ChevRock

Is it worth driving a mile down a bumpy, country lane?

ChevRock — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 03:05:58 +0000

We pack up and are heading north to Camp David by noon. We don’t have to worry about time, since we are going less than 50 miles. We really do not want to arrive after dark at many places again, let alone in the rain—which we cannot control. As we are pulling off the highway, we start down a 2 lane paved road, which suddenly turns right into 2 sandy lanes with huge deep holes and gullies. Steve drives slowly, cautiously steering the rig around tree limbs, huge holes and the road turns left. I said, “are you sure we’re going the right way?” He says, “these are the directions we’ve got!” We continue to another right and the road narrows to 1 lane, it seems to have less, gullies though. The canopy of trees overhead is magnificent. It is almost a spiritual experience. We look at each other in awe! We agree that the remoteness of the cg and the entrance are a little shocking at first, but this is also one of the coolest entrances we’ve encountered and we didn't damage our roof!We pull up to the gate and Steve dials the number and the gate opens. We enter avoiding tree limbs, seeing a sign pointing towards the office at the right. Below that it says, "RV’s stop here!" Confused and not wanting to block the roadway, we pulled to the right. Suddenly, Chuck is standing beside our truck, introduces himself, saying I was trying to stop you, but I guess you didn’t see me. He says, you’re going to have to back up around the corner, because there are tree limbs this way, unless we want to walk the road and see if we will be able to make it under the tree limbs. We walk the road and decide to back up. We pull around to our site—PURPLE and Steve backs the trailer in. This time we’ve got to get our slides between a tree and a utility post. We have about 4 inches to spare. Setup is getting easier and easier.We’re greeted by many campers. We see several men walking around naked. It feels very comfortable and we can’t wait to get our clothes off. But before we do that, we walk to the office to complete our registration. It is a very small office, with a few RV staples (they do have sewer hoses), some leather goods, some groceries and several shelves of general and X-rated movies. Back at the trailer, we remove our clothes and relax. We’re here for a week, so there is plenty of time to work later. It has felt like we’ve been running for weeks—we have. We walk the dogs around the park. It is small, but pretty and everyone is very friendly. We sit by the pond in the sun and meet Chris from Canada. He has a beautiful Greyhound dog, Rascal, that is very loving and gentle. He even lets Sarah and Rosemary go crazy sniffing him and he just stands there loving the admiration.We feel so much better after some down time and feel this is just our kind of place. It is very laid back. Later we have dinner and some television. But, we discover that we only get 1 channel-- FOX. We played with the antenna and discovered that we could get the picture only a little better on ABC, CBS & NBC. We really are out in the middle of nowhere.Camp David does have a Wi-Fi connection. So, now it is time to try to get my desktop working. It has not worked on this trip yet. With very little effort it suddenly starts working. We are both used to our own computers so this is great to be fully operational again. We’re working for a few hours and soon we feel oriented to our new business and with some time to focus it is clear what we need to accomplish. It is cloudy and getting cooler again.It is Friday and we are going to meet my former in-laws. Scott died from complications related to AIDS in 1990. I have continued to visit and keep in touch with his parents and they have been welcoming of Steve and the kids. They have been going to Recreation Plantation RV Park in Lady Lake, about 20 miles away for over 20 years. We have not seen them in a few years. Recreation Plantation a huge, but nice park. So very different than where we are staying now. They take us to a Chinese buffet and we have a nice meal and good conversation about families, kids, grandkids, life on the road, and our new business. They are so very kind and sweet. I have some nostalgia for my life over 18 years ago. How things have changed. They give us a tour of the area. We learn that they have watched town of The Villages grow from fields to the McMansion village that it has become. It is nice, but it seems like we have several neighborhoods just like it here in the Virginia suburbs of DC. It is what America has become everywhere—we hate that! I miss the unique shops and communities that used to exist around the country. Although, when I want a PetSmart or a Bed, Bath & Beyond, I am the first to admit it!The weather is cool so we are running the furnace at night and attempting to use the fireplace to keep the chill off. It works great until we turn on the microwave, toaster or coffee maker. We forget that we’re booked at a 30 amp site because that is all they had left when we made our reservation.In the café, Chuck and his partner serve breakfast on Saturdays and Sundays. So, we go have breakfast and enjoy the camaraderie of our fellow campers. The people here really are the friendliest people I’ve met--anywhere. We work. We take the dogs for a walk and see that the cg is pretty full for a damp, cool weekend. There is a mixture of people, though mostly older men. They play bingo on Saturday evenings in the rec hall.We again awaken to a cool, damp day and decide to have breakfast in the cafe. Chuck is always so cheerful. My back has been hurting and a camper named Andre is set up for massages, so I schedule a massage for 4 pm. He gives one of the best massages I’ve ever had. If you run into him he is one of the best!! I don’t want to do a thing the rest of the day.It has been cool for several days and we’re in Florida. So, we’re not doing much other than working. They are saying it will warm up towards the end of the week, but we’re supposed to leave Wednesday. We check with the office and extend our visit through Friday. We spend some time working and then decide to drive into Inverness. Time for a Walmart fix. Inverness is a small town built on the side of US Hwy 44. There is not much of a town, although there is a historic district and then miles of retail along the highway. Back at the cg we see that although it is cool, there are some guys wearing sweatshirts without any pants walking the grounds. Boys will be boys!


