Huntington Beach State Park (October 2012)

Wednesday - October 24
We headed out on our "shakedown cruise" with the new travel trailer at 1pm and arrived at Huntington Beach State Park at 2:30pm.  Obviously we wanted to stay somewhat close to home and what better place to stay than here.  Cass drive and it was a pretty decent drive.  There was a bit of "porpoising" but Cass feels that can be fixed with better packing in the camper and the truck.  it was nice to be able to drive 65 mph and not be all stressed out or completely exhausted from driving.

We got checked in, drove to our site and Cass backed that camper into the site on the first attempt!  We checked the levels and we were "within the bubble" so we dropped the chock blocks, unhooked from the truck and cranked down the stabilizer jacks.  We put our big mat outside, put our chairs out, put out Patrick's chair and we were set up.  The sites have water and electric but no sewer.  I was the first to have to go to the bathroom and when I flushed, I noticed that I could actually see the water down the tank.  Being this is so different from the motor home, I asked Cass what she thought and she quickly realized that when she picked it up and got her walk-through, all the water that Camping World used in their demonstrations was still in the holding tanks.  Oops!!  What was more surprising to me was that Cass never checked, particularly with all the problems we had with that Camping World and how "attention to detail" Cass is.  Well we decided that the bathhouse was close enough for the evening and we would use the camper for the middle of the night.

We had dinner with friends who are in the site across the street.  We had brats and kielbasa cooked over the campfire with baked beans and chips for sides.  Oh ... and several adult beverages. Yum yum yum!

Thursday - October 25
Slept kind of crappy our first night, even with the help of the beers.  Unlike the motor home, this camper doesn't have ducted air.  We have a ceiling unit that just blows the air right on our heads while we are in bed.  By 3am, we had to turn the AC on for a while to cool down the room and then shut it back off.  Nothing that a modification can't fix...

We had a cup of coffee this morning and hooked up the camper and off Cass and Patrick went to empty the tank.

This afternoon we rode the bikes around and saw alligators and birds.

We went to dinner in Murrell's Inlet at Bubba's Love Shack, right on the water.

Friday - October 26
We have Hurricane Sandy on her way so we are making our way home.  All in all, our first trip int eh camper was exactly what it should be - we learned what we like and don't like and what we need to have with us.

Change is good, right? (July 29, 2012)

When we bought the RV, we thought we would be doing a lot more traveling.  With the cost of upkeep and maintenance, we have made a good financial decision for us and traded the RV for a travel trailer and traded the Lincoln MKX for a Ford F150.

Savannah, GA (May 11, 1012 through May 15, 2012)

We left Mayport and arrived at 1pm-ish in Savannah, GA on May 11.  We stayed on Hunter Army Airfield.  It was a small campground, maybe 30 sites, but they were level, concrete pads with full hookups. 

There was a mall nearby so we went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse and then walked around Bass Pro Shop.  We walked around and looked at each and every boat they had.  I think Cass said she would be ok with this one. 

pics from Savannah

Saturday, May 12th we went to the historical district of Savannah and took the Old Town Trolley Tour.  We did the same trolley tour in Key West and the nice thing is you can get off and on all day.  We spent most of our day down at the waterfront.  We had lunch at The Cotton Exchange. 

photos from Tybee Island

photos from Fort Pulaski

Sunday, May 13th and we drove out to Tybee Island to see the lighthouse.  Then we stopped at toured Fort Pulaski.  It is a fort of the same period as Fort Sumter and Fort Clinch.  It was in such beautiful condition.  We tried to bring Patrick with us but he was too "unruly" that Cass had to sit with him while I walked and toured the Fort.

 

 

photos from the Savannah Boat Cruise

Monday, May 14th and we went back to the riverfront and had lunch at Wet Willie's and then took the River Boat Cruise.  We had a great time on the on the cruise, met a nice couple from Canada and enjoyed a cold beer while seeing the sights.







(Somehow I lost my original post from our visit to Savannah.  It taught me to back up our blog.)

