Winter - 2017/18



Friday Dec 15

Seems like a good time for a camping trip 😃

Ever since we retired last year, we've discussed heading south for winter. So we're trying it on a trial basis. But because there are so many other snowbirds migrating to the southern US during the cold months, reservations are necessary, especially if you're planning long term stays. So we have reservations lined up at RV parks across the south east US - Florida, Louisiana, Georgia and South Carolina. If all goes well, I see us doing this every winter! 

We had originally planned to leave on Boxing Day, but with the weather forecast looking pretty bleak, we decided that leaving early might be wise, so we're leaving now! We'll just wing it for campsites until we get to Nashville, where we have a site reserved for a week.
...and on that note we're off!




Saturday, Dec 16

We got as far as Portland, ME last night and decided that was far enough given the conditions. We found a Howard Johnson's that allowed dogs so we bunked down for the night! It was a stressful day on the road. Every inch of the road looked slippery! It was -10C so maybe my imagination was getting away from me, but I was quite nervous hauling our 5th wheel trailer on roads that were, potentially, icy!

We woke up this morning to see a light covering of snow on the ground, so I'm not sure what that might mean for travel conditions today. Hitting the road now, so let's hope for the best!

Sunday, Dec 17

After crossing into Pennsylvania last night, we decided it was time to stop for the night. We reached Milford, PA and after traveling for two days it was still winter!
We dealt with another chilly day, and more iffy looking streets and highways. We debated getting another hotel room versus boondocking somewhere. We frequently boondock at Walmarts and Cracker Barrel restaurants during long days on the road, but never in weather this cold. Our rig has a propane furnace that works great, but it puts a strain on the battery when it has to run frequently. We also had LOTS of blankets and heavy clothes, just in case they were needed 😊






So we opted to go with free camping at the Milford Walmart...surrounded by the white stuff!  It was SO COLD….lots of fleece and dogs were required to stay warm for the night!

Relatively mild today, and we stuck with our typical routine when staying at a Walmart...we went shopping!

After picking up some odds and ends, we had a quick breakfast next door at the MacDonald's and we were back on the road.  

Monday, Dec 18

Another longish day on the road. We traveled through Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and finished our day in West Virginia. BUT, we're finally getting somewhere! We found Summer...well, not quite...more like Spring!





We’re in Winchester, VA and we’ve settled at the Candy Hill Campground for a couple days and this place seems very nice! Nice paved sites, lots of room to walk the dogs plus they have an off leash park.  The only downside is it’s near the highway, so you get the traffic noise, but if you had a fan going, you wouldn’t notice. 

It's sunny and 11C here today! It was great to go for a run in shorts and a T-shirt!

Tuesday, Dec 19

Another beautiful day dawning here in Winchester, Virginia! Time to go for a run! 





Today's forecast...sunny and 16C 😎  I never thought I'd be running outside in shorts and a t-shirt a week before Christmas!

Wednesday, Dec 20

Back on the road today. Changed our itinerary a bit and added a detour through Kentucky. We love Kentucky and visit whenever we can! We’ve been to Lexington before, so this time we’re travelling a bit further west to explore Louisville. It’s a long drive from Winchester, so we’re breaking it up over two days. Tonight’s luxury campsite was generously donated by Walmart of Lewisburg, WV 😁






Parked in the Auto Service section of the Walmart, nice and quiet and we feel perfectly safe.  Supper was next door at Shoney’s…of course, it’s all about the buffet! I've been looking forward to this, I love Shoney's! And they offered a steak for $3 if you get the buffet…$3 for a steak? Sign me up 😊.  For a cheap steak, it was pretty good!  

Thursday, Dec 21

Long trip across West Virginia today.  WV is a VERY mountainous state! Long uphill climbs and very long downhill descents. Had a little issue early on in our trip. At one point, going down a big hill, Sheila and I looked at each other, "do you smell that", we said almost in unison. We could smell burning brakes (never a good sign)...we hoped it was from one of the passing trucks, but we knew better and pulled over right away. Made some adjustments to the trailer brakes, basically maxed out the brake adjuster for the 5th wheel. Let things cool off a bit and then carried on with no issues.  

WV has a raw beauty…beautiful mountains and valleys, with little communities at the base of the mountains.  You can see that WV is struggling and that the coal mining industry is an important part of their survival.  The communities surrounding the coal mines were the largest we saw and there was lots of activity...we saw rail car after rail car loaded with coal traveling on the rails.  