We’re right where we are meant to be!
We spend time walking the dogs, working and chatting with the other campers. Bob from the office stops by asking if we are interested in staying for the weekend, they’re filling up quick and if we want to stay we need to let him know now. Since, Sunday is my birthday; we decide to stay for the warmer weather. It is not often I get a warm birthday in February!We work in the morning. Steve has scheduled a massage for 1 pm today. So, I am planning to go to the pool. I meet Glenn at the pool. He is one of the nicest guys I’ve met—ever. He’s very handsome, educated and easy to talk to. I like him a lot. He is from Michigan and has left his trailer here for the winter. He comes as often as he can get away. We share many stories of our lives. Steve joins us and tells us that he agrees Andre gives great massage! Everyone is so friendly! After his massage, Steve doesn’t want to do much but relax.The weather is warm again finally! So, we work, walk the dogs and enjoy some time by the pool. We really are meeting a lot of nice people. We drive to Lady Lake to the Petco to get dog food. Sarah is limping. We think it may have started since we’ve been feeding them Purina One, instead of their usual Science Diet brand dog food. While we were at Camp Mars we ran out of dog food, the best easiest source was Publix. She has always had a bunny hop when she runs but this is much worse and now occurs while she is walking. We get their regular dog food and a glucosamine, chondroiton supplement. We really need to pay attention to their dietary needs as we travel.Glenn is packing up to leave and I am talking to him as he closes his trailer up. A guy comes walking by, saying HELLO and I recognize him, but, I think he is someone else I’ve talked to here. He says, you don’t know who I am…..hum? He says, my name is Jim, you met me at Camp Mars! He is very happy to see me. I finish up and say goodbye to Glenn. By the time I get back to our trailer, Jim is inside talking to Steve. We invite Jim & Chris to join us for a fire that night.The campground is filling up and we see lots of new faces. There is a much larger mixture of ages than we have seen before. We fight to get the campfire started using Tiki oil. Jim adds some of his wood to the fire and eventually we have a nice fire, great conversation and toasted marshmallows. People walk by and regularly stop to chat.We work and spend some time in the sun. We forgot some groceries, so we agree to take Jim (he’s driving a C class without a dinghy) to the store. We also want to buy firewood—that will burn. We’ll have a fire again tonight. It is still cool at night but not cold! We have invited Andre (the massage therapist) and his partner Bill to join us. Andre and Bill are both really great guys from New Hampshire. They are full timers and share a great deal of their experiences with us. We have many things in common. We enjoy the conversation and have a great fire. Suddenly I realize that the fire is going out—I ask Steve why? We’re out of wood. We bought more wood today than we normally go through in a couple of days. But, we were still talking at midnight! We know we are right where we are meant to be.We enjoy another quiet day by the pool. It is packed with some good looking men, some older men and a couple of bodybuilders and one guy with tattoos everywhere! We have a good day, a quiet meal together and start packing the trailer. We want to get an early start in the morning.We are up and packed pulling out of the cg at 9:20 am. It is a little work turning left and the trailer leaves a rut in the hillside. We kick the soil and stomp it back in place. Steve drives the road cautiously and we hit pavement by 9:50. It is a great driving day, little traffic, good weather for the most part, just slight rain in Virginia and we’re home by 12:15 AM, Tuesday. We made it!Read the next sequence in our blog: How small is a 38 foot 5th wheel?



Why would you carry 40 feet of sewer hose?
ChevRock — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 03:04:42 +0000
We leave the park heading to Sawmill Campground near Dade City, Florida. Dade City is not in Miami Dade County. It is northeast of Tampa and West of Orlando. We drive North through the Miami/Fort Lauderdale suburbs and then West on I-75 (Alligator Alley) towards Naples and then again North through Fort Myers, Venice, Sarasota and Tampa. North of Tampa we are amazed at the hills surrounding us. It almost seems as if we could be in southern Indiana, Ohio or any of a number of other areas of the country. We’ve traveled from Washington, DC to Miami so often in the last 20 years; this part of the Florida landscape had escaped our memories.

