vacation 2005 page 2

2005 Page 2

FLORIDA VACATION - AUGUST 2005 or as we would later refer to it as

"Our Dodging Katrina Vacation"

by Jenetta Loggan (Supplemented by Dave)

August 26, 2005

I got up at 6:40AM and made coffee. We ate breakfast and left camp at 9:00 to go to the Kennedy Space Flight Center. There we watched two movies at the IMAX Theater, then went on a 2 1/2 hour tour of the center. We saw rockets, launchers, shuttles, and lots of other space things. On the way back to camp, we stopped at Wal-Mart for film and other necessities we were short of. We ate supper and rested for the night.

August 27, 2005

We left camp at 10:05AM and went to ride on an air boat. We had to wait for about half an hour so we looked at all the things in the gift shop. There were many things made of small shells and many fancy wind chimes made mostly of shells. The ride in the air boat was great and something I had wanted to do for at least 45 years. We saw cows on the dry part of the swamp and I saw a gator slide into the water. The gators don't bother the cows as they are so much bigger than the gators and have sharp hooves. We saw many cranes, egrets, eagles, and other birds. When we got back to the dock, the driver got a small alligator out of a tank, put a rubber band around its jaws and let the children hold it. We went back to camp for lunch then went to the Astronauts Hall of Fame. I rode on another simulator for a "Journey to Mars". That was the longest 4 minutes of my life! It was just like being on a rocky planet and sometimes we would feel like we were flying. The screen in front of us showed a rocky planet with hills and valleys. After this, we were ready for some ice cream so stopped at McDonald's for cones. Then we went to Merritt Island to see some wildlife. We stopped at Playa Linda Beach and I picked up lots more shells--1 really big one. We then drove to the Bio Lab Road to a manatee observation deck, but didn't see any manatees. We went back to camp and had supper, and then Deanna and Dave went to get gas and groceries. I did the dishes then took a shower.

August 28,2005

I got up at 7:00AM and made coffee. After breakfast, Deanna called the Florida Highway Patrol Travel number to ask about weather and travel conditions in the Keys. Hurricane Katrina had done a lot of damage to homes, businesses, signs, and trees. There was also some fuel problems reported, but the utilities were all back on, so we decided to go south toward the Keys. We left camp at 10:00 Am and saw many, many orange groves near Vero Beach along I-95. It was hot with intermittent rain showers. We made a pit stop north of Fort Pierce. The rest areas are very well maintained and landscaped. We stopped for gas at 1:00 PM and fixed lunch in the RV. We started through the Everglades at 2:00 PM. We bypassed Miami on the toll road and stopped at a rest area for information at 3:00 PM. We then continued on through the Everglades with water almost to the edge on both sides of the road. At Key Largo we saw lots of damage from the hurricane. We drove on south with the Gulf of Mexico on one side of us and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. I never saw so much water in all my life!!!. There was lots of dead seaweed washed up on both sides of the road and it sure did stink. We got to the Fiesta Key RV Park which is about half way between Key Largo and Key West. Rosetta called as we were signing in at the park to see where we were and if we were all OK. After setting up we decided to fix barbecue chicken for supper. I made some lemonade, and fixed a salad and green onions. After supper we took a walk along the shore and saw many kinds of fish, crabs, and lizards. We were standing on a small bridge and it was dusky dark, when we saw a manatee swim by. We all yelled, "A MANATEE!" at the same time. We were thrilled to finally see one in its natural habitat. The mosquitoes and no-seeums began to bite so we went back to the RV and washed dishes and settled in for the night.

August 29,2005
We slept until about 8:00AM this morning, then ate breakfast and decided to ride on the glass bottomed boat at Key Largo. We left camp at 9:50 and stopped for gas then went to the John Pennekamp Marina at Coral Reef State Park. On the glass bottomed boat, we rode out into the Gulf of Mexico. We saw many different kinds of fish, including a barracuda and a nurse shark. We also saw many kinds and colors of coral and sponges. We left Key Largo at 3:30 PM and stopped at Shell World Gift Shop at Islamorada on the way back to camp. I spent $15 on gifts for Sam, Geneva, and Barbara.

August 30,2005

I got up at 7:15AM this morning. It is already hot and sunny at 90 degrees. We plan to go to Key West today. We went to Robbie's first to make arrangements for a deep sea fishing trip the next day, then on to Key West. We crossed the 7 mile bridge and a narrow band of land with oceans on both sides of the road. In Key West, we shopped and I bought a Key West tee shirt. We went to Fort Franklin Pierce Beach and I found shells, sponge, and a piece of coral on the beach. Deanna and I waded in the surf. We giggled a lot trying to wash the sand off our feet and out of our shoes. I think Dave caught us acting silly and taped it. We then toured the fort itself and took photos of it. We drove around Key West and took pictures of the above ground cemetery. We started back to camp, bought gas and ate supper at the Little Italy restaurant. When we reached camp, we did laundry and Deanna did her homework on the computer. We got back to the RV about 11:00 PM.

