Thursday, March 08, 2018

SARASOTA FLA TO GAINESVILLE FLORIDA AND ‘OH-NO’ A MOTORHOME FLAT TIRE ON I-75!!!!

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WE SURE HAD US A NICE PLACE TO STAY FOR OUR 10 DAYS IN SARASOTA FLORIDA

With an early morning Moon high overhead illuminating a fluffy white bank of cumulous clouds against a darkened sky I felt it was a good omen to yet another day in the life and times of the Bayfield Bunch.  Unfortunately that Omen didn’t work out so swell for us!!

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GETTING THE BIG WHEELS ROLLING OUT OF OUR SPOT

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EASING OUT THE DRIVEWAY PAST JOANN AND DAVID’S HOUSE

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Had the big wheels rolling by 7:55 and out the gate we went with Kelly following in the Jeep.  Had planned to hook up the Jeep in a large parking lot west of us but traffic on Fruitville Road was bumper to pumper so a left turn was out of the question.  Turned right and found us a hook-up spot a short distance away.  Same place we had un-hooked the Jeep a week and a half ago.  We were soon back on Fruitville road and traffic of course was heavy as we made our way a couple miles further to I-75 and swung ourselves up the northbound ramp into the Interstates roaring traffic chaos.  Despite the Mad Max mania I was glad to be on the move going somewhere again.  I do not seem to do ‘sitting in one spot’ for any length of time very well.

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WE WEREN’T ON I-75 FIVE MINUTES BEFORE WE WERE INTO A ‘STOP AND GO’ TRAFFIC JAM

Well, our ‘going’ lasted for about 3 miles before traffic came to a grinding stop and go for about the next 3 miles until we got past an accident scene. 

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KELLY GRABBED A FEW PHOTOS OF THE WRECKS AS WE CRAWLED BY

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NO ACCIDENT IN THE SOUTHBOUND I-75 LANES BUT TRAFFIC WAS BACKED UP FOR MILES BECAUSE OF PEOPLE SLOWING DOWN TO GAWK AT THE ACCIDENT SCENE…..’DAMN RUBBERNECKERS!!!!!!

With the volume of traffic and the way people drive here it’s no wonder they have so many accidents.  In the southbound lanes traffic was backed up for miles because of the ‘rubber neckers’ slowing down to look at the accident in the northbound lanes.  Luckily we have a CB radio so knew from the truckers channel to stay in the left lane through the accident scene.  Had another big slow down around the Tampa area.  Heavy volume!! 

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We were somewhere south of Ocala about 12:15 when our Tire Minder ‘tire pressure  monitor system’ beeper went off saying the tire pressure in our outside dually driver’s side rear tire was dropping rapidly.  Luckily we had a Rest Area coming up within a mile and were able to get in there and shut things down.  Yep, the tire was flat alright.  Couldn’t even get a pressure registered on the tire gauge and when I thumped the tire with my rubber mallet the sound coming back was a dull thud instead of a healthy ‘boing’.  We have a small compressor which I hooked up but because we were low on gas our generator would not work to pump the compressor full of air and even if it had the compressor was really too small do do the job anyway.

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WE WERE SO FORTUNATE TO BE CLOSE TO A ‘REST AREA’ WHEN THE TIRE PROBLEM HAPPENED

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Next problem we had was our T-Mobile phone could not find us a connection to call our roadside assistance company, Coachnet.  Luckily, another RV’er pulled in a short distance away, noticed our bin doors up and my small compressor sitting on the pavement.  Walking over it was lucky he had a Verizon phone and Kelly was able to use it to call Coachnet and make arrangements for ‘Millennium Tire Service out of Hudson Florida to come to our assistance.  The Class A RV fella who helped us out with his Verizon phone was from Tennessee.

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THIS ELEMENT TRAVEL TRAILER (YOU TUBE) CAUGHT MY EYE WHILE WAITING FOR THE TIRE GUY

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WHADDYA THINK RICHARD??

