Head for the Hills!

7/24/20 - 7/25/20 Savannah, GA to Walterboro, GA, 90 miles, stayed at Eagles RV Park for one night door $30

7/25/20 - 7/27/20 Walterboro, GA to Kinards, SC, 125 miles, stayed at Magnolia RV Park for 2 nights at $46/night

7/27/20 - 8/3/20 Kinards, SC to Hartford, TN, 151 miles, stayed at Fox Fire Riverside Campground for one week at $270

Smoky Mountains

Last year, we visited the Great Smoky Mountains by staying in Sevierville, TN and driving through Gatlinburg. It is EXTREMELY busy and touristy. This time, we approached from South Carolina, up I40, and stayed just over the Tennessee border in Hartford, so We could easily go back and explore Asheville, NC.   The RV Park had only a few spaces, nestled between the mountains to the East and the Pigeon River to the West.  

We arrived on a Monday, and Hartford was dead quiet. It’s just a little spot on the map. But we ventured out the next day to eat and found the place PACKED!  Turns out, the Pigeon River is a Mecca for white water rafting, kayaking, paddle boarding, cycling and zip-lining!  And several rafting outfits ended at our campground. We learned that the river is dam-controlled and rafting is best on the days the dam releases water (Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays). Hundreds of people came and went. On the other days, we had the river almost to ourselves, so we could sit and bask in the quiet.  On one of those crazy days, we decided to go to Asheville.

I’ve heard so many wonderful things about the Biltmore Estate, but COVID and budget were working against us. I wanted to spend my day at the River Arts District - two miles of warehouses and manufacturing plants near the river and train tracks that have been converted to artist studios and galleries. This is my kind of place!  It took us two hours to get there because of construction, and only 30% of the galleries were occupied. Everyone else was quarantining at home. Yet, I got a taste of what it was like to visit artists at work.  We also found Lexington Glassworks, a glass-blowing foundry not far away and spent time watching them practice their craft - so cool!   I loved this place.  It’s quirky and artsy, and I want to come back when things are in full swing!  

As the afternoon rains began to fall, we ducked into a taco shop and enjoyed a late lunch before dashing back to our car for the long drive home. Fun fact - the Smoky Mountains are a rain forest and it rains almost every afternoon. When the rain stops and the mountains heat up, the water evaporates, making it look like they’re on fire. This is one of the reasons for the name “Smoky Mountains”.  

The Hostess City - Savannah, GA

7/20/20 - 7/24/20 Brunswick, GA to Savannah, GA, 68 miles, stayed at Savannah Oaks RV Resort for 4 nights

When I was still in High school, I dreamed of attending the Savannah College of Art and Design. There is just something about that southern town and their hospitality.  As a matter of fact, they’re called “the Hostess City”. I read that the first city of Georgia was spared during the Civil War because they decided to welcome General Sherman and the union army instead of fight them.  

James Oglethorpe received the charter to establish the last English colony of Georgia for King George II in 1733 as a buffer against the Spanish in Florida.  Oglethorpe designed the city along a grid and 24 squares. Each settler would receive similar houses and amount of land so that no one person had more than the other.  Lawyers, Catholics, slavery and alcohol were forbidden. Unfortunately, those ideals didn’t last long, and Savannah soon became THE slave ship port for the colonies. It is said Sherman decided to save the city because it was so beautiful, and offered it as a Christmas present to President Lincoln.  

It still holds up today. The riverfront is lined with cobblestone streets, and inviting restaurants and shops, once you find a way down the iron staircases.  (There is an elevator at the Hyatt Regency, if you don’t do stairs well). Up top, you can stroll along Factor’s Walk with more restaurants and shops, or venture into the city. Savannah is easy to navigate because of the grid design, and each cool, grassy square has a fountain or statue or benches where you can rest under mature shade trees, a wonderful respite from the heat and humidity. 

Of course you can tour the city with the hop-on, hop-off Old Town trolley to get the lay of the land, as in most big cities, but they didn’t have the plexiglass between rows or limited seating as they did in St. Augustine, and I wasn’t willing to be that close to others even then. Such is life in the time of COVID. I found a great Self-guided walking tour that wound from the riverfront, past the historic Colonial Park Cemetery and the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist, ending at Forsyth park. It was so hot, we actually drove it. We followed a trolley for a while, Bill dropped me off at a few spots, but parking was easy at the Pay and Display spots along the road, and it was cheaper than the trolley. 

