January 24th 2016 - Meeting Miss Piggy

This was our last full day at Dupuis. The weekend campers were packing up and heading out. We chatted for a bit with the guys who camped behind us. Their promised party never happened. They figured the cool weather kept people away. They actually turned out to be very nice guys. A new camper, Joanne, took the spot next to us that Greg and Beata had left. She had her adorable chihuahua  Miss Piggy with her. Miss Piggy started barking at us immediately. Joanne told us not to take it personally. She told us she was a rescue dog and barely even liked her. Miss Piggy had two different sweaters that she rotated as the weather changed during the day. Too cute.

We kept an eye on the injured finger in case it was broken or getting infected. With only a compost toilet and no running water, the conditions were not exactly sanitary. We headed to the other campground for one last shower then took a ride into Indiantown. I wanted to see if they had an urgent care in case we wanted to get the hand looked at before we headed to the Everglades. They had a clinic that was closed but no urgent care. I ran into the grocery store for ice cream and to see what kind of pain killers they might have. I found an aspirin based pain reliever that looked promising.

When we got back to camp we packed everything up and loaded the car. We have realized that sleeping in the car the night before we head to a new destination helps us get a much earlier start.

January 23rd 2016 - Saturday at Dupuis

We woke up to a cool but beautifully sunny day. Greg and Beata decided to head to Miami for a couple days to check out the beach. Francis and I are going to stay until Monday so he can get some more writing done. We are planning to meet up again at the Everglades on Monday and share a campsite to save a little money. I have not started using my Trail Wallet app yet but I know the news is not good. We may have to cut out the steaks we have been eating! We took some pictures together and said our goodbyes.

Francis settled in with his writing and I started reading a new book. Someone left some paperback books in the restroom at the equestrian camp for anyone to take. They were mostly Harlequin romances but in the midst of the pile was an Anne Tyler novel ( Ladder of Years published in 1995) I had somehow missed. I thought I had read all of her early works. It is a great read, I had forgotten how quirky her characters are. I went back and forth between reading and watching the children at the next site play. The boys were dressed in camo and were hunting squirrels with air rifles and the little girls ran around playing together. I am not sure how I feel about hunting squirrels but it was great to see the kids enjoying the outdoors.

Francis took a break from writing and worked on getting the cigarette lighter in the car working. It turns out the fuses were labeled incorrectly. He was able to get it working and generally feeling very happy with the day. Unfortunately, that did not last long. As he was closing the car door, he slammed his right hand in the door. The middle finger took the worst of it. It took a while to get the bleeding stopped and the nail was damaged. Just when we were feeling so good about how well his burned hand was healing!! He is generally not accident prone but he seems to suffer some kind of injury on most of our trips. The pain kept him up for most of the night. It is amazing how sensitive fingers are.

Francis has a history of being sick or injured on these trips which is so unlike him.  In June of 2014 we did our first camping trip. The plan was to drive out to New Mexico and start camping from there. About an hour into the drive, he felt really sick and started running a high fever. We had to pull over and get a hotel for the night. He felt much better the next morning but not well enough to drive so he let me drive for about six hours which is a rarity. When we finally got to our camping destination in New Mexico, we started the  5 mile hike into our tent campsite. About a quarter of a mile into our hike, he twisted his ankle severely on a rock. He had to walk the rest of the way with a stick for support. Ironically, the sickness earlier and the twist motivated him and he wanted to push on past our planned campsite.  He views these kinds of things as a challenge and can get carried away so I had to talk some sense into him and insist we stop as planned.

Kate, Francis, Beata and Greg

Francis's hand a few days after the burn

Francis's hand after it healed. You can't even tell it was burned

Francis's finger after the accident

January 22nd 2016 - Rain, rain go away

Florida is having an unusual amount of rain this year and the forecasters were calling for another storm today. We made it through breakfast but soon found ourselves under Greg's small canopy again. We have a larger one of our own but we had so much stuff in the truck we had to leave a few things behind. Unfortunately the canopy was one of those things. We were wishing we had made a different choice as we made a dash for the truck. Francis and I spent several hours laying in the back of the truck reading, playing games on my kindle, and napping. We awoke to a knock on the window. It was Greg telling us the sun had been out for hours. He was joking of course. The rain had just stopped. I had promised Beata a ride to the other camp for a shower so we headed over there.

