After spending over two months at Rainbow Plantation in Summerdale, Alabama it was time to hit the road. We drove 114 miles to Sunset Lake RV Resort in DeFuniak Springs, Florida and stayed there a week. It is a very nice park several miles north of town and is located on a lake and being members of Coast to Coast we paid only $8 a night. Linda immediately started collecting pine needles and volunteered to teach basket making classes at the clubhouse. Joe and Rose Vier camped across from us and Rose came over to our motorhome and worked with Linda making baskets.

Our next stop in northern Florida was Kelly’s Campground in White Springs which is a very nice family owned park and is a Passport America park so we paid half-price. We chose that campground because one of our most faithful website readers, Ken Drummond and wife Cathleen, were spending the winter there. We surprised them by stopping unannounced and had a nice visit and we all went to town for a meal. Heck, when people meet in campgrounds the first question always is “where are we going to eat.” It was a pleasure meeting Ken and Cathleen and we wish them the best.

 

Meeting Peter and Christiane E. from Germany

Peter and Christiane from Germany had been corresponding with us for months and they plan to do extensive travels in the USA in a motorhome in the future. They wanted to rent a Class C motorhome, tour part of Florida and attend the Florida RV Super Show at Tampa to look at motorhomes and it would be our honor and pleasure to show them around. Linda made reservations for two campsites in St. Augustine and we parked and anxiously awaited the Ermkes’ arrival. Thoughts ran through our minds about what in the world had we gotten ourselves into. What if we could not communicate? (I’m an old Kentucky boy and at times my language reverts to hill-billy talk. “Peter and Christiane, I have been hankering to meet you-all. Lets pile in the ole wagon and mosey to town and find some chitlings to eat.”) What if they didn’t like us? We had committed to spend nine days together and it was too late to back out. Honestly, we looked forward to meeting Peter and Christiane and we know that people who like to travel in a RV make quick friends.

Shortly after we arrived Peter and Christiane pulled in beside us in their rental motorhome and after a quick greeting and introductions we knew the next nine days would be a pleasure. They had been to the USA several times and toured the west in motorhomes, but they had never been east of the Rocky Mountains except for a fly-in trip to New York City. During our time together we met most nights and talked about traveling in motorhomes and discussed the differences in living in the United States and Germany. We learned much from the Ermkes and we hope they learned something from us.
 

St. Augustine, Florida

This was our third trip to St. Augustine and we always enjoy visiting the city. We had limited time so we asked Peter and Christiane what they wanted to see and after Christiane checked her Germany tour book we laid out a plan. St. Augustine is the oldest city in the United States having been founded in 1565 by Pedro Menendez de Aviles of Spain. The Spanish and English flags flew over the city until 1821 when St. Augustine became a possession of the United States. The city was 256 years old at that time.

The largest and most interesting attraction in St. Augustine is Castillo de San Marcos, a Spanish fort built on the bay. Construction took twenty-three years (1672-1695) and the fort was so solidly built it never lost a battle. The bottom walls of the fort are 16 feet thick and the tops are six feet thick. It was constructed of coquina (white sand stone composed of fragments of seashells and sea materials) so the walls absorbed cannon balls and never cracked. The fort is under ownership of the National Park Service and make sure you attend the Park Ranger's talks or the gun demonstration.

Leaving the fort we walked through the Gates to the City and down historic St. George Street, one of the oldest streets in the nation. We walked among the old buildings, did some window shopping and ate lunch at an outdoor café. We visited Memorial Presbyterian Church, one of the most beautiful and interesting churches we have seen. It was constructed by Henry Flagler in 361 days and he, his wife and his daughter are buried in the church.

Mr. Flagler (with partner John D. Rockefeller) was a founder of Standard Oil Company. His influence and wealth can be seen all over the city. He built the beautiful Ponce de Leon Hotel that is now Flagler College. To bring patrons to his elegant hotel Mr. Flagler constructed a railroad from the north to St. Augustine and he later extended his railroad, the Florida East Coast Railroad, to Key West, Florida. Another of Mr. Flagler's hotels was the Hotel Alcazar. It featured the world's largest indoor swimming pool and a ball room with bands that played 24 hours a day. That hotel presently contains the Lightner Museum. We recommend you spend a half day in the museum and make sure you see the demonstration of the music boxes. One room contains 1880's era music boxes that are played twice a day. These are large boxes that contain entire bands that are mechanically played.

