Our month-long stay at the Orchid Lake RV Resort is now over and we have traveled the 320 or so miles north to Savannah, GA. The month of February just flew by like crazy. I thought time went slowly while working. But now, it is like a hyperdrive. Kind of scary. The highlights of our month there were meeting many friendly people and making some new friends. We also enjoyed the warmest February on record for the Tampa, FL area. Very nice.
The warm weather was the reason we wintered in Florida. It was about 9 months ago that we booked this place after calling a few others that were fully booked. It had many amenities and a good monthly rate, so we booked it. And after our stay, we are certainly glad that we found it. I may write on review on it later on. We will come back here again in a couple of years, but next winter the tentative plan is far south Texas.
The weather was warm with daytime temps in the mid-80’s and nighttime in the mid-60’s. Usually sunny everyday. Over the entire month, we had rain one day and something called a sea fog one other day. The sea fog is similar to fog, but includes a mist like rain. It was gone by mid-morning, similar to fog.
Some of the amenities of the Florida RV park are the heated pool, miles of walking, 2-3 concerts per week, many dinners, shuffleboard courts, three club houses, pool table, library, workout room, and many organized games.
All of our neighbors were here for 3-4 months, arriving in December or early January and leaving sometime in March. They have all been coming to this park for years as well and knew each other well. We soon became friends with them after discussing the matters of the world at our campsites.
We were the first of our immediate neighbors to leave to start the migration pattern back north. I’m sure they will use the site to spread out a bit and park an extra car. We will miss these folks. Our neighbors were Lonnie and Patty from North Carolina, Bill and Diane from Delaware, Steve and Kathy from Indiana, Bill and Debbie from Michigan, and Joe from Flint, MI (forgot his wife’s name). It truly is a small world as Steve is from the same Indiana town as I am, Terre Haute. We traded stories about this Hoosier town and people we both knew.
Just like when we arrived, the whole neighborhood turned out to say goodbye. We starting rolling a little late at 10:30 am, but only had about 150 miles to drive to a KOA in Starke, FL. for a one night stayover. We swam in the pool, played some corn hole bean bag toss, and walked around the park. I did not unhook the truck or even put the jacks down for the one night. It was not perfectly level, but plenty good enough for the RV refrigerator that does require it to be sort of level.
The next morning it was an easy get away by 9:30 am and after a quick stop we arrived at about 1:30 pm in our new destination in Savannah, GA. We really like this city after coming here last May, right after I retired from my accounting job. We enjoyed it so much last year, we decided to stop again on the way north and to stay for an entire month. This will give us plenty of time to see the missed sights from last year’s week-long stay and to also include many plain old relaxing days.
Due to the 320 miles further north, the weather is predicted to be much colder than Florida in our first week here. The highs will average in the mid-60’s and lows in the mid-40’s. Hopefully, the second week will warm up slightly. When we were last in Savannah it was in the 90’s each day and we were withering after walking for miles around town. So the change will be good.
We are staying at Red Gate RV Resort, the same place we stayed as last year. It is a beautiful campground that doubles as an event location for weddings and such and they have horse events with a large field with jump gates. It is also the closest RV park to Savannah. Yesterday, after arriving in a strong wind storm, we drove the 15 minutes to the Riverfront area for dinner.
The truck and camper did very well on this windy travel day. I was traveling north and east and had a strong south west wind. My fuel mileage while towing was the best that I can remember at 11.3 mpg. I am still impressed with this Ford F-350 dually’s ability to handle the 16,000 pound 5th wheel. Starting from stop lights, stopping, and when passed by semis. No issues at all. And I’m passed by many trucks as I tend to drive slow at 60-62 mph. I’m retired and in no hurry anymore!
It should be a fun change of pace. I’ll miss the tropical climates and palm trees, but aside from the beaches, Florida is a land of vast strip malls and much traffic. Walking through the historic Savannah I still marvel at the rows of southern mansions laid out in a park filled grid. Beautiful!
We are in Savannah until April 1st. Take care and God Bless.
Sounds like things are going smoothly. Enjoy and keep us updated.
Things are going very well. Thanks for following along.