Wesley Chapel - Part II

The good times of Saturday were muted on Sunday. Janice awoke with a harsh cough that had begun days earlier, but had not yet blossomed into a full-fledged nose-blowing, head-throbbing head cold; she was miserable.

The ladies had planned a corn beef and cabbage dinner Sunday night to celebrate St Patrick's Day which fell on Monday. For reasons obvious to all, they agreed that Janice's contribution to the dinner would be limited. The dinner was a huge success as we gathered around the picnic tables in the late afternoon. Larry and Dean had to leave us Monday, so we celebrated a day ahead.

We bid Larry and Dean safe travels on Monday. Don and Diane set out for Weeki Wachee, FL home of the Weeki Wachee Spring and Buccaneer Bay. We learned later that everything was closed when they got to Weeki Wachee. We went in an opposite direction to make a dry run to the Tampa International Airport where our daughter Karen would arrive on Tuesday morning at 9:20 AM.

City airports are always challenging, especially those under construction. Tampa was all that and more. We wanted a dry run because we knew we could not take the motor home to the airport and Janice would make the trip alone. We found the cell phone parking lot and successfully drove to the airport terminal pickup site. Getting out of the airport on the correct route was a greater challenge than getting in. Being in the correct lane is critical. We knew immediately that the dry run was worth the effort; Tuesday's trip would be during Tampa's morning rush hour.

Janice left the campground for the airport at 8:00 AM Tuesday. Both coaches left the campground about 9:00 AM heading south. Don and Diane would stop in Sarasota; I would stop at a rest area at mile marker 138 and wait for Janice. Janice arrived at the airport about 9:00 AM and Karen's flight landed ten minutes early at 9:10 AM. Everything went well, and we hooked up at the rest area around 10:45 AM. Travel home was uneventful. We enjoyed having time to converse during the ride down I-75 to Naples. We would visit the Tampa airport again next Tuesday when Karen departs.

Our stay at Wesley Chapel was fine. The campground, although isolated, was comfortable and provided good sites and amenities at a reasonable price. It served as a base from which we could travel to other places. The whole trip was pleasant because we were with friends who enjoyed mutual interests and being together.

Wesley Chapel, FL - Part I

We had a good trip from Naples on Wednesday with three coaches all in a row. The route was about as simple as it could get: get onto I-75 at Exit 111 and get off at Exit 279. The Quail Run RV Park is on Old Pasco Road next to nothing at all. The campground is comfortable with good roads and full hookups. Clearly, we are in the middle of nowhere.

Dinner Wednesday night was an adventure. We drove miles to civilization only to drive into major road construction. Barrels lined every lane for several miles, and the lanes zigzagged in multiple directions. Sobriety was a must!

Lakeland and the home park of the Detroit Tigers baseball team was our Thursday destination. We picked up our 'will call' tickets and were soon seated in the left field bleachers. We saw a great game: 18 hits, 12 runs, 3 errors, a 400+ foot home run, three triples and no winner. After ten innings, the game ended: Detroit Tigers 6; Atlanta Braves 6. We had a great time in a blazing sun baked ballpark.

Friday's trip was a much farther journey to Orlando. Don has been our lead driver since we left Naples. We transitioned from three coaches to two SUVs. He selected a scenic route to Orlando that took us forever. Our destination was Universal Studio Park. We saw a lot of back roads and some of the poorer areas in Florida. We also visited some small towns that are seldom seen and will likely pass from our memories.

Universal Studio Park was a disappointment. The cost-benefit ratio was way out of whack. The 'shows' were average at best; some were not worth seeing. Late in the afternoon, as we looked for a restaurant, the rain began. Three garbage bags covered the ladies heads while we walked to the garage. Once on the road, the rains increased. We stopped along I-4 for dinner. It rained all the way back to Wesley Chapel.

Today, Saturday, we spent the day at Tarpon Springs. What a neat water front town where sponges and shrimp are the economic mainstays. Tourism must also be up with these industries as economic drivers. This is a Greek town going back to the 1800s when 500 hundred Greeks settled in the town. We ate at a great Greek restaurant and took a trolley ride around town and a boat cruise down the river into the Gulf of Mexico. It was a wonderful day.

We have two more days in Wesley Chapel, and we will write about that later.

Flight Plans Filed & Proposed

We have filed several flight plans for the weeks and months ahead; several more are being considered.

We will leave our nest in Naples tomorrow for a week in Wesley Chapel, FL. The Bodens and Lohmans will travel with us. Some objectives of the trip are to see the area in and around Tampa, see some Grapefruit League baseball games, shakedown the Lohmans' new Class C coach, do something different, and pick up our daughter Karen at the Tampa airport next Tuesday. We hope to leave around 9:30 AM. The last time we traveled, the group was delayed by us having nearly dead batteries. We couldn't retract the awnings until the batteries were charged. Today the batteries are fine.

April 7 is when we begin our flight north. Columbus, GA will be our first extended stop. We will spend a few days visiting Janice's mom. We expect to arrive at the RV dealer's campground in Concord, NC on April 13. We have a service appointment for April 14. Until last Monday, we planned on going home after our NC stop. Now, we will go to Virginia Beach, VA for the ODC camp out. We expect to arrive back at Fawn Lake April 20.

May 15 will be a very interesting day as several ODC members will travel to Mineral Wells, WV for the West Virginia Spring Samboree. At the moment, five of the eight rigs on the "interested" list have plans to travel and arrive on Thursday, May 15. The Samboree begins Friday and runs through Sunday. This replaces our annual trip to the Virginia Samboree which is being held at the same time in Urbana, VA.

We travel west in June to the Amana Colonies, IA for the Monaco America Spring Rally. Oddly, this rally begins Sunday, June 8 and runs through Wednesday, June 11. This will allow us time to roam the mid west before we come back to the ODC camp out June 20-22 at Grey's Point Camp, Topping, VA.

Those are the flight plans already filed, and will take us through June.

On the proposed list, July has another ODC outing, yet to be scheduled. We are looking to August for a trip to Branson, MO and possibly beyond with the Halsteads, Mathenys, Settles and others who choose to join us. September will be the final ODC camp out followed by a fall Samboree in October.

So much to do; so little time.