Homesick!

Thursday, March 26, 2015

I miss my little house on wheels! It's been a great time back in Maryland, especially since we became grandparents for the first time. That little black-haired peanut is going to be tugging at my heart wherever we are, but it's time to let the new parents find their way as Mom and Dad. The “Baby Whisperer”, as Greg has been calling me, needs to move on.

"No, Grandma...Don't leave!

 We left our rental over a week ago and after good visits with more family and friends, we will leave tomorrow morning for the trip south. (See a few photos from a day trip to Annapolis, the capital of Maryland.) Hopefully by Saturday night we will find the rig in good shape at the storage lot south of Jacksonville. The record cold in North Florida worried us a bit, since we didn't winterize the RV, so hopefully we have no burst pipes. Couldn't do anything about it while we were still in Maryland anyway.

Annapolis residents demanding tribute.

Looking up Francis Street at the Maryland State House

Chick and Ruth's Deli, an Annapolis institution. Ate there in the 1970's when I worked at the Legislature.

Alex Haley's statue placed where his ancestor chronicled in "Roots" was auctioned off.

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Well, we're back in Florida! We left Friday morning from Northern Virginia and got on that ribbon of highway named I-95. Uggh... It was raining and sleeting, and of course, we timed our travels for the first weekend of Spring Break. In the past every school system and college planned the break for the week between Palm Sunday and Easter. Due to the changing date of Easter in the Christian calendar, it rotated through March and April. In recent years many school systems decided to design their own stable dates for Spring Break, and now as nomads, there is no way to know when it occurs. We have run into it all through March and April, depending upon where we are in the country, until we hit the traditional Eastern seaboard and the Bible Belt. Uh-oh, as we watched the snowbirds pass us traveling north, we knew that they were escaping the full campgrounds of Spring Break in Florida.

I-95...500 miles of carwash!

 Greg managed to secure us, once again, reservations for one of the last campsites in Florida at Mike Roess Gold Head Branch State Park where we spent Thanksgiving after being unable to camp anywhere else in the whole state! The drive down the interstate was tedious, but our goal was to get back to the rig in storage in Green Cove Springs. Friday night we rolled into Santee, SC, and found the hotels filling up, and the prices inflated for...Spring Break. At the second hotel Greg started to leave, the desk clerk knocked $10 off the price, so we stayed. We discovered a hole-in-the-wall Thai restaurant nearby, with good reviews, so we drove over. It was full with a 20 minute wait. Hmmm... we decided to skip the chain BBQ restaurant and visit another one out in the countryside.

Lone Star Barbecue and Mercantile was a collection of old weathered country stores. The sign said it was rib night. On our way in a man passed by and and informed us they were all out of ribs! He was leaving. We paid our $12.95 each and got in line with mostly locals for the all-you-can-eat buffet. Neither of us is big on traditional Southern cooking, but we were pleasantly surprised. The dishes were traditional, but not oversalted or bland and nicely seasoned. We carried our plates into the adjoining building and sat down on wooden chairs at an oilcloth covered table. No ribs, but good hash, pulled pork, brisket, and fried chicken and lots of variety in the vegetables. A first for me was tomato pie. Took seconds since I figured I'd never bother to make it myself. We finished off with banana and bread puddings, and left satisfied with a good food experience and a unique visit.

Hungry! Want In!

Overheard Dad telling son at next table, "You couldn't correct mistakes, or move things around!"

Back on the road Saturday morning brought us warmer temperatures and sunshine. Yes! We sailed around the Jacksonville Beltway and south towards Green Cove Springs. Made a stop at Walmart where I tried to remember what groceries I left in the rig two months ago, and stocked up on perishables. Then we went to find the rig. After a quick check everything seemed to be fine. We couldn't test the water system until we drove to the state park and hooked up to the water. (It also turned out to be fine.) I followed Greg in the Silver Egg, 45 minutes to our campground.

Nice big campsite in the live oak woods of Gold Head Branch State Park

 Lots of unpacking and rearranging to do once we were settled, but, I brought a cold with me back south, so I haven't accomplished as much as I'd hoped, including posting this update. Tomorrow we drive in to Jacksonville to get our tow package installed for the car. Then I will finally get my first ride back in the rig when we drive to Fernandina Beach for a night. We found a one night cancellation there, but it may thunderstorm. Hoping for a walk on the beach while we figure out where we are going next.

We get to babysit our new grand-daughter when her parents attend a wedding in North Carolina on April 11^th. We will be the portable babysitters! Can't wait to see how much she will have grown. Then we are due back in Maryland April 30^th for appointments for the following week. After that we head north for the Summer. We have accepted a work camping job with Geneva Point Center http://www.genevapoint.org/ on Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire. The job starts May 15^th, and lasts through October. The non-profit retreat center on 200 acres with shoreline access sounds like the perfect spot for us to slow down, make some money, cover some expenses, and have a great experience. I'll be posting about our time there and hope to give some insight into the work camping life. It will be a great base camp during our days off to explore Portland and the Maine coast, New Hampshire's' White Mountains, and range over into Vermont. We'll also get a few extra days to run back to Maryland to be grandparents.

We've got a full Summer coming up with lots to blog about. New experiences and some time in New England. After that, we are considering a stint work camping at Amazon to take us up to Christmas. I have a writing project I started in Arizona I hope to finish before we start working, and Greg wants to get in some more biking in the meantime. Need to find a few good spots to tide us over until we reach New Hampshire!