2015 - TEXAS TO FLORIDA

FLORIDA - II

Monday, February 2, 2015 - Marathon, FL, to Florida City, FL

Slightly fuzzy this morning...

...perhaps a little too much beer and football excitement during the Superbowl yesterday evening, not helped by a couple of heavy rain showers interrupting my sleep around 4:00am.

Before leaving my quiet parking spot outside Steve's house, I topped up the fresh water tank in the RV with what is undoubtedly the sweetest water I could wish for - rain water from Steve's roof rain capture system, suitably filtered for debris naturally.

Way back in February 2004, I had gone down to Marathon following the Miami Boat Show that year on a Lagoon powercat (a piece of inventory that belonged to my boat business) with Nick Harvey, the guy who was running Lagoon America at the time.

Nick's uncle and aunt, Rob & Sue, routinely spent the winters in the Keys in their large Class A motorhome and I met them during that visit to Marathon in 2004...

...and that meeting somehow resulted in me being taken up for a ride over the Marathon area in Rob's rather ancient - and doorless - airplane.

With Rob it had been a rather slower plane ride than in Steve's shiny acrobatic plane...

...and I do vividly recall that it felt somewhat more precarious, looking out of the open door to take photos as we flew over some of the exclusive properties along the shoreline there, such as this one on East Sister Rock.

I decided I would try to contact Rob & Sue to see if they were in Marathon and, having got their number from Nick, I managed to speak with them and arranged to meet up for lunch...

...at Burdines on the waterfront, my third time there in as many days!

Another rather tasty blackened fish sandwich (my go-to choice if no conch fritters on the menu) washed down with a bottle of Kalik, and a good catch-up chat with Rob and Sue followed by a tour of their boat - a Kadey Krogen which they now winter on in Marathon, having switched from their motorhome (rather the reverse of what I've done).

Then it was farewell to Marathon with a 2-hour drive back up the Keys to the bustle of the mainland and the parking lot of the Cracker Barrel in Florida City at which I had stayed overnight on my way down.

Tuesday, February 3, 2015 - Florida City, FL, to Flamingo, FL

Up early for my run, taking the quiet and convenient - though not overly scenic - dedicated bus road that runs parallel to Route 1.

Then a short drive up Route 1 for a fuel fill, grocery top-up, some laptop work courtesy of an open WiFi signal and finally into the Starbucks in the grocery plaza for more WiFi and some laptop, iPad and iPhone battery recharging.

By which time it was late morning as I headed for the Everglades National Park, the route taking me back past my overnight Cracker Barrel and then quickly out of the built-up area and into thousands of acres of perfectly flat cultivated land, crops sown in neat rows stretching for hundreds of yards.

I stopped briefly at the Everglades Visitor Center, quickly skimming the displays there but mainly looking for information on camping which, it turns out, was actually provided at the park entrance ranger station where as I paid my $10 vehicle fee.

Hearing at the ranger station that there would be camping available at both the nearby campground and also at my preferred destination of Flamingo, 35 miles further on, that's where I headed, passing mainly open grassy savannah with intermittent clumps of trees or small wooded areas.

Arrived at the Flamingo campsite around 1:30pm, chose a shady site (where most sites were fairly open), and paid $32 for two nights as I felt it was time to just relax and go nowhere for a couple of days.

Had lunch, took a nap, then rode the half-mile back up the road to the Flamingo marina area and Visitor Center, which had unfortunately just closed.

So strolled around the area, saw several osprey in their eyries eating freshly caught fish - and even managed to snap one in mid-flight with a partly eaten fish.

With the sun close to setting, I rode back from the marina along the shoreline trail to the campsite and settled in for a quiet evening - good cell phone signal here but nothing in the way of TV.

Wednesday, February 4, 2015 - Flamingo, FL

Very quiet and peaceful night, with not a sound to be heard. Slept late, then dozed a little more, finally getting up around 8:00am.

Slipped into my padded Lycra biking shorts around 10:00am to get a little exercise on the Coastal Prairie Trail, only to find that bikes are not allowed on the trail which, in any case, was narrow and through fairly dense undergrowth.

