May 6, 2013 - Jacksonville, FL

Been a tough week. Spent six days in St Augustine. Nice town but we had several problems. I(Mike) came down with a cold just as we came back from CA. and fought it for two weeks. The motor that runs the room slides and leveling jack system failed. The first motor I ordered online was supposed to be the direct replacement but when I received it and tried to install 1). It didn't fit and 2). While trying to replace it under the motorhome it rained just under 9" in about 36 hours. It came down HARD! Ordered another one from a auto electric...

Apr 29, 2013 - Delayed Journey

Well after a delayed start to the trip we are finally off on the 25th April. Up at 5.30am to get to Heathrow, flight was delayed as somebody had to get there luggage off the plane due to family emergency, made up time but then land in Newark to then be stuck in the plane for 50 minutes as the place the plane had to pull into was not free. Well our connection time was tight as it was so we legged it to immigration to find so many people in front of us so managed to get fast tracked through as I told them we had a connecting flight. Finally...

Mar 25, 2013 - Jacksonville, our final Florida beach inspection

After another long and harrowing drive of a grueling 80km up the coast road we find ourselves all checked into a county park on the beach about 6km from Jacksonville. We weren’t even going to bother with Jacksonville when we hit Florida but our research indicated it might be worth a look see. Welllllll………….research can be deceiving. It’s not that Jacksonville was bad it just wasn’t that good, really good. The downtown business district is nice with the usual business district buildings – but, just like Corpus Christie, there was no one...

Mar 22, 2013 - Down and Up the St. John's River

This week we toured the St. John's River from JAX down to Lake George and back--and there are lots of photos to prove it. This river is one of only 2 major rivers in the world that flow north--the Nile is the other. First stop, Palatka which was once the PREMIER tourist attraction in Florida--because one could board a river steamer in JAX and float to Palatka, and, as the Welatka Landing sign shows,Note the date of 1857. That was BEFORE Mr. Flagler and his railroads opened up the east coast and the Keys. After Palatka, a bit further to...

Mar 9, 2013 - Gate River Run

One of my favorite runs is the Gate River Run that serves as the national 15K championship and is run every year in Jacksonville. More than 15,000 runners completed the race this year. I drove up the day before the race to pick up my race packet and have my traditional dinner at the Casa Dora Italian Restaurant in downtown Jacksonville. The weather on race day was slightly too warm and sunny but it was a fun run anyway. The race always finishes with an uphill climb on the Hart Bridge followed by a downhill finish to the Jacksonville Jaguars...

Mar 7, 2013 - Mellow Mushroom

We hung around Winnie today. I worked on the income taxes. For a treat we had dinner at Mellow Mushroom Pizza Restaurant. I heard about the chain last month when I read an article about how they went above and beyond to honor the request of a deployed soldier. The story as reported on the local ABC station: "Army National Guard Maj. Shawn Fulker is thousands of miles away serving in Afghanistan, and when his wife's birthday came around, he decided he wanted to do something very special. Josephine Fulker loves Mellow Mushroom pizza, so her...

Mar 6, 2013 - Back to Jax

We stayed a couple of nights in Port St. Lucie so we could visit old friends from Delaware. We had dinner with Ed and Claudia at Wahoo's Riverhouse on the St. Lucie River in Stuart, FL. It was great to get together with them and catch up. It seems they've settled into the Florida lifestyle, enjoying life, and giving back to the community through volunteer work at the local hospital and the humane society. The ride from Port St. Lucie to Jacksonville along I95 was pretty boring. We took the interstate instead of US1 because we got a late...

Feb 26, 2013 - Rain, Rain Go Away

We must have gotten a couple inches of rain overnight. The campground was flooded as we left this morning. Today's route took us down US17 into southeastern Georgia and northern Florida. The sun finally came out as we drove by Savannah and the temperature was in the 70's. At a gas stop ($3.69/gal)near Brunswick, GA, we met a couple from Germany who had brougnt their RV over with them. It was a smaller Class C built on a Ford E-series van chassis. They entered through the Port of Baltimore last year. I guess their visa only allowed they to...

Feb 13, 2013 - I-10 in FL is a long, long highway

Florida is a long, long state when you are driving alone - it is not a bad drive, since it is almost all on Interstate 10, and I am glad the rain has left the area. Right now, though, I am glad I can turn north and head into Georgia. I might just make it to Savannah by suppertime.

Jan 11, 2013 - Huckins History

While not inclined to dwell on the past, there was a peculiar reference to bygone cruising history that kept nagging us during our stay at Ortega. Bill's aunt Lisa, herself a cruiser later in life, having covered much of the same territory as we have, had provided an oral history of her youth on the water. This gave a wonderful account of the period in the mid 1930s when the two sisters and their parents (Bill's maternal grandparents, mother and aunt) came to Florida to briefly embark on the type of transient lifestyle that we, too have...

Jan 8, 2013 - New Years Promise

The new year was not exactly rung in with vigor aboard Chapter III. We awoke at a few minutes before midnight to the sounds of fireworks that illuminated the inside of our forward sleeping compartment. Clad in pajamas we staggered to the pilot house to watch the display across the bay in Jacksonville. The fireworks lasted a scant 15 minutes and we were soon back under the covers and asleep. Perhaps the more chilly nights are to blame or it may be the engrossing series of books that have come to us, but this year seems to see a January with...

Dec 19, 2012 - Week One at Ortega

The first week at Ortega Landing was a busy one. We managed to choose a replacement for the 1998 green Dodge Dakota that had become a member of the Wright family since new. The target population of crossover/SUV types were varied and numerous, but soon reduced to two models and three vehicles. The winner was a 2008 Mitsubishi Outlander for which the truck served up a handsome trade in. While Bill was canvassing the dealerships, Jean embarked on an exercise and weight loss regimen. First she joined Curves at the local mall. Next, it was time...