Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens

An out-of-sequence post: I noticed that I had missed posting about an attraction we visited while staying in Fort Lauderdale, Florida: the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens in Delray Beach, Florida.

We’re fans of Japanese gardens, and this was one of the better ones.

Entrance sign

Map:

Map

A slow line for lunch:

Long line for lunch

Cafe menu:

Cafe menu

Jenn’s bento box:

Bento box

My teriyaki and spring rolls:

Teriyaki and spring rolls

An art:

An art

Yep, it’s Florida — caution, alligators:

Caution, alligators

Bridge:

Bridge

Turtles:

Turtles

Bridges:

Bridge

Another bridge

Gate:

Gate

Pond:

Pond

Tree:

Tree

Rock garden:

Rock garden

Lanterns:

Lanterns

Bridge:

Bridge

Waterfall:

Waterfall

Gate:

Gate

Lizard:

Lizard

Bonsai garden:

Bonsai garden

Turtle:

Turtle

Lantern:

Lantern

Courtyard:

Courtyard

Exhibit:

Exhibit

Tea room:

Tea room

Water feature:

Water feature

Lizard:

Lizard

Pond and bridge:

Pond and bridge

Waterfall:

Waterfall

Turtle and lizard:

Turtle and lizard

Pond and bridge:

Pond and bridge

A nice garden, worth a visit.

Total solar eclipse

Last year we saw the annular solar eclipse while at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. This year, we changed our travel route to witness the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, the last in the US until 2044.

We originally booked a state park within the totality zone, but then the Escapees RV Club announced a gathering in Paris, Texas, also in the totality zone, and we decided to change our route to attend that.

Jenn with her camera, wearing eclipse glasses:

Jenn with her camera

The day started very cloudy, so we were bracing for disappointment:

Cloudy

A glimpse of the sun as the eclipse nears totality:

A glimpse of the sun

Clouds clearing away just in time (with a drone watching things):

Clouds clearing away

Jenn taking photos:

Jenn

A selfie:

Jenn and David

Almost there:

Almost there

Total solar eclipse:

Total solar eclipse

Looking around during the four minutes and three seconds of totality:

Dark

Total solar eclipse

A panorama:

Panorama

Total solar eclipse

Via my iPhone:

Total solar eclipse

Dark

Total solar eclipse

Panorama

This panorama was taken as totality was ending, so the left is darker than the right:

Panorama

Total solar eclipse

Diamond ring:

Diamond ring

The eclipse ending:

Eclipse ending

Group photo:

Group photo

Eclipse ending

A magical experience.

Using a sewer tote tank and macerator pump to dump waste tanks from the back of our truck

What goes in, must go out. As mentioned last week, sometimes we stay at rustic campgrounds or rallies where there are no sewer hookups. No big deal for up to about a week. But if we’re staying longer, we have a tote tank that can be used to empty our black and gray tanks, enabling us to camp as long as we want.

We bought a Camco Rhino 36-Gallon Portable Camper/RV Tote Tank from Amazon:

Tote tank box

They (and RVers generally) recommend getting a tank big enough to fit the capacity of the RV’s waste tanks, but that advice is geared towards smaller RVs — our motorhome has a 70 gallon gray tank and 50 gallon black tank, so we need to take two trips to fully empty each.

The instructions that came with the tank:

Manual

I also got a Tote Tank Gauge for it, that indicates when the tank is getting full; important since the capacity is smaller than the tanks in our coach:

Fill gauge

I didn’t bother installing the ladder hook, since we don’t have a ladder on our coach. In the future I might add a bar to our towbar to mount a rack onto. But for now I store the tank in the bed of our truck, wrapped in a cover:

Covered tote tank in truck

Here’s the tote tank (when it was brand new):

Tote tank

It has wheels at the back and front; the front wheels can be steered; I normally don’t attach the handle, though:

Wheel

There is a valve on the side to dump the contents:

Dump valve

And a second valve on top for filling, though this can also be used for dumping by tilting the tank vertically:

Fill valve

I also purchased a macerator pump:

Macerator pump

Normally one would position the tote tank next to the wet bay, and use gravity to fill it from the RV’s tanks, then hook the tank to a tow bar or wheel it manually to the campground dump station.