A few steps onto the trail also showed it to be infested with aggressively buzzing mosquitoes, barely allowing me to stand still long enough get a couple of pictures of some unusual (to my eye) butterflies before I had to scamper back out into the open...

... which to my mind rather called into question the accuracy of the cute "mosquito meter" seen later at the Visitor Center.

As I was all kitted out in my lycra shorts, however, I decided to check out the Christian Point Trail a mile or so away on the other side of the marina, only to find this was also hiking only and even more mosquito-infested.

So I just tooled around the marina a little, stopped at the Visitor Center, learning a little about the wildlife in the Everglades and that Hurricanes Wilma and Katrina had been fairly devastating here - which explains why the place looks a little rough, as full restoration is not yet complete.

Then back to the RV - fairly comfortable in the shade of the trees under which I had parked, with a cooling breeze wafting through - to brew up some coffee and to undertake a little forward planning for my Florida traveling itinerary after the forthcoming Miami Boat Show.

However, there were really too many options to pin anything down definitively, and without an Internet connection I wasn't able to research much of what I needed to know.

So I read a little, did a few minor RV chores, had lunch, had a nap, and mostly sat gazing at the world going by, palm trees waving in the breeze, coconuts falling to the ground, clouds drifting lazily across the expanse of blue sky, turkey vultures circling, butterflies flitting around...

Thursday, February 5, 2015 - Flamingo, FL

My light mood somewhat darkened during the evening yesterday as a small swarm of no-see-ums somehow snuck into the RV - my guess is they are small enough to get through the bug screen, but by the time I closed all the windows up tight they were already inside.

Probably 100 fatalities that I can account for in my 30 minute killing spree but undoubtedly a good number survived, along with some mosquitoes, as evidenced by about 25 bite welts this morning - many on my legs as I had to (try to) sleep most of the night on top of the bedding as the closed up RV was so stuffy, but I didn't want to risk opening a screened window to even more bugs.

And then early this morning it was humid and rain was threatening, arriving around 8:30am.

So I decided to stay put here for the day rather than drive in the rain up to the other Everglades campground location nearer the entrance, which had originally been my plan.

With everyone else holed up due to the weather, there wasn't much world going by to watch, though the ugly turkey buzzards were still active, squabbling over fallen coconuts.

And not much to do - with the rain lasting most of the day on and off - other than potter about on odds and ends in the RV... a little more post-Miami Boat Show options planning; a few e-mails prepared; some accounting; working on this narrative; some trip picture archive editing; a little reading...

And then the day was done.

Friday, February 6, 2015 - Flamingo, FL, to Miccosukee Casino & Resort, Miami, FL

Except that the day ended, and continued overnight, rather breezy - periodically rattling the cover over the bed slideout of the RV and disturbing my sleep.

But it was also cool enough to allow me to sleep fully covered and minimize the addition of bug bites - though I think I may have gained a couple more to add to the existing batch.

Not bad conditions for a morning run, though, with the sun rising into fresh blue skies...

On my way out of the park I stopped briefly at the Pa-hay-okee Overlook near the park entrance to stroll around the boardwalk there with its informative signs and panoramic views over the Everglades.

Then it was back towards "civilization" (southern Florida style anyway) transitioning through acres and acres of nurseries, palm tree farms and fruit stands at the side of the road before being spat out onto Route 1 and into the hurly-burly of Homestead.

First stop was Starbucks - somewhat predictably I guess, but I did have 3 days of no Internet to catch up on - then into a convenient hair salon nearby to tidy me up ahead of the Miami Boat Show next week.

After which a grocery top-up and another quick WiFi session (at Dunkin' Donuts, being democratic and wanting to spread the love) set me on the way to the Miccosukee Casino & Resort - for their parking lot hospitality not the gambling.

Checked in with security to get our overnight pass for the next three nights in the casino parking lot.

This may seem a strange destination, but it's free parking in a secure lot, away from road traffic noise, and close enough to the resources in the Miami suburbs that I'll need to dip into over the next few days.

