Mount Dora Visit

May 25, 2016:  On this RV outing we are visiting Mount Dora, FL and will be taking my wife's sister, Claudia, along with us.  We also plan to visit their cousins up in The Villages because Claudia has never been there.

Yesterday evening Jeri and I took a load of things we will need on the trip to the camper at our storage facility.  We also turned the reefer on to run on LPG so it would be cooled down by morning, after asking the young lady working at the storage facility if it was okay.  She said it was okay.

This morning Claudia got over to the house pretty early and we finished loading up reefer items and the rest of the clothes, etc., we will need. We drove up to storage and Jeri and Claudia loaded the trailer and prepared the inside for travel while I hooked up and got the outside ready to tow.

We got on the road several minutes before 10:00 AM, taking the back roads down to Tavares, FL where Jeri had tentatively booked a campsite at Fisherman's Cove RV Resort.  Upon arriving there we checked in and Jeri paid for the site using our Passport America 50% discount as this campground is affiliated with PA-AM.  

[Rant] We drove to our assigned spot and to say it was crappy is an understatement.  It was in the older, more residential-type and rundown section of the campground.   We went back to the office and were reassigned to another campsite we did not like.  We went back to the office again and this time the woman working there got kind of nasty with Jeri and when Jeri told her we were not going to stay, she refused to give any refund at all (and keep in mind that we had not even pulled into any of the sites!).  There were lots of really nice sites open, too, and the woman offered to put us in one of those for THREE TIMES THE PRICE!  We left and found another campground in Mount Dora.

Fisherman's Cove has a really slick web site and bills themselves as a "luxury RV resort" and they did have a lot of sites up on the hill that were really nice, but kept assigning us to the older, more rundown section--most probably because we were getting the PA-AM discount, but still very bad business ethics on their part.  It seems to me like this place is using PA-AM discounts to lure people in, then trying to up sell (or in my opinion, the old bait and switch routine).  [End Rant]

Here is where we ended up staying.  Very much a residential RV park, but very quiet, peaceful and shady.

After settling into another campground I wrote scathing reviews on Trip Advisor and Allstays and sent Passport America an email complaining about it (I heard back from them the same day, saying they would look into it.).

The girls went for a swim in the pool while I was doing all of this and after evening cocktails we grilled steak and baked potatoes for dinner.  Then watched a movie before going to bed.

Site #62

May 26, 2016:  We had a nice breakfast this morning, then around 1:00 PM we drove around 45 minutes or so up to The Villages to hook up with Jeri's and Claudia's cousin, Paul Cuyler and his wife Jan.  The have a beautiful full-time home there and were great hosts.  They took us on a tour, by golf cart, of The Villages, then we all went to the Sumter Landing square for a cocktail and live entertainment (pretty good, too).

We arrived back at the trailer around 7:00 PM and the girls went to the pool for a while, then we grilled pork chops for dinner and a spent a quiet evening at our campsite.

Jeri (left) & Claudia enjoying coffee

 May 27, 2016:  After knocking around our site enjoying coffee and conversation this morning we drove over to downtown Mount Dora and had a great lunch at the Lost Parrot. The girls stayed to explore and I came back to the RV to work on this blog.  Mount Dora's downtown was a neat place--hopefully the pictures below will convey that.  It was full of artsy stores and restaurants and there was a lot of activity going on with people walking around, eating, shopping, etc.  Cool place!

Jeri (right) & Claudia in downtown Mount Dora, FL

Cool street corner signs showing where things are located--very handy, too.

Lunch at the Lost Parrot -- thank you Claudia!  It was really good!

I will let Jeri and Claudia explain the place a bit, as only they can do. ;-)

Video in Mount Dora downtown

I went back to the trailer and left the girls in downtown Mount Dora to shop, look for artsy stuff and have a good time together.  (I understand they bought some really nice formal dresses , etc., to wear on the upcoming "Cousins Cruise" in November.)  It was only 10 minutes each way.  When they called I went and picked them up.  Since we had all had a large lunch we did not cook a real dinner, but Jeri made nachos and we ate those and watched a movie before going to bed.

