Portland, NH

Today, after a family miniature golf outing, we took Julia for a harbor cruise and flatbread dinner while Danny continued in the baseball tournament. As luck would have it, this was the game than Danny won nearly singlehandedly. We did enjoy the dinner and time with Julia.

Stratham, NH

Morty got his propane to the tune of 7.3 gallons at $3.30 per and were on our way for the last hour of the our drive. We saw a huge number of other RVs heading North and wondered what the occasion was. Now we are spending a couple of days imbued in Little League baseball as Danny is working his way through a week long tournament and morning training camp for the home town Longhorns. They won their game earlier this evening on the strength of his running game in scoring the game-breaking run on a routine hit. Looking forward to more Stratham Lonnghorn wins!

Henniker, NH

On Sunday, Morty takes us through the main street of Cooperstown, where we drive past the Baseball Hall of Fame. We stop at the library where there is both an art show and book sale going on -- unfortunately, only the book sale is open -- Jim was interested in seeing some of the paintings. Then we tried to find the local Belgian ale brewery, but were a little off in our navigations. Even Miss Garmina couldn't locate County Road 33. Since Google had no problem with it, we obviously need either an iPad or Android phone to provide supplemental navigation assistance.

We did have another 300 mile day ahead of us though, so we had to be putting down some rubber on the road. Lynne needed a birthday card so we stopped at a WalMart and tried to get some McDonald's value menu items in the store. Seems that in these parts the value menu only has side salad and parfait -- everything else is full-price plus. So we drove a mile further down the road to where the free-standing McD took pretty good care of our needs. Someone had mentioned that you could get a McDouble with Mac sauce and it was a tasty bargain -- so I was going to give that a try. Sure enough it was done,  but glancing at the receipt revealed that it added $0.49 for one sauce and increased the price of both sandwiches, even the regular one, by and extra $0.39. Adding in the two extra miles [$2] we drove Morty on that extension, and it pretty much wipes out the savings from not eating from the regular inflated menu in the WalMart. Seeing the USA in our Chevrolet can be very educational.

In Henniker, we checked into the Mile Away Campground and found it to be quite well run. Only a couple of negatives that are somewhat important to us: a pool that is not designed for swimming, it is only 2 to 4 feet deep, and showers that eat quarters and are short on hooks and seats. On the plus side, the WiFi is exceedingly Fi. Tomorrow we need to top off our propane tank, and then head for the family get-together.

New England

On Friday, Morty set out to take us to New England on an encore trip to visit Jim's sisters and family. The first leg was about 300 miles, to western New York where we got on the so-called Southern Tier Expressway. We stopped for the night in Seneca/ Iroquois country in a tiny travel plaza where we were shocked by a temperature drop into the 40s from the daytime 90s.



From there we drove another 300 miles or so to Cooperstown where se stayed on a campground that was part of a working farm. The surprise here was the little zoo that had many varieties of exotic fowl including peacocks. The Cooperstown Family Campground is a quaint locale, with hayrides, and some kid-oriented activities. We found it in the AAA camp guide and it cost us about $25 per night on the credit card. We approached this stop from the South and thereby missed the tiny one-stop-light town itself. We hope to get a brief tour on Sunday aas we continue with the third drive-day.

Sebastian Inlet St Pk, FL

Morty took us North up US1 through Stuart and on to Vero Beach. I well remember Stuart as a one stoplight town in the 70s. Now US1 is eight lanes through one shopping center after another. We only drove about 72 miles, but it was tiring. Might have been wiser to take the turnpike and cruise control.



I was looking forward to Sebastian Inlet because of the favorables from other blogs. It is a nice park, but probably not worth $31 per night unless you are a serious fisherman.

Juno Ocean Walk, FL

Morty sailed right across the state today ending up on the East coast. We picked a small inexpensive park that had both ocean access and a heated pool. It also happened to be a condominum where the individual sites are owned by individuals, and some are rented to travelers. This is by far the nicest park we have experienced to date. Amazingly, it is modestly priced at $32 per night.

