Tag Archives: travel

Unknown's avatar

Punta Gorda

by

Punta Gorda Florida is a beautiful place, even after the  vast devastation during Hurricane Charley in 2004. There are still empty lots where houses once stood, but those have been cleaned up and now appear as just green space.

The area where my sister lives is called Punta Gorda Isles. It features a number of canals running through the “back yards” of the lovely homes, and converging to run into the Peace River at Charlotte Harbour. Most homes have boat lifts and some impressive boats hoisted on them,  out of the destruction of the salt water when they aren’t in use.

The scene from my sister’s sun room

Another View

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s a photographer’s paradise, with the various types of Palms and other trees showing off their blooms, sparkling calm water ways and pink sunsets. Although I’ve yet to experience it, I’m told that dolphins can sometimes be seen playing in the canals too.

Flowering Palm

This time of year the temperatures climb a little higher than is really comfortable for us non-residents, but there is always the pool to cool us off, and every home, store and restaurant is well air-conditioned. Speaking of stores and restaurants, there are enough here to meet everyone’s needs.

The Pool

One thing to remember though, if you happen to be visiting someone here and are coming by motor home or pulling a trailer, you can’t park either one in the driveway or on an empty lot. We moved the motor home on Wednesday; when we got back we found a ticket on the door saying that we could not leave the little motorcycle trailer where it was, pulled up close to the house, nearly hidden by the bike!  My sister had to remove her car from the garage so we could put the trailer in there.  Just to be safe, we put the bike in too. 🙂 That turned out just as well; we had a thunder storm last night.

If the weather stays clear tonight, we will probably go to listen to the music in the park.

Unknown's avatar

An Uneventful Day in Paradise (Monday, May 21)

by

The sun was bright and hot already when we left Savannah. We pushed on through, stopping only for gas and to make lunch at a rest area, and a quick stop at a little shop that sold freshly made jams, jellies and other condiments. Jim was hoping for ice cream, but they had none, so we settled for bottles of Peach Cider.

We were ready to jump into the pool when we arrived at my sister’s in Punta Gorda Florida at 6:00 pm.

We had to park the RV a few blocks away, where my sister still owns a modular home, but it wouldn’t fit in her driveway so we left it in an empty lot.  Don’t know if that’s allowed or not!

 

Tuesday:  We found out this morning that it’s not! We had to look for a storage site, which we found for $35, and have to have it moved before the end of the day.

Unknown's avatar

Mini-Pity Party (Sunday, May 20)

by

Sunday dawned sunny and bright. However, we were not to get through the day without a few more challenges and these didn’t involve golf.

When I opened the fridge to get out food for breakfast, I noticed that things just didn’t seem to be very cold.  I checked the freezer; everything was thawed! Great! For some reason the electricity to the fridge wasn’t working, and we still had no propane so couldn’t even switch it over.  Jim flicked some switches and miraculously got it going, but we had only a couple of hours for things to cool down again before we’d have to unplug it. Should I throw everything out? I decided to leave it for then and deal with the food as we needed it.

So we unhooked everything else, locked everything down and hooked the bike trailer up. Some neighbours came running to help with the loading of the bike, which was appreciated, but unnecessary. Finally, we were off. The plan was to go back to Costco to fill up the RV gas tank, since they had the best price around, and grab a hotdog there (it was already nearing lunch time). Then we would look for the nearest Camping World to get the propane tank filled.  Jim thought that he’d read on the website that they did that. It sounded like a good plan, but we hadn’t gotten very far down the highway when we began to smell something hot. Soon Jim noticed that the brakes weren’t working as well as they should! He pumped them and we crept along to Costco, filled up with gas and then pulled over to check things out.  The brake fluid drum was full, so that wasn’t the problem.  After sitting awhile, and pumping the brakes many more time, and creeping around the parking lot, Jim figured it was safe enough to get us to Camping World which was only five minutes away. I was still feeling calm and positive. But when we got to Camping World and found out that they neither fill propane tanks, nor do brake repairs, I was suddenly overcome and had to give in to a pity party, that took away my interest in looking through the store. I allowed it only ten minutes, though.  We got back into the RV and started down Hwy 17 south, keeping an eye out for somewhere to fill the propane tank. The brakes seemed to be alright again. We came across a small machinery rental shop that had a propane tank outside.  The sign said “closed” but there were a couple of men outside so we took a chance.  They were closed, but took pity on us and filled the tank for us. The day turned around after that. Jim concluded that as long as he didn’t do any hard braking, the brakes worked fine, so he just had to keep an eye open so he wouldn’t have to make any sudden stops. I had probably caused the problem by pushing down too hard on the brake pedal when Jim was checking the lights before we left the campsite. The sun was shining hot. We made one more stop, to eat lunch at a Bob Evans’, and then didn’t look back. We crossed into Georgia at about 7:30. We parked at a Walmart in Savannah at 8:30.