May 28, 2016:  We got up this morning and enjoyed coffee and English Muffins as we slowly began breaking camp to head home, leaving around 11:30 AM for the short drive back.  We stopped at the Essex House in Astor and while I did my normal walk around to check the trailer, hitch, etc., Jeri and Claudia went in and bought lunch for us.  I had my usual fried clam strips and a few fried shrimp.  Jeri and Claudia had fried scallops.  Everything was delicious!  We got back to the storage facility around 2:00 PM, unloaded the reefer and went home.  (Jeri and I went back the next day to finish wiping out the reefer and getting the rest of the stuff that we do not normally leave in the trailer.

Epilogue:  While where we camped was more like setting the trailer up in a mobile home park than a campground, the primary purposes of this trip were to get Claudia out and diverted a little bit from her husband's recent passing, go to The Villages to see Paul and Jan, and so we could see what Mount Dora was like.  Jeri also noticed that Fisherman's Cove RV Resort had, in fact, put a charge on our credit card for $67, so she called the credit card company and disputed the charge--we will have to wait and see what the outcome of this is, I guess.

Forgotten Coast Getaway

Saturday, 4/30/2016:  Whew! I spent most of the day installing a new Blue Ox Sway Pro hitch on the F150 and the Bullet.  Was it ever hot doing that out in the sun on a huge concrete pad at the new storage place in 90 degree weather!  I think I spent more time sitting the cab of the truck enjoying the A/C, but I got it done, then did several miles on I-95 to test it.  Worked great!  Hallelujah, 'cause it cost a bunch!  And on top of that I had to order a 3/4" drive 2' breaker bar and a couple of 3/4" drive sockets--boy those things are massive, but I got the ball nut TIGHT; well, not to the 450 lb ft they call for, but it ain't going anywhere anytime soon!

Then after getting home and taking the hitch back off the truck we decided to go RV'ing for a few days.  Jeri found us three nights at the Coast Line RV Resort (5 Star) over on the Forgotten Coast of Florida.  Now if you are wondering where the Forgotten Coast is I'll tell you--it is the Gulf Coast on the Florida Panhandle, kind of centered around Apalachicola and Carrabelle, FL.  We really like this area and have been there a couple of times with the Coleman, but this trip will be the first time with the new Bullet.  Coast Line RV Resort is just east of East Point, FL.

We are also doing something different this time in preparing.  Normally we bring the trailer home and prep it here, but this time we are doing it at the storage facility, so we took some food and clothes to the Bullet this evening and powered up the reefer on propane so it will be cold by morning.  We will stock it then and hook up and head out.  When we got back home I re-installed the Blue Ox hitch on the truck.  Busy day!  This is going to be a nice break.

Sunday, 5/1/2016:  We loaded up the truck with cold stuff for the reefer and other last minute odds and ends, drove to our trailer at the storage place, loaded it up and hitched the trailer to the truck.  I think we got on the road right around 10:00 AM.

E

The new Blue Ox Sway Pro hitch hooked up--Easy & Fast!!

We had an uneventful drive up I-95 to Jacksonville, then headed west on I-10.  We topped up the gas tank in the truck at a Pilot station west of JAX, getting the $0.07 per gallon discount and later stopped at a rest area on I-10 to take a break.  We had a couple from Tennessee pulling a smaller Bullet Premier travel trailer pull in near us and they came over for a chat and Jeri showed them through our trailer and we took a look into theirs.  Nice folks.

We got to the RV resort on highway 98 around 3:30-4:00 PM and set up the trailer without any problem.  I really like the new Blue Ox Sway Pro hitch and believe I have it set up pretty much perfect.  The rig (truck, hitch and trailer) seem to have been made for each other and we drove with total confidence.  That's a great feeling!  We looked around the campground a bit, then drove a mile or so west on 98 into East Point to pick up a couple of things, then went to dinner at a place a local had suggested when I asked.  It was called the Red Pirate and is on the south side of 98 just west of the road (highway 300) that crosses the bay over to St. George.  We had some very good raw oysters on the half-shell, then shared a fried seafood platter of grouper, shrimp, scallops and oysters.  Very good!

View from our campsite

After dinner we went back to camp and chilled for the rest of the evening until time to go to bed.  We are really enjoying the trailer so far.

