03-01-2019 Changing it up a bit in Jacksonville

Current Location:  Pelican Roost RV Park, Mayport Naval Station, Jacksonville, Florida

Cloudy and 63 Degrees F at 11PM, and no, I can’t sleep

Today was Mo’s birthday, and we celebrated it quietly with early cards and messages, then a morning at the NEX salon for a pedicure, an afternoon walk on the beach, some homemade enchiladas, and an evening movie in the DVD player. We have been here at Mayport Naval Station for a few days now, and it is low-key enough that the days are beginning to run together in my memory.  But getting here was a different story.  Since I don’t have a lot of photos of that crazy day, I’ll slip in a few images of some of what we have enjoyed in the last few days here in Mayport as I write about last Sunday.

Great view from our site at Pelican Roost Mayport Naval Station

After our gorgeous day kayaking the Ichetucknee River, we were completely happy with our week at Oleno State Park.  We woke up Sunday to a somewhat dreary day, but quite warm and humid.  Mo’s knee wasn’t any worse that morning, but her calf muscle had been  giving her trouble all night long with a deep pain that was worrisome to both of us.  With a full week since her injury, it was hard to pinpoint the problem.  Concerned bloggers mentioned a few options, but when Janna (a nurse for many years) brought up the possibility of a blood clot in her leg, we got worried.

Sunrise through the morning fog and the laundry room at Mayport right behind our site

Oleno State Park is a long way from anything of consequence, with the little town of High Springs a few miles south, but Gainesville or Ocala are both more than 50 miles distant.  We didn’t want to waste another day dealing with trying to get into another emergency room by going backwards.  We had one more night at Oleno, and the next day were scheduled to travel the 95 miles or so north and east to Jacksonville.  After a few more comments from friends and bloggers, including some nice mentions of the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, we called the hospital to discuss it a bit.  The nurse at the emergency room was emphatic.  Don’t wait until tomorrow, come now.  Well then.  Knowing our night parking might be a problem, we hoped there would be some kind of free parking available at either a Walmart or a Cracker Barrel somewhere in the vicinity of where we had to go.

Lots of activity here in the channel of the St John River

We packed up the MoHo in fairly record time and hit the road, heading through the quietly beautiful countryside of northern Florida back roads toward the big city of Jacksonville.  Mo’s leg made it hard for her to sit, and as we approached the city, she had to stand as I navigated the somewhat crazy freeways through downtown Jacksonville toward the eastern side of the city where the clinic was located.  It was a spooky drive, with google telling me what lane to be in and Mo asking from the back if everything was Ok as I switched lanes and dealt with the traffic.  Thank goodness it was a Sunday afternoon!  It was bad enough as it was.

As always, Mattie loves a sandy beach

We arrived at the clinic before noon, and were greeted warmly and within a reasonable time were taken to a receiving room where a charming nurse regaled us with stories of his desire to move to Oregon.  He hung around for half an hour or so, assuring us that someone would come to check on Mo shortly.  Shortly turned out to be about a total of 4 hours before we finally gave up and left the hospital.  The doctor who saw Mo about 2 hours after we arrived, said she didn’t think it was a clot but she wanted to order an ultrasound anyway to be sure to rule out the possibility.  After another two hours, there were many apologies about the delay, but for this reason or that reason there wasn’t an ultrasound machine or an ultrasound tech available. 

It was getting late, and the skies were darkening.  We had nowhere to go for the night, and the Mayport office was closed so we couldn’t reach anyone to see if there was a place for us to be on that Sunday night.  The AllStays app assured us that there were several Walmart’s in the vicinity that were “ask to park” stores, but when I called and asked, I was told the laws had changed and that was no longer true.  The security officer at the Mayo Clinic was adamant as well that we would not be allowed to remain in the RV parking area of the hospital overnight.  He offered us several campground options, at very high prices.  We weren’t interested.

With a bit of hassle, and some moments where we almost just walked out of the hospital, the doctor returned and finally let us go, saying to be sure to take lots of ibuprofen, and use hot compresses, and to return if Mo’s leg got hot or swollen.  I must say the the Mayo Clinic got some seriously failing grades compared to the quick and efficient care we received at Ocala Regional.  It was frustrating, but also a good thing to have the doctor say she didn’t think Mo needed to worry too much about a blood clot.  The pain was just from some kind of torn muscle or ligament.  She also insisted that an MRI wasn’t something that would be done as an emergency procedure, but would have to happen back home with our regular care providers. 

Reflections on the MoHo as we are settled in at Cracker Barrel next to I-95

With the light fading along with our parking options, I searched for a Cracker Barrel and sure enough, found a store within half an hour of our location.  I was seriously relieved when I called and was told, of course you can park here, come on in!  Whew.  When we arrived at 6 on a Sunday evening the store was jammed and busy, but there was plenty of room for the rig along the side of the parking lot, and it was even level.  No slide out, of course, so we settled in for a cozy evening all buttoned up.  I’m glad our rig is built so that we can get around inside and open doors and drawers and such with the slide closed.

Neither of us wanted to deal with a busy inside restaurant meal, so picking up a to-go supper from the restaurant was an easy choice.  Some chicken and vegetables were a perfectly fine end to the day.  I hate to admit it, but gravy is a serious comfort food for me and I bought a container of good country gravy to add to my dinner.  Better stress antidote than even Jack Daniels for me. 

Even right next to I-95, the night was quiet, and we had no company in the parking lot.  We both slept fairly well, and woke up in a lot better frame of mind than we had been in the previous night. 

Parking lot entirely to ourselves on this early Monday morning at Cracker Barrel

It was a lovely slow morning since we couldn’t check in to Mayport until 11AM and the park was less than half an hour away from us at our Cracker Barrel campsite. Mayport Naval Station is on the east side of Jacksonville, right at the point where the huge St John River meets the Atlantic Ocean.  It is a lovely park, with big grassy sites, level concrete RV pads, and plenty of space between sites.

I made sure to choose a waterfront site when I made our reservations last year.  We have full hookups, including sewer and even cable TV, and best of all, free laundry.  I immediately set about washing and drying our damp and clammy bedding and washed a couple of weeks of accumulated laundry.  There are five new machines in the laundry room, but it does take a bit of effort to time the chore so that  machines are available.  As can be expected, the laundry room here is popular.  I found it easier to just take over one machine and do my loads sequentially, but some people just loaded up all the machines at once and I had to wait about an hour to get one.

Our time here has been pleasant, and as I said in the beginning, a bit low key.  The weather has been a bit cool, sometimes cloudy, sometimes warm and cloudy, but not nearly as hot and humid as it was last week in the more interior parts of Northern Florida.  We have had some beach time, some island time, some good food, and a truly impressive thunderstorm this afternoon. Friends and readers will also be happy to know that on our second day here we found a Discount Tire that had our size tire in stock, and we took the MoHo in for her last new shoe.  Now, all six tires on the rig are brand new and ready for the long trip back west.

Next up I’ll share our visits to Atlantic Beach, Dutton Preserve, Amelia Island, and Fort Clinch.