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January 1, 2021 was a rainy day as we broke camp in Navarre and drove east for about 3 1/2 years towards our January campground outside Carrabelle, Florida. This area of the Florida Gulf Coast is called the Forgotten Coast because quite honestly, not many people think of this area when wanting to visit Florida and it’s beaches. The largest “cities” in the area are Port St. Joe and Apalachicola and the largest “resort/vacation” area is St. George Island. Your grocery store options are the IGA or the Piggly Wiggly. In other words, it’s a very quiet area of Florida even though it’s only about an hour south of Tallahassee, the state capital.

Our campground is right across the street from the very large and empty Carrabelle Beach. It’s a wonderful place to walk.

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A few days after our arrival, we drove over to Apalachicola to explore a few shops, check out some history, and of course, find some place to eat! Little known history fact – early refrigeration and air conditioning development was born in this area. Dr John Gorie was seeking a way to eliminate the effects of yellow fever and received one of the first patents around refrigeration back in the mid 1800’s. Due to COVID, the museum was not open but we visited the historic marker as well as the Trinity Church which he helped found.

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Meanwhile, back in Atlanta our grand babies had started walking! They had been trying a few steps while we visited over Christmas but in just a few weeks they had found their balance and were definitely on the move!

Weather this time of year along the panhandle can be cold, cloudy, foggy, and/or grey. When weather allowed, we have gotten out and explored and Jill has spent some time on her new electric trike. She peddles on her own most of the time but can use battery power as an assist if/when needed. And Dan has taken it out for a spin a time or two, getting it up to 12.1 mph on battery power alone. Not to be outdone, Jill was able to top out at over 13 mph!

When not speeding around on bikes, we also set out for a hike into an area of scrub pines and low growth just down the road from our campground. The area is officially called Tate’s Hell State Park. The story behind the name goes as follows:

A tale that has been told for many years recounts how Tate’s Hell Swamp got its name. Local legend has it that a farmer by the name of Cebe Tate, armed with only a shotgun and accompanied by his hunting dogs, journeyed into the swamp in search of a panther that was killing his livestock. Although there are several versions of this story, the most common describes Tate as being lost in the swamp for seven days and nights, bitten by a snake, and drinking from the murky waters to curb his thirst. Finally he came to a clearing near Carrabelle, living only long enough to murmur the words, “My name is Cebe Tate, and I just came from Hell.” Cebe Tate’s adventure took place in 1875 and ever since, the area has been known as Tate’s Hell, the legendary and forbidden swamp.

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About half way thru our stay in Carrabelle, we had to head back to Destin to complete a repair job that was started before we left Navarre. We had an issue with our awning which provides shade over a large part of the right side of the RV. This awning is very temperamental and has had issues in the past. However, this time the issue was human error. While in Navarre, we had Lola detailed, something we do once a year to ensure she stays clean and shiny (as well as protected from the elements). Our detailer was awesome, spending all day on Lola to return her to her showroom glow. Unfortunately, he left a cleaning rag on the roof and later that rag was blown onto the extended awning without our knowledge. The next time the awning was retracted, in went that rag. Next time we tried to open, it completely jammed the awning and cracked the motor. Given COVID (which is blamed for all delays), the manufacturer was working shortened hours which meant getting replacement parts would take awhile. All of this caused us to travel back to Destin for a couple of days so the Mobile RV Tech who started the repair could complete it after he received all the parts. No worries, that gave us time for one more meal at one of our favorite restaurants as well as for Jill to get one more doctor visit out of the way.

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Back in Carrabelle, we took advantage of one of the rainy days to drive about 30 minutes over to the town of Panacea to visit a small Marine Specimen and Aquarium. This held living examples of undersea plant and animal life that was common in the area. They act as a living laboratory for marine biology college interns from Florida State and other universities while also supplying larger aquariums across the country including the one in Atlanta. It contained lots of small tanks, some of which were “touch tanks” allowing us to touch and even pick up specimens such as hermit crabs and large conch.

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We’ve shared in the past how we get mail and packages and usually all goes quite well. In fact, we’ve never had any major problems with getting our mail from our mail service (either having them scan the contents or actually forward the mail to us). But give the USPS a chance to mess things up and they just can’t help themselves. We had amassed a few documents at our mailbox and decided to have them shipped to us. We were only about 120 miles away and requested regular mail, but added tracking. This meant that it would take 4-5 days to reach us. Now, that may seem extreme to just go 120 miles. Little did we realize that actually it would take many more days to actually complete the journey. Based on the tracking data, here is where our package travelled:

• Departed Crestview on a Monday evening, arriving in Pensacola, Florida. Yes, instead of traveling 120 miles SSE, the package instead went 52 miles further west.
• The next day, maybe realizing it’s error, the USPS turned our package around and sent it east to Tallahassee, Florida (only about 50 miles north of us!). Seeing this, we were hopeful that it was now on the way.
• After hanging around Tallahassee for over a day (wouldn’t want it to actually arrive AHEAD of schedule), it decided to continue east to Jacksonville, Florida. Yep, our package had now traveled the entire length of the panhandle of Florida or about 360 miles!
• After resting in Jacksonville for another day, the package arrived in Apalachicola which was a mere 19 miles from our campground. Surely it would now make the last leg to us.
• Nope, having arrived early in the morning in Apalachicola, it decided to head back over to Tallahassee to visit for the weekend!
• Finally on early Monday morning (a week since it’s journey began), it returned to Apalachicola, arriving just 12 minutes before hopping on the local mail carrier’s vehicle for delivery!

