On 10/26/2018 we picked up our new toy.
![](http://starzonek.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IMG_20181110_074054_d600.jpg)
#1
Our first campout at a nearby Campground. Sun-N-Fun RV Resort Sarasota.
November 9, 2018, to November 11, 2018.
Just to get to know the RV and of course have some fun with Charlene’s sister and her family.
We discovered a water leak. Nothing big. Just a water filter that wasn’t seated right. Easy fix. Dramatic though.
This also was the only time Max was with us alive. In his honor, the RV is named Max now.
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#2
Christmas dinner in Naples.
December 21 through 23 we stayed at the Crystal Lake RV Resort in Naples. Glen picked us up for a nice dinner.
It was a little windy going there. Well, I never sailed, but I think that was how it is supposed to feel like. The weather got nice though and we had a chance to try out the heat in the RV during the cold night. It works!
🙂
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#3
Grassy Key over New Years Eve.
December 30, 2018, through January 1, 2019
We rang in the New Year with some bubbly drink.
We took a trip to the vet with Skully where she was diagnosed with some autoimmune disease that kills her red blood cells. Lots of steroids for her until further notice.
Other than that we had a great time. We visited the Dolphin research center where Charlene and Lokai had a blast.
Perfect spot, we are going back in May 2019.
We rented a tow dolly to pull the beast. Worked out fine and we since bought a tow dolly to have a car on hand wherever we go.
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#4
St. Augustine for Charlene’s Birthday.
From March 30 to April 1 we explored St. Augustine.
We visited the Whetstone Chocolate Factory. Best chocolate everrrrrrr!!!!! The dogs and us drank from the fountain of youth. So you will have to deal with us forever and ever.
For Charlene’s birthday, we went out for brunch at The Reef. Right at the beach and even the dogs were with us. Too bad, we had to go home that day.
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#5
Ortana Locks State Park.
Campground built and maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers.
Nice quiet weekend. Went to Clewiston once and drove around a little. I guess it’s safe to say that some of our sugar comes from here. Lots of sugar cane. Not much else. Watched boats go through the lock, Eagles and other wildlife. And way too many love bugs.
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#6
The Keys again for our 13th Wedding Anniversary.
May 6, 2019, through May 11, 2019
For our 13th wedding anniversary, we went to the Keys again. We did the southernmost point without standing in line. We still got our picture.
Tricked Charlene into riding her own jet ski. And she drove the beast for the first time.
We had a great time and we will be back to the keys.
Check out the time-lapse I took from one of the sunsets.
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#7
Sun N Fun again.
June 7, 2019, through June 9, 2019
Just a little family get together with Charlene’s sister who was camping out there too.
Roasted green coffee, cooked breakfast, and dinner.
Charlene’s beer opener song:
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#8
Salt Springs.
June 21, 2019, through June 23, 2019
Another Weekend Worrier trip. This time to Salt Springs at Ocala National Forrest.
Still 3G cellphone reception, only 23 miles to the next Walmart and one of the nicest campgrounds we have been to.
Took Lokai for a walk through the woods and we saw lots of animal tracks. His senses must have gone wild.
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#9
Illinois & Wisconsin.
We left Monday, July the 15th to spend the first night at Suwannee River State Park. If you check out the picture in the link below, you will see why we will be back here.
It was almost like a Jayco Meeting. We were 5 all lined up. Next to us was a couple from Georgia, whom I showed all my mods in the RV. He will be busy for a while with all the inspirations I gave him.
8/16
So we had a late start and we drove most of the day with the dogs marking their way up north every 100 miles (give or take). It was so hot that the water in the tank had the perfect temperature to take a shower. Even at 5 am the next morning.
Just before Chattanooga we stopped at a Cracker Barrell for dinner . We spent the night in the parking lot.
8/17-8/18
Well, we skipped breakfast. Got up early and hit the road again. We had rain most of the way through the mountains of Tennessee all the way into Kentucky. But soon as we got near our friend’s place it cleared up.