It begins pouring rain. Later, I heard that it rained 3 inches in 1 hour. We arrive at Sawmill and check-in quickly. The cute guy assisting us offers us a better rate for the 4 nights we’re staying, than we had gotten earlier while making our reservation. This is a good start. We’re back in the truck and driving into the park, through one of 3 gates?
This is the first park we’ve been to with 3 gates. Do that many people arrive at the park at once? We can hear music in the distance. We’re attempting to follow the map but we suddenly are at a circular drive and obviously in the wrong area. Some guy comes running from out of nowhere and directs us back to Banana Lane. We pull up in front of our site and get out in the rain to survey the site.
Steve starts backing the trailer in and the neighbor in, guess what: a Class A motorhome, comes out to his screen room and hollers, “you’re never going to get that in starting off like that, you need to come from the other direction; do you need a real flashlight to see with?” Steve has gotten much better at backing up, but in the driving rain, with the music blaring and of course attempting to line ourselves up parallel to the patio we both become very frustrated. Soon enough we are set up and the rain has let up somewhat.
I attempt to hookup our sewer hose only to discover that our 25 feet will not reach, so we’ll worry about that tomorrow. We go for a walk to find the courtyard of Woodies is packed with people. This is a scheduled band play-offs, several different bands play to the crowds delight. There is a large lesbian contingent and a lot of younger people. The campground is packed and the bars are full. In my younger days I would have had so much fun here. Now all I can think of is getting a shower and into my warm bed!
The next morning after breakfast we walk around the park, it is amazingly cool and there are fires at several the campsites and cabins. People are everywhere although many have left or are leaving now. We wander through the Outpost and find a very comprehensive supply of leather/gay themed items. We decide to go the office and get more sewer hose. They don’t have any but suggest that Walmart will. We drive to Dade City to the Walmart and wander through the store—I am beginning to discover that I love shopping at Walmart. It also gives you a sense of the communities character. We wander the camping aisle—no sewer hose. We went to 3 stores without sewer hose in the camping aisles! So, we drove to Camping World in Tampa arriving at 5:20—ooops on Sundays they close at 5 PM. Back to Sawmill. This is a very rural area of Florida. We bought firewood from the office on our way back into the cg. I fix dinner and we decide relaxing in front of the TV fit our mood much better than a fire.
The next day we stop back in the office to ask about RV parts supplies and are directed to an RV sales office, who direct us to yet another Walmart or the nearby RV parts supplier. We get to this Walmart and are wandering the camping aisle, when I suddenly think we have to walk through another part of the store—in the automotive section I discover the RV parts we’ve been looking for all along. OMG! I can’t believe we’ve been in 4 stores to finally have found what we’ve been looking for! I could lose my mind or already have. We finish our shopping—we didn’t get anything yesterday. We return to the cg and start installing our sewer hose. The site is a huge site, nearly 3 times the size of most RV sites. We need approximately 40 feet of sewer hose. We are astounded! Just as we finish our neighbor pulls into the space in front of our connections, (where his Jeep has been parked all along) commenting that "this is a monument to sewer hoses!" Our site is large enough that 3 RV’s could park side by side on it with room for the patio between 2 of them. The connections are in front of the space adjacent our site. We eat dinner and relax. Steve starts a fire, but the wood won’t burn. We’ve been sold green wood again. Why do cg’s sell green wood?
On Tuesday, we walk around the cg and take photo’s. It is a very nice park. The pond is the cleanest one on a cg we’ve seen in some time. Most seem to be cesspools, but this one has a fountain, so some circulation to prevent stagnant standing water. Back at the trailer we both work for a while. My brother-in-law Gary calls and we agree to meet he and Sally in Wesley Chapel 30 miles away for dinner. The cg is virtually empty. Compared to the weekend party atmosphere this is amazing. The weather has been cool, so we have not really been at the pool, although it is quite nice with the Splash bar poolside blaring music all day long. We have a nice meal at a steak house with Sally & Gary, enjoy chatting with them and then wander around the corner to Bed, Bath & Beyond. We shop and laugh so hard I am crying. We have more fun with them. Gary is hilarious. Sally is a perfect foil to his humor and if I do say so, Steve and I play off them both very well.
Read the next sequence in our blog: Is it worth driving a mile down a bumpy country lane?



We’re RVers/Campers 1st, so it’s really irrelevant that we’re gay men!
ChevRock — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 03:02:42 +0000
We are heading to Miami to visit our friends Ken and Gary who moved to Coconut Grove 2 years ago. We have not seen them since they moved, other than a surprise trip home for a brief visit. There are 30-40 mile wind gusts blowing terribly and yet the trailer feels planted on the road. Getting used to the feeling is a little unnerving, but it really isn’t going anywhere, just hold the steering wheel tightly and don’t over-correct! We pull into Miami Everglades and Campgrounds around 3:30 pm. We are early enough for an easy setup and rest before heading to their house. Miami Everglades looks like it used to be a KOA campground with the A-frame office/store.

