Trial Run

Summer Adventure On the Road 2011
For our trial run we got a campsite in at the Madeira Beach Koa in St. Pete.  On the way we made a side trip to Bill Jackson's Adventure Store, just our kind of place.  It was in the middle of St. Pete nestled between forest and pond where they teach kayaking and fly fishing.  The store itself was like a Mall full of everything a sports guru would like.  A whole section was devoted to triathletes with bike needs, swim wet suits, and running shoes. The other side of the store displayed camping, hiking, and climbing gear.  Walking through the back looking for our Rocket Box, we saw a wide array of kayaks and paddle boards. While I went back inside to collect camping gear, John assisted the sport techie, a retired Raymon James broker, assemble the Rocket Box. The Rocket Box was placed on top of Moby Dick looking like a nice beret.
Now fully equipped, we were now ready to find our trial campsite.

We new that the Madeira Beach Koa was near the inter-coastal and not far from the beach.  This was a great opportunity to use our new GPS system.  So I typed in the address and let it rip.  We drove along following the Garvin Girl's directions and soon we were lost.  She was talking us away from the beach to another adventure. So we turned her off and let our intuition guide us to where we had to go.  We had done the Madeira Beach Triathlon a few years back, and we began noticing points of interest that told us we were on the right path.  We passed Bally's Workout Center.  We were definitely on the right path.  Soon however, we had to drive up to a policeman sitting in his car in the middle of an abandoned gas station and asked him for directions. The very nice policeman.had us go to an old industrial road that also looked abandoned for years, but he said, "Do not  despair because at the dead end you will find your camp."

There it was, the familial Koa sign: Cross stakes on a yellow background.  We soon saw why Koa chose this sight.  It was a beautiful parcel of land along the mangroves and the inter-coastal waters on one side and the Pinnelas Trail on the other. Anyone with kayaks and bikes would love this site. We went into the office got out site and quickly set up out tent near the water with the reassurance that alligators have not been seen in the area.  We then hopped on our bikes and took to the trail for a beautiful ride over the water and onto the other side for a twenty mile hike.  Coming back we were treated by a lovely sunset that reflected a golden glow off the water.

After a dip in the pool and a quick shower, we went to a near by dinner.  We opted to go near by rather than going to a ritzy restaurant on the beach and take the chance of getting lost in the dark.  Everything was going great so far for our first trial.  So the bay side grill around the corner  was it. While we waited for our burgers we read the old signs hanging on the walls: Drink coffee-do stupid things faster with more energy!  If at once you don't succeed, do it like your mother told you.  There are three things about old age- loss of memory and I forgot the other two!

Happily nourished we went back to our campsite which was now pitch black.  We scrambled to find the lantern and flash lights and with some light manged to bounce into our bed rolls. We lay awake looking at the stars through the tent netting, locating Orion the mighty hunter and his trusty sword.  Listening to the cicadas chirping their night songs, we drifted asleep only to be awakened by a jet plane over head descending to Clearwater airport and an occasional police siren off in the distance.  This is what it is like camping in the woods in the middle of a city.  Well, it was fine for our trial run.  At least we had set up our tent and bedding and now we were cozy in our den...so far so good!    

Moby Dick Gets Hitched!

 Summer Adventure On the Road 2011

We have learned that our beautiful country has many great bike trails where we can enjoy the side roads and stop and smell the flowers.  We planned to take our two Cannondales with us and take part in this adventrue.  So we needed a good bike rack that we could place in the back of Moby Dick, a sort of a tail if you please.We looked on the net and found a Yakima double down for two bikes that could fold part of the way down to allow the back hatch door to open in case we needed to get supplies.  We went ahead and ordered it.

To prepare Moby Dick for this tail piece, we needed a hitch attatchment.  We found a place called the Hitch House and they ordered the right part that would fit the van.  So when the call came that they had gotten the part, I took Moby Dick down and had them install the hitch.  Now this is not just any hitch, but a state of the art HITCH.  Moby Dick never looked so fine! When the rack and the bikes and the bike covers all get assembled, it will certainly look like a fine tail!



John likes this hitch!



Moby Dick Ready To Go!

