Pelllicer Creek in August

Here is what happens when I wait too long to make my blog entries, I do not remember the details or perhaps even the big things. Let’s start with Pellicer Creek the weekend of August 22. Looking for a little longer journey to make sure that all of the under carriage repairs were in order we decided to spend the weekend just a little farther south.

After a non-eventful drive we arrived around 8:00pm after calling at 7:30 pm to let them know we were running late but were about 30 minutes away. Pat met us at the gate and took us to site 23 which probably has the second best view in the entire park. A quick setup and were there for the weekend.

As usual Jim and Pat were more than helpful and we had a wonderful, restful weekend. Since we do not have an optimal setup to take advantage of their wonderful cable TV offerings, we used our trailer antenna and enjoyed not watching the single channel we could get over the air. I say enjoyed not watching because it was actually a nice change to unhook and find other things to do. We usually choose to use our cell for WI-FI here to get a little better speed, but even with that it is pretty slow.

When we were getting ready to breakdown the campsite, this was the first experience I had with the sewer connection to the ground being higher in elevation that the end of our trailer connection. I made the hose connection and pulled the gate valve and things did not flow with their usual enthusiasm. After realizing the issue, I managed to get the final flow out of the tank by lifting the hose about mid-point and getting it to drain. After a few times of doing that I could get the tank to be completely empty. After refilling the tank to flush it out I performed the same procedure only to have the hose come uncoupled from the trailer and dump about 2 – 3 gallons on the ground. Later Jeannie commented that it smelled like a horse stable nearby. We had a good laugh when I told her the cause of the odor. I did flush the area with clean water repeatedly to dilute any residual material.

On Sunday the only other remarkable thing to report is that we were able to make a u-turn leaving the campground, so that we did not have to travel a few miles down the road to find a wider intersection.

Next week is Labor Day at North Beach!

Thanks,

Captain Skip

A comfortable day at Pellicer Creek Campground

First putting with new ML350 at Pellicer Creek

With the longer days of sunlight we are able to stretch the distance of our after-work run on Friday nights to include sites we cannot get to in the early Spring or late Fall. This weekend we ventured down I95, past St Augustine to the Pellicer Creek Campground and it was really worth the trip! The campground is a small gem hidden away in the travel guides because it does not have bathroom facilities as part of its infrastructure. But it does have 30 full hookup sites nestled away next to the Pellicer Creek, with a beautiful view and quiet surroundings.

We were fortunate enough to get the most prime space in the park, #25. It is a short cutout at the bottom of the small incline that is too small for big motor-homes, but just right for us. It is a pull through with (as it turns out) a very narrow turnout between two trees on the exit road. Though tight, we cleared the trees by 6 inches and could have cleared by more with a little wider initial turn.

The view was spectacular! Our site faced the creek that had a small deck and landing nicely incorporated into the creek side. The deck allowed for fishing and landing canoes and kayaks as they roamed the creek. There was a nice wooden swing and a fire pit nearby and together created a picture perfect setting.

The weekend was anything but ordinary. Earlier in the week the weather forecast was marginal, but by mid-week seemed to be more favorable. It turned out that it was somewhat rainy on Saturday afternoon and evening and threatened a Nor’easter on Sunday afternoon. As a result, we did not unload all of our outside accessories or even use the awning. While sitting at the picnic table I noticed several bumps in the sidewall of the front trailer tire on the passenger side. It seemed to start at the indentation commonly seen on radial tires at the overlap of the belts, but the irregularity seemed to span eight to ten inches around the sidewall of the tire. Not being a tire expert, but comparing it to the other tires it seemed abnormal.

Not wanting to take any chances, I decided to have the tire changed. Fortunately, of the ridiculous number of add-on packages we purchased, we did subscribe to Coach-Net for roadside service. One call to them and within an hour someone came and changed the tire for us at no additional charge. Not bad. Now I need to go through the process of replacing the spare. It seems that nobody is satisfied with their trailer tires on the Internet, so this may be the subject of another blog.

Additionally, this weekend I replaced two of the mini-blinds that were broken. In fact, one of the new blinds came broken, so I had to rob parts from one of the bad ones to make the new one work. Anyway, I was able to get the new blinds mounted without too much fuss and we no longer have to use storage container lids to block the galley window for privacy.

Oh yes, not to forget the Bliss Lights. We put on a spectacular show this weekend by lighting the trees in the area. Several people noticed, though it had to be really dark to get the full effect.

We scooted out on Sunday around noon to avoid the weather front that was blowing in from offshore on the radar and made it home without incident. We are really looking forward to returning to Pellicer Creek Campground when the weather is more favorable. We are still enjoying the adventure. Stay tuned for more.

Thanks,

Captain Skip

Pellicer Creek Campground Sign

Site #25 at Pellicer Creek

View from our campsite