'A-Weigh' we go!

We have landed in Titusville, FL after our Disney Experience.  The place we chose as our R&R is named Willow Lakes RV & Golf Resort.  It is a 55+ community with an electric security gate and a 9 hole golf course.  The places are extremely well maintained and appear to be basically a snowbird community with a mixture of houses, RV Port houses, RV pads with small buildings or just RV pads.  There is a swimming pool, community building, tennis courts, shuffleboard area, bocce ball courts and has a small tight knit Homeowner’s Association feel to it.  Of course there are numerous golf carts and bicycles that regularly traverse the streets.  Apparently autos are only used when exiting the gated community.

While we have been in the area, we have received the following question multiple times.  “Why, Titusville?”  It makes you laugh (at least inside) when you hear it and you cannot help but think, why not Titusville?  We chose it for its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, Kennedy Space Center and an area with just enough things to do (if we choose to do them) while recuperating from the latest ‘pell mell’ pace so we would not get bored.  We have enjoyed the peaceful and quiet time in our location while visiting Titusville.

We have taken a few driving day trips to scout the area and sample the local cuisine.  We had lunch one day on the beach at Cocoa Beach, drove the spit of land known as Merritt Island where the Space Center is located and scouted the area north of us for our upcoming move northward.  Our immediate aim is to witness a rocket launch at Cape Canaveral but the weather is not cooperating.  A Falcon Spacex rocket launch has been rescheduled twice while we have been here.  There is one last potential launch date on Friday before we leave on Sunday.

The beach at Cocoa Beach was pretty crowded for a weekday.  A good sign that summer is officially here.  Bibi has to dip her toe in the water whenever she is in walking distance.  After lunch at the beachside restaurant, we walked over the dunes to the actual beach area.  After tentatively standing in the edge of the water (see picture below) we can officially declare that Bibi has been in the Pacific Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and now the Atlantic Ocean.  Her comment upon returning to me, ‘that water is a lot colder than the Gulf.’  Yep, that is definitely the case.  It takes a huge desire or a strong constitution to handle the water temperature usually associated with the Atlantic Ocean.

Middle of the week

Atlantic Ocean Toe-Dipping

We ate at a local restaurant literally just outside the entrance to our RV park the other night.  The restaurant’s name is Honeysuckle and proudly displays its message of ‘southern style home cooking’ on its sign.  It is definitely a place that satisfies one’s innards.  Our waitress was very attentive and when she brought us our ticket, I noticed a ‘Q’ following her first name.  After studying on it for awhile, I caught her attention to ask her if that was the first letter of her last name to which she replied, ‘yes.’  I told her that was the first letter of my last name too.

I also told her it was so unusual for me to find another person with a last name that begins with ‘Q’ I had to ask. ‘what is your last name?’  When she replied, ‘Quinn’, I grinned real big and said, ‘that’s mine too.’  She immediately smiled a big smile too.  During the subsequent conversation, I found out that Quinn is her maiden name and her dad comes from a big family of Quinn brothers originally from New York.  Life is full of twists, turns, bumps, bruises and yes, even very pleasant surprises.  We both thought it great fun to find one another, meet and now claim to be related (at least in the sense of the mother country of Ireland) as cousins.  Don’t miss Honesuckle in Titusville; it could just make your day as sweet as mine was this day.

The last few days have been a whirlwind of activity.  As I wake up and look out through the early morning misty fog in the state park it makes me want to ruminate a bit on the events.  First of all, we did get to witness the launch of the Spacex rocket on Friday.  Quite a spectacle to see in person hearing and seeing the actual event makes you marvel.  It was also quite a feat to land the first stage of the rocket on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean which we watched live via streaming on the internet.  Amazing is all I can say about that!

There she goes!

On Sunday we left to go to St. Cloud to keep an appointment with RVSEF (RV Safety and Education Foundation) to have the rig weighed by wheel position.  Then on to Wekiwa State Park for a set of new shoes for Pooh (Winnie the Pooh) since he needs five more.  It is from this park I am writing today.

The weighing went well and only took about 20 minutes.  We found out we are overweight by 550 pounds.  Reckon it is time for a purge of stuff.  We are pretty well balanced side to side as there is only 50 pounds difference between driver side and passenger side.  We are overweight on rear axle area and this means we need to move some things forward and remove some things entirely.  You will recall our blowout from a previous post which prompted us to schedule a weighing session.  Two of the most frequent causes of tire failure have to do with overloading and overheating.  Both involve proper loads and proper inflation to allow the tires to do their jobs effectively and safely.

It is very important to watch the age of tires as well.  I had noticed my seven year old tires were beginning to show their age with some crackling showing up in the sidewalls.  Hence the decision to replace the five remaining tires for Pooh.  We were very lucky our blowout experience was not severe or traumatic.  Family Motor Coach Association has a program with Michelin that allows you to purchase their XRV tires directly from Michelin for a discount through authorized tire dealers.  To take advantage of the program and obtain access to other FMCA benefits, you must become a member.

Interesting to visit this park during our two day weighing and tire change rendezvous.  We are in a highly populated metro center around Orlando within a 700 acre oasis of wildlife.  We literally can see across a fenced area adjacent to the RV camping area a lot of residential housing.  Yet inside this park is a plethora of wildlife, including Florida Black Bears.

Popular park with the locals - turning them away because full

When we checked in I was handed a sheet about bears.  It contains info about do’s and don’ts when it comes to bears.  We have not seen any here yet.  When driving to our weighing we did see a gator (a big ‘un) on the side of the road entering a ditch filled with water.  After setting up the rig our first day in the park, we saw Tommy the Turtle a.k.a. Lightning McQueen grazing on the grass on our site.  I call him Lightning because he must have afterburners he uses when no one is looking.  I glanced back outside about five minutes later and he was gone.  Visually scouring the area, I discovered he was on the vacant RV site across the street (a pretty fair distance away, especially for a turtle).  I could see how he could easily defeat a rabbit in a race with speed like that to draw on.  As it turns out, Tommy is not a turtle but a Gopher Tortoise.  Regardless, he is FAST!

Tommy the Turtle - grazing on our grass

We have also seen Limpkins and squirrels aplenty while in the park.  There is still time and we might even see a bear before we leave today.  Amazing these places exist in the middle of so much urban development.  Until next time, stay safe and get those rigs weighed and tires replaced when needed.