Jacksonville - FL to Port St. Lucie, FL - July 20 – 25

Jacksonville - FL to Port St. Lucie, FL - July 20 – 25

It was only around 5 hours with lunch and breaks today, so we got a later start and then grabbed some fast food on the way. (of course, we had an afternoon ice cream break)

This is our first Sringhill Suites and it’s across the street from our usual Residence Inn. Despite also being a long-term stay Marriott hotel, it has the least places to put things of even just regular hotel rooms. The nightstands have no drawers, there are no shelves or drawers in the bathroom, there are 2 small drawers in a dresser between the sitting room and the bedroom. One of the drawers had extra blankets and sheets. No table, but a desk in the kitchenette. Only 1 TV which you can’t see from the desk. There are no end tables or occasional table in the sitting room. The tiny microwave is under the cabinet, so you have to almost sit on the floor to use it. Only a mini fridge which is OK. No shelves in the toilet/shower room. It’s a shower only, so no tub to sit things on either. Not sure how they expect you to actually use this place. Oh, and there are no outlets. Everything is USB which is useful, but we do like to plug in our computers. We have a power strip so we can get more use from the one outlet in the sitting area. The pillows are like bags of cement and the bed is a bit hard as well. (we won't be checking into another one of these again unless we "have" to.  

We have stayed in a few hotels that despite being the same “brand” some have been remodeled. One was really nice and ultra-modern, but again not usable. Nowhere to hang a hand towel. I guess you just lay it on the counter that also had no space on it. No towel racks, just 1 hook.

The last hotel we stayed in again was really nice, but no lighting. The kitchen and the bath had the only bright lights. The dining and sitting area had a very dim lamp in one corner. 

In one hotel the garbage disposal smelled like someone used it to dispose of a dead cat. 

I could go on and on about the joys of each hotel room but will spare you. It’s part of the experience.

Sunday, we went to the house to get photos of everything and check it out before our walk-through on Wednesday. We only have a couple of questions and we noticed they have added way more outlets than on our plans. Perhaps more are required by code? Not an issue of course! We took a ton of photos so we know where all the wires etc. are. Here are a few.

Monday morning Greg took the car in for some routine maintenance and in the afternoon we both had hair appointments. Unfortunately, our hairdresser had a family emergency and someone else at her salon did it for us.

Tuesday, I had my ENT appt and that went well. I am feeling very good and he confirms that I am healing well. He did notice a small hole next to my sinus and asked if I whistled when I breathed or had any drainage? No on both counts. He said if it’s not causing any problems, it’s OK, but didn’t rule out that it may need to be reconnected at some point and could easily be done in his office in a half an hour. I see him again in 6 months to check on it.

Wednesday, we had our pre-drywall walk-through. It went well. We only had one “issue” and it was some wiring for the TV in the bedroom. At first, he said it couldn’t be done and then checked our contract and saw that it was specifically called out (and we paid extra for it) and then he said it should be no problem to fix it. Greg is handy and if he has to, he can redo it after we move in. I was hoping that by paying for the outlet in the higher position behind where the TV will be mounted on the wall would be the only one, but he says the lower one has to stay there.

The only other thing he said (and tells everyone) was to go back to the design center and look at the granite we chose to make sure we really like it. He stressed that granite can have very different looks and it covers a large area, especially in the kitchen and there could be blotches or look more busy than expected. Luckily, the one I chose for the kitchen is used in one of the models and I do like it and realize there may be areas that I’ll look at and say “seriously?” I did choose one with a lot of pattern to offset all the white that will be in the kitchen. So, we signed off on the 3 different granites (master and guest bath each have different granites). However it turns out, we will live with it.

The big question that we had (and everyone else at these walk-throughs) was when our move-in date is or even a guess. He said that is the one thing he is not allowed to answer. The contract says Nov/Dec and he can’t say anything different. However, he did say that we will get a call once the cabinets are installed and then it’s normally 45 to 70 days after that. So, that helped us.

So, we now have planned about 66 days for part 2 of our road trip. We wouldn’t want to stay much longer than the end of Sept anyway since it will start getting cold anywhere north of Florida. Plus, we will need some time to start ordering things and setting up appointments for window coverings, closet organizers, etc.

Thursday, we had nothing planned and Friday we leave for Columbia, SC to overnight and then a short visit to Charleston, WV to visit the capitol and visiting Niagara Falls and then the northeastern states before working our way back south along the coast. We are staying flexible and if things with the house do go faster, we can cut it short and return to PSL earlier.

We have plans to visit friends while we are staying in Olean, NY on our way to Niagara.