The park is a large one with 2 main sections adjacent the entertainment area. We are escorted to our site by a nice man in a golf cart. He sees to it that we are properly situated, although we still have to align the trailer parallel to the patio. The site is a pull through and the first pull through we’ve had since the Florence KOA.
After some rest, we drive the 40 minutes to Ken and Gary’s house, but I forgot the address. We know the street though so when we get on their street I call Ken, he comes out into the street and says, “is that you with lights on the cab of your truck? That thing is huge!” I feel like such a queen, yet I am driving this really big truck! The 20 inch tires really raise it up. Ken introduces his dogs Kam & Deo, 2 boxers they rescued who are both the sweetest dogs. Sarah and Rosemary instantly go crazy but finally relax into a cozy warmth of new friends. Rosemary’s type A personality causes her to sniff out a safe space and growl each time one of them comes near her.
Ken has prepared a wonderful chicken dish, vegetables and a salad. We catch up on each other’s lives and feel instantly very at home, talking until midnight. On our return to Miami Everglades, Steve and I talk about how “right everything feels!" Spending time with old friends is helping us to determine our destiny. Yes we are doing the right thing for us!
We get to Ken’s Friday at 11:30 AM. We chat and then walk into Coconut Grove. It is certainly one of the most beautiful communities in Florida we’ve been in that isn’t suburbanized, McMansions. It is really a very beautiful area. If you are in the area be sure to visit Vizcaya Museum and Gardens. Vizcaya was built in 1916 as James Deering’s winter residence. James was Vice President of the International Harvester Company, never married, traveled Europe with Paul Chalfin, a young New York painter; selecting antiques and surveying architecture to complete Vizcaya. James left his estate to his nieces. Although, no information exists stating James was gay, everything I have read “all but says” he was! I wonder if he and Paul were lovers? Nearby Vizcaya, James’ brother, Charles Deering also built an estate which is The Deering Estate at Cutler. Vizcaya Village, which was built to support the estate, has also been recently renovated and can also be toured.
It is good to see Ken feels so comfortable in his new home. We return to the house, pile into the car and head to the pet store for dog food and then to Target (not Walmart?) for supplies. Back at the house, Ken offers to let me bathe Sarah and Rosemary. Traveling with 2 white dogs in campgrounds really makes them dirty dogs! They have a deep kitchen sink and soon the dogs are clean and I join Ken and Steve to nap and relax. Ken and I walk Kam and Deo to the store and buy swordfish for dinner. When we get back to the house, Gary is home from work and we enjoy a leisurely meal and conversation until 11 pm.
As we are packing up Saturday morning, Steve is working outside and talking to somebody, when I holler, "are you talking to me honey?" He replies, "no I am talking to John our neighbor from Ohio". I have never filtered well! I step outside and Steve introduces me to John. I am amazed he didn't flinch. We have learned that as 2 gay men camping, usually everybody sees us first as campers, so we are accepted, maybe later they think about us as gay men, but that doesn’t really matter, because we are campers first!
We wander around the park, discover nice, clean bathrooms, good landscaping, and a large well maintained pool. They are building a new fence around the pool area. The rest of the park has all the usual activities like horseshoes, a jogging path, volleyball, basketball, shuffleboard courts, and a rec hall with a huge crowd of people having coffee on the deck. They also have a huge gathering area with a Tiki Hut.
Read the next sequence in our blog: Why would you carry 40 feet of sewer hose?



