Clock in bathroom

A very minor modification this time: we added a battery-powered clock on the wall in our bathroom. It is an atomic clock, that can set the time automatically, and has convenient time zone support, useful for us as we travel around the country. Plus it shows the temperature and humidity, useful for the bathroom, and reminds us which day it is, handy when we’re still waking up:

Clock

It is attached with Command picture hanging strips, that has two velcro-like pieces that can be pulled apart easily, so I can change the batteries. Nice and convenient.

Baseball: Detroit Tigers vs Philadelphia Phillies spring training game

We attended a spring training game at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida, between the Detroit Tigers and the Philadelphia Phillies.

Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium

Map

Selfie

Grand Slam Grill:

Grand Slam Grill

Lunch:

Lunch

Beverage:

Beverage

Distance sign:

Distance sign

Outfield chairs:

Outfield chairs

Bullpens:

Bullpens

Bullpen

Big D:

Big D

Stands

Play ball:

Play ball

Baseball

Automated Ball-Strike challenge, being tested in spring training:

Automated Ball-Strike challenge

Baseball

Mascot:

Mascot

Baseball

Weeki Wachee Springs State Park

We visited Weeki Wachee Springs State Park in Spring Hill, Florida. Famous for its live mermaid shows.

Statue

Peacock:

Peacock

Peahen and young peacock:

Peahen and young peacock

Lunch:

Lunch

Mermaid statue:

Mermaid statue

Gift store:

Gift store

Spring water park:

Spring water park

Can’t really see them, but there were some manatees over by the bank:

Manatees

River boat tour:

River boat tour

Bird

Eagle nest:

Eagle nest

Kayaks on the river:

Kayaks on the river

Mermaid theatre:

Mermaid theatre

Mermaid show, performing a variation of the Little Mermaid story:

Mermaid show

Cheesy fun.

Thousand Trails Orlando RV Resort

We stayed at Thousand Trails Orlando RV Resort in Clermont, Florida. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A fourth visit to TTO, the flagship Thousand Trails park. The second of two stays here this year, totaling five weeks, separated by a week in the Disney bubble.

Dates:

Check in: 2025-02-16
Check out: 2025-03-02
14 nights

Weather:

Mostly sunny, a few rainy days
High temps 62-82°F, lows 38-61°F
Occasional wind, gusts to 31 MPH

Noise:

A little road noise
No train horn noise
Little neighbor noise
Distant fireworks from Disney most evenings

Site:

#6 Hurricane Road, back-in, concrete
Needed to disconnect toad, parked in front of coach
A little unlevel site; a little high on passenger side and front; used hydraulic leveling
Concrete driveway about 60 feet long by 12 feet wide
18 feet to neighbor on passenger side (a mobile home)
35 feet to neighbor on driver side
Just grass between sites
Picnic table on 22 by 10 feet concrete patio
Some shrubs
A bunch of small trash on site
Elevation 120 feet, front facing West

Utilities:

50 amp power, conveniently located
40 PSI water, conveniently located
Unthreaded sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

Starlink: 135-165 Mbps down, 16-20 Mbps up, 25 ms ping
T-Mobile: 50-67 Mbps down, 4 Mbps up, 20 ms ping
Verizon: 5 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 40 ms ping
AT&T: 26-49 Mbps down, 3-11 Mbps up, 75 ms ping
Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

Garbage dumpsters only in a central location
Package delivery to office, for $5 per package (we got a local mailbox)
Pools

See our previous stays here for our review on Campground Reviews.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Utilities:

Utilities

Birds and other sites:

Birds

Bird

Other sites

We still enjoy TTO, and will no doubt stay here again next time we’re in Orlando, whenever that may be.

Video

Video: Disney World to Clermont, Florida motorhome travel timelapse

A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, just 26 miles from Disney World to Clermont, Florida.

Travel from Disney World to Clermont, Florida

We drove our coach just 26 miles, about half an hour of driving (plus killing a little time at a Love’s truck stop), from Disney World to Clermont, Florida.

