They don't sign up your license plate at this motel, so I just had to wait until I got bailed by at least one of neighbors. The one I most needed to move showed up at 10:30, and we were liberated.
Problem was that the wait took up the time I had planned for a visit to Ybor City, which is near and dear to my friend Patty Cooper's heart, since it was a major cigar making center and, believe it or not, cigar-making is one of her research areas! So, I will try to get there when I head north again.
Heading south for Ft. Myers, I decided to take a side excursion to Myakka River State Park (where I'd hoped to camp, but they were full). What a lovely place -- miles and miles of trails for you hikers and several very sweet campgrounds. All set on a gorgeous river, complete with alligators at certain points.
Lolled about there a bit too long, making the rest of my trip to my next "home port" a little rushed, since when I called in, the guy in the office couldn't assure me he'd be on deck after 5.
Despite a flying trip to the grocery store, I did make it before he vanished.
I just don't know what to tell you about this place. It is called an RV resort (I'll say in a minute why I picked it). But it is nothing like the "resort" I stayed in south of Tampa. That place was well away from the highways and full of those humungous rigs (and, of course, matching dogs). This place sits right on RT 41 (close enough for a car to pop off the highway and land in my front seat), and is as blue collar as South Philadelphia. I'm sort of mushed in between two seasonal (one might even be year-round) residents, with absolutely no privacy on either side. The site doesn't even offer a picnic table. And, as you might guess, there is no cable hookup. I have been told by someone who KNOWS that this is because the owner had a dispute with the cable company, and just tore all the hookups out.
Now, this is very far from any idea I might have of a resort. So, I do have an issue with the place's name (to whit, Ft. Myers RV Resort). On the other hand, there's something far more interesting about this place than the last, wonderfully pristine resort I visited. Tomorrow, I'll take a walk around and get some pictures for you. It's really kind of funky.
As to why it is that I am here in the first place -- in working out the details of meeting up with Jennifer, it was turning out that I should stay someplace close to the Ft. Myers airport. Well, this is the closest place (maybe a little to close for full comfort); so I made my reservations and, of course, there are no refunds.
All that said, the guy in the office was a riot, knowing full well that this is not a choice location. The other people I met in the office were, I must say, as kindly and good-natured as I've so far met along the way. One woman (who'd just gotten off the phone with her daughter) told me that it's snowing so bad in Ohio, that the police are muscling people off the highway. A couple standing with us from Texas thought that was pretty exciting, since there has not been any weather to speak of in that state (at least according to them) for the whole winter. Another woman was just tickled at all the banter, and decided she'd come back tomorrow to get her mail because the office guy was on a prolonged call from a demanding customer and it sure wasn't sounding like it was going to end quickly (or well). The rest of us were having a fine time making fun, and she left giggling.
So, this is a kind of rough place; but I'm not yet ready to run off. We'll see what tomorrow brings.
Believe it or not, it is supposed to drop here to 36 degrees tonight. But that does beat Lawrenceburg KY, which hovered around 20 today, with the wind chill factor saying it felt like 6-8!!!!!! Brrrrrr.......!!!!
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