Deep Creek Preserve - Another lesson learned

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Deep Creek Preserve is about 20 minutes from Harbor Lakes where we had been staying for the last 2 weeks. We were happy that for once it was going to be a short drive to and from for our regular 1 week out of the Thousand Trails system. We hit a lot of traffic on our way there so arrived around lunch time.

Everything was going really well until I decide to do a large half circle to the spot we liked instead of backing up. Don't you love those drive-ins? So both Glen and I did the same mistake of looking straight ahead of us to make sure we had enough clearance under the branches. As I'm driving through we start hearing quite a noise on the roof. My big mistake was to not stop, thinking it was a branch sweeping the top of our trailer. I kept driving on. Then we heard a loud crash! Everyone was looking at us in disbelief.

We finally stop to see what had just happened. Oh my God! A branch from a side tree had been scratching the rubber roof of our trailer and tearing it almost all the way down one side. The TV antenna's booster that we had installed a long time ago was bent and the loud crash had been our ladder, our very expensive ladder, that just got torn off the roof and broken in two. The top part of the ladder was laying on the ground, now a twisted pile of metal that hardly resembled the proud ladder it had been. I don't know if I have previously told you about the ladder but our trailer came without one. We could have bought one of those retractable ladders but felt that it would be better to get a proper ladder attached to the trailer for when we need to get on the roof. The ladder cost about $200. What we didn't know and weren't told at the time, is that the shipping ended up costing $300 because it was too long and had to be shipped by freight truck. OK. We understood. But then they charged us $400 to install it! So the stupid ladder cost us almost $1,000! And now it lay there, dead on the ground.
I quickly called our insurance which sympathized with me and made sure we were alright. They told me to expect a call from the adjuster within 4 hours. Our adjuster didn't get the US number I gave the insurance person I spoke to so ended up sending us an email. Then I thought I should check how much deductible we had to pay. It was $500. Right now, after all our misfortunes, $500 is not affordable. So we go to Home Depot, buy a ladder and go up on the roof to inspect the damage. It wasn't as bad as it appeared from below. So I know we can fix it for less money. So off we go to an RV dealer to buy "Eternabond" tape. This is a tape that is very sticky and has a gel that molds and adheres to the surface to be fixed and creates a waterproof seal. I knew about this tape from reading blogs and forums on RVing. The tape is guaranteed for 25 years. The dealer only had one 25' roll so I covered all the ripped parts using as little tape as I could. It looked like a bunch of band-aids. Then a guy (a really nice guy from PEI) told us about this other tape you can buy at Home Depot that is also very sticky and waterproof and used to repair roofs but was much cheaper than the $57/roll paid for the Eternabond. So we decided to get 2 of those rolls (tape is guaranteed for 10 years) and cover the whole thing making it a lot cleaner looking. All in all, we did good. The roof is better than ever and we have a nifty ladder that extends to 11' but takes only about 4' of space.

Rips all along the side

Large rip where ladder was attached

Temporary solution: cover with tarp and duck tape

Up the ladder working on the roof

Eternabond tape

Other sticky tape over the whole thing to make it neater

There are numerous trails at the back of the park which could take many hours of walking to explore. We decided to stick to the main trail as it seems to be easy to get lost. We didn't see any wildlife at all on the 2 long walks we had - some days were just too hot to walk and most of the trails are in full sun - but some people have reported seeing wild hogs with their babies. We did regularly see Sandhill Cranes right out by the trailer and on the last morning, when I took out Cheeka for a morning walk, I saw a beautiful deer that just stared at Cheeka for a minute, then took off running. I then noticed there were two other deers that ran with her.

Our neighbours' trailer

Picture taken from inside the trailer.

Right in front of our trailer some red-shouldered hawks have a nest way up in a tree. We see them flying in and out of that tree but the nest is so well camouflaged that you can barely see it. Even now that we know where it is, we still can't take any pictures of the adults or the babies as when they are up there we can't see them. The tree has a lot of spanish moss on it which makes it very hard to get a clear shot of the nest. We did see one adult flying towards the nest carrying a black snake in its talons - lunch for the kids!

I think this is the nest. Notice the stacked large twigs. So much spanish moss made it really hard to see. 

