Cypress Glen CG and Withlacoochee River

On Sunday January 17 we departed the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa.  We had been served by 30A power supplied by a mobile generator and about noon they pulled our plug.  Time to move along.  We jumped on to I-75 north for a 51 mile jaunt to our next destination, Cypress Glen Campground near Brooksville FL.  Cypress Glen is part of the Silver Lake Recreation Area and a unit of Florida State Forests.  We have camped here about a half dozen times, but not in the last 10 years or so.  Seniors +65 years can camp here for $15/night and enjoy 50A electric service and fresh water.  A really sweet deal.  It is also adjacent to the Withlacoochee River and the Withlacoochee State Trail, a very popular bike trail.  

Site #24 at Cypress Glen CG

We will spend 4 nights at Cypress Glen before moving northward again to Silver Springs.  This is a pretty laid back place. It is quiet and out of the way.  If you don't paddle or peddle, there's not much to do, but that's a good thing.

Aerial view of Cypress Glen CG and Silver Lake

On Tuesday we paddled the Withlacoochee River from the Silver Lake day use area access to Nobleton.  When we woke up on Tuesday the temperature was frigid, but the forecast was for sunny skies and significantly warming temperatures, with a high in the mid 60s.  

It was a frosty morn

Dorcas, Harry and Matilda at the put in

Matilda is always a happy paddler

A great egret

A great egret on the wing

Mr. Limpkin

In my previous post I reported a failure of the lights on the rear of the coach, a likely failure of the rear Power Distribution Module (PDM).  We were successful scheduling a mobile service visit from Southport Truck Group in Tampa.  John arrived about 8:00 on Wednesday equipped with a "black box" to diagnose our PDM and had the replacement PDM on board.  He quickly confirmed that the PDM had indeed failed and installed the replacement part.

The rear PDM is a box containing relays, circuits and fuses and supplies power to a number of components in the rear part of the coach.  These components have been failing on Freightliner coaches for several years and have been the subject of several recall campaigns. In fact our coach had been affected by a previous recall for the rear PDM.  The original owner had taken the coach in for the recall, however, the part had been tested and it passed the test.  Subsequently the PDM was not replaced at that time.  There is a pending new recall on the same part, but that recall has not been officially implemented since replacement parts are not yet available.  Since the current PDM recall campaign has not officially started, this was not technically a recall service and would have been subject to service and repair charges.  However, our Freightliner warranty is still in effect until February 14, about 3 weeks hence.  Consequently there was no charge to us for the on-site service call or the repair.  It is not clear if the PDM installed today will be subject to the future pending recall. 

PDM with cover off

Harry and his buddy, Buddy

On Wednesday evening we made a campfire, and Harry grilled "buck dogs".   It was a laid back and relaxing stay at Cypress Glen. On Thursday we will mosey about 65 miles north to Silver Springs FL. 

Florida RV Supershow and the Hillsborough River

Every year the Florida RV Supershow is held at the state fairgrounds in Tampa.  This year, in spite of the global pandemic, it was held again. It is reported to be the largest RV trade show in the country.  Dorcas and I have attended this show several times over the years, usually only spending a day or two, boon docking in the general parking area.  This year we attended with the Newmar Kountry Klub (NKK), the national club for Newmar RV products.  There were about 120 NKK member coaches present, down from about 220 coaches in previous years.  In previous years Newmar would send about 20 factory technicians to perform relatively simple coach repairs, at no cost to the customer.  This year, due to the rampant pandemic in Florida and in northern Indiana, site of the Newmar factory, no factory technicians were sent to the rally, likely one reason for the reduced attendance numbers.  Instead, Newmar issued a certificate to each attendee offering one hour of complementary service plus four additional hours of service at half price for those able to come to their factory service center in Nappanee Indiana.  

We departed The Great Outdoors on Tuesday January 12 headed for the rally in Tampa.  Our trip got off to an ominous start.  After we pulled the coach out of the port and hooked up the Honda, we realized the tail lights and turn signals were not working on either the coach or on the car, which should mirror the coach.  CRAP!!!  Being a bright clear day and having no real option, we departed for Tampa, realizing we were a moving target for motorists from the rear.  We arrived safely at the rally venue just before noon and were parked with the other Newmar attendees.

Camp NKK at the Supershow

Aerial view showing most of the attending Newmars

We are parked on pole position 

Newmar coaches camping at the rally

Aerial view of the fairgrounds venue

Our chassis is manufactured by Freightliner Customer Chassis Corporation (FCCC).  FCCC had a display at the show with several naked chassis.  These are the chassis delivered to the coach manufacturers before the coach is built.

