We had a long day of driving on Friday. We drove through El Paso and finally we were through the great state of Texas. Woohoo!!!
The landscape in New Mexico was now desert with snow capped mountains in the distance.
We stopped for the night at the Walmart in Las Cruces. We used this opportunity to stock the RV with all of our staples. We found a small Mexican restaurant, Que Paso, on the edge of the parking lot and had an okay dinner there.
We watched a gorgeous sunset over the mountains near the Walmart…really…it was pretty! Then, the full Wolf moon rose. We were up at 5:30 on Saturday morning and watched a bright red sunrise.
We drove Saturday from Las Cruces to Tucson. There were snow covered mountains in Arizona as well.
We were fortunate to find camping at Catalina State Park. We got settled, baked some crab dip, and headed over to visit with our good friends Lee and Claudia. We enjoyed wine and antelope burgers and wonderful fellowship. The burgers were excellent! If you ever get the chance to try antelope you have our strong recommendation! And then, Claudia’s rum cake…with ice cream!
On Sunday, we met Lee and Claudia and took a picnic to Tucson Mountain Park. I just love the saguaro cactus and it was such a pleasant day.
That evening Claudia made another delicious meal for us, despite being a little under the weather. We always look forward to our visit. Lee and Claudia are great people and such gracious hosts. We are hoping to have them join us for some adventures this spring and summer!
We left Atlanta on January 2nd. We traveled through Georgia into Alabama and then Mississippi.
I found a Harvest Host site in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. It was a restaurant called The Shed. This BBQ joint sits right on the bayou. It must have started as a small place and it looks like it has been added onto rather haphazardly through the years. It is quite the collection of things…tubas, typewriters, old license plates. The BBQ chicken was good but not the best ever. The ambience is the thing. It was a mild evening and we sat outside in rocking chairs enjoying the balmy air.
We took a walk along the bayou and even thought we saw an alligator but it was just a fake head floating in the water. It was too cool and cloudy for real gators to be out.
Tuesday evening, Oliver lost his first tooth!
On Wednesday, we got some exercise in before driving west once again.
We drove through Louisiana.
It was a warm and sunny day. I like the ride on suspended highways on Route 10W through this low country. We crossed over the Mississippi River near Baton Rouge.
We entered Texas at MM 878. Texas is big!
There was a real alligator in the swamp behind the Texas Welcome Center.
We drove to Winnie and we stayed at the Winnie Stowell County Park where we have overnighted on many crosscountry trips. We walked as soon as we got there and watched the sun go down on our way back to the RV.
On Thursday morning, I walked to the Winnie Post office and back before we resumed our sprint across Texas. We drove all day and arrived in Sonora, Texas just before sundown.
Mike greeted us at the RV park entrance and guided us to our site. He encouraged us to walk the loop and take a look at his collection. We were surprised to see that he collects bricks! He was never a mason. He was a rancher for 40 years.
We walked to the nearby high school and did laps on the track in the stadium.
868 December 5, 2022 – January 2, 2023 Fun Winter Break
We have had so much fun visiting with David and his family. We spent the first weeks helping with house chores and preparing everything for the holidays.
The very first week, Austin had a stomach virus.
He helped Poppop build a new workout bench. All the loveys had to come to watch!
I was able to go and visit Austin’s classroom. He showed me the work he was doing. He showed me rhombuses and parallelograms and all sorts of other shapes. He demonstrated his knowledge of the sounds the letters make. He loved having me there and I was so happy to be there.
David and Dre were able to go to Oliver’s Celebration of Learning. The kids sang songs, did animal yoga, and presented their animal research projects.
Pajama day before break.
We decorated a gingerbread house and made gingerbread men.
Dre and I tried to make Oreo reindeer cookies with the kids. It looked so very simple…why didn’t ours look like the ones we saw online? Dre and I laughed so hard that we cried!
Apparently, they tasted good!
Tim and I took the boys shopping for gifts for Mama and Dada. The little one really had a hard time understanding that we were buying for others. This was the first time that they experienced this part of Christmas. We took the boys out for dinner after our gift buying was done.
Beginning on the 21st, the children were out of school. David and I took them for haircuts and then we took them shopping for one another. Austin picked a book about a gingerbread man for Ollie. Oliver got a Lego book for his brother. It was sweet to see them choose something and they were too excited to wait for Christmas to open their gifts.
On the 22nd, Kyle, Allison, and my mother arrived after driving for 13 hours. What a wonderful gift to be able to spend the holiday together!
Dre had to work but the rest of us went to Steinbeck’s for lunch.
Kyle helped the boys to construct a gingerbread train that my sister, Debbie sent along. The project was a huge success!
Allison made elf cookies with them. We all decorated with frosting and sprinkles galore. Thank you Aunt Debbie!
