Lithia County Park, Florida

With no room at the inn, that is Hillsborough State Park, I motored down the road to the county park at Lithia Spring a few miles south of the Interstate east of Tampa. It proved to be a nice, quiet camping spot with a huge spring, some hiking trails and a few interesting characters as well. It proved as well to be a perfect spot to welcome aboard a traveling companion who would be with me until Louisiana, a few weeks away. She was Big Trill's first guest traveller and I was anxious to see how it would work out as the accommodations were on the smallish side!

The first character we met at the check-in. She wasn't afraid to tell you whatever she thought, but did it all with a twinkle in her eye. We certainly enjoyed her dry wit! Another character was living in an old school bus with his band name written all over it. He was camping and writing new songs for the band using the quiet campground for inspiration. He was full of interesting info and recommended another similar County Park north of Tampa which we were never able to find in any map or app we had. Oh well...

We checked out the hiking trails which followed the river out of the springs. Yes, there were several Springs and the flow of water was substantial.

 

Washrooms were nearly new, clean and had lots of hot water, always appreciated, but not always found!

We spent a couple of nights here sorting out the camper and making it more comfortable as we switched over from one person to two. Needless to say, it was a welcome change and the beginning of our second adventure together, the first having been last fall in California. As the photo above shows, we set the 'hut' up for the first time here. It provided a bit of privacy when using the toilet and taking showers when none was available. We learned a few other tricks on using it over the days ahead, but basically it worked very well and was set up almost everywhere we camped.

We then made plans and set out southward...

Return to Hillsborough State Park, Florida

I had stayed at Hillsborough State some years ago in my Teardrop camper and had enjoyed my stay there, so I was interested to revisit. One of the things I wanted to do was hike some of the trails across the river as I had not done that previously.

Once again, it was difficult to reserve a site longer than a single night in any park, so we had to get out an explore quickly and then pack up and move along.

There were more trails than we really had time to explore, but we did cross the river and head down one fine trails. We were surprised to discover it soon came to a fence forcing me to turn along it and then head back into the forest and back to another bridge! Crossing the bridge, we followed the river for a while seeing an alligator and some paddlers in the water below. Where's my kayak! It seemed odd to be in Florida without one...

Turning back along a trail which headed towards the park road, we discovered around a dozen or so vulture like birds in the trees and on the ground. The odour of a large rottening animal permiated the air. The birds were enjoying themselves, feasting away on this find.

We continued along the path and arrived back at my camper. It was time to pack up and leave. On the way out we drove around the park looking for where I had stayed before. It wasn't easy to find the exact site, but it was most likely in the open area furtherest from the river sites. The park certainly was full. I had inquired at the gate about any cancellations, but the ranger didn't seem to want to bother looking. He wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer. A lady volunteer  working in the office smiled and rolled her eyes...

We headed down the road...

Florida Surprises

  

The crossing of the border into Georgia did not improve the I-95. In fact it got worse and in more than one spot I saw piles of tire retread debris lining both sides of the road, evidence of the tire shredding road surface. I was one of the lucky one to have slipped into Florida wearing the same tires I had left with. Not everyone was so lucky, it seems...! Once in Florida, the condition of the interstate improved and I could finally relax knowing the camper's axel wasn't going to be shaken off the camper and left on the side of the road. Thank you Florida!

The first surprise, not too unexpected in high season, was the almost complete lack of campsite availability anywhere close to where I had hoped to stay! What a change from just a few years ago when it never occurred to reserve ahead. I simply drove into campgrounds and easily found a place to camp. Those days are gone it seems with everyone seeming to own an RV. I pleaded for help from some Facebook friends and finally one suggested I try Tomoka State Park near Daytona and finally I had a spot for the night. One night... The park turned out to be a gem with nice clean washrooms, good showers and friendly people. 

 

The following day, I discovered that by moving a couple of sites closer to the washroom, I could stay a couple of extra days, so move I did. This resulted in me being next to the couple in the photo above, two Harley enthusiasts who were down from Pennsylvania for Bike Week in Daytona. It was the twentieth anniversary of their previous visit and they were anxious to have a good time revisiting some of the old spots they had been to all those years ago. I loved their vintage bikes which they had trailered down and promptly began riding as soon as they had set up their tent - in the bed of their truck!

