ORLANDO WINTER GARDEN CAMPGROUND was nice, but Eric and I cannot understand why anything in Florida would be called “Winter Garden,” since they don’t have a real winter here! Nevertheless, our short stay at Orlando Winter Garden Campground was a pleasant one.
I forgot to mention that last night, in the parking lot of JOE’S CRAB SHACK, we had some electrical problems, while we were in the RV with Frank, Gloria, Frankie and JJ trying to find a campground for the night. The generator just stopped running, putting us in total darkness and turning off my computer (in a very bad way). We were able to get everything going again, but now Eric’s worried about the batteries or the alternator. This morning everything was fine and we ran around in the RV all day with no problems, but something’s up. We just don’t know what it is. I have a feeling we’ll find out. Stay tuned!
Anyway, after a delicious breakfast at VOLCANO'S COFFEE BAR AND ROASTERY, we decided to go to CAMPING WORLD in Tampa, since we were going there anyway to see our nephew, Brandon. CAMPING WORLD is a chain of RV stores/service centers around the country. They come VERY highly recommended by GOOD SAM CLUB, which is the RV version of AAA. We were hoping they could take a look at the toilet and fridge, since we’re having problems with both.
The complex where CAMPING WORLD is located in Tampa also has a HUGE RV sales/service store called LAZY DAYS. We went there first, to see if they could fix the RV. This place was fancier than most of the hotels I’ve been in. They gave free coffee (which was delicious), had a play area for children, a sitting area for people with pets, a huge flat-screen TV, and the lobby was filled with the most comfortable chairs and couches. Unfortunately, they told us they couldn’t even look at the RV until the 23rd (and today’s the 14th!).
So, we went over to CAMPING WORLD, but they told us pretty much the same thing. Since the fridge works – on and off – and the toilet works, but just leaks (and we’re really not using it at all), we decided to just keep going until we can find another place who can take us quickly.
We got to Tampa around 3:00pm and decided to go to the FLORIDA AQUARIUM. What a great place! It was much nicer than the NIAGARA AQUARIUM, which was nice, but not nearly as large. The only thing that was better in Niagara was the sea lion show and the seals and penguins. Florida Aquarium had lots of fish (in HUGE tanks), but they also had birds, turtles, alligators, and invertebrates, all in their natural habitat. They also had a big tank of stingrays, which were really fabulous. Eric and I had a sting ray in our fish tank once, but he died in just a few months. His name was Sting Ray Charles!
After the aquarium, we went to Brandon’s apartment, which is really fabulous. If I could take his neighborhood and transplant it to San Diego, that’s where I’d like to live. His building is only 7 years old and is surrounded by fabulous stores such as a designer consignment shop, a spa, several restaurants, and a STARBUCKS!!!! Who could ask for anything more? The whole neighborhood is beautiful, clean and safe.
Brandon took us in his sporty blue Mustang to a GREAT sushi place called ZEN BISTRO GRILL + SUSHI BAR. We were SO excited, because we have not had sushi (which is a passion of ours) since we left New York five weeks ago! It was all SO delicious, we enjoyed it completely, and we were so happy! Brandon seemed to know everyone there and told us he eats there regularly. After dinner, we walked around and did some window shopping. Then we went to STARBUCKS. Everyone in STARBUCKS knew Brandon, too!
I'm so mad at myself, because I forgot to bring my camera with me to his apartment and to dinner, and then he came back to the RV with us, and I forgot to get it and take his picture. I wish you could see him, because he's SO handsome and he looked so great. I can't believe he's 32. So grown up and such a great guy!
We talked for a while and then we told Brandon where we were going next – to BAY BAYOU RV RESORT on Memorial Highway in Tampa. I told Brandon how we program Betty (the GPS system) and she takes us wherever we need to go. I showed him the route she was taking us and he said it was wrong and we’d never get there. I had SUCH faith in Betty that I made a bet with him.
He was absolutely right! Betty took us to a dead end and told us to make a right where there wasn’t even a road! It was by a railroad track, and the railroad track was there, but the road parallel to it wasn't!
Brandon then gave us directions and we went HIS way, but that didn’t work either, because it turns out that Memorial Highway is segmented and we needed to be going in the opposite direction. We started following Betty’s directions again, but Memorial Highway was closed for construction. We realized there was so way Betty could know this, but didn’t know what to do! Then, we saw a DETOUR sign and followed that and finally made it here. The GPS systems are fantastic (and we couldn’t have gotten very far without it), but they are NOT infallible. Brandon outwitted Betty, because he KNEW she was sending us the wrong way – and he was RIGHT! It was a little tense for a few minutes, when we thought we’d end up sleeping in a parking lot somewhere, but we finally made it here and it’s a really nice campground.
Eric’s been sitting for the past hour, looking at the Atlas (something he loves to do), trying to plan our itinerary for the next few weeks. We know we want to go to New Orleans next, via Tallahassee and Pensacola, but we’re not real sure about after that. We really wanted to go up to Memphis and see GRACELAND, so that may be in the future, too!