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Old 02-05-2019, 08:02 AM   #5721
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Yep, I don’t like being in any water where I can’t see what’s beneath me, either.

Having been raised in the land of cement ponds.

Maggie
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Old 02-05-2019, 02:33 PM   #5722
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Until today, we have come across little that reminds me that there was a massive hurricane that hit the gulf states a few months back...until approaching and coming thru Panama City.

Doug would say it looks like Baghdad after the bombing.

Roads are cleared, and there is lots of traffic, but this area was hit hard and is obviously still deep in the throes of recovery.

Piles of debris, trees snapped in half, roofs off buildings, work vehicles everywhere.

Hard to see what the forces of nature have wrought, and I who have never been thru anything like this cannot imagine what the residents here are dealing with.

I will spend some money, and be grateful for what I have.

We are in a take-what-you-find spot for tonight, some of the state parks on the water still closed, others full, but a number of private RV resorts seem up and fully running.

Life.

Maggie
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Old 02-05-2019, 05:24 PM   #5723
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Maggie, I have driven away from a couple of iffy looking campgrounds, but my worst experience ever was at a place which had changed owners and gone horribly downhill in only a few years. It had a big party house,/dance hall/bar on tje.main road and the new owners apparently decided that was their true cash cow, and the campground was allowed to wither.

I pulled in as dusk was turning to dark and there was no guide in a golf cart and no lighting. After 10 minutes of trying to find a spot I pulled up to something that looked likely, and slid out of the door with a flashlight to see if there was a power or water post. I landed on a piece of rotting plywood that split or moved and the horrible smell of sewer surrounded me. I felt myself sinking, but somehow scrambled back up onto the running board. I had almost l gone into an access hole that was at least 10 inches in diameter... the steel cover - gone. The plywood - had obviously been there for months. Thinking about a broken ankle, and being trapped in that!? Good way to get a mid-calf amputation if you were lucky. As it was I went back to the office and demanded that they give me back my check. I tried to convince the manager to at least stack up a bunch of concrete blocks or something to protect the campground from a huge lawsuit, but could see only complete indifference. Drove another 20 miles and overnighted at Cracker Barrel and the next day found a great spot only 5 miles from the original place. The owners there said their campground had grown by leaps and bounds within months of the change in ownership. I did call the local health department and the sheriff's office to report the problems. Both acknowledged they had heard it all, and worse for over 2 years. Somewhat cynically, the locals told me that bribery was an easy way to make complaints go away in that county. I sent an email to the three network TV stations and three local newspapers, and yet 18 months later that place is still open, though it seems to be permanent residents only. God knows most of them probably have rigs that have sat too long to be towable, and whose owners are too poor to go elsewhere. It apparently takes less than six months for a really nice place to turn into a s***hole of the universe. Oh, and they STILL had almost 5 star reviews before I wrote mine.

Resolution. If traveling without reservations, get into a spot by 4 PM at the latest.

Still, a mountain lion or bear could be worse. Be happy, be safe.
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Old 02-05-2019, 05:36 PM   #5724
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Hi Paula, and thank you.

Maggie
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Old 02-07-2019, 10:54 AM   #5725
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Left the coast and have headed inland a bit, where it is warmer but not as humid, so that is good for me.

I have had to run my furnace a few nights this trip, and put the awning out for the first time today, so I know both are in good working order. Whew.

The awning is spotless, to the point of looking brand new, making me wonder if it is new or has just not been used.


Thought I would spend a few nights in an Appalichicola NF campground earlier this week, but the only one I found open looked to be a homeless encampment and my shiny little rig would have been more than a little out of place.

There are lots and lots of people living in vehicles down here, which is sad but a sign of the times.

I can’t help them all.


We are going to stay here for at least a few days, which will make Miss Lily a very happy girl, having lucked onto this first come/first serve site just as the previous camper left.

She is such a good little traveling companion.
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Old 02-09-2019, 05:25 AM   #5726
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I have read several of John D. MacDonald’s “Travis McGee” series this trip and, like with the Walt Longmire books, they are like visiting with a friend so long in harness that they are like comfy slippers you just slip on.

Tho a bit rough around the edges, Travis is smart, resourceful, clever, funny, kind, principled, and eminently lovable.

He always solves the problem at hand...and always gets the girl.

These books are full of stated insights into human behavior, and many witty takes on common occurrences.

I enjoy and appreciate them, and excitedly purchase each one that pops up in my BookBub offerings, stashing them away in my Nook app to be read at my leisure.