We had a great time with Chris and Lori. On the 18th we went to visit Heaven Hill Distillery. Did a little tour and sampled some bourbon. Thanks to Chris I now have a new appreciation for bourbon. We should buy some land here and come more often.
Oh! Road condition in Georgia and Tennessee suck.
8/19
Went for Illinois. Took us a little over 7 hours. Roads are not better here either. Even Velcro failed here.
Nice little County Park we are at. Strange though that they have power and sewer hookups but no water. They run a hose to your site and you can fill up your tank. Oh well.
8/20
Char is sick and I am getting her feelgood stuff from Walgreens. Across the street is a Jewel Osco. Charlene told me how she used to get Chicken rolls there.
Hey! Make your wife feel good right? Well, nice try. No one knows what a chicken roll is. Sorry girl. Time moves on and things get forgotten.
Well, sick or not. We came here to visit Tyler’s site. I gave her all the time she needed with him. She re-decorated the headstone with sand and shells from Florida.
After that, we drove around memory lane and visited places and old friends of hers. Things changed and Google maps helped a lot. For dinner, we had a Chicago style deep dish pizza. It was good, but I still don’t know what all this hype is all about.
Char got everything accomplished. Even caught a lightning bug. Well, we had to come back to Jarosh Bakery. They were on vacation.
8/21
We are heading for Door County. And I think it’s time to mention how bad roads in Illinois and Wisconsin are. At least around Chicago and Milwaukee. Must have to do with the fact that both States are Union States.
There we met up with a relative of mine that I was about to meet for the first time. We had dinner at Al Johnson’s. Al Johnson had been on my bucket list for years. Come to find out my (I guess 3rd grade) cousin has been working there for 19? years. How small the world can be.
8/22
Char and I go shopping in the morning and spend way too much money at this little market.
For lunch, we met up with Diane again. Man, does she know our family history. My head is still spinning.
For dinner, we went to Pelletier’s for a fish boil. Check out the pictures and see for yourself why this place is liked so much. What a show combined with good food. After that Diane and Don drove us around and showed us a little of Sister Bay. I have the feeling, we will be back here.
8/23
We are heading for Milwaukee again. Somehow the lights on the tow dolly and the SUV are not working right. It had rained and I think water got into the RV’s 7 blade connector. We made it to our destination anyway.
I dropped Char off at her friend’s house and set up camp at Yogi Bear’s. Then had dinner with Char and her friend.
8/24
Got some tools and parts to figure out what is going on with the electric on the RV and the Dolly.
After changing out the connector, the SUV lights were working again. The dolly not so much. Turns out that both lamps were burned out. They were so brittle, they broke soon as I touched them. And yes, I did manage to cut myself. I replaced them and we are back in business again. (I since figured it out and replaced the lights on the dolly)
Char spent some more time with her friend and we had dinner together. I think I made a new friend too. Char might get jealous though.
8/25
Dropped Char off at her friends again and did some shopping and prepping for an afternoon gettogether with Sally, Dough, and Barbara.
We had a good time at the campground and I took advantage of the fact that I didn’t have to drive and the availability of Spotted Cow, a beer only sold in Wisconsin.
8/26
We are not in a rush, so we had a late start. On our way to Jarosh Bakery, we stopped at the Jelly Belly factory. We skipped the tour because we would have to leave the dogs alone way to long. But we did get over 20 lbs of goodies.
Next stop was the bakery and Char is still in heaven I think. We only drove about 120 miles that day before stopping at a campground somewhere in the middle of nowhere on the Fox River still in Illinois. A little run down, but quite and friendly.
8/27
We headed south towards Mississippi. We have plenty of time and are not in a rush to get home.
I managed to find a campground in Memphis that still had pull-through sites with full hookups and view of the Mississippi. I should have read their confirmation email closer as they mentioned that the GPS will lead you through some questionable neighborhood. We got there anyway, and wow was it worth it.
8/28
I got up early enough to catch the sunrise over the Mississippi. Look at the pictures yourself. This place is on my shortlist now for good.
We took off early and headed south again. Going through Missouri before taking a short cut for Meridian to meet my cousin for lunch. Did I mention that since leaving Illinois the roads improved?