We drove across the Bridge of Lions, an old draw bridge, (new bridge under construction) to St. Augustine Beach and dipped our toes in the Atlantic Ocean. Peter and Christiane wanted to walk along the ocean and that was a relaxing way to end a busy day.

 

Kennedy Space Center

From St. Augustine we drove the motorhomes 93 miles to Willow Lake RV & Golf Resort in Titusville, Florida. We took Peter and Christiane shopping and had a relaxing evening resting for the next day - a full day at Kennedy Space Center.

We drove across the Intercoastal Waterway to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. After purchasing expensive tickets we encountered security much like airports. We had to empty our pockets, walk through a metal detector bare-footed, and then officers inspected our backpacks and cameras. After determining we were not terrorists we proceeded straight to the tour busses that run continually through the complex. A few miles later we passed the Vehicle Assembly Building, a building so large it can be seen for miles. It is here rockets, space craft and Space Shuttles are prepared for launch before they begin a three mile trip to a launch site on the Crawler Transporter. The transporter moves on (railroad) tracts at speeds measured in feet per hour and not miles per hour.

At Launch Complex 39 Observation Gantry we exited the bus and climbed steps to a deck where we looked over the Space Center getting a bird’s eye view. In front of us were sites 39A and 39B where the Space Shuttles are launched. That day on site 39A we saw a rocket with activity including lights and steam. We later learned that rocket contained five communication satellites and that was the first time five satellites were launched from one rocket. We looked at some interesting displays and old rocket engines then got on the next bus.

Our next stop was the Apollo/Saturn V Center, a giant complex containing the history of the Apollo and Saturn missions. We entered the building and found a standing theater (no seats) named the Firing Room Theater and we soon learned why. The doors closed behind us so we were a captive audience and then the rocket’s engines started burning and then it launched. Man, those things are loud. Exit doors opened and we entered a launch control room with the actual computers and displays used during early launches. A launch was recreated with actual sounds, lights and the excitement of a by-gone launch.

Next we entered a gigantic room depicting the moon-launch days with the center piece being a 363 foot moon rocket. Did you know?
 

• A fully loaded Saturn V weighed 6.2 million pounds and the five engines in Stage One accelerated it to a speed of 5,000 miles per hour.

• Those five engines generated 160,000,000 (that’s 160 million) horsepower. Those engines have about the same horsepower as one million Honda CR-V’s like we drive.

• It used 15 tons of fuel per second and after 2 1/2 minutes it had done its job and was jettisoned into the Atlantic Ocean.

• Stage Two weighed over one million pounds, also had five engines which propelled it to a speed of 15,000 miles per hour. After 6 1/2 minutes Stage Two was jettisoned into the Atlantic Ocean.

• Stage Three had only one engine and it accelerated to 24,000 miles per hour to obtain orbit and head towards the moon.

Stage One was manufactured by Boeing, Stage Two by North American Aviation and Stage Three by Grumman Aircraft Engineering. Instrumentation and controls were provided by IBM, MIT and GE. All the parts were assembled and it actually worked.

Sorry for all these facts and figures, but I am a technology guy and I love this stuff.

We also looked at a Moon Buggy and a Space Suit before stopping at the Moon Rocket Café for lunch. Before leaving the Apollo/Saturn V Center we watched a movie about landing on the moon and it was very well done.

We caught the next bus and drove by the Shuttle Landing Runway before returning to the Visitor Center Complex. Once off the bus we walked to the Space Shuttle Explorer, a full-scale replica of a shuttle. Inside we looked at the controls and the payload of a communications satellite ready to be launched. From there we stopped at an IMAX theater to watch one of two available movies in 3D showing space-walking and moon-walking. The movie was well done and the 3D made us feel like we were in outer space.

Before leaving we walked around Rocket Garden where historic rockets and engines tell the story of man’s quest of the moon and stars. There was more to see and do at Kennedy Space Center, but our legs were wearing out from a full day of walking. If you have never been there we recommend you go and if you have been there before, go back because they are adding more displays and exhibits.


