galeckiadventure.com

Tag: #FL

  • Feb 5 2025: Winter Quarters fun

    This morning Steve took Lexie for a walk at Tom Bennet Park. The park is less than half a mile from the campground, but we took the car to keep Lexie off the busy road. While the park is close to I-75, Lexie was enjoying the connection with nature. The park has several ponds, and a large disc golf course. We walked about 2 miles this morning. Sorry, Lexie didn’t make the pictures.

    Steve w Lexie at Tom Bennet Park
    Steve w Lexie at Tom Bennet Park, 180 spin

    Vicki and Steve made it to a golf course today (after Vicki’s water aerobic class). The course is a flat and fast 1600 yards. But we enjoyed the fresh air and swinging the golf clubs. Vicki scored better than Steve, again. But at least on this course Steve’s score was at six or less for all the holes.

    Vicki teeing off at River Isles Golf Club
    Golfing at hole 7

    In the evening Steve and Vicki made went to Billy’s Loft (at Billy’s Stone Crab) in Tierra Verde to listen to Pete Merrigan. We met Greg and Barb there and spent the evening talking about travels. We did listen a little to Pete. And Vicki was able to join him near the end of the evening for a couple of songs. On Wednesday the Loft empties around 6:30, so there was ample opportunity for Vicki to join Pete (and his bass player Pat)

    Greg and Barb looking great for having just returned from New Zealand
    Greg Barb Steve and Vicki at the Loft
    Pete Merrigan
    Vicki singing Me and Bobby McGee
    Vicki singing Shame and Scandal

    V – What a great day! First round of golf in 2025, it was rough but not pitiful. As always the most important part is the FUN, being outdoors, getting some great shots and some not so great shots is just part of the game. Always good to see Pete, wonderful to catch up with Greg and Barb and meet some new folks – Pansy and Pat, the bass player. Amazing grouper piccata for dinner. Back to Bradenton, Lexie was chillin’ on the couch.

  • Feb 4 2025: Winter Quarters, day 5

    We are still working out our routine. Vicki attended her BSF Bible Study this morning on zoom. I relaxed.

    We took a ride to Anna Marie Island and went to Manatee Beach. Lexie was with us, and I found out that dogs are not welcome on Florida beaches. But Vicki got her feet into the ocean.

    Manatee Beach Ocean view
    Manatee Beach Ocean view with Vicki
    Manatee Beach: NO dogs
    Manatee Beach Ocean beach welcome sign
    Manatee Beach Ocean beach with Vickis toes

    The grill was turned on and we cooked a steak. Overcooked a steak. Another item I forgot at home was the meat thermometer. And the grill was hotter than I wanted, so the meat cooked faster.

    grilling station
    first cook out dinner
    first cook out before the bugs won

    The bugs have won the war! The fan I bought helps, the REPEL helps, but the bugs still come. Lexie doesn’t want to go outside. Neither do the humans. The bugs appear to be in the area our site is at, the community center doesn’t appear to have this problem. Neither did the beach…

    V-the bugs appear at the pool as well, but not the hot tub! One overcast morning we were getting bombed during aerobics. I see why FL residents all have screened in pools, porches, patios and even yards. Wild to be zooming with the Bible Study group and they are all in heavy sweaters, gray skies where you can see windows and it’s sunny, warm and delightful here. So thankful to be doing this trip and having the convenience of taking “home” with us.

  • Feb 3 2025: Winter Quarters (3rd 0 mile day, liking this not moving)

    The morning started with a short walk with Lexie and Steve. The traffic outside our campground is busy, especially early in the morning. And it freaks out Lexie. As an alternative Steve took Lexie to a dog park to let her run around without a leash. Lexie mostly walked around.

    Lexie in the dog park not running

    But Lexie is getting good at relaxing:

    Lexie not using her outside bed

    Vicki joined a water aerobics groups this morning and will be going regularly.

    Steven took a longer bike ride, same route:

    feb 3 2025 bike ride

    We bought a fan for outdoor use with the intent of blowing away the no seeums.

    And the shower pan has been sealed to the shower walls so we can use the shower. But I think the bath house shower will still be the preferred location.