That evening they invited me over to their campfire for a few beers and we all had some good laughs together until the rain set in.  Returned to Big Trill, but a while later the Scheller's knocked on the door. My bloody pants - from LL Bean no less - had shed my wallet which they had found in the dirty while dousing their campfire! Thank god! They saved my trip from certain disaster had my wallet gone missing for good. It set off a series of panic attacks throughout the trip whenever my wallet wasn't where I expected it to be.

In the days ahead I biked around the park, checked out the day use areas, the boat launch area, the old shell mounds and the other facilities. Soon it was time to head westward across Florida, but I really enjoyed Tomoka SP and all it had to offer.

Charleston, South Carolina

 

Winter in Quebec was proving once again to be more of a snow, rain, freeze cycle than a real winter, so it was time to see if Big Trill was up to a big trip south. I had done lots of tweeking to her over the few years of ownership and the Kingston trip gave me positive feedback, so off we went on the last few days of February, 2017.

The route the first day took us south through Vermont, over the hills to Rutland and then on to Albany, NY where I stopped at a Walmart Inn in Latham for the night. Fortunately the night was relatively warm so I slept well and was back on I-87 in the morning. By late afternoon I was in Maryland. The dreaded I-95 was scaring me with every bump and bang it's badly kept surface presented. Up again the day after another night Chez Walmart, the horror of the interstate continued. I stopped on the border between the two Carolinas for the night, again Walmart,  and the next morning thankfully got off I-95 soon after crossing into South Carolina. I took rt 52 to Lake City and from there onto Charleston itself. 

I had reservations at the James Island County Campground, but the desk at the campground had no record of them! Fortunately, they had space and I settled into this wonderful spot for several days. 

I spent much of the time cleaning and rearranging the interior of Big Trill. She was incredibly dirty and I had brought way more stuff than I needed, so the time was well spent!

I connected with my Facebook friend Mary Ann and she kindly met me and showed me around the city and some of the neighbouring spots of interest...

  

A walk around the old section of town revealed a lovely seaside park as well as some secret gardens hidden behind old walls and wrought iron gates. Yet, Charleston was not just about the past, we treated ourselves to a take out meal at a genuine English fish n chips joint where even the owner's accent was the real thing! He was from Manchester!

The road soon beckoned southward, so cleaner and tidier, Big Trill and I headed back to the I-95 via rt 17. Soon the bumps and bangs would begin anew...

Kingston Buskers

I headed off to Kingston, Ontario a few days ago to give Big Trill some road time after having sat for far too long. The drive up went smoothly and I pulled in Rideau Acres Campground just off the 401. The place was huge! My site was more than sparse, but did have water and power and a picnic table, adequate for my needs for the two day visit.

After setting up I discovered there was a Busker's Festival going on at the waterfront in Kingston, so I headed down to have a look. The first guy I had a look at did a number of tricks mostly of the street dancing variety, but the finale was a running jump over four people lined up and bent over. As he passed over the top of them, he completed a mid-air flip and landed on his feet! Amazing!

On the waterfront proper a number of shows were going on including these guys balancing in unicycles and a ladder all the while tossing flaming torches back and forth.

Others buskers included a drum group and a digiridoo band, trapeze artists and a mute guy doing a number of balancing stunts.

I returned the following day and took in more buskers, but also visited the old Olympic Yacht Basin next to the old  Penitentiary. I got there by hiking a path along the waterfront from a park close by. Nice!

The return home trip went well with a wine bottle deposit stop in Cornwall as well as a visit to the LCBO for some Ontario wines. Then it was the horrible bumpy Quebec roads around Montreal and finally home.

On The Move

I got Big Trill out of her winter quarters yesterday and parked her closer to the house so I can begin getting her road ready! Yah spring!

Chilling Times

Big Trill is passing the winter in outdoor storage, waiting for warmer days to come. I have several times removed the snow off the roof when it built up too high or when rain added to its weight. The solar panel is connected to keep the battery charged up. That seemed to work last winter, so I'm doing it again. Of course the snow covers it now and then, so that has to be cleared off as well to keep the panel doing its job.  

Looking forward to heading down the road perhaps at the end of February or so. Much depends on the weather..