Beach, Desert, Forest or Mountains

 What do you prefer?

Right now, I vote for the beach. 

I moved away from the beach to a forest campsite for a week, 

and I am wishing that I was looking out over the water from my RV.

Although the warm weather

 along the Gulf is great,

 that's not the main reason.

The water and waves are soothing,

and I like walking along the shore.

I think it has something to do with

looking out over the water and

seeing open space and no end in site.

In the forest it is cozy,

but feels closed in.

I have always liked to be near the water.

Once looked into buying a lighthouse.

Thought I would end up retiring along

the shore of one of the Great Lakes.

Once we had a pontoon boat...

kept it at the Marina on the Illinois River.

Wanted to buy a small houseboat

but ended up with the pontoon.

Lakes, rivers, oceans doesn't matter.

I can't wait to get back to the beach.

At the beach & 15amp questions

There has been some discussion about whether I can plug my RV into an outdoor outlet at the beach house, using a 30amp to 15amp converter. I would need to run the rooftop A/C to keep KitKat cool during the day. My  refrigerator is small and runs only on electric, whenever I plug into shore power it goes on, not sure how to disconnect or unplug it. If I have the A/C running and the refrigerator on at the same time using the 15amp converter - I was told it would probably trip the breaker. I don't want to try it - afraid it will damage something.

I was told the breaker would shut everything down and then I would know it won't work.

I am currently parked at the KOA campground on the island, and there is a free shuttle bus in town that can take me from the campground to the beach house.

Has anyone run their rigs A/C on 15amp house current?

Today's pics at the beach

A gray cloudy day

Thursday, April 28th            in rainy Florida

Long high Toll Bridges over the water, long tunnels under the water, scenic Coastal Highways and Interstates. I took my coach on all of these routes. And throw in a washboard road to keep me alert.

I am surprised the driving and backing up are easier than what I thought it would be.  I am getting used to using the side mirrors, I really think that the driving course is the reason I feel better about driving the coach around. I keep repeating some of the phrases from the instructor to help me remember what to do.  I don't like being navigator and driver at the same time.  The GPS is a big help, but I sometimes have to pull over and look over notes or maps. The GPS doesn't show the whole picture,  just where you are and what your next move is.

Lazydays started me out with 7/8 tank of gas. I have been filling up when its at a half tank, this also gives me a chance to figure out where I am heading next.

I needed to get moving on my trek back to Illinois. I decided to stop in Carrabelle Beach, FL for lunch (in the coach) and then stop for the night at Panama City Beach.  I was following the route along the coast, it added extra miles, but I wanted to stop along the shore.

I have a NOAA weather band on the cab stereo, and it starting beeping and giving a warning when I was in Perry, FL.  I pulled over into a truck stop and parked and waited out the storm. High winds, lightning and hail were coming through the area.  There were dark, heavy clouds and wind but no rain or hail where I was. The cab radio has a switch to run it off the house batteries, so I kept it on the NOAA band. When I got the all clear, I continued on.  I did hit some rain along the way, but it was scattered.

There was hardly anyone on Carrabelle Beach, and I soon found out why. As I walked along the shore, I saw what appears to be remnants of the BP oil spill. Or its a very dirty beach.  A few people sat on the benches to feed the birds. One couple was sitting in lounge chairs on the sand, but no one else was there. There was a very packed RV park just across the road, too crowded for me.

I continued on to Panama City Beach, lots of motorcycles on the road. I found out that a bikers rally was going on near the campground I had chosen. Too many people, too crowded for me. Thousands of bikes and people everywhere, waiting in lines and walking around. Even the Walmart parking lot was crowded with RV's and trailers.

I found another campground in the next town. After a phone call, I was given directions and a site number and was told someone would meet me at the site. I found it down a road just off the highway, a nice wooded park. It advertised river and bay access, I didn't see any water, maybe it was beyond the trees. I pulled into the site and waited. It appeared that they had long term residents in some of the sites. No one came to meet me. The site next to mine had a pile of shoes and clothes (I'm thinking homeless person), no sign of a tent or camper in that sight.  I didn't like the looks of things and left. I pulled into a gas station to find another park in the next town.

I ended up at Geronimo RV Resort in Destin, FL on the Emerald Coast of Florida, a 2 block walk to the beaches.  It was a newer park, very clean, nice owners - but not the type of place I would usually want to park. It was basically a parking lot. I was going to walk to the beach after I got setup, but the wind picked up and it got cool out.  I sat down to read and research my route for the next day, and fell asleep until morning.  I woke up to 59* and decided against walking to the beach.

This area is too built up and too commercialized, where are the nice quiet beaches to walk along. I think I will have to stay with the lazy rivers and forget about the beaches.

Beaches and Bridges

Friday, April 22nd    Pinellas County, FL  90* & Sunny

There are many bridges connecting all of the land around this area of Tampa Bay and the Gulf.

Today I spent the afternoon at Fort DeSoto County Park. It is a chain of five interconnected islands, or keys, providing 1,136 acres of beautiful parkland and beaches in Pinellas County.

I missed the ferry ride to Egmont Key as it only departs once or twice a day in the morning.

You do not need to have a fishing license to fish off of the piers in this county park. The birds were anxiously awaiting any dropped fish. I also saw dolphins  - swimming near the pier. I managed to get a partial picture. They were too fast for me to get a good picture.



I walked along the beach and walked the 1,000 foot Gulf Pier and 500' Bay Pier, people watching and watching for dolphins.





I found a shady picnic table to rest for awhile and enjoy a large glass of lemonade, before walking back along the beach to the parking lot. A very enjoyable day.