The Millennium Tire fellow showed up about 1:15 and set to work getting the big 235/80R-22.5 inch tire off the rig.  No easy task considering the wheel had not been off for a long time.  He had quite a time of it but finally off it came.  Couldn’t find any obvious punctures or rips so next had a look at the valve stem and sure enough that was the culprit.  What is it with so many tire and rim valve stem problems these days.  Think our tire guys name might have been John and with 31 tire repair years under his belt he soon had the valve stem problem fixed, tire aired up and back on.   Minutes later we were back on I-75 once again fighting our way North.  Two thumbs up for MTS Millennium Tire Service who have 3 facilities based in Clearwater, Ruskin, and Hudson Florida:))

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HE HAD QUITE A TIME GETTING THE WHEEL OFF

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WORKING ON THE VALVE STEM

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SO THAT’S WHAT OUR INSIDE DRIVER’S SIDE DUALLY LOOKS LIKE EH

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PUTTING THE WHEEL BACK ON

Luckily we were not in any kind of hurry today and with our original destination being Gainesville Florida we had plenty of time to get there.  Needing myself a new hat we had noticed there was a Bass Pro Shop right along I-75 off exit 384.  Also a Walmart but we missed that so popped into a nearby Publix Store for some groceries.  Bass Pro Shops allow overnight RV parking so our purpose for going there was two-fold.

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IT’S QUITE A SPORTY LOOKING PLACE BOTH INSIDE AND OUT

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BIG FIREPLACE IN THE LOBBY AND YES THAT IS A REAL PERSON SITTING THERE

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BY GOLLY THERE’S A BIG AQUARIUM DOWN THERE UNDER A WATERFALL

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A BIT BLURRY BUT IT GIVES YOU SOME PERSPECTIVE OF HOW THE BIG WATERFALL AQUARIUM IS

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PROBABLY A DOZEN  OR SO BIG FISH IN THAT AQUARIUM

I wasn’t too impressed with their selection of hats but I did buy a cheaper one anyway which will be fine for scruffing around in.  My Mojave National Preserve hat is over two years old and showing it’s age plus I have not had much success in cleaning it.  While at Bass Pro I also grabbed myself a brand new comfortable pair of Merrill hiking/walking shoes.  My old cheap-o Wally-World ones will make good bedroom slippers.

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Found us a nice quiet place in a back parking lot at Bass Pro and shut things down for the night.  We were both feeling totally wrecked after a somewhat stressful day.  Not sure where we will be Friday night but I suspect either somewhere in Georgia or Alabama.  We’ll hash that out in the morning.

DSC02149OLD HAT IN MY HAND, NEW HAT ON MY HEAD, AND THAT’S ME IN BETWEEN THE TWO >>>

GROANER’S CORNER:( A young couple, madly in love, decided to get married. But as the wedding day neared, both grew increasingly nervous over secret problems they had never shared with anyone. Privately, the groom-to-be approached his minister.  “I’m really concerned about this marriage,” the young man said.  “Don’t you love her?” the pastor asked in surprise.  “Of course,” the groom said. “But I have unbelievably smelly feet—and I’m afraid my fiancée won’t be able to stand them.”  “Oh, is that all?” the pastor replied. “Look, all you need to do is wash your feet twice a day and wear socks all the time.”  The groom thought it over and decided it just might work.  Meanwhile, the nervous bride had privately approached the minister’s wife. “I’m so worried,” she sobbed. “I have really bad breath when I wake up each day!”  “Oh, dear,” the pastor’s wife replied,” everyone has bad breath in the morning. Don’t worry about it.”  “No, you don’t understand,” the bride implored. “My morning breath is so awful, my fiancé won’t even want to be near me!”  “Well, I have an idea,” the pastor’s wife said soothingly. “Set your alarm just a few minutes before your husband wakes up. Run to the bathroom, brush your teeth, and gargle with mouthwash before he gets out of bed. The key is not to say anything until you’ve taken care of your breath.”  The bride thought it over and decided it just might work.  In time, a beautiful wedding was held and the bride and groom enjoyed the day without once worrying about their secret problems. For several months they managed to keep their issues to themselves.   Then one morning, the husband awoke before dawn to find that one of his socks had come off in the night. Frantic, he searched the bed, afraid of what might happen if he didn’t find his sock soon. His bride woke with a start, and, without thinking, blurted out, “What in the world are you doing?”  “Oh, dear!” the young man wailed. “You swallowed my sock!”

