My glasses are so fogged
up I can't see anything, not even the vague shape of our travel
trailer that I know is right behind me. I know it's still there, I
just can't make it out. I stepped out of our air-conditioned trailer
to walk Taz, our 10 year old Golden Retriever, after a thunderous
night of storms, and before I go ten feet, I am basically sightless
as my glasses fog over as if they had been sprayed with paint. Even
Taz, our normally nature-loving and free-spirited, four legged family
member, can't wait to get back inside where civilization is meant to
reside. It is only 8:25 am in the morning.
Even worse, by the time
I sit down to write this, just a little after 12 noon, it is exactly
100 degrees Fahrenheit outside. We put our regular trailer
thermometer on the table outside – in the shade, of course – and
wait 20 minutes for the reading. We know it isn't broken because it
soon drops back into the "fit for human habitation" range
just a few minutes after I remount it on the trailer wall. If we were
watching Star Trek, I'm not sure this campground would be on a class
M planet.
We are in one of our
favorite campgrounds, the Stephen Foster Cultural Center State Park
just north of Lake City, Florida, just a few miles south of the
Georgia/Florida border, uh, sorry, State Line. Today though, the
massive, Spanish moss draped oaks can't salvage the visit. This isn't
fun, no matter how you feel about camping or this beautiful
campground.
Ilse and I just spent
the last three weeks near Bishop, Georgia, camped at our daughter's
house. Instead of heading cross country this year, we spent the
hottest part of summer doing our best to help with balancing new jobs
and product training by staying with them instead. We had a grand
time with the family and of course our granddaughter, but when the
time was right, we headed south, back to Florida, rather than heading
north to the cooler mountains. We were going to spend some time up in
the Georgia mountains just to avoid Florida in August, but we changed
our forgetful and forgiving minds and decided to head home.
We spent three days
earlier in the year at another of our favorite Florida campgrounds, Anastasia
State Park in St. Augustine, with friends who were visiting the area
for the first time. That was our only other camping trip this year - that explains the absence of my blogs - besides
heading to Georgia. This year was the least time we had used the
travel trailer since we picked it up, so we planned a three-day stop at
another of our favorite parks at Wekiwa Springs on the way home from Georgia. We stopped at Stephen
Foster before heading toward Orlando and Wekiwa, as a pleasant,
casual spot we usually enjoy. We are to visit with friends while
we are at Wekiwa, so our stop here is just for fun and a good
dinner. No reason to rush, we were on vacation after all. I just hadn't
counted on the incredible temperature.
Our first warning
happened just after we first pulled in a little before 4:00pm
yesterday afternoon. I dropped the landing gear and connected
everything in record time as sweat poured off me. With water and
electric power connected, we cranked up the air conditioner and we
prepared to shower and fix dinner, but our air-conditioner kept
popping the 30 amp circuit breaker, a first for us. We have never had
a circuit breaker shut off on us before. Overload because of too much
amperage being drawn.
"Click," and
everything shuts down. We put the refrigerator on propane and shut
off all electrical service except the A/C just to keep it running and
our stripped down, encapsulated environment continues to allow us to
live in a relatively comfortable state. We have friends who suffered
through temperatures in the 120 degree range while they traveled out
west last year, and ended up using 50 amp service – the electrical
service plugs usually used by the big Class "A" and Fifth
Wheel RV units - just to keep their A/C running. Now I understand
why.
Ilse and I have already
decided that suffering for fun isn't something we're prepared to do.
Somehow, we just aren't into masochism as an entertainment venue. It
now appears we should have extended our trip up north rather than
head back two weeks early. Oh well, we're here now. Time for a glass
of wine.
NEXT: Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park, Love Bugs, and other Florida tidbits, at:
http://sleepstwo.blogspot.com/2015/04/love-bugs-and-other-florida-experiences.html
