Keepin' It Real version2

Wel-l-l-l...we made it to the Panhandle our first trip out. What a day it was! We made some mistakes, nothing major, but boy, do we need practice and adjusted checklists!

Sparky made checklists, but they quickly went out the window for a variety of good reasons...we got hitched up ok, but had trouble getting the water pump to work once we turned off the park electric. It turned out that we had to switch over from city water to rig water by turning a configuration of knobs in the wet bay which are very well labeled inside the wet bay. Problem #1 solved...and we set out. Problem #2...our first diesel fuel stop at a LOVE'S truck stop. We pulled up in trucker lane, which we now need to use because we are so big. The pump had a previous purchase on it which wouldn't clear. Sparky kept going back and forth between the office about three times. They thought we were doing the sequencing of the pump handles wrong. FORTY-FIVE MINUTES later, they determined the pump was faulty.  Around we went to another pump. Success! We got our fuel and DEF fuel, which is a cleaner to clean our exhaust to make it more environmentally friendly. By the way, for any traveling RVers, DEF fluid is very corrosive and comes out FAST from the pump, so a word of caution when you are pumping it. If you spill any, you have to wash it off immediately.

Problem #3--we carefully had planned our route and campground stops along the way. Tonight we were supposed to stay at a park called A Stone's Throw RV park, just off of I-10, in Lamont, FL. We use a travel app called Trip Wizard which is excellent. The reviews did not mention any problems, and the park description said "big rig friendly". HA! It should have said, "smaller big rig friendly"! We weren't going to fit, it was too tight for us to maneuver through the small park, the sites were very uneven gravel sites, so we left. This was at 5:00PM. The great thing about technology is you can find RV parks and call them while driving down the road, that is, if you have a well charged up phone. 

Problem #4--Sparky is used to a motorhome. She forgot that some essentials were needed to be moved from the 5th wheel to the truck, because once you close up all the slides, you can't get back to access parts of the fifth wheel when the slides are all in. Guess what Sparky and Eldo forgot put in the truck? Phone charging cables....Sparky's phone was dying fast, and we had to find another RV park Sparky was starting to panic because Eldo was relying on her to find another place to stay. Eldo was being SUPER patient about it, but Sparky was about ready to cry. (I didn't know that! says Eldo) So he pulls into rest stop, and by the time Sparky got back from the restroom, he had another park lined up and it was a terrific solution! FOUR hundred miles later, much more than we had planned driving, we landed at the Hitching Post, a delightful, charming little park in Cottondale, FL.

We found this park using the RV Life app....it has discounts for all military, first responders, seniors, and summer rates. Free firewood! The owners are wonderful and super friendly. The sites are level gravel, and it's a small park with the old campground feel we knew as kids. There are pull thru sites up to 110 feet long. 24 sites, that's it, but full hookups, 30-50 amps on every site. Some sites have fire rings. The sites are spaced nicely.

There is a little lake with two little paddleboats for use, along with two dog parks with comfortable swings to watch your fur babies play. You can fish in the pond/lake for big mouth bass, catfish, and more, no license needed. They have a horse and donkey as well.....Who like to be fed.

The whole park is very charming...no amenities but Love's Truck Stop and McDonald's is right outside the park, along with highway 231, which will make for a little noise at night, but we didn't hear it with the AC's running.

Prices are very reasonable...Passport America accepted, Escapees, veterans, and RV washing is allowed! (That's a rarity).

We loved this little park, and would definitely stay here again....Today we leave for Alabama, for a Corps of Engineer park....off we go!