After a misunderstanding with Google Maps going through Mobil Alabama, we made it onto I10 and stopped at a Cracker Barrel in Peninsula for dinner and some shuteye.
I woke up at 2:30 and decided coffee would be just fine for a drive through the dark. We made it home by 2 pm. Char went straight to bed and I started unloading the RV and got the first load of laundry in.
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#10
Frog Creek.
September 27, 2019, through September 29
Just a little weekend getaway to this tranquil little place just off of I275.
We used the blow-up kayak for the first time and put a hole in the bottom right away. A big patch hopefully fixes that. (We since bought Kayaks). Never the less we enjoyed the trip on the creek. This seemed to be a popular place as we shared our site with the most no-see-ums and ants I have ever encountered.
We did make new friends here. A couple from Englewood. As odds are, he is originally from England and he worked there as a Corrections Officer. Small world.
Other than that it was pretty uneventful and that is a good thing.
![](http://starzonek.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IMG_20191011_160058_d600.jpg)
#11
River Ranch RV Resort.
October 11, through October 15, 2019
Some times you need something different. River Ranch is different. Expensive different, but well worth it and we will be going back. There are lots of activities. We went for the Saturday night Rodeo. A 2-hour event followed by a live band and DJ in the Saloon. We also went on an airboat ride, but thanks to hunting season, there was not much to see. Still fun though. The on-site restaurant is simple but good. And unlike everything else reasonably priced.
![](http://starzonek.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IMG_20191026_192641_d600.jpg)
#12
Collier Seminole State Park.
October 25 through October 27, 2019
Another short weekend trip. This time to the corner of the Everglades, Marco Island, and Naples. On Saturday we had lunch on Marco Island with Glen. We found a restaurant that allowed the dogs. They even could pick from their own menu. Both went for Chicken and bacon.
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#13
St. Augustine the second.
November 8. through November 10, 2019
Our second trip to St. Augustine. We stayed at the same campground. This time we visited the St. Augustine Distillery. We did the tour and got some Gin for me and some candles and candy for Char. We stopped at the chocolate factory and visited the jail. Friday was rainy and it got a little cold during the nights. Nothing we couldn’t handle.
![](http://starzonek.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IMG_20191123_132033_d600.jpg)
#14
Midway Campground – Everglades.
November 22 to November 24, 2019
We got away for a relaxed weekend. And relaxing it was. Cell phones barely worked. One tiny little bar on Verizon LTE. This place is quiet and dark. Perfect. The bears and panthers stayed away. And our neighbor gators didn’t bother us. The resident bugs left us alone too. Not sure if it was due to the repellent used or if they were on vacation. Who cares :-).
We went to the visitor center and cooked steak for dinner. Not much to do out there but to relax. Love it.
![](http://starzonek.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IMG_20191219_140407_d600.jpg)
#15
Rainbow Springs State Park.
December 16 to December 20, 2019
I think I really start to like State Parks. Rainbow Springs is a beautiful place not too far from Ocala. The campground is right downstream from the Head Spring.
As most springs in Florida, the water is 72 degrees cold that is 22 in celsius for you Germans. Too cold for my taste, but people were swimming there. Crazy……
I took some longer walks with Lokai. Even though there were some bear sightings. We visited the head spring park with its man-made waterfalls. A leftover from the original park.
We made new friends there too! We had some good conversations around the campfire. I am sure we will stay in touch and have a few more outings. We will be back when it’s a little warmer for some kayaking.
Now it’s time to get ready for the next trip.
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#16
Lion Country Safari KOA.
December 26 to December 29, 2019
This has become our first official rained out trip. It still was fun. We drove through the safari park and found out what Zebra Crossing (Zebra Streifen) really means.
Unknown to us, Trump was in town too. So on our way to A1A for some beach cruising, we saw Air Force One sitting on the tarmac of Palm Beach International Airport. As you can see, we stopped for a picture. Char got all excited.
We had to cut a day short because Char got a call and was surprised with a new job that she needed to start working for on the 30th already.
That was it for 2018/19. I think we did good but we can do better. 🙂