 

Tampa RV Show

Our next venture was to the Tampa RV Show (officially named Florida RV Trade Association SuperShow) which was on the other side of the state, but it was only 126 miles. The problem was we had to drive through stop and go traffic on highway 50 through Orlando. Once west of Orlando we met Rich and Diane Emond at a rest area and the three of us caravanned to Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino where we met Bob and Polly Seifried and Dirk Harrington. The five of us (five motorhomes) planned to caravan into the RV show together and Newmar suggested caravans meet at the casino. Only problem was no one got permission from the casino and their parking lot was crowded with cars. As we entered a security guard demanded we turn around and exit the parking lot - not easy to do in a 41 foot motorhome pulling a car. Then we realized the other four rigs had security guards screaming at them too. We could have gotten nervous and upset, but we thought it was funny. We finally got out of the parking lot and the five rigs drove a short distance to the Florida State Fairgrounds where we parked with 197 Newmar RVs. (Newmar got permission for all the Newmar RVs to enter one day before the show started and park together. All other rigs arrived the next day and parked in a separate area.)

Christiane had been having a toothache and it had gotten so bad she couldn’t sleep. - major pain. I got on the internet and looked up dentist offices and Linda made phone calls. We found a walk-in dental clinic in downtown Tampa who could see her so I programmed the Garmin GPS and off we went. After a long wait and with Linda acting as interrupter as needed, the dentist determined Christiane needed a root canal, made her an appointment with an oral surgeon and gave her two prescriptions. The GPS took us to the next dental office and Linda waited with Christiane, to help translate, while I took Peter to a drug store to fill the prescriptions. He got the prescriptions and drugs information printed in German and the clerk was German. I have no idea what they were saying, but Peter seemed to be satisfied. Back at the dental surgeon’s office Linda had been with Christiane while talking to the dentist and staff and during x-rays. Before they did the root canal Peter went in the room with her and Linda and I waited outside. It was late afternoon before we got back to the motorhomes so we didn’t get to see any of the show that day. We were happy we could help because it would have been quite an ordeal for the Ermkes, from Germany, driving a motorhome with no car, to find a dentist in a strange city and country. Also, dental procedures and prescriptions are different in Germany and they were not familiar with the American Way.

The next few days at the show we met more friends than I can remember and I won’t attempt to name all of them, but it was fun meeting old friends and making new friends. We walked around the show, shopped with vendors, looked at many new motorhomes, watched daytime entertainers and nightly entertainment, and ate too much. Peter and Christiane want to return to the United States, buy a motorhome and travel extensively in the states. They wanted to educate themselves on motorhomes so they will know what they want to buy. One day we drove over to Lazy Days RV, the world’s largest RV dealer, to look at more motorhome, both new and used. We planned our arrival time to coincide with their free lunch. Hey, whoever said “there is no such thing as a free lunch” has never been to Lazy Days.

Anyone who has been to that area knows you “have” to drive over to Plant City and stop at Parksdale Farm for strawberry shortcake. We caravanned with the Ermkes, the Emonds and Bob and Pat Pence and met Bill Haught there. We enjoyed the strawberries and good conversations, then we selected Peter and Christiane as King and Queen of the strawberries. We even put Peter on the hot seat with the women.

One other interesting thing happened at the show. The day we arrived a woman met me behind our motorhome and introduced herself as B.C. Manion, a reporter for the Tampa Tribune, and wanted to ask me some questions about RVing. Out front a photographer, Robert Burke, from the Tribune was talking to Linda and Diane Emond. The next day B.C. called both Diane and me to ask more questions and wanted to return for even more questions and a photo shoot. She had planned to write an article about RVing in general, but she decided we were more interesting than the average traveler so she decided to write about us. She and the photographer visited the Emonds and made a lot of pictures and then came to our motorhome and interviewed us as the camera snapped away. B.C. called me two more times to ask questions and to get permission to use information from my website.

The Tampa Tribune article is no longer on the internet so I typed the text here. (Tampa RV Article) There were some pictures of the Emonds and us along with our motorhomes and those pictures sure made us look pretty. Sorry I can not include the pictures because they were copyrighted by the photographer.
 

