January 11-16, 2007

JANUARY 11, Thursday, Cloud/sun

Left our room at 10:30 a.m. and went out for breakfast then we went back to Conley RV and spent the rest of the day there, reading and walking around.
Finally got Kenzie back at 5:30 p.m. and some minor adjustment had to be done. Paid our bill, $1068. for our part (brakes and shocks) OUCH!!!! Hit the road, stopped for fuel 14 gal @ 2.479 and got back on I-75. Drove until 8 p.m. and stopped overnight at a Crackers Barrel restaurant. I am stressed out and tired. It's been a long and very frustrating couple days. Glad to be leaving this State and heading west.


JANUARY 12, Friday, sunny

Up at 7 a.m., coffee then hit the road again. At Ocala, we turned north-west in hwy 27. In Perry, we took hwy 98 until hwy 14 then turned left for our destination. Arrived at Econfina Resort, site #24. This is a very isolated place. The nearest town is Perry at 25 miles, there is NO WIFI nor any cellular reception. Oh and our mail is still not here. Grrrreat.
There is a lots of no-seeums here and they BITE, no....they CHEW! It is much cooler than down south and not so humid. Suits me fine.
After dinner, we had a camp fire and invited our neighbors, Gloria and Charlie. He makes baskets out of pine needles and they are wonderfully beautiful and well made. I am very impressed.

N 30*37'26" W 87*35'38" Alt: 45' Distance today and yesterday: 451 km (282 miles)


JANUARY 13, Saturday, Sunny

50*F ( 10C) this morning and the sun is shining. Forecast is for 80*F. Went into Perry and got groceries, propane and fuel: 14.057 gal @ 2.419. Checked our e-mail at an internet cafe then came home. Still no mail


JANUARY 14, Sunday, sunny with cloudy periods.

Went cycling today. We found a trail and followed it for about 5 miles. It was wonderful. It claimed to be the "Florida as it really is" and it was beautiful but unfortunately, I forgot the camera so no pictures. We even saw a big turtle that had dug a hole and it looked at it was laying eggs. It kept hissing at us so we left it in place. We finally came out on the road about 3 miles form our site and took another trail which looked like it was returning towards our site.
I stopped too fast and Val tried to avoid me and crashed. Nothing serious but she got scraped knees again and shoulder too. She will be sore in the morning. Poor Val, she really has no luck with cycling.
Came home and had a hot shower. Val put disinfectant on her wounds and I went to the office to give them a forwarding address for our mail as we are leaving tomorrow.


JANUARY 15, Monday, sunny and clouds

We left around 8:30 a.m. Followed hwy 98 west to 363 then headed north towards Tallahassee. In Newport, I called Conley RV as the brakes on Kenzie were not functioning correctly. Got hold of Brian who said he would phone us right back. We drove on to Tallahassee and 3/4 of hour later, he still hadn't called. So, once again, I called him only to be told he couldn't be found. I blew up! I demanded to speak to the manager and when he came on, I let him have it about their lousy service and customer relations. He was very apologetic and got Brian right away who in turn got me an appointment at "Camping World" in Midway, about 10 miles from Tallahassee. We drove there and after a couple hours, we were told we would have to spend the night there and they would look at it first thing in the morning. They have RV sites with hook-ups so we tied up and resigned ourself to another wasted day. Called Stix River where we have reservations and explained our situation. No problems!


JANUARY 16, Tuesday, cloudy

Well, we woke up to rain this morning. Also rained overnight. It is 65* F(18*C). The rig went in at 9:30 and we got it back at 12:30 P.M. Found out that the drums hadn't been turned when Conley did the brakes and that one magnet had NOT been replaced. It's a good thing that Conley is paying for this....I feel like suing them! Do I sound stressed out????? I will definitely write a concern letter to Monaco for what it is worth.
Anyway, we left at 1 p.m. and it is 60*F The temperature is dropping and the forecast is for colder temperature for the next few days. Got fuel 10.73 gal @ 2.329
We changed time about 40 miles from Tallahassee, we are now on Central Time. The ride was monotonous. The foliage is now tall evergreens and low brushes. Most trees are leafless although some do have green leafs. The highway is going through rolling hills with an altitude of 250 feet max. Fuelled in Milton 21.329Gal @ 2.389 and it is a good thing as fuel in Alabama is 2.65/gal for diesel. We stopped a few times along the Highway and finally arrived in Stix River RV Resort at 4:30 p.m. with no further problems with the brakes.
We will be here until Saturday the 20th and the nice thing is that it is not costing anything. Free through R.O.D. Set up and dinner. Took tucker for a walk and the temperature is now in low 50's (10*C)

N 30*37'26" W 87*35'38" Alt: 200' distance in the last two days: 525 km ( 329 miles) This includes the running around we did in Tallahassee