THE DRIVE NORTH

Excluding the day we drove to Key West, our location for the last 4 days on Bahia Honda Key, is about as far south in the U.S., as you can get. After getting the motor home ready to go, stopping at the dump station, and hooking up the jeep, it was time for a dry t-shirt, as the one I was wearing was not exactly very comfortable. Have I mentioned that I'm not a big fan of hot, humid weather? The drive off the keys was pretty uneventful, except for dodging the occasional idiot who is more interested in his cell phone conversation, than in keeping his vehicle in the right lane. When we reached US Hwy 41, known as the Tamiami Trail, I headed west, through the everglades, towards Naples, and the west coast of Florida. We passed lots of Air Boat Tour businesses, that didn't seem to have much in the way of customers. We also passed through a Native American Reservation, (can't remember the name), almost smack dab in the middle of the Everglades. I commented to Patty that I might be able to live in the middle of the desert, but probably not in the middle of a swamp! When we reached Naples, we passed by the Naples Signature Motor Coach Resort, a remnant of the previous Monaco Corporation. When Monaco filed for bankruptcy, they owned several upscale resorts, and they all have now been sold. This one looked like it was almost empty. It was late afternoon when we arrived at the Peace River Thousand Trails, and got situated in a quarter full park. It was even hotter (mid 90's), and more humid than the keys, so, after getting everything plugged in, I was pretty much parked in my recliner. That is until about 8pm, when the TV went blank, and both air conditioners shut off. I'm thinking, OK, now what? We couldn't have tripped the 50 amp circuit breaker we're plugged into, but, armed with the flashlight, I went out to check. Nope, the circuit breaker was OK, but, there's several other folks with flashlights, doing the same thing I'm doing. It wasn't long when someone shouted "the entire park is out", and that they have called the power company. We fired up the generator for about an hour, and then when the power was restored, it was time to call it a day.