Report 16: Martintown ON to Orlando FL
Route
From the rural highways at Martintown
ON we went to the Cornwall ON/Massena NY border crossing and picked
up US-37 to US-11. We stayed on US-11 and I-81 until near Winchester
VA where we picked up US-17, which we followed to Myrtle Beach. The
GPS complained mightily, continuously trying to turn us onto the
closest interstate highway. From Myrtle Beach we detoured north-west
to Conway then again picked up US-17 into Charleston SC. We got off
US-17 onto I-95 into Savannah GA. From Savannah we had intended to
follow US-1 (the coastal highway) into Florida, but detoured back
onto US-17 to Palatka FL for an unexpected stop at a Good Sam Club
Rally. From Palatka we followed US-17 into Orange City FL and then
on to Orlando FL.
Highlights
When we last wrote, we had just
returned to Ontario, having left our motorhome in storage in Myrtle
Beach, where they also did some maintenance for us. After having
spent a fantastic Christmas and New Year with our family and friends
we drove back to Myrtle Beach to get the RV. There was not much snow
on the Canadian side, but as soon as we crossed the seaway the trees
were heavily laden with wet snow; it was beautiful. So, we took the
secondary highways to see the full effect. There is nothing quite so
sterile as an interstate highway.
We dodged some really crummy weather
in the north-eastern states by taking the coastal highway, US-17. We
had smooth sailing, while not far inland there was a huge mess on
I-95. From North Carolina to Georgia, cars and semis were sliding
off the on-ramps into the ditch. We did see a bit of ice and plenty
of evidence of salted roadways, but our only complaint was the
unseasonably cold weather in the US south-east.
We had never stored our RV, or even
winterised it before; it was not a good experience. The first thing
we noticed was that a family of mice had spent a month or more in our
motorhome. They chewed, defecated and urinated on virtually
everything. We were throwing stuff out, cleaning and washing for
over a week. The winterising had not been properly done and several
of the fixtures were leaking; one was cracked. The storage company
replaced it without delay. When we turned on our brand new flat
screen TV set it went pfffft! The workers doing maintenance during
storage had spilled Murphys oil soap into the back of the TV, which
shorted out everything. It took $1500 worth of repairs to get it
going right (new screen and the boards inside...everything except the
case and remote). We were surprised that it was covered by warranty.
For some reason the warranty company would not simply replace it (it
was on sale at $450). Go figure.
Towards the end of our stay at Myrtle
Beach there was a terrible accident. We returned home from the
movies to find our motorhome and several dozen others roped off with
crime scene tape. A light plane had crashed about a hundred yards
behind our motorhome, taking out the front end of a fifth-wheel RV
and one of the residents therein. The pilot also died on impact.
There were bits of the aircraft hung up in trees and across the
street from where it hit. The impact was so great that it pushed a
3/4-ton truck across the street into a motorhome. Our friends who
witnessed the event said there was a huge explosion, fireball and
follow-on explosions, as the propane tanks in the RV, gas tank in the
truck and small arms ammunition in the truck went off. We got there
about two hours after the incident and there was still lots of smoke.
Cop equipment and news crews were everywhere. We'd left Molly in
the RV and judging by her behaviour when we got her out, and every
time a plane passed overhead, she must have been quite traumatised by
the explosions; she's fine now.
Next, we drove south to see Charleston
SC and Savannah GA. Both cities feature well preserved buildings and
parks in the old town areas. Of the two, we much preferred
Charleston. It is much more friendly for walking around and it has a
nicer waterfront. In Charleston we walked and drove all over the
city, whereas in Savannah we took a trolley tour, as down town
Savannah seems to be heavily populated by homeless and
strange-looking folks...we did not see many people strolling the old
city streets like we did in Charleston. The people seemed to be
friendlier in Charleston. The old restored mansion houses in both
places were fantastic, with their big balconies, gardens and gay
colours. In Charleston one gets a terrific view of the nicest ones
by walking along the sea wall. History buffs would need to visit
both places, as both are littered with small parks containing
numerous statues and plaques commemorating historical events.
While in the RV park in Savannah, we
heard about the Florida Winter Samboree being held nearby. So,
although it had already started and we had not registered, we went
there. This was our first RV rally. There camping arrangements were
first rate, with water and 30-Amp power to each coach. The vendor
tent had a lot of interesting displays and we contributed heavily to
the local economy. But, it was cold, with everyone wearing many
layers of clothing topped with quilted jackets and even a few parkas.
We had intended staying at Orange City
only a week, until we heard of another rally, the Winnie Gators 40th
Anniversary rally. So we stayed for nearly a month before moving to
Orlando for the rally. The stay was interesting, as it is a big park
with activities. One evening we somehow walked out of the park
through a back road and ended up lost well past dark...well...not
lost, but we did not know how to get back into the park, which is
surrounded by a high fence without retracing our steps. We were
tired when we finally got home! The most interesting event while we
were there had to do with the space shuttle. While driving down the
road to the supermarket a huge flash of light came out of the clouds
and arced across the sky. It was the last flight of Discovery. We
saw the booster rockets separate and the next stage ignite and zoom
off out of sight. Had we remained in the RV park we would not have
seen nearly so much as, from that angle, the shuttle went behind some
clouds. When it returned to earth we were again at the right place
at the right time to hear a double sonic boom. Way cool!
The rally in Orlando was interesting,
being the largest Winnebago state rally. There were not many
exhibitors, but this was more than made up by visiting other RVers,
including friends from the Alaska rally. Molly was entered into a
dog parade where she won third prize for most unusual dog. She wore
her ribbon proudly. We talked to the owner of a large RV repair shop
in Lake Wales, with whom we made arrangements for repairs an
upgrades. More on this in the next report.