Arrived at the Louisville South KOA tonight. It was dark when we arrived, so couldn’t get a very good look at the campground, but I’m sure it’s nice. 

Friday, Dec 22

Well, look at what we found behind our campsite here in Louisville, KY!  





Only in the south would you find a fishpond stocked with catfish! Hmmm we do like catfish and I did bring my fishing rod! They wouldn't miss one or two...would they? 😉
So for the last couple of days we've been exploring Louisville, KY, including a drive by of Churchill Downs.. Personally, I think a trip to Louisville isn't complete until we've seen Churchill Downs up close! Home of the Kentucky Derby or as the saying goes 'the greatest two minutes in sports!' 






Saturday, Dec 23

And here's the very reason we keep coming back to Kentucky, time after time: I absolutely love these white fences! Any of you that have visited Kentucky know what I mean...just about every pasture and field here is surrounded by these iconic fences.





Even when I'm back home, if I spot a white fence around a field, I'm instantly transported to Kentucky! To me, these fences (and Kentucky) are such a stereotypical image of a rural, farmland, landscape.

Okay, we're done with Kentucky for this trip...today is moving day and we're heading for Music City, USA!

Sunday, Dec 24

For the next week we are staying at the Two Rivers Campground here in Nashville. A clean tidy campground. I like it here!

What a lovely morning! I haven't gone for a run in a few days so I need some exercise! I decided on a simple out and back run on the road out front. Despite there being several businesses along this road, it's a nice quiet street, perfect for running. Finished with a distance of 7km.

Monday, Dec 25

We decided this is a good day for some down time.
Merry Christmas everyone! 🎅




Tuesday, Dec 26

We noticed a large Christmas light display over at the Gaylord Entertainment complex, so we jumped in the truck and drove over. Ended up spending a couple hours wandering around the grounds of Nashville's magnificent Opryland Hotel. Amazing light display. We tried to get some pics but the best we could do was capture just a small fraction of the millions of lights that are on display! 





Wednesday, Dec 27

Headed into Nashville today and explored downtown...walked Broadway where you have bars and honky tonks as far as the eye can see 🍺





Found the Ryman auditorium, Wildhorse Saloon, BB King's jazz club and other well-known landmarks.

Stopped into Hattie Bs to get some of their famous Nashville Hot Chicken for supper! It was delicious and I might add, aptly named...it was hot, and I had only ordered the medium heat!


Thursday, Dec 28

Had fun today! Drove to Lynchburg, TN, went on a guided tour of the Jack Daniel's Distillery then walked around historic Lynchburg. Very cool!





Our tour guide was Chad, informative, charming and funny!

The story of the Jack Daniels Distillery is fascinating...
Jack's mother passed away when he was two and a couple years later, his father remarried. Little Jack didn't take it lightly, now with 12 brothers and sisters, he was a neglected child. So he ran away, all the way to a neighbour's farm. Eventually he was taken in by one of the communities leaders, the local preacher Dan Coll. He owned a still and was in need of an apprentice. Not only did Jack find a home, but also a trade. Jack grew up working for Coll and learned all there was to know about the art of distilling whiskey. 
In 1863 Coll sold the still to Jack who was a mere 13 years old. In 1866 Jack registered his distillery making it the oldest in the U.S. Sometime later, looking for a reliable source of good water, Jack decided on the Cave Springs area. The Cave spring's water was cool, clear, and free of iron. Jack wanted fresh water with a minimum of undesirable impurities that could ruin whiskey. He found it and relocated his distillery. To this day, Cave Spring still supplies water to the distillery. 
Jack passed away at the age of 61 from complications of gangrene. Jack had no wife or children, leaving the distillery to be handed down to his nephew, Lem. Lem continued to operate the distillery in much the same way as Jack did. 






Friday, Dec 29

Not much happening today. We are changing locations tomorrow so we decided to take care of some housekeeping chores and do laundry today. Also, I decided we need a US cellphone. There’s been times I’ve wanted to make calls down here but it’s too expensive to use my Bell phone. I had inquired on US plans before we left home but my Samsung smartphone isn’t compatible. I’ve been hearing about a carrier called MetroPCS and their prepaid, unlimited phone deals. So I took a drive over to their nearby store. Yup, I scored a great deal! I did go with a prepaid bundle – a Samsung J3 (I do like Samsung) smartphone. For $50 I get 30 days of unlimited talk, text and data. No term. No commitment. No contract. AND that includes the phone. I can deactivate and reactivate whenever I want! Can’t beat that with a stick! 

