And here we GO! One
of our more ambitious RV trips has begun with new destinations mixed with some
return locations… (a total of 40) The timing of this particular epic adventure
is ironically timed to begin within the same 24 hour period that NASA launched
its first mission to the moon in 54 years.
This first picture shows RV ready to roll towards the full moon, (in the
background) less that 12 hours after we stood on our back porch balcony and saw
the Artemis 2 with the 4 astronauts leave the lift pad to go toward that lunar
vicinity.
Just as the rocket needs to go through a long safety
checklist- we also just completed the same, with a handful of systems needing
maintenance or repair. Also similar to
the moon mission which first circles the Earth several times to be sure all
systems are up to speed and ready to roll- as we begin, we make our first stops
within the state of Florida for our last checks prior to going full throttle
across the country.
Our initial campground in Lake City was uneventful- a good
thing, except for the motorcycle ‘Proud Boy- Jesus’ gang (20+ bikes) which had
parked their toys directly on the path in front of our exit route out of the
campground as we were ready to depart.
Thoughts crossed my mind of the many scenes in various movies where
somebody inevitably needs to run right over all those bikes to make their
getaway… Thankfully someone else was
leaving right before us and they had the task of getting them to move.
Second destination was a very pleasant surprise- the Twin
Lakes Resort Campground in Defuniak Springs FL which was correctly hyped as “The
best of the best”. Quite a large relatively
new place built on a peninsula… water surrounding it stocked with bass and picturesque
with many old stumps sticking up. Sites
super clean, cement and gravel and spaced out. BONUS- FREE KAYAK RENTALS! Yes I caught a large and a small mouth bass-
and even a really close up view of a huge bald eagle on a branch above the
water! Defuniak Springs is an interesting little clean city about an hour in from the Gulf of Mexico... but also a bit odd, kind of like Stepford Wives strange. Town closes up at noon on Saturday and does not reopen till Monday or Tuesday. In its center is a perfectly round spring (Lake) and there are several concentric circle streets that surround the entire lake. Its AKA the second Chattaqua (to the first in upstate NY).... exceptionally religious place.......
NEEDED TO DO A REPAIR OF A REPAIR DONE BY A 'PROFESSIONAL'... ISSUE WAS THE CHECK VALVE UNDER SINK- UN-NECESSARY PART (A BIT LIKE AN APPENDIX) TO BEGIN WITH BUT IT HAD FAILED AND HAD PREVENTED ME FROM DOING BLACK WATER TANK FLUSH. PAID ALMOST $200 TO HAVE REPLACED, AND THE CONNECTIONS WERE LEAKING AT VALVE ON NEW ONE!! NOT ONLY THAT, THE NEW VALVE WAS DEFECTIVE AND HAD TO BE REMOVED... SO I JUST PLACED IN A BYPASS HOSE AND ALL GOOD.
BEAUTIFUL GROUNDS AT NOLA SCULPTURE GARDEN
