Andy and Wendy's RV Trips

As we said at the end of the last blog, with high mountains to the front and back of us, the Bighorn RV resort was picturesque indeed and directly behind our RV was a cliff with eagles soaring up and down it, catching the thermals, whilst below the cliff was the Arkansas River in full flow.

There were supposed to be Bighorn Sheep on the cliffs, but despite spending quite a long time, drinking beer and wine and watching, we didn’t see any.

The first day we jumped in the car and went a run up a winding dirt road to a camp site called Hayden Creek, interesting drive up into the hills behind Coaldale.

The next morning we set of to explore Salida, an old fashioned small town just to the north of the Bighorn RV Park.

Salida is set in the mountains of Colorado, it has lots of ‘arty’ type shops, bars and restaurants and the day we were there an art festival and an open air music show was taking place in the middle of town.

Most of the buildings around the centre of town were built in the late 1800’s.

Spotting a barbers shop Andy decided to have a haircut and approached a guy sitting on a bench outside the shop taking the sun and asked him if he was the Barber and was the shop open.

The guy said yes, but he only does ‘scalps’, when asked why he replied, “because I am a Native American and that is what we do”!

Not wanting to appear a coward, Andy nevertheless went in for a haircut, emerging a few minutes later looking like he had indeed been scalped!

Wendy sat outside the Barbers shop on the seat vacated by the Barber, with Millie sat in her stroller, needless to say, she (Millie) attracted a lot of attention from the passersby.

After the haircut, feeling a lot cooler (well not really) we took a stroll around town, looking at the buildings and art shops, then had lunch before heading for home, shattered.

That evening we took our drinks out to watch the birds and look out for Bighorn sheep, well there was a wooden picnic table and Wendy sat at it, Andy arrived with the two glasses and placed them on the table before sitting down, ignoring the warning from his better half that the wooden picnic table didn’t feel very safe.

Sure enough, the boss was right, as Andy sat down, the whole table up-ended, spilling the two glasses all over the intrepid couple.

Neither was physically hurt, but nevertheless Andy looked in a state of shock and looked as if he was going to cry, Wendy asked what was wrong, was he hurt, to which Andy replied, almost in tears “That was my last bottle of Guinness”, he was distraught.

Wendy soothed his forhead and poured him a glass of Newcastle Brown Ale and within a few minutes, he had calmed down and was gulping the Ale down contentedly.

The bird and Bighorn sheep watching continued as if no tragedy had occurred.

Several Eagles were gliding on the thermals by the cliffs and numerous brightly coloured Humming Birds were flitting around several bird feeders that were on adjacent RV’s.

They were fascinating little things, beautiful colours and only about as big as a large dragonfly.

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The next morning we set off to travel over yet more of the southern Rockies of Colorado to our next stop at Montrose, about 150 mountainous roads away.

Well we got off to an early start for a fairly short day.

From Amarillo we went up the I-87 towards the New Mexico border, on the way we went across the Texas Panhandle, miles of rolling acres again, but not quite as desolate and flat as the journey before.

In fact the countryside looked a lot like the Derbyshire Moors of home in England, just a bigger expanse.

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Dotted across the landscape, we saw the old ‘Nodding Donkey’ Oil Drilling Wells, a testimony to Texas early oil exploration and extraction.

Mostly they were stood still, but occasionally a group of them were still nodding away, producing oil.

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As we moved into New Mexico, the landscape got a bit more rolling with occasional bush and even a small tree or two.

The ‘Hunter’ driver spotted a number of antelope dotted around the countryside and pointed them out to the ‘Gather’ navigator, who failed to spot a single one, despite having the eyes of an eagle when the Hunter leaves anything out of place.

After failing to spot several Antelopes that were pointed out, a loud cry of ‘You are making it up’ was heard, whereupon the Hunter protested vigorously that the Antelopes were indeed there.

Just then luck prevailed and a large group (5) was spotted by both parties and peace settled into the RV cab once more.

The whole journey was at quite a high altitude, appearing to climb steadily as we crossed New Mexico and into Colorado.

A few miles into Colorado, we turned into Trinidad State Park, beautiful scenery, with mountains and deep valleys.

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The next morning we knew we would have to cross the Sanger De Cristo Mountain range, just south of the Rockies, so we set off early (well early’ish for us, about 9am!).

Right from the very beginning the road started to climb, steadily for the first 85 miles, then the rate of climb increased until eventually we were in the mountains proper.

The road twisted and turned, going higher and higher, with some of the turns really tight, the RV engine was working overtime, but all the ’in dash’ meters showed normal temperature

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We even saw a guy panning for gold, apparently still a common occurrence in the Arkansas River

After some 120 miles or so we eventually reach the summit of Monarch Pass with the road topping out at 11,312 feet.

We stopped there to let both the RV and its passengers have a breather.

That was easier said than done and the air definitely felt ‘thin’.

This was the ‘Continental Divide’, where the waters flow either the Pacific or the Atlantic, depending which side of the pass they are.

See the snow covered mountains behind the RV below;

The journey down was a real rollercoaster!

With a repeat of the twists and turns we experienced climbing up, being reversed and experienced going down!

But once again the RV performed excellently, by diligent use of low gears and engine breaking and a few squeaks of ‘Mind the side’ and ‘Move over a bit’, we safely descended down the road to the lower elevations.

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Lower elevations is a relative term, as when we finished for the day we were still at just over 6,000 feet.