Unknown's avatar

Making the Most of our Last Day in Myrtle Beach (Sat. May 19)

by

The day started out cool and cloudy, but we had no rain. We took the bike back to Barefoot Landing one more time, this time to the Kite Store to sort out a problem with the payment for a pin wheel that we’d bought the day before. From there we searched out the local Costco to sample some of the different items that aren’t available in Canadian stores.  We had lunch, but bought only one item – a new GPS; yes the old one bit the dust. ): Walmart was in the same area, so we went in there too, to pick up an electric skillet, before we headed back towards the campground. It was three o’clock by then, and we had tickets for the Carolina Oprey at 7:00 pm, but we had time to stop at Mt. Atlanticus to play a round of miniature golf. It was a close game, but Jim crept past me on the last hole to win. By the time we were done, we had time to only rush back to the RV, unload the bike, brush our teeth and head off again to the Oprey.

Atlanticus Mini-Golf

Must have made the shot!

Atlanticus Mini-Golf

Yes, we played to the top!

Atlanticus Mini-Golf

Beautiful Course

 

 

 

 

 

Atlanticus Mini-Golf

Now who’s smiling?

 

 

The Carolina Oprey isn’t quite what I’d expected it to be – all country type of music.  It was, however, another excellent music and comedy variety show, featuring many former American Idol top contenders. A nice end to our visit.

Unknown's avatar

Lessons Learned

by

Friday, May 18, 2012

Today we were reminded of two things that we’d forgotten – conserve propane gas, and conserve internet data!

Yesterday we were also reminded that in older vehicles, things wear out, when, after we had our showers I wondered why the water pump didn’t seem to come on as often as usual, and Jim noticed that the lights seemed rather dimmed. Jim checked the battery levels and found that every one of the three new batteries we’d just installed before we left were dead! It seemed that for some reason they had not been recharging as they should when we are hooked up to hydro.  The problem was, Jim concluded, with the inverter, but he couldn’t figure out exactly what. We were given the number for Coast RV and they were here by 1:00 pm. Half an hour later the problem was solved (a broken ground wire) and we were able to get on with our day.

We had lunch at the restaurant on the Pier before taking another brisk walk up the beach for a mile or so and back, splashing through the waves as the tide rolled in. Another trip to the post office (why are they so hard to find?) and a wander around the Harley Store pretty much completed that day. The bikers have arrived at last; even our campground is nearly full with more very large motor homes and bike trailers.

Today’s Lesson #1:  This morning I prepared eggs and cheese to make an omelet for breakfast. Then I attempted to light the propane stove.  Nothing. Check the gauge – tank is empty!  The only way to get it filled is to unhook the hydro and sewer pipe, hoist up the leveling jacks and take the RV up to the store. I think we can get along without the stove and hot water until we’re ready to leave on Sunday. Our site is just across the road from the bath house, and the microwave works.  Perhaps the purchase of a small electric frying pan might be a good idea. Off to the restaurant on the pier again, for breakfast.

Lesson #2: Back home, we both logged onto the internet to take care of business.  I had one graphic to download. I sent one email in response to that and replied.  But when I tried to send another email, nothing happened. Jim got a message that he was disconnected because we had used up our monthly allotment of one giga-byte of data on our Verizon internet card. Lesson number two–from now on I will not be adding pictures to the blog until we are using someone else’s WiFi.:)

This afternoon and evening were spent cruising up and down Hwy 17 in search of another Post Office located in the direction that we wanted to go, and a Verizon store where we could make a payment that would allow us back on the internet.  It took a good half hour to find the Post Office; it took five hours to find a Verizon store, and many miles in the opposite direction from the Post Office. Mind you, we did take care of a few other things while we were looking. We went back to Barefoot Landing to check once more at the Lost and Found for my missing Tilley, to no avail. We did learn that if I contact Tilley directly, they will send me a new one for half price. We had to tour the Harbor Freight store, and stop into a couple more motorcycle equipment tents; and we enjoyed an exquisite meal at The Olive Garden.

At The Olive Garden we had an interesting conversation with the waiter about health care and wages, that made us realize again how lucky we are to live in Canada, despite sometimes getting frustrated with taxes and wait-times.

Tomorrow is our last day here, before we leave for Florida.

Unknown's avatar

If Anyone finds a Tilley Hat at Barefoot Landing, It’s Mine

by

The storm missed us last night, but apparently a tornado touched down in Conway, just 30 miles north of here.  The air remained heavy and humid until the sun came out this morning.  After taking care of online business we went back to Barefoot Landing to look for some LED signal lights for a friend back home. The sun was hot and we both wore our Tilley hats. After looking over the biker booths we went into the River City Cafe for lunch.  The burgers there are huge and delicious. We noticed on the TV that there was a storm warning, and sure enough when we went back outside the dark clouds were moving in. Rather that go anywhere else on the bike, we thought we might as well continue the tour of the shops at the Landing that we’d missed when we had to leave for the Condo Tour on Friday.

