West Palm Beach – The Wind Blows In and Tires Blow Out!

The one aspect of the RV lifestyle that I love the most is the ability to move to a new destination—a city, a national or state park, a beach or a stream—and take our home with us. Depending on our schedule and campground availability, we may only be able to enjoy our new homeplace for a few days, but we have the opportunity to get a feel for the location and store it in our memory bank. Such was the case during our short stay near West Palm Beach, Florida.

Helen and I departed Key West after a delightful eight days filled with fun and discovery and began the return trip home. As is my usual practice, I try to keep the towing distance from one stop to another under five hours and West Palm Beach fell within that radius. I’ve noted many times that campsites in Florida are hard to come by in the winter, and I had to search long and hard to locate one on the dates we needed. Persistence led me to Palm Beach Traveler Park in Lantana, Florida, just south of West Palm and about four and a half hours north of Key West. Unfortunately, we could only reserve two nights in the campground as the snowbirds had taken over the place with the intent to remain. That left us with one full day to explore and we wanted to make the most of it.

A campground host met us when we arrived late in the afternoon. The campsites in Palm Beach Traveler Park sit close together and parking a 32-foot fifth-wheel is a huge challenge in situations like this, but the camp host was the best at assisting with back-up directions of anyone I’ve ever met while RVing.  With his help, we had Lucy centered on our camping pad in a matter of minutes. Our new homeplace was now Lantana, Florida. Our neighbor to the left was a single fellow from Michigan, and to the right was a truck camper from Quebec. A trip to a local tavern for seafood and local brews helped to get us settled in for the night.

The next morning Helen wanted to get her “beach fix” in early so we drove north a few miles and parked in a public park close to the beach. The parking lot was full so I resorted to pulling out the handicap tag issued to me after my knee replacement and hung it on my rear-view mirror.  The only time I used it on this entire trip. I pulled into a parking place near the sidewalk and limped up the ramp to the beach for effect.

At the top of the ramp, a fairly stiff wind greeted us.  Although the parking lot was full, the beach was sparsely populated. I suppose the windy conditions held the crowd down, but the sun was bright and the tide was out–a perfect day for beach-walking. We lingered on the beach for almost two hours, it felt good to stretch the legs. We returned to the truck then drove for several miles along the beach to look at the enormous estates and ornate homes built by some very wealthy people. I concluded that I’m just as happy with Lucy.  At least, I can move her around.

Helen asked the campground host for dinner recommendations and he immediately responded that we should visit the Old Key Lime House restaurant nearby. Trip Advisor confirmed his suggestion and off we went for an early dinner.  The next day’s drive to Savannah, GA was a long one and we planned to stop for brunch with some old friends on the way.

It was not hard to spot the restaurant with its coat of brilliant lime green paint. Inside, locals filled the eclectically-decorated pub–always a good sign.  We ordered drinks at the bar and chatted while an elderly waitress stood in front of us behind the bar.  She did not want to talk back. At the far end of this sizable tavern, a large group of cyclers gathered after a day-long pub crawl, raising money for an organization created to help wounded soldiers. We chatted with one of the participants who told us the day had been very successful. I gave them a big salute and some spare cash.

Port St. Lucie, Florida was the next stop for a brunch visit with one of my dearest friends from college. Cary and I met during my last couple of years at the University of Tennessee and hit it off immediately.  I was not applying myself very well at the time, but Cary was a good student and competitive as hell.  He wanted to do well in college and attacked every project with great gusto.  His enthusiasm for learning soon rubbed off on me, and I credit our friendship and friendly competition as exactly what I needed to obtain a degree, which I did. Our brunch time with him and his wife, Susie, was all too short.

While saying our goodbyes in the parking lot after brunch, Helen noticed that one of the tires on Lucy was flat. Compounding our new dilemma was the fact that this day was a Sunday and the next day was a national holiday. We purchased a Roadside Assistance package when we bought Lucy, but discovered on this day, it was practically worthless and no help at all.  We also had RV roadside assistance from AAA and they came to our rescue by sending a tire service truck to jack up the trailer and mount our spare–a two-hour delay.

An hour and a half later and approaching Titusville, Florida on I-95, I heard (and felt) a loud boom to our rear. My instincts took over and I guided Lucy slowly to the side of the highway and turned on the safety flasher. On the same side as the earlier flat, a shredded and smoking tire sat on the gravel beneath Lucy.

We again called AAA and spoke to the same lady that took our earlier call. I told her we had to stop meeting like this. After another two-hour wait, she sent a technician from the same tire service to mount a new tire on Lucy. By now, we knew we could not make Savannah within a reasonable time and canceled our reservation.  A Titusville Ramada Inn became our home for this night. Lucy spent the night in the parking lot. Although, we were tired, frustrated, and delayed, Helen and I cannot say enough good things about AAA and the tire service that helped us by coming out on a Sunday night after locating a trailer tire in the shop, then driving another 60 miles to help us. You gotta love people like this.

The next morning, we changed our route home and decided to make the Marine Logistics Base in Albany, Georgia our next homeplace. Breakfast and some good coffee provided a fresh start and erased all of the frustration of the previous day.

Once again, we realize that we’re very blessed and still…Easin’ Along.  Thanks for stopping by. We’ll talk next week from Albany.