It was getting dark and cool by the time we got back. We did not feel like cooking so we decided to drive into Indiantown to get some dinner. It was a short drive to the little town. A quick internet search helped us find a Mexican restaurant that sounded promising. The GPS directions were confusing so we parked near where we thought it was and found two different Mexican restaurants although neither was the one we were looking for. On the advice of a gentleman we spoke to on the street, we chose one and went in. It was very casual with the menu on the wall and a counter where you placed your order. The food was authentic and absolutely delicious. Francis had a pork dish and I had fajitas. We washed it down with bottles of Mexican soda. Loaded with leftovers, we headed back to camp.

When we drove back into camp we immediately noticed a lot more of the campsites were taken. The weekend crowd had arrived. We were told it would happen when we registered but I was hoping the rain might discourage people from coming out. There was a large group on one side of us and another behind us. They seemed to be having a very good time. A few of the very drunk guys from behind us stopped by our campfire and invited us to a party they were planning for the next evening.

January 21st 2016 - Solo stove

We woke up to a sunny but cool morning. We had been in the habit of heating water for coffee on our propane stove but this morning we decided to try out the Solo stove we brought with us. The advertising and reviews convinced Francis we needed it but we had not used it yet. We have the Campfire version which is the largest one they make so far.With just some twigs, sticks, and pine cones, our water was boiling in just a few minutes. What a cool gadget. Simon and Melissa joined us for coffee and let us know they were heading back to the equestrian camp for showers then heading on from there. Before they left, Melissa told us about an app they were using to keep track of their budget called Trail Wallet. We decided to get it to track our spending. I am a little afraid to find out how far over budget we are but I think it will be a useful tool.

Speaking of our budget, we decided to stretch our food dollar by making some African food like we do at home. It is economical and lasts a long time. We had picked up the supplies during our last grocery run. Cooking it on the propane stove is a bit different than on the electric stove at home. In order to save propane, we had to cook it a bit more quickly than usual so the flavors did not blend quite as well as usual but once we added rice and some hot pepper it was pretty good and we had plenty of leftovers.

Our campfire that night was fantastic thanks to some wood we found near the campsite. It has a huge amount of resin in it so it burns instantly and gets really hot. It also gives off a very nice smell. None of us are sure what it is but it seems like some kind of pine to me. Our neighbor Dan, who is also an aspiring Christian writer, joined us at the campfire. He had lots of questions for Greg and Francis about how they had convinced Beata and I to join them on this adventure. He told us lots of stories about his life and his experiences as well as giving us some tips about free things to do in the little town nearby. He was planning to be away for a couple of days for a men's retreat so we promised to keep an eye on his campsite and bicycle. We ended the evening with our favorite polish sausages and headed to our tent.

Solo Stove Campfire

Solo stove doing it's magic

January 20th 2016 - Family Campground at Dupuis

We woke up to a sunny morning at our new site. We got the coffee going in the french press ( which our Polish friends have become fond of as well) and settled in at our picnic table. Simon, who we met last night, and his girlfriend Melissa joined us with cups in hand. She and Simon are from Canada and are doing a similar trip to ours in a Subaru with a sleeping platform in the back and storage on the roof. Melissa has aspirations to own her own farm and Simon works in sound and music. As we were chatting, Greg said, "Hey is that Chris?" We looked over and in fact it was! We called him over and spent a few minutes catching up.

As we looked around at our surroundings, Francis and I realized that despite the flush toilets and shower, this campground is not as pretty as the family one we went to the night before. That one had a nice pond, fewer RVs, and prettier scenery. We told the others about it and we all decided to move over there. After a shower of course!

When we arrived, the gate was locked. Francis hopped the fence and went to talk with the camp host. The camp host was not there but a fellow camper named Dan filled him in. It turned out it should have been locked the night before. Although you can stay free for up to 7 days you need to register at the Visitor center and get the combination. Once that was done, we selected adjoining campsites with plenty of sun and a view of the pond and settled into our new home. It was nice and quiet with only a few campsites filled.

Simon and Melissa joined us at the campfire that evening. Simon mentioned he was from Prince Edward Island. I asked if that was where the Anne of Green Gables stories were set. He looked a bit pained and said yes. It turns out he had just finished doing the sound for a play based on the books and is pretty tired of it. Towards the end of the evening, Simon noticed a pair of eyes in the water which the guys all believed was the resident alligator.

