Monday, June 24, 2013

Welcome to Florida, Heat, Grumpy Guy, and Thunderstorms

Lake City, Florida

We drove 183 miles today and ended up just across the Florida/Georgia border.

We could really notice the temperature warming up the further south we went.  No more cool nights where we need blankets!

We chose a campground just off  I-75, called Casey Jones Rv Park.  It had good reviews and appeared to be easy in and out.

We drove in,  and there was a truck stopped in front of the office while getting a propane tank filled.  There was room for us, but then we were blocking anybody else from entering or leaving.  I jumped out and the man pumping propane told me he'd be just a minute.  I asked where we should park the motor home to get it out of the way.  He said it was fine there, but Al decided to pull ahead to an empty late arrival site to get out of the way, so that we could drive the truck around to choose a good site.

The man wasn't happy that we disobeyed and made it clear he would show us to our site. He asked why he parked where he did.    I explained we just wanted to park there for a few minutes to give us a chance to check out which site we wanted.  He told me that he would assign us a site out there "in the middle."  "In the middle where" I asked.  What's your definition of the middle? There were 4 different areas that could be considered "in the middle."  By this time I was getting grumpy.    He went inside, I walked back to Al and the coach and on the way a nice lady asked if she could help.  I felt like saying yes, please, because the grumpy guy was getting on my nerves.  I bit my tongue though, because she was probably grumpy guy's wife.

Grumpy guy must have realized I was angry and he proceeded to be "cute" and try to make amends.  Too late.  It was 395 degrees and I don't like spending my money at a place that treats their customers like that.  If it wasn't so much trouble to find another campground, we would surely have left.

After we paid him $29+  he led us up to a grassy site up on the hill (in the middle).   We had afternoon sun coming in the patio, no shade, but the site was long, easy to get into, and fairly level.  No problem getting satellite here!  When Al went to plug in the Progressive EMS  system, he normally flips the circuit breaker first.  This one had no breaker.  That's the first time we've seen that.

The park has no pool or hot tub, but they do have free wifi.  Ok....one good point.  I turned on the laptop and their signal looked pretty strong.  It turned out that all I could get was a "limited" connection...which basically means you get zip.    So no free wifi for us tonight.   There was no way I was going to call grumpy guy and ask him about it either.  I just kept thinking, that I'll be sure to leave a review on Rv Reviews.com

In the summer time, it's rainy season in Florida.   Since Florida is surrounded by water, it has it's own unique weather patterns.  The afternoon sea breezes from the Gulf of Mexico, and Atlantic Ocean often collide somewhere over the mainland.

Guess where they collided  tonight?  Yep, Lake City.   Actually, you could look on the radar and see an almost straight line down the center of the state.  This was the worst thunderstorm I've seen since we lived in Florida years ago.    It got a little windy for a while and we felt the coach rocking, but fortunately, it appears to have passed.

143 miles to drive tomorrow and we'll be back in the Tampa area.   The sooner we can get our business taken care of, the sooner we will be out of here and back in the cool mountains of Georgia.  Maybe when we get settled in, I will have time to get my Live Writer back.





7 comments:

  1. I think it is rare that check-ins in a park go the way they should. This scenario just sounds all too familiar. Even after two years of full-timing, I sometimes forget to consider all the criteria for site selection regarding sun/shade, satellite, or wi-fi. Truthfully, we are rarely given a choice of sites even though I try to be pro-active about it.

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  2. I can manage most sites if it is only over night and it is level. But grumpy staff is not ok. if you take my money you can be nice about it from the beginning. Hope the sale goes quickly. Heat makes me grumpy too. Maybe that was his problem. if so, he's in the wrong business in the wrong place.

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  3. I am with you -- that is what RV Park Reviews is for and I use it.

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  4. As I read your story, it seemed that he only became grumpy after you asked him a question, got an answer, and then proceeded to do something other than what he told you. What am I missing here?

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  5. I can go either way on picking or being assigned a site, if that is standard policy, but I sure get unhappy quick if we are treated rudely. I am one of those customer comes first kind of people.

    We vote with our feet and then also leave a appropriate review online.

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  6. With grumpy guy as your subject line, I was afraid you might've meant Al, glad it wasn't him! I'd love to be somewhere cool right now..

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  7. Al is grumpy too. I can't seem to get away from grumpy people.

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