Filling Diesel With the New Pilot RV Plus Card

Everyone who has a diesel pusher knows what a hassle it can be to fill up on diesel sometimes. You can pull into the truck area and use their really fast diesel hoses or can risk the low roofs on the auto side with their really slow pumps. Once in a great while you can find a station with designated RV pumps somewhat out of the normal traffic flow.

But our motor homes have big tanks. Most of the pumps have cash limits on how much diesel you can pump. Often it's $50 worth. If you're lucky, you can insert the same card again and it will let you do it one more time. Or you go into the store, get in line with the truckers, give your credit card to the clerk and ask to have the pump turned on. Often they ask how much fuel you want? So you've got to guess: when did we fuel up last? How low was the gauge? How much was it a gallon? So you give them a guess and they fill out a charge slip for you to sign. Then you go back out and tell your spouse they can go ahead and start fueling. Then you go back in, get in line, get your credit card back and get a new charge (for the fuel you actually used). By the time you get back outside, hopefully your partner will have pulled out of the refueling line and is waiting to pick you up.

Then Pilot/Flying J came out with a Frequent Fueler ADVANTAGE card that you could insert at the pump along with your credit card. It allowed the pump to turn on without a trip inside AND gave you a 3 cent per gallon discount. You still had to go in and sign the charge slip. But it was a whole less hassle!

Recently we read about the arrangement that Good Sam Club had made with Pilot/Flying J to issue a new Pilot RV Plus charge card that would give an 8 cent discount. We sent the application in and got an email in a week or so saying we were approved, but they were swamped with applicants and it would be a while until we got our card. The cards finally came during our two month stay at Mouse Mountain RV Park, so we didn't get a chance to use them until yesterday. With the cards was a letter giving us a password to activate the cards. We had also gotten an email telling us the User ID (I think they did it separately so that intercepting one would not have been enough...) and control numbers.

Yesterday we pulled into  Flying J #626 on State Road 2, Exit 305 on Interstate 9 near St. Augustine. They had an RV island over on the right with one side vacant, so we pulled right in. With a bit of trepidation as to what would happen, I inserted the new card. The screen asked for the Control Number, I punched it in and VIOLA! the pump turned on. We pumped $383.95 of diesel (76.628 gallons) with nary a pause! The receipt came out showing the price to be $4.019 a gallon -- 8 cents less then the listed price on the pump. Forry pulled in the fuel slide-out and off we went!

All in all, a VERY GOOD -- and FAST -- experience!

Florida Mobile RV Repair

Auntie Violet has been suffering from incontinence. She's had a fresh water leak that has steadily gotten worse. We've been able to deal with it by not using water pressure from the outside hose. We would just turn on the water pump every time we needed water. It's been a REAL pain! (I told Forry he has no idea how many times a day I wash my hands, especially when I'm cooking!) And there's NO pump switch in the kitchen -- I have to walk back to the bathroom to the switch every time. I was always getting in trouble for not turning the switch back off...

Forry and Bill pretty well isolated the problem when Bill was still at Mouse Mountain, but neither one of them could get to it. There's a pipe behind the AquaHot -- and a couple of other pipes -- they could see where the leak was, but neither one of them was skinny enough to get back in there. At least it was fresh water, so we didn't worry about it contaminating anything.

I have to tell you that we have had wonderful referrals when we contact local authorized AquaHot/HydroHot service centers (that's how we got hoses fixed in Kansas). The shop in St. Augustine we talked to had no mobile service and they were booked solid in their shop until the end of May! But they gave us a referral to Florida Mobile Repair. Dave set us up to come into their shop when we left Mouse Mountain RV Park this morning.

Now this is not most likely a place we would have stopped in without a referral about how good they were:

It's certainly nothing fancy with big elaborate bays or anything like that. Kinda looks like an old service station --

They actually worked on the leak problem out on the tarmac in front of the shop. They had this really skinny little fellow who was able to get back in there behind all the plumbing.

It turns out that it was nothing more then a very loose fitting. They tightened it up three turns and even got part of another turn on it! They thought it probably hadn't been put on tight in the first place and just kept getting looser and looser --

This guy really had to get under there and then squeeze up into it to fix it. He actually went ahead and put a little access plate in there so that if we ever have problems again, someone can get at it. The other good news is there did not appear to be any damage to the flooring from the leaking!

So, if you're ever in the Orlando/Kissimmee area of Florida and need some work done on your rig, don't hesitate to call Dave at Florida Mobile RV and Auto Repair. They are at 2255 E. Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway, Kissimmee, Florida. (407) 518-6739.

We thought their prices were reasonable as well. We paid $180 for two hours of labor plus $20 in parts for the access door. We were out of there a little after one, hooked up the Toad and made it to our new home near St. Augustine by dinnertime tonight. (Tomorrow I'll tell you about our first experience using the new Pilot/Flying J Good Sam Club RV Plus Card to diesel up.)

