And like two birds of a feather, we flock together! As we are approaching the third year of our relationship and our addiction to travel grows, we have reached that point of discussing the possibilities of wintering in the South and away from the snow. Roger’s landscaping job is seasonal, he is an Air Force retiree, and has social security income. He asked me if I were to go seasonal with my job if I could return to it in the Spring, as I am not collecting retirement income. All of this discussion leads us to a Florida decision in Tin Lizzy on November 11th, 2013. We have no toad, we have no bikes, and we have NO plan, except to head to Florida for the winter! We will fly by the seat of our pants on this one and see how it all goes. Let the preparations begin!
Leaving your house for the winter is not like taking a two-week vacation. There are precautions necessary to keep things from being destroyed and your house safe from not only the elements, but from being broken into. In case you’re reading this and curious of the to-do list, I will go into a few things in detail to help you out, but not to bore you if you read for entertainment. The over view is this; we lived in a 3 bedroom, 2 bath ranch on a slab, so no basement. This means your water tank is on the main level and very important to maintain. We also had no furnace (electric baseboard heating), so one less appliance to worry about. We had public water, but septic for sewer. We had a family member close by to look in on it weekly, but that means keeping the driveway free of snow. It’s 385 feet long, so you don’t just ask your neighbor to help out when he has his own to clean before going to work. All this being said, the to-do list looks something like this: Empty the frig of everything (keep doors open and place baking soda boxes inside), Empty your cupboards of all perishable items, strip all beds, clean/store bedding, wash/remove all towels from hanging, dust & cover household items/furniture (this saves so much time upon returning home), set thermostats, place air fresheners in each room, unplug everything that doesn’t require power, put specific lights on timers, treat septic system, drain water tank and shut off water to the house. This is after endless calls to put your cable, Wi-Fi, and landline on standby (or you pay more for turning everything back on upon return), mail forwarding actions, trash collection suspended, set up all bills on bill-pay (1st time for us), and purchased a Verizon Jetpack for secured internet while traveling. This is all in addition to packing your personal items for a 5 month vacation and stocking your RV to live in. Are you exhausted yet? You are also trying to plan some sort of route to head south, knowing the weather could turn bad before you pull out of your drive-way. Are we having fun yet? Absolutely NOT! Your families are pissed because you won’t be home for the holidays, you’re mentally and physically exhausted from all the packing, prep and goodbye parties, you can’t sleep at night because you’re excited, and you have probably had at least two or three disagreements with your spouse at this point! (DH=Darling Husband, OR D_ck Head; DW=Darling Wife OR Da Witch! Just a little RV humor.) The saying you are all too familiar with “It’s all about the journey, not the destination” suddenly makes absolutely no sense to you! You have been constantly planning and preparing for the destination by plotting your trip out on the map, which states you want to see, where you need to avoid during winter weather, campgrounds suitable & affordable for longer stays. I guess that saying came to be long before the era of RV’ing! By the time we rolled out of our driveway, we decided whatever we had forgotten? Oh well! Hastalavista Everyone!!
We pulled out of the driveway that morning, and by night-fall, it was snowing! Timing is everything, they say! We stayed at Max Meadows, VA our first night. We like the Fort Chiswell RV Park for over-nighters because of convenience and large pull-thru sites. The weather had turned very cold and night two was in Wilmington, NC at Fort Fisher Air Force Recreation Area (also, just an over-night spot). By day three, we were in North Myrtle Beach, SC, and expecting fairly nice weather. I was cold with a jacket, so not quite what I expected, but I got to finally visit Hamburger Joe’s for a late lunch burger! Not easy to park there with Tin Lizzy! We found a way into the parking lot, but were trapped in with no place to go when we came out! A ten-point turn was necessary and a fairly quick remedy after speaking to the owner, and a few folks having to move their vehicles. A sigh of relief and off we went to our 1st SC beach CG destination; Apache Family Campground and Pier (East Coast’s longest wooden pier- 1206 feet.) Little did we know that this would be a record low temperature night for this area of 27 degrees! We are Snow Birds, and we are FREEZING! But, DH walked that longest pier in the morning to get a photo of the sunrise for me!!