Periwinkle RV, Sanibel Island, FL

Morty helped me finally experience Sanibel Island today. We are in a park that is so dominant that it can refuse dogs and credit cards and still charge $45 per night. That includes good WiFi and adequate restroom facilities. The sites are a little compact, but most are separated by mature trees. The park also includes a bird refuge for mostly ex-pets that never learned to fly. It is a little sad to see these magnificent birds get around with only their beaks and legs -- feathers and wings are just ornaments.



We explored the beach for a couple of miles, and found a some pretty shells that might be keepers. Also saw some huge blue craB shells, and some very strange plants that look like snakes on the beach.Thanks to Tootie for the comment that these are probably tube worm casings.

An RVing Advantage

Last night's forecasted thunder boomers materialized in duplicate. We rocked and rolled in Morty's bed. Today's continuation of that weather forecast however was completely lacking. As a result we decided to stay in place to get the maximum benefit of some perfect weather. The added bonus is this evening it is cooling off into the low sixties.

Tomorrow we may roll on to Sanibel, or not.

Bradenton, Florida

Morty spent a relaxing weekend in the Manatee Encore RV Resort in Bradenton. When we were faced with a certain move to just a potential site for Saturday in Fort De Soto, we voted with our wheels and found a great park that is a part of a national chain. With the AAA discount we paid $27 a night.  The drill starts with a golf cart ride through the park to pick out your space -- very nice touch. Nice pool for laps, WiFi, and complete restroom facilities were among the high points.

We were initially doubtful that the park lake would support much wildlife since there were so many permanent RVs right around its full perimeter, but that didn't jibe with the local herons and egrets -- that were practically being hand fed by a couple near the pool.

Rain and thunder are in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow, that means a little longer travel day. We will aim for about 120 miles to Sanibel Island.

Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas, FL

Do not drive to Fort De Soto without a reservation for a campsite or you will have a big backtrack in your future. We were lucky in that we got the last site available on a Friday afternoon. This is a magnificent camping venue that should no be missed! The sites are just barely isolated from each other by the thick vegetation. The island of Tierra Verde forms an inverted  "T" with each segment running about a mile and a half. The camping is on the central shaft and the beaches and fort are on the cross bar. The huge Tampa Bay Bridge is the main visual element from the eastern portions of the beach. There is a small museum commemorating the quartermaster operations at the fort.



The afternoon temperatures are creeping into the mid eighties, but relaxing in the shade is still very enjoyable. I'm hopeful that the evening will cool to the mid sixties, or else we will be running Morty's A/C. We are in the pet area, and the ranger says that is good because the raccoons are much less aggressive here.
This is the first time we have had the opportunity and space to fully unfurl our new patio carpet, and it is fully up to handling the job.

Pinellas County, Florida

We have spent four days here relaxing and recharging. We ventured out to nearby parks a couple of times. One park has an agricultural extension service, and a historical venue named Heritage Village. It also has a defunct art museum with magnificent buildings and classrooms which closed its doors permanently in January, 2009. A very depressing sight -- the building complex was worth over $5 million at the time it was abandoned to the county.



Heritage Village is a much happier place, although its attendance seems too low to maintain its viability. We had a personal tour by Deborah the Docent. The pictures are mostly self-explanatory. We saw a Common Moorehen come swimmin' by.

Indian Rocks RV Park, Largo, FL

The weather cleared up miraculously as we were getting ready to depart this morning, and it turned out to be a perfect day. A few puffy clouds in an intensely blue Florida sky. Temperatures in the mid 70s. An easy 28 mile drive. And a sleeper destination.

"Indian Rocks" is in the name of half of everything here, including the RV park. This is an older campground  just as seasoned as yesterday's but with just the opposite feeling -- we were welcomed and made totally at home. We are in a small wooded lot, that has all the hookups, and is just a few feet from the small but heated pool. We paid with Visa, got the AAA discount, and have free WiFi with absolutely, no hassles. The park is pet-free and motorcycles are banned -- features that really seem to enhance the friendliness. According to the map we are within a block of a local park, and the Gulf. The day the WiFi stopped working, we found out that is wasn't the park's. The cell signal is strong enough to be almost as good as WiFi.

I have since biked through the park and the county's Botanical Garden, complete with art museum that opens tomorrow and can report that both are fine experiences.