The
Voyage Has Begun
This
time it's not through the water but over the road. The great thing is Diana
isn't carsick like she was seasick so it is much better for her. The last
several weeks at TGO were a blur. Each day seemed to fill in before you knew it
with Tia chi, biking, sewing, socials, walks, birding and kayaking. The last
week was filled with lots of goodbye social get together with friends.
We
departed Titusville February 24th for Sarasota to join an Airstream Rally. This
was our madden voyage with the Airstream. I am happy to say all went well. It's
not too tough hauling a 30-foot trailer. Driving down the highway was less
stressful than we realized. I am sure there will be challenges in the future
but we aren't going to think about that now. The tires on the trailer are only
rated for 65 mph so I keep it around 62 and let everyone pass me. Now I am the
slow guy in the right lane. Wave when you go by, hahaha.
Alumaflamongo,
the rally, was held at the Sarasota Fair grounds. About 165 Airstream Trailers
attended it. They ranged in age from brand new to vintage 1958. Also there were
Airstreams that they don't make any more, buses, class B motor homes and 34
footers. On the last day it was open house so we got to check out many of the
vintage trailers. We also attended several seminars and learned a lot. On that
note when we arrived and were setting up the trailer we went to deploy the
large main awning and quickly realized we had forgotten how to do it. It was
too tight in Titusville to use it and the last time it was deployed was when we
got our demo last spring when we bought it. Not to worry our neighbor was an
experienced Air-streamer and came to the rescue. We also met many nice people
who we hope to meet up with in the future. It really made us feel like we did
when we were cruising on the boat, pulling in to a new spot, meeting
like-minded people and everyone helping each other out.
The
other highlight of last week was a visit from Abe. He joined us Wednesday night
after work. We had a nice dinner then later we got a knock on the door asking
if we were going to volunteer for Habitat For Humanity through the Rally. We
looked at Abe because it was his day off; he said of coarse "sign us
up". We worked the next morning from 7:30-11. We were asked to paint and
later David helped dig a trench and fill it in. Thankfully the rain stopped at
7am so we were able to accomplish what was needed.
On
Sunday everyone went off in they’re own direction. Our direction was to visit
the first of 4 State Parks here in Florida. Alafia River SP was only a 2-hour
drive north and east of Sarasota. It is very quiet and serene here. Last night
the marsh beside us came alive. A symphony of bird and frog sounds. We didn't know if the noise would keep
us awake but it serenaded us to sleep. The park is home to the best off road
bike trails that Florida has to offer. They range from easy to difficult. I
plan to stay alive and avoid the difficult trails. After today's ride both my
bike and I were caked in mud. There is abundant wildlife, hiking trails and
kayaking opportunities. We have since found out the because of the rainfall
here the day before we arrived the river is off limits at the county and state
day park. We ventured to the day park thinking we could kayak there but that
branch of the river was too high. Even though it has reseeded 18 inches; all
the docks are still under water and the current is still to strong. It could
wrap an aluminum canoe around a tree. We have found a branch that is usually is
only inches deep and has lots of dry spots but right now is navigatable so we
will be trying that tomorrow.
In a
week we have our longest leg of our journey North up to the panhandle of
Florida.
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