Somehow we disentangled ourselves from family in Covesville on Monday and set out for Florida.  We planned on three nights on the road.  The route was south on 29 through Greensboro NC then over to Florence SC then across to I 95 on to Jacksonville with a stop in Brunswick GA at the Flying J for diesel. propane and DEF (Diesel Exhaust Fluid).  This is the latest way of cleaning up diesels, one could say housebreaking them.  There is no diesel stink coming out the tailpipe so I guess it works.  This has turned out to be a major gouge.  At the pump on the truck side of a fueling station DEF is $2.79 a gallon.  In the shop they sell it by the gallon jug for about $8.00 a gallon!  Unfortunately most places I have looked the only DEF hose is on the driver side of the coach and the filler and tank are on the passenger side.  We can’t just go through the pump the other way on the truck side.  Trucks are lined up two or three deep waiting their turn at the pumps every time we stop.  There is strict one way policy unlike the car side where it is a free-for-all.

I bought a 2 1/2 gallon fuel jug and filled it at the DEF pump and carted it around to the other  side of the coach to pour it into the tank, three times.  This is not too much of a hassle as I added about 7 gallons after driving about 3,000 miles and burning 400 gallons of diesel.  I am now more experienced at how to make this happen and maybe I won’t have the truckers staring at me the next time we have to go through this exercise.

We spent the first night at Swamp Fox RV Park, just off I 95 out side Florence, just south of Darlington if there are any NASCAR fans reading this.  This is NASCAR Country, most specifically Richard Petty Country.  The place was fine for a Passport America overnight stop, it is not anyplace I would consider a destination.  The second night, after the aforementioned stop at Flying J in Brunswick GA, we continued on to Pecan Park RV, again Passport America, just off I 95 with the added benefit of the being at the end of the runway for JAX – Jacksonville Airport.  It wasn’t bad except at 7:20 AM when a flight of F 16s took off directly over our campsite.  That was four planes and by the time we heard them they were overhead and then gone.  We enjoyed the morning serenade so much that we opted for a second day there since we were less than five hours from Fort Desoto. This gave us time to putter around the coach and make some changes and do some other computer work, oh yes and get to meet neighbors who were also just passing through.

Thursday I let the Dawn Patrol wake up -Carol was up early exercizing – we set out on the road with mostly interstates ahead of us.  The drive was uneventful and we settled into site 171 in Fort Desoto.  We have not been on this particular site before, but have been on similar sites and it is quite nice with a view of the water through the windshield and plenty of privacy provided by the shrubbery between sites.

This may be one of the least exciting posts I have written.  I suppose I could include a list of the repairs and adjustments we plan on having done at Lazy Days in Seffner FL when we leave here, but that too is not particularly interesting. consisting of loose screws I cannot figure out how to reach and doors that need some adjustment.  Oh yes, we discovered that the tray meant to catch the condensate in the refrigerator is not in place.  Gone!  Probably taken/misplaced at the dealer.  A phone call to Dometic, the manufacturer, has assured me one is on its way to us this very minute, no charge!  How’s that for excitement?