Gambling will not be on the agenda, though, as the dark, smoke-filled slot-machine room I went through to check in was less than seductive, with some pretty sorry looking cases seated at the machines, feeding them rather desultorily.

Saturday, February 7, 2015 - Miccosukee Casino & Resort, Miami, FL

Reasonably quiet night, some coming and going with visitors to the casino and a nearby truck refrigeration engine running non-stop - though this was at least a constant, low-level noise so not really a disturbance.

Couple of hours work in the RV preparing for the Miami Boat Show next week, including getting my on-board mini-office up and running with the ink-jet printer to which I've been giving a free tour of the country so far.

Then a 5-mile drive into the Miami suburbs to Starbucks, but the place was too full to work so I eventually ended up in a Lowes store parking lot with its usual strong WiFi signal. So another couple of hours usefully spent there, including research into potential RV storage locations and flights back to the UK after the Miami Boat Show is over and any follow-up completed.

With the bike having been exposed to weather and road grime on the back of the RV for thousands of miles, I thought it was maybe time for a bike shop to give it a good clean and lube - not that I couldn't do it myself but it will inevitably be messy and I don't have the full set of degreasers and brushes I would like to have. On-line research turned up several bike shops within a 5 mile radius, so I chose the one that seemed to have the best service credentials, rather than just offering bike sales, and drove round there.

Seems to be a good shop so booked the bike in for a clean, lube and service next Tuesday morning - should take only an hour or so and I can find some nearby coffee and WiFi while waiting.

Then back to the Miccosukee casino, finding a much better parking lot location this time, way off to the side, away from the truck area, with open ground beside me rather than tarmac, and even a view of the sunset...

While channel surfing on the TV, caught a couple of episodes of Two and a Half Men (one of my favorite US comedy shows) and then the first Harry Potter movie - so quite an entertaining evening.

Sunday, February 8, 2015 - Miccosukee Casino & Resort, Miami, FL

Fairly quiet night after the late gamblers had left the parking lot.

Up and out for an early run, although five circuits around the casino perimeter and through the parking lots was rather less than scenic.

Then off into the Miami suburbs again, driving through the nearby residential developments where overly-grand villa-style houses occupy pretty much every inch of their plots...

... to the nearest IHOP restaurant for a Sunday breakfast - scrambled egg, bacon, hash browns, wheat toast, American coffee. Restaurant packed, particularly with noisy Hispanic kids, service slow, food rather lukewarm, coffee rather weak... so not quite what I had in mind, but there we go.

Retired to the RV for a couple of hours work on Miami Boat Show pricing and related issues. Succumbed to an early afternoon snooze, called home, did a little more work, tapping into the WiFi at a Dunkin Donuts, and then back to the same spot in the casino parking lot.

Monday, February 9, 2015 - Miccosukee Casino & Resort, Miami, FL

The weather forecast for the day has changed somewhat since yesterday and now rain and possible thunderstorms could apparently occur throughout the day.

So with no need to actually go anywhere - other than possibly needing a WiFi connection - it seemed sensible to simply sit out the day here at the casino. With my view out of the RV over swampland and trees rather than the parking lot, it wasn't so bad spending the day there.

And it gave me a chance to get fully up to date with my boat show binder organization and spend time going through the material to try to re-familiarize myself - after essentially a 5-year break - with the kinds of things about Lagoon catamarans that I used to know intimately.

So that was the day, interspersed with reading, a post-lunch nap and some further editing of my excessive collection of photos from this trip - something I find I can't do for more than about an hour at a stretch and which is made slightly more challenging by only having my laptop screen to work on rather than the dual screen set-up I have back at home on my desk.

Rain was intermittent, as forecast, with perhaps the heaviest rain early evening.

Tuesday, February 10, 2015 - Miccosukee Casino & Resort, Miami, FL, to Homestead, FL

Left the Miccosukee Casino parking lot for the last time and headed into the suburbs once again to the bike store for my scheduled 11:00am clean and tune-up, entertaining myself in the RV while this was being completed with coffee and bagel, and a little more boat show preparation.