Kyle and Allison and David and Dre all went out for dinner. Gigi, Tim, and I watched the boys. Tim and I had a sleepover with the boys in Oliver’s room…making memories!
On the 24th, Oliver and Austin completed the annual scavenger hunt. At the end, they each got new Baby Yoda Lego pajamas to wear for Christmas morning.
Our Christmas Eve celebration was at Dre’s parents’ house. Ines was so gracious to host everyone even though Jorge was in the hospital.
Christmas morning was a frenzy. The boys were so happy and excited. We only have one picture though of Austin sitting on his bike.
The day was spent making Legos.
We finished the day with crab dip by Allison and steaks and potatoes and asparagus and a toast to family.
The last of Peter’s cranberry pie!
Kyle and Allison left the day after Christmas. Thank you so much for making this Christmas so very specia; for all of us!
We played dominoes with Gigi but not the Mexican Train rules! Mom stayed with us for one more day and then she met Dana and John for the other half of her Christmas adventure.
David and Dre both worked all week and so Tim and I watched the boys. We played home and lovey world and Wild Kratts. They both have wonderful imaginations and they get along so well. Pretending is fun!
In this picture, Oliver is checking the feathers of a wounded peregrine falcon (Austin)…so dear.
We did more Legos and read books and watched movies.
We took a hike in the “stream woods” stopping at “snack rock” for munchies. The boys got home muddy and happy.
We all washed Popop’s Jeep and then the boys sat on the curb to watch the workmen reapir a busted waterline.
Helping with laundry.
We had a low-key New Year celebration. New Years Day we baked turkey and had a feast.
It was hard to leave this week. Everyone was sad. The boys know that we will be back in the spring.
We left Lane Southern Orchards on Saturday morning. We only had a short drive to Stone Mountain Campground just outside Atlanta. We had planned to arrive on Monday…but we just couldn’t wait to see David and his family.
Once we had settled into our campsite, we drove to go and see the kids. They didn’t know we were coming and they were so incredibly happy! We had a great visit and David made us dinner.
We went back to Stone Mountain for the night. On Sunday afternoon, David and Dre and the boys came to visit us. We had pumpkin chili for lunch and walked down to the lake.
The best part of the day was our adventure at Stone Mountain Christmas.
We took the Sky Ride to the top and looked at the view of Atlanta.
We played in the indoor playground and ropes course. I had lots of fun climbing right along with the boys. I did not take the slide down 3 stories but decided on the stairs!
We walked through the outdoor dinosaur park.
Then it was time for snacks.
We took the train around the mountain.
The lights were bright and colorful as we walked back through the park to the car. It was a very fun day.
Tomorrow we are going to take the RV to a storage facility and then we will move into David’s until after the New Year. I will take a break from publishing the blog until then. May you have the happiest of holidays!
We started the day with our usual exercise. I walked more than 3 miles in and around the campground at Lake City. It was 46 degrees and I had to put a sweatshirt on! We actually had to use the furnace overnight. We are in for a rude awakening!
Tim drove all morning; out of Florida and into Georgia. We found a Harvest Host site in Fort Valley in Peach County. Lane Southern Orchards is an extensive operation. They are primarily peach and pecan growers.
There are miles of orchards in the surrounding area.
There is also a beautiful farm store with all sorts of preserves and dilly beans and pickled beets and syrups and nuts and too many other things to name. As soon as you walk in the door you are met with the fragrance of sweet roasted pecans and your mouth begins to water.
We had a lot of fun shopping for all kinds of treats and gifts.
We rested for a short time and then I walked the property while Tim rode his bike.
At dinnertime, we went back into the store and ordered pulled pork sandwiches. It was nice enough to eat out on the porch.
One more walk as the sun set.
We really do enjoy these Harvest Host experiences. We spend a lot of time in traditional campgrounds. It is really fun to find a place that we would otherwise not even know about and to travel off the well-worn interstate to explore these treasures.
I walked around the town of Frostproof this morning. I walked all the way to Clinch Lake.
I saw sandhill cranes.
I saw a bald eagle flying overhead.
He then landed on the water tower where he sat for a long time.
We went in to see Mister Chris for a cup of coffee. I had Brazilian which was smooth and rich. Tim had Tanzanian coffee. I know that it was stronger than our usual because my heart was pounding for awhile!
We enjoyed our short time in Frostproof. It is a quiet, gentle place.
Today was a driving day. Tim drove more than 200 miles. The first many miles were through a series of small towns. Then past Legoland and Disney…someday I hope to bring the boys here. Then we were on the turnpike with lots of traffic. Finally onto 75N. It was here that we started to think about where we might spend the night. Campgrounds closer to Ocala and Gainesville were outrageously expensive.
We arrived in Lake City in midafternoon. The campground is older but clean and well kept. The laundry room was a great asset and I had all 4 machines going!
I walked in the surrounding neighborhood between washing and drying.
