Heading Back East – Florida

Thursday – February 2, 2023

It was nice waking up and not have to immediately check the weather or begin processing thoughts of packing, hitching, getting on the road; we get to rest and enjoy the day!

It’s been raining and continues for a good part of the day which allows us to just stay in our PJs, it was nice!  Dinner consisted of two Cauliflower Crust Veggie Pizzas for dinner and a garden salad.  The crusts and pizza sauce we purchased but the toppings we added; tomatoes, peppers, onion, mushrooms and vegan mozzarella.  We cooked them, one at a time, in our new Air Fryer/Convection Oven with them temp set at 450 and the time at 12 minutes; pizzas were done in 7 minutes and came out quit good.

Friday – February 3, 2023

We ventured to Whole Foods today to pick up some groceries.  They didn’t have everything we needed so we made a second stop at Target (Super Target) and picked up some additional items.  For the most part, it was a lazy day outside of the shopping trip and some prep for tomorrows departure.  We went for a nice walk around the campground to get outdoors and exercise.

Saturday – February 4, 2023

We’re heading off to Freeport, FL today, it’s a longer drive then we like, slightly over 400 miles and we’re shooting for an 8 AM departure.  The trip will take us along route 10 most of the way except for a short stretch on route 12 above New Orleans then back on route 10.  It’s a straight shot to Freeport that passes through Baton Rouge and Mobile, for the most part an easy driving day, not having to focus on navigation; just drive.

Somewhere near Slidell, we were getting Traffic Alerts on our Garmin GPS that an accident on the approach to Mobile is causing a delay and, initially the delay was minutes.  Subsequent alerts reveal the delay in growing and eventually expands to the interstate is closed and will result in a delay of 3 hours, yikes!  The GPS is suggesting an alternate route and, although the GPS is aware we are towing a trailer with a specific height, length, etc., we are always anxious because it means we’re entering the realm of the unknown.  We decide to take the suggested alternate route and with guidance from Mag, my navigator, we head that way but with my anxiety and disorientation, I overrule instructions from Mag (my trusted Navigator) and proceed to miss the first attempt to exit route 10 to the alternate route.  The GPS is instructing us to reroute (u-turn) but, after a few miles suggests a new alternate route.  The new route begins as a 4-lane, divided state highway, which is very lightly traveled, that switches between 2-lane and 4-lane, on 4 different state routes, as we circumvent the accident.  Once again I disregard instruction from my Mag, falling victim to further anxiety and disorientation that leads to a couple more wrong turns/exits which are, thankfully,  quickly rectified.  Making a wrong turn towing a trailer can quickly become a situation where you’re facing great adversity but, in this case, we feel fortunate.  In this case!

We’re not sure how much we benefited from the alternate route which we calculated took us an hour and a half out of our way.  We later did an internet search but found no news items of and accident near Mobile causing a road closure.  We got Mobile in our rearview mirror, now it’s a straight shot to Freeport; about a 2 hour drive remaining.  Our preference is always to keep the mileage around 350 and arrive at the campground around 3 PM.  This allows us plenty of daylight to locate the site, setup and have time to relax before dinner; today won’t be like that.  It’s 3:30 and we still have two hours to go, the reception office will close at 5, which means, we’ll be on our own.  Typically, when you check in, the staff provides little details and clues about the campground that are helpful navigating to the site and setting up; we won’t have this advantage today.  Mag called the campground to let them know we’re running late and the only insight they provided was when we pull in to the reception area, use Staging Area Two.

It’s dark by 5:30 when we arrive and reading signage for Staging Area Two is challenging, add in some anxiety and disorientation, and, oh boy.  After pulling in and parking at the office, we realize we’re in Staging Area One, not Staging Area Two.  We located the correct staging area, decide what are plan is to reorient ourselves to get to the correct spot, which means backing up the trailer in the dark.  Mag locates herself at the rear of the trailer to provide guidance and direction for me which, after a long day driving, I’m less than my normally patient self.  We manage to get into Staging Area Two that points up in the correct direction that will get us to Site 22.

Trucks, trailers, RVs are large and roads in campground are typically narrow.  Not so narrow you can’t manage but, narrow enough you need to stay alert when turning, especially in the dark after a long day on the road when your patience is running thin.  We can see on the Campground Map that Mag retrieved from a basket by the office for late arrivals, we have to drive down a long narrow road, loop back up a parallel road to site 22.  The map is not to scale, it’s a sketch, it dark, I’m tired, and patience is running low.  At the spot we have to loop back, I misinterpret the map, ignored queues from the navigator and continued straight to the boat ramp area.  It a gravel parking lot used to stow your boat trailer and launch your boat into the river, not for RVs.  Oh boy, this a test!  The parking lot is somewhat circular about 100′ in diameter.  I’m not communicating very well, I’m tired and anxious but, we come up with a plan to back the trailer up toward the narrow road that brought us to this point then, attempt to pull a large u-turn in the

parking lot, in the dark.  It’s a gamble because I don’t have enough experience with situations like this but it looks doable.  We get the trailer backed up and I take the u-turn using nearly all the space available.  The next challenge is to get back on the road that we were supposed to make the ‘loop’ turn.  We’re coming in at an acute angle from the parking lot road onto the narrow loop turn, I’m not confident we’ll make it cleanly but Mag encourages me on and I take the turn, in the dark.  We make the turn okay and we’re back on track heading toward Site 22.  We manage to get into the site and set up without further issue, breathing a sigh of relief and take mental notes of what we learned today.  We discuss the missed turns and disregarding Mag’s navigational instructions during our drive today.  I make an additional note to myself to heed Mag’s instructions and let go of my fear and anxiety going forward or, as least try. 😉