We have super nice neighbours that taught us how to play cornhole. The game consists of 2 boxes with a tube in the middle and the goal is to throw "washers" in the box for 2 points or in the cylinder for 3 points. The girls won every time against the boys. So Pepe and Linda have been a hoot to hang out with. Then on the Saturday before we were going to leave, our old friends Raymond and Francine drove in. It was so nice to see them and their dog Mollie again! We love them! We exchanged stories of events that have happened since the last time we saw them and I was relieved to hear that they also have had their share of misfortunes. So it's not just us.

We also got the visit from Stephanie who surveys some of the parks and had a very interesting conversation with her regarding the wildlife here. Apparently there is a family of fox squirrels that nest every year and also there are scrub jays which are indigenous to Florida. We didn't see neither of them but it's cool to find out that they are here.

On Saturday we decided to go to the end of the road that leads here to a restaurant called Nav-A-Gator. It sits on the corner of a canal and the Peace River. A very fun place that has entertainment on Saturdays. There is an interior restaurant but most people prefer to sit outside and have their feet in the sand while listening to the entertainment. They offer boat tours, kayak rentals and airboat tours. And on the menu, gator bites.

We spent some nice time chatting with Raymond and Francine over a bottle of wine and chips and hummus on Sunday afternoon. First thing we knew it was 6:40 pm and we still hadn't had dinner! Poor Ray and Francine had not realized that the time had changed! We quickly thanked them for their hospitality and went to our trailer to feed the beasts (including ourselves).

We were sad to leave Monday morning and to leave our good friends whom we might not see again until next year. We promised to stay in touch and perhaps try to meet up during our next southern travels. That is the only sad thing about meeting awesome people on the way: we might never see them again. We have also met an old couple from Maine who travel on the cheap all winter: Leon and Mary-Lou. They both had an accent that made it hard for us to understand them at first but we became more proficient as time went on. Leon was the human picture of Baloo in Jungle book and the first day we met him he was wearing a T-shirt that said: Trophy Husband. We sure laughed about that one! But then I thought that to Mary-Lou he probably is a trophy husband as he seemed kind and considerate.

Which leads me to say: don't judge others by your standards as it might not measure up to their true value...

Our site

An empty site

The entrance with locked gate

A cute Red-Bellied Woodpecker that came often to visit

View from our site

Two girls going for a trail ride

We believe these were a pair with their young one. Apparently, they mate for life.

Harbor Lakes - an Encore property

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We were quite excited to drive to the Florida west coast for the first time. Port Charlotte is a nice town with all the shopping you need about 15 minutes from the campground.

When we first drove in we were both a bit shocked to see that this campground is a rather large community of permanent mobile homes. The streets are extra large apparently because this place was once a military base and army planes would land on these streets. We could see a canal surrounding the grounds and a lake behind at the back but couldn't figure out if we could get to the lake. For us, it was more like living in the suburbs - not our type of camping.

Very close to our site is the community centre which holds the very well equipped laundry room, a large library that also serves as a craft room, a card room and a large room with a large TV on a stage. This room is full of long tables and chairs and serves as a room for many activities (line dancing, exercises, bingo, shows etc.). The tables and chairs are moved to accommodate the needs. This is where we can get free internet but sitting on those folding plastic chairs for any length of time is not the most comfortable and the internet is better than our data right now but still won't let me record programs or movies on Playon. There are no sofas or easy chairs anywhere. The office is also in this building but I have to mention that the staff is nowhere as friendly as we have encountered at Thousand Trails campgrounds. Also, we didn't get any activity calendar or any information as to the procedure for using the facilities (we have yet to find the pickleball court).  There is also a pool room and a fitness room which we haven't visited. (I have since found the pickleball, the volleyball and basketball courts while cruising the grounds on my bike).

Shuffleboard

Salt water pool

Community centre

The gym

Billiard room

Tennis court

Volleyball court

Pickleball court

On our arrival, we found out that not only had everything shifted inside the trailer and that things that NEVER fall fell, but the door to our water heater had also fallen off (the roads out of Three Lakes are very rough). Glen was upset but I reassured him (without really knowing) that we could order the piece in. After calling numerous RV dealers, only one offered to order it and really knew what I was talking about: Charlotte RV & Marine. Shout out to them as, not only were they helpful but they were fast. They called the next day with the piece ready to be picked up. Unfortunately I ordered the wrong colour. Since our RV doesn't look like the whitest white, I ordered antique white which turned out to be almost beige. Who cares? Just happy to have it and be able to install it without too much arguing and it didn't cost a fortune!

