We all forgot that today was St. Patrick’s Day. I blame all of my friends on Facebook. No one had any green status updates in the morning! But in all fairness they were all still sleeping soundly while we were getting dressed for a mini travel day. Ummm, I did make a green blanket fort for Ava in the morning. That should could for something, right?
Today was our last day at Cody’s Catfish Pond and RV Park. We were not sure if we would have an empty gray tank today. Dan could not hook up our sewer because our site had some weird connection. Instead, he used a garden hose to empty out our gray water and it took FOREVER. I’m not joking. It took 6 hours to empty our tank.
Then it was off for some familiar food. We’ve been trying to visit eastern chains or mom and pop restaurants while on our road trip. But today I said ‘the hell with it!’. I need my short stack of pancakes and fake-ass french vanilla cappuccino fix. Oh and it was worth it. Dan enjoyed his two over easy eggs which, to Ava, looked like a bra. Dada is eating a bra, why Mama!?!?!
And Mila discovered something super awesome. Spoons.
Then we were off to Clearwater, Florida. The city of the worst drivers in the US of A. I swear everyone in town took turns pulling out in front us causing us to slam on our brakes a million times. Why people, why?!?! Do you not see the huge and HEAVY silver thing behind us?!?! Some were super old. Some were on phones. And I am sure some were already drunk. It was St. Patty’s Day after all. We would have totally left Clearwater if it wasn’t for THIS place. Any guesses?
Here is a hint. Ava drew her first owl here today.
Still nothing? How about this. Us ladies. Bored.
Did you figure it out yet? Okay one more clue.
Orange butts! (No I didn’t take this picture. I made innocent Ava take it. LOL!!!)
Yup. Hooters. All for Dan. He is obsessed with the wings here. Yes, the wings! And this is the original location. And that big building a few pictures back was the headquarters right next door which had plenty of parking for our Airstream.
And now for your Hooters’ history lesson of the day. Hooters began operations in 1983 here in Clearwater, Florida. The founders built on the site of a former shoddy and rundown nightclub that had been purchased at a low price. The store actually opened on April 1, 1983, as an “April Fools Day” joke, because the founders believed that their prospect was going to fail. So many businesses had folded in that particular location that the Hooters founders built a small “graveyard” at the front door for each that had come and gone before them. But to their surprise, now there are over 450 locations all over the world.
20 hot wings. Before.
20 hot wings. After.
After spending all day eating and cursing at cars, we took a chance at a county park nearby. I called Fort De Soto Park earlier in the day and they said they had some walk-in sites available. I love how Florida parks have a handful of sites that are walk-in only. Perfect for us cross-country travelers that have no idea where we will be in tomorrow, let alone a week from now. And this is county park… that is open until 9 pm. Unheard of with Florida’s state parks who close promptly at 5pm and locks their gates too. And low and behold they had a site for us. Did I mention that this place consists of 1,136 acres made up of five interconnected islands?
We drove through a palm tree jungle and looked for our site.
And parked our Airstream in paradise. Literally. Look at this site!
And look at this view! Oceanfront, baby!! Awesome!!!!!!!
And all for $45 a night. You can’t beat that in Florida. This place ain’t cheap.
Alright. Gotta go. Someone has to tell Dan that they sky is falling on his head. Hehe.
the end,
marlene
3 Comments
Rich Luhr · March 19, 2010 at 1:53 pm
Something’s weird about that six hour gray tank thing… when we use a garden hose we can empty a full gray tank in maybe 15-20 minutes …
Sorry to see Ft De Soto has become so expensive! But it is a great place.
dan · March 19, 2010 at 2:19 pm
it was a little pricey but after making reservations at key west and fort wilderness, nothing else shocks us anymore!
our gray tank can often get a little sludgy on the bottom from some of the food that gets flushed down the drain. Since we have been making pancakes and beignets, it was especially bad. Evetually the food gets flushed through the hose and it started to drain faster.
Rich Luhr · March 21, 2010 at 8:47 am
Ah, there’s a fix for that gray tank sludge problem. Put a double-dose of enzyme based (“green”) tank chemical in it. The RV-Tec100 or KOA-branded stuff sold at Wal-Mart will work fine. That will encourage breakdown of the food particles. You might want to make this a regular part of your routine. Just pour a little down the kitchen sink after every gray tank dump, so it has maximum time to work between dumpings.
Ft Wilderness and Key West are two of the most expensive places to camp in the USA, so the good news is that it’s all downhill (pricewise) from here!