In summary, our package took which should have been a few days, 120 mile trip and turned it into an 827 mile trip which would have taken 14 hours to drive and sat around for another 6+ days when not in transit. Below is a better visualization of the trip:

January marks our full-timing anniversary. On the 9th we marked the start of our 3rd year living in the RV and the following week, January 16th, marked the start of life on the road when we left Atlanta in 2019. Amazing what we have seen and done since.

This January was also historic given the presidential election and activities following. We won’t get into politics on this blog but at least one positive/amusing thing that came out of the election was Bernie and his gloves! There were so many memes going around, you couldn’t keep up. One of our favorites is below:

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January also brought an opportunity to catch up with another long ago whitewater paddling friend, Tonya Holmes. Tonya was staying on St. George Island for the month so we were able to catch up with her and her friend Marilyn several times and relive long ago paddling and camping tales!

Just before departure we had another beautiful day and this allowed us to ride our bikes down to a local lighthouse to visit the light keeper’s home and climb the lighthouse (well, at least Dan did!).

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January 31st was to be a rainy day so we did all our packing up on the 30th in prep for our departure on February 1st. Next stop, Williston, Florida near the cities of Gainesville and Ocala where we’ll spend the month.

Well, we made it thru what has to be one of the craziest years on record (and 2021 ain’t looking much better right now!). What started as an enjoyable stay in Florida during the first few months of 2020 (pre-COVID) turned into a long time hunkered down in NE Georgia and NC mountains followed by 3 months in the panhandle of Florida. Not exactly covering a lot of miles or seeing a lot of new areas of the country. We managed to avoid catching COVID while limiting visits to immediate family and a few friends (socially distanced!) and now looking forward to an interesting 2021.

Let’s start with an update on the last part of 2020 since our last blog. We took a trip to Milton, FL to visit the site of a once thriving mill operation called Arcadia Mill. The main sites here include a reproduction of the original mid 1800’s home and original furnishings as well as an elevated boardwalk around the original mill works area, although most of this had been reclaimed by nature, just a few footings and low walls remaining.

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Sometimes, we get questions about how we handle mail and shipments (what would we do without Amazon!?). Luckily, almost all the campgrounds where we stay allow shipments to be accepted and then it’s just a matter of going to the campground office and picking up our shipments. Prior to arriving in Navarre, we had been at several parks where shipments were not accepted so we had a lot of shopping/shipments to catch up on once we arrived in Florida. In most cases, we have no problems whether it be via Amazon, Chewy, meds, etc. But once in awhile, we get something that just makes us scratch our heads. Two cases in point.

Jill requires a medication that requires us to go thru a specialty pharmacy each month. This medication requires refrigeration and thus we always want to make sure we’ll be available when it arrives. Each month, Jill must call to initiate shipment and since the medication is an injectable, they usually also ask if she requires alcohol swabs. As usual, we request some additional supplies. During our last shipment, we requested “2 units” which in the past has always resulted in two boxes of swabs. This time, we received a slightly different amount.

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Another shipment was related to some picture frames we ordered to help personalize our space inside Lola. With grand babies, you can never have enough pictures! It’s always nice to order thru Amazon because you know the products are guaranteed and returns are easy if something isn’t right. But this product packaging caused a few concerns…

Closer to home, holiday decorations and gifts were definitely on everyone’s minds. We were excited to be looking forward to holiday times with family in Atlanta in late December. And of course, the local Walmart was full of wonderful gift ideas for every age. But there was one item in the toy department, we just couldn’t figure out…

As the holidays neared, excitement built. December is now a crazy month! Chris’ birthday is December 5th, the grand babies’ is December 18th, and then Christmas one week later! We started shipping a few presents ahead of the holiday and our arrival in Atlanta. This included a very special form of transport for Savannah and Skylar.

All aboard the Radio Flyer!

On December 17th, we packed up the car with the dogs and left Lola behind as we headed north to Atlanta for a holiday trip. We were staying in a rental house in Cartersville with plans to visit the kids and babies as well as Dan’s mom. We had a one year birthday party to attend as well as plans for Christmas if COVID would permit. First up was another early present for the girls – their own ball pit and maze to help them burn off energy while crawling around!

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Next up was the official one-year birthday party. This included something Dan had never heard of – the purchase of two “smash cakes”. As the name would imply, these are not necessarily ordered with the intention of eating them but more for letting the little ones have at them, smashing or otherwise. And of course, balloons are also part of the fun!!!

One more surprise was in store for the family. Unfortunately, they had lost their van in the wonderful Atlanta traffic a few weeks earlier (rain, night time, bad traffic = totaled van). Since the kids and their babies need a safe and reliable vehicle, we were able to help out with getting a replacement RAV4 which everyone seemed happy about.

Unfortunately, our good luck with COVID finally ran out a few days before Christmas when a family member tested positive. This put a stop to plans for Christmas eve and Christmas day which was disappointing. We had to be happy with the time and memories we had before we all had to go back to isolation. But it really was a nice holiday overall, even with all the concerns about COVID. And happily, no others tested positive so we appear to have made it thru all of 2020 safe and healthy!

And, since we had down time on Christmas day, what better thing to do than play some games, including an old favorite, “The Game of Life” board game!