In September I received a letter from FCCC announcing a pending recall on the rear Power Distribution Module (PDM).  The PDM controls, among other things, rear body lights including tail lights, brake lights and turn signals.  DING, DING, DING!!!  Could this be our problem with our tail lights and turn signals?  I spoke to a factory service technician and, based on our symptoms and the reported frequency of PDM failure, that was almost certainly our problem.  FCCC had not sent parts and technicians to do field repairs at the Supershow, as they would have in previous years.  The technician said if he had the part he would change it out right then and there, but he double checked and confirmed the part was not on the truck.   DANG!

This is the rear PDM on a display chassis.

Subsequently I talked to Southport Truck Group in Tampa and Ocala Freightliner in Ocala, both nearby authorized FCCC service centers, to see about our options for service.  Both were backed up out the wazoo.  Eventually I talked to the mobile service coordinator at Southport Truck Group. He said there was good probability he could send a mobile technician to perform a repair at our next camp near Brooksville FL. More to follow.  Keeping our fingers crossed!  Ah, the joys of owning a motor home.

There were two huge vendor halls

In the meantime we enjoyed looking at all the new RVs and exploring the hundreds of vendor booths

For a couple of million, this could be yours

You can't even go in this one.  You can only look in through the windshield

We spent five nights at the Supershow.  But you can only spend so much time looking at luxury motor coaches and window shopping for mostly useless and overpriced accessories.  Then you must go paddling.  The Hillsborough River is one of our favorite rivers and is only about 10 miles from the rally venue, so we broke free for a day of paddling.  Our paddling and RV friend Harry, who was also staying at the show with a different RV club, and who will join us at our next two camps, paddled with us.

Dorcas, Harry and Brian.  And, of course, Matilda

Hillsborough River    6.72 miles

At the put-in we met an old friend.  Brian Faulk and his parents Joe and Jean, own Canoe Escape, the outfitter that runs paddling trips on the Hillsborough.  We had not seen Brian in a long time.  He had been away for about 10 years doing other things, but came back to run the business since his parents were retiring.  Brian has worked for several canoe manufacturers and has a wealth of knowledge on canoeing and the canoe industry.

 

A great blue heron at the put-in

It was not the greatest day to paddle.  The temperature was hovering around 50 degrees and it was cloudy and breezy. 

Tri-colored heron

Our RV and paddling friend Harry

Normally we see a high number of large alligators on the Hillsborough.  Today, being cold, overcast and windy, most gators chose to sleep in.  We did see this guy, however, watching us float down the river. 

On this day our paddling friend Harry bore a striking resemblance to Billy Gibbons, lead singer and lead guitarist for ZZ Top.  Amazing!

Harry

Billy

It was another great day on the river.  Life is good. 

Merry Christmas from Sunny Florida

 We are spending Christmas in the trailer park, as usual.  It is unseasonably cool here; they say it is the coldest Christmas here in the last 20 years.  The high today was about 50 degrees and the low tonight is forecast to be 34 degrees.  But I'll take it.  The high at our home in Winston Salem was only about 32 degrees, with a low forecast to be 18 degrees tonight.  Matilda loves the cool weather. 

Some folks in our resort go all out decorating for Christmas.  I have been experimenting with High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography, and the following photos represent my first efforts. These are photos of some holiday displays of our neighbors in TGO. 

Our modest abode

Happy Holidays from Myron and Dorcas. 

Our Rally in the Keys

Prior to buying our Dutch Star in December 2019, Dorcas and I belonged to at least 4 other RV clubs, and occasionally attended rallies hosted by those clubs.  Shortly after our purchase we joined yet another RV club: the Newmar Kountry Klub (NKK), not to be confused with another RV club we still hang with: Country Coach International.  

In April last year we had planned to attend an NKK Carolinas rally in Winston Salem, just a few miles from home and in the summer an NKK International rally in Wyoming. Unfortunately both rallies were ultimately canceled due to the COVID pandemic. We finally were able to attend the NKK Rally in the Keys held December 6-12, 2020.

Our camp at TA Vero Beach

The rally venue, Fiesta Key RV Resort is about 6 hours from our winter home in Titusville.  We had intended to leave home on Saturday, the day before the rally started, and spend the night at Miccosukee Casino near Miami, a place we have boondocked several times in the past.  That would make for a leisurely drive on Saturday afternoon and a very short jump down to the Keys on Sunday.  Being paranoid and overly cautious, we called the casino and learned that, due to the pandemic, they were operating under limited hours and did not currently allow overnight RV parking. BUMMER.  Plan B was to spend the night at the TA Travel Center (truck stop) in Vero Beach where we had already planned to stop and pump fuel.  We departed home late Saturday afternoon for the 1.5 hour jump to the TA where we filled up with $2.133 diesel and enjoyed a Popeye's Cajun chicken sandwich.  Our sleep was very restful and uneventful, nestled among the parked semi-trucks.