But I wanted to keep it in the bed of our truck, so I could easily drive it to the dump station. So I use the macerator pump to chop up any solids and pump it all uphill into the truck:

Macerator pump

Another time, I attached the macerator directly to the port (with a clear tube); the downside was getting a little water in the wet bay when disconnecting (if the tank isn’t completely drained):

Maserator attached directly

The tank in the back of the truck:

Tank

The hose (only used for this purpose) goes from the macerator to the fill valve on top:

Hose

Both the water bladder and the sewer tote fit quite nicely together in the bed of the truck:

Water bladder and tote

Water flowing into the tank:

Water flowing into tank

Fill gauge:

Fill gauge

The fill gauge rising up as it nears capacity:

Gill gauge

Once the tote is full (or the RV’s tanks are empty), I drive the truck to the campground’s dump station, hook up a sewer hose to the side valve, and empty the tank:

Dumping from tank in truck

Much more convenient than dragging the tote behind the truck. And like the water bladder, lets us stay indefinitely even in a campground without a sewer hookup.

Reed Bingham State Park

We stayed at Reed Bingham State Park in Adel, Georgia. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A nice state park with a lake and dam.

Dates:

Check in: 2024-03-10
Check out: 2024-03-17
7 nights

Weather:

Mostly cloudy; one day with rain
High temps ranging between 62-81°F, lows around 41-61°F
Negligible wind, gusts to 19 MPH

Noise:

No road noise
No train noise
A little neighbor noise (kids)

Site:

#33, pull-through, gravel
Didn’t need to disconnect toad, parked behind coach
Mostly level; used hydraulic leveling
Gravel driveway about 150 feet long by about 15 feet wide
Leaf-covered ground between sites about 50 feet (front and back; nothing on side)
Driver side to road about 25 feet
Picnic table
Fire pit
Lantern hook
Mostly clean site

Utilities:

50 amp power, somewhat inconveniently located
50 PSI water, somewhat inconveniently located
Good sewer connection, somewhat conveniently located (2 10-foot pipes needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

T-Mobile: 20 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 50 ms ping
Verizon: 25 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 70 ms ping
AT&T: 30-80 Mbps down, 3 Mbps up, 50-90 ms ping
Starlink: not used
Campground Wi-Fi: none

Amenities:

Garbage dumpsters only in a central location
Mini golf

Our review on Campground Reviews:

A nice state park with a lake and dam

Nice large sites, not all 50A or FHU, so plan accordingly. We were in site 33 in loop 2, which was a large pull-through site under the trees. A pleasant walk down to the lake and dam and several easy, short hikes in the park. We would definitely stay here again. We camped at Reed Bingham State Park in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Nice side view from our coach:

Nice side view from our coach

Utilities:

Utilities

Our first visit to Georgia, so time to add its sticker to our coach (the older ones are so faded!):

Georgia sticker

Other sites:

Other sites

Bathrooms:

Bathrooms

Little lending library:

Little lending library

Mini golf:

Mini golf

Playground:

Playground

Nature path:

Nature path

Bat box?

Kids fishing ponds:

Kids fishing ponds

No swimming, alligators present:

No swimming, alligators present

Stage:

Stage

Pond:

Pond

Boat ramp:

Boat ramp

Lake:

Lake

Ducks:

Ducks

Dam from bridge:

Dam from bridge

Flooded:

Flooded

A GIF of the dam:

Dam

The water level after the dam was very high due to rain:

Dam

Later in the week, a lower level:

Dam

A nice state park. We’d be happy to stay here again.

Disney World: Hollywood Studios

We also visited Hollywood Studios in Disney World a couple of times.