Every time I hear someone speak French I try to talk with them. On one of those occasions, I asked about access to the lake and was informed that most people walk on a cement drain and over a cement culvert to get to the other side of the canal and thereby be right by the lake. I took Cheeka for an exploration walk and found that yes, there is an easy path that way and there is even a garbage can to deposit the poop bags. Most people walk their dogs on that path as it's much more natural and interesting than on the streets. There are numerous Great Blue Herons that call the canal home and there is an Anhinga that seems to roost always at the same place in late afternoon. There are alligators in all the waterways (no surprise there) so it is best to keep dogs on a leash and it is not permitted to go into the water. But it is nice to walk that path that leads to another community also on the lake.

At our site, I witnessed Ibis birds right under my window while I was having breakfast. It is interesting to see how deep their beak plunges into the earth to get whatever bugs they like to eat. I have also seen rabbits chasing each other and overhead we often see ospreys flying to and from the lake. For the first time we have seen Laughing Gulls and common pigeons.

We are booked here for 2 weeks then one week out and back right here for another 2 weeks which makes me a bit sad since it is not my preferred location. It's almost like living in the city. But we are finding our site convenient as it is close to the community centre, the pool and the dumpsters and I just found out that someone I know lives about 15 minutes from here! I'm hoping to go visit her and her wonderful standard schnauzers soon.

One highlight is the small market that comes around every Tuesday. They have different fruit and vegetables, mostly all local at great prices. Imagine buying juicy local strawberries in February! I also bought oranges as what we find at the grocery store is not even from Florida! There are orange groves everywhere in Florida! Acres and acres of well-aligned trees of different orange varieties.  So why would the stores sell oranges from California? Puzzling indeed...

We enjoyed the gulf water at the Englewood beach. If you drive a little past the main beach you come to the Blind Bend Park which has a huge free parking lot across a beach full of shells. I kept seeing people sifting through the sand and picking up things so I asked someone what they were looking for. It was fossilized shark teeth which keep washing up on the beach. I tried to find some for my grandchildren but it's like looking for a needle in a haystack! There are so many different pebbles and pieces of shells that finding a small black tooth is nearly impossible. But some had found a number of them so I guess it just takes practice. It is so nice to spend the afternoon in the sun with a nice cooling breeze watching the sanderlings run from here to there and everywhere. It was like watching a comedy as when one found something to eat he would run as fast as he could so the others wouldn't catch up with him. So I would see them all running after the one bird. And man, do they run fast! Their little legs were going at warp speed! We will definitely go back but might try another beach which I am told is rated as the fifth best beach in the world. A definite must see!

Laughing Gull

Glen enjoying the beach

Unidentified

A plover of some kind

Sanderling on the go!

Sanderlings everywhere

Looking for shark teeth

We did finally drive to Siesta Key Beach only to find the huge parking lot completely full with many cars driving around and around to snatch a spot as soon as a car would pull out. After driving for a while we decided to go back home. From what I could see, it is a beautiful large beach with restrooms, a restaurant, and gift shop. You can rent lounging chairs, umbrellas, and sunning decks. It's obviously very popular so we'll have to go earlier in the day if we want to park the truck. I do think it's worth returning just to say we were on the #1 beach in Florida and the #5 in the world.

All and all, Harbor Lakes has been rather pleasant even though it's very different from the other campgrounds. A lot of francophones (mostly all from Quebec) spend the winter here. Almost everyone seems to own a golf cart and some of them are really cute colours. Leaving you with some gorgeous shots taken right in the canal surrounding the place. Enjoy life as you only get one!

Beautiful Great Blue Heron

Lunch

Great Egret

Anhinga female

Anhinga male taking flight

The canal

P.S. A friend of mine told me about a product to take the smell of urine out of our sofa and it worked after drenching it with the product only once! Yeay! We don't need another sofa afterall! Thank you Hope!