Are we in paradise?
ChevRock — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 03:00:36 +0000
We are heading to Bluewater Key 10 miles from Key West. Our first stop was in Weston, Florida at a Publix for some groceries and lunch. When we opened the trailer door, we discovered our next mistake. I had failed to secure the refrigerator door latch and we had cucumbers and onions all over the kitchen floor. Always store things with a secure lid and be sure the door is securely latched. Another lesson learned. We also discovered that when we were leaving Camp Mars we had placed our trash in the bed of the truck, planning to put it in the dumpster at the dump station. In the confusion about the roof damage we’d forgotten all about the trash and we now discovered a box was the only thing remaining in the bed---oops somewhere along the way our trash flew out on the highway. We both hate to litter and really try to be a partner in recycling. So, that was another mistake we hope not to make again. The remaining part of the trip to Bluewater Key was only longer than we expected, arriving at 7:30 pm. The management did call us shortly before they closed at 5 pm to see if we needed anything and to give us instructions for our arrival.I missed the entrance to Bluewater Key RV Resort and had to drive another 2-3 miles to turn around. We pulled in the drive finally, found our late arrival packet and let ourselves through the gate. Our campsite was the fifth one on the right through the gate. They are all either back in or pull in sites. Steve started backing in and soon the neighbor came out to help. He started telling us how to back the fifth wheel—mind you, he came out of his Class A motor home. The site had a stamped concrete patio the full length of the crushed shell parking pad. We always have to line up just so, and it usually takes a bit to do that, but we also have two slides on the street side of the trailer to arrange around trees or hookups. So, a little in and out is usually the case.We requested a water site and are on a small canal with a dock, tiki hut, 2 tables, a sofa and 2 chairs around a coffee table. It is by far the nicest site we’ve had. It should be as much as it costs! We were all set up, ate dinner and hooked the cable TV up. We had to use our technical expertise to determine how to hook up the cable. The directions in the “book” were of little help. We had cable in the LR but not the BR. We never did figure that out. We’ll ask the dealer when we get home.The next day we wandered around looking at the beautiful rigs and sites throughout the park. All RV sites in this park are privately owned. Owners may or may not rent their site when they are not there. Some of the sites are incredible, including huge screened rooms with furnishings including full kitchens, living rooms, and beautiful parking pads. The sites are currently listed online starting at $439,000 for off water sites, $475,000 for a canal site, $735,000 for a waterfront site with a floating dock. So, they are magnificent by most RV Park standards—not what some would really call camping!We are exhausted. Traveling through 4 campgrounds in 11 days is a lot of work, let alone getting used to our new “home”, set-up, tear-down, further developing our business plan, seeing family, etc. We have decided to spend an extra day here, to hell with the cost! We stop in the office and were able to add a night to our stay.Next we drove through Key West. We looked around and couldn’t believe that it was once a Gay Mecca. Since they dug out the harbor so that cruise ships could come into shore it has been overrun by the straights. Although cruise ships have come to Key West since 1969, they really didn’t inundate the island until the mid 80’s. We have a discussion about, the battle for GLBT rights and our desire to live our lives on our own terms and while it is here in Key West to some degree, we don’t necessarily like it. The town looks a little run down. It is not particularly clean, those straights have really messed it up! I miss the old days when it was Gay and Lesbian heaven! To be fair a great deal of the changes in community here are probably as a result of the AIDS epidemic. Unfortunately, many people that lived here in the late ‘70’s and early ‘80’s have died and fewer people moved here as many more communities have welcomed us throughout the country.I was scratching like crazy, so we went to the Walgreens and bought cortisone cream for me. Apparently, I had chiggers for the first and hopefully last time in my 50 years. My mistake; we often lay down on the carpet and play with the dogs and they love that “down time”; earlier I laid down in the grass with Sarah and I seem to have gotten those nasty critters. It reminds me of having scabies in the early ‘80’s. We went to the pet store and got Sarah some cortisone spray. The vet said that her Frontline Plus flea and tick protection should have protected her and maybe it did. There could just be so many different things going on in differing climates, maybe she has allergies?!The next day we returned to wander around Key West and then headed to Mallory Square for sunset. There are fire eaters, a single musician operating all the instruments himself, another guy walking a tightrope and many vendors selling their wares. There are people everywhere. I remember 30 years ago being here with all gay men & lesbians on the square and now it is mostly straight people. We see one other clearly gay couple walking hand in hand. We are of course walking our dogs, so our hands are on leashes. Sunsets are very beautiful here, especially through a partial cloud cover. So, don’t skip it if you think the weather is bad. It might be one minute and clear another. That’s the way the weather has been here for 3 days!Key West would have been paradise to me in the 80's, but today the RV resort is the closest I've come to finding paradise while camping. Read the next sequence in our blog: We're RVers/Campers first, so it's really irrelevant that we're gay men!




Bears everywhere?  How to avoid ripping the roof off your trailer!
ChevRock — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 02:59:13 +0000
We are up, packed ready to leave by 10:30. We stop in the office to speak with the manager at Bay Bayou RV Resort and talk to her about our plans for the web site. She is very excited giving us a lot of information from her years of resort employment. She’s new here and having previously worked in Michigan. She gives us a multitude of information for campgrounds/RV parks, managers, publications and contact names.

We’re heading east towards Camp Mars in Venus, Florida, in the middle of the state. We drive through Lake Placid, Florida; renamed by legislative act at the urging of Dr. Melvil Dewey, creator of the Dewey Decimal System. He arrived in 1927 and thought the area reminded him of his home in the Adirondack Mountains in New York. This is the last place for supplies before getting to Camp Mars—just 30 minutes away.
We arrive mid afternoon at Camp Mars and are greeted by Koren. We complete our membership applications and Dale (the owner) comes in to greet us as well. Dale escorts us to our campsite driving ahead in his golf cart, warning us of low hanging limbs. We miss a big limb that would have ripped our roof off. Since we made late reservations we’re put beside the swimming pool with water, 30 amp electric and no sewer. It is a nice sunny spot. We’re greeted by our neighbors from Michigan and their dogs.
Set up goes smoothly again and we’re able to relax. We are soon walking the dogs, being greeted by many campers. There are several permanent sites with trailers, 1 with a fire truck and several with nice landscaping. The park has been owned by Dale for 5 years and was previously a religious campground—interesting news. What goes around….
Friday evening is a planned Camouflage Bingo and then Gary’s 50th Birthday Party! We arrive for the Birthday party and there is a drag show just starting. The hostess is the usual talkative, though slender blonde introducing the performers and everyone does a tribute to Gary! There is a bar set up by the stage and the hostess periodically helps herself to a shot. They are average performers except for one who did several sailor numbers and can dance, lip sync and gave an exceptional performance. It is clear that several men have arrived that are younger than the mostly middle aged men we had seen earlier. Watching the crowd and later watching everyone on the dance floor it became apparent that a lot of these are regulars who know each other. Everyone is very friendly. Nobody should ever feel left out at Camp Mars!
The pool was packed Saturday and we sat by a friendly group of “bears”. We enjoyed their conversation and friendly banter. It seemed that many were married men, away from their wives for the weekend. We had met Jim from Port St. Lucie the day before and suddenly, he’s asking to borrow some flour. He was making an apple crisp for the pot luck, would we be going? I said, “I wasn’t sure that I had anything to make.” He said, “I’m making plenty, please be our guests.” We really were made to feel a part of the crowd by some of the people here. This was Uniform Weekend and the party on Saturday night started with a pot luck dinner. We sat with Daniel who is a very cute late 20’s early 30’s professional. He was very intelligent and fun to talk to. Many of the regulars are from the beach towns a couple hours away. Daniel is from Port St. Lucie. Everyone left after dinner and returned later to dance the night away. We returned about 10 and the place was pretty full and everyone was having a good time.
On Sunday, we explored the campground further. There is a portion of the campground that is just for tents removed from the main part of the campground, we wandered through that area to find only one campsite occupied. But we did discover an outdoor “play area”. That should prove interesting for some. Then we drove some of the roads nearby and took some pictures. There is not much in the immediate vicinity of Camp Mars. If you need anything at all, you really have to drive the 30 miles to Lake Placid.
Monday morning we prepared to head to Bluewater Key RV Resort 10 miles from Key West. It turned out to be a tough morning. We were all packed up and driving out of the campground, talking about various things, when all of a sudden, Steve froze…..I wasn’t sure what was going on…he said, we hit something. He looks back to discover the roof of the trailer was being held by a huge tree limb--the one we were warned about on our way into the campground. At this point, we couldn’t back up, so he just drove forward. We pulled up to the dump station and cleared out tanks then pulled forward to inspect the roof. We temporarily repaired it with Tyvek tape and hit the road.
Read the next sequence in our blog: Are we in paradise?



