West Palm Beach area

On Saturday Feb 21 we moved sixty five miles north to Jonathon Dickinson State Park which is on the east coast near Jupiter Florida. We started the trip on I-95 to avoid the crazy drivers in Fort Lauderdale. We took exit 79A at Palm Beach intending on doing a driving tour of the rich and famous on our way to the campground.

As we slowed to stop at the first traffic signal after exiting 95 we were run into from behind. I looked in my rear view camera monitor to find we had been hit by our jeep. Not wanting to block the intersection I slowly pulled forward, the tow bar straightened and as the safety cables tightened the jeep fell into position. I drove slowly ahead through the intersection and parked close to the curb.

I would have guessed that the tow bar had somehow failed. What I found was the removable part of the base plate on the jeep had disconnected. This left me with one arm of the tow bar and the two safety cables attached to the jeep. I reattached the insert, then the tow bar and we continued our journey.

As we drove on I mulled over the two surprising things that had just happened. For the approximately ten minutes that I blocked a lane on the main road into Palm Beach not one person, blew their horn, hollered obscenities, or showed any signs of aggression. No one stopped to help but that’s ok, they just politely drove around me and went on their way. If this had happened south of here, the road warriors of Fort Lauderdale would probably have shot me. The 2^nd surprising mystery is how the tow bar insert came out of its position on the base plate. I still haven’t figured it out. Until I do I plan on double locking the pin that secures it.

Damages: The motorhome came thru unscathed. Both of our bicycles (mounted on the back of the motorhome) suffered bent pedals which a fellow RV’er and myself have straightened. The Jeep sustained the worst damage but it is surprisingly minor. The front bumper cover will have to be replaced. The part costs be $150 and I will install it myself. There is also a small dent and some scratches on the hood; I’m not sure what I will do about that yet.

Jonathon Dickinson Park is a nearly new campground on US 1 just north of Jupiter. Judging by the remnants of bend and charred trees this area was destroyed by a hurricane or forest fire or both.  Anyhow the end result is this nice campground that was built after the devastation.

We spent three nights here, one of the days we explored, West Palm Beach, Juno Beach and Jupiter. West Palm Beach is about as wealthy a place as I’ve ever seen. It’s hard to describe the opulent mansions, extensive landscaping, the many expensive cars, it’s almost surreal. We then drove up the beach road thru Juno Beach and Jupiter, both are very nice. We were impressed by the numerous ocean front parks.

My brother John and his wife Sandy spent last winter in Florida as snowbirds in a motorhome. They like Florida in winter but weren’t that crazy about the RV so for this winter they bought a condo in Jensen Beach. We drove over and spent the afternoon with them on Monday. It’s always nice to see family and we enjoyed our visit with them.