    V-I am loving the water aerobics class every morning at 10 am. Really good exercise (I’m feeling it) and a great start time – I can still have time to relax in the morning before going to exercise, hot tub, swim. Steven is enjoying the daily Lexie walks, bike rides and we both are enjoying the really nice people we are meeting. Now it is feeling like camping/glamping, being in one place for 3 days and really relaxed. Great view. Cooking in this RV is so easy, I love all the storage spots, sleeping good, bed is comfy. Love this vacation.

  • Feb 2 2025: More Winter Quarters (and another 0 mile day)

    Not a lot of exciting things happened today. Which is good. I got my first bike ride in:

    feb 2 2025 bike ride

    Vicki went to a local church and felt spiritually recharged. The sermon was on loving your brother, and that we know we belong to God when we love each other. Steven watched a Cleveland TV Mass. But next week he will go to a local church with our neighbors across the road.

    In the evening, we went to the Bradenton River Walk (off the Manatee River). We only walked a short while on the river walk, there were parks, large signs touting postcards from Bradenton, and access to the river. The first park we went to had children playing soccer, with many Spanish phrases filling the air.

    Bradenton River Walk RR drawbridge view
    Bradenton River Walk decoration (see the manatee)
    Bradenton River Walk with Lexie
    Bradenton River Walk entrance
    Bradenton River Walk with Lexie overlooking Manatee River

    For dinner we grabbed barbecue brisket sandwiches from Sonny’s, a southern barbecue chain. We always try to stop at Sonny’s on our travels. Sonny’s is close to our campground (as is a Cracker Barrel)

    After the sandwiches we joined the (Galecki) Cousin’s Zoom call. Ken Galecki did a great job organizing it, and Cynthia kept everyone involved in the process. There were 15 cousins on line as well as the two surviving uncles: Joe and Ervin. We had five minutes to talk about ourselves and what has happened in the past 40 years. Some did better than others. We also shared a cousin memory, and there were two common themes. One was how Mark Galecki’s shenanigans were remembered. The other was how my siblings couldn’t keep track of Ervin’s kids and their names. In our defense, Uncle Ervin had six boys that we saw only once a year, if we were lucky.

    V- Lexie is doing better at this spot. She’s got her outdoor bed that keeps her off the ground. We are making more use of the outdoor kitchen and outdoor radio speakers. We haven’t opened the outdoor TV yet. Playing board games and then watching a DVD are the things we usually do at home in the evenings and we’re doing them here as well. Absolutely LOVING the sunshine and warm weather.

    We noticed dead fish along the shoreline on Saturday. Today nature’s solution showed up. These buzzards/vultures are HUGE, They swarmed the sky and the shorelines. At one point, there were about fifteen of these huge birds right behind our RV. These pictures don’t do justice but give you an idea.

  • Feb 1 2025: Encore Winter Quarters Manatee (0 miles)

    Steve tried to take Lexie on a walk at our RV park. Lexie refused to go further than 0.75 miles out before we turned around. She is very jittery about the highway noise.

    Steve washed the winter weather grime off the RV at the campsite. This took about 40 minutes but the RV now looks much better.

    Steve picked up a rental car: a Ford Edge. It looks like a nice car and the large screen is great for directions. Much better than the smaller screen I have in the 2015 Prius. I took an Uber to get the rental, the Uber was a Tesla. I can understand why people love the Tesla, the display showed all the surrounding traffic.

    Next came the draining of the gray and black water tanks. This was uneventful. Thankfully. One eventful draining is enough for a lifetime.

    The site looks good and it is easy to relax in. Lexi definitely thinks so, she is reclining outside on her outside doggie bed. One downside: no wifi, so we are using our phones as local hot spots.

    Winter Quarters campsite setup

    And Vicki has spent a lot of time finding good homes for all our stuff.

    Dan and Andrea came to visit in the afternoon. We had cheese and crackers while enjoying a visit. I have yet to ask him how our site compares to ‘Trailer Park Boys’.

    We were supposed to go to Dan and Andrea’s place, but Steve had problems activating the SunPass we picked up. He spent an hour trying to figure out how to activate the SunPass through the internet. The obvious method, create an account and register the device, didn’t work. This method would send you a SunPass by mail in 7-10 days. But after clicking many buttons on the app, there was a button that said “Register Device”. In that flow you could create an account before registering the Sunpass.

    We could have used the EZ Pass, if we had brought it. But the SunPass was $15, cheaper than paying for the tolls through the rental car company. So instead of visiting Dan and Andrea, we had another night of ravioli (we are running out of Cleveland food!)

