Spring Training 2019 - Day 17

When we left the RV park this morning is was raining (not too hard but it was also windy).  As we headed east, it remained cloudy with decreasing drizzle.  Traffic was not too bad on I-10.

Just west of Tallahassee , we started to notice a lot of downed trees, damaged buildings, billboards and traffic signs.  Other trees off the road were either bent over or snapped.  There was also a lot road crew clean-up activities going on, clearing downed trees and associated debris on the sides of the road.  We finally realized we were passing through the path of the hurricane that devastated this area last fall.  It must have been a very scary time.  Luckily, this area is not heavily populated, so property damage and personal injury appears to have been minimal although a lot of skinny pine trees took a hit..

After we turned south out of the Florida panhandle just east of Tallahassee, the weather began to clear. We had a bit of a cross wind however until we got closer to our destination for the next two nights, Crystal River, FL about 60 miles north of the Tampa/Clearwater area where we will be staying through March.  We arrived at the RV park where we are staying  about 5:00 pm.  We are now in the Eastern Time zone, 3 hours later than back home.

My sister Eileen lives in Crystal River where she now lives full time with her friend Linda.  We normally visit with them on our way but this year Eileen and her daughters and their families are on a family vacation in Orlando, FL while we are passing through.  We will see them however as they have tickets to three baseball games with us while we are here.

It was a long drive today (350 miles) through mostly open space and little traffic but we are still tired.  We will have dinner in the RV tonight and go to bed early. Tomorrow is a R & R day - sleeping in and doing the laundry.  Dinner out tomorrow night is a distinct possibility as there are several excellent restaurants in town.