Florida to Georgia

We departed our winter home at Crystal Lake on a perfect day for travel. Traffic moved at posted speeds until we crossed into Georgia. Construction on I-75 in south Georgia continues, as it has for several years. This slowed us down, but was not a problem.

Lake City, FL seemed like a reasonable destination when we began the day, but we adjusted to Tifton, GA for our Wal-Mart overnight stop. Fortunately, we were able to buy gallon jugs of water at Wally World; we discovered en route that the water pump had quit.

Ms. Garmin had an easy day: I-75 from Naples to Tifton. We use the Garmin to locate Wal-Mart stores and to get the store phone number. A phone call tells us whether overnight parking is allowed, where to park, and how to get permission. This saves much time and potential grief.

We continued north toward Perry, GA before turning west toward Columbus. SR 96 and US 80 are excellent. We arrived at Lake Pines RV Park and Campground in early afternoon wanting a hot shower and relaxation after coach set up. It was not to be.

We wriggled into our site (a difficult turn) with the help (?) of our neighbor who was determined to help Janice direct. We made it with no damage to coach, site or relationships.

Our neighbors were full-timers who had been here six months and leaving the next day. They had 'stuff' scattered throughout their site and our site to pack in their 5th wheeler. The job was completed the next morning, and they headed toward northern Wisconsin where they planned to spend the summer. They may be here again in October.

Imagine our surprise when, after all hook ups were done, we had no water in the coach. The spigot was good, the hose was good, nothing had change since we disconnected in Florida, yet we had no water flow inside. After multiple tries to fix the problem, fatigue and frustration convinced us to wait until morning to try again.

Janice spent much of Thursday visiting her mom while Ralph worked on the water system. The only available manipulation not addressed on Wednesday was the filter system. Filters were removed, canisters replaced and water turned on. Shazam! Water flowed. How filters suddenly cease to allow water to pass is a mystery, but it happened. By Thursday afternoon, we were back to normal.

Once settled down, we were excited to find that we have excellent Wi-Fi here at the campground. The owner told us they have a hot spot in the laundry room and no coverage throughout the park. We are able to get a good connection right from our coach, so we are taking full advantage.

Stormy weather is approaching from the west with thunderstorms and winds creating havoc in Mississippi and Alabama. We expect Saturday to be wet, and hope the storm will be over when we depart on Sunday.

So far we are having a great visit. We will spend our time with Janice's mom between now and Saturday evening and leave for North Carolina Sunday morning.