The trip along I-50 through Canyon City to Bighorn RV Park where we were staying was all alongside the Arkansas River, with loads and loads of White Water Rafting and Zipline rides, plus a smattering of Ski resorts.

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With high mountains to the front and back of us, the RV resort was picturesque indeed and directly behind our RV was a cliff with eagles soaring up and down it, catching the thermals, whilst below the cliff was the Arkansas River in full flow.

There were supposed to be Bighorn Sheep on the cliffs, but despite spending quite a long time, drinking beer and wine and watching, we didn’t see any.

But more on this in the next instalment!

Well we just had to let Millie write the last short blog as she was squeaking so much, but she is a little rascal, we don’t burst into song every time we see a sign for Amarillo, just sometimes, although we are rather surprised she learnt the song so well, aren’t you?

We both feel that our trip Out West has really only just started now we have left Memphis and turned west along I-40.

From Tennessee into Arkansas then across into Oklahoma and finally finishing up in Amarillo in Texas.

This whole section of our journey ended up following the old famous ‘Route 66’ route, with the original road following the new I-40 for mile after mile after mile.

With our trip out west stopping just twice along the way, the first after 211 miles at Ivy’s Cove in Russellville in Arkansas, with Millie navigating.

Then a long haul of 381 miles to the Foss Lake State Park in Oklahoma, about half way between Clinton and Elk City, where we were warned to watch out for Rattlesnakes!

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Leaving a short haul of 165 miles to arrive at Amarillo Ranch for two nights in, you’ve guessed it, Amarillo!

However we made a big mistake, booking so many places in front as, Oklahoma especially, is home to many Indian Nations and Reservations and we should have spent a few days there exploring it, but to our shame we were so intent on getting out west, we didn’t research the states we were crossing good enough first.

However the scenery across Arkansas and Oklahoma was interesting and we didn’t really notice the many miles we were driving until we hit the endless plains of Texas, then we seemed to be driving forever.

Our second night out from Memphis, spent in Foss Park, was after a very windy drive, with gusts of over 40 mph we found out later (after watching the evening news), it felt like it too with the RV shaking a bit as we drove – a good job we are starting to get used to it.

Although it was still windy when we went to bed, it was a nice evening, with just a few clouds in the sky, but at about 1am in the morning, the wind started howling, the rain came lashing down and the sky was lit with lightening and the thunder sounded right over our heads, it got so bad that we dropped the RV off the leveling jacks and brought in the slides (not in that order) to try and calm the RV shaking down a bit, which it did seem to.

The storm lasted a couple of hours and then the wind dropped and we went off to sleep, thankful that we were only facing a short drive to Amarillo the next day.

We found out watching the news the next morning that gusts of up to 70 mph had been reported in the night’s storm and we think that several of them hit the RV, it certainly felt like it!

The first night we arrived in Amarillo we went out to a famous restaurant called the Big Texas Steak Ranch, which puts out a challenge.

Anyone who can eat one of their 72oz steaks, can have it for free – did we try it? – not likely.

We would need to be starving for a week to tackle a steak that size, although what we did have was probably one of the best steaks we have ever had anywhere in the world – beautifully cooked.

The atmosphere in the place was fantastic, with a strong cowboy theme and a trio of county musicians serenading the tables.

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The hunter of the pair even got to wrestle a bear on the way in!

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The next morning we set off to explore the Palo Duro Canyon, at 120 miles long and up to 800 feet deep, the second longest canyon in the USA and very spectacular it was too, although the only wildlife we saw when we explored it was a Turkey!!!

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Hi it’s me again, Millie,

Mum & Dad have let me do a short blog, before they do the full one because there is something I am desperate to tell you all.

I have squeaked them a lot until they gave in!

Where was I? – Oh yes, telling you a short blog.

Well after we left Memphis, both Mum and Dad are saying that at last we are on the RV Road Trip ‘Out West’ proper (wherever Out West is).

They have told me that we are traveling along the I-40, due West and the journey proper has started.

Well for the last three days, every time we see a sign for a place called Amarillo, they burst into song.

I am sure you all know the one “Is this the way to Amarillo”, well I have heard it so many times I even know the words and that’s not something we dogs do very often, learn human songs.

Every time they start singing it I start squeaking it and even if I say so myself, I am getting pretty good at it.

Just listen to this;

Squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak squeakillo

Squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak squeakillow

Squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak squeakillo

Squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak squeakme

What do you think?

Pretty good ah?

Now I bet none of my doggy friends on reading this blog have started to squeak it like me, not Trouper, Beau, Gracie, Sweety, Rosie, Bubba, Remi, Poppy, Layla or Babs (although Annabelle might as she is a cat!), but I bet all the human readers will have been squeaking away to the Amarillo tune straight away!

Humans just can’t help themselves sometimes.

Mum and Dad are going to do the next version of this blog title because they want to put some ‘human’ fact s, figures and pictures in, not sure why.

Hi All,

It’s me, Millie again,

Mum and Dad have gone out and have let me do the next blog, well I think they want me to do it because they have left the computer out and why else would they do that?

Where was I? – Oh yes, I am writing this next blog – hmmmm!

Well we left the wooded park, called, a hmmm Oak Mountain, I think and drove to the Tiffin Factory.

Dad said that is where they made our RV and Mum said that we have come there to have some ‘warranty work’ done, I don’t know what ‘warranty work’ means so don’t ask me what they did!