Wednesday

We paid for a full month at Mouse Mountain RV Park in order to be here to fly out of Orlando International Airport to go to my board meetings last week. (The cost of flying from one of the small regional airports on the east coast was more than double that of flying from here...) The monthly rate at the RV park is quite a bit less then paying by the week.

Now we are just sort of marking time before we start north. I must admit that I am getting a pretty bad case of "hitch itch." I have walked around the park so many times I think I can just about describe every unit in here. This is one of the many "other" residents of the park. There are lots of these squirrels running around. They are quite a bit smaller than the ones we had in Spokane.

This was the beginning of one night's sunset. I thought it would get more colorful, but this was about the extent of it --

We needed to pick up a few things at the grocery store, so late this afternoon we decided to go out to dinner, then go to the store. We've been hungry for barbecue, so looked up a nearby place on Facebook. We found Fat Boys BBQ in Kissimmee that had some good reviews. When we got to the address, it wasn't there. About that time Bill called and he recommended Smokey Bones, a place they had gone to and liked.

We shared a brisket dinner that was really good!

Springtime at Mouse Mountain RV Park

After spending the last several days pretty much down with the crud in the motorhome, I was more then ready to get out of here this afternoon and go for a walk. It's neat to see so many signs of spring here in the RV park. For example, this  trailer has quite a vegetable garden alongside their home -- all carefully covered to shield it from the ubiquitous rabbits of the park.

This household prefers bonsai, on benches outside their rig --

I asked the owner what this gorgeous flower was and she said she didn't know...

This is one of the sedums usually seen in florist pots in the north --

These appear to be tomato plants planted in tubs...

The entire end of this rig is covered with impatiens along with their bobbing birds --

You could smell these mock orange blossoms from a long way away --

A bougainvillea in the lovely purple shades --

More amaryllis bulbs like the ones near Auntie Violet --
 

Some oleanders --

And even the new reddish leaf growth on this tree --

You can tell that most of these folks are pretty much permanent residents of the RV park. They've a lot more than a pot or two that can be picked up and taken along as you move down the highway.

Strawberry Festival

Ever since we arrived in Florida, Leslie has been talking about the Strawberry Festival. It runs for ten days in Plant City, so we went today. Plant City is about a forty minute drive from Mouse Mountain RV Park. The Strawberry Festival is a big deal here --

The fairgrounds cover quite a bit of territory, with lots of tents and booths --

What I thought was funny was the juxtaposition of the two main local crops for sale -- onions and strawberries (we came home with some of both)!

The whole idea is to sample all of the good things made from strawberries. For example strawberry milkshakes and strawberry pizza (cookie dough base with cream cheese and then sliced strawberries).

But the main focus was make-it-yourself strawberry shortcake. You have your choice of a biscuit or cake for the base. Then you take your bowl through the line with bowls of strawberries and bowls of whipped cream --

 Add the strawberry sweet tea that Leslie got to go with hers --

But it wasn't ALL strawberries! One of the things we kept hearing about was bacon dipped in CHOCOLATE!

Take some really good thick sliced bacon, fry it crisp, then dip it into melted chocolate. It's hard to believe how good it is!

We looked at all the usual "carnival" food -- deep-fried Twinkies, zucchini and pickles; foot-long corn dogs; snow cones and ice cream, etc. But, we decided that we would head for home (truthfully, Forry and I were tired of walking!) and find something to eat on the way. We ended up at a new-to-us place, 5 Guys, for great hamburgers and fries.

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.

Bok Tower

Our friend Leslie has been talking to us about visiting Bok Tower Gardens ever since we got to Florida. Her family often came here when she was a child. A National Historic Landmark, it is located near Lake Wales. It is about halfway from where we are at Peace River RV Park and Mouse Mountain RV Park where they are parked, so we decided to meet up there this afternoon.

Built between 1927 and 1929, the was built to house the Edward Bok family carillon and serve as a centerpiece for the extensive gardens. It is 205 feet tall and weighs 5500 TONS!

There is a moat that surrounds the Tower, full of huge koi.

When she was a little girl, Leslie says there were swans in the moat that defended the marble border around the water -- they didn't bother you if you stayed on the brick walkway, but if you stepped on the marble, watch out! The docent told us that the swans finally got so aggressive that they had to be removed...

The tower is made of brick with an outer facing of pink and gray Georgia marble and Florida coquina, a limestone of shell and coral fragments.

All of the carving was done on site by Lee Lawrie of New York City.

This is the view looking out from the hill on which Bok Tower is built. The hill that it is built on is the highest elevation in Florida!

