Way Down Upon the Swanee River

A hundred fifty channels and nothing worth watching. Oh...and nothing to wear, either.

The Suwannee River

There really is such a place: the Suwannee River, running through this short stretch of northern Florida, enshrined forever on the altar of American folklore thanks to composer Stephen Foster. He has his own historic site north of here close to the Georgia border. (Along with "Swanee", Foster wrote "Beautiful Dreamer", "My Old Kentucky Home", and "I Dream of Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair" in honor of his wife.)

We parked the rig in a cute RV park called "Old Town Campground 'n Retreat", tucked away in a small town called "Old Town" tucked away on Highway 19/98. Tucked right alongside, believe it or not, was a trailer four feet shorter than ours. 13 1/2 feet long, barely housing a Canadian couple with a large yellow golden retriever. They've been sitting in this little sunspot, escaping the Canadian winter for some three months. We talked to them briefly and they said, "Yeah, it's small. But at least we're still married. It's manageable. Eh." I guess it just goes to show you that some folks are willing to do damn near anything to escape the cold, especially at our age.



Today we're moving on. We had the choice of two parks down close to St. Petersburg. One is Vacation Village in the town of Largo just north of St. Pete. The other is in Land 'O Lakes northeast of St. Pete. It's called the "Riverboat Nudist Resort." It advertises "totally nude camping" and adds that the volleyball pool is very popular. Duh. We think we're going with Vacation Village. Especially at our age. We somehow can't imagine exposing Daisy to a bunch of old farts totally exposed.

Yesterday we wrapped up an overnight stay with our friends Dan and Martha at their home in the aptly-named town of Niceville on the far northwest coast of Florida. A beautiful spot and a much welcome respite--a chance to stretch the legs and enjoy Martha's wonderful cooking in their screened in Florida room with a large pool, spa and two porpoises spitting water. The only caveat was Daisy wasn't able to run and play with their five-month-old retriever "Sally". She had just been spayed and still had her stitches. It was all we could do to keep them apart and settled down.

Dan and Martha are great hosts and if they're reading this a big "Thank you, thank you, thank you." And remember: we're returning pretty much the same way so make sure our rooms are ready. Or make sure your doors are locked, your lights are off and don't answer the phone.

Bombs Away!

Who says it's not an adventure? Thursday started out simply enough. My old Marine buddy Willie and his lovely wife Gail were to meet us at noon at the National Museum of Naval Aviation on the sprawling Pensacola Naval Air Station just down the road from our RV park. The museum showcases naval aviation history and one of the highlights for me is the F-14 Tomcat fighter jet on display in front of the museum. When I was in television news I was given a two-hour ride in the F-14 at the Miramar Naval Air Station near San Diego. It's an experience I'll never forget. But standing there looking at the F-14 we get a cell phone call from Gail. She just had an experience she'll never forget. As they were getting into their car a low-flying, fully-armed and loaded seagull saw Gail and decided it was bombs away and released its load all over her clothes, her hair, her face. For this woman always dressed to the nines and very meticulous about how she looks this was quite the moment. I wish we had a picture. All we have is a picture of a seagull laughing. Could this be the culprit? But they finally made it to the museum.

We had a great time inside. By the way, there's no admission fee. Saw a lot of our old Marine squadron memorabilia on display. Saw an Imax movie called "Fighter Pilot"--an amazing big screen experience. Bought a few souvenirs and then went downtown and had a great steak and fish dinner at McGuire's Restaurant, a popular local hangout. Willie paid which made it even better. At least this was one day that wasn't all about the dog.

Now we're off to Niceville.

Springing into Spring in the Springdale trailer

Ah...the first day of spring. It has dawned chilly but dry here in Pensacola. We're packing up and heading out this morning toward the beaches of Dustin and the town of Niceville (which really is nice) to impose on our friends Dan and Martha. Dan and Martha--you read it here first. We're moving in for a couple of days. Get ready.

Dan and Martha are fellow RVers and to them and to all of our friends we recommend the little spot we've been at for the past couple of days. The "Pensacola RV Park" on Wilde Lake Drive in northern Pensacola is downright nice. Among the two best RV parks we've stayed at so far. (The other was the Hacienda RV Resort in Las Cruces, New Mexico.)

Pensacola RV Park is only a half mile west of I-10 off the Pine Forest exit. But despite being so close to the freeway it's very quiet. And believe me, that's a plus. The park earns high marks for being clean and tranquil, tucked away as it is in a semi-rural neighborhood. Shaded by large oak trees, it comes with seventy channels of cable, park-wide wifi, and new laundry facilities. It's close to good restaurants, a large grocery store and is about twenty minutes from the most popular attraction here, the Naval Aviation Museum at the Pensacola Naval Air Station. The owners live on the property and are very helpful. They'll even come to your site and fill your propane tanks when you run out of fuel like we did. Just another way they roll out the welcome mat. They also sell "Good Sam" memberships at a discount. I bought one for $12 (normally $30) and that should save us a few bucks at other RV parks as we continue down the highway.

Ice pack is back

Early this morning in the course of fixing the hitch on the trailer Paul wrenched his back and is now icing it on our bed (that's the bed on the left).

Daisy's tied up outside but in a few minutes she'll be back in her cell (that's on the right) for our ride east to Pensacola.

