Hello from Destin

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Hello from Destin, Florida.

After a week on the road I’m finally sitting down to update the blog.

Lots of news since the last entry. Hopefully I can recap concisely for you.

In late January, after several months of research, I made a deal on another RV. On Monday, February 11th, I left Chessy in the mountains with Jeff and Toni, and headed to Tampa, FL with Trina - minus Ike. I picked up my new rig on Wednesday, February 13th.

As you will see from the photos, I upgraded from a Class C gas RV to a 35 foot, Class A diesel. It’s a “FRED” - Front Engine Diesel. In spite of a few initial bugs and minor things that need to be addressed, it is a marvelous rig. I have 3 slide outs (two in the living area and one in the bedroom) with significantly more room, storage space, and many additional features. The ride and handling is much improved over my old unit, and the fuel economy is greater with the diesel engine.

The new RV has been christened the SS Denison Bay - DB for short.

Monday, February 25th I departed for Destin, Florida and the NANPA photography convention. We sat in DB at the campground in Columbus, GA Tuesday morning while a line of severe thunderstorms moved through the area. Then I spent some time in Dothan, AL getting a repair made to the multi-function switch (turn signal) on the rig. I arrived here late on Tuesday evening.

The remainder of the week at the photo convention has been a blur. Attended many excellent seminars and made a number of good contacts. I also made a couple of equipment purchases at the trade show.

Tomorrow I head south and east. I’m going to the Fanning Springs, FL area Monday. Tuesday I’ll go on down to Tampa to have some warranty work completed on the RV.

Friday I plan to head up to the Perry, GA area. Next week (March 13th - 17th) The Rally - a large RV rally - is being held there. I’m going to hang out a few days early so I can get a campsite. Thousands of RVers will be there for this rally. Most campgrounds are full. I found one that doesn’t take reservations so I should get a site arriving early. I’ll get to do a little sightseeing in the Macon, GA area.

The photo convention had events scheduled pretty much throughout the day so I didn’t go out and shoot any during the convention. I finally managed to take a walk along the beach this afternoon (my campground is on the Gulf). So the only photos for this entry are some shots of DB at the campgrounds.

Well that’s it for this entry. I hope to be able to make additional updates along the way.

Thanks for checking in.

Bruce and Chessy

PS How about those Tigers!!! While I was preparing this for upload I watched Clemson come from 20 points down with 11 minutes to go - on the road at Maryland - and win it at the buzzer! Go TIGERS!

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Photos

SS Denison Bay
Here's a shot of the new rig with Ike attached at the campground in Columbus, GA last week.

Chapel at Lake Pines
This was a really neat campground. It has been family owned for many years. They have a little chapel and an outdoor gazebo that folks can rent for weddings.

Chessy relaxing
Here's a shot of Chessy relaxing in her new RV! You will see I got her a matching slip cover for the couch. We have so much more room in this rig. With the two slide outs in the living area it's like a small apartment.

View of campground from the beach
The campground here in Destin is on the Gulf. My site was a short walk away from the beach. Here's a view of the campground from the beach.

DB in Destin
Here's DB and Ike in Destin. Most of the sites are fairly small here at this campground. And they think a lot of their campground. It was far and away the most expensive campground I've stayed in since I've been RVing. But on the bright side, it was less expensive than staying in a motel down here!