Settled in at Happy Traveler

  Today is Tuesday, November 12. We are fully settled in at Happy Traveler RV Park. We got out of Lazy Days on Wednesday last week. Of course the manufacturer still did not give approval for the warranty work so they cut us loose. By the time we pulled into our campsite it was just about dark. I had never set up in the dark before. It was tricky backing into the site but I got some help from three guys from across the way. The next few days we gave the trailer a thorough cleaning, got our mailbox key, went grocery shopping, got the cable hooked up, and checked out the area. We are close to  I-4 and I-75 and everything else thank goodness. Not like the last place where you had a 30 minute drive to civilization. I can ride the bike to the Winn-Dixie about half-a mile away. We are about ten minutes from Busch Gardens and the Yuengling Brewery and many restaurants and other stores. I can't wait to go to Thompson Cigar which is close. I have started looking at golf courses and there seems to be a fair amount nearby that are reasonable.
  Yesterday we took a ride to the manatee viewing area by the Tampa Power plant. The manatees need warm water and they congregate there during the winter because the plant discharges warm, clean water back into the canal. They must be in water that is 68 degrees Fahrenheit or warmer and the power plant provides ideal conditions for them.

 

 

The power company has constructed a nice facility for the public to see the funny looking critters. The best part is it is FREE. There is a viewing deck and we saw several manatees. There were only a few and it is hard to get a good picture of them submerged just below the surface. Here is you can see one that came close to the viewing deck:

 

  I got him coming up for air here. Manatees are mammals and they can stay under water for up to 20 minutes:

 

  Getting a picture is tough because they are under the surface and you don't know when or where they are going to come to the top. I go this one far out in the bay with the zoom. You can see slight swirls on the surface and then you have to train the camera on that spot and wait for one to break the surface. Here I got his tail fluke:

 

 

  The complex also has a long pier type structure that goes through the mangroves and out into the bay where you can bird watch and watch the fish.

 

  Dan, I hope you approve of the pictures. The zoom is amazing. The shot of the tail fluke was a couple hundred yards away as well of the birds.

  After we left the manatees Doreen wanted to stop at the store to return an item so we drove to Brandon on our way back. After going to the store I was thirsty and hungry. I was scouring my smart phone for places to eat and saw all the usual chain restaurants and nothing really appealed to me. Just as we were pulling out of the parking lot from Kohl's I saw a sign for "World of Beer". Well, that was destiny calling and we went in. They had about 100 beers on tap. We started with a sampler flight then ordered food and more beer. Doreen had the German pretzel and I had a craft pizza. A perfect way to finish off the day.

 

 

 

 





Stuck at Lazy Days and Wawa

Today is Wednesday, October 6 and day two at Lazy Days RV Center near Tampa. We had some minor issues with the trailer we wanted to rectify: my beverage center (the secondary fridge) wasn't keeping my beverages cold enough. I took some readings and my beer was between 42 and 48 degrees. Whats the point of having an auxiliary refrigerator if you can't keep your Keystone Light ice cold!; during our trip to Asheville, NC a drawer in the bathroom came loose and broke right off the tracks; the built in DVD player keeps freezing the picture; a power line to one slide was hanging a little low; and we bought an under the sink water filter and want them to install it. We scheduled the appointment for yesterday but since it is all manufacturer's warranty issues (except the filter) they have to get approval to do the work. The place is very big and they actually have a campground, motel, and restaurant on site which is where I am sitting typing this.

