Thursday, February 7, 2019
It has been quite a while since I posted anything on this blog. I apologize for that. Although we have done a few things worth documenting, for some reason I just didn’t write about them. The 37th annual Marion County Chili Cook-Off was certainly interesting. It was held last November at the Marion County Southeastern Livestock Pavilion to benefit the Cornerstone School, “an independent Pre-K through Middle school located in Ocala which fosters creative learning within our community”. The entrance fee was minimal and 1-ounce paper cups for tasting sold for 25¢ a piece. Each cup fell apart after one use, so we went through a few dollars there.
There were dozens of booths set up for vendors to serve hundreds of gallons of chili. The vendors were a varied group: several real estate companies; Firefighters; Marion Technical College; private families; numerous restaurants; first responders; City of Ocala Water Resources; Brookdale Chambrel (assisted living); etc., etc., etc. The Cook-Off advertised, “This event will showcase products like wine, whiskey, vodka, beer-based products, suitable kilts, Celtic items such as fudge, haggis and whiskey chocolates, and much more.”
As usual for us, we arrived just as they opened in the morning so the line was practically nonexistent. We tasted several different types of chili even though neither of us are really big chili lovers. We prefer Texas no-bean chili, but there wasn’t any no-bean chili at this cook-off. We marveled at the unique and inventive ways different vendors tried to get our attention as we walked by. The one that stands out in my mind the most was a rather large young woman dancing to raucous music while wearing a red tutu. YES!! She got our attention.
By noon we were sufficiently sufficed as to not need any lunch. We had walked the whole pavilion and tasted more than enough chili. We passed stalls for face-painting, kitchen gadgets and chili-related items such as earrings, aprons, cups, tablecloths, shirts, etc. – all sporting red chili peppers. The temperature had climbed well past 90° and there were wall-to-wall people.
Voting ballots were given to each person with their entrance ticket, so we voted for the chili we liked best. We both voted for the firemen’s bacon chili. We later learned that the Firemen’s Local 2135 had won Grand Champion in the People’s Choice division. However, we are not sure which local we had voted for.
As we headed toward the car we passed the entrance line and were amazed to see there were probably 50-100 people waiting to get in. More were arriving in a long line of cars at the police-directed entrance. It was very, very hot. This was a very interesting experience and we are glad we did it. However, we doubt that we will attend again next year.
Today with the Roo, we headed to the annual Hamcation in Orlando. I believe this is either the 13th or 14th year we have made this trip. This day could not have started better. As we did our final packing this morning we saw many people walking dogs or biking around OTOW, enjoying this glorious weather. The sun is shining, there are only a few wispy clouds in the sky, the temperature is in the low 70s and the air is dry. Today is the perfect Florida day.
Our drive south was uneventful and we saw the very same things we have seen dozens of times before. We bypassed the Interstate and rolled through pastoral roads with huge old-growth trees dripping with Spanish moss. Cattle, horses, goats and pigs.
In all the years we have been attending Hamcation, we always stayed at the same place, Stage Stop Campground in Winter Garden, a suburb of Orlando. Over the years, I have written about how it has improved each year from very run down to quite nice. Last year we were surprised that there were very few empty sites, but this year when we called to reserve a site, we were told they would be sold out in February. We had called in NOVEMBER! Our next choice is just down the street from Stage Stop.
At first glance, Winter Garden RV seems to have a lot to offer. It is better situated because it is within walking distance to stores. It would be nice to go for a pleasant walk rather than taking the car just to buy a loaf of bread. However, the shine wore off this place quickly and it went downhill very fast.
When we entered the office, the woman looked out the window, saw the Roo and commented that it wouldn’t fit in the site reserved for it. What??? The person who took our reservation had reserved a 20’ site for our 32’ motorhome! The first question any-and-every campground asks is how long our rig is. Our hearts sank. Then she began searching through all the sites on her computer trying to find us a place to park. While she was looking, another man came into the office and said he had checked in and was given a site, only to go there and find that it was flooded and unusable.