The dogs enjoyed a fenced in back yard to roam and sniff, something they haven’t had since we sold our house. Although Adele seemed to settle in well, Brandy was a little bit more unsure where she should hang out…

We returned to Florida to very cold/freezing temps. Luckily, some friends at the park had turned our heat up so that no pipes would break but this, in turn, burned most of our diesel supply so that we barely had enough to get to the fuel station to refill before the next move. And that happened on January 1, when we turned Lola east, traveling about 160 miles east along the Florida panhandle. We’ll stay there for the month of January, doing more exploring along the “Forgotten Coast”.

As a wrap up for the year, here are the places we visited as well as some other pertinent facts:

• Started and ended the year in Navarre, Florida
• Spent the months of January, February, part of March, part of September, November and December in Florida
• Spent 4 months in one campground – River Vista in Dillard, Georgia
• Lola traveled a total of 1,933 miles, burning $1,331 of diesel fuel (some of this was for heating, not all due to traveling)
• Spent an additional $619 in gas for the car due mainly to long drives into Atlanta from NE Georgia for doctor visits and family
• Sixteen nights spent sleeping somewhere elsewhere than the RV (two in a hotel in Atlanta for some doctor visits, 5 nights outside Atlanta with Jill’s BFF, 9 days in VRBO rental in Cartersville for Christmas)

We are hoping that 2021 will bring back some level of normalcy (if there is such a thing). We are also hoping to make a trip west in 2021, aiming to visit New Mexico and Colorado over a 3 month period. But, that’s down the road. Still things to see and explore in Florida over the next couple of months.

Stay safe, healthy, and warm!

Jill & Dan

Been awhile since our last update. That’s mainly because we’ve had a pretty quiet and peaceful time here in Navarre, Florida. Our main activities have centered around two thing – doctor appointments and eating out. I guess it’s a sign of getting old when your schedule gets filled up with appointments. Here’s a partial list with most related to good news!

• Jill had a bad trigger finger that needed fixing
• We both had dentist appointments with Jill needing to get a little minor work done
• Jill had several eye appointments with a local specialist. Good news there was that he came up with an alternate treatment that didn’t involve injections into the eye (eek!)
• And best of all, Jill had her final x-ray and review of her broken femur and she got a complete clean bill of health! The bone is healed well and still growing around the rod in her leg and she does not need any more follow ups!

Lola also received some annual care by getting a full wash and wax plus sealant for the roof so she’ll stay shiny and leak-proof (hopefully) for another year.

We also worked to make up for all the months we had been away from the area and seafood! Restaurants we have visited included:

• Boshamps in Destin
• Shimp Basket in Navarre
• Pompano Joe’s in Miramar Beach
• Peg Leg Pete’s in Pensacola Beach
• Johnny Huston’s in Navarre
• Juana Pagoda’s in Navarre Beach
• The Fish House in Pensacola
• Ye Olde Brother’s Brewery in Navarre

Plus several visits to Culver’s across the street from our campground for great burgers! So, yep, we’ve eaten out a lot! More oysters and fish than we can count.

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We arrived just two weeks after Hurricane Sally came in just west of Pensacola. In the area of Navarre the most obvious evidence included lots of trash out at the road, many roofs covered in blue tarps and just about every pier on the sound destroyed. This included the 325 foot pier at our campground. The storm surge and wave action was so strong that it tore up all the boards and railings as well as dislodging many posts. The beach at the park was still OK although it had some erosion. The dog park lost all its fencing but they rebuilt it within a few weeks of our arrival. The park itself did not get any damage and our site was fine and ready to go.

Pensacola was hit pretty bad with lots of trees down and flooding. We have only ventured over to Pensacola once and that is mainly because the most direct route between Navarre and Pensacola is the “Three Mile Bridge” via Highway 98. This bridge was brand new, just being completed, when Sally came thru. The contractor that was building the bridge still had many construction barges around the bridge and did not move them. Three ran into and damaged sections of the bridge while other barges broke loose and ended up in people’s back yards and elsewhere around Pensacola Bay.

Over the next month, we experienced the “thrill” of living in Florida as our area was threatened by two more storms – Delta and Zeta. Delta came close enough to give us some strong winds overnight but nothing else. It is good to know you can pick up and move your house out of the way if things do get bad!

Since we are now official residents of Florida, we were here for the November elections and were able to participate in early in-person voting in our county of Okaloosa. The process was very smooth, they even handed out pens for each voter to keep (not just the “I Voted” stickers :-).

We’ve gone to Navarre Beach a few times but mostly relaxed at the campground since we have our own beach, pavilion, and our campsite with comfy chairs.

In early November, Dan’s mother Jean, came to Navarre to visit for a week. Now, before you wonder where we put her in the RV, not to worry. We found a nice little condo over on the beach for her so that everyone could be comfortable and no crowding occurred ;-).

It was a busy week for her with highlights including visits to the Turtle Conservancy and the Gulf Breeze Zoo, where mom got to feed the giraffes!

It’s been a little bit quiet as it pertains to our military neighbors. If you have been following our blog and previous visits to this area, you may recall that we are close to an Air Force Special Operations Base (Hurlburt Field) which operates and trains on the special C-130 heavy weapon airship as well as the Osprey rotating wing vertical landing warplane. From time to time, you can see and hear them on target practice to our northeast and also see the Ospreys practicing maneuvers over the sound to our south. On a few occasions, we have even had direct flyovers.

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Our kids and grand kids are doing well. As we write this, the girls are coming up on their 1st birthday!!! They are growing like weeks, have wonderful personalities and have just now started to walk (Savannah was first on Thanksgiving Day and Skylar should be right behind her!)

