233. Jacksonville, Florida and One Disappointing Shower
On this episode, we share our travels to Jacksonville, Florida, where we found a wonderful oceanfront campground and some great National Park Service Sites. We cover some mistakes beginner RVers should avoid, and Jason gets caught in the shower with no water.
The Togo RV article on beginner mistakes:
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Good morning from WA state less than 30 degrees..
You should go to Estes Park YMCA a cabin is great. Great amenities.
Parking audiences are of the same ilk as those who show up at accident scenes. To them it is a show. I ignore them just as I did the lookie-loos at traffic accidents during my career. If they approach I simply ask them to step back for their safety until we are finished. Afterward, I make sure I go to them and pleasantly introduce myself. At the least, they are disappointed about not having made you uncomfortable with their presence, but usually, acknowleding them strokes their ego a little & breaks the ice a bit.
In contrast, I do not crowd another arriving/departing RVr but do confess to watching from a distance, mostly as a safeguard, watching tree limbs & potential obstacles. I will only intervene to prevent a collision or imminent safety issues. After 37 years of backing up fire apparatus, it is just part of who you are 😂😂
Regarding campsites, these management companies are out of control.
Florida sites want 100% for our one month stay for next yr. No refunds. We love the place and paid for next year.
Buffalo Wyoming KOA requires 100% payment up front.
I bought the wrong floorplan, and I am so bummed! I focused on weight, aluminum frame, and length, and sofa more than floorplan. Floorplan should have been number one. I'm selling it if I can. Trade in values have dropped!
I just love the "men" who have to question if I am sure I can back up or park our 36 foot Motorhome. I encountered one such man this week while I was conducting my walk around before backing out of our pull in site. He questioned if I could back up the RV so I explained that I have been backing it up and driving it for the past 11 years, and yes I can handle it. I then told him not to worry because my husband will be in the road to make sure no one walks behind while I was backing. Hate those people.
We spent a month (Feb 2020) at Kathryn Abbey Hanna park near Mayport. It’s a Jacksonville city park, but 1.5 miles of Atlantic Ocean coastline. Nice place to camp and afforded us great access to everything from St. Augustine to southern/coastal Georgia. We enjoyed the activity from Naval Air Station Mayport.
We have not had much of an issue with “uninvited parking helpers” but I certainly get the annoyance of this situation. We did, however, have one situation in which I was genuinely having difficulty backing a 40’ bus conversion into a narrow spot between two other coaches (with their slides out) at a service facility. After watching us struggle for an appropriate amount of time, the gentleman in one of the coaches next to us politely approached Linda and asked if we might need some assistance? He was a retired truck and heavy equipment operator. She asked me and I said “yes, absolutely.” He explained why I was having difficulty and what I needed to do about it, and then let me back it in, easy breezy. I learned a lot that day, and the lesson has been useful to me ever since. Now we have a travel trailer. I wish we would cross paths with this guy again. 🙂
Hi! Please say more on how to find your class on RV buying. Thanks!
We pulled out from our “home” site for our #2dreams adventure listening to your podcast! We are leaving WV heading to Livingston, TX. We will be setting up our domicile with Escapees.
Still waiting on a v neck shirt offering also if possible.
Amelia Island is just up the A1A from that park. Great place to visit.
In 2000, we had a 36’ TT, with a 12 passenger van. The kids (4) and I (mom) did a 6 week road trip on our own in northern CA. We lived in south east NM (Carlsbad) at the time. Hubby went out with us for the family reunion, then he flew home to his job.
I & the kids traveled 6 weeks and then drove back home.
The kids & I had a GREAT system with backing in a spot…
The two oldest (15g & 13b) on each side in back had walkie talkies, and I in the van had one. The windows of the van were closed and the kids transmitted directions smoothly.
One evening (I was focused on side mirrors) my oldest said “who the heck is that guy?” I hit the brakes and looked forward… there indeed was a guy in front swinging his arms etc etc trying to direct me!!! 😳
I opened the window and explained that we had it covered but … thank you🙄
I had to just ignore him as he still stood there arms crossed like he was waiting for some mishaps. When we were in perfectly (the best ever!) he snorted and stormed back to his rig😂
The next morning his wife came over and congratulated the kids & I on our great parking job. She then apologized for her husband’s behavior!
She said “I tried to stop him, pulling on his shirt & pants even! I told him you were doing great and he should just sit down! But nooo he stormed out.
If I had held on any longer he would have gone out NAKED! “ ❤️😂❤️😂
I've never liked people watching me do anything, I'm so easily intimidated. I try not to be, but it can be tough.
The suspense! Well, did they answer the phone?? Jk, hope you had a good time at Dis. FYI- you can swim w/ the dolphins at sea world discovery cove. Now if they just had a campground 🤔
Laverne M Johnson SP in Lyons, CO. Great place to stay near RMNP!!!
We just booked 3 nights over Memorial Day weekend at Niagara Falls. Not only backing up but bothering you while you are hooking up water, electric and sewer.
Rocky Mountain National Park is my favorite place to go, we just love it there. We lived in Fort Collins for almost 3 years and we went into the park all the time to hike we sure do miss living there but it is way to expensive to live there now we lived there from 2006 to 2009.
We roadtrip fast…in a CAR…but not that fast! I just got back from a 9 day trip and Death Valley NP took two days! You need to allocate at least one day for the smaller parks and two for the bigger ones. Even at that pacing it's tiring. We are about to embark on a 17 day 7 NP trip and that's fairly fast. You have to realize that you are NOT going to see all of a park in that short of time…it's like appetizers…something wonderful to whet your appetite and something to look forward to returning and see it more fully. In a RV you need time to sit back and "digest" the day before…maybe even a couple of days to digest (yes, apparently I'm fixated on food and need to get lunch! LOL!) Conserving water is always my main worry. Do you guys do back up jugs? We've considered a 5 gallon to keep in our truck bed…just in case. Can't believe you were STILL on hold for over 2 hours! As always, thanks for the advice!
Definitely worried about all of the cancellation policies changing, it's really hard. Just don't understand why online payments can't be done everywhere.
We are in Jville now, and hiked around Ft. Caroline today, we too laughed at the mountains on the mural!!! We were both raised here in Jville but had not spent any time here. It was a great day!!!!
Not the famous..”Don’t hang up, your call is important to us and will be handled in the order it arrived”. If its so important, why do they feel that 1+ hour of hold time is acceptable.?
I think the big thing people need to understand is those who are short term vacationers (1-2 weeks) have to treat their time differently than fulltimers and extended vacationers (3+ weeks). Short term vacationers are trying to cram in as much as possible and see the highlights at most places, and don't have the time to do the extra stuff a more long term stay person would be able to do. I have done both and have learned to research the extra stuff and just do that stuff, if I can do a drive-by of the main highlights.
It's amusing hearing you talk about connectivity. I tent camped in a National Park a few years ago where you were lucky if you could get a cellphone signal!