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travis_McGee


http://jdmhomepage.org/jdm-stuff/quotations/


This quotation has to do with armadillos...
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Old 02-09-2019, 06:28 AM   #5727
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. . .
. . .they are like visiting with a friend so long in harness that they are like comfy slippers you just slip on.
. . .


Well said!

Thanks for the reminder of the TMcG books.

Peter
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Old 02-09-2019, 10:21 AM   #5728
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One of the really nice things about sitting still a few days, is there is tea, and maybe some cooking, which I don’t always get to on travel days.

We’re going to stay here a few more nights, as the campground is beautiful, friendly, and cheap as dirt.

That is a piece of pan bread rising on the right corner, in the new little cast iron piece of mine that I picked up at the HEB store in Texas a few weeks ago.

It really takes several hours from fridge to cooking the bread, by the time it warms to room temp and rises a bit, but so worth the bit of effort and time.

I have even here lately patted it out in the morning before driving 3-4 hours, let it rise on the couch in the back, and then cooked it once I stopped for the day.

Warm bread filled with cheese and/or ham...a delicious meal.
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Old 02-09-2019, 11:02 AM   #5729
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Makes a very pretty little bread.
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Old 02-12-2019, 05:14 AM   #5730
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This is a really lovely, friendly campground, with an interesting mix of people in all stages of RV’ing and a sweet little camphost in our loop who gathers those traveling alone together occasionally and kind of mothers particularly the lone males.

Many here are semi-permanent, doing their 30 days maximum stay, leaving for two weeks, then returning, repeat til winter ends. Several have been doing this since November.

There is a woman in another loop who is on her inaugural trip, in a cute little RPod, I think it is, who spent three months last summer hiking from Switzerland to Italy to Spain, if I’ve got that right.

She did this alone, hiked an average of 15 miles per day, and is 72.

The RPod is surprisingly roomy, with a dinette, spacious bathroom and permanent bed.

She travels with a standard poodle, one of many, many dogs here. Lily is a bit overstimulated, and all must receive a few warning barks as they pass us.

We are walking 3-4 times a day, and sitting outside on warm days.

I am in a non-electric site with water, and tho there are nice showers they are quite a hike for me...as post shower I must either struggle to damply dress or be in robe & pj’s , so I am showering in my own little cubby and using my solar shower to wash the mop of hair outside.

It is working very well.

Lots of folks stop to talk, ask about and admire the Interstate, and share stories of the road.

All the visiting and human contact one wants is available with just a smile and friendly hello.

I pulled out my grill for the first time this trip the other day, and cooked some beautiful boneless pork chops I had picked up in town.

Sitting still is conducive to better self care, and that’s the truth.

Maggie
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Old 02-12-2019, 08:08 AM   #5731
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This is a really lovely, friendly campground, with an interesting mix of people in all stages of RV’ing and a sweet little camphost in our loop who gathers those traveling alone together occasionally and kind of mothers particularly the lone males.



Many here are semi-permanent, doing their 30 days maximum stay, leaving for two weeks, then returning, repeat til winter ends. Several have been doing this since November.

Maggie

Sounds like a nice campground. Which one is it?

Dan
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Old 02-12-2019, 09:44 AM   #5732
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We are at Ocean Pond CG in Osceola National Forest.

They have three loops with electric and water, water only, and primitive with water available, all first come, first served.

Bathhouses and cheap laundry.

Maggie
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Old 02-12-2019, 11:23 AM   #5733
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Maggie

That is my kind of campground. I tent camped there about four years ago before going to Springfest at the Spirit of Suwannee Music Park. I think I paid $5.

That campground shows the benefits of being able to camp without hookups. The water and electric sites are always full while sites are available if you don’t need hookups.

Thanks, Dan
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Old 02-12-2019, 11:50 AM   #5734
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Yep, and the very moderate temps have made it very doable...no heat nor AC needed.

It’s an older campground, could stand a little tlc, but everything is clean and it’s just so pretty.

I am leaving a pretty dishcloth for the sweet camp host, also by herself and in a little Class C on her very first foray into full time RV’ng.

She waitressed to raise her kids, is just a natural at tending and nurturing others...she hopes to be here every year for awhile, and if I get back here I will enjoy seeing her again.

I am grateful every day to be able to do this travlin’.


Maggie
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Old 02-12-2019, 02:48 PM   #5735
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Maggie

You are not too far from Cedar Key. Are you familiar with it and the Levy County CG close to it?