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As we write this latest update, it’s the day after Thanksgiving (Black Friday!!!!). It’s abnormally warm with a lot of humidity (lots of fog this morning) but a cold front is on it’s way, should drop down into the 30’s by Monday. Ah, life in northern Florida! We are thankful that we and our family have stayed healthy during this very trying year. We’ll stay here in Navarre thru the end of the year, with a trip to Atlanta over Christmas to visit family (we’ll leave Lola behind at the campground and rent a house north of Atlanta for us and the dogs). First part of 2021 we’ll spend in Florida but we’ll have updates on that schedule at a later time.

Thanks for following along, stay safe and healthy!

Dan & Jill

The start of September found us still in Maggie Valley, NC. We had time to do a bit more exploring around the mountains as well as checking out Waynesville again. The area has some great restaurants and breweries and luckily many had outdoor seating, which was always our preference.

On a cool day around the Labor Day holiday, we drove over to Looking Glass Falls. The area was pretty busy so we did not stay long, just long enough to snap a few pics of the falls which are right beside the road.

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Just down the road from the falls is the Cradle of American Forestry. Although the inside exhibits were closed due to COVID, the outdoor trails were still open and we spent an hour or so walking thru the forest and discovering old buildings from the schools early years.

The school was founded by Dr. Carl Schenck in 1898, who was also the chief gardener for Vanderbilt’s Biltmore Estate in Asheville. This became the first forestry school in the U.S. Many of the buildings from the school still exist and can be seen along one of the trails thru the woods.

Clockwise from top left: Cabin where students slept, Schenck’s office, plaque commemorating the school and founder, inside classroom, and Schenck’s home which was also used to house boarders upstairs.

On the 12th of September, we packed up and moved slightly south, back into Georgia outside of the town of Hiawassee at Bald Mountain RV Resort. We had a site that back onto a creek and was well shaded which was very enjoyable for the week we were there.

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This was a busy week of visiting as we had several friends who were living in the area. One evening we visited Sonja and Bob Short at their new home outside Murphy, NC. We hadn’t seen them since the mountain cabin was sold many years ago. It was great to see them and catch up on so much news and info about other friends and family.

We also visited with Hill and Bridget Kelly, two old friends of Jill’s from way back in her Lithonia, GA times. They have a great home up in the woods and we enjoyed just sitting on their deck and reminiscing about old times.

We also managed to connect with Bob and Cheryl Siler who also have a place nearby, just off lake Chatuge. We had last seen them when we were camping at Cedar Key, FL back in January. We got to see their new (still being refurbished) home and visit for dinner at a restaurant on the lake. All in all, it was a rather busy week for us given we were up in the mountains of North Georgia.

We also experienced the remnants of hurricane Laura as she swept thru the area, bringing very heavy rain. Our little creek got pretty full at one point but never got to a point of needing to consider evacuating to higher ground!

On September 19th, we headed back to the Atlanta area for our regular set of visits to doctors, hair stylists, friends, and family (not necessarily in that order). For the first time, we reserved space at a Corps of Engineers campground, in this case on Lake Allatoona. These tend to be very nice campgrounds with sites that are very well spaced out. It is also very inexpensive (about $28 per night) to camp. The catch – there are no sewer hook ups. Our plans had us at the campground for 10 days. That meant both our grey (water from our sinks and shower) and black (water from the toilets) tanks would have to hold out as much as possible since we could not hook up to a sewer. Our only option would be to unhook the RV and drive it over to a dump station in the campground, dump our tanks, then go back to our site and hook back up. The question was – how long could we go before we needed to dump?

In order to stretch out our time before dumpings we did not use our dishwasher, switching mainly to paper plates and plastic cups (yes, not the most ecological approach, we know). We also shifted to “navy showers” to limit the water usage (and thus less water in the grey tank). Laundry was done at Dan’s mom’s house so we didn’t have to use our clothes washer. We were able to stretch to 8 days with this method (good to know if we ever want to boondock in the future for a week) before having to unhook from our site and visit the dump station.

We spent most of our time visiting with family and friends while near Atlanta and of course that mean lots of time with our growing grand babies, Savannah and Skylar. Each time we see them, they have grown so much and their personalities are also coming out! At their 9-month check up, they both weighed exactly the same and they also were exactly the same length – true identical twins!

Lolli loving on her girls

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Meanwhile, our “girls” (the dogs, Adele & Brandy) got to meet their Grandma (Dan’s mom, Jean) several times, both when she came to the campsite and when we traveled to her place to do laundry.

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We had to have some of our mail and shipments sent to Dan’s mom because the COE campgrounds do not accept deliveries. One item we had excitedly been awaiting were our 2020 travel t-shirts (as you may recall, we designed shirts for 2019 titled “Mended Bones Tour). We think they came out pretty good!

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On September 29th, we left the Atlanta area, heading south for the winter in Florida. Our next stop (and last stop for 2020!) would be Emerald Beach RV Park in Navarre, FL. This area received some damage from Hurricane Sally, although most damage was farther west in Pensacola. The only real impact is that their 325′ pier is gone.

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And thus, we wrapped up September, 2020 back where we started, in Florida. A lot has happened and changed during that time and hoping the rest of this year is uneventful. Lots of doctor appointments in early October and then we’ll get out and about! Stay tuned for more info as we venture out and about during October.