Entrance:

Entrance

Main street:

Main street

Us in front of the Millennium Falcon in Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge:

Millennium Falcon

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Smugglers Run ride:

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Drinks and snacks at Oga’s Cantina:

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Uh oh:

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Lunch:

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Rise of the Resistance ride:

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Muppets:

Muppets

Runaway Railway:

Runaway Railway

Signatures

Runaway Railway

Hollywood Tower of Terror:

Hollywood Tower of Terror

Video:

Mickey ice cream:

Mickey ice cream

Toy Story Mania:

Toy Story Mania

Alien Swirling Saucers:

Alien Swirling Saucers

Toy Story characters

We went to the Brown Derby restaurant for dinner:

Brown Derby restaurant

Neon:

Neon

Another day:

Entrance

Pond

Back to our favorite part, Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge:

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Transition from Galaxy’s Edge:

Transition from Galaxy's Edge

… to freeway tunnel:

... to freeway tunnel

We had dinner at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater restaurant:

Sci Fi Dine In

Sci-Fi Dine-In reastaurant

Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater restaurant

Neon:

Neon

The Fantasmic! show, better than in Disneyland as they have actual seating:

Fantasmic!

More neon:

Neon

Entrance

Disney World: Epcot

We visited Epcot within Disney World a couple of times.

Epcot’s Spaceship Earth globe:

Epcot globe

We dropped off our backpacks at a locker, and marveled at the advanced futuristic technology nearby:

Phones

Spaceship Earth:

Spaceship Earth

A customized video created at the end of the ride.

Spaceship Earth

Topiary:

Topiary

Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind ride:

Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind.

Guardians of the Galaxy

Topiary

Monorail:

Monorail

Topiary

Lake

Epcot is arranged in several sections called pavilions, around a central lake. We first visited the Mexico Pavilion:

Mexico area

Mexico Pavilion

Frozen ride:

Frozen ride

United Kingdom Pavilion:

United Kingdom Pavilion

Fish & chips for lunch:

Fish & Chips

United Kingdom Pavilion

France Pavilion:

France Pavilion

Pavilion

France Pavilion

Morocco Pavilion:

Morocco Pavilion

Japan Pavilion:

Japan Pavilion

USA Pavilion:

USA Pavilion

Germany Pavilion:

Germany Pavilion

Globe

Flowers

Topiary

Monorail

We had dinner at the Coral Reef Restaurant:

Coral Reef Restaurant

Seas exhibits:

Seas

Globe in lights

Topiary

Mission: Space ride:

Mission: Space

Minnie

During our second visit the Flower and Garden Food Festival was underway, so we sampled several of the options:

Flower and Garden Food Festival

Flowers and dragon

Journey of Water:

Journey of Water

The second day, we had dinner at the Space 220 Restaurant, which simulates a restaurant on a space elevator 220 miles above the Earth:

Space 220 Restaurant

Spaceship Earth globe:

Spaceship Earth globe

We did the Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind ride again:

Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind again

Monorail:

Monorail

Disney World: Magic Kingdom

We spent eight days at the four Walt Disney World theme parks. We took over 3,000 photos during that time… so a bit of a challenge to filter them down to a reasonable number for the blog. (Where “reasonable” is rather subjective.)

I’m doing a separate post for each park, starting with Magic Kingdom.

Us in front of the railway station:

Jenn and David in front of railway station

Main Street USA:

Main street

Cinderella’s Castle:

Castle

Jenn and David in front of castle

Adventureland:

Adventureland

Pirates of the Caribbean:

Pirates of the Caribbean

Something we don’t see in California’s Disneyland: alligators and snakes:

Alligators and snakes

It’s a small world:

It's a small world

The line was inside, vs outside in Disneyland:

Line inside

It's a small world

New Zealand representation:

New Zealand representation

It's a small world

Teacups:

Teacups

The new Tron lightcycle ride:

Jenn and David in front of Tron ride

Tron ride

A video:

Lightcycle

Tron ride

Speedway:

Speedway

Carousel of Progress:

Carousel of Progress

Train:

Train

Liberty Belle Riverboat:

Riverboat

Haunted Mansion:

Haunted Mansion

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad:

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Alligator Swamp

Indian village

The Dapper Dans:

