(Mis)adventures in RVing

[glacier_kitty]

We finally made it to the Keys! We left Monday morning..it was storming somewhat! It had been a long time since I'd seen a "real" storm! We kinda hurried cause we wanted to get ahead of the weather. We were about to stop at a rest stop when we heard this weird noise..like something under grandpa's feet was shredding. We stopped at the rest stop and figured it was the flap hitting the tire. Well..a mile down the road grandpa was like "uh oh, I lost the brakes and steering!" He did manage to pull over on the side of the road..he looked under the RV and said the serpentine belt was shredded (it controls everything..the brakes, steering, etc). He said it happened a year and a half before too..he couldn't believe it happened again! So began the day of calling. We were gonna get it towed, but then we called a truck repair place and they said they'd drive over and repair it for us, so we canceled the tow. By then the weather was catching up with us again and it was raining and storming. The cars going by kept shaking the RV..annoyingg. The mechanic came and looked in the engine area..then he said he couldn't fix it there cause the belt was wrapped around a fan and some other part was locked up (that's why the belt broke). Soo then we had to call the towing people all over again. Before they came grandpa went out in the rain to unhook the car..he came back in with fire ants all over his shoes..he was standing in a fire ant nest! We kept killing the ants he brought in..jeez haha. The tow truck came..and the guy said his truck wasn't big enough to tow the RV. Ughhhh. We called yet more people..but everyone seemed to be busy with accidents from the weather. Eventually someone said they could be there in an hour or two. We were SO happy when it eventually came..I had never been so happy to see a tow truck haha. In all, we were stuck there for SEVEN HOURS!!! Yeah, not a good day haha. The truck towed the RV to Bradenton, 15 or 20 miles away, to the place that would fix the camper (it was 7 something, so they were closed by then). They said we could park on the strip of grass by the fence. Not the greatest spot, but better than the side of the road. We all just wanted to go to bed after that stressful day haha..not the greatest sleeping night though..with all the traffic and street lights and the pouring rain and howling wind. I was so relieved when morning came haha

In the morning, the repair people said it would take a few hours to fix, so we got breakfast and checked out a beach real quick (and found a quick geocache haha). The weather was much nicer this day. They were done fixing it when we got back, so we finally continued our journey to the Keys. I don't think grandpa wanted to drive much..he stopped for the day at a state park in the Everglades with plenty of daylight to spare. It was a nice place, except for not having wi-fi. We tried to find a couple geocaches, but mom and I are completely freaked out by having to poke around in the woods. I'd rather not find it than get bitten by snakes and stuff (we don't like caching in Florida haha). We had dinner at Naples, 15 miles away, then went back to the camper and went to bed

Today we drove through the Everglades to get to the Keys..cool, I'd never been there before! We saw lots of birds, some alligators and lots of creepy spider webs. D: Haha. It was cool finally getting to the bridge that would take us to the Keys. The water was gorgeous! I was so relieved when we got to grandpa's friend's house (in Marathon, on Grassy Key), where we're staying for the time we're gonna be here. I was tired and bored and was having Internet withdrawals haha. His friends are nice and their house looks out on water..nicee. They have definite Boston accents hehe. ;) It's so nice to just relax online now! Adventuring out will just have to wait ;)

Comments

[foxydanish.livejournal.com]

OMG that sounds awful, having to be stuck for 7 hours!!! That is a LONG time. And the fire ants! Aaaah D: I still don't think I've ever seen fire ants, although they live out here as well.

That's so awesome that you're trekking around the Keys though, I can't wait to see pictures. I've never been to the Keys, the furthest south I've been to in Florida was Miami, for like a day lol. I bet Florida really does have some crazy spiders, eek. Hopefully you don't see any that are too freaky hehe. I remember seeing lots of armadillos and herons in Florida the first time I drove down there with my family when I was like 7 or 8 haha. But yeah, I totally get being freaked out by poking around in the woods there.

Can't wait to hear more about your adventures, and hopefully they're not more misadventures :P

[wildrose.livejournal.com]

OMG that sounds like such an annoying situation! I hate having to call around to get things fixed - well I hate talking on the phone as it is! I'm glad you finally made it to the Keys - they seem like such a gorgeous place. Enjoy your time!