2024-25 Trip to the Southeast, Day 89

Day 89, Thursday, January 16, 2025, Suwannee Music Park & Campground, Live Oak, FL - 224.5 Miles, 3,377.8 Miles for the Trip

I got an early (for me) start leaving at 9:30. a 2 minute wait at the dump station, a short drive through the outskirts of Savannah, then on to I 95 to I 10. All interstate driving today which made the 225 miles go by quickly. I arrived at Suwannee Music Park around 2:00, signed in & followed a golf cart to my site. Site 230 is squeezed in with 230B. It is hard to tell where one ends and the other starts, but there is an Escape 21NE in 230B. One interesting fact - no bathrooms in the River Rod camping area (where site 230 is located). $45.94 per night for a water & electric on sand. Needed 2" correction side to side & 1" rise on the tongue. 

Sites 230B & Me in 230

I had an "interesting" discovery when I was setting up. Went to unlock the F 150 tailgate & no click & it didn't open. There is a rigid tonneau cover with the releases inside the bed so I couldn't get at anything inside. Tried a few things, then gave up and headed 7 miles to Walt's Ford in Live Oaks. They were very helpful; managed to get the tailgate open, determined that the electric opening module was bad, disconnected it so while I can't lock it, I can open & close the tailgate. The replacement module plus labor will run around $550.00 and should arrive tomorrow. 

By the time I got back to the trailer it was time for dinner, and since it was still 62°F out (with a high of 65°F) and since there is a picnic table on a corner of the site, I got out the grill and cooked a Butterball turkey burger. That and a salad was dinner.

Until Tomorrow - 

2024-25 Trip to the Southeast, Day 88

Day 88, Wednesday, January 15, 2025, Skidaway Island State Park, Savannah, GA , Day 8 - 0 Miles, 3,153.3 Miles for the Trip

Quite a few empty sites during my morning walk. 47°F, with a high of 53°F. A little after lunch I headed to Publix to pick up the stuff for a blueberry pie. I'm not sure I'll attend the pot luck on Saturday, but want to be ready if it happens. 

Back at the trailer I headed for a shower. Rather than the cold individual rooms in the area 1 bathroom, I headed for the one I used when I was in area 4. I gave it a lousy rating, but this time I used the disabled shower. The same stiff shower curtain & high pressure, low volume shower head but the drying area is huge; large enough that the floor remains dry. 5 hooks, however 4 of them are so close to the shower that stuff hanging on them is going to get wet. There is a small bench and it is far enough from the shower that it doesn't get wet. A soap dish in the shower.

The building is a bit too cool for comfort, although not as cold as the individual rooms in the other building. I remember a conversation I had with a fellow camper on one of my trips to the southwest. He carried a ice pack in his freezer and if the bathroom temperature was too cool for a shower he placed it on the metal cage around the thermostat. While I never tried it, he said it worked well. It even worked to turn down the air conditioning if the summer temperatures were too cool. And I thought my carrying around my own shower head was pushing it!

Anyhow, I'd have to up my rating of the shower as long as you use the disabled stall. I'll give it a B.

Back at the trailer because I'm leaving in the morning on a 224 mile drive, and the site is level, I hooked up to the truck. The only thing I need to do in the morning is put away the door mat & store the power cord.

I finished Floating Dragon by Peter Straub and started Sinister Heights by Loren D. Estleman, #15 in the Amos Walker series. A wonderful series of detective books.

Dinner was the other half of the Knoor Creamy Pesto pasta with the added chunks of chicken.

Until Tomorrow - 

2024-25 Trip to the Southeast, Day 87

Day 87, Tuesday, January 14, 2025, Skidaway Island State Park, Savannah, GA , Day 7 - 0 Miles, 3,153.3 Miles for the Trip

Not as warm as the last couple of nights, but still 40°F at 7:00AM. By 2:00 it made it up to 51°F, the warmest in the last week or so. 

I checked my weather app and the temperatures at Roland Cooper State Park were in the teens with highs in the low 30's. While my schedule has me there in early February, it is still quite a bit cooler than the current temperatures of campgrounds on both sides of the stop. So, I made reservations further south. I'll now be staying at Wandering Oaks RV Park in Milton, FL. Not warm, but not in the teens. I canceled Roland Cooper early enough that I only lost the reservation fee of $5.25.