There are full hook ups in the bay so we stayed in the trailer last night. It is quite an impressive operation. There has to be a hundred motor homes on display along with scores of travel trailers and fifth wheels. I can see why people come to Florida to by an RV because the selection is massive. We have met some nice people and several from the Pittsburgh area. I happened to wear a Steelers t-shirt and that seems to spark up conversation. We had our own little Pennsylvania section in the lounge. We spent time with a couple from Beaver County there. They had their cat with them on a leash so we had plenty to talk about. Hopefully we can get out of here some time today. I would like to see the Penguin's game tonight which is on NBCSN. If we are stuck here tonight I will have to go out to watch it.
  Also there has been a request to mention the daily temperature so Barry can feel warm when he reads the blog. Today it is 85 degrees and sunny. We walked around looking at RV's to kill time and I broke a sweat. It is much warmer when there is no cloud cover like yesterday. We found a Wawa near The University of South Florida (go Bulls) and actually just hung out in the parking lot in a shady spot. It is now after 3 PM and I will have to go check on the progress.

Hilton Head, Beaufort and now Florida

  I am falling behind on my posts because we have been on the go a lot the last week or so. I lost track of what day we went where. We went to Fort Sumter last Tuesday, 10/29 and we went back to Beaufort again on Monday to actually take our time and walk around the town. After parking the truck we walked up to Bay St. and Waterfront Park.

 

  Beaufort has many stately homes on par with Savannah or even Charleston. Beaufort is actually older than both cities.

 

 

The city has set aside areas for nature and for all to enjoy:

 

 

  Thursday we took a drive to Hilton Head. The drive took longer than I anticipated because of traffic. By the time we parked the truck it was about 1 PM. We parked at Coligny where there was easy access to many restaurants and the beach. We had a fabulous lunch at the Market Cafe. The menu was Mediterranean and American. We walked to the beach and we were glad to see a mat that extended over the loose sand of the beach to the water. Doreen drove her scooter to the end and was nervous about going further.

 

 

After getting up her gumption she took a running start and she made it to the firm, compact part of the beach.

 

  We walked/ rode for a while down the beach and Doreen got stuck only once. Getting off the beach proved to be more difficult as the mat had a lip and was slightly up hill. Despite taking a running start Doreen could not make it. Two gentleman came over to give a hand as they watched Doreen's failed effort. They said they were watching, and debated if she was going to make it or not.

  Hilton Head is definitely upscale and you need some serious bucks to live there. The island is bicycle friendly with three different loops around the island winding through beautiful parks. Keep in mind traffic is heavy on Route 278 so give yourself plenty of time.

  Hilton Head was our last outing in South Carolina. We left there today and are now in Thonotosassa, FL at Happy Traveler RV park. We are close to I-75 and I-4.

 Miles this leg: 404.2

Total miles: 1742.2  Total miles does not include mileage while in the area. I probably put 1,200 miles on while in SC driving to Charleston four times and numerous times to Beaufort.

 

 



 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Fort Sumter

  On Wednesday we went back to Charleston and went on the tour of Fort Sumter where the first shots of the Civil War were fired on April 12, 1861. There are two departure points for boats going to the fort which is Charleston Harbor. One is Patriots Point and one is in Liberty Square. We went to Liberty Square and took the 2:30 tour because we wanted to give ourselves plenty of time to get there and to park and grab lunch. Hint: you can take your own refreshments onto the boat so we picked up sandwiches at the East Bay Deli before boarding. Liberty Square is also where there are displays and historical information on the fort, slavery and southern culture before the war. The boat started boarding promptly at 2:15 and was under way by 2:30. The ride is about 38 minutes to the fort and you can see many sights along the way. We even a couple of dolphins swimming right on the bow of the ship for a while.

 

  Charleston is flanked by the Ashley and Cooper rivers and the Arthur Ravenel bridge spans them. It is the longest concrete suspended cable bridge in the country.

 

 

  Also the Fighting Lady is seen at her permanent resting spot:

 

  Charleston at one time was protected by four military forts including Castle Pickney which is seen here:

 

  The other forts were Fort Moultrie and Fort Johnson. Fort Sumter was the most defensible of the four installations and Major Robert Anderson moved his garrison there from Fort Moultrie a few days before the bombardment of Sumter began. Fort Sumter was actually not totally complete in its construction and armament. Only half of its guns were installed when the war commenced and Major Anderson held out as long as he could. The Fort was reduced to rubble after 34 straight hours of bombardment. The top two tiers of the structure were obliterated and the fort today looks nothing like it did in 1861:

 

 

 

The current entrance is the left face of the pentagon shaped fort I believe. The original entrance, or sally port was on the gorge side which was the longest and lightest defended side. The gorge took the brunt of the attack because most of the fire came from what would have been expected to be the friendly side facing the mainland. 