The Dapper Dans

Haunted Mansion:

Haunted Mansion

Parade:

Parade

Skipper Canteen restaurant:

Skipper Canteen restaurant

Castle

Main street

Monorail

Back to the campground:

Back to campground

Boat from campground:

Boat from campground

Ferry boats

Monorail:

Monrail

Train station:

Train station

Castle

Band

Jungle Cruise:

Jungle Cruise

Castle

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train:

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

A video:

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

Castle

Fantasyland

Dragon

Parade

Rain:

Rain

Castle

Tomorrowland:

Tomorrowland

Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor:

Monsters Inc Laugh Floor

Peoplemover:

Peoplemover

Space Mountain:

Space Mountain

Castle

Main street

Band

Castle

Peter Pan’s Flight:

Peter Pan's Flight

Journey of the Little Mermaid:

Journey of the Little Mermaid

Gaston’s Tavern:

Gaston's Tavern

Castle

Performance

Monorail:

Monorail

Ferry boat:

Ferry boat

Parade:

Parade

Train station

Castle

Island ‘Ting with Sebago Watersports

We’ve previously done a few small sailing cruises, with about six guests. This time we did a larger one, “Island ‘Ting with Sebago Watersports”.

We wanted to do a sailing catamaran excursion. This one had snorkeling, kayaking, and a couple of meals and drinks:

Catamaran

A small breakfast:

Breakfast

Dolphin:

Dolphin

Pelican:

Pelican

Main sail:

Main sail

Ladder:

Ladder

Sitting up front:

Sitting up front

Catamaran:

Catamaran

People sitting up front:

People sitting up front

We wanted to do a sailing excursion, but the wind wasn’t conducive to sailing, so they motored all of the way, with a little token lazy sailing:

Token sailing

Underwater pics from the snorkeling stop; these photos from the 360 camera, which didn’t do a great job:

Underwater

Boat

These photos from my iPhone, which did a better job:

Underwater

A small lunch; they really didn’t have enough food:

Lunch

Ladder to kayaks:

Ladder to kayaks

Kayak

Kayaks

They had enough kayaks for half of the people, so they split everyone up into two groups. We were in the second group, 45 minutes later. But we were right about the weight limit for the two-person kayaks, and moments after we got in, it capsized, dumping us in the water. So we bailed on that part of the experience. Disappointing. (It wasn’t just us, either; another couple also capsized when getting out.)

Portuguese Man of War jellyfish (GIF):

Portuguese Man of War jellyfish

The sister boat of ours at least bothered to raise the main sail:

Other sailboat

Back at the dock:

Back at the dock

Overall, a disappointing experience. We’ll probably stick with smaller tours in the future.

Dry Tortugas National Park

We visited Dry Tortugas National Park, one of the most difficult national parks to get to, requiring a ferry, seaplane, or private boat to reach it.

Dry Tortugas map.

An interactive map:

We opted for the seaplane, since it was much faster than the ferry, and we’d never been in one before. It was a great experience.

The seaplane is offered by Key West Seaplane Charters, flying out of Key West International Airport (a rather small airport).

An info sheet:

Info document

Our seaplane:

Our seaplane

Jenn got to ride up front, since she said it was her birthday when they asked if anyone was celebrating (we did go on her birthday in February):

Jenn got to ride up front

Just 10 passengers:

Just 10 passengers

Flying fairly low over the keys:

Flying fairly low

Keys

Sunken ship:

Sunk ship

Approaching Dry Tortugas:

Approaching Dry Tortugas

A close pass by a nice catamaran when preparing to land; sailing here on your own boat would be amazing:

Catamaran

Our pilot, who flies in Alaska in summer, and the Keys in winter:

Our pilot

Approaching Dry Tortugas

Landing on water:

Landing

Approaching Dry Tortugas

Handing gear to shore:

Handing gear to shore

Us in front of the plane:

Us in front of the plane

The other seaplane and the fort:

Seaplane and fort

Fort Jefferson, the largest brick structure in the Americas, started in 1846, but never finished:

