Day 25 through 28 - On the Road in
Alabama & Florida

Day 25 - Azalea Acres RV Park, 27450 Glass Road, Robertsdale, AL 36567 (251) 947-9530 (I-10, AL Exit 53, 129 miles from Bay Saint Louis, MS) $14.45/Passport America, FHU, Pull-thrus, Free WIFI  (Map II - Point G)
We both agree that this campground is a "keeper" and we will definitely stop here again. All amenities, pull-thru site, free wi-fi, laundry, even trash pick-up. Clean, well maintained campground with good spacing of sites.

This was not the best of days for this crew on the road!

We did get a nice early start from Bay Saint Louis, MS, and it felt like all was going fine . . . for about 5 miles. Then, as we were preparing to take the entrance ramp onto I-10, and head east towards Alabama, we heard a strange noise and a "ka-thump" like we had run over something. I decided I had better have a look before we got on the busy Interstate. I pulled onto the shoulder of the entrance ramp to have a look. Then, there we sat while we waited for about 70 minutes for a Good Sam Roadside Serviceman to come to our aid.

The surface rubber had separated from one of our trailer tires and the air was slowly hissing out. Good Sam had Richard, a good old Mississippi boy come out to change our tire. Since he was there, good natured, and seemed to know his tires, I had him also look at the original spare that I had put on the rig this Spring when we had a tire problem going North. He agreed with me that it was also close to rupturing. Sooo, we followed him (slow and carefully) on I-10 to more good old boys that run a big tire place and I had them mount a new spare, and also replace the tire that was about to go. Again, no disrespect to the "good old boys", they were friendly, very efficient and went above and beyond in taking care of us.

We also found that when the rubber separated from the tire it took out one of the supports on the living room slide. The tire guys suggested contacting the insurance company, but when I get it to Florida, I will repair that along with some other needed fixes we have found on this trip.

It was supposed to be an easy 3 hour trip day that turned into double that. We arrived at Azalea Acres in Robertsdale Alabama about 5pm. We setup in a big hurry and went to have dinner at a place the campground owners suggested. It was BBQ and very good.

We had planned to get here early enough to unhitch and run over to Pensacola to pick up from our mail forwarding service, but that didn't happen. Tomorrow morning I shall get up early and drive the 40 minutes for the mail then come back, hitch up and make our way over to Bonifay, Florida for our next stop. Tonight's stop is our 13th campground on this trip. Only 2 more before we make the final run into the Tampa Bay Area.
(Large Service Center at this Exit 53)
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DAY 26 - Florida Springs RV Resort, 90 Son-In-Law Rd, Bonifay, FL 32425 (850) 258-3110 (I-10, FL Exit 112, 128 miles from Robertsdale, AL) $16.50/Passport America - 50amp, FHU, Pull-thrus, WiFi. (Map II - Point H)
This is a Passport America campground we have stayed at before. It is right off I-10. Cordial owners, full-hookups, and even a small restaurant in the campground. We have stayed here in the past and you can find our review at http://www.snowbirdrvtrails.com/bonifay.htm

Okay, our travel day didn't get any better today!

Another "ka-thump" and we had another tire separate. This time we spent a couple of hours on the shoulder of very busy I-10. Another call to Good Sam Roadside Assistance for another tire changer. We were not as fortunate with the second tech. He really didn't know how to handle a tire change on a 7 ton RV and ended up cracking one of the wheel cover panels in his befuddlement. I did make my displeasure known to him.

We made it to our next stop (Bonifay, FL) late in the day, but in one piece. The flopping tire chunks are really raising havoc with the underside support straps and skirting on the trailer. Yes, I know it could have been a lot worse had the tire actually blown.

Soooo, tomorrow AM bright and early, I will unhitch and go have a new spare mounted for the journey.

We had planned to spend the next 2 nights in Lake City and make Tampa on Sunday. Now we just may go ahead and pull in on Saturday.

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DAY 27 - Bonifay, FL to Lake City, FL Travel Day
This tire situation might have put a damper on our trip if it had started earlier in our journey. The "funny" thing about the tires is, ours is a 2011 trailer but sold to us with 2009 tires on it! The tire people tell me that keeping a rig parked on dirt will speed up dry rot and hasten the tread separation and that the tires should be changed every 4 years. These tires have been separating just like they were recaps!

Early wake-up on Day 27, and I took this second bad tire to Son's Tires in Bonifay, a place recommended by the campground owner. They not only mounted the new spare for us but came out to the campground and pulled our last "suspect", original tire off and replaced it with the spare they had just mounted. Then, we went back to the shop and mounted a new tire on that rim for a spare. Five new tires for Bertha this year, Oh Joy!

Today we head over to Lake City to the campground that's near the junction of I-10 and I-75 for our last night of camping on the road.

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DAY 27 - Oaks 'N Pines RV Park, 3864 N US Highway 441, Lake City, FL 32055 (386) 752-0830 (I-10, FL Exit 303, 193 miles from Bonifay, FL) $19.80/Passport America - FHU, Pull-thrus, Cable, WiFi.  (Map II - Point I)
An uneventful trip to Lake City. "Oaks 'N Pines" is a Passport America Campground we have stayed at before. Friendly staff, all amenities, easy off/on I-10. You can find our review at http://www.snowbirdrvtrails.com/lakecity.htm

(Service Station at this Exit 303)
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DAY 28 - Tampa, Florida
(Map II - Point J) Approx 175 miles to Tampa and the end of this journey. We had a great time, met some great, new "neighbors" of the road, ate some good food and thoroughly enjoyed the sights and the rare occurrence of peak Fall foliage on our trip from New York to Tennessee.

We thank you all for coming along with us and hope we haven't been totally boring. If you have any questions or comment, send them our way. We plan to spend the next 6 months exploring the State of Florida with an eye out for fun things to do and places to visit for Snowbirds and Seniors.

We would like to know what you think, and invite your comments. Just email us at
snowbirdrvtrails@gmail.com

End of the Trip

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