We ate at The Cafe at City Market in the City Market, a four-block pedestrian area, just across from the American Prohibition Museum. The lunch was okay, but the peach cobbler was TO DIE FOR. Then we meandered. I love to just explore after gaining a little knowledge about an area. Jones street, in particular, had gorgeous, unique townhomes on cobblestone streets and beautiful gardens. We parked on Monterey Square and walked along Bull Street to Forsyth Park.  It’s a great place to rest and people watch. There’s also a monument and a bandstand in the park. 

The next day, we went to Bonaventure Cemetery. Is that weird?  If you’ve read “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”, that’s where the girl with the bird statue used to be, but like Forest Gump’s park bench, it’s been moved to a museum to preserve it. Still, this is an old cemetery, and I love to look for the oldest headstone. Again, I like to wander.  Here’s what I found.  

We only scratched the surface of this lovely place. I could come back again and again. It is that beautiful. 

Skeletons? Sculpture? Driftwood? YES

7/17/20 - 7/20/20 St. Augustine, FL to Brunswick, GA, 104 miles, stayed at Coastal Georgia RV resort, 3 nights at $45.36/night

If you’ve read my other posts, you know, I am a beach lover!  Any time we get near a coast, I have to dip my toes in. So when I heard we were near a beach that had eroded away so that the tree’s roots had been exposed and were left lying on the sand like huge driftwood, I had to see it. (It is one of the settings used for The Walking Dead.)

It’s an easy drive out to Driftwood Beach at the north end of Jekyll Island, near Brunswick, Georgia, a vacation destination in its own right. Then, we parked and walked a few yards through the woods to the beach and stood among them. Every turn revealed a new fallen tree. They truly do look like skeletons of some long-extinct gigantic ocean creatures, each one a beautiful sculpture in its own right. I couldn’t take enough pictures. 

The locals come here at sunrise to take gorgeous colorful photos, or wedding photos, or have a wedding on the sand, but you have to be careful to time it with the tides, or you’ll get washed away. Luckily, we caught it at the right time of day, as did many others who were using the huge root balls as beach umbrellas. 

The photos speak for themselves...

Old St. Augustine

7/14/20 - 7/7/17/20 Dade City, FL to St. Augustine, FL, 143 miles, stayed at Compass RV Park, 3 nights at $42/night. 

Before we left Florida, there was one city that I wanted to visit - St. Augustine. I’m a huge history buff, and love to explore old places. Bill - not so much. He humors me and goes for some of it, as long as there’s good food involved somewhere. 

St. Augustine, FL was founded by the Spanish in 1565. It rivals Santa Fe, NM as the oldest city in the United States.  It was protected by Castillo de San Marcos from the British who settled further up the coast. It has been said that Ponce de Leon landed here in his quest for the fountain of youth. The Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine is the oldest Catholic Church in the city. So you get the idea.  It’s old. Older than the Plymouth colony, founded in 1620; older than Jamestown, founded in 1605. The architecture here is beautiful old Spanish Colonial with intricate cast iron balconies, and they harvested blocks of calcified crushed seashells, called “coquina”, to make sturdy concrete-like structures.

I debated as to whether I should take the hop-on, hop-off trolley to get a good overview of the area. I could have gotten a discount ticket by booking online, and they would pick up and drop off directly from our RV park. But even with stringent cleaning after each route, plexiglass between rows, and the fact that it was open-air, many of the sites that I wanted to visit were closed and I wasn’t really keen on sitting that close to other people. So Bill drove me downtown, found a shady spot to park on the square, and I struck out on foot.  It was near 90 degrees with high humidity, so I tried to pick and choose carefully. 

The old historic downtown is very walkable, especially the pedestrian-only St. George Street. Castillo de San Marcos (a National Park) and the Colonial Quarter were closed.  I started by respectfully walking through the Cathedral, viewing the frescoes and gilded icons. (It’s also nice because it’s cool inside.).

 Then I walked quickly down St. George Street, looking for authentic St. Augustine amongst the touristy offerings (although the chocolate shop was SO tempting. They pipe that glorious smell onto the street).  I stopped at the oldest wooden schoolhouse, and walked all the way down to the city gates. 

Then I took a left and meandered through the narrow streets back toward Flagler College. It was originally built as a luxury hotel by the railroad magnate Henry Flagler.  It was decorated with Tiffany stained glass windows and chandeliers and I hear the girls dorms are beautiful. Of course they were not giving public tours, so I admired it from the outside. By the time I got back to the car, my face was bright red and my water bottle was empty. Time for an Icee!

          

We drove out to the beach and found a free parking spot at the pier. We walked out to the water and cooled off by dipping our toes in the Atlantic Ocean.  It’s amazing to me that beaches are so different from place to place. Here, the water was darker and cooler and the sand was a course pinkish-beige.

The next day, Bill and I parked along the river and walked to Harry’s restaurant. It has a large open patio and we sat with a view of the water. The crabcakes were amazing!

Happy Independence Day (a little late)!

6/28/20 - 7/12/20 Seffner, FL to Ft Myers, FL, 125 miles, stayed two weeks for FREE!  Many thanks to Susan And JD!
7/12/20 - 7/14/20 Ft Myers, FL to Dade City, FL, 160 miles, stayed at Traveller’s a Rest RV Resort, 2 nights for $21.50

The Fourth of July came and went with very little fanfare.  Public firework displays were cancelled. Ft Myers had a vintage plane flyover instead. Cities on the east coast of Florida closed their beaches, so we were concerned about the crowds on the west coast. Cities were very creative in how they dealt with it.  The beaches were only open from 7am to 11 am and then from 5 pm to dusk. And the parking lots were closed, so you could only bike or walk to them.

Governor Desantis still refuses to put a mask mandate in place, so each city is deciding on their own, making it very confusing. And many cities are leaving it up to individual shops as to whether they require them.  Cowards!  They’re too afraid to lose favor with the public by making a unpopular decision to protect all their citizens.  It’s a HUGE issue here.  Just today, I saw a man walk into the store, which clearly had “Masks Required” signs posted everywhere.  The sweet young employee just inside the door that was counting the shoppers as they came in asked him to put one on.  He yelled at her, “It’s not a law!  I have the right not to wear one,” and stormed out.

How rude!  You can tell which side of the debate I come down on.  I have the right not to be infected by someone who refuses to wear a mask!

Since it’s Independence Day, I’d like to talk about my freedoms in this time of pandemic and where I’m finding my joy.

Bill and I have the right to take an educated risk and go out for lunch or day trip. In the middle of the day, restaurants are empty. We try to eat outside, but will go inside when we’re the only ones in the dining room.  We go to the beach, fish and drive around - all while keeping a distance, wiping down surfaces, and smearing our hands with germex when we get back in the car.

I have the right to go outside and walk in God’s beautiful creation. Even though I come home melting with sweat, I love seeing butterflies flitting around gorgeous tropical flowers. They inspire me to make art (see below). Walking keeps me healthy and feeds my soul. When it’s too hot, I stay in and do yoga or Pilates.

So far, we’re free to travel about the country.  We waited a long time to leave Alabama, and were being very careful about where we’re going, especially since we’re traveling in Florida. One RV park was accepting guests on a case-by-case basis. Since we mostly keep to ourselves, they allowed us to stay.

But just because we’re by ourselves, doesn’t mean we’re alone.  I finding great joy in technology. I love seeing photos of my new twin grandniece and nephew. They are growing SO fast.  We won’t be able to meet them until the holidays, so I’m thriving on Facetimes with Grandma. Our son makes time to FaceTime with us every week and then some. He knows I like to see his smiling, sometimes unshaven face, and the latest art project he’s working on. And, the pandemic has finally brought my whole family together. My brothers, sisters-in-law,  nieces and nephews and Mom and Dad Zoom every Sunday.  Sometimes we don’t have much to share. It’s just good to see their faces and hear their voices and feel connected.

Finally, I get great joy from staying in touch with my home church, Bulverde United Methodist Church in San Antonio, TX. Even if it’s from a distance, I get to sing with the praise band and worship with my church family. I even keep up with the pastors who’ve moved on from BUMC and listen to one of their messages mid-week.

Out of the Frying Pan...

6/17/20 - 6/19/20 - Gulf Shores, AL  to Bonifay, FL - Outback Springs RV Resort, two nights for $74
6/19/20 - 6/20/20 - Bonifay, FL to Lamont, FL - one night at Stones Throw RV Park for $31.50
6/20/20 - 6/23/20 - Lamont, FL to Reddick, FL- three nights at Ocala North RV Resort for $44/night
6/23/20 - 6/25/20 - Reddick, FL to Seffner, FL- two nights at Lazy Days RV Resort for $32/night
6/25/20 - 6/28/20 - Seffner, FL to Sarasota, FL - three nights at Sarasota Lakes RV Park for $139

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
After extending our stay in Gulf Shores for months, we finally decided it would be safe to venture out.  But with Independence Day looming, we gratefully accepted an offer from friends to stay at their spot at Cypress Trails RV Resort, Ft Myers, FL for the two weeks surrounding it. We just have to get there.

The tricky part is that each state, heck each city, has different rules about being in public. We are pretty conservative in our approach anyway. We wear masks in public, only take out restaurant food, or very rarely, eat on the patio. We carry disinfectant wipes to wipe down the table and use hand sanitizer after we handle the menu. However, we met up with my sister-in-law, niece and nephew from Idaho in Panama City and are hanging out with old friends from San Antonio who now live near Sarasota (no hugs and we ate outside!) We haven’t been as strict as we usually would (but it’s so nice to see friends)  All of it is a calculated risk.

We are trying to plan our route out of FL after the holiday. It’s SO HOT that it’s not even enjoyable to go to the beach or take my morning walk. Since COVID is a moving target, we’ll make reservations and hope that we can still get into those states when it’s time. Florida had a checkpoint on I10, checking for those coming from Louisiana.  It closed about a week before we left.  Hopefully, the states we want to go to won’t deny us entrance now that we’ve been in Florida. I’ve heard New York, Connecticut and New Jersey are considering denying some entries. So, for now, we’re spending a lot more time indoors and enjoying seeing friends. This year has just been frustratingly weird. I’m ready for a vaccine!

One Year Anniversary

May 22 - June 10, 2020, Gulf Shores, AL, Luxury RV Park

Today marks the one-year anniversary of living full time on our RV. The first 8 months went just as we planned. Then COVID -19 restrictions went in place and we’ve been in Gulf Shores for five months!  I can definitely say that RVing is more fun when you’re moving!  But we have been SO blessed to have this place to hide out. It’s become our second home. And, while we swore we had too many places to see, we’ve come to know the people, and we may come back next winter. Mind you, I don’t want to get stuck in a rut. But this is a nice spot to weather the cold.  I think I like the beach better BEFORE Spring Break. There are far fewer people to contend with.

We’ve also gotten to know the restaurants! Especially the ones with outdoor dining and take-out. (We always take handy wipes and sanitizer!). For bbq, we get pulled pork sandwiches at Hog Wild. For fried shrimp, we go to the Shrimp Basket, just across the street from us. For sub sandwiches and pizza, Chico’s - again, an easy walk across the street. Good Mexican food is harder to come by, but we found Pedro’s in Perdido Key and El Paso up in Foley. And of course, the granddaddy of home cooking (but very pricey and touristy) Lambert’s Cafe. The best thing is the “throwed rolls”  Yes, they throw them across the dining room. They are light and fluffy and hot.  Yum!

Bill has finally gotten back into fishing with the warmer weather.  Though for some reason, Gulf State Park decided to close and repair their pier during the best part of the year. So we found the pier at Little Lagoon Pass (thanks Ron!), which is also near a beach. I can wander the shore looking for shells, and Bill can catch lunch for the herons who always hover nearby begging for a handout.

Thank you, Alabama for taking good care of us. We’re leaving next week with many good memories. Now we can move more freely around the country.  The check point into Florida has been removed, and the Keys are reopening. So we’re headed that way. Then, we’ll go North, maybe see Brendan, before we get back to Texas for the holidays. Each state is reopening at different rates.  It’s the right thing to do to protect their citizens, but difficult for travelers to know what to expect. We’ll keep our masks and sanitizer handy, just in case. Open road, here we come!