February 2020 - USA

a walk on the beach Destin Florida

cholla cactus Tucson Mountain Park

Tucson African market

Travels east to Tampa via the southern route hoping to miss bad weather!

29 February 2020 Saturday - Largo Florida

28 February 2020 Friday - Largo Florida
Visit with mum then spent time at the clubhouse there to determine if their television would work to show our collection of photos at mum's housewarming in March.

27 February 2020 Thursday - Largo Florida
Evening meeting of the condo association to find that they need money to re-roof most of these buildings!

26 February 2020 Wednesday - Largo Florida
Morning workout at the gym then walk to consignment shop to drop more stuff and collect a few bucks! Afternoon is dark and gloomy with threats of storms so staying in to catch up..

25 February 2020 Tuesday - Largo Florida
Visit with mum then afternoon educational seminar on DNA at the library.

24 February 2020 Monday - Largo Florida
Morning workout at the gym then last time visit to my favorite local organic produce store Earthfare which is now closing and filing bankruptcy, what a shock! But found that a new Sprouts is opening soon just down the street.

23 February 2020 Sunday - Largo Florida
maybe a day to relax at the pool.......

22 February 2020 Saturday - Spring Hill to Largo Florida
Good to travel route 19 south early on a Saturday...traffic on this route on a weekday is horrendous, based on past experience, and the sun is shining!!! Stocking up at Sprouts and Whole Foods.......

21 February 2020 Friday - Perry to Spring Hill Florida (134 miles)
Very overcast and cold and windy day, not fun for driving, plus now the sun rises later, even though there was no sun today!

20 February 2020 Thursday - Destin to Perry Florida (183 miles)
Lost another hour today, but last one, as I move into Eastern timezone. Another challenging day for the van.....after over an hour of driving, I smelled gas! So kept the windows down because there is nothing after you leave the beaches on the route I drove (route 98/231/20/267/98/19). Arrived Perry and the hotel recommended an auto place. I found that the damaged breather hose caused the odor. The previous two mechanics I visited claimed they could not fix the problem yet these guys pulled out the fuel tank filler device, uncrimped it and attached additional hoses and clamped them on....good to go and I can pump petrol the normal way again...and then it started pouring down rain, good timing!

19 February 2020 Wednesday - Daphne Alabama to Destin Florida (102 miles)
Decided to buy all new tires at the local Firestone before continuing my journey, which I should have done in Phoenix but the mechanic there told me they were just fine, cannot believe any of these auto mechanics.........then arrived in Florida for a walk on the beach!

18 February 2020 Tuesday - Denham Springs Louisiana to Daphne Alabama (185 miles)
More dense fog and rain, not great for driving, and not even greater is tire blowout on the I10.....not my month for travelling! And the worst part is that it broke the connection of the fuel tank filler to the hose and the electrical wire to my house system. I visited auto service place and of course no part available for this old van, only way to fill tank is slowly via rubber hose.

17 February 2020 Monday - Winnie Texas to Denham Springs Louisiana (208 miles)
Happy President's Day! More rain predicted. A very tense day of driving with dense moist fog, heaps of roadworks on I10 and heaps of traffic with crazy drivers.....in fact one truck carrying automobiles had parts flying off his truck! And the fluctuation in petrol price is amazing.....from $1.79 to $2.59 within just a few miles.

16 February 2020 Sunday - Boerne to Winnie Texas (267 miles)
Good thing for the delay with my van because I will be driving through San Antonio and Houston on a Sunday...but big accident on the I10 west of Houston so took over an hour to drive one mile! A very foggy day.

15 February 2020 Saturday - Fort Stockton to Boerne Texas (263 miles)

Overcast cold day for drive east, initially did have sunrise in my eyes, then the clouds moved in. Boerne is pronounced "burnee" and is located in the Texas Hill Country where I spent many days camping a few years back during the tree color changing time. Boerne was named in honor of the German author and publicist Ludwig Boerne who is considered part of the Young Germany movement.