Dan
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Old 02-12-2019, 03:27 PM   #5736
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I am not, Dan, but have just looked it up and it looks like a beautiful location!

I am heading slightly north and toward the east coast from here, but may take a look at that area the next time I am in Florida.


One of the semi-permanent men here has a Class C that he built himself.

From the outside, like your typical Class C but without any of the brand trappings.

Inside, everything is handcrafted by him out of wood...floors, cabinets, dinette, kitchen, bath, bed, everything, and it is gorgeous!

Stained, polished, custom perfection.

To top it off, he has a potbellied stove from an old railroad car in the living area, on a ceramic tile hearth and with more tile and some sort of cement walling around it to protect surfaces from heat.

Says he built it for boondocking, and it looks like a small log cabin inside, is equipped with solar and can carry 90 gallons of water.

He is a woodworker by trade, and it shows.

My master carpenter grandfather would have loved to see this, and to talk with this man.


One of the other men has a Winnebago Class C into which he has installed a marine wood stove, which he loves.

He is way back in the primitive area, and I haven’t seen his rig, but hope to before I leave.

Quite the interesting array of people here.


I taught the camp host how to make no-knead bread today, and particularly how to bake it by the piece in a small skillet.

Maggie
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Old 02-12-2019, 03:54 PM   #5737
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Wow, would love to see his rig too! You'll have to teach me that bread too!
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Old 02-12-2019, 03:57 PM   #5738
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Remind me when I see you.

Maggie
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Old 02-12-2019, 05:20 PM   #5739
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<<<snip>>>
I taught the camp host how to make no-knead bread today, and particularly how to bake it by the piece in a small skillet.

Maggie
That's something I need to learn. Care to share a recipe? Do you have one for whole/multi-grain?
Dr told me to stop eating plain white bread. Now I crave good bread!
Do you bake it in that little cast iron pan in your photo a few posts back?
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Old 02-12-2019, 05:58 PM   #5740
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Hi Alan,

Post #5085 of this thread has the recipe I use...

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f161...ml#post2079974

I always use some wheat flour and/or add steel cut oats or some coarse yellow grits soaked in boiling water to cook them a bit.

You don’t have to add the vital wheat gluten, but it helps it keep longer if you are doing a whole loaf.


To make pan bread:

Mix your dry ingredients together in a bowl, add lukewarm water and stir to mix thoroughly. You might need a couple of tablespoons extra water, add it as you mix if the dough doesn’t seem wet enough and the dry ingredients don’t want to fully incorporate. Dough should resemble a thick cake batter.

Cover bowl with Saran Wrap or an elasticized bowl cover, let sit on your counter 18-24 hours. Dough will smell yeasty and have about doubled in size.

Pull off a chunk of dough that is the right size for the pan you’re going to use, as it will about double in size, make into a smooth ball and then flatten and shape with your fingers to be a circle just smaller than your pan.

I make usually 5 pan breads out of this one-loaf recipe, each being the equivalent of about two good slices, but you could do it in a large skillet and use half the dough at one time, if you were serving more than one person.

Punch the rest of the dough down, make it into a ball, and turn it over in the bowl. Put the cover back on your bowl and set in the refrigerator.

Turn heat on under your pan for just a few seconds, just long enough to warm it so a few teaspoons of butter will melt. I like cast iron, and am using while traveling the little piece I found at the HEB store while in Texas.

Turn your flattened circle of dough in the butter in the warm pan to coat both sides, cover with a bowl cover, silicone lid or Saran Wrap and let set an hour or so til the dough has risen by at least half and feels puffy when you touch it.

Cook on lowest burner heat til browned on one side, turn and cook the other. Let cool a bit on a small rack or cool burner before trying to eat it.

I split this like a scone, and my favorite filling is chunky peanut butter and a good jam, while the bread is still warm. Makes a great breakfast. Yum.

Dough will keep in frig 7-10 days. Pull off a chunk, make into a round and pan out as described above.

***With cold refrigerated dough, it may take 2-3 hours to warm to room temperature and rise to the puffy stage, so go on about your day and cook it when it is ready.

I have a couple of times this trip let it come to room temperature and rise while I am driving, the pan riding on the back bench of the Interstate. I then cook it when I stop.

It is really hard to ruin this bread. If it doesn’t rise long enough or a little too long, cook it anyway and it will taste fine.

Enjoy!

Maggie
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