It's now March 2005 and I haven't taken any significant RV trips yet that are worth talking/writing about. I've taken several short trips, however, and have taken some photos around our yard, so that's what this chapter is about. Not real exciting, but hey! I can't take exciting trips ALL the time!
In January, I traveled over to the Clermont, Florida area (about 100 miles from home) in an attempt to convince some of them to install one of the WiFiRV systems. l had limited success on that, but enjoyed visiting 7 of the campgrounds in that area. I had no idea that Central Florida was so over-run with RVs in the winter! Every park I visited was overfull, with RVs parked on the grass, in parking lots, and wherever they could fit them. I'd be curious to learn the total number of RVs in that area. Hey! Guess what one of the most popular activity is at campground clubhouses I've visited recently? ... You guessed it! Texas Hold'Em Poker! ... How about that!?!
All Seasons RV Resort in Clermont was a campground where we had one of our WiFi installations. I say was, because the park has been sold and is being bull-dozed to make room for a housing development. I'm told that's happening to several of the Clermont area campgrounds, due to the high demand for new homes. I'm only mentioning All Seasons because I took some photos of the WiFi antennas, in case anyone is interested. These are only one example of the many types of antennas and other equipment that we work with to ensure the most efficient installation for each resort.
Campground office, with WiFi antennas on the roof
Closeup of the Antennas
The campground I stayed in near Clermont was Bee's RV Resort, mainly because they have cable TV. It turned out to be a really nice place, even though it wasn't a Passport America park. At least it had cable, so I was able to watch some very critical season openers on the SciFi channel. They have a nice restaurant and clubhouse, if you're looking for a place to stay in the area. Of course, if it's winter, you'd better phone ahead.
Entering Bee's -- note that the RVs are really packed in
One of the overflow areas - RVs boondocking
Another overflow area - more RVs boondocking
Bee's restaurant and clubhouse
Remember those RV Ports I talked about back in Chapter 62? They were like a half-house that you "attached" your RV to. Well, I found some very different ones in a development called Citrus Highlands near Clermont. These are complete homes, but they're all built with an RV-port! That's like a carport, but big enough for an RV. I've never seen anything exactly like them anywhere! We looked at a few, then decided they weren't exactly what we wanted at this point, but if you're interested in something like this, Citrus Highlands appears to be about the only place to find them. Photos below.
UPDATE: Found more of these RV Ports in Eastern Florida. Check out Chapter 68 for more details.
One of the RV-Port homes
... and another
... and another
Took another short trip in February, this time with Joyce and the doggies. This time we stayed at Seasons in the Sun Motorcoach Resort in Titusville, about 25 miles North of our home. Have you noticed how the terminology for campgrounds continues to change? I notice most are now labelled RV Resorts, but this one is a Motorcoach Resort. I don't think the names mean much. The Motorcoach Resort allows any motorhome, fifth wheel or travel trailer over 22'. One of the RV Resorts that I'm in contact with only allows motorhomes over 26' -- and they charge $110 a night. And then there are those, mostly municipal parks, that have a maximum size instead of a minimum.
At any rate, Seasons is a really nice place, has cable, and allows use of Passport America for one night. It turns out that when I go camping these days, I look for three things. First, I try to find a Passport America park, so I can camp for half-price. Second, I look for cable, since there are a number of channels that Joyce (HGTV) and I (SciFi) are more or less addicted to. Third, I've recently started looking for campgrounds with WiFi -- nothing beats being able to sit down at my dinette table with no phone connections and access the internet anytime I get in the mood. In this case, we were mainly staying at Seasons in the Sun because they're convenient to the Sun Cruz casino cruise ship, where Joyce and I spent a day. Below are some Sun Cruz photos. I also included one of an RV that I thought was unusual. Was going to post it on my Cool and Unusual page, because I noticed that the front and back of the slides were painted in the same fancy pattern as the RV. Later, however, I realized that all new Winnebagos are also painted that way, so decided it wasn't that unusual after all. Just something that's happened when I wasn't looking -- sort of like convertibles.
Painted slide - not cool or unusual?
Boarding the ship
with high hopes
Gathering at the stern to check out the view
Campground adjacent to cruise ship docks
The beach at Port Canaveral, with people swimming in February - must be Canadians
Hopeful, hungry birds following the ship
A couple of Pelicans racing with the ship
Seagull hoping for handouts
A couple of shots of the upper deck, where an Oldguy played that famous game -- Texas Hold'Em Poker
That takes care of everything ... except the yard-birds. Are you ready for some real exciting photos? Look below. Just some birds we noticed out behind our house. I continue to be intrigued by the exotic birds we see wandering around our house in Rockledge. These are a few we saw one day by the canal that runs behind the house. And this is what retired folks do when they're not RVing or playing Poker ... hahaha. The cat is our neighborhood cat, Audio (named by neighbor kids), who showed up after the last hurricane and hasn't left since.
Audio ignoring some
bird snacks
Closer shot of the
bird snacks - Storks and Great Blue Heron, I think
More strange birds whose names I don't know (Storks?)
And that pretty much takes care of early 2005. Aside from doing my taxes, which certainly isn't very exciting. I hope to have some "adventures" that are a little more interesting to talk about after tax-time.
An Oldguy who just lost $150, but still smiling!
My Travel Log
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64. Short Trips and Yard-Birds