We finally left Georgia on August 1st, planning to spend the next 1 1/2 months in western North Carolina. Our first stop was a campground just north of the city of Franklin, Great Outdoors RV Resort. This campground is built on the side of a hill so that sites are staggered and have a nice view over each other. With the various levels it felt that we had more space.

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The only down side to this location is that it’s close to a 4-lane so you could hear road noise. But overall it was very relaxing and just nice to have a change of scenery.

We had some rainy days but did get out one day for a hike up to Wayah Bald. On the way up we came to a homestead which turned out to be the cabin built for the first Forest Ranger to live full time within the Nantahalla National Forest. You could not go inside but could walk around it and try to think what it would be like to live in this house over 100 years ago. Luckily there was a sign with more info and a pictures from when the house was built (unfortunately also used for target practice it would appear).

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We traveled farther up the road and finally arrived at Wayah Bald Fire Tower. Originally built of wood, it was replaced with a stone structure that still stands today, although its upper structure was removed and a new wooden roof was built recently due to fires on the mountain. We arrived in time for some fog to come drifting over the ridge. We also had time to speak with some thru hikers who were taking a break along the Appalachian Trail (Wayah Bald sits along the Trail). They were very kind to warn us to stay upwind since it had been several days since their last shower.

While we were enjoying the cooler weather and sites of the NC Mountains, our grand girls continued to grow and learn back in Atlanta. Their latest accomplishments as they moved into their 8th month was to learn to crawl/race and wrestle!

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Back at camp, we encountered a unique spectacle. We’ve heard of Murder Hornets (but luckily have not encountered any!) but one day we were relaxing outside when a large cicada came falling out of the sky with a hornet attached to its back. We watched as the hornet struggled to drag the cicada thru the grass, trying to get to the point that it could get its heavy load airborne again. It was not successful and soon flew away without its now dead loot. We later came to learn that this was, in fact, a cicada killer wasp. These wasps are able to pick up and carry much larger cicadas back to their nests in the ground and we just happened to have one drop right in on us. They are rather harmless to humans, mainly focused on two things – food and mating!

After a week in Franklin, it was time to head farther north to the small town of Maggie Valley, NC. This sits about 45 mins west of Asheville, nestled up against the southeastern edge of the Smokey Mountains National Park. We would spend about a month at Cross Creek RV Park. Sitting at about 3,000 feet, close to a stream and next to a field of corn, this is a nice quiet campground off the beaten path. We see turkeys a lot although have yet to spot an elk (others have).

When we arrived, the camp host hopped in her golf cart to lead us to our site. As we followed, we started getting a bit confused. We passed by two sites next to the corn field and we were pretty sure one of those spaces was ours. We crossed the road and were shown to a beautiful fully paved site under trees and nestled up right next to the creek. With some help from another host, we were backed into a perfectly level site! And then the host asked our name again and realized….we were in the wrong site! We all had a good laugh (well, actually, the lady host was very embarrassed by the whole thing and keeps apologizing and telling everyone how she messed us up) before driving back across the road to one of the sites we had first passed.

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Soon after we arrived, we turned around and left Lola behind and the campground, loaded up the car with the dogs and drove back down to the Atlanta area to spend a few days with Jill’s BFF, Donna (who we hadn’t seen since February when we met up at Disney World, which now seems so long ago and in another time/world). Jill had a doctors appointment on Monday so we figured we’d make a weekend of it, visit and then head back after a few days. The dogs (sort of) enjoyed having a little more space and it was nice to hang out with friends for a few days.

Soon after returning to NC, we set off on our next hike which was on the Blue Ridge Parkway which is not very far from where we are camping. We drove along the Parkway for about 15 miles which included the highest point on the parkway (which runs from Cherokee. NC into Virgina) at 6,053 feet.

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After this stop it was on to the trail head for the Richland Balsam Loop trail. Dan had read that this was an easy trail and assured Jill she wouldn’t have any problems. Let’s just say that his information was “fake news”! It turns out this was a relatively moderate trail with lots of washed out areas, large rocks, trees down, etc. It was a rough trip but it was worth it to spend some time in a beautifully changing forest as we ascended to the top of the trail. We encountered lots of variety of vegetation, mushrooms and the wonderful smell of “Christmas Trees” along the way. We had a few views along the trail although there is not a view at the summit (but there was a bench where we enjoyed our lunch before heading back down).

On our way back into town after leaving the Parkway, we also enjoyed several views of a flowing creek along the road, don’t know it’s name…

Meanwhile, back in Atlanta, the kids were looking for a bigger place for their growing family. We are happy that they found a house to rent in East Cobb County that will have plenty of space for the kids to roam and a nice fenced in backyard for the dog. The down side is that they’ll have even more of a challenge keeping up with the girls who are moving fast and starting to stand with assistance!

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Just before the end of the month, we set off on another hike which promised to be less challenging than Richland Balsam. However, it had the foreboding name of Devil’s Courthouse and although was paved for a significant portion of the hike, it was a very steep incline of up to 25%. It is a very popular hike and the parking area was busy when we set off up the trail. After going about 2/3rds the way up, the pavement ended and we encountered a very narrow, rocky, slippery trail. There were times when we let other pass us but in the end, we were rewarded with great views at the top and a nice place to rest and snack before heading back down.