(This is Cup Cake (yes that was his name) coming out of the building before starting work on our RV with his assistant and the other photo below shows our RV parked up at Tiffin)

Well after two days there we drove to a place called Memphis, I think that’s how you spell it, Mum says it is in Tennessee (I think that must be the town or something).

Not sure how far it was, but not far, I know that I only had time for one snooze, so it couldn’t have been far could it?

Where was I? – Oh yes, we have gone to Memphis.

We have ended up in an RV park called Graceland’s (I thought we were coming to Memphis but what do I know), which apparently is where someone called Elvis lives.

Well I am a bit confused about that bit, because I heard Mum and Dad talking about when he had died, but why would they come and see him if he is dead?

It was Dads birthday today and Me and Mum have bought him a nice card and Mum is taking him to this Elvis place and out for a meal.

I squeaked him the happy birthday song and he liked it because he gave me some extra treats, I was not too sure how it sounded because I was not sure of all the words, but both Mum and Dad seemed to like it.

The first morning they set off to his house and asked me if I wanted to come, I squeaked ‘no thanks’, why would I want to see somebody I don’t know and who is dead? – Humans can be so silly sometimes.

I would rather have a snooze.

Well they came back after two snoozes and Dad was singing all these songs and Mum kept kissing him and laughing –Ugh.

Then they started to tell me that he (Elvis) had sold over 4 billion records – now that threw me – I don’t know what a billion is and I don’t know what a record is, so I squeaked and asked Mum and Dad.

Well they hummed and harred for a bit then said that a billion was a very big number and that records were used to put songs on before I was born, well that did it, if Mum and Dad don’t know what a billion is what chance is there for me.

And what use have I for records if they were used before I was born – I just don’t know what they were making such a fuss about?

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In the afternoon we went down to a town in the car and had a walk around, Mum said that we were in ‘Downtown Memphis’ – I knew it was Memphis they said we were coming to.

We walked along the river looking at some big boats on it, Dad said they were Paddle steamers on the Mississippi, well I need to explain this, Mum and Dad walked and I had a ride in my new stroller and we sat down and then Dad went off and came back with an ice-cream which I ate with my own spoon – Ah, this is the life!

That night a big pink car came to fetch Mum and Dad to take them out for a meal, I had already had my tea (and some treats), so I didn’t go, just flopped down for a snooze – this hot weather makes me very sleepy.

Where was I? – Oh yes, off they went in this big pink car and came back laughing and giggling, in the pink car, one snooze later and off we went to bed – Ahhh.

Next morning they went off to see this Elvis again or his ghost or something.

Dad said that they were going to look at his airplanes as he is thinking about buying one so that I can fly with them in the cabin instead of sleeping in the hold – it doesn’t matter much to me as I just sleep, but Mum and Dad said they would like it better if I was with them – oh well I suppose I would as well if they put it like that.

Back they came two snoozes later, carrying a load of papers and photographs, I don’t think I am on any, but if I am, then I will ask Dad to post them in the blog.

Here’s one of Mum with the dead guy, I am totally baffled by it all!

I have had quite a lazy day today, which is good as I think we are off on the move again tomorrow but I will let Mum and Dad tell you about that, unless they ask me to do it again.

As usual our little girl Millie was right in her blog a few days ago – she is a smart little terrier!

We have indeed set off on a long trip out West today and hope to visit some of the places that Millie mentioned, even though she didn’t know what they were.

Although the yellow stone she referred to is in fact the Yellowstone National Park, which we hope to explore in a few weeks’ time, after a couple of thousand miles on the road and a few hundred dollars in fuel.

So she doesn’t have to worry about playing fetch as the ‘yellow stone’ is much too big to throw!

We were a bit late setting off, what with putting all the clothes in the RV (enough to fill Walmart!) and all the food we loaded up with (again, enough to fill Walmart, but at least we won’t starve) and we didn’t pull away until 11:30.

Then 4 hours 30 minutes, 232 Miles and just one lunch break later, we pulled into our first stop of this trip, Wanee Lake RV Park and Country Club in Georgia.

A real nice little RV Park and we are parked right next to the Golf Course.

The two days cost us just $47 ($23.50/day) with the Good Sam Club discount and to play 9 holes costs just $8, which includes the rent for the Golf Ca

Our plan is to stop here for two days, so it is clubs out and a quick 9 holes tomorrow.

Went for a walk this morning (day two) as it is a bit too hot to play golf yet, but the management is quite laid back and said we could walk around the golf course, as long as we looked out for the golfers!

Out came the new ‘Millie’s Stroller’ and off we went – as soon as the girl started panting and looking for shade (Millie not Wendy), we put her in, she didn’t settle at first, but eventually she got used to it and we sweated and puffed our way around the course pushing her ladyship in the stroller.

As you can see from the pictures, she is quite happy to have servants to push her around when she gets tired.

Eventually we got round to playing 9 holes of golf and Millie offered to drive the Golf cart for us and as you can see from the pictures below, we agreed to let her drive it – honest!

Nice little course, good greens, but the paths between the tees was a bit rough, or it might have been Millie’s driving, we are not sure which!

The next morning we were up bright and early (well about 8am) to set off through Georgia to Alabama, we were aiming for just south of Birmingham (Alabama), to the Oak Mountain State Park for three nights, before setting off a little further north to the Tiffin factory in Red Bay Alabama to have a few small jobs done on the RV.

