The Keys to relaxing

With a week of on site work with a client in Ft Lauderdale completed we were off to that set of dots off the southern tip of Florida…like an ellipsis placed by the great Author as His own thoughts drifted toward relaxation at the end of His creation sentence.  Florida Keys, here we come!!

We got a decent start and were packed up and on the road by 10:00a.m.  We needed fuel and had mapped out a truck stop en route.  With the truck stop in sight we hit a detour that was not getting us anywhere near the fuel station.  We finally came upon a different fuel station that sold diesel and that I thought I could get Ava and the Beast into and out of again.  Whew, it wasn’t cheap diesel ($2.79) but we figured the prices would be higher as we neared the Keys.  After filling up we continued on our way and as we went further and further south the boys kept pointing out, “Hey Papa, diesel is only $2.19 there”…”oh look, $2.09 there”…”dang Pap you got ripped off, its only $1.94 there!”  I asked them to calculate how much I wasted to fill up…my heart sunk when they told me the number.  Oh well….I’m going to the Keys baby, no time for crying over spilled money!

On paper (or Google maps) its not a very long drive from Ft Lauderdale to Key West.  I had just watched an episode of GoneWithTheWynns where they went down to the Keys and had mentioned sitting through numerous stop lights and traffic so I was not too surprised that the Dixie Highway, Highway 1, has boat loads of traffic lights that are timed just right so you get to stop at every single one.  But once we broke free from the main land and were headed to Key Largo it would be smooth sailing…NOT!  There was an accident ahead.  And the road is only two lanes so it takes a long time to get through a jam like this.  We were thankful for the detour earlier in the day and the high priced diesel as we figured it was God’s way of keeping us from being involved in the incident.

As we sat in traffic we were able to stare at the incredible blue waters.  It was spectacular…and the color was just amazing.  It really did look like what you see in the postcards.  They do not show postcards of the traffic however.  On one Key (I don’t remember which) the traffic came to a complete stop for a long time.  It creeped ever so slowly and it ended up being pedestrian crossing for some big concert going on.  Later on we came upon yet another accident that brought our forward progress to a halt.  Good thing I was headed to the Keys to relax after this annoying drive.  We’d pull into our spot at Leo’s campground and start chillin’…NOT!

We pull up to Leo’s and Steph goes in to check in.  Usually there is a place for you to park your RV while you check in but at Leo’s you just block the road.  We are informed our section is back a ways so we’d have to turn around.  Steph spotted me as I backed into a driveway and got us turned around.  When we find the road into our spot we realize we’re going to have to back onto the road and then continue backing into our spot.   We did have to get the auto repair shop to move one of its vehicles so we had room to maneuver.  Despite the heat and really tight quarters Steph, Caden and I got Ava positioned right on target.  In the picture below you can see the rubber Ava’s tires left on the concrete from the tight turn we put her through.  Alright, let’s get all the utilities connected and start relaxing…NOT!

The utilities were all along the fence at the back of the rig.  Our electric connection is at the back of the rig so that was no problem…we got ourselves some electricity flowing to the AC unit to cool things down inside.  Our water connection is near the front of the rig.  We’ve had to position the rig deliberately funky a couple of times to make our hose reach and every time I tell myself, “self, you should just get a second hose so you don’t have to worry about this.”  I wished I had listened to myself because the fence kept me from getting any closer to the water connection and my hose was about 10 feet too short.  A similar story can be told for the sewer hose.  The previous owners left a section of brand new 10′ sewer hose in the rig but I did not have the right connectors to link it up with my 20 footer.  I found a K-Mart close by and ran there to get some parts…I scored a water hose but no luck on the sewer connector.  We can rely on our tanks for a few days, I’ll figure out a sewer solution in the morning.  But for right now, we’ve got power, water, a cold beverage and we’re in Key West!!  WOOOHOOO!!