Can your dog walk on water?  See how Rosemary walks on water!
ChevRock — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 02:55:31 +0000
Steve usually gets up in the morning between 6:30-7 AM. He immediately gets on the computer. The Wi-Fi at Bay Bayou was offering an intermittent connection. He found that the Tilt worked much better and he was on AT&T's 3G network, offering their fastest connections speeds. We spent the early part of the day setting up the systems in the trailer, getting used to how things operate/function.

This part of the trip included a family visit. So, we went over to my sister Sally’s and brother in-law, Gary’s house. Sally was not home from work yet and Gary gave us the tour of their new home. During the tour, we checked often to see what Sarah and Rosemary were up to, only to discover that Rosemary had decided to take a walk on the pool’s thermal blanket. We inherited the dogs from Bob & Joe. They used to have a pond which was about 6 inches deep and Bob said she would often walk through it. I guess she looked at the blanket and water thinking, “I can walk on that”, only to discover that walking on the blanket was not the same thing as walking through the pond. She looked panic stricken and the blanket was moving under her, she was getting nowhere fast. Steve grabbed the blanket and she walked towards him, grabbing her harness he pulled her free. Westies are not known for their swimming ability and we have not been able to get either of these dogs to go near a lake or ocean. 
Sally had arrived home from work. My other sister, Ann and her husband John had arrived. John is a gourmet chef and we had a great meal with everyone. We enjoyed chatting for the evening and returned to our “new home” to sleep in our own bed. That is one of the major reasons we love traveling in our 5th wheel; our own bed to sleep in each night. We have grown tired of hotel rooms, strange beds, sheets and glassware that may or may not be clean.
Tuesday we planned a ferry trip with Ann and John from Honeymoon Island to Caledesi Island. Caladesi Island is the third best public beach in the country, just behind two beaches in Hawaii, according to a University of Maryland study. It is very beautiful! We relaxed on the beautiful white sand, watching the birds and the tourists “shelling”. It was nice to spend the time with Ann and John. We had not really spent much time alone with them since they got married 2 years ago in Jamaica.
We invited everyone to the 5th wheel for dinner that evening. So, we returned on the 3:30 pm ferry and stopped at Publix supermarket on our return to Bay Bayou. We had a good meal. Everyone enjoyed seeing our new home. Gary suggested that maybe they should have moved into a trailer since they both love camping. John continually remarked about how spacious and comfortable it was for him. He’s 6 ft 3” and said he was amazed at how high the ceilings were and that we had a king sized bed.
The next night we headed to Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City, a neighborhood in Tampa, for dinner and their famous flamenco dancers. Our friend David had recommended the restaurant and indeed the food was wonderful and the show was entertaining. They do have several restaurants throughout the state. The guys were cute and the women attractive!
We were home in bed and sleeping by 10:30. We can’t believe how tired we both feel. Traveling is wearing us out already?
Read the next part of our blog in sequence: Bears everywhere? How to avoid ripping the roof off your trailer!



Are Fifth Wheels really easier to tow than a trailer?
ChevRock — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 02:52:56 +0000
We left home in our 2006 Ford F-350, towing our new, 2008 Montana 5th wheel heading for Tampa, Florida. It is our first trip with this rig. We had spent 2 days packing; planning to be on the road for a few weeks but packing as if we are full timers. We want to know what it is like to travel as full timers, which we hope to be soon enough.