With the spruced up bike back on the rack behind the RV, I then drove a couple of miles to the Lowes store I was at on Saturday, with their strong WiFi signal, to park, have lunch, finish up the pricing work and get my show book all done and dusted.

Then a longer drive down to Homestead, past the thousands of acres of fruit orchards and plant nurseries, and back to the Cracker Barrel store where I had stayed on my way down to, and back from, the Keys.

The downtown section of Homestead on Krone Avenue was slightly funkier than the endless mall section lining Route 1, with interesting recycling of old buildings, such as this corner theater now becoming the police department.

Once in the Cracker Barrel parking lot, I determined that the odd whiffs of propane I thought I might have caught earlier in the day (outside the RV, not inside) weren't imagined, as the propane tank was practically empty - having been at least a third full yesterday.

So into the Starbucks conveniently located next door for coffee and a ponder, checking on the Internet for local RV dealerships that might be able to help with the propane leak - but it appeared I would either have to go 50 miles north to Fort Lauderdale or 20 miles south back onto the Florida Keys to Key Largo.

Too late in the day to do either, so decided I might at least get one chore accomplished before the end of the day and headed for a coin launderette I had seen close by on the way down.

Driving towards the launderette, however, I spotted an Amerigas (propane) place and although this was only an admin office they suggested I try a propane fill location a couple of miles up the road. And so I found myself at a slightly scruffy gas station with a large LPG cylinder beside it and the helpful attendant shuffling underneath the RV, checking all the connections.

He quickly found what he said was a loose pressure relief valve, then checked over all the connections in the system, finding a second pressure relief valve near the tank that he said was also loose. With everything tightened up, the tank was filled.

By the time I was back at the Cracker Barrel parking lot it was 5:30pm, so time to call it quits for the day - not quite the straightforward and somewhat pedestrian day I had expected.

Let's hope all's well with the propane now, though I have this nagging feeling...

Wednesday, February 11, 2015 - Homestead, FL, to Coconut Grove, FL

Last chance today to get anything done before parking in Coconut Grove and heading into 5 days of boat show...

Up early for a run, on a slightly chilly and misty morning.

And my worst fears were confirmed on getting back to the RV, as not only could I still smell propane but the gauge on the tank was down to ½ full. So no fix at all on the leak.

I decided to go to the launderette first, only a couple of miles up the road, then back to the propane filling place that had supposedly fixed the leak yesterday afternoon, and if no joy there then I would probably be looking at an hour's drive to Fort Lauderdale to an RV dealership.

Laundry all done by 10:30am, then on to the propane filling place where I was greeted with a shoulder shrug and the suggestion that I would need to go to an RV place...!

And their recommendation was up Route 1 in the direction I needed to go anyway - so off I set and eventually found Camp Out Inc...

...which mostly looked like a trailer junk yard outside and a boating/biking/hunting/RV junk store inside, where the smell of cat urine was unpleasantly pervasive.

Not promising... but I persevered and finally had "Luis" shuffling his corpulent torso underneath the RV - at $128 an hour labor rate - and diagnosing a leak on a propane supply line swage fitting.

As apparently they didn't carry this kind of thing in inventory, it was agreed a replacement would be ordered for me to have fitted next Tuesday, after the Miami Boat Show was over.

But as I was waiting for paperwork to be completed, a hose was found for a temporary fix, suitable fittings and adapters located, and Luis was back under the RV to fit everything - which seemed to take an inordinate amount of time and grunting, but which resulted in Luis declaring it a permanent fix, no need to return.

On north up Route 1 towards Coconut Grove, stopping for a quick bite of lunch and then a Starbucks coffee and WiFi, arriving at Andy's house at 4:00pm to get the RV tucked into position in his driveway, backed up tight against the house.

Only time for a quick chat with Andy before a fairly vigorous 7-mile pedal into downtown Miami for the pre-boat show Lagoon dealer meeting.

Caught up with Lagoon dealer brokers I had not seen in a while, had a couple of beers and finger food after the meeting, chatted briefly with Ted (boat business "partner" for whom I was working the Miami Boat Show), then set off on the 7-mile ride back to the RV in Coconut Grove - in the dark, on and off the sidewalk, dodging joggers, dog walkers, couples out for the evening... all quite challenging but also rather fun.