Florida (April 29, 2012 through May 12, 2012)

Since we had an extra day left on our 4 day park hopper pass to Disney, what better way to celebrate the end of tax season than with a trip back to see Mickey! 

photos from NS Mayport

So Sunday April 29th we headed out to NS Mayport.  We left the house at 9am but had to circle the neighborhood and wave good bye to our friends a second time because we forgot our GPS.  We got to Pelican Roost and were settled in by 6:30pm.  We shared the driving and made great time and had a smooth ride down.  They were dredging the St. Johns River which made for a nice "hum" 24 hours a day. 

Monday April 30th, we took a tour of the U.S.C.G. Barque EAGLE.  It is the nation's only acively sailing "square rigger" in government service.  It is America's tall Ship.
From its website: The Eagle is a three-masted sailing Barque with 21,350 square feet of sail. It is homeported at the CG Academy, New London, Connecticut. It is the only active (operational) commissioned sailing vessel in the U.S. maritime services. (One of five such Training Barques in world. Sister ships include: MIRCEA of Romania, SAGRES II of Portugal, GORCH FOCK of Germany, and TOVARICH of Russia.)
The Eagle bears a name that goes back to the early history of the United States' oldest contiunous seagoing service. The first Eagle was commissioned in 1792, just two years after the formation of the Revenue Marine, the forerunner of today's Coast Guard.
Today's Eagle, the seventh in a long line of proud cutters to bear the name, was built in 1936 by the Blohm & Voss Shipyard, Hamburg, Germany, as a training vessel for German Naval Cadets. It was commissioned Horst Wessel and following World War II was taken as a war prize by the United States. On May 15, 1946, the barque was commissioned into U.S. Coast Guard service as the Eagle and sailed from Bremerhaven, Germany to New London, Connecticut.

Parked and set up in Orlando

On Wednesday May 2 we drove over to Orlando to use our last day of our park hopper pass and see EPCOT.  We stayed at a beautiful campground in an Orlando city park, Bill Frederick Park and Pool at Turkey Lake.  It was a really quiet park, full amenities and close to everything. 







That afternoon we got there, we went and saw "Titanic - The Experience" in Orlando.  Unfortunately, there was no pictures allowed inside.  There was some really awesome recreations of the parts of the ship like the Grand Staircase, various cabins and even a nighttime walk on the deck.

photos from Universal Studios Islands of Adventure

Thursday, May3 we went to Universal Studios Islands of Adventure.  We made our way directly to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter as we figured the longest lines would be there.  Being a fan of all the movies, it was really outstanding to see the recreation of all the things we had seen in the movies.  And there were lines to everything, even to get in to any of the gift shops.  We waited nearly an hour in line for the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.  We were laughing along with the warning signs that posted.  Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a wimp when it comes to motion rides.  There was every age group of people in line around us, even an elderly woman in a wheelchair.  Cass leaned over and said "If she can go on the ride..."  At the very end of the line, right before we got on the ride, there was a warning that said "If you have prosthetic limbs, see the attendant to help with removal", not word for word but definitely the meaning.  All I will say about the ride is that when the camera went off for our souvenir photo, my eyes were clamped shut! 

We walked around the rest of the park and went on The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man 3D.  A LOT of fun!

We had a late lunch at Bubba Gump Shrimp Company.  We had drinks in a small lager type glass that lit up.  And the decor was cute with the references to Forest Gump and license plates from all over.

photos from EPCOT

On Friday, May 4 we went to EPCOT to use our 4 park hopper pass left from our November trip.  The EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival was going on and it was really beautiful.  From the moment you entered the park there were flowers, so many different variety of flowers.  There were flower gardens filled not only with flowers but with flower sculptures.  There was also so many herb gardens.

We went through The Seas with Nemo and Friends.  Then we walked through the World Showcase, stopping and visting every country around the world.  We ended at Spaceship Earth.

 

photos from Universal Studios

On Saturday, May 5 we went back to Universal Studios.  We had a blast there!  We had both been there previously and for the most part it was what I remembered.  Although it was a weekend, it was not crowded at all and we had no wait times for any of the rides or exhibits we wanted to see.  We saw "Lucy - A tribute", "Shrek 4D", "E.T. Adventure" and "Disaster!".  ET was almost exactly the same as it was forever ago when I was there.  And "Disaster!" was updated so they film us as extras in a movie.  A LOT of fun!