We left at noon and drove 65 to 75 mph most of the way. We previously towed our pop-up camper over 8000 miles with our 2001 Lincoln Navigator. While the pop-up was small and lightweight, we were dissappointed with the transmission downshifting constantly and typical trailer wag. Driving this rig is not nearly as tiring. The torque from the Ford's Power Stroke Diesel V-8 is impressive, hauling the GCVW 22,000 pounds effortlessly. We are not experiencing severe downshifting and the 5th wheel has eliminated trailer wag completely. The 4 wheel disc brakes and Ford's integrated trailer brakes have stopped us as required without effort.
Our goal had been to set up before dark each evening, but we drove until 7 pm. Even so our first setup went smoothly. While Steve de-winterized the tanks and gave us a 1/3 tank of fresh water, I prepared dinner. We love having home cooked meals and relaxing in our own space, instead of eating in restaurants and sleeping in hotel rooms. Set up is also so much easier than setting up our pop-up. We relaxed a while and watched some television before nodding off to sleep around 11 pm.
It seems, our two Westies, Sarah and Rosemary like our new trailer as much as we do. When we stopped for lunch at a rest area they were able to lay in the trailer playing with a toy or eating a treat and had access to their water bowl. At bedtime, they were delighted to discover their beds right under each side of our king size bed since we don't have room in the trailer for their crates.
We were on the road Sunday morning by 9 am. Our first overnight at the Florence KOA was okay. It seems like a nice campground aside from the roar of the highway all night long. If we were to stay for long we would get used to that. It seemed they had most of the usual amenities too. But there doesn't seem much to attract me to Florence for long.
Just before getting back on I-95 we pulled into the Pilot truck stop and weighed the rig to discover we were slightly overweight, 150 pounds. I do tend to pack heavy, and we had added some water. We’ll have to watch our tanks carefully when we are on the road. We were impressed how simple it is to weigh each axle, right where the truckers weigh their rigs.
We were back on the road and soon enough the temperature hits 60 degrees. Yippee!! By early afternoon we are in Florida and it is 70 degrees. It is great to be away from winter!
We have driven through Jacksonville en route to Miami many times over the last 20 years, not once do I ever recall I-95 in Jacksonville not being under construction. Come to think of it the congestion and traffic is the first we've encountered since leaving Virginia. So, I guess I shouldn't complain. Soon enough we are heading west on I-4 through Orlando. This route is a great improvement since I last drove it nearly 30 years ago. As I recall back then it was not an expressway!
We left home without reservations anywhere. Once we were on the road Steve hooked up his AT&T "Tilt" to act as a modem for his computer. It is working great and causing limited frustrations. It has a GPS system and uses Google mapping at no additional charge, keeping us heading in the right direction. Using it as a modem he had gotten reservations at the KOA in Florence yesterday and today started searching for reservations in the Tampa area. Gay campground guides do not list any specific cg’s in those areas, so selecting from the “straight” cg’s was our only option. After calling several places and getting voice mail, he finally spoke with someone at Bay Bayou RV Resort just east of Oldsmar, Florida on Memorial Highway in Tampa. They closed at 3 pm on Sunday, but security would assist us with our check-in.
We arrived at Bay Bayou at 7:15 pm and setup was smooth. We are getting used to our new home. We called the family to let them know we had arrived safely. We relax after dinner and watch television. The pictures on the Olevia digital TV in the LR and the Samsung digital in the BR are incredible. Our digital TV’s in the stick house aren’t any better. We really like having a 5th wheel!
Read the next sequence of our blog: Can your dog walk on water?  See how Rosemary walks on water!



Video of 2008 Campsites
ChevRock — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 02:26:22 +0000
A brief pictorial review of all of the campsites we set up at in 2008. This was our first year on the road as Gay2zCamping.com We traveled to a lot of places and meet many wonderful people. We hope that you will look further into this site to benefit from the information we gathered.

  




A Portable Tribe
ChevRock — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 20:53:32 +0000
A documentary film by awarding winning filmmaker Tom Murray

A PORTABLE TRIBE is a light hearted is a totally entertaining celebration of the lives of Gay men, their bonding, sense of brotherhood and quest to explore non-urban adventures.

From men camping in tents to men driving luxury motor homes, to Gay campgrounds and even spiritual retreat centers, A PORTABLE TRIBE presents a unique look into some of the lesser seen parts of Gay male culture.
In this unique work, award winning filmmaker Tom Murray traveled to New York, Florida, Michigan, California and Nevada interviewing more than 34 men who celebrate their Gay lives in part by spending time together in the great outdoors.
This film does contain some nudity in scenes from a Gay naturist gathering, perhaps one of the first times filming at one of these events has been allowed.
An informative, entertaining and often poignant visual escape !
Running time: 83 Minutes / Color

NOW AVAILABLE ON DVD

EMAIL for more info: tjoemurray@aol.com




“Gay Friendly”
ChevRock — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:38:26 +0000
The exact meaning of the phrase “gay friendly” escapes our understanding and many of the people who use the term. Yet we continue to hear it said and read it in print all the time. We comprehend the two words individually without any difficulty. The term gay is synonymous with homosexual and is a label used to identify homosexual men. It is also very loosely used as a catch all or umbrella term for the “GLBT Community”. As far as friendly goes, most everyone develops an understanding of friendly and unfriendly at an early age. As we grow and mature so does our reality about friendliness. The friendliness of an individual or group of individuals can only be gauged by our personal experience or the experience of those with views that we know to be aligned with our own.

