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.

You can see the scars left by Hurricane Katrina still with so many foundations along the highway laying empty and a few damaged buildings here and there. In the wide medians, a local artist has given new purpose to the damaged trees by carving them into eagles and dolphins. Forget finding locations with your GPS as so many are now gone or closed and new buildings are springing up.

The next day I headed for Louisianna. I had considered going into New Orleans but it can be a dangerous place for a woman alone with a cane and there had been a kidnapping off the street that week. After seeing their poor behavior after Hurricane Katrina and seeing numerous houses still in ruins, I was not really that enthused to go there myself. They also put all the somewhat expensive tours downtown with $10 parking. I prefer a tour that starts from the edge of town myself when it comes to big cities and $10 on top of the tour fee is just way too much. I chose instead to drive the world’s longest bridge over water which happens to be over Lake Ponchetrain nearby. There is a $3 toll going south only but it was worth it and apparently a lot of people drive the bridge solely for fun. It is over 24 miles long and bounces you up and down like riding a horse. On foggy days, they send cars out in small groups across it. Watch your speed because there are 7 crossovers on the bridge where cops are watching. Before going over, I stopped at the park to walk along the seawall and then went to Sunset Point where locals recommend going to watch the sunset beyond the bridge.

Off to Stennis Space Center another day. You catch the free tour bus from the rest area at exit 2 off the I10. Stennis is a rocket engine testing facility. They repair and test both rockets and space shuttle engines. The bus takes you around the test stands and to the welcome center museum which has both space and national weather system exhibits. They have an interactive mockup of the international space station, a rocket testing sim, and a space shuttle landing simulator. Be very glad I am not a space shuttle pilot. My first try I overflew the runway and had to go back around. The second I landed successfully though slow. The last two I crashed and burned. It wasn’t pretty. The food in the Rocketeria was pretty decent. I also purchased some freeze dried mint chocolate chip astronaut ice cream in the gift shop. It wasn’t bad at all though you have to get used to it.

I found a shrimp boat tour to go on over in Biloxi, MS. They take you out in the bay for an hour and show you how the nets work, how to catch shrimp, and the sorts of other fish the nets scoop up with the shrimp. We had pelicans and seagulls following us closely in hopes of a free dinner. They were not disappointed.

Since I was going by anyway on US90, I stopped at the home of the President of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis. While not actually all that big, it has 2 other buildings which used to be guesthouses among other things, high ceilings, huge porches front and back, and an interesting bedroom setup in the back with them attached to the house but accessible only by going out on the back porch which provides more privacy. Mr. and Mrs. Davis did not sleep in the same bedroom. With his busy schedule as statesman, senator, president, and commander, I am not surprised. Out behind the house used to be beautiful rose gardens and beyond that is a stream as well as a graveyard from the time the house was used as confederate veteran’s home. The grave of the unknown confedrerate soldier is there.

For more pics, click here.

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.

I liked their pool and hot tub. Had it not been so darn cold the week I was there, I would have been in them constantly. I had to check with the office to make sure I really was in Florida that week and had not made a wrong turn at Albuquerque. Geez! I think that was payback for sending my northern family snotty postcards showing the freezing snow where they are and the lovely sunny beaches where I am. Oh well.

The library at the park clubhouse was nice. Not only do they have books, they also have a video rental collection that is so large that they cannot put them all on display at the same time. The cost is only 25 cents per video per night and they have some great videos on VHS primarily. I got to see videos of Branson, MO and the Grand Canyon where I will be heading this year and helps in planning those trips.

While walking around taking pictures of the fulltime resident lifestyle and gathering info for the day when I settle down a bit (only a bit), I got to tour a park model trailer which is very nice and just like a regular home but smaller. I got to check out prices a bit which are pretty reasonable actually compared to houses today with the added benefit of a real old-fashioned community where everyone knows everyone, checks on each other, and plays with each other. The clubhouse is the center of most activity. I also got to ask some questions. I was worried about property taxes but apparently it is insurance that is the real hardship to watch out for. I know insuring my trailer as a fulltimer on the road is very expensive, much more than I expected. Apparently it is every bit as expensive and maybe more off the road so that should be checked before buying into anything. The property taxes are nothing in comparison. It is also good to note that staying somewhere permanently is not just a matter of parking your trailer. It will need a cap or second roof over it and all slideouts to protect the trailer roof s as well as a skirt around the bottom of it to keep out varmints and cold drafts. Most people also add a covered carport at the least or an addon fully enclosed room the length of the trailer. Sometimes it is hard walled and other times it is screened in. A shed is also a nice addition. I am told that often the lot is leased rather than owned and if improvements are allowed, you may sell those improvements to the new leaseholder when you move. I am not sure all parks work this way but one I was told of you buy into the park as a lessee for a few thousand dollars then you only have to pay the yearly dues which are several hundred dollars. There is no monthly rent for residents.

The main reason I went to Zephyrhills was to get in on the Camping World sale and get together nearby. They were offering lots of free seminars and food. Unfortunately, that did not pan out. The sale was abysmal with very little on sale and then only large expensive items. I did get some important info from the seminars but they were much too loosley structured. They were more of a questions and answers session. A real class with a set guideline, more content, and then questions and answers would have been better. I didn’t even get the free food because I went on the wrong day for that. Geez. Very disapppointing. At least my new aircard arrived while I was in Zephyrhills so I could move on.

For more pics, click here.

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.

On the island, I first visited the old Carnegie ice house. Most of the island was owned by the Thomas Carnegie family (brother of Andrew Carnegie). Before the invention of ice makers, they shipped large blocks of ice in from the north during winter for the summer. I then joined the ranger walk to the ruins of Dungeness, former mansion of the Carnegie family. It was a huge lovely home in its time and idyllic setting for the 9 children to grow up in. Poor Thomas died only a year after its completion leaving his wife Lucy to raise the children alone and run the home and lands. As they married, Lucy gave each money to build their own homes nearby. 2 of the boys never married and kept apartments in the indoor pool house. At one time as many as 300 people worked for the family as servants, grooms, running the livestock operations, etc.

Today the island is a combination of enchanting forest and white sand beaches with wild horses, pigs, turkeys, etc. calling it home. The horses were brought there by Spanish explorers and some are from the Carnegie stock. They are wild and not to be petted no matter how gentle they seem grazing in the fields. Be careful if you hear the thunder of hooves. A horse came bounding past me and whinied while I was there. I also spooked a wild pig while walking through the forest. The flock of turkeys completely ignored me as they chatted. There are numerous snakes there, though I did not see any, so be very careful in the brush or around rock or concrete which they love. On the beach, you will see lots of unusual shells and crabs. I saw my first horseshoe crab. The water is warm and inviting.

The Carnegie family cemetery is on the island and still actively used. However, it is gated and locked off with high brush keeping out all peeking. There is also a small cemetery of cars formerly used by the residents. Though severely rusted away, the luxury cars and roadsters of another era are clearly identifiable.

There is tent camping on the island if you are willing to hike. To have a car on the island requires a special permit and is only for residents and other special use.

Do not miss the last ferry back. They don’t wait or come back for you. I am told the cost to get a local to take you back to the mainland by boat is $200 or more and there are no hotels.

I went back to St. Marys later that week to do some easy geocaching (scored 4), get pictures of the numerous pumpkin scarecrows around town  for the Scarecrow Festival, and to tour a typical southern antebellum home in the Greek style, Orange Hall.

For more pics click here.