It was really nice to be back on the road and doing some exploring versus sitting in the same place for 4 months. This trend will continue as we head into September as we pick up the pace:

• Sept 1 – 12 – Still in Maggie Valley, NC
• Sept 12 – 19 – Hiawassee, GA
• Sept 19 – 29 – Corp of Engineers Campground on Lake Allatoona, near Woodstock, GA (catching up with family and friends in Atlanta!)
• Sept 29 – Head back to Florida panhandle and Navarre, FL

As we entered the month of July, we moved sites one more time at our current campground in Dillard, GA. We are finally in the home stretch of our self-imposed semi-isolation with plans to head to head to North Carolina in August. We’ve really enjoyed having a steady place to call home, still close enough to get back to Atlanta to visit family and doctors as needed but will be happy to be moving again.

We moved out from beneath the trees to a more open site that backed up to a small pond at the park. This is a popular place for kids to come and fish (catch and release) on the deck behind our site (see pic) and is also home to MANY large, loud frogs, as we discovered on nights when we left our windows open!

July started with July 4th celebrations here at the campground. This included a lot of activities for adults and kids over the long holiday weekend. Events included:

• Watermelon eating contest
• Snowball dance
• Snowball fight
• Tie Dye Shirts
• Parade

We watched the snowball fight (involves making snowballs out cornstarch and shaving cream), both made t-shirts (with commemorative Christmas in July shirts!), and were front and center to watch the parade go by.

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July is our birthday month (Dan on the 8th and Jill on the 18th) so we gave ourselves a new camp sign for our combined birthday. Our original sign had faded badly after 18 months in the sun and weather and needed to be retired. Hoping this one will last for years and thru many more adventures!

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We made one visit back to Atlanta for a doctor appointment and of course, since we were in town, we also had to visit our girls, Savannah and Skylar! They grow bigger every time we visit! We were there just as they turned 7 months and now they are starting to crawl so things are really getting interesting!

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July has been our warmest month but we’ve been lucky not to be feeling the heat that many folks are feeling in Atlanta and other areas of the south. We stuck close to camp most of the time, reading, doing some minor maintenance, hanging out at the pool, and just relaxing. Adele and Brandy have been enjoying time outside but even they aren’t interested in doing a lot when it gets hot. As they say, “The dog days of summer”.

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As we write this edition of our blog we are wrapping up July, getting ready for Lola to make her first move to another campground since we arrived on April 1st. Amazing how the world has changed since we got here just 4 months ago. Our plans have adjusted and will remain flexible as needed but luckily our lifestyle allows for natural social distancing and there are many, many campgrounds out in the country, away from large suburban areas and that will be where we’ll be hanging out for the near future, at least.

Saturday, August 1st, we will cross the state line into North Carolina, just about 30 minutes up the road to Franklin, NC and The Great Ourdoors Campground. We’ll stay there for a week and then move to a campground in Maggie Valley, NC where we’ll stay until mid-September. Updates shall start to be more frequent now that we are getting moving again. Until then, we wish you all the best, stay safe and healthy, and hope your find what you are looking for at the end of your rainbow!

June started much the same as May – move to another site but still at same campground in Dillard. As mentioned previously, although we had the option to remain in the same campsite, we elected to move each month to get a different perspective plus get a different view in a different area. Thus, we moved into our most shady sites of all on the 1st.

Although a nice cool site, it also stayed damp and, thanks to the trees, lots of bird poo. We’ve discovered that all sites have both plusses and negatives.

Soon after our June move, we traveled over to NC to visit a couple of very popular waterfalls. First up was Bridal Veil Falls which is literally next to the road.

Just down the road we came to Dry Falls. This waterfall has a good volume of water so you may wonder why it is “Dry”. As you will see from the pics, the name refers to the ability to walk behind the falls and stay dry. This is a great, paved trail that works down to and then behind the falls give you a unique perspective of what a waterfall looks like from behind.

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A few days later, we took advantage of another pretty day to drive over to Lake Rabun and hike a trail to Minnehaha Falls. A somewhat wet and muddy trail soon led us to a nice stair-step falls.

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Heading towards Father’s Day weekend, we loaded up Lola and temporarily departed Dillard for a campsite along Lake Oconee. This was so that we could meet up with our son and daughter-in-law (Chris & Sarah) along with our grand daughters (Skylar & Savannah) who would be staying along with the in-laws at a home on the river. We had a super, wonderful time on the lake, playing games, playing with the girls, a morning on the lake, and just enjoying each other’s company.

Family month continued when Dan’s mom, Jean, came up to Dillard to visit for several days. We rented a very nice one bedroom cabin in the same campground so we could spend time visiting and catching up. We showed her several of our favorite places (Mud Creek, Bridal Veil, and Dry Falls, Bull Sluice, Highlands) and even had a lunch out one day (outside, plenty of social distancing). It was her first venture out from her place since COVID had started (other than short shopping trips). She had a great time and we were all excited to have a good visit.

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Overall, June was a very fun-filled month with more time with people than we probably have had since early March!

As we head into July, we’ll move one more time (still in Dillard), enjoy July 4th celebrations and start to look forward to a move north into the mountains of North Carolina. (where we’ll stay until middle of September).

We hope everyone remains safe and healthy. We leave you with a great view of our campground from Sky Valley, Georgia.

Another month in North Georgia complete. We continue to remain camped at River Vista RV Resort in Dillard, GA. The weather warmed throughout the month of May and the campground got busier, culminating in Memorial Day Weekend when things were packed. We’ve wandered around a bit but still pretty much staying in place.

