This was our second trip to the Fort Myers area. Holy people
batman! People and traffic everywhere! So why go there? We love my sister Judy
and wanted to visit her! The beauty of this area is not lost on us. The sandy beaches, the waterways, the islands in the area. All very, very
beautiful.
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| Beautiful Beaches and Sunsets! |
Arriving on Valentine’s Day we found a heart shaped box of
chocolates on our pillow! Besides seeing my sister the highlight of our visit
was an airboat ride she treated us to down in Everglades City. She had been on
one before and she knew it was just the kind of adventure we would enjoy and
enjoy it we did!
We did the Mangrove tour which winds through the narrow
mangrove tunnels that wind through the area.
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| Judy, Barb and I ready for our ride! |
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| One of the many mangrove tunnels |
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| This guy was looking for a handout! |
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| This guy was looking for a racoon! |
It was a great ride and a first for us. Thanks Judy!
We also spent an afternoon at the Naples-Fort Myers
Greyhound track to see these magnificent animals race around the track. Of
course we had to bet on the races, we did not make any money but Barb had the
hot tickets and lost the least out of everyone.
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| Chasing "Sparky" (on the right) |
Of course no visit to this area would be complete without a
stop at a brewery! We stopped by Point Ybel Brewery. Oh great, another one of
those words that starts with a “Y”! I suppose the readers are going to say it is pronounced "e-bel" but in this case I am going to stick with "pointy bell"!
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| Judy's friend Pam joined us on this adventure! |
We hit a number of other bars and restaurants including
Shuckers, Zushi Zushi, SOB's (Smokin Oyster Brewery),
The Bubble Room on Captiva Island,
City Seafood in Everglades City,
Yucatan Bar & Grill and
Rondaos Pizzeria.
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| Marvin, Barb and I along with Judy, Mike and Pam |
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| The Yucatan has swings for bar stools! |
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| The Bubble Room on Captiva |
We also got new tires for the rig while in the area. Well actually we had them shipped down from Ohio as we ordered them from
Trailer Tires and Wheels. Our existing tires are 5 years old and about a year ago we noticed that our existing tires were wearing weird but when I looked at them this last time I did not want to drive them any further.
Thank goodness for fast shipping! Any ideas on what would make them wear this way? We have had people say it could be air pressure related, wheel bearings sticking, bad suspension or improper breaking. I know the bearings and suspension are good and have never locked up the brakes so we are thinking it is air pressure related as we were not very diligent with watching our air pressure early on in our travels.
We left Fort Myers exhausted and full. Our plans over the next two weeks are changing by the minute. Kevin has some free time and would like to start building his house in South Dakota on March 1st and we promised to be there to help him. So we are heading back a little earlier than we originally expected!
Our travel route over the next 10 days looks something like this.....
And the weather forecast in South Dakota looks something like this.....
Time to winterize the rig!
I think you are heading north way too early!! Brrr, that's why you have a home on wheels, just saying!
ReplyDeleteRegarding your tires, the wear looks a bit like the wear we saw on our door side tires. We thought it was an alignment issue, hence the trip to an RV shop in December. Turned out that the shackle was cracked and needed to be replaced which lead to the entire ordeal of Lippert and their lack of a competent customer service ordering and shipping process.
We just hope it warms up quick so we are not dealing with freezing temps. We will be looking for the post from you that says all is well and you are back on the road!
DeleteHoping for Friday!
DeleteNice that you got some new tires good choice not tp travel on them anymore.
ReplyDeleteI am just glad we did not have a blow out, that would have turned out to be much more expensive!
DeleteThose swings at the bar would have me feeling tipsy before my first drink ;-) I know the feeling of driving with bad tires now too. I hope Kevin appreciates your sacrifices heading to South Dakota at this time of year and I cannot see it being much fun building a house in March. Nice to have you as a friend.
ReplyDeleteTruth be told when all is said and done Kevin will be helping us more than we are helping him but we want to be there for him when he needs us!
DeleteLooks like a fun time in Ft. Meyers. In each of your last entries, you have been very busy with socializing. We love to socialize for a few days, but then we are ready for some quiet time. Travel safe to the great white north.
ReplyDeleteWe will get plenty of downtime on our way back north, it will be good to be back in the woods and country again!
