Dang RV

Off to check out the Gulf of Mexico near Gulfport and Pass-Christian, Mississippi which are popular snowbird destinations. I went to 5 Star Resort in Pass-Christian, a C2C-RPI park. Don’t let the name fool you. It is an average park in a great location. The Gulf and white sand beaches are minutes away. Stennis Space Center, boat tours, casinos, Jefferson Davis’s last home, a national seashore, Lake Ponchetrain in Louisianna, New Orleans, etc. are close by.

The park itself has a clubhouse, pool I never saw used, hot tub, bayou for boating, many permanent residents in a separate section, etc. The staff were nice. Given the choice of a very treed area, partially treed area, or open grass area, I chose one of the easy level pull-thrus in the grassy area to use my satellite dish. My Verizon air card got lots of signal though I still needed to use the external antenna to get any stability. They provided a key to the clubhouse so I had the wifi in the clubhouse as a backup for work.

I hit the beach first thing. Parking was easy with many many turnouts provided to park as well as free parking lots. Beach Blvd./US90 is a wonderful drive. The water is warm and waves very little. You have to walk out a ways to get in deep which was nice. Here and there are piers to fish and places with jet skis anchored in the water ready to rent. I waded way in for a while and flew my kites over the water. An RV couple seemed to be camped out in one parking lot with their motorhome across several spaces door to the sidewalk, awning and chairs out, sipping drinks and watching the sea.

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I thought I would check out Bee’s Resort in Clermont, FL since it seems to be popular. It’s a C2C/RPI park. I found it to be a typical warehouse type park with very close sites packed in. It is out in the country away from shopping but very close to the Florida Turnpike to go to all the Orlando attractions. Despite the drought, their tiny lake was nice to look at with it’s 24 hour fountain and porch swing next to it. Some of the owners have added lights and decorative blinking lighthouses along the edge. The pool is cold but nobody seemed to mind during the hot days.

I got there in time for an all-you-can-eat chicken dinner. Holy cow! They plopped so much delicious different foods on my tray that there was no need for seconds. There was plenty of room and tables for everyone and a screened porch to eat out on as well.

For fun, I drove into Kissimmee. Thank goodness for the Sun Pass on my windshield while driving the turnpike. It really is so much easier than scrambling for change. I went to a huge outdoor store and got lucky. I found the adjustable rack needed to hold my BBQ when sites don’t provide a table and it can double as the trash bag holder I have been needing for my annual document shredding. I also found a tent pole which I plan to use as an antenna extension. I have external antennas for both wifi and my aircard which I plan to clamp to the pole and extend them above the trailer roof for better reception.

Just down the street I found a Disney outlet store where I snagged my Disneyworld Tshirt. They are just too expensive to buy inside Disneyworld and there are lots of these stores near there.

I got to stay quite awhile at the SKP park in Wauchula, FL but the time came when they suddenly started to fill up for their January Capers and I got pushed out of my spot and into the overnight area. First in, first out is the rule which is fair. I couldn’t leave their lovely wifi though until a new aircard for Verizon wireless was sent from an Ebay auction I had won.  So, I went into the overnight area which is actually still pretty decent with 20 amp electric and water, no sewer. It is also up near the clubhouse rather than shoved in the back. I was actually sorry to leave Wauchula SKP park but it really was time to move on anyway.

I stayed another week then moved on to Southern Charm RV Resort in Zephyrhills, FL which also has wonderful wifi throughout the park and is part of Enjoy America, a discount camping club associated with RPI. Going to Zephyrhills and Southern Charm was rather a shock for me. Zephyrhills is a mecca for RVers it seems, particularly snowbirds. Never in my life have I seen so many RV parks together one right after the other. Chancey Road seems to be at the heart of it. Southern Charm was not only very nice about giving me the 50% Enjoy America Discount, they were also very flexible and they have the most active senior residents I have ever seen. Every morning no matter how cold, they fill 2 of the 4 volleyball courts with some real skilled players of all ages and both sexes. It makes one giddy to see all the bicycles parked by the courts and watch the “older children” play. Everyone rides a bike at the park. Many have golf carts but still keep a bike around as well. It made me feel so much better to see most of the bikes have either the extra large seat for those of us who have lived long enough to have earned it and need it, or they have bucket seats for those that need the support. Whatever it takes, only the ride matters. I also saw the residents playing some pretty active shuffleboard and horseshoes.

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King George RV Resort is a park that serves a particular need and should be taken that way. It is hardly a resort. The spaces are very close together, the pool is small, the “clubhouse” is closed during the evening, no campfires are allowed, and it is not the sort of place that engenders the usual RVer walk, stop, and chat. They lock the gates at 6pm so be sure you arrive before that. They provide the lock combination during check-in so you can get in and out while staying there.

What the park is, is an extremely convenient place to stop overnight on the way in and out of Florida and a good place to stay to visit both Okefenokee Swamp and Cumberland Island National Seashore. It is very easy to find this park just off the I95, there is a gas station very close, Walmart Supercenter is only about 8 miles away, the seashore is about 12 miles and the swamp about 35 miles. It accepts nearly all discount clubs including RPI, Good Sam,  and Passport America so there is no reason for anyone to pay full price.

The prospect of seeing wild horses led me to St. Marys, Georgia to grab the ferry to Cumberland Island and National Seashore. There are currently no bathroom facilities or food sellers on the island so you should use facilities at St. Marys before leaving, bring water and a sack lunch. An expensive sack lunch and water can be purchased at a store nearby to the ferry dock. Consider also bringing a plastic poncho in case of rain, sun block, a heavy coat, hat and sunglasses. It can get very cold on the ferry and island with lots of wind. To park for this all day excursion, you must park down the street near the beige building rather than in front of the park and ferry dock. They make an exception for those with a handicapped tag displayed. Tickets for the ferry can be purchased in the Cumberland Island National Seashore Visitor’s Center.

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Had to see the Jersey shore. I got tired of hearing about how great it is in movies and TV so I had to check it out for myself. I can now report that it is everything they say it is and more!

I planned this trip out very carefully to make sure I didn’t end up driving through New York City with my trailer. That would have been insane. Skirting around it wasn’t that bad at all except for the traffic jam at the Connecticut-New York border. Driving down the Garden State Parkway was very easy except they like to toll you to death every few miles just like lower Maine. Aaargh! They don’t make it easy either since they don’t post the prices anywhere though I did finally see one sign with tiny writing right smack in the middle of the toll lanes and of course with my trailer I had to be in the far right lane. A couple of other things you should be aware of as well. The parkway has numerous arched bridges over it about 13′6″ high and it is best to be in the middle lane while going under them. Gas stations are few and far between off the highway but they do have numerous gas stations and food places on the parkway. To get to them you actually have to be in the left high-speed lane (brilliant planning, huh?). Be prepared to pay a premium price for gas at these but they are still considerably cheaper than gas up north.They may also snooker you with a cheap price shown but that price is only for those who pay cash. People still carry cash?

I stayed at an RPI (Resort Parks International) park in Port Republic which is just outside Atlantic City, NJ. I finally got to try out my RPI membership. I’ll get into the details of that in another post. Chestnut Lakes Resort is a NACO affiliated park. It was nice to have a pull-through site for a change. There’s nothing particularly fancy about it but who cares. With this park, it is entirely about location, location, location. The park was plenty nice enough and I enjoyed it.

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