Saturday, Dec 30


It's moving day. Time to head for warmer climates! We're done with Nashville for this trip. Next up, Alabama for a couple days then it's Florida for the month of January. 

Sunday, Dec 31


Late last night we rolled into this Alabama campground...






Ummm, a swampy, kinda creepy, kinda odd sort of place. I don't want to say it's backwoods but I swear I could hear a banjo warming up 😒 You could practically feel eyes watching us from behind closed blinds!

Monday, Jan 1

We made it to Camp Gulf RV Park in Destin, FL! We've finally arrived at our winter place! Well...the first of our three winter homes! This will be home for the month of January  :)
What do you think of our backyard?




Tuesday, Jan 2

Now that we have some time on our hands, we walked down to the beach today. It's only a two minute walk from our campsite. It's awesome...I love it! We had to bring a camera!




Wednesday, Jan 3

Drove around a bit today to get a feel for our surroundings. Lots of shopping to be had just down the street at the Siver Sands Factory Outlet shopping complex. Nike, Converse, Adidas, Under Armour, and on and on! I'm sure we'll be dropping a buck or two here...soon! 

It seemed we were out and about for most of the day! As we were heading back to the camper we noticed a nice sunset so we had to stop to enjoy it!




Thursday, Jan 4

Woke up to a beautiful day!

Went for a run this morning...ended up running on the beach. 
I would say the beach is my favourite route so far for my morning run 😃




Friday, Jan 5

We can't get enough of the beach that's just minutes from our camper. We went for a walk, about a 3km walk, and it was quite enjoyable. I actually waded in the water for most of that time...I can't believe how nice and warm the Gulf water is!

Saturday, Jan 6

What a beautiful day! During our morning doggie walk I had to get a shot of the sunrise...



We need to go for a bike ride. We haven't been on the road bikes for awhile so I spent a few minutes prepping the bikes...should be a great day for it!




Sunday, Jan 7

I'm sure y'all get tired of seeing our posts of the ocean, but I'm posting a beach shot yet again 😃
The sea is just steps away from our camper and we're down there every day. I've always loved the ocean. The sight; the sound; the smell. The rhythm of the waves. It's tranquil, hypnotic, almost therapeutic. I could listen to it and watch it all day, the steady ebb and flow as the waves reach up higher and higher on the beach then recede only to do it again and again. Sometimes reaching more, sometimes reaching less.




Monday, Jan 8

What a great morning out there! 17°C and a mix of sun and cloud! It's awesome to be back in shorts and a tank top for my morning run!

Tuesday, Jan 9

No sandy beach this time...no ocean...no palm trees...just a happy pup 😊
Our old girl, Miss Kelly, loved to run when she was younger. Unfortunately she doesn't run much these days. Frankly, she can't. she wills her legs to, but her 15 year old body doesn't respond. There was a time she could run all day. But not anymore. She certainly wants to,but it rarely happens. Occasionally though, she surprises me. Sometimes during a walk, she'll dig deep and find the energy to sprint. More often than not, it's simply a fast paced walk. But today, we found this gigantic dog park. The Alaqua Unleashed Dog Park, not far from the campground, is the largest off-leash dog park in the county. It's acre upon acre of grassy fields and woodland. The dogs had a blast! And Miss Kelly managed to run, not very long, and not very fast, but she ran! 
l swear she was smiling the entire time!




Wednesday, Jan 10

So how do you pass the time when you're camping at a Florida beach? You do a workout in a pool...lol




Thursday, Jan 11

Here's the route from my morning run...not too shabby! It's actually a bike path...totally separate and isolated from traffic and it's nicely lined with palms, It's great!
You gotta love this January weather! It's another shorts and tank top kinda day!




We decided to go for a drive out to a community we've been hearing lots about - Panama City Beach. Wow, that was awesome! Drove through 'Pier Place Park', very cool! Never did stop to get photos, but it's really something! Lots of places to eat...lots of places to shop! I'm sure we'll be back!

Friday, Jan 12

Wow, it really rained HARD overnight! Woke us up from a sound sleep! The hard rain didn't last long, eventually easing off to a shower but that was crazy! 

Took the puppies for the typical morning stroll so they could take care of business then back to the trailer we go to plan our day's activities. Over breakfast we looked over some visitor pamphlets we picked up recently and noticed several nearby hiking trails. Ya know, we haven't done any hiking since we left Saint John. I think it's about time. Now to decide on a trail or trails!