Back in the Roo…the engine wouldn’t start up. After several anxious minutes it started, but we will have to have that looked at soon. We disconnected the car and I led the way to the site. It is a bit wider than some, but not long enough for a really big rig. It fits us, however, and Al backed in easily, despite the deep muddy ruts. Al left the Roo running while he hooked up the utilities. The stanchion is in deplorable condition. It is the post where all the power and water are attached. I took pictures. An anole sunned himself beneath large rust holes. Anoles are a small Florida lizard that many people incorrectly call a gecko. Oh yes…and the electricity didn’t work.
We let the Roo continue running while we waited for the electrician, because we didn’t know if the Roo would have trouble starting again. The electrician got the electricity working but the cable was iffy. When they left, they told us there was free ice cream in the rec room. Al couldn’t keep the cable working but our antenna is good enough to pick up several TV stations. To top it all, this CG charges exactly DOUBLE what Stage Stop CG charges. This is the most we have ever paid for a CG anywhere in all of North America. It won’t happen again.
Total miles for the day: 73.3.
Friday, February 8, 2019
Sleeping was comfortable and we only needed a little heat first thing in the morning before the air really started to heat up. In years past, Hamcation didn’t open until noon on Friday, and then early Saturday and Sunday. However, around 9:00 this morning Al learned that it had opened early today. He usually tries to get there when the doors open, so he left as soon as he could. I spent this morning putting this posting together.
Al arrived home (to the Roo) in late afternoon. He was exhausted and said he thinks this was the largest Hamcation yet. Just as a reminder for those of you who are unfamiliar with this event, this year’s 73rd Annual Orlando Hamcation is the nation’s second-largest gathering of amateur radio operators. Enthusiasts from all over the world come to see the latest in communications technology and have some fun. It is an opportunity for hundreds of individuals and businesses to buy, sell, and trade all kinds of electronic equipment: new and used radios; antiques; computer stuff; towers; antennas; digital modes; commercial radios and more. It is also an opportunity for Al to get together with some of the other amateur radio operators he speaks with over the radio during the year. And he usually comes home with unidentifiable and miscellaneous gadgets, widgets and thingies to accommodate his mysterious radio. I am sure any ham radio operators reading this will think this description is hilarious, but it truly fits for those of us who are NOT hams.
I hope you, the readers of this blog, understand that this by no means belittles the vital role these hams perform during national and worldwide disasters. When all other radios and telephones are out of commission, hams are there.
‘Nuf said…
Saturday, February 9, 2019
Sleeping with the windows open is always a joy. There is something so refreshing and relaxing to wake up to fresh air and peace. The weather was beautiful and one more reminder of why we live in Florida. Al left for Hamcation shortly after 7:00 a.m. For me, days like this are few and far between — there is nowhere I have to be and nothing I have to do.
This CG seems to be mostly filled with working people. Oddly, there are park models parked amongst all manner of RVs. Some park models are next to transients such as us. There are children walking dogs, mixed with seniors walking and biking along the CG streets. Many of these so-called RVs have settled permanently with such additions as cement steps, groundings and sheds. There are also some “tiny houses” as seen on TV, permanent wooden homes set on wheels. This is the first time we have seen one of those in a CG.
Hamcation is held at the Central Florida Fairgrounds and Expo Park in Orlando. Next to it is a large flea market. In years past, traffic at both places has been a horror show. Today, Al learned that this year the organizers of Hamcation paid off the flea market to not open this weekend. The results? Not only the fairgrounds, but the flea market parking lot was full with Hamcation attendees. Depending on which web site you read, this is either the 70th, 72nd or 73rd year Hamcation has been held. One site claims the first Hamcation was held in 1947. It seems to be spelled either Hamcation or HamCation.
We don’t usually check out the bath houses, but today we did because the water pressure at our site is incredibly low. We wanted to see if the pressure was better in the shower stalls. However, we would have needed to step into the stall to turn on the water. Needless to say, we didn’t do this. Anyway, the cement block building was far too cold to take a shower! We will have to do with the pressure as it is in the Roo.
