On To Mouse Mountain

This is how close we were parked to the oak tree by our site at Ja-Mar RV Campground! Forry had done a slick job of backing in (good guidance, you know...) --

He couldn't go back any further without losing a mirror and he had to be back that far in order to have room for the slide to go out --

We got pulled out just fine (me holding my breath and urging him to drive straight out) and then drove out the back exit to the Brethren Church parking lot where we hooked up Toad.

 

We waited until we were there to pull out the compressor and add some air to that back inside dual which ALWAYS seems to lose a bit when we are parked.

We had a pretty straight forward trek halfway across the state back to the Orlando area and the Mouse Mountain RV Campground, arriving there a bit after 1:30. We were just finishing hooking up water and electricity and putting out the slides when our friends Leslie and Bill came over to visit and welcome us to the park where they having been staying for the past four months.

After a short visit, they departed for dentist appointments while we opted for much-needed naps (after all we had been up early getting ready to go!) Upon their return from the dentist -- and a couple of fillings later -- we went with Bill and Leslie to Steak n Shake for hamburgers (I had a really delicious portobello burger) and milkshakes.

A Quiet Sunday

One of the days when we were out riding our bikes, exploring Ja-Mar Travel Park, we discovered that the church in the back corner by the exit was a Church of the Brethren, Gulfview Grace Brethren Church. Pleased the find a member of the Anabaptist church family so close, we decided to worship there this morning. The sanctuary of the church was also the gym, with the baskets pulled up out of the way. They have an attendance of about 270, mostly older folks and from the talk we heard, many of them snow birds.

This afternoon we started packing things up, getting ready for tomorrow's move. As we were folding up the bicycle and tricycle and the chairs and storing them away, I couldn't help but be happy that we will be staying at Mouse Mountain RV Park, our next park, for a whole month and wouldn't have to do it again during that whole time!

We did get a bike ride in around the park earlier, between rain showers. We've had several rainy days, almost every other day. We have one nice sunny day, then a chillier one with intermittent showers. The rain has been nothing as intense as the thunderstorm last week, but there has been enough to leave puddles on the street.

The Dentist & a Thunderstorm!

I had an appointment at 10:30 this morning with a Dr. Stein to have the lost cap from my front incisor permanently re-glued. His office is only a couple of blocks and across the street from Ja-Mar Travel Park on Hwy 19, but since there is a barricade that divides the highway, you have to go a few blocks, then take a U-turn to get there.

The folks at his office seemed very nice, and we didn't wait very long. Since it just happened Sunday when I was flossing, there seemed to be no decay or damage to the underlying tooth, so he just had to re-glue it. I think I was with Dr. Stein all of ten minutes! After one minute of drying time; his assistant cleaned off the residue; I paid the receptionist $85 dollars and we were done. (I'll mail the receipt to our insurance company, but I don't know if they'll pay an out-of-area dental bill or not...)

We saw another ad in the Park's RV brochure for "The Breakfast Place." so decided to check it out for a late breakfast/lunch. It is also near to the Park and seems to be a favorite spot for all the retired folks around. They only serve breakfast and lunch, but they were busy. Forry had biscuits and gravy, so he's a happy camper.

While we were out riding our bikes around the park this afternoon, it started to sprinkle lightly and we could hear thunder way off in the distance. After we got back to Auntie Violet, the thunder started getting closer and it started to rain --

The it started to get more serious about it and began to come down really hard with claps of thunder booming --

And then the thunder was right overhead and it POURED! You couldn't even see across the street --

But now all is quiet again and the streets are wet, but the puddles are already gone. It's still 68 degrees outside -- a bit cooler then it's been, but still very nice.

Port Richey

We  did a lot of getting ready, putting stuff away, etc. yesterday, but it still seemed to take us much longer than usual to get going this morning. Our neighbor, who works for the RV park, assisted us around the tight turns to leave the park. His stories, along with others we had heard, should make a believer out of any one departing that park. It seems the low curving branches of the many live oaks have done their share of damage to the rigs of cocky drivers.

It was a short trip up Hwy 41 to Hwy175 to I-75, then on Hwy 52 to US 19 to Ja-Mar Travel Park near Port Richey. Rigs here are parked at an angle and it was an easy back-in even though our new neighbor thought he could give better directions to Forry than I could... Once again, we are parked under a large live oak tree, so no satellite TV!

The sites aren't quite as close together as this picture makes them appear. The streets are fairly wide and they are all paved. There is a paved slab in front of the site where they want your tow vehicle parked. We got the bikes unloaded and unfolded and even got in a ride around the park before dinner.

There seems to be quite a bit of bird life around the park. This Northern Mockingbird claimed the territory around this power line --

It's wing bars and long tail are quite distinctive --

The first thing I did after we got settled in was to call a dentist's office that has an advertisement in the RV Park's brochure. Last night when I was flossing my teeth, the cap on one of my front incisors popped off... I was able to get an appointment to have it re-glued on Wednesday morning. In the meantime, I hope the do-it-yourself glue from the drugstore works!

We received an email from Pastor Matthew last night saying that our friend Clara had passed away during the afternoon. RIP dear soul. It is going to be hard to be away from Menno when her Memorial Services are held.