14 February 2020 Friday - el Paso to Fort Stockton Texas (212 miles)
Happy Valentine's Day, on the road east again! Lost one hour today at Van Horn and shortly thereafter drove in very heavy fog, not fun, but the van is still running!

13 February 2020 Thursday - el Paso Texas
Walked the mile over to auto repair place and they had just received the needed parts so will stay another night because I do not like to drive late in the day....walked over again at 4 and van was ready to go.

12 February 2020 Wednesday - el Paso Texas
still waiting for a part......drive shaft, ujoint, yoke......learning heaps about all this stuff!

11 February 2020 Tuesday - Deming New Mexico to el Paso Texas
Will lose one hour going east and had planned to overnight in Van Horn but lost my drive shaft on I10 in el Paso, got towed to auto repair place and awaiting to hear the verdict.........the challenge is finding the parts. Difficult driving from Deming due to high wind and now it is snowing in el Paso, maybe good thing not to be on the road.

10 February 2020 Monday - Tucson Arizona to Deming New Mexico (208 miles)
On the road east getting blinded by the sunrise! As I entered New Mexico, the pavement was wet, just missed the storm that had gone through but more is predicted for the next few days, and it did rain. Crossed the Continental Divide at 4585 feet. Several Fort Campbell Kentucky army personnel are staying here to assist with Border Patrol.

9 February 2020 Sunday - Tucson Arizona
Hiked Sarasota Trail at base of Cat Mountain/Tucson Mountain Park and visited the mercado for African market and the gem show. Some folks were selling raphia baskets from Madagascar which I immediately recognized, had great chat with them. Then visit to La Estrella Bakery for the best pan dulce and especially liked the pumpkin empanadas, at a great price! Franz joined Bob and I to watch the Oscars, first time that I have seen them in many years, and I have seen none of the films!

8 February 2020 Saturday - Phoenix to Tucson Arizona (214 miles)
Visit with Bob in Tucson enroute east, taking the slow route from Phoenix on routes 85/86 via Buckeye, Gila Bend (named for bend in Gila River), Ajo (Saturday markets of new and used and food) and Why (named for the Y in the road but law mandated three letters for name of town) through high desert. I drove by Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument which I visited many years ago but gave the park a miss and enjoyed just as many organ pipes and other cactus along the route.

7 February 2020 Friday - Phoenix Arizona
Packed the van and enjoyed a bit more pool time with a walkabout in the neighborhood.

6 February 2020 Thursday - Phoenix Arizona
Stocking up at Sprouts and filling up with petrol. When I returned to hotel, I found that they do have outside power point so plugged in to get the fridge going. A bit warmer and sunnier today so enjoyed some pool time.

5 February 2020 Wednesday - Phoenix Arizona
Another very cold windy overcast gloomy day so decided to give a walk in the park a miss (16 miles to White Tanks but over 20 minute drive) and just do a walkabout locally.

4 February 2020 Tuesday - Phoenix Arizona
Last evening temps in the 30's, brrr! And daytime highs in 50's....! Morning visit to the truck wash for them to clean my van, it now sparkles! Then to return to where I had stowed my van to plug it in and suss out all the bits to ensure that they work: fridge works on ac/dc/propane, gas stovetop lit up, propane heater worked great, all the lights worked, and the toilet flushed....only thing a bit dodgy was the generator but not critical for the next few weeks of travel. Then to spend time repacking my stuff and finding things about which I had forgotten.

3 February 2020 Monday - Phoenix Arizona
Overcast windy and cooler day, not a good day by the pool! Took my van for pre-trip checkup and found that I needed a few things done, nothing critical but a good time to get it done by a reputable auto mechanic.

2 February 2020 Sunday - Phoenix Arizona
Superbowl Sunday, but not for me! I remember when the 49ers won their first SuperBowl when I lived in San Francisco. Another sunny but cool day so spending time planning travels east across the USA back to Florida, need to be there by first of March

1 February 2020 Saturday - Phoenix Arizona
Enjoying the sunshine and temps in 70's! Walkabout in the area and a bit of time at the pool.