In our previous trips to this area we have passed a Maryland Chicken fast-food restaurant. We had never tried it, so today we had take-out fried chicken for dinner. Maryland Chicken “refers to a historic dish associated with the U.S. state of Maryland…In its home base, the food dish consists of fried chicken served with a cream gravy.” That was news to us. Trivia: The final first-class lunch menu on the Titanic included a dish called “Chicken à la Maryland”, and there are apparently several variations of dishes called Maryland Chicken all over the world, including China. Today, the chicken was tasty, but very, very salty.
Maddy continues to be a good traveler. She stares out through the screen door for long periods of time…or at least until it is time for her next nap.
Sunday, February 10, 2019
We woke up to rain and it continued off-and-on all day. After two hectic days and a lot of walking, Al needed a day to just decompress. He had also attended a forum on Flex Radio Systems (whatever that is).
Monday, February 11, 2019
The plan had been to drive home today, but as the saying goes, “If you want to make God laugh, make plans.” During the night I began to experience one of my frequent severe nausea episodes. This happens often and has been going on for a number of years. We have given up trying to find the cause and, along the way, added to the wealth of several medical professionals.
It took four or five phone calls to the front office before someone answered. The transaction was finally done over the phone but the amount was off. It seems the woman who had checked us in had forgotten to give us our Good Sams $2 discount for our first four nights stay. Al asked her to take the $8 difference off the cost of tonight’s stay but she said she was not authorized to do that. Is it worth the headache to fight the management later from home for $8? We will have to decide that when we get home.
By late afternoon, I was feeling much better and Al went out to drain our holding tanks and disconnect our utilities so we can leave early tomorrow. He was gone for a while and I just knew he had found someone to talk with. Sure enough, I looked outside and saw him sitting on a glider with the couple at the site next to us. They are snowbirds from Illinois and stay here each winter. During their talk, Al told them about the problems we have had with this CG, and they agreed. They said they bought their site nineteen years ago and the present management is terrible. The last RV that parked on this site arrived, parked, put out their slides and leveled the rig, only to find out they couldn’t get the electricity to work. They were so angry they packed up, demanded their money back and left. Wouldn’t you think the logical thing for management would be to report it to their groundskeeper and to send an electrician? Did they expect the electrical connection to fix itself?
Also, when Al disconnected the water from the Roo, the ground fawcet would not shut off and the water just kept running. Our neighbor said about 30% of all the site water connections are like that. There is also litter – pieces of plastic trash bags, cigarette butts, etc. – around our site. This is not acceptable at ANY campground. And we received three phone calls from the front office. The first two were messages stating that we needed to go to the office to pay. The third call was to tell us to ignore the first two calls. Could this place be more screwed up?
We will be sure to write on several RV review sites about the terrible management and service at this campground. It is part of the Thousand Trails Encore RV Resorts group that touts “premier accommodations”. HAH!!!
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
The weatherman said it was supposed to rain hard starting around noon today, so we decided to take off early. The sky was overcast and about 70°F. when we drove out of the CG at 8:45. We waved good-bye to everything: gnomes; flags; grills; potted and hanging plants; pet runs and cages; outdoor coolers; tent-like screen houses; several bicycles, golf carts and motorcycles; birdbaths; whirligigs; discarded plastic bottles littering the children’s’ playground and laundry drying on racks attached to back ladders with women’s undergarments fluttering gently in the breeze.
The skies cleared and the sun came out while we were on our drive home. Maddy did her usual leap of joy from the top step of the Roo to the driveway. Aaaah…home.
Total miles for the day: 73.2.
Total miles for the trip: 146.5.
P.S. Al was having some problems getting this post up on our blog and had to wait until we got home to post it. He learned that the editing software had been changed by the software vendor to a style that was incompatible with our blog. He contacted someone on-line who had experienced the same issue and had found a “plug-in” that corrected the issue. That is the reason it is late and the extent of my posting knowledge.