Peaceful and relaxed now, cold beer in hand, finishing up these notes of the day and feeling quite relieved at resolving the propane issue and getting the RV safely set up here in Andy's driveway.

Thursday, February 12, thru Monday, February 16, 2015 - Coconut Grove, FL

The next 5 days were fully taken up with the Miami Boat Show.

Each day started with me running the gauntlet of the 7 miles to the show on the bike, fighting the early morning commuter traffic/joggers/dog walkers heading into downtown Miami.

And each day ended with me riding the 7 miles back to Coconut Grove in the dark, usually after various post-show activities - cocktail parties, Lagoon Owner parties, dinner. All of which meant I slept pretty well.

I did manage one daytime return commute on the Monday after the show was over, getting back to Coconut Grove around 6:30pm in order to take Andy out for a "thank you" dinner for so generously allowing me to block the back of his driveway for 5 days.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015 - Coconut Grove, FL, to Boynton Beach, FL

Rather warm and humid for my morning run, and much more road traffic to watch out for as I cross back and forth over the main drag - seems everyone is back to work and school after the holiday weekend.

And so the wheels of the RV turn again, after sitting for 5 days, heading towards Interstate 95 via the characterful residential back-streets of Coconut Grove to get north and clear of the Miami metro area craziness, though stopping first on US 1 after just a few miles for morning coffee, bagel and WiFi.

Very warm day, temperatures in the 80s, so not a bad time to be driving with the cab A/C cooling me down. Parking at Lowes in Boynton Beach (to make a lunchtime sandwich and borrow their WiFi), I realized I had been in the same spot for the same reasons some three weeks previously on the way south.

A short drive from there to Starbucks for afternoon refreshment and then on to a conveniently close Cracker Barrel for our overnight stop - with the additional benefit of a fluctuating WiFi signal reaching me from the Dunkin Donuts store across the street.

Some very cold weather is apparently due over the next couple of days - record breaking lows in the forecast - so I may not try to get much further north just yet.

Wednesday, February 18, 2015 - Boynton Beach, FL, to West Palm Beach, FL

A rather gray start to the day, and the initial few sprinkles fairly soon turned into heavy showers with some thunderclaps thrown in for good measure.

Although the planned early stops for the day were not far away, driving the RV on soaking wet roads would only get it dirty for no good reason, so I spent the first couple of hours of the morning working while still sitting in the Cracker Barrel parking lot, then drove all of 100 yards across the road to Dunkin Donuts for coffee and a more reliable WiFi signal than the weak one reaching me.

All very productive until I needed to upload some files to the Sound Yachting website and found the Dunkin Donuts WiFi connection wasn't liked by the server.

So with the clouds gradually clearing from the north, I decided to head to the scenic waterfront at West Palm Beach once again - easy on-street parking and only a short walk to the downtown Starbucks for their WiFi connection, which finally allowed me to get my files uploaded.

A final stop for the day at Publix for a groceries, then on to the Cracker Barrel in West Palm Beach that I had stayed at on the way south at the end of January.

Thursday, February 19, 2015 - West Palm Beach, FL, to Jonathan Dickinson State Park, Jupiter, FL

Chilly run this morning, with temperature only 48 degrees, and feeling especially sharp with a building NW breeze, so very little delay in getting the RV moving once shaved and showered, stopping for an early coffee and WiFi at an in-store Starbucks at a local Target store.

Continuing further northward towards Jonathan Dickinson State Park, just beyond Jupiter, made another Starbucks stop for more coffee and WiFi - a stop which which I could usefully have postponed in order to have arrived earlier to try to secure one of the sites in the park with electric and water hook-up....

...instead of which I'm in "overflow" parking 4 miles into the park - basically dry camping in their car park at a cost of $16 - but at least I made full use of the park's facilities to dump the holding tanks and fill up with fresh water.

