Still catching up, but less than three weeks behind now!

The Distance:  841 miles as we really pick up the pace, working our way out of Florida.  Running total for 2018 is 1674 miles.   May will likely be a significantly higher mileage month.

The Places:  We departed Coral Springs and crossed to the southern Gulf Coast with stops at Koreshan State Park, Venice (twice,) Sanibel Island, and Fort Myers.  We then made our way north and out of the state, along the way spending time at Wekiwa Springs State Park and O’Leno State Park to visit cousins before crossing the Georgia border to begin our stay at Wanee Lake Golf and RV Resort.  This worked out to 10 nights in state parks, 11 in private campgrounds, and 9 in relatives’ houses.  Of those 21 days in campgrounds we had 17 days with full hook up connections, and 4 with just power and water.

The Budget: We barely squeaked under by 0.4% this month.  The lack of markets, increased gas expenditures, a full fill up of the big propane tank, and eight days at our most expensive park were just offset by the nine days staying free or nearly so with relatives.  We remain well under budget for the year so far, though May could be a challenge with what I anticipate will be three or four full fill ups of Serenity’s 75 gallon tank.

The Drama and the Improvements:  We purchased a new under water point and shoot camera, the very affordable Fujifilm XP 120, so some of our pictures should start looking better, though admittedly we still use our smart phones for most of them.  After years of coming to the island to shell, we found a Junonia in Sanibel!  And I have a nearly new mountain bike thanks to Rose’s brother Jerry; he had an extra one with a bent rear wheel, and I happened to have a spare wheel from my Key West bicycle repair days.  Other than that, most of the improvements were performed on Gloria’s new house in Venice.

Our monthy reports so far this year: