1182 January 12, 2025 Palm Harbor

We took the time this morning to get our exercise done. Then, we packed up and left Brooksville. We drove south on Route 19 to the town of Palm Harbor. We are camped at Caladesi RV Park for the next four nights. We spent the day fueling the RV, gathering supplies at Walmart, getting fresh drinking water and groceries, and doing laundry.

I made butter chicken in the crockpot with spinach and garlic pita bread.

We took a ride after dinner to the Dunedin Causeway. We found a place to park on the beach. Lots of people were waiting for the sun to set. There was a large bank of dense clouds on the horizon and the sun dipped behind those clouds without fanfare. This was still the best part of the day.

There is a lot to see and do in the area and we have the next three days to explore!

1181 January 11, 2025 Crystal River

We had lots of overnight rain but by dawn, the rain had stopped. The skies were cloudy but I was able to take a nice walk around the campground.

Today we took a daytrip. We traveled about an hour north on the Suncoast Parkway to the town of Crystal River, “Home of the Manatee.” We had read that because of the Arctic blast and the lower temperatures, the manatees were seeking refuge in the warmer waters of the rivers and springs along the coast to avoid cold stress syndrome.

Nearby Blue Springs State Park hosted almost 800 manatees yesterday…think manatee soup!

Our first stop was Hunter Spring Park. We walked to the edge of the river and thought we saw a few shadows in the water that might have been manatees. There were lots of tour boats in the river. There were also some folks snorkeling and presumably watching manatees.

We talked to some other people at the park who said that they had just come from Three Sisters Springs and there were lots of manatees there. We drove the short distance to the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge. After paying the fee and donning our wristbands, we walked through the park to the boardwalk along the inlet and to the spring areas.

There were more than 200 manatees in the springs today. We watched a mama cow nursing her calf. It was beautiful! Watching these gentle mammals in their natural habitat was amazing.

There are steel bollards that form a gate. This allows the manatees to enter and leave the springs.

As we walked the loop along the river, we saw an otter in the tall grass. It quickly slipped into the water as we approached.

It was windy and chilly and so we ate our picnic lunch in the Jeep. We drove back in a wiggle waggle across the countryside, through neighborhoods, and swampy areas and farmland.

We spent the evening watching playoff football (Tim) and reading (me).

1180 January 9 – 10, 2025 Brooksville

We left Fort Clinch early this morning and traveled west across Florida. We arrived at Camper Holiday RV Park in the afternoon. It was chilly but nice enough to take a good walk. We ate leftovers for our dinner.

It was a nice morning for a walk.

On the day that we left home in the middle of December, our entry steps would not retract. We worked for 2 1/2 hours to try to fix them so that we could get on the road. Finally, Tim pulled the cotter pin and strapped the steps to the chassis. We needed to have the steps repaired. When we pulled in at this campground, there was a mobile RV repair truck parked at the site next door. Our neighbor, Shawn, fixes RV stuff! He was on his way out to dinner yesterday but he agreed to come by this morning and help us. He diagnosed the problem as a faulty magnetic door switch. He called a couple of RV parts places and found something that he thought might work about an hour north, close to Ocala. Tim and I hopped in the Jeep and arrived at the Lazy Days in Wildwood. Dottie was waiting with the part she had in stock. It was not a match. She called a couple of other nearby parts places without success. She could get the part by Monday but by then we will be even further south. I asked if she could have the part delivered to their companion store in Tampa. She checked the computer and found that the part was listed as in stock in her store. It was waiting for another customer who was also waiting on other additional parts. Dottie borrowed the part and sold it to us and reordered another for the other customer. We were able to leave with exactly what we needed…how lucky was that?!? Upon our return, Shawn was able to install the new part. He tested it and everything worked perfectly! Yahoo! We didn’t get much else done, but it is really important to have working steps!

We found nearby BBQ shack, Deep South BBQ, a short distance from the campground and we decided to go there for dinner. The food was hot and delicious!

1179 January 6 – January 8, 2025 Yulee

We left Atlanta on Monday. By the time we had loaded the RV and checked out of the storage facility, it was already late morning. We drove several hours and stayed at a Walmart off of 95 just north of the Florida line.

Tuesday, we arrived at Fort Clinch Sate Park. It was really windy and it was late in the day before it was warm enough to walk in the park and along the beach. We went out for a nice dinner at Salt Life.

Wednesday, we walked and did a couple of errands and then cooked crabcakes. We took dinner and went to visit with Curtis and Janice in Yulee. We had a nice evening telling stories and sharing memories.

1178 October 29, 2024 – January 5, 2025 Family Time

We spent lots of time at home. Our beautiful daughter-in-law, Allison, was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma. We were there to help as she underwent tons of testing and went to many appointments. She began immunotherapy infusions and is now taking oral medication to help to reduce the size of her soft tissue tumor. She has a long journey ahead. Kyle has been a rock. Little Baby Wade is growing quickly and he brings joy to all of us.

We left Baltimore to visit David and his family in Atlanta. We spent the Christmas holiday there and helped to keep the boys entertained during their 18 day winter break. We hiked and played and went to movies and we bowled and baked and did projects and played hotel and went shopping and lots of other stuff! We had so much fun! Oliver and Austin are also growing up too fast!

1177 October 28, 2024 No Place Like Home

We are home. We had quite an amazing trip. Our journey took us through 19 states, 6 national parks, more than 5 national forests and on countless dirt and gravel roads. We really had the opportunity to explore. We enjoyed 8 overnight rooftop tent trips. We slept in extraordinary places. We saw wildlife and birds and plants and mountains and rivers and deserts and there were times that our senses were overwhelmed by the natural world in which we were immersed.

Tim’s favorite adventure was the White Rim Trail. I loved the Jeep rides that we took from Payson to Marble Point and Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon and White Pocket and White Fold. I also loved touching dinosaur fossils in the wall at Dinosaur National Monument. We loved seeing the elk at Rocky Mountain National Park. Yellowstone was its own kind of special. The scenic drives we took surrounding that park were breathtaking. It is hard to choose favorites. We have lots of beautiful pictures and tons of memories.

It is time to be home now for awhile. We will blog again when it is time to travel.

1176 October 27, 2024 Still Tennessee

I took a short walk and then we got another early start.

We drove and drove and drove across Tennessee.  We stopped at most rest stops to walk and stretch.  It is day 5 of driving and we are stiff.  We are not accustomed to sitting so much. 

We were looking for the next rest area when we ran into a section of red traffic.  The phone GPS initially said 1 hour and 1 minute of traffic.  Tim and I switched places and we creeped along.  The traffic did dissipate much more quickly than we expected.  I drove then for about 1 ½ hours.  It was not nearly as nerve wracking as yesterday!  We stopped and took a break and Tim got back behind the wheel.  We did over 400 miles.  It was a sunny Sunday and driving was fairly pleasant with less traffic and far fewer trucks.

Some signs of fall.

The cutest little pumpkin!

We stopped at around 4pm in Kingsport, Tennessee at another Cracker Barrel.

Dinner, then showers, then bed!

1175 October 26, 2024 Tennessee

We took some time this morning for some stretching and a shortened walk.

We traveled out of Arkansas. 

It was densely cloudy and then we had some scattered mist and showers.

I took a turn driving with about 80 miles left in Arkansas.  We have had several days of chunking away the miles and I really want to help. There was a lot of traffic and there were trucks.  Then, it began to rain steadily.  It was an intense drive.  I was so glad to arrive safely at the West Memphis Welcome Center.  Tim drove after that.  I have a renewed appreciation for my driver.  He drove most of the many miles since we left Atlanta two months ago.  In mountains and on steep grades, on rough roads, in the snow and wind, he is unflappable.  He is an excellent driver and I always feel safe when I’m riding with him.  I am so grateful!

We went across the mighty Mississippi into Tennessee at Memphis.

We were tired and we debated riding further.  The camping options are limited along this stretch of road.  We decided on the Cracker Barrel in Jackson.  It was right off the highway and there was plenty of room to park.  We were glad to stop and rest.  It was enough for today. 

We had grilled chicken salads in the restaurant and spent a quiet evening.

1174 October 25, 2024 Hope, Arkansas

Happy Birthday, Kyle!!!

Another early start this morning. 

We filled the RV with diesel fuel at the station adjacent to the Walmart…$2.99 per gallon…yahoo!

We left Eastland and watched the sun come up as we traveled east on 20.

We took 30E up and around Fort Worth and Dallas.  The road was very rough.  There were multiple sections of roadwork.  There was lots of Friday morning rush hour traffic.  It took two hours to get past the two cities.

We finally found a rest area and we stopped for a break.

It was my turn to drive.  I did the last portion of Texas and drove us right into Arkansas.

We stopped at the Welcome Center and looked for a place to spend the night.  We drove to Hope, Arkansas and stayed at the Fair City RV Park.  This is a large city owned park with lots of facilities.  There are baseball fields and a livestock coliseum and basketball and tennis courts and a pool and playgrounds and lots of open space. 

We parked in the shade of a big old oak tree.

I walked the park this afternoon having missed an opportunity to get out there earlier today.

We drove the Jeep to see the birthplace of Bill Clinton.  This is Hope’s claim to fame.

We had a really good dinner at Big Jake’s BBQ.

We took a ride into the downtown area.

It was nice to enough to be outside this evening. 

There is a mama cat with 4 sweet tiny kittens living in the shed nearby.  It was fun to watch the kittens romping around in the grass and fallen leaves. 

My husband is out there as I write this blog, offering the cats yogurt and sardines.

1173 October 24, 2024 More Texas

We were up at 5am and decided to get an early start. 

The city lights were glittering in the darkness.  We knew that the Mexican border town of Jaurez was off to the right. 

We watched the sunrise as we traveled toward El Paso.  These would be the last bunch of mountains that we see for a while.

Usually driving through El Paso is not that fun.  We were early enough that we missed rush hour traffic and it was smooth sailing.

We drove across Texas all day.  It was hot and windy and dusty.  Around Abilene, we drove through oil country.  We stopped frequently for stretch breaks and snacks and water.   I did two stints today.  This was the first time that I had driven the new RV.  I found that I was more comfortable driving this than the old RV.  I did 100 miles and then Tim took the wheel again.  Later in the day, I did another 70 miles.

We pulled into a Walmart.  We didn’t want to unhook the Jeep and we needed a few supplies. It was an easy overnight solution.

We did 530 miles today.  Yahoo! We are 900 miles closer to home!!

The part of Texas we are driving through is 850 miles wide.  I think tomorrow we might try to have a shorter day.  Hopefully, though, we can leave Texas in the rearview mirror.