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| Lower Key Medical Center - free place to sleep |
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Henry Flagler built the train to the sea
over 40 bridges |
Tuesday we got home from our maiden voyage in our 2011 Chevy Roadtrek with 55,000 miles on it. It was 1500 miles and we slept in the camper 6 nights - and stayed in a condo near Disney 2 nights. We were concerned because our camper furnace was not working before the trip started. The camper computer said we got 17 mpg and we were quite pleased with that. I never went over 65 mph - which explains the good mileage. We just bought the camper and it had on brand new Cooper Mastercraft Tires. I am a bit of a tire snob - but after 1500 miles of quiet and comfortable ride - I think I will stick with them for a time. Both Lulu and I approved the ride. We both drove too.
We drove from Tallahassee to Disney the 1st night - stayed in a condo with the cousins - then drove to Miami Beach for nights 2 & 3. We parked right on the beach in a public parking lot - we just bought a parking ticket and sat there. No one bothered us. We enjoyed the beach and the glitz. We had honeymooned here in 1971 - and enjoyed the memories. It was at this time we noticed the house battery was not charging - the gauge was reading less and less - down to 12.5 volts. We were still able to use hot water and refrigerator - they were running on propane.
On the way to Key West - we stopped on Key Largo to visit friends camping there. The 150 miles drive down the Keys was uneventful. Beautiful weather the whole 8 day trip. Tropical - clear skies. At Key West - we pulled into our favorite parking lot of Caroline St - at about 4 PM. We bought a parking ticket - feeling very smug. We had stayed here 4 nights - 4 years ago.
At 1 am - the lunar eclipse started. We were fast asleep. All of a sudden - a knock on the door. It was a lady police officer saying we could park there - we just couldn't sleep there! I looked up to see the eclipse. I see a bad moon a rising! Two police cars had lights on us. I smiled and said - yes ma'am. She said Key West enforces that law - but Stock Island does not. If we go over to the Lower Keys Medical Center - there is plenty of paved lighted empty parking space. We drove over and plopped down next to one other van like ours. Across the street was the college.
We woke up to the house battery fading more and more. It would not charge by generator or engine. But if we ran the generator - we could use everything including the AC - so we did. After having breakfast and being all cleaned up - shaved and showered - we looked up a campground about 1 mile away. It was not cheap - $280 - but right on the water so we sprung for it. We bought 3 nights.
We went back downtown to tour - go to museums - eat - drink - listen to live music - watch the tourists - go to the Aquarium - watch the sunset. Remember - we had a parking pass - but not a sleeping pass.
We stayed at Boyds Camping Resort - two nights - we decided to leave one night early because we had places and people to visit on the way home. They refunded our last night. The Resort was really nice - well maintained - great bath houses - maybe a little bland. The neighbors were wonderful - but we wanted more adventure.
We started home Sunday morning - we had a nice no traffic pass thru the keys north. The house battery was getting lower and lower. The frig ran on propane. The engine AC worked perfectly. It went down to 60 at night but up to 90 in the day. Our food stayed cold. The generator would start just fine - we had power for the microwave - etc. We still had enough power for hot water and showers. We could watch TV on our laptop - using a T-Mobile dongle. It is like a third cell phone number. We watched a lot of live basketball - some Netflix - some news. The house battery was down to 12.2
When we left home I was tempted to bring along an extra 100 AH lithium battery I have for emergencies. It only weights 20 pounds. I regret I did not bring it along. I popped it in - when we got home - and everything powered up like new.
Night 7 was spent at Homestead Encore Camping Resort - mainly because we had power to plug in. It also had a nice pool. Most of the campers were more permanent snow birds.
Monday we visited our friends staying in Pompano Beach - Mel and Ben. They flew down for a week to spend with family. Their family members are 105 and 95 - and have been renting the same condo 35 years. It was a lovely place within view of the Goodyear Blimp Airport. We then drove back to Disney for another free night with the cousins in the condo.
Tuesday we drove home to Tallahassee from Davenport. The Frig started to beep a warning and it shut down. The house battery had reached 11.8 volts. I have 2 voltmeters on the dash - house battery - engine battery. Engine battery was always at 14 volts or better when running. House battery should also be over 13 volts when running. It was never above 12.7 volts from the start and went down to 11.8 volts - basically dead.
We made many of our own meals. We had nice meals by Disney - Miami South Beach - Pompano Beach - and Key West. Our biggest expense was the campground in Key West. If our house battery was working normal - we would have stayed all 4 of our nights in Key West on Stock Island at the Lower Keys Medical Center. It was very nice there. Free of charge.
No other mishaps except the dying house battery. We are still not sure if the battery is bad - or the isolator - the inverter - the converter. It is not the engine alternator or engine battery.
We had a great time on our trip to the Keys with our - new to us - Chevy Roadtrek.
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| Ford Garage by Disney |
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| Eat among the Ford Model A's |
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| Lake Wales - home of the Singing Tower |
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| Lake Wales closed hotel |
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| Lake Wales Gallery downtown |
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| We got 17.7 MPG on trip |
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| One of the nicest beaches in the world |
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| We honeymooned here in 1971 |
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| We camped right on Miami Beach |
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| Two nights - 200 feet from beach |
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| 24 hour parking pass |
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| Miami Beach - blue dot |
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| Miami airport - P-38 |
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| Tom Everhart Art - Key West |
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| Lulu in bikini - Key West |
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| Our Key West Sunset |
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We stayed here
one night free |
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| Medical Center |
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| Lunar Eclipse - we got moved that night |
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| we stayed here |
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| Camper house battery started failing |
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| Morning Cuba Coffee |
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| Key West Aquarium |
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| Harry Truman's Winter White House |
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| Lulu and the orchids |
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| House made of mahogany from ship wrecks |
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| Episcopal church - Key West |
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Lovely church inside
windows open - breeze thru |
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| East Martello Fort |
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| Cigar Factories Key West |
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| Fort with airport in background |
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| Stanley Papio Art |
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| Oldest Key West Home |
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| We camped blue dot |
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| Last night in town |
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| Boyds Campground |
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| we stayed here 2 nights |
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| we stayed here in Homestead |
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| homestead campground pool |
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| They were both my students in PA |
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| Ben and Mel in Pompano beach |
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As we drove home the space craft landed by
Tallahassee |
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| We used 86 gallons - $250. |