Saturday, January 13

Holy crap, it's chilly out there! After hitting 22C yesterday, we woke up to 0C...BRRRR!

Okay, so yesterday Sheila was reading about hiking trails in a local State Park that sounded really nice! So off we go, not knowing what to expect. We get there, park the truck, grab our backpacks and cameras, and head to the trail. 

It was quite fascinating, in retrospect, to look at how the trail surface changed as we progressed down the path. We start out walking along this nice paved path and we thought it was nice but we were hoping for something more challenging! 




We keep going and eventually the pavement ends and we're on a dirt trail. Okay, that's better, but still hoping for a tougher trail. After a few minutes, the soil gets really sandy.  




Along this path we come across an interesting patch of woods. Burnt out woods. We were puzzled! Apparently through this section, the park rangers use prescribed fires to protect the natural vegetation while eliminating invasive species. We were surprised to learn that oak trees are considered invasive. 





The farther we walked, more and more charred remains appear. CRAZY!

After some time the trail becomes significantly different. We cross a bridge over a swampy, marshy area... 





then dunes appear, and suddenly we're transported to a desert! 

This is fascinating! We've seen dunes before but never like this. We're familiar with dunes that run along oceanfront and reach maybe 50 feet, 100 feet, sometimes even 200 feet away from the water's edge. But these dunes! Unbelievable! They extend thousands of feet from the ocean. In other words, acres and acres. Occasionally we catch a glimpse of the water, but it's almost entirely sand. Everywhere!




If it wasn't for the signage, a person could easily get lost out here!




Eventually we reached a fork in the trail where we followed a big loop through the desert. Completed the loop then retracing our steps, we work our way back to the truck. Driving back to the RV park, we couldn't stop talking about these trails. Absolutely fascinating! I'm thinking we'll be visiting this park again before we leave Florida!

Sunday, Jan 14

Lovely morning for a walk on the beach. Still a little chilly (but not too chilly for us tough Canadians!) so the beaches are quiet.

This evening I was strolling along the beach taking in one of most colourful skies I've ever seen and noticed a guy with his family, out fishing. They had a couple rods braced in the sand and had a little cooler. I suspect they weren't terribly focused on fishing though. It appeared they were simply enjoying some quality family time on a gorgeous evening at the beach. Other than them, there were very few people around. I was hoping to capture the serene, relaxing atmosphere of the beach and the vastness that surrounded this happy little family.



Monday, Jan 15

Another beautiful day to go for a run!



Although I somehow managed to pull a calf muscle! Around 3 km into my run, I felt a sharp pain in my left calf! It was bad enough I could barely walk...let alone run :-( So I stopped for a bit, did some stretching, did some walking, and eventually some slow running. Today was long run day, and I planned 12 kms so I debated continuing or turning around and heading home. I decided to persevere and carry on. Walk some...run some. I made it, I completed my run, albeit not very fast, but I got 'er done!

It was such a nice day we decided to spent part of the afternoon on the beach. Oh yeah...this is how I like to spend the dog days of January 😎


Tuesday, Jan 16

My left calf muscle is still pretty tight, I need to work it out. So I went for a short walk/run this morning - walk 2 minutes...run two minutes. Repeat. I ended up doing 6kms. No pain, just tightness. I think I might continue doing these 2 & 2s for the next week or so in hopes that leg muscles loosen up.

This is an exciting day at the ol' campground...time to do laundry 😄



Wednesday, Jan 17

Icy this morning...beach is empty, but calm and beautiful. The RVs on the beach have a great view! Kelly is getting warm and cozy with Chance :-)

With this crappy weather, I'd say that makes for a good day to curl up with a hot beverage and catch up on my backlog of classic books!



Thursday, Jan 18

Good morning from Miramar Beach, FL! And no, that isn't a snowdrift...it's in fact a sand dune...lol



We took the puppy dogs for their morning stroll, then it was time for breakfast! I went with soft fried eggs sitting on top of cheesy grits! Yummy!
  
Time to go for another run. There is large factory outlet shopping complex nearby with a residential subdivision behind it, so I ran down past the shopping complex and through the subdivision. Still doing my 2 & 2s. Legs felt good!

I think I'm gonna get me a bad ass coffee! Seriously...that's what it's called  😄




Friday, Jan 19

I don't think I'll ever get tired of this view of palm trees from the kitchen table of our camper.




Another awesome morning here in Destin, FL. It's so great to go for my morning run in shorts and a T-shirt

This afternoon I realized we just surpassed one month as 'snowbirds'...wow! Seems like it was just yesterday we left home! And I'm liking it!