We looked around only two stores before the rain began to come down. It didn’t seem like it was going to stop any time soon, so we bought one of the five dollar umbrellas that were conveniently by the door and dodged in and out of the boutiques along the street. Two hours later, when the rain had finally let up and we’d seen all there was to see, we started towards the bike. Suddenly I realized that I didn’t have my Tilley! Thinking back, the last time I could remember having it was when, I’m sure, I set it down on the counter in the store where I bought the umbrella to free my hands to get out my money. We trotted back there, but they hadn’t seen it. I left them my name and phone number. We checked at several stores that we’d been in; no luck.  We even went back to the hat shop where I’d bought it, hoping someone may have found it, but again no luck.  The store owner made a call to the security office to ask them to keep a look out for it.  The girl at the Wyndham booth alerted all the staff there to be on the look out for it.  Sigh.  Perhaps it will show up yet.

The sky was still dark off in the distance; it was time to get on the bike and back to camp before more rain. The helmets were hanging on the bike and Jim’s was turned up to the rain like a bowl.  Needless to say, he rode home with a wet head.

We actually had time to make and eat dinner and get the laundry done before the rain started again.  It’s been raining now since 9:00. Again, we’ve been lucky. Had we’d headed back towards Murrells Inlet today, we might have been in trouble.  According to the news there was major flooding in the area this afternoon.

It hasn’t been an ideal week for the Bike Week organizers, and all of the merchants that we talked to  apologized for that! 🙂

Unknown's avatar

Sex on the Beach

by

That was the highlight of my day today. 🙂

Stayed up too late last night, catching up on blogs. The night was raining and hot and humid; neither of us slept well. We didn’t get up very early this morning, even though the sun was shining, so it was nearly noon before we got out anywhere. We’d already decided to stick closer to “home” today.

We walked through the park and up the street in search of some groceries, but got only milk at the corner store and some sweet local strawberries at the nearby fruit and vegetable stand, before coming back for lunch. After lunch we took the bike to the Post Office, since Jim had a package he needed to mail. The sky was already beginning to turn black in the distance so we made a quick stop at the nearest grocery store and scooted back to the campground. We tried to read, but fell asleep. When we woke up the sun was shining again. We lathered on the sunscreen and headed to the beach. The tide was rolling in and we strolled along the edge of it, taking some pictures, including this one of a “cabbage” jelly fish that had washed ashore.

"Cabbage" Jelly Fish
The sun was hot. We decided to take some refreshment at the Queen Annie, a hotel bar along the beach. That’s where I enjoyed “Sex on the Beach”. I’d hoped it would relieve the tension pains that were beginning in my shoulder and neck, but it only made it worse.

For the first time since we’ve been here, we ate all of our meals in the motor home today. Having a quiet evening and will no doubt hit the sheets early tonight. Another storm was in the forecast, but nothing has happened yet.

Unknown's avatar

If You Don’t Like the Weather, Wait a While

by

Sunday May 13th, 2012

Well, before we could finish breakfast this morning, the rain had begun and the winds were howling.  Soon the light mist turned into a torrential downpour so it seemed it wouldn’t be a day for either the beach or the bike. What do you do on a day such as this when you live in a motorhome and your only means of transportation are motorcycle, bicycle or feet? This was the first time that we’d encountered this problem.  We were fortunate on our last adventure that the only days we had of rain were ones that we were traveling anyway.

We listened to music, read, answered emails and tried not to trip over each other.  After lunch I was tired out and had to have a nap!  When I awoke the rain had about stopped so we got out our gear, ready to take off on the bike. Before we got out the door, the skies opened again, but it lasted for only a few minutes. We headed out the highway and soon drove out of the rain entirely.

Again we went in search of the biker activities, this time further south towards Murrells Inlet.  We found one advertised venue, Jammin Leather, but there wasn’t much happening there either. At the Rally Centre next door I was almost convinced to buy a sexy pair of stretch pants with mesh and sequined cutouts on the legs. They were very comfortable indeed, but somehow they looked more like they belonged on the woman wearing the half-unzipped leather vest opened low enough to reveal her ample and rounded cleavage.  In fact, she’d just bought a pair, and assured me that they looked great on me.  Perhaps if Jim had shown some encouragement I might have been persuaded, but, although he agreed that they looked good, he doubted that I’d wear them much. I don’t know, he might have been wrong, but $50 was a lot of money to spend to find out so I left them on the rack.

Further down the highway, at the SB&B Bar (for those of you who really want to know what those letters stand for, put your imagination in the gutter – the rest of you don’t want to know), we found some biking vendors and some music, but after a short stroll through we’d had enough.  Instead of seeking out more rally venues, we became regular tourists again.  Further along the highway, an enormous upside down house captured our attention and we were drawn into a village called Broadway on the Beach.