Our campsite at the family campgrounds at Dupuis

Bundled up because it's still chilly in this part of Florida

January 19th 2016 - Saying goodbye to Middleton's Fish Camp

It was time to move on to our next location. We were once again making our way further south with our ultimate goal being the Everglades then the Keys before we head west. We had planned to go straight there but decided on one stop in between to break up the drive. As seems to be our pattern on pack up day, the morning was quite chilly. Packing up always reminds me of putting away the Christmas tree. Putting it up is always so much more fun than putting it away. We were hoping to get on our way by 11 but things always take a bit longer than we expect. We had camper friends to chat with one more time, last minute adjustments to make on the car, and of course we had to say our goodbyes to Jeanne Middleton who was so kind to us during our stay. Finally at around 1 o'clock, we got on the road. We were headed to a free campground we found on the internet at Dupuis Water Management Area with our Polish friends, Greg and Beata. But first we needed a laundromat trip and some groceries so we headed for Vero Beach one more time.

Francis dropped me at the laundromat while he ran to Home Depot for yet another cable for our charging system. Thank goodness he knows what he is doing because all these cables look the same to me but I love having a working freezer as well as a charged phone and Kindle. I actually enjoyed the laundromat. I quickly got two loads going and then sat down with absolutely nothing I had to do and nowhere I had to be. I found a warm, sunny seat, read a book for awhile, did some people watching and before I knew it the clothes were ready for the dryer. Francis got back just as the clothes finished drying and we headed to Walmart one more time.

We arrived at the campground after dark. There was a lock on the gate but it was not locked so we drove in and began looking for our friends. We had spoken to them about an hour earlier and they had already arrived. Strangely enough after driving around the entire campground, there was no sign of them and his truck should have been very easy to spot. A quick phone call solved the mystery. There are several campgrounds at Dupuis and they had gone to the equestrian one while we went to the family one. We drove a couple miles to the next gate and found them quickly. We did some quick exploring to find the restrooms and met another camper named Simon. We chatted briefly and made plans to talk again in the morning. Imagine my delight when I entered the restroom and saw flush toilets and a shiny clean shower stall! The description of the family campground which I had read mentioned only compost toilets.

January 18th 2016 - Martin Luther King Day

It is Martin Luther King Day. It is our last full day at the fish camp. We said good bye to Tom and Donna and also to Athena and Brian. Our Polish friends are waiting for their solar panel to arrive. Greg got the idea to add a solar panel to his set up after seeing the solar  charging systems that Francis is using on our trip. He has two separate solar charging systems. The large 100 watt panel/system keeps our freezer running while we are stationary, and the smaller Yeti 150 charges our laptops and cell phones. It is too bad he does not work for the companies that make these items because he spends a lot of time explaining the systems to curious people we meet. Greg plans to mount his panel to the spare tire on the roof of his truck. We wish we could do that too to save us dragging it in and out of the truck and moving it from the back to the front whenever we want to sleep in the back. Unfortunately, our panel is twice the size and our vehicles are built very differently.  We are worried it won't show up today because it's a holiday and it is coming by United States Postal Services. Amazon guaranteed it today but we know the post office is not working. It would be a great day to kayak but Francis is again stuck having to work for a client whose server is seeming to be hacked.We met a photographer by the name of Curtis. He is in the area to do an art show but is actually from Wilmington. He regularly exhibits at Centerfest in Durham. It really is a small world. We met another neighbor by the name of Gary who is in the area to fish. He is from Michigan but regularly winters in Florida. As we were talking to the two neighbors, we noticed the US Postal Service delivery truck. Greg ran over and got his package. It turns out the post office only delivers for Amazon on the holiday. Interesting.  

Later that afternoon, Francis and I took a hike then walked around the nearby neighborhood. All the houses are on the waterfront although they range in size and design quite a bit. Some were simple trailers while others were more elaborate homes. Some appear to be lived in all year round while others appear to be vacation homes. At the very end of one road, there are a few cabins and trailers that Jeanne Middleton rents out to visitors. We chatted with a gentleman who told us that the home owners do not actually own the property. They lease it for 99 years. I am sure there is a reason for that but I have no idea what it is.

View from the neighborhood 

View from the neighborhood

Hawk on the tree

View from the hike