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Upham Beach |
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Palma Maria |
Lulu had a week off for spring break. So Monday morning - we headed south from Tallahassee. We take turns driving - while one drives - the other can rest in the back. Our 2004 Dodge Roadtrek has a king bed - toilet - refrigerator - generator - stove - sink - AC - TV - and shower. On this trip we used everything but the air conditioner - the weather allowed to sleep with windows open.
ST PETERSBURG BEACH - night 1
After about 250 miles - our first stop was St Pete's Beach. We had smelled something burning - like brake fluid. The brake pedal was little mushy - so we stopped to look. The right front wheel was so hot - I burned my fingers. We were at Upham Beach in a nice parking lot - so we stayed there for the night. Rick's Reef was nearby - a nice place to eat. We walked the beach - and went to bed - not sure what our brake problem was.
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Holocaust Museum |
ST PETERSBURG - night 2
In the morning I called a local brake shop called Dan's Brake World. They said it sounded like a brake caliper was stuck - it heated and boiled the fluid. If we got it to their shop 8 miles away in St Pete - they would order parts and fix it right away. We got there - they examined it - and said it was a stuck caliper. I chose to replace both front calipers and hoses.
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Hofbrau house |
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Hofbrau House |
It would take a day for the parts to come. We toured in downtown St Petes. That night we stayed right at the lot at Brake World.
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Dans Brake World |
We visited Pipo's Cuba Cafe - the Holocaust Museum - Hofbrau House - and the harbor.
The brake calipers were replaced and we were on the road the next day.
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Sunshine Skyway |
RINGLING MUSEUM
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Ringling Museum |
SANIBEL BEACH
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Sanibel Shell Beach |
FORT MYERS BEACH - night 3
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Walmart Fort Myers Beach |
After the camper was fixed we headed south to the Ringling Museum in Sarasota. This is where the circus used to stay for the winter. There were 5 Ringling Brothers - but John Ringling became the leader and had his home here. This is a fantastic stop - especially because FSU owns it and lets Lulu in for free. $23 for senior citizens - me.
We next went to Sanibel Island Beach known for its shells. What was a bummer to me was nowhere to park out there. Tow trucks loved the place - illegal cars and campers disappear. We parked in a public park for $5 an hour - but it closed at 8 PM. The beach is nice - except sand fleas - remnants of red tide - and you are far from town. It turned cloudy so we did not see the sun set and full moon rising thing. We left the island after a couple hours - agreeing that our beaches in the Panhandle are way nicer than this place.
Just across the bridge from Sanibel is a Walmart in Fort Myers Beach. We had a very nice quiet site there - and spent night 3. We slept - shopped - showered. Then we went to Fort Myers Beach. I parked illegally and stayed with the truck while Lulu enjoyed two hours of sand and surf. Again - it smelled a bit from red tide. This was as far south as we went.
At Fort Myers Beach - I showed the camper to a white haired couple. They were from Ohio. They stayed at a beach front condo - nothing fancy - for $7000 a month for 3 months. They loved our camper and our "free" spot.
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Lunch in camper |
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Illegal parking Fort Myers Beach |
PUNTA GORDA
Punta Gorda is a neat port on the Charlotte River - which is very wide here. We ate at Harpoon Harry's in Fisherman's Village. This is a gray head mecca - loads of license plates from the Midwest and Canada.
BARTOW - night 4
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John Ringling Home |
The most pleasant driving was the evening drive on US 17 north to Bartow. It is a beautiful 4 lane divided highway with very few cars. It is surrounded by circus trees. We got to Bartow - the county seat of Polk County - and stopped at a Walmart. We shopped a bit and then watched an FSU game on TV. We slept like 12 hours - and headed to Disneyworld.
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Animal Kingdom Lodge |
In Disneyworld - we visited Animal Kingdom Lodge. It is a beautiful pseudo-African hotel - that costs about $400 a night. We drove right in - parked free - and had a picnic lunch on the premises by the pool. The place seemed empty - the guests must have been in the parks.
CASSELBERRY - night 5
Our last night was spent at the Palma Maria. It is about 30 miles north of Disney. From 1950 to 1980 - the Palma was in Tamaqua PA - and was the hangout of our youth. In 1981 - it moved to Casselberry - and its second life is almost 40 years. The same "kids" cook and run the place. We enjoy our time with - Anna - Parm - MaryAnn - Pete. The food is excellent - like eating history for us. After dinner - we stayed the night. Too much wine - and I "refused" to drive.
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Peanut Butter Pie by Anna |
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Parm - MaryAnn - Pete - Anna |
We woke up at 9 AM - and Lulu and I shared driving duties home - getting back to Tallahassee at 3 PM. 6 days - 5 nights - 960 miles - $500 brake job - and so much fun. Shopping - museums - eating - drinking - laughing - and loving old friends. We hope to do it all again soon.
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