I don’t know what it is, maybe sitting up so high or something, but I just get totally stressed out driving our Winnebago over high bridges. Yes, I know I’m a wimp, but I’m okay with that. Heck, I revel in it at times. So even though I’ve driven over the Seven Mile Bridge in our Explorer many times in the last two weeks, I told Miss Terry she was going to drive the motorhome over it. And like she does with everything in life, Terry just shrugged it off and climbed behind the wheel.
We left Sunrise Key RV Resort at 10 AM yesterday morning and headed north on U.S. Highway 1, known locally as the Overseas Highway. To my credit, I didn’t snivel even once as she crossed the bridge. And once she was over on the other side, Terry kept right on driving. All the way up to the mainland, up the Florida Turnpike to Interstate 75, and then all the way to North Fort Myers. We arrived at Pioneer Village RV Resort, an Encore park, about 3 PM, with 265 miles behind us. Except for a steady headwind all the way north that ate up our fuel mileage, a couple of wind gusts that caught us broadside, and the occasional idiot who pulled out in front of us, the trip was uneventful.
I always encourage RVers to be sure that both of you, if you travel with a spouse or partner, know how to drive your RV. I know a lot of women who do drive their rigs, but even more who never have and say they never will. That’s foolish thinking. What happens if the regular driver gets sick, or gets injured and can’t drive safely? You don’t necessarily have to be able to cross the country, but you should at least be able to safely get the rig off the road.
While I do most of the driving, Terry is quite capable behind the wheel of our diesel pusher, as she was the MCI bus conversion we had previously. And since my night vision is not very good, Terry always drives the Explorer after sunset. But this was her longest single stretch in the Winnebago. She was having such a good time that I’m not sure if she’ll ever let me drive again!
There were a lot of available RV sites at Pioneer Village, and a worker escorted us to a loop with several open sites and said to take our pick. When I opened the cover on the electrical pedestal at the first site, I was greeted by several wasps who seemed to resent my intrusion. Between that and the fact that a tree branch was in the way of my rooftop satellite dish, we decided to try another one. No wasps, no tree limbs, ahh, life is good!
Once we were set up and checked our e-mail and had a chance to relax for a few minutes, we drove a few miles back down I-75 to meet Dale Roberts, his beautiful wife Lisa, and their equally beautiful daughter Reagan for dinner at Chili’s. Dale is a very nice guy, and the author of two excellent crime thrillers, Irrefutable and The Following, and he designed the covers for my three Big Lake mystery novels, as well as the covers for several other authors’ books. While we have exchanged a lot of e-mails, this was our first chance to actually meet in person. I’m the incredibly handsome gentleman in this photo, and Dale’s the tall guy.
We had a nice dinner and talked for a couple of hours, and the time went by way too fast. I shared a couple of tips on marketing with Dale, he told me about a project he’s involved in to release Irrefutable as an audio book and about his current work in progress, and we discussed e-book publishing in general. It was good to have that kind of one-on-one time with another Kindle author.
Today we’ll travel another 190 miles to Three Flags, a Mid-Atlantic and Encore resort that is part of the Thousand Trails network. We’ll be there for three weeks, then go to the Orlando Thousand Trails preserve for three weeks, back to Wildwood for another three, and then back to Orlando again for three more. That will take us into the middle of February, and by then it will be time to head to Arizona for medical checkups and family time.
Thought For The Day – They say we learn from our mistakes. If that’s true, by next week I’ll be a genius!
Nick Russell
World-Famous, New York Times Best Selling Author, and All-Around Nice Guy!
It looks like our paths are going to intersect at least once and maybe twice this winter. I hope we get to see you guys again some time during our travels. We’ll follow your blog and reach out to you when I see that we are in the same park.
Enjoy your winter this year down here in Florida. See you soon.
— jc&bev
Just to add a little something. The spouse should learn everything about the rig. In case of an emergency who will unhook utilities and hook up the vehicle whether a dingy, 5th wheel, or travel trailer. The spouse need not do it all the time but it is important for them to know how.