Traffic in the Bayou
The planned port of call for the day was Alliance Hill RV park in panhandle of FL. This would be 264 miles away. On previous crossings, other parks used in the Tallahassee area were hard to navigate or had very tight wooded spaces. So this new park seemed like the right option for the first day's travel as it advertised ‘big rig’ accommodations more suiting to the new longer Smitanic.
The drive started with a bit of light drizzle in the AM but that soon gave way to sunny skies. Traffic was light for this Black Friday. The time zone change in western FL gave the crew an extra hour making for an early 2 pm arrival.
Theresa called to confirm there was availability at the camp grounds. The gentleman responded with a “sure do” and additionally told her “call me when you exit I10 and I will have my white pick up at the entrance and be sure to look for the White House with the red roof” (later this was discovered to be a Masonic lodge ). Theresa called as instructed and indeed the white truck was at the entrance. The gentleman guided the RV between narrow culverts into a pull thru spot. After full hook ups for the Smitanic were completed, Theresa went down to check in. Glenn, the fine gentleman, pulled out an old style ledger book and proceeded to record the critical info and logged the payment by hand. Thank goodness he was able to use his iPhone to accept the credit card payment. As Theresa left she asked what time was checkout. Glenn replied ‘any time you like’. Theresa hummed “Hotel California” all the way back to the RV.
A committed Theresa, did her workout in the shade next to the RV. She did not care who was watching.
The drive started with a bit of light drizzle in the AM but that soon gave way to sunny skies. Traffic was light for this Black Friday. The time zone change in western FL gave the crew an extra hour making for an early 2 pm arrival.
Theresa called to confirm there was availability at the camp grounds. The gentleman responded with a “sure do” and additionally told her “call me when you exit I10 and I will have my white pick up at the entrance and be sure to look for the White House with the red roof” (later this was discovered to be a Masonic lodge ). Theresa called as instructed and indeed the white truck was at the entrance. The gentleman guided the RV between narrow culverts into a pull thru spot. After full hook ups for the Smitanic were completed, Theresa went down to check in. Glenn, the fine gentleman, pulled out an old style ledger book and proceeded to record the critical info and logged the payment by hand. Thank goodness he was able to use his iPhone to accept the credit card payment. As Theresa left she asked what time was checkout. Glenn replied ‘any time you like’. Theresa hummed “Hotel California” all the way back to the RV. 
A committed Theresa, did her workout in the shade next to the RV. She did not care who was watching.
Dinner was created from leftovers and the next few days plans were entered into the Good Sams trip planner website with a few variations for a 10-12 day westwardly voyage.
The next morning found the crew up and early. The time to shove off was reduced as the crew had elected to keep the toad attached during that prior evening. The Smitanic was under sail well before 9 am. Kevin was gaining more confidence in captaining the new vessel. He felt good as the miles unfolded even with several slowdowns and heavy traffic around Pensacola and Mobile, along with the tunnel in downtown Mobile. Surrounded with the scenery of the bayou, he elected to bypass two of the optional stops and targeted the Lakeside RV Resort Livingston, la a whopping 364 mi for the day! Theresa called and made reservations for a one night stay.
The next morning found the crew up and early. The time to shove off was reduced as the crew had elected to keep the toad attached during that prior evening. The Smitanic was under sail well before 9 am. Kevin was gaining more confidence in captaining the new vessel. He felt good as the miles unfolded even with several slowdowns and heavy traffic around Pensacola and Mobile, along with the tunnel in downtown Mobile. Surrounded with the scenery of the bayou, he elected to bypass two of the optional stops and targeted the Lakeside RV Resort Livingston, la a whopping 364 mi for the day! Theresa called and made reservations for a one night stay.
As Theresa was checking in, Kevin disconnected the toad. The electric pigtail cable that controls the brake and turn signal lights on the toad would not disconnect from the toads receptacle. In order to proceed with getting to the site, the cable was secured to the toads mirror and would be dealt with once at the site.
The path to the site had a very tight turn around the clubhouse followed then by a roundabout and then back into site directly across from the bathhouse. The park was full for the holiday weekend. In order to navigate into the tight the slip for the evening Kevin called for “all reverse slow”. He then focused on Theresa as she skillfully guided him into the narrow cement pad site.
The Smitanic glided to its ideal spot. The crew was very pleased with the skills demonstrated this day. The crew then began standard procedures to secure shore power, and water. As Theresa hooked up the water she noticed a puddle around the faucet. She discovered there was a slow leak coming from the pipe that could not be avoided. It was quite small so 1 night would not add much to the soaked ground. Meanwhile, Kevin used brute force, and coaxing language to get the stuck cable out of the toad. Upon extraction he discovered that the metal housing was cracked and flared out causing it to catch inside the receptacle. Using a pliers he was able to close the gap then Scotch tape was applied to smooth out the surface, followed by gorilla tape to secure the cable from coming out of the toad’s connection. That will have to do until a replacement can be purchased.
The Smitanic glided to its ideal spot. The crew was very pleased with the skills demonstrated this day. The crew then began standard procedures to secure shore power, and water. As Theresa hooked up the water she noticed a puddle around the faucet. She discovered there was a slow leak coming from the pipe that could not be avoided. It was quite small so 1 night would not add much to the soaked ground. Meanwhile, Kevin used brute force, and coaxing language to get the stuck cable out of the toad. Upon extraction he discovered that the metal housing was cracked and flared out causing it to catch inside the receptacle. Using a pliers he was able to close the gap then Scotch tape was applied to smooth out the surface, followed by gorilla tape to secure the cable from coming out of the toad’s connection. That will have to do until a replacement can be purchased.
Weary from the long drive, the two did a 1.5 mi walk around the park that surrounded a pond.
Theresa did her burpees commitment 50 burpees for 50 days, this was day 9.
Dinner was prepared from more left over supplies. Kevin was in the sack early after the epic miles.
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