New Running Shoes for Trinity

Tuesday morning we departed Lake Oconee for Macon, Georgia and our trailer tire appointment. We arrived at 11:00 in the morning and left the trailer with the crew at Discount Tires. We have been very happy with this company in the past, so it was a no brainer to use them again. The service technician told us to go get some lunch and they would have it done no later than 1 PM. We walked across the street to a Firehouse Sub restaurant to eat, then walked through the shopping center. True to form, the trailer was ready on time. We paid and were on the road again heading south on Interstate 75. Our original plan was to spend the night in Valdosta, GA but we changed course when we got to Tifton, GA onto Highway 1 and chose a less traveled route going southeast to the town of Waycross, GA. There we found a Cracker Barrel with a large parking lot off the main highway. Easy access back on the road next to a large shopping center with a Walmart if we needed it. The parking spot we selected was almost perfectly level with the truck still attached and our trailer stairs lowered onto a grassy feature next to the curb. We had to use ear plugs to sleep but the overall experience was fine.

The next morning, while Karen stayed in the trailer for some quiet time, I went to have breakfast in the Cracker Barrel restaurant They make an egg casserole with bacon and hash browns that I often order with a side of country gravy for the biscuits. It is a very filling meal to start the day. When I got back to the rig Karen was finishing her exercises. She's not much of a breakfast eater and prefers her smoothie with protein powder in the morning. We finished getting the trailer ready for traveling and hit the road around 10 AM for the short trip to Mayport Naval Station in Jacksonville, Florida. As we crossed the Florida border I felt strangely like we were home again. We parked Trinity outside the entrance gate to the base and walked to the Pass and ID office to get Karen her visitor's pass. Once that was completed we drove onto the base and straight to the Osprey Cove RV Park for our nine day visit.

Osprey Cove Park is also on the base but different than Pelican Roost RV Park. Pelican Roost is on the water by the St. John River where Osprey Cove is in the base housing complex on the Naval Station perimeter next to Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park. We stayed at these other venues earlier in the year and enjoyed them both. Pelican Roost has a great view but can be quite windy and Hanna Park has tight roads and sites. Here at Osprey Cove we are in a large, spacious site #7 among the oak and palm trees with shade, no wind to speak of, and have a concrete patio with our picnic table. We have the bathhouse, clubhouse and laundry across the road. No negatives to address. We got Trinity all tricked out and ready for an extended stay here in Jacksonville....at least for me.

Karen is flying to Sacramento, CA for a five day visit with Nick, Lindsey and the girls on Thursday, October 19 until next Tuesday, October 23. We miss our family! Lindsey recently lost her mother to cancer and Karen simply wants to be with the family as they adjust to this new stage of life. Karen lost her mother two years ago and can relate to the grieving process.. The main purpose for the visit is to catch up with and love on the members of the family. I will hold down the fort here in Florida while she is gone..