Left the park to drive to a potential RV storage location, near Stuart on the St Lucie River about 15 miles away. Very impressive marina, Forest River, whose main purpose is summer storage and hurricane protection in their climate controlled building for higher end vessels. Definitely a possibility as a place to leave the RV... professionally managed, secure, power supply, indoors, climate controlled and a fairly standard $350 a month.

Found some free WiFi on the way back down to Jupiter where I was meeting Don (boating business friend, see Jan 27 in previous section) for dinner, and continued with my on-line RV storage location research and started narrowing down my UK flight possibilities.

Good dinner and good company with Don, as usual. Then back to the quiet and already chilly Jonathan Dickinson State Park and their "overflow" parking.

It will be cold overnight, but probably not quite down to freezing.

Friday, February 20, 2015 - Jonathan Dickinson State Park, Jupiter, FL, to Phipps Park, Stuart, FL

In the event, the low at dawn was 37 degrees but the day warmed quickly in the full sunshine and was very pleasant when out of the biting north wind.

Took a stroll down to the Loxahatchee River after breakfast - very peaceful and pleasantly warm, facing south and with tree cover breaking the wind.

And on the way back out to the park entrance I stopped at the Hobe Mountain Observation Tower, which offers commanding views from its 86 ft height and which apparently is the highest naturally occurring point in Florida south of Lake Okeechobee.

At the park entrance office, I tried to secure a site for the night but there were only three possible vacancies that might come up, assuming the current occupants didn't show up before 1:00pm to extend their stay.

With someone already sitting waiting for the first vacancy - who had been there waiting since 8:00am - I took away an information sheet with nearby RV park alternatives to call around while brewing a coffee in the RV.

As all the RV parks close by were reporting they were full, I decided to head a short way north to Stuart and just see what might show up during the day's travels.

Stopped for groceries, had permission denied for an overnight stay in a Walmart parking lot, borrowed the WiFi at Starbucks to put a flight back to the UK on hold, and finally had permission given to park overnight at a Cracker Barrel store outside Stuart. Ironically, this was just before stopping in at nearby Phipps Park where I secured a "dry camping" spot - no electric or water hook-ups, just as would happen in a parking lot - even though in my phone call to the park earlier I had been told they were full.

So I signed up for a couple of nights in the park, just to get my overnight situation sorted and allow me to concentrate on RV storage and travel plans, the storage question resolved with a short drive to the nearby River Forest facility to confirm I would head there next week.

Finally back to the park to settle into my scenic spot on the grass bank beside the St Lucie River under the palm trees (though with some traffic noise from the Florida Turnpike overpass in the distance).

Although it was getting late and I only had my phone for Internet searching, I managed to track down a Mercedes dealer and schedule an oil change for the RV for Monday morning - not due for a service for another 4,000 miles but an oil change before storage would be a good idea.

And now I can relax and enjoy a relatively quiet and peaceful Friday night...

Saturday, February 21, 2015 - Phipps Park, Stuart, FL

Relatively quiet overnight, with the nearby Florida Turnpike traffic noise very much away in the background.

Slow start to the day, laying in bed thinking through what needs to get done over the next few days before I head to the UK, gazing through the picture windows beside the bed, with the occasional boat passing by behind me on the St Lucie River.

Having made notes during my pondering, I headed out of the park to Starbucks for WiFi to hit the priorities on the list - such as paying for the airline tickets I had on hold and getting some of my critical weekend admin done (checking bank accounts, backing up laptop hard drive, etc.).

Then searched for car rental locations I might need on my return from the UK, laundromats, grocery stores, RV stores (for an adapter I'll need to be able to plug in to shorepower while the RV is in storage).

Signed up at the Phipps Park office for two more nights so I'll have only a short drive to nearby River Forest on Tuesday for final departure preparations there.

And Saturday night red wine and pasta lies ahead...

Sunday, February 22, 2015 - Phipps Park, Stuart, FL

A fairly humid morning, though reasonably cool during my early run through the pleasant local residential neighborhood.

My planned post-Sunday-run breakfast at IHOP was skipped due to the excessively long line waiting to be seated and so it was on to Starbucks for a bacon and gouda toasted sandwich, which is actually a quite tasty snack - and only 320 calories to boot!