Dry Tortugas fort

Old dock and the beach where we left our stuff:

Old dock and beach

Moat:

Moat

Dry Tortugas fort

Cannonball furnace, where they heated cannonballs to slice through wooden ships like butter, and set them on fire:

Canonball furnace

Dry Tortugas fort

Dr Mudd was imprisoned for conspiring with John Wilkes Booth concerning the assassination of Abraham Lincoln:

Dry Tortugas fort

Mariners Beware! I was wearing a Seattle Mariners shirt, so found that sign amusing:

Mariners Beware

Dry Tortugas fort

Birds; Dry Tortugas is an important habitat for some seabirds. the adjacent Bush Key was closed for nesting season:

Birds

Dry Tortugas fort

Pelicans:

Pelicans

The ferry arriving. Another nice thing about the full-day seaplane option was that we got to enjoy exploring the island for a couple of hours before most people arrived; just the 20 people from the two seaplanes, and a few overnight campers:

Ferry

Once the ferry arrived, we headed back to the beach where we had left our stuff:

Beach

A hermit crab:

Hermit crab

Bricks on the beach:

Bricks on the beach

We went for a swim. Here’s the fort from the water:

Fort from the water

We brought our snorkel gear, but the water was too murky to see much at the time.

Another pelican watching us:

Pelican

We went back into the fort to kill some time:

Dry Tortugas fort

Then back to the seaplane for the return journey:

Back to the seaplane

Departing Dry Tortugas:

Departing Dry Tortugas

Flying

A private island:

Private island

Key West and Fort Zachary Taylor:

Key West and Fort Zachary Taylor

The “Southernmost” Point:

Southernmost Point

Marina:

Marina

Disembarking our seaplane:

Our seaplane

A fun bucket-list experience.

Long Pine Key Campground, Everglades National Park

We stayed at Long Pine Key Campground within Everglades National Park, in Homestead, Florida. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A basic no-hookups campground within the national park. A little short for our coach, but we made it work.

Dates:

Check in: 2024-01-21
Check out: 2024-02-02
12 nights
We were going to stay 14 nights, but left early to avoid some nasty travel day weather

Weather:

Mostly cloudy
High temps ranging between 69-84°F, lows around 48-70°F
Little wind, gusts to 23 MPH, fairly sheltered by trees

Noise:

No road noise
No train noise
Negligible neighbor noise
Generators during the day

Site:

#6, back in, asphalt
Needed to disconnect toad, parked in front of coach
A little unlevel, high on right and front; used hydraulic leveling
Asphalt driveway about 36 feet long by about 10 feet wide; had to back into shrubs
Passenger side grass to hedge of trees between site about 30 feet
Driver side grass to road wedge-shaped, maximum about 30 feet
Picnic table
Fire pit
Clean site

Utilities:

No hookups
Used generator and solar for power
Used water bladder and pump to refill fresh water tank
Used dump tote and macerator to empty gray and black tanks

Internet (in usage priority order):

Starlink: 45-60 Mbps down, 16-22 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
AT&T: 145 Mbps down, 7 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
Verizon: 25-41 Mbps down, 20-27 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
T-Mobile: 3 Mbps down, 35 Mbps up, 37-437 ms ping
Campground Wi-Fi: none

Amenities:

Garbage dumpsters
In Everglades National Park

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Basic campground in the heart of Everglades NP

Pros: Beautiful, large, private sites within the national park.

Cons: Most sites much shorter than listed and facing the wrong way depending on your configuration (motorhome or trailer) so you have to think creatively to get orientated.

Neutral: No hookups of any kind, so be prepared. We camped at Long Pine Key Campground in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Campground map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Not really long enough for our coach:

Our site

I got my bike out, for the first time in months (we sold Jenn’s a while ago):

Our site

A path to the nearby bathroom block:

Bathroom

Dish washing sink:

Bathroom

Inside the men’s bathroom:

Bathroom

We were staying inside Everglades National Park, and did a sailing trip in Biscayne National Park (posts coming on those in the next couple of days), so we added those stickers to our coach:

National Park stickers