgot to bring that you really need. We all know the know that feeling you forgot something, but you just don’t know what it is… Took us driving trough five states to figure out we forgot to bring our Turbo Tax…must of been on purpose as a quick calculation previously determined we owed the tax man…Oh well…
Here’s a picture of our Bounder at the campsite in McDill . FL.
Brought Alexia on the base so she could see our “Camper”. She thought the RV was really nice; it had all the essentials and she could see us roughing it. We had a simple pasta dish that our friends Linda and Romano shared with us. We all laughed at the challenge of fixing a meal in a small space, but we managed. We had a nice dinner, visit and walk around the camp ground. Now, we’re gearing down for the night and I’m taking a little to time for this post. My plan is to try to post a little something each day so you all can see what we are up to each day..
Take care friends….