I found an RV park in Pensacola that PROMISES to be a quiet spot to camp for a couple of days. At many parks you sacrifice quiet for a convenient, easy-to-find location. The one here in Biloxi was recommended by the Mississippi tourism folks. It's okay but noisy since it's barely 300 feet off I-10. Paul says next time we might as well park in the median strip on the freeway. It couldn't possibly be any louder. The dog doesn't care--she's going deaf. Still, it's all about that little fleabag. We're on to Pensacola.

Hooters

Happy St. Paddy's Day. As we Irish like to say, "Wearin' no bra" or was it "Erin...something...something."

The water came back on in the park this evening so we managed to give Daisy a bath after her dead-man roll in some road kill. We discovered she's picked up fleas from running in the grass here or possibly on the beach in Biloxi. Oh well, it certainly isn't the first and won't be the last battle with fleas. Also, the park manager came around to warn us that the water is now contaminated and if we drink it or cook with it we'll have to boil it thoroughly. You gotta love Mississippi and we still have Alabama to go.

We drove up and down the beach in Biloxi today. Saw a lot of Katrina hurricane damage. In some places whole buildings have been blown away. Only the foundation is left standing and in others even the foundation is gone. But a lot of restaurants were also obliterated. We expected to find a nice little local fish joint somewhere along the beach where we could have lunch. We found nothing so wound up instead eating at Hooter's. Which was either quickly repaired or built following Katrina. And all along the waterfront where once quaint little places were to be found now it's casino after casino. Even they suffered extensive damage. Some have been repaired. But even the biggest and best known such as the Beau Rivage struggle to stay open in this economy.

We visited Beauvoir ("beautiful view"), the Biloxi waterfront home of Jefferson Davis, president of the confederacy. It suffered massive hurricane damage and is now undergoing extensive renovation. It stands now almost shiny and new like a reproduction of what it once was when Jeff Davis lived there in the 1870s. Hard to tell what's old and what's new. But there's a cool old confederate soldiers' cemetery out back. A cemetery that also contains the tomb of the unknown confederate soldier, an impressive memorial.

We topped our day off with a trip to Walmart. Ah yes, the dog that rolls in road kill, a trip to Walmart, and now with the first, warm comfortable evening we've had we can't sit outside the trailer because zillions of pesky little chigger-type bugs bite the hell out of you and drive you back inside. Which is not altogether bad because we're camped only about 100 yards off I-10 and it's a darn sight quieter inside than out.

Tomorrow morning we're off to Pensacola to link up with Paul's Marine Corps buddy Willie and his lovely wife Gail. We'll be going to the Naval aviation history museum on the grounds of the Pensacola Naval Air Station. Paul's been there before and some of his Marine fighter squadron memorabilia is on display.

All in all, it's amazing how blue sky, sunshine and 75 degrees can lift your spirits. Now we'll probably roll the damn trailer tomorrow. But then, it's all about the dog (who's asleep on my lap).

Road Kill

Today is shaping up to be a big day. Already the water is out in the trailer park. Everybody's kind of stumbling around like zombies wondering how they can make it through the day without water. Apparently it's a Biloxi city water problem and it won't be back on until 5 this evening. Went off at 8:30 this morning. Fortunately we had enough in our tanks to wash up, brush our teeth (we still have them) and we'll be out the door in twenty minutes.

First stop: the National Historic Site of Beauvoir. The home of Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy. Paul has been there twice to produce travel stories. An interesting site. An old house with artifacts and Davis's crypt out back. And that could only be topped by a trip to another iconic site: Walmart. Our fourth or fifth on this trip so far. Walmart is very RV-friendly with a large, low-priced section of RV supplies.

In a pinch, many Walmarts allow travelers to park their rigs in their parking lots overnight. We were told that the national RV "Good Sam Club" is named after Sam Walton, Walmart's founder and one-time RVer. At least that's how rumors get started. And did you know that Walmart used to sell surface-to-air missiles since Sam Walton was a big believer in national security? The Department of Defense aptly nicknamed the missiles "S.A.M.S." Or so we were told. (Actually we're lying about this one but feel free to start the rumor anyway.)

Best of all, the sun is out. It's supposed to stay dry for the next five to seven days. Temps will top out in the mid-to-upper 70s and that allows us to put Daisy on a leash outside the trailer. That's good for her and for us since this morning while Paul was walking her she found the remains of something God awful in the trailer park. She rolled in it before Paul could pull her away. She smells like road kill. And there's no water to bathe her. Last night she had a brief encounter with four or five raccoons raiding a dumpster. She started raising hell. They paraded out one after another, each lugging a piece of garbage. They were completely non-plussed but she went bonkers. Did she want the raccoons or the garbage? Probably the latter. After all, she is trailer trash. The adventure continues...

Small World

We, too, used to live in a big house. Now we live, as we have said, in a walk-in closet. These two photos feature my long-time friend Rozlynn. As I mentioned in an earlier post, we worked together at San Francisco's KPIX television station back in the 1980s. A lifetime ago. Her now husband Michael was an executive in the newsroom. They met. Sparks flew and a romance took off. And it took them around the country as Michael's career soared. For awhile they lived in City Island, New York where they were married by their neighbors-- none other than Judge Judy and her husband Judge Jerry. Coincidentally, our close friends Brian and Denise are very good friends with Judges Judy and Jerry and we'll be staying with them (B and D) once we reach south Florida. It is a small world indeed.

Roz and Michael are fabulous hosts in their beautiful Houston home. We were somewhat reluctant to spend the night fearing we wouldn't want to return to our tiny home sweet rolling home. But we had no choice. This is our lot in life. At least the sun has finally broken through today, St. Paddy's Day, in Biloxi, Mississippi.