We moved Lola to a new site within the same campground, #21. This was a site with a nice shade tree which kept things cool all month long.

A few days into May, we ventured into the nearby National Forest and drove up a forest service road for several miles so that we could access the Appalachian Trail and hike to a fire tower along the ridge. It was one of our rougher hikes but we made it and were rewarded with wonderful views.

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On the way back out, we passed a station where water levels are measured as part of ongoing research into the growth of the forest.

During the month of May we got to visit our grand babies one time as part of a run into Atlanta. They continue to grow under the watchful eyes of their parents, are discovering more of the world around them, and doing very well. May 18 marked 5 months old!!!

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There were activities around the campground during the month. The outdoor pool opened up, more people were visiting (and their furry friends), and during Memorial Day Weekend, we had a parade! Jill tried out a new electric trike (still deciding if we’ll buy it).

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But, with another month almost complete, we were getting a little stir crazy. Adele seemed to find the same sleeping position each night on the couch so Jill tried it out…

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Even the weather was getting weird on us. We had several spring storms come thru but this one was particularly menacing…

May marked the month that we finally got our hair cut! And the dogs got their hair cut and washed too!!! First time for all of us since February!

While waiting for the dogs to get groomed, Dan wandered over to South Carolina to visit the Chauga River. There is a very nice county park where you can gain access to the river and one of it’s tributaries for some nice views of a waterfall and some rapids.

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On the last day of the month, as part of a shopping trip into Clayton, we made a quick side trip over the state line to South Carolina again to see Reedy Creek falls. This is a very short walk to a nice small falls and pool at the bottom. Unfortunately, while trying to get some artistic views of the falls, Dan managed to fall into the creek (only his shoes got wet though). While going thru Ingles later, he made a squishing sound and left tracks behind him wherever he went 🙂

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June 1st we move again (another site, same campground). Stay tuned for another update as we head into our summer of isolation.

Stay safe and healthy.

The month of April has finally ended and we’ve moved into May! As many others have thought, this may have been the slowest month in our lives. After departing Atlanta we arrived in the town of Dillard, GA which is just south of the North Carolina state line. We’ve made a few trips into Atlanta mainly to visit Dan’s 88 year old mother (and get her resupplied) and to see the kids one time, but otherwise have stuck pretty close to camp. The campground has been relatively empty the month of April and temps have been cool and comfortable.

A few days after our arrival, we decided to head over to Black Rock Mountain State Park. Although the state of Georgia had stay-in-place orders, state parks were open and we decided that a trip to the park on a weekday should be pretty empty (and it was). We had a nice leisurely walk around the lake at the park.

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A few days later we decided to head over the state line into North Carolina to visit a couple of waterfalls. In order to reach these falls we had to drive thru the town of Highlands. As we approached the town, we were surprised to find a roadblock and were informed the town was closed and that we would have to turn back. This really brought home to us the reality of COVID-19 and the lengths that some people were taking to stay safe.

Our grand babies continued to grow, oblivious of all the craziness going on in the world they had recently entered. We saw them once during April and also were happy to get some pics of them along the way. On April 18th, they celebrated their 4 month birthday!

Our next adventure took us into the Chattooga National Forest just east of Clayton, GA. This was a small hiking area along Becky’s Creek that included a short hike to a small water fall. It was quite peaceful and empty. All gates were open and we hiked up to a picnic shelter and on to the the water fall. On the way back, we found a note posted at the picnic shelter (which we did not see on the way in) noting the entire area was closed due to the virus. Luckily, we weren’t caught for trespassing! This will continue to be the story as we hike different areas where some are totally open and others are closed (within state and federal parks, no consistent rationale…)

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Meanwhile, the seriousness of the pandemic continued to grow. We finally decided that we’d need to get masks since going into stores would be required where we were staying (no outside pickup or delivery in far North Georgia!). We started with the regular masks but then got upgraded thanks to a wonderful friend who has been making custom masks as fast as she can (shout out to Sokha Boykin!)

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A few days later, we headed over to see the Chattooga River, specifically the rapid at the end of Section III referred to as Bull Sluice. Back in our whitewater paddling days, this was a river and rapid we only tackled a couple of times but it’s still a wild and beautiful river. There is a great short hike just after crossing the border into South Carolina and we were even lucky enough to watch a few paddlers run the rapid while we were there.

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For our next adventure, we decided to drive a little farther afield and ventured over to Unicoi State Park, about an hour west of where we were staying. Unicoi has a larger lake which we hiked around. Unfortunately, the hike to Anna Ruby Falls was closed due to the virus (even though all Georgia State parks were opened…). So we had to settle for lake views.

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Another day, we discovered a creek and waterfall not far from our campground. It’s inside the Sky Valley development along Mud Creek (which really isn’t muddy at all, quite clear in fact). It was a short and pretty ride with a very short walk to the falls. Given recent rainfall, there really was a great amount of water coming over the falls, providing a great show.

So, it might look like we have been out enjoying nature all month long. While it is true we’ve been able to get out and see some great sights, realize that this represents a small portion of the full month of April. Many days we remain at camp, cleaning, doing regular maintenance, reading, playing games, and binge watching various shows. We are lucky to have found a place in the mountains to settle. As of this writing, Rabun County has only recorded 13 total cases of COVID-19 and no deaths so we feel as safe as we can be. Although we’d much rather be touring the country, we are happy for now to sit and wait this out for the next few months.