We managed to get away by 9:30 and had a good drive North West, through the Georgia countryside, which after about 30 minutes driving turned from rural farm land to miles and miles of very heavily wooded countryside, very picturesque.

After 286 miles, 6 hours and one fuel stop, pulling into the State Park (at the wrong entrance), we made our way three miles across the mountain past a couple of lakes to the campground.

A lot of birds and squirrels in the campground and as we walked down to the lake which borders it, we saw a snake slithering into the water and as we turned around from watching the snake, we saw a little Chipmunk, at least we think it was a Chipmunk as it looked like Alvin from the films (although it didn’t talk to us)!

The following day we climbed the mountain up a very narrow road, when we say climbed, we mean the car climbed it with us driving.

The view at the top was spectacular and we could see across the Alabama forest land for miles and miles.

Saturday night saw us light our first BBQ fire in the Fire Pit, a really novel idea with a metal ring and a hinged BBQ grill that you flip over once the fire has burnt to a good bed of hot embers.

Sunday morning was spent exploring the area around the State Park, unfortunately we found a Walmart and she who must be obeyed decided that we had not brought quite enough things and food so we went in and bought another $438 worth!

Actually it was a joint decision and we didn’t spend all the money on food, we bought things like a Mexican Train Domino set, elbow and foot support for the drivers golf elbow and aching feet, a few water pipe fittings and ink cartridges for the in-RV printer, still when we heard the size of the bill, we both said ‘Ouch’.

The afternoon was spent chilling around the RV, watching the birds and the antics of the squirrels and the evening trying out our new set of Mexican Train and slowly depleting our generous stock of wine and beer.

Monday morning we set of bright and early, well 9:30 for the short drive to the Tiffin Factory in Red Bay Alabama.

Hi  All,

If you see this please read it quietly because Mum and Dad don’t know I am on the computer again, as they are in the other room looking at a big piece of paper on the top of the table.

Where was I? – Oh yes, well I think that Mum and Dad are planning another trip in the RV.

We have been up and down to the RV several times over the last couple of days, so I know that something is afoot – I’m not daft!

Where was I? – Oh yes, as I said they are looking at this big piece of paper on the table and muttering some strange words, I don’t know if they are places or things, you might know – they are saying things like “Tifton, Memphis, Oklahoma, Zion, Canyon, something about a Yellow Stone, and a Little Big Horn.

I hope that the Yellow Stone is not for them to throw for me – stuff that for a game of soldiers, I might fetch it once then that’s it, they can fetch any more they throw.

Where was I? – Oh yes, how on earth can you have a Little Horn and a Big Horn all at the same time? How daft is that?

Look what I have had today;

I don’t really like it, in fact I had to snarl at Dad to take me out, anybody would think I am an old girl, I’m only 14, that’s about 98 in human years, that’s not old is it?

Where was I? – Oh yes, as I said watch this space as I am sure there will be more news of RV travels very soon – bye for now, your friend Millie.

After a couple of easy days, we packed away yet again, with rain clouds overhead and set off to our last stop at Silver Palms RV resort on the north shore of Lake Okeechobee in the centre of southern Florida.

It was quite a long trip, took us 4 hours with just one stop to fill the fuel tank, another $152 but no surprises as by now we were used to the fuel consumption and we had estimated $150 – how close was that!

Well about an hour into the journey the heavens opened and on went the wind shield wipers at full speed to cope with it.

Eventually the hard rain storm stopped, then a few minutes later we had another quick shower , on went the wipers again, but after two ‘wipes’ they STOPPED followed by a smell of burning – oh no, it smelt like the wiper motor had burnt out and we still had over 100 miles to go!

After pulling over to check the fuse to find it had not blown, we kept going, praying that the heavy rain would hold off.

Well our prayers were answered as all we had for the next two hours were small showers that didn’t affect the vision much.

We pulled into Silver Palms, very relieved and pulled onto the site and rang Lazydays, the dealer who we bought the RV from, well they were useless, didn’t even know who there we should be talking to about a fault under warranty, it appeared that they had had their money so goodbye, 0/10 for effort.

So we rang the manufacturer, Tiffin in Alabama and they couldn’t have been better, both with response and suggestions!

They told us to get someone local to do the work, they would ship the parts out immediately and they would pay for it under warranty.

Unfortunately when we rang around, no-one could get the parts and do the job for about 5 days!

We couldn’t believe it, we were supposed to be moving on in two days’ time!

So we checked the  weather forecast for both where we were and for where we were going and it was rain for several days at both places.

Without more ado an executive decision was made, Millie was consulted and she gave her approval so we packed up again and took to the road to try and get back to base before the weather broke!

Well we made it without hitting any heavy rain, just a few small showers.

A rather long day, including the couple of stops, we had been on the move from 9:30am to 6:30pm and driven about 400 miles.

Again Tiffin Customer Service shone, they rung us as we were travelling to see what was happening and when we told them we couldn’t get the work done for 5 days, offered (without prompting) to send the new parts to our base address so that we could get the work done locally at our leisure.

All this without having to take the wiper motor off first to check for any faults – well done Tiffin, despite the motor failure it shows we picked the right manufacturer, 10/10 for effort.

Well we ‘could’ have got off to a good start this morning, as we were up quite early, but there was no rush as we hadn’t got far to go, couldn’t book in until 1pm and there was a rather strong wind blowing.

Having said that there has been a strong wind blowing all the time we have been in the ‘Keys’ and notice it is nothing like Millie claimed, we have not set off back as soon as we have seen the US 1 ‘0 mile’ marker, but two days later!