Made the most of the WiFi there to sort out travel arrangements when I land in the UK as well as checking off lots of other chores on my list that required an Internet connection.

Used the rather stronger WiFi signal at a nearby Lowes to make phone calls home, courtesy of Skype, to let the family know about my return plans then, after a post-lunch snooze, made a second stop at (a different) Starbucks for some cooling iced coffee - the day having heated up into the mid 80s - and more WiFi before heading back to the campsite at the end of the afternoon.

Once back at the park, took a short bike ride up to the St Lucie Lock near the campsite entrance, a small powerboat just locking though and heading east towards Stuart.

The lock is a relatively new and quite impressive piece of engineering and there were a number of good informational displays there, even including a series of videos on an outdoor screen offering more information on the whole Okeechobee waterway system.

A slight scramble back from there to the RV as the sun set and the bugs came out to play.

Monday, February 23, 2015 - Phipps Park, Stuart, FL

A slightly misty start to the day at the park, but this had cleared by the time I was on the road, briefly stopping at nearby Dunkin Donuts WiFi to send a couple of e-mails and make a call to the UK before heading off down I-95 to North Palm Beach and the Mercedes dealership there for an oil change.

The first service on the Mercedes engine isn't due for another 4,000 miles (at 15,000 miles) but engine oil in diesels that have done a few thousand miles, as mine has, can become slightly corrosive, so not good to leave sitting in an inactive engine for a couple of months.

After some initial confusion at the dealership about whether I actually had a service booking (La'toya taking my call Friday had indeed seemed a little vague...), the RV was taken off for the oil change while I made use of the dealership WiFi - good for Internet browsing but not e-mail for some reason - drank coffee, walked around the showroom, watched the financial news on the TV in the waiting area and generally hung around for no less than two and a half hours, which seems somewhat excessive for an oil change.

No updates from the dealership staff during this time, no apologies that a 20-minute job had taken so long, a bill for $180 (although only $40 was labor) and not even a washed RV, which is what I had optimistically assumed might be holding things up.

By the time I left the dealership to head back to Stuart it was time to pull over for lunch, then it was a relatively short drive back north, stopping initially at Enterprise car rental to check that they would drive me back from their office in Stuart to the marina on my return, then Publix for a few grocery items to get me through to Thursday morning, and finally Starbucks for a couple of hours work and welcome air conditioning in the 85 degree heat of the afternoon.

Back at Phipps Park, took the opportunity to dump the holding tanks, and I'll do a second and final flushing of the holding tanks before I leave tomorrow.

Once back in my spot backing onto the river, all ventilation opened in the RV to try to reduce the 92 degree interior temperature - a slow process as there were still 30 minutes to go before the sun was down and there was little breeze to move the air through the RV.

The International Space Station made an appearance around 7:30pm, a bright white spot carving an arc low across the northern horizon.

Temperature inside the RV only going down slowly. Could be a warm night ahead...

Tuesday, February 24, 2015 - Phipps Park, Stuart, FL, to River Forest Yacht Club, Stuart, FL

The night eventually cooled down and as I was out promptly for a morning run I got the benefit of the early coolness before the sun started driving temperatures quickly into the 80s once again.

Stopped at the park bathroom and wash-house to put a hose into the RV to fill both holding tanks to 2/3 full, with a little dishwash liquid for good measure, then drove out of the park for a 5-mile circuit to be sure the water gave the tanks a good sloshing before returning to the park and dumping the tanks for the final time before storage.

After that chore it was on to Starbucks (past yet another new wildlife warning sign, this one for sandhill cranes) for a much-needed breakfast sandwich and some urgent work for Sound Yachting - mailing out a follow-up note to the recent boat show attendees from the New England area who had visited the Lagoon display.

After a little more WiFi time at Starbucks, it was a short drive across to the other side of the highway to the laundromat, finding a shady parking spot just outside and able to get all my laundry done quickly and efficiently as the laundromat was fairly empty.

