Our original plan was to stay in WA until about Labor Day, then make a leisurely trip to FL with a few sightseeing stops along the way. In early June, I emailed a farm in SD where I worked for one season, wanting to confirm that I’d still be able to stop at one of the produce stands and get some farm fresh (hopefully double yolk) eggs as we cruised thru. To my deep regret, she informed me that produce might not even open for the season since a workamper cancelled. Hmmm. I debated talking to Mary about my idea since I wasn’t sure how she’d react but finally decided to go for it. I talked to her about my time at the farm, including how remote it was, and mentioned that she would probably be able to earn some cash as the resident chicken wrangler. To my surprise, she was all in. I finalized details with the farm, gave my notice at Amazon, raced to finish up my remaining RV projects, and off we went.

As we were preparing to leave Arlington, Mary decided to move the recliners herself while I was doing something outside. Bad move. She strained something in her back. We left on schedule but by the time we hit Wyoming she was still in pain. A local doctor confirmed that it was a muscle injury and there was really nothing we could do about it except rest and give it time to heal. We continued on and stopped to see Old Faithful on the way. It amazes me how they can predict the eruptions but we only had to wait about 15 minutes after our arrival to see it in all its glory. Next stop: the farm.

I had seriously considered spending a night at a nearby KOA, just to check things out before the final leg, but since we were so early, I pressed on. And promptly regretted that decision. My Google maps failed me, even though I still had a pin from my last visit. So there I was, relying on 5 year old memories, down a gravel road with a large 5th wheel. I saw something that looked familiar and made a left hand turn. Bad, bad move. They’d had lots of rain the day before so we were heading down a poorly maintained road with lots of large puddles. At one point, we thought the 5th wheel was sliding off the road. I stopped after going through the next puddle, with no farm in sight and called the owner. We quickly figured out where I was and they came out with a 4WD truck and tow rope. I got pulled backwards through the last puddle, they opened a farm field gate and I got turned around and back to the farm. Shortly before turning into their RV section, she stopped me and asked me to check it out on foot with one of the guys. They had put in a couple of new sites since my last visit and one of them looked suitable. I headed for it, driving through a weedy area instead of staying on the road. That part worked out OK and I got lined up on the site – and promptly sank almost to the axles right next to the utility pole. I was ready to stay there but the ground was so soft (because of the recent rain) that I couldn’t get the RV leveled. After that I decided we would get out of the hole and head back to the KOA for at least 2 nights while things dried out. I lost track of time but it must have taken an hour or 2 to get out of that rut. We set up at the KOA and relaxed that night.

The next day we drove back to the farm to discuss options and get some free eggs. Game plan was to come back the next day, for a different spot and wait for one of the guys with a lot of stock trailer experience to back the RV in since we might get only one shot at it. Came back mid morning the next day and parked near an electric outlet to keep the frig running and batteries up. Wait and wait and wait and wait. Suddenly one of the guys comes running up to me and says we have to move it now since there’s rain heading our way quickly. I get the RV in position, back up about 10 feet and realize I need to reposition. This time it’s going in nicely. Not perfect but pretty good. Our big concern was that I was going to sink again. Since that didn’t happen, I jockeyed it a few more times and got it setup just right.

The next 3 months were uneventful, except for the owner having a very bad year. The biggest impact of that on us was that she was stingier than usual with the eggs and produce. We still managed to survive and departed the area just after Labor Day.

This would be the long part of the trip, with several stops planned, other than overnight. Since Mary likes Spam (the meat), our first stop was the Spam museum in Austin MN. I was very surprised at the history of the company, especially during WWII. Moving on, we bypassed the Iowa 80 truck stop and headed straight for NW Indiana to visit family and friends. We got our fill of Chicago style hot dogs, another Chinese buffet and more specialty chocolate than I should have had. Found out that an old childhood friend and his GF have an RV in central FL so we’ll get to see them this winter.

After about 5 days, we headed over to Shipshewana IN and continued exploring that little Amish/Menonite town. We were heartbroken that our favorite ice cream shop in town had closed the month prior. I was really looking forward to that. We also met one of my FB friends who happened to be in the area visiting the RV museum in Elkhart.

Now we started the southbound part of the trip. First ‘vacation’ stop was Asheville NC where we got to do some whitewater rafting on the French Broad river. The water level was a little low so the ‘excitement’ level was also a little low, but still an enjoyable paddle. We also got to see a little bit of downtown Asheville because of an unplanned stop. This was more significant about 10 days later when we saw the devastation that the remains of a hurricane brought to the area we had recently visited.