The next couple of days were spent doing some sightseeing at popular tourist destinations (Boon Hall Plantation & Gardens is RV accessible and a wonderful place to see!) and we stayed in Charleston, SC (Charleston AFB and also a very nice KOA.) I absolutely loved spending time in Old Town Charleston and all the historic places within it! Plan to do a lot of walking if you visit. We took a shuttle to get there from the KOA CG, and we paid for the full day on a Trolley that you can get on/off at your leisure with a walking map in hand. We only spent one full day and I recommend more time if you have a family.
By November 17, Jacksonville, FLORIDA, here we come! We stayed at the Mayport Naval Station called Pelican Roost. We had the intercoastal waters to the front of us, where you can watch both Navy ships and commercial cargo ships go by daily. We had the Atlantic coast behind us within walking distance, and private to active or retired military. I died and went to heaven! This was our home for the remainder of November and until mid December. On December 6th, we got to see the USS New York make its way to dock standing right on the shore with it directly in front of us, one of the coolest ships I’ve ever seen! It is an amphibious assault ship made with 24 tons of scrap from the World Trade Center, designed for special ops against terrorists. It can carry 360 Sailors and 700 Marines to be delivered ashore by helicopters and various assault craft. It was a Never Forget moment.
During our time in Jacksonville area, the weather was both good and bad. Some days were really windy and cool. Some were down-right cold and wet! But we loved every minute of the beach, and it was here that I started collecting many shells for future projects! DH was not excited about having to carry 20-30 lbs of extra weight in Tin Lizzy, but I was leaving NO shell behind! We departed on December 9th for St. Augustine, and stayed at a beautiful place just across the street from miles of sandy beach called North Beach Camp Resort. It was very convenient with a couple of restaurants within walking distance (Aunt Kate’s, very close to our campsite & The Reef, just across the street.) The tropical foliage, moss-laden oaks and palmettos give tons of privacy and shade. You are on a barrier island between the saltwater North River and the Atlantic Ocean, just 4.5 miles from historic downtown St. Augustine. We took a shuttle to get there, and paid for the day of using the Trolley and did a lot of walking. Aunt Kate’s had amazing sunsets while you ate in a causal riverfront atmosphere! I never want to go back home…
The next stop we made, was what we thought would be our longest stop, Patrick AFB (Cocoa Beach area). It is here that we have our first experience of camping with only electric (no water or sewer). After a couple of days, we moved to a different site and had electric and water (no sewer). I learned that this is called partial HU (hook ups). It is here that I also learned, many people have a “Blue Boy.” This is a portable waste water container in blue plastic, hence the “blue boy” terminology. It is used in these situations to get rid of your waste and dirty water, instead of having to move your RV to a dump station, which is a lengthy procedure. I have never watched so many people hauling their poop down the road in a blue container, and so many ways to do it! Some pull it with a rope simply over their shoulder or tied to their waste, some use their bicycle, some use a moped or a motorcycle, and some use their vehicle (car or truck hitch). Regardless, the sound of these things on plastic wheels brings everyone’s attention to your actions of hauling your poop down the road. The funniest thing, by far, is when one of these blue boys goes rogue down the road after accidentally becoming disconnected, and everyone frantically yells at the person hauling!! Once you get to your dump destination, it is also a hilarious form of human nature, I guess, for men to stand around and visit with one-another while dumping their human waste! No matter where you go, or who you’re with, the black tank issues are often discussed over “dumping!” Women, be like, “just hurry up and get it dumped, rinsed, and put away, PLEASE!“
The weather, so far, has not been cooperative, and I keep saying “We need to head further South!” We never intended to go to Key Largo, but on 12/16, off we go to a place we have never been before; the entrance to the Keys, as I now call it. I will stop here for now and continue with our experience of Key Largo Snow Birding in my next blog.
Six Wheels Down 