We have been at here at the Groves RV Resort since November 12th. It was a bit of a disappointment after Disney but since we are around only to sleep and swim in their heated pool, we are doing fine. They are gradually converting the place from an RV park and putting in manufactured homes which makes parking a large rig like ours a bit of a challenge. Since they don’t have a pay telephone, we purchased a Virgin pay as you go phone to keep in touch with Jenn & Amy. Everyone here is really friendly – we were invited to Thanksgiving dinner and we were also asked whether we wanted to buy a 2008 Motorhome. I was drooling but Paul has kept me from touring it. After a few days here, we have realized that we could not spend a month or two in a park like this since there are not enough facilities. Paul is not ready to become Bocce champion and I might get bored with shuffleboard tournaments.
On the plus side, we are only a few minutes drive to the causeway over to Sanibel and Captiva islands. Despite the U.S. economic situation, there is an amazing amount of money on those two islands. We spent Saturday touring the various beaches and amazed as we drove by some of the condos and resorts. We were also fascinated by their “urban planning” as the shops are set back from the road, the signs are all small and discrete and everything is nicely landscaped.
We also spend time in Ft. Myers beach which reminds us of some of the Cape Cod towns we have visited. The Beached Whale pub was a great introduction to this area – cheap Budweiser and excellent fish. We really like the beach at Lovers Key State Park since they have tram to take you and your beach chairs / umbrellas, etc. out to the beach from the parking lot. The beach was empty at this time of the year so we could walk for miles. These beaches are a shell hunter’s paradise; most people who were there were searching for shells.
We spent Sunday and Monday at Maple Leaf Golf and Country Club – an active and attractive 55+ resort in Port Charlotte visiting Suren and Junko. Paul even got in a game of golf. All their friends are ready to help us find a home in their park.
Next Monday we park the rig and start our journey northward …. To snow country I hear L .
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Update #2 – Sunday November 9 – November 12
Unfortunately our Internet connections have not been the best – in Disney we had to walk to a Wifi hot spot and here in Ft. Myers we have an inexpensive connection that works part of the time and doesn’t work most of the time. So we are a bit behind in our emails. One night at Disney we ran into Armadillos and deer – we didn’t realize that Ft. Wilderness actually had wildlife.
Sunday November 9, was a slow day just getting to know more of the Titanium owners and touring their trailers. One couple sold their house in California and are now full time in their 2004 33/38 unit with a bug room at the back. Several of their neat modifications have been added to Paul’s to-do list when we bring our unit back home in April. We haven’t been in any of the 2008 or 2009 units which is probably a good thing because I might get anxious to upgrade.
It has been fun talking to other Canadians who winter in the southern U.S. and learning their reasons about why they prefer certain places over other places. At breakfast this morning we talked to a couple from Tennessee who are “work campers” in the summer in Colorado.
It is a bit cloudy today so we headed to Downtown Disney and some other areas of the resort. We toured all the Disney shops but didn’t buy much – there is just so much Mickey paraphernalia that will fit in this trailer.
Monday, November 10, about half the group headed to the Kennedy Space Centre for the day. It was fascinating to see the space shuttle Endeavor on the launch pad and also to watch the 2 IMAX movies.
Tuesday night the whole group went to the Hoop Dee Doo Review in the campground. The entertainment was so corny but fun and the food was a good BBQ of chicken, ribs and lots of cornbread. We then said goodbye to the other Titanium owners as most of us prepared to pack up and move on.
Jane & Paul
Sunday November 9, was a slow day just getting to know more of the Titanium owners and touring their trailers. One couple sold their house in California and are now full time in their 2004 33/38 unit with a bug room at the back. Several of their neat modifications have been added to Paul’s to-do list when we bring our unit back home in April. We haven’t been in any of the 2008 or 2009 units which is probably a good thing because I might get anxious to upgrade.
It has been fun talking to other Canadians who winter in the southern U.S. and learning their reasons about why they prefer certain places over other places. At breakfast this morning we talked to a couple from Tennessee who are “work campers” in the summer in Colorado.
It is a bit cloudy today so we headed to Downtown Disney and some other areas of the resort. We toured all the Disney shops but didn’t buy much – there is just so much Mickey paraphernalia that will fit in this trailer.
Monday, November 10, about half the group headed to the Kennedy Space Centre for the day. It was fascinating to see the space shuttle Endeavor on the launch pad and also to watch the 2 IMAX movies.
Tuesday night the whole group went to the Hoop Dee Doo Review in the campground. The entertainment was so corny but fun and the food was a good BBQ of chicken, ribs and lots of cornbread. We then said goodbye to the other Titanium owners as most of us prepared to pack up and move on.
Jane & Paul
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Update #1 – From Fort Wilderness
After loosing a wheel from the trailer last Saturday, we spent the weekend with our good friends Roseann & George in Syracuse. On Monday Camping World was able to find a new tire, wheel rim and axle bolts – so we resumed our trip Monday night. We made it to the Flying J in Carlisle PA. After a quick breakfast on Tuesday we booted it down to the Tuberville South Carolina rest stop on I-95. I slept while Jane listened to the trucks parked next to us. LOL. Wednesday we left early and were the second to last Titanium to arrive at the rally ( around 4 pm).
The rally has really been fun. These are a really nice group of campers. I had lost a dust cap off the end of the axle when the wheel broke off – I had used some aluminum tape to fashion a temp seal – one of the folks here had a spare, and it is now on my trailer. We are having a pot luck dinner tonight (shades of McGowan) . Tomorrow morning we are all going to breakfast here in the resort.
Jane and I went to “Mickey’s Backyard BBQ” on Thursday night – what a feast! Yesterday afternoon we headed over to epcot – where we ate our way through the Wine and Food Festival. This morning we had a two hour technical presentation by a local Titanium RV dealer’s technician. He’s the kind of guy we’d all like to adopt!!
The weather has been too nice to hit the outlet malls. Well back to the pool and we’ll get back to you from Fort Myers.
Jane & Paul
check our pictures at : http://picasaweb.google.com/pjkralik/TitaniumDisneyRally
The rally has really been fun. These are a really nice group of campers. I had lost a dust cap off the end of the axle when the wheel broke off – I had used some aluminum tape to fashion a temp seal – one of the folks here had a spare, and it is now on my trailer. We are having a pot luck dinner tonight (shades of McGowan) . Tomorrow morning we are all going to breakfast here in the resort.
Jane and I went to “Mickey’s Backyard BBQ” on Thursday night – what a feast! Yesterday afternoon we headed over to epcot – where we ate our way through the Wine and Food Festival. This morning we had a two hour technical presentation by a local Titanium RV dealer’s technician. He’s the kind of guy we’d all like to adopt!!
The weather has been too nice to hit the outlet malls. Well back to the pool and we’ll get back to you from Fort Myers.
Jane & Paul
check our pictures at : http://picasaweb.google.com/pjkralik/TitaniumDisneyRally
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