 

  There are various cannon on display:

 

 

 

  The crew included an officer and about 12 enlisted men to fire it. This photo gives you a good idea of how imposing the original fort must have been when it was three stories high:





 

  The fort was reinforced during the Spanish- American War with the addition of the Huger Battery but thankfully never saw action.

#6 is the main entrance today and #12 is the gorge wall where the original entrance was located. The large black edifice is the Battery Huger. The area behind Battery Huger is all the rubble from the top two tiers used to fill in that part of the fort so you are actually looking out over the top of the fort.

 

  The battery now houses a gift shop, museum, and restrooms. The is an elevator but unfortunately it was out of service. They say a work order was put, LOL, but it looked as if it has been broken a while so once again Doreen was relegated to the parade ground and I wondered all over. They only give you an hour on the island which is not enough time to read everything as I like to do. You can get an extended ticket for $5 more but then you are there for four hours. The museum alone would take an hour. But I did get a shot of Major Anderson's battle flag which he was permitted to take with him when Confederate General P.G.T Beauregard allowed the fort to evacuate to the supply ship Star of the West. Amazingly it remained in his family's possession until 1904 when it was donated to the fort.

 

  There are several stories about the salvaging of the colors that fateful day on April 13, 1861 but one thing is true; several soldiers gave their lives to preserve the everlasting symbol of freedom.

God Bless America and the Union.





 









Charleston, SC pt.2

We went back to Charleston last Friday and went to Patriot's Point. Patriot's Point is across the river in Mount Pleasant and is home to the USS Yorktown CV-10, my favorite attraction in Charleston. I visited Charleston in 1978 as a teenager with my family and the "Fighting Lady" was there then.

 

  Having been a huge WW2 history buff all my life this is right up my alley. This incarnation of the Yorktown was the second of the war. It was originally going to be the Bonn Homme Richard but after the previous Yorktown was sunk at the Battle of Midway this aircraft carrier was renamed. The designation CV-10 indicates it is the tenth aircraft carrier ever built. Even though Patriot's Point has two other vessels and other attractions we spent the entire time on the "Lady".

  One of the first stops on the ship was the Medal of Honor Museum:

 

  The displays are interactive and trace the history of the medal from inception in the Civil War to the most recent recipients. Above you can see each branch of the service has their own variation of the medal. The most interesting thing I learned was that there were medals that were revoked over the years as the criteria for the award was tweaked to what it is today.

  Doreen was able to explore three decks of the ship on her scooter:

 

 The main entrance of the ship is the hangar deck where there are several vintage planes that were deployed from the Yorktown.

 

 

 

  After exploring the hangar deck we went to the flight deck where there were more planes:

Since the Yorktown was in service from 1942 to 1968 she deployed propeller driven F4F Wildcats in WW2 to F-14 Tomcat jets in Vietnam.

The super structure is the most noticeable trait of the ship. This is where the bridge, radar room, communications room and other vital areas of the ship are located. I took Doreen back down to the hangar deck and then went on my own to the several self guided tours. My first destination was the bridge and the captain's chair and view:

 

After touring the bridge and associated areas I made my to the brig. The brig is the jail of the ship and was very spartan with three men to a cell:

 

  Our tour ended and I never made it to the USS Laffey, a destroyer and the USS Hunley, a submarine. The feeling of awe and pride was enough for me. The Yorktown was instrumental in victory in the Pacific and it was a privilege to be able to walk the same decks that so many brave men did before to secure freedom for all Americans.