Summer Adventure On the Road 2011

Our Trip Itinerary: Part I

The Itinerary: Part 1
In planning our trip we considered a few options: comfort, enjoyment and exploration. In some cases a hotel was the only option if the sky miles fell into place. In other places we decided to go with Koa Campgrounds where there was water, electricity, bathrooms, and a good shower available. Primitive might be ok for some, but not for this scout.
As you read through this list you are welcome to let us know of sites that you found interesting that we may not have considered, or you may warn us of something we did not plan. At least you can see that it is good to begin with a plan.
Part one is our trip from Bradenton to Wenatchee…so let's go-------------
Date Site Interest
6/2 Gainesville- Ginne Springs
6/3-4 Panama City -St. Andrews Campsite on the Beach -Windsurfing and Beach Play
6/5-6 Houston
6/7-13 South Padre Island - Hotel on the Beach – Windsurfing - Line Dancing
6/14 San Antonio -San Antonio Koa - Tour the Alamo
6/15 Dallas -Double Tree Inn by Hilton- Western Line Dancing, Tennis
6/16 Amarillo- Amarillo Koa- Sight seeing Line Dancing
6/17 Albuquerque- Bernalillo Koa - Sight SeeingLine Dancing
6/18-19 Grand Canyon- Circle Pines Koa- Hike, sight see WOW!
6/20 -21 Las Vagas- Palace Station Hotel ; Flamingo Hotel-Gamble, See Hot Burlesque show
6/22 - Ceder City- Sleep
6-23 Salt Lake City
6/24-25 Park City- Best Western Landmark Inn -Bike, hike, visit friends, Wedding Anniversary!
6/26 Boise- Bruneau Dunes State Park- Sky Viewing at the Observatiory
6/27 Maryhill -Maryhill State Park in- WA Windsurfing
6/28 Wenatchee -2102 Sutton Place- Enjoy time with Lynda, Jake, and Berkeley!
7/1-6 Hood River - Cascade Koa Campground

Configurating Moby Dick

Summer Adventure On the Road 2011

In order to make our van, Moby Dick, versatile for our trip, we decided to build a loft behind the passenger seats.  The loft would accommodate a bed or a rest area, and below would serve as a storage space.

To create the loft I bought a piece of plywood from Lowes and had it cut to a 4' by 7' foot plank. The 3/4" thickness seemed durable for our purposes.  Then, I found six milk crates when placed on their sides would serve to hold up the plank and be high enough to allow space for storage.  We placed three crates spaced equally on each side of the van and put the plank on top.  It seemed quite sturdy even driving down the street.  Below there was enough room on both sides to slip in two suit cases as well as the golf bags.

                                                      John is ready for a test drive!

                                                 Plenty of room for stuff!

Perfect place to take rest!

Setting up the sleeping quarters was the next task to accomplish.  I went to the fabric store and found 2" foam strips measuring 2' by 6' long.  I bought two and sewed a blanket all around it to make a perfect mattress measuring 4' by 6' and placed it on the top of the plank.  With a throw blanket, bedspread, and some pillows, our sleeping loft is cozy enough for a nap.  Although, we plan to sleep in our niftyTriceritops Tent, we know if the weather gets nasty, we can scurry onto our loft!

Setting up the Tent!

Big enough  for John to walk in with out cawling!

From this angle it really looks like a Triceritops!

It's breezy and roomy in here!

                                                             John needs a rest!

Summer Adventure On the Road 2011
     There is nothing like camping out in the fresh out doors and sleeping in a tent.  We wanted one that was easy to assemble even a boy scout could do it.  We looked for one that was tall enough so we could enter without crawling and large enough to fit a queen size blow-up mattress.  We needed one with lots of zip open windows and a storm cover if it rains.
     With this in mind we checked the internet and found a lovely blue tent by Field and Streem sold through Dicks Sporting Goods.  So when the box arrived, we were excited to get it open and set it right up, just like Christmas morning.  We tore away the the box and laid everything out and checked the parts. We were amazed to see how much came out of the little bundle, and wordered how we were going to get everything in it when we reassembled it in the little bag.  For fun we put a stop watch on us to see how low it would take.  That's before we started reading the directions. It was a trial trying to configure the lay out comparative to the pictures in the paper sewed to the holding bag. We were glad they were sewed in because the wind started to blow, and we didn't want to lose the direction if they blew away in the wind. With everything flapping around we had to secure the base with steaks.  The flimsy ones worked ok on on spongy Florida lawn but we knew we would have to get some double duty bigger gones for where we were going.  Next we put together the telescoping rods and threaded them through.  We could see that one boy scout could not do this alone.  We secured these rods to the hooks on each side and that seemed like nifty engineering as the tent started to take shape looking like a Triceratops.  Then we pulled the tension strings and secured them to the ground. By now the wind was blowing and the love bugs swarming.  We decided to dive in and zip up the front door.
       Boy, was it cool inside after we unzipped the windows and looked up at the mesh ceiling. The wind was blowing through and the love bugs buzzing all around outside.  Everything was holding together inspite of the wind, and with our stronger pegs, we were sure the tent would hold even in the Hood River winds. So we decided to get our camera out and take some pictures for you to see.
       It took us about an hour to assemble the Triceratops and half and hour to disassemble it flat.  The tough part was getting amorous lovebugs out and crunching everything into a tiny package to place it all back into the little bag. That took more than one boy scout to do as well, and after several tries we got it down to size.  I can't say we got all those love bugs out though, I guess they liked a cozy place too!