Poking around

As this winter twitters by (clever and trendy eh?) we’ve ramped up our exploration of the countryside and all the sights it has to offer. Accompanied with our new friends Jim and Carol, we head off in whatever direction a good time might be found. Yesterday was a short trip to the Tampa Bay Hard Rock Casino for our monthly offering to the Seminole Tribe. Again the gambling gods looked favorably upon us as we each gave them a generous donation. Nice casino but as my dear Mother-in-law might say “they just weren’t paying”.

Leaving the money lined tee-pee behind we headed back east towards Orlando … but wait! There’s Lakeland! This southern Mecca for baseball’s spring training and the beloved winter home of those often maligned Detroit Tigers. You know … that pro baseball team with a storied recent past of losing and more losing. But as hope springs eternal so this spring we thought we’d drop by the old Marchand Stadium to check them out. Following the little voice in my GPS, we meandered through, for the most part, the seedy side of town eventually arriving at the park. Maybe a bit unfair to this central Florida town but it was a little run-down and quite frankly didn’t feel all that safe. Nothing in particular but just an uneasy feeling. Anyway the day’s game was over by the time we got there but it was good to see the place I’d heard about most of my life. The park itself looked in great shape and if time permits we may return to see a game and root the old Bengals on.

Leaving Lakeland we continued east along I4 and noticed a fancy billboard extolling the virtues of a luxury RV park ahead so we thought we’d stop in and check it out. The entrance road was tucked behind a truck stop so it was a little difficult to find but we did and drove on in some ¼ mile down the road. Nice entrance with a fancy clubhouse to be seen in the distance. We quickly glanced around and soon discovered that this resort (?) was really still a work in progress. Apparently stopped in mid-development by the economic downturn, there was probably less than a dozen finished lots of the 150 started and of the dozen, only about 4 rigs were in camp. It was kind of sad to see a developer’s dreams shattered by the sagging economy but this could be what happened. Though on a nice piece of property with lake access, it was quite a ways from both Orlando and Tampa but if you were looking for a quiet, peaceful camp, this might be the ticket. I wish them well but I think it’s going to be tough to get established.

Tuesday was planned out to actually accomplish something useful. A trip to one of the local RV salvage yards was planned to seek out what we could find, and afford, that might fit our coach. You know these old girls don’t last forever so having a spare part or two never hurts. From there we were headed over to The Great Outdoors RV Resort near Titusville to show Jim and Carol what a neat place it was. From there we were going to see where the space shuttles are launched, then to the cities of Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach then home.

So with my trusty GPS awake and loaded with addresses we headed off before noon. Pretty early for us I might say. We drove and drove and after some 40 minutes we arrived (almost) at the destination I had plugged into the GPS. Not immediately seeing the place, we cruised around several blocks in the area then finally I pulled over to call the place again to re-check the address. A nice lady answered and I asked again where they were located and I even described the buildings around where I thought they were located. I had the street address correct but had the city wrong. Plugged in Orlando but should have used Kissimmee. So forget the salvage yard for the day we said and headed for the The Great Outdoors RV Park. Sharon and I had spent some time here a couple of years ago and were impressed then. Pulling into the park this year was no disappointment though the ravages of winter frost was very apparent. It was still well maintained and has grown to somewhere around 1500 sites on 3000 acres. We wandered around admiring the place, but did note quite a number of the lots that were either for sale or rentable. We stopped into the welcome center and spent a little time with a very helpful reservation lady and was about to leave when a smartly dressed lady appeared from the corner office and wanted to know if we had any questions that she might be able to answer for us. She introduced herself and gave us a brief history of the resort noting that the man who started the Eckerd Drugs chain was the original developer and that she had been on site since it began some 20 years ago taking care of the real estate side of the business. Now as president of that firm, she obviously had a deep affection for the resort and was a most gracious spokesperson. Upon leaving she gave us her business card and one free night’s stay if we would come back. Pretty nice I’d say.

Leaving the resort, we went on to Titusville only to find another town suffering deeply from a troubled economy. It was not the greatest place the last time we were here two years ago, but it had slipped even further since then. Now that the space shuttle program has been derailed by the current administration, the city will surely continue to fade. Though some missiles will continue to rise from the Kennedy Space Center, Phoenix will most likely not rise from these ashes for some time.

On to Cocoa Beach … A little more signs of economic life here. Not as many businesses shuttered and spring breakers are starting to show up on the streets. Though the spring migration of hormone charged teenagers had not peaked, the fast food places were busy and you could start to see beach towels hanging from hotel balconies and railings. Beers and bikinis are not far behind.

So another day of fun and adventure in the slow lane passes, we add another chapter to our travelogue. We had the good fortune to share our trip with good friends today and look forward to what tomorrow brings.

Still livin’ the dream in the sunshine state.

Phil