Anyway we set off on our journey back up north, back to Key Largo, where this time we are stopping on the Gulf Coast, in an RV Resort called ‘Points of View’ a few miles south of the John PenneKamp Coral Reef State Park, which if you remember is where we stayed on the way down.

It was a shaky trip over the bridges and the causeways with the RV swaying a bit on the exposed sections from the cross wind that was blowing in from the east, the Atlantic.

An interesting trip however and some more spectacular scenery and within a couple of hours we were approaching a road junction at Atlantic Road in Key Largo, where we were going to try and execute our very first ‘U’ turn in a road with the RV and the tow-car on.

We had to do this because the RV Resort was on the opposite side of the road to the direction we were traveling.

We needn’t have worried (although we did!), because we managed it easily – phew and pulled into the Points of View RV Resort.

Anyway the site we had picked on the RV Resort, number 29, our lucky number, was right on the ocean front, facing out over the Gulf of Mexico, with the Everglades National Park visible across the bay we were in.

It was about half full, which surprised us, as we had had a problem booking a site around Key Largo because there was supposedly no room anywhere!

Once again the sunsets were spectacular, although this time we didn’t have to move an inch to see them as they were right there in front of us!

Just chilled for a couple of days though the weather, although in the 90’s, was a bit hit and miss with the sun disappearing behind cloud for much of the day and the wind remained strong, although now it was behind us rather than in our face directly off the ocean.

Off again in the morning on the second longest leg of the journey!

The trip down from Key Largo to Key West involves crossing some of the most spectacular bridges and causeways in the world.

There are literally hundreds of small and large ‘Keys’ (islands) as you drive south, some heavily built on and many with nothing on at all.

It didn’t take long, just over 2 hours, what with the slow speed limits on long stretches (35 & 45 mph) and then we crossed the last bridge, saw the Mile-Marker 14.5 and turned left into Blue Water Key RV Resort and what a resort!

We had never seen one like it, the sites were spacious and all had some sort of Tiki hut for chilling out in!

All the sites are privately owned and the owners have all put their individual stamp on them, ours, No 67 is right on the edge of the Atlantic, with its own floating dock and a little sign that reads ‘Paradise Found’, how apt is that?

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The next morning we drove down into Key West and were surprised how big it is, we seemed to be driving forever, through loads of road works (yes they do need repairing!) before we eventually got to Downtown.

Our luck was in, as well as the usual tourist shops and bars, there was a Song Writers Convention on and many bars and restaurants had live music as the song writers performed their original songs, the vast majority that we heard were Country Music, but that’s fine because we like it.

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Plus some very talented street artists;

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Back home to chill for the afternoon and sit with our feet in the Atlantic for a while, then back down to Key West for the evening for Dinner, Music and Sightseeing, including watching the sunset from Sunset Pier.

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Back home for a nightcap, then off to bed.

Up at the crack of dawn the next day (well about 8:30!) for a trip to explore Key West some more before the day got too hot!

Found a sign — “what, no stop squeaking Millie, stop squeaking, no you can’t have the Computer – Oh alright then go on but be quick”

Hi, it’s me Millie, wow did that take some getting the Computer off Mum & Dad, I had to squeak and squeak and squeak, they want to do all the blogging, whatever that is – where was I?, oh yes they had started to tell you about a sign, well I just had to interrupt because I am sure they will not tell it how it really was!

Where was I, oh yes, well we were driving down the road, well Mum was, I was snoozing and Dad was?

Not sure what Dad was doing, anyway, suddenly Dad gave a shout, frightened the life out of me and Mum and he shouted for Mum to pull over quick, then both Mum and Dad (and me) jumped out of the car and ran over to a sign at the side of the road, both Mum and Dad were excited about something and kept saying they had reached the bottom of America (whatever that is?) and then Dad picked me up and Mum took a picture of me, Dad and the sign, Humans can be so daft sometimes, why couldn’t they just let me stay on my own four feet!

Then we all jumped back in the car, spun off down the road and Mum did a quick turnaround in the road with cars screeching to a stop around us and set off back up the road where we had just come from!

Back to where the sign was, but on the other side of the road, where there was another sign, out we jumped again and again Mum and Dad were saying something about going back up North (whatever that is) and then Dad picked me up again and Mum took a picture of me, Dad and the sign – I don’t know what was wrong with the other one Mum took at the other side of the road, why do it all over again – Humans can be so silly sometimes!

Then we parked up and started to walk around for ages and ages with Mum and Dad cooing about every little thing we saw, including some Cockerels, Chickens and Chicks wandering about, but as they wouldn’t let me chase them, I might as well have stayed in the air-cooled RV – yum yum.

Another shout, this time from Mum and she pointed across the road to a shop, shouting something about Key Lime Pie, whatever that is, anyway Dad went into the shop to buy some food, so I might get to try some later – yum yum – then he took another photo of me and Mum outside the shop – I don’t know why they want so many photo’s, what are they going to do with them all?

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No, not yet, no, oh go on then, Mum and Dad want the Computer back – Grrrr!

Right, managed to keep it a bit longer, where was I, oh yes, well when we got back to the RV, I had my tea and it was time for my walk but I was walked out and we left it for later and I had a snooze.

When I woke up it was starting to go dark and Mum and Dad had been out and were going on about the beautiful sunset they had seen, whatever that is, from somewhere called Sunset Pier, wherever that is.

