We decided we needed a beach fix, so we went back to Ft. Desoto Park for a few days.  Lynda also wanted to check out that she still could work from the trailer if her clients needed her to do something. And of course they had more for her to do and all very rush. So I guess she was lucky that we took the 24″ monitor and our Verizon Hot Spot so she could be online. Lynda’s not so much retired yet as she is self employed again. We left the Tigger home, between his try-out at Simmons and shots, etc., at the Vet he was pretty stressed out so we left him home to relax a bit.

It was windy when we drove the trailer over the Skyway and we did get bounced around a bit, but it wasn’t a bad trip. The weather for our stay was beautiful, cool nights and only in the high 80’s during the day and dry. So nice after the 90% plus humidity of August. The beach was lovely as usual but I was surprised at how many Europeans there were running around already. Guess the Dollar vs the Euro makes the US a cheap trip.

The sunsets were beautiful, missed the spectacular reverse sunset the first night as I didn’t bring my camera, but the others were good as well.

I also tried to get a decent night shot of us and the trailer. The one I got is OK but I guess I’ll keep trying. We love that Xmas shot of the Airstream Bambi by some lake, all lit up with Xmas lights. You can click on the images to make them larger.

Speaking of Airstreams we met two “Streamers” who were very friendly and happily showed us their trailers. It always amazes us how friendly and happy  RVers are. Mike and Diane had a 31 ft.  Airstream with a bump out. And they pointed out a few RVer tricks like we could stow the poop hose in the bumper and their Thule kayak rack that lifts the kayaks up on the roof for you. Very cool, we will have to get those.

The trip home was the best so far, no sway, no difficulty, it was actually a pleasant drive. When we got home our pool was clear. It had turned green when we went to Simmons and I had to replace the sand (350lbs.) in the filter. It’s crystal clear now, I guess I did it right.

We’re going to try a longer trip next time, maybe 300 – 400 miles and a week. Well see.

Friday

Oct. 4 – We finally took the Tigger to E.G. Simmons Park here in Ruskin. It’s only about ten minutes away that way we figured we could take him home if he threw a huge fit. Here’s Simmons Park. It’s a nice facility right on Tampa Bay. Bathrooms are relatively new and very clean compared to other parks we’ve been too. We basically had it to ourselves, only about ten RVs in there and it is a big facility.  We set up camp and put the Tigger inside.

He promptly went and hid out in  the back of the lower bunk bed.

He eventually found a storage space on one side of our bed . It’s about two feet square and he could hunker downin it and feel safe. He didn’t make a sound all day. But when we went to bed we could hear him roaming around, jumping up on tables and looking out the windows. The next day he was starting to settle down, roaming around wanting to be petted, etc. That night though he was jumping all over us. No noise just a big pain. We think he’s going to work out fine as a camper.

We did get some good evening shots of the trailer with the lights and the sunset was really excellent. The bugs though were horrible. The place was full of no-see-ums. When the wind quit they were all over you and they bit like mad. Lynda would only sit still for the trailer shot for a minute and then she ran back inside. Off didn’t bother them a bit. The place is basically in the mangrove swamp and they are there in force when the weather is warm and wet like it has been. We enjoyed the place but we won’t go there again except maybe in the dead of winter here.