    Ravioli for dinner

    V-We also discovered the no-see-ums, or they discovered us. Nasty little critters that bite and buzz and itch – we’ve tried a few things suggested by the locals. They chase us indoors when they are swarming. Unfortunately, these guys aren’t sticking to the schedule of dusk, overcast and cloudy. Our camping areas here are pretty and we’re right on the lake. They live in the grass near still or slow waters – yep, that’s us. We’re doing what we can, spraying, using a fan outdoors to blow them away, Thermacell bug chaser and my citronella bracelets. Stevens’s been slathering on the aloe vera gel for the itching.

  • Jan 30 2025: Devil’s Den (0 miles)

    Today our Winnie didn’t move. It felt great not having to get onto the road and driving for hours. We took our time and spent a lot of that time talking to our neighbors.

    One neighbor (two sites down) has a 1999 Dutch Star Newmar. He was a fount of knowledge, and I felt better about after talking to him. He had some interesting stories and advice, especially regarding tire pressure monitors. Vicki and I are very worried about getting a flat tire, so we bought a tire pressure monitor system. And while I am driving I am getting real time information about the tires. I just didn’t know what it meant, especially after the tire pressures increased by 10 to 15 pounds while driving. Was that good or bad? What was bad? But the advice I got was that I didn’t need to be too concerned unless the air pressure started to drop quickly.

    Our neighbor next to us also has a Newmar. 42 feet long (compared to my 30 feet). I thought he had been using it since August. That was partially true, they have had the Newmar since August of 2023. Newmar is a very respected, premium motorhome and we got to see the inside of their motorhome. It is also a very luxurious RV. While I am still happy with mine, I like hearing about different features and modifications that can be done to the RV. Like solar panels.

    We made up for not moving the RV by having some local adventures. This morning Lexie and I took a 2.5 mile walk around the Devil’s Den grounds and to the ‘botanical gardens’ next door. We walked around a large pond area in the campgrounds that was surrounded by tropical flora. After that we walked to the ‘botanical gardens’ next door to check it out. At 8am we were very early and the gardens weren’t open.

    morning hike around Devils Den

    Breakfast was scrambled eggs. It is very nice to be able to cook a breakfast and clean up properly with running water afterwards.

    Around noon, Vicki and I walked over to Devil’s Den proper. Devil’s Den is the name of an underground spring that is set up for snorkeling and scuba. The cavern itself isn’t very large but I wanted to go snorkeling in it. The water was 72 F, and I didn’t mind getting wet. I didn’t stay in very long, but while there I did see some fish.

    going into the sinkhole area
    Devils Den sinkhole
    Devils Den sinkhole with Vicki
    down to the sinkhole
    Getting ready for the plunge
    Looking for the fishes
    inside sinkhole showing the sunlight
    Steven swimming from the sunlight
    souvenir shirt

    The grounds are really geared for scuba diving, there is a large ‘fish pond’ next to the underground spring that has lots of picnic tables and a walking trail. The grounds are easy on the eyes. But it appears that the ‘fish pond’ will be used for scuba lessons.

    The rest of the afternoon was spent talking to neighbors (see first paragraphs) and finding better homes for our cargo.

    Vicki- it’s pretty interesting to have all these nooks and crannies and storage areas, both inside and outside this RV. Still trying to get better organized. We bought a bunch of storage baskets before we left but you don’t know what you don’t know until you’re living it. Staying 2 days felt like a treat. First time I really relaxed. I’m usually a water baby, but 72 degree water held me back. I’m still trying to warm up from when we left home at -7 degrees and OH at 29 degrees, Tennessee at 21 degrees, etc. Still wearing long sleeves. Picture below captured the southern beauty (and Spanish moss) in this park. The pictures of the ‘pond’ just don’t capture the immensity of it.

  • Jan 31 2025: onward to Bradenton (160 miles)

    While taking Lexie for our morning walk I saw this old oak with branches drooping to the ground. It reminded me of the old oak in Louisiana that my brothers would climb on. The branch in Louisiana didn’t touch the ground, so we would get it moving up and down, left and right.