DeleteDid you check to see if the tires had a recall? We had a set of Michelins back in 2015 and when one blew out, I checked and we got six new Michelins for free due to a bad batch of tires that were on recall. Of course, you need the number of the tires and it sounds like you don't have them anymore....
ReplyDeleteI didn't but I don't think there was. I will know to check next time!
DeleteTire pressure, alignment or suspension, one of those could be the issue with the tires. Way too cold to head that far north so soon, what good friends you are. Safe travels!!
ReplyDeleteThe alignment and suspension checked out so I am hopeful that it was just the pressure issue I had a year or more ago.
DeleteIf you winterize your rig, how are you going to live in it? Sometimes I think you may be weird at times.
ReplyDeleteYes, we will stay in it, hopefully it will be for only a week or so. Typical March temps should be in the 40's so we just need to get through this cold snap.
DeleteHoly cow....you weren’t kidding when you told me at the picnic that your tires were bad!
ReplyDeleteWhen I told you we were going to Bonita to see my sis, I didn’t tell you her name was Judy. Two Jims with Judys for sisters. :)
What are the odds of that?!?!?
DeleteEspecially with both Judys in Southwest Florida.
DeleteWe've spend some time in Fort Myers when my parents had condos there many years ago and then once we started full timing for the first two years. Sounds like you had a great time and a nice visit with your sister. The Bubble Room is an interesting place!! We've only eaten there once. South Dakota doesn't exactly look like it is going to have house building weather ready by March! The west is really enjoy this cold winter! Us...not so much! Safe travels!
ReplyDeleteHopefully things warm up quickly so we can build in semi-comfortable weather! Saw you had snow down there, what is up with that?
DeleteIt was really great to spend time with you both this year at the Picnic, and will be following your travels as you continue....would love to have you over the next time you are in the St Augustine/Flagler Beach area....
ReplyDeleteIt was great seeing the two of you as well. We will look you up next time we are in that area.
DeleteLooks like you are making a fast trek back, but if you get to the SA area...give us a shout!! Would be awesome to see you guys!!
ReplyDeleteWe actually had talked about seeing if we could somehow make that happen but it does not look like we are going to slow down enough on this trip. It would have been great to see you guys!
DeleteThe air boat road was worth the drive to Ft Myers, of course seeing your sister was a bonus too. Did anyone at the place that changed your tires give you any ideas? Often times tire shops are the best place to get that kind of information. You have great photos of them so ask a tire shop that you trust what their best guess is and hopefully it will be of help moving forward.
ReplyDeleteGood grief it's cold where you're heading. Stay warm and travel safely.
Thanks, we don't mind cold but that is a whole new level! I asked the guy who was swapping out our tires and he offered a few suggestions so we are going to check those out.
DeleteStop for a visit in Johnson City Texas on your way! It would be a hard decision on which brewery, winery or distillery to try!
ReplyDeleteWe will have to check it out and see if we are traveling through that way, maybe stop for lunch or something on our way by. It would be nice to meet you!
DeleteLove the airboat rides, have been once before and they are a blast. Good luck on the early drive north, we always say "you can dress for the cold". My 2 cents on the tires is a suspension thing with the way they are cupping. I had a similar thing on a previous truck and changing the shocks fixed it. Barely applies to trailer suspension though.
ReplyDeleteWe do have the independent suspension with shocks on our rig so I will have that checked out again as well.
DeleteWow, you guys have sure had fun in Florida. Hope your early transition north goes well. Dodge the storms.
ReplyDeleteI would agree with Dave that the shocks could be a contributing factor to the odd wear pattern. Air pressure is certainly a likely culprit as well.
What brand of tire were they? Maybe Chinese? What brand did you buy to replace them?
The tires that wore like that were Goodyear G114's, I replaced them with Sailun 637's. Hope my tire problems are behind us!
DeleteNow you know and agree with us, that area is sooo crowded and traffic is quite bad, but then it is the better place to be just to escape from the cold.
ReplyDeleteThe recent winter storms on your route should have passed by the time you get there! but wont matter since you are on a mission to get your construction begin. Stay warm and travel safe.
Upon further review it looks like we may be delaying and altering our northern route!
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