Saturday, Jan 20

Sunny and 14°C currently with a high of 19C later...perfect conditions for this morning's long run!
Tiki bar!! Just what you need halfway through your morning run...cheers! 




Five Guys Burgers and Fries for supper...OMG, I love this place! Their fries are out of this world!




Sunday, Jan 21

A beautiful day for a ride to Seaside where they have "food trucks" in Airstream trailers! Such a cool little community that really caters to cyclists...you can bike for miles along the 30A trails. 

Later in the day, we went for a long walk on the beach today, we covered about 5kms before turning around to return to the campground. It's beautiful out!
On a nice day like this, there are dozens of these shelters down on the beach! The yellow one caught my attention, so I had to get a shot.




Monday, Jan 22

I'll never get tired of having palm tree lined streets as a backdrop for my morning run. This is down the scenic 98, among all the fancy schmancy villas, condos, and rental properties. Fog started rolling in before I finished my run, and got home in the nick of time before a thunderstorm and heavy rain began. 




Tuesday, Jan 23

What a great way to start the day: 
5km run along the beach then a quick dip in the Gulf of Mexico! Nothing like it!



Wednesday, Jan 24

BRRRRR, chilly morning for my run today...only 9°C!

Not great weather, so a good day to do laundry! The laundry facilities here are awesome - 10 washers (including 2 extra large front load washers) and 8 dryers, ironing board, huge folding table, laundry carts...pretty impressive. 

We use the indoor heated pool this morning - they also have a really nice outdoor pool that's locked up this time of year. I figure the water is probably as warm as the Aquatic Centre pool back home.

Thursday, Jan 25

After a cool day yesterday here in Destin, FL, we're back to great weather today...sunny and 20°C
We decided it's time to go for another hike! We've got two State Parks within a short drive of the campground: Topsail Hill, a gorgeous park we already explored last week, and we hit Grayton Beach State Park today. What a beautiful area!

The established trail winds its way between dunes and is well marked. We came across this enchanting natural tunnel almost immediately. The black hole you see on the right is literally a tunnel, where the trail disappears from view! The vegetation in this picture has actually grown over the path, enclosing it, and creating a 50 feet long tunnel! Absolutely fascinating! Photos can't do it justice! Incredible!




Friday, Jan 26


Have I mentioned yet just how awesome it is to go for a run or go cycling whenever the urge strikes? 

18km long slow run completed today...with emphasis on the 'slow' part...lol
With that said, marathon training has now begun!


Saturday, Jan 27


We walked down to the beach, and wow, the seas are angry today!

I've posted a sunset before but I'm posting another one! These sunsets over the waters of the Gulf of Mexico are beautiful and we see them on a daily basis.






We were down on the beach and this fellow wandered over to look out across the water. I really liked this guy's silhouette against the colourful background.

Sunday, Jan 28

Today, we met up with some friends from Saint John, Michael Lynch and Mary Brosnan who are also wintering in Florida. We took our dogs to the Falling Water State Park, and went for a nice hike!

 




Afterwards, a light breakfast was needed...lol





Chance was exhausted after spending his morning at the park playing with his friends Dylan, Taidg, Michael Lynch and Mary Brosnan 😊




Monday, Jan 29

Spent the afternoon mountain biking at Grayton Beach State Park! Beautiful flat trails throughout open fields, woodland, lake beaches and more! But it was almost too warm! 


Tuesday, Jan 30

It's chilly out there today! Windy and real feel of 8C...brrrr  😉
Time to do an indoor workout!






Sheila went for a walk on the beach. She met up with a fellow riding his fat bike on the sand, singing away, obviously having a great time. 

Did a little Walmart shopping this afternoon. Parking lot here looks quite different than the Walmart back home - Jaguars, Cadillacs, Mercedes, BMWs, Corvettes. lol

Wednesday, Jan 31

Had a good workout today: 750m swim...20km bike...5km run! First time in a long time (not since last summer's Rockwood Park triathlon) I've done a multisport workout! Feels good to push yourself occasionally during the offseason! Somebody stick a fork in me, I think I'm done 😄

Tomorrow's a travel day so we'll be spending the day tearing down, driving to Louisiana and setting up at Reunion Lake RV Park in Hammond, LA. So this will be it for Florida. Leaving this place will be bittersweet for us, it's time to move on and see some more places, cool places but at the same time, we'll really miss this place 😞

Click below for page 2...



No comments:

Post a Comment