Tallahassee East KOA; Tallahassee, FL: Left Claremont around 11:00 this morning and arrived at the Tallahassee KOA at 4:00. In several places we saw glimpses of the “old Florida”. Lots of oaks and Spanish moss. Lots of open area. Pretty. We leave tomorrow for a KOA near Pensacola.

Claremont RV Park; Claremont, FL: I went to Great Clips and got my hair cut this morning. Shortly after I got back the guy showed up to finish up the carpeting. Then Mike took off to gas up the truck and get the truck washed. The carpeting was finished up around 2:00. It looks so good—better than when it came out of the factory. They are very good. After he finished I started vacuuming and proceeded to clog the vacuum cleaner and we couldn’t get it to work again—even after cleaning it all out. So we headed out to buy a new one. After dinner at an Italian restaurant, we stopped at Big K and bought one of those Dyson bagless. Brought it home, put it together, but it was too big. So we packed the whole thing back up and took it back. Then went to Target and bought the same thing we have now, which is much better and cheaper. We are pooped. Started “A Farewell to Arms” by Hemmingway. Good so far. Tomorrow we leave and start heading towards Louisiana.

Sea World

Clydesdales, Sea World

Claremont RV Park; Claremont, FL: The carpeting guys finally showed up—around 11:00. They tore out all the old then left for lunch and in the afternoon they returned and started laying the new carpeting. They still have a lot to do, but it looks really good. Hopefully this will hold up better. Wish I’d had them replace the vinyl also. Maybe next time. They finish up tomorrow.

Sea World

Claremont RV Park; Claremont, FL: With our admission to Discovery Cove yesterday we got a complimentary pass to Sea World. Tickets are $67 each, so that was worth about $140. So, since the carpet guys postponed until Thursday, we decided to go today. Really warm and sunny. We walked and walked and walked. Saw the Shamu show which we missed last year because one of them had a baby, so they just let the mother and baby swim around the pool for a while and that was it. But this year we got to see the whole show. Pretty impressive. Saw a couple of other venues, had lunch, walked some more, and then headed home. Tomorrow the carpet guys are gonna start replacing the carpeting.

Catching a ride

Claremont RV Park; Claremont, FL: Went to Discovery Cove today. Was supposed to be a beautiful, sunny day—but it was overcast and breezy. We got there and got oriented and changed into our wet suits and headed for the coral reef. Water pretty cold, but after getting in it wasn’t too bad. What a neat experience though. There was every beautiful fish imaginable plus huge rays. Was really fun. After about an hour and a half Mike was getting chilled so we got out and headed over to the tropical river—which was 85 degrees. That was really beautiful. We still used our snorkels and masks and swam the whole thing. There were water falls, caves, stuff on the bottom from ship wrecks, beautiful flowers on the banks. We even swam through an aviary. They certainly do a great job here. After that we had lunch and relaxed for a while. Then we went back to the coral reef. They were feeding the rays. That was pretty neat, but neither one of us could get over being chilled so after about a half hour we got out. At 5:00 we swam with the dolphins. That was fantastic. Plus the group we were in had the added benefit of a baby dolphin that was born there 11 months ago. So we got the benefit of interacting with him too. What a fun day! After the dolphin interaction we were looking forward to hot showers. But, there was no hot water (sigh).

Mon, 3/17/08

Claremont RV Park; Claremont, FL: Had the fifth wheel washed and waxed today and did the laundry. Have a bunch of computer stuff to do and then kick back the rest of the day. Another beautiful day—80s.

Sun, 3/16/08

Claremont RV Park; Claremont, FL: Drove over to see Jack and Karen Lunden this morning. Took about an hour and a half—and again the Sunpass saved a lot of time, and the GPS was great. Had a great time visiting with them. They have a great home on a canal and within walking distance of the beach. They have a nice boat and pool. Karen made us a wonderful dinner and we headed back around 9:15. Looking forward to seeing them again in May at the GE reunion in Syracuse, NY.