No, not yet, no, oh go on then, Mum and Dad want the Computer back, I suppose I will have to give it to them this time – Grrrr!

We are back, the little imp, when we took the photo’s of Mile Marker 0 ‘End’ and ‘North’, it wasn’t anything like Millie said, fancy her telling ‘Porkies’ (English Rhyming Slang i.e. Porkies – Pork Pies – Lies), we were excited but the Driver drove with all due consideration for other drivers and vehicles (most of the time) and we walked leisurely across the signs for the photo opportunities.

On one of the streets, can’t remember which one, we saw the place where Tom Sawyer lived, at least we think he lived there, although some people say that he was just a fictional character but now we have seen his house we know he wasn’t.

All this along with the oldest saloon in Florida and mini road trains and trams – We know Tom would have approved!

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Well that is Key West done to death, our site is now empty and it is time to drive back North as Millie said, back up US 1, over the numerous causeways and bridges to Key Largo again before we leave the ‘Keys’ for ‘main land’ Florida.

Today is a beautiful day, just right for a long drive south.

We are heading down to our first stop in the Florida Keys, down the West Coast, south past Naples, then turn east along ‘Alligator Alley’ all the way across Florida to Miami on the East Coast.

Driving along Alligator Alley consists of miles and miles of the Everglades National Park, not sure how far, but at least 100 miles.

Eventually, we arrived at our stop, the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, a beautiful spot just south of Key Largo and we were directed by the Park Rangers to site 45

That evening we just took a stroll down to the waterfront, then retired to watch the world go by with a glass or two – phew it is very hot!

Up at the crack of dawn the next day, well just before 8, which is very early when you are on holiday and took Millie for her walk, even this early, it was very hot, so we decided to leave Mille in the air-conditioned RV, whilst we had a run around for a couple of hours.

Like Pine Island, there is a Holiday Resort or Hippy feeling to this place, but we suppose that is to be expected as that is what it is, with RV Parks and Hotels all over the place, as well as hundreds of places selling Boats or Diving Gear and loads of restaurants and small café/bars.

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When we got back to the RV, HRH Millie was fast asleep on the Drivers’ seat, but we don’t think she had driven anywhere as the ‘slides’ were still out and the switch for them is too high for her to reach.

Time for lunch and a nice cold drink, no not alcohol (what do you think we are?), then a chill for a couple of hours while the heat goes out of the day

Then out for a walk around the mangroves and water front with Millie before chilling out with a glass or two!

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Up at the crack of dawn again, but a later dawn this time and loaded Millie in the car and set off to explore.

Found the place we are staying on the way back north and also looked at the difficulty of getting out of the John Pennekamp site, turning across a 4 lane highway (US 1) and turning south when we go down to Key West, it is not going to be easy!

Booked a trip in a Glass Bottomed Catamaran to visit the Coral Reef, took Millie back to the RV for a snooze and joined the queue.

Nice trip out through the mangroves and out onto the Atlantic where a 3ft swell was running, the crew warned about seasickness and offered tablets, but tough guys that we are we declined.

We arrived over the reef after about a 40 minute run and ‘hove to’ the tough guy of the pair of us sat in the bottom of the boat and watched the sea bottom carefully to make sure to catch all the pictures of the reef and fish.

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Well after about 30 minutes of this the tough guy of our pair started to sweat, went rather pale and felt a little sick, putting as brave a face on as possible (to save it), he nonchalantly stood up and went outside for some fresh air, followed by the more sensible one, who enquired with some concern after his health.

Not wanting to drop his tough guy image, he pretended to be fine and spent the rest of the voyage watching the horizon and wishing that we were back on Terra Firma!

We don’t think he fooled anyone, but in spite of that it was a great trip.

After a stroll back to the RV on sea legs and taking HRH Millie for a walk, we both collapsed for a well earned snooze.

Steady morning tomorrow as we are off to Key West, but it is only a two hour trip and we cannot book in that site until 1pm.

Well this is a turn up for the book, who would have thought that Millie could read and write!

The little rascal has kept it from us for 13 years and it is only by reading our own RV blog that we found out she could!

The trouble is, now she has tried it, is she wants to do it all the time, but that would mean we would

To get back to the story (Millie is interrupting every few minutes with a little whine, which we think means “Give the computer to me”), we set off today from Tampa down to Fort Myers, 115 miles away so about two hours, but what a journey.

A couple of hours before we were going to set off (11am), the heavens opened and the phone and TV were issuing Tornado warnings, but it eased off a bit around 12:30, so we hitched up the car on, checked around and set off at 1pm.

Once again the heavens opened, the winds picked up and the phones started ringing with Tornado warnings and warning people to take cover!

Well, we thought that we had made a major mistake in moving that day!

However we kept on, keeping a look out for a Tornado, but definitely not wanting to see one.

After an hour or so the rain stopped and the high winds eased a little so we kept on with a little more confidence and a bit less RV shaking.

Meanwhile HRH Millie was catching up on her beauty sleep, she stretched out just behind the front seats and was fast asleep for the whole journey – nothing new there then!

Around 3pm we arrived at our next RV stop, Seminole RV Campground, off I-75, just to the west of Fort Myers, down a couple of small lanes

They gave us a Riverside plot, number 48, perfectly placed between two big Oak trees, just right to make reversing onto the plot difficult (especially for us novices), however, with the traffic coordinator’s hand signals, which were sometimes rather panicky and much swiveling of the steering wheel, we parked up nicely, connected the water and electric and opened a bottle.