Louisville or Bust?  - Busted

The Tampa RV Show ended Sunday and we needed to leave before sunrise to get to Louisville where Linda’s mother was having total knee replacement early Tuesday morning. The night before leaving we gave everybody hugs and told Peter and Christiane it was a pleasure meeting and traveling with them and we looked forward to seeing them again.

As the sky lightened and before the sun could be seen we slowly drove out of the camping area not wanting to wake anyone. It was a beautiful day with an enjoyable drive north on I-75 and after crossing into Georgia we stopped at Flying J for fuel, a snack and a potty break. Back on the interstate I set the cruise control on 68 mph, faster than I normally drive, but we had a lot of miles to cover.

Suddenly the motorhome started jerking and a look in the side view mirrors showed the engine was putting out enough white smoke to cover the interstate, both the north and south bound lanes. I eased off the pedal and slowed to 45 mph and the smoke lessened, but the motorhome was till jerking and puffing more smoke than a four pack a day smoker. We were entering Valdosta, Georgia and a sign showed there was an exit in two miles so I babied the engine and pulled in behind a Hess Truck Stop. Linda packed a suitcase and we unhooked the CR-V and Linda departed for Louisville, Kentucky, 660 miles away.

Being a Sunday I knew it would be impossible to get the engine repaired, but I called Cummins anyway to find a repair shop and called Coach Net, our Emergency Roadside Service. Cummins was no help and Coach Net said they would call back the next morning after determining I was in a safe place. Monday morning a tech from Coach Net called and wanted me to check a few items on the engine and we did not find the problem. I told him I wanted to replace the two fuel filters “just in case” a clogged filter was the problem. In the Hess parking lot I replaced both filters and then started the engine. It seemed to run a bit smoother and I knew there was another exit two miles up the road for a safety net but once it got up to 60 mph it started jerking and smoking as bad as before. I took the next exit and found a large parking lot where I parked and told Coach Net to send a tow truck.

Before the tow truck arrived I removed the rear mud guard so it wouldn’t drag and added 10 pounds of pressure to the rear tires for the additional load of towing at an angle. The tow truck arrived and I assisted in hitching up the motorhome and then we towed it 90 miles to Cummins Power South in Albany, Georgia. They closed just before we arrived so I was left in the drive outside of locked gates. The next morning a technician found the number 6 fuel injector was sticking open and flooding the engine with diesel fuel. They ordered the part and I settled in the motorhome inside of the fence.

The next morning (Tuesday) FedEx delivered their parts and my fuel injector did not come in. The service manager asked if I would accept a used injector from an engine with 800 miles on it and I had no problem with that. I watched the technician remove the part from the used engine and put it in mine and at 12:20 p.m. I was back on the road heading north.

I want to say a few words about Roddy Blackburn (Service Writer), Casey Kimbrel (Service Manager) and Steve Godwin (Technician). These are three of the nicest men I have ever met and they did everything possible to fix the problem and get me back on the road ASAP. If you are ever in southern Georgia and need service or repairs on a Cummins diesel engine go to Cummins Power South in Albany, Georgia.

I picked up I-75 north and drove to Kimball, Tennessee arriving well after dark. My plan was to spend the night in a Wal*Mart parking lot and eat breakfast at the Cracker Barrel next door. But first I went in Wal*Mart to buy a few items and returned to the motorhome to find five voice messages on the cell phone. Linda’s son Jeremy had been admitted to a Louisville hospital with a possible heart attack and his wife was trying to contact Linda not knowing she was already in Louisville where her mother would have surgery in a few hours. I spent the next 45 minutes on phone calls and then decided I needed to be in Louisville with Linda and her family. So I fired up the engine and drove to Louisville arriving at 5:00 a.m. in sub-freezing temperatures. Being retired and fulltimers we swear we will not drive the motorhome long distances or at night, but sometimes family situations dictate we break the rules.

Our next update will give more information, but here is the quick version. Jeremy did not have a heart attack and he is doing fine and Linda’s mother came through her surgery great. But we ended up spending the month of February in Louisville - freezing Louisville. More later.