Tonight is the last of 9 nights at the Pensacola unit of the Gulf Islands National Seashore. With my Senior Discount Pass I paid only $13/night, with water and electric. They do not offer sewer hookups, but do have a dump station that is easy to access. If I had planned properly, I could have made it through 9 nights w/o the gray water backing up into my tub. Live and learn! The shower house is excellent and a small grocery houses washer/dryers.
While here, I had the hitch leveling bar problem fixed at Gulf Breeze Camping World. They were awesome, and instead of charging me for an hour, which was on the estimate, they charged .70 hours. The leveling bars distribute the weight of the camper over all four axles. Otherwise, the camper weighs down the tow vehicle. I learned that the van is weighed down because of the load it carries, not the camper. Too much stuff, yet I pared down to about half of what I had. I am down the the basics (bike, kayak, tent camping stuff, winter gear, large First Aid bag, extra blankets) in there, so will have to be creative about what has to go. I have been shedding stuff since last March.
While the debit card was warmed up I bought a TV and a Chromebook to replace my kaput computer. This has been an expensive stop! The savings account is weeping, but so be it. The TV has already brought me great joy, thanks to the camper’s digital antenna, College Bowls, and NFL. I am excited to transition to a streamlined Chromebook for writing. I think that I have everything I could ever need while living in the RV and perhaps more.
The real story, however, is the seashore. The barrier island – accessed via a bridge – is less than a mile wide and narrows to about half a mile in the park. Roads leading to the campground are lined with vacation condos and duplexes, creating a resort vibe (not my thing). However, once in the park, it is nothing but white sand on either side of the narrowed island. One side faces the Gulf of Mexico and the other, a channel. The sand is pure white and the water, turquoise. I have my own resort, with no people or condos. Fort Pickens is at the very tip. It was a large fort and has many restored buildings. Several trails meander through the dunes and small swamps, including the Florida Trail. Tango and I walk often. He loves to chase the armadillos now. Birds!
That is not to say the days were warm. Cold air from the north fell upon us and rain moved in from the Gulf. Night lows hit 40 degrees, and some days never got much higher. Yeah for the electric blanket. The campgrounds are mostly empty. Visitors include some holiday travelers and a bunch of us old folks. Hardly anyone is around since the weather turned cold (I wore a parka to buy Chromebook). Everyone seems hunkered down inside, with their digital antennas up. I don’t know where all the snowbirds are. I expected the campground to be full of them. I don’t mind it at all, as I have unlimited hours to sew and TV/football too! Tango and I put on cold-weather gear for our walks.
This may not be news to you: RVs are poorly made. Crappy, really, unless you can afford top of the line. Mine is showing crazy wear and tear after only 9 months. The outside finish is chipping, Finish touches are falling off. Little things break. I am determined to figure out how to fix all these things. I used special glue to attach finishing strips around the door.
This time, in the middle of all the cold weather, it is my heater thermostat. I can turn it on by moving the slider, but then I need to get up to turn it off. I have researched thermostats and how they work and discovered that replacing one is ultra simple. I learned that I need a “heat only” model with two wires. Digital would be nice, too. Thank you U-tube videos for giving me the confidence to do my own maintenance, once again!
Tomorrow I hitch up and head to Dauphin Island, AL, where I will stay for a month. Can’t wait for more seashore vibe. On the way, I will stop at the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market at Pensacola Beach for supplies and food. I hope to take the ferry over to Dauphin Island from Fort Morgan, AL, which we depend on the weather. Right now, the Gulf is choppy. Otherwise, I will drive up to Mobile and then back down to the Gulf.
Lots of folks add lights and/or other Christmas decor to their camper. I can’t say the lights look great. The big motor homes have deep dashboards and some people put decor up there, which looks better. I can’t get behind the idea of buying a bunch of stuff then finding a place to store it. I am maxed out.
P.S The Chromebook has a few new tricks, but I am figuring them out (saving photos, lack of delete key but alt backspace does the job so it’s okay, habit of using control windows keys to return to desktop). More later, after I I have used it awhile. I love it, though, at least so far.