We had a simple dinner; trying to clean out the freezer and the fridge.
It was cool and breezy overnight. It was so nice to sleep with the windows open and I even needed a blanket!
This morning, I walked one mile in the campground and then another almost three on the levee. I had a creeping companion on the trail.
We drove a couple of hours north on 27 through farmland, citrus orchards, and small towns. We had found a Harvest Host site in Frostproof, Florida. Mister Chris’ Coffee Gallery is in an old train depot that was constructed in 1912. This labor of love houses an eclectic bunch of antiques and classic collectibles as well as fresh coffee. We can’t drink coffee in the afternoon and so we settled on some coffee beans for the coffee connoisseurs in our lives. We toured the seven rooms. Each has a theme and is meant to be interactive if you are inclined.
In the music room there are tons of vinyl albums and a record player just begging for use. There are also board games and other fun things to do.
When this was an operating depot, there were two ticket windows. The window on the left was for colored people and the window on the right for whites. The owner here wanted to preserve this part of history and designed his space so that the ticket windows remained intact. They are part of the story of this place.
This was the crew of men who built the depot and worked on this portion of the Atlantic Coastline Railroad.
The building as it appeared in 1912.
The grounds here are lovely with several live oak trees that are more than 200 years ols.
There is a Native American Burial Site on the corner.
We rested during the hottest portion of the afternoon and then walked down to the dock on Reedy Lake.
We spent a lot of time on this porch swing.
After dinner, we walked through town. We love these quaint places…small town USA. If not for Harvest Host, we wouldn’t have stopped here. It was a pleasant way to spend the day.
I walked three one mile loops around Monument Lake this morning. The air felt just a little cool. It was wonderful walking weather. I saw flocks of migrating wood storks and three roseate spoonbills. I saw another black snake and I saw a little gator.
Killdeer.
Brazilian peppertree.
We traveled for just a couple of hours to South Bay RV Park on Lake Okeechobee. We stayed here for a week back in October and it is another good place for bike riding.
As we entered South Bay, we saw a long line of tractor trailer trucks stuffed with sugar cane. It is harvest time. Some of the fields were being burned today and the world smelled of burnt sugar or caramel. They must also be spreading manure because we also had pungent wafts of really stinky air!
We took a short ride to on the Levee to Torry Island.
We climbed the tower.
This evening, we took our dinner to John Stretch Park. It was a nice to walk around the lake after our meal.
Early every morning, there are thousands of spider webs in the high grass and in the trees. Today, the webs were covered in dew and they were beautiful.
The shroud of fog began to lift as we drove to Shark Valley,
One of our very favorite places to bike will always be Shark Valley. We stayed nearby so that we could ride this loop one more time before heading north. We got up and packed our bike bags and we were at the gate at 8:30 when it opened.
My favorite part is the beginning. We always go clockwise when most other people start at the other end. This allows us to bike all by ourselves. It is so quiet and wild and I love this part of the ride.
We saw very few alligators. The temperatures are still very warm during the day with a forecasted high of 88 degrees today. The alligators don’t need to be laying on the banks to be warm enough. In fact, all of the gators we saw were submerged in water.
The swamp is still overflowing and we rode through several inches of water at some points.
There were very few birds. I believe that the water is still too deep for the wading birds. There were a bunch of crows.
And on purple gallinule.
Lovely swamp flowers.
Tim’s favorite part is the walk to the observation tower. The view that goes on forever…
Tim heard a splash as we cycled and spotted tiny alligator hatchlings. We could hear the babies chirping.
Mama knew we were there. Can you see her?
After finishing our ride, we drove all the way to Everglades City. The skies became dark and we had a few drops of rain.
We had a yummy lunch at City Seafood.
I spent hours this afternoon trying to find a place to store our RV while we are visiting with David in Atlanta. I was finally successful!
We both did abbreviated versions of our morning routines and then got packed and ready to roll.
Tim has been nursing a sore shoulder for the past two days. Today he had some significant improvement and that is a very good thing. He has lots of driving to do.
In Key Largo, we stopped for diesel fuel for the RV. It was down to $4.99 a gallon. We got 50 gallons for $250.00. The 100-gallon tank will just about get us to Atlanta.
We noticed that the canal along Route 41 is still brimming with water. The floodgates were wide open and the water was coming out with full force. We wonder if they the floodwaters have been draining at this rate the whole 5 weeks that we have been gone. That is an unimaginable amount of water!
We arrived at Monument Lake in Big Cypress in early afternoon. It was 87 degrees and hot!
We both took walks. I saw a black snake slithering toward the taller grass.
I also saw this gator on the bank.
We made grilled chicken fajitas for dinner and ate outside.
As soon as the sun went down, the mosquitoes descended, pushing us back into the RV.
Tomorrow, we want to return to Shark Valley and ride the 15-mile loop.
