We planned this eight day RV trip for a couple of months. We decided to limit driving to 4 – 5 hours or 200 – 250 miles per day. Too often we hurry for no reason. We reached a city about 20 miles from our first destination when we hit a bump/pothole, heard something, and then an alarm sounded. We found a commercial parking area mercifully somewhat empty and parked. Karl inspected under the RV and discovered some damage. Unsure of what to do, we proceeded to the campground and checked in.
Six months ago we camped at this same park. A man arrived to see the people next door, and while he waited for them he and Karl talked. He owned a mobile RV repair business. He impressed Karl and Karl took a business card. Thankfully we still had it and called. He would be out the next day. Our stop here was one night, and going on to another park for the week, then back to this park for the weekend and from there home.
Florida state parks require reservations for camping. No walk-ins or campers in overflow areas, we think until all Covid restrictions lift. The parks are full this time of year, and as so many people bought campers over the past few years so reservations can be difficult. We managed to secure an additional night just in case.
Then we listened to the local news. Due to the hacking of an oil pipeline, many gas stations in the southeast were selling out of gasoline. We knew we had the fuel to get to our next destination, but not back home from there. We also knew that if we could not find gas, that park was already full for the weekend so we likely did not have the option of staying until things came back to normal. A fellow camper told us she heard from friends near our planned destination and they said that some gas stations already closed. Our experience finding gasoline when we evacuated for Hurricane Irma played into our decision. We JUST made it home that time, with no gasoline to be found anywhere along the six hour trip. We doubted things were that bad, but…
It took some doing, and moving around to different sites, but we managed to secure reservations where we were, cancelled the other park, and stayed here. The mobile RV technician repaired the damage, inspected the underside of the RV and for any additional damage, and charged a reasonable price. While initially disappointed, we enjoyed a different trip than we planned. We met some fellow travelers and exchanged stories and pleasantries, and spent some time making the inside of the RV better organized for living for us and the cat, and for traveling, and hiking places we saw along the way but never stopped before to check out. We plan to take our adventure to the other park again in the near future.
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