It’s a little awkward, as check out time from Fort Wilderness is 11:00, and check in at TTO is noon (very strictly enforced), but the drive time between the two is only about half an hour. We considered waiting for a bit in the overflow area at Fort Wilderness, but it was full. We also considered going to a rest area to kill some time, but we noticed a Love’s truck stop on the way, and figured we could spend some time there. Love’s doesn’t usually have parking that works for us, but what with a long time to get through the intersection and a few minutes at the pump, it used up enough time.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading west:

Map

An interactive map:

Toading up on the way out of the campground:

Toading up

Leaving Disney World (how sad):

Leaving Disney World

Exit to I-4 East:

Exit to I-4 East

Disney-shaped power pylon:

Disney-shaped power pylon

Love’s truck stop:

Love's

Joining the very long line to enter TTO; this was at 12:07 on a Sunday:

Joining line to enter TTO

Almost to the entrance, at 12:18:

Almost to the entrance

Finally on the entrance road, at 12:20:

Entrance road

We knew it’d take a long time to get in, so I made some lunch while we inched forward:

Making lunch in the line

Paladin on the dash:

Paladin on the dash

Welcome:

Welcome

Almost to the entrance gate, at 12:54:

Entrance gate

But wait, there’s more: joining the line to get a site, at 12:56:

Line to get a site

People watching the line:

People watching the line

Almost to the front of the line, at 13:22; I waited in the truck after we untoaded:

Almost to the front of the line

Getting guided to our site, at 13:36:

Getting guided to our site

So yeah, arriving shortly after noon on a Sunday, finally getting to our site an hour and a half later. One day we’ll learn and arrive mid-week, when it isn’t so busy, though we prefer to travel on weekends to avoid impacting Jenn’s work.

Power steering fluid leak repair, engine bracket replacements, underside of coach

I need to get better at checking the fluids of our coach.

We heard some weird noises coming from around the front wheels while driving, and couldn’t figure out what was causing it for a while. Since we were heading towards Red Bay at the time, I contacted Bay Diesel and made an appointment for them to investigate.

We eventually guessed that it was related to power steering. When I looked in the power steering reservoir in the engine compartment, it was completely dry:

Empty power steering reservoir

Oops.

I refilled it with Dexron III (as required) and kept an eye on it; sure enough, the level dropped during drives:

Dexron III

When we arrived at Bay Diesel, they wasted no time lifting up the coach:

Coach on lift

They found and repaired the power steering leak, from a hose under the rig:

Power steering leak

They also inspected the entire underside of the coach, with special attention on the engine, and found cracked clutch and tensioner brackets; common issues with this vintage of coach:

Cracked bracket

So they replaced them with better, stronger brackets. Here’s a comparison of old and new brackets:

Old and new brackets

Rebuilding the clutch assembly:

Rebuilding the clutch assembly

They also lubed the various lube points:

Lubing

A nice thing about Bay Diesel is that they were happy for owners to hang out in the shop. I wandered around under our coach and took lots of photos. Here are a bunch of pictures, starting at the front and working my way backwards:

Front with the generator partially out:

Front with generator partially out

Entry step:

Entry step

From in front of the front wheels:

From in front of front wheels

Independent front suspension:

Independent front suspension

Safe-T-Plus steering stabilizer:

Safe-T-Plus steering stabilizer

Back of the generator:

Back of generator

A small void behind a front mudguard, with a junction box for the ground effect light strip:

A small void behind a front mudguard

Behind the front wheels, with air horns and generator exhaust:

Behind the front wheels, with air horns and generator exhaust

Under the basement storage bays:

Under basement storage bays

Under the wet bay, with hot and cold low point drains, Aqua-Hot coolant overflow, and Aqua-Hot exhaust:

Under wet bay, with hot and cold low point drains, Aqua-Hot coolant overflow, and Aqua-Hot exhaust

Under the wet bay, with my sewer outlet and the fresh water drain:

Under wet bay, with sewer outlet and fresh water drain

Rear wheels and engine area:

Rear wheels and engine area

A couple of techs inspecting the engine:

A couple of techs inspecting the engine

Oil pan, with a non-concerning minor leak:

Oil pan, with a non-concerning minor leak

Oil pan

The engine:

Engine

Allison transmission:

Allison transmission

Drive shaft; this piece was removed when our coach was towed back in 2023:

Transmission linkage

Other side of the transmission:

Other side of transmission

More engine bits:

More engine bits

Side radiator gearbox and fan:

Radiator gearbox

Radiator gearbox and fan

More engine bits

Rear of the engine:

Rear of engine

Finally, the rear of the coach:

Rear of coach

Fascinating!

Disney World: Epcot After Dark

We visited Epcot within Disney World during their After Dark special event.

This was unique in that it was the first time we’ve driven to a Disney World park; previously we were staying inside the bubble at the Fort Wilderness campground, but we did this visit when back at TTO.

Entering Walt Disney World

Epcot parking entrance:

Epcot parking entrance

The After Hours info:

After Hours

We thought it a little odd that the map cut off halfway around the lake… but later found that they blocked off that, which was disappointing; we enjoy walking around the lake:

After Hours

The Spaceship Earth globe:

Spaceship Earth globe

Spaceship Earth ride:

Spaceship Earth ride

Lime dole whip snack:

Dole whip

Luminous show:

Luminous show

Looking towards France:

Looking towards France

Ratatouille ride:

Ratatouille ride

Minnie Mouse:

Minnie Mouse

Looking across the lake:

Looking across the lake

Mexico pavilion:

Mexico pavilion

Norway pavilion:

Norway pavilion

Frozen ride:

Frozen ride

Selfie:

Selfie

The Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind ride had a somewhat long wait; it seemed like it was going extra slow:

Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind

Guardians of the Galaxy

Spaceship Earth globe

Definitely the least fun of the three After Dark experiences, between not being able to go around the lake and longer lines. But still enjoyable.

Disney World: Magic Kingdom

We visited Magic Kingdom again, during regular hours (and on Valentine’s Day).

Train station and train:

Train station and train

Castle:

Castle

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure:

Tiana's Bayou Adventure

Ferry to Tom Sawyer Island; a generally boring area, but we had to visit it, as it will be going away soon, to be replaced with a Cars-themed land:

Ferry to Tom Sawyer Island

Tom Sawyer Island

The river and riverboat will also be going away, unfortunately:

Riverboat

Pirates of the Caribbean ride:

Pirates of the Caribbean

Snack:

Snack

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train ride:

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

Video:

It’s a Small World ride:

It's a Small World ride

The traditional picture of the massive New Zealand representation:

It's a Small World ride

Tron Lightcycle Run ride:

Tron Lightcycle Run ride

Tron lightcycle run

Video:

Snack:

Snack

Carousel of Progress ride:

Carousel of Progress

A new activity is making a custom tiara from a selection of frame styles and crystal colors, which Jenn did:

Custom tiara

Jenn with her new tiara:

Jenn with her new tiara

Haunted Mansion ride:

Haunted Mansion

No one poses like Gaston:

No one poses like Gaston

We had dinner at the Be Our Guest restaurant on Valentine’s Day:

Be Our Guest entrance

Be Our Guest restaurant

Castle

Disney World: Epcot

We visited Epcot within Disney World.

Epcot

Chalk art:

Chalk art

During the Festival of the Arts they have special food booths, and some dishes to collect stamps for a prize, which Jenn enjoys doing. Here are all of the things we ate as part of that:

Food

The prize last year was a plastic glass that Jenn still uses; the one this year was a rather unpleasant rice cake thing (at top, on the collection booklet); disappointing:

Food

Another collection thing that Jenn did was the World Traveler Passport, where she got a stamp and handwritten message from each of the world pavilions, from someone from each country:

World Traveler Passport