Broadway on the Beach is a sprawling complex of boutiques, restaurants, bridges and entertainment. By the time we had entered, we were ready for dinner. Chef prepares dinner The Yamato Seafood and Steakhouse of Japan looked promising, so in we went.  We were a little surprised when the host said there would be more people coming to our table. Once in the dining room we discover that it was a traditional style Japanese restaurant where our food would be prepared on a hot grill, the centre piece of our dinner bar. A young family of six joined us. It was great fun watching the meal preparation and the reaction of the children when the grill went up in flames! And what a delicious meal of chicken, scallops, fried rice and mixed vegetables,  preceded by a yummy clear soup and a small garden salad with a unique choice of dressings. We enjoyed some very unfamiliar flavours. Flaming Grill

 

 

After dinner we wandered around the village, peaking into some of the shops, getting a closer look at the Upside Down House, gasping as some brave souls climbed to the top of a high deck to catch a zip line that whisked them through the air to the other side of the lake. I shuddered at the sight of the multitude of carp in the lake, scrambling with mouths open and fighting with young mallard ducks to capture the food pellets being dropped off the boardwalk. As the sun disappeared the lights of the carnival rides and the Dungeons and Dragons-themed miniature golf course dazzled the night. It was nearly 9:00 when we left for home.

Upside Down House

For a Mother’s Day that started out poorly, it turned out to be one of our best days,  despite being so far away from our children.

Unknown's avatar

Beach, Piers and Bikes

by

Saturday, May 12, 2012 PM

This morning the laundry bag was full so we put our clothes into a washer at the Laundromat and went for a walk on the Apache Pier while we waited for them. A sign on the pier claims that it is the longest one on the East Coast with a length of 1206 feet. The railings were occupied by many fishing poles, under the control of men, women and even a couple of young boys. We chatted with a few of the men and learned that today was a slow day.  We were disappointed that we saw no fish being reeled in, but we learned a few things about the King Mackerel fishing, for which spaces were reserved at the furthest end of the pier. The view of the miles of ocean and beach was incredible too.

Apache Pier

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of the permanent trailers at this campground are very interesting and several have wooden decks built above the roof line, making great use of the small piece of land that they sit upon.

After lunch we got back on the motorcycle and drove into town to see what was happening. Jim was disappointed to find that there were only a few parking lots occupied by vendors for Bike Week, and the number of bikes on the roads was surprisingly low. We were actually in North Myrtle Beach, so, after checking out the largest selection of vendors there, we headed to Myrtle Beach in search of more activity, but it was obvious that the bikers were being discouraged, at least from the residential areas.  Every side street off the main drags had sandwich board signs at the entrance “No Thru Traffic.” The multitude of hotels and resorts along Ocean Drive, however, displayed signs welcoming bikers. Every one of them also had “Vacancy” signs and some offered rates of only $35 or $40 per night. If we’d had the stamina to ride the bike all the way here and stayed in one of these rooms, we could have had a much less expensive vacation.  And still there were only small groups of bikers cruising the street or sitting in the outdoor bars.

The sun was bright and warm.  We parked the bike and wandered along the street, stopping to listen to music at the band shell, enjoying an ice cream cone and strolling along the board walk.  Then we decided to check out the view from 200 feet up via the Sky Wheel which from a distance I thought was a Ferris wheel.  It is the same concept, but the seats are enclosed in glass bubbles – no seat belts necessary. It moves slowly, allowing plenty of time to snap pictures of Myrtle Beach below.

Sky Wheel

Back on the bike, we finished the drive along the coast on Ocean Drive, admiring the prosperous-looking homes that we passed. Obviously there are many people who are not affected by the recession. We stopped at Shorney’s for the healthy salad bar, and then called it a day.

Note: Jim just found a message on the Myrtle Beach website that says the “Spring Ride” is NOT in Myrtle Beach, but in North Myrtle Beach, Murrell’s Inlet and Surf Side Beach.  That may explain why there are so few bikes around here! Not like the last time Jim came down eight years ago. Perhaps we’ll be riding further south tomorrow.

Unknown's avatar

Heading out Again

by

My best laid plans got derailed again with family crisis, and a short-term out-in-the-real-world work contract. Although many a post about things that caught my attention were often swirling through my brain, they never made it here.

But that’s all going to change, I promise! This week we’re readying the motor home and the new motorcycle (a Suzuki Boulevard C50 for those of you who are bikers) for another adventure.  This time our first destination is Myrtle Beach for Bike Week. We’re looking forward to the warmth of the sun and the breeze on our faces, after a month of mostly dismal weather here.

So stayed tuned for the reports on all the sights and sounds as we head out in six days.