I flew the drone for a while and got a good gull's eye view of all the Newmar motorhomes.

We had a happy hour each evening at Sunset Point Tiki Hut at the resort.  Drinking and sunset photography were the primary activities at happy hour. 

This journal would not be complete without a picture of Matilda

Dorcas enjoyed a fish sandwich on the beach at Lazy Days Islamorada

Lazy birds at Lazy Days:

We did several excursions.  One was to Pigeon Key, a small island along the Seven Mile bridge south of Marathon.  Dorcas and I have cycled and walked the 2.5 miles to Pigeon Key a number of times on the old Overseas Highway, but that bridge is currently closed for renovations.  This time we took a boat.  Pigeon Key was a work camp during the construction of Henry Flagler's railroad, or Flagler's Folly, which opened in 1912.  The 5-acre island is home to 8 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, some of which remain from its earliest incarnation as a work camp for the Florida East Coast Railway.  Today these buildings serve a variety of purposes, ranging from housing for educational groups to administrative offices for the non-profit Pigeon Key Foundation. 

Pigeon Key.  Photo courtesy of Wikipedia. 

Faithful readers will know that I have an extreme fascination with bridges. In fact, that is the reason I became a civil engineer.  The museum on Pigeon Key has exhibits documenting the construction of the older Seven Mile Bridge, constructed from 1909 to 1912.  The bridge used two different architectural styles, concrete piers with steel girders, believed to be more suitable for deeper water, and concrete arches for the shallow water spans. 

The bridge has been featured in films and television series, such as Licence to Kill, True Lies, 2 Fast 2 Furious, and Burn Notice.  It is said that when Arnold Schwarzenegger was filming True Lies, he fell in love with Pigeon Key and tried to buy it.  No sale. 

See the osprey nest in the tree on the right?

After our visit to Pigeon Key Dorcas and I lunched at Burdine's Waterfront Chiki Tiki Bar, our favorite restaurant in Marathon.  Dessert included their wold famous fried Key Lime pie.

Famous miniature Key Deer of Big Pine Key

You can't spend a week in the Florida Keys without the obligatory drive to Key West.  Most of our past trips to Key West have been a bit anticlimactic and disappointing, primarily due to the large crowds.  This year, due to the COVID pandemic, there were no cruise ships in town, and you could actually walk down the sidewalk or into a store without being elbow to asshole with all the other tourists.  It was very pleasant. Furthermore, Key West has a very strict and aggressive mask mandate; masks are required in all public places, indoors AND outdoors, 24/7.  Police officers, merchants and trolly operators were all enforcing the mandate.  You go Key West!

Southernmost Point? NOT!

From Wikipedia:

A more southern part of Key West Island exists and is publicly accessible: the beach area of Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park at approximately 24°32'42.2"N  81°48'34.5"W, and approximately 500 feet (150 m) farther south than the marker. Also, the Big Island of Hawaii is farther south than Key West.

Further south, land on the Truman Annex property, just west-southwest of the buoy, is the true southernmost point on the island (approximately 900 feet (270 m) farther south near 24°32'39.2"N  81°48'17.8"W), but it has no marker since it is U.S. Navy property and cannot be entered by civilian tourists.

Finally, the true southernmost point in Florida (as well as in the continental United States) is actually 10 miles away at Ballast Key (24°31'15.9"N  81°57'49.5"W), an island south and west of Key West.

Made famous by Jimmy Buffet's "Woman Goin' Crazy on Caroline Street"

Aside from tourism, seafood is Key West's only industry

Iguanas are invasive to Florida and harmful to its ecosystem, but they sure are pretty!

Presidential Lincoln limousine at Harry Truman's Little White House

The most famous bar in Key West

The other most famous bar in Key West

On our previous trips to Key West you couldn't even get close to Capt. Tony's or Sloppy Joe's due to the crowds.  On this day you could just walk right up to the bar.  

Au Contraire!

Christmas tree: Key West style

Hey, so what?  I have nine boats!  And one even has a motor!

The Wahlburgs weren't wearing masks!

Jimmy's place.  Let's get a cheeseburger in paradise!

We attended a few more excursions to the Dolphin Research Center in Marathon and the Theatre of the Sea in Islamorada.  The following are photos from those events.

The dolphins were flying higher than the parrots.  Go figure.

 

Lunch at the Bayside Gourmet in Islamorada

It was a great rally. The weather was unseasonably cool and windy, but not unpleasant.  There were approximately 48 coaches in attendance, and we made some new friends.  We intend to participate in several more NKK rallies in 2021 and hopefully a caravan.  Stay tuned. 

Finally click HERE to view a really cool multimedia presentation documenting our rally.

 

Life is good!