On the way out of town to the River Forest Yacht Club, I filled the diesel tank right to the brim in order to minimize potential condensation in the tank during storage.

Checked in with the friendly and welcoming people at River Forest, parked the RV in a convenient shady spot, plugged in to shore power and relaxed, able to run the air conditioning as I was on shorepower and so enjoying a cool early evening beer in a cool RV...

...before having to get down to a little post-laundry ironing !

Wednesday, February 25, 2015 - River Forest Yacht Club, Stuart, FL

Today is the day for the big clean...

Out and up on the roof of the RV by 7:30am, trying to maximize my working time in the cooler temperatures before the forecast 85 degree high of the day arrives.

The roof is the worst part of washing the RV - slightly curved, nothing to hold onto, inevitably slippery when wet and soapy, and moving the heavy bucket of soap suds up and down a slightly flimsy ladder (not to mention actually stepping on and off the unsecured ladder from the roof) always feels precarious.

The roof and the rest of the RV was washed and dried by 11:00am - which seems a long time to take, but this included washing 10,000 miles of accumulated road grime from around all the external storage lockers outside the sealing gaskets, the genset, holding tank and its associated plumbing.

After a break for coffee it was back to a little detailing - cleaning the bike rack, emptying/cleaning/re-stowing the outside storage lockers, cleaning under the hood and inside the cab doors, lubricating the slide-out mechanisms and sealing gaskets.

But by 2:00pm I'm standing looking with weariness but satisfaction at a thoroughly cleaned RV...

...when the nagging voice inside my head pipes up and insists that I should really wax the RV now, since it's so clean and it's not been waxed before.

And, godammit, the nagging voice is right...

6:15pm before that arduous task is completed - by hand, not with a buffer - and requiring the ladder to be used to reach the upper half of the sides and back, dealing with all the nooks and crannies, windows and vents, awning mechanism... And a 180 degree turn of the RV needed half way through to keep the working side out of the sun.

Time for a brief pause for beauty shots of the shiny RV before savoring my early evening refreshment, cooking dinner and tidying up a little inside the RV.

But while sitting and contemplating the actual storage set-up for tomorrow (fridge and freezer emptied, cleaned, left open; fresh water tank drained and water pump off; propane off; roof vents marginally open; keys left with the marina; shorepower hooked up...) I realize that I still haven't resolved the issue of charging the engine battery, as the shorepower charger only works on the house batteries.

I really need a trickle charger to be hooked up to the engine battery to be sure I don't return and find this flat.

At little on-line research suggests I could get one at a Walmart in Stuart, 8 miles away... which I could do tomorrow, of course, but I know there will be plenty of unexpected last-minute chores that crop up, so I figure I really should get this done this evening.

However, as I had intentionally filled the diesel tank to the brim at a gas station just a couple of miles down the road before parking up in the marina I'm loath to take the clean and shiny RV on this trip and have to top up with just a gallon of diesel, even assuming the gas station is open.

So it's off to Walmart on the bike - 8 easy miles there, riding downwind, 8 tough miles back into a brisk breeze. After which I needed half an hour to cool down as the air temperature was still around 70 degrees and the return ride was hard work.

But at least I can sleep soundly now, knowing this chore is done.

Thursday, February 26, 2015 - River Forest Yacht Club, Stuart, FL

Up at 7:00am to begin whittling away at all the last-minute tasks - not worth detailing here, other than mentioning the challenge of getting into the chassis battery compartment in the driver's footwell and setting up the trickle charger I bought last night, but all eventually resolved.

Mostly done by 10:30am, so just time for a final coffee before moving the RV into its actual location inside the storage building, shaving and showering, packing and just about being ready for Don's arrival at 12:30pm, very kindly collecting me and taking me to the airport in West Palm Beach.

With everything pretty much in place, nothing major forgotten or undone, I enjoyed a very pleasant and relaxing lunch with Don on our way to the airport to start my journey back to the UK.

So it's goodbye to 80 degree temperatures until I'm reunited with the RV again in a couple of months when the plan is to meander back up to Connecticut, my starting point on this adventure, during the month of May.

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