The Trip South

Heading south to central Florida was planned with 3 stops. The first port of call for the Smitanic was only 40 miles from home port….just in case some critical item needed to be retrieved. The Raleigh Oaks RV Resort was conveniently located right off I95 and had full hook-up sites, a nice workout room as well as a pool and Pickleball! Unfortunately, only the weight room was used by Theresa for her 40 min workout routine.

Dinner was made in the RV with leftovers exported from the Tasman Frig. Theresa loaded the dishwasher as Kevin checked out the satellite and other systems. The manuals were referenced for several of the systems, but the Dishwasher operator instructions were MIA. After 2 hours of frustration and lots google searching, the proper online manual was finally found revealing the proper sequence to manually start the dishwasher was successful! The research also revealed that there was suppose to be a remote for the dishwasher as well. Another item added to the ever growing punch list.

The crew was amazed how rapidly the Smitanic was made ready for early departure of 9AM.

The second stop was a short 191 miles south on I95 to Palmetto Shores RV Resort in Summerton, SC. This was a Park on the North Shores of Lake Marion. Theresa and Kevin and Jack had stayed at another park in the area in the old Smitanic just in August to see the Total Solar eclipse with Carol (Theresa’s sister) and Bob. That event was spectacular! Back then, it was in the prime summer season on the Lake, but now it was chilly and not much boat traffic.

The pool with a Lazy river was drained for the season. Most of the marinas and restaurants were closed or had limited hours. Nevertheless the lake provided a nice backdrop for the campsite for the night.

To take off the chill of the night Theresa huddled by the Fireplace and thought “how did I ever live without this feature?” Meanwhile Kevin researched on how the Aquahot can be used to provide heat. On the Tiffin blog he found a post that indicated the gas setting on the thermostat would turn off the heat pumps(which are inefficient below 40 degrees) and provide heat from the Aquahot system. This was contrary to what was explained by the Tiffin technician at Campers Inn during the walkthru, who said to just ignore the gas thermostat setting as this coach did not have propane! Kevin switched to the gas setting and wala Heat began to flow into the cabin from the Aquahot. Kevin was disappointed that the technician did not understand this critical system!

The third stop off I95 south was a 230 mile drive to Pecan Park just north of Jacksonville, FL. During the drive Kevin noticed that the rear and side Cameras auto dims when passing thru a shady area and then brightens back in full sun. Cool feature! Theresa settled in for the long trip by extending the footrest on the passenger chair. The motor that extends the footrest ground a bit then a pop-pop-pop was heard. Theresa tried to retract the footrest but it would not go down. This trapped the crew with not exit. She once again got online to find and entry someone had posted with a similar issue that described how to get the footrest to retract. As the Smitanic proceeded down I95, she got down on the floor to reach under the chair to examine the metal rod that has notches that drive the movement out and in. The rod was not aligned with the notches so she had to manually adjust it back on its proper track. She was relieved that it actually retracted and the crew was no longer trapped, however she was reluctant to use the footrest again and was disappointed that she would not have the use of the footrest. Yet another item added to the punch list.

Pecan Park had experienced some damage to the clubhouse during the recent Hurricane so temporary facilities were brought in to provide showers and bathrooms for the guests. Reminding Kevin of what FEMA and Firefighters as well as organised bicycle rides like NC Mountains to Coast and RAGBRAI in Iowa use to provide facilities for the sweaty masses. There was a mix of full time and seasonal residents as well as a few sites for transients like the Smitanic. The full hook-up site had a large cement pad with a picnic table and enough room for Theresa to do her daily workout routine.

Before dinner Kevin and Theresa had time to do a short walk around the park and admired many of the large rigs. With the new Smitanic II now in possession, RV envy is now a thing of the past. Several sites were decorated with College or Pro team flags while others let you know you are in the South.

The final destination of the trip south would be 130 miles to  Recreation Plantation in Lady Lake, FL just adjacent to The Villages. The park was very familiar as this was home for a very unexpected extended stay October 2016 thru March 2017 due to Kevin’s Mom’s multiple hospital stays during that time. Theresa and Kevin recalled that in the shaded sites the Oak trees would shower the roof of the coach with acorns making it sound more like a war zone while you try to sleep. So upon check in, several available sites were surveyed for critical criteria for a pleasant 1 month stay. The grass sites needed to be as level as possible with no Trees directly overhead. A proper site that meant all the criteria and was even close to the bathhouse was selected was confirmed with the office. The Smitanic was carefully docked with all systems hooked up. Boards were placed under the Jacks to lessen the sinkage into the grass. As the wheel, windshield and mirror covers were deployed to protect sun damage during the extended stay, it was obvious that the old covers were a bit smaller leaving some exposure to the elements. Ants were also a known irritant in the park, so before the rug and chairs were set in place granulated ant killer as well as diatomaceous earth was spread around all the jacks, tires, water and electric lines and where the rug would sit to prevent entry into the coach.

Chairs, table and Grill could now be extracted from the storage bays and camp was officially set up on the mat. Kevin then filled the empty bay space with the airplanes that were in the Toad. He also placed the hitch bike rack that was on the back of the jeep into the RV hitch so that the 4 bicycles could be secured to the RV. The Jeep was now unencumbered and mostly empty so it can be used for daily trips.

The first phase of the 5 month trip was complete. The next day would be the first of many visiting with Kevin’s sister and mom at the assisted living facility about 3 miles away from the park.