Guinness for the driver and wine for the Traffic Co-coordinator – both were accompanied by large sighs of pleasure and exclamations of “made it”

The next morning was overcast and cloudy and before we had even had breakfast, a repeat of the day before heavy rain started, then just as we finished breakfast it eased a little, so rain coats on, we set off to take Millie for her morning constitutional and we were lucky in only getting a little wet and we just got back in time for the heavens opening yet again.

Well that sorted it, we decided to forget sightseeing and to have a lazy day in the RV.

For the first time we studied the RV manuals (yes I know we should have read them before, but who does?), finally got to grips with the DVD player and the sound system and learnt quite a few new bits about various switches and functions etc. whilst we were chilling out.

We weren’t sure what time it was, until Millie started whining, then we knew it was 4 o’clock and her meal time and sure enough when we finally found the clock, it was!

After feeding Millie, we decided that as we were not driving anywhere and that it must be 5 o’clock somewhere, we opened a bottle and chilled out even more

The next day was beautiful and sunny, so we jumped in the car to do some exploring and headed down towards North Fort Myers, keeping straight on until we had crossed over the causeway bridge onto Pine Island – we thought we had time-shifted to the sixty’s, everywhere had a sort of ‘Hippy’ feeling, all bright colours, boats and bikers and loads of small café/bars

We turned north and drove to the top of the island a place called “Bocilla Island Seafort”

Had a stroll on the beach then jumped back in the car and drove to the south of the island, a place called St David’s City, a tiny little place, again with that Hippy feeling to it, with live music in the bars.

Got back home for a beer and a wine and to get ready to hit the road tomorrow – heading further south.

Hi Everyone,

It’s me, Millie again.

Well where do I start?

What an exciting (or is it traumatic?) couple of days it has been.

In my first blog I told you I thought that Mum and Dad were planning another RV trip, well I was right, but then again I usually am!!

We all set off in the RV yesterday afternoon down to a place called Trumper or was it Trimper, no, I’ve got it, it is called Tampa, I knew I would remember it if I tried hard enough.

The trip went fine and last night we had a peaceful night at Lazydays RV Park, except for Dad’s snoring, it even vibrated the whole RV, but not for long, Mum’s elbow soon put a stop to it.

Well today we went on a trip to the beach, the name was something to do with clean water.

Here is a picture of me sat near a sign with big letters, a bit too big for me to read really.

They made me sit while they took the photo, I don’t why they keep doing that?

Anyway, after the picture Mum and Dad took me across to a place where humans have food, Dad was a bit ahead as I was sniffing around and of course, Mum had to wait for me.

Well the next thing I know Dad gave a yelp and I looked up and he was holding his leg and shouting at this woman with a big dog, an ugly looking thing, and saying the dog had bit him, well I was having none of that and set off to give the big dog a bite back for biting Dad, but Mum held me back.

They said afterwards that it was a large Pit Bull Cross, whatever that is, it was just a big dog to me.

Anyway the people with the dog took off after the people in the eating place told them to get out and Dad was shouting at them, well then we sat down while Mum and Dad cleaned the bite at the back of his leg with some stuff that the eating place people brought them.

After that we all had something to eat, Mum and Dad ate at the table and I sat underneath and they fed me there, yum-yum.

After we left the eating place, Dad went across to a policeman and told them about the ‘dangerous dog’ and the policeman set off to ‘arrest them’, whatever that means.

Then we all got in the car and went to find a Dr to have a look at Dad’s leg.

We found one not far away and they cleaned his wound, whilst me and Mum held his hand (he is not very brave when it comes to pain) and then Mum said that the Dr gave him some medicine, whatever that is?

I had a look at what the Dr had done and I approved it!

Dad was moaning and groaning all the way back to the RV, I thought it was the pain he was in, but it turned out that he couldn’t drink beer and wine whilst he is taking these medicines and he was moaning about that, oh well more for me and Mum, yum-yum!

This is me having a glass of wine and crisps to settle my nerves after a stressful day;

I didn’t think I would like crisps, but I DO!!

It was pretty hot down at the beach and I think I will ask Mum and Dad to buy me a buggy to ride on when they keep taking me out in this hot sun – after all it is their idea to go, I am happy just snoozing.

If Mum and Dad let me on the computer again I will try and tell you more of how our trip goes – by for now.

Hi Everyone,

My name is Millie, or as some people call me HRH Millie for ‘Her Royal Highness’ as my Mum and Dad treat me like Royalty, as well they should.

This is a picture of me – don’t I look cute?

Anyway, I am rambling, what I was going to say is that Mum and Dad have gone out and they have left the Computer on, on the ‘Blog’ screen, so I thought I would share a few of my thoughts with you about our new RV and the couple of trips we have done.

They don’t realize that I can read and type (sometimes Humans can be so dumb!), although my claws sometimes catch the wrong key, so please excuse any spelling mistakes.

Where was i? – Oh yes, I was telling you about my thoughts on the RV.

Well the best thing I like is that I have my own window, down on the floor near Mum’s feet, so that I can watch the world go by as we travel, which is a lot better than having to either sit on Mum or Dad’s knee (although I like that too) or stand up on a seat so I can see out.

Where was i? – Oh yes, I was telling you about my thoughts on the RV and trips.

The worst thing about the RV is the big first step, which I can’t always jump up to as some of the spring has gone out of my legs, I don’t know why.