    Old oak with hanging branches at Devil’s Den

    We had planned to leave the campsite at 10am, but as I started to drive my tire sensor said I had 11 pounds of pressure in a tire. The tire pressure should have been closer to 82 pounds. So we stopped the RV for 40 minutes while I checked the air pressure and filled the tires. It appears that the tire monitor was not connected fully to the valve. And I had trouble getting readings from that tire with my tire gauges. Maybe the valve stem was blocked/kinked? I eventually got it working, reading the right pressure and believing the number.

    Lexi getting ready for the road

    The rest of the trip was uneventful. We stopped once to stretch our legs. We drove through Tampa (and some congested traffic) before finally reaching our campsite in Bradenton. The site they assigned us was very close to the freeway. And Lexie does not like freeways. So I asked for a different campsite, and paid an upcharge to get a site farther from the highway, and on the lake.

    Winter Quarters campsite
    Encore Winter Quarters Manatee campsite view
    Grumpy Steve after setting up camp

    We are at Encore Winter Quarters Manatee, off of a creek that goes to the Manatee River. This site is quiet and people are friendly. But the sites are packed in. The freeway noise is noticeable and does freak Lexie out a bit. One other distraction: no see-ums (if you know what those are, you know what I mean. )

    Another early night after dinner. We played Machu Koro, I won this round of games. And I did flip my utilities over to the correct side before starting the game.

    Machu Koro game night

    All this fresh air is exhausting! Another early to bed night!

    Vicki-great view of their lake with fountain. Both neighbors have permanent sites and are traveling so it’s feeling quiet and a bit private. We’re meeting really nice people at these RV parks. And seeing some HUGE, luxury motorhomes and trailers. Definitely glamping! Still finding homes for our gear, food and stuff.

  • Jan 29 2025: Traveling to Devil’s Den (258 miles)

    I learned today that it is not a good decision to take Lexie for a walk near a freeway. Lexie and I went for our early morning walk, which ended up being about 40 yards from I-75. A noisy I-75. Lexie went into a kinda shock, trying to get away from the freeway every chance she had. And she stopped listening to me. When she finally started listening again (because the freeway was far enough away), she wouldn’t look at me. She remained skittish until we had been driving again for about an hour.

    Today’s morning routine now included removing the water hose from the campground faucet. So far there have been no major problems while traveling. Lots of small problems though. The most bothersome problem is having the doors open (example: the refrigerator door) while we are traveling. We haven’t had anything fall out yet, but it is a matter of time. Our shopping list now includes tension rods that we can use to keep the doors closed as they push the door against the other side of the RV.

    We stopped at two rest areas today. There was no need for gas!

    The first rest area was in Georgia, and there was a large wooded area in the back that I walked Lexie in. Vicki and I had lunch in the RV: ham/turkey sandwiches and pasta salad.

    Lexi at the Georgia rest area
    Lunch at the Georgia rest area

    The second rest area was at the Florida welcome center, where we got small glasses of Florida orange juice and grapefruit juice. We also got a lot of information about items of (tourist) interest in the places in Florida we were visiting.

    FLA welcome center

    We got to our campground, Devil’s Den, ten minutes before the office closed. God is definitely watching over us, I was not aware that the office closed at 4:30. The route suggested by my RV Life app included some unpaved roads! Unpaved, narrow, bumpy roads. The preferences on the maps app for our next travel day have already been adjusted.

    unpaved road into Devils Den

    The site at Devil’s Den is very pleasant, spacious and quiet (no road noise!) There is no bath house, so we will be really using the RV’s amenities for the next two days. There are also tall trees so close the RV that we can’t open the awning. And we are parked on Florida sand.

    Devils Den campsite
    Vicki relaxing at camp
    relaxing in the evening

    We took out the camp chairs and relaxed in the warm air in the evening. We didn’t need the awning. Lexie was tied to the RV, she spent most of her time laying down near us.

    I briefly met our neighbor. This is their first long road trip with their RV, and they are from Willoughby, OHIO. Hopefully we will talk to them more tomorrow.

    Something to note: my fitbit says that I have been getting over 15000 steps a day while traveling. Most of those steps are from the RV shaking my arm back and forth

    Vicki – This is such a relaxing campground. Lots of shade, pretty quiet and feeling like we’re really in rural FL. We just found out the more civilized route (paved road) actually has stores, etc. LOL. It was lovely to have our appetizers, buffalo chix dip and crackers in this place that really feels like camping/glamping.