After sad goodbyes and lots of hugs with Greg and Jan, we pulled out of Hardeeville RV Park at 10 AM yesterday morning, headed for Florida. The weather report predicted winds picking up in the afternoon, but since we only had a four hour run to St. Augustine we decided to go for it.
Within just a few minutes of leaving the campground we got on Interstate 95 and crossed into Georgia. Traffic was moderate and the wind wasn’t too bad for the first 75 miles or so. Enough to keep me on my toes but nothing we couldn’t handle easily.
I knew from past experience that fuel is always more expensive in Florida than it is in Georgia, so at Brunswick, a few miles north of the state line, we stopped to fill our tank. We only needed 40 gallons, but that’s 40 gallons I saved some money on over Florida prices.
Back on the highway, the wind had really started to pick up and it got worse the further south we went. By the time we skirted around the west side of Jacksonville on Interstate 295 it was really giving us a beating. I was glad we only had another 25 miles or so to go. By the time we pulled into St. John’s RV Park in St. Augustine, I was more than ready to park it and have this driving day behind us.
This is a Passport America campground, but that doesn’t mean it’s cheap. We got the last site available, a 50 amp back in full hookup site, for $24.20 a night. We have superfast Internet service here, even on our 3G air card, so I didn’t bother turning on the 4G MiFi.
A couple of hours after we arrived, our friends Charles and Chris Yust got to town and took a site at another campground a mile or so away, since our place was full. We drove down to see them and visited for while, then we all went to a nice Greek restaurant called Zaharias that also serves up excellent seafood. Charles, Chris, and I all had a seafood platter, which included delicious shrimp, scallops, and flounder. Terry had the spanakopita, a spinach dish that she said was wonderful. For dessert we all shared a slice of marvelous baklava cheesecake.
We went back to Charles and Chris’ beautiful Tuscany motorhome and visited for a couple of hours and by then I think all four of us were getting tired, since they had driven even further than we did yesterday, so we called it a night. Tomorrow they are going on down to Daytona for The Rally, and we will hang out here and play tourist. We’ve only passed through St. Augustine in our travels, so we are looking forward to getting to know it a little bit better.
We could only book two nights at this RV park, but that’s okay. I knew there was an Elks lodge here with RV hookups, but I wanted to check it out first before driving 10 miles off the interstate in the motorhome. We did that while we were out with Charles and Chris, and they have a small campground with back in RV sites with water and 30 amp electric, and I believe the price is only $15 a night. So once our time here is up we may move over there for a few days. They had plenty of room when we drove through, so I don’t think it will be a problem. But if it fills up between now and then, we’ll just go on down the road and find someplace else to spend some time. Our reservations in Big Pine Key start a week from today, so we have plenty of time to get there.
Thought For The Day – You’re schizophrenic? Gee, that makes four of us.
Nick Russell
World-Famous, New York Times Best Selling Author, and All-Around Nice Guy!
We absolutely loved St. Augustine. We went to visit the Castillo de San Marco but it had just closed. However, even walking around the outside of it was great. The biggest thing I noticed was while standing and looking at the water I could feel the stress leaving. Great place. Have your camera ready…it’s photo friendly. I hope you both enjoy it.
Speaking of gas prices, we were told yesterday while at good old Wally World that we can expect gas prices to go up as much as 50 cents a gallon. Reason Hurricane Sandy. This is just damn maddening since as far as I know no pipe line, refinery have been compromised because of the darn storm, it just the greedy oil companies wanting to screw the public again. Sorry for the language but I am pissed off and sick of these darn people making millions at the expense of the captive country. I am so glad we are home and not planning on any trips in the MH. We are happy you are in FL and safe please stay that way. Looking forward to more history lessons
Elaine – just to let you know that there were east coast refineries that were compromised by the storm. The devastation and millions of people who are now homeless is mind boggling. We used to live on Long Island and the flooding is terrible and there are many heavily treed areas, and many, many trees are down. The NYC subway system is flooded in areas in all five counties and there was a 13′ surge. I would suggest that your greed assumption is, in this case, not warranted.
Nick – St. Augustine was great. I’m sure you will both enjoy it.
Did you know that the gas companies only get about 4% of the cost of a gallon of fuel? If you really want to vent, vent at the various government agencies (local, state, federal) that get around 15% of the gallon.
JC
St Augustine is beautiful. . .do the trolley ride for a great overall perspective. . .really great!
Janice
ReadyToGoFullTimeRVing.blogspot.com
FaceBook.com/ReadyToGoFullTimeRVing
Two great places to eat are The Saltwater Cowboy,about 10 miles south, and Creekside in town. Also checkout Pizzally, two for one happy hour with a free slice of pizza and a $5. coupon toward a pizza. If you stay at the Elks you can go next door to the Anastasia State Park to dump. Last year when we vouleentered at the park it was $5 for non state park campers to dump. Check it out first.