August 31, 2005

We decided last night to head back toward Oklahoma due to the gas prices going up so high. We had heard that some gas stations were running out of gas and we didn't want to get stranded in Florida. We got up at 6:45 this morning, ate breakfast, and prepared to decamp. We left about 9:00AM and headed north on the turnpike. We had to stop for gas and rest room break about 12:30 PM, and then had lunch at Burger King. We left the toll road about 4:00 PM and continued north on Highway 75 traveling toward Georgia. We took a pit stop at 6:00 and arrived in Georgia at 7:10 PM. We got to Eagle's Roost RV Park at 7:20 and set up camp. I noticed lots of Spanish moss in most of the trees at Eagle's Roost. After supper, Dave and Deanna started mapping out a route to go home. Gas is up to $3.00 a gallon and we heard reports of fighting at gas stations in Atlanta. I know Dave is worried about the gas situation.

September 1, 2005

We got up at 7:30 this morning, had breakfast and prepared to leave camp. Gas is up to $5.98 a gallon in Atlanta so we won't go there. We left camp at 8:40 AM heading north on 75 highway. We saw lots of peanut fields and road repairs in progress. We stopped at a rest area at 10:30 and saw gas signs advertising at $3.19 a gallon. We had to stop for gas at Unadilla and paid $2.99 a gallon. Then we stopped at a rest area at 11:45 and ate lunch in the RV. We were back on the road by 12:20 PM, still headed north toward Atlanta, GA. We took the 285 West bypass around Atlanta, then stopped again for gas at Cartersville. It was $2.96 a gallon there. We also got groceries at the Wal-Mart store there and got back on the road at 3:30 PM. We stopped at Adairsville to check our map route, and then exited on 350 to reach the KOA campground at Ringgold, Georgia. We were all set up by 5:15 and fixed supper. Rosetta called to check on us as she thought we were still in Florida. After supper, we drove over into Tennessee to Lookout Mountain. We took lots of pictures, walked to the observation point, and read the history of the "Battle above the Clouds We filled up with gas at Wal-Mart at $2.83 a gallon on the way back to camp. We got back at 9:30 PM. We were all pretty tired by then.

September 2, 2005

I got up at 6:50AM and made our coffee. Dave and Deanna slept in as they were really tired from all the driving and Deanna doing the navigating for so many hours yesterday. Dave and Deanna went to the camp game room to do Deanna's homework on the computer. I stayed at the RV and did dishes, gathered up the trash, and put things away so we could leave later on in the morning. Dave and Deanna got back to the RV at 10:35and we decided to go on to Memphis. While preparing to leave, I stepped into a fire ant hill and got stung on my right ankle, leg, and hand before I could get out of my shoes. They were crawling up in my jeans legs so I had to go in the RV and come out of them. Several stung my hands and legs before I could get them all off me. Deanna cleaned the ants off my shoes and came in and sprayed my bites with medicine. The bites were really stinging but the medicine helped. I put on shorts and we were ready to leave the park at 11:15. Patrick called Dave and said gas was $3.15 a gallon in Bartlesville. We stopped at a Visitor's Center and got maps and some brochures. We bypassed Chattanooga and headed toward Nashville. We crossed back into the central time zone and stopped at another rest area so Deanna could take pictures of the mountains. We had to stop for gas again at 12:05 PM, then stopped to eat lunch at a rest area about 2:00 PM. We were back on the road by 2:30. We stopped in Jackson for gas and reached Memphis at 5:35 PM. We drove to the Graceland RV Park on Hounddog Boulevard and set up camp. After supper, we took a walk and saw the Heartbreak Hotel, Elvis Presley's home at Graceland, and the gates and walls around the home. It is huge!! We went back to the RV, had popcorn and Kool Aid and watched a movie called "Groundhog Day" on TV.

September 3, 2005

I woke up in the night with the blisters on my hands, feet, and legs burning. I got up and doctored them with cortisone cream, then went back to sleep until 7:30 AM. After breakfast, we all walked over to Graceland and took the tour of Elvis Presley's home, museum of cars, his airplanes, and the Sincerely Elvis museum. I took lots of pictures. We got back to camp, ate lunch, and left at 12:55 PM headed for Little Rock, Arkansas. We left the Memphis City limits on Highway 55 at 1:15 PM and entered Arkansas. We stopped at Forrest City for gas. We saw lots of fields of cotton, soybeans, Milo, and what we decided might be rice fields. We reached Little Rock at 4:45 and stopped for gas. The highway patrol had told us not to let the tank get lower than half full. That is why we stopped so many times for gasoline. The gas was $2.86 a gallon here. We got back on I-40 and passed by the atomic power plant. We stopped after that to take pictures of Lake Dardanelle and the beautiful scenery surrounding it. We went on to Van Buren where we stopped again for gas and ate supper at the Waffle House. Gas was cheaper in Arkansas than in Georgia or Tennessee. We got back on the road by 7:30 PM and reached Bartlesville at 10:30. We got to bed about 11:30 after talking a while with the man who was house-sitting for Dave and Deanna.

September 4, 2005

I got up at 7:30 this morning which is late for me. Dave and Deanna slept in until 8:30. We had some breakfast, parked the RV in the driveway, and I packed up my things. I left about 10:45AM as I had to get some groceries and gas up my car on the way home. I stopped at Sam's to get my garage keys and lock box, visited with them for a little while, then came on home. I spent the rest of the day unpacking, sorting out shells, souvenirs, and film. It sure was good to get back to my own house and bed. Vacations are wonderful but as they say, "There's no place like home!!!"