Next stop Savannah GA. The city hasn’t changed much since the last time I was there. We took advantage of the free shuttle from the RV park and got tickets for the trolley tour of the city. It really does make a big difference who your driver is. We got on and off a few times, and they are not created equal. Again, I over indulged on ice cream and fudge. Oh well, we’re on vacation, right?

Southbound again. Next stop St. Augustine. The weather was absolutely perfect, just like it’s been for most of the trip. We got here early enough in the day to drive into the city and check out parking for the trolley so we wouldn’t have to worry about a free shuttle schedule to return to the RV park. The next day we arrived bright and early for a good parking spot and saw much of the town before we disembarked for a walking tour of the old fort. It’s actually a national park and I was kicking myself for not bringing my national park pass but they just issued me a new one, free of charge, since I’m a veteran. After touring the fort, we walked across the street to have an overpriced meal at an Italian restaurant then, naturally, more fudge. On the way back to the truck, we also stopped at the Ripley’s museum and saw some truly hideous displays.

Before starting the trip, I had built in some extra days in case of problems and one stop that we bypassed completely. We called our winter destination to make sure our site was available early and got lucky. We pulled in without problem and got setup, including dropping the kitchen deck. About 10 days later, a hurricane was heading directly for us. Those forecasts change frequently and I was initially going to stay in place, then changed my mind after seeing some wind forecasts in the 70mph range. We packed everything back up and headed north well ahead of the hurricane and the thousands of other evacuees. The plan was to stay in St. Augustine for a couple of nights and play it by ear from there. I reserved 2 nights on line and we headed for the same park we’d stayed in to visit the city. On our way there, we got a call from the office that evacuation orders had just been issued for them effective the next morning. We could stay for one night but that would be it. I found another park in GA that had room for us so we just headed straight there. We stayed a couple of nights, had a very disappointing country buffet and watched weather forecasts for FL. It didn’t look like our area got hit too bad so we headed south once more, verified from the road that our park still had electricity and water and were back on our site well before nightfall. We’re still a little leery of the weather since hurricane season officially goes through the end of November. As of mid-November, we still haven’t put the deck back down but hope we’ll be able to do that soon.

My last day at Amazon was supposed to be 12/21 and was I ever ready for that. Then they offered an additional day on 12/22. What to do, what to do. My future plans included picking up my girlfriend Jean at the Nashville Airport on 12/25. Seeing that I didn’t have any other plans, I took the extra day, and the extra money.

We spent an extra day in the Nashville area to see the Zoolumination exhibit at the Nashville Zoo. They hired a team from China to put up a lot of illuminated decorations, kind of like they do for Chinese New Year. It was very impressive and I’m glad we went.

Normally when traveling from point A to point B, I try to do it in the minimum time possible. This time, with Jean and her dog, I planned for a 2 day trip. We left Smyrna mid-morning on 12/27. Less than 10 miles down the road I noticed one of my twist on valves bouncing on the pavement under the 5er. Pulled on to the shoulder to disconnect it from the sewer cap and stow it in the truck. Fortunately, that was the worst incident during the drive. We made it to Meridian MS that afternoon while it was still daylight. Got a level, pull thru site, very cheap at Bonita Lakes RV Park https://www.campgroundreviews.com/regions/mississippi/meridian/bonita-lakes-rv-park-4811

We even got there early enough to unhitch the truck and head into town for some inexpensive diesel. I need to interject something here. I’m a big fan of Gas Buddy and use it extensively but it does have its flaws. Twice in TN and once in MS, I went to stations with false prices posted. I corrected Gas Buddy each time and did NOT get diesel at any of those stations. I don’t know if it’s the owners or some jackass just messing with other people but I sure don’t appreciate it.

Early start the next day for the final leg of the trip, a straight shot down the Interstate and US 49 to the Naval base at Gulfport. Once south of I-10, we disregarded the directions coming from Google Maps and relied on the directions from the military campgrounds website: http://www.militarycampgrounds.us/

Again, it was an early arrival so there were people in the office. We were directed to a site in the new section and given a stack of papers to read. At first glance, the sites were very spacious, full cement pad. But, because of our deck that drops down from the kitchen slide, I had to do a lot of maneuvering to get situated just right. Even with all that, the outside legs for the deck would be in the grass. Before dropping the deck, I reviewed all the park rules and found many restrictions about things in, on, or over the grass. I requested someone come by my site on Monday morning before setting up the deck. Thankfully, they had no problem with the legs in the grass.

Since then, I’ve kept busy with doctor/dentist appointments, getting more repairs on the truck and checking out local buffets. I’ll get more into that in a future post.