Disney With the Grandkids (December 2009)

Monday, December 21, 2009 - We drove to Disney and met the kids and grandkids at Wilderness Lodge where they were staying. We did two parks with them: Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom. At Animal Kingdom we spent time at Bones, did the Kilimanjaro Safari, and saw Lion King and Nemo. After a nice dinner, we took the boat to Magic Kingdom andwatched the parade and the fireworks, which were spectacular.

See pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/johnjoanW/DisneyWithTheGrandkidsDecember2009#

Back Home

Thursday, December 18 - We came home a day early so we didn't have to pack up in the rain that is forecast for tonight and tomorrow. We started packing at 6:30 and had pancake breakfast with the park volunteers at the nature center. We left at 9:47 and arrived home at 11:30 after driving 93.4 miles.


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Oscar Scherer State Park (December 13-18, 2009)

Sunday, December 13 - We had to bring the camper back to the house and pack it this morning, but we were not in a big hurry. We got it all ready and were on the road by 10:24. It was 71 deg and foggy. We arrived at the campground at 12:33 and 82 degrees after driving 107.4 miles. We set up camp and droved over to Blackburn Point and wade fished for awhile. Nothing. We went to KFC and had dinner. This is a great site.

Monday, December 14 - After oatmeal for breakfast, we drove to North Jetty Park and fished from the jetty, the beach, and the shoreline by the channel, but still caught nothing. We did not see anything caught while we were there, and many people were fishing. We had delicious pork chops on the grill and veggies in foil for supper.

Tuesday, December 15 - Our explores for the day began at Venice Pier. We've concluded that we could not put up with the language and smoking that go on there. We'll stick to kayak fishing as soon as we are able. We then drove down to Casperson Beach Park, which is really beautiful. We fished for awhile from the bridge, then the beach without success. Next we drove to Shamrock Park which was also very nice, and finally Lemon Bay Park, where we will definitely do a kayak trip next time we are here. We met a nice couple who were putting their kayaks in at the launch and going to do some fishing. The gave us good reports on the redfish and trout fishing there.

Wednesday, December 16 - We drove north towards Sarasota and checked out Siesta Key and Turtle Beach. This is a good place to launch, but is much busier than the places we were yesterday. We had lunch at an open air restaurant and enjoyed the meal. In the evening we returned to Casey Key and had an ice cream cone before going back to North Jetty to watch the sunset. We have decided to leave a day early to avoid having to break camp in the rain. We don't mind camping in the rain, but don't like putting things up wet and having to open up again to dry out when we get back home.

View Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/johnjoanW/OscarSchererStateParkDecember1318#

Rodman Dam (Oct 29 - Nov 2)

Thursday, October 29 - Left Country Oaks Campground at 10:04 @ 74 deg. and arrived at Rodman Dam Campground at 12:45 @ 87 deg after a stop at Walmart in Palatka. We set up camp and road bikes around the area checking things out. We fished from around the boat launch and John caught a couple of bream.

Friday, October 30 - It rained in the early morning. After breakfast we drove to the dam and fished. Late morning we drove to Walaka RV Park and visited our friends Chris and Sara who are our neighbors at Trackrock. We had lunch at a local dinery and afterwards put our kayaks in for them to try on the St. Johns River, while we fished from shore. John caught a bream. We sat on their dock and watched the sunset over the river. The view from there was wonderful.

Saturday, October 31 - We put the kayaks in to the lake and fished along shore from the campground to the dam and caught a small bass each. John put the new rod holders on the kayaks and we watched a football game in the evening. We fished around the mouth of the channel in the evening and Joan caught a very nice bream.

Sunday, November 1 - We took the bikes to the dam and fished by the dam, but caught nothing. In the afternoon, we got things ready to leave in the morning.

Monday, November 2 - We left Rodman at 8:03 am @ 63 deg., stopped in Bela Vista, FL for breakfast, and arrived home at 11:22 @ 75 deg. The house was in good shape, but needed cleaning.

We were gone for seven months and put on about 10,000 miles total. We will keep this blog updated with local trips this winter, so stay tuned.

View Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/johnjoanW/RodmanDam2009#

Country Oaks RV Park - Kingland, Ga (Oct 26 - 29)

Monday, October 26 - We got out of bed at 7AM and were on the road by 9:30. We stopped for gas once and again at Cracker Barrel for lunch. When we were about 30 miles from our final destination the left tire blew on the camper. This is the second tire to blow. The first was when the tire had less than 20 miles on it back in January. Thankfully, we were on a stretch of highway that was under construction and had cones set up on our right. John was able to cut in between the cones and had a nice big, flat area well away from traffic to change the tire. This time we had a floor jack and tire wrenches in the trailer storage area and were able to change the tire in about 20 minutes. We called Lonnie at Country Oaks and got a recommendation on where to take the camper to get new tires. He went to school with "Mike" who owns Kingsbay Tires. We took the camper there and got both tires replaced in less than an hour. We finally arrived at the campground about 5:30 after driving 267 miles, and got set up. They were having a pot luck for Halloween at the clubhouse and we were invited to partake. It was very good and we enjoyed talking with Lonnie and Steph, the campground owners, and her parents.