But it shouldn’t be a problem on the next trip as Mum and Dad have bought a portable step and Dad has put a nice carpet on it to give my claws a grip – we’ll see.

Where was i? – Oh yes, I was telling you about the RV and trips.

Well the first trip was great, we went to the beach (but I don’t know where it was) and I enjoyed running up and down, chasing the birds although I never seem to catch any, which is strange as many years ago I could.

I haven’t been on a beach in years so I really enjoyed it.

Almost forgot, on the way home from the first RV trip we stopped at a rest station and Dad popped out to talk to Bob & Cathy or their little dog Trouper (I don’t know which), that we were traveling with and then he got back in and we set off.

All of a sudden Mum started panicking and running around the RV calling me, I looked up from where I was laying, under Dad’s chair and wondered what all the fuss was about, she hadn’t put me any food down or even had a biscuit treat in her hands, so I just laid there and watched her.

The RV started weaving around in the road as Dad turned around and started talking to Mum, it sounded like he was panicking as well, so I came out from under his seat to see what all the fuss was about and you would have thought I was being reborn, they made such a fuss.

It turned out they thought I had followed Dad out of the RV and they thought that they had left me at the rest area when they set off – as if I would be that silly as to be left behind when Mum, Dad, my toys and biscuit treats were in the RV – Humans can be so dumb sometimes, oh well they do mean well but I wish they wouldn’t panic so easily.

The second trip was out in the woods and plenty of lakes, I don’t know where it was but it wasn’t far from home (Mum and Dad will know), although it was a hot day when we set off and I was quite happy in the car with the nice cool fans and didn’t want to disturb myself and climb the steps into the RV, but Mum and Dad insisted – Grrrr, so I did.

The view through my window was good and we were there in no time, I didn’t even have time for a snooze, which is not like me when we are traveling.

I don’t know what it is about Mum and Dad they always want to see what is around the next bend or over the next hill, why can’t they just chill and snooze most of the day like me – Humans can be so hard to understand sometimes, still it takes all sorts, so I suppose I must make allowances.

Where was i? – Oh yes, I was telling you about our RV trips.

Well we got to this lake and woody place and set up, well Mum and Dad did, I just had a snooze.

Then Mum and Dad decided to go a walk, they are always doing that when I am having a snooze! so off we went, would you believe that they said they were trying to see ‘Gators’, who in their right mind would want to do that!, it is alright for Mum and Dad, they are big, but gators eat little people like me!

Mum insisted on taking me right down to the water’s edge and then Dad wanted to take a picture, well I wasn’t having none of that and just looked the other way as you can see on Mum’s picture – I’ll show them.

The three days went fast and I was shattered with all the walking looking for gators and other wildlife and before long we were setting off back and I could settle down near my window, watching the world go by and a little snooze.

I am beginning to suspect that Mum and Dad are planning another trip because we have all been backwards and forwards to the RV taking yet more stuff for the last few days, I don’t know where we are going, but to be fair I don’t mind as long as I have Mum, Dad and my biscuit treats.

If I can get back on the computer I will give you an update when I can.

Bye for now;

Millie.

Hi everyone,

Well we have found our RV at last, a Tiffin Allegro 36LA, which we bought from Lazydays RV Dealers near Tampa on the 28th January 2014 and it has everything we have been looking for;
Lounge with Fireplace,
End bathroom,
Two Slides
Plenty of room for us two and Millie.

The trip back home with it took just over an hour and was a bit hair-raising to say the least, with the car on the back (Chevy Equinox), the whole rig was over 50ft!

Added to that the heavens opened and the visibility dropped, talk about a baptism of fire, every time a lorry came thundering past us the wind rocked us and the better half of the team squeaked and squealed and the other half nearly had a heart attack wondering what he had missed!

But we made it, parked up and emptied it, then had a couple of whiskies/wine to calm our shattered nerves – phew.

Our first trip (home) went well and we are looking forward to starting our RV Adventures.

Our 1st ‘proper’ trip was on the 18th February 2014 to St Augustine, which is a city in the Northeast of the state and is the oldest city in Florida, it was founded in September 1565, by a Spanish Admiral Pedo Menedez de Availes and subsequently served as the capital of Spanish Florida for 2 hundred years.

St Augustine is well worth a visit, very interesting old City with lots of tourist traps and one we went on, which was a horse and buggy ride around the city, was a complete waste of time and money as the guy driving the rig (a Captain Kirk) talked so fast and made so many wisecracks that we totally missed what he was trying to tell us about the place – Wendy even told him we wanted our money back, but we didn’t get it.

Even so we had a laugh and enjoyed the city and perhaps some of the other drivers are fine and the trip with them worth it.

We stayed for the first 2 nights on an RV site called Bryn Mawr Ocean Resort, which was a very clean site and what is more it is right on the beach.

On this trip, we went with our friends Bob, Cathy and Trouper (their little dog) who came along in their 38ft RV.

After two days exploring St Augustine, we traveled down the Atlantic coast to Cape Canaveral to see a nighttime Rocket Launch – fabulous, although it is just a flame in the sky after a few seconds, the noise is awesome, it was very busy with large crowds of people (and cars) turning out to watch it.

Whilst there we stayed at the Space Coast RV Resort for just the one night, ok site with pull-through sites, which are a big help the novices amongst us, then the next morning we set off for home.

On the way back we filled up for the very first time with fuel – we had used 66 gallons and it cost $235, about 7 miles to the gallon – ouch!