Homeward Bound

 

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Friday January 27, 2023

It’s down to the wire in South Florida; our departure from Southern Comfort RV Park is on Wednesday morning. We ran into town today to run a few errands, most importantly to buy stamps and mail a birthday card.  

Millie and I discussed going to the Rodeo on Saturday. It is an annual event held at the fairgrounds here in Homestead. We both think some of the events treat animals cruelly and decided we didn’t wish to support this activity with our presence. 

For the last outing of our winter sojourn in Homestead we went to Biscayne Bay National Park which is only a few miles to the east of the campground.

Biscayne Bay National Park

The park hasn’t changed much since last time we were here. The only noticeable thing was it appears the decking on the walk along the water has been replaced recently. It’s a nice walk and is only about ½ mile each way. The whole walk is along the water front or on a narrow jetty that runs out into the bay.

The jetty walkway

 

The one big change is the cost of a 3 hour boat ride that runs to Boca Chita Key, a popular and scenic barrier island at the outer edge of the Biscayne Bay. The last time we were here about four years ago it cost about $20 a person for the trip, which includes a landing and short layover on the island. Today’s cost is $60 per person.

300 miles to New Port Richey

On the first of February we got underway at a little after 8 am, well before our usual 9 am get-aways. That’s ok we have about 300 miles to travel today and most of my planned route is on local roads with just 2 short jaunts on interstates.

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Our destination is Orchid Lake RV Resort in New Port Richey Florida. We have RV friends who stay the winter in a nearby park called Ja-Mar RV Resort. We haven’t seen them in a long time and wanted to visit with them even for just a day. 

Our friends, Clay and Rebecca

We enjoyed our time with Clay and Rebecca Fingar, catching up on all the things that have happened in our lives since the last time we were together. We capped off the day with a pleasant meal together at a waterfront restaurant called The Widow Fletchers.

The Widow Fletchers 

This is the first time in many a year that we’ve been on the west coast of Florida. I have other friends that live not far from New Port Richey, but we really do need to go home. I have an appointment for an eye injection in a few days and I need it. I’ve noticed the vision in my right eye has been changing, I can see ok, but I have to be closer than normal to read street signs. The injection will clear that up and the experience has taught me that I can’t go 8 weeks between shots. 

This is a joke, but I think I've shared a road or two with people who see like this!

On Friday morning we left Orchid Lakes and drove back over to the east coast. We have to stop in Green Cove Springs to pick up our mail from our forwarding service. While we were there we ate lunch in the RV before continuing north. 

New port Richey to Green Cove Springs

By early afternoon we were in Georgia at our planned overnight stop just off exit 49. It was only 2:30 and I decided to drive further before stopping for the night. Shortly after entering South Carolina (exit 33) we stopped at a KOA campground just off the interstate (I-95)

KOA at Yemassee SC

In the morning it was wet and cold and I really wanted to go back south but we had to go home. We took alternate 17 to Georgetown and merged onto Hwy 17, a road we’ve traveled many times. Before long Highway 17 took us almost to our door. We decided go directly home with the RV and unload it there before returning it to the storage lot. 

Home

And so it was, that we were busy unloading while almost directly overhead Air Force F-22 fighters were shooting down a “spy” balloon and we didn’t even notice the excitement. It must have been exciting; it’s been the talk of the town for a week afterwards.

The great balloon caper!

I’m sure you’ve seen some of the memes on social media, here’s a couple of my favorites.

I've seen this same picture with captions from different states.

You've got to admit, that is funny!