Looking back at the Tower from the edge of the hill --

This is the brass door going into the Tower (not open to the public) --

The door, by Samuel Yellin of Philadelphia, depicts the Biblical story of Creation --

The grillwork near the top of the Tower has colorful ceramic tiles --

 
Since it was still the holidays, the carillon played a Christmas song every half hour. The carillon has 60 bronze bells ranging in weight from 16 pounds to eleven plus tons! At 3 PM we enjoyed a half hour concert that ranged from Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring to Let Me Call You Sweetheart and Over There.

After the concert, we spent several hours exploring the gardens (I'll share some of those pictures tomorrow..!) and then went into Lake Wales for dinner at Norby's. Not much to look at, I doubt if we'd have gone into the place if it hadn't been for some great -- and very accurate -- reviews. The appetizer we ordered, Horsey Bites, was so good, we could have made a meal of it. The medium rare pieces of Filet Mignon on toast rounds topped with little mounds of horseradish were delicious!

Sherlock Holmes!

We have been talking with Bill and Leslie about going to one of the new movies that are out this Christmas season. We had been thinking about going to see Warhorse, but Leslie decided that it would get too emotional for her ('cause "it's about animals..."). After checking out was on at the theater closest to us, we decided to go see the Sherlock Holmes movie.

The Epic Theater is halfway between Bee's RV Park where we are staying and Mouse Mountain RV Park where Leslie and Bill are staying so we figured we would just meet there this afternoon and then come back here for dinner. It was a good plan except that Sally, our dear sweet GPS unit, could not find the theater! The site she took us to was just a field. We drove on another long way, then after talking to Bill and Leslie -- who were already at the theater waiting -- we finally made a U-turn and headed back. The theater was actually almost five miles from where the GPS said it was.

Sherlock Holmes, A Game of Shadows is an interesting movie. There is some pretty wild photography and use of fast and slow motion -- especially during fight scenes. We had gotten there barely on time (missed ALL the ads and previews), so ended up sitting closer to the front then we probably should have to get the best effect. But it was fun.

I had picked up a very nice couple of flank steaks when we at Costco a couple of weeks ago. I took one out of the freezer last night and marinated it this morning in lime juice, chopped garlic, cumin and the last of my original bottle of Mexican lime oil. Later I added sliced onions and peppers to the marinade as well. When we got back after the movie, I broiled the steak, stir-fried the peppers and onions, and toasted some corn tortillas. We had a great meal of steak fajitas!

It's Beginning to Look...

Today was a BIG day for Auntie Violet. She got a bath today and looks all shiny and clean. One of the maintenance men here at Bee's RV Park moonlights in his spare time washing RVs and cars. He had offered to do ours last week as we were leaving for Bill and Leslie's, so we put him off to later this week. He stopped by this morning and said he was off this afternoon and could do it. So Auntie Violet is now all ready for the holidays. Forry got inspired and dug the Christmas box out of the basement bay. Now she has all of her icicles hung along with her "JOY" sign. We'll need to get a set of those little battery lights for Granddaughter Claire's lavender plant...

There are many RVs around the park who are beginning to look like Christmas as well --

I really needed a tripod to get a shot of this Christmas tree in the window of the fifth-wheel across the way from us --

These folks are in the next row over. They have a bit of everything at their site --

And of course, there is the obligatory palm tree. I think there is one in more then half of the RV parks we've ever been at --

These are just the RVs I can see when standing outside of Auntie Violet! It was a bit different when we were over at Mouse Mountain RV Park where Bill and Leslie are staying. Almost everyone there had some type of Mickey Mouse or Disney theme. (There are many Disney park employees staying there...)

Making Reservations

Forry and I usually fly pretty much by the seat of our pants. We're not real in to making reservations, partially because we don't like to plan that far ahead. But, we realize we are in unfamiliar territory at a very busy time of year. So the last week or so, we've been looking through the various directories looking for where we might want to stay during December.

We have some friends in Tallahassee that we'd like to visit, so we were looking for a place near there. Through our home resort, Neskowin Creek in Oregon, we have memberships in both Resorts of Distinction and (ROD) Resort Parks International (RPI). ROD only has a couple of parks in Florida, but RPI has quite a few. We finally decided to try Pine Lake RV Park near Fountain. Unfortunately, while it is an RPI park, it is not an RPI Preferred park.  Which means we could only stay there one week using the $10 per night rate (plus their $5 per night electricity charge!) instead of the usual two weeks.

But, that will work. If we leave Styx River on December 6th, we would be at Pine Lake until the 13th. Then we want to be somewhere fairly close to our friends Bill and Leslie who are settled in at Mouse Mountain RV Park near Disney World. I spent some time on the Internet checking reviews on RV Parks in the Orlando area. A couple of the ones we looked at in the RPI directory had some very poor reviews. It seems that many of the membership RV Parks are old and in need of renovation! (We've run into that several times!)

We finally made reservations for two weeks at Bee's RV Park near Clermont. It had some pretty good reviews and the pictures on the Internet looked nice. We'll stay there until the 27th and then most likely start heading down the towards the Keys.