Tuesday, October 27 - Today we drove over to Ft. Clinch State Park in Florida where we will be camping in February. While we were there, we visited our friends, Jean and Gary, who are hosts there. They showed us around the park and we went into Fernandina Beach and had lunch at a nice restaurant that overlooked the beach. After we left them, we went to an area where we could fish from the rocks. The only fish we landed was a lizzard fish that Joan caught.

Wednesday, October 28 - We drove over to Crooked River State Park and checked out both the campground and the boat launch. There were some nice sites, but we didn't care for the area around the boat launch. It looked like there had been a recent oil spill, and not at all pretty. We then drove into St. Marys and checked out the Cumberland Island National Seashore Information Center and got information. Next, we stopped at a kayak outfitter and talked to Julie, the owner about opportunities in the area. We ended our outing with lunch at a restaurant that overlooked St. Marys River. When we got back to the campground, we fished in the local pond. Joan caught two very nice bream, but John lost everything he hooked. We are getting ready to leave in the morning for Rodman Dam campground.

Petersburg Corp of Engineers Campground (Oct 19 - 26, 2009)

Monday, October 19 - It took some time to get packed up this morning, but finally got underway at about 10:44 AM with a temp of 41 deg. We drove 202.5 miles and arrived at the campground at 3:45 pm and 60 deg. This campground is on the J. Strom Thurmond Lake near the S. Carolina border and near Appling, Ga. It is really beautiful here as you can see from the pictures. There is not much development and the sites are very spacious and spread out. Our closest neighbor is about 100 yards away.

Tuesday, October 20 - We took two long walks, the first one with our coffee, and checked out most of the campground and noted sites we would want to camp on in the future. However, this site (#44), which Joan picked out just from the map is one of about a dozen we would choose to camp in again. It was cool last night, about 45 deg., but warmer than it was at Trackrock the night before we left. It dropped into the upper 20s there. With the help of a small electric heater and our microfiber blankets, we were quite warm and comfortable both nights.

Saturday, October 24 - We got rain in the night, but right now at about 1PM, it is beautiful, with a fairly strong breeze. We have given up on the lake fishing, but may try the small pond again, where Joan caught three bream. The campground is quite busy, but because the sites are so spread out, it is very peaceful here. We have had the bikes out and yesterday traveled out on nearly every loop. This place is huge, and even with 93 sites, they are mostly very private. We are sitting on our site looking out over the water and enjoying watching a flock of Canada Geese swim around our little bay. The Bartram Trail passes through here, and they allow bikes, but we will have to get orange blaze vests to wear before we can ride it. It is hunting season and anyone using the trail must wear vests.

Sunday, October 25- We went into Evans this morning to the Wesley UMC for their contemporary service which was very nice. It is a huge church with 4 services on Sunday mornings. After the service we went to breakfast then had to make a stop at Wal-Mart to get us blaze orange so we could do the Bartram Trail this afternoon. We were hoping to ride to the Spring Lake area which is about 5 1/2 miles but Joan pooped out after 3 so we did 6 miles total. The trail is pretty demanding so it is not like riding on pavement. Came back to camp and started preparing for departure in the morning. Shhh-------John is watching the BEARS get their butts beaten, not a happy camper!!

View Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/johnjoanW/PetersburgCOEOct1926#

Trackrock Campground (October 2009)

Tuesday, October 13 - It rained most of the day yesterday and is overcast today. Tomorrow we are forecast to get heavier rains. We are trying to get packed up and prepare the fifth wheel to leave next Monday. It has been cool and wet for about a week, since we returned from Tallulah Gorge. The leaves are beginning to turn, but many have already fallen to the ground. It doesn't seem as pretty as last year, but perhaps some sunshine would help. We are feeling sad to leave here, but also are looking forward to seeing our Florida friends and enjoying fishing saltwater and the lakes there. We have several camping trips planned for the winter and have reservations for six weeks so far. We'll be glad to e-mail a schedule to anyone who would like to join us.

Wednesday, October 14 -

We got a break from the rain yesterday and the sun actually came out. It's back to rain today and quite windy. The fall colors are just beginning, but many leaves are already on the ground. It looks like the weekend will be clear and cool for our final steps getting ready to leave here