When I did the first calculations for drive distances, I found it added 800 miles between stops. Seems there are a couple of Wandering Oaks RV Parks, including another one in Florida. The one added to my Trip Wizard route was in Texas. I moved it to the one in Milton, FL and it is back to my preferred driving distances. Hope it warms up by February.

Not much else going on today. I did my usual walks, found a Casita, and the Oliver is still here. The park has a wide range of RVs from huge class A's to class B vans. While the warmest has been in awhile and sunny, not many sitting outside. I'm inside reading. Around 4:00 it reached today's high of 53°F. 

Dinner was Knoor Creamy Pesto pasta with a chicken thigh from the freezer.

Until Tomorrow - 

2024-25 Trip to the Southeast, Day 86

Day 86, Monday, January 13, 2025, Skidaway Island State Park, Savannah, GA , Day 6 - 0 Miles, 3,153.3 Miles for the Trip

I guess putting flannel sheets on the bed did help with nighttime temperatures. It only went down to 42°F last night. A light rain started around 6:00AM and continued light to medium throughout the early morning. By 10:00 it stopped & I packed up the trailer for the move to site 18. I set up first. A level site that I wouldn't need to unhook, but I have to find a post office, stop at the campground office & do a little food shopping. Similar to site 54; a tent pad, fire pit, and picnic table on dirt rather than the gravel of site 54. Water & electric for $39.38 per night. The site is midway between the two bathrooms; a little further to the one at the start of areas 3 & 4 that I used in the past, but worth the walk if you are going to shower. Even though I gave it a poor rating, the bathrooms that are "officially" for my new area 1 are individual rooms with a sink, toilet & shower, but they are either unheated or barely heated, and they stink.

Site 18

After setting up I went to the office to get a refund for my discount and a site sticker, then to Publix & the post office. The post office is in the corner inside a local pharmacy. The island reminds me of Nantucket in some ways - fancy stores, fancy cars, and what are probably very expensive homes. The store & post office are only a mile and a half from the campground.

After looking at a sign in the shopping area I realized that it is Skidaway Island, not Skidway Island. I fixed the web pages and Blogger posts. That also explains why Trip Wizard couldn't find it when I searched for Skidway.

Still reading Floating Dragon by Peter Straub.

Dinner was a Lean Cuisine Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo bowl.

Sorry this is late - for some reason it didn't post yesterday.

Until Tomorrow - 

2024-25 Trip to the Southeast, Day 85

Day 85, Sunday, January 12, 2025, Skidaway Island State Park, Savannah, GA , Day 5 - 0 Miles, 3,153.3 Miles for the Trip

Boy I'm getting tired of saying this, but another cool night; down to 31°F. The high for the day was 47°F. During my morning walk I saw an Oliver in Area 3. I'll be moving there tomorrow. Of course it is suppose to be raining.

An Oliver

After lunch I decided to do laundry. There is only one working washer but two dryers. Someone had a load in the washer, but I sat in one of the comfortable chairs and waited. She showed up within minutes of the load finishing. I needed two loads so it took a bit longer. Her dryer still had 25 minutes on it when she left and my second load finished 10 minutes later so I got 15 minutes of extra drying time. Still needed a full cycle to dry the clothes even on high heat. 

The washer & dryer are on an app, but it is a different one from the one at the Trolley Stop RV park. I didn't need it because each machine had a credit card reader attached. I could have used quarters, but as long as the card worked I saved them for next time.

I changed the sheets before doing laundry, put the flannel sheets on the bed, so that should make the overnight temperatures go up. I made my usual Sunday phone calls and everyone is doing well. The Guidos got the quote from Scamp to repair their trailer - $5,000. Their insurance already wrote them a check and will go after AAA for a reimbursement. David is hanging out in his new house in the Catskills - too cold to do much outdoors, and Kyle has still only needed to snow blow once so far this Winter.

Since I'm moving tomorrow, I unhooked the water hose & will run on the on board fresh water tank for the night. That saves rolling up a near frozen hose (although at 47°F it wasn't all that flexible this afternoon).

Dinner was a Healthy Choice Lemon Parmesan Chicken dinner.

Until Tomorrow -