A final note about us. We’ve stayed safe, are hanging in there mentally (although we miss our friends and relatives and being able to sit down with them at a table in a restaurant). We walk a lot and relax as much as we can and certainly don’t have the stress that many, many others in the world are having to deal with right now. As you can also see, it’s been quite awhile since we’ve made it to a salon or barber as we continue to get shaggy and wilder with our hair!

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Even Adele is going somewhat crazy these days!

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As we write this update, we are camped north of Atlanta thru the end of March. This was a planned stop but nothing else has gone according to plan. The good news is that we, and all our family, are doing well. Dan’s 88 year old mother is fine, our kids and grand kids are healthy (and growing in the case of the babies!). Things have really changed since the last update so follow along as we update you on our trip out of Florida and into the unknown.

On March 11th, we turned Lola north. We’d had a great winter in the Sunshine State but it was time to start moving north and follow the cooler weather. Our next stop was a campground outside of St. Augustine. This was intended as only a short layover. At the time, news of the Coronavirus was spreading but nothing really had changed. Shopping was normal, everything was open and life seemed to be going on as normal.

In St. Augustine we took a day to do a hop on-hop off tour to see the highlights of the town. The place was packed and the only real sign of any concerns was the fact that the local college was closed (Flagler). We were packed on the tram and at the fort we saw many school groups visiting (a ranger indicated that by 2 PM they had had over 40 groups visit already!). We had a great late afternoon meal on the water and even got some shopping done at local grocery and liquor stores.

Below are some scenes from our short stay including our campground, view of Flagler College, former Hotel Alcazar, Jill at the entrance to Castillo de San Marcos, and a view from the same.

After this quick stop, it was up the coast to Hilton Head Island and our favorite campground, Hilton Head Motorcoach Resort. This is the first place we ever stayed when we rented our first RV and was the first long trip we took with Lola. We love the wooded, large, well furnished sites as well as the fact that you can bike to so many great places on the island. We had a huge site in the back of the resort and if it wasn’t for the price, we probably never would have left!

Things started getting more real with regards to the virus as we attempted to do some shopping and fill our fridge and pantry. We visited the local grocery store and started to see the impacts of hoarding and panic buying. Toilet paper was nowhere to be found as expected but some things were just down right odd.

Everything was still open at this point and we enjoyed several days of catching up with friends. We visited Pool Bar Jim’s with Rich and Michelle Vano, fellow RVer’s and friends we met at Hilton Head a few years ago. We drove over to Beaufort to see that cute little town and spend time with Jenn and Randy Stanley. Dan worked with Jenn for many years at IHG and it was great to catch up on old times and news. And finally, we had a great lunch with Garry Anderson, someone Jill had known from Lithonia way back when Garry was the president of the local bank where her mother, Iris, worked.

And then the world changed. The governor of South Carolina closed all restaurants, bars, beaches, etc. and put the state on notice to lock down and shelter in place. Living in an RV, we are naturally separated from people and are pretty self-sufficient. Our biggest challenge is maintaining supplies (food, toilet paper, etc.) since we do not have large storage spaces. We supplied up as best we could the rest of the week, spent a quiet 2nd half of the week in Hilton Head, mostly inside the campground, and then headed north to Atlanta as planned on March 20th

By this point, plans had unravelled completely. Our original expectation was to spend a little more than a week in Atlanta, catching up with friends and family, getting some doctor visits done, and getting ready for our trip north to Maryland and Pennsylvania with Dan’s mother along for the ride. When we left Florida, we were still thinking this plan could work, just have to adjust where we visited, etc. By the time we arrived in Atlanta, all those plans were cancelled and we were pretty much sheltered in place north of Atlanta at our usual campground on Lake Allatoona. No visits with friends, all doctor appointments cancelled and even cancelled our hair appointments. Needless to say, we are seeing more hair and more gray than we have ever seen before!

We’ve switched to mostly order ahead and pick up for most supplies to limit risking exposure. We have managed a few visits with the grand babies, including our first opportunity to baby sit!!!

We also managed to visit Dan’s mom, Jean, although it was done with great care given her age and risks to the virus. We ran several supply trips to her home where she would take everything from our trunk into her home and then clean off completely before putting away. We talked at a picnic table in her apartment complex, being sure to keep our 6 foot distance. Not optimal but the best way to visit and still keep her safe.

There is lots of news about campgrounds closing but so far those have tended to be government run campgrounds (federal, state, local, Corp of Engineers, etc.). Private campgrounds are attempting to stay open unless local governments require them to close. Many of these are family owned business and they are doing everything possible to keep things safe during these times (closing many of their facilities such as playgrounds, pools, etc.) but staying open for folks like us who have to park somewhere.

Our plan now is to move out of Atlanta on April 1st (no joke) and head to the northeast corner of Georgia to the town of Dillard. There is a nice campground there and we will stay there for a month. Some counties are now limiting entrance of folks from out of town and/or asking them to shelter in place for 14 days after arrival. This should not be a big problem for us as we will be supplied up pretty well and not planning to visit anyone.

The month of May we will move slightly north into North Carolina outside the town of Franklin. This area has specifically forbidden short term transient stays but as we are staying for a month, we should be OK (of course, rules could change).

For both April and May, this will keep us within a short driving distance to Atlanta to help with resupplying Dan’s mom and also for a visit from time to time with our grand babies.

And here we thought we had seen the worst when Jill broke her leg in 2019!!! 2020 is looking even stranger!

Stay safe

Dan & Jill