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Here's the exercise program I used to stay in shape this past holiday season.  You might want to take it easy at first, then do it faster as you become more proficient. It may be too strenuous for some.
ALWAYS CONSULT YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE STARTING ANY EXERCISE PROGRAM!
NOW SCROLL DOWN...

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NOW SCROLL UP...

That's enough for the first day.
I trust you survived!!

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14 comments:

  1. You were lucky with your tire, near a rest stop and only had to wait an hour for the tire repairman, we haven't had a flat in a RV but there a lot of people who have had to wait hours for a truck to help them.

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    1. I totally agree with everything you wrote. A rest area, wow, lucky you. Both times we had a tire go we were right on I10 and then on I5 with nowhere to pull off but to the side of the road. The RV was seriously rocking with each passing semi. I won't tell you how many hours we had to wait for help.

      Your ordeal was certainly stressful but be happy that you truly were blessed on how it all went down. So happy for you that this incident had a very happy ending.

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  2. Wow, what a day! You were blessed in the great care you received and
    such a convenient place to be stopped at. Good for you, better on all
    your nerves.

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  3. From the title, I envisioned you stuck in the middle of traffic with the flat. Sure am glad that wasn't the case. Fortunate that you were so near a rest area, and someone came along to let you use his phone. Yes, it was stressful, but it sure could have been worse. Now maybe tomorrow all will go smoothly. Looking forward to seeing where you stop tomorrow night!

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  4. Whew. Good outcome. For us every flat has been the valve stem. Good to know about Gainesville Bass Pro. We are heading that way next winter.

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  5. Seems to be the most common reason for flats these days. Glad it wasn't too much of a hassle to get fixed.

    That trailer looks streamlined. Cut the wind good.

    That was some Bass Pro. I could spend a week in that place. Beautiful.

    If that is your worst travel day, you've got it made. Safe travels today.

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  6. Flat tires are no fun at all! We're glad it all worked out without too much stress....snazzy hat!

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  7. Glad you managed to get safely into the rest area on that tire. It's much better than being stuck on the side of the freeway.

    Actually bumper to bumper traffic is not a bad way to get through some cities as it forces the zippy little cut you off cars to go slow as well. You're big enough that if you want over you just put on signal light and start cutting over, they'll back off and let you in.

    Love the Bass Pro store, never been in one. Quite the shopping experience.

    Glad the day wasn't too bad, stress makes everyone a bit frazzled but you and Kelly make a good team in those situations.

    I agree about the rubber neckers. I have no idea why human nature does that to some folks and not others. We are a nosy society for sure.

    Safe travels!!!

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  8. All our tire troubles have been valve stem things as well. What is it with valve stems? What great luck that you were so close to the rest area when it happened. Like the new hat. We're trapped in Wesley Chapel Florida. Wish we'd been close enough to Sarasota to come see you. Without our latest big bump we would have been. DARN! Hope you saw us wave as you went by. Safe travels.

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  9. Fortunate you were able to get the tire repaired so quickly. Your new hat makes you look 'a little more' worthy of Kelly ;) Hopefully the rest of your trip will be smooth sailing.

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  10. Boy you got off very lucky my friend. Your not going to believe this but we had a blow out on I-I-10 eastbound in Mississippi. About 1am. Had to buy a new tire as sidewall was blasted open. We were able to pull over ok and coachnet had a guy out in an hour. Then we followed the guy back to his shop 10 minutes away and got the left front replaced too. That ain’t happening to us again. Coincidence... I think not!!

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  11. Sorry to read you had tire trouble but what luck to be near a rest stop and have some one come out quickly who could fix it.
    Bass Pro Shops are something. The one by our son and his family even put up a small fishing pond with trout in for kids every so often. It is one of our grandson's favorite stops.
    Safe Travels.

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  12. We had 3 blowouts with our first fiver...a Keystone Cougar..Boy, that is NO fun when in traffic! I love Bass Pro Shops..There was a brand new one in Spanish Fort Alabama the we loved to wander around in. Hope your travels go smoother for the rest of your trip!!

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