Joining words together into sentences and phrases increases the possibilities for individual interpretations of the combined meaning. When we repeatedly hear a term or phrase used by someone with whom our views are not necessarily aligned, we apply our understanding to their usage unknowingly diminishing the meaning of the statement or phrase. The wide array of interpretations of the term “Gay Friendly” have resulted in it becoming a very ambiguous term. There never has been and probably never will be one set definition for this phrase in which everyone will share the same understanding.

“Gay Friendly” is a relatively new term, not having come about until the late 20th century. The phrase is used to describe the new attitudes, feelings, inclusiveness, or level of acceptance of a group of people, hopefully affecting a huge social change in the world. Change does not occur easily. When it involves social development and realignment of the social order it is a very long and difficult process. This process invokes personal attachment, passion, and emotion. The goal of advancing acceptance of the gay community can be lead astray when we allow emotions to influence our interactions.

Further complications of the development of an individuals or businesses “Gay Friendliness” occur from a lack of acceptance when presented with information different from their norm. Upsetting the status quo can be interpreted as a threat. Yet others may be more progressive and they are not as threatened. So, while an individual’s current reality or growth will vary so will their degree of “Gay Friendliness”.

We had not given the understanding of this term much thought, prior to developing Gay2zCamping.com. Many of the businesses we are in contact with are considered “Gay Friendly”. There are noticeable differences in the nature, feel or tone of these businesses which can not be ignored. We need to communicate these variations  clearly to our members so they can easily distinguish the atmosphere at any given location. We determined that the term “Progressive” is much better suited to express the nature of a business or how forward thinking it may or may not be.

The word progressive is used to indicate development is occurring gradually or incrementally. In the context of the gay community it tells us there are new ideas and ways of doing things that encourage societal change. It indicates advancement and reform from an existing condition or norm. The word progressive more precisely depicts the understanding sought when the phrase “Gay Friendly” was coined. By indicating a level of progressiveness we can more accurately depict the acceptance concerning policies supportive of GLBT people in the workplace and as a distinct consumer group for any business, organization, or individual. Progress indicates evolution and when we talk about people in society evolving it is human nature that they do so at different rates.

“Gay Friendly” is static or stagnant and does not give us any indication there may be differences, or varying degrees of friendliness. We think of “Gay Friendly” absolutely as we do black or white. The truth is several variations of gray are in between. With this in mind we created our “Purple Camper Rating”. With five distinct levels of progressiveness we feel this scale provides familiar indicators to the evolution, nature and tone of each business.

As individuals and businesses evolve at a rate that is unique to their autonomous beliefs and needs, we can choose to affiliate ourselves utilizing the same criteria. Treating society with the expectation that everyone is evolving at the same rate is detrimental to the change the gay community is seeking. A growing community cannot afford to live with disdain for the society it is encouraging to evolve for its benefit. We will invariably come across people who feel threatened by differences and express it in inappropriate ways. Evolution is a state of flux, which does not occur uniformly for everyone. It is essential that we always put our best foot forward and practice the very acceptance and compassion we seek. We need to meet others where they are without judgment. This does not mean that we have to like them.

Many in mainstream society do not know what to think about GLBT community members. With that in mind, what must they think of some guy in chaps with just a jock-strap on underneath marching in a Pride Parade? Is this public presentation and perception representative of our community? When you think of a Baptist churchgoer what are your perceptions of that individual and their perceptions of you?

If we are mindful of our personal presentation and the manner in which we interact we can move our community above the negative perceptions that currently hinder our evolution. Most of us don’t like to be stereotyped so why do we play the part? The GLBT community is not that different than the rest of society. We are a cross section of the population that has different looks, thoughts, ideas, beliefs, and standards. We want to be respected for who we are as individuals and as a community. We need to respect society as a whole using the same standards of respect that we want to be treated with. We won’t all see eye to eye but through mutual respect we might agree to disagree.

Where is your level of respect for members of your community? How do you represent the GLBT community through your actions? What is the message you are sending to the world when you act inappropriately for the environment? Are you trying to shock mainstream society into acceptance in an attempt to get the civil rights that you deserve? Have you ever thought about how your actions might negatively affect your community? Do your actions match your words? How are you setting the tone for the world view of the GLBT Community?
“Gay Friendly”… Where do you stand?
“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” ~Maya Angelou (American Poet, b.1928)