Monday, 5/2/2016:  After coffee and a toasted bagel we drove over to St. George Island, purchased a new beach umbrella, since we had forgot to bring ours, then went to the beach for a couple of hours.  Jeri had packed us a light lunch and we enjoyed that.  There were a lot of people at the beach.  It was enjoyable.  After we got back to the trailer Jeri went to enjoy the resort pool for awhile while I hooked up the "stinky slinky" and walked the dog.

Ah--life is good!

Monday evening we grilled pork chops and chicken for a very good dinner and mostly just relaxed watching some TV, etc., before going to bed.

Our Bullet from the dock across highway 98.

Tuesday, 5/3/2016:  This morning we kicked around spending either another night here or finding someplace between here and home instead of just going straight home tomorrow.  For a couple of reasons we decided we needed to get home as planned.

We installed our RV camping states map on the outside of the trailer just below the kitchen window and put decals of all the states we have camped in our RVs on it.

RV camping states map--we will add more states as we RV camp in them.

We drove east to Carrabelle, FL to Millander's Seafood market and bought some fresh seafood, some to grill here tonight and most to take home.  On the way we stopped at the Carrabelle Beach and let Sugar Belle play a bit.  Getting back to the trailer we had a bit of lunch then went to the pool.  Big mistake on my part!  I was waste deep in the pool when I realized my iPhone 6 was still in my pocket!!!  I swear it was not submerged more than about 30 seconds, but it was dead as a doornail.  I pulled it out of the minimal case I use on it and dried it off, but no luck.  It got very hot, then starting vibrating like crazy before croaking totally.  Fortunately, we have Applecare+, so after getting on the phone with Apple I have a replacement iPhone 6 arriving at my home on Thursday for a a very reasonable amount of $79.95, plus $29.95 for the overnight shipping.  Unfortunately, it looks like I've lost all the pictures I had taken of this trip, but will get some from Jeri for this blog post.

This evening after sundowners we grilled Cobia, rock lobster tails, a small steak and some shrimp.  Yum!!  It rained a bit, lightly, this evening.  Relaxing evening, with Jeri reading a book and me working on this blog.  Tomorrow morning we dump and flush tanks, break down, hitch up and head home in the morning.  Busy day ahead.

I love cooking on my little Weber!

Steak, Shrimp, Cobia & Rock Lobster Tails on the Weber--Yum!!

Wednesday, 5/4/2016:  Got up early this morning, had some breakfast, then dumped and flushed the tanks before hooking up and getting back on the road for home around 10:10 AM, arriving home around 4:00 PM.  Good drive back.  Love the new hitch!  Good weather until we got just south of Jacksonville where we ran into rain.  No worries, but arriving home and backing the trailer into the driveway turned out to be a fiasco.  We were totally blocking our street for several minutes and had a few cars backed up (probably enjoying the show).  And to make matters worse, Jeri and I had a miscommunication and I backed the trailer into the gutter on the front of the house, denting it and putting a very small crease in the corner moulding of the trailer--nothing serious, though.  But we did finally get it where we wanted it.  Due to pouring rain and a thunderstorm we held off cleaning our stuff out of the trailer until Thursday.

Note:  There are no pictures of Jeri in this post because while I took several, they were all lost when I killed my iPhone it seems.

Epilogue/Final Thoughts:  We really like the Coast Line RV Resort and will probably stay there again, but only if we can get into the tier 1 sites (sites 1-5), since they are back in and would put our huge rear living window facing the gulf.  We are really liking our new Bullet.  The F150 and Bullet, coupled by the new Blue Ox Sway Pro hitch seem to be a perfect match for each other and us.  

We covered around 600 miles this trip.

Fed Ex came at 12:05 PM (wouldn't you know it--every other time they come after 5:00 PM) with my new iPhone, but didn't leave it because a signature was required.  Supposed to retry the delivery on Thursday.  Hope so.

We are now looking to get a topper for our slide out to prevent water, leaves, limbs and other debris from collecting on the roof of the slide out and damaging the seals or being brought inside the trailer.

Another RV trip is in the books and Jeri and I both agree we had a great time!  Now, I need to clean the Love Bugs off the front of the trailer--yep, it's May in Florida and that means it is Love Bug season!  Drat!